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The  civil  service  chroniclE 

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"  Patronage  is  a  two-edged  sword  which  cuts  both  ways.  *  No  dependence  is  to  be  placed  on  the  allegiance  of  soldiers  of  fortune.  *  <'  Their  8<wvlce  is 
mercenary.  The  people  wnom  they  pretend  to  represent  consist  merely  of  a  knot,  greater  or  smaller,  of  aspirants  to  office,  useful  chiefly 

in  the  dirty  work  of  smothering  the  popular  voice  in  primary  elections  and  nominating  conventions. if £fV.Ky  C.  LEA. 


VoL.  I,  No.  1. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  MARCH,  1889.  teems feruK"” 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Publication  office.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indi¬ 
anapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  adveriise- 
meuts  will  be  received.  Address  all  correspondence 
to  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  (  HRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


“The  reform  of  the  civil  service  auspicious¬ 
ly  begun  under  a  republican  administration, 
should  be  completed  by  the  further  extension 
of  the  reform  system,  already  established  by 
law,  to  all  the  grades  of  the  service  to  which 
it  is  applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of 
reform  should  be  observed  in  all  executive  ap¬ 
pointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the 
object  of  existing  reform  legislation  should  be 
repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free 
institutions,  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official 
patronage,  may  be  wisely  and  effectively 
avoided.” — Republican  National  Platform,  1888. 

“The  law  should  have  the  aid  of  a  friendly 
interpretation,  and  be  faithfully  and  vigorously 
enforced.  All  appointments  under  it  should 
be  absolutely  free  from  partisan  considerations 
and  influence.”  —  From  President  Harrison’s 
Letter  of  Acceptance. 

“  Heads  of  departments,  bureaus,  and  all 
other  public  officers  having  any  duty  in  con 
nection  therewith,  will  be  expected  to  enforce 
the  civil  service  law  fully  and  without 
evasion.” — From  President  Harrison’s  Inaugural 
Address. 


The  object  of  the  Civil  Service  Chron¬ 
icle  is  to  promote  civil  service  reform,  and, 
incidentally,  other  things  pertaining  to  bet¬ 
ter  administration.  No  one  can  look  over  the 
state  of  Indiana  and  say  that  the  field  is  not 
wide.  And  so  long  as  in  the  country  at 
large  over  100,000  federal  offices  are  still 
used  as  mere  spoil  with  which  to  reward 
personal  and  party  service,  the  voice  of 
protest  must  be  raised.  We  ask  the  sup 
port  of  those  who  are  interested  in  these 
subjects.  The  conductors  of  this  paper  do 
not  believe  that  a  party  organization  or  a 
party  name  is  a  thing  to  be  worshiped,  but 
that  a  party  is  simply  an  instrument,  and, 
like  any  other  instrument,  may  wear  out* 

Those  who  receive  this  paper  are  ear¬ 
nestly  urged  to  subscribe  for  it,  if  they  have 
not  already  done  so.  The  price  is  so  low 
as  to  be  within  the  means  of  every  one  de¬ 
siring  to  help  the  cause  of  good  govern¬ 
ment.  The  paper  is  not  to  make  money. 
It  must  depend  for  support  upon  those  who 
sympathize  with  its  objects.  We  expect, 
however,  to  get  a  good  many  subscribers 
who  do  not  sympathize  with  its  objects. 
We  think  we  can  make  it  interesting  to 
them,  as  they  will  find  a  certain  kind  of 
truth  told  here  that  will  not  be  in  the  pa¬ 
pers  of  their  ordinary  reading. 


For  four  years  Indiana  has  been  a  great 
agitating  ground  for  civil  service  reform. 
It  is  admitted  throughout  the  country  that 
this  agitation  has  materially  advanced  the 
cause.  To  repeat  what  is  not  disputed,  the 
Indiana  managers  of  the  affairs  of  the  late 
administration  viewed  the  law  and  the  re¬ 
form  as  so  much  dirt,  and,  without  the 
slightest  regard  to  solemn  promises,  they 
proceeded  accordingly.  But  from  the  be¬ 
ginning  to  the  end  they  found  this  path  beset 
with  very  ugly  thorns.  They  must  to-day, 
in  the  fires  of  defeat,  look  back  over  their 
course  with  small  satisfaction.  Whether 
they  will  now  recognize,  what  is  becoming 
daily  more  patent,  that  the  spoils  system  is 
doomed,  remains  to  be  seen.  Meanwhile 
the  struggle  in  this  state  affords  many  val¬ 
uable  lessons  which  the  new  administra¬ 
tion,  for  obvious  reasons,  ought  to  know  by 
heart.  We  shall  notice  these  lessons  from 
time  to  time. 

The  agitation  against  the  misuse  of  the 
law  has  made  many  facts  of  administration 
clear.  These  are  so  staring  that  no  execu¬ 
tive  desiring  to  enforce  the  law  can  ignore 
them.  The  first  is  the  secrecy  which  now 
veils  the  execution  of  this  law.  It  is  a 
cloak  for  fraud.  With  a  knavish  politician 
or  a  tool  of  knavish  politicians  for  a  post¬ 
master,  and  a  knavish  politician  in  control 
of  the  local  board  and  local  examinations, 
the  thing  is  easy.  Of  what  use  is  it  for  the 
public  to  know  that  an  ignorant  favorite  of 
the  postmaster,  who  reads  with  difficulty 
and  writes  with  more  difficulty,  has  not 
passed,  since  the  rules  permit  the  above- 
mentioned  knaves  to  cut  off  the  public 
with  the  cool  statement  that  he  has  passed. 
Make  the  favorite’s  examination  paper  a 
public  record,  so  that  his  neighbors  can  see 
whether  or  not  it  is  in  his  h|nd-writing, 
and  whether  or  not  it  is  such  a  paper  as  he 
could  possibly  have  made  out,  and  one  em¬ 
inently  practicable  means  of  cheating  the 
law  will  be  cut  off. 

A  SECOND  staring  fact  is  that  the  present 
system  of  local  boards  seems  arranged  to 
enable  the  bead  of  an  office,  if  so  disposed, 
to  manipulate  the  law.  At  present  the 
board  is  formed  from  employes  of  the  office 
after  consultation  with  the  head  of  the  of¬ 
fice,  who  has  also  the  power  to  dismiss 
these  employes  at  any  time.  The  mere 
statement  of  the  plan  shows  its  innate 
worthlessness.  A  civil  service  commission 


afraid  to  do  its  duty  adds  to  the  difficulties 
In  1885  a  commissioner  came  to  Indianapo¬ 
lis  and  allowed  Postmaster  Jones  to  select 
the  local  board.  Thirty  minutes’  inquiry 
would  have  developed  the  fact  that  the 
choice  was  unfit.  Yet  through  four  years 
the  commission  was  evidently  too  timid  to 
correct  its  mistake. 

A  THIRD  radical  change,  if  promises  of 
enforcement  of  the  law  are  to  be  kept,'  will 
be  in  choosing  heads  of  offices  who  are, 
friendly  to  the  law.  Putting  men  who  are 
mere  politicians  and  nothing  else,  and  who 
have  only  the  views  of  mere  politicians,  to 
enforcing  this  law  is  very  like  turning 
thieves  into  a  bank.  The  average  party 
politician  has  no  stubborn  opinions  up'm 
any  subject  except  that  his  partisans  should 
have  the  offices.  He  is,  therefore,  unalter¬ 
ably  opposed  to  any  law  that  seeks  to  re¬ 
duce  the  transaction  of  public  business  to  a 
business  basis,  and  which  therefore  cuts  oft 
the  use  of  subordinate  places  as  spoils.  To 
evade  this  law  is  not  regarded  as  dishonor¬ 
able  among  mere  politicians.  It  is  passed 
off  by  calling  it  “  politics.”  When  the  dem¬ 
ocrats,  four  years  ago,  were  laying  their 
plans  a  local  manager  significantly  said  : 
“  There  is  no  penalty  for  not  enforcing  that 
law.”  The  machinery  of  the  law  was  di¬ 
rectly  or  indirectly  guided  by  petty  poli¬ 
ticians  to  whom  civil  service  reform,  or 
“civil  service,”  as  they  call  it,  was  ^  great 
joke.  It  can  not  be  said  that  theil  man¬ 
agement  has  resulted  in  much  pr  )fit  to 
themselves  or  to  their  party.  1 

Now  the  republicans  can  make  the  same 
mistake  or  they  can  profit  by  the  exa  nple. 
Let  us  have  the  utmost  publicity.  I  3t  all 
the  examination  papers,  all  record^  and 
all  lists  of  those  who  have  passed  be  )pen 
to  the  public.  Every  community  like  fair' 
play,  and  when  a  competitor  has  fairly  von 
the  first  place  on  the  list  he  will  have  at 
his  back  the  demand  of  his  neighbors  that 
he  shall  have  the  first  appointment.  There 
is  more  hope  for  civil  service  reform  in 
this  one  change  than  in  any  other  that  can 
be  made.  Then  let  the  machinery  of  the 
law,  including  the  appointing  power  under 
it,  be  put  into  the  hands  of  men  who  would 
consider  it  a  dishonor  to  cheat  the  law,  and 
the  republican  party  is  hardly  aware  of  the 
moral  and  numerical  strength  which  will 
rally  to  it.  We  may  add  that  the  worst  pos¬ 
sible  headof  an  office  is  the  respectable  cit 


1 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


r 


izen  who  is  ignorant  of  the  law  and  who 
acts  upon  the  theory  that  he  can  carrj"  out 
the  law  and  give  the  members  of  his  party 
the  preference. 

In  the  line  of  his  duty,  some  eighteen 
months  ago,  Henry  Cook  was  obliged  to 
jump  into  the  canal  to  save  himself  from  a 
falling  wall.  The  shock  and  exposure 
brought  on  an  illness  from  which  he  never 
recovered  and  which  will  probably  prove 
fatal.  He  has  no  means  of  support.  The 
lire  department  has  many  other  men  who 
quietly  perform  the  duty  at  hand  and  risk 
their  lives  for  the  people  of  this  city.  They 
do  not  stop  to  inquire  the  politics  of  thft 
man  whose  factory  is  burning,  but  the 
people  are  less  generous.  They  permit 
these  men  who  are  willing  to  peril  their 
lives  for  the  sake  of  earning  small  wages^ 
until  they  become  crippled  or  broken 
down,  to  face  each  day  the  possibility  of 
removal  because  their  politics  do  not  suit 
a  dozen  petty  politicians  of  this  city. 
Thirteen  democrats  at  present  are  al- 
allowed  the  privilege  of  earning  their  daily 
bread  in  an  occupation  requiring  qualities 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  honor  in  the 
soldier ;  but  their  chief,  who  declined  to 
dismiss  them  because  they  were  democrats, 
after  thirty  years  of  honorable  service  in 
the  fire  department  of  Indianapolis,  was 
removed  for  that  reason  and  against  the 
wish  of  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  this  city.  This  is  what  is  called 
“practical  civil  service.” 

WiLU  McKinney,  of  Indianapolis,  called 
upon  Postmaster-General  Wanamaker  this 
afternoon,  in  company  with  Colonel  W.  W. 
Dudley.  “Mac”  wants  to  succeed  Gwynn  as 
superintendent  of  the  railway  mail  service  at 
Cincinnati.  Colonel  Dudley  remained  with 
Mr.  Wanamaker  for  some  time,  and  after¬ 
wards  informed  McKinney  that  the  appoint¬ 
ment  was  as  good  as  made,  and  that  he  (Mc¬ 
Kinney)  would  be  the  man. —  Washington  Dis¬ 
patch  to  the  Indianapolis  News. 

VV.  W.  Dudley  is  under  the  charge  of 
writing  a  letter  which,  if  true,  makes  him 
morally,  at  least,  a  fit  subject  for  the  state 
prison.  He  seems  afraid  to  meet  this 
charge,  and  acts  as  though  it  were  true. 
Under  the  circumstances,  the  postmaster- 
general  of  the  United  States  would  appear 
much  better  showing  Dudley  the  door  than 
counseling  with  him  over  appointments  to 
office. 

The  conference  of  civil  service  reform¬ 
ers  which  was  held  at  Baltimore  February 
23,  was  probably  the  most  important  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  kind  ever  held  in  this  country. 
The  large  number  in  attendance  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  the  high  character  of 
the  men,  and  their  unmistakable  earnest¬ 
ness  demonstrate  the  strong  and  increased 
hold  this  reform  has  in  this  country 
i  ;  "Jting  w  .  %  isJciiUarly  suila- 

■J.’*-  ’•'»  p.ac-  Maryland 


reformers,  with  great  persistence  and 
ability  brought  Senator  Gorman  and  his 
party  so  near  to  defeat  that  a  republican 
congressman  has  stated  that  if  it  were  not 
for  the  approaching  division  of  spoils,  the 
republicans  would  carry  Maryland  at  the 
next  election.  Full  accounts  of  the  meet¬ 
ings  may  be  found  in  the  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
former,  of  Baltimore,  and  in  the  Civil  Service 
Record,  of  Boston,  for  March.  Among  those 
attending  the  conference  were  Charles  J. 
Bonaparte,  John  C.  Rose,  Joseph  Packard, 
Jr.. Thomas  B.  Mackall,  of  Baltimore;  The¬ 
odore  Roosevelt,  Rev.  A.  Mackay  Smith, 
and  E.  L  Godkin,  of  New  A'ork;  Ethan 
Allen  Doty  and  William  Potts,  of  Brook¬ 
lyn;  Henry  A.  Richmond,  of  Buffalo;  He¬ 
bert  Welsh,  Joseph  Parrish,  Rev.  J.  An¬ 
drews  Harris,  Stuart  Wood  and  James  G. 
Francis,  of  Philadelphia;  Robert  N.  Top- 
pan,  Morrill  Wyman,  Jr.,  and  Richard  H. 
Dana,  of  Cambridge;  Arthur  Hobart  and 
Henry  H.  Sprague,  of  Boston;  J.  N.  Swan, 
of  Paxton,  Ill.;  Charles  Claflin  Allen,  of 
St.  Louis;  Prof.  J.  A.  Woodburn,  of  Bloom¬ 
ington;  William  D.  Foulke,  of  Richmond; 
and  Lucius  B.  Swift,  of  Indianapolis. 


THE  INDIANAPOLIS  POSTOFFICE. 

Since  the  comments  in  another  column, 

relating  to  the  appointment  of  heads  of 

offices  in  the  classified  service  were  in  type. 
President  Harrison  has  nominated  Mr. 
William  Wallace  to  succeed  Postmaster 
Jones  in  this  city.  We  note  the  following 
utterances  of  Mr.  Wallace,  made  after  his 
nomination  : 

“  What  will  your  policy  be  in  regard  to  the 
changes  in  the  service?” 

“The  civil  service  law,  as  I  understand  it, 
was  designed  to  put  efficient  men  into  office. 
Other  things  being  equal,  good  republicans 
will  be  given  preference  when  possible.  If  I 
thought  I  was  to  have  no  choice  in  the  per¬ 
sonnel  of  my  subordinates  I  should  not  accept 
the  office.  It  would  be  unjust  to  hold  me  re¬ 
sponsible  for  acts  of  men  in  the  appointment 
of  whom  I  had  no  choice  or  option.” — Indian¬ 
apolis  News  interview,  March  I4. 

“  Do  you  propose  to  make  a  clean  sweep  ?  ” 

“  I  intend  to  obey  the  civil  service  laws.  Of 
course,  nothing  in  the  law  prevents  the  post¬ 
master  from  discharging  every  employe.  The 
civil  service  law  provides  how  the  employe 
shall  get  in  and  the  postmaster  decides  how  he 
shall  get  out.  I  am  frank  to  say  that  republi¬ 
cans  will  be  given  the  preference  whenever  a 
vacancy  is  to  be  filled.” — Indianapolis  Sentinel 
interview,  March  15. 

“The  public  may  as  well  know  from  the  be¬ 
ginning,”  said  Mr.  Wallace,  “that  as  a  life¬ 
long  republican,  I  will  always  give  republi¬ 
cans  preference  in  my  appointments,  other 
things  being  equal.  The  colored  people  shall 
not  be  ignored  either.  There  are  certainly  a 
'number  of  positions  which  they  shall  have.” 

Indianapolis  News  interview,  March  15. 

There  are  fully  one  hundred  places  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Indianapolis  postmaster.  Mr. 
Wallace  has  not  only  said  that  he  will  give 
republicans  preference  in  his  appointments, 
but  that  he  will  not  ignore  the  colored  people. 
—Indiampolis  Journal,  Mai'ch  15, 


It  is  stating  it  very  mildly  to  say  that 
this  is  discouraging.  Years  of  agitation  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  enactment  of  a  civil  service 
law.  The  fundamental  principle  of  the  law 
in  view  of  the  agitation  and  of  the  law  it¬ 
self  can  not  honestly  be  mistaken.  It  is 
that  certain  positions  of  a  clerical  nature 
shall  be  thrown  open  to  competition.  The  1 
competition  is  to  know  no  distinction  of  | 
color,  politics,  religion  or  rank.  To  put  a 
man  at  the  head  of  an  office  which  is  with¬ 
in  this  competition,  and  to  put  him  under 
oath  that  he  will  faithfully  perform  the  du¬ 
ties  of  that  office,  is  to  put  him  into  a  posi¬ 
tion  that  he  may  abuse,  as  a  judge  may 
abuse  his  position  on  the  bench.  But  every 
principle  of  honor  requires  that  he  should 
deal  with  contestants  in  this  field  of  open 
and  fair  competition  exactly  as  an  upright 
judge  deals  with  the  contestants  before 
him.  The  law  invites  citizens  to  compete 
for  these  places,  and  there  goes  with  this 
invitation  an  implied  promise  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  who  enacted  this  law 
that  competitors  shall  be  treated  with  the 
most  scrupulous  fairness. 

If  actual  words  repeatedly  spoken  are  to 
taken  as  true,  Mr.  Wallace  proposes  to 
trick  this  law.  He  says,  “  Nothing  in  the 
law  prevents  the  postmaster  from  dis¬ 
charging  every  employe.”  The  President 
has  the  power  to  pardon  every  federal 
criminal  out  of  prison.  That  is  vastly  dif¬ 
ferent  from  his  right  to  exercise  that  power, 
and  if  he  should  exercise  it  he  would  be 
impeached  and  removed  from  office.  Very 
properly  the  power  of  dismissal  is  left  with 
the  postmaster  at  Indianapolis.  But  if  he 
dismisses  an  employe  in  the  classified  ser¬ 
vice,  except  for  good  cause,  he  violates  his 
oath  of  office  and  tricks  the  law.  Good 
cause  is  drunkenness,  or  dishonesty,  or  in¬ 
efficiency  or  similar  faults.  It  is  not  good 
cause  to  dismiss  a  man  because  he  is  a  re¬ 
publican  or  a  democrat,  or  because  his 
place  is  wanted  for  some  one  else. 

Mr.  Wallace  also  says :  “  The  public  may 
as  well  know  from  the  beginning  that  as  a 
life-long  republican  I  will  always  give  re¬ 
publicans  the  preference  in  my  appoint¬ 
ments,  other  things  being  equal.”  If  Mr. 
Wallace  has  a  vacancy  to  fill  in  the  classi¬ 
fied  service,  three  names  will  be  handed  to 
him  by  the  local  examining  board  from 
which  to  make  his  appointment.  If  he 
gives  one  of  these  the  preference  because 
he  is  a  republican,  or  if  he  allows  party  be¬ 
longing  to  color  or  in  any  manner  to  influ¬ 
ence  his  appointment,  he  will  violate  his 
oath  of  office,  and  he  will  evade  the  law. 

To  repeat,  here  is  a  law  which  opens 
public  employment  to  the  children  of  the 
poorest,  the  most  obscure  and  the  least  in¬ 
fluential  on  equal  terms  with  the  most  pow¬ 
erful.  Its  success  depends  upon  honorable 
dealing  by  executive  officers.  Now  comes 
Mr.  Wallace,  an  old  and  respected  citizen. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


3 


and  serves  notice  upon  the  people  of  this 
state  that  it  will  be  practically  useless  for 
any  but  republicans  to  compete.  The  ques¬ 
tion  is  suggested  of  what  use  he  has  made 
of  his  powers  of  observation  during  the 
past  four  years.  He  ought  lO  know  that 
no  other  one  thing  except  the  acts  of  Sen 
ator  Gorman  in  Maryland  made  President 
Cleveland  so  much  trouble  or  did  him  and 
his  party  so  much  harm  throughout  the 
country  as  the  conduct  of  the  Indianapolis 
postothce,  which  was  run  on  a  line  exactly 
parallel  with  that  now  proposed  by  Mr.Wal 
lace.  General  Harrison  was  familiar  with 
the  facts  of  the  former  conduct  of  this  of¬ 
fice.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  law  was 
enforced.  Pie  did  not  believe  that  a  man 
could  be  rightfully  dismissed  from  the 
classified  service  without  cause.  With  these 
things  in  mind  he  said  in  his  letter  of  ac¬ 
ceptance,  “  The  law  should  have  the  aid  of 
a  friendly  interpretation  and  be  faithfully  and 
vigorously  enforced.”  And  in  his  inaugural 
aduress  President  Harrison  said  :  “Heads 
of  departments,  bureaus,  and  all  other  public 
officers,  having  any  duty'^nnected  therewith, 
will  be  expected  to  enforce  the  civd  service  law 
fully  and  without  evasion.” 

In  this  community  President  Hnrrison’s 
word  for  thirty  years  has  not  been  held 
lightly.  We  do  not  believe  that  he  means 
this  word  to  be  held  lightly,  and  it  is 
most  unfortunate  that  Mr.  Wallace  either 
thoughtlessly  or  deliberately  has  so  regard¬ 
ed  it.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he 
has  done  a  damage  almost  irreparable.  No 
matter  how  repair  is  attempted,  every  act 
will  have  attached  to  it  a  suspicion  that  he 
is  carrying  out  his  declared  intentions.  By 
careless  words  he  has  by  a  long  period  put 
off  the  day  when  the  people  will  believe 
that  competitors  are  fairly  dealt  with,  and 
will  compete  accordingly. 


THE  SCRAMBLE  FOR  OFFICE. 

No  better  illustration  could  be  given  of 
the  utterly  vicious  character  of  the  present 
system  of  making  appointments  outside 
the  classified  service  than  the  disgraceful 
scramble  for  office  which  has  prevailed 
since  the  election,  and  particularly  since 
the  inauguration  of  General  Harrison. 
The  democrats  of  four  years  ago,  after 
twenty-four  years  exclusion  from  power, 
made  no  more  unseemly  struggle  for  the 
loaves  and  fishes  than  republicans  are  do¬ 
ing  now.  Every  man  who  conceives  that 
his  inability  to  earn  a  living  elsewhere  en¬ 
titles  him  to  “  recognition  ”  at  the  hands  of 
the  party  is  circulating  his  petitions,  his 
requests  for  letters,  and  making  untiring 
solicitations  and  personal  appeals  to  the 
President  and  the  heads  of  departments. 
The  most  persistent  applicant  secures  the 
greatest  number  of  letters  and  signatures. 
Responsible  men,  not  only  in  politics  but  in 


business  life,  will  sign  their  names  to  pal¬ 
pable  falsehoods  in  respect  to  the  qualifica¬ 
tions  of  an  applicant  who  presents  his  pe¬ 
tition  in  person.  They  will  recommend 
men  as  fit  whom  they  know  are  not  fit ; 
they  will  declare  that  applicants  are  “able 
lawyers”  and  “men  of  responsibility  and 
integrity,”  to  whom  they  would  not  confide 
a  case  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
whom  they  know  to  be  utterly  irresponsi¬ 
ble  and  would  not  trust  for  a  dollar.  Some¬ 
times  these  very  men  write  letters  dis¬ 
avowing  the  testimonials  which  they  have 
signed  and  declaring  they  “  did  not  mean 
it,”  but  more  frequently  they  remain 
silent,  and  the  administration,  misled 
through  these  false  certificates  of  character, 
is  certain  to  appoint  many  men  who  will 
bring  upon  it  nothing  but  discredit  and 
disgrace. 

An  illustration  came  to  our  knowledge  a 
few  days  ago.  A  man  who  has  been  the 
laughing  stock  of  the  community  in  which 
he  resides,  a  man  without  skill,  without 
ability,  without  integrity,  received  the  sig¬ 
natures  of  the  best  business  men  in  one  of 
the  most  important  cities  of  this  state,  to  a 
petition  which  stated  that  he  was  a  man  of 
integrity,  a  lawyer  of  great  ability,  emi¬ 
nently  qualified  for  the  position  in  every 
respect  and  that  he  ought  to  receive  it  as 
a  reward  for  services  to  the  republican 
party.  There  is  not  a  man  whose  name  is 
signed  to  the  petition  who  would  not  blush 
to  have  his  signature  exposed.  The  men 
who  certified  to  the  qualifications  of  this 
applicant,  every  one  of  them,  knew  that 
they  were  perpetrating  what,  in  the  very 
best  view  of  it,  would  be  a  huge  joke  upon 
the  administration.  The  position  asked 
for  was  one  requiring  the  highest  qualifica¬ 
tions.  The  appointment  of  the  man  would 
bring  disgrace  upon  the  American  name 
among  the  people  where  his  duties  were  to 
be  performed.  Yet,  nobody  was  deterred 
by  any  such  considerations.  The  applicant 
went  around  personally  asking  for  signa¬ 
tures.  The  men  whom  he  solicited  “  did 
not  like  to  refuse.”  This  is  happening  ev¬ 
erywhere.  How  can  General  Harrison 
tell,  while  such  a  practice  is  all  but  uni¬ 
versal,  who  are  worthy  of  appointment  and 
who  are  not  ?  There  is  not  a  man  promi¬ 
nent  in  public  life  in  the  republican  party 
who  is  not  receiving  every  day  letters  ask¬ 
ing  lor  his  indorsement.  Sometimes  the 
men  are  worthy,  but  more  often  they  are 
men  whose  only  claims  upon  the  office  are 
their  necessities  or  desires.  Good  and  bad 
are  thrown  indiscriminately  together.  The 
signature  to  the  petition  and  the  letter  of 
recommendation  are  given  to  all.  Nobody 
has  the  independence  to  refuse.  This  evil 
comes  from  the  frailty  of  human  nature, 
from  an  indisposition  to  disoblige  a  friend. 
Sometimes  the  application  will  be  from 
one  in  favor  of  whom  some  personal  obli¬ 


gation  is  incurred;  and  there  is  notone 
man  in  a  hundred  who  will  refuse  to  li¬ 
quidate  it  in  this  manner  at  the  expense  of 
the  public. 

There  are  no  places  more  likely  to  be 
filled  by  men  not  qualified  to  fill  them  than 
the  foreign  service,  especially  the  consular 
service.  There  are  no  places  through  which 
the  American  name  is  brought  into  greater 
disgrace  than  by  these.  Has  not  the  time 
at  last  come  when  the  necessities  of  the  case 
demand  that  no  man  shall  be  appointed 
who  can  not  show  by  some  sort  of  test  his 
ability  to  discharge  the  duties  of  this  office? 
Ought  a  man  to  be  sent  to  fill  a  business 
position  in  a  foreign  country  who  can  not 
speak  its  language,  who  scarcely  knows  in 
what  part  of  the  world  the  place  is  situated 
to  which  he  is  accredited,  who  has  no 
knowledge  whatever  of  the  duties  which 
he  is  required  to  perform  ?  These  disqual¬ 
ifications  could  be  detected  by  half  an  hour’s 
examination. 

There  is  not  a  civilized  country  in  the 
world  that  does  not  demand  for  its  repre¬ 
sentatives  higher  qualifications  for  posi¬ 
tions  like  these  than  is  demanded  by  the 
American  republic. 

The  time  has  come  for  us  to  make  a 
change.  Even  if  the  party  in  power  were 
entitled  to  all  these  offices,  there  still  ought 
to  be  some  plan  by  which  each  party  can 
keep  its  “own  dunces  out.”  It  is  time  that 
some  sort  of  examination  should  be  pre¬ 
scribed  for  the  consular  service. 

EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS. 

If  this  paper  were  published  twice  a  day 
and  365  days  in  the  year,  and  each  issue 
carefully  explained  just  what  the  examina¬ 
tions  for  entranee  to  various  places  in  the 
classified  eivil  service  consist  of,  there 
would  still  be  heard  the  venerable  jokes 
about  requiring  from  applicants  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  obscure  African  lakes,  rivers  and 
mountains.  Still  it  is  well  not  to  weary, 
but  to  show  the  facts.  To  begin  with,  the 
questions  are  of  the  most  simple  and  ele¬ 
mentary  sort :  “  Multiply  34i  by  loj.”  The 
writing,  spelling,  composition,  punctua¬ 
tion  and  grammar  are  incidentally  shown 
by  requiring  the  applicant  to  “copy  a 
printed  statement,”  by  “writing  down  from 
memory  the  substance  of  matter  orally 
communicated,’’  by  “writing  a  letter  to 
some  official,  giving  an  account  of  the 
schools  attended  and  the  studies  pursued 
by  the  applicant.”  These  are  samples  of 
the  questions  asked  of  applicants  for  deri- 
cal  service.  For  instance,  if  Mr.  Thomas 
Markey  of  this  city  had  wanted  a  clerical 
position  instead  of  being  a  candidate  for 
the  insane  hospital  board  (his  candidature 
was  successful),  the  fact  that  he  wrote  that 
he  had  to  address  the  “nights  of  labor” 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  a  disadvan¬ 
tage.  But  had  he,  under  the  present 


4 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


“scholars’  test,”  desired  a  position  in  the 
fire  or  police  department,  or  as  foreman  of 
laborers,  in  Boston,  he  might  have  had  to 
answer  in  writing,  or  in  certain  cases  his 
answers  would  have  been  taken  down  by 
a  stenographer,  such  of  the  following 
as  pertained  to  his  department.  Ten 
questions  in  city  information :  The  loca¬ 
tions  of  public  buildings,  bridges,  fire  en¬ 
gine  houses,  etc.  “  How  are  the  following- 
named  officers  elected :  mayor,  aldermen, 
councilmen?”  “Where  does  the  water 
come  from  that  is  used  in  this  city  for  fire 
and  other  purposes?”  Eight  questions 
relating  to  general  work.  The  use  of 
tools,  reading  grade  stakes,  tallying,  etc. 
Twelve  questions  relating  to  the  different 
kinds  of  sewers,  the  preparation  and  use  of 
cement  and  other  materials  and  trench 
work.  This  is  enough  to  show  that  the  ex¬ 
amination  system,  as  it  now  is,  is  simple,  flex¬ 
ible  and  confined  to  the  work  a  man  asks  to  be 
put  at.  It  even  puts  in  a  United  States  mail 
carrier  of  this  city  who  takes  a  half  holiday 
in  recognition  of  Washington’s  birthday 
under  the  impression  that  Washington  was 
an  Irishman. 


THE  PROMISES. 

What  have  we  a  right  to  expect  from  the 
republican  party?  At  a  recent  meeting  of 
our  Indiana  association  we  had  occasion  to 
examine,  somewhat  in  detail,  the  precise  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  declarations  of  that  party  in  regard 
to  civil  service  reform.  I  desire  at  the  outset 
to  recapitulate  in  a  few  brief  words  the  con¬ 
clusions  to  which  we  were  led.  That  party 
acquired  power  upon  certain  definite  promises 
embodied  in  the  national  platform.  This  is 
the  language:  “The  men  who  abandoned  the 
republican  party  in  1884  and  continued  to 
adhere  to  the  democratic  party,  have  deserted 
not  only  the  cause  of  honest  government,  of 
sound  finance,  of  freedom,  of  purity  of  the 
ballot,  but  especially  have  they  deserted  the 
cause  of  reform  in  the  civil  service.  We  will 
not  fail  to  keep  our  pledges  because  they  have 
broken  theirs,  or  because  their  candidate  has 
broken  his.” 

The  platform  is  made  not  simply  a  declara¬ 
tion  of  policy,  but  a  definite  “  pledge  ”  (that  is 
the  word),  which  it  would  be  impossible  for 
an  administration,  acquiring  power  upon  the 
strength  of  it,  not  to  regard. 

The  platform  goes  on  :  “  We  therefore  repeat 
our  declaration  of  1884,  to  wit:  The  reform  of 
the  civil  service  auspiciously  begun  under  a 
republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform 
system,  already  established  by  law,  to  all  the 
grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable. 
The  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should  be 
observed  in  all  executive  appointments,  and 
all  laws  at  variance  with  the  object  of  exist¬ 
ing  reform  legislation  should  be  repealed,  to 
the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions, 
which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patronage, 
may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided.” 

General  Harrison  tells  us  in  his  letter  of  ac¬ 
ceptance,  that  in  regard  to  every  subject  em¬ 
braced  in  the  platform,  he  is  in  entire  agree¬ 
ment  with  the  declaration  of  the  convention. 
He  is  therefore  in  agreement  with  this  pledge, 
and  has  made  his  own  promise. 

Now,  what  is  the  meaning  of  these  words? 
They  are  capable  of  pretty  definite  construc¬ 
tion. 

“The  reform  should  be  extended  to  all  grades 


of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable.  By  | 
whom  must  the  extension  be  made?  Un- j 
doubtedly  by  that  branch  of  the  government  I 
which  is  now  invested  with  control  over  ex-  j 
ecutive  appointments.  j 

It  is  the  President,  and  not  congress,  to  whom  1 
we  must  look  for  the  redemption  of  this  pledge. 
The  promise  can  not  be  fulfilled  by  a  mere  ap¬ 
proval  of  reform  legislation.  The  affirmative 
act  of  extending  the  system  must  be  done  by 
the  President,  in  whose  hands  the  power  re¬ 
sides.  *  »  *  *  * 

The  President  has  the  right  to  extend  the 
rules,  and  General  Harrison  has  given  his 
promise  that  they  shall  be  extended  to  all 
grades  to  which  they  are  applicable. 

The  next  question  is:  To  what  grades  of  the 
service  is  the  reform  system  applicable;  this, 
also,  as  to  many  of  these  places  is  capable  of 
definite  ascertainment.  The  civil  service  act 
itself  enumerates  grades  to  which  it  is  appli¬ 
cable,  and  to  which  it  has  not  yet  been  ex¬ 
tended.  The  sixth  section  makes  it  the  duty 
of  the  postmaster  general  to  classify  the  public 
service  at  each  post-office  where  there  are  fifty 
persons  employed.  “And  thereafter,  on  the 
direction  of  the  President,  to  arrange  in  like 
classes  the  persons  employed  in  connection 
with  any  other  post-office.” 

Under  this  section  there  have  been  brought 
into  the  classified  service  some  thirty-seven 
post-offices.  The  statute  recognizes  others  to 
which  it  should  be  extended.  There  is  no 
reason  why  it  can  not  beextended  to  all  offices 
where  there  is  a  free  delivery  of  letters.  There 
is  as  much  reason  for  its  application  there  as 
to  the  larger  places.  The  duties  are  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  ;  the  positions  are  non-politi¬ 
cal.  There  is  no  court  in  Christendom  that,  in 
construing  the  promise,  would  deny  that  the 
system  was  applicable  to  such  places.  By  the 
terms  of  the  act,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  President 
to  direct  this  extension.  Such  extension  he 
has,  therefore,  definitely  agreed  to  make. 

Similar  provisions  are  contained  in  the  act 
regarding  the  employes  of  collectors,  naval 
officers,  surveyors  and  appraisers  in  the  cus¬ 
toms  service,  and  the  platform  applies  to  all 
these  places  where  the  rules  are  not  yet  ex¬ 
tended. 

The  promise  to  extend  the  reform  to  all 
places  to  which  it  is  applicable  certainly  in¬ 
cludes  those  grades  to  which  civil  service  reg¬ 
ulations  have  been  successfully  applied  else¬ 
where.  In  such  cases  experience  has  shown 
that  the  system  is  applicable.  The  platform 
was  made  with  reference  to  this  fact.  The 
men  who  drafted  the  platform,  and  the  con¬ 
vention  which  adopted  it,  knew  that  similar 
provisions  had  been  successfully  applied  to 
grades  of  the  service  in  Massachusetts,  New 
York  and  elsewhere,  to  which  they  had  not 
yet  been  extended  by  the  federal  act,  and  in 
promising,  the  reform  should  be  extended  to 
all  grades  to  which  it  is  applicable,  they  cer¬ 
tainly  included  these.  Let  me  oflTer  an  illus¬ 
tration  :  The  experience  of  Massachusetts  has 
shown  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  labor  serv¬ 
ice  should  be  placed  under  the  rules.  By 
this  means  the  country  will  avoid  the  uu 
wholesome  spectacle  of  vast  numbers  of  men 
employed  in  navy  yards  and  elsewhere,  just 
before  election,  in  order  to  secure  votes  and 
political  support. 

By  the  federal  act,  laborers  need  not  be 
classified,  but  there  is  nothing  which  forbids 
such  classification.  The  President  has  the 
power  to  make  it.  It  ought  to  be  made,  and 
the  platform  has  substantially  promised  that 
it  shall  be. 

The  civil  service  commissioners,  without  re¬ 
gard  to  party,  have  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  President  other  branches  of  the  service 
to  which  the  rules  may  be  applied.  Among 
these  were  the  emjiloyes  of  the  railway  mail 
service,  and  many  places  in  the  Indian  bureau, 
in  the  labor  bureau,  in  the  war  department 


and  in  the  department  of  agriculture.  Some 
of  these  recommendations  have  been  adopted, 
and  the  outgoing  administration  has  done  no 
act  more  important  than  the  inclusion  of  the 
railway  mail  service  within  the  rules.  We 
believe  that  we  have  not  only  the  promise  of 
the  President  elect  that  the  extension  made 
shall  be  maintained,  but  also  that  the  law 
shall  be  applied  to  those  places  to  which  it  is 
not  yet  extended,  but  where  the  unbiased 
judgment  of  those  best  qualified  to  determine 
shall  declare  that  this  is  applicable. 

These  are  some  of  the  places  to  which  it  can 
be  definitely  affirmed  that  the  republican 
party  has  promised  an  extension  of  the  reform. 
In  respect  to  a  much  wider  range  of  non-polit¬ 
ical  offices,  such  as  consulships  and  fourth-class 
post  masterships,  where  the  ground  is  more  de¬ 
batable,  as  to  these,  we  may  hopefully  await 
the  ripening  influences  of  time  and  a  more 
progressive  public  sentiment.  But  the  prom¬ 
ise  does  not  stop  at  the  extension  of  the  rules. 
“The  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should  be 
observed  in  all  executive  appointments.” 

That  “spirit  and  purpose”  is,  that  in  non¬ 
political  offices,  men  are  not  to  be  appointed, 
rejected  or  discharged  on  account  of  political 
services  or  opinions,  but  on  account  of  their 
fitness  to  perform  the  duties  of  office,  and  that 
they  are  not  to  use  their  official  places  for  po¬ 
litical  purposes. 

The  President-elect  in  his  letter  of  accept¬ 
ance,  shows  that  this  is  his  understanding. 
He  says,  “In  appointments  to  every  grade  and 
department,  fitness  and  not  party  service 
should  be  the  essential  and  discriminating 
test,  andjidelity  and  efficiency  the  only  sure 
tenure  of  office.” 

We  believe,  therefore,  that  the  spectacle 
will  not  be  repeated  of  the  appointment^  of 
new  and  untried  men  to  positions  for  which 
they  have  shown  no  qualifications,  on  account 
of  the  aid  given  by  them  to  the  party  or  its 
candidate  during  the  campaign.  It  will  be 
impossible,  for  instance,  that  such  a  position 
as  a  consulship,  a  place  requiring  business 
ability,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  language  and 
usages  of  the  country  where  the  duties  are  to 
be  performed,  shall  be  filled  by  a  man  with¬ 
out  business  qualifications,  ignorant  of  both 
language  and  usages,  because  such  person  has 
been  an  effective  campaign  speaker,  or  useful 
in  the  organization  of  the  party  in  power. 
Fitness  is  to  be  the  essential  and  discriminat¬ 
ing  test. 

But,  more  than  this,  the  President-elect 
says:  “Only  the  interest  of  the  public  service 
should  suggest  removals  from  office.”  This 
means  a  great  deal.  It  means  that  the  clamor 
of  aspirants  and  local  political  sentiment  shall 
not  accomplish  the  removal  of  that  demo¬ 
cratic  official  who  has  faithfully  performed 
his  duty.  »  * 

General  Harrison  says:  “The  law  should 
have  the  aid  of  a  friendly  interpretation,  and 
be  faithfully  and  vigorously  enforced.”  This 
can  not  be  done,  if  men  who  are  not  in  favor 
of  it,  men  who,  like  Postmaster  Aquilla  Jones, 
say  that  they  despise  it,  if  such  as  these  are 
appointed  to  carry  it  out.  If  spoilsmen  are 
to  be  chosen  for  the  service  of  the  government, 
we  must  insist,  as  a  vital  matter,  that  they 
be  excluded  from  places  which  involve  the  se¬ 
lection  of  employes  under  the  civil  service  act. 
General  Harrison  says:  “All  appointments 
under  this  law  should  be  absolutely  free  from 
partisan  considerations,”  but  this  can  never 
be  if  those  clothed  with  the  power  of  making 
such  appointments  are  themselves  warped  by 
the  prejudices  of  the  spoils  system — From  an 
Address  Delivered  at  the  Conjerence  of  Civil  Servic.e 
Rejoimers  at  Baltimore,  Febiuary  2S,  1889-  by 
William  Dudley  Foulke. 


Since  its  annual  meeting,  the  last  of  Janu¬ 
ary,  the  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso¬ 
ciation  has  gained  over  sixty  new  members. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


5 


Indianapolis,  Nov.  28,  1888. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Record  : 

I  have  your  request  for  a  statement  of  what 
I  think  civil  service  reform  associations  ought 
to  do  to  help  on  this  reform  under  the  next 
administration.  We  have  before  us  the  un¬ 
pleasant  fact  that,  in  less  than  four  years,  over 
one  hundred  thousand  federal  employes  have 
been  put  out  and  their  places  taken  by  new 
lands.  No  civil  service  reformer  believed 
tnat  it  would  or  could  be  done.  Nevertheless, 
it  has  been  done.  Further,  in  those  places 
where  anything  like  a  thorough  investigation 
has  been  had,  the  civil  service  law  has  been 
tricked.  It  is  useless  to  charge  trickery  in 
those  places  not  investigated  ;  it  is  also  useless 
to  ask  the  average  mind  not  to  believe  that, 
with  stray  exceptions,  it  exists.  At  any  rate, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  progress  has  been  made 
toward  inspiring  confidence  that  it  is  worth 
while  for  any  one  to  compete  who  is  not  in 
political  accord  with  the  administration! 
and  that  the  efficiency  of  the  service  has  been 
greatly  damaged,  and  damaged  most  where  the 
rioting  in  spoils  has  been  greatest.  Civil  ser¬ 
vice  reformers  may  have  that  melancholy  con¬ 
solation.  If  the  service  had  shown  improve¬ 
ment  or  no  deterioration,  this  reform  would 
have  an  up-hill  road  indeed. 

By  far  the  most  important  constitutional 
duty  of  the  President  is  the  management  of  the 
civil  service.  President  Harrison  will  have  to 
undertake  this  management  with  one  hundred 
thousand  democrats  under  him  who  largely 
got  their  places  as  spoils,  and  with  great  offices 
as  illustrations  that  the  civil  service  law  can  be 
so  “  managed”  that  the  sweep  can  be  made 
just  as  clean  there  as  anywhere  else.  Yet  these 
things  are  neither  an  example  to  be  followed, 
nor  shall  they  be  an  excuse  for  their  repetition  ; 
they  are  only  a  warning,  a  calamity  to  be 
avoided. 

General  Harrison  has  not  been  prolific  in 
promises  of  civil  service  reform  ;  indeed,  there 
has  been  a  silence  about  the  subject  that  seems 
studied.  This  does  not  in  the  least  lessen  his 
du.ty,  nor  should  it  lessen  the  demand  that  he 
perform  that  duty.  He  should  be  held  to  just 
the  same  performance  as  if  he  had  covered  his 
door  yard  with  promises.  The  President  has 
no  right  under  the  constitution  to  use  the  fed¬ 
eral  service  as  a  party  spoil,  or  to  permit  it  to 
so  used  by  congressmen  or  other  persons.  It 
such  a  right  is  in  the  constitution,  or  if  it  was 
in  the  intention  of  the  makers  of  that  instru¬ 
ment,  it  would  be  well  for  some  one  to  point 
it  out.  Again,  the  platform  upon  which  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison  was  elected  binds  him  ;  and  it 
is  not  to  be  expected  that  he  will  seek  to  avoid 
this  obligation.  It  is  explicit,  it  has  no  un¬ 
certain  meaning,  and  there  is  no  escape  from 
it.  It  leaves  no  room  for  the  spoils  system 
during  his  administration.  He  is  not  a  man 
who  will  like  to  leave  a  basis  of  truth  for  the 
charge  that  he  has  violated  the  promises  made 
by  his  party  and  himself  in  the  platform 
Further,  in  his  letter  of  acceptance,  he  said 
that  the  civil  service  law  should  be  carried 
out  by  friendly  hands.  He  must  have  writ¬ 
ten  advisedly.  He  is  familiar  with  the  law 
and  with  the  scandalous  abuse  of  it  in  his  own 
city;  and  it  will  be  strange,  indeed,  if  the 
machine  is  now  made  to  run  the  other  way, 
and  similar  effects  produced  for  theotherside. 

No  amount  of  other  promises  could  add 
anything  to  the  duty  which  the  constitution, 
the  platform  and  his  letter  of  acceptance  will 
put  upon  the  new  President.  If  this  duly  is 
performed,  congressmen  will  attend  to  legisla 
tion  and  not  to  dividing  offices,  editors  will 
not  be  subsidized  by  the  score  with  offices,  con¬ 
trollers  of  patronage  will  have  no  occupation, 
and  there  will  be  no  clean  sweep.  If  this  duly 
is  done.  President  Harrison  will  without  delay 
extend  the  civil  service  law  to  the  railway  mail 
service,  the  Indian  service,  the  navy  yards,  the 


free  delivery  cities,  and  “to  all  grades  of  the 
service  to  which  it  is  applicable.”  If  he  is  to 
observe  “the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform 
*  ■»  «-  jjj  gjj  executive  appointments,”  pro¬ 
motions  will  be  the  rule  in  those  appointments. 
In  fact,  the  use  of  the  public  offices  as  spoil 
will  be  ended.  This  is  the  position  which  the 
republican  party  and  its  candidate  took  de¬ 
liberately  and  in  writing.  This  is  a  brief 
statement  of  the  duty  of  General  Harrison,  to 
be  performed  as  he  knows  how,  if  he  makes  up 
his  mind  to  it. 

President  Cleveland’s  party,  however,  broke 
him  down  in  this  respect.  The  republican 
party  machine  has  exactly  the  same  intent 
with  regard  to  General  Harrison.  Quay  and 
•Vlahone  and  Ingalls  mean  to  rival  Gorman 
and  Voorhees  and  Vest;  and  General  Harri¬ 
son,  as  sure  as  his  inauguration  comes,  will 
have  to  face  the  issue  presented  to  him  by 
these  men  and  their  likes.  There  will  be  no 
half-way  about  it;  he  will  conquer  them,  or 
they  will  conquer  him.  The  result  can  not  be 
told  ;  but,  in  the  presence  of  such  capable,  de¬ 
termined  and  hungry  enemies,  the  civil  service 
reform  associations  should  prepare  to  contest 
every  inch  of  the  ground  from  the  start. 

These  men  are  relying  upon  the  admission 
of  new  states  and  upon  breaking  the  solid 
south  to  keep  up  the  republican  party.  Gen 
eral  Harrison  is  also  quoted  as  relying  upon 
these  and  other  possible  sources  of  strength. 
President  Cleveland  had  analogous  hopes  for 
his  party  ;  but  it  would  have  paid  him  and  his 
party  better  if  he  had  kept  his  promises  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  civil  service.  History  is  trying  to 
repeat  itself.  Republican  spoilsmen  want  the 
offices,  whatever  the  consequences. 

The  attack  is  not  likely  to  be  made  openly. 
The  “clean  sweepers”  have  met  with  little 
public  encouragement,  and  few  like  to  declare 
openly  for  it.  If  they  succeed  in  bringing 
about  a  condition  of  vagueness  and  apparant 
uncertainty  of  intention  about  removals  and 
how  far  they  are  to  go,  the  signs  will  be  dan¬ 
gerous.  Under  the  guise  of  “  weeding  the  ser¬ 
vice,”  weeds  will  be  found  as  long  as  demo¬ 
crats  last.  The  plan  will  be  to  find  cause  for 
removal  until  another  clean  sweep  has  been 
made.  Such  a  course  should  be  stubbornly 
resisted  at  every  step,  and  the  responsibility 
fixed.  On  the  other  hand,  if  President  Har¬ 
rison  takes  the  country  into  his  confidence, 
and  lays  down  a  well-defined,  carefully  ma¬ 
tured  plan  as  to  how  he  proposes  to  manage 
the  civil  service,  and  if  this  plan  makes  possi¬ 
ble  reasonable  progress  in  this  reform,  he 
should  have  the  support  of  civil  service  re¬ 
formers  so  long  as  he  executes  his  plan  with¬ 
out  vacillation. 

The  same  method  of  working  by  the  associ¬ 
ations  will  be  adapted  to  either  case.  The  re¬ 
cent  election  in  Maryland  shows  what  reform¬ 
ers  can  accomplish  by  a  relentless  publication 
of  the  facts  which  mark  the  daily  progress  of 
the  spoils  system  in  full  swing.  A  publica¬ 
tion  of  the  facts  which  mark  the  civil  service 
management  of  the  new  administration  will 
be  an  act  of  the  strictest  justice.  If  the  ad¬ 
ministration  conquers  the  spoilsmen,  this  pub¬ 
lication  will  be  a  crown  of  glory  for  it;  if  it 
is  ruled  by  the  spoilsmen,  there  can  be  no 
complaint  because  its  acts  are  brought  to  the 
daylight.  I  should  say  that  this  is  the  most 
important  work  to  be  done,  and  each  associa¬ 
tion  should  commence  it  systematically  in  its 
own  community.  For  instance,  the  execution 
of  the  civil  service  law  should  be  watched, 
what  office-holders  do  in  politics  should  be 
noted,  and  every  case  of  unjust  removal  or 
improper  appointment,  with  all  pertinent 
facts, should  be  made  a  record.  Public  atten¬ 
tion  should  be  called  to  these  and  other  mat¬ 
ters  noted  in  like  manner,  and  from  time  to 
time  they  should  be  embodied  into  reports  to 
be  widely  circulated.  If  this  work  is  well 
done,  it  will  greatly  strengthen  the  hands  of  a 


President  bent  upon  administrative  reform; 
and  no  administration  bent  upon  a  clean  sweep 
can  stand  such  a  fire.  To  do  this  in  the  best 
manner  will  require  some  money,  and  there 
ought  to  be  some  way  taken  to  raise  it. 

it  is  also  imperative  to  do  much  in  other 
directions.  While  associations  should  keep 
their  records,  their  persuasive  powers  should 
never  rest,  but  should  be  used  to  encourage 
good  works.  For  instance,  the  republican 
congress  should  be  asked  to  keep  the  platform 
promise  by  repealing  the  four-years’  tenure 
act.  The  extension  ol  the  civil  service  law  by 
the  President  should  be  steadily  urged  until 
it  covers  all  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  appli¬ 
cable.  A  system  of  local  boards,  independent 
of  local  appointing  officers,  should  be  asked 
for.  In  places  like  Indianapolis,  secrecy  is  a 
cover  for  trickery  ;  and  it  would  be  better  if 
the  examination  papers  and  the  eligible  list 
were  public  records.  The  demand  that  rea¬ 
sons  shall  be  given  for  removals  should  be 
persisted  in.  The  bill  making  it  a  penal  of¬ 
fense  for  congressmen  to  interfere  with  ap¬ 
pointments  should  be  urged  with  all  the  force 
that  can  be  brought  to  bear.  A  systematic 
agitation  of  the  principles  of  this  reform,  be¬ 
tween  this  time  and  the  inauguration,  would 
find  ready  listeners.  The  republican  spoils¬ 
men  are  now  attacking  these  principles  with 
great  glibness;  the  question  of  a  clean  sweep 
in  the  federal  service  is  before  us,  and  public 
attention  is  attracted  to  administrative  con¬ 
cerns.  Lucius  B.  Swift. 

From  the  Civil  Service  Record,  December,  1888. 


The  Washington  Post,  edited  by  Frank  Hat¬ 
ton,  who  was  Postmaster-General  under  Ar¬ 
thur,  says  of  the  raid  of  office-seekers  upon 
Harrison  :  “  We  were  forewarned  in  the  winter 
and  spring  of  1885  of  the  grand  army  of  in¬ 
vasion  that  was  to  descend  upon  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land,  with  their  aid  and  counsel  and  hungry 
clamor  for  a  share  in  the  spoils  from  which 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  they  had  been  barred 
out;  but  the  rush  and  scramble  at  that  mem¬ 
orable  period  was  no  more  than  a  Sunday- 
school  pic  nic  to  the  jam  that,  after  only  four 
years’  seclusion  from  the  flesh-pots,  is  already 
setting  in  upon  Indianapolis,  and  threatening 
to  overwhelm  the  President-elect  with  pleas 
for  patronage  little  short  of  the  highwayman’s 
in  brutality.” 


Postmaster  Jones  sat  in  his  comfortable  office  in 
the  federal  building  at  11  o’clock  and  remarked  that 
a  large  element  of  relief  will  dilute  his  regret  at  giv¬ 
ing  up  the  office. 

“We  have  made  some  mistakes.’’  he  said  reflec¬ 
tively,  “  some  mistakes  ;  but  I  have  done  the  best  I 
could  all  the  time.  The  newspapers  have  not  been 
very  charitable  toward  me.’’ 

“How  many  republicans  remain  in  the  offlee  from 
the  last  administration  ?  ’’ 

“  I  do  not  know  exactly.  There  are  several,  how¬ 
ever.’’ 

“A  letter-carrier  said  he  thought  there  are  eight 
carriers  who  are  republicans.’’ 

“  Yes.  1  think  that  is  right,  except  two  of  the 
eight  didn’t  vote  the  way  your  informant  thinks. 
Two  voted  the  democratic  ticket.  Then  there  are 
two  or  three  men  in  the  office  who  before  the  election 
talked  loud  about  voting  the  democratic  ti<-ket,  but 
I  happen  to  know  they  did  not  do  it.  One  or  two 
republicans  did  vote  with  the  democrats  though, 
and  two  or  three  did  not  vote  at  all.  A  few  of  the 
boys  have  republican  tendencies,  but  their  wives  are 
strong  democrats,  so  I  concluded  to  let  them  stay.” 

‘‘Are  any  of  the  carriers  intending  to  resign  soon?” 

“Yes,  some  of  them  are.  Four  have  already  re¬ 
signed  and  will  quit  next  Saturday.  Last  Saturday 
I  employed  three  new  carriers,  all  republicans,  and 
two  of  them,  I  think,  ex  soldiers.  I  never  fought  in 
anybody's  war,  but  I  guess  my  sympathy  for  the  sol¬ 
diers  is  equal  to  that  of  other  men.  I  don’t  want  to 
hamper  the  new  postmaster,  and  so  concluded  to 
employ  republicans.” 

“■  Who  are  tlie  new  appointments?” 

“  I  don’t  know.  'I  hree  men  were  needed,  and  the 
first  three  names  on  the  list  of  those  who  had  passed 
the  civil  service  examination  were  republicans,  and 
1  just  ordered  them  to  be  employed.”— iMdtanapoh* 
News  Interview,  March  15 


6 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

“  Large  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were 
alloted  by  the  conquering  generals  to  the 
superior  officers  of  the  army,  and  by  them 
dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allot¬ 
ments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most  de¬ 
serving  soldiers.  *  *  The  condition  of 
holding  the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the 
possessor  should  do  service  faithfully  both 
at  home  and  in  the  wars,  to  him  by  whom 
they  were  given,”  and,  on  breach  of  this 
condition,  “by  not  performing  the  stipu¬ 
lated  service,  or  by  deserting  hislord  in  bat¬ 
tle,”  the  lands  reverted  to  the  lord.  The  vas 
sal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath  of  fealty 
to  the  lord,  and  in  addition  did  homage, 
“openly  and  humbly  kneeling,  being  un¬ 
girt,  uncovered  and  holding  up  his  hands, 
both  together,  between  those  of  his  lord, 
who  sate  before  him,  and  there  professing 
that  he  did  become  his  man  from  that  day 
forth,  of  life  and  limb  and  earthly  honor, 
and  then  he  received  a  kiss  from  his  lord.” 
Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  service 
was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve  under 
the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was  to  plow 
the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge  or  carry 
out  his  dung. — Blackslone. 

Senator  Quay  left  yesterday  for  Florida,  to 
be  absent  until  the  latter  part  of  February. 
He  desired  the  press  to  announce  that  he 
would  oppose  the  appointment  to  office  of  any 
man  who  applied  to  him  for  assistance  prior  to 
March  4. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  the  Indian¬ 
apolis  liews,  January  29. 

Washington,  January  16. — The  subject  of 
patronage  is  giving  the  republican  congress¬ 
men  much  concern.  The  largest  boxes  that 
are  now  to  be  seen  upon  their  desks  are  label¬ 
led  “Application  for  Office.”  Many  of  them 
greatly  regret  that  the  reformed  civil  service 
system  does  not  apply  to  all  offices  within  the 
gift  of  the  President.  Some  of  these  have  no 
special  devotion  to  the  reform,  but  fear  that 
the  privilege  of  making  suggestions  to  the 
President,  which  some  of  them  are  already 
beginning  to  characterize  as  “  nominations,” 
may  also  bring  with  it  certain  political  re¬ 
sponsibilities  which  they  do  not  care  to  assume. 
One  of  the  Illinois  congressmen  says  that  he 
has  been  advised  that  the  following  course 
will  be  pursued  by  the  senators  from  that  state 
in  thedistriluition  of  patronage,  after  March  4. 
As  to  the  offices  in  Cook  county.  Senators  Cul- 
lom  and  Farwell  will  call  the  three  republican 
representatives  from  Chicago  into  conference, 
and  hear  their  suggestions.  As  to  the  offices 
in  the  other  congressional  districts,  the  several 
republican  representatives  in  the  different 
judicial  districts  will  be  convened  in  confer¬ 
ence.  It  is  ascertained  already  that  every 
congressman  in  the  northern  Illinois  district 
has  a  candidate  for  United  States  marshal. 
The  gentleman  who  furnishes  this  information 
says  that  the  representatives  have  not  been 
informed  that  their  wishes  will  be  respected 
by  the  senators  in  making  recommendations, 
or  that  the  nominations  for  the  offices  shall  be 
put  to  a  vote  of  the  delegation,  or  those  inter¬ 
ested  in  them.  Some  of  the  representatives 
indicate  that  they  shall  make  independent 
recommendations  to  the  President  as  to  the 
offi'-es  in  their  respective  districts. 

The  democrats  have  watched  the  case  of 
General  Newberry,  nominated  to  be  postmaster 
of  Chicago,  with  much  interest,  because  it 


might  be  regarded  as  a  precedent  as  to  con¬ 
firmations  to  offices  the  terms  of  which  ex¬ 
tend  beyond  March  4.  The  circumstaiues 
under  which  General  Newberry  was  confirmed 
yesterday  will,  however,  hardly  constitute  a 
piecedent.  He  was  confirmed  after  an  execu¬ 
tive  session  of  only  five  minutes,  and  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  an  understanding  which  was 
arrived  at  with -Senator  Farwell  that  Newberry 
shall  resign  the  office  promptly  in  March. 
Senator  Sawyer,  the  chairman  of  the  post-office 
committee,  is  disposed  to  do  exactly  what  the 
republican  senators  from  any  particular  lo¬ 
cality  desire  him  to  do,  unless  they  wish  him 
to  do  an  injustice.  The  representation  which 
Senator  Farwell  made  to  him  secured  the  fa¬ 
vorable  report  from  the  committee,  and  after 
that  the  confirmation  was  a  mere  matter  of 
form. — Special  Dispatch  to  Evenmg  Post. 

WA.SHINGTON,  March  1. — General  Browne 
is  receiving  so  many  applications  every  day 
for  post-offices  and  other  official  positions 
that  he  is  compelled  to  content  himself  with 
simply  classifying  and  filing  them,  and  attend¬ 
ing  to  the  applications  in  their  various  forms 
without  answering  them,  as  has  been  his  cus¬ 
tom.  It  has  for  some  time  required  the  entire 
time  of  a  stenographer  to  answer  his  letters, 
and  now  the  General  finds  the  volume  so  great 
that  it  will  be  impossible  to  answer  those  who 
simply  send  applications  for  office.  His  cor¬ 
respondents  may  rest  assured,  however,  that 
their  applications  will  receive  the  same 
prompt  attention  that  they  would  if  the  ap 
plicants  were  notified  of  the  receipt  of  their 
requests. — Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal. 

Washington,  March  5. — Office  seekers  are 
doing  themselves  violence  and  the  admin¬ 
istration  an  uujustice  in  rushing  upon  the 
President  and  his  cabinet  officers,  and  upon 
the  friends  of  these  men,  just  at  this  time. 
Their  importunities  are  not  in  season.  There 
will  be  three  or  four  cabinet  meetings  held 
before  appointments  are  made.  The  first 
selections  will  be  of  the  assistants  to  the  cab¬ 
inet  officers,  then  will  come  the  heads  of  bu¬ 
reaus  and  the  chiefs  of  divisions.  All  this 
will  be  done  before  appointments  are  made  to 
offices  located  throughout  the  country,  except 
where  emergencies  arise — that  is,  to  fill  va¬ 
cancies  already  existing,  or  to  succeed  officers 
who  are  considered  incompetent  or  unfit  for 
the  places  they  occupy. 

Applicants  will  not  be  given  any  advantage 
in  j)usbing  their  claims  just  at  this  time. 
Senators  and  representatives  in  congress  are 
overwhelmed  with  applications,  and  thousands 
of  aspirants  to  political  positions  are  here  al¬ 
ready,  personally  urging  their  merits.  This  is 
not  only  unnecessary,  but  it  is  distasteful,  be¬ 
cause  the  condition  of  affairs  is  not  such  as  to 
warrant  action.  These  statements  are  not  to 
be  construed  that  the  present  administration 
intends  to  protect  democrats  in  office  to  the  dis¬ 
paragement  of  repul)licans,  nor  should  they 
be  construed  to  mean  that  the  general  service 
of  the  government  will  not  need  to  be  reor¬ 
ganized.  It  is  simply  to  indicate  that  there 
should  not  be  a  great  haste  on  the  part  of  of¬ 
fice-seekers,  and  that  the  time  for  importuni¬ 
ties  will  not  come  for  two  or  three  weeks. — 
Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal. 

AVashington,  March  6. — Thousands  of  of¬ 
fice-seekers  are  here  working  for  places  in  the 
government  service  throughout  the  country, 
while  hundreds  of  thousands  have  sent  their 
applications  to  men  in  congress,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  fact  that  appointments  outside  of  the 
managerial  positions  in  the  departments  will 
not  be  made  under  some  weeks,  except  in  a  few 
instances. — Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal. 

Washington,  March  7. — Every  hour  or  two 
during  all  of  to-day  a  messenger  entered  Pri¬ 


vate  Secretary  Halford’s  room,  and,  throwing 
his  long  arms  around  a  great  pile  of  applica¬ 
tions  for  office,  lugged  them  into  an  adjoining 
joom,  where  they  were  piled  upon  a  dtsk  for 
classification  and  pigeon-holing.  Several  bun¬ 
dles  of  these  papers  were  received  between  9 
and  6  o’clock.  The  stream  of  office-seekers 
was  continuous  from  the  moment  the  outer 
doors  were  opened  until  they  were  closed. — 
Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal. 

The  Indiana  republicans  in  Washington 
have  been  holding  meetings  for  the  last  two 
or  three  days,  and  have  been  engaged  in  the 
serious  matter  of  distributing  the  patronage 
of  the  administration. — Special, Cincinnati  Com¬ 
mercial- Gazette,  March  7. 

The  demand  for  office,  which  began  long 
before  President  Harrison  was  inaugurated, 
is  now  a  scramble.  Almost  every  man  who 
carried  a  torch  or  escorted  a  delegation  of 
visitors  during  the  campaign,  is  making  a 
pull  for  an  office. — Indianapolis  News,  hid., 
March  7. 


Senator  Manderson,  of  Nebraska,  says  the 
list  of  applicants  from  that  state  would  be  “a 
directory  of  the  state.” — Evening  Post,  March  8. 

Senator  Ingaels  says  that  all  the  offices  in 
the  gift  of  the  administration  would  be  in¬ 
sufficient  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  candi¬ 
dates  from  Kansas. — Evening  Post,  March  8. 

The  present  rush  of  office-seekers  in  Wash¬ 
ington  is  not  a  healthy  nor  a  hopeful  sign,  nor 
a  gratifying  sight.  It  is  not  in  accordance 
with  the  better  sentiment  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  we  have  no  doubt  it  is  a  disagree¬ 
able  experience  to  the  President  and  his  exec¬ 
utive  assistants.  —  Indianapolis  Journcd,  Rep., 
March  8. 


The  two  broad  tables  occupied  by  the  Pres¬ 
ident’s  stenographers  were  completely  covered 
with  letters  fresh  from  office-seeking  consti¬ 
tuents,  and  the  work  of  classifying  applica¬ 
tion,  has  been  thorounbly  begun. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  Washington  Dispatch,  March  8. 

Washington,  March  8.  —  Representative 
Cannon  did  some  good,  solid  work  this  morn¬ 
ing  in  behalf  of  .James  Clark,  of  Mattoon,  Ill. 
Mr.  Clark  wants  to  be  second  Auditor,  and 
Mr.  Cannon  sees  no  reason  why  he  should  not 
secure  the  appointmetit.  The  Illinois  delega¬ 
tion  has  indorsed  Mr.  Clark  in  a  most  thor¬ 
ough  and  decided  manner,  and  they  are  satis¬ 
fied  that  his  chances  are  as  good  as  any  one 
else’s.  One  of  the  Illinois  senators  was  ex¬ 
tremely  frank  with  the  President  on  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  state  patronage.  When  it  was  sug¬ 
gested  that  the  delegation  give  the  President  a 
list  of  what  they  wanted,  the  senator  said  : 
“  W  ould  it  not  be  better,  Mr.  President,  if  you 
were  to  give  us  a  list  of  what  you  think  we 
ought  to  have?” 

Congres.sman  Bynum  returned  from  AVash- 
ington  Tuesday.  He  is  in  good  health  and 
spirits,  and  takes  a  sanguine  view  of  the  polit¬ 
ical  future.  He  says  that  W’ashington  has 
never  seen  such  a  rush  of  hungry  place-seekers 
as  now  crowd  the  city,  and  that  the  new  Pres¬ 
ident  will  find  himself  unable  to  satisfy  one- 
twelfth  of  the  greedy  patriots  who  are  besieg¬ 
ing  him,  even  if  he  makes  a  clean  sweep. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  8. 

Every  republican  member  of  Congress,  sen¬ 
ator  and  member-elect  is  suffering  from  a  visi¬ 
tation  of  a  good  portion  of  the  male  popula¬ 
tion  of  bis  district.  They  get  scarcely  time 
enough  to  eat  their  meals,  are  hustled  out  of 
bed  at  an  early  hour,  and  it  is  late  at  night, 
usually,  before  they  retire.  Several  have  been 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


7 


obliged  to  follow  the  example  of  Mr.  Wade,  of 
Missouri,  and  change  their  quarters,  keeping 
their  new  address  secret.  On  Wednesday 
morning  the  constituents  of  Mr.  Wade  began 
to  ring  his  front-door  bell  at  a  quarter  of  6. 
When  he  rose,  at  half  past  8,  the  parlor  was 
full  of  people  with  petitions  to  be  signed  and 
with  requests  that  he  accompany  them  to  the 
White  House  or  to  some  of  the  departments. 
His  breakfast  hour,  his  lunch  hour  and  the 
time  for  dinner  passed  without  his  having 
time  to  eat.  The  next  day  he  moved,  and 
since  then  no  one  has  been  able  to  discover  his 
habitation.  —  Indianapolis  Journal  Washington 
Dispatch,  March  9. 


While  the  majority  of  Indianians  have  re¬ 
turned  home,  there  are  still  a  large  number 
here,  vigorously  pushing  their  claims  for  posi¬ 
tions.  It  is  almost  certain  that  John  C.  New 
will  go  to  Austria  and  ex-Governor  Porter  to 
Rome.  J.  N.  Huston,  chairman  of  the  Indi¬ 
ana  republican  state  committee,  has  gone 
home  to  arrange  his  business  to  accept  the  po¬ 
sition  of  treasurer  of  the  United  States.  Dan 
Ransdell,  of  Indianapolis,  who  lost  an  arm 
while  serving  in  General  Harrison’s  regiment, 
will  be  marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
It  is  said  that  Mr.  Huston  will  have  charge  of 
the  appointment  of  postmasters  and  railway 
mail  clerks  in  the  Indiana  districts  represented 
by  democratic  congressmen,  and  that  Sergeant 
McKinney,  of  Indianapolis,  will  be  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  railway  postal  service  for  the 
fifth  division,  which  embraces  the  states  of 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana  and  Tennessee.  C. 
Bradford,  of  Indianapolis,  is  making  a  vigor¬ 
ous  fight  for  commissioner  of  patents,  but  it  is 
understood  that  office  will  go  to  Iowa.  Col. 
Dudley  is  doing  his  best  to  secure  positions  for 
Indianians.  He  does  not  desire  any  position 
at  the  hands  of  the  administration.  He  is 
building  up  a  valuable  business  as  an  attor¬ 
ney,  and  proposes  to  stick  to  it. — Commercial- 
Gazette  Washington  Special,  March  9. 


Washingtox,  March  11. — General  Browne, 
to-day,  presented  the  application  of  Col.  W. 
A.  Cullen,  of  Eushville,  for  the  position  of 
Utah  Commissioner  ;  Gen.  Silas  Colgrove,  of 
Winchester,  Deputy  Commissioner  of  Pen¬ 
sions;  D.  C.  Binkley,  of  Wayne  county,  for 
Third  Auditor  of  the  Treasury  ;  Mr.  Charles 
W.  Stivers,  editor  of  the  Herald,  at  Liberty,  is 
largely  indorsed  for  the  same  position.  His 
papers  are  also  in  the  hands  of  the  President. 

L.  H.  Mitchell,  of  Henry  county,  has  had  his 
application  for  Second  Comptroller  of  the 
Treasury  filed. 

It  is  not  probable  that  a  new  postmaster  will 
be  appointed  at  Muncie  till  the  present  com¬ 
mission  expires.  It  will  be  the  policy  of  the 
administration,  in  cases  of  that  character,  to 
permit  the  incumbent  to  serve  out  his  time, 
unless  good  and  sufficient  reasons  are  given 
showing  why  he  should  be  removed. 

General  Browne  has  recommended  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  the  following  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters  for  the  sixth  congressional  district : 

Edward  R.  Pugh,  Windsor;  Lewis  L.  Per- 
dieu,  Cowan  ;  William  R.  Fizer,'Rural ;  James 
W.  Hannan,  New  Corner  ;  Isaac  N.  Chenoweth, 
Middleton;  William  K.  Boyd, Moorland  ;  John 

M.  Neff,  Eaton  ;  Alonzo  Geyer,  Arlington  ;  T. 
M.  Goff,  DeSoto  ;  F.  W.  Owens,  Clark  ;  Norman 
E.  Black,  Selma  ;  Leo  M.  Harlan,  Whitewater ; 
Nancy  Pierce,  Modoc;  Edward  C.  Charles, 
Carthage;  Philip  K.  May,  Wilkinson  ;  W.  H. 
O.  Goldsmith,  New  Salem  ;  Noah  McCormick, 
Cadiz;  J.  F.  Camplin,  Lewisville;  Addison 
St.  Myer,  Williamsburg;  Fielder  E.  Olvey, 
Economy ;  Emanuel  Zimmerman,  Emmets- 
ville;  Lindley  M.  Thornburg,  Farmland; 
Leonidas  R.  Allison,  Greensboro  ;  C.  C.  Coffin, 
Kennards;  Charles  S.  Unthank,  Webster; 
Austin  K.  Smith,  Milroy  ;  Elizabeth  Zuenger, 


Falmouth;  Ira  E.  Snodgrass,  Reed. — Special 
to  the  Indianapolis  Joiurnal. 

Greencastle,  March  12. —  There  are  an 
even  half  dozen  candidates  for  the  postoffice 
in  this  city,  and  all  are  equally  confident  of 
securing  the  prize.  The  names  include  L.  P. 
Chapin,  J,  McD.  Hays,  Joseph  B.  Sellers,  Jon¬ 
athan  Birch,  A.  A.  Smith,  of  the  Times,  and 
Mrs.  Jeannette  Preston  Lane.  It  has  been  de¬ 
cided  by  the  candidates  to  hold  no  election. 
Chairman  Huston,  of  the  slate  committee, 
having  advised  against  it  in  a  circular  ad¬ 
dressed  to  all  aspirants  in  this  state.  The 
candidates,  therefore,  have  concluded  to  rely 
upon  petitions  and  letters  from  their  friends. 
The  commission  of  the  retiring  postmaster 
will  expire  on  the  27th  inst. — Special  to  the 
Indianapolis  News. 

The  impression  has  become  general  that 
Mr.  New  will  control  the  distribution  of  pat¬ 
ronage  in  Indiana,  and  in  consequence  he  is 
besieged  continually  by  office-seekers.  A 
dozen  may  be  seen  about  his  office  during  any 
half  hour  of  the  day. 

The  unexpected  appointment  of  S.  N.  Cham¬ 
bers  as  district  attorney  is  said  to  be  due 
mainly  to  his  intimate  association  with  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison  as  an  opposing  counsel  in  the 
trial  of  the  Wise  will  case  at  Sullivan  during 
the  six  weeks  preceding  the  nomination  at 
(Jhicago.  He  impressed  General  Harrison  at 
that  time  as  possessing  uncommon  ability  as 
a  lawyer,  and  as  Chambers  was  one  of  the 
most  devoted  supporters  of  Harrison,  he  was 
kept  in  mind  for  a  good  appointment. — Indi- 
anapolis  News,  March  13. 


Washington,  March  14. — The  Illinois  del¬ 
egation  captured  nothing  but  the  Danish  mis 
sion  in  the  first  charge,  but  they  are  going  to 
make  another,  and  are  girding  themselves  for 
the  struggle.  If  they  don’t  get  something  bet¬ 
ter,  then  they  will  believe  their  failure  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  Illinois  supported  Gresham  at 
the  Chicago  convention.  They  are  asserting 
this  with  some  positiveness  now,  but  Cullom 
warns  them  to  hold  their  tongues  and  try 
again. — Specicd  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal. 

Washington,  March  14. — General  Browne 
jilaced  before  Secretary  Blaine,  to-day,  recom¬ 
mendations  for  a  number  of  appointments  to 
to  consular  positions.  Among  them  were  Dr. 
George  W.  Thompson  and  George  W.  Patchell, 
of  Union  City,  for  consuls  to  Toronto,  Canada, 
and  Hong  Kong,  China,  respectively  ;  Dr. 
Hamilton,  of  Connersville,  consul  to  South 
America,  and  Thos.  B.  Reddin,  New  Castle,  a 
European  mission. — Special  to  the  Indianapolis 
Journal. 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  ad¬ 
dresses  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso¬ 
ciation,  January  23, 1889: 

Now,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  say  to  the 
members  of  this  association  that  this  partisan 
method  of  appointing  officials  is  unbusiness¬ 
like  and  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the 
people.  I  shall  not  call  it  the  “  spoils  system,” 
or  its  advocates  “spoilsmen”;  for,  while  it  is 
true  that  a  painfully  large  number  of  office- 
seekers  do  think  much  more  of  their  own 
private  gain  than  of  the  public  weal,  it  is 
equally  true  that  many  persons  of  honesty  and 
intelligence  are  as  much  opposed  to  the  system 
of  civil  service  examinations  as  others  are  to 
the  system  of  party  control.  “Spoils”  is  an 
offensive  word  when  used  by  the  opponents  of 
the  latter  system  ;  and  I  doubt  whether  we 
can  so  easily  convert  its  adherents  to  our  views 


by  calling  them  names  and  casting  doubts 
upon  their  honesty  of  purpose  as  by  temper¬ 
ate  and  rational  argument.  I  would  say,  then, 
to  the  advocates  of  rotation  in  office,  that  I 
believe  the  system  is  contrary  to  business 
principles,  and  is  therefore  not  the  system  by 
which  the  affairs  of  the  nation  may  be  most 
economically  and  efficiently  administered. 
Let  me  illustrate.  If  I  wish  to  have  a  pair  of 
shoes  made,  what  kind  of  man  do  I  employ  to 
make  them?  If  I  have  a  choice  between  two 
men,  one  of  whom  is  a  trained  shoe-maker,  but 
happens  to  differ  with  me  on  the  tariff’,  the 
other  a  tailor,  who,  though  ignorant  of  the 
cobbler’s  art,  belongs  to  my  political  party; 
which  of  the  two  should  I  select  ?  Is  not  the 
answer  to  such  a  question  self-evident  ?  Or, 
suppose  I  were  ill,  and  in  urgent  need  of  med¬ 
ical  attendance ;  should  I  call  in  a  skilled 
physician,  in  spite  of  his  differing  with  me  in 
politics,  or  an  indifferent  lawyei  who  belonged 
to  my  own  party?  To  ask  the  question  is  to 
answer  it.  And  again^ — I  ask  the  business 
men  in  this  audience:  Would  you  deposit 
your  money  in  a  bank,  the  president,  directors, 
cashier  and  tellers  of  which  were  ejected  every 
four  years  and  replaced  by  men  unacquainted 
with  the  business  of  banking?  Would  you 
buy  stock  in  a  railway  company,  or  risk  your 
lives  on  its  trains,  if  every  four  years  a  new 
president  of  the  company  were  to  discharge  all 
the  engineers,  firemen,  hrakemen,  switchmen, 
conductors  and  train  dispatchers,  and  replace 
them  by  his  own  political  partisans,  without 
regard  to  their  kno  a  ledge  of  the  steam-engine? 

The  answer  to  all  these  questions  being  so 
exceedingly  plain,  why  is  it  that  the  Ameri¬ 
can  people,  who,  surely,  have  never  been  ac¬ 
cused  of  a  lack  of  common  sense  and  practical 
sagacity,  should  cling  so  tenaciously  to  a  sys¬ 
tem  that  is  RJipractical  and  fjiefficient  to  the 
last  degree?  Is  it  because  the  people  regard 
the  government  of  sixty  millions  of  men  a 
simple  matter — a  matter  simpler  than  the 
making  of  a  pair  of  shoes,  the  conduct  of  a 
bank,  or  the  management  of  a  railway  ?  Par¬ 
adoxical  as  it  may  seem,  I  believe  there  is 
such  a  belief  among  the  people.  Vague  and 
undefined  as  it  is,  there  does  exist  a  general 
feeling  that,  while  a  question  of  law  or  of 
medicine,  of  shoe-making  or  of  carpentering, 
of  painting  or  of  music,  does  require  special 
knowledge  and  training,  a  question  of  politics, 
on  the  contrary,  requires  no  training  at  all, 
but  can  be  settled  off-hand  by  any  male  indi¬ 
vidual  that  has  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one. 
— From  the  Address  of  Prof.  B.  H.  Dabney  of  In¬ 
diana  University. 


The  executive  must,  of  necessity  leave  to 
others  what  the  constitution  and  the  law  con¬ 
templated  should  be  done  by  himself.  What 
more  natural  course,  under  the  circumstances, 
can  be  conceived  than  to  appoint  men  recom¬ 
mended  by  the  representatives  in  congress 
who  are  in  political  sympathy  with  the  ad¬ 
ministration  ?  And  when  we  consider  the 
weakness  of  human  nature,  what  can  be  more 
natural  than  that  the  senator  or  representative 
should  seek  to  reward  his  friends  and  strengthen 
h's  hold  upon  his  own  place  by  recommending 
men  for  appointment  who  have  been  or  can  be 
most  useful  to  himself?  The  good  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  service  is  lost  sight  of  in  the  scramble  for 
office,  or  for  recommendation  to  office.  Claims 
for  party  service,  or,  worse  yet,  for  personal 
service,  are  apt  to  outweigh  every  other  con¬ 
sideration.  Nor  are  the  men  engaged  in  the 
scramble  so  much  to  be  blamed.  It  is  the  in¬ 
evitable  result  of  a  vicious  custom,  which 
not  only  serves  the  corrupt  purposes  of  bad 
men,  but  which  serves  the  bad  purpose  of 
corrupting  good  men.  If  not  remedied  it  will 
continue  to  corrupt  more  good  men,  until  it 
shatters  the  foundations  of  our  government. 

But  I  apprehend  no  such  result.  The  re¬ 
form  has  already  begun  and  the  support  of 


8 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


reform  laws  has  already  been  given  it  by  con¬ 
gress  and  by  some  state  legislatures.  So  far 
these  laws  have  adopted  but  one  plan  as  a 
substitute  for  the  vicious  system  fostered  by 
custom  in  the  absence  of  any  fixed  rules. 
This  plan  contemplates  competitive  examina¬ 
tions  among  all  applicants  for  position  in 
certain  classes  of  the  civil  service.  Such  an 
examination  conducted  under  rules  framed  by 
a  commission  whose  members  are  appointed  for 
their  known  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  re¬ 
form,  may  or  may  not  be  productive  of  the 
best  possible  results.  Human  invention  has 
never  yet  attained  perfection,  and  a  better 
system  than  that  of  competitive  examinations 
may  be  suggested  ;  but  in  the  absence  of  any¬ 
thing  better,  w'e  claim  for  the  system  of  com¬ 
petitive  examinations  a  fair,  impartial  and 
honest  trial.  This,  owing  to  the  rancor  of 
party  spirit  and  the  clamor  of  spoilsmen,  the 
system  has  never  had.  We  claim  this  trial 
because  the  busy  working  population  of  the 
country,  engrossed  by  private  cares,  have  found 
by  experience  that  they  in  their  capacity  of 
electors  have  no  means  of  competing  with 
those  who  make  a  business  of  politics,  and  be¬ 
cause  the  vast  machinery  of  government  can 
not  be  managed  in  detail  by  any  executive, 
however  able;  and  finally  because  it  brings  to 
the  aid  of  the  executive  a  system.  No  other 
system  prevails,  unle.ss  a  vicious  custom  may 
be  called  a  system.  None  other  is  offered,  and 
without  system  is  chaos. 

The  only  objections  to  the  honest  trial  of 
the  reform  come,  as  in  all  other  reforms,  from 
those  who  are  most  injured  by  the  prevailing 
evil.  The  men  who  manipulate  conventions, 
or  who  upon  election  days  manage  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  assessments  to  the  blocks  of  five,  or 
the  men  who  profit  by  their  labors,  or  who 
hope  to  do  so,  thus  ruining  their  manhood, 
stifling  their  honor,  destroying  their  liberty, 
and  wrecking  the  institutions  of  their  govern¬ 
ment,  are  the  first  to  sneer  at  any  proposed 
reform  of  their  methods.  For  it  is  a  reform 
even  of  these  methods.  Take  away  the  hope 
of  reward  for  party  service  and  much  of  the 
rancor  and  bitterness  of  party  spirit  will  also 
disappear.  And  were  it  not  for  a  bitter  party 
spirit  prevailing,  honest  men  would  look  with 
horror  upon  methods  which  they  now  behold 
with  more  or  less  equanimity,  tempered  with 
the  knowledge  whether  it  is  one  party  or  the 
other  which  is  to  profit  by  a  j)artioular  bit  of 
rascality.  Good  men,  not  caring  of  engage  in 
these  methods  nor  to  profit  by  them,  are  led 
into  a  feeling  of  hostility  to  the  reform  of 
them  by  the  outcry  made  by  the  so-called 
practical  politicians.  Is  there  anything  in 
this  outcry? 

The  worst  that  has  been  said  of  the  proposed 
reform  is  that  it  creates  a  class  of  office  hold¬ 
ers,  and  is,  therefore,  hostile  to  American  cus¬ 
toms.  Suppose  it  does,  by  a  system  of  com¬ 
petitive  examinations,  choose  the  best  among 
all  applicants,  and  retain  them  during  good 
behavior.  Is  it  less  American  to  have  the 
public  service  filled  by  aclassof  well-behaved, 
competent  employes,  than  it  is  to  have  it  filled 
by  a  class  who  have  political  influence,  based 
upon  services  rendered  to  some  boss  of  prima¬ 
ries?  If  it  is,  then  God  save  the  mark!  But 
in  a  country  of  free  schools,  where  education 
is  free  to  every  man’s  child,  rich  or  poor,  an 
examination  based  upon  educational  qualifi¬ 
cations,  open  to  all  comers,  for  the  filling  of 
all  vacancies,  can  never  create  a  class.  It  is 
only  under  such  conditions  that  the  son  of  the 
mechanic  can  successfully  compete  with  the 
son  of  the  millionaire,  or  that  the  modest, 
able  and  honest  man  can  compete  successfully 
with  the  bold,  unscrupulous  trickster.  In  fact, 
it  is  intended  to  abolish  a  class  which  has 
proudly  designated  its  members  “  practical 
politicians.”  And  the  outcry  made  by  them 
at  the  small  measure  of  success  already  at¬ 
tained  by  the  reform  leads  us  to  hope  that 


further  progress  in  the  same  course  will  lead 
to  ultimate  and  complete  success.  This  is  the 
irrepressible  conflict,  the  old  war  never  ending 
between  progress  and  reaction. — From  the  Ad¬ 
dress  of  A,  A.  McKain,  of  Indianapolis. 

There  is  no  political  corruption  that  does 
not  demand  the  spoils  system  as  its  condition. 
It  subverts  the  will  of  the  nation’s  founders. 
It  is  a  stumbling  block  to  self-government.  It 
is  the  incarnation  of  venal  selfishness,  whose 
end  is  destruction.  It  breeds  the  seeds  of 
weakness  and  disintegration.  *  •»  *  But  the 
reform  movement  must  be  one  in  party  lines  ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  republican  reformer  mu.«t 
remain  in  republican  ranks,  and  the  demo¬ 
cratic  reformer  must  remain  in  democratic 
ranks.  In  the  mad  rush  for  office,  the  friend 
of  reform  must  stand  firm  just  where  he  is. 
Let  him  refuse  to  be  carried  along  with  the 
crowd.  A  few  sturdy  men  may  often  avert  a 
panic,  and  a  few  sturdy  patriots  may  in  this 
case  avert  danger  to  their  nation.  Emerson 
commends  the  man  that  has  strength  to  turn 
and  face  his  party. 

But  if  he  goes  off  and  founds  a  new  party 
with  the  few  of  his  belief,  he  consents  to  the 
elimination  of  his  own  influence.  It  is  the 
spirit  of  the  pious  man  that  withdraws  to  the 
cloister,  because  the  world  is  so  evil.  It  indi 
cates  either  this  instability  of  courage,  or  a 
consciousness  of  superior  goodness.  It  means 
the  voluntary  choosing  of  the  weakest  fighting 
ground.  It  emasculates  effort.  It  shoots 
overhead,  short  or  wide,  any  way  so  as  not  to 
hit  the  mark.  The  third  party,  in  the  major¬ 
ity  of  instances,  is  merely  giving  aw'ay  the 
case,  as  the  lawyers  say.  There  may  be  re¬ 
forms  that  succeed  through  third  parties,  but 
they  do  not  include  the  civil  service  cause. — 
From  the  Address  of  C.  M.  Lane,  Editor,  Richmond 
Sunday  RerjisUr. 


The  first  condition  which  determines  what 
the  teachers  in  all  grades  of  schools  can  do  to¬ 
wards  laying  bare  the  ugly  features  of  the 
spoils  system  is  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
civil  service  question.  This  is  illuminated 
from  two  sources.  The  one  is  acquaintance 
with  our  history  and  the  workings  of  our  gov¬ 
ernment.  The  other,  acquaintance  with  the 
history  of  the  civil  service  in  this  country, 
England,  Germany  and  other  countries  of 
Europe.  •  *  »  As  far  as  my  acquaintance 
with  school  histories  goes,  not  a  single  one 
contains  even  a  hint  at  the  system  of  federal 
appointments  *  *  and  not  a  word  about 
the  beginnings  of  civil  service  reform  which 
have  tnken  place  in  the  last  twenty  years.  *  * 
The  early  Romans  put  betrayers  of  public 
trusts  to  death,  and  a  lapse  of  2200  years  does 
not  at  all  disprove  that  this  or  some  othersevere 
fate  can  be  safely  foregone  in  this  country.  *  * 
We  may  as  well  accept  the  fact  that  we  are 
under  the  same  laws  that  govern  older  and 
more  populous  countries.  What  is  hurtful  to 
them  is  dangerous  to  us.  *  *  *  Our  atten¬ 
tion  should  rest  on  the  fact  that  those  features 
of  our  constitution  and  laws  which  were  most 
severely  modeled  after  old-world  examples 
and  most  slowly  modified  away  from  these 
types  have  been  most  satisfactory  and  most 
efficient.  *  * 

On  him  [the  teacher]  devolves  in  part  the 
assertion  of  a  right  of  which  the  consumma¬ 
tion  is  most  devoutly  to  be  wished — the  asser¬ 
tion  of  the  right  of  the  scholar  to  take  part  in 
politics.  The  campaign  of  1884  emphasized  a 
fact  which  is  properly  to  be  considered  one  of 
the  anomalies  of  our  political  system.  Os¬ 
tensibly  our  political  institutions  are  founded 
on  a  basis  of  intelligence  and  education.  But 
among  nations  laying  claim  to  culture  and 
high  civilization  we  stand  out  in  bold  con¬ 
trast  in  the  little  consideration  we  accord  to 
the  man  of  letters  in  the  management  of  our 
political  affairs.  *  *  In  1884  the  partisan 


press  of  one  side  was  filled  with  epithets  and 
denunciations,  mostly  aimed  at  the  liberal 
scholar  and  man  of  letters  in  politics.  He 
was  a  “political  dude,”  a  “Miss  Nancy,”  a 
“Howadji,”  a  “holier-than-thou”  and  politi¬ 
cal  pharisee.  English  was  not  fluent  enough 
to  furnish  billingsgate  with  which  to  smirch 
his  name;  the  long  forgotten  jabber  of  a  de¬ 
funct  Indian  tribe  was  resurrected  to  call  him 
a  “mugwump.”  *  ®  But  the  tide  is  again 
on  the  rise.  The  same  political  party  which 
delved  into  archaeology  to  find  terms  of  re¬ 
proach  in  1884,  in  1888,  chastened  by  a  defeat 
to,  which  these  scholarly  voters  had  undoubt¬ 
edly  contributed  no  small  share,  used  the 
terms  “  mugwump,”  “dude,”  and  “ pharisee  ” 
withdiminished  zest  and  zeal, quickened  by  the 
inward  consciousness  that  the  power  of  the  in¬ 
dependent  voter  had  been  greatly  underesti¬ 
mated.  As  thescholar’s  end  of  the  beam  begins 
slowly  to  ascend,  the  so-called  “  practical  ”  de¬ 
tractor’s  end — the  end  weighed  down  by  those 
who  scoff’ at  any  considerations,  except  those  of 
immediate  personal  reward  -  begins  to  descend 
toward  the  Avemus  of  the  more  crass  and  bold 
of  the  class— the  state’s  prison.  In  Ohio,  in 
Illinois,  and  in  our  own  commonwealth  a  few 
of  the  most  practical  of  the  direct  benefit  school 
of  statesmen  and  publicists — those  who  wish  to 
stretch  out  their  hands  and  grasp  the  apples  of 
success  and  rewards,  without  being  troubled 
hy  the  formalities  of  law  were  condemned  by 
juries  of  their  fellow-citizens  to  retire  from 
active  handling  of  the  political  reins  to  the 
privacy  of  prison  life,  or  to  an  enforced  sur¬ 
render  of  their  leadership. 

The  unscrupulous  chevaliers  d’industne  who 
keep  up  party  fences  and  haul  sand  for  con¬ 
gressional  and  other  candidates  have  only 
learned  the  alphabetof  the  scholar’s  influence. 
*  *  It  is  the  duty  of  the  upper  fourth  of 
political  society  to  assert  itself  and  demand 
that  it  be  not  deprived  of  its  vote  and  its 
proper  influence.  Of  this  fourth  the  teacher 
is  a  considerable  strand.  Among  his  secondary 
duties  none  stand  higher  than  that  which  de¬ 
mands  that  he  make  himself  felt  as  a  factor 
in  politics.  The  teacher  can  not  safely  join 
the  scramble  for  office.  But  a  judicious  and 
dignified  exercise  of  political  functions  in  no 
wise  detracts  from  his  office  and  raises  him  to 
his  true  position  as  a  factor  in  public  affairs. 
—From  the  Address  of  Prof.  S.  S.  Parr,  of  DePauw 
University. 

The  democratic  party  is  again  master  of 
the  situation.  It  has  absolute  control  of  both 
branches  of  the  state  legislature.  Victory 
brings  power,  and  power  brings  responsibility 
to  the  people  who  conferred  it.  The  eyes  of 
the  people  are  upon  it.  Will  their  representa¬ 
tives  harken  to  the  popular  demand  for  re¬ 
form,  or  perpetuate  the  system  that  has  given 
rise  to  it  ?  Will  they  give  ns  the  wise  and 
beneficent  conception  of  a  democrat,  whose 
bill  entitles  him  to  the  plaudits  of  his  country¬ 
men,  for  the  government  of  our  state  institu¬ 
tions?  Will  they  give  us  non-partisan  boards 
of  control  ?  Will  they  substitute  the  merit 
system  for  the  spoils  system  ?  Vv  ill  they  lift 
our  state  institutions  out  of  the  political  mire? 
Will  they  use  their  power  for  the  benefit  of 
humanity  or  the  aggrandizement  of  party? 
Will  they  relieve  the  burdens  of  the  tax-payer, 
now  that  the  maintenance  of  the  state’s  de¬ 
pendents  of  all  classes,  including  the  inmates 
of  our  jails  and  poor-houses,  involves  an  an¬ 
nual  expenditure  of  nearly  two  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars?  Will  they  belie  the  accusation  of  itsop- 
ponents  that  the  democratic  party  is  a  spoils 
t)arty,  and  by  the  wise  and  beneficent  laws 
they  enart,  prove  to  the  world  that  it  is  ani¬ 
mated  by  the  highest  statesmanship  and  a 
philanthropy  that  shields  the  humblest  of 
God’s  children.— F?om  the  Address  of  Howard 
Briggs,  Editor,  Putnam  Democrat, 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


“  My  brief  experience  at  Washington  has  led  me  often  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an  emphasis  I  do  not  often  use,  that  I  might  be  forever  relieved  of  any  connection 
with  the  distribution  of  public  patronage.  1  covet  for  myself  the  free  and  unpurchased  support  of  my  fellow -citizens,  and  long  to  be  able  to  give  my  time  and 
energy  solely  to  those  public  aftairsthat  legitimately  relate  to  the  honorable  trusts  which  you  have  committed  to  me."— Senator  Benjamin  Harrison. 


VoL.  I,  No.  2. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
•St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advert isemen Is  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indicina. 


“The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously 
begun  under  a  republican  administration, 
should  be  completed  by  the  further  extension 
of  the  reform  system,  already  established  by 
law,  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is 
applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  re¬ 
form  should  be  observed  in  all  executive  ap 
pointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the 
object  of  existing  reform  legislation  should  be 
repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institu¬ 
tions,  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patronage, 
may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided.” — 
Republican  National  Platform,  1S8S. 

“The  law  should  have  the  aid  of  a  friendly 
interpretation,  and  be  faithfully  and  vigor 
Qusly  enforced.  All  appointments  under  it  should 
be  absolutely  free  from  partisan  considerations  and 
influence." — Frotn  President  Harrison’s  Letter  of 
Acceptance. 

“  Heads  of  departments,  bureaus,  and  all 
other  public  officers  having  any  duty  in  con¬ 
nection  therewith,  will  be  expected  to  enforce 
the  civil  service  law  fully  and  without  eva¬ 
sion.” — From  President  Harrison’s  Inaugural  Ad¬ 
dress. 


No  reform  in  the  civil  service  will  be  valu¬ 
able  that  does  not  release  members  of  congress 
from  the  care  and  the  embarrassment  of  ap¬ 
pointments  ;  and  no  boon  so  great  could  be 
conferred  upon  senators  and  representatives  as 
to  relieve  them  from  the  worry,  the  annoyance, 
and  the  responsibility  which  time  and  habii 
have  fixed  upon  them  in  connection  with  the 
dispensing  of  patronage,  all  of  which  belongs, 
under  the  constitution,  to  the  executive.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  evil  of  which  President 
[William  Henry]  Harrison  spoke — the  em¬ 
ployment  of  the  patronage  by  the  executive  to 
influence  legislation — is  far  the  greatest  abuse 
to  which  the  civil  service  has  ever  been  per¬ 
verted.  To  separate  the  two  great  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  government,  to  keep  each  within 
its  own  sphere,  will  be  an  immeasurable  ad¬ 
vantage,  and  will  enhance  the  character  and 
dignity  of  both.  A  non-political  service  will 
be  secured  when  congress  shall  be  left  to  its 
legitimate  functions,  when  the  President  shall 
not  interfere  therewith  by  the  use  of  patron¬ 
age,  and  when  the  responsibility  of  appoint¬ 
ments  shall  rest  solely  with  the  department  to 
which  the  organic  law  of  the  republic  assigns 
it. — Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  vol.  II.,  p.  6.51. — 
.James  G.  Blaine. 


Those  who  receive  this  paper  are  ear¬ 
nestly  urged  to  subscribe  for  it,  if  they 
have  not  already  done  so.  The  price  is  so 
low  as  to  be  within  the  means  of  every  one 
desiring  to  help  the  cause  of  good  govern¬ 
ment.  The  paper  is  not  to  make  money. 
It  mustdepend  for  support  upon  those  who 
sympathize  with  its  objects. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  APRIL,  1889. 


The  President  did  but  his  plain  duty  in 
removing  United  States  Marshal  Hawkins, 
of  this  district.  The  latter  appointed  a 
great  number  of  deputies  at  the  last  elec¬ 
tion,  and  these  made  such  widespread  and 
and  apparently  concerted  arrests  of  repub¬ 
licans  for  no  reasons  or  for  frivolous  rea¬ 
sons,  that  it  can  only  be  put  down  as  a  de¬ 
liberate  plan  to  scare  voters.  No  such 
official  outrage  has  been  committed  in  In¬ 
diana  since  the  war.  That  it  went  wide  of 
the  mark  does  not  excuse  it. 


Not  even  the  democrats  claim  that  the 
removal  of  Postmaster  Jones  was  unde¬ 
served.  Assistant-postmaster  Dodd’s  fare¬ 
well  address  was  to  characterize  the  list  of 
eligibles,  examined  under  him  as  a  member 
of  the  local  board,  as  “a  regular  set  of 
yaps,”  and  advise  that  none  of  them  be 
appointed. 

Before  he  gave  up  his  office.  Postmaster 
Jones  performed  one  act  of  official  death¬ 
bed  repentance  that  deserves  notice.  An¬ 
drew  J.  Wells  had  served  as  a  soldier 
through  the  Mexican  war  and  again 
through  the  rebellion,  four  years.  For  his 
conduct  at  Shiloh  he  was  promoted  to  be 
a  lieutenant.  Afterwards,  for  nineteen 
years  and  one  month  he  was  a  letter  carrier 
of  this  post-office,  working  for  thousands  of 
people, and  to  their  satisfaction,  and  during 
that  time  he  was  once  tardy  two  minutes. 
To  make  a  place  for  a  partisan.  Postmaster 
Jones  discharged  him,  and  since  that  time 
it  has  been  impossible  to  fit  himself  into  a 
place  in  the  community  where  he  could 
support  his  family.  It  was  one  of  a  group 
of  cases  here,  which  illustrates  the  spoils 
system  in  all  its  arrogance  and  calloused 
selfishness.  It  ought  to  be  a  relief  to  Mr. 
Jones  that  before  leaving  his  office  he  had 
(he  local  civil  service  board  certify  Wells 
back  for  re-instatement  under  the  rules, 
and  re-instated  him. 


We  are  informed  by  the  president  of  the 
Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Association 
that  thirty-five  new  members  have  been 
received  since  our  last  issue.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  every  one  who  believes  in  the 
principles  of  this  association  will  join  it. 
There  are  no  dues  or  charges. 


PdSTMASTER  WALLACE  has  repeatedly 
and  emphatically  declared  that  he  means 


50  cents  per  annum. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


to  enforce  the  civil  service  law  in  letter 
and  spirit.  He  is  a  lawyer  and  knows  what 
this  means.  He  has  taken  his  stand  so 
firmly  as  to  the  classified  service  and  has 
kept  it  against  such  heavy  pressure  for  the 
sixteen  days  he  has  been  postmaster  that 
there  is  no  reason  to  expect  him  to  depart 
from  it.  When  once  it  is  understood  that 
there  is  no  underground  road,  that  all  stand 
the  same  chance  in  competition  and  that 
no  one,  whatever  his  politics,  will  be  dis¬ 
missed  without  cause,  there  will  be  no 
further  trouble.  Mr.  Wallace  may  have 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that,  excepting 
hungry  place-hunters,  this  community  will 
sustain  him  in  making  his  office  an  exclu¬ 
sively  business  institution. 

His  reinstatement  of  Mr.  Thompson  as 
assistant  postmaster,  Mr.  Craft  as  head  of 
the  carriers,  and  Mr.  Welling  as  stamp 
clerk,  are  excellent  appointments  and  free 
from  politics.  He  has  [changed  all  of  the 
heads  of  divisions,  but  the  only  one,  Mr. 
Johnson,  the  head  of  the  money-order 
office,  who  might  have  deserved  to  be  kept, 
did  not  want  to  stay.  Since  the  above  was 
written  comes  the  fact  that  Carrier  Ward 
has  been  removed  for  cause  and  Frank 
Rogers,  an  Irish  democrat,  first  on  the  eligible 
list,  has  been  appointed  to  the  vacancy.  And 
later  still  comes  the  Indianapolis  Journal 
with  the  following: 

The  first  man  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  post- 
office  department  at  Washington,  when  the  civil 
service  law  took  effect  in  July,  1883,  was  a  democrat. 
The  first  letter-carrier  appointed  in  Indianapolis, 
under  the  present  administration,  to  succeecl  one 
removed  for  cause,  is  a  democrat.  This  is  an  honest 
construction  and  enforcement  of  the  law.  If  en¬ 
forced  and  observed  in  that  spirit  for  a  few  years  we 
shall  have  a  nou  partisan  civil  service  based  on  the 
idea  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  and  in  which  hon¬ 
esty,  intelligence  and  efficiency  will  be  the  guarantee 
of  retention  and  promotion,  instead  of  party  service 
and  political  influence.  It  is  only  a  question  of  time 
when  the  civil  service  will  have  to  be  established 
and  maintained  on  that  basis.  The  business  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  country  and  the  successful  administration 
of  the  government,  if  not  its  very  preservation,  will 
demand  it.  It  is  as  fair  for  one  party  as  for  the  other, 
and  when  the  working  force  of  the  public  service 
gets  to  be  about  equally  divided  between  the  parties 
and  composed  of  honest  and  efficient  men,  neither 
party  will  feel  like  reviving  the  barbarous  custom  of 
“sweeping  removals”  for  political  cause  alone. 


If  a  man  is  to  be  appointed  upon  the  rec¬ 
ommendation  of  overwhelming  numbers 
of  people  best  able  to  judge,  the  President 
will  have  to  keep  Mr.  Oberly  as  Indian 
commissioner.  The  Indian  Rights  Associ¬ 
ation,  hundreds  strong,  headed  by  Mr.  Her¬ 
bert  Welsh,  have  asked  for  this  reappoint¬ 
ment,  and  hundreds  of  their  friends  have 
joined  them.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Oberly  was 
an  Illinois  politician.  It  is  also  true  that  he 
has,  while  in  office,  gradually  sloughed  oft’ 


10 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CIIRONICT.E. 


his  politics  and  has  become  thoroughly  con’ 
verted  to  the  principles  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form.  The  evidence  is  too  strong  for  this 
to  be  longer  denied.  He  has  become  fa¬ 
miliar  with  Indian  affairs,  and  stands  ready 
to  carry  out  the  civil  service  law  if  the 
President  will  but  extend  it  to  that  service. 
He  has  the  entire  confidence  of  the  men 
who  for  years  have  devoted  their  time  and 
money  to  .the  welfare  of  the  Indians. 
Surely  President  Harrison  will  not  refuse 
this  powerfully  supported  request. 

President  Cleveland  made  an  order^ 
as  the  civil  service  law  provides,  ordering 
the  railway  mail  service  to  be  classified, 
and  fixing  March  15  as  the  date  after  which 
the  entrance  to  the  service  should  be  by 
competition.  This  action  was  final.  The 
law'  provides  for  only  one  act  of  the  Pres- 
dent  in  this  direction,  and  when  that  is 
done  the  service  acted  upon  is  as  much  in 
the  classified  service  as  is  the  Indianapolis 
post-oflfice.  A  President,  having  exercised 
the  one  pow'er  left  him  by  the  law,  may  no 
more  postpone  the  date  than  President 
Arthur  could  have  postponed  the  date  of  the 
taking  effect  of  the  Pendleton  act  beyond 
the  sixty  days  therein  specified.  President 
Harrison  put  off  the  date  named  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  to  May  1.  It  is  said  that  the 
civil  service  commission  reported  that  it 
could  not  get  ready  by  March  15,  yet  the 
commission,  with  two  of  its  three  places  va¬ 
cant,  has  not  been  filled  up,  while  days  and 
weeks  have  been  spent  in  making  appoint¬ 
ments  to  places  that  were  neither  vacant  nor 
in  urgent  need  of  being  made  vacant  Fur¬ 
ther,  the  time  is  being  used  in  turning 
democrats  out  of  the  railway  mail  service 
and  putting  republicans  in  their  places 
with  steadily  increasing  rapidity.  One  of 
these  changes  here  resulted  in  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  a  negro  politician  named  Bagby, 
of  unsavory  reputation,  a  matter  so  urgent 
that  it  w'as  done  by  telegraph. 

The  postponement  was  not  necessary. 
This  service  has  already  a  system  of  checks 
and  examinations  that  would  have  rapidly 
weeded  out  the  incompetent  men.  To 
take  their  places  were  hundreds  of  men  of 
the  highest  skill,  who  had  been  dismissed 
because  of  their  politics,  and  who  could 
have  been  reinstated  under  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  rules  or  a  slight  modification  of  them. 
Not  only  was  the  setting  aside  of  President 
Cleveland’s  order  not  w'arranted  by  the 
law,  but  so  far  as  changes  are  made  in  the 
meantime  on  the  plan  of  the  spoils  sys 
tern,  they  are  distinctively  an  act  of  bad 
faith. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  President  and 
the  civil  service  commission  will  heed  the 
the  very  general  desire  that  the  lists  of 
those  who  have  passed  examination  for  ap¬ 


pointment  in  the  classified  service  shall  be 
made  public.  This  desire  found  unani¬ 
mous  expression  in  one  of  the  resolutions 
of  the  Baltimore  conference,  and  no  one 
anywhere  advocates  a  continuance  of  the 
secrecy  which  never  had  anything  to  jus¬ 
tify  it.  For  thousands  of  years  the  public 
has  enjoyed  watching  competitive  contests, 
whether  physical  or  intellectual.  Further, 
there  is  no  other  umpire  that  can  so  absol¬ 
utely  guarantee  fair  play.  When  a  vacancy 
occurs  in  the  Indianapolis  post-office,  this 
city  will  be  interested  in  know'ing  who 
stands  at  the  top  of  the  list,  and  who  next. 
And,  if  the  top  man  is  not  taken,  the  people 
irrespective  of  party  will  demand  an  excel¬ 
lent  reason  for  it. 

The  new  marshal  of  Indiana,  W.  L.  Dun¬ 
lap  says:  “  My  office  is  not  governed  by 
civil-service  rules,  and  of  course  I  will  not 
only  give  preference  to  republicans,  but 
will  appoint  no  one  from  any  other  political 
party.”  He  has  since  completed  his  clean 
sweep.  His  predecessor  had  eight  depu¬ 
ties,  all  democrats;  he  has  turned  them 
out  and  put  in  eight  republicans.  This  is 
Marshal  Dunlap.  Delegate  Dunlap  in  the 
republican  national  convention  said  in  the 
platform:  “  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 
reform  (civil  service  reform)  should  be  ob 
served  in  all  executive  appointments.”  And 
he  with  his  fellow-delegates  emphasized 
this  by  saying  of  certain  misguided  people, 

“  we  will  not  fail  to  keep  our  pledges  be¬ 
cause  they  have  broken  theirs.” 

REASONABLE  EXPECTATIONS. 

We  have  been  told  that  we  ought  to  be  rea¬ 
sonable  in  our  expectations  of  what  the  pres¬ 
ent  administration  should  accomplish  in 
way  of  civil  service  reform, and  that  to  expect 
more  would  render  us  liable  to  be  charged 
with  captious  faultfinding.  Let  us  havea  fair 
understanding.  The  Civil  Service  Chron¬ 
icle  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  making  it 
appear  that  any  administration,  federal  or 
state,  is  a  success  or  a  failure.  It  is  pub¬ 
lished  solely  to  advance  the  cause  of  better 
administration.  It  happens  that  the  con¬ 
trol  of  it  were  strongly  in  favor  of  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  President  Harrison,  and  along  with 
that  goes  a  feeling  of  personal  respect  and 
and  a  wish  that  he  might  lay  up  for  him¬ 
self  treasure  in  history  by  turning  his  hand 
to  the  only  great  work  now  within  reach 
of  a  President  — the  complete  re  organiza¬ 
tion  of  the  federal  service  and  the  re-build¬ 
ing  of  the  whole  system  of  appointments 
upon  an  absolutely  new  foundation.  This 
involves  shutting  the  door  once  and  for  all 
in  the  face  of  any  and  every  congressman 
coming  for  patronage.  It  involves  leaving 
clerical  positions  to  be  filled  by  impartial 
tests.  It  involves  having  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters,  for  instance,  appointed  after  a  re¬ 
port  by  the  head  of  a  neighboring  large 


office  or  by  an  inspector.  And  it  involves 
the  complete  disappearance,  as  political 
factors  of  weighers,  gaugers,  collectors, 
postmasters  and  the  whole  host  of  federal 
office-holders  except  a  small  number  of 
the  higher  grade.  We  do  not  under-esti¬ 
mate  the  consequences  of  such  an  under¬ 
taking.  It  might  be  that  President  Har¬ 
rison’s  party  would  refuse  him  a  re-nom¬ 
ination,  though  we  do  not  befieve  it.  It 
might  be  that  if  re-nominated  he  would  be 
defeated  at  the  election  by  those  whom  he 
had  refused  to  quarter  upon  the  people ; 
that  also  we  do  not  believe.  But  if  defeat 
in  either  case  was  sure  to  follow,  the  occa¬ 
sion  demands  the  sacrifice.  The  tempor¬ 
ary  loss  would  be  the  ignoble  triumph  of 
a  comparatively  small  section  of  people. 
The  permanent  gain  would  be  the  im¬ 
perishable  fact  of  having  been  right  in  a 
great  struggle.  The  opposite  has  in  it  no 
certainty  of  avoiding  disaster.  The  course 
of  President  Cleveland  with  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  is  a  sign -board  that  may  be  read  miles 
away. 

But  the  President  does  not  feel  an  irre¬ 
sistible  call  to  undertake  this  work.  He 
doubtless  does  not  regard  it  of  equal  im¬ 
portance  with  other  matters.  We  think  he 
is  mistaken,  but  he  is  not  inconsistent  with 
his  past  course.  He  may  bring  about  a 
decided  advancement  in  civil  service  re¬ 
form  in  the  coming  four  years.  If  he  does, 
his  party  will  point  to  it  and  boast  of  it 
and  it  will  have  its  due  weight  with  all 
good  citizens.  We  canjnot  shape  our  course 
by  that.  The  spoils  system  is  the  spoils 
system  under  whatever  President  it  exists 
and  it  is  none  the  less  to  be  opposed  because 
it  appears  under  President  Harrison  in¬ 
stead  of  President  Cleveland.  We  regard 
the  use  of  public  office  as  party  spoil  as  a 
colossal  evil.  It  is  the  greatest  evil  in  any 
manner  connected  with  federal  or  state 
government.  There  is  no  other  evil  that 
in  any  manner  approaches  it  in  viciousness 
and  in  actual  damage  done.  In  the  federal 
service  there  are  now  about  142,000  places. 
The  thirty-five  men  quarreling  over  the 
collectorship  of  customs  of  this  city,  until 
the  appointing  power  is  bewildered,  is  a 
fair  example  of  what  is  now  going  on  over 
the  whole  country.  These  numberless  cir¬ 
cles  of  wrangling  factions  pour  in  upon  the 
President,  and  we  have  the  present  dis¬ 
graceful  spectacle.  Those  who  protest  are 
not  a  handful ;  the  protest  is  almost  universal. 
The  other  side  of  the  question  is  the  des¬ 
potism  in  the  arbitrary  removal  of  over 
100,000  place  holders,  and  in  putting  into 
their  places  a  like  number  of  partisans. 
This  is  “the  danger  to  free  institutions 
which  lurks  in  the  power  of  official  patron¬ 
age,”  referred  to  in  the  republican  plat¬ 
form.  This  danger  is  to  be  fought  on 
every  hand,  in  season  and  out  of  season. 
And  the  struggle  can  not  be  regulated  by 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


11 


what  it  is  thought  reasonable  to  expect  of 
President  Harrison.  For  instance,  he 
chooses  to  let  congressmen  distribute  spoils. 
We  regard  this  as  without  warrant  in  the 
constitution,  and  subversive  of  the  objects 
of  the  constitution.  Beyond  all  this  we 
regard  it  as  the  key  to  the  defences  of  the 
federal  spoils  system.  The  public  business 
will  never  be  done  upon  business  principles 
while  congressmen  practice,  in  their  re¬ 
spective  territories,  feudalism  adapted  to 
modern  times.  We  mean  to  bring  the 
facts  of  this  American  feudalism  to  the 
notice  of  the  people  to  the  fullest  extent 
in  our  power.  And  if  in  persistently  in- 
'sisting  that  the  facts  shall  be  faced  we  hurt, 
now  the  Under-lord,  now  the  Over  lord, 
now  the  Lord-Paramount,  and  now  all  to¬ 
gether,  it  will  be  their  fault  for  causing  the 
facts  to  exist. 


EXAMINATIONS. 

A  teacher  who  is  in  thorough  sympathy 
with  the  need  for  ending  the  system  of  tax¬ 
ing  the  ent're  people  in  order  to  provide 
asylums  for  favorites  is  in  doubt  about  the 
wisdom  of  the  present  plan  of  “com¬ 
petitive  examinations.”  He  says  :  “  I  ana 
a  teacher,  and  therefore  supposed  to  be 
wedded  to  the  examination  system,  but 
the  supposition  in  my  case  is  an  incorrect 
one.  My  observation  is  that  the  system  is 
pernicious.  I  venture  the  assertion  that 
the  teachers  holding  the  highest  grade  of 
license  in  Indiana  to-day  are  not  the  most 
successful  teachers.” 

This  opinion  is  founded  on  two  wrong 
suppositions  ;  first,  that  the  examinations 
to  the  classified  civil  service  are  like  those 
in  schools,  and  second,  that  the  work  done 
by  the  public  employe  is  of  the  same 
character  as  that  required  of  a  good 
teacher.  The  tests  required  of  applicants 
to  the  police  force,  the  fire  department,  the 
health  department,  the  park  department, 
the  sewer  department,  the  prisons,  the  hos¬ 
pitals  of  those  cities  under  this  system 
are  not  entirely,  nor  in  any  considerable 
degree,  literary  tests.  In  some  of  these 
not  the  slightest  literary  test  is  exacted, 
and  yet  they  are  competitive  examinations. 

The  competitive  examinations  for  police¬ 
men  are  for  strength,  for  running,  for  en¬ 
durance.  These  qualities  rank  first,  and, 
in  grading,  are  so  counted.  Then  come 
tests  for  his  knowledge  of  the  city,  and  of 
the  laws,  and  of  his  wit  in  meeting  emer¬ 
gencies  peculiar  to  his  work,  and  these 
have  a  certain  proportion  in  making  up 
his  final  standing,  and,  incidentally,  his 
ability  to  read  and  write  and  compose  sen¬ 
tences  has  to  be  tested.  These,  in  the 
final  estimate,  are  counted  least.  The  ex¬ 
aminations  in  schools  and  for  teachers  are 
entirely  literary  tests.  The  examinations 
for  entrance  to  the  civil  service  are  exam¬ 


inations  bearing  upon  the  work  to  be  done, 
and  are,  therefore,  only  incidentally  liter¬ 
ary,  and,  in  many  cases,  the  literary  test 
has  been  entirely  excluded.  It  must  not 
be  forgotten,  though  it  generally  is,  that 
any  and  all  of  these  examinations  only  ad¬ 
mit  the  successful  applicant  to  a  chance  for 
a  trial.  As  to  comparing  the  work,  we 
think  we  have  only  to  suggest  to  this 
teacher  that  every  day  and  every  hour  in 
the  day  if  he  is  a  successful  teacher,  he  has 
todoorignal  thinking,  to  be  a  creator  as 
a  writer  is  a  creator,  while  the  public  em¬ 
ploye  as  a  rule  has  nothing  but  routine 
work  to  do — to  make  his  hand  quicker 
and  his  eye  more  true. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  AND  PUBLIC 
TEACHERS. 

To  do  the  public  business  well  and 
cheaply,  and  to  avoid  the  serious  disturb¬ 
ance  to  the  business  of  the  country  involved 
in  changing  100,000  employes  and  hiring 
100,000  others,  are  the  phases  of  civil  service 
reform  that  concern  taxpayers.  Whatever 
touches  the  pockets  of  the  people,  always 
commands  the  first  attention ;  but  that  it  is, 
therefore,  of  most  relative  importance  does 
not  at  all  follow.  Happily  there  are  two 
professions,  the  minister  and  the  school 
teacher,  who  aim  to  view  questions  first  as 
they  afiect  the  moral  well-being  of  the 
community.  They  have  a  pressing  and 
peculiar  part  in  the  abolition  of  the  spoils 
system. 

The  moral  degradation  of  slavery  was 
palpable.  It  could  not  be  blinked.  The 
moral  degradation  of  the  spoils  system  is 
not  less.  Like  slavery,  it  walks  hand  in 
hand  with  brutality,  suffering  and  treach¬ 
ery  ;  but  like  a  dry-rot,  it  works  under  the 
surface. 

Consider  the  suffering  experienced  by 
the  families  dependent  upon  the  100,000 
government  employes,  who  work  under 
the  apprehension  that  each  day  may  be  the 
last  of  certain  employment  and  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  search  for  new.  Consider  the 
helplessness  of  thousands  of  the  most  capa¬ 
ble  and  conscientious  wage-workers  when 
compelled  to  seek  new  employment  after 
years  of  routine  in  a  certain  line.  It  is 
not  surprising  that,  in  the  face  of  this,  men 
yield  to  the  temptation  to  do  “base  service” 
for  the  man  who  controls  their  living  in 
this  way.  It  is  now  as  it  was  when  cities 
were  to  be  sacked  for  the  loot ;  all  that  is 
brutal  and  base  in  men  is  supreme  under 
the  knowledge  that  places  are  for  spoil. 
The  past  four  years  have  afforded  a  melan¬ 
choly  spectacle  of  men  eyeing  greedily 
their  neighbors,  and  pressing,  and  lying, 
and  fighting  for  their  places  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  service.  The  coarse  callousness  to 
suffering  that  goes  with  any  degree  of 
following  that  mediaeval  maxim,  “to  the 


victors  belong  the  spoils,”  must  exclude  it 
from  the  practices  of  a  civilized  people. 
It  goes  along  with  mutilating  and  scalping 
the  enemy. 

But  the  suffering  involved  in  this  system 
is  not  the  worst  thing  about  it.  The  treach¬ 
ery,  the  cowardice,  the  servility,  the  dis¬ 
honesty  connected  with  holding  office  un¬ 
der  it,  or  seeking  office  under  it,  lead  to  a 
moral  paresis.  The  people  of  this  country 
would  not  tolerate  the  baseness  of  the  sys¬ 
tem  for  one  moment  were  they  compelled 
to  see  it.  But  the  otherwise  excellent  men, 
who  pass  through  these  bogs  on  the  way 
to  the  consummation  of  their  ambition, 
are  not  fond  of  describing  in  public  places 
the  filth  that  sticks  to  them.  Whose  duty 
is  it  to  do  this  unpleasant  and  unpopular 
work?  We  must  look  first  of  all  to  the 
minister  and  to  the  school  teacher  to  so 
clear  their  vision  of  party  bias  and  party 
passion  as  to  see  the  facts.  It  is  their  duty 
to  cut  away  the  sophistry  and  the  juggling 
with  words  with  which  spoilsmen  seek  to 
hide  the  facts  from  an  indolent  people. 
The  principles  of  this  reform,  the  practical 
workings  of  it  when  tried,  they  must  know 
and  must  tell.  All  this  has  been  shown 
by  Professor  Moncrief  in  another  column, 
and  it  must  convince  the  clergy  of  Indiana 
that  their  duty  does  not  end  with  silent 
hope  for  the  abolition  of  the  spoils  system. 

But  now,  when  the  principles  have  been 
explained  and  the  belief  frankly  stated, 
the  duty  of  the  minister  and  of  the  school 
teacher  ends.  When  the  practical  applica¬ 
tion  of  these  principles  comes  and  the  mat¬ 
ter  is  brought  for  decision  before  the  tribu¬ 
nal  of  public  opinion,  it  remains  for  these 
men  to  decide  whether  they  will  watch  the 
contest  from  afar  or  go  down  into  the  battle. 
Each  man  must  decide  whether  his  personal 
tastes  or  his  peculiar  place  in  the  commu¬ 
nity  make  it  best  for  him  to  enter  into  a 
struggle  where  the  passions  of  men  are  so 
fierce  and  unbridled.  This  work  has  to  be 
done  by  somebody ;  but  volunteers  are 
generally  to  be  found,  and  in  this,  as  in 
other  memorable  struggles,  there  are  dif¬ 
ferent  uses  for  different  men.  It  has  seemed 
necessary  for  the  civil  service  reform  asso¬ 
ciation  of  this  state,  during  its  brief  exis¬ 
tence,  to  war  not  a  little  ;  but  it  has  room 
for  the  men  of  peace  ;  it  understands  their 
position  and  it  asks  for  their  co-operation. 


There  is,  we  believe,  but  one  rule  in  this  matter, 
and  that  is  for  the  classified  service  to  be  held  up  to 
the  law  without  a  single  exception,  and  whenever  a 
man  is  discharged  from  it  the  cause  to  be  made 
known,  and  moreover  that  cause  to  be  so  palpable  as 
to  make  an  end  of  argument. 

This  from  the  Indianapolis  News  is  an 
example  of  the  clearness  and  steadiness 
with  which  for  years  it  has  maintained  the 
sound  construction  of  the  civil  service  law 
and  pointed  out  the  ways  in  which  alone  it 
can  be  made  of  effect. 


12 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  A  RAILWAY 
MAIL  CLERK. 

The  way  of  the  well-doer  is  at  least  some¬ 
times  hard.  W.  H.  Craft  had  been  employed 
in  the  railway  mail  service  as  a  substitute  for 
two  years  when  President  Cleveland  came  in. 
A  substitute  has  no  regular  run,  but  has  to 
depend  upon  temporarily  getting  the  places  of 
regular  clerks  who  for  some  reason  do  not  go 
out.  Craft  was  a  republican,  but  had  no  po¬ 
litical  influence,  and  got  no  promotion.  It  is 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  he  became  a  skilled 
and  efficient  railway  mail  clerk.  In  1885, 
under  the  new  regime,  he  was  not  employed 
for  seven  months,  but  finally  the  chief  clerk 
at  Indianapolis  asked  him  to  take  work  again, 
saying  that  many  men  had  been  discharged 
and  the  service  was  weak.  He  went  back  and 
took  the  work  of  a  substitute.  He  has  run  on 
the  Pittsburgh  and  St.  Louis,  the  Chicago  and 
Cincinnati,  and  other  heavy  lines  running 
through  Indianapolis,  and  has  filled  every  po¬ 
sition  from  third  man  down.  In  1888  he  had 
three  examinations,  standing  99.21,  99.29  and 
99.45.  In  one  examination  he  threw  1,376 
cards  into  149  boxes,  and  made  11  errors.  In 
another  he  threw  700  cards  into  127  boxes, 
and  made  5  errors.  In  another  he  threw  1,971 
cards  into  150  boxes,  and  made  11  errors. 
Running  upon  so  many  different  lines,  he 
learned  an  unusual  number  of  schemes.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  his  undoubted  efficiency,  new  men 
came  into  the  service  and  were  by  dozens  ap 
pointed  over  him.  He  had  anything  but  a 
steady  job.  Having  a  family  to  support,  he 
hunted  work  ravenously,  and  what  with  kee])- 
ing  up  the  runs  he  secured  and  looking  out 
for  a  new  one  to  follow,  and  trying  to  col¬ 
lect  what  he  had  earned,  he  alternated 
between  excessive  overwork  and  anxiety 
for  want  of  work.  The  chief  clerk  favored 
him  as  much  as  he  could.  Once  when  the 
state  supreme  court,  the  state  executive  de¬ 
partments,  the  United  States  post-office  de¬ 
partment,  and  the  congressman  from  this  dis" 
trict,  astonished  the  country  by  the  appoint¬ 
ment  as  transfer  clerk  at  the  union  station  of 
a  man  who  had  been  twice  in  state  prison  and 
had  been  eleven  times  in  jail  as  a  violator  of 
the  law,  a  vacancy  occurred  in  that  position 
until  the  authorities  could  recover  from  the 
shock,  and  Craft  was  appointed  as  acting  clerk, 
working  from  6  A.  m.  to  6  p.  m.  He  was  there 
a  month  and  ten  days.  To  see  a  republican  in 
that  position  threw  the  local  democracy  into 
convulsions,  and  Craft  had  to  be  removed. 
The  chief  clerk  told  him  that  he  could  con¬ 
tinue  on  the  road  as  a  substitute  where  he 
would  not  be  seen. 

There  are  interesting  facts  in  his  experience. 
He  ran  for  months  for  one  clerk,  who,  in  ad¬ 
dition  to  being  a  railway  mail  clerk,  had 
a  cigar  business  and  much  political  work  for 
his  congressman  to  attend  to.  The  cigar  man 
drew  the  full  pay,  which  was  so  much  a  day, 
Sundays  and  all,  paid  Craft  the  week-day 
wages  and  kept  for  himself  the  wages  for  Sun¬ 
days,  amounting  to  about  $10  a  month.  This 
was  the  rent  to  the  lord  of  the  fee,  who  in 


thirteen  months  himself  took  his  run  only  135 
days.  In  another  case  Craft  ran  many  weeks 
for  a  regular  clerk  who  was  less  generous.  In 
this  service  there  is  a  run  and  then  a  lay-off 
for  rest.  This  clerk,  who  had  done  no  work, 
drew  the  whole  pay  and  handed  over  to  Craft 
the  per  diem  for  the  actual  run  and  himself 
pocketed  the  per  diem  for  the  lay-off.  There 
were  other  experiences;  some  more  pleasing 
and  some  meaner.  Some  paid  him  readily, 
some  afftr  repeated  duns  and  some  not  at  all. 
Craft  was  in  no  position  to  dictate  terms.  The 
general  result  was  that  in  order  to  make,  fair 
wages  Craft  was  obliged  to  run  all  the  time. 
At  last  it  seemed  as  if  a  full  appointment  was 
certain,  and  his  name  was  sent  to  Cincinnati 
at  the  request  of  Superintendent  Gwin,  but 
nothing  came  of  it,  and  Craft  is  still  a  substi¬ 
tute.  Thus  the  spoils  system  works  out  its 
meanness  and  injustice. 


POSTMASTER  PEARSON. 

The  refusal  of  the  President  to  re-appoint 
Postmaster  Pearson  to  the  New  York  post- 
office  is  an  important  event.  The  latter  be¬ 
came  postmaster  in  1881,  succeeding  Mr  .Tames 
promoted  to  be  postmaster  general,  and  who 
had  since  1873  been  laying  tlie  foundation  for 
the  total  breaking- up  of  the  practice  of  using 
the  positions  in  the  office  to  pay  personal  and 
party  debts.  This  work  was  entirely  com¬ 
pleted  by  Mr.  Pearson.  Few  people  are  aware 
of  the  greatness  of  this  office  as  a  business  in¬ 
stitution.  There  are  2,276  employes.  These 
handle  annually  3,700,000  pouches,  deliver 
locally  355,000,000  letters,  do  $85,000,000 
money  order  business,  and  receive  and  deliver 
6,400,000  registered  letters  in  packagts.  The 
office  has  an  income  of  $5,100,000  and  $3,200,- 
000  receipts  over  expenditur(s.  This  is  the 
coming  and  going  mail  of  all  the  world.  The 
statement  of  these  facts  is  a  demonstration 
that  there  is  here  no  room  for  anything  but 
the  sternest  business  principles,  and  such  is 
the  condition  of  the  office  as  Mr.  Pearson 
walks  out  of  it.  He  has  made  it  as  free  from 
politics  of  every  kind  and  nature  as  Broadway 
is  free  from  weeds.  Before  the  passage  of  the 
civil  service  law,  he  had  the  competitive  sys¬ 
tem  in  force.  Since  the  passage  of  that  law 
there  have  been  a  few  leading  positions  which 
he  might  have  filled  with  reference  to  politics^ 
but  he  has  declined  to  do  so.  In  every  case 
of  such  a  vacancy  he  has  promoted  a  skilled 
man  from  the  ranks  of  the  classified  service. 
He  has  held  his  men  to  their  duty,  and  when¬ 
ever  an  employe  deteriorated  in  his  work, 
competition  put  him  in  a  lower  grade  and  put 
a  more  skilled  or  a  more  faithful  man  in  his 
place.  He  was  the  one  postmaster  who  gave 
the  law  the  “  benefit  of  a  friendly  interpreta¬ 
tion  ”  to  its  fullest  extent.  As  a  result  he 
had  incomparably  the  best  post-office  service 
in  this  country. 

In  doing  this  work  obstacles  have  been  put 
in  his  way  in  a  manner  to  stir  the  indignation 
of  every  fair  man.  His  office  became  of  the 
greatest  use  to  the  public  but  it  was  absolutely 
worthless  to  the  party  machine,  and  the  party 


machine  has  followed  him  with  remorseless 
hatred.  It  believed  that  he  was  the  one  man 
who  stood  in  the  way  of  enormous  spoil  to 
itself,  and  through  change  of  parties  and  ad¬ 
ministrations  it  pursued  its  end  of  displacing 
him  by  one  of  its  own.  In  President  Arthur’s 
time  the  postoffice  department  had  an  investi¬ 
gation  made,  of  which  Mr.  Pearson  was  kept 
absolutely  ignorant.  Upon  this,  secret  charges 
were  filed  that  he  was  connected  with  some 
local  dispatch  companies.  These  charges  were 
referred  to  Attorney-General  Brewster,  who, 
without  inquiring  for  the  other  side  of  the 
case,  recommended  Mr.  Pearson’s  dismissal. 
Three  months  later  Postmaster-General 
Gresham  wrote  to  Mr.  Pearson  a  personal 
letter  that  such  charges  had  been  made  and 
had  been  turned  over  to  the  district  attorney 
in  New  York.  Mr.  Pearson’s  refutation  was 
complete,  and  he  showed  that,  more  than  a  year 
before,  he  had  three  times  written  to  the  de¬ 
partment  urging  it  to  break  up  these  dispatch 
companies,  but  received  no  encouragement. 
These  charges  were  on  file  when  Mr.  Cleveland 
became  President  and  were  made  by  the  new 
machine  to  do  the  best  duty  possible,  but  with¬ 
out  avail.  And  Mr.  Pearson,  in  answer  to  an 
enormous  demand  of  the  business  men  of  New 
York,  was  re  appointed.  Of  this  the  New  York 
Tribune  said,  April  1,  1885: 

“  The  re-appointment  of  Postmaster  Pearson  gives 
general  satisfaction  to  those  citizens  who  care  for 
efficiency  in  that  branch  of  the  civil  service  here.  It 
satisfies  the  public,  because  it  is  a  good  thing  in 
itself:  because  Mr.  Pearson  is  one  of  many  republi¬ 
can  officials  who  have  proved  so  conspicuously  fit 
that  their  removal,  on  whatever  ground,  and  irre¬ 
spective  of  the  personal  merit  of  any  who  may  be  se¬ 
lected  in  their  stead,  would  be  a  positive  detriment 
to  the  public  service.  Such  an  appointment  is,  of 
course,  to  be  commended  most  heartily  as  a  good 
thing  in  itself.  *  *  *  In  itself  this  appointment  is 
admirable  Mr.  Pearson’s  unquestioned  and 

superior  fitness  renders  his  retention  in  office  the 
clear  duty  of  a  President  who  means  to  improve  and 
not  to  degrade  the  public  service. 

The  machine,  though  temporarily  baffled, 
was  nevertheless  tireless.  It  found  a  willing 
ally  in  the  new  post-office  department,  whose 
course  is* a  record  of  petty  meanness.  This 
office  netted  the  government  over  three  mil¬ 
lions,  yet  the  most  urgent  requests  for  reason¬ 
able  allowances  to  pay  employes  were  met 
with  niggardly  paring,  or  with  silence,  or 
with  a  short  refusal.  In  one  case  it  was  fully 
granted  with  directions  to  raise  the  money  by 
dismissing  employes  and  cutting  down  sal¬ 
aries.  Mr.  Pearson  required  the  work  of  the 
office  to  be  done,  and  the  department  succeeded 
in  its  apparent  plan  of  making  his  employes 
complain  of  him.  His  requirement  that  a 
man  should  do  his  duty  crowded  out  of  the 
service  those  who  could  not  do  the  work  and 
those  who  wanted  sinecures.  These  banded 
together  at  the  instigation  of  the  local  party 
machine  and  made  up  another  attacking  col¬ 
umn,  and  these  too  were  encouraged  by  the 
department  at  Washington.  They  failed  in 
their  object.  Mr.  Pearson  could  not  be  har¬ 
ried  into  resigning,  and  that  party  machine 
was  compelled  to  pass  off  the  stage  and  leave 
him  in  office.  Its  spirit  never  dies.  The 
weapons  against  Mr.  Pearson  instantly  passed 
ihto  other  hands. 

The  new  men  had  expected  to  make  the  at¬ 
tack  on  the  ground  that  in  1884  Mr.  Pearson 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


13 


kept  republican  employes  away  from  the  polls 
and  defeated  Mr.  Blaine.  This  was  passed 
from  mouth  to  mouth  all  over  the  country, 
but  it  was  found  out  that  it  could  be  demon¬ 
strated  to  be  a  falsehood  and  it  had  to  be 
dropped.  The  public  does  not  know  what  the 
motive  power  was  that  at  last  succeeded  in 
displacing  him.  It  does  know  that  the  good 
of  the  service  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  He 
had  been  in  the  post-office  business  from  boy¬ 
hood.  He  was  by  nature  fitted  for  it.  He 
had  great  energy  and  executive  ability.  He 
was  in  every  respect  a  trained  officer.  He 
was  a  manly  and  fearless  man,  and  he  per¬ 
formed  the  duties  of  his  office  in  a  manly  and 
fearless  manner.  No  new  man  can  for  a  long 
time  do  anything  but  look  on  while  his  sub¬ 
ordinates  perform  their  duties  and  teach  him 
his.  Such  a  change  is  not  for  the  good  of  the 
service.  The  new  man,  Van  Cott,  emphasizes 
this  view.  He  apparently  has  a  life-lease  on 
office,  for  he  has  held  office  for  years  ;  but  he 
is  ignorant  of  the  post  office  business,  and  his 
office-holding  lias  not  been  because  he  was  a 
skilled  and  efficient  officer,  but  because  he 
had  done  party  work,  for  which  he  must  be 
provided  a  place. 

There  is  probably  no  other  single  act  by 
which  President  Harrison  could  have  damaged 
himself  and  his  party  so  much  throughout  the 
country.  The  thousands  of  men  who  voted 
for  him  and  who  regret  this  act  are  silent  men, 
but  they  are  men  with  long  memories.  It  is 
one  of  the  things  that  will  bear  heavily  in  the 
scale  when  the  account  is  taken  at  the  end  of 
this  administration.  The  time  has  gone  by 
when  such  a  course  is  wise  considered  even  as 
a  party  measure.  In  making  his  office  stand 
out  for  years  as  a  great  business  institution,  in 
the  midst  of  the  general  riot  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem,  Mr.  Pearson  has  rendered  a  distinguished 
service  to  the  country.  His  present  reward 
has  not  been  generous.  On  the  other  hand 
the  “workers”  have  w,  n  a  victory,  but  it 
is  like  the  victory  of  the  elephants  of  Pyrrhus 

THE  INDIANAPOLIS  FIRE  DE¬ 
PARTMENT. 

Some  time  ago  the  chief  of  the  Indianapolis 
fire  department  was  supplanted  by  a  new  man 
under  circumstances  that  seemed  inexplicable 
to  the  people  of  the  city.  We  think  it  is  fair, 
both  to  those  who  brought  this  about  and  to 
the  people,  that  the  facts  of  the  matter  should 
be  impartially  stated,  and  we  have  been  at 
some  trouble  to  gather  them. 

Joseph  H.  Webster  is  56  years  old,  and  en¬ 
tered  the  fire  department  of  Indianapolis  in 
1860  as  a  stoker,  working  in  that  position  four 
years.  Then,  for  ten  years,  he  was  driver  of 
the  hook  and  ladder  truck,  of  which  he  then, 
in  1874,  became  foreman.  In  1876  he  was 
elected  assistant  engineer  by  the  council,  and 
held  that  place  for  two  years,  until  the  office 
was  abolished,  and  he  then  served  again  as 
foreman  until  1882.  He  was  then  elected 
chief  engineer  by  the  council,  and  was  steadily 
re  elected  until  January  1,  1^89.  Although 
a  republican,  the  vote  at  every  re-election  was 


unanimous.  He  has,  in  fact,  never  had  any 
other  business  but  that  of  fireman.  The  fire 
department  has  not  been  run  on  a  strictly 
partisan  basis.  A  majority  of  the  employes, 
both  under  republican  and  democratic  city 
administrations,  have  been  republicans.  There 
are  now  some  democrats  in  the  service  who 
have  been  there  for  twelve  or  fifteen  years. 
Under  the  law,  the  chief  engineer  has  the  sole 
authority  to  appoint  and  remove  firemen,  and 
not  only  individual  councilmen,  but  the 
council  itself  is  entirely  powerless  in  the 
matter. 

The  logical  order  of  the  facts  is,  that  in 
1885  P.  C.  Trusler,  then  a  councilman,  asked 
Mr.  Webster  to  dismiss  a  fireman  named  Gar- 
ver  from  No.  13  on  the  ground  that  Garver 
was  “a  disturbing  element.”  The  fly  in  the 
ointment  seemed  to  be  the  fact  that  Garver  was 
the  only  democrat  at  that  station,  and,  to  ac¬ 
commodate  Trusler,  Garver  was  transferred 
to  another  station.  In  January,  1888,  there 
were  sixteen  democrats  in  the  department. 
Up  to  that  time  no  one  had  asked  for  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  a  man  avowedly  because  of  his  pol¬ 
itics.  In  that  month  Mr.  Trusler  again  en¬ 
tered  the  council  and  was  the  first  to  make 
such  a  request.  He  began  by  calling  for  the 
dismissal  of  Michael  Slaven  because  he  was  a 
demociat.  In  the  way  of  easing  Trusler  off 
it  was  suggested  that  charges  had  been  filed 
against  Slaven  and  that  he  might  go  out  on 
those.  The  matter  ended  by  Slaven  resigning. 
At  the  same  time  Truster  asked  Mr.  Webster 
for  the  dismissal,  for  the  same  reason,  of  Oscar 
Ray,  an  excellent  fireman,  who  had  been  a 
substitute  at  No.  6  for  about  two  years.  The 
demand  was  yielded  to  and  Ray  was  dis¬ 
charged  by  the  chief  without  cause. 

Some  two  weeks  later,  Mr.  Webster  being 
at  home  sick,  the  acting  chief,  Davis,  came  to 
his  house  and  said  that  Trusler  had  inquired 
if  the  chief  had  discharged  John  S.  Burkhart, 
a  substitute  for  years  at  No.  1,  who  had  begun 
in  the  fire  department  by  running  errands 
when  a  small  boy.  He  was  a  good  fireman 
and  was  a  democrat.  The  following  Sunday 
Councilman  Thalman,  having  called  on  him, 
the  chief  protested  against  Trusler’s  working 
the  democrats  out  of  the  department,  and  Mr- 
Thalman  agreed  with  him  and  promised  that 
he  would  see  the  other  men  and  that  it  should 
be  stopped.  This  was  early  in  1888.  In  Feb¬ 
ruary  the  chief  was  sent  for  at  headquarters 
and  found  there  Councilmen  Trusler  and 
Finch,  and  Alderman  Connett.  These  men 
brought  up  the  subject  of  discharging  the  rest 
of  the  democrats,  and  Connett  wanted  to  know 
if  Thomas  Quinn,  foreman  of  No.  1,  could 
not  be  removed  at  once.  The  chief  asked 
them  to  go  to  the  council  and  get  an  order  to 
him  to  “reorganize”  the  fire  department  on  a 
republican  basis,  and  he  promised  that  it 
should  be  done  in  thirty  days  or  thirty  min¬ 
utes  as  they  should  order.  He  told  them  that 
he  would  not  otherwise  take  the  responsibility. 
They  made  no  reply  to  this  proposition,  and 
soon  after  the  meeting  broke  up.  After  this 
the  fire  committee  of  the  council,  while  Mr. 


Webster  remained  in  office,  never  again  met 
at  the  fire  headquarters  as  had  been  their  cus¬ 
tom. 

The  Presidential  campaign  came  on,  and  it 
was  unsafe  while  that  lasted  to  attempt  to 
crowd  experienced  firemen  out  of  their  places 
because  of  their  politics.  After  the  election^ 
it  being  settled  that  the  chief  could  not  be 
moved  from  his  resolution,  measures  began  to 
be  taken  to  supplant  him.  About  a  week  be¬ 
fore  the  time  for  the  election  of  the  chief  for 
the  ensuing  year.  Councilman  Darnell  came 
to  headquarters,  took  Mr.  Webster  aside  and 
told  him  that  they  had  “got”  him,  but  that  if 
he  would  agree  to  let  one  democrat  go  each 
month  he  could  be  sure  of  a  re  election.  The 
chief  refused,  and  at  the  election  which  fol¬ 
lowed  every  republican  voted  against  him 
and  secured  his  defeat. 

This  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  course  which 
led  to  Mr.  Webster’s  displacement.  There  has 
been  some  attempt  to  give  other  reasons  by* 
whispering  from  mouth  to  mouth,  but  these 
reasons  are  either  known  to  be  false  or  those 
who  give  them  are  ashamed  to  speak  them 
aloud.  The  people  of  the  city  were  practi¬ 
cally  unanimous  for  his  retention.  The  entire 
insurance  interest  and  a  great  amount  of 
property  interest  openly  protested,  but  with¬ 
out  effect.  This  fire  department  employs 
eighty-two  men,  with  a  pay-roll  of  over  $60,- 
000  annually,  and  uses  fifty  horses.  The  head 
of  it  had  had  twenty  nine  years’  experience, 
obtained  from  holding  positions  on  his  merit, 
and  was  universally  admitted  to  be  admir¬ 
ably  adapted  to  his  place.  The  evidence 
leads  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  he  was 
deprived  of  his  place  because  he  would  not, 
in  answer  to  the  pressure  of  a  few  local  poli¬ 
ticians,  turn  out  of  the  fire  department  a  few 
democrats  who  were  tried  and  experienced 
firemen,  and  against  whom  nothing  could  be 
urged. 

THIS  PAPER. 

With  100,000  federal  offices  which  may  be 
used  to  reward  personal  or  party  service,  the 
question  of  civil  service  is  certainly  a  great  one 
and  interests  every  citizen.  The  Chkonicle, 
at  50  cents  per  annum,  ought  to  have  a  large 
circulation. — Indiana  School  Journal. 

Editorially  its  contents  are  pointed  and 
forcible. — Indianapolis  News. 

The  Indiana  civil  service  reformers  show  a 
disposition  to  measure  the  new  administration 
by  the  same  standard  they  applied  to  the  last 
one. — Ind  ianapolis  Sent  in  el. 

We  have  not  seen  a  more  able  exponent  of 
civil  service  reform  views  than  this  journal  is 
likely  to  be. — Neio  Albany  Evening  Tribune. 

Its  appearance  at  this  juncture,  when  a 
greedy  army  of  spoilsmen  has  the  national 
capital  in  a  state  of  siege,  is  peculiarly  oppor¬ 
tune.  We  wish  the  CrviL  Service  Chroniole 
success. — Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

The  Chronicle  is  devoted  to  a  reform  that 
challenges  the  support  of  all  good  republicans 
and  democrats. —  Putnam  Democrat. 


14 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

“  Larg’e  districts  or  jMrcels  of  land  were 
allotted  l»y  tlie  coiKjiieriiig:  generals  to  the 
superior  ollicers  of  the  anny,  and  hy  them 
dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allot¬ 
ments  to  the  inferior  ollicers  and  most  de¬ 
serving  soldiers.  *  *  The  condition  of 
holding  the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the 
possessor  should  do  service  faithfully,  both 
at  home  and  in  the  wars,  to  him  by  whom 
they  were  given,”  and,  on  breach  of  this 
condition,  “by  not  performing  the  stipu¬ 
lated  service,  or  by  deserting  his  lord  in 
battle,”  the  lands  reverted  to  the  lord. 
The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath 
of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition  did 
homage,  “  openly  and  humbly  kneeling, 
being  ungirt,  uncovered  and  holding  up 
his  hands,  both  together,  between  those  of 
his  lord,  who  sate  before  him,  and  there 
profes'ing  that  he  did  become  his  MTN 
from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
earthly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss 
from  his  lord.”  Services  were  free  and 
base.  Free  service  was  to  pay  a  sum  of 
money,  or  serve  under  the  lord  in  war. 
IJase  service  was  to  plow,tlie  lord’s  laud, 
to  make  his  hedge  or  carry  out  his  dung.— 
Blackstone. 

— The  following  delegates  to  the  last  na¬ 
tional  republican  convention  have  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  office : 

E.  H.  Terrell,  of  Texas,  minister  to  Bel¬ 
gium.  “  He  was  the  only  delegate  from  his 
state  that  was  for  Harrison  all  the  time.  He 
made  one  of  the  speeches  seconding  General 
Harrison’s  nomination,  and  did  good  work 
among  the  southern  delegates  at  the  conven¬ 
tion.” 

W.  L.  Dunlap,  United  States  marshal  of  In¬ 
diana. 

Smiley  N.  Chambers,  United  States  district 
attorney  for  Indiana. 

John  B.  Cockrum,  deputy  United  States  dis¬ 
trict  attorney  for  Indiana. 

Albert  G.  Porter,  of  Indiana,  minister  to 
Italy. 

E.  W.  Halford,  of  Indiana,  private  secre¬ 
tary. 

James  N.  Huston,  of  Indiana,  treasurer  of 
the  United  States. 

— The  following  appointments  of  newspaper 
editors  have  been  made: 

Whitelaw  Reed,  editor  of  the  New  York 
Tribune,  minister  to  France. 

John  C.  New,  editor  of  the  Indianapolis 
Journal,  consul  at  London. 

Murat  Halstead,  editor  of  the  Cincinnati 
Commercial- Gazette,  minister  to  Germany.  [Re¬ 
jected  by  the  senate.] 

Allen  Thorndike  Rice,  editor  of  the  North 
American  Rex'iew,  minister  to  Russia. 

John  Hicks,  editor  of  the  Oshkosh  North¬ 
western,  minister  to  Peru. 

Ellis  H.  Roberts,  editor  of  the  Utica  Herald, 
assistant-treasurer  at  New  York. 

W.  W.Junkin,  editor  of  the  Fairfield  [Iowa] 
Ledger,  Indian  inspector. 

James  S.  Clarkson,  first  assistant  postmaster- 
general,  editor  of  the  /own  State  Register  and 
chairman  of  the  republican  state  committee. 

Robert  P.  Porter,  editor  of  the  New  York 
Press,  to  be  superintendent  of  census. 

— The  Iowa  State  Register  says :  ‘‘The  congrat¬ 
ulations  of  Iowa  papers  will  be  extended  to 
Mr.  \V.  W.  Junkin,  of  the  Fairfield  Ledger, 


who  was  yesterday  appointed  an  Indian  in¬ 
spector.  The  position  is  a  pleasant  one,  and  will 
not  coftnpel  him  to  give  up  his  connection  with  the 
paper  with  which  he  has  been  so  long  identified.  As 
a  hard-working  republican  and  a  newspaper 
man  whose  service  to  the  party  reaches  over 
more  than  a  generation,  Mr.  Junkin  amply 
deserves  the  recognition  that  has  come  to 
him.” 

[  — Senator  Farwell  has  been  put  to  great 

trouble  and  annoyance  in  the  matter  of  the 
Chicago  offices.  He  had  to  go  all  the  way 
from  Washington  to  Chicago  to  choose  his 
men.  He  has  determined  that  Col.  Sexton  is 
most  advantageous  for  the  postoffice,  and  one 
Chrismamer  for  the  collectorship.  It  is  ex¬ 
pected  that  in  time  Sexton  will  learn  from  his 
subordinates  something  of  the  Chicago  post- 
office  business,  and  that  in  the  same  manner 
Chrismamer  will  look  on  while  the  work  of 
the  second  largest  revenue  district  in  the 
country  is  being  in  some  manner  got  through 
with. 

— Congressmen  are  ready  to  divide  the  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  collectorships,  but  it  is  an¬ 
nounced  that  they  can  not  allot  these  places 
until  after  May  1st. 

— The  new  superintendent  of  the  railway 
mail  service  innocently  arrogated  to  himself 
the  appointment  of  John  A.  Montgomery  to 
be  superintendent  of  mails  in  the  Chicago  post- 
office.  Senator  Farwell,  the  lord  of  the  fee, 
asserts  his  rights,  as  follows: 

“  I  am  not  objecting  to  Mr.  Montgomery 
personally  at  all.  I  think  he  is  a  man  that  is 
in  every  way  fitted  for  the  position  and  will 
give  satisfaction  in  it;  but  I  don’t  like  the 
way  the  appointment  was  made.  I  think  I 
should  be  consulted  about  matters  relating 
to  appointments  at  my  own  home.  What  1 
complain  of  is  that  the  appointment  was  made 
without  my  knowing  anything  about  it.  I 
have  nothing  to  say  about  Mr.  Montgomery. 
He  is  as  well  recommended  for  the  place  as 
any  man  could  be,  but  I  think  the  incom¬ 
ing  postmaster  should  also  be  consulted  as 
well  as  me.” 

“It  is  reported  that  the  postmaster-general 
did  not  know  anything  about  the  appoint¬ 
ment.” 

“  I  don’t  suppose  he  did.” 

“Is  it  likely  that  Mr.  Montgomery  will  be 
allowed  to  retain  the  position?” 

“I  do  not  know  anything  about  that.  The 
matter  has  been  taken  out  of  my  hands  and  I 
have  nothing  further  to  say  about  it  and 
don’t  propose  to.  He  will  make  a  good  offi¬ 
cer.  All  I  object  to  is  the  manner  of  his  ap¬ 
pointment.  I  don’t  believe  any  insult  was  in¬ 
tended.  I  think  it  is  due  to  the  inadvertence 
of  this  new  man.” 

“  Have  you  decided  anything  about  the  post¬ 
mastership?  ” 

“No.  I  came  home  for  the  purpose  of 
trying  to  select  the  proper  man  for  the  post- 
office  and  for  superintendent  of  mails,  and 
have  had  the  matter  under  consideration,  but 
so  far  I  have  been  unable  to  decide  about  the 
thing.  I  may  make  up  my  mind  some  time 
next  week.” 

“  You  are  reported  to  have  said  that  the  pres¬ 
ent  incumbents  in  the  minor  positions  will  be 
allowed  to  serve  out  their  terms?” 

“  That  is  my  opinion.  I  think  each  of  the 
other  office-holders  will  be  allowed  to  remain 
his  four  years.  In  my  opinion  that  will  be  the 
policy  of  the  administration.” 

“It  has  been  reported  that  the  same  differ¬ 
ence  is  likely  to  arise  between  President  Har¬ 
rison  and  senators  in  regard  to  patronage  as 
divided  the  late  Senator  Conkling  and  Presi¬ 
dent  Garfield.” 

“Oh,  I  think  there  is  not  much  danger  of 
that.  I  see  there  has  been  a  little  trouble 
about  the  postmaster  at  Philadelphia,  but 


there  has  been  no  trouble  with  the  Illinois 
senators.  I  think  the  President  proposes  to 
treat  us  fairly.  I  have  no  doubt  about  it.” 

— Postmaster  -  General  Wanamaker  issued 
the  following  order:  “Hereafter  and  until 
further  notice  all  clerks  in  the  post-office  de¬ 
partment  at  who.se  desks  papers  relating  to 
appointmenis  to  office  or  claims  against  the 
departments  are  filed  will  not  disclose  the  con¬ 
tents  thereof  to,  nor  permit  an  inspection  by, 
any  person  except  on  the  written  order  of  the 
postmaster-general,  the  first  assistant  postmas¬ 
ter  general,  the  chief  clerk  of  the  department, 
or  the  chief  clerk  to  the  first  assistant  postmas¬ 
ter  general.  Where  a  chairman  of  a  state 
committee  or  person  by  him  duly  authorized 
applies  for  information,  the  clerk  may  dis¬ 
close  the. names  of  the  applicants  for  the  office 
inquired  about,  but  further  information 
should  not  be  given.” 

— More  than  140  congressmen  recommended 
for  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  Roderick 
R.  Butler,  of  Tennessee.  In  the  42d  congress 
the  vote  to  expel  Butler  for  selling  a  cadet¬ 
ship  for  $900  stood  102  to  68,  two-thirds  being 
necessary.  He  was  then  unanimously  cen¬ 
sured  by  a  yea  and  nay  vote. 

— First  Assistant  Postmaster-General  Clark¬ 
son’s  paper,  the  loiva  State  Register,  says  of  the 
offices  within  his  appointment,  that  “to  change 
these  post-offices,  amounting  to  nearly  64,000 
in  number,  from  .democratic  to  republican 
hands,  and  increase  the  credit  and  reputation 
of  the  party  in  doing  it,  will  require  an  un¬ 
usual  knowledge  of  men  and  politics.  *  *  ♦ 
the  President  insisted  upon  his  services  at 
Washington  on  account  especially  of  his 
knowledge  of  politics  and  of  the  workers  in 
the  campaign,  and  the  obligations  of  the  party 
towards  such  men.” 

— General  Browne,  who  leaves  for  his  home 
at  Winchester,  to-morrow,  made  the  rounds  of 
the  White  House  and  the  executive  depart¬ 
ments  a  couple  of  times  to-day.  On  each  trip 
he  started  out  with  arms  full  of  applications 
for  office.  The  General  has  worked  like  a 
slave  during  the  past  month  to  satisfy  his 
office  seeking  constituents,  and  he  is  yet  at  it 
during  every  hour  of  daylight. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  April  J. 

— On  March  21,  Congressman  Browne,  of 
the  sixth  Indiana  district,  filed  the  name  of 
his  seventy  first  man  for  appointment  in  the 
railway  mail  service.  Some  say  that  he  can 
only  claim  the  fealty  of  seven  railway  mail 
clerks,  and  that  as  he  already  has  four  “  hold¬ 
overs”  he  is  only  entitled  to  three  more.  On 
March  25,  having  handed  in  a  batch  of  names 
for  fourth-class  post-offices,  it  was  announced 
that  he  would  then  come  home,  from  which 
place  he  would  “hereafter  conduct  his  busi¬ 
ness.”  He  granted  several  small  holdings 
March  30. 

— Congressman  Owen,  of  the  tenth  Indiana 
district,  has  ordered  and  is  superintending  a 
large  number  of  changes  of  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters  in  his  territory. 

—Congressman  Posey,  of  the  first  Indiana 
district,  is  in  Washington  allotting  fourth- 
class  postmasterships. 

—St.  Louis,  Mo.,  March  23,  1889. — To  the 
President,  Washington,  D.  C.:  Dear  Sir — 
We  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  your  favora¬ 
ble  consideration,  and  in  accordance  with  your 
suggestion  to  Mr.  F.  G.  Niedringhaus,  the  follow¬ 
ing  named  citizens  of  Missouri  for  appoint¬ 
ments  abroad  :  Charles  E.  Pearce  of  St.  Louis, 
minister  to  Mexico;  S.  H.  Boyd  of  Spring- 
field,  minister  to  Venezuela;  Hon.  Chauncey 
I.  Filley  of  St.  Louis,  consul  at  Liveipool,  or 
something  equally  as  good ;  George  Bain  of  St. 
Louis,  consul  at  Glasgow,  Scotland  ;  Mr.  Rich¬ 
ard  Bartholdt,  consul  at  Frankfort-on-the- 


rilK  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


15 


Main  ;  Dr.  H.  M.  Starkloff,  consul-general  at 
Brussels;  Frederick  Scliroeder  of  St.  Joseph, 
consul  at  Hamburg;  J.  II.  Kaeser  of  St.  Louis, 
consul  at  St.  Galleu,  Switzerland  ;  P.  P.  Do- 
bozy  of  Kansas  City,  consul  at  Rome;  John 
R.  Musick  of  Kirksville,  minister-resident  and 
consul-general  to  Siam;  George  H.  Wallace 
of  Fayette,  consul-general  at  Melbourne; 
Samuel  Hays  or  Charles  R.  Pope,  St.  Louis, 
consul  at  Montreal;  Benjamin  Horton,  consul 
at  Pesth,  or  any  other  small  continental  con¬ 
sulate;  Albert  Bjrg-*ss  (colored),  minister  to 
Liberia;  C.  H.  Tandy  (colored),  consul  to 
Honolulu.  Yours  respectfully, 

W.  H.  Wade,  M.  C., 

»  Thirteenth  District  of  Missouri. 

W.  M.  Kinsey,  M.  C., 

Tenth  District  of  Missouri. 

F.  G.  Niedringhaus,  M.  C., 

Eighth  District  of  Missouri. 

-  Nathan  Frank,  M.  C  , 

Ninth  District  of  Missouri. 

— Illinois  congressmen  emphatically  refuse 
to  have  the  office  of  minister  to  England  given 
to  Robert  Lincoln  deducted  from  their  share. 
They  say  it  must  be  charged  up  to  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  share. 

— Congressmen  Sherman,  Butterworth,  Cald¬ 
well  and  Morey  remained  in  Washington  to 
see  to  the  division  of  spoils  for  Ohio.  It  is 
claimed  that  Ohio  does  not  get  her  share. 

— Great  fault  is  found  with  the  Kansas  con¬ 
gressmen,  Ingalls  and  others.  They  are  ac¬ 
cused  of  giving  the  places  to  “  old-timers,” 
and  of  not  giving  “young  blood”  due  recog¬ 
nition,  and  according  to  the  Hon.  W.  P.  Hack¬ 
ney,  in  the  Topeka  Capilal-Commonwealth,  these 
Kansas  over-lords  are  even  in  danger  of  losing 
their  holdings:  “  Our  senators  and  representa¬ 
tives  are  either  imbeciles  or  nincompoops,  and 
I  suspicion  them  of  being  both.  The  only 
way  to  get  anything  from  them  is  to  give 
them  h — I,  and  then  they  will  get  the  office  in 
order  to  keep  them  quiet.  Oh,  we  have  a  daisy 
outfit,  you  bet.  What  a  grand  lot  of  shovel- 
ers  on  the  street  they  would  make!  and  that 
is  about  their  size.  But  I  digress,  and  beg 
pardon  of  the  street-shoveler.  What  Kansas 
needs  is  a  new  deal  all  round  in  both  senate 
and  house — broad,  liberal-minded,  and  unselfish 
statesmen  who  have  some  conception  of  the  magnitude 
of  their  position  arid  the  very  high  honor  the  people 
have  conferred  upon  them.  These  fellows  are  not 
and  do  not.” 

— As  has  already  been  stated,  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  senators  will  appropriate  to  themselves 
the  disposition  of  all  the  leading  federal  of¬ 
fices  in  the  state  and  all  offices  in  democratic 
districts,  leaving  to  the  congressmen  only  the 
fourth-class  postmasterships  and  appointments 
to  the  railway  mail  service.  There  will  be 
few  exceptions  to  this  rule. — Philadelphia  Press. 

The  question  whether  Pennsylvania  is  given 
over  by  General  Harrison  to  a  Gorman  system, 
and  is  to  be  the  Maryland  and  Botany  Bay  of 
this  administration,  is  made  sharp  and  plain 
by  sudden  developments  concerning  the  post- 
office  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Wanamaker,  it 
seems,  offered  this  appointment  to  his  friend, 
Mr.  John  Field,  an  energetic,  intelligent  mer¬ 
chant,  a  republican,  and  a  man  very  compe¬ 
tent  for  the  duties  of  the  place.  But  the  fact 
of  the  offer  became  known  and  at  once  the  po¬ 
litical  machine  was  put  in  motion  to  stop  it. 
Senator  Quay  was  amazed  to  hear  that  Mr. 
Wanamaker  had  plans  of  his  own — for  this 
one,  it  is  alleged,  had  not  been  communicated 
to  the  senator — and  made  haste  to  file  his  own 
recommendation  of  that  highly  approved  Phil¬ 
adelphian,  ex-Sheriff’  Leeds.  Mr.  Field,  how¬ 
ever,  after  some  hesitation,  has  decided  to  ac¬ 
cept  the  appointment,  and  has  so  notified  the 
postmaster-general. 

In  thisshape  the  matter  rests  at  this  writing. 


It  is  reported  on  one  hand  that  Mr.  Wana¬ 
maker  has  been  compelled  by  Mr.  Quay  to  give 
lip  his  purpose  of  appointing  Mr.  Field,  and 
that  he  will  break  his  promise  to  that  gentle¬ 
man;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  declared  that 
Mr.  Quay,  in  the  course  of  a  two  or  three  hour 
interview,  on  Tuesday  night,  could  obtain  no 
such  concession.  Doubtless  any  person  of  or 
dinary  capacity  would  say  that  the  postmas 
ter  general  would  of  course  select  himself  the 
postmaster  of  the  city  in  which  he  lives,  and 
that  the  attempt  of  a  person  living  on  the 
Ohio  line — even  if  he  be  a  member  of  the 
United  Slates  senate — to  dragoon  him  con¬ 
cerning  the  matter  would  be  a  most  gross  and 
impudent  proceeding. —  The  American  (Rep.) 
March  30. 


PROF.  MONCRIEF  ON  MINISTERS 
AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

To  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

I  have  been  asked  briefly  to  discuss  the  de¬ 
sirability  of  ministers  lending  active  assistance 
to  the  civil  service  reform  movement.  It 
seems  best  to  begin  with  a  general  view  of  the 
political  situation. 

It  is  evident  that  the  agonies  of  a  presiden¬ 
tial  campaign,  with  its  accompaniments,  are 
fast  becoming  too  great  to  be  endured.  These 
agonies  are  not  only  those  temporary  agonies 
which  pass  away  as  soon  as  the  administration 
comes  in  and  the  spoils  are  distributed,  but 
also  the  agonies  of  the  disappointed  “workers,” 
the  agonies  of  those  who  have  been  ousted  for 
“  offensive  partisanship,”  and  the  agonies  of 
the  thoughtful  and  patriotic  citizen  who  sees 
clearly  that  something  must  speedily  be  done 
or  democracy  will  again  prove  a  failure — and 
that,  too,  on  a  more  gigantic  scale  than  the 
world  has  yet  seen. 

Now,  apart  from  the  “  ins  ”  and  the  “  outs,” 
why  did  we  have  such  intense  excitement  in 
the  masses  during  our  last  campaign?  The 
cause  was  not  patriotism,  for  all  intelligent 
people  knew  that  the  commonwealth  would 
neither  stand  nor  fall  with  either  of  our  great 
parties.  The  cause  was  not  principle,  for  it 
was  evident  that  while  there  were  real  issues, 
they  were  so  exaggerated  as  to  be  very  like 
party  shibboleths.  But,  positively,  we  find 
the  zeal  without  knowledge  of  the*honest  but 
deluded  masses  who  had  been  led  to  believe 
that  their  physical,  moral,  and  almost  spirit¬ 
ual  existence  depended  On  the  results  of  the 
election.  These  good  people  thought  they 
were  patriotic  and  devoted  to  principle;  they 
were  in  fact  dupes.  And  this  leads  us  to  the 
real  cause  which  appears  in  the  last  analysis 
— the  selfish  interest  of  party  leaders  who 
hoped  for  material  gain  in  the  spoils  of  vic¬ 
tory.  These  men,  with  their  myriads  of  hench¬ 
men  of  all  grades  and  characters,  were  able  to 
work  the  people  into  a  frenzy  of  excitement, 
and  politics  became  a  shrewd  scheme  by  which 
demagogues  sought  to  gain  their  own  selfish 
ends  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of  us ;  and  most 
of  us  fell  into  line,  grew  enthusiastic  in  de¬ 
pleting  the  exchequer,  degrading  the  morality 
of  citizenship,  and  giv.ing  our  commonwealth 
a  telling  impetus  towards  dissolution. 


Now  it  is  confidently  believed  that  the  remo¬ 
val  of  thecivil  service  from  party  politics  would 
go  far  towards  reducing  this  political  mad¬ 
ness  to  a  normal  political  enthusiasm — and  to 
the  same  extent  we  should  have  healthy  polit¬ 
ical  action. 

Now,  has  the  Christian  minister  any  part  in 
the  accomplishment  of  so  great  a  work?  It 
ajipears  to  me  that  he  has,  and  the  following 
are  some  of  the  reasons :  1st.  He  is  a  citizen, 
hence  he  has  a  citizen’s  rights  and  a  citizen’s 
obligations.  It  follows,  then,  that  he  has 
more  than  a  passive  interest  in  all  that  per¬ 
tains  to  citizenship. 

2d.  He  is  a  leader  of  men.  If  he  be  true 
to  his  noble  calling,  his  influence  is  far-reach¬ 
ing.  He  is  not  out  of  the  world,  but  he  is  in 
the  world,  and  he  must  be  in  perpetual  con¬ 
tact  with  the  things  of  the  world  ;  he  is  sim¬ 
ply  commanded  to  keep  himself  unspotted 
from  the  world.  He  is  at  liberty,  then,  to  the 
full  extent  of  his  ability  and  opportunity,  to 
aid  in  the  world’s  great  movements  to  higher 
and  better  things.  Such  a  minister,  if  he  can 
not  become  profoundly  learned  in  political 
science,  will  at  least  keep  along  with  the  best 
conclusions  of  that  science,  and  so  become  an 
indispensable  co-worker  of  the  true  statesman. 

3.  The  minister  will  thus  widen  his  in¬ 
fluence  with  certain  classes  of  citizens.  Our 
age  demands  almost  omniscence  of  a  min¬ 
ister.  If  he  can  not  enter  intelligently  and 
sympathetically  into  the  st^cular  ideas  of  his 
parishioners  he  soon  gets  the  reputation  for 
lacking  common  sense,  and  at  the  same  in¬ 
stant  is  shorn  of  much  of  his  strength. 

4.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  the  minister 
must  ever  be  unqualifiedly  opposed  to  immoral 
tendencies  as  well  as  immoral  acts.  We  have 
seen  that  a  most  prolific  source  of  immorality 
is  in  the  spoils  system.  .\.nd  we  may  add  that 
things  have  grown  rapidly  worse,  until  our 
last  campaign  startled  all  thoughtful  citizens. 
To  illustrate  the  state  of  political  immorality 
take  bribery.  Since  the  election  I  have  talked 
with  many  leaders  and  with  many  of  the  rank 
and  file  in  both  our  great  parties.  They  all 
admit  it — most  of  them  deplore  it.  This  is 
not  new  to  any  one.  Everybody  knows  it.  What 
confidence  can  members  of  churches  who  have 
engaged  in  this  business  have  in  each  other? 
What  equipment  have  they  for  aggressive 
Christian  work  ?  What  do  those  who  make 
no  profession  of  Christianity  think  of  such 
Christians?  And  just  here  I  wish  to  make 
certain  quotations  from  a  great  man.  They 
are  from  Lieber’s  Political  Ethics — a  book 
that  I  am  just  now  re  reading  with  great  care 
and  great  profit.  The  book  was  written  in 
1837-8.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Lieber’s  life  know  that  he  was  not  simply  a 
learned  theorist,  but  a  man  of  wide  and  va¬ 
ried  experience.  Discussing  honesty  in  poli¬ 
tics,  he  says  :  “  Thousands  go  every  Sunday 
to  church,  and  willingly  admit  everything 
that  may  be  brought  forth  on  the  solemn  ob¬ 
ligation  of  truth,  and  yet  are  ready  on  Mon¬ 
day  to  asperse  in^  public  articles  the  charac- 


10 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


ter  of  a  fellow-citizen  knowingly  with  false 
accusations,  or  with  charges  the  truth  of  which 
they  know  that  they  have  not  taken  sufficient 
care  to  ascertain.”* 

Again:  “So  soon  as  covetousness  becomes 
general  in  a  civilized  nation,  so  soon  as  dis¬ 
honesty  is  a  general  crime,  so  soon  as  public 
places  are  considered  by  common  consent  as 
fair  opportunities  to  enrich  their  holders  wil¬ 
ling  to  wink  at  each  other’s  embezzlements, 
so  soon  as  parties  consider  themselves  by  their 
success  entitled  to  the  spoils  of  the  public — so 
soon  there  is  a  deadly  cancer  in  the  vitals  of 
that  society,  and  hardly  anything  but  severe 
changes  and  revolutions  can  save  it.  Justice 
will  be  sold,  bribes  become  common,  public 
opinion  become  vicious,  veracity  will  be  dis¬ 
regarded,  patriotism  be  derided,  every  mem¬ 
ory  of  greatness  or  nobleness  be  disgraced,  op¬ 
pression  in  every  degree  become  general,  and 
the  moral  tone  of  society  at  large,  which  must 
always  remain  the  first  spring  from  which 
prosperity  flows,  will  vanish. ”t 

Dr.  Lieber  then  illustrates  from  the  history 
of  England,  France,  Italy,  Rome,  Athens.  If 
he  were  living  now  would  he  venture  to  proph¬ 
esy? 

Then,  in  view  of  patent  facts  in  our  present 
politics,  in  view  of  the  solemn  warning  of  the 
political  philosopher,  can  the  tJhristian  min¬ 
ister  be  at  peace  with  his  conscience  except  by 
giving  his  energetic  support  to  the  cause  of  a 
reform  that  promises  to  remove  so  many  of 
the  causes  of  the  present  state  of  things  ? 

5.  Students  of  church  history  know  that 
since  the  Reformation  there  has  been  a  very 
marked  development  of  the  ethical  tide  of 
Christianity.  In  some  cases  this  idea  has  been 
carried  out  too  exclusively,  but  upon  the 
whole  we  welcome  the  later  development. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  agreement  of 
Christian  ethics  and  the  ethics  of  civil  service 
reform.  And  in  this  ethical  development  of 
Christianity  the  Christian  minister  finds  a 
basis  upon  which  to  stand  while  supporting 
the  great  reformatory  movements  of  his  day. 

6.  When  the  minister  takes  up  the  cause  of 
civil  service  reform,  he  does  not  at  the  same 
time  become  a  party  politician.  The  best  men 
in  all  parties  are  its  truest  friends.  Th'e  Chi¬ 
cago  platform  was  not  uncertain  in  its  sound. 
President  Harrison  in  his  letter  of  acceptance 
was  equally  clear.  The  best  elements  in  the 
democratic  party  and  in  the  prohibitionist 
party  are  in  perfect  accord  with  the  republican 
party  and  President  Harrison  on  the  subject 
of  civil  service  reform. 

Wise  and  good  men  may  differ  on  the 
tariff  and  other  questions  of  policy,  but  the 
matter  of  civil  service  reform  is  no  longer  de¬ 
batable  ;  the  wisest  and  best  statesmen  of  the 
civilized  world  have  returned  a  unanimous 
opinion  in  its  favor,  and  it  now  remains  for 
us  all  to  unite  in  bringing  about  its  realiza¬ 
tion  in  the  United  States. 

J.  W.  Moncrief. 

Frankein  College,  March  27,  1889. 

'('Polit.  Eth.  Vol.  I.,  p.  414. 

tPolit.  Eth.,  pp.  464-5. 


THE  SIEGE. 

— President  Harrison  said,  in  March,  “  I 
have  been  overrun  with  office-seekers  since  I 
arrived  in  Washington,  and  instead  of  having 
time  to  devote  to  the  consideration  and  selec¬ 
tion  of  foreign  ministers  and  other  important 
officials,  I  have  actually  spent  it  all  in  listen¬ 
ing  to  the  statements  of  delegations  and  in  the 
purely  clerical  labor  incident  to  the  proper 
classification  and  arrangement  of  applications 
for  office.” 

— Secretary  Windom  said,  in  March,  “I  have 
not  had  five  minutes’  talk  with  the  President 
in  a  week,  except  at  cabinet  meetings.  It  is 
difficult  to  find  the  occasion.  There  are  only 
twenty-four  hours  in  the  day,  and  some  of 
them  must,  of  necessity,  be  given  to  sleep.  We 
shall  not  have  time  to  do  anything  unless  these 
people  go  home  and  give  us  an  opportunity  lo 
attend  to  the  public  business.” 

— On  April  3,  1,500  persons  came  up  the  ele¬ 
vator  to  call  upon  Secretary  Windom,  and 
most  of  them  gained  an  audience.  A  promi¬ 
nent  under  official  said:  “This  thing  ought 
to  stop.  Mr.  Windom,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  has 
as  yet  had  no  time  to  attend  to  the  govern¬ 
ment  business.  His  time  has  been  wholly  oc¬ 
cupied  in  hearing  statements  about  appoint¬ 
ments  to  office.” 

— April  2  President  Harrison  received  over 
100  office  seekers,  each  accompanied  by  con¬ 
gressmen.  After  it  was  over  he  said  that  for 
the  life  of  him  he  could  not  remember  what 
any  one  of  them  wanted. 

— Some  thirty  men,  including  seven  office 
holders,  went  from  Buffalo  to  Washington 
April  9,  and  took  post  in  the  Arlington  hotel. 
From  there  they  marched  to  the  door  of  the 
White  House,  and  after  a  parley  were  admit¬ 
ted  by  tbe  door-keepers  and  appeared  before 
the  President.  Speaking  with  one  voice 
through  one  of  their  number,  they  demanded 
that  Editor  Morgan  should  be  given  the  place  of 
collector  of  customs  at  Buffalo.  There  was  no 
evidence  that  the  good  of  the  service  needed  a 
new  collector,  or  that  the  President  was  hunt¬ 
ing  for  one.  There  was  ev'erywhere  prevalent 
the  fact  that  Morgan  must  have  a  place. 

— According  to  the  Indianapolis  JournaVs 
Washington  correspondent,  congressmen  have 
ordered  out  so  many  democratic  postmasters 
that  the  department  is  much  behindhand  in 
making  out  commissions  for  the  new  hench¬ 
men.  The  postmaster-general  says  that  he 
must  have  new  clerks  to  do  this  work  or  it 
will  have  to  be  delayed  somewhat  while  he 
and  his  present  clerks  go  back  to  the  work 
pertaining  to  carrying  mails,  for  which  they 
were  appoijited  and  for  which  the  post-office 
department  was  organized.  On  the  division 
of  spoils  the  entire  force  works  three  and  one- 
half  hours  extra  daily. 

— There  are  on  an  average  six  applicants 
for  each  of  the  57,000  post-offices,  great  and 
small,  the  larger  having  more  than  100  each. 
At  the  post-office  department  each  state  has  a 
great  case  of  pigeon-holes  equal  to  the  number 
of  its  counties,  with  extra  ones  for  its  larger 
post  offices.  A  large  force  of  clerks  is  con¬ 
stantly  employed,  and  the  entire  force  works 
extra  hours  morning  and  night  in  sorting  and 
briefing  applications  and  putting  them  into 
these  pigeon-holes.  We  don’t  know  whether 
this  is  “  practical  politics”  or  “  practical  civil 
service.” 

— There  are  40  applicants  for  the  Manches¬ 
ter  consulate,  and  for  Birmingham  230. 

— Under  the  constitution  and  laws  the  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  treasury  is  appointed  to  attend  to 
the  business  of  his  department.  It  was  hardly 
contemplated  one  hundretl  years  ago  that  such 
a  notice  as  the  following,  posted  conspicu¬ 


ously  by  Secretary  Windom,  would  be  neces¬ 
sary  ; 

“  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  reserves  the 
time  from  10  to  11:30  o’clock  A.  m.  for  receiv¬ 
ing  senators  and  members  of  the  house  of  rep¬ 
resentatives.  Other  persons  desiring  to  see 
him  upon  matters  relating  to  official  patron¬ 
age  will  please  call  between  11:30  a.  m.  and  1 
p.  M.  The  secretary  requests  that  he  may  be 
excused  from  receiving  visitors  after  1  p.  M., 
in  order  that  he  may  be  able  to  devote  a  part 
of  the  day  to  the  consideration  of  the  current 
business  of  the  department.” 

— “Once  in  five  minutes,”  says  the  Chicago 
Tribune,  the  head  of  some  democratic  post¬ 
master  drops  into  the  basket.” 

— So  far  President  Harrison  has  made  374 
nominations  where  President  Cleveland  made 
171. 


By  the  1st  of  Maya  good  many  incompetents 
who  thought  they  had  secured  life  leases  on 
their  positions  can  be  weeded  out  of  the  mail 
service  and  their  places  filled  by  men  who 
know  the  geography  of  the  country  and  can 
read  writing. — Indianapolis  Journal,  March  14- 


The  official  guillotine  appears  to  work 
smoothly  and  with  great  rapidity. 

The  eye  of  the  executioner  seems  to  be  fixed 
on  Indiana,  and  democrats  are  momentarily 
retiring  from  public  service. 

Mr.  Wanamaker’s  official  guillotine  appears 
to  be  working  very  smoothly. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  April  13. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

— From  Lawrence  county.  “So  far  as  this 
community  is  concerned,  I  think  that  about 
ninety  per  cent,  are  seeking  Indian  agencies, 
post  officesor  some  other  facile  and  luxurious 
method  of  serving  the  government.” 

— From  Fort  Wayne.  “  Now  is  the  time  to 
renew  work  in  the  civil  service  reform  cause. 
Many  good  names  can  be  secured  here  by  the 
aid  of  a  little  personal  effort.” 

— We  are  permitted  to  quote  the  follow¬ 
ing:  “In  returning  the  constitution  of  the 
Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Association 
with  my  signature  attached,  I  beg  to  say  that 
so  long  as  the  association  stands  by  and  lives 
up  to  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Foulke  in  his 
late  address,  that  it  will  measure  Mr.  Harri¬ 
son  by  the  very  same  standard  that  it  applied 
to  Mr.  Cleveland,  so  long  will  I  aid  the  asso¬ 
ciation  in  its  efforts  to  make  its  objects  ob¬ 
tain.” 

— Also  the  following  from  Vincennes  :  “  It 

has  occurred  to  me  that  the  association 
might  devise  ways  to  assist  and  strengthen  the 
President  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  sentiments 
of  his  inaugural.  He  ought  to  be  protected 
from  his  friends — the  Indiana  cormorants. 
We  will  hope  and  labor  that  the  cause  may  be 
advanced  during  the  current  term.” 

— A  clergyman  writes:  “Civil  service  re¬ 
form  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  well  being 
of  our  government.  The  recent  assault  upon 
the  President  is  enough  to  disgust  decent  peo¬ 
ple  and  make  one  want  to  take  a  Gatling  gun 
and  blaze  away  at  the  politicians  and  hungry 
office-seekers.” 

— A  university  professor  writes :  “  The  spoils 
grabbers  seem  to  be  flaring  and  blaring,  like 
an  old-fashioned  tallow  dip,  with  the  largest 
blaze  just  before  they  go  out.” 


Henry  A.  Richmond,  of  Buffalo,  delivered 
an  address  upon  civil  service  reform  before  the 
Young  Men’s  Association  of  that  city,  which 
was  published  in  the  Buffalo  Express  March  24. 
Mr.  Richmond  was  one  of  the  civil  service 
commissioners  of  New  York  and  has  an  ex¬ 
tended  knowledge  of  the  subject  both  in  theory 
and  in  practice,  and  his  address  shows  it. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


“  Washington  teaches  us  to-day  this  great  lesson,  that  those  who  would  associate  their  names  with  events  that  shall  outlive  a  century,  can  only  do  so  by  high 

consecration  to  duty.’’— President  Harrison  at  the  Centennial  of  the  United  States. 


VoL.  I,  Xo.  3. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  MAY,  1889. 


TERMS  : 


50  cents  per  annum. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscrip- 
tion.s  and  advefiisements  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  m  the 
hands  of  the  Executive  which  might  be  used 
with  greater  effect,  for  unhallxnved  purposes,  than 
the  control  of  the  public  press.  We  have  learned, 
too,  from  our  own  as  well  as  the  experience  of  other 
countries,  that  golden  shackles,  by  whomsoever  or  by 
ivhatever  pretense  imposed,  are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the 
iron  bonds  of  despotism.  *  *  *  * 

It  was  the  beautiful  remark  of  a  distin¬ 
guished  English  writer  that  “in  the  Roman 
Senate,  Octavius  had  a  party,  and  Antony  a 
party,  but  the  Commonwealth  had  none.” 
Yet  the  senate  continued  to  meet  in  the 
Temple  of  Liberty,  and  talk  of  the  beauty  and 
sacredness  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  gaze  at 
the  statues  of  the  elder  Brutus  and  of  the 
Curtii  and  the  Decii.  And  the  people  as 
sembled  in  the  forum,  not,  as  in  ihe  days  of 
Camillus  and  the  Scipios,  to  cast  their  free 
votes  for  annual  magistrates  or  pass  upon  the 
acts  of  the  senate,  but  to  receive  from  the  hands  of 
the  leaders  their  share  of  the  spoils.— President 
llVn,  Henry  Harrison’s  Inaugural  Address,  Con¬ 
gressional  Globe,  vol.  7,  pp.  234-5. 

Some  fifty  or  sixty  editors  of  leading  journals 
have  been  appointed  to  office  by  the  present  E.tecu- 
tive  [Jackson.]  *  *  But  the  ground  of 

complaint  is  that  the  aiding,  by  ihe  press,  of  the 
election  of  an  individaal,  is  rewarded,  by  that  same 
individual,  vnih  a  gift  of  moneyed  offices.  ]\Ien 
are  turned  out  of  office,  and  others  put  in, 
and  receive  salaries  from  the  public  treasury, 
on  the  ground,  either  openly  avowed  or 
falsely  denied,  that  they  have  rendered  service 
in  the  election  of  the  very  individual  who  makes  this 
removal  and  makes  this  appointment.  Every  man, 
sir,  must  see  that  this  is  a  vital  stab  at  the 
purity  of  the  press.  It  not  only  assails  its 
independence,  by  addressing  sinister  motives 
to  it,  but  it  furnishes  from  the  public  treasury 
the  means  of  exciting  these  motives.  It  ex¬ 
tends  the  executive  power  over  the  press  in  a 
most  daring  manner. — Daniel  Webster’s  address 
to  the  Massachusetts  Whigs  in  1832, 


The  danger,  then,  consists  merely  in  this: 
The  President  can  displace  from  office  a  man 
whose  merits  require  that  he  should  be  con¬ 
tinued  in  it.  What  will  be  the  motives  which 
the  President  can  feel  for  such  abuse  of  his 
power,  and  the  restraints  that  operate  to  pre¬ 
vent  it?  In  the  first  place,  he  will  be  im¬ 
peachable  by  this  house,  before  the  senate, 
for  such  an  act  of  maladministration  ;  for  I 
contend  that  the  wanton  removal  of  meritorious  offi¬ 
cers  would  subject  him  to  impeachment  and  removal 
from  his  own  high  trust,  *  *  *  Can  we  sup¬ 

pose  a  President,  elected  lor  four  years  only, 
dependent  upon  the  popular  voice,  impeach¬ 
able  by  the  legislature,  little,  if  at  all,  distin¬ 
guished  for  wealth,  personal  talents,  or  influ¬ 
ence  from  the  head  of  the  department  himself; 
I  say,  will  he  bid  defiance  to  all  these  consid¬ 
erations,  and  wantonly  dismiss  a  meritorious 
and  virtuous  officer?  Such  an  abuse  of  power 
exceeds  my  conception. — Congressman  James  Mad¬ 
ison,  June,  1789. 


We  again  ask  friends  of  civil  service 
reform  to  subscribe  for  the  Chronicle,  re¬ 
minding  them  that  this  is  not  an  enter¬ 
prise  for  pecuniary  profit.  We  can  not 
employ  a  canvasser  and  must  trust  that 
those  who  want  to  see  the  cause  succeed 
will  take  the  trouble  to  put  fifty  cents  in 
stamps  into  an  envelope  and  mail  it.  We 
have  a  long  list,  of  names  in  this  state  to 
whom  this  paper  can  be  profitably  sent. 
We  have  received  and  are  anxious  to  re¬ 
ceive  more  subscriptions  to  enable  us  to 
mail  the  Chronicle  to  this  list. 

The  President  has  at  last  appointed  the 
civil  service  commission,  and  the  great  ex¬ 
cellence  of  his  appointments  helps  to  make 
up  for  the  lateness  of  their  appearance. 
Theodore  Roosevelt  is  entirely  a  republi¬ 
can, but  he  is  also  entirely  an  outspoken  civil 
service  reformer  And  the  same  may  be 
said  of  Mr.  Thompson  mutatis  mutandis. 
Both  of  these  gentlemen  will  appre¬ 
ciate  the  dignity  of  their  office  and  the 
great  work  of  reform  to  be  done  in 
the  civil  service.  They  will  maintain 
their  rights  and  the  rights  of  the  law 
and  will  not  attempt  to  shape  the  course 
of  the  commission  in  a  way  to  mollify  the 
the  Ingallses  and  the  Farwells.  The  mat 
ters  which  need  their  instant  attention  are 
the  letting  in  of  daylight  upon  all  the  oper¬ 
ations  of  the  law  and  the  establishment  of 
the  complete  independence  of  local 
boards. 


We  have  seen  the  original  letter  from  j 
the  post-office  department  requesting  the  ] 
resignation  of  R.  S.  Stuart,  an  inspector, 
on  the  ground  of  lack  of  money.  This 
being  refused,  he  was  removed.  We  have 
also  seen  that  other  inspectors  in  the  same 
line  were  at  the  same  time  appointed.  Ob¬ 
viously  the  statement  as  to  lack  of  money 
was  false.  There  is  passing  from  mouth 
to  mouth  among  republicans  talk  that 
Stuart  was  unduly  officious,  particularly  so 
with  Governor  Hovey’s  mail  during  the 
campaign.  It  is  also  said  that  he  inter¬ 
ested  himself  in  the  defense  of  Sim  Coy. 
Very  well ;  if  there  is  a  cause  for  his  dis¬ 
missal  let  it  be  stated.  It  is  unbecoming 
in  a  great  government  to  have  a  cause  and 
substitute  a  falsehood. 

The  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  As¬ 
sociation  has  gained  twenty-five  new  mem¬ 
bers  since  our  last  issue. 


Senator  Sherman  and  Senator  Quay 
or  what  in  this  American  feudalism  is  the 
exact  equivalent,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania, 
are  at  war.  The  cause  is  best  stated  in 
Pennsylvania’s  own  words: 

‘  Senator  Sherman  is  a  receiver  of  stolen 
goods.  There  was  an  agreement  made  be¬ 
tween  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  to  divide 
the  internal  revenue  appointments.  Ohio 
was  to  have  the  deputy  commissionership 
of  internal  revenue,  which  they  got,  with 
the  understanding  that  Pennsylvania  was 
to  keep  hands  off’,  and  that  Pennsylvania 
was  to  have  the  solicitorship  of  internal 
revenue.  I  had  picked  out  B.  Frank  Gilke- 
son,  of  Bristol,  Bucks  county,  for  the  place 
and  supposed  there  would  be  no  interfer¬ 
ence,  but  when  I  went  away  Ohio  went  in 
for  the  solicitorship,  too.” 

“The  Percy  owt  off  Northombarlande, 

And  a  vowe  to  God  mayd  he, 

That  lie  wold  hunte  in  the  niountayns 
Off  Chyviat  within  days  thre, 

In  the  manger  of  doughtS  Douglas 
And  all  that  ever  with  him  be. 

“The  fattiste  hartes  in  all  Cheviat 
He  sayd  he  wold  kill  and  cary  them  away; 

‘Be  my  feth,’  sayd  the  donghet6  Douglas  agayn, 

‘I  wyll  let  that  hontyng  if  that  I  may.’ 

“At  last  the  Douglas  and  the  Percy  met, 

Lyk  to  Captayns  of  myght  and  of  mayne; 

They  swapte  togethar  tyll  they  both  swat 
With  swordes  that  wear  of  fyn  myllan.” 

It  seems  to  be  undisputed  that  a  man 
named  Paul  Vandervoort  was  chief  clerk 
in  the  railway  mail  service  in  1883,  was  re¬ 
peatedly  warned  to  mend  his  ways,  treated 
the  warning  with  contempt,  declared  that 
he  had  a  “pull”  which  would  amply  protect 
him,  was  absent  from  his  post  265  out  of 
310  working  days,  was  in  that  year  and  for 
that  reason  discharged,  and  has  now  been 
appointed  superintendent  of  mails  at 
Omaha.  The  Omaha  Bee  [rep.]  says  it  was 
done  at  the  solicitation  of  the  Nebraska 
congressmen,  and  adds:  “It  is  certainly 
unfortunate  that  the  state  has  thus  been 
humiliated  before  the  country.”  Under  the 
President’s  plan  of  allowing  congressmen 
to  dictate  appointments  many  scalawags 
work  into  the  service;  but  it  is  inconceiva¬ 
ble  that  the  President,  knowing  as  he  now 
does  the  facts,  will  allow  this  particular 
scalawag  to  stay  there. 

It  is  proposed  to  erect  a  monument  to 
the  late  Henry  G.  Pearson.  It  is  as  fitting 
to  commemorate  a  civil  servant,  who  has 
shown  to  an  extraordinary  degree  traits 
admired  by  all  men,  and  has  fallen  in  his 
prime,  as  it  is  to  commemorate  great  sol¬ 
diers  who  have  fallen  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Subscriptions  may  be  sent  to  William 
Potts  Esq.,  35  Liberty  street.  New  York. 


18 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


There  is  disappointment  because  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  did  not  say  more  fit¬ 
ting  things  at  New  York.  The  cause  is 
plain  enough.  He  names  it  “public  duties 
of  a  very  exacting  character.”  His  work 
has  not  been  public  duties.  Since  he  was 
inaugurated  he  has  performed  few  neces¬ 
sary  public  duties.  He  has  allowed  his 
time  and  his  energies  to  be  drawn  upon 
without  cessation,  and  with  a  power 
absolutely  absorbing  by  a  class  of  persons 
who  have  but  the  single  object  of  quarter¬ 
ing  themselves  upon  the  treasury.  To 
attempt  to  satisfy  them  is  not  a  public 
duty.  And  no  living  man  can  look  up 
after  two  months’  steady  attention  to  this 
work  and  go  from  Washington  to  New 
York  with  it  all  the  time  on  his  mind  and 
make  a  speech  at  the  one  hundredth  anni¬ 
versary  of  this  government,  that  will  not 
disappoint  his  friends.  The  occasion  is  an 
exalted  one  and  calls  for  exalted  and  noble 
sentiments.  But  giving  out  patronage  to 
party  friends  and  favorites  is  demeaning  to 
the  character,  and  it  deadens  the  sense  to 
those  patriotic  and  just  principles  of  gov¬ 
ernment,  which  must,  if  a  government  is 
to  live,  from  time  to  time  be  clearly 
grasped  and  boldly  stated  by  the  leaders  of 
the  people. 


“  It  [“  mugwump  civil  service  ”]  has  es¬ 
tablished  rules  and  examinations  that  prac¬ 
tically  debar  men  of  experience  and  sense 

*  *  *  it  can  be  used  as  a  cloak  for  favor¬ 
itism  to  shut  out  those  who  deserve  recog¬ 
nition  for  services  rendered  the  party. 

*  *  *  It  stimulates  public  lying. 

*  *  *  It  is  not  in  harmony  with  our 

form  of  goverment.  *  *  *  It  is  there¬ 
fore  the  duty  of  an  administration  *  * 
to  be  represented  *  *  not  by  political 
opponents  nor  political  eunuchs.”  *  * 

—  Tom  Plait,  one  of  the  New  York  aristocracy 
of  office-hold^s,  in  Frank  Leslie’s  Weekly. 

"A  rogue  ne’er  felt  the  halter  draw 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law.” 

James  Barton,  the  historian,  encourages 
the  Chronicle  with  money  and  with  sym¬ 
pathy.  W e  are  permitted  to  quote  from  his 
letter  of  April  20 : 

“The  spectacle  afforded  at  present  by 
those  at  Washington,  who  are  turning  out 

f^ost-masters  so  fast,  is  most  pitiful  and 
amentable.  What  a  satire  upon  them 
the  inaugural  celebration  at  New  York! 
To  think  that  what  Washington  began  so 
simply  and  so  nobly  should  have  ended  in 
this!  There  is  only  one  class  whom  it 
does  not  sicken — the  professional  politi¬ 
cians,  and  they  are  the  public  enemy,  as 
much  so  as  Louis  Napoleon  was  when  he 
got  astride  of  fair  France,  as  much  so  as 
Nero  was  when  he  fiddled  while  Rome 
was  burning.” 

It  was  a  happy  thought  for  Mr.  Barton 
the  other  night  at  a  dinner  where  civil 
service  reform  was  a  subject  for  male¬ 
diction  to  pronounce  the  spoils  system  “  not 
the  system  of  Louis  XIV.,  but  the  system 
of  Mme.  de  Bompadour.”  • 


Marshall  C.  Woods  has  been  appointed 
box-clerk  in  the  Indianapolis  post-office. 
The  place  was  given  to  him  as  spoil,  and 
this  has  caused  remark,  for  the  place  was 
supposed  to  be  within  the  civil  service 
rules.  It  was  under  those  rules  until 
1888,  when  Bostmaster  General  Dickinson, 
evidently  desiring  to  keep  the  law  within 
the  narrowest  limits,  wrote  around  to  dif¬ 
ferent  post-offices  suggesting  there  were 
places  that  might  be  exempted  from  ex¬ 
amination.  Bostmaster  Jones  naturally 
met  the  suggestion  with  alacrity,  and  be¬ 
tween  the  two,  the  box  clerk,  the  weigh¬ 
ing  clerk  and  all  the  money-order  clerks, 
were  taken  out  from  under  the  rules. 
The  pretense  is,  that  they  handle  money, 
and  that  the  postmaster,  being  liable  for 
them  on  his  official  bond,  should  have  the 
right  to  select  those  whom  he  can  trust.  For 
instance,  Marshall  C.  Woods  now  and  then 
collects  a  little  money  for  box-rent  and 
carries  it  to  the  cashier,  and  Bostmaster 
Wallace  by  appointing  him  impliedly  de¬ 
clares  that  he  has  made  a  careful  selection, 
and  that  Woods  is  more  to  be  relied  upon 
than  the  clerks  who  come  in  under  the 
competitive  examination.  And  the  same 
is  true  of  the  man  who  collects  pound -rate 
postage  in  the  back  part  of  the  post-office 
and  carries  it  a  few  feet  to  the  cashier.  Tn 
state  the  case  is  to  prove  that  these  exemp¬ 
tions  were  never  made  except  by  deadly 
enemies  of  the  law,  and  one  of  the  first  acts 
of  the  Bresident  should  be  to  put  them 
under  the  rules  again.  A  very  small  bond 
from  each  will  make  the  postmaster  abso¬ 
lutely  secure.  And  while  the  Bresident  is 
about  it,  he  would  do  well  to  abolish  the 
nonsensical  exemption  of  the  “heads”  of 
departments  in  such  post-offices,  on  the 
ground  that  they  are  “  confidential  ”  posi¬ 
tions.  Such  places  should  be  filled  by  pro¬ 
motion  from  the  ranks  after  competition 
and  not  by  ward-workers  who  leave  noth¬ 
ing  undone  to  bring  the  law  into  disrepute. 

The  post-office  authorities  here  have 
asked  for  and  obtained  a  special  examina¬ 
tion  for  clerks  and  carriers,  to  be  held  in 
Indianapolis  on  May  22.  The  last  exami¬ 
nation  was  in  February,  and  the  next 
regular  examination  would  be  in  August. 
There  is  no  lack  of  names  upon  the  eligible 
list.  Why  should  a  special  examination  be 
asked  for,  and  why  did  Mr.  Lyman,  then 
composing  the  commission,  grant  it? 
This  is  exactly  the  course  pursued  by  Bost- 
master  Jones  and  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  four  years  ago.  Are  we  to  have  a  rep¬ 
etition  of  results,  also  ?  This  office  did  not 
need  any  special  examination,  and  the  fact 
that  one  is  to  be  held  is  a  strong  indication 
that  there  is  a  set  of  republicans  “  demand¬ 
ing*’  places,  and  that  something  is  to  be  done 
to  favor  them.  This  is  not  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  civil  service  law  nor  are  these 


steps  taken  by  those  who  want  to  put  that 
law  upon  a  solid  basis.  We  do  not  know 
what  the  authorities  intend,  but  we  do 
know  that  persons  who  are  to  be  examined 
are  very  confident  that  there  is  to  be  an 
underground  republican  way  of  getting 
in.  The  new  local  board  does  not  inspire 
confidence.  All  concerned  had  better 
think  twice  before  bringing  about  a  state 
of  affairs,  where,  after  an  examination  at 
an  irregular  time,  and  upon  practically  no 
public  notice,  only  democrats  are  dis¬ 
missed  and  only  republicans  are  appointed. 


Among  the  appointments  made  by 
Bostmaster  Wallace  the  reinstatement 
of  E.  H.  Moore  as  a  distributing  clerk  is 
reported.  Moore  was  discharged  less  than 
a  year  ago,  and  he  could  only  get  back  in¬ 
to  the  service  by  the  postmaster  request¬ 
ing  the  local  civil  service  board  to  certify 
him  again  for  appointment,  and  then  ap¬ 
pointing  him.  The  Indianapolis  Sentinel 
says  that  Moore  was  discharged  by  Jones 
“  for  running  a  gambling  house  for  which 
he  was  arrested,  taken  to  jail  and  subse¬ 
quently  fined.  His  resort  was  in  the  Tal¬ 
bott  and  New  block,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
arrest  a  whole  outfit  of  gambling  appara¬ 
tus  was  found  in  the  place.”  This  charge 
made  some  two  weeks  ago  has  not  been 
denied.  When  Moore  was  discharged  by 
Jones,  the  civil  service  reformers  did  not 
take  up  the  case  because  they  believed 
upon  investigation  that  the  dismissal  was 
just.  It  would  now  be  interesting  to  know 
firet,  how  the  local  board  came  to  certify 
this  name  for  reappointment,  when  they 
can  lawfully  only  certify  those  who  have 
left  the  service  without  fault ;  and  second, 
what  is  going  to  be  done  about  it.  No 
greater  proof  is  wanting  of  the  necessity  of 
making  local  boards  independent.  Does 
anyone  suppose  that  a  board  composed  of 
John  R.  Wilson,  Noble  C.  Butler  and  W. 
B.  Fishback  would  have  made  the  certifi¬ 
cate? 


No  system  of  civil  service  reform  that 
contemplates  breaking  up  the  use  of  pub¬ 
lic  offices  to  pay  personal  and  party  debts 
can  for  a  moment  yield  that  presidential 
postmasters,  heads  of  divisions,  chiefs  of  bu¬ 
reaus  and  such  officers  are  as  a  matter  of 
course  to  be  changed  every  four  years. 
These  places  are  to  be  for  the  rank  and  file, 
and  are  to  be  the  reward  of  skill  and  effi¬ 
ciency,  and  are  to  be  won  by  competition. 
The  officers  themselves  are  to  be  officers  not 
of  a  town  or  city,  but  of  a  service  making 
their  duties  a  specialty,  always  with  the  un¬ 
derstanding  that  there  is  no  limit  to  the 
power  of  dismissal.  Nothing  short  of  this 
end  will  be  civil  service  reform,  and  the  ob¬ 
ject  is  not  to  be  given  up  because  there  are 
flying  around  cant  phrases  about  the  good 
of  the  service  and  life-leases  and  keeping 
the  offices  near  to  the  people,  and  an 
aristocracy  of  office-holders.  To  reasonable 


to  be  found  in  the  CivU  Service  Record  for 
April. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


19 


BILLY  PATTERSON. 

The  post-office  department  has  selected 
Billy  Patterson  to  be  superintendent  of 
mails  at  the  Indianapolis  post  office.  He 
has  for  a  long  time  kept  a  livery  stable  in 
Court  street  with  moderate  success.  He  is 
a  genial  man  who  is  fairly  intelligent  in  the 
livery  business.  He  has  been  helping  to 
run  elections  in  Marion  County  for  many 
years  and  has  several  times  been  secretary 
of  the  republican  county  committee.  His 
success  in  that  field  has  been  only  indiffer¬ 
ent  and  the  republican  majority  has 
steadily  dwindled  under  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  himself  and  his  fellow-workers. 
As  superintendent  of  mails  he  is  supposed 
to  know  at  any  given  moment  by  what 
route  the  mail  then  made  up  can  quickest 
reach  its  destination.  This  involves  an 
exact  and  extended  knowledge  of  railway 
time-tables  and  railway  mail  routes 
throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  United 
States.  Further,  he  is  supposed  to  period 
ically  examine  the  distributors  of  the  In¬ 
dianapolis  post-office  upon  their  quickness 
and  accuracy  as  distributors  and  upon  the 
schemes  of  places  and  railways,  with  which 
they  must  be  entirely  familiar  in  order  to 
'-perform  their  duties.  He  has  other  duties, 
but  these  two  instances  are  fair  examples. 
Where  Billy  Patterson  is  known  it  causes 
a  smile  to  suggest  that  he  is  qualified  for 
the  place.  He  is  not  qualified  and  his  ap¬ 
pointment  is  a  disgraceful  use  of  public 
office  snd  the  public  treasury  to  give  a 
hardly  successful  “  worker  ”  some  money. 
It  is  all  the  more  disgraceful  because  there 
were  at  the  least  twenty  men  hereabouts 
qualified  by  a  training  of  years  in  mail 
service,  and  wanting  employment,  who 
could  have  been  appointed.  This  is  a  trav¬ 
esty  upon  the  republican  doctrine  that 
fitness  is  the  only  discriminating  test  of 
appointment  and  every  day  that  Patterson 
remains  elevated  before  the  people  will 
give  it  additional  and  rasping  emphasis. 

THE  CENSUS  BUREAU  AND  CIVIL 
SERVICE  REFORM. 

“The  reform  should  be  extended  to  all 
grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applica¬ 
ble”  So  says  the  republican  platform,  and 
accompanies  the  declaration  with  the 
words,  “we  will  not  fail  to  keep  our 
pledges.” 

“I  am  in  entire  accord  with  the  declara¬ 
tions  of  the  convention.”  “Some  extensions 
of  the  classified  list  are  practicable  and 
desirable.”  “It  will  be  my  sincere  purpose 
if  elected,  to  advance  the  reform.”  So  says 
General  Harrison  in  his  letter  of  accep¬ 
tance.  The  time  is  not  far  off  when  it  will 
appear  whether  or  not  President  Harrison 
intends  to  make  good  his  own  promise  and 
the  pledge  of  the  party  to  extend  this  re¬ 


form.  There  is  no  branch  of  the  service 
in  which  skill  can  be  better  demonstrated 
by  civil  service  i  ules  than  in  the  census 
bureau.  There  is  no  place  which  ought  to 
be  kept  freer  from  even  the  suspicion  of 
partisan  influence.  This  is  a  kind  of  work 
to  which  civil  service  reform  has  already 
been  successfully  applied  elsewhere.  Ex¬ 
perience  has  shown  that  it  is  practicable. 

The  census  commissioner  himself  is  re¬ 
ported  by  the  Indianapolis  Journal  as  say¬ 
ing  :  “  I  propose  to  be  governed  by  the 
following  considerations  :  1st.  Those  who 
have  had  experience  in  the  last  census  will 
have  the  preference,  and  2d.  Those  who 
have  passed  the  civil  service  examination. 
For  others  I  propose  to  have  an  examina¬ 
tion  and  make  appointments  based  upon 
the  results  of  such  examination.”  The 
commissioner  then  recognizes  the  neces¬ 
sity  for  trained  men,  whose  ability  shall 
be  demonstrated  by  examination  and 
actual  trial,  a  principle  which  forms  the 
ground  work  of  civil  service  reform. 

But  scarcely  is  this  declaration  made 
when  we  learn  that :  “  There  continues  to 
be  strife  over  the  question  of  extending  the 
civil  service  law  to  embrace  the  census 
bureau.  The  proposition  is  unpopular  in 
all  branches  of  the  public  service,  except 
in  the  building  where  the  civil  service 
commissioners  are  located.  Secretary 
Noble  said  to-day,  that  he  did  not  know 
whether  the  census  bureau  would  be  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  civil  service  or  not ;  that  he 
was  naturally  loath  to  see  that  amount  of 
patronage  thrown  away.  He  had  not  re¬ 
ferred  the  question  to  the  President,  and 
did  not  believe  Superintendent  Porter 
would  do  so.  Secretary  Noble  said  he  in¬ 
tended  to  go  right  ahead  and  make  ap¬ 
pointments  for  the  census  bureau  without 
any  regard  to  the  civil  service  law,  unless 
he  was  requested  to  stop.  He  believed  that 
the  appointments  now  being  made  were 
based  upon  the  very  best  principle — that 
of  fitness — and  that  there  was  no  necessity 
for  the  civil  service  law  supervening.  The 
civil  service  commission  announced  that 
it  can  supply  all  the  positions  of  the  cen¬ 
sus  bureau  from  almost  any  one  of  the 
series,  as  there  are  thousands  more  eligi- 
bles  than  there  are  places.” 

Now  this  matter  is  of  the  utmost  impor¬ 
tance.  According  to  the  Journal  there  are 
175  supervisors,  1,200  to  1,600  clerks  and 
over  40,000  enumerators  to  be  appointed. 
To  make  these  places  dependent  in  any 
degree  upon  patronage  is  to  give  direct 
encouragement  to  political  debauchery. 
The  appointments  are  not  all  to  be  made 
immediately,  but  the  time  to  extend  the 
rules  is  the  present  time,  before  the  scram¬ 
ble  begins  and  before  the  maximum  of 
“  pressure  ”  is  applied  on  behalf  of  the  old 
system.  There  is  no  better  place  than  this  to 
test  the  character  of  this  administration  as 
a  promise-keeper  or  a  promise-breaker. 
Will  the  reform  be  extenaed  to  the  census 
bureau  ? 


PAYING  THE  WORKERS. 

Who  will  do  the  party  work  with  no 
spoil?  A  man  who  has  worked  many  sea¬ 
sons  for  his  party  and  has  never  been  paid 
out  of  its  loaves  and  fishes,  who  believes  in 
the  necessity  of  party  organization  and 
feels  a  pride  in  what  his  own  party  has  ac¬ 
complished  in  that  line,  would  come  out 
squarely  for  a  reform  that  would  manage 
the  public  business  for  the  public,  if  he 
were  not  concerned  for  the  future  of  party 
organization.  He  asks  who  will  do  the 
party  work  if  there  are  no  offices  for  the 
workers.  This  organization,  reaching  into 
every  school  district,  must  be  had,  and 
when  once  you  fill  the  clerical  places  with 
men  hired  only  for  their  fitness  and  re¬ 
tained  for  the  same  reason,  they  wilt  con¬ 
cern  themselves  chiefly  with  doing  well  the 
work  for  which  they  are  hired. 

It  is  hard  to  say  what  people  will  do 
until  they  are  given  a  chance  to  try.  If  it  is 
permitted  to  look  outside  of  our  own  coun¬ 
try  to  England,  it  is  seen  that  parties  are 
sharply  defined,  campaigns  stubbornly 
contested  and  as  much  party  organization 
had  as  its  greatest  admirer  could  ask  for 
and  no  dearth  of  party  workers,  and  all 
this  in  a  land  without  the  spoil  of  offices 
for  division.  There  are  two  remedies, 
should  it  prove  upon  trial  that  our  people 
have  become  so  dead  to  patriotism,  so  in¬ 
different  to  great  principles  at  issue  as  to 
refuse  needed  funds  for  legitimate  cam¬ 
paign  purposes,  to  decline  to  hear  speeches 
or  to  attend  meetings  or  to  shape  a  plan 
of  campaign  unless  they  were  paid.  We 
may  return  to  the  present  system ;  or  we 
may  adopt  a  recent  suggestion,  hire  two 
men  for  every  office ;  one  congressman  to 
study  great  questions  and  make  wise  laws 
his  counterpart  to  organize  out  of  public 
officials  a  body  of  men,  who,  as  Senator  In¬ 
galls  eloquently  said,  will  ride  for  him,  fight 
for  him, and  arise  for  him  and  receive  their 
pay  out  of  the  public  purse;  one  railway 
mail  clerk  to  distribute  letters  and  papers 
and  to  feel  that  his  tenure  depends  upon  the 
quality  of  his  work  and  his  moral  character 
and  his  counterpart  to  run  for  his  congress¬ 
man,  to  get  the  caucus  packed  for  him, 
and  to  do  the  other  malodorous  labor 
described  by  Blackstone;  to  have  one 
postmaster  who  understands  that  both 
political  parties  are  taxed  to  pay  his 
wages,  that  both  have  letters  to  send  and 
to  receive,  and  that  both  have  eyes  to  see 
and  senses  to  be  tickled  by  the  most  skill¬ 
ful  and  courteous  service,  his  mate  to  be 
the  editor  of  the  town  paper,  the  chairman 
of  the  county  committee,  and  the  post¬ 
master  and  his  work  to  further,  not  the  best 
interests  of  the  country,  nor  of  his  entire 
party,  but  the  ends  of  his  own  lord.  This 
plan  may,  at  first  thought,  seem  a  useless 
waste  of  public  funds,  but  in  fact  it  would 
be  less  costly  than  the  present  system. 


20 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


SUSPENDING  JUDGMENT. 

During  the  month  the  President  has 
said  that  he  ought  not  to  be  judged  too 
soon;  that  dividing  offices  is  not  the  sole 
business  of  a  President,  and  that  judg¬ 
ment  should  be  suspended  until  his  action 
on  matters  not  pertaining  to  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  can  be  seen. 

The  President  clearly  has  a  wrong 
conception  of  the  relative  weight  of  his 
constitutional  duties.  He  is  a  treaty 
maker  but  only  to  a  small  extent  does  this 
call  for  his  attention.  He  conducts  our 
business  with  other  nations ;  but  only 
rarely  does  this  absorb  him.  His  great 
constitutional  duty  is  with  federal  offices 
and  federal  officers.  It  is  his  duty  to  carry 
out  the  laws,  and  to  enable  him  to  do  this 
he  is  made  superintendent  of  a  body  of 
civil  employes  numbering  about  142,000. 
This  is  a  number  six  times  greater  than 
that  under  any  private  employer  in  this 
country.  To  fill  the  vacancies  that  would 
naturally  occur  in  an  ordinary  business 
course  and  to  keep  these  employes  up  to 
their  work  is  the  one  duty  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent  compared  with  which  all  other  duties 
are  insignificant.  The  President  is  there¬ 
fore  mistaken  in  thinking  that  there  is  a 
field  outside  of  the  civil  service  in  which 
he  will  do  great  things.  If  he  lets  politi¬ 
cians  make  him  believe  that  his  chief  work 
is  to  trade  employes  instead  of  putting 
employes  at  work  and  keeping  them  at  it, 
he  ought  not  to  expect  judgment  to  be  sus¬ 
pended.  Further,  the  people  care  nothing 
for  office-seekers.  They  sign  their  peti¬ 
tions  to  get  rid  of  them,  but  they  hardly 
give  a  passing  thought  to  a  disappointed 
office-seeker.  It  is  only  the  office-seekers 
who  are  in  earnest,  and  they  are  very  much 
in  earnest.  Men  are  apt  to  be  so  when  they 
think  there  is  within  reach  a  good  living 
and  little  work.  They  are  apt  to  get  ex¬ 
cited,  and  desperate,  and  unscrupulous,  and 
threatening,  and  when  disappointed,  as 
most  of  them  must  be,  they  very  likely 
will  not  vote  the  party  ticket,  or  at  least 
not  work  at  the  next  election.  Now,  this 
office-seeking  demonstration  may  have 
blinded  the  President  so  that  he  can  not 
see  how  contemptuously  the  people  regard 
the  whole  business. 


HENRY  G.  PEARSON. 

Postmaster  Pearson  died  in  April  under 
circumstances  that  have  caused  wide  and 
increasing,  rather  than  decreasing,  remark. 
It  is  admitted  on  every  hand  that  his  death 
w'as  caused  by  long  and  incessant 
work  and  care  which  came  to  him  in 
the  line  of  his  duty  as  postmaster 
of  New  York  city.  Gradually  also,  it  has 
come  to  light  that  the  act  of  his  re-appoint¬ 
ment  by  President  Cleveland  was  the  sum 


total  of  virtue  due  the  late  administration 
in  connection  with  this  post-office.  There 
is  an  old  saying  of  Andrew  Jackson’s, 
“John  Marshall  has  made  his  decision,  now 
let  him  enforce  it.”  This  was  the  spirit  of 
William  F.  Vilas  and  Don  M.  Dickinson  as 
postmasters-general, toward  the  man  whom 
public  sentiment  had  forced  the  President 
to  re-appoint.  To  them  he  had  got  the  of¬ 
fice  and  now  he  might  run  it.  Through 
four  years  they  looked  on  while  the  best 
postmaster  in  the  country  struggled  Avith 
his  means  of  work  twenty  per  cent,  short, 
and  they  answered  his  appeals  for  help 
with  curt  refusal  or  brutal  cynicism.  They 
hoped  to  see  him  break  down  and  make 
room  for  one  of  their  kind,  but  they  were 
disappointed.  He  did  the  work  as  it  had 
never  been  done  before,  although  it 
brought  upon  him  the  enmity  of  a  large 
section  of  his  over-worked  employes,  and 
cost  him  his  peace  of  mind  and  his  life. 
Under  no  circumstances  is  Mr.  Cleveland 
to  be  allowed  to  escape  his  responsibility 
in  this  matter.  This  post-office  should 
have  been  his  greatest  pride  and  should 
have  had  from  time  to  time  his  personal 
attention.  He  now  seems  to  have  thrown 
the  commission  as  he  would  throw  a  bone 
to  a  dog,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to 
distributing  100,000  other  places  to  men  of 
a  more  congenial  stripe. 

It  would  seem  that  President  Harrison 
in  making  appointments  with  that  care, 
without  which  he  has  no  right  to  make 
them,  must  have  noted  the  excellence  of 
this  post-office,  and  that  nowhere  could  he 
obtain  for  it  a  man  by  many  times  so  skill¬ 
ful  and  competent  as  Mr.  Pearson.  Fur¬ 
ther,  the  magnificent  working  of  this  office 
had  been  brought  about  by  the  most  rigid 
enforcement  of  those  reform  principles  for 
which  the  platform  and  letter  of  acceptance 
upon  which  General  Harrison  was  elected 
are  noted.  Now  why  did  President  Har¬ 
rison  refuse  to  reappoint  Mr.  Pearson,  and 
second,  why  did  he  choose  in  his  stead  Van 
Cott,  a  man  who  has  lived  by  politics  and 
whose  life  has  been  a  steady  example  of 
what  is  not  civil  service  reform  ?  General 
Harrison  is  a  brave  man,  and  he  is  also 
an  honest  man;  these  questions  out  of 
the  mouths  of  men  just  as  brave  and  hon¬ 
est,  will  be  put  to  him  until  he  will  admit 
to  himself  that  in  this  case  fidelity  and 
efficiency  were  not  the  sure  tenure  of 
office,  nor  was  fitness  and  not  party  service 
the  essential  and  discriminating  test  of  ap¬ 
pointment. 


THE  BRUTAL  THOUGH  FRANK  AND 
BOLD  SPOILS  SYSTEM. 

President  Harrison,  in  1886,  alluded  in 
the  senate  to  the  spoils  system  as  “  brutal,” 
but  if  practiced  he  wanted  to  see  it  boldly 
and  frankly  done  rather  than  tricked  out 


in  reform  disguise.  For  two  months  there 
has  gone  on  at  Washington  so  unblushing 
a  boldness  in  exhibiting  the  spoils  system 
in  all  its  savage  nakedness  that  it  would 
make  a  patriot  almost  despair,  if  the  signs 
were  not  at  hand  that  the  evil  had  got  to 
the  point  of  working  its  own  cure. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  easy  going  and 
optimistic  people  in  this  country  who  find 
it  more  convenient  to  believe,  as  long  as 
they  can,  that  all  goes  well  with  the  repub¬ 
lic,  and  that  no  cessation  from  pleasure¬ 
seeking,  or  money-seeking  is  necessary 
from  them.  They  have  been  for  years 
easity  irritated  at  the  growing ‘conviction 
that  the  time  was  near  when  their  Puritan 
consciences  would  rise  up  in  all  their 
might  and  compel  a  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  all  was  not  well  with  the  republic 
when  100,000  offices,  costing  $80,000,000 
of  money,  were  used  by  the  victorious 
party  to  perpetuate  its  power,  and  that  in 
this  lay  a  power  menacing  the  free  institu¬ 
tions  of  the  country.  The  President  and 
his  party  may  wreck  themselves,  but  not 
the  reform  of  the  civil  service,  should  the 
instances  of  the  lust  for  carnage  pile  up  so 
thick  and  so  fast  that  there  is  no  respite 
from  the  horrid  spectacle. 

There  are  thousands  who  feel  a  personal 
humiliation  in  the  fact  that  the  Chief  Mag¬ 
istrate  of  this  country  one  day  worships 
with  all  the  solemn  and  grateful  associa¬ 
tions  connected  with  an  august  anniver¬ 
sary,  in  the  pew  occupied  a  century  ago  by 
Washington, and  on  the  next  returns  to  his 
patient  hearing  of  the  unseemly  demands 
of  a  band  of  office  beggars.  But  the  hope¬ 
ful  sign  is  that  all  over  the  country  banked 
fires  of  patriotism  have  burst  out  and  hun¬ 
dreds,  where  a  few  weeks  ago  there  was 
one,  feel  that  it  is  worth  while  for  a  time  to 
abandon  personal  ease  and  go  out  and  rid 
the  land  of  a  danger  more  menacing  and 
insidious  than  any  foreign  foe.  It  is  a 
notable  sign  that  the  religious  press  has  so 
largely  pointed  out  the  cruel  significance 
of  the  acts  connected  with  Mr.  Pearson’s 
death  and  his  fidelity  to  a  high  duty  at 
great  personal  sacrifice.  It  is  a  yet  more 
notable  sign  that  in  the  same  church  in 
which  Washington,  before  his  inaugural, 
heard  religious  services,  a  bishop  of  to-day 
with  noble  and  calm,  but  unmistakable  lan¬ 
guage,  reminds  his  audience  how  impos¬ 
sible  it  is  to  imagine  that  Washington 
could  tolerate  the  sack  of  the  country  now 
in  process.  Nothing  has  more  surely  indi¬ 
cated,  than  have  the  wide  spread  commen¬ 
dations  of  this  sermon,  what  a  rock  to  stand 
upon  has  any  President  who  will  look  to 
the  people  for  approval  and  support  in  again 
obeying  the  constitution  and  doing  the 
greatest  public  duty.  When  the  churches 
and  the  religious  press  will,  even  in  the 
most  moderate  way,  chronicle  the  passing 
facts  of  the  spoils  system,  its  extinction  is 
near  at  hand.  A  system  that  tramples  ruth¬ 
lessly  on  ever  precept  of  humanity  must 
fall. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


21 


THE  RAILWAY  MAIL  SERVICE. 

After  President  Cleveland  had  performed 
the  only  act  the  civil  service  law  left  to  be 
performed,  and  had  put  the  railway  mail 
service  under  the  law,  President  Harrison 
put  off  the  date  of  taking  effect  six  weeks. 
As  we  said  last  month  we  believe  this  act 
not  warranted  by  law.  It  does  not  help 
the  unlawfulness  to  say  that  Commissioner 
Lyman  recommended  it.  The  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission  was  and  had  been  crip¬ 
pled  for  many  months.  To  make  this 
commission  efficient  was  the  most  pressing 
duty  upon  the  President  from  the  time  of 
his  inauguration ;  yet  two  months  went  by 
before  this  duty  was  performed.  The 
commision  was  left  composed  of  one  man 
to  get  ready  as  best  it  could.  Now  the 
least  to  be  expected  was  that  the  service 
would  be  let  alone.  Instead,  here  is  Con¬ 
gressman  Owen,  just  returned  from  Wash¬ 
ington,  having  worked  out  13  democratic 
railway  mail  clerks,  and  worked  in  a  like 
number  of  his  henchmen.  This  is  a  typi¬ 
cal  case ;  from  all  over  the  country  comes 
the  same  story.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
six  weeks  Assistant  Postmaster-general 
Clarkson,  a  political  buccaneer,  and  Super¬ 
intendent  Bell,  apparently  a  mere  tool  of 
this  political  buccaneer,  redoubled  their 
efforts  in  turning  out  democrats  and  put¬ 
ting  in  republicans,  and  for  sheer  lack  of 
time,  they  neither  sent  out  the  dismissals 
and  appointments  nor  even  kept  tally. 
And  although  the  law  is  pretended  to  be 
in  force,  these  papers,  made  out  by  hun¬ 
dreds  in  the  last  hours  before  May  1,  are 
now  being  put  into  effect.  This  is  a  trick 
worthy  of  the  palmiest  of  the  Gormans 
and  the  Vilases.  The  object  of  these 
changes  is  apparent  in  the  following : 

Post-office  Department, 

Office  Gen’l  Sup’t  R’y  Mail  Service, 
Washington,  April  13th,  1889. 

3ir.  J.  T.  Loving,  Richmond,  Va. : 

Sir — Superintendent  Vickery  has  re¬ 
ferred  to  this  office  your  letter  of  the  11th 
inst.,  asking  the  reasons  for  your  retire¬ 
ment  from  the  service,  and  in  reply  would 
th&i  the  action  was  taken  in  consequence 
oj  no  fault  on  your  part,  or  for  reasons  affecting 
in  any  luay  your  character  or  standing  as  a 
citizen. 

The  reasons  for  your  retirement  were  of  a 
political  nature. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  L.  Bell, 

General  Superintendent. 

Some  of  the  men  turned  out  were  as  good 
.  men  as  were  in  the  mail  service.  The  dis- 
c»’iminating  test  in  appointments  is  shown 
in  such  appointments  as  the  negro  politi¬ 
cian  Bagby,  mentioned  last  month,  and 
Billy  Patterson  and  Paul  Vandervoort 
spoken  of  in  another  column.  There  has 
been  a  six  weeks’  loot  of  the  railway  mail 
service.  It  was  not  believable  that  Presi 
dent  Harrison  would  allow  it.  There  is 
laid  upon  him  a  burden  from  which  noth¬ 
ing  but  heroic  treatment  can  relieve  him. 
He  should  revoke  every  appointment  made 
to  this  service  since  March  15,  and  should 
restore  the  service  as  it  stood  on  that  day 
and  then  should  let  the  law  and  the  rules, 
and  the  civil  service  commission  do  their 
work. 


I  AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

“  Large  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were 
allotted  by  the  conquering  generals  to  the 
superior  ollicers  of  the  army,  and  by  them 
dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allot¬ 
ments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most  de¬ 
serving  soldiers.  *  *  The  condition  of 
holding  the  lands  thus  given  was  that  Ihe 
possessor  should  do  service  faithfully,  both 
at  home  and  in  the  wars,  to  him  by  whom 
they  were  given,”  and,  on  breach  of  this 
condition,  “  by  not  performing  the  stipu¬ 
lated  service,  or  by  deserting  his  lord  in 
battle,”  the  lands  reverted  to  the  lord. 
Tlie  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath 
of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition  did 
homage,  “  openly  and  humbly  kneeling, 
being  ungirt,  uncovered  and  holding  up 
his  hands,  both  together,  betw'een  those  of 
his  lord,  who  sate  before  him,  and  there 
professing  that  he  did  become  his  MAN 
from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
earthly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss 
from  his  lord.”  Services  were  free  and 
base.  Free  service  was  to  pay  a  sum  of 
money,  or  serve  under  the  lord  in  war. 
Base  service  was  to  plow  the  lord’s  land, 
to  make  his  liedge  or  carry  out  his  dung.— 
Blackstone. 

— May  3.  The  President  appointed  his 
brother.  Carter  B.  Harrison,  United  States 
marshal  for  the  middle  district  of  Tennessee. 
It  is  stated  that  there  was  no  other  candidate. 
Query:  Would  any  office-seeker  be  a  candi¬ 
date  against  a  President’s  brother? 

— May  10.  The  President  appointed  his 
brother-in-law,  John  N.  Scott,  superintendent 
of  construction  of  the  Port  Townsend  (W.  T.) 
custom  house. 

— May  15.  The  President  appointed  Alvin 
Saunders,  father-in-law  of  the  President’s  son, 
to  be  member  of  board  of  registration  and 
election  in  Utah.  Salary  $5,000. 

— Congressman  Owen’s  raid  : 

April  27 — Representative  Owen  arrived 
from  Logansport  this  morning  and  went 
directly  to  the  post-office  department  to  secure 
some  fourth-class  postmasterships.  He  has  so 
far  had  thirty-six  postmasters  appointed  in 
his  district. 

April  29 — He  camped  in  the  corridors  of 
the  post  office  department,  and  put  a  watch 
upon  the  office  of  the  general  superintendent 
of  the  railway  mail  service.  In  his  pockets 
he  carried  various  papers  intended  to  procure 
democratic  scalps  and  put  into  position  sev¬ 
eral  republicans.  He  has  remained  steadily 
on  duty,  with  the  exception  of  the  twenty-four 
hours  covering  Sunday. 

May  3 — Representative  Owen  left  Washing¬ 
ton  to-night  for  his  home  at  Logansport.  He 
came  here  to  secure  a  number  of  changes  in 
the  railway  mail  service  in  his  district,  and 
met  with  extraordinary  success.  He  secured 
the  removal  of  thirteen  democrats  and  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  as  many  republicans  to  fill  their 
places.  This  is  one  more  appointment  in  this 
service  than  has  been  secured  by  any  one  man 
in  congress.  The  clerks  about  the  office  of  the 
superintendent  of  the  railway  mail  service  are 
now  referring  to  Mr.  Owen  as  “the  Hoosier 
hustler.” —  Washington  Despatches  to  the  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal. 

— One  of  the  most  difficult  and  delicate  du¬ 
ties  falling  to  the  lot  of  congressmen  in  the 


interior  of  the  state  is  the  selection  of  suita¬ 
ble  candidates  for  post-offices  in  their  districts. 
With  half  a  dozen  applicants  for  each  place, 
every  one  of  whom  is  supported  by  a  per¬ 
sonal  friend  of  the  congressman  who  imagines 
that  the  office  rightly  belongs  to  him,  the 
ordeal  of  selection  is  one  from  which  any  man 
might  shrink. — Philadelphia  Press,  April  15. 

— The  papers  announced  that  Huginin  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Newport,  Minnesota. 
A  citizen  wrote  to  Senator  Davis  remonstrat¬ 
ing.  He  replied  that  Representative  Snider 
had  control  of  the  matter.  Snider  was  seen 
and  said  that  Davis  had  been  interfering,  that 
when  he  left  Washington,  it  was  understood 
that  Durand  would  be  appointed.  Snider 
“  then  took  the  matter  in  hand,”  and  Durand 
has  been  appointed.  It  seems  that  Huginin 
was  a  client  of  Senator  Davis. 

— “  I  feel  to-night,”  said  Senator  Cullum 
“  as  though  Asa  Matthews  would  and  should 
get  the  First  Comptrollership  of  the  Treasury.” 
— Chicago  Tribune,  April  25. 

— The  first  comptrollership  is  one  of  the  most 
responsible  positions  in  the  department  service. 
All  warrants  issued  by  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury  whether  intended  to  cover  public 
revenues  into  the  treasury  or  to  authorize  pay¬ 
ments  of  money  from  the  treasury  require  the 
signature  of  the  first  comptroller.  All  ac¬ 
counts  examined  by  the  first  and  fifth  auditor 
and  by  the  commissioner  of  the  general  land 
office  are  re-examined,  revised,  and  certified 
to  by  the  first  auditor,  who  also  superintends 
the  receiving  of  all  debts  due  the  United 
States.  The  requisitions  issued  in  payment  of 
drafts  for  salaries  and  expenses  of  ministers 
and  consuls  abroad  must  be  certified  to  by  him, 
as  also  the  requisitions  of  marshals,  collectors 
of  internal  revenue,  secretaries  of  territories, 
and  other  disbursing  officers  for  advances  of 
public  funds.  His  power  is  autocratic,  so 
much  so  in  fact  that  if  he  refuses  to  order  the 
payment  of  any  claim  or  honor  the  warrant  of 
even  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  there  is  no 
higher  power  to  whom  an  appeal  can  be  made. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  can  not 
compel  him  to  pay  a  claim,  and  the  only 
means  by  which  an  obstinate  first  comptroller 
can  be  brought  to  time  is  by  peremptory  re¬ 
moval  from  office.  That  is  what  happened  lo 
Judge  Durham,  Mr.  Matthew’s  predecessor, 
who  was  removed  two  weeks  ago  because  he 
would  not  allow  Johnny  Davenport’s  claim  of 
$3,000  for  extraordinary  election  expenses  in¬ 
curred  during  the  last  campaign. 

Mr.  Matthews  owes  his  appointment  chiefly 
to  the  energetic  manner  in  which  Senator  Cul- 
lom  pushed  his  candidacy,  though  he  was  also 
indorsed  by  Senator  Farwell  and  almost  the 
entire  Illinois  delegation. — Chicago  Times  Spe¬ 
cial,  May  10th. 

— Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  Ma¬ 
son  will  very  shortly  have  twenty  special 
agents  of  internal  revenue  to  appoint.  These 
offices  are  very  much  sought  by  congressmen 
for  active  working  friends.  It  appears,  how¬ 
ever,  that  of  the  twenty  there  are  only  nine 
to  be  distributed  among  the  forty  senators 
and  106  republican  representatives.  Mr.  Ma¬ 
son  states  that  there  are  four  republican 
hold-overs,  who  will  be  reappointed ;  four 
who  were  dismissed  by  Mr.  Miller,  but  who 
will  be  reinstated,  and  that  others  have  al- 
rea.dy  been  promised  to  high  official  person¬ 
ages,  so  that  there  remain  only  nine  for  the 
rest  of  the  world.  There  is  an  equally  active 
scramble  for  the  twenty-eight  positions  of 
special  agents  of  the  treasury,  which  are  to  be 
divided  among  the  forty-two  states.  It  is  un¬ 
derstood  that  the  New  York  delegation  has 
demanded,  and  been  promised,  at  least  six,  if 
not  eight,  of  the  special  treasury  agents. — In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal  Washington  Special,  April  25. 


22 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— The  fight  between  the  Maine  senators  and 
Tom  Reed  is  not  waging  very  briskly,  because 
it  is  generally  agreed  that  no  changes  will  be 
made  in  the  important  offices  at  Portland 
until  the  terms  of  the  incumbents  expire. 
The  war  has  been  declared,  however,  and  no 
one  pretends  to  conceal  it.  Mr.  Reed  insists 
that  he  has  a  right  to  name  the  federal  offi¬ 
cers  in  his  district.  The  senators  maintain 
that  the  collectorship  of  customs,  the  sur- 
veyorship  and  the  collectorship  of  internal 
revenue  belong  to  the  state  at  large  and 
should  be  filled  on  their  recommendation. 
The  senators  have  already  scored  two  vic¬ 
tories — one  in  the  appointment  of  W.  H. 
Bigelow  as  division  superintendent  of  the 
railway  mail  service,  the  other  in  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  E.  E.  Pond  as  general  appraiser.  Mr. 
Reed  had  rival  candidates  in  both  cases,  and 
in  both,  to  use  the  language  of  the  heelers,  he 
was  “  turned  down.”  For  the  collectorship  of 
customs  he  is  supporting  by  far  the  better 
man,  Weston  F.  Milliken  ;  but  the  candidate 
of  the  senators,  Fred  N.  Dow,  is  the  practical 
politician,  and  will  probably  win.  How  this 
local  quarrel  will  effect  Mr.  Reed’s  chances 
for  the  speakership  remains  to  be  developed^ 
— Springfield  Republican,  April  25. 

— “  During  the  last  few  days  the  pressure  for 
appointments  in  the  railway  mail  service  has 
been  unparalleled.  The  clerkships  have  been 
allotted  by  congressional  districts,  being  as¬ 
signed  according  to  the  number  of  miles  of 
mail  route  in  each  district.  This  rule  was  en¬ 
forced  under  the  Cleveland  administration, 
and  has  been  deviated  from  thus  far  under 
Harrison  in  only  a  few  instances.  One  result 
of  this  arrangement  has  been  that  some  con¬ 
gressmen,  to  whom,  perhaps,  eight  or  ten 
places  were  assigned,have  been  besieged  by  from 
50  to  100  applicants,  and  this  pressure  has,  in 
turn,  been  transferred  to  the  division  superin¬ 
tendents.” — Evening  Post  Washington  Dispatch, 
April  29. 

— Clarkson  has  removed  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters  at  the  rate  of  from  150  to  200  each 
day. 

DESIRE  TO  MEET  PARTY  ABLE  TO  SECURE 
Federal  appointment  for  competent  person  ;  with 
such  a  liberal  arrangement  will  be  made  ;  communi¬ 
cations  stiictly  confidential.  Address  “J.  S.,”Post- 
oflice  Box  2938,  New  York.— New  York  Tribune  Adver¬ 
tisement. 

— “Senator  Quay,  when  he  went  home  to 
Beaver  after  his  tiff  with  Senator  Sherman 
over  the  internal  revenue  solicitorship,  left  a 
number  of  matters  unsettled  in  Washington. 
He  left  still  hanging  in  the  air  all  the  princi¬ 
pal  federal  offices  in  Philadelphia,  except  the 
post-office.  His  conference  with  Postmaster- 
general  Wanamaker  on  Tuesday  resulted  in  a 
thorough  understanding  between  them  as  to 
the  appointment  of  John  Field.  It  is  not 
likely,  however,  that  the  new  postmaster  will 
be  appointed  for  some  time.  That  was  as  far 
as  the  conference  between  Senator  Quay  and 
the  postmaster-general  went.  Mr.  Wanamaker 
is  not  undertaking  to  name  the  collector  of  the 
port,  the  collector  of  internal  revenue,  the 
pension  agent,  or  the  naval  officer.” — Wash¬ 
ington  Dispatch  to  the  Philadelphia  Press  [Rep.] 

— Says  the  Ameiican  [rep.],  “Since  1881  the 
hand  at  Harrisburg  has  been  that  of  Mr. 
Quay.  It  is  his  ‘orders’  which  direct  the 
course  of  the  legislature.  He  organizes  it, 
senate  and  house.  He  dictates  the  choice  of 
its  presiding  officers,  and  supervises  the  ‘slate’ 
by  which  the  minor  officers  are  selected.  He 
revises  the  lists  of  the  committees,  in  order 
that  their  action  on  legislation  shall  be  sub¬ 
servient  and  not  independent.  To  prevent  the 
possibility  that  their  own  conscience  and 
judgment  might  sway  the  members,  and  meas¬ 
ures  might  be  adopted  contrary  to  his  plans 
and  interests,  the  whole  system  of  legislative 


procedure  is  ‘set  up’  from  the  beginning,  and 
the  whole  machinery  of  the  party  is  employed 
to  make  this  secure  and  effective, — machinery 
to  which  Mr.  Harrison  added  a  driving-wheel 
for  the  present  session  when  he  constructed 
his  cabinet  as  Mr.  Quay  demanded.” 

— Vice-Pre.sident’s  Chamber, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  March  1,  1889. 
Mr.  Herbert  Welsh,  Cor,  Sec’y,  etc.,  1305  Arch 
Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. : 

Dear  Sir — In  reply  to  yours  of  25th  ult., 
asking  an  expre.ssion  of  opinion  relative  to 
the  retention  in  office  of  Indian  Commissioner 
Oberly,  I  would  say  that,  if  my  wishes  could 
prevail,  Mr.  Oberly  would  be  removed  on  the 
4th  of  March,  and  his  place  supplied  by  a 
competent  and  conscientious  republican. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

J.  J.  Ingalls. 

— “  There  are  thousands  of  men  in  my  state 
whom  I  have  never  seen,  yet  who  make  my 
cause  their  own,  who  defend  my  acts  and  my 
words,  who  would  fight  for  me,  who  would 
sacrifice  rest  and  spend  money  for  me,  who 
would  get  up  at  midnight  and  ride  a  horse 
forty  miles  to  set  at  work  influences  in  my 
behalf.  Well,  I  am  a  very  immoral  politi¬ 
cian — I  want  to  give  these  men  some  of  the 
things  we  have  won.” — Letter  of  Senator  Ingalls 
to  the  Independent, 

— It  is  related  of  Senator  Ingalls  that  he 
called  on  the  President  and  asked  for  a  cer¬ 
tain  appointment.  The  President  replied : 
“The  man  whom  Mr.  Cleveland  found  in 
that  office  was  permitted  to  serve  out  his 
time.  I  do  not  see  that  I  can  do  less  than 
Mr.  Cleveland  did.”  The  Kansas  senator  re¬ 
plied  :  “  Well,  Mr.  President,  you  know  where 
Mr.  Cleveland  is  now.”  The  President  made 
no  reply. — Chicago  Times,  May  13. 

— If  Postmaster  Carpenter’s  removal  had 
been  accompanied  with  a  fair,  frank,  and  ex¬ 
plicit  avowal  that  it  was  made  because  he  was 
a  democrat,  and  that  the  place  was  wanted  for 
a  republican,  the  operation  would  have  com¬ 
manded  a  certain  respect.  This  would  have 
been  the  case,  also,  if  the  public  had  been 
plainly  told  that  the  removal  was  made  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  an  office  to  the  gentle¬ 
man  who  has  recently  been  appointed  post¬ 
master.  »  *  *  We  heard  a  good  deal  about 
civil  service  reform  in  the  last  presidential 
campaign.  Over  and  over  again  the  republican 
party  pledged  itself  to  the  strict  observance  of 
its  principles.  Can  that  party  afford  to  allow 
this  removal,  made  in  this  way,  to  go  on  record 
as  a  redemption  of  its  pledge? — New  Bedford 
Mercury  [Rep.]  Only  the  interest  of  the  public 
serviceshould  suggest  removals  from  office. — 
[^Letter  of  Acceptance.'] 

— Postmaster  Sexton,  of  Chicago,  says: 

“Senator  Farwell,  the  republican  congress¬ 
man  from  this  district,  and  myself  will  meet 
at  Senator  Farwell’s  office  to-morrow,  and  then 
we  will  decide  upon  the  changes  to  be  made  in 
the  post-office.  They  will  be  few  in  number, 
however.  Who  will  lose  their  heads  I  haven’t 
yet  determined.  I  haven’t  any  settled  policy  to 
pursue,  and  if  an  employe’s  work  is  satisfac¬ 
tory,  no  matter  if  he  be  a  democrat,  it  will  go 
a  great  way  in  his  favor.” 

“Are  you  or  Senator  Farwell  making  ap¬ 
pointments?” 

“Well,”  slowly,  “I,  the  postmaster,  will 
make  all  selections,  but,  of  course,  I  want  Sen¬ 
ator  Farwell  to  be  satisfied  with  the  men  I  ap¬ 
point.  I  want  that  they  should  satisfy  the 
republican  congressmen,  also.” 

Col.  Sexton  has  had  trouble  with  the  men 
employed  in  his  foundry  because  he  would  not 
permit  labor  leaders  to  interfere  with  his  rela¬ 
tions  with  his  employes.  In  the  public  ser¬ 
vice  his  aim  is  to  “satisfy”  Senator  Farwell 
and  the  republican  congressmen. 


Later:  The  appointments  were  determined 
at  a  conference  of  Congressmen  Taylor,  Mason, 
Adams  and  Farwell,  Postmaster  Sexton  being 
also  present.  It  is  charged  that  Congressman 
Adams  got  the  lion’s  share. 

— Congressman  Payson,  of  Illinois,  says  : 

“  As  to  the  fourth-class  post-offices  I  am  get¬ 
ting  all  that  I  ask  for,  and  I  have  asked  for  a 
good  many.  There  is  some  deliberation  shown 
in  making  these  appointments,  but  they  are 
ultimately  made,  and  without  a  great  deal  of 
delay.” 

— With  regard  to  the  Boston  collectorship, 
the  Massachusetts  senators  support  Beard,  an 
“old  school”  politician,  while  tne  representa¬ 
tives  support  Burden,  “  who  did  very  efficient 
service  in  securing  the  Massachusetts  delega¬ 
tion  at  the  Chicago  convention  for  Harrison.” 
The  grave  question  has  arisen  whether  this  is 
a  senatorial  office,  and  the  President  is  re¬ 
ported  as  saying  that  there  are  two  sides  to  the 
question. 

— Why  he  [Postmaster  VanCott]  has  been 
selected  by  the  Platt  politicians  and  forced 
upon  the  administration,  unless  it  is  because 
he  will  be  an  easy  man  to  manage,  is  not 
known  to  the  public. — Philadelphia  American 
[Rep.] 

— Congressman  Frank  telegraphed  as  fol¬ 
lows  regarding  Collector  Barnum  and  Ap¬ 
praiser  Harrigan : 

“  Washington,  April  18, 1889. 

“  Hem.  F.  G,  Niedringhaus,  St  Louis : 

“  Call  on  Harrigan  and  Barnum  and  ask 
for  their  resignations,  to  take  effect  on  May  1. 
The  President  wants  it.  If  they  don’t  resign 
they  will  be  removed  on  Saturday.  Bring 
their  resignations  with  you. 

Nathan  Frank.” 

— The  administration  has  been  moving 
much  more  rapidly  in  Missouri  than  in  Illi¬ 
nois  in  regard  to  the  federal  offices,  and  one 
man,  not  a  congressmsn,  has  had  more  success 
than  all  the  congressmen  from  that  state. 
That  man  is  the  famous  “  Dick  ”  Kerens,  who 
is  a  partner  of  “  Steve”  Elkins  in  so  many  en¬ 
terprises.  Kerens  secured  a  contribution  of 
$25,000  for  the  national  campaign  fund,  al¬ 
though  he  did  not  contribute  liberally  to  the 
state  fund — a  fact  which  the  congressmen 
have  used  against  him  here,  but  not  with 
much  success.  Kerens  is  understood  to  have 
influence  both  with  the  President  and  with 
Secretary  Blaine.  At  all  events,  he  spent 
some  time  here,  and  secured  the  appointment 
of  a  United  States  marshal  and  of  a  sub¬ 
treasurer  in  St.  Louis,  and  he  supposed  he  had 
secured  the  appointment  of  Isaac  Sturgeon  as 
collector  of  internal  revenue  In  fact,  it  is 
reported  that  the  order  had  been  given  to 
make  out  the  commission  of  Sturgeon  when 
Secretary  Windom  directed  that  the  commis¬ 
sion  be  withheld.  The  reason  assigned  is 
that  one  of  the  republican  congressmen  from 
Missouri  arrived  here  and  suggested  that  the 
congressmen  were  entitled  to  some  considera¬ 
tion,  and  that  the  whole  patronage  of  the  ad¬ 
ministration  ought  not  to  be  placed  under  the 
control  of  one  man.  So  confident  was  Kerens 
that  he  was  to  have  his  own  way  about  the 
collectorship  that  he  had  taken  the  train  for 
home,  supposing  that  the  case  was  concluded. 
This  is  the  story  which  the  Missouri  men  tell 
as  to  the  offices  in  that  state. — Evening  Post, 
April  16. 

-—Congressman  Niedringhaus,  of  St.  Louis, 
writes  as  follows  :  “  Owing  to  the  increased 
controversy  arising  from  the  present  system 
of  indorsements  for  federal  appointments  in 
Democratic  districts,  the  republican  representa¬ 
tives  of  Missouri,  on  the  advice  of  the  department  at 
Washington,  have  concluded  that  the  whole 
matter  in  said  districts  must  be  referred 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


23 


solely  to  the  respective  republican  candi¬ 
dates  for  congress,  whose  decision  will  be 
considered  final  as  far  as  any  indorsements 
are  concerned.” 

In  the  exercise  of  the  foregoing  power  De¬ 
feated  Candidate  A.  C.  Eubanks,  of  the  second 
Missouri  district,  writes  as  follows  : 

Milan,  Mo.,  March  26, 1889. — Dear  Sir: — 
“I  herewith  hand  you  a  full  and  complete  in¬ 
dorsement  for  P.  M.,  which  I  think  will  make 
all  right  for  the  P.  O.  I  address  you  at 
Moberly,  as  you  requested.  In  thinking 
about  the  matter  we  were  talking  about 
last  night,  an  office  like  your  P,  O.  ought 
to  afford  me  $25 — say  $15  now  and  $10  more 
when  you  get  your  commission.  This  would 
help  repay  me  for  expense  and  time,  etc.  If 
there  is  anything  further  Lean  do  for  you,  let 
me  know  and  I  will  serve  you.  It  may  be¬ 
come  necessary  to  oust  the  present  P.  M.  If 
so,  I  will  aid  you  if  necessary. 

“Very  respectfully,  A.  C.  Eubanks.” 

And  Defeated  Candidate  Love,  of  the  third 
district,  talks  thus  to  a  republican  campaign 
committee : 

“I  desire  to  give  you  gentlemen  notice  that 
the  time-honored  custom  of  the  party,  and  I 
never  heard  of  any  other  precedent  or  practice, 
has  been  that  the  republican  candidate  who  is 
elected  or  defeated,  controls  the  patronage  of 
the  district.  It  will,  therefore,  be  my  pleasure 
as  well  as  duty,  as  established  by  precedent,  to 
receive  all  applications  for  local  offices  in  the 
district  and  to  present  them  to  the  President 
or  the  proper  department  at  Washington.  Of 
course  it  will  be  understood  that  there  will  be  some 
expense  attached  to  this  proceeding,  and  applicants 
will  be  expected  to  contribute  to  this  expenses 

“As  to  the  establishing  of  an  office  broker¬ 
age  against  which  slurring  insinuations  are 
made  ( !!!)  it  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  person 
can  personally  superintend  the  presentation  of  appli¬ 
cations  for  ofice  without  expense,  and  I  have  recent¬ 
ly  heard  from  a  reliable  gentleman  that  the 
state  committee  proposed  to  open  up  just  such 
an  office  in  Washington.  I  give  you  all  notice 
now  [this  in  presence  of  a  part  of  the  commit¬ 
tee  and  about  fifteen  or  twenty  applicants  for 
office]  that  anyone  who  comes  to  me  for  an  in¬ 
dorsement  to  be  presented  to  the  state  commit¬ 
tee  or  through  any  other  channel  you  will 
please  excuse  me.  I  shall  indorse  no  such  ap* 
plicant.” 

— There  was  a  general  shaking  up  of  the 
Darke  county,  Ohio,  postmasters  to-day.  The 
Hon.  .John  Devore,  of  Greenville,  one  of  the 
most  influential  and  energetic  republicans  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state,  who  was  a  Harrison  and 
Morton  elector  for  the  fourth  district,  was  at  the 
post-office  department  this  morning,  and  se¬ 
cured  a  number  of  democratic  scalps,  and  com¬ 
missions  for  republican  friends.  [Here  follow 
eighteen  names  of  fourth-class  postmasters.] — 
Special  dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  May  2d. 


The  New  York  Civil  Service  Reform  As¬ 
sociation  has  held  its  annual  election  of 
officers.  An  address  on  the  present  ten¬ 
dencies  of  the  new  administration  toward 
civil  service  reform  from  the  President, 
George  William  Curtis,  and  a  memorial  of 
Mr.  Pearson  by  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  were 
read.  The  proceedings  will  be  printed 
and  the  Chronicle  will  undertake  to  fur¬ 
nish  copies  to  those  who  may  send  their 
address.  The  Cambridge  and  Philadelphia 
association  have  recently  met  to  pass  reso¬ 
lutions  condemning  the  failure  to  reap¬ 
point  Mr.  Pearson.  The  Milwaukee  asso¬ 
ciation  has  held  its  annual  election  of  offi¬ 
cers,  and  every  civil  service  reformer  can 


do  no  better  than  to  urge  as  did  Mr.  J.  E. 
Follett,  in  his  address : 

“That  intelligent  democrats  who  desire  to  enter 
the  public  service  will  not  fail  of  preparing  them¬ 
selves  for,  and  attending  the  examinations  simply 
for  the  reason  that  during  the  next  four  years  the 
examinations  will  be  held  under  what  may  appear 
to  be  republican  surroundings.” 


— If  on  the  accession  of  any  new  President 
enough  pressure  be  made  he  can  “  with  bare- 
fac’d  power  sweep”  every  such  officer  from  hfs 
place.  And  there  is  always  danger  that  an 
overwhelming  pressure  will  be  brought  to 
bear  on  him.  The  409  senators,  representa¬ 
tives,  and  delegates  in  congress  have  pre-aud¬ 
ience  with  the  President.  He  can  not  see  and 
talk  with  everybody.  But  these  hundreds 
of  congressmen  he  must  admit  and  hear; 
and  if  they,  day  after  day,  from  month 
to  month,  incessantly  argue,  plead  for,  and  de¬ 
mand  indiscriminate  change,  then  a  break  is 
liable  finally  to  be  made.  Now,  what  the 
civil  service  requires,  and  what  the  best  senti¬ 
ment  of  the  country  wants,  is  that  a  barrier  be 
interposed  to  protect  the  President  from  this 
pressure,  and  which  at  the  same  time  will  tend 
to  establish  the  civil  service  on  a  non-partisan 
basis. — Administraiive  Reform  by  General  G,  0. 
Andrews. 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  REFORM 
OF  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

The  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  in  their 
laws  is  brazenly  ignored  by  those  whose  sworn 
duty  it  is  to  enforce  that  will,  and  the  derelict 
officers  are  quietly  re-elected  to  repeat  their 
offense.  The  offices  that  belong  to  the  people 
are  used  as  private  property  to  debauch  the 
public  conscience  and  to  defeat  the  popular 
will.  At  the  threshhold  of  the  second  cen¬ 
tury  of  our  national  life  we  are  thus  con¬ 
fronted  with  more  intricate  political,  finan¬ 
cial,  and  social  problems  than  ever  before,  and 
the  demand  upon  the  intelligence  of  our  citi¬ 
zens  is  correspondingly  greater  and  more  im¬ 
perative.  We  must  educate  our  masters  or 
we  must  let  them  run  the  ship  of  state  upon 
the  rocks  and  learn  wisdom  from  disaster. 
“But,”  it  may  be  said,  “that  is  just  what  we 
are  doing.”  It  is  readily  admitted  that  just 
so  far  as  the  work  in  our  schools  is  productive 
of  real  power  to  think  clearly,  and  of  right 
habits  of  investigation,  just  so  far  it  equips 
the  future  citizen  with  the  power  to  decide  in¬ 
telligently  the  important  questions  that  as  a 
citizen  he  must  aid  in  deciding ;  but  just  so 
far  as  that  work  encourages  a  stupid  reliance 
upon  authority  and  a  readiness  to  be  satisfied 
with  less  than  a  clear  understanding  of  what¬ 
ever  subject  the  mind  addresses  itself  to,  just 
so  far  the  school  is  aiding  to  prepare  victims 
for  the  demagogue  and  tools  for  the  unscrupu¬ 
lous  politician.  And  it  is  an  open  question 
to-day  which  class  of  citizens  is  most  largely 
recruited  from  the  scholars  that  pass  in  and 
out  at  the  doors  of  our  schools. 

There  is  not  a  subject  taught  in  our  com¬ 
mon  schools,  except  history  and  civil  govern¬ 
ment,  that  has  the  slightest  direct  bearing 
upon  the  civil  duties  of  a  citizen ;  not  one 
other  that  has  a  tendency  to  direct  the  stu¬ 
dent’s  attention  towards  those  duties,  to  ac¬ 
quaint  him  with  their  nature  or  impress  him 
with  their  gravity.  *  *  »  * 


Civil  service  reform  has  been  ably  discussed 
by  thoughtful  men  for  twenty  years  and, 
though  the  cause  has  made  great  progress,  it 
has  not  yet  progressed  so  far  but  that  our 
newly-elected  President  is  compelled  to  say 
that  he  has  been  constrained  to  defer  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  momentous  public  business  to 
the  importunate  demands  of  place-hunters. 

It  certainly  falls  within  the  province  of  the 
schools  to  explain,  in  the  proper  place,  what 
the  civil  service  is,  the  motive  of  the  duties  to 
be  performed  by  the  subordinate  employes 
of  the  government,  to  read  from  the  reports  of 
committees,  and  from  the  speeches  of  reverend 
senators,  descriptions  of  the  abuses  to  be  cor¬ 
rected,  and  methods  by  which  correction  may 
be  applied,  and  to  explain  the  present  civil 
service  law.  Who  can  doubt  that  if  every 
school  in  the  country  had  done  its  whole  duty 
in  this  particular  for  the  last  fifteen  years  the 
progress  of  civil  service  reform  would  have 
been  materially  advanced. 

[From  the  address  of  C.  T.  Lane,  Principal  of  the 
Fort  Wayne  High  School,  before  the  Northern  Indi- 
diana  Association  of  Teachers  and  Superintendents.] 

It  seems  to  me,  then,  that  it  is  profitable  for 
all  citizens  and  especially  teachers  to  consider 
some  of  the  elements  which  form  a  good  citi¬ 
zen.  The  teachers  of  the  common  schools  in 
particular  have  a  very  great  responsibility  at 
this  point,  for  they  are  preparing  pupils  to 
become  citizens,  i.  e.,  rulers,  in  other  words  they 
are  doing  what  Plato  would  have  done  for  his 
ruling  cl  ass. 

Matthew  Arnold  justly  criticizes  us  for  our 
unceasing  boastfulness  and  our  disposition  to 
rely  upon  some  overruling  Providence  to  care 
for  and  develop  this  part  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race,  as  if  this  race  were  the  chosen  of  God, 
and  therefore  we  need  do  nothing — we  need 
not  work  out  our  own  salvation.  Is  it  not 
time  to  discard  the  belief  that  “  God  cares  for 
children,  fools  and  the  United  States,”  and  try 
to  develop  by  our  own  power  a  high  degree 
of  civilization  and  citizenship? 

The  first  element  requisite  for  good  citizen¬ 
ship  seems  to  me  to  be  a  knowledge  of  the 
spirit  ot  our  institutions,  and  of  our  constitution. 
The  average  voter  knows,  perhaps,  that  the 
colonies  broke  away  from  kingly  rule  and  es¬ 
tablished  a  free  government;  his  knowledge 
goes  no  farther;  he  thinks  that  a  government 
has  been  established  in  which  he  can  hold  an 
office  if  his  party  be  victorious.  You  may 
think  this  a  low  view,  but  is  it  not  true?  Does 
not  every-day  observation  attest  its  truth?  Do 
not  the  hordes  now  marching  “On  to  Washing¬ 
ton”  prove  it?  That  most  candid  and  friendly 
critic.  Dr.  Bryce,  in  his  “American  Common¬ 
wealth,”  one  of  the  few  books  on  the  United 
States  destined  to  live,  remarks  what  most  of 
our  own  disinterested  thinkeas,  as  well  as  for¬ 
eigners,  have  noticed,  namely,  that  hunger  for 
offices  is  the  dominant  political  idea.  Bryce 
himself,  in  long  observation,  never  succeeded 
in  obtaining  from  any  one  prominent  in  poli¬ 
tics  a  distinct  answer  defining  the  differences 
between  our  political  parties.  By  an  interest 
in,  and  knowledge  of,  the  spirit  of  our  institu¬ 
tions,  then,  I  do  not  mean  an  intense  desire  for 


24 


THE  CTVrr.  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


'party  success.  Is  not  there  something  above 
that?  Did  the  revolutionary  fathers  make 
their  sacrifices  that  their  descendants  might 
hold  a  paltry  clerkship?  If  they  did,  I  for  one 
can  no  longer  revere  their  memory  and  visit 
their  shrines. 

*  »  »  »  *  »  * 

I  maintain  also  that  this  education  should 
include  the  ability  to  think  on  common  polit- 
cal  aflTairs  and  ordinary  questions  of  morality 
and  the  public  welfare.  To  think  is  quite  an 
uncommon  habit.  It  is  a  necessary  element 
in  the  education  of  a  good  citizen.  A  good  cit¬ 
izen  does  not  wish  to  be  backed  by  a  party  cau¬ 
cus.  His  education,  his  self-respect,  his  moral¬ 
ity  should  be  above  that.  If  he  be  taught  to 
think  for  himself  the  party  caucus  and  poli¬ 
tician  and  party  organ  can’t  make  him  their 
submissive  dupe.  It  is  far  better  to  be  the 
subject  of  a  monarch  than  the  slave  of  the 
modern  American  caucus  and  politician. 

•Sf  »  ■* 

At  present  the  civil  service  of  the  country 
is  prostituted  to  the  dictates  of  the  notorious 
doctrine :  “  To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils.” 
That  public  office  is  a  public  trust,  and  not  a 
party  benefit,  is  spurned  by  our  politicians. 

Office  is  looked  upon  as  a  reward  for  party 
service,  and  to  be  worked  for  all  there  is  in  it, 
regardless  of  the  people’s  interest.  It  is  the 
absolute  duty  of  a  good  citizen  to  throttle  this 
doctrine  and  choke  the  life  out  of  it. 

[From  the  address  of  Profes.sor  Demarchus  C. 
Brown,  of  Butler  University,  to  the  Southern  Indi¬ 
ana  Association  of  Teachers  and  Superintendents.] 


THE  SIEGE. 


— All  applicants  will  be  treated  with  con¬ 
sideration. — President  Harrison’s  Inaugural  Ad¬ 
dress. 

— Brooklyn  has  a  spoils  committee  which 
has  endeavored  to  decide  who  shall  be  quar¬ 
tered,  upon  pretense  of  employment,  at  the 
navy  yard.  At  one  conference  Mike  Dady, 
one  of  the  chiefest  of  the  Brooklyn  aristo¬ 
cracy  of  officeholders,  “  figured  up  that  there 
are  fifty-four  important  places  in  the  navy 
yard  to  be  had,  and  suggested  that  each  of  the 
twenty-six  wards  have  two,  and  that  the  other 
two  go  to  the  county  towns.  In  cases  where 
a  ward  is  divided  between  two  factions  he 
would  have  each  recognized.” 

— Says  Senator  Quay  of  the  office-seekers : 
“  The  half  concerning  them  has  never  been 
told.  Why,  they  actually  commenced  com¬ 
ing  to  my  house  before  breakfast,  and  kept  it 
up  in  a  steady  stream  until  midnight.  In¬ 
deed,  I  believe  that  many  of  them  are  insane 
on  the  question  of  getting  an  office,  and  do  not 
realize  what  they  are  doing.  On  account  of 
being  chairman  of  the  national  committee  I 
was  bothered  more  in  this  way  than  any  of 
the  other  senators.  I  had  people  come  to  me 
whom  I  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  before, 
and  never  expect  to  see  again.  The  large 
number  of  them  are  not  representative  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  party,  but  rather  the  scum.  There 
were  more  office-seekers  this  time  than  ever 
before.” 

— An  army  of  Ohio  republicans  are  awaiting 
command  from  Governor  Foraker,  who  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  arrive  here  to-night,  to  move  upon 
the  White  House.  At  their  head  is  ex-Mayor 
Amor  Smith,  of  Cincinnati,  who  wants  to  be 
be  collector  of  customs.  There  are  here  at  his 


back  Representatives  Butterworth,  Caldwell, 
Morey  and  others.  A  big  fight  is  waging  over 
this  position,  as  well  as  over  the  position  of 
collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  southern 
district.  Morey  is  pushing  J.  W.  Clements,  of 
Hamilton,  while  the  other  faction  of  con¬ 
gressmen  want  Col.  E.  D.  McClung. — Special 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  May  2. 

— Last  month  we  published  the  order  of  the 
Missouri  office  barons,  naming  Chauncey  I. 
Filley  for  the  office  of  “Consul  at  Liverpool 
or  something  equally  as  good.”  The  Houg- 
Kong  consulship  was  tendered,  but  Filley 
will  have  none  of  it.  It  is  the  St.  Louis  post- 
office  or  nothing.  He  says: 

“  There  is  no  pecuniary  consideration  that 
would  make  Hong-Kong,  at  my  time  of  life 
and  circumstances,  a  home  even  temporarily 
to  my  wife  and  myself.  And  if  pleasant  and 
agreeable  recognition  is  what  is  intended,  or 
is  deserved,  something  at  home  or  not  a 
month’s  journey  therefrom  would  better  fit 
the  fitness  of  things.  I  make  no  complaint 
that  every  appointment  so  far  made  is  of  an 
Old  Silk,  and  all  that  are  now  for  ihe.city  fed¬ 
eral  positions  agreed  upon  are  of  the  same 
stripe,  including  the  bulk  of  those  agreed 
upon  for  the  consular  positions.  It  is  neither 
politic  nor  good  politics  for  the  past  or  for 
the  future.  *  *  * 

“When  Col.  Richard  C.  Keren’s  candidate 
for  the  post-office — the  Arka'nsaio  Travelei' — 
Frederick  W.  Schuarte,  Sharty  for  short,  is 
appointed  and  receives  his  commission  for 
postmaster  at  St.  Louis  may  I  be  here  to  see. 
There  will  be  harmony,  big  H,  then.  It  was 
so  easy  for  those  who  did  the  work  throughout 
the  state  to  have  been  mixed  up  with  those 
already  recognized  who  did  so  little,  to  show 
the  purpose  of  general  recognition  instead  of 
the  complete  one-sided  affair,  and  to  aid  in¬ 
stead  of  depress  republican  interests.” 

Filley  has  heretofore  been  known  to  history 
as  the  following  shows  :  Says  Senator  Vest,  of 
the  Arthur  administration  :  “It  came  within 
our  personal  knowledge  that  the  patronage  of 
the  state  of  Missouri  as  to  railway  postal  clerks 
was  divided — one-half  of  it,  the  eastern  half, 
going  to  Chauncey  I.  Filley,  and  the  western 
half  to  Col.  R.  T.  Van  Horn.  There  was  a 
factional  fight  in  the  republican  party  within 
the  state,  and  in  order  to  bring  about  that 
placid  and  ecstatic  condition  of  political  feel¬ 
ing  that  was  necessary  to  the  success  of  the 
party,  there  was  a  line  drawn  through  the 
middle  of  the  state  from  the  Iowa  to  the 
Arkansas  line,  and  one-half  of  the  patronage 
was  given  to  Mr.  Filley  and  one-half  was 
given  to  Col.  Van  Horn,  and  that  instruction 
from  the  postmaster-general  to  the  appointing 
clerk  of  the  post-office  department  was  put  in 
writing.  The  result  was  that  men  were  put 
in  office  utterly  incompetent,  and  there  were 
thirty-four  of  them  in  office  when  Cleveland’s 
administration  came  into  existence.” 

— Says  General  Boynton  in  the  Cincinnati 
Commercial- Gazette:  “In  the  first  place,  the 
pressure  has  been  something  terrific.  Since 
the  days  of  Andrew  Johnson  there  has  been 
nothing  to  equal  it.  In  the  second  place,  in 
far  too  many  instances  the  congressmen  and 
state  delegates  have  not  dealt  courageously  or 
honestly  with  the  President.  The  same  has 
been  true  of  party  leaders  of  whom  he  had  a 
right  to  expect  better  things.  Representatives 
of  this  class  have  recommended  and,  in  num¬ 
erous  cases,  urged  men  of  most  unsavory 
record  upon  him.” 

— The  guards  and  messengers  at  the  White 
House  were  doubled  to  day  to  keep  the  Presi¬ 
dent  from  being  overrun  and  crushed  by  the 
office-seekers.  The  crowd  was  enormous  and 
entirely  filled  the  reception  and  secretary’s 
rooms.  An  old  White  House  attache  informed 
your  correspondent  this  evening  that  nothing 


like  it  was  ever  seen  before.  It  was  impossible 
to  keep  the  greedy  throng  out,  and  many  of 
them  were  rude  and  persistent  in  their  effort 
to  interview  the  President.  —  Washington 
Special. 

— The  President  broke  off  negotiations  with 
office-seekers  in  time  to  pick  up  his  hat  and 
catch  the  train  for  New  York  where  he  at¬ 
tended  the  one  hundreth  anniversary  of  the 
government  under  the  constitution.  He  re¬ 
turned  at  the  earliest  moment,  his  train  mak¬ 
ing  an  exceptionally  quick  run.  The  nego¬ 
tiations  were  at  once  taken  up  where  they 
were  broken  off  and  “  appeals  of  office-seekers  ” 
had  a  continuous  hearing  of  three  hours  and 
a  half. 

— May  1,  the  new  chief  clerk  Brocket  dis¬ 
missed  five  watchmen  of  the  treasury  and  put 
in  five  republicans. 

— Washington,  May  1. — There  was  no  ces¬ 
sation  in  the  activity  around  Assistant  Post¬ 
master-general  Clarkson’s  room.  He  contin¬ 
ued  to  receive  delegations,  examine  applica¬ 
tions,  and  write  the  cheerful  word  “  appoint  ” 
or  shake  his  head  in  refusal.  There  was  a 
great  deal  more  writing  than  head  shaking, 
however. — Indianapolis  J ournal  Washington  Dis¬ 
patch. 

— For  210  consulships  more  than  4,00C  ap¬ 
plications  have  been  filed  at  the  state  depart¬ 
ment. 

— The  President  appointed  W  H.  White- 
man  to  the  supreme  bench  of  New  Mexico. 
The  Swiss  consul  charged  Whiteman  with  the 
conversion  of  $1,500,  the  money  of  Swiss  heirs. 
Whiteman  said  the  money  was  dejiosited  for 
the  heirs  in  bank  at  Albuquerque.  This  was 
found  to  be  untrue  and  the  senate  did  not  con¬ 
firm  the  nomination.  Whiteman  then  said 
that  he  had  the  money  in  his  safe.  The 
government  arranged  for  the  safe  to  be  opened 
in  the  presence  of  witnesses  and  if  $1,500  was 
found  in  it,  Whiteman  was  to  be  appointed. 
He  has  since  been  appointed. — St.  Louis  Re¬ 
public. 

— Washington,  April  26. — The  name  of  ex- 
Postm aster-general  Creswell  of  Maryland  has 
been  formally  presented  to  the  President  for 
consideration  in  connection  with  the  vacancy 
on  the  United  States  supreme  bench.  The 
office  is  treated  by  Mr.  Creswell’s  friends  as 
one  to  besought  after,  and  a  regular  campaign 
is  to  be  conducted  for  it.  He  is  supported  by 
representatives  of  both  parties  in  his  circuit. 
— Special  DispatchJ.o  the  Evening  Post. 

“  There  is  nothing  I  should  like  better  than 
to  do  something  for  you  Sam,  but  I  am  afraid 
you  greatly  overestimate  my  influence.  Your 
old  friend  Reed  has  placed  his  pension  in  my 
hands,  and  I  am  working  away  at  it  to  get  it 
soon.  Perhaps  there  is  no  one  in  the  country 
who  has  done  so  much  for  General  Harrison 
during  the  last  twenty  years  as  I  have,  but 
because  our  democratic  friends  down  in  In¬ 
dianapolis  have  started  the  hue  and  cry  on  me. 
Brother  Ben.  does  not  seem  to  feel  that  he  can 
afford  to  recognize  me  as  an  acquaintance,  and 
consequently  I  don’t  take  dinner  at  the  White 
House  as  might  be  expected.  I  have  not  been 
inside  the  Vv  hite  House  since  Cleveland’s  in¬ 
auguration,  a  little  over  four  years  ago,  but  I 
will  see  if  something  can  be  done  a  little  later 
on  and  tell  you  what  to  do.  If  you  should 
not  hear  from  me  again,  Sam,  for  the  next  two 
months  don’t  be  alarmed,  for  there  will  be  just 
asgood  chances  two  months  hence — and  a  little 
better — as  there  are  now.” 

“  Give  my  kind  regards  to  all  the  boys  at 
Anderson,  and  remember  me  always  as  your 
friend.  AV.  W.  Dudley.” 

— Letter  to  S.  D.  VanPelt,  April  15,  1839. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


“  If  ever  this  free  people,  if  this  government  itself  is  ever  utterly  demoralized,  it  will  come  from  this  wriggle  and  struggle  for  office.” — Abraham  Lincoln. 


VoL.  I,  No.  4. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  JUNE,  1889.'  terms 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  lud.,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indiariapolis,  Indiana. 


“  Practical  men  with  their  eyes  open  are 
aware  that  patronage  is  a  disintergrating 
force,  and  the  distribution  of  the  offices  al¬ 
most  always  makes  trouble  within  the  party.” 
New  York  Tribune. 


“  My  opinion  is,  however,  that  the  party  in 
power  is  weakened  by  patronage.  The  wrath 
of  the  disappointed  more  than  offsets  the  work 
of  the  men  who  are  favored  with  place.  Seri¬ 
ously,  I  think  the  patronage  question  is  the 
rock  that  is  most  likely  to  wreck  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  to-day.” — Senator  Washburn. 


“  It  would  be  an  astonishing  spectacle,  and 
one  everybody  would  contemn,  if  at  every 
change  of  directors  in  a  great  railroad  or 
manufacturing  corporation  all  the  station 
agents,  engineers,  line- men  and  operators 
should  be  dismissed  in  order  to  make  places 
for  successors  whose  political  or  other  opin¬ 
ions  were  supposed  to  be  like  those  of  the  new 
board  of  directors.  The  business  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  is  of  common  interest  to  every  one  of 
its  citizens,  and  to  be  successful  must  be  con¬ 
ducted  upon  the  same  principles  and  by  the 
same  general  methods  that  are  found  to  be 
wise  and  adequate  in  private  affairs ;  and  in 
these  the  man  would  be  thought  demented  who 
should  maiutain  that  the  views  of  the  station 
agents  or  engineers  or  factory  workmen  on  the 
subject  of  protection  or  woman  suffrage,  or 
any  other  of  the  questions  of  public  considera¬ 
tion,  make  them  any  more  or  less  fitted  for  or 
entitled  to  employment.” — Senator  Edmunds, 
The  Forum  for  June,  1889. 


“  In  my  opinion  there  must  be  a  change 
wrought  in  the  prevailing  custom  of  senators 
and  representatives  pressi..g  the  chief  execu¬ 
tive  of  this  country  for  offices.  It  is  all  wrong 
and  contrary  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the 
constitution.  The  men  who  framed  that  in¬ 
strument  never  expected  or  intended  that  con¬ 
gressmen  should  try  to  bring  pressure  to  bear 
upon  the  President  for  the  purpose  of  inducing 
him  to  make  appointments  in  their  favor.” — 
Senator  Sherman  in  April,  1889. 


This  paper  is  published  about  the  20th  of 
each  month. 


The  Indiana  civil  service  reform  associa- 
tionhas  gained  twenty-five  new  members  since 
our  last  issue. 


Through  the  generosity  of  a  friend  the  In¬ 
diana  civil  service  reform  association  can 
furnish  upon  application  the  recent  address  of 
Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  president  of  the  civil 
service  reform  association  of  Maryland,  al¬ 
luded  to  elsewhere. 


Comment  at  length  will  be  found  else¬ 
where,  but  in  brief  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  found  at  Indianapolis  that  Post¬ 
master  Wallace  had  violated  the  law  in 
three  appointments.  It  published  the  pres¬ 
ent  eligible  list,  and  directed  that  all 
future  lists  be  posted  up.  It  also  directed 
that  when  the  local  board  certifies  three 
names  to  the  postmaster,  from  which 
to  fill  a  vacancy,  these  names  shall  at  the 
same  time  be  made  public.  The  people 
then  can  watch  the  postmaster’s  action, 
and  the  community  will  require  a  good 
reason  if  the  top  man  is  not  taken.  The 
commission  also  added  Wm.  P.  Fishback, 
Esq.,  to  the  local  board,  and  admonished 
Postmaster  Wallace  and  his  officers  round¬ 
ly.  With  publicity  and  with  Mr.  Fishback 
on  the  local  board,  whose  fairness  and  im¬ 
partiality  will  never  be  questioned,  the 
merit  system  has  been  put  in  fighting  trim 
such  as  it  never  had  before.  The  commis¬ 
sion  also  flatly  refused  the  special  examin¬ 
ation  asked  for,  and,  as  was  said  last  month, 
granted  but  afterwards  revoked.  They 
justly  held  that  those  now  on  the  eligible 
list  were  entitled  to  a  chance  for  a  trial, 
and  should  not  be  deprived  of  it  by  a  spe¬ 
cial  examination.  They  also  announced 
with  unmistakable  emphasis  that  this  law 
and  its  advantages  were  for  all  citizens 
alike,  and  they  wanted  it  to  be  distinctly 
understood  that  they  desired  democrats  to 
come  forward  for  examination.  They  guar¬ 
antee  to  them  absolutely  fair  treatment. 
It  is  to  be  hoped,  therefore,  that  every 
democrat  in  Indiana  who  desires  employ¬ 
ment  in  this  post-office  will  appear  and 
compete  at  the  August  examination. 


Attorney-General  Miller  has  been  in 
Indianapolis,  and  while  here  he  said  : 

“  In  all  the  appointments  made  or  to  be 
made  under  this  administration  the  two  re¬ 
quisites  are  that  the  prize-winner  shall  be, 
first,  a  good  man;  second,  a  good  republi¬ 
can.” 

Thus  the  administration  flounders  along 
to  inevitable  destruction  in  its  wholly  un¬ 
constitutional  eflbrts  to  turn  over  to  its 
partisans  the  tens  of  thousands  of  places 
which  have  no  reason  for  existence  except 
to  bring  about  the  transaction  of  the  peo¬ 
ple’s  business  upon  the  same  principles  as 
other  business  is  transacted,  and  without 
regard  to  party. 


Senators  Farwell  and  Cullom  in  con¬ 
cert  {coming  out  of  the  White  House) : 

“When  I  came  hither,  I  was  lord  high  constable, 
And  duke  of  Buckingham ;  now,  poor  Edward 
Bohun.” 

Are  we  to  have  a  repetition  of  the  course 
pursued  with  Higgins,  Thomas,  Dowling 
and  others  under  the  last  administration  ? 
The  triturating  power  of  such  cases  upon 
the  strength  of  an  administration  would 
seem  to  have  been  demonstrated  for  all 
time.  Yet  it  appears  that  the  present  ad¬ 
ministration  is  not  satisfied,  for  it  still  re¬ 
tains  Paul  Vandervoort,  formerly  dismissed 
for  having  been  absent  from  his  duties 
two-thirds  of  a  year,  and  Bagby,  a  negro, 
reinstated  in  the  railway  mail  service  by 
telegraph  with  a  court  record  for  bastardy 
in  1886,  and  other  insufferably  objection¬ 
able  appointees.  The  cause  of  civil  service 
reform  is  not  hurt  by  these  things  but 
rather  strengthened,  because  outraged  pub¬ 
lic  decency  turns  to  it  for  relief,  but  the 
President  and  his  party  will  learn  when  too 
late  that  refusal  to  correct  a  mistake  has 
great  grinding  force. 

When  evidence  was  so  easily  accessible 
to  show  that  Moore  was  a  gambler  and  a 
keeper  of  a  gambling  place  and  had  been 
discharged  for  that  reason,  the  people  have 
a  right  to  inquire  sharply  why  Postmaster 
Wallace  and  his  assistant,  Thompson,  at 
this  late  day  appeared  before  the  commis¬ 
sion  as  his  defenders.  The  former  said 
that  when  reinstating  Moore  he  had  relied 
upon  information  derived  from  ex-Post- 
master  Wildman,  an  uncle  of  Moore  by 
marriage,  and  D.  W.  Elliott,  clerk  in  the 
post-office  and  cousin  of  Moore  by  mar¬ 
riage.  Whether  it  was  these  influences 
or  some  other  powerful  force  that  in¬ 
spired  this  defense,  the  act  is  deserving 
of  unqualified  public  censure.  It  is  not 
an  excuse  to  say  that  Postmaster  Wal¬ 
lace  was  misled.  He  has  no  right  to  be 
misled.  As  to  Thompson,  the  sooner  his 
connection  with  this  office  is  severed,  the 
better  it  will  be. 


The  father  of  Isabella  De  la  Hunt  was  post¬ 
master  at  Cannelton,  and  she  was  his  dep¬ 
uty,  and  afterwards,  on  recommendation 
of  Senator  Harrison,  she  was  appointed 
postmaster  by  President  Arthur.  She  was 
the  widow  of  a  democrat  who  died  of 
wounds  received  in  the  service.  President 


26 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Cleveland  removed  her,  under  his  infamous 
system  of  secret  charges,  for  oflfensive  par¬ 
tisanship,  and  gave  the  place  to  a  democratic 
politician  and  editor.  For  this  Senator 
Harrison  justly  held  him  up  to  public  in¬ 
dignation  in  the  following  words : 

“  If  there  was  in  all  this  country  one  person, 
who  by  reason  of  her  sex,  who  by  reason  of 
her  widowhood,  who  by  reason  of  the  sacrifice 
she  made  in  giving  the  arm  on  which  she 
leaned  to  her  country’s  service,  was  entitled  to 
be  kept  in  office,  was  entitled  to  have  her 
reputation  guarded  jealously  and  by  all  men 
who  represented  the  government,  it  was  Mrs. 
Isabella  De  la  Hunt.” 

Mrs.  De  la  Hunt  applied  direct  to  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  for  reappointment,  but  Con¬ 
gressman  Posey  had  other  plans,  and  gave 
the  place  to  a  henchman.  Naturally  there 
has  been  wide  comment  and  a  questioning 
of  the  sincerity  of  Senator  Harrison.  Clark¬ 
son  comes  to  his  aid  by  stating  that  the 
President,  supposing  this  fourth-class  office 
to  be  a  presidential  office,  was  expecting  to 
name  Mrs.  De  la  Hunt,  but  in  the  mean¬ 
time  he,  by  order  of  Posey,  filled  it.  It 
would  have  been  better  to  leave  this 
transaction  without  explanation,  to  carry 
“its  own  pathos  and  its  own  indignation.” 
We  now  have  attached  to  it  Clarkson,  not 
only  as  a  very  offensive  wholesale  violator 
of  party  promises,  but  as  a  very  contempti¬ 
ble  liar.  All  friends  of  President  Harrison 
must  feel  deeply  the  humiliating  position 
into  which  he  has  been  placed,  but  what 
else  can  he  expect  when  he  thus  allots  pub¬ 
lic  offices  to  his  under-lords  and  they  grow 
fat  on  spoil?  Both  Clarkson  and  Posey 
undoubtedly  knew  his  personal  connection 
with  this  office,  but  no  risk  of  humiliating 
him  carried  even  this  small  place  past  the 
snap  of  their  greedy  jaws. 

Up  bobs  an  objector  to  competitive  tests 
because  they  exclude  all  but  young  men 
just  out  of  college.  Then  comes  an  exam¬ 
ination  at  Bloomington,  Ill.,  with  183  com¬ 
petitors  composed  mostly  of  middle-aged 
men.  That  objection  disposed  of,  another 
is  found  that  most  of  the  competitors  in  a 
recent  examination  were  school  teachers, 
and  while  school  teachers  pass  a  high  ex¬ 
amination,  in  practice  they  make  poor 
clerks,  being  conceited  and  unapt.  Then 
the  examination  for  postal  and  depart¬ 
mental  service  comes  and  goes,  and  we 
next  hear  that  the  school  teachers  went  out 
of  the  test  in  considerable  excitement  and 
anxiety.  So  the  objections  are  raised  and 
dropped.  Now  as  to  the  school  teachers, 
they  belong,  it  is  true,  to  an  unpopular 
profession,  considered  from  a  political 
standpoint,  but  nevertheless,  being  citizens 
of  a  country  democratic  in  form,  they  have 
a  right  to  a  chance  to  compete.  If  success¬ 
ful  in  that  test,  they  have  a  right  to  a 
chance  for  six  months’  probation.  If  in 
that  practical  test  in  which  their  errors  are 


checked,  their  quickness  and  endurance 
are  noted,  they  fall  behind,  they  should  be 
dropped.  They  themselves  would  fully  ap¬ 
prove  of  the  right  of  the  fittest  to  survive. 
If  they  are  retained  in  the  service,  when 
better  men  might  be  found,  the  fault  lies 
not  upon  competitive  tests  but  upon  the 
negligent  or  dishonest  officials  over  them. 


PUTTING  THE  LAW  IN  THE  HANDS 
OF  ITS  FRIENDS. 

It  must  be  said  that  the  appearance  of 
Postmaster  Wallace  and  of  his  leading  of¬ 
ficers  before  the  civil  service  commission 
at  Indianapolis  was  not  reassuring.  We 
believe  it  is  the  fact  that  he  was  appointed 
at  the  request  of  his  brother.  General  Lew 
Wallace,  on  the  ground  that  the  latter  “  did 
not  w'ant  anything  for  himself,”  but  asked 
that  bis  brother  be  made  postmaster  at  In¬ 
dianapolis,  and  that  this  appointment  was 
made  not  for  any  fitness  for  the  position, 
but  because  of  the  services  which  General 
Wallace  had  rendered  General  Harrison  at 
the  Chicago  convention  and  elsewhere. 
Postmaster  Wallace’s  honest  statement  to 
the  commission,  that  when  he  began  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  post-office  business 
and  that  he  knew  but  little  now,  is  a  blis¬ 
tering  comment  upon  this  method  of  deal¬ 
ing  out  public  offices.  He  is  esteemed  by 
his  fellow-citizens,  and  he  is  a  man  who 
wishes  to  do  right,  and  whose  feelings  no 
one  can  hurt  without  pain.  But,  having 
accepted  this  public  position,  he  must  be 
held  to  its  responsibilities.  No  one  who 
sat  through  the  investigation  can  say  that 
Mr.  Wallace  has  had  much  to  do  with  the 
management  of  his  office.  He  has  proba¬ 
bly  been  deceived  by  his  subordinates. 
That,  however,  does  not  excuse  him.  His 
comparative  weakness  in  the  presence  of 
his  principal  subordinates  was  clear.  There 
is  another  fact  also  which  is  now  plain— nei¬ 
ther  Mr.  Wallace  nor  these  subordinates 
have  any  interest  in  the  advancement  of 
civil  service  reform  or  in  the  success  of  the 
civil  service  law.  Their  declaration  that 
they  would  enforce  the  law  in  letter  and 
spirit  are  the  declarations  of  men  who 
mean  to  fulfill  no  more  than  the  strictest 
construction  of  the  bond  calls  for.  Mr. 
Wallace  is  sixty-three  years  old.  He  will 
never  care  for  nor  learn  the  principles  un¬ 
der  which  the  use  of  public  place  as  spoil 
must  be  broken  down.  He  is  a  strong 
partisan.  The  folly  of  appointing  a  parti¬ 
san  of  his  age,  ignorant  of  the  post-office 
business,  and  expecting  him  to  embrace 
the  principles  of  the  reform  law,  and  ad¬ 
minister  that  law  with  the  impartiality  of 
a  judge,  is  now  apparent. 

Putting  Wheat  and  Tousey  into  the  office 
was  clearly  an  attempt  to  keep  vacancies 
open  until  an  examination  could  be  held. 
The  desperate  effort  of  Assistant  Postmaster 


Thompson  to  secure  a  special  examination 
has  no  rational  explanation  except  that  there 
are  a  crowd  of  favorites  to  be  gotten  upon 
the  eligible  list  to  be  ready  for  proposed  or 
unavoidable  vacancies,  and  for  the  six  new 
carrierships  to  be  filled  July  1.  If  these  con¬ 
clusions  are  not  true,  why  does  not  this  of¬ 
fice  exhaust  its  present  eligible  list  ?  Post¬ 
master  Wallace  and  his  assistant,  and  all  the 
members  of  the  local  board  except  Mr.  Lane, 
who  was  not  present,  declared  to  the  com¬ 
mission  that  they  did  not  know  a  single  one 
of  those  on  that  list.  Then  how  do  they 
know  that  they  would  not  make  excellent 
clerks  and  carriers  ?  A  man  with  fair  in¬ 
tentions  to  the  law  would  give  every  one  of 
these  strangers  who  had  by  competition 
got  his  name  on  the  eligible  list,  a  chance 
for  a  trial  before  clamoring  for  a  special 
examination.  The  Civil  Service  Chroni¬ 
cle  has  been  slow  to  find  fault  with  this 
office,  but  this  is  not  the  management  that 
General  Harrison  promised. 


MR.  BONAPARTE’S  STANDARD. 

Mr.  Bonaparte’s  simple  and  admirable 
statement  of  what  a  President,  as  an  honest 
man,  is  bound  to  do,  and  of  the  standards 
by  which  he  is  to  be  judged,  indirectly 
shows  why  many  civil  service  reform  asso¬ 
ciations  that  formerly  did  useful  work,  to¬ 
day  seem  unable  to  add  to  their  numbers 
or  to  sustain  the  courage  and  vigor  of 
their  old  members.  On  every  side  the 
feeling  has  never  before  been  so  emphatic 
that  the  spoils  system,  as  cruel  and  feudal, 
must  give  way,  but  it  is  true,  with  some 
important  exceptions,  that  this  feeling  is 
more  aggressive  outside  the  old  associa¬ 
tions.  This  is  because  strength  has  been 
diverted  and  the  main  issue  lost  in  de¬ 
fending  and  explaining  a  chief  magistrate 
and  a  party,  instead  of  applying  to  a  jiresi- 
dent,  as  does  Mr.  Bonaparte,  the  straight¬ 
forward  judgment  that  would  be  applied  to 
any  other  man  in  the  ordinary  walks  of 
life.  What  interest  have  w'e  in  comparing 
the  relative  capacity  of  the  guillotine  in 
two  different  administrations  ?  Is  not  the 
only  question  that  concerns  us  whether, 
at  the  end  of  an  administration, it  has  done 
its  perfect  work  and  created  a  great  army 
of  office-holders,  paid  by  the  entire  people, 
to  be  used  by  the  party  in  power  to  per¬ 
petuate  its  own  power  ?  What  matter  is  it 
to  us  if  men  and  newspapers  are  judging  a 
President  by  a  standard  they  refused  to  ap¬ 
ply  to  his  predecessor,  if  they  are  now 
chronicling  facts  they  before  suppressed  or 
strove  to  explain  away  ?  What  do  we  care 
whether  one  man  has  advanced  this  reform 
more  than  his  predecessors,  or  whether  his 
successor  is  doing  no  worse  than  he  did  ? 
What  right  have  we  to  excuse  or  palliate 
on  the  ground  that  a  president  has  done  as 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


27 


well  as  we  have  a  right  to  expect,  and 
tacitly  grant  that  it  is  proper  to  bound  his 
efforts  to  do  what  he  ought  by  his  personal 
ambition  or  by  party  interest?  Is  it  not 
time  for  us  to  return  to  the  simpler  and 
purer  code  that  a  president  is  bound  by 
the  same  moral  laws  that  govern  other 
men  in  business  and  social  relations  ?  Is 
it  not  time  to  admit  that  many  of  the  so- 
called  difficulties  of  his  situation  would  at 
once  disappear  if  he  followed  the  plain 
path  of  rectitude  and  abided  the  conse¬ 
quences,  good  or  ill,  as  the  rest  of  us  are 
bound  to  do  ? 

We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  man  who 
wants  to  pose  as  a  moral  citizen,  while  he 
can  not  resist  the  emoluments  arising  from 
his  connection  with  receivers  of  stolen 
goods,  has  entanglements  that  tax  his  brain 
and  nerves,  and  that  his  course  is  apt  to  be 
inconsistent  and  suspicious.  Why  should 
it  be  otherwise  in  political  life  ?  Is  it 
worth  our  while  to  quibble  over  what  was 
the  intended  purport  of  promises  and 
pledges  when  it  is  plain  what  a  man  might 
do  and  ought  to  do?  This  sort  of  action 
delights  all  our  enemies,  for  it  keeps  this 
question  within  party,  or  at  least  personal^ 
lines,  it  admits  a  standard  gauged  by  polit¬ 
ical  expediency,  and  it  continues  as  an  “is¬ 
sue”  the  question  of  whether  the  vindica¬ 
tion  of  an  opinion  of  a  president  is  more 
important  than  the  reform  itself.  Must 
we  not  admit  that  this  reform  is  of  more 
vital  interest  than  any  president  or  any 
party  ? 

Mr.  Bonaparte’s  standard  is  the  only  one 
suited  to  the  nineteenth  century,  our  gov¬ 
ernment  and  the  American  people.  There 
are  interesting  examples  of  leaders  of  men 
who  have  achieved  a  worthy  end  by  a  tor¬ 
tuous  and  dissembling  course,  but  they 
had  a  lifetime  as  a  stage  of  action.  But  in 
this  country  the  man  who  is  president  and 
his  party  have  precisely  four  years  in  which 
to  achieve  greatness  and  work  out  a  policy, 
and  he  will  succeed  best  who  boldly  advo¬ 
cates  an  uncompromising  rectitude  and 
calmly  awaits  the  consequences,  whether 
he  be  a  president  or  a  looker-on  of  a  pres¬ 
ident’s  operations. 


THE  SACRIFICE  TO  THE  SPOILS- 
GOD. 

President  Harrison  has  made  great  sacri¬ 
fices  to  the  god  of  spoil.  No  stronger  state- 
mentof  determination  to  wholly  forsake  this 
god  could  have  been  put  into  language  than 
is  found  in  the  platform  and  in  the  letter  of 
acceptance  upon  which  General  Harrison 
was  elected.  Whatever  his  reasons,  we 
may  note  that  he  has,  to  a  startling  extent, 
made  propitiatory  offerings  at  this  altar. 
At  the  dictation  of  Quay  he  threw  the  huge 
post-office  department  to  Wanamaker. 
After  months  of  consultation  with  the  Tom 


Platts  of  his  party,  he  completed  his  cabi¬ 
net  without  putting  a  man  in  it  who  had 
ever  been  known  as  anything  but  a  spoils¬ 
man,  and  to  this  he  added  Tanner,  Bell 
and  the  unspeakable  Clarkson.  Virginia 
was  tossed  to  Mahone,  Pennsylvania  to 
Quay,  New  York  to  Platt,  and  other  smaller 
districts  to  less  powerful  ravagers.  But  to 
the  spoils-god  all  this  was  mere  preparation 
for  the  slaughter  of  something  substantial ; 
and  the  slaughter  came.  Pearson  went 
down  against  the  protest  of  the  entire  re¬ 
form  sentiment  of  the  country.  The  for¬ 
eign  ministers  were  dispatched  at  a  blow. 
Presidential  postmasters  are  going  by 
hundreds.  Clarkson  brings  down  his  vic¬ 
tims  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a  week, 
while  under  Tanner  the  pension  boards 
walk  the  plank  in  a  body.  The  railway 
mail  service  was  for  six  weeks  thrown  open 
to  the  common  pillage  of  congressmen. 
Oberly  was  sacrificed,  in  spite  of  the  deter¬ 
mined  effort  to  save  him  by  a  large  com¬ 
bination  of  numbers  and  influence  devoted 
to  the  Indian,  and  marshals,  district-attor¬ 
neys,  collectors,  messengers,  laborers  and 
all  manner  of  officers,  innocent  and  guilty 
alike,  have  been  led  to  the  common  sham¬ 
bles. 

The  President  knows  the  meaning  of 
language  as  well  as  any  man.  He  will  not 
read  the  platform  and  letter  of  acceptance 
and  say  that  his  acts  have  been  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  them.  Nor  will  he  say  that  he 
has  put  in  charge  of  offices  within  the  civil 
service  law  men  who  were  genuinely 
friendly  to  the  law  afe  he  promised.  But  he 
will  argue  that  his  deviation  was  necessary 
to  keep  an  all  powerful  god  from  devour¬ 
ing  everything.  We  may  as  well  look  the 
matter  in  the  face.  From  present  indica¬ 
tions,  the  President,  under  this  fear,  will 
continue  his  sacrifice  until  he  has  turned 
over  something  above  a  hundred  thousand 
offices  to  his  party.  He  could  not  possibly 
go  faster  than  he  is  now  going.  What  will 
be  his  reward  ?  Instead  of  appeasing  the 
god  he  has  made  him  ten  times  angrier 
than  ever.  Congressmen  hate  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  spoilsman  in 
Indiana  who  does  not  curse  him  roundly. 
The  republicans  in  this  state  are  weaker 
by  ten  thousand  votes  than  they  were  on 
the  day  of  the  inauguration.  We  believe 
this  to  be  generally  true  of  all  the  repub¬ 
lican  states.  The  apparent  intention  is  to 
complete  the  work  quickly  and  leave  a 
long  time  before  the  next  presidential  elec¬ 
tion  for  wounds  to  heal.  There  will  doubtless 
be  in  1892  a  united  and  enthusiastic  party 
machine  resting  upon  official  spoil.  Some 
disappointed  office  seekers  may  forget 
their  grievances  and  join  in  with  hope  for 
the  future.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  turn  of  the  next  election  will  be 
given  by  a  class  of  men  who  will  hold  any 


President  or  party  responsible  for  failure 
to  perform  promises,  and  that  this  class  is 
already  larger  by  many  thousands  than  it 
was  1888.  In  his  fear  of  the  Ingallses,  the 
Mahones,  the  Platts  and  the  Quays  the 
President  may  undervalue  the  strength  of 
this  class,  but  it  is  time  to  give  the  warn¬ 
ing. 


THE  INDIANAPOLIS  POST-OFFICE 
INVESTIGATION. 

The  civil  service  commission  overhauled 
the  Indianapolis  post-office  thoroughly  June 
18.  They  discovered  the  astonishing  fact  that 
•J.  C.  Wheat  and  William  E.  Tousey,  both 
discharged  some  years  ago,  had  been  put  back 
into  places  which  can  only  be  filled  from  the 
eligible  list,  and  that  the  former  had  been 
there  six  weeks  and  the  latter  eight.  Tousey 
is  an  active  ward  politician.  In  spite  of  the 
protests  of  the  managers  of  the  post-office  they 
will  hardly  expect  it  to  be  believed  that  this 
flagrant  breach  of  the  law  was  innocent.  In¬ 
stant  dismissal  was  ordered.  Several  other 
matters  connected  with  this  office  had  been 
complained  of  in  the  public  prints,  notably 
in  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel.  Of  these  cases 
Marshall  C.  Woods  and  Charles  Rouzier  were 
occupying  places  excepted  from  examination, 
and  which  could  be  and  had  been  treated  as 
spoil,  and  with  which  the  commission  could 
not  interfere.  Bagby  and  Billy  Patterson  are 
in  the  railway  mail  service  and  not  under 
Postmaster  Wallace.  R.  B.  Mundelle,  dis¬ 
missed  by  Postmaster  Jones,  charged  with 
kicking  a  special  delivery  boy,  for  which  he 
was  afterwards  fined  one  dollar,  had  been 
reinstated  within  the  one  year  limit  by 
Postmaster  Wallace.  The  commission  went 
into  the  merits  of  the  case,  and  the  facts 
seemed  to  be  that  the  delivery  boys  had  a  frog 
which  they  were  tossing  about  the  office,  and 
in  doing  this  were  getting  in  the  way  of  the 
clerks.  Mundelle,  after  repeated  warnings, 
took  one  by  the  collar  and,  aiding  his  effort 
with  his  knee,  put  the  boy  out  of  his  working 
place.  He  is  a  clerk  of  the  highest  efficiency, 
and  the  commission  found  his  reinstatement 
justifiable. 

The  carrier  Hamlin,  appointed  substitute 
by  Postmaster  Jones,  and  lately  given  a  full 
appointment  by  Postmaster  Wallace,  was 
charged  with  having  a  court  record  for  seduc¬ 
tion.  This  matter  was  not  within  the  power 
of  the  commission,  Hamlin  never  having  been 
dismissed  for  cause.  Postmaster  Wallace  told 
the  commission  that  he  had  no  doubt  that  the 
charge  against  Hamlin  was  true,  but  that  he 
did  not  know  of  it  when  he  appointed  him. 
He  did  not  explain  why  he  had  not  instantly 
dismissed  Hamlin  upon  learning  of  it,  or  why 
he  was  still  keeping  him. 

The  most  notable  case  of  the  day  was  the  re¬ 
instatement  by  Wallace  of  Charles  F.  Moore,  to 
which  we  called  attention  last  month  and  asked 
what  was  going  to  be  done  about  it.  A  private 
inquiry  at  ths  post-office  elicited  the  answer 
that  it  was  a  “  put  up  job  ”  on  Moore  and  that  he 


28 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


had  been  the  victim  of  a  conspiracy  of  dem¬ 
ocrats  to  secure  his  discharge.  No  public  ex¬ 
planation  of  this  kind  was  made,  and  the  reason 
seemed  altogether  incredible,  for  under  Post¬ 
master  Jones  vacancies  were  made  without  the 
trouble  of  conspiring.  The  charge  being  pub¬ 
licly  repeated,  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle 
employed  a  detective  and  took  other  means  to 
ascertain  the  facts.  To  one  thus  familiar  with 
the  facts,  it  was  a  curious  study  to  see  the  offi¬ 
cers  of  the  post-office  attempt  to  satisfy  the 
commission  that  when  arrested  Moore  was  on¬ 
ly  engaged  “  in  a  little  game  of  five-cent-ante 
with  friends,”  and  that  he  was  not,  and  had 
never  been,  a  gambler.  Postmaster  Wallace’s 
attempts  in  this  direction  were  so  lame  that 
Assistant-Postmaster  Thompson  was  obliged 
to  take  the  lead.  He  boldly  repeated  the  ste¬ 
reotyped  story  that  Moore  was  a  very  fine 
clerk  whose  place  was  wanted,  who  was  not, 
and  never  had  been,  a  gambler,  but  who  was 
watched  and  canght  in  a  ‘‘little  friendly  game 
of  five-cent-ante.”  Mr.  Thompson  further 
stated  that  Moore  finally  went  to  Postmaster 
.Tones  and  told  him  that  he  could  not  endure 
to  be  hounded  by  politicians  and  he  would 
therefore  resign.  A  little  later  both  Moore 
and  ex-Postmaster  Jones  came  into  the  room, 
and  when  asked  by  the  commission  denied, 
with  open-eyed  surprise  at  the  question,  any 
such  talk  with  each  other,  or  any  such  reason 
for  Moore’s  resigning ;  all  this  to  the  visible 
discomfiture  of  Mr.  Thompson.  Moore  made 
no  defense  whatever,  but  said  he  resigned  be¬ 
cause  he  was  forced  to,  having  been  “  caught 
gambling  and  arrested.” 

If  Postmaster  Wallace  had  at  any  time  made 
the  investigation  which  was  always  his  reason¬ 
able  duty,  and  which,  after  the  public  charge, 
was  his  imperative  duty,  he  would  have  found 
in  a  couple  of  hours  that  for  a  period  of  years 
Moore  had  been  a  frequenter  of  gambling 
places  and  a  gambler;  that  he  had  once  been 
arrested  with  thirteen  others  in  Tobe  Howe’s 
gambling  place,  when  $700  were  put  up  as  se¬ 
curity  for  the  appearance  of  the  whole  party 
in  court;  that  for  a  considerable  period  he 
had  been  having  a  gambling  room  next  to  the 
post-ofllce,  which  was  known  to  the  police ; 
that  every  night  for  five  nights  this  gambling 
was  watched,  and  finally  a  warrant  against 
room  23  was  issued  in  ignorance  of  who  was 
there,  and  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Captain 
Colbert  to  serve;  that,  accompanied  by  a  sin¬ 
gle  policeman,  he  went  to  the  room';  that 
seeing  a  man  whom  they  knew  come  away, 
they  gave  the  usual  knock,  and  in  answer  to 
“  Who’s  there  ?”  gave  the  name  of  the  man 
they  had  seen  leave ;  that  a  man  opened  the 
door  slightly  and  was  knocked  down  by  the 
push  of  the  officers  against  it ;  that  Moore  took 
the  cash  and  put  it  into  his  pocket  and  was 
prevented  from  locking  up  the  checks ;  that  a 
confession  of  gambling  was  made  on  the  spot ; 
that  the  officers  found  there  the  usual  outfit 
of  a  gambling-room,  including  a  poker  table 
with  an  opening  for  the  “rake-ofT”  for  the 
keeper  of  the  room  and  twenty  packs  of  cards 
.and  four  hundred  chips,  articles  which  are  not 


found  elsewhere,  even  among  those  having  “  a 
friendly  game  of  five-cent-ante;”  that  the  offi¬ 
cers  arrested  in  the  room  seven  persons,  includ¬ 
ing  Moore;  that  the  charge  against  Moore  was 
for  keeping  a  gambling-place  and  gambling, 
and  against  the  others  for  gambling ;  that  Moore 
put  up  $40  as  security,  and  afterwards  put  up 
straw-bail  and  withdrew  the  $40 ;  that  the 
whole  crowd  pleaded  guilty  and  were  fined, 
Moore  being  fined  $5  and  costs,  amounting  to 
$19.40,  which  he  has  never  paid  by  reason  of 
his  straw  bail ;  that  he  had  been  warned  about 
six  months  before,  by  Postmaster  Jones,  that 
he  mast  stop  having  gambling  in  his  rooms, 
and  had  promised  to  do  so;  that  when  he  was 
arrested  Postmaster  Jones  allowed  him  to  re¬ 
sign,  but  forced  him  to  do  so  by  reason  of  his 
above  career;  that  recently  half  a  dozen  per¬ 
sons  had  been  to  Captain  Colbert  to  ask  him 
to  say  that  the  arrest  was  a  “set-up  job.” 

The  witnesses  to  show  the  above  facts  were 
at  the  call  of  the  commission,  but  before  all 
these  facts  were  brought  out  the  commission 
declined  to  hear  other  witnesses,  solely  because 
they  had  heard  enough  to  come  to  the  conclu¬ 
sion  that  Moore’s  reinstatement  was  wrong. 
They  publicly  announced  this  finding  and  di¬ 
rected  Postmaster  Wallace  to  sever  Moore’s 
connection  with  the  office  at  once.  For  this 
conclusion  they  had  heard  abundant  evidence. 

Mr.  Thompson  made  an  amusing  attempt 
to  argue  that  Wheat  and  Tousey  were  employed 
as  substitutes,  and  that  for  such  employment 
the  postmaster  had  a  right  to  go  out  on  the 
street  and  pick  up  men  and  keep  them  for 
months,  but  had  no  right  to  take  substitutes 
from  the  eligible  list.  An  appeal  to  the  Pres¬ 
ident  is  threatened,  but  he  will  hardly  sustain 
this  view  of  the  law.  The  work  of  the  com¬ 
mission  at  Indianapolis  can  not  be  too  highly 
commended,  and  the  fearlessness  of  Mr.  Eoose- 
velt,  coupled  with  his  long  and  brilliant  ex¬ 
perience  in  dealing  with  unwilling  and  crooked 
executive  officers,  mahes  it  plain  that  the  Pres¬ 
ident  has  found  a  man. 


THE  DRAG  UPON  THE  REMNANT. 

In  the  days  of  slavery  the  remnant  strove  to 
convince  the  rest  that  it  was  a  curse.  The  ir¬ 
resistible  power  of  amoral  idea  worked.  Since 
then  another  slave  system,  the  spoils  system, 
has  stealthily  grown  great  and  menacing,  and 
again  the  remnant  protests.  Their  progress 
has  been  slow  but  irresistible.  It  was  lately 
quickened  by  a  great  occasion  and  a  great 
man.  Like  the  solemn  tones  of  a  cathedral 
bell  in  the  midst  of  a  hushed  and  expectant 
people.  Bishop  Potter’s  warning  and  appeal 
made  the  popular  heart  vibrate  and  awoke  the 
conscience  of  a  multitude.  He  hastened  the 
end  of  an  unrighteous  and  aristocratic  politi¬ 
cal  system.  But  as  in  all  similar  struggles  in 
history  there  are  with  us  deprecators  whose 
general  attitude  is  that  there  is  no  danger  and 
that  things  will  of  themselves  come  out  all 
right. 

A  clergyman  of  this  city  performed  this 
office  on  memorial  day.  Those  ancient  spo¬ 


radic  examples  of  baseness,  Arnold,  Lee  and 
Burr,  seemed  to  him  a  fit  offset  to  the  present 
epidemic  of  spoils  against  which  Bishop  Pot¬ 
ter  warned  us.  Barring  the  usual  lapses  of 
“human  nature”  things  political  are  in  his 
opinion  going  not  only  as  well  as  in  Wash¬ 
ington’s  day,  but  he  goes  on  to  say : 

“  I  do  not  argue  these  questions,  however. 
If  a  Jeremiah  comes  with  his  lamentations, 
through  his  tears  beholding  our  perils  and  t)ur 
sins  indeed,  but  unable  to  discern  the  radiant 
promise  of  our  times,  I  would  not  strive  to 
answer  him.  Does  he  say  that  this  is  a  ‘mer¬ 
chantable’  generation?  that  the  high  ideas 
which  marked  and  ennobled  the  birth  of  the 
republic  have  disappeared  from  the  closing 
period  of  our  first  century  ?  Rather  than  argue 
I  would  simply  wait.  Let  the  weeks  roll  on. 
Let  April  skies  give  place  to  flowery  May.” 

The  fact  that  the  Tweed,  whisky  and  star 
route  rings  and  various  election  criminals 
have  been  brought  to  justice  is  an  indication 
to  him  that  Bishop  Potter’s  censures  were  out 
of  place  and  his  warnings  jeremiads.  He  for¬ 
got  to  mention  that  those  crimes  and  criminals 
were  not  punished  by  simply  waiting  and  let¬ 
ting  the  weeks  roll  on  and  April  skies  give 
place  to  flowery  May.  He  forgot  to  recall  the 
men  who  did  the  sapping  and  mining  at  per¬ 
sonal  risk  and  sacrifice.  He  omitted  the  fact 
of  how  secret  and  far-reaching  and  invincible 
seemed  the  forces  to  be  overcome,  how  impreg¬ 
nable  were  the  criminals  behind  breastworks 
of  good  men  who  protested  that  nothing  was 
wrong,  that  the  agitation  was  a  device  of  light¬ 
headed  or  bad  hearted  men.  In.  short,  he 
omitted  all  mention  of  the  deprecators  of  those 
days  who  preached  the  gospel  of  waiting  and 
letting  the  weeks  roll  on,  and  who  anxiously 
scanned  the  horizon  of  the  past  for  signs  that 
the  present  needed  no  attention.  It  seems  in¬ 
credible  that  a  public  teacher  should  rejoice 
in  the  destruction  of  that  crop  of  dragon’s 
teeth  and  be  loath  to  recognize  the  new  prod¬ 
uct.  But  this  stubborn  reluctance  to  study  the 
present,  this  readiness  for  superficial  criticism 
upon  the  grave  conclusions  of  another,  this 
alertness  to  check  a  noble  impulse  for  reform, 
and  to  lull  an  aroused  public  conscience,  by 
men  intrenched  in  high  personal  character,  act 
as  a  brake  upon  this  progress  to-day  ;  it  is  not 
spoilsmen  fighting  for  life,  but  these  uncon¬ 
scious  and  untroubled  enemies  of  our  camp. 
They  can  not  stay  the  final  doom  of  the  spoils 
system.  They  can  not  influence  the  patriotic 
men  who  have  felt  its  malign  influence.  But 
they  can  delay  and  harry  and  burden  the 
workers  in  the  field  bearing  the  heat  and  bur¬ 
den  of  the  day,  and  they  have  the  physical 
power  to  ignore  that  wise  and  just  command 
“NeeA  ye  the  truth.”  No  man  would  feel  a 
greater  repugnance  than  this  clergyman  for 
this  system  could  he  be  forced  to  follow  the 
filthy  trail  of  the  serpent  in  the  story  of 
Mahone’s  triumph  in  Virginia,  of  Quay’s 
succession  in  Pennsylvania,  of  Gorman’s  re¬ 
duction  of  Maryland,  of  a  city  like  New  York 
prostrate  under  the  heel  of  a  robber  gang,  of 
the  base  control  of  another  city  by  the  man 
known  as  the  “blind  white  devil  of  San  Fran¬ 
cisco.”  These  are  random  instances  of  “  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


29 


dangers  that  menace  free  institutions ”  stated 
in  the  republican  platform  in  1888,  and  which 
were  in  the  mind  of  Bishop  Potter. 

Why  do  good  men  seem  to  be  deliberately  j 
blind  and  deaf  to  certain  present  evils?  It  is 
not  for  this  paper  to  Judge.  It  may  be  the 
demon  of  party  s])irit  that  occasionally  lodges 
and  disports  itself  in  sacred  precincts.  What¬ 
ever  the  cause,  it  for  a  time  is  more  batlling 
and  discouraging  than  evil  itself. 

The  civil  service  commission  overhauled 
the  New  York  custom  house  and  found  an¬ 
other  place  where  the  civil  service  law  has 
been  steadily  cheated.  One  man  got  an  ap¬ 
pointment  who  did  not  write  his  examination 
paper.  There  was  a  system  of  getting  exam¬ 
ination  questions  to  which  the  password  “Ter¬ 
ry,”  “Terry,”  seemed  the  open  sesame.  Ex¬ 
aminations  had  been  held  with  the  same  set  of 
questions  three  days  in  succession.  The  local 
board  had  about  the  character  and  aims  of  our 
city  fire  committee  that  wanted  to  turn  demo¬ 
crats  out  of  the  fire  department.  The  commis¬ 
sion  next  went  to  Troy,  where  they  found  the 
civil  service  law  carried  out  on  abont  the  same 
principle  as  the  tissue  ballot  system  reported 
to  us  from  the  South.  Under  Cleveland  the 
democrats  literally  held  the  fort,  and  now  the 
republicans  were  in  complete  and  hostile  pos¬ 
session.  There  was  no  reliable  record  of  any¬ 
thing,  and  the  entire  outfit  seemed  to  be  a  few 
old  examination  papers  tied  up  with  a  string. 
The  republicans  had  just  held  a  special  ex¬ 
amination,  in  which  it  had  been  understood 
and  acted  upon  that  none  but  republicans,  and 
republicans  of  a  particular  faction,  need  com¬ 
pete.  The  commission  took  a  hand  at  a  clean 
sweep.  They  annulled  the  special  examina¬ 
tion  and  quashed  both  the  democratic  and  re. 
publican  lists  of  eligibles.  The  postmaster  re¬ 
luctantly  admitted  that  he  might  appoint  a 
democrat  in  case  he  could  not  find  a  republi¬ 
can. 


The  following  is  the  present  list  of  eligibles 
of  the  Indianapolis  post-office: 


CLERKS. 

Jesse  C.  Smith . 

John  G.  Edmunds . 

..87 

Henry  Arbison . 

John  Laughlin . 

..86 

VV.  H.  Kastner . 

Sammie  Barrett . . 

..86 

Chas.  B.  Fawkner . 

....87 

Clarence  H.  Marpin...., 

..86 

Herbert  Spellman . 

....84 

Bartholomew  O’Leary. 

..85 

Frank  M.  Northway... 

...79 

J.  W.  Newton . 

John  W.  Frietzsche.... 

....77 

R.  J.  Abriet . 

..83 

Patrick  J.  Gorman . 

....70 

Calvin  Hollwell . 

..83 

Wm.  Fricker . 

....83 

Hugh  A.  Cummings . 

..82 

James  W.  Hobbs . 

John  L.  Etter . 

..78 

Henry  M.  DeWitt . 

....81 

Thadd.  E.  York . 

,...81 

Lemuel  F.  Apple . 

..76 

Don  D.  Wells . 

....79 

Henry  S.  George . 

..74 

Chas.  Humphrey  Evan.s.  79 

Thomas  Judd . 

.72 

Chas.  W.  Fenton . 

....78 

MAIL  CAREIRS. 

Chas.  Faulkner . 

...72 

Barney  Aldering . 

,.72 

Alex,  E.  Manning . 

,...71 

Wm.  F.  Stieff . 

.76 

Albert  Bowers . 

...75 

Mike  H.  Connell . 

,.74 

John  P.  Lyendecker... 

,...74 

Elmer  E.  Bird . 

.73 

Sidney  J.  Gibson . 

...73 

W.  W.  McEldowny . 

.70 

...81 

Henry  Barrett . 

.73 

Riley  T.  White . 

Robert  Felton . 

— The  treasury  department  has  made  exten¬ 
sive  removals  of  laborers  to  make  place  for 
the  horde  of  minor  place-seekers. 


WANTON  REMOVALS. 

Tlie  danger,  then,  consists  merely  in  this; 
The  President  can  displace  from  oflice  a 
man  wliose  merits  re(|iiire  that  he  should 
he  continued  in  it.  Wliat  will  he  the  mo- 
tires  whicli  the  Presitlent  can  feel  for  such 
abuse  of  his  power,  and  tlie  restraints  that 
operate  to  prevent  it  ?  In  the  first  place, 
he  will  he  impeachable  by  this  house,  be¬ 
fore  the  senate,  for  such  an  act  of  malad¬ 
ministration  ;  for  I  contend  that  the 
ivanton  removal  of  meritorious  of¬ 
ficers  would  subject  him  to  im¬ 
peachment  and  removal  from  his 
otvn  high  trust.  *  *  »  Can  we  sup¬ 
pose  a  President,  elected  for  four  years 
only,  dependent  upon  the  popular  voice, 
impeachable  by  the  legislature,  little,  if 
at  .all,  distinguished  for  wealth,  personal 
talents,  or  influence  from  the  head  of  the 
department  himself ;  I  say,  will  he  bid  de¬ 
fiance  to  all  these  considerations,  and  wan¬ 
tonly  dismiss  a  meritorious  and  virtuous 
officer  I  isuch  an  abuse  of  power 
exceeds  my  conception. — Cmgremnam 
James  Madison.  June,  17S9. 

— June  18,  thirty-nine  presidential  post¬ 
masters  were  appointed  ;  of  these  sixteen  were 
to  fill  vacancies  caused  by  removal. 

— On  the  22d  of  May,  two  months  and  seven 
days  after  the  railway  mail  service,  by  order 
of  President  Cleveland,  was  embraced  by  the 
civil  service  law,  sixteen  clerks  running  out  of 
Louisville,  Ky.,  were  discharged  because  they 
were  democrats. 

— Out  of  forty-three  presidential  postmasters 
appointed  during  the  week  ending  with  June 
(),  nineteen  were  to  fill  vacancies  caused  by  re¬ 
moval.  Out  of  seventeen  appointed  June  11, 
nine  succeeded  postmasters  removed  without 
cause. 

— Two  hundred  and  seventy-six  dismissals 
from  the  railway  mail  service  reached  the  su¬ 
perintendent  of  tlie  tenth  division  at  St.  Paul 
in  one  batch.  The  first  man  out  had  made  the 
best  record  of  any  clerk  in  Dakota.  Of  the 
new  men,  the  train  conductor  found  one  drunk 
on  the  floor  of  the  car  surrounded  by  the  debns 
of  his  mail. 

— The  postmaster  at  .Jersey  City  remained 
in  oflice  until  the  end  of  his  term,  three  years, 
under  President  Cleveland.  President  Harri¬ 
son  has  removed  the  democratic  successor 
without  cause,  who  has  been  in  office  only  one 
year,  and  has  given  the  place  to  a  politician. 

— Postmaster  Clark,  of  Jacksonville,  Flor¬ 
ida,  has  been  removed  by  President  Harrison, 
one  year  before  the  end  of  his  term.  He  has 
made  an  excellent  record,  and  was  much  liked 
by  the  people.  He  retained  many  republicans 
in  office,  notably  several  colored  men. 

— “Sol”  Hirsch  is  spoken  of  as  the  Tom  Platt 
of  Oregon.  The  President  has  appointed  him 
as  minister  to  Turkey  to  susceed  Mr.  Oscar 
Straus,  who  performed  his  duties  in  such  a 
manner  that  missionaries,  societies,  colleges, 
and  practically  the  whole  missionary  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  Christian  Church  in  this  country 
interested  in  Turkey  asked  for  his  retention. 

— Mrs.  Mary  L.  Clay  has  been  postmaster  at 
Huntsville,  Ala.,  for  two  years.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  has  removed  her.  The  Huntsville  Inde¬ 
pendent,  the  leading  republican  newspaper  of 
Alabama,  says  that,  “in  the  discharge  of  her 
duties  as  postmistress  she  has  been  faithful, 
polite,  accommodating  and  efficient.”  A  spe¬ 
cial  agent  made  an  adverse  report,  but  when 
Mrs.  Clay  asked  for  the  charges  and  the  name 
of  the  author  she  obtained  neither. 

— At  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  the  republican  post¬ 
master  served  out  his  term  under  Cleveland, 


which  lasted  a  year  and  eight  months.  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  has  put  out  the  democratic 
postmaster  nineteen  months  before  his  time. 
His  appointee,  who  is  the  former  republican 
incumbent,  addresses  a  clerk  as  follows: 

“Young  man,  I  have  noticed  your  work,  and 
I  can  s.ay  you  do  your  work  admirably,  and 
much  better  than  I  expected.  In  fact,  your 
duties  were  never  better  performed,  and  if  you 
were  with  us  in  politics  you  would  not  leave 
this  office,  at  least  as  long  as  I  have  anything 
to  do  with  it.  But  as  you  were  not  with  us 
lagt  fall,  the  paj)ers  are  made  out  and  signed 
for  your  successor.” 

— At  New  Bedford  (Mass.)  a  republican 
postmaster  held  over  till  1887,  when  Carpen¬ 
ter,  a  democrat,  was  appointed.  A  month 
after  the  inauguration  the  latter’s  removal 
was  announced,  on  the  ground  of  inefficiency. 
Wanamaker  said  that  the  representations  of 
inefficiency  were  made  by  Pay  Director  Thorn¬ 
ton  of  the  navy,  April  2,  indorsed  by  Congress¬ 
man  Randall,  April  4.  No  hearing  was  given, 
nor  were  further  inquiries  made.  Mr.  Holmes, 
a  member  of  the  Bedford  republican  city  com¬ 
mittee,  went  to  Washington  seeking  an  ex¬ 
planation.  Wanamaker,  hard  pushed,  sug¬ 
gested  that  Mr.  Holmes  make  a  written  protest 
against  the  issue  of  the  commission.  This  was 
done,  and  May  7  Wanamaker  wrote  him  as 
follows : 

“  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  esteemed 
letter,  and  say  that  on  further  consultation  with  your 
representative  in  congress,  the  department  has  issued  a 
commission  to  the  postmaster  at  New  Bedford,  Mass.” 

The  people  of  New  Bedford  of  all  shades  of 
opinion  were  satisfied  with  their  postmaster, 
and  desired  that  he  should  serve  out  his  term. 
Thornton  was  rarely  in  New  Bedford,  and  his 
only  business  with  the  office  was  to  receive  an 
occasional  letter.  In  a  final  letter  to  Wana¬ 
maker,  Mr.  Holmes  says: 

As  a  republican  who  has  witnessed  this  whole 
transaction,  I  ought  to  and  do  feel  humiliated.  It  is 
a  revelation  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  administration 
of  my  own  party.  Its  platform  and  the  letter  of  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  President  Harrison  distinctly  promised 
that  should  not  be  done  which  I  have  seen  done  here 
with  my  own  eyes.  Nor  is  that  even  fairly  stating  it. 
Not  only  has  an  honest  and  efficient  public  officer 
been  dismissed  from  the  service  on  a  charge  of  in¬ 
competency,  but  turned  out  of  office  under  a  cloud 
and  denied  even  the  opportunity  of  proving  the 
utter  falsity  of  such  charge. 

The  New  Bedford  office,  though  an  important  one, 
is  only  one  of  many.  It  is  improbable  that  what  has 
been  done  here  would  alone  have  much  effect  upon 
the  welfare  of  the  party  at  large,  but  if  the  administra¬ 
tion  is  pursuing  all  over  this  country  the  course  it  has  pur¬ 
sued  in  this  locality,  the  republican  party  will  be  defeated 
in  the  next  election,  and  deservedly. 

—  President  Cleveland  left  the  Norwich, 
Conn.,  postmaster  in  office  sixteen  months, 
making  his  whole  term  four  years  and  two 
months.  President  Harrison,  without  any 
cause  w'hatever,  has  removed  President  Cleve¬ 
land’s  appointee,  whose  term  had  fourteen 
months  to  run,  who  had  given  satisfaction  to 
the  public  and  who  had  not  made  a  clean 
sweep.  His  successor,  within  twenty-four 
hours,  dismissed  every  democratic  employe 
but  one.  After  this  an  election  came  on  and 
for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  town 
the  democrats  carried  it,  beating  the  repub¬ 
licans  on  every  hand  with  the  single  excep¬ 
tion  of  the  sheriff.  Election  history  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland’s  term  is  beginning  to  repeat 
itself. 


30 


THE  civil.  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— The  present  administration  found  at  the 
head  of  the  assay  office  at  Boise  City,  Idaho, 
Henry  F.  Wild.  He  was  not  a  politician  hut 
voted  as  a  republican,  and  he  was  an  engineer 
and  metallurgist  of  European  and  American 
education,  with  eight  years’  practical  expe¬ 
rience  before  he  took  this  office.  His  term 
was  not  limited  and  his  removal  e.xcept  for 
cause  was,  therefore,  unconstitutional.  He 
had  conducted  the  office  with  remarkable  abil¬ 
ity  and  success,  relying  solely  upon  business 
principles,  and  had  in  consequence  made  but 
one  removal  among  hissubordinates.  Within 
three  years  the  deposits  increased  ninefold, 
while  the  expenses  were  proportionately  de¬ 
creased  one  and  one-half  per  cent.  The  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Idaho  officially  complimented  the 
management  of  the  office.  President  Harrison 
removed  Mr.  Wild  and  appointed  Cunning¬ 
ham  assayer.  The  latter  “  is  not  by  education 
or  experience,  even  of  the  most  limited  kind, 
acquainted  with  mining,  a.ssaying,  metallurgy 
or  any  kindred  subject.”  He  has  made  a 
clean  sweep  with  a  single  exception.  His 
new  chief  clerk  is  one  Pride,  a  local  politi 
cian,  for  whom  Cunningham  had  clerked. 
After  Mr.  Wild  had  given  up  the  office  on  an 
order  from  Washington,  Secretary  Windom 
wrote  him:  “  Your  resignation  ^  is  hereby 
accepted.  *  *”  Mr.  Wild  had  never  resigned. 
Toe  government’s  last  act  appears  to  be  court¬ 
eous  ;  in  fact  it  is  sneaking  hypocrisy  of  a  very 
odious  kind.  Stirring  the  waters  brings  up 
the  head  shark.  Delegate  Du  Boissays:  “I 
acted  in  this  matter  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  party,  according  to  my  own  judgment,  after 
careful  consideration. 

— In  Bell’s  zeal  “for  the  good  of  the  service” 
in  Massachusetts,  he  reinstated  one  clerk  ap 
pointed  by  the  democrats  and  discharged  by 
them  for  incompetency.  In  Illinois  he  dis¬ 
charged  a  clerk  who  had  been  in  the  service 
since  President  Lincoln’s  time,  and  who  is  said 
to  have  been  worth  to  the  people  all  that  a 
competent  man  can  become  by  years  of  train¬ 
ing  and  experience. 

— The  Lockport  Journal  points  with  pride  to 
the  fact  that  of  the  thirty  federal  offices  in 
Niagara  county  about  twenty  have  already 
been  filled  with  republicans  by  the  present  ad¬ 
ministration. 

RELIGIOUS  COMMENT. 

— Referring  to  Bishop  Potter,  the  Chicago 
Standard  (Baptist)  says:  “What’s  the  use  of 
beating  about  the  bush  in  this  matter?  There 
is  a  power  of  truth  in  these  words.  The  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  country  ought  in  some  way  to 
rescue  the  President  from  the  power  of  the  poli¬ 
ticians.  Patronage  has  got  to  be  altogether 
bigger  than  the  President,  and  the  purpose, 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  latter  are  in  danger 
of  utter  obscuration  and  overthrow.” 

— Mr.  Pearson  died  without  the  solace  of 
feeling  that  those  in  whose  interest  he  labored 
appreciated  his  sacrifice.  But  he  was  appre¬ 
ciated.  His  unselfish  labor  has  not  been  in 
vain.  The  time  is  coming  when  he  will  learn 
that  he  fought  a  good  light  and  won  a  durable 
crown . — Christian  Leader. 

— Make  tenure  of  office  to  depend  on  char¬ 
acter  and  fitness,  and  no  small  part  of  the 
load  will  be  lifted  from  the  President’s  shoul¬ 
ders. —7%e  Morning  Star  {Baptist). 

— In  the  Baltimore  GivU  Sei-vice  Reformer  for 
June  is  an  article  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Kirkus,  a 
prominent  clergyman  of  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  Church.  It  shows  the  connection  be¬ 
tween  religion  and  politics,  and  it  makes  clear 
that  the  duty  of  the  Christian  minister  is  to 
take  part  officially  n\  the  work  of  purifying  our 
political  methods. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

“  Large  districts  or  i)arcels  of  laud  were 
allotted  hy  the  conquering  generals  to  the 
snj)erior  ollicers  of  tiie  army,  and  hy  them 
dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allot¬ 
ments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most  de¬ 
serving  soldiers.  ®  *  The  condition  of 
holding  tlie  lands  thus  given  was  that  (he 
possessor  should  do  service  faithfully,  both 
at  liome  and  in  the  wars,  to  him  hy  wliom 
tliey  were  given,”  and,  on  breach  of  tliis 
condilioii,  “by  not  performing  the  slipu- 
lated  service,  or  by  deserting  his  lord  in 
battle,”  tlie  lands  reverted  to  tlie  lord. 
Tlie  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath 
of  fealty  to  tlie  lord,  and  in  addition  did 
homage,  “  openly  and  humbly  kneeling, 
being  unglrt,  uncovered  and  iiolding  up 
his  hands,  botii  together,  between  those  of 
ills  lord,  who  sate  before  him,  and  there 
professing  that  he  did  become  his  MAN 
from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
eartiily  honor,  and  tlien  he  received  a  kiss 
from  his  lord.”  Services  uere  free  and 
base.  Free  service  was  to  pay  a  sum  of 
money,  or  serve  under  the  lord  in  war. 
Base  service  was  to  plow  tlie  lord’s  land, 
to  make  his  hedge  or  carry  out  his  dung. — 
Blackstone. 

— L.  W.  Habercorn,  a  newspaper  correspond¬ 
ent,  active  in  the  last  campaign,  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  fifth  auditor  of  the  treasury. 

— Lincoln  H.  Beyerle  has  l)een  made  post¬ 
master  at  Goshen,  Ind.  He  is  editor  of  the 
Goshen  Times. 

— Alexander  Reed,  editor  Appleton  [Wis.] 
Post,  has  been  appointed  consul  at  Dublin. 

— The  President  has  appointed  James  B. 
Stone,  editor  Detroit  Tribune,  collector  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue,  first  Michigan  district. 

— Albert  B.  White,  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  Parkersburg  State  Journal,  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  West 
Virginia. 

— Senator  Spooner,  of  W’isconsin,  has  had  his 
brother,  Roger  Spooner,  made  consul  at  Prague. 
Salary  $3,000. 

— Congressman  Owen,  of  Logansport,  has 
been  in  Washington  again.  He  said  that  his 
business  was  to  see  that  the  men  who  work  in 
the  trenches  should  be  “recognized.” 

— A.  K.  Sills,  of  Indiana,  has  been  appointed 
special  swamp  land  agent.  Emoluments  $2,500. 
Sills  was  a  Harrison  delegate  to  the  Chicago 
convention. 

— Donald  Mcljean  has  been  appointed  the 
new  general  appraiser  at  the  port  of  New  York. 
He  is  an  active  politician,  and  is  a  leader  of 
the  republican  party  in  the  twenty-third  as¬ 
sembly  district.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  last 
three  republican  national  conventions. 

— Charles  P.  Hitch  has  been  appointed  mar¬ 
shall  of  the  southern  district  of  Illinois  and 
John  R.  Mizerof  the  northern  district  of  Flor¬ 
ida.  The  latter  is  chairman  of  the  Florida 
republican  state  committee.  Both  were  active 
Harrison  workers  at  the  Chicago  convention. 

— Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal:  The 
President  says  that  he  intends  to  recognize  and 
please  as  many  of  his  personal  and  party 
friends  in  Indiana  as  possible,  and  that  he 
will  not  cease  appointing  them  until  the  offices 
are  exhausted. 


— May  21,  Senator  Cullom  had  70  fourth- 
class  postmasters  appointed  in  Illinois  demo¬ 
cratic  congressional  districts,  and  a  large 
number  of  examining  pension  boards. 

— It  is  said  that  Congressmen  Lodge,  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Cannon,  of  Illinois,  are 
leading  court  favorites.  They  get  all  they 
want  and  promise  of  more. 

— The  two  senators  from  Minnesota  are  at 
war  over  the  s|)oils  of  that  state.  Each  has  a 
distinct  set  of  henchmen  among  whom  he  in¬ 
sists  they  shall  be  divided.  Quay  and  Wana- 
maker  have  also  had  a  most  unpleasant  con¬ 
test  over  the  Philadelphia  spoils. 

— Matthews  was  elected  delegate  from  Da¬ 
kota  and  then  that  territory  was  admitted  as 
two  states.  “Mr.  Matthews,  despite  the  fact 
that  he  will  never  occupy  the  seat  of  delegate 
from  Dakota,  demanded  his  prerogatives,  and 
making  a  firm  stand,  was  granted  the  exclu¬ 
sive  right  to  dictate  all  the  appointments  in 
his  territory.” 

— The  Indianapolis  Journal  says  : 

“It  is  not  true  in  fact,  either,  that  the  most 
conspicuous  ‘workers’  are  the  most  effective  in 
their  aid  to  a  party.  These  are  in  many  cases 
mere  hirelings,  after  all.  They  may  serve 
conspicuously  during  a  campaign,  but  they  do 
it  for  the  loaves  and  fishes  in  hand.  To  claim 
additional  remuneration  in  the  form  of  a  fat 
office  is  pure  insolence;  and  yet  such  is  often 
the  ca.se.  Such  friends  are  the  most  danger¬ 
ous  of  enemies.” 

— We  think  the  statement  is  a  mistake  that 
President  Harrison  has  appointed  his  father- 
in-law  to  an  office.  The  appointment  was  to 
his  brother-in-law,  .John  N.  Scott,  of  this  city. 
This,  with  Frank  McKee,  his  son-in-law’s 
brother,  to  be  deputy  collector  of  customs  in 
Port  Townsend,  and  his  brother  to  be  marshal 
in  Tennessee,  and  his  son’s  father-in-law  to  a 
$5,000  Utah  position  and  Lieut.  Parker,  a 
nephew-in-law,  naval  attache  to  the  Samoan 
commission  in  Berlin,  and  D.  W.  McClung,  a 
cousin  in-law,  to  be  collector  of  internal  rev¬ 
enue  in  the  first  Ohio  district,  and  Isaac  Scott, 
a  cousin-in  law,  to  be  naval  officer  at  New  Or¬ 
leans,  and  Wm.  Haines,  of  Springfield,  Ill.,  a 
cousin  of  his  son’s  wife,  to  be  law  clerk  in  the 
postoffice  department,  we  believe  are  the  sum 
of  his  family  appointments.  There  is  another 
brother  in-law  here  who,  as  we  are  told,  was 
offered  a  place  in  our  ijostoffice  hut  declined 
it  on  the  ground  that  something  better  ought 
to  be  done  for  him. 

—  Congressman  Dalzell  found  his  recom¬ 
mendation  of  a  postmaster  hung  up  by  a  tele¬ 
gram  from  Qu^y  ordering  it.  Then  says  Dal¬ 
zell  ; 

“  Mr.  Postmaster-General,  am  I  to  be  con¬ 
sulted  with  reference  to  appointments  in  my 
district,  or  is  Senator  Quay  ?” 

“The  Postmaster  replied  :  ‘  When  it  comes 

to  that  issue  I  shall  in  all  cases  in  this  district 
defer  to  the  wishes  of  Senator  Q^uay.’  ” 

— Other  proofs  of  Quay’s  overlordship  in 
Pennsylvania  are  the  complete  disappearance 
of  Senator  Cameron  as  a  spoils  distributor,  and 
Quay’s  success  with  the  Lord  Paramount  over 
McManes  and  Fitler  in  securing  Martin  as 
collector  of  internal  revenue.  His  war  with 
Ohio,  mentioned  last  month,  has  been  averted 
by  the  Lord  Paramount  making  Pennsylva¬ 
nia’s  henchman,  Gilkeson,  .second  comptroller 
of  the  treasury. 

— Under  President  Cleveland  Congressman 
Matson,of  Indiana,  appointed  Horace  G.  Doug- 


rHE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


31 


lass,  editor  of  the  Plainfield  Progress,  postmaster 
at  that  town.  In  1886  he  had  embezzled  the 
postottice  funds,  and  when  an  inspector  ap¬ 
peared,  Douglass  left  town  and  was  not  heard 
of  again  until  last  November,  when  he  re¬ 
turned  and  appeared  in  court  for  punishment. 
May  18  he  pleaded  guilty.  He  had  charge  of 
Congressman  Matson’s  campaign  in  Hendricks 
county  for  renomination  and  he  says  that  he 
used  the  money  in  Matson’s  interest  and  was 
given  to  understand  tiiat  he  would  have  to 
furnish  money  to  retain  the  postoflice.  This 
is  a  proper  addendum  to  the  account  of  Mat¬ 
son’s  exploiting  his  office-holders  to  secure  his 
renomination  given  in  document  No.  2  of  the 
Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Association 
published  in  1886. 

,  — Two  Virginia  parties,  Mahone  and  anti- 
Mahone,  have  been  contending  in  Washington 
ovi  r  the  spoils  of  that  state,  one  party  visiting 
tin  President  and  then  the  other.  At  the  time 
of  che  anti-Mahoue  visit,  150  strong,  Mahone 
stood  on  the  corner  and  jeered.  He  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  victorious,  the  Lord  Paramount  hav¬ 
ing  made  him  practically  the  ruler  of  Virginia. 
The  following  quotation  from  an  address  on 
American  Feudalism  shows  that  he  has  sim¬ 
ply  come  to  his  own  again  : 

The  state  of  Virginia  was  owing  a  debt.  It  was 
not  beyond  her  ability  to  pay,  and  it  was  to  be  sup- 
•  posed  that  a  large  majority  of  her  citizens  would 
have  found  it  honorable  to  meet  an  honest  obliga¬ 
tion.  The  majority,  however,  did  not,  and  of  these 
William  P.  Mahone  became  the  leader.  He  had  been 
a  democrat  and  had  served  in  ihe  Confederate  army. 
His  faction. prevailed.  The  debt  of  Virginia  was  “re¬ 
adjusted”  In  other  words,  the  creditors  were  robbed 
of  part  of  their  just  dues.  Mahone  became  a  .senator 
of  the  United  States.  He  caused  his  faction  to  drop 
the  name  “coalition”  and  call  it.self  “  republican,” 
although  there  had  been  since  the  war  a  regular  re¬ 
publican  organization  in  Virginia.  He  had  the  true 
feudal  instinct.  His  fellow  republican  congressmen 
sunk  to  insignificance  beside  him,  glad  of  such  mor¬ 
sels  as  he  tossed  to  them.  For  several  years  preced¬ 
ing  March,  188.5,  he  ordered  every  federal  appoint¬ 
ment  and  removal  made  in  or  from  Virginia  In 
1882  Land  Commissioner  McFarland  sent  for  a  clerk 
“  credited  to  Virginia,”  and  said  to  him,  “  I  am  sorry 
to  have  to  say  that  your  place  is  wanted.”  To  the 
clerk’s  question  why,  the  commissioner  replied,  “  I 
do  not  know  why.  You  are  faithful,  competent  and 
satisfactory,  and  1  am  willing  to  give  you  an  endorse¬ 
ment  to  that  effect.  But  Senator  Mahone  wants  the 
place  for  a  friend.  You  will  have  to  surrender  it, 
for  I  am  powerless  in  this  matter.” 

In  1S82  Mahone  assessed  Virginia  place-holders  five 
per  cent.  This  was  in  addition  to  Congressman  Hub- 
bell’s  a.sse.ssmont  of  two  per  cent.  In  1883  it  had  be¬ 
came  unlawful  to  assess  them,  and  he  enrolled  them 
in  the  “Virginia  Campaign  Association,”  and  dodged 
the  law  by  assessing  them  as  members  of  that  insti¬ 
tution.  Congressman  Gorman’s  postmaster.  Brown, 
of  Baltimore,  lately  classified  the  political  contribu¬ 
tors  in  his  postoflice,  as  “  thinking-men,”  and  the 
non-contributors  as  “weaker- minded.”  Mahone  had 
no  “weak-minded”  place-holders;  all  “contrib¬ 
uted.” 

In  1883,  the  old  republican  party,  being  in  favor  of 
paying  honest  debts,  still  held  up  its  head  in  Norfolk 
county,  and  nominated  a  county  ticket.  Mahone 
was  not  that  kind  of  a  republican,  and  with  money 
raised  by  asses.sing  federal  salaries,  he  sent  a  swarm 
of  federal  place-holders  into  Norfolk  county,  and 
compassed  the  defeat  of  debt-paying  republicanism. 

In  1884,  Commander  Evans,  who  had  been  in  the 
navy  twenty-three  years,  with  twelve  years’  service 
at  .sea,  was  superintendent  of  the  fifth  light-house 
district.  He  dismissed  a  notoriously  incompetent 
negro  who  had  been  appointed  by  Mahone.  Manly 
honesty  and  business  principles  were  not  to  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  Mahone,  and  with  bru¬ 
tal  indifference  the  old  commander  was  put  on  half 
pay  and  waiting  orders.  It  is  said  that  in  this  ca.se 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  of  the  United  States  hesi 
Aated  four  weeks  before  obeying  Mahone’s  order.  I 
Ijoulfl  go  on  indefinitely  telling  how  Mahone  ruled 
tmd^equired  service  like  a  baron  of  old,  but  this, 
ivbm  6x-Attorney-General  MeVeagh,  as  early  its  1882, 
W.tn  be  enough:  “Look  at  the  awful  humiliation 
through  which  Mahone  and  his  associates  are  drag¬ 
ging  the  state  of  Virginia.  Every  citizen  must  be 
asliamed  of  the  spectacle.  The  administration  is 
prostituting  the  national  treasury  to  enable  a  certain 
portion  of  the  people  of  Virginia  to  force  another 
portion  to  repudiate  her  debt.” 


— May  17.  Senator  Culloiu  has  told  the 
President  that  this  revenue  district  is  in  his 
congressional  district,  with  headquarters  at 
Springfield,  his  home.  The  President  ex¬ 
pressed  surprise  at  the  information.  Cullom 
feels  humiliated  and  will  not  surrender  his 
prerogative.  He  says  that  the  appointment  is 
a  violation  of  precedents  and  a  disregard  of 
senatorial  courtesy,  and  he  will  prevent  it  if 
he  can.  Farwell  says  it  is  a  blow  between 
Cu  Horn’s  eyes. 

May  19.  Farwell  says  that  he  is  tired  of 
shilly-shallying. 

May  20.  The  Illinois  senators  have  de¬ 
termined  to  make  common  cause  for  their  sen¬ 
atorial  prerogative  in  the  Willcox  matter. 
They  have  recommended  Calhoun  for  the  office. 
They  say  that  there  is  a  principle  involved. 
Cullom  says  that  the  appointment  is  a  snub  to 
him. 

May  21.  Cullom  and  Farwell  formally  de¬ 
mand  of  the  President  that  the  commission  of 
Willcox  be  withheld  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  not  consulted.  Cullom  says,  if  refused  it 
will  be  a  challenge.  Farwell  says  the  situa¬ 
tion  is  a  gauntlet  thrown  to  Cullom  by  the 
President. 

May  22.  The  President  has  decided  to 
stand  by  Congressman  Cannon  and  will  keep 
Willcox.  Senators  Farwell  and  Cullom  are 
very  sore.  Farwell  reports  his  interview  with 
the  President  as  follows: 

“I  just  told  the  President  in  so  many  words,” 
said  Senator  Farwell,  “that  he  had  treated 
Senator  Cullom  very  shabbily.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  is  we  thought  there  would  be  plenty  of 
time  to  name  our  choice  for  certain  offices,  as 
we  believed  there  would  be  no  removals  until 
the  end  of  the  fiscal  year.  We  therefore  de¬ 
layed  making  recommendations,  intending  to 
take  our  time  in  making  up  a  slate  and  at  the 
same  time  giving  the  President  a  rest.  The 
first  thing  we  knew  Congressman  Cannon 
stepped  in  and  recommended  a  man  for  the 
Springfield  collectorship  on  his  own  hook,  and 
the  President  unhesitatingly  appointed  him 
without  consulting  or  even  advising  with  Mr. 
Cullom. 

“  I  call  that  a  shabby  trick,  and  when  I 
called  on  Mr.  Harrison  the  other  day  I  told 
him  so  very  plainly.  I  told  him  he  had  bet¬ 
ter  go  down  into  southern  Illinois  and  appoint 
a  postmaster  for  Chicago. 

“  Why,  you  once  wrote  a  letter,”  I  said,  “  to 
President  Arthur  when  you  were  senator  from 
Indiana,  demanding  that  he  recognize  your 
right  of  controlling  the  patronage  in  your  dis¬ 
trict.  Now  I  want  to  know  if  you  propose  to 
recognize  those  same  rights  in  Illinois’s  sen¬ 
ators  while  you  are  the  chief  executive?  I 
think  I  rather  got  the  best  of  him  on  that 
propo.«ition,  but  he  wouldn’t  promise  to  re¬ 
consider  his  appointment,  though.” 

“  Did  he  absolutely  refuse  to  reconsider  it?” 

“No;  he  didn’t  do  that,  either,  and  it’s 
hard  to  say  whether  he  will  or  not.  You  may 
depend  upon  it,  though,  that  I  will  be  on  the 
lookout  hereafter,  and  I  won’t  let  anything  get 
away  if  I  can  help  it,”  and  the  wily  senator 
winked  knowingly  in  a  way  that  said  plainer 
than  words  that  he  could  help  it  and  that  he 
would  keep  his  weather  eye  on  the  President’s 
actions  as  long  as  there  is  an  office  in  the  state 
of  Illinois  to  be  filled. 

Senator  Farwell  says  the  letter  Mr.  Harrison 
wrote  to  President  Arthur  on  the  occasion  was 
a  scorcher  in  its  way.  “I  didn’t  have  a  copy 
of  it,”  said  he,  “but  when  I  recalled  the  cir¬ 


cumstance  the  President  remem l)ered  it  and 
it  somewhat  staggered  him.  He  didn’t  expect 
to  have  the  question  brought  so  near  home  as 
that,  I  guess.” 

“  How  about  the  Chicago  offices?” 

“  Oh,  they’re  all  right.  I  don’t  think  the 
President  will  make  any  more  such  breaks.  I 
think  he  will  recognize  the  same  rights  in  me 
now  that  he  claimed  himself  from  President 
Arthur  several  years  ago.  Of  course,  one  never 
knows  what  is  going  to  happen,  but  I  think 
everything  is  all  right.  Senator  Cullom  will 
be  all  right,  too,  hereafter,  if  he  asserts  his 
rights.” 

— Congressman  Banks  received  the  follow¬ 
ing : 

March  23,  1889. 

State  House,  Boston — My  Dear  General:  I  wonder 
if  you  know  what  splendid  service  J.  J.  McGarthy,  of 
Charlestown,  did  in  your  behalf  last  fall?  I  hap¬ 
pened  to  be  personally  familiar  with  his  early  efforts, 
and  1  am  told  by  those  who  watched  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  canvass  that  he  maintained  with  untir¬ 
ing  zeal  and  admirable  judgment  his  earnest  and 
successful  endeavor.  He  did  the  governor  the  same 
good  turn,  and  the  governor  appreciates  it  fully.  I 
sincerely  hope  he  will  sticceed  in  his  wish  to  obtain 
the  office  he  seeks,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  load  his 
hosts  of  friends  in  their  effort. 

Yours  faithfully,  G.  II.  Campbell. 

To  General  N.  P.  Banks. 

This  he  enclosed  to  the  other  Massachusetts 
congressmen  with  the  following  : 

Waltham,  Mass.,  March  25,  1889. 
Hon.  George  F.  Hoar  and  Hon.  Henry  L.  Dawes : 

Dear  Sirs— It  is  understood,  I  know  not  on  what 
grounds,  that  there  is  to  be  an  informal  conference 
of  members-elect  on  the  disposition  of  minor  offices 
in  the  several  congressional  districts  at  the  close  of 
the  session.  I  have  not  taken  much  interest  in  such 
matters,  but  there  is  one  point  to  which  I  wish  to 
ask  your  attention  and  one  candidate  worthy  of  spe¬ 
cial  attention.  Mr.  Jeremiah  J.  McCarthy  of  Boston  is 
mentioned  for  the  office  of  collector  of  internal  reve¬ 
nue.  There  is  not  in  Ma.ssachusetts,  I  think,  a  more 
remarkable  man.  He  is  38  years  of  age  and  has  been 
trained  in  the  political  contests  of  Massachusetts 
since  his  boyhood.  As  simple  as  a  child  in  manner, 
he  is  astute,  courageous  and  vigilaut  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances.  He  has  personal  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  all  active  party  men  who  have  participated 
in  the  contests  of  the  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years  in 
Middlesex,  Suffolk  and  Essex  counties. 

As  a  working  man  he  has  been  diligent  and  provi¬ 
dent:  saving  for  himself  quite  a  handsome  property, 
which  gives  him  the  confidence  of  men  of  wealth  and 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  laborers  of  every  calling 
and  caste.  His  standing  among  his  fellow-citizens  is 
on  the  bed-rock  basis  of  life-long  association  and 
confidence.  His  influence  with  all  classes  is  by  con¬ 
cession  rather  than  contest,  and  he  regains  his  ground 
instantly  by  superior  instinct,  intelligence  and  in¬ 
tegrity.  I  observed  and  felt  this  in  the  late  very  re¬ 
markable  contest  in  the  fifth  congressional  district 
which  had  been  carried  by  democrats  and  was  re¬ 
gained  by  republicans  in  1884. 

In  1888  we  had  in  the  fifth  district  nothing  to  begin 
with,  and  all  our  resources,  except  your  own  mag¬ 
nificent  orations,  were  well  nigh  exhausted  before  the 
contest  began.  McCarthy  enthused  everybody  with 
his  energy  and  courage.  He  carried  light  in  his  eyes. 
I  would  not  say  this,  though  I  know  its  truth,  if  there 
were  not  another  and  better  illustration  of  his  power, 
upon  the  testimony  of  other  reliable  wltnessess.  In 
the  last  hours  of  a  recent  .session  of  the  legislature 
he  was  enabled  by  such  qualities  as  I  have  described, 
after  an  important  measure  had  passed  both  houses, 
to  render  an  important  service  to  the  state.  It  was 
an  instance  of  unequalled  personal  power  rarely 
witnessed,  which  his  excellency  the  governor  and 
other  influential  citizens  were  prompt  to  recognize 
and  honor. 

I  inclose  a  letter,  written  by  one  who  could  not  be 
mistaken  in  regard  to  Mr.  McCarthy’s  influence  in  the 
case  cited,  and  which  recognizes  and  acknowledges 
his  power. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  Mr.  McCarthy  has  been 
generally  designated  by  those  who  know  his  (jualities 
and  character  for  the  oflice  of  collector  of  internal 
revenue.  It  is  an  important  office.  But  it  is  not  de¬ 
sired  for  its  patronage.  It  will  be  an  easy  and  cer¬ 
tainly  a  pleasant  duty  to  secure  to  the  several  con¬ 
gressional  districts  their  rclat  ve  political  and  per¬ 
sonal  interests,  and  infuse  a  vigorous  spirit  of  pros- 
elytism  in  the  political  organizations  of  state  and 
nation.  His  appointment  would  be  a  just  recogni¬ 
tion  of  a  true  American  citizen  of  Irish  descent,  who 
from  his  first  participation  in  political  affairs  has 
maintained  friendly  relations  with  all  classes  of  Irish 
citizens,  and  vigorously  supported,  without  variation 
or  reserve,  the  measures,  principles  and  nominations 
of  the  republican  party.  Upon  these  considerations 
I  most  earnestly  commend  his  appointment  to  the 
favor  and  support  of  the  congressional  delegation  of 
Massachusetts. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  gentlemen,  most  res¬ 
pectfully,  N.  P.  Banks. 


32 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— As  we  stated  last  month  Defeated  Candi¬ 
date  Love,  of  Missouri,  proposed  to  distribute 
the  spoils  of  his  district  upon  the  following 
terms : 

“Of  course  it  will  be  understood  that  there  will  be 
some  expense  attached  to  this  proceeding,  and  ap¬ 
plicants  will  be  expected  to  contribute  to  tliLs  ex¬ 
pense.” 

To  the  average  mind  this  seemed  the  propo¬ 
sition  of  a  rascal,  but  he  was  equal  to  the  oc¬ 
casion.  He  had  the  government  of  the  United 
States  send  to  each  member  of  the  congressional 
committee  of  his  district  the  following  letter  : 

Washington,  D.  C.,  May  24,  1889. 

To - : 

Dear  Sir:  Do  you  know  of  your  own  knowledge, 
or  do  you  believe  ou  testimony  which  you  are  will¬ 
ing  to  produce,  that  James  Love,  late  republican 
candidate  for  Congress  in  the  third  district  of  Mis¬ 
souri,  ever  exacted  or  received  a  pecuniary  or  other 
valuable  consideration  for  services  rendered  or  to  be 
rendered  applicants  for  office,  or  that  he  ever  in  any 
way  made  such  remuneration  a  condition  upon  which 
his  indorsement  of  applicants  could  be  obtained?  In 
your  reply  to  this  will  you  inclose  the  answers  to  the 
same  question  of  all  persons  in  your  vicinity  whom 
you  know  to  have  applied  to  Mr.  Love  for  his  in¬ 
dorsement,  whether  successful  or  not? 

J.  S.  Cl.ARKSON, 

First  A.ssistant  Postmaster-General. 

Clarkson  does  not  publish  the  evidence 
brought  out,  but  doubtless  he  found  no  one 
who  knew  of  his  own  knowledge  that  Love 
had  “  exacted  or  received  ”  money.  Here  is 
the  finding  of  this  unique  court : 

“  It  gives  me  pleasure,"  said  Clarkson,  “  to  declare 
you  innocent  of  any  charge  affecting  your  honor,  and 
to  restore  you  to  that  position  of  influence  in  your 
party  to  which  your  services  entitle  you.” 

The  evidence  could  not  have  been  unani¬ 
mous,  for  the  chairman  of  Love’s  congressional 
committee  has  published  a  strong  protest,  in 
which  he  charges  Love  with  “disgracing  his 
supporters.”  He  also  called  a  meeting  of  the 
committee  to  express  its  wish  “  as  between 
home  rule  and  boss  rule.”  It  does  not  avail 
anything;  Clarkson  stands  by  Love. 

— Congressman  Quackenbush,  of  New  York, 
has  had  (lilbert  H.  Stevens  made  postmaster 
at  Shushan.  In  1883  Stevens,  being  under  in¬ 
dictment,  wrote  the  following  by  way  of  set¬ 
tlement,  coupled  with  the  payment  of  five 
hundred  dollars  : 

Inconsequence  of  my  having  in  the  night  time  of 
October  10, 1882,  broken  into  and  entered  the  dwell¬ 
ing-house  of  X.  W.  Collins,  in  the  village  of  Shushan, 
N.  Y.,  in  the  absence  of  said  Collins,  and  again  hav¬ 
ing  attempted  to  break  and  enter  said  house  on  the 
29th  of  October  in  the  night  time,  being  at  said  time 
intoxicated,  and  not  knowing  what  I  was  doing ;  this 
conduct  having  led  to  stories  injurious  to  and  re¬ 
flecting  upon  the  reputation  for  virtue  of  Johanna 
Powers,  who  was  there  employed  as  a  domestic,  I 
write  this  to  certify  that  so  far  as  I  know  said  Johanna 
is  a  virtuous  girl,  and  it  is  but  an  act  of  justice  to  her 
that  I  should  say  so.  Neither  myself  or  others  to  my 
knowledge  have  Iiad  criminal  intimacy  with  her,  and 
any  statements  made  by  me  to  the  contrary  are  un¬ 
true.  G.  H.  Stevens. 

Witness:  Charges  Hughes. 

Dated  June  7,  1883. 

— The  President  has  appointed  George  P. 
Fisher  of  Delaware  to  be  first  auditor  of  the 
treasury.  He  was  formerly  district  attorney 
for  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  of  him,  June 
23,  1876,  the  New  York  Tribune  said  : 

The  district  attorney’s  office  in  Washington  was  for 
a  long  while,  under  Judge  Fisher,  the  chief  bulwark 
of  the  District  ring.  There  were  hatched  the  con¬ 
spiracies  to  convict  innocent  citizens  of  felony,  the 
plots  to  get  rid  of  witnesses,  the  schemes  to  take  bur 
glars  out  of  jail.  Crimes  of  the  most  dastardly  char¬ 
acter  were  committed  under  the  sheltering  eaves  of 
that  scandalous  establishment.  Theft,  and  riot,  and 
bribery,  and  perjury  received  there  encouragement 
and  protection. 

A  gentleman  and  his  wife  had  been  ap¬ 
pointed  teachersin  the  Indian  School  at  Yakim, 
Oregon.  The  appointments  were  excellent, 
and  the  appointees  closed  their  school  at 
Portsmouth,  Virginia,  and  were  on  their  way 
to  Oregon  when  their  appointments  were  can¬ 


celled  by  Secretary  Noble.  This  was  done  at 
the  bidding  of  Senator  Mitchell  who  wrote  to 
Noble  denouncing  the  plan  of  sending  “car¬ 
pet  baggers”  from  other  states  and  announc¬ 
ing  the  fact  of  the  selection  of  persons  for  all 
the  places  in  Oregon  and  that  these  parties 
had  been  informed  of  their  selection. 

If  this  paper  has  any  readers  who  do  not 
see  the  Civil  Service  Record,  published  at 
Boston,  and  the  Oi.vil  Service  Re/omer,  pub¬ 
lished  at  Baltimore,  we  urge  them  to  examine 
those  papers.  Their  common  field  is  the  civil 
service,  but  their  scope  and  contents  are  quite 
different.  Both  may  be  had  for  the  sum  of 
$1.50.  The  Civil  Sei-vice  Record  has  a  circula¬ 
tion  of  over  4,000,  and.  as  the  oldest  publica¬ 
tion  of  this  sort  and  as  the  representative  of 
two  powerful  associations  has  great  influence. 
The  Civil  Service  Reformer  is  more  local  in  its 
scope,  but  is  of  such  remarkable  literary  ex¬ 
cellence  that  it  may  be  read  with  pleasure 
without  reference  to  its  principles,  which  are 
of  the  plain  and  straightforward  sort.  The 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  the  youngest 
and  feeblest  of  the  three,  but  it  is  meeting 
with  an  unexpecled  support  and  sympathy 
that  indicate  a  deep  interest  in  the  cause  it 
advocates.  The  executive  committee  of  the 
Buffalo  Association  voted  to  appropriate  fifty 
dollars  for  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  for 
subscriptions  to  persons  to  be  indicated  by  them 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  adapted  for  pros¬ 
elyting  and  converting,  and  a  subscriber  from 
Scottsburgh,  New  York,  writes  : 

“  I  am  glad  that  a  journal  devoted  to  civil  service 
reform  has  been  started  in  your  state  which  has  been 
especially  cursed  by  the  spoils  system,  as  exemplifle<l 
equally  in  the  practice  of  both  the  republican  and 
democratic  parties.  Thank  God  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  a  movement  is  at  length  inaugurated 
that  will  in  no  long  time  bring  redemption  to  our 
entire  country  from  a  state  of  things  disgraceful  to 
republican  institutions  and  threatening  their  very 
existence.” 


The  Buffalo  civil  service  reform  associa¬ 
tion  has  just  held  its  eighth  annual  meeting. 
It  is  encouraging  to  note  the  presence  of  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Ryan  and  his  remarks  full  of 
unmistakable  sympathy. 


In  reference  to  the  progress  that  has  been 
made  in  extending  the  scope  of  civil  service 
reform,  I  would  say  that  in  1883,  when  the 
national  civil  service  law  went  into  effect, 
-what  is  known  as  the  classified  service — and 
by  that  I  mean  that  portion  of  the  national 
service  that  is  subject  to  civil  service  rules — 
included  seven  executive  departments  at 
Washington,  eleven  custom  districts,  and 
twenty-three  post-offices,  in  each  of  which 
there  were  as  many  as  fifty  employes.  Since 
that  time  the  classified  service  has  been  ex¬ 
tended  to  cover  more  than  13,000  additional 
positions,  the  total  nnmber  of  persons  in  the 
national  service  now  affected  by  civil  service 
rules  being  27,597.  There  have  been  44,169 
persons  examined,  of  whom  15,821,  or  35  per 
cent.,  failed,  and  28,648,  or  about  65  per  cent., 
succeeded  in  passing  the  examination.  Of  the 
latter,  11,236,  or  a  little  over  39  per  cent,  of 
the  successful  candidate^,  received  appoint¬ 
ments.  In  New  York  state  the  law,  which  at 
first  only  applied  to  certain  state  appoint¬ 
ments,  has  been  extended  so  as  to  include  the 
greater  part  of  those  in  the  cities,  exclusive  of 
laborers.  The  total  number  under  civil  ser¬ 
vice  rules  amounts  to  15,480. 


In  Massachusetts,  laws  which  were  pas.sed 
about  the  same  time  the  New  York  law  was 
passed,  also  include  local  service  in  the  cities,  , 
and  also  provide  for  the  registration  of  labor-  j 
ers.  The  total  number  of  persons  under  the 
civil  service  reform  laws  of  Massachusetts  is 
about  6,000.  *  »  *  *  *  * 

Let  us  take  another  case.  The  bureau  of 
printing  and  engraving  in  Washington  had, 
like  some  other  departments,  suffered  sadly 
from  the  spoils  system.  Fortunately  for  the 
public  service,  in  1885  Mr.  E.  C.  Graves  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  head  of  the  bureau, 
where  he  still  remains.  Mr.  Graves  has  been 
for  many  years  connected  with  the  treasury 
department,  and  is  recognized  as  being  one  of 
the  most  valuable  public  officials  in  Washing¬ 
ton.  He  had  been  one  of  the  earliest  advo¬ 
cates  of  civil  service  reform  and  was  a  firm 
believer  in  the  doctrine  that  the  public  offices 
should  be  conducted  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Iiublic. 

He  took  the  same  course  pursued  by  Post¬ 
masters  James  and  Pearson,  and  although  civil 
service  reform  rules  were  not  yet  applied  to  j 
the  office,  nevertheless  he  at  once  applied  them  ] 
on  his  own  responsibility.  Worthless  em¬ 
ployees  were  at  once  discharged,  regardless  of  i 
the  influence  back  of  them,  and  unnecessary 
offices  were  abolished.  The  result  speaks  for  i 
itself.  During  the  three  years  ending  in  1885 
it  required  1,166  employees  to  produee  91,754,- 
351  sheets  of  work  at  a  eost  of  $3,047,483.75.  I 
In  the  three  years  ending  June  30,  1888,  it 
only  required  874  employees  to  produce  97,-  I 
348,687  sheets  at  a  cost  of  $2,506,681.5"’.  The  1 
bureau  is  now  placed  under  civil  service  rules, 
and  will  never  again  be  a  political  charitable 
institution.  ****** 

'riie  objection  that  the  questions  asked  are 
often  farcical  is  simply  uaitrue.  Whenever 
this  charge  is  heard  a  demand  should  always 
be  made  that  the  objector  show  a  copy  of  the  | 
examination  paper  in  which  these  farcical  j 
questions  occurred.  He  can  always  get  one 
by  asking  for  it.  An  objection  has  also  been  j 
made  that  the  youth  who  is  just  out  of  school, 
and  in  consequence  has  the  school  training 
fresh  in  mind,  will  pass  a  much  better  exam¬ 
ination  than  the  man  in  whom  a  few  years  of 
active  experience  in  the  world  has  caused 
some  of  the  details  of  the  studies  to  be  forgot¬ 
ten.  The  statistics  show  that  this  is  not  the 
case.  The  average  of  the  successful  candi¬ 
dates  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  30  years  of 
age.  *■  *  *  *  It  seems  to  me,  therefore, 

that  the  charge  that  the  civil  service  reform 
system  tends  to  create  an  aristocracy  can  hard¬ 
ly  stand  investigation.  On  the  contrary,  I  be¬ 
lieve  that  the  spoils  system  has  actually  cre¬ 
ated  a  privileged  class  strongly  resembling  the 
feudal  lords  of  the  middle  ages,  whose  re¬ 
tainers  agreed  to  serve  faithfully  both  at  home 
and  at  the  wars.  As  an  illustration,  permit 
me  to  quote  a  leading  senator  from  one  of 
the  western  states,  who,  in  avowing  his  hostil¬ 
ity  to  civil  service  reform,  stated  :  “  There  are 
thousands  of  men  in  my  state  whom  I  have 
never  seen,  who  make  my  cause  their  own, 
who  defend  my  words,  who  would  fight  for  me, 
who  would  sacrifice  their  time  and  spend  their 
money  for  me,  ivho  would  get  uji  at  midnight 
and  ride  a  horse  forty  miles  to  set  at  work  in¬ 
fluences  in  my  behalf.  Well,  I  am  a  politician, 
and  I  want  to  give  these  men  of  things  that  we 
have  won.”  A  little  analysis  of  the  senator’s 
position  presents  the  fact  that  according  to  his 
theory  no  person,  even  of  his  own  •parly,  ought  to 
hold  a  government  oflSce  in  his  state  except 
those  who  are  his  own  supporters.  If  this  is 
not  the  feudal  system,  where  would  you  find 
it?  And  yet  they  denounce  civil  service  re¬ 
form  as  tending  toward  aristocracy! — From 
the  address  of  Hewry  A.  Richmond  befen-e  theYouny 
Men’s  Association  of  Buffalo,  March  19,  1880, 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


“  Were  the  ends  of  professed  spoilsmen  attained,  he  [the  President]  and  we  should  have  no  country  left,  or,  at  least,  no  country  which  an  honorable  man  could 
own  without  shame.  We  can  have  no  truce  or  parley  with  these  enemies  to  righteousne.ss  ;  of  them  every  patriot  should  say,  as  did  the 
•  Itsalmist:  ‘  Do  not  I  hate  them  that  hate  thee?  Yea,  Lord,  I  hate  them  with  a  perfect  hatred.’” — Charles  J.  Bonaparte. 


VoL.  I,  No.  5. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  JULY,  1889. 


TERMS  :  <( 


50  cents  per  annum. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  oflice.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  adveriisements  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

758  postmasters  were  appointed  in  In¬ 
diana  from  March  4  to  July  20  inclusive. 

Sixth  Auditor  Coulter’s  interpretation 
of  republican  promises  has  been  set  out  in 
another  column.  It  now  appears  that  Mr. 
Roosevelt  ha«  again  shown  liis  steadiness 
of  nerve  and  purpose  by  going  to  the  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  treasury  and,  temporarily,  at 
least,  convinced  that  officer  that  common 
honesty  is  a  thing  that  a  party  can  not 
well  ignore,  and  Coulter’s  proceedings 
have  been,  for  the  present,  at  'pped. 

Assistant  Postmaster  Thompson  has 
been  running  about  asking  people  to  rec¬ 
ommend  Mr.  W.  A.  Van  Buren  for  appoint¬ 
ment  to  the  local  civil  service  board.  The 
indications  are  that  Thompson  has  set  out 
to  work  republicans  into  this  post-office, 
and  the  fact  that  he  wants  a  man  on  the 
local  board  is  an  all-sufficient  reason  why 
the  appointment  should  not  be  made.  The 
local  board  has  had  enough  of  politicians; 
it  needs,  and  needs  badly,  men  who  are 
friendly  to  the  law.  It  was  supposed  that 
one  such  had  been  obtained  in  Mr.  Fish- 
back,  but  there  seems  to  be  some  hitch  in 
his  appointment.  The  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  should  take  notice  that  the  local 
board  as  at  present  constituted  will  never 
have  the  confidence  of  the  people.  The 
commission  is  undoubtedly  in  earnest  in 
saying  that  democrats  should  come  for¬ 
ward  for  examination,  but  it  should  set  up 
machinery  here  that  will  make  people 
know  that  they  will  receive  absolutely  im¬ 
partial  treatment.  The  friends  of  the  merit 
system  may  well  cry  out,  “  when  will  there 
be  one  officer  in  this  post-office  who  cares 
for  that  system,  and  would  like  to  see  it 
succeed  ?  ”  This  needs  but  a  single  illus¬ 
tration.  When  the  commission  was  here 
Mr.  Thompson,  in  his  begging  for  a  special 
examination,  said  that  they  would  soon 
have  to  make  appointments  which  would 
exhaust  the  present  eligible  list  of  carriers 
in  two  days.  He  was  speaking  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  Postmaster  Wallace.  The  plain  de¬ 
ceit,  as  well  as  the  falsity  of  their  profes¬ 
sions  of  fairne.s8  to  competitors,  is  demon¬ 
strated  by  the  fact  that  they  refuse  to  make 
a  single  appointment  from  the  eligible  list 


of  clerks  or  carriers  until  after  the  August 
examination.  The  only  conceivable  reason 
is  that  the  list  is  made  up  largelj’  of  demo¬ 
crats.  The  proper  way  to  bring  the  acts  of 
these  men  into  consonance  with  their  oaths 
would  be  to  refuse  any  examination  until 
the  present  eligible  list  is  exhausted. 

Postmaster  Wallace  has  in  his  employ 
a  man  named  Hamlin,  who  has  been  fre¬ 
quently  and  justly  mentioned  as  possess¬ 
ing  a  disgraceful  court  record.  Mr.  Wal¬ 
lace  found  him  a  substitute  and  promoted 
him  while  ignorant  of  this  record.  Weeks 
ago,  however,  the  Sentinel  published  the 
facts,  and  from  that  moment  it  would  seem 
there  was  but  the  one  duty  of  dismissal 
Instead,  the  postmaster  writes  a  letter  to 
the  papers,  and  says,  in  effect,  that  the  man 
is  a  product  of  the  civil  service  law  The 
proper  estimate  of  the  postmaster’s  sincer¬ 
ity  can  be  given  by  stating  that  if  Hamlin 
were  a  democrat  he  would  have  been  in 
stantly  dismissed.  As  his  father  is  the 
most  active  republican  political  leader  and 
manager  in  his  township,  Hamlin  is  kept, 
and  for  no  other  reason.  The  civil  service 
law  puts  no  limit  upon  removals  for  cause. 

It  is  true  that  Hauihii  came  in  under 
the  merit  system,  but  inquiry  develops  that 
no  one  certified  to  his  good  character,  and 
that  such  certificates  are  no  longer  re¬ 
quired.  As  the  matter  now  stands  all  kinds 
of  bad  characters  may  get  upon  the  eligi¬ 
ble  list,  and  it  would  not  seem  that  tlie  post¬ 
master  need  be  told  that  he  ought  to  make 
inquiries  in  that  direction  when  selecting 
men.  The  requirement  was  abolished  be¬ 
cause  it  was  found  that  the  certificates  were 
usually  made  by  influential  politicians  like 
Quay,  and  were  looked  upon  as  a  menace. 
The  requirement  was  nevertheless  a  good 
one.  The  mistake  was  that  the  civil  service 
commission  kept  secret  the  names  of  the 
menwhosigned  the  certificates.  Men  who 
know  that  they  can  notact  in  the  dark,  and 
that  the  public  will  call  them  to  account, 
will  not  sign  certificates  for  the  Hamlins. 

The  President  has  appointed  D.  M.  Rans 
dell,  of  this  city,  marshal  of  the  District  of 
Columbia.  Ransdell  was  a  soldier  in  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison’s  regiment  and  lost  an  arm 
in  the  service.  He  was  undoubtedly  a 
good  soldier.  He  is  affable  in  manner,  and 
is  adroit  in  politics.  He  is  one  of  the  re¬ 
publican  state  committee.  Once  he  had  no 


property  to  speak  of,  but  he  has  become 
rich  holding  office.  Out  of  the  emoluments 
of  office  he  buys  houses  and  lands,  and  has 
rich  store  besides.  He  belongs  with  those 
who  no  longer  attract  or  even  hold  votes  to 
the  republican  party,  but  who  drive  away 
votes.  He  is  one  of  the  Indiana  aristoc¬ 
racy  of  office-holders,  and  if  such  an  aris¬ 
tocracy  is  to  be  fostered  he  may  as  well  be 
favored  as  any  other. 

Tousey,  whom  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  ordered  dismissed  because  Postmaster 
Wallace  had  improperly  reinstated  him,  is 
beloved  by  the  boys  who  run  the  local  ma¬ 
chine.  He  carries  one  of  the  loud  trump¬ 
ets,  and  his  fellows  mournfully  see  that  if 
he  could  not  hold  a  place  in  our  post-office, 
law  or  no  law,  none  of  them  could,  and  they 
are  very  sore  in  consequence.  They  go 
about  the  streets  saying  that  “  no  business 
man  in  the  world  would  have  turned  out 
Tousey,  who  was  experienced  in  the  duties 
he  was  performing,  and  put  in  a  clerk  with 
much  less  experience.”  Treating  this  as 
an  honest  argument,  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that,  under  the  merit  system,  where  the 
places  are  obtained  by  competition,  and 
where  the  higher  places  are  filled  by  com¬ 
petitive  promotion  from  lower  grades,  it 
will  be  now  and  then  possible  to  fill  a  place 
with  a  former  employe  of  the  service  tem¬ 
porarily  better  than  it  can  be  filled  by 
transfer,  or  from  among  the  substitutes,  or 
from  the  eligible  list.  Such  cases  will  be 
rare,  and  they  belong  to  the  inseparable 
small  evils  that  always  go  with  great  im¬ 
provements  in  system. 

Having  treated  this  criticism  as  though 
made  in  good  faith,  the  actual  facts  may  be 
dealt  with.  The  post-office  managers  are 
getting  along  without  filling  Tousey ’s  place 
at  all ;  so  much  for  their  protestations  that 
they  could  not  spare  him.  Let  us  apply  the 
business  man’s  view  to  other  appointments 
made  in  this  office.  Take  the  somewhat 
well  known  case  of  Mr.  W.  O.  Patterson, 
who  was  made  superintendent  of  mails.  In 
some  six  weeks  he  has  learned  one-half  of 
the  Indiana  scheme  so  that  he  can  “  throw  ” 
it.  At  this  rate,  in  the  course  of  about  two 
years  he  will,  at  public  expense,  become 
fairly  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  of  the 
place  into  which  he  has  been  put.  There 
is  a  man  working  under  Patterson,  Mr. 
Mundelle,  who  wanted  the  place.  He  had 
had  years  of  experience  in  this  very  depart- 


34 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


inent,  and,  in  the  various  schemes  that  Pat¬ 
terson  must  learn,  Mundellecan  “  throw”  as 
high  as  three  thousand  pieces  an  hour.  He 
was  in  other  respects  also  exceptionally 
well  qualified  for  the  place.  Now,  not  only 
would  no  business  man  in  the  world  have 
chosen  Patterson  instead  of  Mundelle,  but 
no  appointing  officer  bent  even  upon  mod¬ 
erate  efficiency,  would  have  done  so.  But, 
if  the  appointing  power  was  controlled  by 
“  pulls,”  the  choice  of  Patterson  was  inevi¬ 
table,  and  such  was  the  case. 

The  business-man  testis  very  useful, and 
we  may  carry  the  study  further.  In  this 
post-office,  when  the  new  postmaster  came 
in,  a  new  head  of  the  registry  department 
was  appointed  in  the  person  of  Dr.  Wood¬ 
ard,  a  dentist,  whose  appointment  could 
have  no  possible  connection  with  fitness 
for  his  duties,  and  the  only  explanation 
that  has  been  found  for  it  is  that  be  sang 
in  a  campaign  glee  club  in  1888.  There 
was  also  in  this  case  another  man  who 
wanted  the  place.  This  was  Oscar  N.  Wil¬ 
mington,  who  had  served  four  years  as  a 
soldier  in  an  Indiana  regiment,  having  en¬ 
listed  as  a  private  and  been  discharged  as 
a  lieutenant,  and  who  had  already  had  four 
years  of  experience  in  this  very  registry 
department,  working  thirteen  hours  a  day, 
Sundays  and  all.  He  is  a  republican  who 
was  dismissed  by  Postmaster  Jones,  and 
has  been  very  properly  reinstated  by  Post¬ 
master  Wallace.  Not  only  is  he  excel¬ 
lently  well  qualified  to  be  the  head  of  this 
department,  but  his  appointment  to  that 
place  would  have  been  peculiarly  appro¬ 
priate.  It  will  take  Dr.  Woodard’s  subor¬ 
dinates,  one  of  whom  is  Wilmington,  a 
long  time  to  teach  him  the  duties  of  his 
place.  Again,  it  must  be  said,  that  an  ap¬ 
pointing  officer,  looking  only  to  the  good 
of  the  service,  and  to  every  other  kind  of 
appropriateness,  would  have  chosen  Wil¬ 
mington,  and  that,  as  between  the  two,  no 
business  man  in  the  world  would  have 
taken  Woodard.  We  might  carry  these 
reflections  further,  as  for  instance  in  the 
case  of  Marshall  C.  Woods,  appointed  box 
clerk.  With  so  many  experienced  men 
in  and  out  of  the  office  to  choose  from,  no 
business  man  anywhere  would  have  se¬ 
lected  for  this  place  a  man  ignorant  of  its 
duties.  And  the  appointment  of  Woods 
did  not  even  have  the  spoils  excuse  of  pay¬ 
ing  him  for  work  in  the  last  campaign;  he 
was  paid  for  those  services  at  the  time. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these  things 
have  to  be  told,  but  they  are  indispensable 
illustrations  to  show  that  the  business-man 
argument  is  a  very  unsafe  one  to  use 
against  the  merit  system  around  here. 


Every  friend  of  the  President  should 
warn  him  that  he  can  not  safely  refuse  to 
correct  mistakes ;  nor  can  he  safely  allow 


the  head  of  an  office  to  so  refuse.  No  ex¬ 
planation  whatever  is  attempted  of  ap¬ 
pointments  like  those  of  Vandervoort, 
Fisher  and  Bagby.  Past  experience  has 
shown  that,  though  the  government  is 
silent,  such  appointments  are  not  allowed 
to  be  forgotten.  Their  number  may  be 
small,  when  compared  with  the  whole,  and 
the  men  themselves  unimportant,  but  it  is 
unthinkable  that  the  President  will  know¬ 
ingly  and  deliberately  keep  even  a  small 
class  of  such  officers.  The  question  con- 
constantly  arises,  what  power  is  controlling 
the  President  that  he  does  not  dare  to  pu¬ 
rify  the  service  ?  To  these  cases  we  must 
apparently  now  add  another,  that  of  Harry 
McFarland,  whose  appointment  to  some 
place  in  the  government  printing  office  at 
Washington  has  filled  the  respectable  peo¬ 
ple  of  this  city  with  shame  and  indigna¬ 
tion.  He  has  a  past  not  pleasant  to  touch, 
but  if  the  facts  are  necessary  to  make  a 
protest  effectual,  either  to  rid  the  people’s 
employ  of  such  a  man  or  to  make  the  gov¬ 
ernment  carry  the  deserved  responsibility 
of  it,  the  facts  shall  be  forthcoming. 


The  enforcement  of  the  civil  service 
laws  has  found  a  new  friend  in  General 
Sickles,  of  the  New  York  commission.  We 
say  it  has  found  a  friend  because  the  mere 
fact  that  an  officer  has  sworn  to  enforce 
these  laws  goes  for  nothing.  He  may  even 
profess  that  he  is  going  to  perform  his 
duty  in  letter  and  spirit,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  planning  to  evade  it.  It  is  only 
when  he  acts  that  we  can  tell  where  he 
stands.  Some  time  ago  the  mayors  of 
cities  of  New  York  were  called  together  to 
give  an  account  of  their  proceedings  under 
the  law  of  that  state.  The  following  ac¬ 
count  from  the  New  York  Herald  is  of  in¬ 
terest: 

“All  cursed  in  a  chorus  in  the  corridors, 
but  put  on  a  contrite  countenance  and 
pleaded  ignorance  of  the  law  before  the 
commission.  Mayor  Oliver,  of  Lockport, 
however,  proved  a  Tartar,  and  roused  the 
wrath  of  General  Sickles  to  boiling  point 
before  the  close  of  the  admonitory  session. 
General  Sickles  fairly  gasped  for  breath  at 
the  mayor’s  audacity.  ‘  What  is  this  all 
about,  anyhow  ?’  asked  Mr.  Oliver,  after  he 
had  answered  a  few  of  the  questions.  ‘  We 
want  to  know  whether  you  propose  to 
carry  out  the  law  or  not,’  replied  General 
Sickles.  ‘  No,  I  don’t,”  answered  Mayor 
Oliver,  briskly.  ‘  It’s  no  good  anyhow ; 
it’s  a  fraud  from  beginning  to  end.  It  only 
keeps  a  man  from  putting  in  somebody  he 
wants  and  makes  him  put  in  somebodv  he 
don’t  want.  We  don’t  want  it,  we  don’t 
need  it,  and  we  won’t  have  it  unless  we 
are  forced  to.’  ‘  What’s  that?’  roared  Gen¬ 
eral  Sickles.  ‘Don’t  you  know  you  took 
an  oath  to  enforce  the  laws  of  the  state  ?  ’ 
‘  Not  that  law,’  responded  the  mayor. 
‘  There  ought  not  to  be  any  such  law  on 
the  books.  It’s  a  nuisance,  no  matter  how 
you  look  at  it.’  ‘I  don’t  want  your  ideas 
but  your  intentions  in  respect  to  this  law,’ 


interrupted  General  Sickles.  ‘You  have 
violated  the  statute  giving  preference  to 
veterans.’  ‘They  are  first-class  suckers, 
and  I  won’t  give  them  a  place  any  way,’ 
broke  in  Mayor  Oliver.  In  a  few  minutes 
which  followed  this  outburst  General 
Sickles  laid  down  the  law"  to  the  belliger¬ 
ent  ruler  of  Lockport  in  a  manner  that 
fairly  frightened  the  audience  which  had 
gathered  during  the  interim.  Finally, 
pausing  for  breath,  he  concluded:  ‘If  I 
were  not  a  state  officer  I  would  knock  you 
over  the  head  with  my  crutch,  you  igno¬ 
rant,  impudent  ass.’  The  crutch  passed 
unpleasantly  near  the  mayor's  head  as  the 
general  waved  it  in  his  wrath,  and  the 
Lockport  brave  made  his  escape  hastily, 
and  the  meeting  adjourned.  ’ 

General  Sickles  is  a  democrat,  and  is 
president  of  the  New  York  commission, 
and  this  incident  shows  that  there  is  a 
growing  contempt  and  indignation  among 
the  people  at  large  with  the  political  office¬ 
holders  who  trick  to  get  around  a  law 
that  “keeps  a  man  from  putting  in  some¬ 
body  he  wants,  and  makes  him  put  in 
somebody  he  don’t  want.” 


The  late  Simon  Cameron  can  not  be  well 
spoken  of.  This  paper  can  not  give  the 
space  which  the  facts  deserve,  but  there 
have  been  few  citizens  who  have  been 
greater  enemies  of  their  countr}\  He  was 
not  a  statesman,  yet  he  held  a  state  in  his 
grip.  The  reason  that  he  thus  held  Penn¬ 
sylvania  for  many  years  was  not  that  the 
people  regarded  him  as  skilled  in  law-mak¬ 
ing  and  in  public  administration,  for  he 
had  no  special  faculty  in  that  direction. 
He  got  and  kept  his  hold  because  he  un¬ 
derstood  how  to  manipulate  primaries  and 
conventions,  and  how  to  distribute  public 
offices  among  minor  party  managers  and 
workers  so  as  to  secure  for  the  price  paid 
the  greatest  amount  of  personal  service  to 
himself.  He  had  no  noble  ambition  ;  he 
simply  wanted  to  control  “  patronage.”  By 
a  bargain  in  convention  he  gave  the  votes 
of  Pennsylvania  to  the  nomination  of  Lin¬ 
coln  and  got  in  return  the  secretaryship  of 
war.  The  country  was  in  an  agony  of 
struggle,  yet,  to  Cameron,  political  conven¬ 
tions  and  army  contracts  were  one,  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  dismissed  him.  Neither  his 
disgraceful  conduct  nor  the  disgrace  of  his 
punishment  hurt  his  power.  He  ruled 
Pennsylvania  ‘like  a  feudal  chief  until  he 
got  tired  and  turned  the  state  over  to  his 
son,  Don  Cameron.  He  is  an  example  that 
shows  that  neither  good  repute  nor  evil 
repute  can  shake  the  po'^er  of  a  skilled 
manipulator  who  controls  a  party  machine. 
Don  Cameron  has  for  some  reason  lost  the 
control  his  father  handed  down  to  him,  and 
Pennsylvania  is  now  ruled  by  Quay,  who, 
if  people  like  to  live  under  modernized 
feudalism,  is  a  thorough  ruler  who  will  see 
to  it  that  no  public  office  in  that  state  is 
given  to  any  one  who  will  not  work  night 
and  day  to  help  Quay’s  personal  fortunes. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


35 


THE  DISCRIMINATING  TEST. 

Since  our  last  issue  John  O.  Cravens  has 
been  appointed  collector  of  internal  rev¬ 
enue  for  this  district.  He  has  under  him 
some  fifty  government  officers.  Quoting 
his  own  words,  he  says  in  an  interview  in 
the  Indianapolis  Neivs  [July  10],  that  to  se¬ 
cure  an  appointment  from  him  a  man 
must  show  “  that  he  is  an  unwavering,  ac¬ 
tive  republican.  The  mere  fact  that  a 
man  may  have  always  voted  the  ticket  is 
not  nearly  enough.  He  must  have  been 
an  active  party  worker.”  With  such  a 
brazen-faced  breaker  of  party  promises  it 
is  useless  to  reason.  If  he  were  asked  to 
reconcile  his  test  with  President  Harrison’s 
dogma,  that  '•  fitness,  and  not  party  service, 
should  be  the  sole  discriminating  test  of 
appointment,’  he  would,  doubtless,  laugh 
at  the  greenness  of  a  question  implying 
-  that  such  a  declaration  was  ever  intended 
to  be  acted  upon.  But  is  the  President  go¬ 
ing  to  allow  himself  and  his  words  to  be 
openly  discredited  by  a  man  whom  he  has 
put  into  a  profitable  place  ?  It  can  be 
said  that  he  ought  not,  but  not  that  he  will 
not.  After  allowing  the  congressmen  and 
Clarkson  to  loot  the  fourth-class  post-offices 
at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a  week,  and  tak¬ 
ing  into  account  the  great  number  of  other 
changes,  it  becomes  apparent  that  a  clean 
sweep  is  intended  and  is  being  made  as 
fast  as  possible,  and  that,  with  rare  excep¬ 
tions,  the  places  are  being  given  to  party 
workers,  because  they  are  party  workers. 
This  means  that  President  Harrison  will 
not  keep  his  own  and  his  party’s  promises. 
It  means  also  that  he  will  give  a  colossal 
indorsement  to  a  plain  violation  of  the 
constitution.  Where  does  Collector  Crav¬ 
ens  get  any  right  to  require  that  his  ap¬ 
pointees  shall  have  been  working  republi¬ 
cans  ?  Where  does  any  appointing  officer, 
from  the  President  down,  get  any  right  to 
require  that  the  men  whom  he  selects  to 
work  for  the  whole  people,  for  pay  from 
the  whole  people,  shall  be  republicans  ? 

This  was  the  test  openly  laid  down  by 
Attorney- General  Miller,  and  referred  to 
by  us  last  month.  There  is  not  a  line  or  a 
syllable  in  the  constitution,  nor  in  any  law, 
that  justifies  such  a  discrimination.  Such 
a  discrimination  is  simply  the  exercise  of 
the  despotic  power  which  absolute  rulers, 
like  the  Czar,  exercise  to  the  fullest  extent, 
and  which  lesser  kings  and  rulers  of  all 
grades  have  always  clung  to  and  practiced 
as  much  as  possible.  It  can  not  be  ad¬ 
mitted  for  a  moment  that  that  power  was 
transplanted  to  this  country  by  our  con¬ 
stitution.  The  only  test  that  can  be  ad¬ 
mitted  to  be  found  in  the  appointing 
power  vested  by  the  constitution  is  the 
business  test— the  test  of  fitness  for  the 
business  to  be  done,  without  regard  to  the 
beliefs  of  the  appointee.  This  was  Madison’s 


view  of  the  scope  of  the  appointing  power, 
and  it  is  the  view  that  will  be  adopted  and 
acted  upon  by  the  country,  and  when  that 
happens  these  men  now  in  the  pay  of  the 
whole  people,  but  who  are  giving  their 
whole  time  to  proscribing  one-half  of  the 
people  for  political  belief  from  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  places  in  which  to 
earn  a  living,  will  appear  small  indeed.  It 
is  no  answer  to  say  that  they  are  following 
the  practice.  A  bad  custom  can  not  make 
a  law. 

THE  COMING  STRUGGLE  BETWEEN 

FEUDALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY. 

It  is  republican  congressmen  who  now 
feel  the  pressure  of  the  civil  service  law, 
and  who  justly  recognize  the  fact  that 
either  the  law  or  their  right  to  give  places 
to  their  personal  supporters  must  give 
way.  A  few  have  lately  been  outspoken. 
Congressman  Browne,  of  Indiana,  opposes 
the  law  because  “  it  is  expensive,  *  *  in 
its  examinations  it  applies  wholly  unnec¬ 
essary  tests,  *  *  it  is  a  cumbersome  piece 
of  political  patchwork.  *  *  When  a  va¬ 
cancy  occurs  the  senator  or  representative  * 
*  should  -nominaie  a  person  to  be  appointed.” 
Congressman  Perkins,  of  Kansas,  says  that 
the  “entire  system  of  competitive  examina¬ 
tions  is  a  farce,  and  discriminates  against 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  west  in  favor  of 
the  college-bred  chap  of  the  east.”  Con¬ 
gressman  Cannon,  of  Illinois,  says  :  “  I 

think  it  is  an  infernal  nuisance.  1  have 
found  it  to  he  in  my  way  very  materially  in 
many  instances,  and  I  would  rather  like  to 
get  it  out  of  my  way.”  Congressman  Tay¬ 
lor,  of  Ohio,  opposes  it  for  these  reasons: 
“  Where  are  the  republicans  who  fought 
the  great  political  battle  and  won  the  mar¬ 
velous  victory  of  1888?  Out  in  the  cold.” 
Congressman  Hauk,  of  Tennessee,  opposes 
it  because  “it  is  un-American,  and  not  in 
harmony  with  the  constitution  and  the 
theory  on  which  the  United  States  govern¬ 
ment  is  founded.”  Further,  it  is  “  imprac¬ 
ticable,  *  *  and  this  attempt  at  an 

office-holding  aristocracy  must  come  to  an 
end.” 

It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  answer 
all  the  objections  of  these  gentlemen  that 
go  to  the  merits.  The  saving  by  this  sys¬ 
tem  in  the  New  York  post-office  has  more, 
than  paid  the  cost  of  the  machinery  of  the 
law  for  the  entire  country.  The  charge 
that  it  applies  unnecessary  tests  is  not  true, 
and  can  not  be  sustained  by  Congressman 
Browne.  Over  and  over  again  it  has  been 
shown  that  college  applicants  have  com¬ 
paratively  poor  success,  and  that  the  great 
bulk  of  successful  competitors  are  from 
the  public  schools.  The  system  does  not, 
therefore,  discriminate  against  the  west 
because  here  are  the  best  public  schools. 
It  is  not  un-American,  because  it  is  the 
most  democratic  method  of  distributing 


public  employment  that  has  ever  been 
used — the  method  of  fair,  open  competi¬ 
tion,  with  the  prize  to  the  best  man.  Fi¬ 
nally,  the  only  aristocracy  in  this  country 
is  formed  by  a  system  of  modern  feudal¬ 
ism,  which  these  congressmen  have  helped 
to  build  up,  and  are  now  endeavoring  to 
fasten  permanently  upon  the  country. 

But,  in  fact,  when  talking  to  congress¬ 
men,  no  trouble  need  be  taken  to  answer 
their  objections.  They  are  not  urged  in 
good  faith,  and  the  congressmen  themselves 
care  nothing  about  them.  The  real  ob¬ 
jection  is  found  in  Congressman  Cannon’s 
declaration,  “I  have  found  it  to  be  in  my 
way,”  and  in  Congressman  Taylor’s  declar¬ 
ation,  that  his  henchmen  are  “  out  in  the 
cold.”  This  is  the  root  of  the  whole  mat¬ 
ter.  Congressmen  care  nothing  for  effi¬ 
ciency  in  the  service.  That  is  not  their 
discriminating  test  when  making  appoint¬ 
ments.  They  work  desperately  to  keep  in 
the  Higginses,  the  Dowlings,  the  Vander- 
voorts,  the  Bagbys  and  the  McFarlands. 
The  only  question  is,  shall  they  give  up 
putting  their  personal  followers  into  the 
pay  of  the  public  and  let  these  places  be 
filled  on  business  principles,  and  shall  these 
congressmen  get  their  nominations  from 
the  people  or  from  the  fourth  class  post¬ 
masters? 

If  they  do  give  it  up,  by  force  or  other¬ 
wise,  undoubtedly  some  of  them  will  dis¬ 
appear  from  public  life.  They  keep  them¬ 
selves  in  place  solely  by  the  efforts  of  their 
followers  whom  they  have  quartered  upon 
the  people,  and  without  this  support  they 
must  fall.  An  Indiana  congressman,  who 
had  served  three  terms,  said  that  so  long 
as  he  could  choose  the  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters  of  his  district  he  could  keep  him¬ 
self  in  perpetual  nomination.  Probably  it 
is  not  worth  while  to  reason  with  the  great 
bulk  of  congressmen,  and  show  them  that 
if  they  gained  their  places  because  they 
represented  principles  which  ought  to  be 
followed  in  legislation  they  would  be  much 
better  satisfied  with  themselves  and  much 
more  respected  by  the  people.  Probably 
the  only  argument  which  will  have  effect 
will  be  the  one  which  produces  fear. 
Doubtless  congressmen  will  attempt  to 
block  or  repeal  the  law  establishing  the 
merit  system.  Civil  service  reformers  need 
not  shrink  from  the  contest  which  that 
will  bring  on.  There  w'ill  be  but  one  end 
to  this  struggle.  The  use  of  public  office 
as  spoil  to  permanently  engraft  upon  our 
government  the  principles  of  despotism 
and  feudalism,  and  thus  put  the  country 
irrevocably  under  the  heel  of  theMahones, 
the  Gormans,' the  Quays,  the  Platts  and  the 
Cannons,  will  not  succeed.  It  is  not  settled 
that  the  republican  party  has  the  progres¬ 
sive  strength  left  to  break  up  this  evil.  It 
is  on  its  final  trial.  A  repeal  of  the  civil 
service  law  would  have  an  effect  not  unlike 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 


36 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 
COMMISSION. 

Last  month  was  given  an  extended  account 
of  the  work  of  the  civil  service  commission  in 
the  New  York  custom  house,  and  in  the  Troy 
and  Indianapolis  post-offices.  Since  then  the 
commission  has  further  justified  the  good 
opinion  of  it  held  by  the  country.  At  Grand 
Rapids  they  received  seven  affidavits  charging 
a  chief  clerk  of  the  railway  mail  service  with 
having  collected  or  attempted  to  collect  money 
of  government  employes  contrary  to  law,  as  was 
done  in  the  pension  office  here.  These  affida¬ 
vits,  however,  were  denied,  and  the  commis¬ 
sion  took  the  only  practicable  course  of  recom¬ 
mending  to  the  postmaster-general  to  prosecute 
the  chief  clerk  if  prima  facie  guilty;  if  not, 
then  to  prosecute  the  seven  false  swearers. 
The  commission  should  have  authority  to  call 
and  swear  witnesses,  so  that  their  investiga¬ 
tions  may  in  all  cases  he  thorough  and  com¬ 
plete. 


Collector  Geer,  of  Port  Huron,  publicly  ex¬ 
pressed  himself  that  “  to  the  victors  belonged 
the  spoils,”  and  then  asked  for  a  special  exam¬ 
ination.  The  present  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion,  having  ordinary  wits,  had  no  trouble  in 
putting  two  and  two  together,  and  refused  the 
examination  and  blocked  Mr.  Geer’s  plan  of 
getting  a  lot  of  favorites  on  the  eligible  list. 
He  has  been,  however,  temporarily  equal  to 
the  occasion.  First  he  got  permission  to  in¬ 
crease  his  force,  and  then  he  reduced  the  pay 
of  his  employes  so  as  to  take  almost  the  entire 
force  from  under  the  civil  service  law.  He 
is  now  in  the  process  of  dismissing  one  man  to 
make  room  for  two  of  his  favorites,  and  put¬ 
ting  them  in  under  the  spoils  system.  Here 
is  President  Harrison’s  opportunity,  and  his 
action  will  be  watched  with  interest.  The 
only  honest  way  to  deal  with  Geer  is  to  turn 
him  out. 


The  other  important  investigation  made  is 
that  of  the  Milwaukee  post-office.  The  first 
report  of  the  commission  was  seriously  adverse 
to  the  postmaster.  Later  the  commission  made 
a  second  and  fuller  report  of  the  same  tenor. 
To  these  Postmaster  Paul  has  replied  in 
various  and  vigorous  ways.  We  have  care¬ 
fully  read  the  statements  and  reports.  Mr. 
Paul  held  the  view  that  the  service  should  be 
equalized  between  the  parties.  Any  effort  to 
carry  out  this  view  was  unlawful.  When  he 
took  the  office  the  employes  were  all  repub¬ 
lican  ;  now  not  half  are  republicans.  This 
does  not  happen  without  special  assistance. 
He  was  forbidden  to  have  any  knowledge  of 
the  eligible  list ;  yet  he  had  one  eligible  list 
in  his  office,  and  does  not  deny  that  he  always 
had  access  to  all  of  them.  It  does  not  matter 
that  he  cut  the  one  from  a  newspaper  ;  he 
knew  that  he  had  no  right  to  examine  it  or  to 
take  any  notice  of  it.  He  says  that  he  was 
permitted  by  the  previous  commission  to 
transfer  names,  for  instance,  from  the  eligible 
list  of  clerks  to  the  carriers,  and  these  names 


were  to  be  certified  for  places  as  carriers. 
This  could  have  but  the  one  meaning,  that  the 
transfer  was  always  to  be  made  by  the  local 
board  and  in  every  case  from  the  top  of  the  list ; 
but  it  seems  that  the  postmaster  selected  any 
name  that  he  chose  for  such  transfer.  He  denies 
that  he  compelled  the  re-marking  of  a  paper, 
but  not  that  he  expressed  gieat  dissatisfaction 
with  the  marking.  What  right  had  he  to  know 
anything  about  examination  papers  which  were 
then  and  are  now  kept  secret?  It  is  true  that 
he  has  just  published,  with  many  expletives 
and  repetitions,  a  general  denial  of  all  the 
statements  in  the  report  of  the  commission, 
but  that  is  not  the  way  to  meet  specific  cases. 
A  few  instances  have  been  given,  but  the 
report,  signed  by  every  member  of  the  com¬ 
mission,  makes  the  most  explicit  and  damag¬ 
ing  findings  of  the  worst  sort  of  trickery.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  office  has  been 
pretty  thoroughly  investigated.  In  July,  1888, 
the  secretary  of  the  commission  was  sent  to 
investigate,  and  made  an  unfavorable  report. 
In  September,  1888,  the  chief  examiner  was 
sent  to  make  a  full  inquiry,  and  reported  gross 
and  repeated  violations  of  the  law  ;  and  now 
the  whole  commission  finds  to  the  same  effect. 
Mr.  Paul’s  frankness  may  be  questioned.  For 
instance,  he  has  repeatedly  stated  that  he  was 
not  permitted  to  know  the  testimony,  yet  the 
report  of  the  three  commissioners  states  that 
Shiddy  and  Johnson  testified  in  Mr.  Paul’s 
presence.  These  were  the  main  witnesses.  It 
is  now  reported  that  Mr.  Paul  is  being  sup¬ 
ported  by  a  republican  congressman.  Doubt¬ 
less  the  latter  is  looking  to  the  time  when  his 
henchman  will  succeed  Mr.  Paul,  and  he  does 
not  want  any  precedent  against  manipulating 
the  law. 

— Civil  Service  Commissioner  Roosevelt  has 
received  a  letter  signed  by  the  President  and 
other  members  of  the  board  of  officers  of  the 
Brookline  Civil  Service  Reform  Association, 
of  Brookline,  Mass.,  congratulating  him  upon 
his  appointment  as  civil  service  commissioner 
and  upon  the  earnestness  with  which  he  has 
taken  hold  of  his  duties.  The  letter  concludes 
as  follows  : 

“  The  republicans  in  this  town — a  thousand 
in  number — are  almost  unanimously  civil 
service  reformers  and  believe  sincerely  in  a 
non-partisan  civil  service,  with  admission  to 
and  continuance  in  office  depending  upon  as¬ 
certained  ability.  We  write  this  letter  be¬ 
cause  it  would  appear  from  the  tone  of  a  por¬ 
tion  of  the  public  press  that  some  of  the 
‘spoilsmen’ of  our  own  party  are  inclined  to 
evade  the  pledges  of  the  Chicago  platform, 
and  to  go  backward  rather  than  forward  in 
reforming  our  public  service — and  that  it  may 
encourage  and  strengthen  you  to  know  that 
organizations  of  friends  in  your  own  party  are 
noting  and  commending  your  good  work.” 

Fire  Chief  Shay,  at  his  own  request,  after 
thirty-five  years  of  active  fire  service  in  New 
York  City,  was  recently  retired  on  a  pension  of 
|2,500  a  year  because  of  disabilities  received 
in  the  service.  Ex-Chief  Webster,  of  the  In¬ 
dianapolis  fire  department,  after  twenty-nine 
years  of  active  service,  was  kicked  out  against 
the  protests  of  the  chief  business  men  of  the 


city  because  he  had  declined  to  dismiss  the 
dozen  democrats  in  the  service  at  the  command 
of  Councilmen  Trusler  and  Connett.  Mean¬ 
while  personal  followers  of  these  councilmen 
are  being  appointed  instead  of  experienced 
substitutes  awaiting  regular  employment,  and 
Trusler  is  already  pondering  how  to  behead 
the  man  he  put  into  AVebster’s  place  because 
he  has  not  proved  pliant.  There  is  not  a  fire¬ 
men  in  the  city  but  feels  that  his  place  de¬ 
pends  entirely  upon  the  personal  favor  of 
three  or  four  men,  nevertheless,  he  goes  on 
about  his  duty.  Meanwhile  we  allow  Fire¬ 
man  Davis  to  break  his  arm  to  save  our 
property,  and  Politician  Trusler,  if  so  dis¬ 
posed,  to  dismiss  him  from  the  service  to  pick 
up  a  new  trade  and  a  living  if  he  can.  But 
for  firemen  and  their  families  to  live  by  the 
favor  of  Trusler,  a  sort  of  local  Robespierre 
infinitesimally  reduced,  is  “  American,  anti- 
Chinese  and  democratic,”  and  they  should  be 
content  and  proud  of  their  country  and 
especially  of  their  city. 

Last  month  was  given  an  instance  of  a 
congressman  countermanding  two  excellent 
appointments  to  the  Indian  service,  although 
the  appointees  had  closed  their  business  and 
were  on  their  way  to  their  duties.  The  reason 
for  this  flagrant  instance  of  despotism  was 
that  the  person  appointed  did  not  live  in  the 
state  where  the  Indians  and  the  congressmen 
were  located.  This  office-baron  coolly  informed 
the  government  that  persons  had  been  selected 
for  all  the  places  and  notified  of  their  selec¬ 
tion.  It  is  now  proposed  that  all  government 
places  among  the  Indians,  many  of  which  re¬ 
quire  the  greatest  skill  and  tact,  shall  be  filled 
from  the  sparse  population  of  the  state  where  the 
reservation  is.  The  Indians  are  helpless,and  the 
spoils  system  has  no  mercy  for  them.  As  long 
as  we  are  to  have  the  spoils  system,  it  is  fit  and 
becoming  that  that  system,  worked  by  con¬ 
gressmen  ferocious  for  patronage,  should  prey 
upon  these  defenseless  wards. 

Pkesipent  Harrison’.s  grandfather.  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison,  said  :  “  There  is  no  part  of  the 
means  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  executive 
which  might  be  used  with  greater  effect,  for 
unhallowed  porposes,  than  the  control  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  press.  We  have  learned,  too,  from  our  own  as 
well  as  the  experience  of  other  countries,  that  golden 
shackles,  by  whotnsoever  or  by  whatever  pretense  im¬ 
posed,  are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the  iron  bonds  of  des¬ 
potism.  ®  *  *  *  ■*” 

The  President  has  shocked  large  numbers  of 
citizens  by  appointing  an  unusual  number  of 
editors  of  great  papers  to  important  positions. 
It  is  doubtless  true  that  those  papers  are  muz¬ 
zled  papers  from  this  time  forth,  but  while 
this  manifestation  of  the  feoffing  spirit  is 
more  conspicuous  and  offensive,  the  danger 
to  free  institutions  is  really  less  than  with  the 
practice  of  giving  the  country  editor  the 
postmastership  or  some  similar  position.  In 
this  position,  under  the  direction  of  his  con¬ 
gressman,  and  as  his  “man,”  he  runs  the  pri¬ 
maries  and  conventions;  he  is  absolutely  dic¬ 
tator  of  the  political  use  of  his  paper,  and 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


37 


with  his  paper  and  his  office,  he  is  unusually 
wanting  in  tact  if  he  can  not  construct  a  ma¬ 
chine  with  no  creaking  to  ever  reach  the  pub¬ 
lic  ear.  The  danger  in  a  democratic  govern¬ 
ment  of  giving  the  censorship  and  power  of 
the  press  into  the  hands  of  a  great  body  of 
place-holders  controlled,  and  holding  at  the 
pleasure  of  a  powerful  oligarchy,  was  apparent 
from  a  careful  report  on  the  federal  civil  ser¬ 
vice  of  Indiana  made  in  1886.  At  that  time 
thirty-four  editors  had  already  received  places, 
the  bulk  being  postmasters.  In  the  congress¬ 
ional  nominations  of  that  year  they  were 
prominent  objects.  In  Lowry’s  district  the 
editor  and  postmaster  worked  for  his  con¬ 
gressman.  In  Matson’s  district  the  editor 
and  postmaster  worked  for  Matson.  In  Hol¬ 
man’s  district  the  collector  of  internal  revenue 
and  editor  “set  the  pins,”  worked  and  had  his 
force  at  work  for  Holman’s  re-nomination  and 
election.  These  congressmen  were  all  bitterly 
opposed,  and  could  not  have  ridden  down  the 
opposition  of  their  districts  without  a  subsi¬ 
dized  press  and  an  aristocracy  of  office  holders 
whose  existence  depended  upon  their  personal 
service. 

The  postmaster  at  Decatur  removed  his 
newspaper  office  into  the  same  building  as 
the  post-office,  and  was  secretary  of  the  county 
committee.  A  petition  was  presented  for  the  re¬ 
moval  of  the  editor-postmaster  at  Mt.  Vernon 
because  “he  had  used  his  position  to  dictate 
the  political  action  of  his  party  associates 
and  to  throttle  their  freedom  of  action  within 
party  lines.”  The  editor-postmaster  at  Good- 
land  was  charged  with  getting  his  predecessor 
removed  on  a  false  charge.  The  editor-post¬ 
master  at  Cannelton  was  active  in  all  meet¬ 
ings  and  caucuses  and  was  a  prominent  figure 
in  a  factional  contest.  The  editor-postmaster 
at  Boonville  was  active  in  “setting-up”  War¬ 
rick  county  for  a  congressional  nominee.  The 
postmaster  at  Paoli  was  described  in  the  state 
gazetteer  as  lawyer,  postmaster  and  editor. 
These  editor-postmasters  gave  their  allegiance 
not  to  the  President,  but  to  their  congressmen, 
and  after  the  defeats  of  1886  caused  mainly 
by  their  disregard  of  his  pledges,  they  did 
what  they  could  to  further  break  him  down. 

And  now  President  Harrison  is  promised  a 
like  experience.  He  has  appointed  a  news¬ 
paper  man  internal  revenue  collector,  one 
White,  of  West  Virginia,  whose  paper  says, 
just  before  he  takes  his  oath  of  office  : 

“  He  [Mr.  White]  is  as  anxious  as  any  republican 
to  get  the  changes  made  as  speedily  as  consistent 
witli  good  service,  being  a  devoted  believer  in  the 
doctrine  that  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils;  and, 
at  the  earliest  practicable  date,  every  democratic 
appointee  in  the  office,  from  the  humble  and,  poorly- 
paid  apple-jack  gaugers  to  the  well-paid  store  keepers 
and  clerks,  will  be  succeeded  by  Simon-pure  all-wool 
and  yard- wide  republicans.” 

This  is  such  coarse  disregard  not  only  of 
the  pledges  of  the  republican  platform  but  of 
General  Harrison’s  own  promises,  that,  as  an 
honorable  man,  to  submit  to  it  must  be  intol¬ 
erable. 

Whether  President  Harrison,  under  the  dic¬ 
tation  of  congressmen,  is  appointing  to  office 
editors  of  small  party  papers  on  a  wide  scale 


is  not  yet  known ;  if  he  is,  it  is  the  most 
adroit  way  that  has  been  found  of  setting  up 
an  aristocratic  and  exclusive  government  of 
congressmen,  under  the  guise  of  democracy. 

THE  AMERICAN,  DEMOCRATIC  AND 
ANTI-CHINESE  SYSTEM. 

— Public  Printer  Palmer  learned  to-day 
what  it  is  to  have  control  of  2,500  positions, 
and  to  have  about  10,000  persons,  who  want 
to  fill  them,  actively  engaged  in  seeking  him. 
His  immense  establishment  was  thronged  all 
morning  and  afternoon  by  office  seekers,  and 
his  desk  was  heaped  up  with  applications  in 
written  form,  while  he  was  dizzy  listening  to 
verbal  statements  as  to  the  qualities  of  appli¬ 
cants.— -ihdiaTiapo/is  Journal  Dispatch. 

— Senator  Farwell  arrived  from  New  York 
this  morning  and  found  over  2,000  letters 
stacked  up  on  his  office  desk.  The  first  thing 
he  did  was  to  send  for  four  stenographers,  and 
by  working  until  midnight  he  thought  he 
would  succeed  in  getting  most  of  the  corres¬ 
pondence  oft’  his  hands.  To-morrow  he  will 
st.art  out  to  fix  up  a  few  more  places  for  his 
constituents. — Chicago  Times. 

— Senator  Farwell,  of  Illinois,  says:  “I 
have  never  seen  or  heard  anything  in  my  life 
like  this  hunger  for  office.  It  is  something  I 
can  not  comprehend.  I  wonder  if  it  has  al¬ 
ways  been  so?  I  am  getting  along  in  years,  as 
you  see,  but  if  I  were  younger  and  thought  I 
should  have  to  face  what  I  have  in  the  last 
few  weeks,  I  give  you  my  word  there  is  not 
enough  honor,  money  or  anything  else  to  keep 
me  in  the  United  States  Senate.  There  is 
nothing  that  a  man  can  think  of  that  he  won’t 
say  or  won’t  promise  to  get  an  office.  I  was 
never  as  sick  of  anything  in  my  life.” 

— During  his  first  two  months  in  office 
Clarkson  answered  over  100,000  letters  and 
had  “not  less  than  15,000  personal  interviews 
with  senators,  congressmen  and  office-seekers.” 
Giving  out  his  fifty  odd  thousand  post-offices 
by  order  of  congressmen  is  only  part  of  his 
work.  His  great  influence  with  the  President 
leads  those  wanting  other  offices  to  seek  his 
help.  Office-seekers  follow  him  home,  and 
keep  him  up  until  after  midnight. 

— Senator  Cullom,  of  Illinois,  says: 

“  I  have  never  b€*en  so  pressed  and  harra.ssed 
in  my  life  as  I  have  been  since  March  4th.  If 
I  had  to  go  through  all  of  this  again,  I  almost 
think  that  the  rewards  of  political  life  would 
scarcely  be  adequate  compensation.  You  can 
have  no  idea  of  the  persistence  of  these  office- 
seekers,  or  of  the  embarrassing  complications 
connected  with  the  quest  of  one’s  constituents 
for  place.  The  mere  matter  of  letters  is  enough 
to  stagger  one.  Why,  they  come  by  hundreds, 
and  one  is  constantly  occupied  in  keeping  up 
with  the  current  correspondence.  Each  letter 
involves  two  or  three  more,  as  each  requires  an 
answer,  and  an  answer  generally  callsfor  a  visit 
to  the  White  House,  or  to  the  departments ;  and 
so  the  time  goes.  And,  with  all  this  watchful¬ 
ness  and  attention  to  the  interests  of  one’s  con¬ 
stituents,  there  remains  the  grim  reflection  that, 
whatever  you  may  do,  you  will,  perhaps,  dis¬ 
please  more  persons  than  you  can  please.” 

— The  Washington  Star  says : 

Secretary  Windom  is  probably  the  most 
crowded  man  in  the  cabinet.  Day  after  day 
the  office-seekers  and  their  friends  swarm  in 
upon  him,  and  his  room  frequently  conttuns 
forty  or  more  men  waiting  for  a  word  in  his 
ear.  The  result  has  been  to  delay  the  natural 
advance  of  public  business — including  the  sat¬ 
isfying  of  the  hungry — to  a  considerable  ex¬ 
tent,  and  the  secretary  is  in  the  habit  of  telling 


those  who  grumble  at  the  slow  grinding  of  the 
mill  that  “  if  they  don’t  give  the  jury  a  chance 
to  retire,  they  will  never  get  a  verdict.”  Sat¬ 
urday  was  a  little  too  much  for  the  secretary’s 
patience,  and  he  has  given  intimation  that  he 
will  hereafter  deny  himself  to  all  callers  on 
Tuesday  of  each  week  until  further  notice,  in 
order  to  give  proper  attention  to  important 
matters  pending  before  the  department. 


— Washington,  June  24. — There  was  a  con¬ 
ference  held  at  the  White  House  to-day,  which 
will  have  a  great  deal  of  influence  in  future 
appointments  for  Indiana,  as  well  as  of  Indi- 
anians  for  federal  offices  generally.  Early 
this  morning  Mr.  1).  M.  Ransdell,  of  Indian¬ 
apolis,  who  arrived  in  this  city  yesterday, 
called  upon  Attorney-General  Miller  and  was 
closeted  with  him  for  about  an  hour.  He  then 
went  to  the  White  House,  accompanied  by  Col. 
W.T.  Durbin,  of  Anderson,  and  was  shortly 
followed  by  Mr.  Miller.  These  men,  in  com¬ 
pany  with  Private  Secretary  Halford,  entered 
the  latter’s  office  and  remained  in  consultation 
nearly  an  hour.  It  is  said  to-night  that  the 
subjects  considered  were  the  collectorship  or 
internal  revenue  and  several  other  minor  offi¬ 
ces  for  Indiana,  including  the  pension  board 
of  Indianapolis.— Npectaf  to  the  Indianapolis 
Journal. 


— The  Franklin  Star  says  that  while  United 
States  Marshal  Dunlap  was  in  that  city  yester¬ 
day,  he  asked  Postmaster  Brown  to  resign  and 
thereby  relieve  the  strain  as  to  who  will  be  his 
successor. 

— The  Evansville  Journal  says  :  “  Mr.  Smi¬ 
ley  Chambers,  United  States  District  Attorney, 
has  acted  very  injudiciously,  to  say  the  least, 
in  the  Vincennes  post  office  matter.”  Then 
it  proceeds  to  condemn  him  for  his  “perfidy 
and  superserviceableness  in  meddling  in  a 
matter  that  he  ought  to  have  allowed  to  take 
its  course.  There  was  no  occasion,”  it  says, 
“  for  Chambers  to  go  on  sundry  pilgrimages 
to  Indianapolis  and  Washington  in  order  to 
prejudice  the  authorities  against  Adams,  from 
motives  of  personal  spite.”  The  Journal  con¬ 
tinues  : 

He  should  have  let  bygones  l)e  bygones  in  the  in. 
terest  of  party  harmony.  He  had  .gotten  all  or  more 
than  he  himself  deserved.  He  had  attained  a  posi¬ 
tion  to  which  fifty  other  Indiana  republicans  had 
better  claim.  There  was  a  great  surprise  when  he 
was  appointed  U.  S.  district  attorney. 

— Collector  Cooper  at  Philadelphia,  formal¬ 
ly  took  possession  of  his  office  July  15.  A 
dispatch  to  the  New  York  Times  says: 

Later  on  a  number  of  people  called  to  pay  their 
-respects  to  the  new  official.  Among  others  were 
Congressman  Smedley  Darlington  and  State  Senator 
Harlan  of  Chester  county,  both  of  whom  were 
closeted  with  tlie  collector  in  his  private  office  for 
quite  a  while  ;  ex-Surveyor  of  the  Port  George  Le- 
land,  J.  F.  Weirick,  private  secretary  to  Congress¬ 
man  Kelley  ;  Representative  Horatio  P.  Connell,  E. 
C.  Knight,  Senator  George  Handy  Smith,  Mercantile 
Appraiser  Harry  Hunter,  and  a  number  of  lesser 
lights,  all  of  whom  shook  the  new  olffcial  warmly  by 
the  hand. 

Was  this  a  spontaneous  congratulatory 
gathering  of  the  })eople,  or  was  it  the  vultures 
for  the  prey? 


38 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— The  anti-Chinese  svstem  now  seems  to  be 
fully  applied  to  Virginia.  After  a  long 
struggle  Mahone,  hy  careful  manipulation, 
assisted  by  the  republican  national  committee 
and  seemingly  by  the  President,  has  put  his 
enemies  under  his  feet.  He  will  now  rule 
Virginia  for  the  federal  government.  Once 
before  the  republican  party  put  the  state  of 
Virginia  into  his  grip,  and  no  person  was 
appointed  or  removed  without  his  order.  We 
may  expect  to  see  this  repeated,  and,  we  be¬ 
lieve,  with  similar  disastrous  results. 

—  WASHtNGTON,  June  27.  -  Two  of  the  ap¬ 
pointments  which  were  agreed  upon  the  other 
day  were  announced  this  afternoon.  John 
O.  Cravens  is  appointed  collector  of  internal 
revenue  for  the  Sixth  Indiana  district.  Il  is 
understood  that  this  appointment  was  made  with  the 
full  approval  of  all  parties  interested  in  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  Indiana  patronage,  and  that  the  same 
is  true  of  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Philip  M. 
Hildebrand  to  be  surveyor  of  customs  of  the 
port  of  Indianapolis. — Special  to  Indianapolis 
Journal. 

— Senator  Higgins,  of  Delaware,  appointed 
a  postmaster  at  Bridgeville,  Sussex  county. 
He  consulted  one  henchman  in  that  county, 
but  though  five-sixths  of  the  citizens,  regard¬ 
less  of  politics,  protested,  and  the  local  repub¬ 
lican  club  denounced  their  over-lord,  he  is  ob¬ 
durate.  Later  he  gave  to  the  brother-in-law  of 
this  henchman  the  position  of  commercial 
agent  at  Nottingham,  England  ;  then  he  ap¬ 
pointed  ex-Judge  George  P.  Fisher  first 
auditor  of  the  treasury,  and  the  Morning  News 
(Rep.)  says: 

“  It  is  unfair  and  hurtful  to  the  republicans  of  this 
state  to  be  exhibited  before  the  country  with  a  vul¬ 
nerable  candidate  for  a  high  and  responsible  finan 
cial  office,”  and  “that  the  republican  party  outside 
of  the  state,  including  the  President  himself,  should 
be  placed  on  defensive  through  an  error  of  judgment 
in  Delaware  is  a  mortification  which  no  rebuke 
can  cure,  and  which  must,  therefore,  be  endured  in 
silence.” 

Then  he  appointed  Horace  Greely  Knowles, 
consul  at  Bordeaux.  To  make  room  for  this 
young  follower,  an  old  soldier  who  left  one  leg 
on  the  field  of  battle,  and  carries  two  rebel 
bullets,  is  recalled  from  a  post  where  he  had 
rendered  years  of  faithful  service.  Of  this 
appointment,  the  same  republican  paper  says; 

“  A  man  ought  at  least  to  be  able  to  earn  a  thous¬ 
and  dollars  a  year  at  home,  where  he  is  known, 
before  receiving  some  six  thousand  or  seven 
thousand  dollars  a  year  under  the  government.” 

— The  following  extract  is  a  vivid  picture 
of  a  familiar  scene.  The  “reportorial  ”  artist 
is  describing  the  return  of  the  collector  of  the 
port  and  his  private  secretary  to  the  custom 
house  to  attend  to  the  public  business,  a  place 
with  which  politics  have  no  more  proper  con¬ 
cern  than  with  a  bank,  a  school  or  a  hospital : 

“  Both  had  run  away  to  get  a  rest  from  the 
demands  of  the  hungry  republicans.  Both 
got  back  to  the  custom  house  at  about  the 
same  time  yesterday.  There  never  was  such 
a  scene  there  as  that  which  was  before  them. 
District  leaders  from  New  York,  Brooklyn, 
and  Jersey  City,  and  scores  of  lieutenants  from 
up  the  state,  were  waiting  for  them.  They 
choked  the  iron-railed  stone  stairway  leading 
to  the  collector’s  office.  Clumps  of  the  boys 
were  in  all  the  anterooms  leading  to  the  col¬ 
lector’s  office.  In  the  big  room  where  Collector 


Magone  had  his  desk,  more  boys  filled  the 
chairs  and  lounges.  The  collector  and  his 
private  secretary  were  almost  paralyzed.  Col¬ 
onel  Erhardt  fled  to  the  inner  office,  and  Mr. 
Hunt,  resigned  and  apprehensive,  went  to  his 
desk  right  among  the  hungry.  Those  in  the 
outside  corridors  crowded  in,  and  until  sun¬ 
down  the  demands  of  the  faithful  were  heard. 
It  was  a  continued  shout  for  j)laces,  and  long 
before  the  afternoon  was  over,  the  collector 
and  his  secretary  were  wilted.  The  demands 
were  for  the  pLaces  of  the  democratic  messen¬ 
gers,  ushers  and  laborers.  For  every  place 
there  was  a  score  of  new  applicants.  There 
are  just  so  many  places,  and  as  each  hour  goes 
by  the  number  of  applicants  increases,  until 
Collector  Erhardt  scarcely  knows  whether  he 
is  afoot  or  on  horseback.  Just  before  leaving 
the  custom  house  he  ordered  that  the  corri¬ 
dors  and  entrances  be  placarded  with  this  : 

“‘The  collector  will  have  to  ask  the  indul¬ 
gence  of  those  seeking  employment  for  two 
weeks. 

Official  business  will  prevent  his  grant 
ing  personal  interviews  until  that  time. 

Applications  may  be  directed  to  W.  S. 
Robinson  and  given  to  the  messenger.’  ” 

This  is  a  pleasant  and  creditable  way  of 
transacting  the  public  business.  It  is  called 
the  American  way,  and  is  described  as  essen¬ 
tial  to  the  preservation  of  our  institutions. 
Anything  else  is  aristocratic,  and  belongs  to 
effete  monarchies.  This  is  simple,  demo¬ 
cratic,  effective  and  economical. — Harper's 
Weekly. 

— Mr.  Quay’s  agent,  Mr.  Andrews,  nominally 
chairman  of  the  republican  state  committee, 
has  issued  a  call  (without  a  meeting  of  the 
committee),  for  the  Pennsylvania  convention 
to  assemble  at  Harrisburg  on  August  7. 
There  is  really  no  business  to  be  done.  One 
candidate  is  to  be  named — state  treasurer; 
but  as  he  has  been  designated  by  the  Quay 
agents,  for  many  weeks  past,  in  the  person 
of  Mr.  H.  K.  Boyer,  speaker  of  the  lower 
house  of  the  legislature,  the  nomination  by 
the  convention  is  superfluous  formality. — The 
American  (Rep.). 

— The  situation  there  is  a  terrible  commen¬ 
tary  on  the  spoils  system  (the  anti-Chinese, 
American  and  democratic  system).  I  nearly 
got  into  trouble  among  the  throngs  down 
thereon  offices  intent.  It  is  very  unpleasant. 
June  has  been  very  cool,  and  I  ventured  to 
say  that  perhaps  their  chilly  prospects  had 
affected  the  weather.  It  was  a  risky  remark. 
There  never  was  such  a  situation  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  whole  world.  There  are  4,000  ap¬ 
plicants  for  150  consulates,  and  I  believe 
that  this  proportion  will  be  maintained.  If 
not  increased,  through  all  the  departments. 
The  President,  the  members  of  the  cabinet, 
the  heads  of  bureaus,  and  the  representatives 
are  overrun,  and  the  public  business  is  almost 
at  a  stand  still. — Chauncey  M.  Depew,  recent 
interview. 


The  Civil  Service  Reform  Association  of 
Missouri  has  held  its  annual  meeting,  and  the 
eighth  annual  report  was  read.  It  commends 
the  President  for  his  appointment  of  a  civil 
service  commission,  and  it  censures  him  for 
the  riot  of  spoils  that  has  displaced  11,000 
fourth-class  postmasters  in  less  than  three 
months.  It  is  an  encouraging  sign  that  civil 
service  reformers  are  everywhere  showing  less 
tendency  to  conceal  and  excuse  the  short¬ 
comings  of  the  presidential  office,  by  whom¬ 
ever  filled. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

“  Large  districts  or  parcels  of  Liiid  were 
allotted  hy  the  conquering  generals  to  the 
superior  officers  of  the  army,  and  hy  them 
dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allot¬ 
ments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most  de¬ 
serving  soldiers.  *  *  The  condition  of 
holding  the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the 
possessor  should  do  service  faithfully,  both 
at  home  and  in  the  wars,  to  him  hy  whom 
they  were  given,”  and,  on  breach  of  this 
condition,  “  hy  not  performing  the  stipu¬ 
lated  service,  or  hy  deserting  his  lord  in 
battle,”  the  lands  reverted  to  the  lord. 
The  vassal,  upon  inve.stiture,  took  an  oath 
of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition  did 
homage,  “  openly  and  hiimhly  kneeling, 
being  uiigirt,  uncovered  and  holding  up 
his  hands,  both  together,  between  those  of 
his  lord,  who  sate  before  him,  and  there 
profe.ssing  that  he  did  become  his  MAN 
from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
earthly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss 
from  his  lord.”  Services  were  free  and 
base.  Free  service  was  to  pay  a  sum  of 
money,  or  serve  under  the  lord  in  war. 
Base  service  v^as  to  plow  the  lord’s  land, 
to  make  his  hedge  or  carry  out  his  dung.— 
Blackstone. 

— R  A.  Haynes,  a  cousin  of  Russell  Harri¬ 
son’s  wife,  has  been  appointed  law  clerk  of  the 
post  office  department.  Salary  $2,500. 

— Mr.  Spalding,  a  brother-in-law  of  Private 
Secretary  Halford,  has  been  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Champaign,  Ill. 

— John  Hughson,  Pullman  car  porter  and 
rescuer  of  the  Avife  of  the  President’s  private 
secretary  at  Johnstown,  has  been  appointed  as 
skilled  laborer  in  the  treasury,  at  a  compensa¬ 
tion  of  $720  per  annum,  upon  the  recommenda¬ 
tion  of  the  private  secretary. 

—A  friend  of  Rus.sell  Harrison’s  business 
partner  has  been  appointed  postal  stamp  agent 
at  New  York,  salary  $2,500.  Visionary  peo¬ 
ple  probably  expected  that  Mr.  Pearson’s  plan 
of  promoting  one  of  his  hundreds  of  trained 
men  would  be  followed. 

— Pension  Commissioner  Tanner  has  ap¬ 
pointed  his  daughter,  just  out  of  school,  as  his 
private  secretary. 

— Indian  Commissioner  Morgan  has  ap¬ 
pointed  his  wife  as  his  private  secretary.  Sal¬ 
ary,  $1,200  a  year. 

— Commissioner  of  Indian  Schools  Dorches¬ 
ter  has  had  a  special  office  created  for  the 
benefit  of  his  wife.  Salary,  $6  a  day. 

— The  postmaster  at  Augusta,  Me.,  has  been 
removed  to  make  a  place  for  “Joe”  Manley. 
The  sole  object  for  Manley’s  existence  is,  and 
has  been  for  years,  the  glorification  of  Secre¬ 
tary  Blaine.  This  is  his  pay. 

— Senator  Gorman,  who  is  literally  a  curse 
to  the  state  of  Maryland,  has  appointed  a 
postmaster  at  Laurel,  Md.  Although  a  demo¬ 
crat,  and  although  a  republican  had  been 
named,  Gorman  claimed  the  place  as  his  and 
Wanamaker  allowed  it.  Thus  modern  feudal¬ 
ism  is  nourished  and  grows  strong. 

— Congressman  Smith  has  appointed  Dan 
Hogan  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the 
Cairo,  Ill.,  district. 

— Mahone  has  appointed  John  G.  Watts 
marshal  of  the  western  district  of  Virginia. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


39 


— Quay  has  appointed  Tliomas  V.  Cooper,  | 
state  senator  and  ex-chairinan  of  the  republi¬ 
can  state  committee,  collector  for  the  port  of 
Philadelphia.  Regarding  this  appointment 
the  American  [rep],  in  a  few  words,  shows  the 
grip  of  Quay  upon  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  : 

“  Upon  this  ground  it  is  that  Mr.  Cooper  is  selected. 
He  must  be  furnished  with  a  place.  He  will  serve 
Mr.  Quay.  The  President,  therefore,  is  pres.sed  to 
appoint  him.  And  the  President  consents.  He  de¬ 
clines  the  advice  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  who 
have  in  mind  the  efficiency  of  the  public  service, 
while  he  yields  to  the  demand  of  Mr.  Quay,  who  has 
in  mind  his  own  present  schemes  and  the  further 
operations  which  are  to  grow  out  of  them.” 

— Congressman  Cannon  has  had  the  salaries 
of  certain  democratic  clerks  in  Washington 
reduced,  as  follows: 

Charles  H.  Rickets,  of  Charleston,  Ill.,  from  $1,600 
to  $1,400:  T.  T.  Horan,  of  Mattoon,  111.,  from  $1,600  to 
$1,200:  W.  Durbin,  of  Champaign,  Ill.,  from  $1,400  to 
$1,200;  Wm.  H.  Smyzer,  of  Champaign,  Ill.,  chief  of  di¬ 
vision,  from  $2,000  t<>  $1,600;  Wm.  Carmer,  of  Douglas 
county.  Ill.,  from  $1,400  to  $1,200. 

It  seems  that  Cannon  claims  that  in  1884 
these  clerks  opposed  him,  and  by  reason  of  the 
civil  service  law,  he  tvas  obliged  to  modify 
his  order  for  dismissal  to  the  above. 

— Jerry  McCarthy,  Congressman  Banks’s 
nominee  for  the  internal  revenue  collector- 
ship,  and  qualified  for  the  office  “  by  a  train¬ 
ing  in  the  political  contests  in  Massachusetts 
since  his  boyhood  ”  and  by  being  “as  simple 
as  a  child  in  manner,”  had  the  misfortune  to 
find  Congressman  Lodge’s  man  preferred  by 
the  administration. 

— Washington,  June  27. — Hon.  W.  D. 
Owen,  of  Logansport,  left  for  his  home  to-day. 
Mr.  Owenis  entirely  satisfied  with  what  fie 
fias  accomplisfied  during  fiis  sfiort  stay  in 
Wasfiington,  and  goes  away  liappy. 

— Cfiarles  H.  Litcfiman,  a  labor-worker  in 
the  last  campaign,  lias  been  paid  by  a  special 
agency  of  the  treasury. 

—  Horace  A.  Taylor,  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  Hudson  [Wis.]  Star  and  Times,  and  ex¬ 
chairman  of  the  state  republican  committee, 
has  been  appointed  commissioner  of  rail¬ 
roads. 

— O.  T.  Porter  of  Vlbany,  Oregon,  editor  of 
a  republican  paper,  has  been  appointed  mar¬ 
shal  for  the  district  of  Alaska. 

— H.  M.  Cooper,  member  of  the  republican 
state  central  committee,  has  been  appointed 
collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  district 
of  Arkansas. 

— John  Money,  chairman  of  the  Tennessee 
delegation  to  the  national  republican  conven¬ 
tion  of  1888,  has  been  appointed  minister  resi¬ 
dent  to  Paraguay  and  Uruguay. 

— Clark.son  has  been  doing  his  work  of 
removing  fourth-class  postmasters  under  the 
orders  of  congressmen  at  the  rate  of  one 
every  three  minutes. 

— Clarkson  appointed  L.  D.  Levan  post¬ 
master  at  Wilson,  N.  Y.,  although  a  statement 
had  been  filed  in  the  department  showing  that 
Levan  had  been  indicted  and  fined  for  keep¬ 
ing  a  disorderly  house, 

— The  postmaster  at  Hollowell,  Me.,  having 
been  removed  on  charges,  his  friends  believing 
the  charges  to  be  forged,  asked  to  see  them, 
but  were  refused  by  the  postoffice  department. 

— The  new  assistant  district  attorney  of 
West  Virginia  is  defending  a  suit  for  embez 
/dement  in  a  former  public  office.  The  prin¬ 
cipal  deputy  marshal  is  indicted  for  bribery, 
the  superintendent  of  public  buildings  in 
Charleston  is  indicted  for  bribery,  and  another 
federal  appointee,  Ray,  has  admitted  that  he 
attempted  to  bribe  a  member  of  the  legislature. 


— Henry  E  Sharpe  h.is  been  appointed  post" 
master  at  Lead  Hill,  Ark.  He  was  convicted 
in  the  United  States  Court  at  Springfield,  Ill., 
of  sending  obscene  matter  through  the  mails. 
He  has  come  out  with  a  defense  as  follows; 

If  any  one  can  prove  that  durine:  tlie  last  seven 
years  my  life  has  not  been  strictly  moral,  or  that  at 
any  time  in  those  seven  years  I  have  related  smutty 
jokes,or  indulged  in  any  obscene  or  impropei  conver¬ 
sation,  or  that  I  have  gambled,  or  been  intoxicated, 
or  committed  any  dishonest  act,  I  will  give  him  my 
horse,  sulky,  harness,  cow,  and  calf;  all  of  which  are 
unencumbered  by  any  lien  whatever. 

It  ajipears  that  within  the  last  seven  years 
he  assaulted  his  wife  and  threw  her  down 
stairs,  and  has  been  more  than  once  a  prisoner 
in  the  .Jefferson  Market  Police  Court,  New 
York  City. 

—  The  President  has  appointed  Robert 
Smalls  in  face  of  his  well-known  record  and  of 

strong  protest,  to  a  federal  office  in  South 
Carolina.  Here  is  an  extract  from  his  record  : 

Josephus  Woodruff,  then  clerk  of  the  senate,  testi¬ 
fied  that,  in  consideration  of  Smalls’  vote  to  support 
a  joint  resolution  api)ropriating  $200,000  to  pay  the 
claim  of  the  Republican  Printing  Company,  he  gave 
Smalls  a  check  for  $5,000,  payable  to  cash  or  bearer. 
L.  W.  Zealy,  cashier  of  the  South  Carolina  Bank  aftd 
Trust  Company,  testified  that  Journai  A,  437,  showed 
that  Smalls  indorsed  and  presented  said  check  on 
the  .same  day,  Jan.  18,  1872,  and  that  it  was  placed  to 
his  credit. 

The  records  of  the  court  will  show  that  for  this  of¬ 
fense  Smalls  was  tried  before  a  republican  judge  and 
a  jury,  the  majority  of  whom  were  republicans  and 
of  his  own  race,  and  was  found  guilty,  sentenced  to 
two  years  in  the  penitentiary,  and  su)jse(iuently 
pardoned  by  Gov.  Hampton. 


OPPOSED  TO  AMERICAN  FEUDAL¬ 
ISM. 

— “My  only  object — and  I  ihink  you  un¬ 
derstand  it — is  to  secure  fit  men  for  responsi¬ 
ble  places  without  admitting  the  right  of  sen¬ 
ators  and  representatives  to  control  appoint¬ 
ments  for  which  the  President  and  the 
secretary,  as  his  presumed  adviser,  must  be 
responsible.  Unless  this  principle  can  be 
practically  established,  I  feel  that  I  can  not 
be  useful  to  you  or  to  the  country  in  my  pres¬ 
ent  position.” — Secretary  Chase  to  Lincoln. 

— In  the  first  place  patronage  is  thoroughly 
un-American.  It  is  a  system  handed  down  to 
us  from  the  worst  days  of  English  politics, 
and  it  befits  a  corrupt  monarchy,  not  an  en¬ 
lightened  republic.  There  is  nothing  Ameri¬ 
can  in  a  system  which  fills  offices  by  favorit¬ 
ism,  friendship,  obligation  and  influence. 
The  American  theory  is  to  give  to  every  man  a 
fair  field  and  no  favor;  while  patronage  goes 
entirely  by  favor  and  gives  no  field  at  all. 
The  great  error  hitherto  has  been  in  arguing 
as  if  the  purpose  of  the  change  was  to  im¬ 
prove  the  public  service,  when  we  have  had 
for  years  a  good  civil  service,  so  good  that  it 
may  well  be  doubted  wdiether  any  change  of 
system  would  very  greatly  improve  it.  The 
true  and  the  terrible  evil  of  patronage  is  in 
the  effect  upon  politics  generally,  and  upon 
public  life  and  public  men.  It  takes  the 
power  of  appointments  from  the  heads  of 
departments  who  are  fit  to  make  them  and 
places  it  in  the  hands  of  senators  and  con- 
gre.ssmen,  who  in  the  nature  of  things  can 
know  but  little  about  them.  Senators  and 
members  of  congiess  are  elected  to  their  great 
offices— for  they  are  great  offices  of  high  trust — by 
the  whole  people,  and  their  proper  duty  is  to  attend 
to  the  business  of  the  whole  people  and  not  to  the 
wants  and  importunities  of  the  fev). — Congressman 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge  at  Lowell,  July  4,  1SS9. 

— I  think  that  at  present  there  are  more 
congressmen  who  keep  in  power,  not  because 


they  can  render  good  service  to  the  country, 
but  because  they  know  how  to  manipulate 
fourth-class  post-offices;  and  when  you  see  a 
congressman  from  a  country  district  denounc¬ 
ing  the  civil-service  reform  law,  you  may  be 
sure  that  that  man  devotes  his  time  to  ped¬ 
dling  patronage  and  not  his  talents  and  ener¬ 
gies  to  the  service  of  the  republic. —  Theodme 
Roosevelt. 


WANTON  REMOVALS. 

The  danger,  tlieii,  consists  merely  in  this: 
The  President  can  displace  from  office  a 
man  whose  merits  require  that  he  should 
he  continued  in  it.  What  will  be  the  mo- 
tires  which  the  Presitlent  can  feel  for  such 
abuse  of  his  power,  and  the  restraints  that 
operate  to  prevent  H  i  In  the  first  place, 
he  will  be  impeachable  by  this  house,  be¬ 
fore  the  senate,  for  such  an  act  of  malad¬ 
ministration ;  for  I  contend  that  the 
wanton  removal  of  meritorious  of¬ 
ficers  would  subject  him  to  im¬ 
peachment  and  removal  from  his 
own  high  trust.  *  *  *  Can  we  sup¬ 
pose  a  President,  elected  for  four  years 
only,  dependent  upon  the  popular  voice, 
impeachable  by  the  legislature,  little,  if 
at  all,  distinguished  for  wealth,  personal 
talents,  or  inlluence  from  the  head  of  the 
department  himself ;  I  say,  will  he  bid  de¬ 
fiance  to  all  these  considerations,  and  wan¬ 
tonly  dismiss  a  meritorious  and  virtuous 
officer  i  much  an  abuse  of  poiver 
exceeds  my  conception. — Congressmam 
James  Madison.  June,  1789. 

— The  sixth  auditor  of  the  treasury. 
Coulter,  has  removed  his  deputy  and  the 
eleven  chiefs  of  division  to  make  places  for 
republicans.  Coulter  says  “That’s  what  we 
are  here  for,  and  it  is  about  time  that  the 
men  who  did  the  horn  blowing  during  the  last 
campaign  should  have  something  to  show  for 
their  labor.”  The  places  are  worth  from 
$2,000  upward. 

— Miss  Moony,  postmaster  at  Maspeth,  L. 
I.,  has  been  removed  and  the  place  given  to  a 
man  named  Smith.  Practically  all  the  pa¬ 
trons  of  the  office  wanted  Miss  Moony  retain¬ 
ed,  and  three  hundred,  including  nearly  every 
voter  in  the  district,  petitioned  for  it,  but  the 
local  politicians  were  opposed  and  the  change 
was  made.  The  papers  which  brought  about 
the  change  are  kept  secret  by  the  department* 

— President  Cleveland  removed  Postmaster 
Hankness  of  Albert  Lea,  Minn.,  for  cause 
upon  petition  and  appointed  Mr.  Stacy,  who 
has  .served  two  years.  He  was  a  soldier,  is 
poor  and  has  made  a  good  postmaster,  hut 
Congre.ssman  Dnnnell  and  apparently  the 
government  also  cared  nothing  for  these  mat¬ 
ters  and  removed  Stacy  and  appointed  Hank¬ 
ness. 

— The  postmaster  at  Vineland,  N.  J.,  was 
removed  on  the  charge  of  being  short  in  his 
accounts.  VVannamaker,  however,  kept  all 
the  papers  secret.  Thereupon  a  committee  of 
prominent  republicans,  headed  by  ex-Mayor 
Mason,  made  a  thorough  investigation  and 
reported  ;  “  We  have  examined  Postmaster 

Brewer’s  accounts,  and  find  them  correct,  said 
accounts  showing  that  the  amounts  due  the 
government  have  been  sent  promptly  at  the 
time  they  became  due  and  payable.”  Dr. 
Brewer  is.  of  course,  a  democrat. 

— James  P.  Smith,  postmaster  at  Lehighton, 
Pa.,  has  been  removed  to  make  place  for  a  re¬ 
publican.  The  new  appointee  himself  re¬ 
marked,  during  his  canvass  for  the  office,  that 
“  he  could  .see  nothing  derogatory  to  Smith,” 
but  if  there  was  to  be  a  change,  he  wanted  it. 


40 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


A  GREAT  MORAL  QUESTION. 

This  paper  has  hitherto  had  occasion  to 
notice  the  humane  work  of  the  Indian  Rights’ 
Association.  Mr  Herbert  Welsh,  whose  devo¬ 
tion  to  that  cause  needs  no  public  mention, 
has  become  convinced  that  any  permanent 
progress  in  his  peculiar  work  is  blocked  by 
the  spoils  system.  This  is  the  conclusion  of 
most  other  patriotic  citizens  who  have  tried 
to  do  practical  work  in  any  direction  having 
for  its  object  the  honor  and  well-beingof  their 
country.  To  men  having  had  the  opportuni¬ 
ties  of  Mr.  Welsh,  for  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  practical  works  of  the  spoils  method,  it  is 
its  immorality  that  is  the  essential  evil.  It  is 
that  its  yoke-fellow  is  always  some  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  brutality,  ingratitude,  deceit  or  treach¬ 
ery  that  makes  the  system  repugnant  to  all 
religious  and  moral  creeds.  The  feeling  is 
becoming  a  conviction  that  clergymen  of  all 
churches  and  moral  teachers  of  all  sorts,  must 
not  .shirk  the  issue  or  fall  behind  in  the  actual 
work  :  it  can  not  longer  be  put  aside  as  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  politics,  it  is  a  question  of  morals.  It 
was  this  that  induced  Mr.  Welsh  to  consult 
widely,  especially  with  clergymen  of  all  faiths, 
whether  on  the  national  thanksgiving  day  a 
sermon  might  not  be  appropriately  preached 
on  the  evils  of  the  spoils  system.  The  approval 
of  the  plan  has  been  remarkably  spontaneous 
and  hearty.  That  to  preach  this  sermon  is 
not  to  condemn  any  party,  any  man  or  set  of 
men  ;  that  it  is  not  in  any  sense  a  comparison 
of  any  periods,  is  plain  from  the  following  cir¬ 
cular,  which  we  print  in  full : 

APPEAL  TO  THE  CLERGY  TO  PREACH  ON  CIVIL 

SERVICE  REFORM  ON  THANKSGIVING  DAY, 

NEXT  ENSUING,  ADVOCATING  IT  “  SO  FAR 

AS  IT  INVOLVES  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 

OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS.” 

No  public  question  .seems  to  us  of  more  vital  or 
more  pressing  importance  than  that  of  reform  in  the 
civil  service.  It  is  distinctively  a  question  of  public 
morality  and  of  Ihe  national  character  and  integrity, 
contemplating  the  arrest  of  the  corruption  which 
now  most  plainly  threatens  that  character  and  the 
honesty  of  the  government.  The  chief  source  of 
this  corruption  is  the  practice  of  treating  the  enor¬ 
mous  emoluments  of  the  public  .service  in  all  its 
ramifications  and  details,  including  the  smallest 
places  and  employments,  as  the  prize  of  the  success¬ 
ful  party  at  an  election.  This  is  an  abuse  and  an  evil 
for  which  no  party  can  be  justly  held  responsible, 
but  which  has  become  a  tradition  of  all  parties,  and 
with  the  rapid  increase  of  the  patronage  the  de¬ 
moralizing  consequences  are  already  startling.  It 
turns  the  patronage  of  the  government, 
designed  solely  for  the  public  convenience, 
into  a  vast  bribery  fund.  It  breeds  general  corrup¬ 
tion  by  teaching  the  citizen  to  expect  payment  for  dis¬ 
charge  of  a  duty  incumbent  upon  every  voter,  and 
it  tends  to  transform  an  election  from  a  popular  ver¬ 
dict  upon  differing  public  policies  into  a  desperate 
struggle  for  the  emoluments  of  place. 

The  disastrous  effect  of  this  corrupting  system  not 
only  upon  tlie  politics  and  the  public  service,  but 
upon  the  standards  of  public  duty  and  official  con¬ 
duct,  upon  the  .self-respect  of  the  people  and  a  pure 
public  spirit,  can  not  be  too  seriously  stated  or  too 
carefully  considered.  The  greatest  American  states¬ 
men  of  all  parties,  the  most  eminent  jurists,  the 
most  patriotic  and  devoted  divines,  and  political 
students  and  observers  of  all  countries  have  pointed 
out  the  nature  and  consequences  of  this  evil,  the  cor¬ 
rection  of  which  is  a  necessity  transcending  in  im¬ 
portance  all  merely  party  aims  and  political  policies 
of  administration.  Already  public  opinion  has 


manifested  itself  so  strongly  that  admirable  national 
and  state  laws  of  limited  application  have  been  en¬ 
acted,  and  their  honest  enforcement  is  conceded  to 
be  of  the  greatest  public  benefit.  But  in  such  a 
movement  nothing  should  be  considered  done  while 
anything  remains  to  do.  Every  patriot  in  every 
pursuit  or  profession,  and  especially  every  leader 
and  guide  of  the  public  mind,  may  well  assist  in 
the  beneficent  work. 

The  moral  appeal  which  shall  instruct,  inspire, 
and  strengthen  public  opinion  to  complete  the  good 
work,  it  seems  to  us  would  come  from  the  pulpit 
with  peculiar  power.  Believing  that  it  is  its  office 
to  apply  eternal  principles  of  religion  and  morals  to 
human  conduct,  and  to  aid  nations  as  well  as  indi¬ 
viduals  to  walk  in  the  right  way,  holding  that 
George  Ma.son  of  Virginia  spoke  a  terrible  truth 
which  history  confirms,  in  saying  that  Providence 
punishes  national  sins  by  national  calamities,  we 
appeal  to  the  pulpit  to  demand  of  the  public  con- 
.science  that  specific  and  acknowledged  evils  affect¬ 
ing  the  highest  public  welfare  shall  be  redressed  by 
simply,  obvious  and  adequate  means.  In  respect¬ 
fully  suggesting,  therefore,  that  on  Tlianksgiving 
day,  or  such  other  day  as  may  seem  to  you  fitting 
you  should  devote  a  sermon  to  the  consideration 
tion  of  this  subject,  we  confidently  invite  your  earn¬ 
est  co-operation  in  a  Christian  endeavor  to  (juicken 
the  conscience  of  the  people  and  to  lead  tlie  nation 
toj;ighteousness. 

Among  those  who  have  already  allowed 
their  names  to  be  given  as  favoring  this  plan, 
are  : 

The  Rev.  Howard  Crosby  of  New  York,  the  Rev. 
James  McCosh,  ex-president  of  Princeton  College ; 
the  Rev.  Francis  L.  Patton,  president  of  Princeton 
College  ;  the  Rev.  James  O.  Murray,  Dean  of  Prince¬ 
ton  College;  the  Rev.  John  T.  Duffield,  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey;  the  Rev.  W.  Henry  Green, 
the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Aiken,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  B. 
Warfield,  tlie  Rev.  C.  Wistar  Hodge,  professors  in 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary;  the  Rev.  Charles 
Wood  of  Germantown,  Philadelphia;  the  Right  Rev. 
Thomas  M.  Clark,  bishop  of  Rhode  Island;  the 
Right  Rev.  O.  W.  Whitaker,  bishop  of  Pennsylvania  ; 
the  Right  Rev.  Leighton  Coleman,  bishop  of  Dela¬ 
ware  ;  the  Right  Rev.  Henry  B.  Whipple,  bishop  of 
Minnesota  ;  the  Right  Rev.  W.  H.  A.  Bissell,  bishop 
of  Vermont;  the  Right  Rev.  F.  D.  Huntington,  bishop 
of  Central  New  York;  the  Right  Rev.  Charles  T. 
Quintard,  bishop  of  Tennessee;  the  Right  Rev.  Dan¬ 
iel  S.  Tuttle,  bishop  of  Missouri ;  the  Right  Rev.  John 
Scarborough,  bishop  of  New  Jersey;  the  Right  Rev. 
W.  E.  McLaren,  bishop  of  Chicago;  the  Right  Rev.  T. 
U.  Dudley,  bishop  of  Kentucky;  the  Right  Rev. 
George  F.  Seymour,  bishop  of  Springfield,  Ill. ;  the 
Right  Rev.  Cortland  Whitehead, bi.shop  of  Pittsburg; 
the  Right  Rev.  Francis  M.  Whittle,  bishop  of  Vir¬ 
ginia  ;  the  Right  Rev.  David  U.  Knickerbacker 
bishop  of  Indiana;  The  Rev.  S.  McConnell  of  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  the  Rev.  Phillips  Brooks  of  Boston,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  F.  Davies  of  Philadelphia,  the  Rev. 
Charles  H.  Hibbard  of  Germantown,  the  Rev. 
J.  De  Wolf  Perry  of  Germantown,  the  Rev.  W.  N. 
McVickar  of  Philadelphia,  the  Right  Rev.  John 
F.  Spaulding,  Bishop  of  Colorado :  the  Rev.  James 
Morrow  of  Philadelphia,  the  Rev.  J.  Andrews  Harris 
of  Philadelphia,  the  Rev.  George  Dana  Boardman  of 
Philadelphia,  the  Right  Rev.  John  F.  Hurst,  bishop 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  the 
Rev.  George  P.  Fisher,  professor  of  Yale  College ;  the 
Right  Rev.  J.  S.  Johnson,  bishop  of  Texas;  the  Rev, 
William  Ely  of  Philadelphia. 

Bishop  Huntington  wrote  in  response  to  the 
request  made  of  him  : 

“  The  measure  you  propose  for  bringing  to 
the  attention  and  the  conscience  of  the  people  of 
the  country  the  righteous  reform  in  which  you 
are  engaged  not  only  commends  itself  to  my 
judgment,  but  it  falls  in  with  convictions 
which  have  long  been  vital  and  strong  in  my 
mind.  Supreme  above  all  political  questions 
in  the  nation  is  the  question  between  right 
and  wrong,  integrity  and  corruption,  honor 
and  greediness,  in  the  national  character. 


Who  shall  deal  with  it  if  not  the  ministers  of 
Christ,  the  Master  of  society  and  King  of  men? 
What  have  jirophets  and  teachers  to  do,  if 
not  to  proclaim  the  principles  of  that  Master, 
and  so  to  serve  the  kingdom  of  that  King?” 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Whitehead,  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  in  a  recent  interview,  said  : 

“  I  have  replied  to  the  circular  saying  that  I 
would  be  perfectly  willing  to  exert  my  influence 
to  have  the  question  of  civil  service  reform 
brought  before  the  public  in  the  manner  sug¬ 
gested.  I  am  very  sure  that  the  movement 
will  receive  widespread  support  throughout 
the  country,  and  very  probably  the  majority 
of  the  preachers  will  elect  to  take  the  que.stion 
as  their  subject  on  Thanksgiving  day.  I  can 
not,  of  course,  lay  my  commands  on  minis¬ 
ters  of  my  church  to  speak  on  that  or  any 
subject,  but  I  shall  certainly  use  my  in¬ 
fluence  as  far  as  possible  in  furtherance  of  the 
movement.  Ministers  of  my  church  do  not 
preach  on  Thanksgiving  day,  but  no  doubt 
those  of  other  denominations,  the  Methodists 
and  Presbyterians,  will  speak  on  the  question 
before  their  congregations. 

“  It  is  a  matter  which  may  be  very  fairly 
treated  from  the  pulpit,  as  it  is  entirely  of  a 
non-partisan  nature,  and  one  which  appeals  to 
the  good  citizenship  of  every  member  of  the 
community.  We  are  all  of  us  interested  in 
the  question  of  civil  service  reform  for  the 
reason  that  our  individual  as  well  as  our 
national  prosperity  depends  on  the  class  of 
men  who  as  office  holders  carry  on  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  our  national  affairs.  So  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  point  out  that  if  righteous-principled 
and  capable  men  are  elected  to  office,  a  pure  and 
trustworthy  administration  may  be  looked  for 
in  return,  and  that  if  men  of  opposite  charac¬ 
ter  are  placed  there,  it  is  not  easy  to  foresee 
what  must  be  the  result.  We  don’t  desire  that 
every  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry  that  comes  along 
seeking  office  should  be  elected  because  he  has 
sufficient  influence  to  place  him  there.  The 
question  is  one  on  which  the  public  should  be 
thoroughly  informed,  and  when  such  men  as 
Bishop  Huntington,  of  central  New  York, 
interest  themselves  in  it,  it  will  be  sure  to  ob¬ 
tain  very  general  attention. 

“I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  forming 
an  intelligent  opinion  as  to  the  particular 
manner  in  which  the  question  should  be 
treated,  but  since  the  reform  leaders  promise 
to  distribute  a  quantity  of  literature  through¬ 
out  the  country,  dealing  fully  with  the  matter, 
and  that  as  Thanksgiving  day  is  still  some 
way  off,  ample  time  will  be  afforded  every¬ 
body  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the 
question.” 

Whether  every  clergyman  in  this  state  or 
whether  a  handful  preach  this  sermon,  good 
has  already  been  accomplished  by  the  sug¬ 
gestion,  but  it  would  be  unfortunate  to  miss 
a  noble  opportunity.  And  those  ministers  of 
the  gospel  who  will  investigate  an  evil  that 
is  no  less  deadly  because  it  loves  darkness  and 
privacy,  who  will  have  the  courage  to  say 
that  the  spoils  system  is  a  slave  system  bru¬ 
talizing  to  those  in  power,  and  debasing  to  all 
who  work  under  it,  they  will  6nd  in  unex¬ 
pected  quarters  sympathy  and  approval.  We 
should  not  allow  Mr.  Welsh  to  bear  all  the 
burden  of  the  working  out  of  this  plan.  A 
very  little  labor  on  the  part  of  those  who  ap¬ 
prove  might  surely  be  given.  The  clergy¬ 
men  who  will  preach  a  sermon  on  this  topic, 
the  layman  who  will  speak  to  clergymen 
of  their  acquaintance  might  sen  1  their  names 
to  this  paper  that  further  communication 
may  be  had. 


The  civil  Service  chronicle. 


“  Of  all  the  evils  which  beset  public  life  and  which  de.stroy  the  usefulness  of  parties  and  of  public  men  the  greatest  beyond  all  doubt  is  the  evil  of  patronage.” 

—Congressman  Henry  Cabot  Lodge — Plymouth  Address. 


VoL.  I,  No.  6.  INDIANAPOLIS,  AUGUST,  1889.  terms  :  ^  fcen't8®per''copy.'*“ 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

“  Practical  men  with  their  eyes  open  are 
aware  that  patronage  is  a  clisintergraling 
force,  and  the  distribution  of  the  offices  al¬ 
most  always  makes  trouble  within  the  party.” 
New  York  Tribune. 

We  hoped  to  publish  the  questions  used 
here  in  the  civil  service  examination 
August  6,  but  we  could  not  get  them  in 
time.  They  will  appear  next  month,  with 
the  rules  for  marking. 


During  the  month  the  administration 
has  continued  its  process  of  making  a  clean 
sweep  at  a  good  pace  for  summer  vaca¬ 
tion  time,  Clarkson  now  boasting  of  15,- 
000  changes  in  the  post-offices.  The  plain¬ 
est  sign  of  the  blindness  of  the  admin¬ 
istration  to  its  own  promises  and  to  the 
greatly  increased  sentiment  of  the  country 
against  the  use  of  the  offices  as  bribes,  is 
shown  in  the  rehabilitation  of  Mahone  in 
Virginia.  He  has  no  possible  hope  of  car¬ 
rying  that  state  except  by  buying  it  with 
the  enormous  booty  of  the  aggregate  fed¬ 
eral  offices  which  pertain  to  Virginia.  His 
triumph  would  be  the  triumph  of  the 
wicked,  and  every  good  citizen  should  hope 
for  his  total  defeat. 


District  Attorney  Chambers  has  an 
assistant  named  Cockrum  who  declares 
that  the  prosecution  against  Dudley  had  no 
foundation  in  fact.  Nothing  has  com¬ 
mended  President  Harrison  so  much  to  the 
country  as  his  refusal  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  Dudley.  This  refusal  was  because 
by  an  overwhelming  aqd  irresistible  weight 
of  evidence,  it  was,  and  is,  clear  that 
Dudley  wrote  what  is  known  as  the  “  blocks 
of  five  ”  letter,  saying,  in  effect,  that  money 
w’ould  be  furnished  to  buy  voters  in  Indi¬ 
ana,  and  advising  that  those  purchased  be 
taken  to  the  polls  in  fives.  No  honest  cit¬ 
izen  can  view  Dudley  with  anything  but  a 
true  citizen’s  hatred  for  a  professional  cor- 
ruptor  of  public  morals.  It  is  very  exas¬ 
perating  to  all  such  to  see  one  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  prosecutors  stand  out,  brazen-faced,  as 
the  defender  of  such  a  man.  A  proper 
sense  of  the  proprieties  in  his  superiors 
would  lead  at  once  to  the  relegation  of 
Cockrum  to  private  life. 


President  Harrison  was  in  Indianapo¬ 
lis  on  the  occasion  of  the  laying  of  the  cor¬ 
ner-stone  of  the  monument  to  Indiana  sol¬ 
diers.  He  was  received  respectfully,  but 
in  no  sense  enthusiastically.  The  reason 
is  that  he  has  simply  been  engaged  in  a 
business  which  does  not  arouse  the  approval 
of  the  people.  It  is  a  good  sign  that  it  does 
not.  At  the  centennial  celebration  in  New 
York  he  said  that  “exacting  public  duties” 
had  prevented  him  from  preparing  a  suit¬ 
able  speech,  and  here,  the  other  day,  he 
gave  lack  of  time  as  the  reason  why  he  had 
not  prepared  for  the  occasion.  He  has 
been  President  now  for  about  five  months, 
and  during  that  time  the  whole  world 
knows  that  he  has  had  the  one  occupation 
of  making  vacancies  by  turning  men  and 
women  out  of  public  offices  and  putting 
other  persons  into  their  places,  and  that 
these  other  persons  have  been  given  the 
places  to  reward  them  for  personal  or  party 
services.  There  has  been  nothing  in  his  ca¬ 
reer  as  President  to  break  the  monotony  of 
this  work,  and  it  is  a  matter  for  congratu¬ 
lation  the  people  are  not  enthusiastic  over 
it. 


Collector  Cravens,  of  this  district,  has 
made  a  good  start  in  his  work  of  putting 
one  set  of  men  out  of  employment  and 
putting  in  another,  without  cause ;  and  he 
is  keeping  well  to  his  word  that  no  man 
shall,  through  him,  work  for  the  people, 
unless  “  he  is  an  unwavering,  active  repub¬ 
lican”  and  “an  active  party  worker.”  It 
is  natural  to  expect  that  President  Harri¬ 
son  will  restrain  this  officer  who  pours  con¬ 
tempt  upon  him  and  his  promises  in  his 
own  home.  It  certainly  can  not  be  believed 
that  a  small  politician  can  thus  impudently 
trample  upon  the  promises  of  the  republi¬ 
can  platform  and  letter  of  acceptance  with 
no  damaging  result.  The  republicans 
should  keep  in  mind  that,  sooner  or  later, 
they  will  have  to  face  all  the  facts.  In  1886, 
after'  President  Cleveland  had  been  in 
office  one  year,  a  careful  investigation  was 
made  to  discover  how  his  acts,  in  Indiana, 
squared  with  his  promises.  The  results 
were  put  into  a  report  which  attracted 
attention  and  did  its  work  over  the 
whole  country.  The  same  kind  of  investi¬ 
gation  is  promised,  next  year,  of  the  acts  of 
the  present  admistration.  This  will  be 
eminently  fair  and,  in  fact,  it  is  the  only 
consistent  course.  The  report  based  upon 


the  coming  investigation  will  also  do  its 
work.  If  the  facts  have  not  kept  pace  with 
the  promises,  the  administration  will  have 
to  shoulder  the  burden.  And  beyond  all 
this,  in  1892,  there  will  be  a  more  search¬ 
ing  examination  of  President  Harrison’s 
management  of  the  civil  service  than  any 
president  has  ever  yet  had.  These  things 
should  make  the  republicans  move  with 
caution,  but,  if  history  repeats  itself,  they 
will,  in  their  turn,  regard  all  this  as  of  no 
consequence. 

The  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso¬ 
ciation  has,  since  the  annual  meeting  the 
last  of  January,  had  #57  new  members, 
coming  from  sixty  different  towns  in  the 
state.  The  high  character  of  the  men,  the 
diverse  localities  from  which  they  come 
and  the  varied  occupations  and  professions 
represented  are  most  encouraging  for  the 
future  of  the  Association  and  for  the  merit 
system  in  this  state.  Among  the  acces¬ 
sions  are  represented  the  Catholic,  Episco¬ 
palian,  Presbyterian,  Baptist  and  Christian 
clergy,  which  means  that  this  ques¬ 
tion  is  at  last  being  considered  in  its  true 
phase,  as  a  moral  and  not  as  a  political 
question.  There  is  an  unusual  chance  for 
spreading  knowledge  of  the  merit  system 
in  Indiana  if  the  Association  had  funds  at 
its  command.  Every  member  of  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  should  be  provided  with  some  of 
the  popular  tracts  defending  the  system  of 
competitive  tests,  so  that  if  inclined  he 
might  have  at  hand  arguments  and  facts 
for  judicious  distribution ;  further,  this  is 
the  time  to  arouse  discussion  and  to  get  a 
scrutiny  into  the  practical  workings  of  the 
spoils  system  by  a  series  of  prizes  offered 
to  the  various  colleges  and  high-schools  of 
the  state.  The  actual  workings  of  con¬ 
gressional  patronage,  the  inhumanity  of 
the  spoils  system,  the  democracy  of  secur¬ 
ing  places  through  competition  might, 
with  excellent  results,  be  the  subjects  of 
prize  essays.  Especially  should  every  effort 
be  made  to  convince  the  teachers  of  Amer¬ 
ican  history  throughout  Indiana  that,  al¬ 
though  the  text-books  may  omit  all  notice  of 
the  rise  and  progress  and  workings  of  the 
spoils  system,  it  has,  nevertheless,  a  place  in 
the  history  of  the  country  that  should  not  be 
ignored.  To  print  and  circulate  the  needed 
pamphlets  among  the  teachers  of  the  state 
would  require  a  considerable  outlay. 


42 


THE  CrVIIv  SERVICE  CIIRONIOEE. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  not 
the  paper  of  any  particular  person,  nor  is 
it  “  controlled  by  republicans  who  voted 
for  General  Harrison  as  a  civil  service 
reformer.”  It  belongs  to  the  friends  of 
the  merit  system  in  Indiana  and  through¬ 
out  the  west  and  over  the  whole  country. 
It  means  to  advocate  that  system  without 
any  regard  to  the  persons  or  party  whom 
such  advocacy  may  help  or  hurt.  As  has 
been  said  before,  it  has  no  money-making 
object;  the  editorial  work  upon  it  is  done 
without  charge  or  compensation  except  the 
ample  reward  of  knowing  that  the  greatest 
question  now  requiring  the  attention  of 
the  American  people  is  making  an  advance 
such  as  it  has  never  made  before,  and  that 
the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  aiding  in 
that  advance.  It  is  true  that  the  paper  is  ac¬ 
tively  controlled  by  those  who  voted  against 
the  re-election  of  President  Cleveland,  who 
had  made  his  record  in  the  management 
of  the  federal  civil  service,  and  in  favor  of 
the  election  of  General  Harrison,  who  had 
his  record  yet  to  niake.  He  is  making  it 
now,  and  at  the  proper  time  he  will  be 
judged  upon  it  by  all  friends  of  the  merit 
system.  When  that  time  comes,  the  Civil 
Service  Chronicle  will  try  to  judge  him 
fairly.  In  the  meantime,  its  highest  duty 
is  to  point  out  the  facts  which  illustrate 
the  moral  and  physical  rottenness  of  that 
enemy  of  government  by  the  people,  the 
spoils  system,  the  system  of  using  hun¬ 
dreds  of  thousands  of  state  and  federal 
offices  to  pay  personal  and  party  debts. 


At  the  request  of  Postmaster  Van  Cott 
the  civil  service  commission  has  designated 
the  places  in  the  New  York  post-office 
which  are  exempted  from  examination. 
These  number  30,  to  about  2,200  employes, 
while  the  Indianapolis  office  has  some  16 
exempted  places  to  about  100  employes. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  humbug  and  “  pol¬ 
itics  ”  about  the  necessity  of  having  ex¬ 
empted  places.  It  is  claimed  that  they  are 
“confidential”  places,  but  the  acts  of  the 
appointing  officer  show  that  this  is  usually 
a  mere  pretense.  An  inspection  of  the 
acts  of  most  appointing  officers  shows  that 
he  fills  these  “  confidential  ”  places  purely 
on  the  principles  of  the  spoils  system.  Any 
officer  who  is  really  in  favor  of  the  merit 
system  will  follow  the  example  of  Post¬ 
master  Pearson,  and  will  hold  these  places 
for  the  benefit  of  the  rank  and  file  in  his 
office.  If  Mr.  Pearson  had  a  vacancy  in 
the  headship  of  a  division,  he  did  not  hunt 
through  the  city  of  New  York  for  a  man 
who  had  done  for  his  party  a  good  deal  of 
campaign  work,  but  he  remembered  the 
good  of  the  service  and  the  deserts  of  the 
2,200  men  under  him,  many  of  whom  had 
had  years  of  experience,  and  he  threw  the 
vacancy  open  to  the  subordinate  who,  upon 
strict  business  tests,  showed  himself  best 
fitted  for  it. 


It  is  reported  that  the  President  has  re¬ 
fused  the  request  of  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  that  the  places  of  clerks  of  the 
census  bureau  be  thrown  open  to  free  com¬ 
petition.  He  has  apparently  with  delibe¬ 
ration  rejected  anotlier  unusual  opportun¬ 
ity  to  advance  good  government  and  build 
up  the  merit  system.  That  the  present 
commission  should  ask  it  is  conclusive  of 
its  practicability.  The  reason  given  by  the 
President  that  the  employment  is  of  lim¬ 
ited  duration,  is  another  way  of  saying  that 
in  his  opinion  congressmen,  who  serve  no 
interest  but  their  own,  will  make  better 
selections  than  would  be  made  by  compe¬ 
tition  ;  and  the  saying  is  not  true.  The 
other  objection  of  the  President  is  that 
congress  did  not  intend  that  these  places 
should  be  put  under  the  civil  service  rules. 
He  will  not  claim  to  find  non-intention 
anywhere  in  the  law.  But  it  is  true  that, 
when  it  was  going  through  congress,  the 
talk  among  congressmen,  as  individuals, 
was  that  whichever  party  was  success¬ 
ful  in  1888,  should  have  these  places  as 
spoil.  President  Harrison  knows  of  this 
talk  and  is  apparently  governed  by  it. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  simply  the  unofficial 
talk  of  a  pack  of  political  pirates  masquer¬ 
ading  under  the  name  of  congressmen. 


The  Reform  Club  of  New  York  is  spend¬ 
ing  $1,200  a  month  and  soon  expects  to 
spend  $3,000  a  month  disseminating  its 
views  in  relation  to  the  tariff.  This  amount 
of  effort  is  worth  the  attention  of  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reformers.  The  merit  system  is  in 
the  field  against  the  spoils  system,  and  the 
complete  overthrow  of  the  latter  is  abso¬ 
lutely  certain  as  soon  as  the  people  under¬ 
stand  the  facts  about  both  systems.  These 
facts  can  be  spread  only  as  rapidly  as  the 
means  of  doing  so  will  warrant,  and  for 
this  purpose  money  is  much  needed.  The 
friends  of  the  merit  system  are  so  well  or¬ 
ganized  that  the  smallest  amount  of  money 
can  be  made  to  count,  and  if  any  one  feels 
that  he  would  like  to  contribute  and  have 
the  assurance  that  his  money  would  be 
well  spent,  he  need  not  hesitate.  Any  one 
may  at  any  time  learn  what  was  done  with 
his  contribution.  There  must  be  many 
people  in  the  west  who  would  like  to  help 
the  merit  system,  but  who  are  not  actively 
engaged  in  its  behalf.  Contributions  for 
the  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa¬ 
tion  should  be  sent  to  Noble  C,  Butler,  In¬ 
dianapolis;  and  for  the  use  of  the  National 
League  of  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa- 
ations  to  William  Potts,  35  Liberty  street. 
New  York  City. 


We  publish  in  full  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Welsh  to  the  Boston  Tramcript  on  the  treat¬ 
ment  of  the  Indians  by  the  present  admin¬ 
istration.  It  must  be  remembered  that 


Mr.  Welsh  understands  entirely  what  he 
is  talking  about,  and  that,  as  secretary  of 
the  Indian  Rights  Association,  he  is  giving 
years  of  time  to  the  welfare  of  the  Indians. 
He  is,  therefore,  disinterested.  The  man 
who  ordered  the  dismissal  of  the  teachers 
from  Virginia  was  Congressman  Mitchell, 
and  he  and  his  likes  are  allowed  to  rule  in 
this  matter  of  the  Indians.  They  care  noth¬ 
ing  for  the  Indians.  They  care  only  for 
quartering  upon  the  public  treasury  cer¬ 
tain  people  who  will  help  them  most  to 
re-election.  Their  view  of  the  Indians  is 
like  that  of  the  army  contractors  who  fur¬ 
nished  shoddy  clothing  and  wormy  food  to 
the  soldiers  when  the  best  effort  of  every 
honest  man  seemed  necessary  to  prevent 
the  overthrow  of  the  nation.  The  Indians 
are  to  them  simply  a  thing  from  which 
personal  benefit  is  to  be  wrung  if  possible. 


THE  EXAMINATION. 

The  examination  held  here,  August  6, 
for  places  in  this  post-office,  may  be  made 
to  mark  an  era  in  the  progress  of  the  merit 
system  in  this  state.  Almost  at  the  last 
moment,  the  civil  service  commission  add¬ 
ed  Noble  C.  Butler  and  William  P.  Fish- 
back  to  the  local  board ;  the  former  is  the 
clerk  and  the  latter  is  the  master  in  chan¬ 
cery  of  the  United  States  courts  for  Indi¬ 
ana.  These  two  citizens  are  well  known 
throughout  Indiana  as  not  caring  to  work 
republicans  or  democrats,  as  such,  into  or 
out  of  minor  public  offices.  They  are  in 
favor  of  the  enforcement  of  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  law,  and  they  want  to  see  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem  embodied  in  that  law  put  into  success¬ 
ful  operation.  Because  the  republicans  are 
in  power  they  do  not  want  the  democrats, 
the  labor  men,  the  greenbackers,  the  pro¬ 
hibitionists,  or  any  other  non-republicans 
to  stay  away  from  examinations;  on  the 
other  hand,  they  want  them  to  come  for¬ 
ward  and  compete  as  the  law  provides  they 
may  do,  and  to  all  such  their  names  are  an 
ample  guaranty  of  fair  play.  It  may  be 
said,  also,  that  their  convictions  are  accom¬ 
panied  by  an  entfre  fullness  of  courage ;  in 
homely  language,  they  are  not  afraid  of 
any  one.  The  recent  examination  was 
conducted  in  accordance  with  these  views 
and  qualifications;  and  that  with  the  ex¬ 
amination  of  papers  required  six  days  of 
hard  work,  without  compensation.  If  dem¬ 
ocrats  did  not  compete  and  get  upon  the 
eligible  list  it  is  their  own  fault,  and  it  will 
be  their  own  fault  if  they  do  not  do  so  in 
the  future. 

And  now  the  successful  contestants  hav¬ 
ing  obtained  their  respective  places  on  this 
list  by  fair  competition,  the  merit  system 
in  this  post-office  has  reached  a  decisive 
point.  When  vacancies  occur  and  three 
names  are  certified  to  Postmaster  Wallace 
from  which  to  make  his  selection,  are  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


43 


selections  to  be  decided  by  “pulls”  and  a 
dozen  other  back-door  influences,  or  will 
the  man  who  has  honorably  won  the  high¬ 
est  place  be  given  his  earned  reward,  un¬ 
less  there  is  a  good  business  reason  for 
taking  the  next  lower?  This,  of  course, 
depends  upon  the  postmaster.  If  he  per¬ 
forms  his  sworn  duty  he  will  not  dismiss  a 
man  without  good  cause,  and  he  will  not 
hunt  for  causes  nor  call  things  causes 
against  one  set  of  men  and  not  against  an¬ 
other.  He  will,  when  making  selections 
to  fill  vacancies,  put  out  of  his  mind  all 
questions  of  politics,  or  friendship, ‘or  so¬ 
cial,  or  other  outside  influences,  and  will 
sacredly  respect  the  rights  which  those  on 
the  eligible  list  have  obtained,  and  will 
give  freely  the  best  of  reasons  if  the  high¬ 
est  man  is  not  appointed.  The  public  is 
an  interested  spectator  and  will  watch  the 
action  of  the  postmaster  in  every  case  with 
keen  interest  and  with  ready  crit'cism  for 
any  unfairness.  Messrs.  Fishback  and 
Butler  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the 
public  for  daj's  of  hard, disinterested  work 
without  compensation,  and  for  having  con¬ 
sented  to  be  the  means  of  breaking  down 
the  tradition  that  the  local  board  must  be 
appointed  to  please  the  head  of  the  office 
and  from  those  under  his  control.  It  is 
fair  to  say,  however,  that  Mr.  Butler  was 
appointed  and  consented  to  serve  after  the 
special  solicitation  of  Postmaster  Wallace. 


THE  MAJORITY  AND  THE  SPOILS 
SYSTEM. 

Senator  Hoar  writes  to  the  CivU  Service 
Record  for  August  as  follows  : 

I  think  you  do  not  allow  for  the  fact  that  a  very 
large  majority  of  the  American  people  are  not  yet 
convinced  of  the  soundness  of  the  principle  which 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  what  is  called  civil  service  re¬ 
form.  They  think  that  it  is  better  to  have  the  party 
in  power  appoint  men  who  have  shown  aetivity  and 
zeal  in  its  service  to  executive  positions,  to  hold  the 
party  responsible  for  them,  and  that  in  that  way  we 
shall  get,  on  the  whole,  a  more  honest,  zealous,  and 
eflicient  service  than  by  selecting  public  agents  in 
any  other  way. 

We  deny  the  last  statement.  The  Ameri¬ 
can  people  have  never  believed  that  it  was 
better  to  have  the  party  in  power  fill  the 
offices  with  men  who  have  shown  activity 
and  zeal  in  the  service  of  that  party.  The 
majority  did  not  believe  this  during  the 
first  forty  years  when  it  was  not  done ;  nor 
did  they  believe  it  when  Andrew  Jackson 
did  it;  nor  did  they  believe  it  while  all  the 
presidents  since  Andrew  Jackson  have  done 
it;  nor  do  they  believe  it  while  the  Clark¬ 
sons  and  Wanamakers  of  the  administra¬ 
tion  are  attempting  to  do  it  to-day.  There 
has  never  been  a  time  when  the  average 
American  citizen,  and  the  great  majority 
are  the  average,  has  not  condemned  the 
spoils  system,  as  applied  by  Jackson  and 
his  successors.  To  say  anything  else  is  to 
say  that  the  American  citizen’s  intelligence 


became  so  dulled  that  he  lost  his  grasp  of 
sound  principles  of  government  after  see¬ 
ing  those  principles  practiced  for  forty 
years.  We  are  ready  for  the  question,  why 
do  the  people  allow  the  practice  of  giving 
out  the  offices  as  rewards  to  party  workers 
to  continue  ?  Why  do  the  Russian  people 
allow  the  crimes,  described  by  George  Ken- 
nan,  committed  by  the  organization  which 
calls  itself  the  Russian  government,  to  con¬ 
tinue  ?  Does  any  one  believe  that  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  Russian  people  are  in  favor  of 
such  continuance  ?  Or  why  do  the  people 
of  Continental  Europe  permit  themselves 
to  be  burdened  to  the  utmost  of  their  en¬ 
durance  by  standing  armies  ?  Does  any 
one  believe  that  the  majority,  with  an  un¬ 
trammeled  choice,  would  not  at  once  sweep 
away  the  whole  system  ?  These  things 
continue  because  the  government  machines 
so  skilfully  unite  and  handle  the  minority 
that  the  majority  are  kept  under  ;  and  it  is 
often  only  after  years  of  agitation  and  pro¬ 
test,  and  sometimes  rebellion,  that  a  small 
part  of  improvements  which  a  4)eople  be¬ 
lieve  in  can  be  obtained. 

In  exactly  the  same  manner  the  people 
of  the  United  States  are  kept  to  a  spoils 
system  which  they  condemn.  We  speak 
with  deliberation ;  the  number  who  are  in 
favor  of  using  the  142,000  offices  of  the 
United  States  to  give  to  active  party  work¬ 
ers,  possibly  to  a  new  set  every  four  years, 
is  confined  to  the  party  machines  and  to 
those  who  are  looking  for  ward  to  an  office. 
They  do  not  comprise  one-sixtieth  of  the 
people. 

Why,  then,  does  the  practice  continue  ? 
Certainly,  there  is  no  lack  of  promises ;  a 
glance  at  the  platforms  and  letters  of  ac¬ 
ceptance  upon  which  Cleveland  and  Har¬ 
rison  were  elected,  shows  that.  These  doc¬ 
uments  were  bawled  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other.  But  the  election 
over,  the  president  installed,  the  party  ma¬ 
chine  lays  its  grip  upon  him.  In  walk  the 
Gormans,  the  Vests,  the  Vporheeses,  the 
Quays,  the  Mahones,  the  Hiscocks,  and  the 
Ingallses  and  scare  the  president  off  the 
platform  upon  which  he  was  elected  and 
upon  which  he  is  bound  by  every  principle 
of  honor  to  stand.  Then  the  Platts,  the 
Hattons,  and  a  small  crowd  of  congressmen 
who  can  not  possibly  maintain  their  hold 
upon  public  life  without  spoils  to  distrib¬ 
ute,  set  up  a  cry  that  the  present  is  the 
only  genuine  American -democratic -anti- 
Chinese  system,  and  that  the  effects  will  be 
baneful  if  congressmen  are  not  allowed  to 
continue  to  pay  those  who  manage  pri¬ 
maries  for  them,  out  of  the  iDublic  treasury. 
Then  people  like  Senator  Hoar,  who  are  in 
favor  of  the  merit  system,  come  forward 
and  say  that  the  great  majority  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  like  these  political  bosses  and  want,  for 
instance,  Ingalls  to  arrange  it  so  that  those 


who  ride  fifty  miles  exclusively  to  help  his 
personal  fortunes,  shall  be  paid  for  this 
service  by  a  salary  out  of  the  public  treas¬ 
ury.  This  is  the  circle  in  which  we  are 
now  traveling. 

It  is  true  that,  while  the  American  peo¬ 
ple  want  some  escape  from  the  looting  sys¬ 
tem  under  which  they  are  now  governed, 
they  are  not  entirely  clear  as  to  the  best 
escape.  It  is  only  a  question  of  time,  how¬ 
ever.  The  merit  system,  which,  in  clerical 
positions,  puts  public  employment  up  to 
be  competed  for  and  to  be  gained  by  the 
most  deserving,  wherever  it  becomes 
known,  makes  its  way  as  the  fairest  and 
most  democratic  method  of  distributing 
public  work  that  has  ever  been  discovered . 
As  Senator  Hoar  says,  the  majority  are  not 
yet  in  favor  of  it;  but  the  sole  reason  is 
that  they  are  not  familiar  with  it.  With 
the  final  success  of  this  will  go  the  gather¬ 
ing  of  the  smaller  offices,  like  the  fourth- 
class  post-offices,  into  divisions  where  ap¬ 
pointment  and  tenure  shall  be  governed 
by  the  same  principles  that  govern  them 
in  every  other  business.  The  men  who 
now  live  upon  the  spoil  of  office  will  then 
have  to  go  out  into  the  world  and  earn 
their  living  upon  the  merit  system  there. 


THE  TREASURY  DOOR  SWINGS 
BACK. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  has  already 
noticed  the  maliciousness  akin  to  devilish¬ 
ness  with  which  republican  and  democratic 
administrations  attempted  to  break  down  the 
late  Postmaster  Pearson,  carrying  this  to  the 
extent  of  allowing  a  bill  of  three  dollars  for 
repairing  desks,  only  after  an  exhaustive 
struggle,  and  of  delaying  for  four  months  fill¬ 
ing  orders  for  blanks,  of  which  millions  were 
used  in  a  year.  The  Christian  Union  thus  sets 
it  out : 

“  We  give  on  another  page  an  inside  view  of  the 
pathetic  experience  of  a  man  in  the  employ  of  the 
United- States  Government,  whose  only  fault  was 
his  fidelity  to  the  people  whom  he  had  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  serve,  and  who  was  obstructed  at  every 
point  of  his  service  because  of  his  loyalty.  He  was 
refused  proper  supplies  ;  was  given  insufficient  and 
imperfect  material  for  his  work ;  was  denied  suffi¬ 
cient  force  for  his  work  ;  was  treated  habitually  as 
a  suspect;  was  compelled  in  frequent  instances  to 
payout  of  his  none  too  large  salary  the  money  which 
was  morally  due  from  the  department.  Finally, 
when  eight  years  of  this  sort  of  treatment— half  of  it 
under  a  republican,  half  of  it  under  a  democratic 
administration— had  brought  him  to  a  sick  bed  that 
proved  his  bed  of  death,  he  was  dropped  from  the 
service  altogether  to  make  room  for  a  professional 
politician,  whose  appeal  for  means  to  do  the  postal 
work  of  a  great  city  will  probably  not  fall  on  ears  as 
inattentive.  And  Mr.  Pearson’s  whole  fault  was,  we 
repeat,  that  he  would  devote  his  energies  and  those 
of  his  subordinates  to  the  service  of  the  public  in  the 
department  which  had  been  intrusted  to  him,  and 
would  not  allow  either  his  own  or  their  energies  to  be 
diverted  from  that  service  to  building  up  a  political 
machine  and  paying  for  political  services  that  either 
had  been  rendered  him  or  were  expected  by  him  in 
the  future.  We  leave  the  story  to  carry  its  own 
moral;  moralizing  on  it  would  be  an  insult  to  the 
intelligence  and  conscience  of  our  readers.” 


44 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


It  was  a  fitting  end  of  this  treatment  that 
Mr.  Pearson  should  be  turned  out  of  his  place, 
without  thanks,  or  gr&titude,  or  appreciation 
from  his  superiors.  Mr.  Van  Cott  is  put  into 
his  place  at  the  dictation  of  Platt,  and  in¬ 
stantly  the  energies  of  the  administration  are 
quickened.  A  commission  is  sent  to  look 
through  Postmaster  Van  Cott’s  office  and  see 
what  he  needs,  and  its  report  is  made.  There 
is  no  complaint  now  of  lack  of  appropriations, 
but,  at  once,  Postmaster-General  Wanamaker 
allows  an  additional  $78,000,  and  directs  the 
employment  of  102  new  men.  If  these  102 
new  men  and  this  money  had  been  allowed  to 
Mr.  Pearson,  his  men  would  not  have  com¬ 
plained  of  overwork,  the  labor  element  would 
not  have  interfered,  and  President  Harrison 
would  not  have  had  the  excuse  of  refusing  to 
keep  him  because  he  overworked  his  men. 

TYPICAL  OPPOSITION. 

The  Central  Labor  Union  of  Buffalo  was  re¬ 
cently  addressed  by  Mr.  Loomis  and  Mr.  Shep¬ 
ard  of  the  Buffalo  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso¬ 
ciation.  As  is  always  the  case  where  the  de¬ 
mocracy  and  the  practicability  of  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem  are  explained,  great  interest  was  aroused 
and  many  questions  were  asked,  and  the  dis¬ 
cussion  was  carried  into  the  other  labor  organ¬ 
izations  throughout  the  city.  The  equal 
chance  for  all  is  the  principle  which  makes 
the  merit  system  appeal  to  the  judgment  and 
gain  the  approval  of  men  who  compete  in  the 
general  labor  market.  The  only  surprising 
thing  is  that  labor  organizations  do  not  de¬ 
mand  that  the  government  labor  market  shall 
be  taken  out  of  the  field  of  favoritism  and 
“pulls”  and  brought  within  the  general  labor 
field.  A  marked  accompaniment  to  this  in¬ 
terest  in  Buffalo  was  a  long  discussion  in  the 
public  prints,  especially  between  Mr.  Loomis 
and  the  Buffalo  Evening  News.  This  is  the  first 
instance  we  have  seen  of  a  paper  attempting  to 
go  at  length  into  an  argument  against  the  merit 
system;  and  the  attempt  is  a  very  lame  one. 
The  arguments  of  the  News  are  statements 
that  it  is  the  “  Mongolian  system.”  That  it  is 
“  the  un-American,  Chinese  competitive  sys¬ 
tem,”  and  is  the  twin  sister  of  the  “  un-Ameri¬ 
can,  Australian  system  of  balloting.”  That  it 
is  “emasculating  the  civil- service.”  That  the 
interference  “of  non-partisan  nonsense”  with 
the  civil  service  impairs  party  organization. 
That  the  examination  questions  are  not  “prac¬ 
tical.”  That  Mr.  Loomis  is  “  Mandarin  Loo 
Mis,”  and  so  on.  The  facts  to  support  these 
statements  were  entirely  wanting. 

Very  unwillingly,  it  was  obliged  to  yield 
to  the  demand  of  Mr.  Loomis,  and  publish  the 
questions  used  in  the  April  examination  for 
positions  on  the  Buffalo  police  force,  which 
each  applicant  had  had  an  opportunity  to 
study  for  a  week  previous  to  his  examination, 
and  which  were ; 

1.  When  may  a  patrolman  leave  his  post  ?  2.  When 
and  under  what  circumstances  may  a  patrolman  ab¬ 
sent  himself  from  duty?  3.  What  is  a  felony?  4. 
What  is  the  duty  of  a  patrolman  in  regard  to  houses 
of  disorder  and  ill  fame?  5.  Is  petit  larceny  to  be 


regarded  as  a  felony?  6.  When  is  a  patrolman 
empowered  to  arrest  without  a  warrant  ?  7.  To 

whom  may  a  patrolman  communicate  police  infor¬ 
mation  or  information  respecting  orders?  8.  State 
three  different  reasons  for  which  a  patrolman  may  be 
reprimanded  or  dismissed  from  the  force.  9.  What 
is  a  patrolman’s  duty  when  requested  by  an  accuser 
to  arrest  another  person  ?  10.  May  a  patrolman  en¬ 
ter  a  dwelling-house  in  pursuit  of  an  offender,  and, 
if  so,  under  what  conditions? 

To  these  questions  the  News  opposed  the  fol¬ 
lowing  mighty  argument : 

“  It  is  certainly  a  proper  thing  to  instruct  a  patrol¬ 
man  in  regard  to  his  duties,  though  the  more  business¬ 
like  method  would  be  to  do  so  after  he  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed.” 

Apparently  not  satisfied  with  this  argument, 
the  News  goes  on  : 

“  Now  if  Mr.  Loomis  really  wishes  to  put  the  mat¬ 
ter  fairly,  let  him  take  the  examination  papers  for 
places  in  the  federal  department.” 

To  this  Mr.  Loomis  replies  that  he  knows 
of  no  federal  questions  of  the  kind  mentioned 
by  the  News,  and  suggests  that  the  News  pub¬ 
lish  those  upon  which  it  has  based  its  state¬ 
ments.  This  the  News  does  not  do  and  never 
will. 


THE  NEW  INDIAN  COMMISSION¬ 
ER. 

Indian  Commissioner  Morgan’s  talk  has  a 
very  healthy  sound.  He  says : 

“  I  have  never  been  an  active  politician, 
have  never  solicited  or  held  public  office  until 
now.  In  company  with  others  I  asked  for  the 
retention  of  Mr.  Oberly  as  commissioner  of 
Indian  affairs.” 

Having  entered  upon  his  duties  he  proceed¬ 
ed  to  re-appoint  Indian  agents  who  recom¬ 
mended  very  largely  for  his  approval  their 
present  subordinates.  He  says  : 

“  These  approvals  are  made  with  the  distinct 
understanding  (1)  that  the  parties  named  are 
thoroughly  competent  to  fill  the  positions  for 
which  they  are  nominated,  and  that  they  will 
be  zealous  and  faithful  in  the  performance  of 
their  duties  ;  (2)  that  their  tenure  of  office  is 
permanent  so  long  as  they  remain  competent 
and  efficient  ;  and  (3)  that  the  office  reserves 
the  right  to  remove — for  cause  only — any  em¬ 
ploye  upon  sufficient  evidence  of  unfitness 
for  the  position  held.” 

He  has  also  re-issued  a  circular  prepared 
by  Commissioner  Oberly  : 

“  No  superintendent  or  other  school 
employe  shall  be  suspended  by  an  agent  with¬ 
out  authority  first  obtained  from  the  commis¬ 
sioner,  except  when,  in  his  opinion,  the  moral 
welfare  or  the  discipline  of  the  school  im¬ 
peratively  demand  the  immediate  suspension 
of  an  employe,  in  which  case  the  agent  may 
suspend  such  employe  and  select  a  competent 
person  to  temporarily  perform  his  duties. 
Every  such  suspension  must  be  immediately 
reported  by  the  agent  to  the  commissioner, 
with  a  specific  statement  of  his  reasons  for  the 
action.” 

Inquiring  into  the  fitness  of  the  present 
farmers,  he  says : 

It  is  not  the  desire  of  this  office  to  make  any  un¬ 
necessary  clianges  in  the  force  of  farmers,  nor  to  un¬ 
necessarily  disturb  those  wlio  are  competent  and 
faithful.  On  the  other  hand,  the  quality  of  service 
rendered  is  a  paramount  consideration,  and  the  good 
of  the  Indians  must  be  regarded  as  outweighing  any 
personal  interests  in  favor  of  the  farmers. 

He  also  states  that  he  will  appoint  no  per¬ 


son  as  a  teacher  in  the  Indian  schools  who 
would  not  be  able  to  secure  a  similar  position 
in  the  best  white  schools  where  he  resides. 

The  National  League  of  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
form  Associations  will  hold  its  annual  meeting 
in  Philadelphia  October  1st  and  2d.  There  is 
a  prospect  of  a  large  meeting,  larger  than  was 
ever  before  held  by  the  League.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  Indiana  will  have  a  large  repre¬ 
sentation  taken  from  different  sections  of  the 
state. 


Mr.  William  Potts,  secretary  of  the  Na¬ 
tional  League,  has  compiled  the  decisions  and 
opinions  on  the  construction  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  laws  of  the  United  States  and  of  New 
York,  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania.  The 
compilation  is  printed  by  James  B.  Lyon,  of 
Albany,  and  is  valuable  to  students  of  the  sub¬ 
ject  and  to  all  officers  in  any  manner  con¬ 
nected  with  the  administration  of  civil  service 
laws. 


The  Indianapolis  Jourmd  says  “  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  ex-Governor  Warmoth  as  col¬ 
lector  at  New  Orleans  probably  indicates  his 
purpose  to  engage  again  in  active  politics,  and 
that  means  republican  activity  in  Louisiana.” 

If,  as  the  Journal  also  says,  Warmoth  is  very 
wealthy,  why  does  he  need  the  bribe  of  an  of¬ 
fice  to  stimulate  his  flagging  energies? 


Postmaster  Paul  of  Milwaukee  sent  in  his 
resignation,  and  Postmaster-General  Wana¬ 
maker  accepted  it,  after  telling  Paul  that  the 
administration  had  determined  to  remove  him. 
This  is  a  clear  snub  to  republican  Congressman 
Van  Schaick,  who  was  backing  Paul  on  the 
ground  that  to  investigate  this  post-office  with¬ 
out  this  congressman’s  permission  was  an  in¬ 
fringement  of  “  prerogative.” 


Postmaster-General  Wanamaker  says 
that  he  is  tired  to  death  of  receiving  delega¬ 
tions  favoring  this  or  that  man  for  postmaster, 
and  that  he  is  anxious  to  get  down  to  real 
business  and  improve  the  service.  In  about 
six  months  he  has  changed  about  one-fourth 
of  the  employes  under  him.  At  this  rate  he 
will  be  ready  for  real  business  in  about  a  year 
and  a  half.  His  real  business  for  his  remain¬ 
ing  two  years  will  then  consist  in  trying  to 
keep  his  new  hands  as  far  as  possible  from 
wrecking  the  public  business. 


— The  attorney -general  has  decided  that 
when  three  names  are  certified  to  an  appoint¬ 
ing  officer,  and  one  is  a  soldier,  the  soldier 
must  be  appointed,  other  things  being  equal. 
But  he  also  decided  that  the  appointing  officer 
may  still  judge  of  the  relative  capacity  and 
personal  fitness  of^  the  soldier.  Ordinarily  a 
person  is  entitled  to  but  three  certifications, 
but  the  President  has  just  approved  a  rule  that 
each  name  on  the  eligible  list  shall  be  certi¬ 
fied  three  times  exclusive  of  certifications  with 
the  names  of  soldiers  entitled  to  a  preference. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


45 


We  have  a  large  class  of  political  leaders, 
great  and  small,  in  Indiana  who,  under  the 
name  of  rotation  in  office,  believe  in  seizing 
every  place  of  public  employment  into  which 
they  can  work  a  partisan,  exactly  as  the  bar¬ 
barians  seized  the  lands  of  the  Romans  and 
the  Gauls.  These  leaders  never  tire  of  eulogiz¬ 
ing  Thomas  Jefferson.  lie  lived  a  good  while 
ago,  and  they  evidently  believe  him  a  safe 
man  to  talk  about.  Their  attention  is  ear¬ 
nestly  called  to  an  extract  in  another  column 
from  Jefferson’s  letter  to  Madison  regarding 
the  four-year-law,  which  he  characterizes  as 
“the  late  mischievous  law,  vacating  every 
four  years  nearly  all  the  executive  offices  of 
the  government.” 

Senator  Blair,  of  New  Hampshire,  says: 

“  Civil  service  reform,  forsooth  !  It  is  a  humbug. 
Has  the  government  business  been  advanced  since 
the  application  of  this  principle  for  the  filling  of 
offices?  Have  we  heard  of  any  great  improvements 
which  have  tiiken  place  in  the  direction  of  public 
affairs  since  this  competitive  system  was  inau¬ 
gurated?  I  defy  any  one  to  show  me  one  single 
instance  where  benefit  has  resulted.  The  law  should 
be  blotted  from  the  statute  books.” 

This  is  a  fair  instance  of  the  argument  by 
which  the  opponents  of  the  merit  system  think 
they  demolish  it.  Senator  Blair  had  better 
examine  the  history  of  the  New  York  post- 
office  for  the  last  twelve  years,  or  the  bureau 
of  engraving  and  printing  while  under  E.  O. 
Graves,  or  the  Indianapolis  post-office  while 
Aquilla  Jones  was  surreptitiously  following 
the  system  dear  to  the  Blairs. 

L.  D.  Le  Van  was  appointed  postmaster 
at  Wilson,  New  York.  It  then  appeared  that 
he  had  been  convicted  of  keeping  a  disorderly 
house,  and  he  accordingly  was  removed.  It 
turns  out  that  the  only  foundation  for  the 
charge  was  card-playing  in  his  shop  when  he 
was  not  present,  and  that  the  charge  was 
brought  in  spite  by  one  of  the  players.  It  is 
also  a  fact  that  Mr.  Le  Van  is  a  man  of  good 
standing  in  Wilson,  and  was  a  creditable  ap¬ 
pointment.  It  also  turns  out  that  this  very 
mean  trick  was  played  upon  him  by  republi¬ 
cans  of  the  Crowley  faction,  who  wanted  of¬ 
fices  for  themselves,  and  who  hunted  up  the 
court  records  and  carried  the  story  to  Wash¬ 
ington  as  a  genuine  proof  of  Mr.  Le  Van’s  real 
character.  This  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the 
anti-Chinese  system,  and  we  commend  it  to 
the  clergymen  who  will  discuss  the  spoils 
system  on  Thanksgiving  Day. 

The  Boston  Herald  says  that  the  result  of 
President  Harrison’s  management  of  the  civil 
service  “  is  to  be  the  perpetuation  of  the  spoils 
system.  ♦  *  *  President  Harrison  has  set¬ 

tled  it.  He  has  fixed  his  own  policy  to  be 
that  of  proscription  of  all  his  opponents  in 
office.  He  has  made  it  impossible  for  his  op¬ 
ponents  to  have  a  policy  more  liberal  on  their 
side.” 

It  is  well  that  this  hedging  for  the  democrats 
is  begun  early.  They  will  have  plenty  of  time 
to  ponder  the  matter.  They  will  have  to  de¬ 
cide  whether  they  can  get  back  into  office 


with  the  understanding  that  they  are  to  per¬ 
petuate  the  spoils  system.  An  affirmative  de¬ 
cision  will  indicate  a  belief  that  the  people 
will  ratify  the  displacement  of  over  140,000 
office-holders  by  new  hands  every  four  years 
at  the  dictation  of  men  like  Quay,  Gorman,  Ma- 
hone.  Vest,  Hiscock,  Voorhees,  Platt  and  so 
on. 

WANTON  REMOVALS. 

■»  _ 

The  danger,  then,  consists  merely  in  this:  The 
President  can  displace  from  office  a  man  whose 
merits  require  that  he  should  be  continued  in  it- 
What  will  be  the  motives  which  the  President  can 
feel  for  such  abuse  of  his  power,  and  the  restraints 
that  operate  to  prevent  it?  In  the  first  place,  he 
will  be  impeachable  by  this  house,  before  the  senate, 
for  such  an  act  of  maladministration ;  for  I  contend 
that  the  wanton  removal  of  meritorious  officers  would 
subject  him  to  impeachment  and  removal  from  his  own 
high  trust.  «  o  Can  we  suppose  a  President, 
elected  for  four  years  only,  dependent  upon  the  pop¬ 
ular  voice,  impeachable  by  the  legislature,  little,  if 
at  all,  distinguished  for  wealth,  personal  talents,  or 
influence  from  the  head  of  the  department  himself ; 
I  say,  will  he  bid  defiance  to  all  these  considerations, 
and  wantonly  dismiss  a  meritorious  and  virtuous 
officer?  Such  an  abuse  of  power  exceeds  my  conception. 
—Congressman  James  Madison,  June,  1789. 

— August  17,  the  President  appointed  thir¬ 
ty-nine  postmasters.  One  was  at  the  end  of  a 
term,  twenty-five  were  upon  removal,  and 
thirteen  upon  resignation,  voluntary  or  forced. 

— In  the  first  five  months  of  his  term  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  has  made  13,000  changes  in 
fourth-class  postmasters,  against  4,000  made 
by  Cleveland  in  the  corresponding  time.  Har¬ 
rison  has  also  made  1,059  presidential  appoint¬ 
ments  to  President  Cleveland’s  854. 

— Five  hundred  and  sixty-three  new  post¬ 
masters  have  been  appointed  in  Iowa  since 
Clarkson  was  made  assistant  postmaster  gen¬ 
eral,  and  he  publishes  their  names  in  his 
paper,  the  Des  Moines  Register.  There  can  be 
no  complaint  of  the  shortness  of  this  measure 
of  his  contempt  of  those  who  expected  his 
party  promises  to  be  kept. 

— H.  C.  Smith,  a  colored  lawyer,  by  competi¬ 
tion  secured  a  place  on  the  eligible  list  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  July  22,  1884,  was  ap¬ 
pointed  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  sixth  auditor 
of  the  treasury.  He  was  forced  to  resign  July 
14,  this  year,  by  Auditor  Coulter,  the  man 
who  said  that  the  horn-blowers  should  have 
the  places.  In  answer  to  Smith,  Coulter  said  : 
“  We  want  your  place.  You  see  the  old  sol¬ 
diers  are  clamoring  for  places,  and  we  can’t 
put  them  off  any  longer.” 

— Postmaster  James  A.  McKenna,  of  Long 
Island  City  (N.  Y.),  has  been  removed  after 
having  been  in  office  twenty-eight  months.  A 
petition  signed  by  221  republicans  and  a  large 
number  of  others  was  presented  for  his  reten¬ 
tion,  and  one  signed  by  410  republicans  and 
all  the  clergy  of  the  city  was  ready  for  pre¬ 
sentation.  The  board  of  aldermen  passed  a 
resolution  to  the  same  effect,  and  the  banks 
and  business  men  generally  were  opposed  to 
his  removal.  Pie  had  been  an  unusually  good 
officer,  as  the  facts  connected  with  his  office 
show.  No  cause  for  removal  was  assigned ; 
an  inexperienced  politician  has  taken  his 
place. 

— President  Harrison’s  postmaster,  Godfrey, 


at  New  Albany,  discharged  all  of  the  letter 
carriers  with  these  words  : 

“Gentlemen,  there  are  no  charges  against 
your  official  conduct.  You  have  done  your 
work  well,  performed  to  my  entire  satisfaction 
every  duty  required.  You  are  gentlemen,  and 
I  wish  you  well  and  hope  you  will  have  suc¬ 
cess  in  life  ;  but  you  know,  boys,you  are  dem¬ 
ocrats.” 

To  this  the  Indianapolis  News  says: 

“The  New  Albany  post  office  is  not  under 
the  civil  service  law,  and  hence  no  law  was 
violated  by  this  barbarous  deed,  but  the  in¬ 
stincts  of  fair  play,  the  promptings  of  common 
sense,  considerations  for  the  public  service, 
and  the  whole  spreading  spirit  of  the  time  are 
affronted  by  such  a  ruthless  act.  It  is  a  plea 
for  the  extension  of  the  civil  service  such  as 
President  Harrison  said  he  would  favor.” 


THE  AMERICAN-DEMOCRATIC  AN¬ 
TI- CHINESE- SYSTEM. 

— There  are  49  applicants  for  the  collector- 
ship  of  customs  at  El  Paso,  Texas. 

— Alderman  Gove,  of  Boston,  says:  “A  can¬ 
didate’s  qualifications  should  be  those  stated 
by  Zach  Chandler — first,  is  he  competent  for 
the  place?  and.  second,  is  he  a  d — d  good  re¬ 
publican  ?  ” 

— Some  fifty  republican  leaders  selected 
Higgins  out  of  seventeen  candidates  for  post¬ 
master  at  Fort  Wayne  and  by  resolution  in¬ 
formed  the  President.  Then  some  seventy  old 
soldiers  met  and  nominated  Dougall.  Then 
some  fifty  old  soldiers  met  and  indorsed  Hig¬ 
gins.  And  thus  the  “  good  of  the  service  ”  is 
being  wrought  out. 

— The  American  anti-Chinese  system  in 
Brooklyn  :  It  was  the  duty  of  Politician  But¬ 
ler  to  visit  the  navy  yard,  find  out  the  vacan¬ 
cies  that  may  be  filled,  report  them  to  chair¬ 
man  Birkett  of  the  republican  general  com¬ 
mittee,  who  then  made  the  appointments  by 
selecting  persons  from  the  various  ward  asso¬ 
ciations.  Politician  Watkins  carried  the  list 
of  the  elect,  but,  wishing  to  get  in  a  caulker 
from  his  own  ward,  he  asked  Butler  not  to  tell 
Birkett  of  a  vacancy.  Butler  demurred,  and 
they  came  to  blows,  but  without  decisive  re¬ 
sult. 

— In  1884,  Blaine  carried  Michigan  by  3,308, 
the  republicans  electing  five  congressmen  and 
the  democrats  six.  The  democrats  distributed 
spoils  until  1886,  and  the  republicans  then 
carried  the  state  by  7,432,  electing  six  con¬ 
gressmen  and  the  democrats  five.  Don  Dick¬ 
inson  then  gave  the  democrats  the  balance  of 
the  federal  spoils  and,  in  1888,  the  republicans 
carried  the  state  by  22,918,  electing  nine  con¬ 
gressmen  to  the  democrats  two. 

— Hugh  Cullom  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  at  two  dollars  a  day,  and, 
as  he  stated  to  his  grand  army  post,  was  twice 
“assessed”  and  paid,  but  the  third  assessment 
he  refused  to  pay,  and  was  discharged.  He 
was  unable  to  get  work  elsewhere,  and  com¬ 
mitted  suicide.  The  New  York  Times  justly 
says  that  under  the  merit  system  of  hiring 
laborers  in  force  in  Massachu-setts,  Cullom 
would  not  have  been  discharged,  and  the  city 
of  New  York  would  not  have  been  the  agent 
of  driving  him  to  kill  himself. 

— Supervisor  George  Green  of  the  twenty- 
second  ward,  Brooklyn,  is  insane.  The  reason 
given  is  that  “during  the  last  six  months  he 


4G 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


has  had  his  first  experience  at  providing  places 
for  the  hundreds  of  men  in  his  ward  who 
placed  him  in  public  life.  Since  Harrison 
was  elected  Mr.  Green  has  had  no  rest.  Day 
and  night  the  place-hunters  have  flocked  to 
his  office  or  his  house,  importuning  him  for 
his  assistance.  He  was  the  member  of  the  ex¬ 
ecutive  committee  of  the  republican  general 
committee  from  his  ward,  and  so  had  to  attend 
meetings  almost  nightly.  A  month  ago  he 
broke  down.  It  was  reported  that  he  had  gone 
away,  but  he  really  was  kept  in  close  confine¬ 
ment  at  his  home.  His  physicians  held  a  con¬ 
sultation  yesterday  and  decided  that  he  must 
go  away  for  six  months  or  he  will  become  vio¬ 
lently  insane.” 

Nevertheless  the  twenty-second  ward  asso¬ 
ciation  does  not  propose  to  lose  its  grip.  It 
“met  on  Thursday  night,  and  after  considering 
Mr.  Green’s  condition,  appointed  John  Sutton, 
Henry  Bristow,  and  Major  Thomas  Bell  a  com¬ 
mittee  to  look  out  for  the  interests  of  the  ward 
in  patronage  matters  until  Mr.  Green’s  succes¬ 
sor  can  be  elected.” 

— Mr.  William  Barnes  of  the  Albany  Journal 
came  over  to  see  the  President  before  he  left 
here  for  Deer  Park,  this  morning.  Mr.  Barnes 
was  anxious  to  settle  the  muddle  which  has 
arisen  in  the  division  of  federal  patronage  for 
Albany.  He  has  succeeded  in  settling  the 
post-office  contest,  and  it  is  announced  to-night 
that  Col.  Werner  has  been  agreed  upon  as 
postmaster,  and  that  his  appointment  will  be 
made  early  next  week.  Up  to  the  present  time 
the  Barnes  and  Draper  factions  have  been  un¬ 
able  to  reach  an  agreement  in  the  matter  of 
the  surveyorship  for  the  Albany  district.  Mr. 
Draper  is  backing  for  the  place  his  law  part¬ 
ner,  Alden  Chester,  while  Mr.  Barnes  desires 
to  secure  the  position  for  John  M.  Bailey,  ex¬ 
member  of  congress,  ex-collector  of  internal 
revenue,  and  ex  consul.  The  Draper  people 
think  that  Bailey  has  enough  “exes”  before 
his  name,  and  they  say  that  it  is  time  that 
some  other  man  had  a  chance  at  the  patronage 
trough.  It  is  thought  that  Chester  stands  the 
better  chance  for  appointment.  Mr.  Clark¬ 
son  is  anxious  to  get  the  Syracuse  post- 
-office  out  of  the  way,  but  he  has  not  been 
able  to  settle  the  matter  yet.  The  present  in¬ 
cumbent  is  Editor  Northrop  of  the  Syracuse 
Courier.  He  has  a  warm  personal  friend  in 
the  person  of  Congressman  Belden,  and  as  his 
term  does  not  expire  for  more  than  a  year  Mr. 
Belden  does  not  seem  to  be  in  a  hurry  to  rec¬ 
ommend  his  successor.  Senator  Hiscock  wants 
Mr.  Carroll  E.  Smith  of  the  J.wr)iai  appointed, 
and  he  wants  the  change  made  at  once.  Mr. 
Clarkson  would  like  to  oblige  the  senator,  but 
as  the  republican  representative  is  generally 
recognised  where  there  is  one,  he  finds  it  diffi¬ 
cult  to  furnish  a  reason  for  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Smith  without  Mr.  Belden’s  recom¬ 
mendation.  Mr.  Smith  will  be  appointed 
eventually,  in  all  probability,  but  it  is  not 
probable  that  Senator  Hiscock  will  be  able  to 
bring  about  the  change  just  yet. — Dispatch  to 
New  York  IHines,  Aug.  IS. 

— Nathaniel  Hawthorne  wrote  to  a  friend  as 
follows : 

Sai.em,  March  5,  1849. 

I  am  informed  that  there  is  to  be  a  strong  effort 
among  the  politicians  here  to  remove  me  from  office, 
and  that  my  successor  is  already  marked  out.  I  do 
not  think  that  this  ought  to  be  done  ;  for  I  was  not 
appointed  to  office  as  a  reward  for  political  services, 
nor  have  I  acted  as  a  politician  since.  A  large  por- 
tion  of  the  local  democratic  party  look  coldly  on  me, 
for  not  having  used  the  influence  of  my  position  to 
obtain  the  removal  of  whigs— which  I  might  have 
done,  but  which  I  in  no  case  did.  Neither  was  my 
appointment  made  at  the  expense  of  a  whig  ;  for  my 


predecessor  was  appointed  by  Tyler  in  his  latter  days, 
and  called  himself  a  democrat.  Nor  can  any  charge 
of  inattention  to  duty,  or  other  official  misconduct, 
he  brought  against  me ;  or,  if  so,  I  could  easily  re¬ 
fute  it.  There  is,  therefore,  no  ground  for  disturbing 
me,  except  on  the  most  truculent  party  system.  All 
this,  however,  will  be  of  little  avail  with  the  slang- 
whangers— the  vote  disturbers— the  Jack  Cades  who 
assume  to  decide  upon  these  matters,  after  a  political 
triumph. 

Salem,  June  8, 1849. 

I  am  turned  out  of  oflice  ! 

There  is  no  use  in  lamentation.  It  now  remains  to 
consider  what  I  shall  do  next.  The  emoluments  of 
the  office  have  been  so  moderate  that  I  have  not 
been  able  to  do  anything  more  than  support  my 
family,  and  pay  some  few  debts  that  I  have  con¬ 
tracted.  If  you  could  do  anything  in  the  way  of  pro¬ 
curing  me  some  stated  literary  employment,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  a  newspaper,  or  as  corrector  of  the  press 
to  some  printing  establishment,  etc.,  it  could  not 
come  at  a  better  time.  Perhaps  Epes  Sargent,  who  is 
a  friend  of  mine,  would  know  of  something.  I  shall 
not  stand  upon  my  dignity ;  that  must  fake  care  of 
itself.  Perhaps  there  may  be  some  subordinate  oflice 
connected  with  the  Boston  Athenseum.  Do  not  think 
anything  too  humble  to  be  mentioned  to  me. 


ANSWERING  A  FOOL  ACCORDING 
TO  HIS  FOLLY. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  says  in  the  New  York 
Herald : 

“  The  other  day  I  was  passing  by  one  of 
the  large  Washington  hotels  and  overheard  a 
prominent  politician,  a  member  of  congre.ss, 
declaiming  in  stentorian  tones  against  the 
civil  service  law  and  winding  up  the  speech 
with  the  frantic  interrogation  to  his  hearers 
as  to  what  they  thought  of  asking  a  letter 
carrier  how  many  rings  there  were  to  Saturn. 

I  do  not  believe  in  betting  and  realize  thor¬ 
oughly  that  a  bet  is  the  fool’s  argument.  Nev¬ 
ertheless,  there  are  occasions  when  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  ‘answer  a  fool  according  to  his  folly,’ 
and  I  deemed  this  to  be  one  of  them.  I  could 
not  resist  speaking  and  saying  that  I  had  un¬ 
avoidably  overheard  what  was  being  said  and 
that  I  was  willing  to  w'agerflOO  to  $10  at  that 
moment  that  neither  the  speaker  nor  any  one 
else  could  give  an  instance  where  a  letter  car¬ 
rier  had  been  asked  such  a  question  as  that 
about  the  rings  of  Saturn.  At  first  the  orator 
vociferously  insisted  that  his  statement  was 
perfectly  true,  though  he  declined  to  back  it 
up  by  betting,  even  when  the  odds  were  raised 
to  tv/enty  to  one.  Finally  he  stated  that  he 
had  said  what  he  did  on  the  authority  of  a 
friend  whom  he  knew  was  well  informed,  and 
then  further  admitted  that  it  was  not  a  letter 
carrier,  perhaps,  after  all. 

“  I  had  almost  precisely  the  same  experience 
when  I  was  last  in  Indianapolis,  where  one 
rather  loud-mouthed  gentleman  insisted  that 
the  candidates  at  the  recent  examination  for 
the  railway  mail  service  had  been  asked  the 
distance  from  the  earth  to  Mars.  He  was  only 
reduced  to  silence  by  the  same  final  argument 
of  a  bet  at  any  odds  he  chose  to  make.  These 
two  instances  are  simply  examples  of  the  reck¬ 
less  and  persistent  untruths  that  are  contin¬ 
ually  uttered  about  the  civil  service  examin¬ 
ations.” 


ANTI-AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

— “It  [the  four  years  tenure]  saps  the  con¬ 
stitutional  and  salutary  functions  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  and  introduces  a  principle  of  intrigue 
and  corruption  which  will  soon  leaven  the 
mass  not  only  of  senators,  but  of  citizens.  It 
is  more  baneful  than  the  attempt,  which  failed 
in  the  beginning  of  the  government,  to  make 
all  officers  irremovable  but  with  the  consent  of 
the  senate.  This  places,  every  four  years,  all 
appointments  under  their  power,  and  even 
obliges  them  to  act  on  any  one  nomination. 
It  will  keep  in  constant  excitement  all  the 
hungry  cormorants  of  office ;  render  them,  as  well 
as  those  in  place,  sycophants  to  their  senators;  en¬ 
gage  these  in  eternal  intrigue  to  turn  out  one  and 
put  in  another,  in  cabals  to  swap  work,  and  make  of 
them  (i.  e.,  the  senators)  what  all  executive  diree- 
tories  become,  mere  sinks  of  corruption  and  faction.^' 
— Thomas  Jefferson  to  Janus  Madison. 

— “  My  brief  experience  at  Washington  has 
led  me  often  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an  em¬ 
phasis  I  do  not  often  use,  that  I  might  be  for¬ 
ever  relieved  of  any  connection  with  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  public  patronage.  I  covet  for 
myself  the  free  and  unpurchased  support  of  my 
fellow-citizens,  and  long  to  be  able  to  give  my 
time  and  energy  solely  to  those  public  affairs 
that  legitimately  relate  to  the  honorable  trusts  which 
you  have  committed  to  me.” — Senator  Benjamin 
Harrison. 

— The  public  will  never  be  made  to  believe 
that  the  appointment  of  a  relative  is  made  on 
the  ground  of  merit  alone,  uninfluenced  by 
family  views  ;  nor  can  they  ever  see  with  ap¬ 
probation  offices,  the  disposal  of  which  they 
entrust  to  their  presidents  for  public  pur¬ 
poses,  divided  out  as  family  property. — 
Thomas  Jefferson. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM, 

“  Large  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were  allotted  by 
the  conquering  generals  to  the  superior  officers  of 
the  army,  and  by  them  dealt  out  again  in  smaller 
parcels  or  allotments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most 
deserving  soldiers.  *  The  condition  of  holding 
the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the  possessor  should 
do  service  faithfully,  both  at  home  and  in  the  wars, 
to  him  by  whom  they  were  given,”  and,  on  breach 
of  this  condition,  “  by  not  performing  the  stipulated 
service,  or  by  deserting  his  lord  in  battle,”  the  lands 
reverted  to  the  lord.  The  vassal,  upon  investiture, 
took  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition 
did  homage, ‘‘ openly  and  humbly  kneeling,  being 
ungirt,  uncovered  and  holding  np  his  hands,  both 
together,  between  those  of  his  lord,  who  sate  before 
him,  and  there  professing  that  he  did  become  his 
MAN  from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
earthly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss  from  his 
lord.”  Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  service 
was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve  under  the  lord 
in  war.  Base  service  was  to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to 
make  his  hedge  oa  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

— Congressman  Posey,  of  the  first  Indiana 
district,  has  appointed  Stokes  Bennett  post¬ 
master  at  Evansville.  Bennett  was  chairman 
of  the  republican  county  committee. 

— E.  J.  Marsh,  editor  of  the  Portland  Com¬ 
mercial,  has  been  made  postmaster  at  Portland, 
Ind.,  in  place  of  Lourie,  removed. 

— William  Monaghan,  chairman  of  the  re¬ 
publican  state  committee  of  Ohio,  has  been 
appointed  consul  to  Chatham,  Ontario. 

— Editor  Goss,  of  the  Barnstable  Patriot, 
has  been  made  collector  of  that  port. 

— Editor  John  Mahen,  of  the  Muscatine 
Journal,  has  been  made  postmaster  at  that 
place. 

— Delegate  Rentfro,  a  Harrison  man  at  the 
last  national  convention,  has  been  appointed 
collector  of  customs  at  Galveston. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


47 


— Charles  Hedges  has  been  appointed  chief 
of  the  postal  division  of  the  sixth  auditor’s 
office.  Salary  $2,000  a  year.  He  was  the  agent 
of  the  Associated  Press  at  Indianapolis  during 
the  campaign  of  1888,  and  is  charged,  on  good 
authority,  with  having  used  his  position  un¬ 
fairly  to  help  the  republicans. 

— Marion  Strong,  a  negro  who  can  neither 
read  nor  write,  has  been  appointed  postmaster 
at  Delmar,  Alabama. 

■ — It  is  said  that  Congressman  Gest  has  ap¬ 
pointed  such  a  postmaster  at  Plymouth,  Ill., 
that  it  “has  already  caused  a  revolt  of  150 
staunch  republicans.” 

— Congressman  Sawyer  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  he  had  been  offered  $1,000  for  his 
influence  in  behalf  of  a  candidate  for  the 
Batavia  (N.  Y.)  post  office. 

— Sixth  -  Auditor  Coulter,  of  Ohio,  is  re¬ 
ported  by  the  Dayton  Journal  (rep.)  as  saying  : 

“I  have  a  list  of  all  the  democrats  iti  my  offlcCrand 
every  one  of  them  must  go  before  the  Ohio  election 
comes  off,  civil  service  or  no  civil  service.” 

— John  R.  Lynch,  coloretl,  fourth  auditor  of 
the  treasury,  has  been  to  Mississippi  to  preside 
over  a  political  meeting,  and  W.  B.  Gibb,  the 
new  postmaster  of  Jackson,  acted  as  secretary 
of  it. 

— The  President  wanted  to  appoint  W.  P. 
Nixon,  editor  of  the  Ocean,  collector  of 

customs  at  Chicago,  but,  to  his  regret,  he  felt 
that  he  could  not  ignore  the  congressional 
recommendations  of  State  Senator  Campbell. 

— Congressman  Cheadle,  of  Indiana,  ap- 
'pointed  Frybarger  postmaster  at  Noblesville. 
The  latter  did  not  live  in  Noblesville,  and 
Cheadle’s  henchmen  in  that  place  rebelled. 
He,  therefore,  set  aside  Frybarger  and  has  ap¬ 
pointed  Nathan  Royer. 

— Congressman  Delano,  of  New  York,  has 
been  hard  at  work  changing  post  offices.  He 
says :  “  There  are  190  fourth-class  post-offices 
in  my  district,  and  140  of  them  are  now  run  by 
republicans.  The  others  pay  so  little  that  there 
is  no  demand  for  a  change.  I  am  pretty  well 
satisfied  with  the  administration.” 

— The  postoffice  department  was  to-day  noti- 
ified  of  the  nomination  by  Congressman  Van 
Schaick  of  W.  A.  Nowell  to  be  postmaster  at 
Wilwaukee,  vice  Paul,  resigned.  Owing  to 
the  absence  from  the  city  of  President  Harrison 
and  Postmaster-General  Wanamaker  no  action 
will  be  taken  in  the  case  for  several  days. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt,  however,  of 
Mr.  Nowell’s  appointment. —  Washington  Dis¬ 
patch,  August  6. 

— Judge  Settle,  of  North  Carolina,  has  a 
twejity-seven  thousand  dollar  “pull,”  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Thomas  Settle,  son  of  Judge  Settle,  solicitor ;  Tyro 
Glenn,  brother-in-law  of  Judge  Settle,  United  States 
marshal ;  Douglas  Settle,  son  of  Judge  Settle,  cadet 
at  West  Point ;  B.  C.  Sharpe,  son-in  law  of  Judge  Set¬ 
tle,  general  storekeeper;  Oliver  H.  Docker,  brother- 
in-law  of  Judge  Settle,  consul  general  at  Kio  de 
Janeiro ;  Mrs.  Hellen,  sister-in-law  of  Judge  Settle, 
stamp  clerk  at  Winston. 

—Congressman  Hall  (Rep.)  of  Minnesota 
denounces  the  civil  service  law  as  “  un-Ameri¬ 
can,”  and  says  “  to  the  victor  belong  the 
spoils,”  and  “  the  sooner  we  get  rid  of  the  civil 
service  sham  the  better  for  all  concerned,  and 
any  proposition  looking  to  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  such  an  end  will  receive  my  hearty 
support.” 


— “  I  have  been  treated  with  the  utmost 
courtesy  by  Mr.  Harrison  and  the  heads  of  the 
departments.  In  almost  every  instance  my  re¬ 
quests  have  been  complied  with,  and  I  have 
secured  more  patronage  for  my  district  than 
it  ever  possessed  before.  Not  only  is  this  the 
case  in  my  own  district,  but  in  other  districts, 
not  represented  by  republicans,  my  advice  in 
the  matter  of  appointments  has  been  followed 
almost  without  exception.  What  do  I  think 
of  the  civil  service  law  ?  At  the  risk  of  being 
called  a  southern  republican  spoilsman  I  con¬ 
sider  it  a  transparent  fraud.  Young  men  in 
my  district— and  it  is  a  district  prolific  in 
bright  and  brainy  young  fellows — have  to 
travel  over  two  hundred  miles  to  attend  a  civil 
service  examination.  Several  have  been  on 
the  so  called  eligible  list  for  several  years,  and 
will  be  on  it  I  suppose  till  the  ‘  last  syllable  of 
recorded  time  ’  without  holding  office.  I  con¬ 
sider  the  heads  of  departments  just  as  com¬ 
petent  to  select  their  subordinates  as  a  civil 
service  mugwumpian  commission.  I  shall  vote 
for  an  absolute  and  unconditional  repeal  of 
the  law.” — Congressman  Ewart,  of  North  Car¬ 
olina. 

— Congressman  Henderson,  of  Illinois,  re¬ 
moved  the  postmaster  at  Woodhull  and  put 
his  man  into  the  place.  The  Grand  Army 
post  of  that  town  thus  recognizes  and  de¬ 
nounces  the  power  of  this  office  baron  : 

“Whereas,  Congressman  Thos.  J.  Henderson,  of 
the  Seventh  Illinois  District,  has  rejected  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  a  worthy  and  competent  soldier  for  the  po¬ 
sition  of  postmaster  at  Woodhull,  Ill.,  who  had  the 
indorsement  of  the  members  of  this  post  and  other 
ex-soldiers  of  the  community,  *  and  has 

caused  the  appointment  of  a  man  who  was  neither  a 
soldier  nor  the  son  of  a  soldier,  and  no  more  deserving 
than  many  other  eqrta’ly  good  and  capable  reptiblicans  of 
this  community.  *■'  *  * 

“  Whereas,  To'make  room  for  this  civilian,  he  has 
caused  the  removal  from  office  of  Comrade  J.  A.  Wid- 
ney  of  this  post,  who  has  been  an  efficient  postmas¬ 
ter,  and  who,  in  the  administration  of  the  office,  has 
given  general  satisfaction,  etc. 

“  Resolved,  That  in  the  name  of  200  patrons  of  the 
Woodhull  postoffice,  including  the  soldiers,  we  do 
most  earnestly,  not  as  soldiers  only,  but  as  citizens, 
protest  against  such  action  of  our  congressman, which 
seems  to  us  to  be  an  unjust  discrimination  in  favor 
of  a  civilian.” 

— The  distractions  caused  iu  Pennsylvania 
by  the  distribution  of  the  federal  “spoils,” — 
or  rather  the  effort  to  distribute  them — are 
noticed  in  many  direction.  The  Philadelphia 
and  Allegheny  quarrels  have  been  scarcely 
more  earnest  than  those  in  several  other  coun¬ 
ties.  Thus,  in  Berks  there  is  a  general  revolt 
against  the  dictation  of  a  Mr..  High,  who  pro¬ 
fesses  to  represent  the  President’s  authority  in 
that  bailiwick;  and  in  Lehigh  county  a  strong 
protest  has  been  made  against  two  individuals 
who  claim  the  right  to  say  who  shall  and  who 
shall  not  be  appointed.  In  Lancaster  county 
the  naming  of  a  collector  of  internal  revenue  is 
“  accorded”  to  Senator  Cameron,  and  he  would 
like  to  get  the  job  off  his  hands,  but  the  dis¬ 
putes  among  his  friends  over  a  half-dozen  as¬ 
pirants  are  so  vehement  that  he  hesitates  to 
designate  any  one.  At  Reading,  a  postmaster 
is  to  be  named,  in  order  to  turn  a  democrat 
out,  but  the  fight  is  so  bitter  that  no  decision 
has  yet  been  reached,  and  factioffa!  feeling  is 
rampant.  And  there  are  a  dozen  or  so  quar¬ 
rels  over  smaller  post-offices  in  the  close  and 
doubtful  seventh  congressional  district,  where 
the  republican  member-elect  finds  the  “  pat¬ 
ronage”  a  wearing  and  distracting  burden, 
and  may  well  doubt  whether  its  disposal  has 
not  made  him  more  enemies  than  friends. 

Similar  instances  abound  from  one  end  of 
the  state  to  the  other.  They  illustrate  how 
much  injury  was  done  the  republican  cause, 


in  Pennsylvania,  when  the  President  took  the 
amazing  step  of  delivering  it  over  to  the  con¬ 
trol  and  bestowal  of  Mr.  Quay.  That  step 
signified  a  low  level  of  political  action,  and  it 
is  on  a  low  level  indeed  that  federal  affairs  in 
Pennsylvania  now  stand. —  The  American,  Au¬ 
gust  n. 

— About  the  first  of  the  month  Congressman 
Brower,  a  republican  of  North  Carolina,  gave 
out  that  he  would  be  a  candidate  for  speaker 
of  the  house,  and  that  he  would  be  supported 
by  some  fellow-members  from  the  south.  This 
would  prevent  the  republicans  from  organiz¬ 
ing  the  house,  and  was  a  startling  proposal. 
Brower  gravely  asserted  that  this  duty  was 
forced  upon  him  by  the  fear  that  otherwise  the 
internal  revenue  laws  would  not  be  repealed. 
Through  his  friends,  however,  he  adroitly  lets 
the  real  reason  be  known,  as  follows  : 

“Mr.  Brower  makes  no  concealment  of  the  fact  that 
his  ground  of  complaint  against  the  administration 
is  that  he  has  been  ignored  in  the  distribution  of 
federal  patronage  in  his  state.  There  are  two  internal 
revenue  districts  in  North  Carolina,  parts  of  which 
are  included  in  his  congressional  district.  He  had 
candidates  for  both  of  these  offices.  All  of  his  recom¬ 
mendations  to  the  collectors  themselves  were  disre¬ 
garded,  and  now  he  says  that  the  deputies  appointed 
by  the  new  collectors  are  not  only  opposed  to  him, 
but  arc  endeavoring  to  organize  a  movement  in  his 
congressional  district  to  defeat  his  renomination. 
They  are,  it  appears,  working  for  another  federal  ap¬ 
pointee  of  the  Harrison  administration.” 

Now  comes  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  holding  in  his  hand  142,000  offices,  the 
duties  of  which  are  paid  for  by  the  people^ 
and  uses  some  of  them  with  the  following  ef¬ 
fect,  shown  by  this  from  the  Boston  Post  of 
August  5 : 

BROWER  IN  HIGH  SPIRITS. 

Congressman  Brower,  the  revolting  North  Carolina 
republican,  was  in  high  spirits  last  night.  His  slate 
for  the  presidential  post-offices  in  his  district,  an¬ 
nounced  in  the  Post  of  Saturday,  was  accepted  by 
the  President  just  as  it  was  presented  to  him  by 
Postmaster- General  Wanamaker,  and  the  appoint¬ 
ments  were  announced.  Judge  Settle’s  widow  is  set 
a.side  for  one  of  Mr.  Brower’s  friends  at  Greensboro, 
and  the  leading  republican  worker  at  Reidsville  has 
to  give  way  to  another  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Brower. 
At  Salem  and  Winston,  also,  Mr.  Brower’s  candidates 
are  preferred.  In  every  case  the  democratic  post¬ 
master  was  removed  without  fault  or  cause,  except 
that  he  stood  in  the  way  of  a  republican  deal.  What 
the  effect  will  be  upon  Mr.  Brower’s  canvass  for  the 
speakership  remains  to  be  seen,  but  it  is  more  than 
likely  that,  having  found  “  kicking”  so  profitable, 
he  will  continne  it  for  a  time  at  least,  with  a  view  of 
getting  something  more. 

And  by  this  from  the  Indianapolis  Journal: 

END  OF  THE  “REVOLT.” 

Washington,  August  13.— The  bottom  has  dropped 
out  of  Congressman  John  M.  Brower’s  little  boom 
for  the  speakership,  and  it  is  likely  that  his  candi. 
dacy  will  not  be  heard  of  again.  Mr.  Brower’s  ob¬ 
ject  has  been  to  secure  recognition  in  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  postmasters  at  Greensboro,  Winston  and 
Reidville,  N.  C.  Wiihin  a  few  days  his  wishes  have 
been  satisfied,  and  his  friends  say  he  is  now  out  of 
the  race  for  presiding  officer  of  the  house. 

Thus  a  modern  baron  brought  the  Lord 
Paramount  to  time. 


HERBERT  WELSH  ON  HOME  RULE 
IN  THE  INDIAN  SERVICE. 

From  the  Boston  Transcript. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Transcript:  I  rejoice  to 
find  that  the  friends  of  the  Indians  in  Boston  have 


48 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


I 


spoken  on  the  subject  of  the  so-called  “home  rule  ” 
policy  of  appointment  for  Indian  reservations,  and 
that  the  press  of  the  city  has  given  such  publicity  to 
their  protests.  I  believe  that  no  more  daligerous 
system  of  appointment  could  be  adopted,  and  I 
trust  that  you  will  give  me  the  opportunity  to  point 
out  the  danger  of  this  new  method  by  a  single  illus¬ 
tration. 

Mr.  Oberly,  the  ex-Indian  commissioner,  recently 
appointed,  upon  the  basis  of  information  obtained 
from  a  recognized  authority  on  education,  a  gentle¬ 
man  and  his  wife  as  teachers  in  the  Umatila  School, 
Oregon.  Let  it  be  noted  that  these  persons  were  re¬ 
publicans.  They  closed  their  affairs  in  Virginia, 
whence  they  came,  bought  their  tickets  for  their  dis¬ 
tant  home  across  the  continent  and  started  on  their 
way,  relying  upon  the  good  faith  of  the  authorities 
who  had  given  them  their  commission.  An  indig¬ 
nant  protest  was  sent  from  politicians  in  Oregon 
against  this  violation  of  the  home  rule  plank  in  the 
republican  platform,  accompanied  with  the  demand 
that  “carpet-baggers”  should  not  be  sent  into  the 
state.  It  was  claimed  by  these  gentlemen  that  al¬ 
ready  Oregonians  had  been  chosen  for  posts  in  this 
school,  and  that,  moreover,  they  had  been  notified 
by  the  politicians  of  the  state  that  they  were  so  se¬ 
lected.  Upon  this  protest  .Secretary  Noble  cancelled 
these  appointments  and  virtually  admitted  the  right 
of  these  gentlemen  to  usurp  the  powers  committed 
to  the  President  by  the  constitution. 

I  know  of  no  persons  so  far  who  have  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  Indian  agencies,  under  the  present  ad¬ 
ministration,  excepting  in  accordance  with  this 
home  rule  principle.  I  know  that  many  Indian 
agents  at  least  have  been  so  appointed.  Let  it  be 
clearly  understood  that  this  policy  discriminates  not 
only  against  citizens  who  are  not  of  the  Republican 
party,  but  discriminates  by  its  very  nature  against 
those  Republicans  who  of  all  others  should  be  ap¬ 
pointed  to  positions  on  Indian  reservations.  Exper¬ 
ienced,  trained  and  tried  men,  by  the  confes.sion  of 
Secretary  Noble  himself,  will  be  thrown  out  under 
this  system,  and  men  in  many  instances  selected  by 
territorial  politicians  will  be  accepted.  Already 
under  this  system  an  agent  was  appointed  at  a  west¬ 
ern  agency  whose  reputation  among  the  Indians  and 
among  competent  judges  of  our  own  people  was  bad. 
So  obnoxious  was  this  man  to  the  Indians  over  whom 
he  served  that  they  have  come  on  to  Washington  to 
protest  against  his  retention. 

An  expeiienced  and  successful  republican  who 
had  served  seven  years  at  the  Rosebud  Agency,  Dak., 
was  suggested  for  reappointment  at  that  place  by 
Bishop  Hare  and  myself.  His  merits  were  fully  ad¬ 
mitted  by  Secretary  Noble,  but  his  son,  a  young  and 
inexperienced  man,  and  whom  we  have  good  reason 
to  believe  is  not  suited  for  such  a  post,  received  the 
appointment  upon  the  ground  that  he  had  been  seven 
years  a  resident  of  Dakota. 

This  policy  is  a  distinct  announcement  upon  the 
part  of  the  administration  that  it  waives  the  right  to 
select  as  agents  and  employes  for  the  civilization  of 
the  Indians  from  the  great  mass  of  virtue,  intelli¬ 
gence  and  training  in  the  United  States,  and  that  it 
will  adopt  the  policy  of  choosing  such  employes 
only  from  a  very  limited  class  of  people,  who  by  the 
force  of  circumstances,  are  in  many  instances  avow¬ 
edly  hostile  to  the  Indians. 

The  appointment  of  a  republican  school  teacher,  a 
man  trained  and  equipped  for  his  work,  an  abolition¬ 
ist  of  former  days,  who  was  recommended  by  such 
men  as  Edward  Everett  Hale  and  Lyman  Abbott, 
was  directed  by  Commissioner  Oberly,  as  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  Indian  boarding-school  at  the  San 
Carlos  agency,  but  up  to  date  failed  to  receive  his 
appointment,  presumably  for  the  reason  that  the  In¬ 
dian  school  force  in  Arizona  must  be  selected  from 
Arizona  itself,  where  naturally,  and  from  the  force 
of  circumstances,  the  popular  prejudice  against  the 
Indians  is  intense,  and  where,  from  the  fact  that  the 
population  is  largely  engaged  in  the  mining  and  cat¬ 
tle  industries,  the  number  of  trained  teachers  to 
select  from  must  be  at  a  minimum. 

I  ask  whether  this  theory,  so-called  home  rule,  as 
applied  to  the  Indian  service  upon  the  reservations, 
is  not  the  reductio  ad  absurdum  of  the  spoils  theory  of 
appointment  ?  And  will  not  these  members  of  the 


republican  party  who  believe  in  the  application  of 
wisdom  and  justice  to  the  solution  of  this  problem 
enter  their  protest  against  the  continuance  of  such  a 
theory  as  this  in  the  management  of  Indian  affairs  ? 

Respectfully,  Herbert  AVel.sh. 


THE  THANKSGIVING  DAY  SER¬ 
MON. 

The  People’s  Cause,  published  at  330  Pearl 
street,  New  York,  contains  in  its  August  num¬ 
ber  many  replies  from  clergymen  approving 
the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh  that  the 
Thanksgiving  sermons  this  year  should  be  to 
set  forth  the  moral  objections  to  the  spoils 
system. 

This  paper  is  permitted  to  publish  the  fol¬ 
lowing  : 

Believing,  as  I  do,  that  there  is  a  moral  side 
to  this  great  question  of  civil  service  reform, 
and  that  it  deserves  the  serious  consideration 
and  attention  of  the  American  people,  it  seems 
to  me  entirely  appropriate  as  a  theme  for  a 
national  thanksgiving  discourse.  On  Thanks¬ 
giving  Daj'  matters  that  concern  the  present 
welfare  of  the  people  should  be  discussed  and 
generally  are  discussed  by  the  pulpit.  I  there¬ 
fore  heartily  approve  of  the  sugggsstion. 

O.  M.  Hughes, 

Pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

Richmond,  Indiana. 


Owing  to  limited  space  this  month,  the 
Civil  Servicb  Chronicle  is  unable  to  print 
the  many  letters  of  approval  received  by  Mr. 
Welsh,  but  the  following  are  additional  names 
favoring  the  plan  : 

Rev.  Phillip  Brooks,  Boston ;  Rev.  Robert  Collyer, 
Chicago;  Rev.  J.  Andrews  Harris,  D.  D.,  Chestnut 
Hill,  Philadelphia;  Rev.  William  Ely,  Philadelphia; 
Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  D.  D.,  New  York;  Rev.  Lever- 
ett  Bradley,  Philadelphia  ;  Rev.  M.  E.  Gates,  D.  D., 
president  Rutgers  College,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.; 
Rev.  ,1.  IC.  Murphy,  Germantown,  Philadelphiaj  Rt. 
Rev.  Hugh  M.  Thompson,  D.  D.,  bishop  of  Mississip¬ 
pi  ;  Gen.  S.  C.  Armstrong,  Hampton,  Va.;  Prof.  J,  B. 
Thayer,  of  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass.;  John 
Jay,  of  New  York  ;  Rt.  Rev.  H.  W.  Warren,  D.  D., 
Denver,  Col.,  bishop  M.  E.  Church;  Rt.  Rev.  L.  R. 
Brewer,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Montana;  Rev.  J.T.  Gracey, 
D.  D.,  International  Miss.  Union,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.;  Rev, 
William  Kirkus,  of  Baltimore,  Md.;  Rev.  John  Cotton 
Brooks,  of  Springfield,  Mass.;  Rev.  C.  C.  Everett,  D. 
D.,  of  Cambridge,  Mass  ;  Daniel  C,  Gilman,  president 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Rev. 
Teunis  S.  Hamlen,  D.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C.;  Rev. 
Herrick  Johnson,  D.  D.,  of  Chicago,  Ill.;  Rev.  H.  L. 
Wayland,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelphia,  editor  National  Bap¬ 
tist;  Rev.  George  Williamson  Smith,  D.  D.,  president 
Trinity  College ;  Rev.  Wm.  Preston  Johnson,  LL.  D.. 
president  Tulane  University,  New  Orleans;  Rev.  Ly¬ 
man  Abbott,  D.  D.,  editor  Christian  Union,  NewYork  ; 
Rev.  C.  W.  Park,  Birmingham,  Conn.;  Rt.  Rev.  Thos. 
Bowman,  D.  D.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  bishop  M.  E.  Church  ; 
Rev.  Morgan  Dix,  D.  D.,  rector  Trinity  Church,  New 
York;  Prof.  Charles  W.  Shields,  D.  D.,  of  Prineeton 
College,  N.  J.;  Rev.  F.  A.  Farley,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.;  Rev.  J.  W.  Chadwick,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  J.  H. 
Allen,  editor  Unitarian  Review,  Cambridge,  Mass.; 
Rt.  Rev.  W.  F.  Mallalieu,  D.  D.,  New  Orleans,  La., 
bishop  M.  E.  Church ;  C.  K.  Adams,  president  Cor¬ 
nell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  Charles  Gordon 
Ames,  Boston,  Mas.“.;  Rt.  Rev.  I.  W.  Joyce,  D.  D  , 
Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  bishop  M.  E.  Church  ;  Rt.  Rev. 
Ingraham  Kip,  D.  D.,  bishop  of  California ;  Rev.  W. 
C.  Gannett,  Rochester,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  T.  L.  Eliot,  Port¬ 
land,  Oregon;  Rt.  Rev.  Wm.  Stevens  Perry,  D.  D., 
bishop  of  Iowa,  Davenport,  Iowa;  Rev.  Henry  M. 
Ladd,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Rt.  Rev.  S.  M.  Merrill,  D.  D., 
Chicago,  Ill.,  bishop  M.  E.  Church;  Rev.  William  R. 
Richards,  Plainfield,  N.  J.;  Rev.  T.  T.  Munger,  New 
Haven,  Conn.;  Rev.  Forest  F.  Emerson,  Newport,  R. 


I.;  Rev.  Wallace  Radcliffe,  D.  D.,  Detroit,  Mich.: 
Rev.  Washington  Gladden,  Columbus,  Ohio;  Rev. 
T.  J.  Brown,  Utica,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  Henry  M.  Storrs,  D. 
D.,  Orange,  N.  J.;  Rev.  J.  Henry  Brittain,  Baltimore, 
Md.;  Rev.  D.  J.  Burrell,  Minneapolis,  Minn.;  Rev. 
Henry  Van  Dyke,  Westhampton,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  J.  V. 
Stratton,  Andover,  Mass.;  Rev.  John  DeAVitt,  D.  D.’ 
Chicago. 


THE  ELIGIBLE  LIST, 


At  the  examination,  held  August  6th,  for 
positions  in  the  Indianapolis  post-office,  out 
of  130  examined  for  places  as  carriers  68 
passed  ;  out  of  60  examined  for  places  as 
clerks  37  passed. 

The  following  is  the  eligible  list  as  it  now 
stands  in  this  office.  Those  marked  with  a 
star  were  examined  in  Fehruary.  A  success¬ 
ful  contestant  retains  his  place  on  the  list  one 
year.  When  Postmaster  Wallace  has  a  va¬ 
cancy  to  fill  the  local  board  certifies  to  him 
the  highest  three  names  and  from  these  he 
must  make  his  choice.  The  two  not  chosen 
are  entitled  to  two  more  certifications,  but  if 
not  then  chosen  they  are  no  longer  on  the 
list.  Nothing  but  the  soundest  business  reason 
warrants  a  postmaster  in  omitting  to  take  the 
men  as  they  stand  on  the  list.  The  next  reg¬ 
ular  examination  occurs  in  Fehruary,  1890. 


CLERKS. 


Lee  S.  Nicholson . 92 

Arthur  M.  Potts . 91 

Walter  P.  Hanna . 91 

Chas.  H.  Baughman . 90 

A.  B.  Combs . 90 

James  W.  Hobbs* . 89 

AValter  L.  Dynes . 89 

AA'm.  S.  Lockman . 89 

Eugene  M.  Wilson . 88 

Joel  Armstrong . 88 

John  E.  Clinton . 88 

Raphael  Van  Wie . 88 

John  F.  Brasier . 83 

Allison  Mundell . 83 

William  E.  Tousey . 83 

Hugh  A.  Cummings* . 82 

James  H.  Malcolm . 82 

Henry  M.  DeWitt* . 81 

J.  C.  Brown* . 81 

AA'illiam  E.  Avery . 80 

Don  D.  AVells* . 79 

Charles  H.  Evans* . 79 

Harry  E.  Negley . 79 

William  H.  Doll . 79 

Charles  AV.  Fenton* . 78 

John  L.  Etter* . 78 

AVilliam  T.  Pfaff. . 78 

Thad  E.  York* . 77 

Charles  Pott . 77 


John  G.  Edmunds* . 87 

Frank  L.  Rumford . 87 

John  Laughlin* . 86 

Samnie  Barrett* . 86 

Clarence  H.  Morpen*...86 
Bartholomew  0’Leary...8.5 

Charles  O.  AA’illiams . 85 

Royal  C.  Hammer . 84 

Jesse  B.  Brown . 84 

J.  W.  Newlon* . 83 

R.  H.  Obriet* . 83 

Calvin  Hollwell* . 83 

AVilliam  G.  Tallentire...77 

James  R.  East . 77 

Michael  L.  Jefferson . 77 

Lemuel  F.  Apple* . 76 

Crawford  Thomas . 76 

Thomas  Hembl . 76 

Henry  S.  George* . 74 

Jonathan  A.  Guyman...74 

Wm.  B.  Culbertson . 74 

George  B.  Bowers . 74 

Thomas  Judd* . 72 

John  F.  Ford . 72 

Edward  Nell . 72 

Elwood  Crone . 71 

Allen  C.  Simms . 70 

John  B.  Connett . 70 


CARRIERS. 


Charles  P.  Sample . .94 

Lawrence  A.  Newby . 91 

Frank  L.  Stillwell . 91 

Gustav  Scheuedel . 90 

Benj.  J.  Lautz . 90 

Walter  N.  Leonard . 89 

Ulysses  G.  Smithson . 88 

Melville  C.  Alexander.  ...86 

Jefferson  D.  Porter . 86 

Alfred  A.  Taylor . 85 

Oliver  J.  Kidd . 85 

Frank  J  Smith . 85 

Wm.  Dawson,  Jr . 85 

Albert  M.  Magley . 84 

Robert  H.  Jones . 84 

Wm.  E.  Privett . 84 

Frank  J.  Gilland . 79 

Charles  L.  Young . 79 

Charles  U.  Hoover . 78 

William  C.  Long . 77 

Abram  B.  Tharp . 77 

George  L.  Davis . 77 

William  E.  Jones . 77 

Harry  E.  AA’eaver . 77 

Geo.  H.  Stieglemeyer . 76 

Ira  McK.  Bales . 75 

Charles  H.  Sterling . 75 

Thomas  E.  Kenworthy  ..75 

Robert  Senour . 74 

Earl  H.  Bryant . 74 

George  L.  McLain . 74 

Henry  Barrett* . 73 

Riley  T.  AVhite* . 73 

AValter  W.  Sotherland . 73 

AA'illiam  T.  MeVey . 73 

Charles  E.  Kerne'r . 73 


Stanton  T.  Jones . 8;i 

John  H.  Reardon . 83 

Albert  E.  Braydon . 83 

James  R.  Fry . 82 

AVm.  Schaub . 81 

Hugh  Johnson . 81 

Charles  Meador . 81 

Abram  L.  Turnham . 81 

Edwin  D.  Duvall . 80 

Charles  O.  Lombard....?. 80 

Otto  F.  Pfafllin . 80 

Robert  H.  Taylor . 80 

Wm.  H.  Richter . 80 

Elmer  E.  Denny . 80 

Albert  G.  Richwein . 80 

AVillis  S.  Baughman . 80 

Auslem  Hobbs . 72 

George  Knight . 72 

Andrew  Auch . 72 

Charles  G.  Pugh . 72 

Edward  A.  Kiefer . 72 

Benjamin  Roberts . 71 

Francis  A.  Preston . 71 

George  M.  Duncan . 71 

Jacob  Sonenberger . 71 

Howard  AVhite . 71 

Oscar  Abbott . 71 

John  Sellers . 7i 

Robert  Felton* . 70 

Albert  L.  Kerr . 70 

Oscar  AV.  Bush . 70 

John  W.  Bales . 70 

Oscar  P.  Hoover . 70 

John  L.  Evans . 70 

Charles  C.  Stapp . 70 


The  civil  Service  Chronicle. 


For  Sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapoiis.  Published  monthly.  Publieation  office,  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where 

subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 


VoL.  I,  No.  7.  INDIANAPOLIS,  SEPTEMBEK,  1889.  terms  :<( 


POLITICAL  DICERS. 

Congressman  Hall  [Rep.],  of  Minnesota 
— The  sooner  we  get  rid  of  the  civil  service 
sham  the  better. 

Congressman  Ewart  [Rep.],  of  North  Caro¬ 
lina — I  shall  vote  for  an  absolute  and  uncon¬ 
ditional  repeal  of  the  law. 

Congressman  Blair  [Rep.],  of  New  Hamp¬ 
shire — Civil  service  reform,  forsooth.  It  is  a 
humbug. 

Congressman  Ingalls  [Rep.],  of  Kansas — I 
want  to  give  the  men  ivho  make  my  cause  their  own 
some  of  the  things  we  have  won. 

Congressman  Houk  [Rep.],  of  Tennessee 
— If  alive  when  Congress  meets  will  intro¬ 
duce  a  bill  to  repeal  it. 

Congressman  Shearman  [Rep.],  of  New 
York — To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils. 

Congressman  Evans  [Rep.],  of  Tennessee 
— The  civil  service  law  is  a  humbug. 

Congressman  Cannon  [Rep.],  of  Illinois — I 
think  it  is  an  infernal  nuisance. 

Congressman  Browne  [Rep.],  of  Indiana 
— It  is  a  cumbersome  piece  of  political  patch- 
work. 

Congressman  Perkins  [Rep.],  of  Kansas 
— The  entire  system  is  a  farce. 

Congressman  Taylor  [Rep.],  of  Ohio — The 
republicans  who  won  the  victory  in  1888  are 
out  in  the  cold. 

AuGUfT  29.  —  The  Pennsylvania  Republi¬ 
can  Association  met  in  Washington,  and  Mr. 
S.  R.  Stratton,  president  of  the  association, 
spoke  as  follows : 

“The  reason  why  I  have  referred  to  our  party  ma¬ 
chinery  at  all  is  because  I  am  constantly  reminded 
on  the  street  and  elsewhere  of  the  fact  that  ‘  we  have 
met  the  enemy  and  we  are  theirs,’  that  the  spoils  of 
victory  are  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  to  an  alarming 
extent,  that  the  stUl  sow  drinks  the  official  swill, 
and  that  these  still  sows  are  a  part  and  parcel  of  the 
democratic  herd,  bequethed  as  a  legacy  to  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  by  his  late  eminent  highness  Grover  the 
first  and  last.  This  pork  is  fat  enough  to  kill,  and  it 
ought  to  be  disposed  of  while  the  political  knife  is 
sharp  and  the  water  hot,  so  as  to  give  place  to  a  few 
of  the  lean  and  hungry  republican  shoats  who  have 
been  rooting  and  digging  for  the  last  four  years  in 
hopes  to  get  a  whack  at  Uncle  Sam’s  crib  before  the 
corn  is  all  gone.’’ 

August  28. — The  federation  of  republican 
clubs  of  the  third  Maryland  congressional 
district  gave  vent  to  its  pent  up  feelings  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

"Resolved,  That  we,  as  republicans,  pledge  ourselves 
not  to  support  any  one  for  office,  either  national, 
state,  or  city,  who  is  in  favor  of  the  present  odious 
civil  service  or  its  application  in  the  distribution  of 
public  patronage,  whereby  the  majority  of  appoint¬ 
ments  are  awarded  to  young  men  fresh  from  schools 
and  colleges,  while  active,  intelligent,  educated  and 
deserving  men  of  our  own  party  are  barred  out  on 
account  of  age  or  have  failed  to  answer  foolish  ques- 1 


tions  not  pertinent  to  the  service  in  which  they  are 
seeking  employment.  We  believe  that  the  present 
civil  service  law  is  a  relic  of  European  governments, 
is  injurious  to  party  success,  and  not  at  all  appro¬ 
priate  to  a  republican  form  of  government,  and 
therefore  should  be  repealed.’’ 

Later  the  Tippecanoe  Club  of  Baltimore 
thus  joined  in  the  cry  : 

“  Whereas,  Injustice  is  done  to  many  good  and 
worthy  citizens  of  this  state  and  county  by  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  a  law  known  as  the  civil  service  law. 

“  Where.as,  Such  a  law  is  known  to  debar  men  in 
the  prime  of  life,  although  capable,  from  holding 
office  in  the  service  of  the  government. 

“  Whereas,  Questions  not  pertaining  to  the  quali¬ 
fications  necessary  to  fill  government  positions  are 
asked  by  the  civil  service  examiners,  and  we  doubt 
if  the  civil  service  commissioners  could  pass  the  ex¬ 
amination  now  required  for  a  one-thousand-dollar 
clerkship, 

“  Resolved,  By  Tippecanoe  Republican  Club  of  Bal¬ 
timore,  that  civil  service,  as  now  administered,  is 
farcical  and  a  fraud  on  the  people.  We  believe  the 
party  or  people  aspiring  for  political  honors  and  ad¬ 
vocating  civil  service  will  be  relegated  to  private  life 
at  all  coming  elections.  The  law  was  conceived  by 
the  democratic  party  during  the  prosperity  of  the 
republican  party.  We  believe  it  was  concocted 
through  jealousy,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  the 
American  citizen  who  wields  the  power  of  the  ballot. 

“  Resolved,  That  a  eopy  of  these  resolutions  be  for¬ 
warded  to  our  representatives  in  congress,  and  that 
we  urge  them  to  do  their  utmost  to  repeal  the  civil 
service  law.” 

In  Philadelphia,  Tuesday  evening,  Mr.  Quay’s 
agent,  Martin,  who  was  lately  appointed  collector  of 
internal  revenue,  and  who  has  since  rapidly  organ¬ 
ized  his  office  as  a  partisan  machine,  appeared  as  a 
new  assailant  of  the  reformed  system.  He  offered,  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Anti-Cobden  Club,  a 
republican  organization,  a  resolution  instructing  the 
club’s  delegates  to  the  state  convention  of  repub¬ 
lican  clubs,  which  will  meet  in  Pitt.sburg  on  the  24th 
instant,  to  urge  the  adoption  by  the  convention  of 
a  resolution  demanding  the  repeal  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  law.  The  resolution  was  adopted,  and  the  ball 
is  thus  set  in  motion  for  a  systematic  attack  upon 
the  law  by  the  united  strength  of  the  Pennsylvania 
republican  clubs.— T/te  American  [Rep.],  September  14. 

The  latest  resolution  is  from  the  republi¬ 
can  “boys”  of  the  sixth  assembly  district  of 
New  York  City,  with  the  original  orthography: 

“  Resolved,  That  we  express  through  the  press  our 
oposition  to  civil  service  as  it  now  exists,  opoiating  to 
the  benifit  of  the  political  oponants  of  the  republican 
party.” 

Let  it  be  once  understood  that  no  republican  who 
desires  a  clerical  appointment  is  to  be  considered  in 
the  distribution  of  federal  clerkships,  and  the  party 
will  disintegrate  at  once.  Not  that  the  ordinary 
voter  is  a  republican  or  democrat  for  office  only,  but 
because  human  nature  is  so  organized  that  the  re¬ 
wards  for  party  service  stimulate  to  action.— Daj/<o» 
Journal  [Eep.]. 

Our  mugwump  contemporaries  have  been  plunged 
into  grief  by  Assistant  Postmaster-General  Clark¬ 
son’s  statement  that  he  has  scalped  15,000  demo¬ 
cratic  postmasters  up  to  date.  Nevertheless  we  do 
not  see  that  their  woe  has  any  restraining  effect  upon 
the  energetic  Clarkson.  He  is  too  busily  engaged  in 
enforcing  the  wholesome  policy  of  reform.— P/t£fa- 
delphia  Press  [J2cp.]. 


It  (civil  service  reform)  is  a  sort  of  reform  that 
nobody  is  crying  for,  and  if  the  common  people 
could  be  given  a  chance  to  vote  on  it  in  any  State  in 
the  Union — or  in  the  Union  as  a  whole— it  would  be 
snowed  under  so  deeply  it  would  never  be  heard  of 
again.  The  people  are  tired  of  the  sham.— Ham’s- 
burg  Telegraph  IRep.l. 

Pennsylvania  and  Iowa  republicans  have  already 
refrained  from  endorsing  civil  service  reform.  The 
fearful  abuse  that  the  Pendleton  law  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  Cleveland  administration  and  the  asin¬ 
ine  performances  of  young  Teddy  Roosevelt  have 
filled  republicans  with  disgust.  Civil  service  reform 
can  not  command  the  support  of  a  corporal’s  guard 
of  republicans  in  New  York,  as  well  as  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  and  Iowa. — Albany  Journal  [Pep.]. 

Fifteen  thousand  fourth- class  postmasters  have 
been  removed  to  date,  and  Mr.  Clarkson  remains  in 
Washington  with  his  coat  off  and  his  shirt-sleeves 
rolled  up.  Go  it,  Clarkson !  Out  with  the  whole 
55,000  by  Jan.  1.  The  people  voted  a  change  of  post¬ 
masters  last  fall.  Secure  competent  men  and  good 
republicans  ;  and  you  can’t  turn  out  the  democrats 
too  rapidly. — Albany  Journal  [Rep.]. 

If  Commissioner  Roosevelt  keeps  up  that  sort  of 
talk  much  longer,  there  is  danger  that  he  will  make 
somebody  believe  he  means  it.  He  is  very  much  in 
the  position  of  the  frontiersman  who  aimed  his  gun 
to  kill  if  it  was  a  deer  and  miss  if  it  was  a  calf.  It 
is  all  right  to  make  the  mugwumps  believe  him  just 
as  Cleveland  did ;  but  ij  he  causes  the  working  repub- 
llican'S  to  put  much  faith  in  his  pretentions,  he  may  cause 
the  administration  to  see  that  it  has  picked  up  the  poker 
by  the  hot  end,  and  something  must  be  dropped. — Bing¬ 
hamton  Republican  [Rep.]. 

The  Cincinnaii  Commercial  Gazette  (Rep.)  says, 
“We  are  glad  to  hear  it”  of  a  statement  that  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  is  turning  out  postmasters  fifty  times 
as  fast  as  did  President  Jackson. 

The  whole  thing  is  a  snare  and  a  sham.  It  is,  in 
theory,  obnoxious  to  the  American  people.  It  has 
in  no  manner  resulted  in  bettering  the  government 
service.  Neither  political  party  is  honest  about  its 
enforcement.  The  republicans  were  for  it  when  the 
democrats  were  in  power.  They  are  not  for  it  now, 
but  the  democrats  are.— Washington  Post  [Frank  Hat¬ 
ton’s  paper]. 

Neither  political  party  cares  a  continental  about 
this  humbug,  civil  service  reform.  The  genius  o 
our  institutions  is  opposed  to  the  whole  scheme,  and 
some  day  people  will  find  this  out.  Heretofore  the 
mugwumps  have  had  everything  their  own  way.  It 
is  characteristic  of  the  American  people,  when  there 
is  a  fad  or  furor,  to  take  things  for  granted.  Whether 
through  indifference,  or  laziness,  or  cowardice,  they 
don’t  investigate.  But  the  time  comes  when  they 
consider  the  reason  of  things,  and  when  fakirs  and 
imposters  are  subjected  to  the  inquisition  of  public 
scrutiny.  The  Lymans  and  Curtises  and  Schurzes 
will  not  always  have  full  sway  for  their  civil  service 
tomfoolery. — Evansville  [Ind.]  Journal  [R^.]. 

It  is  suspected  that  during  the  lifetime  of  the  fifty- 
first  congress  there  will  arise  a  man  to  lead,  and 
enough  men  to  follow,  to  repeal  the  law  (the  civil 
service  law)  which  protects  the  enemy  and  hampers 
the  administration.— Burlinplon  Hawkeye  [Rep.]. 

So  there  will  be  one  bureau  (the  census  bureau)  to 
which  competent  persons  can  apply  for  employment 
without  having  to  pass  an  examination  on  the  rings 
of  Saturn,  the  age  of  Julius  Cajsar,  or  the  distance  of 
the  moon  from  the  earth.— Towa  State  Register  [Clark, 
son’s  paper]. 


50 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


This  is  the  case  exactly.  Humbug  is  the  one  word 
that  describes  it,  and  repeal  is  the  one  practical 
remedy  for  it.  Not  only  this,  but  it  is  and  has  been 
from  the  start  an  unpopular  humbug.  It  was 
brought  out  by  such  nice  people,  and  was  so  nicely 
stuffed  and  painted  that  it  had  some  standing  for  a 
while  in  the  circles  reserved  for  professional  philan¬ 
thropists  and  statesmen,  but  there  has  never  been  a 
day  when  ten  per  cent,  of  the  voters  of  the  country 
would  have  approved  it  at  the  polls,  and  it  has  now 
become  such  a  bald  and  rickety  affair  that  it  only 
needs  a  leader  with  the  courage  of  his  convictions, 
like  Senator  Blair,  to  pass  an  act  in  congress  which 
will  send  it  to  the  scrap-heap.  And  when  it  is  there, 
good  citizens  will  wonder  how  it  ever  came  about 
that  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  wheedled  and 
bullied  into  tolerating  it  so  Manchester  [A’’,  if.] 

Mirror  [ffep.]. 

ARE  THESE  DICERS’  OATHS? 

Any  system  of  the  civil  service  under  which  the 
subordinate  positions  of  the  government  are  con¬ 
sidered  rewards  for  mere  party  zeal  is  fatally  de¬ 
moralizing,  and  we  therefore  favor  a  reform  of  the 
system  by  laws  which  shall  abolish  the  evils  of  pat¬ 
ronage  and  make  honesty,  eflicieney,  and  fidelity  the 
essential  qualifications  for  public  positions,  without 
practically  creating  a  life  tenure  of  of&ce.— Republi¬ 
can  National  Platform,  1872. 

Under  the  constitution  the  President  and  heads  of 
departments  are  to  make  nominations  for  office;  the 
senate  is  to  advise  and  consent  to  appointments,  and 
the  house  of  representatives  is  to  accuse  and  prose¬ 
cute  faithless  officers.  The  best  interest  of  the  public 
service  demands  that  these  distinctions  be  respected; 
that  senators  and  representatives  who  may  be  judges 
and  accusers  should  not  dictate  appointments  to  of¬ 
fice.  The  invariable  rule  in  appointments  should 
have  reference  to  the  honesty,  fidelity,  and  capacity 
of  the  appointees,  giving  to  the  party  in  power  those 
places  where  harmony  and  vigor  of  administration 
require  its  policy  to  be  represented,  but  permitting 
all  others  to  be  filled  by  persons  selected  with  sole 
reference  to  the  efficiency  of  the  public  service,  and 
the  right  of  all  citizens  to  share  in  the  honor  of  ren¬ 
dering  faithful  service  to  the  country.— Republican 
National  Platform,  1876. 

The  republican  party,  adhering  to  the  principles 
affirmed  by  its  last  national  convention  of  respect 
for  the  constitutional  rules  governing  appointments 
to  office,  adopts  the  declaration  of  President  Hayes 
that  the  reform  of  the  civil  service  .should  be  thor¬ 
ough,  radical  and  complete.  To  this  end  it  demands 
the  co-operation  of  the  legislative  with  the  exec¬ 
utive  departments  of  the  government,  and  that 
congress  shall  so  legislate  that  fitness,  ascertained 
by  proper  practical  tests,  shall  admit  to  ihe  public 
service. — Republican  National  Platform,  1880. 

The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  sys¬ 
tem  already  established  by  law  to  all  the  grades  of 
the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed  in  all 
executive  appointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance 
with  the  objects  of  existing  reform  legislation  should 
be  repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  in¬ 
stitutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patron¬ 
age  may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided.— iJepub- 
lican  National  Platform,  1884. 

The  men  who  abandoned  the  republican  party  in 
1884  and  continue  to  adhere  to  the  democratic  party 
have  deserted  not  only  the  cause  of  honest  govern¬ 
ment,  of  sound  finance,  of  freedom  and  purity  of 
the  ballot,  but  especially  have  deserted  the  cause  of 
reform  in  the  civil  service.  We  will  not  fail  to  keep 
our  pledges  because  they  have  broken  theirs,  or  be¬ 
cause  their  candidate  has  broken  his.  We  therefore 
repeat  our  declaration  of  1884,  to  wit:  “  The  reform 
of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun  under  the 
republican  administration,  shoiild  be  completed  by 
the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system,  already 
established  by  law,  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to 
which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of 


the  reform  should  be  observed  in  all  executive  ap¬ 
pointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the  object 
of  existing  reform  legislation  should  be  repealed,  to 
the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions  which 
lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patronage  may  he  wise¬ 
ly  and  effectually  avoided.”— JZepwWican  National 
Platform.  1888. 

That  we  are  heartily  in  favor  of  such  a  reform  of  the 
civil  service  as  shall  make  appointments  to  public 
office  dependent  upon  fitness  and  character,  and  al¬ 
low  removals  for  cause  only. — New  Jersey  and  Maryland 
Republican  Platforms,  1871. 

We  rejoice  at  the  brightening  prospects  of  a 
thorough  reform  of  the  civil  service.  For  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  efforts  and  pledges  in  this  matter,  we  tender 
him  onr  cordial  thanks,  and  therein  we  pledge  him 
an  enthusiastic  unwavering  support.— Connecticut 
Republican  Platform,  1872. 

We  are  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  a  thorough  sys¬ 
tem  of  civil  service  reform,  and  we  indorse  heartily 
the  action  of  President  Grant  in  selecting  commis¬ 
sioners  under  the  action  of  the  recent  so-called  civil 
service  &ct.—Ohio  Republican  Platform,  1871. 

That  we  indorse  *  >:<  his  recommendations  of 

<!  s<  civil  service  reform,  and  prompt  execution 
of  the  power  conferred  by  congress  to  inaugurate 
this  reform. — Georgia  Republican  Platform,  1872. 

The  republican  party  *  is  the  only  party  that 
questioned  the  dogma  that  “  to  the  victors  belong 
the  spoils  of  the  vanquished,”  and  endeavored  to 
introduce  reforms  of  in  the  civil  service,  so  that  hon¬ 
esty,  capacity,  and  faithful  attention  to  official  du¬ 
ties  might  be  a  better  recommendation  to  office  than 
partisan  service,  and  whose  President  has  proclaimed 
this  new  rule  of  action  to  the  nation.— JWtnois  Repub¬ 
lican  Platform,  1872. 

The  administration  of  President  Grant,  as  illustra¬ 
ted  by  his  *  *  efforts  to  reform  the  civil  service  and 
purify  the  same  *  [entitle]  it  to  the  confidence  and 
support  of  every  patriot.— Mancso/a  Republican  Plat¬ 
form.,  1872. 

It  [the  administration]  has  inaugurated  and  made 
zealous  endeavors  to  secure  a  practical  and  efficient 
civil  service  reiorm.— Missouri  Republican  Platform, 
1872. 

We  are  heartily  in  favor  of  such  a  reformation  in 
the  civil  service  that  good  character  and  ability  shall 
be  the  chief  recommendations  to  office,  and  not  po¬ 
litical  service  rendered  or  to  be  rendered.- JVew  Jer¬ 
sey  Republican  Platform,  1872. 

That  the  success  of  the  present  national  adminis¬ 
tration  in  *  *  reforming  and  improving  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  *  ^  has  been  such  as  to  command  the  approbation  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  American  people,  and  justly  en¬ 
title  it  the  confidence  and  commendation  of  every 
true  republican.— New  Hampshire  Republican  Plat¬ 
form,  1872. 

That  the  civil  service  ought  to  be  reformed.  *  <= 
And  in  his  [the  President’s]  efforts  to  reform  the 
civil  service  we  recognize  a  laudable  desire  to  pro¬ 
mote  its  efficiency  and  purity.— Wew  York  Republican 
Platform,  1872. 

We  favor  *  *  civil  service  reform  as  proposed  by 
the  President.-  West  Virginia  Republican  Platform,l&72. 

That  good  administration  and  freedom  from  temp¬ 
tation  to  official  dishonesty  can  be  best  secured  by 
such  an  organization  of  the  civil  service  as  shall  in¬ 
sure  a  competent  body  of  civil  officers,  who  shall  be 
undisturbed  by  the  changes  and  temptations  of  active  pol¬ 
itics.—  Connecticut  Republican  Platform,  1874. 

In  conducting  the  civil  service,  officers  should 
be  selected  because  of  their  qualification,  integrity 
and  moral  character,  and  the  patronage  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  should  be  so  disposed  in  the  matter  of  faith¬ 
fulness  and  economy  that  it  shall  not  he  brought  in  con¬ 
flict  with  the  freedom  of  elections. — Indiana  Republican 
Platform,  1876. 

The  republicans  of  Ohio  re-affirm  their  unfal¬ 
tering  confidence  in  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  as  a  states¬ 
man,  patriot  and  republican,  and  cordially  approve 
and  support  his  efforts  for  the  *  establishment 
of  its  civil  service  upon  a  basis  of  purity  and  effi¬ 
ciency.— 0/iio  Republican  Platform,  1877. 


That  the  work  of  reforming  and  improving  the 
civil  service,  which  the  republican  party  has  under¬ 
taken,  and  to  which  it  alone  stands  committed, 
ought  to  be  persistently  and  resolutely  carried  for¬ 
ward.  We  fully  indorse  the  utterances  of  the  Cin¬ 
cinnati  platform,  and  of  the  letter  of  acceptance  of 
President  Hayes  on  this  subject,  that  nominations  to 
office  ought  to  be  made  upon  the  sole  responsibility 
of  the  executive  department,  without  the  dictation 
or  control  of  members  of  congress ;  that  honesty, 
capacity  and  fidelity  constitute  the  only  claim  and 
qualification  for  office  ;  that  partisan  service  should 
not  be  expected  or  desired  from  public  officers,  who 
should  give  their  whole  service  to  the  government 
and  the  people,  and  that  the  term  of  office  should 
depend  upon  untarnished  personal  character  and 
the  satisfactory  performance  of  official  duties,  and 
not  upon  political  changes ;  and  we  cordially  sustain 
and  approve  the  policy  and  action  of  the  President 
in  conducting  his  administra  tion  in  fulfillment  of  his 
distinct  pledge  upon  these  principles.  Recognizing 
that  the  work  of  correcting  the  abuses  that  have 
crept  into  the  civil  service  is  only  begun,  and  that 
much  remains  to  be  accomplished  in  Mas.sachusetts 
as  well  as  elsewhere,  in  order  to  show  convincingly 
that  the  principle  of  civil  service  reform  is  accepted 
as  an  enduring  principle,  and  not  a  temporary 
method  of  administration,  we  call  upon  all  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  goverment  to  give  the  President  their 
cordial  and  effective  support  in  making  the  reform 
thorough,  radical  and  complete.  That  the  order  pro¬ 
mulgated  by  the  President  for  the  purpose  of  res¬ 
training  the  executive  officers  of  the  government 
from  exercising  an  undue  and  improper  influence 
upon  the  action  of  the  people  in  the  selection  of  can¬ 
didates  for  office,  and  in  the  management  of  political 
affairs,  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  principle  and 
practices  established  by  the  founders  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  We  heartily  endorse  the  order  as  the  first  and 
most  important  step  toward  a  practical  reform  of  the 
civil  service,  and  we  assure  the  President  of  our  cor¬ 
dial  support  ill  its  enforcement.— Jfassac7iMse«s  Repub¬ 
lican  Platform,  1877. 

No  official  or  office-holder  should  be  subject  to  polit¬ 
ical  or  partisan  assessment,  or  to  interference  in  any¬ 
way  with  his  political  rights  or  action,  and  plain 
laivs  should  forbid  and  punish  all  attempts  to  make 
or  enforce  such  assessments  or  to  control  or  to 
abridge  in  any  respect  the  absolute  freedom  in  polit¬ 
ical  action  which  in  this  country  belongs  to  all  voters 
alike.  In  connection  with  this  subject  we  recur 
with  satisfaction  to  that  portion  of  the  letter  of  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  Mr.  Hayes  wherein  he  declares  that  the 
founders  of  our  government  meant  that  the  officer 
should  be  .secure  in  his  tenure  as  long  as  his  per¬ 
sonal  character  remained  untarnished  and  the  per¬ 
formance  of  his  duty  satisfactory.  In  furtherance 
of  this  view  wejcommend  as  worthy  of  considera¬ 
tion  legislation  making  officers  secure  in  a  limited 
fixed  tenure,  and  subject  to  removal  only  as  officers 
under  state  laws  are  removable  in  this  state,  and 
charges  to  be  regularly  and  openly  preferred  and  ad¬ 
judged.— A’ew  York  Republican  Platform,  1877. 

We  demand  a  just  and  wholesome  reform  of  the  civil 
service  as  against  the  democratic  “spoils”  system.— 
Delaware  Republican  Platform,  1882. 

Such  a  practical  reform  of  the  civil  service  as  shall 
relieve  the  executive  from  the  pressure  of  hordes  of 
office-seekers  as  shall,  by  providing  some  intelligent 
method  for  appointments  to  office,  enable  our  repre- 
seniatiyes  in  this  branch  of  the  national  congress 
to  turn  their  attention  to  matters  of  national  concern. 
—Illinois  Republican  Platform,  1882. 

The  California  republican  platform,  1884,  demands 
civil  service  reform. 

The  republican  party  inaugurated  civil  service  re¬ 
form  and  enacted  the  present  civil  service  law.  It 
will  faithfully  maintain  it  and  cheerfully  aid  in  any 
needed  amendments  to  give  it  full  force.— /otaa  Re¬ 
publican  Platform,  1884. 

The  Minnesota  republican  platform,  1884,  rejoices 
at  the  improvements  in  the  civil  service  under  the 
present  law,  as  now  administered,  and  insists  on  its 
continuance  in  the  nation  and  its  extension  to  the 
states  and  cities. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


51 


We  give  to  the  civil  service  act  passed  by  a  repub¬ 
lican  congress  our  hearty  and  continued  approval, 
and  in  accordance  with  our  last  national  platform 
we  demand  the  extension  of  the  principles  of  that 
act  to  all  the  business  ofhces  of  the  government,  and 
the  repeal  of  the  four-years’  tenure  law.— Afassa- 
chuselts  Republican  Platform,  1885. 

We  condemn  the  hypocrisy  of  the  democratic  party 
in  pledging  itself,  before  election,  to  civil  service  re¬ 
form,  and  after  election  denouncing,  through  its 
press  and  its  leaders,  the  civil  service  act  as  uncon¬ 
stitutional,  while  the  national  administration  re¬ 
moves  tried  and  faithful  public  servants  and  re¬ 
places  them  with  persons  whose  only  recommenda¬ 
tion  is  active,  and  in  some  instances,  disreputable 
political  work.  We  denounce  the  hypocritical  pre¬ 
tenses  under  which  faithful  republican  officers  are 
removed  on  the  plea  of  offensive  partisanship,  while 
such  men  as  Higgins,  Thomas,  Throop,  Chase,  Pills- 
bury,  Aquilla  Jones,  and  others,  some  of  whose 
names  appear  upon  the  prison  records  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  whose  recommendation  is  political  parti¬ 
sanship,  are  appointed  in  their  places.  While  re¬ 
moving  elsewhere  on  the  ground  of  offensive  parti¬ 
sanship  republicans  who  edit  newspapers,  the 
national  administration  continues  in  a  high  judicial 
office  in  the  city  of  New  York  a  prominent  demo¬ 
cratic  appointee  who  publicly  announced  himself 
as  having  assumed,  since  his  appointment,  the  con¬ 
trol  of  an  avowedly  partisan  journal.  We  believe  it 
is  the  duty  of  Ihe  republican  majority  of  the  senate  to 
oppose  the  confirmation  of  any  person  appointed  in  vio¬ 
lation  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  civil  service  act.— 
New  York  Republican  Platform,  1885. 

We  favor  a  thorough  and  honest  enforcement  of 
the  civil  service  law,  and  the  extension  of  its  princi¬ 
ples  to  the  state  administration  whenever  it  can  be 
made  practicable,  to  the  end  that  the  corruption  and 
flagrant  abuses  that  exist  in  the  mismanagement  of 
our  public  institutions  may  be  done  away  with,  and 
they  be  liberated  from  partisan  control. — Indiana 
Republican  Platform,  1886. 

It  [the  democratic  administration]  promised  civil 
service  reform,  but  has  made  that  phrase  odious  by 
not  only  removing  but  attempting  to  blacken  the 
characters  of  thousands  of  our  best  citizens,  many 
of  them  old  soldiers,  who  have  been  removed  from 
official  positions  upon  the  cowardly  subterfuge  of 
“offensive  partisanship.’’ —  O/u’o  Republican  Plat¬ 
form,  1886. 

No  purpose  [with  the  democratic  party]  to  pro¬ 
mote  a  practical  civil  service  reform.  While 

conspicuous  among  the  many  short-comings  of  this 
administration  are  numberless  appointees  who  have 
proved  faithless  and  incompetent;  the  postal  service 
disorganized,  and  its  efficiency  Impaired,  and  the 
public  business  in  other  departments  delayed  and 
obstructed.  The  principle  of  the  national  and 

state  civil  service  reform  laws  has  our  hearty  ap¬ 
proval.  These  laws  should  be  executed  in  the  spirit 
in  which  they  were  enacted  and  accepted  by  the 
people,  and  be  advanced  and  made  permanent. 
— New  York  Republican  Platform,  1887. 

That  we  unequivocally  condemn  the  use  of  pat¬ 
ronage  to  promote  personal  political  ends,  and  re¬ 
quire  that  all  offices  bestowsd  within  the  party  shall 
be  upon  the  sole  basis  of  fitness.  That  competent 
and  faithful  ofllcers  should  not  be  removed  except 
for  cause.  That  the  non-elective  minor  offices  should 
be  filled  in  accordance  with  rules  established  by  law. 
That  the  ascertained  popular  will  shall  be  faith¬ 
fully  carried  out  in  state  and  national  conventions 
and  by  those  holding  office  by  the  favor  of  the  party. 
That  public  office  constitutes  a  high  trust  to  be  ad¬ 
ministered  solely  for  the  people  whose  interests  shall 
be  paramount  to  tho.se  of  persons  and  parties,  and 
that  it  should  be  invariably  conducted  with  the  same 
efficiency,  economy  and  integrity  as  are  expected  in 
the  execution  of  private  trusts.— Pennsylvania  Repub¬ 
lican  Platform,  1882. 

We  commend  every  effort  to  inaugurate  thorough 
and  correct  civil  service  reform  in  all  the  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  national  and  state  administrations. 
Pennsylvania  Republican  Platform,  1883. 


We  commend  every  effort  to  sustain  and  promote 
thorough  civil  service  reform  in  all  departments  of  the 
national  and  state  governments.— PeJtnsyfvania  Re¬ 
publican  Platform,  1884. 

We  at  the  same  time  invite  public  attention  to  the 
acts  of  the  present  democratic  national  and  state  ad¬ 
ministrations ;  to  the  unjust  war  of  the  former  upon 
offensive  partisans ;  to  the  hypocritical  avoidance 
of  pledges  touching  the  eivil  service;  to  its  star- 
chamber  proceedings  against  republicans,  for  who.se 
removal  no  public  reason  can  be  given. — Pennsyl¬ 
vania  Republican  Platform,  1885. 

We  arraign  the  democratic  party  and  the  present 
national  administration  for  the  general  imbecility 
ill  dealing  with  all  great  national  questions.  The 
only  energy  they  have  exhibited  has  been  in  the 
displacement  of  experienced  officers  without  cause 
and  in  direct  violation  of  their  civil  service  pledges. 
The  national  administration  seems  to  have  no  policy 
beyond  expediency  and  no  principle  beyond  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  its  succession. — Pennsylvania  Repub¬ 
lican  Platform,  1887. 

We  as  a  party,  as  rapidly  as  practicable,  enacted 
iegislation  looking  to  a  pure  business  administration 
of  government  and  a  system  of  civil  service  in  defer¬ 
ence  to  a  strong  recognized  public  sentiment  against 
abuses  of  the  spoils  system.  A  democratic  Presi¬ 
dent  was  elected  largely  on  the  issue  of  civil 
service  reform,  upon  pledges  which  guaranteed  an 
immediate  remedy  of  existing  abuses.  These  pledges 
have  been  notoriously  violated,  removals  from  office 
have  been  made  without  cause  in  a  more  sweeping 
manner  than  at  any  other  period  in  our  history  of 
American  political  parties,  and  federal  patronage 
has  been  boldly  and  constantly  used  for  partisan 
purposes. — Pennsylvania  Republican  Platform,  1888. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
League  of  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa¬ 
tions  will  take  place  as  announced,  in  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  October  1  and  2.  Any  member  of 
the  Indiana  Association  if  present  is  en¬ 
titled  to  take  part  in  the  meeting. 


The  new  postmaster  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
Gen.  Warner,  is  a  friend  of  the  civil  service 
law ;  and,  as  he  is  also  no  coward,  the  law 
will  be  enforced.  We  are  glad  to  see  even 
one  friend  of  the  law  put  at  the  head  of  an 
office. 


By  the  courtesy  of  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  the  questions  used  in  the  examina¬ 
tion  for  clerks  and  carriers,  held  here  Au¬ 
gust  6,  together  with  the  rules  upon  which 
the  answers  were  marked,  are  published  in 
this  number.  Now  is  the  time  to  single 
out  the  questions  calling  for  the  distance 
of  Mars  from  the  sun. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  may  with 
propriety  call  attention  to  the  history  of 
tho  dismissal  of  Mr.  Webster  from  the  head 
of  the  fire  department,  published  in  its 
April  number.  The  coming  city  election 
is  the  proper  time  to  consider  such  mat¬ 
ters  and  give  them  their  due  weight. 
There  is  no  question  as  to  where  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  this  outrage  upon  the  tax¬ 
payers  and  upon  a  faithful  officer  belongs. 


In  view  of  the  wild  talk  now  being  in¬ 
dulged  in  by  prominent  republican  leaders 


and  papers  against  the  civil  service  law,  we 
have  thought  it  best  to  publish  a  reminder 
in  the  shape  of  some  portion  of  the  prom¬ 
ises  made  in  platforms  of  that  party.  It 
would  be  interesting^  if  some  enterprising 
reporter  would  ask  Ingalls,  for  instance, 
the  exact  status  of  these^  promises  which 
being  in  national  platforms,are, prjma/acfe, 
binding  upon  him.  He  is  a  ready  and  wil¬ 
ling  talker,  and  curiousjpeople  would  be 
glad  to  know  his  opinion. 


Collector  Cravens,  who  said  that  be¬ 
fore  any  one  should  work  for  the  people 
under  him,  he  must  not  only  have  always 
voted  the  republican  ticket,  but  he  must 
have  been  an  active  party  worker,  writes 
to  the  papers  to  say  that,  up  to  August  23, 
he  bad  found  work  for  forty-four  men. 
This  means  that  he  had  turned'  forty-four 
men  out  of  employment  for  no  reason  but 
to  make  places  for  forty-four  active  repub¬ 
lican  party  workers.  Will  President  Har¬ 
rison  say  that  the  party  platform  and  his 
letter  of  acceptance  have  in  this  case  been 
carried  out  ?  If  they  have  not,  will  he  punish 
Cravens  ?  The  latter  has  some  eight  or  ten 
more  places. 


The  St.  Louis  Republic  knows  how  to 
fight  the  battle  of  good  administration.  It 
is  rendering  a  valuable  service  to  the  coun¬ 
try  in  putting  its  hand  heavily  upon  the 
exact  evils  with  which  administration  is 
now  corrupted.  The  practices  in  Missouri 
growing  out  of  the  infamous  rule  of  letting 
defeated  or  elected  candidates  for  congress 
distribute  offices  may  be  cited  as  an  ex¬ 
ample.  The  facts  connected  with  these 
practices  the  Republic  brings  out  with  mer¬ 
ciless  precision.  There  is  the  greatest 
need  for  a  paper  to  do  the  same  work  in 
Virginia. 


It  is  stated  that  the  late  Commissioner 
of  Pensions  Tanner  asked  a  passing  visitor 
“  if  he  wanted  to  see  the  wheels  go  round.” 
Thereupon  he  proceeded  to  the  details  of 
an  official  decapitation.  Such  devilish  enjoy¬ 
ment  in  inflicting  suffering  seemed  hardly 
credible,  but  later  reports  appear  to  confirm 
the  account.  Now  his  own  decapitation 
has  come,  and  though  deserved,  it  is  pain¬ 
ful  to  think  of  the  pain  and  disappoint¬ 
ment  he  has  brought  upon  himself  and  his 
family.  His  salary  was  $5,000,  his  pension 
$864,  his  daughter  as  clerk  got  $1,800;  his 
allowances  for  coachman,  horses,  and  the 
like,  were  estimated  at  about  $1,200  more. 
Yet  this  man  could  exult  in  wilfully  de¬ 
priving  a  clerk  of  a  chance  for  a  living. 


A  PEW  days  since  Secretary  Windom 
had  to  appoint  a  chief  of  the  miscellaneous 
division  of  his  office.  The  appointment 
lay  between  the  acting  chief,  who  would 


52 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


thereby  be  promoted,  and  an  outsider.  The 
sole  objection  to  the  acting  chief  was  that 
he  “  had  lost  his  political  identity.”  That 
means  that  he  had  attended  to  his  duties 
instead  of  neglecting  them  to  become  a 
party  worker  m  Iowa,  where  his  home  was. 
He  was  simply  competent  and  had  earned 
promotion  from  the  ranks  as  a  soldier 
earns  it,  by  doing  his  work  well. 
Secretary  Windom  is  reported  to  have 
said  :  "  This  is  a  republican  administra¬ 
tion,  and,  all  things  being  equal,  we  want 
active  republicans  to  fill  the  ofl&ces.”  He 
appointed  S.  N.  Hartshorn,  who  had 
“  been  a  local  leader  in  Ohio  politics,  and 
had  been  of  great  service  to  Major  McKinley 
in  conventions  and  campaigns” 


General  John  Pope  has  emerged  from 
the  involuntary  oblivion  into  which  Gen¬ 
eral  Lee  sent  him  twenty-seven  years  ago, 
to  make,  in  the  last  North  American  Review, 
the  original  suggestion  that  congressmen 
in  their  respective  territories  should  be 
allowed  to  appoint  the  federal  office-hold¬ 
ers.  He  also  lays  down  the  principle  that 
the  successful  issue  of  a  method  of  admin¬ 
istration  in  a  foreign  country  is  conclusive 
proof  that  that  plan  would  not  work  here. 
It  must  be  true,  then,  that  the  main  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  constitution,  having  been 
taken  from  the  English  constitution,  ought 
to  be  expunged.  It  might  be  well  for 
General  Pope  to  read  something  of  modern 
administrative  literature.  He  would  learn 
that  in  Massachusetts  and  New  York  there 
is  a  competitive  system  in  highly  success¬ 
ful  operation,  and  that  such  a  system  has 
become  firmly  rooted  in  the  federal  ser¬ 
vice. 


Frank  Hatton,  a  pretended  republican 
and-ex  office-holder,  and  now  editor  of  the 
Washington  Post,  has  been  occupying  him¬ 
self  lately  with  trying  to  induce  his  party 
and  the  President  and  cabinet  to  break  the 
long  list  of  their  pledges  for  the  reform  of 
the  civil  service;  but  especially  has  he  de¬ 
voted  himself  to  the  abuse  of  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt.  Hatton’s  last  exploit  was  to  print  a 
fac-simile  of  the  civil  service  commission¬ 
er’s  handwriting  and  inquire  to  what  clerk¬ 
ship  he  would  succeed  had  he  to  pass  an 
examination.  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  not  ap¬ 
plied  for  any  position  as  policeman,  or  tea 
inspector,  or  engineer,  or  gardener,  or 
boiler  inspector,  or  foremanship  of  sewers, 
or  stenographer,  or  copyist,  or  clerk,  or 
carrier.  If  he  had,  he  would  expect  to  sub¬ 
ject  himself  to  a  test  for  the  position  de¬ 
sired.  What  he  has  undertaken  is  the  test 
of  answering  spoilsmen  like  Frank  Hatton, 
of  holding  up  the  law  to  a  lot  of  bullying 
congressmen,  and  of  looking  into  the  acts 
of  certain  public  officials,  who  are  trying 
secretly  to  break  the  law  and  their  officia^ 


oaths.  It  is  the  general  opinion  that  he  i^ 
passing  an  excellent  examination  and  will 
be  marked  high. 

NAVAL  OFFICER  BURT. 

The  removal  of  Naval  Officer  Burt  is  such 
as  to  very  nearly  indicate  that  the  Presi¬ 
dent  means  to  insult  the  reform  sentiment 
of  the  country  and  the  men  who  originated 
and  have  struggled  to  maintain  the  reform 
system.  Col.  Burt  has  been  twenty  years 
in  the  public  service.  He  was  formerly  in 
the  naval  office  in  New  York,  and  was  re¬ 
moved  by  President  Arthur  to  make  room 
for  a  politician,  but  was  restored  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland.  He  has  always  been  a 
friend  of  the  merit  system,  and  employed 
that  system  before  it  was  embodied  in  the 
civil  service  law.  His  office  was  a  perpet¬ 
ual  and  complete  proof  that  the  system  was 
the  best  that  has  yet  been  devised  to  gov¬ 
ern  the  employment  of  public  servants. 
He,  like  Pearson  and  Graves,  was  its  fear¬ 
less  and  outspoken  friend  against  all 
comers.  Beyond  this.  Col.  Burt  was  a 
trained  officer,  skilled  in  the  complicated 
duties  of  his  office,  with  executive  ability  of 
a  high  order,  entirely  conscientious  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty,  and  knowing  no 
party  in  connection  with  his  office.  How 
he  voted  we  do  not  know.  He  had  a  right 
to  vote  as  he  wanted  to,  and  the  people  had 
a  right  to  his  services. 

Now,  before  the  end  of  his  term,  he  is 
dismissed  by  President  Harrison,  and  the 
first  information  he  receives  of  his  dismis¬ 
sal  is  when  he  reads  it  in  the  morning  pa¬ 
per.  His  efficiency  and  honesty  challenge 
criticism.  In  what  other  employment  in 
the  world  would  a  man  with  twenty  years 
faithful  service  behind  him  be  treated  like 
a  delinquent  or  a  public  enemy  ?  The 
manner  of  his  dismissal  looks  like  the 
gratification  of  a  petty  spite  against  the 
men  who  do  not  choose  to  bow  their  necks 
to  Platt. 

Three  officers,  Pearson,  Graves,  and  Burt, 
had  won  a  national  reputation  by  the  suc¬ 
cess  with  which  they  applied  the  merit 
system.  All  of  these.  President  Harrison 
has  now  forced  out  of  place  and  he  has  suc¬ 
ceeded  them  with  men  who  knew  nothing 
of  the  working  of  the  law  and  who  have 
never  been  known  as  its  friends.  He  was 
in  not  the  least  governed  by  business  prin¬ 
ciples;  the  new  men  will  not  in  years  be  as 
good  as  the  old.  These  changes  were  made 
because  men  of  the  stripe  of  Platt,  the  worst 
public  enemies  this  country  has,  ordered 
it.  It  is  an  additional  proof  that  President 
Harrison  is  working  along  certain  set  lines. 
He  has  undoubtedly  given  heads  of  offices 
within  the  civil  service  law  to  understand 
that  the  law  must  be  enforced.  Beyond 
this  he  evidently  expects  to  control  the 
country  through  sub-distributors  of  the 


hundred  thousand  unclassified  offices.  If 
a  state  produces  a  dozen  office-barons,  as  in 
Missouri,  he  will  unite  with  them,  but 
where  one  man  like  Platt  in  New  York, 
Quay  in  Pennsylvania,  or  Mahone  in  Vir¬ 
ginia  has  got  his  heel  on  the  necks  of  all 
the  rest.  President  Harrison  will  boldly 
and  before  all  the  country  unite  with  him 
to  the  end  that  by  a  joint  use  of  the  public 
offices,  they  may  control  elections.  It  was 
supposed  that  the  republicans  had  learned 
their  lesson  and  would  never  again  try  to 
rule  the  country  by  bosses.  To  see  the 
resurrection  by  President  Harrison  of  men 
like  Platt,  Warmouth  and  Mahone  is  a  sur¬ 
prising  and  humiliating  spectacle. 


THE  ATTEMPT  TO  SUBJUGATE  VIR¬ 
GINIA  TO  MAHONE. 

The  present  Mahone  movement  in  Vir¬ 
ginia  can  not  be  too  carefully  studied,  nor  can 
the  causes  which  keep  it  going  be  too  care¬ 
fully  marked.  During  his  term  as  a  senator, 
Mahone  was  a  nonentity,  except  that  he  devel¬ 
oped  a  ravenous  and  vindictive  appetite  for 
spoil.  He  ruled  the  distribution  of  offices  in 
Virginia.  Other  republican  leadex’s  did  not 
like  to  be  ruled,  and  a  strong  opposition 
developed,  led  by  Wise,  Post,  Brady,  Carver, 
Groner,  and  others.  The  quarrel  was  carried 
to  the  Chicago  convention,  where  Mahone 
was  beaten.  Since  President  Harrison  was 
inaugurated  each  faction  has  importuned 
him  in  turn,  and  when  his  opponents  went 
Mahone  stood  on  the  corner  and  jeered.  Later 
an  attempt  was  made  to  bring  about  a  com¬ 
promise,  and  Quay,  Clarkson  and  Dudley,  of 
the  national  committee,  managed  the  nego¬ 
tiations.  This  was  a  crowd  congenial  to  Ma¬ 
hone,  and  over  their  signatures  they  announced 
that  peace  had  been  made.  The  five-thousand 
dollar  Norfolk  collectorship  was  given  to 
James  D.  Brady,  a  very  active  Mahone  oppo¬ 
nent,  and  he  “heartily  concurred”  in  the 
peace.  Mahone  held  his  state  convention, 
and  never  was  a  convention  held  that  more 
servilely  waited  to  learn  the  will  of  one  man 
and  then  do  it.  Mahone  had  himself  nomin¬ 
ated  for  governor.  John  M.  Langston,  a 
negro,  who  was  a  republican  candidate  for 
congress  in  1888,  and  whom  Mahone  caused 
to  be  defeated,  has  published  a  letter  announc¬ 
ing  his  surrender.  His  reward  will  appear 
later.  Perhaps  Mahone  will  have  the  House 
seat  him.  Beyond  those  actually  bought,  the 
compromise  seems  not  to  have  reached,  and 
some  could  not  be  bought.  C.  A.  Heermans, 
having  been  offered  a  district  attorneyship, 
wrote : 

“  From  the  public  prints  and  from  private 
sources  I  learn  that  this  appointment  and  its 
confirmation  was  and  is  at  the  sufference  of 
William  Mahone. 

“  There  is  an  irrepressible  conflict  in  the  re¬ 
publican  party  of  Virginia  that  must  be  set¬ 
tled  before  I  accept  office  under  such  condi¬ 
tions,  nor  should  any  patriotic  republican 
accept  such  at  the  expense  of  his  manhood. 
Home  rule  vs.  centralized  power,  the  people 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


^3 


vs.  bossism,  liberty  vs.  tyranny — these  are 
questions  not  only  of  vital  importance  to  the 
republican  party  of  Virginia,  but  to  the 
whole  people.  Whenever  a  party  so  far  for¬ 
gets  itself  as  to  sacrifice  its  principles  for  a 
mess  of  pottage — whenever  it  sacrifices 
the  will  of  the  people  to  a  personal  tyrant — 
whenever  it  surrenders  the  rights  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  to  one  man,  then  it  becomes  the  duty  of 
the  masses  to  rebuke  the  men  who  forget  they 
are  servants  and  assume  the  role  of  masters.” 

The  Valley  the  leading  republican 

paper  of  Virginia,  also  says  : 

“We  do  not  question  the  sincerity  of  the 
New  York  Tribune  in  its  appeal  to  the  repub¬ 
licans  of  Virginia  to  support  Mahone.  VVere 
its  premise  correct  there  would  be  some  force 
in  its  appeal.  But  when  it  assumes  that  he 
represents  “civil  liberty,”  and  that  in  the  “pre¬ 
liminaries  to  the  present  convention  he  made 
concessions,”  our  able  cotemporary  is  resting 
unber  a  delusion.  Mahone  represents  nothing 
but  the  most  odious  phase  of  machine  politics 
— of  boss  despotism.  His  concessions  are  on 
the  surface.  In  the  practical  work  of  the 
preliminaries  the  old  vindictive  methods  were 
used  more  relentlessly  than  ever  before.  For 
this  reason  those  who  did  not  believe  in  those 
methods  refrained  from  participating  in  the 
primaries  or  the  convention,  reserving  to 
themselves  the  right  to  be  felt  where  the  ma¬ 
chine  can  not  work — at  the  ballot  box. 

“We  would  suggest  to  the  republican  press  of 
the  north  to  keep  their  hands  out  of  this  con¬ 
test  in  Virginia.  They  know  nothing  about 
the  internal  workings  of  Mahone’s  machine. 
If  they  did  they  would  not  have  a  word  of 
protest  to  enter  against  those  republicans  who 
do  not  mean  to  be  governed  by  it.  It  is  a 
fight  against  the  most  cruel  and  relentless  po¬ 
litical  despotism  ever  known  in  this  country. 
It  is  a  struggle  to  emancipate  the  party  from 
the  clutch  of  the  most  unreasonable  and  selfish 
leader  that  was  ever  entrusted  with  power.  It 
is  a  contest  to  break  the  force  of  an  influence, 
which,  if  successful,  will  wreck  the  republican 
party  of  the  country — an  influence  that  has 
been  condemned  by  the  republican  voters  of 
the  nation  whenever  called  to  pass  upon  it — 
an  influence  that  came  near  breaking  up  the 
Chicago  convention  in  1880;  which  nerved 
the  arm  of  a  lunatic  to  slay  a  president — 
which  defeated  the  republican  party  in  1884, 
and  which  was  repudiated  by  the  party  in  the 
nomination  of  Harrison,  as  well  as  by  the  re¬ 
publicans  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  in 
1882.” 

The  success  of  Mahone  at  the  coming  elec¬ 
tion  means  the  subjugation  of  Virginia  to  him 
and  the  delivery  of  another  state  into  the  grip 
of  a  boss.  President  Harrison  has  turned  over 
to  Mahone  the  Virginia  “  patronage.”  The 
whole  scheme  is  a  piece  of  political  morality 
worthy  of  Italy  in  the  middle  ages. 


THE  PUBLICITY  OF  THE  ELIGIBLE 
LISTS. 

Ex-Coramissioner  Oberly  has  published  the 
opinion  that  making  the  eligible  lists  public 
is  the  end  of  the  competelive  system.  This  is 
a  strange  conclusion.  Under  the  rule  of  se¬ 
cret  eligible  lists,  the  Baltimore  post-office, 
within  forty  miles  of  the  office  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission,  and  employing  several  hun¬ 
dred  men,  got  out  all  but  less  than  twenty-five 
and  got  democrats  into  their  places.  When 
Postmaster  Brown  succeeded  PostmasterVeasy, 
he  turned  out  some  two  hundred  of  these  demo¬ 
crats  and  put  a  like  number  of  other  demo¬ 


crats  into  their  places.  The  Baltimore  custom 
house  performed  a  similar  feat.  In  Philadel¬ 
phia  Harrity  turned  the  old  employes  out  of 
the  post-office  by  hundreds  ,  and  not  only  were 
democrats  worked  into  their  places,  but  the 
rule  of  ward  apportionment  and  giving  pi  aces  to 
ward  workers  worked  smoothly.  In  Indiana¬ 
polis  for  four  years  democrats  only  were  ap¬ 
pointed,  until  just  before  the  expiration  of  the 
late  postmaster’s  term  when  two  or  three  re¬ 
publicans  were  put  in.  The  advantages  of  a 
secret  list  have  found  a  late  illustration  in  the 
Milwaukee  post-office.  We  hazard  the  state¬ 
ment  that  the  offices  where  the  eligible  list  has 
been  kept  from  the  knowledge  of  the  appoint¬ 
ing  officer  are  exceedingly  rare. 

The  appointing  officer  and  the  party  manag¬ 
ers  knew  how  the  list  stood,  but  the  people  did 
not  know.  The  pressure  that  Mr.  Oberly  so 
so  fears  did  its  secret  and  effectual  work  un¬ 
checked  by  public  opinion.  As  an  influential 
Indianapolis  politician  who  had  one  son  in 
the  post  office  and  wanted  to  get  a  second  into 
his  place  remarked,  “We  watched  the  list  un¬ 
til  the  second  could  be  certified  and  then  had 
the  first  one  resign  and  the  second  one  ap¬ 
pointed  in  his  place.” 

Now  the  eligible  list  is  printed  in  all  the 
papers.  Anything  like  a  public  competition 
has  for  thousands  of  years  been  a  matter  of 
public  interest,  and  it  is  so  in  this  case.  Every 
appointment  made  is  noted  in  the  public  press 
together  with  his  position  on  the  list.  Doubt¬ 
less  “  pressure  ”  tries  its  hand,  but  public  opin¬ 
ion  will  not  permit  it  to  avail.  It  will  not  be 
long  before  no  appointing  officer  will  dare  to 
commit  an  injustice.  Instead  of  being  a 
damage  to  the  competitive  feature,  making 
the  lists  public  is  the  most  beneficial  step  that 
has  ever  been  taken  in  the  administration  of 
the  law.  It  will  bring  members  of  all  parties 
to  the  competition,  and  will  drive  out  favorit¬ 
ism  in  making  appointments.  Still  more 
publicity  is  needed.  The  examination  papers 
should  be  open  to  public  inspection,  and  the 
practice  of  requiring  certificates  of  character 
ought  to  be  resumed,  but  the  names  of  the 
persons  who  certify  should  be  accessible  to 
the  public. 


I  In  the  summer  of  1888  Corporal  Tanner 
stopped  at  Indianapolis  on  his  way  to  take 
part  in  a  campaign  in  some  state  farther  west. 
He  made  a  speech  here,  and  so  impressed  the 
j  republican  managers  with  his  value  as  a  cam¬ 
paign  speaker  that  they  urged  every  argument 
to  induce  him  to  remain  in  Indiana.  Tanner 
steadily  refused  under  plea  of  his  prior  en¬ 
gagement,  and  it  was  not  until  General  Har¬ 
rison  personally  requested  it  that  he  consented 
to  remain.  He  made  many  speeches  in  the 
state.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Tanner 
rendered  President  Harrison  a  real  service  in 
aiding  to  unite  the  soldiers  against  President 
Cleveland.  President  Harrison  understood 
this  and  paid  Tanner  for  it  with  the  pension 
office.  He  was  utterly  unfitted  for  the  place. 
This  must  have  impressed  itself  upon  any  one 
taking  the  proper  steps  to  find  out  about  a  man 


whose  appointment  to  office  is  contemplated. 
He  has  had  to  be  forced  out,  and  he  must 
therefore  have  done  serious  damage.  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  is  entitled  to  the  melancholy 
credit  of  compelling  Tanner  to  leave  after  his 
remaining  had  become  a  scandal.  The  irre¬ 
pressible  inquiry  again  comes  up.  How  long 
are  the  offices  to  be  used  to  pay  personal  and 
party  debts? - 

The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  August  15,  has 
an  interestfng  notice  of  the  Dean  Pump  Works 
of  this  city.  These  works  were  founded  and 
built  up  to  their  present  large  size  by  five 
brothers,  themselves  skilled  workmen.  The 
proprietors  take  great  pride  in  their  workmen  _ 
One  of  them,  pointing  to  a  long  line  of  men 
said  :  “Nearly  every  man  there  owns  the 
house  he  lives  in.”  Then  the  Journal  goes  on  : 

“There  is  a  system  of  advancement  in  the 
Dean  establishment.  A  boy  who  comes  in  to 
learn  the  trade,  is  given  every  opportunity  to 
do  so,  and  his  success  lies  in  his  own  hands.  If 
he  is  capable  and  can  keep  up  with  the  pro¬ 
cession  there  is  advancement  for  him.  If  he 
is  not  capable  he  is  dropped” 

It  is  hard  to  see  why  rotation  in  office  should 
not  be  applied  to  these  works,  and  why  if  the 
democrats  carry  the  coming  city  election  the 
Deans  should  not  weed  out  all  the  republicans 
and  put  none  but  democrats  on  guard,  and  why 
Markey  and  one  or  two  other  south-side  dem¬ 
ocrats  should  not  control  this  patronage. 

Collector  Cravens,  with  the  fifty  odd  gaugers, 
weighers  and  clerks  under  him,  has  about  com¬ 
pleted  a  similar  work  and  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  if  it  is  good  for  the  internal  revenue  office 
it  would  be  bad  for  the  Dean  establishment. 


The  reinstated  republican  railway  mail 
clerks  are  reported  as  saying  that  the  incom¬ 
petence  of  the  democratic  incumbents  is  the 
cause  of  the  complaints  of  the  inefficiency  of 
the  service,  and  that  they  should  “  go.”  If 
this  is  true,  these  republican  clerks  are  using 
the  same  tricks  to  force  men  out  of  the  service 
because  of  political  opinions  that  were  used 
against  them.  If  we  follow  the  line  of  argu¬ 
ment  of  the  Boston  Herald,  the  fact  that  fel¬ 
low-workmen  four  years  ago  by  underhanded 
methods  forced  republicans  out  in  large  num¬ 
bers,  would  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  do 
otherwise  with  the  democrats;  all  the  same, 
such  talk  comes  with  bad  grace  from  men  who 
could  themselves  never  have  got  back  into  the 
service  except  with  some  congressman’s  collar 
about  their  necks,  had  there  not  been  a  steady 
protest  against  their  political  proscription. 
The  deranged  condition  of  the  mail  service  in 
certain  sections  of  the  country  is  because  there 
has  not  yet  been  time  to  rally  from  the  recent 
republican  loot  and  to  recover  the  efficiency  it 
had  gained  since  the  preceding  democratic 
loot.  Congressmen  injected  their  untrained 
men  in  great  numbers  into  the  service,  and 
former  employes  were  reinstated,  good  and 
bad,  regardless  of  their  records.  Democratic 
incumbents  were  dismissed  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner.  There  are  incompetent  men  in  the  serv¬ 
ice,  doubtless,  but  they  are  not  confined  to  one 
party. 


54 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Congressman  Flood  of  the  Elmira  [N.  Y.] 
district,  and  Corporal  Tanner  had  a  serious 
difference  regarding  the  spoil  of  the  pension 
board,  and  Corporal  Tanner  felt  obliged  to 
describe  that  Congressman’s  mental  equip¬ 
ment  as  follows : 

“  When  Congressman  Flood  first  came  into 
my  office  my  impression  of  him  was  that  if 
his  brains  were  blown  through  a  crane’s  bill 
into  a  mosquito’s  eye  the  mosquito  wouldn’t 
wink.  Flood  got  two  of  his  friends  appointed 
on  the  medical  board,  and  I  don’t  suppose  he 
is  a  bit  thankful.” 

Mr.  Flood  is  reported  to  have  visited  Deer 
Park  and  threatened  the  President  with  his 
resignation  if  the  commissioner  were  not  dis¬ 
missed.  Flood  appears  to  be  a  doughty  chief¬ 
tain  with  a  firm  grasp  on  the  spoil  in  his 
domain.  Boss  Platt  and  Principal  Henchman 
J.  Sloat  Fassett  undertook  to  name  the  post¬ 
master  for  Elmira,  but  Flood,  when  the  Pres¬ 
ident  hesitated,  threatened  to  resign  if  he 
were  not  permitted  to  name  his  own  post¬ 
master.  Then  he  proceeded  to  appoint  his 
brother  to  the  place. 

The  first  experiment  of  the  administration 
in  using  the  offices  to  affect  southern  elections 
was  in  the  third  Lousiana  district.  It  has 
come  to  a  disastrous  and  therefore  for  the 
country  a  happy  end.  The  democrats  elected 
the  congressman  by  5,000  majority  ;  this  was 
nearly  double  their  previous  majority. 

The  administration  has  removed  Sharpe, 
the  postmaster  at  Lead  Hill,  Ark.,  and  Con¬ 
gressman  Quackenbush’s  man,  Stevens,  post¬ 
master  at  Shushan,  N.  Y.,  whose  careers  we 
noted  in  July.  This  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  balance  of  the  list  will  be  reached — 
Bagby,  McFarlane,  Vandervoort,  and  so  on. 

WANTON  REMOVALS. 

The  danger,  then,  consists  merely  in  this:  The 
President  can  displace  from  office  a  man  whose 
merits  require  that  he  should  be  continued  in  it. 
What  will  be  the  motives  which  the  President  can 
feel  for  such  abuse  of  his  power,  and  the  restraints 
that  operate  to  prevent  it?  In  the  first  place,  he 
will  be  impeachable  by  this  house,  before  the  senate, 
for  such  an  act  of  maladministration  ;  for  I  contend 
that  the  wanton  removal  of  meritorious  officers  would 
subject  him  to  impeachment  and  removal  from  his  own 
high  trust.  ''  *  Can  we  suppose  a  President, 

elected  for  four  years  only,  dependent  upon  the  pop¬ 
ular  voice,  impeachable  by  the  legislature,  little,  if 
at  all,  distinguished  for  wealth,  personal  talents,  or 
influence  from  the  head  of  the  department  himself ; 
I  say,  will  he  bid  defiance  to  all  these  considerations, 
and  wantonly  dismiss  a  meritorious  and  virtuous 
officer?  Such  an  abuse  of  power  exceeds  my  conception. 
— Congressman  Jimes  Madison,  June,  1789. 

— September  2. — Corporal  Tanner  removed 
fifty-nine  democratic  medical  examiners  and 
appointed  republicans. 

— August  31  twenty-seven  presidential  post¬ 
masters  were  appointed  ;  of  these,  seventeen 
were  removed,  presumably  because  they  were 
democrats. 

— The  New  York  Cotton  Exchange  have  pe¬ 
titioned  the  President  to  take  a  business  view 
of  the  matter  and  to  retain  the  competent  con¬ 
sul,  F.  F.  Dufals,  at  Havre. 


— The  President  has  removed  Postmaster 
W.  R.  Curran,  of  Hoboken,  whose  four  years 
would  have  expired  Aug.  1,  1890.  There 
seems  to  have  been  no  reason  whatever  for  the 
removal  except  to  make  place  for  a  republican 
politician.  His  office  ranked  high  and  had 
shown  great  improvement  under  him.  There 
was  no  complaint.  His  place  had  been  fought 
over  for  months  by  three  factions,  and  when 
at  last  these  became  harmonized  the  spoil  was 
thrown  to  them. 

— Three  separate  petitions,  from  the  ship¬ 
masters  who  visit  the  port  of  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
from  the  American  residents  and  from  the 
merchants  who  have  trade  relations  with  the 
United  States,  were  sent  to  the  President  ask¬ 
ing  for  the  retention  of  Consul-General  Arm¬ 
strong,  but  he  was  removed.  The  Rio  News, 
published  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  says: 

“Were  such  a  thing  to  be  done  in  private 
life,  it  would  be  condemned  in  unmeasured 
terms;  but  when  done  by  a  partisan  govern¬ 
ment  in  whose  eyes  good  service  and  efficiency, 
the  risk  of  life  and  health,  all  count  for  noth¬ 
ing,  and  in  whose  creed  the  public  offices  of 
the  nation  are  looked  upon  as  the  legitimate 
spoils  of  a  party,  it  must  forsooth  be  permit¬ 
ted  without  a  murmur.  We  have  read  much 
in  some  of  our  exchanges  of  the  religious  char¬ 
acter  of  the  President  and  of  the  high  purposes 
of  his  government;  if  this  one  act  is  a  fair 
sample  of  these,  then  perhaps  something  less 
pretentious  will  do  just  as  well.” 

— Clarkson  appeared  in  the  matter  of  the 
Cannelton,  Indiana,  post-office  as  a  very  brazen 
and  awkward  prevaricator.  He  made  a  sim¬ 
ilar  unfortunate  appearance  when  he  attempt¬ 
ed  to  explain  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  McKenna, 
postmaster  at  Long  Island  City,  noted  last 
month.  According  to  the  New  York  Tribune 
dispatch  he  stated  that  one  or  two  anonymous 
letters  protesting  against  the  removal  had 
been  received,  but  nothing  that  could  be  traced 
to  a  definite  source.  Charles  Benner,  a  repub¬ 
lican  and  corporation  attorney,  April  4  and 
June  19,  sent  letters  to  the  President  protest¬ 
ing,  and  received  acknowledgments  from  the 
President’s  private  secretary  stating  they  had 
been  handed  to  the  postmaster-general.  The 
letter  of  June  19  contained  a  petition  for  Mc¬ 
Kenna’s  retention,  signed  by  221  republicans, 
59  democrats,  16  independents,  90  whose  pol¬ 
itics  were  not  stated,  and  5  prohibitionists. 
The  letter  also  stated  that  other  petitions  were 
in  circulation.  June  11,  Bishop  Southgate, 
June  13,  Mr.  Cooper,  rector  of  the  Church  of 
the  Redeemer,  and  June  26,  Mr.  Geddes,  pas¬ 
tor  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  wrote  letters 
protesting  against  the  removal  of  this  faithful 
public  servant.  Meanwhile  it  is  asked  that 
Richenstein’s  appointment  be  reconsidered  on 
the  ground  of  unfitness,  and  petitions  bearing 
over  1,500  signatures  have  been  drawn  up  ask¬ 
ing  Mr.  McKenna’s  retention. 

— P.  C.  MacCourt,  of  the  liquidating  divis¬ 
ion  in  the  New  York  custom  house,  received 
notice  of  his  dismissal  by  Secretary  Wiudom, 
no  cause  being  stated.  He  thereupon  appealed 
to  the  President  in  the  following  letter: 

“As  an  Irish- American  citizen— the  race  to  which 
you  owe  yonr  election  in  this  city  and  state— I  appeal 
to  you  as  the  executive  of  the  nation  to  protect  me 
under  the  civil  service  law  from  arbitrary  dismissal 
by  your  secretary  of  the  treasury.  Yesterday  Mr. 
Windom  sent  me  a  printed  form  dismissing  me  from 
the  treasury  department,  I  being  classified  nnder  the 
civil  service,  and  therefore,  I  submit,  not  to  be  dis¬ 
missed  without  cause. 

"I  have  been  for  four  years  an  emploj^e  of  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States  government,  two  of  these  years  doing  cler¬ 
ical  work  at  $70  per  month  in  the  assessment  division, 
revenue  department,  for  which  my  republican  friends 


doing  clerical  work,  received  double  the  salary.  In 
this  office  there  were  twenty-six  clerks,  I  being  the 
one  democratic  appointee,  and  during  the  two  years 
not  one  of  those  twenty-five  republicans  was  removed 
under  Mr.  Cleveland’s  administration. 

“I  therefore  appeal  to  yon,  Mr.  President,  as  the 
head  executive  of  the  government,  to  protect  me  in 
my  rights,  and  to  request  your  secretary  to  have  me 
placed  on  the  roll  of  this  custom  house,  where  I  have 
been  in  the  liquidating  division  for  the  last  nine 
months,  and  refer  to  my  record  as  to  how  1  have  dis¬ 
charged  my  duty.’’ 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM, 

“  Large  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were  allotted  by 
the  conquering  generals  to  the  superior  officers  of 
the  army,  and  by  them  dealt  out  again  in  smaller 
parcels  or  allotments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most 
deserving  soldiers.  *  The  condition  of  holding 
the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the  possessor  should 
do  service  faithfully,  both  at  home  and  in  the  wars, 
to  him  by  whom  they  were  given,’’  and,  on  breach 
of  this  condition,  “  by  not  performing  the  stipulated 
service,  or  by  deserting  his  lord  in  battle,’’  the  lands 
reverted  to  the  lord.  The  vas.sal,  upon  investiture, 
took  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition 
did  homage,  “openly  and  humbly  kneeling,  being 
ungirt,  uneovered  and  holding  up  his  hands,  both 
together,  between  those  of  his  lord,  who  sate  before 
him,  and  there  profe.ssing  that  he  did  become  his 
MAN  from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
earthly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss  from  his 
lord.’’  Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  service 
was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve  under  the  lord 
in  war.  Base  service  was  to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to 
make  his  hedge  oj  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

— Congressman  Hank  [Tenn.]  still  breathes 
threatenings  against  the  civil  service  law,  and 
he  says,  if  alive  when  congress  meets,  he  will 
introduce  a  bill  to  repeal  it. 

— They  don’t  want  to  remove  anybody  in 
some  of  the  departments  for  purely  political 
reasons.  I  have  no  time  for  this  pandering  to 
a  lot  of  political  dudes  and  mugwumps. 
Thank  goodness,  we  have  none  of  that  breed 
down  our  vr  ay.  — Congressman  Darlington 
[  Perm.]. 

— We  are  pretty  well  satisfied  with  the  ad¬ 
ministration.  Take  New  York  in  comparison 
with  the  other  states  and  we  have  not  much  to 
complain  of  as  to  appointments.  The  presi¬ 
dential  post  offices  come  slow,  but  matters  ap¬ 
pear  all  right.  I  have  in  my  district  not  a 
fourth-class  postoffice  worth  $200  a  year — not 
an  office  that  anyone  wants— that  had  not  been 
filled  under  Mr.  Cleveland’s  administration. 
The  first  fourth-class  post-office  filled  in  my 
district  was  filled  on  July  30th.  On  July  30th 
pf  this  year  every  one  of  these  offices  I  had  a 
candidate  for — all  above  $200  per  year — was 
filled.  I  believe  in  civil  service  reform  within 
the  party  and  not  out  of  it.  In  other  words, 
“to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils.”  In  making 
appointments,  however,  such  victors  should  be 
chosen  as  are  most  competent  to  fill  the  of¬ 
fices. — Congressman  Shearman  [N.  F.]. 

— “It  (the  civil  service  law)  is  a  humbug. 
It  ought  to  be  materially  modified  or  re¬ 
pealed.  I  couldn’t  pass  a  civil  service  ex¬ 
amination  to-day.  It  is  wrong  in  principle 
I  don’t  want  anyone  to  tell  whom  I  may  em¬ 
ploy  in  my  business.  When  I  hire  a  man  I 
want  to  see  his  face.  I  don’t  care  whether  or 
not  he  knows  the  distance  from  Mars  to  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


55 


sun.  I  want  to  know  if  he  can  do  the  work  I 
want  done.  The  way  to  find  out  is  to  put  him 
at  it,  and  if  he  can’t  do  it  put  him  aside.” — 
Congressman  Evans  [Tknn.]. 

— Congressman  Thompson  (O.)  says  that 
Ohio  republicans  in  the  departments  at  Wash¬ 
ington  must  go  home  and  vote.  The  state 
committee  has  a  full  list,  and  all  who  fail  will 
be  “  remembered.” 

— Senator  Plumb  says  that  there  have  been 
four  times  as  many  changes  made  in  the  post- 
offices  in  Kansas  by  President  Harrison  as 
were  made  by  President  Cleveland  in  the 
same  length  of  time,  and  that  in  his  congres¬ 
sional  district  there  is  not  a  democratic  postmaster 
left. 

— What  may  be  seen  in  the  state  at  large 
may  be  met  with  in  less  degree  in  our  own 
county.  The  bright  young  man  who  attempts 
to  get  a  foothold  in  j)olitical  life  without  sellmg 
himself  body  and  soul  to  the  political  boss  finds  his 
way  exceedingly  difficult  and  well  nigh  inac¬ 
cessible. —  The  Kennett  Advance  \_Rep.,  Chester 
Co.,  Pa.]. 

—  Deer  Park,  Md.,  Aug.  28.  — Clarksou 
spent  the  day  with  the  President.  Congress¬ 
man  Owen  called.  Thirty  postmasters  were 
appointed. 

— Washington,  Sept.  14. — Representative 
Cheadle  was  on  the  train  which  carried  the 
President  to  Deer  Park  this  morning.  Mr. 
Cheadle  is  expected  to  return  here  the  first 
,  of  next  week.  It  is  probable  that  he  is  work¬ 
ing  for  some  offices  for  constituents,  who,  he 
says,  have  not  been  taken  care  of  as  he  would 
like. — Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal. 

— In  1888  Joseph  D.  Upton  was  the  republi¬ 
can  candidate  for  congress  in  the  sixth  Mis¬ 
souri  district,  and  was,  of  course,  defeated. 
In  the  gradual  development  of  our  American 
feudalism,  however,  defeated  and  successful 
candidates  have  come  to  share  the  spoil.  In 
the  exercise  of  his  “  prerogative  ”  as  congress¬ 
man,  Van  Schaick  calls  it.  Defeated  Candidate 
Upton  has  been  dividing  the  offices  in  his  dis¬ 
trict  among  his  henchmen.  He  has  234  post- 
offices  alone.  He  has  proceeded  in  a  business¬ 
like  way,  as  the  following  affidavits  show. 
They  were  taken  in  Henry  county.  Mo.,  Au¬ 
gust  28,  1889,  and  the  affiants  seem  to  be 
entirely  reliable  and  financially  responsible. 
This  is  secondary  evidence,  but  under  all  the 
circumstances  it  commands  belief; 

Personally  appeared  before  me,  James  1).  Lindsay, 
a  notary  public  in  and  for  said  Henry  county,  J.  L. 
Shelton,  who,  being  duly  sworn  under  his  oath  says : 
That  he  is  personally  acquainted  with  James  H.  Trol- 
linger,  now  postmaster  at  Palo  Pinto,  in  Benton 
county.  Mo. ;  that  on  or  about  the  20th  day  of  July, 
1889,  he  had  a  conversation  at  Windsor,  Mo.,  with 
the  said  James  H.  Trollinger,  in  which  said  Trol- 
linger  told  this  affiant  the  manner  in  which  he  ob¬ 
tained  the  post-office  at  Palo  Pinto,  saying  that  he, 
Trollinger,  had  not  thought  of  applying  for  such 
post-office  until  some  man  at  Warsaw,  Mo.,  suggested 
that  he  might  as  well  get  the  post  office  as  anybody, 
and  that  he  ought  to  circulate  a  petition  ;  the  said 
Trollinger  did  circulate  a  petition  and  got  about 
forty  names  thereon  ;  that  one  H.  W.  Fristoe,  one  of 
his  opponents  for  such  post-office,  had  a  petition  with 
over  one  hundred  names  thereon ;  that  he,  said  Trol¬ 
linger,  sent  his  petition  to  the  post-office  department, 
and  heard  nothing  from  it  for  some_time ;  that  after¬ 


wards  he  received  a  letter  telling  him  to  be  at  War¬ 
saw,  Mo.,  on  a  certain  day  ;  that  he  went  on  the  day 
named,  and  then  and  there  met  fifteen  or  twenty 
other  applicants  for  post-offices ;  that  he,  said  Trol¬ 
linger,  was  there  asked  how  much  the  post-office  at 
Palo  Pinto  paid ;  that  he  replied  it  paid  from  $60  to$80 
per  annum  ;  that  thereupon  the  man  who  had  made 
the  inquiry  told  him,  said  Trollinger,  to  pay  86  now; 
that  the  said  Trollinger  then  and  there  paid  $6  ;  that 
the  applicant  for  the  post  oflice  at  Warsaw  gave  $2-'j, 
and  that  all  the  applicants  for  post-offices  paid  some¬ 
thing,  he,  the  said  Trollinger,  saying  to  affiant  that 
the  amounts  thus  paid  “  made  a  big  roll;  a  heap  too 
big  to  pay  expenses;  ”  that  said  Trollinger  further 
told  affiant  that  the  money  thus  paid  was  for  Joseph 
B.  Upton,  and  further  said  that  for  a  long  time  he, 
said  Trollinger,  thought  his  $6  was  gone,  but  that 
after  awhile  his  commission  came,  but  that  he  ex¬ 
pected  he  would  have  to  pay  some  more  hereafter. 

Before  me,  a  notary  public,  in  and  for  Henry 
county  aforesaid,  came  A.  C.  Clark,  who,  being  duly 
sworn,  under  his  oath  says;  That  he  is  acquainted 
with  James  H.  Trollinger,  now  postmaster  at  Palo 
Pinto,  in  Benton  County,  Mo. ;  that  on  or  about  the 
22d  day  of  July,  1889,  he  had  a  conversation  with  said 
Trollinger,  in  which  said  Trollinger  told  this  affiant 
how  he  obtained  the  postmastership  at  Palo  Pinto  ; 
he,  the  said  Trollinger,  saying  that  he  obtained  the 
appointment  as  postmaster  at  Palo  Pinto  through 
the  influence  of  Joseph  B.  Upton;  that  he  paid  $6 
for  the  office,  and  knew  that  the  said  Upton  got  the 
money  ;  and  that  the  other  applicants  for  post-office.« 
in  Benton  county  paid  in  proportion  to  the  proceeds 
of  the  offices  they  applied  for,  and  that  this  money 
so  paid  was  to  pay  Upton’s  expenses  to  Washington 
City.  And  further,  deponent  says  that  he  resides 
jiear  the  city  of  Windsor,  and  in  Henry  county, 
Missouri,  and  that  the  conversation  above  narrated 
occurred  at  said  city  of  Windsor,  and  further  depo¬ 
nent  saith  not. 

Before  me,  James  D.  Lindsay,  a  notary  public  for 
said  Henry  county,  came  George  J.  Shelton,  person¬ 
ally  known  to  me,  who,  being  first  duly  sworn,  under 
his  oath  says :  That  he  re>ides  at  the  city  of  Wind¬ 
sor,  in  the  county  aforesaid  ;  that  he  is  acquainted 
with  James  H.  Trollinger,  now  postmaster  at  Palo 
Pinto,  in  Benton  county.  Mo. :  that  on  or  about  the 
22d  day  of  July,  1889,  he  had  a  conversation  with 
said  Trollinger  at  the  city  of  Windsor,  in  which  said 
Trollinger  told  affiant  then  and  there  how  he  ob¬ 
tained  the  postmastership  at  Palo  Pinto;  he,  said 
Trollinger,  saying  that  the  appointment  cost  him  $6 ; 
that  Joseph  B.  Upton  notified  him,  the  applicant  for 
the  Warsaw  post-office,  and  others,  to  meet  him 
(Upton)  at  Warsaw,  Benton  county.  Missouri,  on  a 
certain  day  ;  that  Upton  asse.ssed  them  all  according 
to  the  amount  of  .salary  attached  to  the  offices;  that 
the  Warsaw  post-office  applicant  paid  $25,  and  further 
affiant  saith  not. 

— June  24. — Sixth  Auditor  Coulter  informed 
Chiefs  of  Division  Hardson,  Cunningham, 
Peetrey,  Dougherty,  Ellis,  Farron,  Howell, 
Leach  and  Johnson,  that  their  resignations 
were  desired.  Then  Coulter  declared  that  the 
horn-blowers  of  the  last  campaign  must  have 
places,  and  that  every  one  of  the  democrats  in 
his  office  must  go  before  the  Ohio  election, 
civil  service  or  no  civil  service.  The  next  is 
the  following; 

Washington,  July  24.— Civil  Service  Com¬ 
missioner  Roosevelt  said  to-day  that  charges 
have  been  brought  against  both  the  pension 
office  and  the  sixth  auditor’s  office  that  men 
have  been  discharged  because  they  were  dem¬ 
ocrats. 

The  horn-blowers  took  charge  as  follows; 

Washington,  August  31.  —  An  unusual 
scene  has  been  enacted  in  the  sixth  auditor’s 
office  this  week.  The  money  order  branch  of 
the  office  is  badly  in  arrears  with  its  work, 
and  in  order  to  bring  it  up  to  date  and  close 
the  businees  of  the  fiscal  year,  Sixth  Auditor 


Coulter  ordered  the  entire  force  of  the  office 
to  drop  everything  else  during  this  week  and 
lend  a  hand  with  this  business.  Last  night  the 
entire  force,  about  440  clerks,  save  those  who 
are  absent  on  leave,  were  at  the  office  from  six 
to  nine  o’clock. 

— The  corruption  and  attempted  corruption 
of  the  franchise  by  means  of  post-office  and 
other  “  spoils  ”  go  on  in  all  directions.  We 
have  the  word  of  a  trustworthy  local  newspa¬ 
per  in  Chester  county — a  county,  by  the  way 
which  joins  to  the  distinction  of  exceptional 
intelligence  and  prosperity  the  less  creditable 
one  of  being  dominated  by  cast-iron  partisan¬ 
ship — that  at  three  post-offices  of  some  im¬ 
portance  in  the  southern  section  of  the  coun¬ 
ty,  there  are  seventeen  anxious  and  hopeful 
applicants  for  the  place  of  postmaster,  all  of 
the  seventeen  being  fed  on  hope  by  the  congressman 
of  the  district,  pending  a  political  contest  in  which 
he  is  interested.  At  West  Grove  five  applicants 
are  thus  “  on  the  string,”  and  at  Oxford  and 
Kennett  Square  six  each.  Primarily  the  scan¬ 
dal  and  the  shame  of  this  business  lies  at  the 
door  of  the  postma.ster-general  and  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  who  put  the  “patronage”  in  the  congress¬ 
man’s  hands. — The  American  [Rep.],  Aug.  24. 

— The  President  appointed  Theodore  B. 
Willis  naval  officer  of  the  port  of  New  York, 
Ernest  Nathan  collector  of  internal  revenue 
of  the  Brooklyn  district,  and  George  W.  Lyon 
surveyor  of  the  port.  Of  these  appointments 
the  New  York  Tribune  says:  “The  appoint¬ 
ments  of  Mr.  Lyon  and  Mr.  Willis,  which 
directly  affect  this  city,  are  excellent,  and  the 
selection  of  Mr.  Willis  as  naval  officer  will  be 
especially  gratifying  to  the  republicans  of 
Brooklyn,  who,  under  his  direction  as  chairman  of 
the  campaign  committee,  did  such  capital  toork  for 
the  cause  led  by  Gen.  Harrison  a  year  ago.  Mr. 
Nathan  has  also  established  his  claims  to  special 
consideration  at  the  hands  of  his  party.'' 

— TheSt.  Louis  Republic  states  that  Clarkson 
removed  Peter  Keith,  an  old  soldier,  the  demo¬ 
cratic  postmaster  at  Strawberry  Point,  la.,  and 
appointed  Keith’s  predecessor,  a  man  seventy 
years  old,  who  has  always  taken  a  great  inter¬ 
est  in  working  up  subscriptions  for  Clarkson’s 
paper,  having  obtained  recently  132  subscrip¬ 
tions.  There  were  two  old  soldiers  candidates 
for  the  place  when  Keith’s  term  expired.  The 
Clayton  county  veterans  passed  resolutions 
denouncing  Clarkson’s  action,  and  a  protest 
was  sent  to  Wanamaker. 

— ^Birkett  whose  office  as  distributor  of  places 
in  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard  was  described  last 
month,  says,  “there  will  be  a  clean  sweep  no 
matter  what  anybody  else  says.  Our  boys 
will  all  get  what  they  want.”  Birkett  a  few  days 
since  saw  the  secretary  of  the  navy  in  New 
York  and  took  him  sharply  to  task  because 
Congressman  Wallace  has  appointed  200  of  his 
henchmen  to  places  in  the  yard.  This  is  a  tremen¬ 
dous  infringement  on  Birkett’s  prerogative  as 
chairman  of  the  republican  general  commit¬ 
tee. 

— Henry  Rokestraw  was  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Cheraw,  S.  C.  He  went  to  a  neigh¬ 
boring  town,  and  became  intoxicated  and 
disorderly,  was  arrested  and  fined  ten  dollars 
and  sent  to  jail  because  he  could  not  pay. 
Wanamaker  was  telegraphed  that  his  recent¬ 
ly-appointed  postmaster  at  Cheraw  was  in  the 
guard-house  drunk,  and  what  should  be  done 
about  it.  No  reply  was  received. 

— The  repnblicwns  of  Eureka  Springs,  Ark.‘ 
held  a  mass  meeting  recently  to  denounce  the 
appointment  of  T.  W.  True  as  postmaster  at 
that  place.  They  put  the  responsibility  of  the 
appointment  upon  that  notorious  republican 
Powell  Clayton,  and  stated  that  he  “  has 
prostituted  his  high  privilege  as  aispenser 
of  federal  patronage,  and  has  thereby  ruined  re¬ 
publican  success  in  this  state.” 


56 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— Orders  have  been  prepared  by  Secretary 
Tracy  for  repairing,  at  the  Norfolk  navy 
yard,  the  war  vessels  Brooklyn,  Alliance, 
Pensacola  and  Amphitrite.  This  looks  like 
the  old  and  corrupt  trick  of  putting  a  large 
number  of  men  under  pay,  and  thus  purchas¬ 
ing  their  votes  at  Mahone’s  approaching  elec¬ 
tion. 

— The  husband  of  J.  Ellen  Foster  has  been 
appointed  general  agent  of  the  department  of 
justice.  Another  debt  paid  out  of  the  common 
treasury.  Salary,  $2,500. 

— At  a  critical  moment  during  the  Chicago 
convention  an  actor  named  Pope  from  St. 
Louis,  recited  Sheridan’s  Ride.  He  has  since 
received  the  consulship  at  Toronto. 

— E.  A.  Dimmick  has  been  made  consul  at 
Barbadoes.  His  wife  is  a  niece  of  Gail  Ham¬ 
ilton,  the  relative  and  eulogist  of  Mr.  Blaine. 

— Robert  A.  Mosely,  Jr.,  has  been  appointed 
collector  of  internal  revenue  of  the  Alabama 
district.  He  is  chairman  of  the  republican 
state  committee. 

— Louis  Weinsteil  has  been  appointed  col¬ 
lector  of  the  fourth  Iowa  district.  He  is  ed¬ 
itor  of  the  Burlington  Hawheye. 

— Quay’s  henchman,  Comptroller  Gilkeson, 
who,  it  will  be  remembered,  nearly  brought 
on  war  between  Quay  and  Sherman,  has  re¬ 
quested  the  resignation  of  W.  P.  Montague^ 
head  of  a  division.  Of  him  the  Boston  Post 
says : 

“  Mr.  Montague,  who  was  one  of  yesterday’ 
victims,  is  an  accomplished  young  lawyer 
from  Chelsea,  Mass,  who  is  so  far  from  being 
a  partisan  that  he  never  served  on  a  political 
committee  in  his  life.  Comptroller  Butler 
had  great  confidence  in  Mr.  Montague,  and 
relied  much  upon  his  assistance  in  preparing 
the  data  for  some  of  his  most  important  de¬ 
cisions.  Mr.  Montague  is  a  democrat  of  the 
best  type,  and  a  decided  civil  service  reformer.” 

THE  THANKSGIVING  SERMON. 

The  Indianapolis  Journal  recently  said  : 

“  Herbert  Welsh,  the  civil  service  enthusi¬ 
ast,  who  has  addressed  a  circular  to  the  min¬ 
isters  of  the  country,  asking  them  to  preach 
next  Thanksgiving  Day  on  the  subject  of  civil 
service  reform,  is  said  to  be  meeting  with  in¬ 
different  success,  so  far  as  may  be  judged  by 
responses  received.  This  disinclination  of 
the  clergy  to  join  in  Mr.  Welsh’s  scheme  by 
no  means  Indicates  a  lack  of  sympathy  with 
the  reform  in  question,  but  does  indicate  a 
belief  that  there  are  other  topics  of  more  im¬ 
portance  demanding  attention  of  the  pulpit. 
To  uphold  civil  service  reform  ideas  is  not 
necessarily  a  proof  of  virtue,  nor  opposition 
to  it  a  sin,  and  while  so  many  unquestionable 
virtues  remain  to  be  taught,  and  so  many  sins 
to  be  denounced,  it  really  seems  that  the  pul¬ 
pit  has  enough  to  do  without  taking  up  mat¬ 
ters  of  political  policy.  The  teachings  that 
make  men  honest  citizens  insure  the  proper 
conduct  of  the  civil  service  without  special 
religious  instruction  in  that  line.” 

Those  who  have  seen  the  long  list  of  dis¬ 
tinguished  clergymen  of  all  denominations 
who  have  responded  need  not  be  told  that  the 
Journal  has  been  misled  asj^o  the  interest  man¬ 
ifested,  but  the  apparent  effort  to  belittle  the 
importance  of  this  question  and  to  put  it  out¬ 
side  moral  issues  is  'the  more  surprising  for 
only  last  November  the  Journal  said  :  “They 
must  be  accomplished  if  our  civil  service  is  to 
be  saved  from  becoming  the  mere  prey  of 


spoilsmen  and  a  perpetual  source  of  corruption 
and  danger  to  the  government. 

Whether  the  discussion  of  this  question 
pertains  to  morals  may  be  judged  when  the 
republican  national  platform  in  1872  charac¬ 
terized  the  spoils  system  as  “  fatally  demoral¬ 
izing.”  And  again  in  1884  and  1888  de¬ 
manded  that  all  laws  at  variance  with  the 
object  of  existing  reform  legislation  should 
be  repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  in- 
stitutions  tvhich  lurk  in  the  'power  of  official  patron¬ 
age  may  be  wisely  and  effectually  avoided.” 

Were  any  further  evidence  needed,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  schooled  to  a  nation’s  peril,  gave  warn¬ 
ing  that  “  if  ever  this  free  people,  this  govern¬ 
ment  itself,  is  ever  utterly  demoralized,  it  will 
come  from  this  wriggle  and  struggle  for 
office.”  It  has  been  only  of  late  years  that 
the  facts  to  show  the  baseness  of  the  spoils 
system  have  been  accessible  to  the  public. 
The  details  of  this  despotism  were  for  years 
smothered.  Papers  were  subsidized,  social 
and  business  relations  were  threatened,  and 
the  victims  were  trained  to  silence.  If  cruel¬ 
ty,  treachery,  meanness  and  lying  are  im¬ 
moral,  then  a  system  that  can  not  exist  without 
them  is  also  immoral,  and  is  a  question  ap¬ 
propriate  for  pulpit  discussion.  It  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  true  that  many  conscientious  cler¬ 
gymen  will  not  feel  called  upon  to  follow  Mr. 
Welsh’s  suggestion.  They  do  not  yet  fully 
realize  what  is  involved  in  the  placing  of 
thousands  of  favorites  into  public  places. 
When  men  and  women  are  proscribed  from 
public  employment  in  a  free  country  in  the 
nineteenth  century  because  of  political  opin¬ 
ions,  when  offices  are  given  as  bribes,  when 
the  air  is  thick  with  details  of  broken  prom¬ 
ises  and  treachery,  when,  by  unlawful  and 
disgraceful  assistance,  an  unscrupulous  man 
like  Mahoue  is  given  Virginia,  Q'l^y,  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  and  Platt,  New  York,  it  is  time  for 
those  charged  with  the  oversight  of  the  spir¬ 
itual  and  moral  well-being  of  others  to  protest 
against  the  corrupting  power  of  political 
patronage. 


We  are  permitted  to  print  the  following  let¬ 
ter  from  Rev.  R.  V.  Hunter,  pastor  of  the 
Seventh  Presbyterian  church  of  this  city  : 

“  I  am  in  full  sympathy  with  your  idea  of  a 
non-partisan  sermon  to  be  preached  on  the 
coming  Thanksgiving.  I  believe  that  it 
should  be  preached  for  many  reasons.  The 
people  need  a  fair  presentation  of  national 
issues,  and  this  they  can  not  get  from  partisan 
papers  or  speakers.  The  best  citizen  is  the 
one  who  loves  his  country  more  than  party. 
There  are  evils  in  all  parties.  There  is,  like¬ 
wise  good  in  all  parties.  What  we  need  is  to 
know  the  good  and  to  applaud  it.  Likewise 
to  know  the  evil  and  condemn  it.  Anything 
that  will  contribute  to  better  government,  to 
more  enlightened  political  conscience,  will  be 
in  place  on  that  day.” 

QUESTIONS 

Used  in  the  Examination  for  Clerks  and  Car¬ 
riers  held  at  Indianapolis,  August  6,  1889, 
with  the  Rules  for  Marking. 

CLERK  EXAMINATION. 

First  Subject— Orthograriiy. 

N.  B.— Capitals  should  be  used  only  where  requir¬ 
ed  by  the  rules  of  orthography. 


1.  Write,  in  the  spaces  below,  the  abbreviations 
for  the  names  which  will  be  given  by  the  examiner. 
(The  following  were  given :) 

1  November;  2  Oregon  ;  3  Department;  4  North¬ 
east  ;  5 Secretary ;  6 Treasurer ;  7  Justice  of  the  Peace; 
8  Arizona  Territory  ;  9  Major  ;  10  Place. 

2.  Spelling,  as  dictated  by  the  examiner.  (The 
following  were  dictated :) 

1  Irregular ;  2  Schedule  ;  3  Issuing ;  4  Foreign ;  5 
Receive ;  6  Permissible ;  7  Correspondence ;  8  Par¬ 
cels;  9  Accompanying ;  10  Transmissible  ;  11  Classi¬ 
fication;  12  Initials;  13  Equivalent ;  14  Remittance ; 
15  Merchandise;  16  Superintendent;  17  Wrap¬ 
ping;  18  Register;  19  Envelope;  20  Subscription. 

Second  Subject— Penmanship. 

N.  B.— The  marks  on  penmanship  will  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  legibility,  neatnessjand  general  appearance, 
and  by  correctness  and  uniformity  in  the  formation 
of  words,  letters,  and  punctuation  marks  in  the  sec¬ 
ond  exercise  of  the  third  subject— writing  from  plain 
copy— and  in  the  exercise  of  the  fourth  subject— let¬ 
ter-writing. 

Third  Subject— Copying. 

First  Exercise —  Writing  from  Dictation. 

N.  B.— Spelling,  use  of  capitals,  punctuation,  and 
all  omissions  and  mistakes  will  be  taken  into  consid¬ 
eration  in  marking  the  exercises  of  this  subject. 

One  of  the  examiners  will  dictate  an  exercise  of  not 
less  than  ten  lines  so  distinctly  that  all  the  persons  be¬ 
ing  examined  can  hear  him.  The  pa.ssage  will  first  be 
read  for  information,  and  then  be  dictated  in  phrases 
of  five  or  six  words,  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  words  per  minute.  If  from  any  cause  the 
competitor  miss  a  word,  he  should  not  pause,  but 
leave  a  blank  space  and  go  on  with  the  next  words  he 
hears.  Three  minutes  will  be  allowed  after  the  dic¬ 
tation  for  punctuation  and  correction.  The  follow¬ 
ing  was  dictated ; 

“  The  secretary  shall  make  minntes  of  the  proceed¬ 
ings  of  the  comniissien  and  record  them  in  a  book  to 
be  kept  for  that  purpose  and  to  be  entitled  “Record 
of  Proceedings.’’  He  shall  have  charge  of  the  secre¬ 
tary’s  division  of  the  commission,  and  shall  have 
custody  of  and  be  responsible  for  the  safe-keeping  of 
the  books,  records,  papers,  and  other  property  there¬ 
of.  He  shall  enter  upon  the  registers  of  eligibles  the 
names  of  persons  eligible  to  places  in  the  classified 
departmental  service,  «.nd,  by  direction  of  the  com¬ 
mission,  upon  proper  requisition  therefor,  make  cer¬ 
tification  thereof.  He  shall  perform  such  other  du¬ 
ties  as  the  commission  may  direct.” 

Second  Exercise—  Writing  from  Plain  Copy. 

N.  B.— Spelling,  use  of  capitals,  punctuation,  and 
all  omissions  and  mistakes  will  be  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration  in  marking  the  exercises  of  this  subject. 

Copy  the  following  precisely,  punctuating  and 
capitalizing  as  in  the  copy: 

The  grade  of  each  competitor  shall  be  expressed  by 
the  whole  number  nearest  the  general  average  at¬ 
tained  by  him,  and  the  grade  of  each  eligible  shall 
be  noted  upon  the  register  of  eligibles  in  connection 
with  his  name.  When  two  or  more  eligibles  are  of 
the  same  grade,  preference  in  certification  shall  be 
determined  by  the  order  in  which  their  application 
papers  were  filed. 

No  person  who  has  passed  an  examination  shall 
while  eligible  on  the  regl.ster  supplied  by  such  exam; 
ination,be  re-examined,  unless  he  shall  furnish  ev¬ 
idence  satisfactory  to  the  commission  that  at  the 
time  of  his  examination  he  was,  because  of  illness  or 
for  other  good  cause,  incapable  of  doing  himself  jus¬ 
tice  in  said  examination. 

Fourth  Subject— Letter  Writing, 

N.  B.— This  exercise  is  designed  chiefly  to  test  the 
competitor’s  skill  in  simple  English  composition, 
knowledge  of  the  rules  of  punctuation,  and  concep¬ 
tion  of  the  proper  form  of  a  letter. 

In  marking  the  letter,  its  errors  in  form  and  ad¬ 
dress,  in  spelling,  capitals,  punctuation,  syntax  and 
style,  and  its  adherence  to  the  subject  will  be  con¬ 
sidered.  The  handwriting  in  this  exercise  will  help 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


57 


to  (Jetermiue  the  ratiilg  on  “penmanship,”  which  is 
the  second  subject,  but  will  not  be  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration  in  ascertaining  the  “marks”  of  the  letter. 

Write  a  letter  giving  a  brief  account  of  your  educa¬ 
tion,  including  the  names  and  locations  of  the 
schools  attended  by  you,  and  a  description  of  the 
course  of  study  pursued  by  you. 

The  competitor  must  avoid  allusion  to  his  political 
or  religious  opinions  or  affiliations.  The  letter  must 
contain  not  less  than  125  words,  must  be  addressed 
as  follows:  “To  the  United  States  Civil  Service  Com¬ 
mission,  Washington,  D.  C.,”  and  must  be  dated  at 
the  place  where  the  examination  is  held.  The  ex¬ 
amination  number,  and  not  the  name  of  the  competitor, 
must  be  used  for  a  signature  to  the  letter. 

Fifth  Subject— Arithmetic. 

1.  Add  the  following: 

1.426.387 
20,785,598 

6.818.388 
40,327,846 

3,428,920 

282,111 

9,237,116 

2.  From  334,785  subtract  22,312,  and  multiply  the 
difference  by  235.  Give  work  in  full. 

3.  Multiply  the  following: 

fXIXfXI 

Give  work  in  full. 

4.  Add  i+f+f +1 

Give  work  in  full. 

5.  The  employes  at  a  certain  office  authorized  the 
retention  of  one-tenth  of  their  salaries  for  a  benefi¬ 
ciary  fund.  The  force  consisted  of  six  clerks  at 
$1.33>^  each  per  month,  nine  clerks  at  $83>^  each,  five 
copyists  at  $75  each,  and  three  messengers  at  $70 
each.  What  was  the  amount  retained  per  year  for 
the  beneficiary  fund  ?  Give  work  in  full. 

6.  If  six  stampers  can  stamp  259,200  letters  in  one 
day  of  eight  hours,  how  many  can  one  stamper 
stamp  in  a  minute?  Give  work  in  full. 

7.  The  mail  received  at  an  office  on  a  certain  day 
weighed  5,000  lbs.,  one-fifth  of  which  were  letters 
averaging  one-half  oz.  each,  two-fifths  newspapers 
averaging  2  oz.  each,  and  the  remainder  packages 
averaging  4  oz.  each.  How  many  pieces  were  there 
in  the  mail  ?  Give  work  in  full. 

8.  What  will  it  cost  to  pave  with  brick  a  court¬ 
yard  48  feet  in  length  by  30  feet  in  width,  and  aside- 
walk  72  feet  long  and  4  feet  wide  at  50  cents  per 
square  yard  ?  Give  work  in  full. 

9.  A  merchant  purchased  stamps  and  stamped  en¬ 
velopes  in  quantities  and  of  denominations  as  fol¬ 
lows.  What  was  the  cost  of  each  denomination  and 
what  was  the  total  cost? 

300  two-cent  stamps .  5 . 

90  three-cent  “  . 

120  four-cent  “  . 

37  five  cent  “  . 

20  ten-cent  “  . 

350  stamped  envelopes  at  $2.16  per 

hundred . 

Total .  « . 

10.  Multiply  265.5  by  4.04  and  from  the  product 
subtract  32.75.  Give  work  in  full. 

Sixth  Subject— Geography. 

1.  Name  in  their  order  from  east  to  west  the  States 
which  border  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

2.  Name  the  two  important  rivers  which  form  por¬ 
tions  of  the  boundary  lines  of  each  of  the  following- 
named  states:  West  Virginia,  Illinois. 

3.  What  State  forms  the  whole  or  the  principal 
part  of  the  northern  boundary  of  each  of  the  follow¬ 
ing-named  states:  Arkansas,  Pennsylvania,  North 
Carolina,  Kansas,  Illinois. 

4.  Name  the  principal  city  of  each  of  the  following- 
named  States:  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  California, 
Michigan,  Illinois. 

6.  Name  five  states  of  the  Union  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  northeast  of  the  state  of  Delaware. 

6.  On  what  river  is  each  of  the  following-named 
cities  situated,  and  of  what  state  is  each  the  capital. 
Albany,  Harrisburg,  Augusta,  Nashville,  Baton 
Rouge. 


7.  In  what  .state  is  each  of  the  following-named 
cities:  Erie,  Sandusky,  Wheeling,  Memphis,  Los 
Angeles,  Dubuque,  Pittsfield,  Lowell,  Dayton, 
Macon. 

8.  Name  five  of  the  most  important  cities  on  the 
Mississippi  river  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
river,  and  name  the  state  in  which  each  city  named 
in  situated. 

9.  Name  five  of  the  most  important  cities  (or  towns 
if  there  be  not  five  cities)  in  this  state,  and  give  the 
name  of  the  county  in  which  each  city  named  is 
situated. 

10.  Name  five  of  the  principal  railroad  centers  in 
the  United  States  and  give  the  name  of  the  state  in 
which  each  is  situated. 

CARRIER  EXAMINATION. 

FIR.ST  Subject— Orthography. 

N.  B.— Capitals  should  be  used  only  where  required 
by  the  rules  of  orthography. 

1.  Write  in  the  spaces  below,  the  abbreviations 
for  the  names  which  will  be  given  by  the  examiner, 
(The  following  were  given :) 

California,  Georgia,  Doctor,  Colorado,  New  Orleans, 
Attorney,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  Captain,  Pro¬ 
fessor. 

2.  Spelling,  as  indicated  by  the  examiner.  (The 
following  were  indicated :) 

1  Mileage;  2  Allowable;  3  Cancelling  ;  4  Manage¬ 
ment;  5  Miscellaneous:  6  Authorize;  7  Route;  8 
Official;  9  Territory;  10  Amendment;  11  Discon¬ 
tinue;  12  Guide  ;  13  Separating ;  14  Conveyance ;  15 
Defacing,  16  Weekly  ;  17  Daily;  18  Privilege;  19  Ad¬ 
dressed  ;  20  Handling. 

Second  Subject— Penmanship. 

N.  B.— The  mark  on  penmanship  will  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  legibility,  neatness  and  general  appearance, 
and  by  correctness  and  uniformity  in  the  formation 
of  words,  letters,  and  punctuation  marks  in  the 
second  and  third  exercises  of  the  third  subject. 

Third  Subject— Copying. 

First  Exercise— Writing  from  Dictation. 

(Same  directions  as  in  clerk  examination,  but  the 
following  exercise  was  dictated  :) 

To  the  Congress ;  I  herewith  transmit  the  fifth 
report  of  the  civil  service  commission,  covering  the 
year  which  ended  June  30, 1888. 

The  cause  of  civil  service  reform,  which  in  a  great 
degree  is  intrusted  to  the  commission,  I  regard  as  so 
firmly  established  and  its  value  so  fully  demon¬ 
strated  that  I  should  deem  it  more  gratifying  than 
useful  if  at  this  late  day  in  the  session  of  congress  1 
was  permitted  to  enlarge  upon  its  importance  and 
present  condition. 

A  peru.sal  of  the  report  herewith  submitted  will 
furnish  information  of  the  progress  which  has  been 
made  during  the  year  to  which  it  relates,  in  the  ex¬ 
tension  of  the  operation  of  this  reform,  and  in  the 
improvement  of  its  methods  and  rules. 

Second  Exercise —  Writing  from  plain  copy. 

N.  B.— Spelling,  use  of  capitals,  punctuation,  and 
all  omissions  and  mistakes  will  be  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration  in  marking  the  exercises  of  this  subject. 

Copy  the  following  precisely : 

6.  The  grade  of  each  competitor  shall  be  expressed 
by  the  whole  number  nearest  the  general  average 
attained  by  him,  and  the  grade  of  each  eligible  shall 
be  noted  upon  the  register  of  eligibles  in  connection 
with  his  name.  When  two  or  more  eligibles  are  of 
the  same  grade,  preference  in  certification  shall  be 
determined  by  the  order  in  which  their  application 
papers  were  filed. 

7.  Immediately  after  the  general  averages  in  an 
examination  shall  have  been  ascertained,  each  com¬ 
petitor  shall  be  notified  that  he  has  passed  or  has 
failed  to  pass. 

Third  Exercise—  Writing  from  plain  copy  in  labularform. 

Copy  the  following  precisely;  use  capitals  and 
punctuate  as  in  the  copy. 

Jan.  18.  Peter  Sullivan.  74  Madison  st.  MailLet- 
ter.  Removed. 

Feb.  16.  Adams  &  Smith.  39  Grant  pi.  Foreign 
Letter.  No  such  number. 


Sept.  25.  Mrs.  Alice  H.  Ripley.  164  St.  Mary’s  st. 
Local  Letter.  Deceased. 

Nov.  7.  Miss  Sarah  Hobbs.  47J4  Maiden  Lane. 
Mail  Package.  Not  known. 

Dec.  23.  Weeks,  Knowles  &  Co.  No.  7  Jones’  alley. 
Local  Postal  Card.  Dissolved. 

Fourth  Subject— Arithmetic. 

1.  Express  in  sign  and  figures  four  hundred  and 
fifty-six  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
dollars  and  ten  cents. 

2.  Express  in  words  the  following:  6  mi.,  30  rd., 
4  yd.,  1  ft.,  10  in. 

3.  Express  in  words  the  following  ;  1,001,640. 

4.  A  carrier  receives  $900  for  a  year  of  300  working 
days.  If  he  serves  as  carrier  273  working  days  how 
much  will  he  have  earned  in  that  time? 

Give  work  in  full. 

5.  Divide  10.59  by  3,  and  to  the  quotient  add  280.1, 

Give  work  in  full. 

6.  Add  the  following,  placing  the  sum  at  the  bot¬ 
tom  : 

5,783,792.91 

359,312,175.75 

11.545.666.66 

7,919,287,554.55 

651,815.25 

999,520.45 

4,786,452,361.38 

29,236,111,522.63 

75,775,016.19 

90,471,236.738.05 

7.  The  fee  for  a  money  order  exceeding  $5  and  not 
exceeding  $10  is  8  cents.  A  man  sends  away  by  mail 
in  separate  letters  5  money  orders  for  $7  each  and  2 
for  $9  each.  How  much  does  he  expend  including 
money  order  fees  and  the  postage  on  the  letters? 

Give  work  in  full. 

8.  A  carrier  having  a  legacy  of  $500  adds  to  it  the 
savings  of  5  years  and  buys  a  house  worth  $1,600. 
He  has  saved  each  year  11-50  of  his  salary.  What  Is 
his  salary? 

Give  work  in  full. 

9.  A  earrier  making  a  delivery  trip  is  absent  from 
the  office  2%  hours.  It  takes  him  15  minutes  to  reach 
the  beginning  of  his  route,  and  while  making  his  de¬ 
livery  he  walks  a  distance  of  lOOfeetevery  3  minutes 
Allowing  15  minutes  for  his  return  to  the  office  after 
his  delivery  is  finished,  how  many  squares  are  there 
in  his  delivery  trip  proper,  there  being  500  feet  to  the 
square? 

Give  work  infxdl. 

10.  A  carrier  makes  4  trips  daily,  delivering  68  let¬ 
ters,  53  papers,  21  postal  cards,  and  7  packages  each 
trip.  How  many  pieces  of  mail  matter  does  he  de¬ 
liver  in  a  year  of  300  working  days? 

Give  work  in  full. 

Fifth  Subject— Geography. 

1.  Name  the  principal  river  of  the  United  States 
which  flows  into  each  of  the  following  named  bodies 
of  water  :  Long  Island  Sound,  Penobscot  Bay,  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  Chesapeake  Bay,  Pacific  Ocean. 

2.  In  what  state  and  on  what  river  is  each  of  the 
following  named  cities :  Louisville,  Albany,  Hart¬ 
ford,  Dubuque,  Kansas  City. 

3.  Name  five  of  the  states  which  border  in  part  on 
the  great  lakes. 

4.  Name  two  states  of  the  Union  which  commence 
with  the  letter  A,  two  which  commence  with  the 
letter  W,  and  one  which  commences  with  the  letter 
R,  and  give  the  name  of  the  capital  of  each  state 
named. 

5.  Name  two  states  which  border  on  the  Missouri 
river,  two  which  border  on  the  Connecticut  river, 
and  one  which  borders  on  the  Delaware  river. 

Sixth  Subject— Knowledge  of  the  Locality  of 
the  Post-Office  Delivery. 

1.  Name  ten  cities  or  important  towns  in  the  State 
and  give  the  name  of  the  county  in  which  each  is 
situated. 

2.  Name  five  of  the  principal  hotels  in  this  city 
and  state  how  far  (how  many  blocks  or  squares) 
each  one  is  situated  from  the  building  in  which  this 
examination  is  held. 

3.  Name  five  of  the  most  important  business 
streets  of  this  city  which  cross  the  street  on  which 
this  building  (the  building  where  this  examination 
is  held)  fronts,  and  name  one  of  the  most  promi- 


58 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


nent  business  establishments  on  each  of  the  five 
streets  named. 

4.  Name  two  of  the  principal  lines  of  street  rail¬ 
way  in  this  city  and  give  the  names  of  the  principal 
streets  through  which  each  line  passes. 

5.  Name  and  locate  five  of  the  principal  public 
school  buildings  in  this  city. 

RULES  OF  MARKING  ABOVE  PAPERS. 

[A  perfect  answer  is  marked  100, and  below  are  given 
the  deductions  to  be  made  for  the  respective  errors.] 
Orthography. 

From  100  deduct— 


For  each  error  in  orthography .  5 

For  each  error  in  capitalization .  1 

Copying— Writing  from  Dictation. 

In  this  exercise  no  word  or  date  shall  be  abbreviated 

For  each  error  in  orthography .  1 

For  each  word  omitted .  2 

For  each  word  inserted  or  added .  2 

For  each  word  substituted .  1 

Word  or  words  have  been  written . 

For  each  transposition .  1 

For  each  abbreviation .  1 

For  each  error  in  capitalization .  1 

For  each  failure  to  use  the  period  at  the  end 
of  a  sentence,  and  for  each  grossly  im¬ 
proper  use  of  a  punctuation  mark .  1 

For  irregularity  in  left-hand  margin .  1 

Copying—  Writing  from  Plain  Copy  or  from  Rough  Draft. 

From  100  deduct— 

For  each  error  in  orthography .  5 

For  each  word  or  figure  omitted .  6 

For  each  word  inserted  or  added .  5 

For  each  word  or  figure  substituted .  5 

For  each  transposition .  5 

For  each  abbreviation  not  in  the  copy .  5 

For  each  failure  to  capitalize  according  to 

copy .  5 

For  each  failure  to  punctuate  according  to 

copy .  5 

For  each  failure  to  paragraph  according  to 

copy .  5 

For  irregularity  in  left-hand  margin .  6 

For  each  omission  of  the  hyphen  in  dividing 
a  word  at  end  of  line .  1 

Penmanship. 


Mark  penmanship  on  letter  (or  in  copyist’s  exam- 
ation  on  copy  of  rough  draft)  according  to  its  value 
on  a  scale  of  100. 

Mark  penmanship  on  exercise  in  copying  from 
plain  copy  according  to  its  value  on  a  scale  of  100. 

Divide  the  sum  of  the  marks  on  letter  and  copying 
by  2.  The  quotient  will  be  the  mark  on  penmanship. 


Arithmetic. 

Notation  and  Numeration. 

For  each  improper  use  of  the  sign  8,  £,  or 
other  denomination  of  quantity,  or  for  the 

substitution  of  one  for  the  other .  25 

For  omission  of  the  decimal  point,  when  a 

decimal  is  required .  75 

For  error  in  denomination  of  decimal ;  for 

each  place,  not  exceeding  three .  25 

For  an  intended  decimal  expressed  as  a  com¬ 
mon  (or  vulgar)  fraction .  25 

For  a  clearly  indicated  decimal  expressed  as  a 

common  (or  vulgar)  fraction .  50 

For  each  numeration  point  placed  to  the 

right  of  the  decimal  point .  5 

For  each  use  of  the  comma  where  the  decimal 

point  should  be  used .  5 

For  each  use  of  the  period  where  the  comma 

should  be  used .  5 

For  each  figure  substituted .  10 

For  each  figure  inserted .  10 

For  each  figure  prefixed  or  sufiaxed .  10 

For  each  figure  omitted .  10 

For  incorrect  pointing .  10 

For  writing  cents  and  mills  as  a  decimal  part 
of  a  dollar  when  an  amount  of  United  States 
money  is  required  to  be  expressed  in  words  10 

Fundamental  Rules. 

For  each  error  in  computation .  10 


For  omission  of  the  decimal  point  in  answer 
in  which  its  use  is  required,  or  for  express¬ 
ing  answer  as  a  decimal  when  it  should  be 

expressed  as  a  whole  number .  50 

For  errors  in  pointing  off  decimals  for  one 

place .  25 

For  two  places .  30 

For  three  places .  3i 

For  four  places .  40 

For  five  places .  45 

For  six  places .  50 

For  use  of  the  comma  where  the  decimal 
point  should  be  used .  5 


Fractions  and  Problems. 

Above  charges  for  fundamental  rules  apply 
also  to  fractions  and  problems. 


For  wrong  process  producing  incorrect  result  100 
For  complex  statement,  right  result  being 

produced .  10 

For  complex  process  or  method,  right  result 

being  produced .  10 

If,  when  “  work  ”  or  “  operation  in  full  ”  is 
required,  the  correct  answer  is  given,  but 

no  “work”  is  shown . 1 .  75 

For  fractions  in  answer  not  reduced  to  lowest 
terms,  or  answer  in  denominate  numbers 
not  expressed  in  the  several  denominations, 

beginning  with  the  highest .  20 

In  denominate  numbers,  for  errors  in  quan¬ 
tity  of  one  denomination  contained  in  a 
unit  of  a  higher  denomination,  according 


to  the  gravity  of  the  error . 10  to  35 

If  part  of  work  is  correct  and  part  incorrect, 
or  if  problem  is  incomplete,  credit  in  pro¬ 


portion  to  correct  work  done. 

For  omitting  days  of  grace  in  problems  in 
bank  discount,  or  in  other  problems  when 

specified .  25 

If,  when  “work”  or  “operation  in  full”  is  re¬ 
quired,  the  correct  answer  is  given,  and 
the  process  is  clearly  indicated,  but  not 

written  in  full .  15 

If  no  attempt  is  made  to  answer .  100 

For  failure  to  indicate  the  answer  in  prob¬ 
lems  by  the  letters :  Ans.,  or  otherwise .  5 


For  each  failure  to  use  the  sign  8  or  £.  or  any 
other  monetary  or  commercial  sign,  or  any 
sign  by  which  the  relations  of  quantities  are 
expressed,  when  the  use  of  such  is  required 
in  the  statement  or  solution  of  a  problem...  5 
Elements  of  the  English  Language. 

Each  error  in  a  sentence  given  for  correction  shall 
be  valued  at  the  amount  that  would  be  produced  by 
dividing  100  by  the  sum  of  the  errors  contained  in 
the  sentence.  If,  in  correcting  a  sentence,  errors  are 
made  in  the  answer  that  are  not  in  the  sentence 
given  for  correction,  these  errors  shall  be  added  to 
the  errors  of  the  sentence  to  be  corrected,  and  each 
error  shall  be  valued  at  the  amount  resulting  from  a 
division  of  100  by  this  sum.  The  sum  of  the  error 
values  credited  for  errors  corrected  in  the  answer 
will  be  the  mark  of  the  answer. 

Any  exercise  in  this  subject  (letter-writing  ex¬ 
cepted)  which  does  not  present  a  definite  number  of 
points,  so  that  it  may  be  marked  under  definite 
rules,  will  be  marked  in  the  discretion  of  th'e  exam¬ 
iners  upon  the  following  considerations ;  (1)  Whether 
the  answer  covers  the  question  ;  (2)  whether  it  is  ac¬ 
curate  :  (3)  whether  it  is  unambiguous  ;  (4)  as  to  the 
degree  of  information  and  capacity  it  exhibits.  In 
the  discretion  of  the  examiners. 

LETTER-W  RITING . 

In  marking  the  letter,  form,  style,  and  matter  will 
each  be  marked  on  a  scale  of  100,  and  the  sum 
of  these  marks  will  be  divided  by  3. 

In  marking  the  letter,  the  errors  below  mentioned 
shall  be  charged  to  form,  as  follows  : 

Form. 

From  100  deduct— 


Omission  of  date  line .  10 

Omission  of  name  of  place  or  date,  in  date 

line . 5 

Omission  of  address .  10 

Omission  of  name  of  person  or  place  in  ad¬ 
dress .  5 


For  each  incompletely  written  (1)  name  of 
place  in  date  line  or  address ;  (2)  date  or  ad- 


(3)  subscription .  5 

For  each  error  in  spelling .  3 

For  each  error  in  division  of  words .  3 

For  each  error  in  syntax .  3 

For  irregular  left-hand  margin .  3 

For  repetition  of  address .  5 

For  signing  name  instead  of  examination 

number .  5 

For  each  word  omitted  or  repeated .  1 

For  each  error  in  punctuation  and  in  the  use 
of  capitals .  1 


No  definite  directions  can  be  given  for  marking  the 
style  and  matter  of  the  letter,  and  the  judgment 
of  the  examiners  must  therefore  determine  the 
value  of  each. 

Geography,  History,  and  Government. 

In  marking  these  subjects,  each  answer  shall  be 
marked,  in  the  discretion  of  the  examiners,  accord¬ 
ing  to  its  value  on  a  scale  of  100. 

When  the  question  requires  in  the  answer  a  speci¬ 
fied  number  of  states,  countries,  persons,  places,  lo¬ 
cations,  or  things,  the  quotient  arising  from  the 
division  of  100  by  the  number  of  states,  countries, 
etc.,  required  shall  be  the  credit  to  be  given  for  each 
state,  country,  etc.,  correctly  named;  if  a  greater 
number  is  given  in  the  answer  than  is  required,  the 
additional  number  of  states,  countries,  etc.,  shall  be 
added  to  the  number  required  by  the  question,  and 
the  quotient  arising  from  the  division  of  100  by  the 
number  thus  obtained  shall  be  the  credit  to  be  given 
for  each  state,  country,  etc.,  correctly  named. 
General  Provisions. 

1.  Any  error  not  covered  by  the  forgoing  rules 
will  be  marked  in  the  discretion  of  the  examiners. 

2.  The  examiners,  having  satisfactory  evidence 
that  an  answer  has  been  borrowed  or  otherwise  im¬ 
properly  obtained,  the  question  will  be  marked  0. 
and  the  examination  papers,  with  the  evidence,  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  commission. 

3.  The  examination  papers  of  every  competitor 
must  be  marked  by  the  board  of  examiners,  and 
each  examiner  shall  initial  every  paper  marked  by 
him.  Should  a  review  by  another  examiner  be  nec¬ 
essary,  he  shall  also  initial  every  paper  reviewed  by 
him.  Each  examiner  who  marks  a  subject  shall 
mark  and  initial  with  pencil  or  ink  of  different  color 
than  that  of  the  pencil  or  ink  used  by  any  other  ex¬ 
aminer  marking  the  same  subject. 

4.  All  errors  noted  must  be  indicated  by  under¬ 
lining  or  otherwi.se.  The  charge  for  each  error  must, 
when  practicable,  be  noted  on  the  margin  of  the 
sheet. 

5.  In  finding  the  average  of  the  marks  on  any  sub¬ 
ject  by  dividing  the  sum  of  the  credits  by  the  num¬ 
ber  of  questions,  the  unanswered  questions  must  be 
counted  in  obtaining  the  divisor. 

Rules  Governing  Capitalization. 

The  following  words  should  begin  with  capital 
letters : 

1.  The  first  word  of  every  distinct  sentence. 

2.  Proper  names  and  titles  of  honor  or  ofllce  ;  as, 
George  Washington,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  General  Grant,  President  Cleveland,  Gov¬ 
ernor  Marcy,  Lord  Tennyson,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  the 
Ohio,  Fourteenth  street. 

Note.— The  name  of  any  object  personified  may 
be  used  as  a  proper  name,  and  shonld  then  begin 
with  a  capital  letter  ;  as,  “  Come,  gentle  Spring.” 

3.  Adjectives  derived  from  proper  names;  as, 
American,  European,  African. 

4.  The  appellations  of  the  Deity;  as,  God,  the  Al¬ 
mighty,  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Most  High. 

5.  The  first  word  of  every  line  of  poetry, 

6.  The  first  word  of  a  direct  quotation,  when  the 
quotation  forms  a  complete  sentence;  as,  “Christ 
says,  ‘  My  yoke  is  easy.’  ” 

7.  Every  name  and  principal  word  in  the  titles  of 
books ;  as,  “  Pope’s  Essay  on  Man.” 

8.  The  pronoun  I  and  the  interjection  O  are  writ¬ 
ten  in  capitals. 

Note.— Other  words  of  particular  importance  may 
begin  with  capital  letters. 


The  civil  service  Chronicle. 


We  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  the  republican  majority  of  the  senate  to  oppose  the  confirmation  of  any  person  appointed  in  violation  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of 

the  civil  service  act.— iV«w  York  Republican  Platform,  1885. 


VoL.  I,  No.  8.  INDIANAPOLIS,  OCTOBER,  1889.  terms  fee* tsVefcopr^ 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  adveriisements  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  (  HRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


The  question  of  the  civil  service  involves 
every  other  question  in  our  politics.  With  a 
proper  administration  of  the  government  serv¬ 
ice  there  would  be  fewer  disturbing  questions. 
The  present  system  of  giving  office  as  a  reward 
for  unscrupulous  political  work  exaggerates 
every  evil  and  increases  every  cause  of  dis¬ 
turbance.  If  the  government  is  to  be  admin¬ 
istered  on  the  blocks-of-five  plan,  it  is  idle  to 
expect  that  any  real  reform  can  be  accom¬ 
plished  in  any  direction.  1/  we  do  not  change 
our  civil  service  methods  we  will  have  a  thoroughly 
estublushed  despotism  of,  by  and  for  the  worst  rascals 
in  the  country. — St.  Louis  Republic  [JJem.]. 

Nearly  the  entire  space  of  this  paper  has 
been  given  this  month  to  the  proceedings 
of  the  annual  meeting  of  the*  National 
League.  The  address  of  Mr.  Curtis,  being 
from  him,  does  not  need  any  praise ;  but  it 
seems  to  understate  the  value  of  certain 
acts  of  President  Harrison,  and  the  effect 
is  to  leave  the  present  administration  with¬ 
out  any  credit  regarding  civil  service  re¬ 
form.  We  can  not  concur  in  this  general 
conclusion.  For  instance,  the  appointment 
of  the  present  civil  service  commission  was 
an  act  of  tremendous  importance,  and  dis¬ 
played  not  only  a  purpose  to  have  the  law 
enforced,  but  entire  knowledge  of  the  way 
to  go  about  it.  The  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  is  the  backbone  of  the  merit  system 
so  far  as  that  system  has  been  applied  to 
the  civil  service.  The  appointment  of  the 
present  commission,  and  especially  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  has  given  that  system  an  ex¬ 
ceedingly  rigid  backbone.  The  effect  is 
seen  on  all  hands,  as,  for  instance,  in  the 
Indianapolis  post-office.  We  have  now 
what  has  always  been  needed,  a  commis¬ 
sion  that  can  not  be  cowed  by  the  threats 
of  congressmen  whose  hurts  and  out¬ 
cries  are  the  best  evidence  of  its  efficiency. 
The  recent  outbreaks  against  the  law  are 
conclusive  proofs  that  a  new  and  serious 
barrier  to  working  in  henchmen  in  spite 
of  the  law  has  been  encountered.  The  ap¬ 
pointment  here  and  there  of  the  head  of 
an  office  who  earnestly  favors  the  merit 
system  can  not  be  compared  in  importance 
to  the  selection  of  an  “admirable  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission.”  The  one  affects  but  one 
office,  the  other  all  the  offices  in  the  classi¬ 
fied  service,  and  acts  both  as  a  prod  and  as 
a  brake  upon  the  President  himself, 


Mr.  Bonaparte’s  paper  upon  “Civil  Ser¬ 
vice  Reform  as  a  Moral  Question”  has 
about  it  a  nobility  of  sentiment  and  a  clear¬ 
ness  and  ability  of  statement  entirely  wor¬ 
thy  of  its  author.  The  discussion  is  com¬ 
paratively  new,  but  he  may  be  said  to  have 
reduced  the  question  to  a  demonstration. 
His  declaration,"  that  to  promise  or  confer 
public  office  as  a  bait  or  reward  for  per¬ 
sonal  or  party  service  is  always  and  every¬ 
where  immoral ;  that  it  is  a  breach  of  trust 
and  a  form  of  bribery,”  is  an  everlasting 
truth.  It  has  not  guided  government  in  the 
past,  but  it  will  be  believed  and  adopted  by 
the  American  people,  and  on  this  truth  the 
spoils  system  will  be  broken  to  pieces. 


The  Indianapolis  city  election  was  held 
October  1,  and  resulted  in  the  complete 
defeat  of  the  republicans.  The  election 
had  no  national  significance,  whatever,  ex¬ 
cept  as  the  occasional  mysterious  appear 
ance  of  a  Washington  office-holder  aroused 
criticism  sufficient  to  show  that  that  method 
of  manipulating  elections  can  no  longer  be 
safely  tried.  One  important  lesson  was 
taught.  The  removal  of  Mr.  Webster  from 
his  place  as  chief  of  the  fire  department 
some  months  ago  by  the  republicans  be¬ 
cause  he  would  not  dismiss  the  dozen  or 
so  of  democrats  in  that  department  hurt 
them  more  than  a  single  act  often  hurts  a 
party.  hundreds  of  republicans 

kept  that  outrage  in  mind  until  election 
day  and  cast  their  votes  to  punish  the 
party  that  did  it.  It  was  a  salutary  lesson 
and  shows  great  progress  in  the  breaking 
up  of  the  spoils  system  in  this  community. 
There  were  other  causes,  as,  for  instance, 
the  grip  of  the  gas  company  upon  the  city, 
and  the  pardon  of  Coy  by  the  republican 
machine,  and  its  apparent  desire  to  see 
him  re-elected  to  the  city  council. 


General  M.  D.  Manson  was  collector  of 
the  Terre  Haute  district  in  this  state.  He 
had  served  his  country  honorably  in  Mex¬ 
ico  and  during  the  rebellion.  He  is  highly 
respected  as  a  citizen,  and  as  a  public  offi¬ 
cer  his  efficiency  and  fairness  have  never 
been  questioned.  If  the  principles  of  civil 
service  reform  were  to  be  applied  to  any 
executive  appointment,  this  would  seem  to 
have  been  the  one.  But  President  Harri¬ 
son  wrote  the  following  letter : 


’  Executive  Mansion,  I 

Washington,  Sept.  4,  1889.  > 
Dear  General— When  I  was  at  Indianapolis  I  en¬ 
deavored  to  have  a  conference  with  you,  but  the  de¬ 
mands  upon  your  time  and  mine  seemed  to  prevent 
you  from  responding  to  my  request. 

Mr.  Ransdell  Informed  me  that  you  had  said  to 
him  that  you  would  address  me  a  letter  relieving  me 
of  a  possible  embarrassment  connected  with  a  change 
in  the  collector’s  office  held  by  you,  and  I  have  been 
expecting  to  hear  from  you.  I  do  not  wish  to  make 
any  official  request  or  suggestion  to  you,  but  a  change 
can  not  much  longer  be  deferred,  and  my  desire  has 
been  that  it  might  be  made  in  a  way  as  agreeable  to 
you  as  possible.  This  is  the  object  of  this  personal 
note..  Please  inform  me  of  your  purpose. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Benjamin  Harrison. 

As  a  consequence  General  Manson  re¬ 
signed.  The  President  appears  at  his 
littlest  in  this  transaction,  and  few  presi¬ 
dents  have  done  littler  things.  He  is  the 
president  of  sixty  millions  of  people,  and 
yet  he  carries  about  in  his  mind,  on  the 
most  solemn  occasion,  the  edging  of  an 
efficient  officer  out  of  his  place.  He  writes 
a  letter  that  makes  his  best  friends  in  In¬ 
diana  ashamed,  and  to  add  to  this,  appears 
at  his  elbow  that  efficient  agent  of  slyness 
“  Dan  ”  Ransdell ! 


The  President  has  appointed  J.  P. 
Throop,  of  Paoli,  in  place  of  General  Man- 
son.  The  Indianapolis  Journals  dispatch 
says: 

“Mr.  Throop  was  indorsed  for  the  position 
by  such  well-known  republicans  of  the  state 
as  Representative  Posey,  the  state  officers.  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  Chambers,  Third  Auditor  Hart, 
B.  Wilson  Smith  and  Messrs  Durbin,  Dudley, 
Huston,  Ransdell,  Heilman,  Irwin,  Brackston, 
Mowry,  the  DePauws  and  Harry  Adams,  and 
his  appointment  is  considered  by  republicans 
here  as  an  excellent  one.  He  is  described  as 
“a  republican  hustler  from  way  back.” 

Throop  had  been  chairman  of  his  party’s 
county  committee  thirteen  years.  The 
Indiana  official  class  selected  a  man 
fitted  by  training  and  inclination  for  the 
effort  to  perpetuate  their  power  by  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  official  bribes  and  punishments. 
No  country,  civilized  or  uncivilized,  can 
show  a  finer  instance  of  a  government  of 
court  favorites,  by  court  favorites,  and  for 
court  favorites. 


Jeremiah  O’Donnell  entered  the  government  ser¬ 
vice  as  store-keeper  October  4,  just  one  week  prior  to 
his  arrest  for  jury-bribing.  He  was  recommended  by 
such  well-known  men  as  Senator  C.  B.  Parwell,  Cor¬ 
oner  H.  L.  Hertz,  State  Senator  John  Monahan,  James 
L.  Monaghan,  representative  from  the  fifth  district ; 
Billy  Lorimer,  John  P.  Cavanaugh,  Joseph  E.  Bid- 


60 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


will,  J.  B.  Taylor,  Representative  J.  W.  Kroll,  P.  J. 
Corboy,  and  Senator  Garrity  from  the  fifth  district. 

Collector  Stone  said  yesterday  that  he  had  not 
heard  of  the  man  or  seen  him  until  he  came  to  work 
a  week  ago  last  Friday.  “  He  had  the  necessary  papers 
from  prominent  republicans,"  said  Mr.  Stone,  "and  de¬ 
sired  that  his  bond  be  made  out  immediately  so  as  not  to 
keep  his  bondsmen  waiting." 

When  Senator  Farwell  was  called  upon  yesterday 
he  remembered  the  name  0  Donnell  very  well.  “  1 
believe,”  he  said,  “I’ve  got  his  papers  here.  But  I 
did  not  suspect  that  the  O'Dounell  whom  I  recom¬ 
mended  was  the  fellow  arrested  for  bribery.  I  am 
surprised  beyond  measure.  Such  a  crime  I  think  is 
about  as  bad  as  murder.  You  know  how  such  app'^int- 
ments  are  made.  The  fellows  down  in  Lawler’s  district 
brought  in  his  app'ication.  There  were  so  many  good 
names  attached  to  it  that  I  sent  it  to  Collector  Stone  with 
out  looking  into  it." 

This  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  way  fed¬ 
eral  appointments  are  made.  It  is  hard  to 
see  how  any  president  can  witness  the 
thousands  of  such  cases  which  pass  under 
his  eye  and  not  feel  the  enormity  of  his 
own  dereliction  in  permitting  such  a  pros 
titution  of  the  trust  which  the  people  have 
committed  to  him.  The  duty  to  bring 
about  a  revolution  in  this  whole  matter 
and  recover  and  exercise  his  constitutional 
authority,  it  would  seem  must  cry  out  upon 
him  day  and  night. 

Following  back  the  thread,  collector 
Stone  has  a  man  put  upon  him  of  whom  he 
knows  nothing :  he  is  ordered  by  Senator 
Farwell  to  give  the  man  a  place  and  obeys. 
Farwell  knows  nothing  of  the  man  except 
that  he  came  from  the  “  fellows  ”  in  Law¬ 
ler’s  district.  The  “  fellows  ”  in  return  will 
keep  an  eye  out  toward  Farweh’s  contin¬ 
uance  in  office;  such  is  the  bribe  and  such 
is  the  service.  Meantime,  the  cant  that  an 
officer  “  who  is  responsible  for  his  office, 
should  have  the  selection  of  his  subordin¬ 
ates,”  goes  on. 

At  the  dinner  of  the  Bay  State  Club  in 
Boston,  October  12,  President  Eliot,  of  Har¬ 
vard  Universitj',  said: 

“Have  we  not  seen  the  public  service  degen¬ 
erating  more  and  more,  and  treated  more  and 
more  as  private  property  under  successive  re¬ 
publican  administrations — the  last  of  the  se¬ 
ries  being  the  worst  of  all  in  this  respect? 
[Great  applause.]  And  have  we  not  seen  the 
single  democratic  administration  of  the  twen¬ 
ty-eight  years  past  the  best  of  all  American  ad¬ 
ministrations  during  that  period  in  this  re¬ 
spect?  [Tremendous  applause.]  No  intelli¬ 
gent  man  will  place  any  reliance  upon  the  pro¬ 
fessions  of  a  party  when  its  public  perform¬ 
ances  incessantly  contradict  them.  [Applause.] 
We  must  rely  upon  the  public  acts  of  the  men 
who  represent  the  respective  parties.  Can  any 
civil  service  reformer  hesitate  for  a  moment 
between  the  administrations  of  Cleveland  and 
of  Harrison  on  that  issue?  [Applause  ]  One 
honestly  promoted  the  reform,  and  the  other 
has  betrayed  it.” 

A  man  who  talks  like  that  in  face  of  the 
repeatedly  published  and  undisputed  facts 
is  not  to  be  reasoned  with.  Such  partisan 
idolatry  is  only  to  be  contrasted  with  the 
motherly  prejudice  with  which  Senator 
Hoar  gathers  the  republican  party  under 
his  wing. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM  AS  A 
MORAL  QUESTION.* 

On  May  16,  1887,  a  well-known  gentleman, 
who  then  delivered  by  request  a  very  interest¬ 
ing  address  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Civil 
Service  Reform  Asssociation  of  Maryland, 
criticised  with  some  severity  the  sentiments 
of  a  writer  in  the  last  preceding  number  of 
the  Civil  Service  Reformer.  “  To  this  .... 
writer,”  he  said,  “the  principle  of  civil  service 
reform  may  seem  to  be  one  of  high  morality  : 
it  has  not  to  the  majority  of  the  people  of  this 
country  appeared  to  be  that  so  much  as  to  be 
a  principle  of  wise  and  intelligent  administra¬ 
tion.”  The  writer  thus  censured  happened  to 
be  myself,  and  I  take  advantage  of  your  cour¬ 
teous  invitation  to  defend  the  view  thus  justly 
ascribed  to  me.  I  do  this  not  because  the 
merit  of  my  own  opinion  is  a  matter  of  any 
public  interest,  but  because  the  question  in¬ 
volved  seems  to  me  of  great  and  practical  im¬ 
portance.  When  I  admit  my  belief  that  “  the 
principle  of  civil  service  reform  ”  is  “  one  of 
high  morality,”  I  mean  that  all  men  who  have 
sufficiently  reflected  and  are  sufficiently  in¬ 
formed  to  entertain  an  intelligent  opinion 
must  and  do  think  alike  on  the  subject;  that 
no  one  who  has  any  claim  at  all  to  public  at¬ 
tention  really  doubts  that  “  the  principle  of 
civil  service  reform”  is  just  and  beneficent :  if 
he  says  that  he  doubts  this,  he  tells  an  un¬ 
truth;  if  he  violates  this  “principle”  inoffi¬ 
cial  conduct,  he  does  so,  just  as  he  may  com¬ 
mit  theft  or  adultery,  knowing  that  he  does 
wrong. 

I  concede  that  there  may  be  room  for  honest 
and  enlightened  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
practical  application  of  the  principle;  the 
merits  of  competitive  examinations  or  fixity 
of  official  tenure  are  subjects  of  fair  debate  ; 
we  may  approve  of  requiring  stated  reasons 
for  removal  or  abolishing  four-year  terms 
without  thereby  pronouncing  ignorant  or  in¬ 
sincere  everyone  who  thinks  otherwise;  but 
these  questions  of  policy  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  principle  of  civil  service  reform.  An 
honorable  and  patriotic  man  may  reasonably 
doubt  (as  many  doubt)  whether  the  Australian 
ballot  system  is  suited  to  American  institu¬ 
tions,  but  a  man  who  promotes  or  excuses  any 
form  of  cheating  at  elections  is  simply  a  scoun¬ 
drel  ;  a  good  citizen  may  justifiably  question 
(as  many  question)  whether  prohibition  is 
either  expedient  or  practicable,  but  one  who 
regards  with  complacency  or  indifference  the 
evils  of  intemperance  must  be  an  enemy  to 
mankind.  So  one  or  another  means  to  secure 
an  efficient  public  service  may  or  may  not 
commend  itself  to  every  one’s  judgment,  but  I, 
at  least,  can  not  imagine  a  good  man  who  has 
thought  on  the  subject,  and  who  knows  enough 
about  it  to  think  to  any  purpose,  and  who  yet 
fails  to  see  that  to  promise  or  confer  public 
office  as  a  bait  or  reward  for  personal  or  party 
service  is  always  and  everywhere  immoral ; 

A  paper  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Na¬ 
tional  Civil  Service  Reform  League,  at  Philadelphia, 
October  2, 1889,  by  Charles  J.  Bonaparte. 


that  it  is  a  breach  of  trust  and  a  form  of  brib¬ 
ery. 

Some  confusion  of  ideas  as  to  this  may,  per¬ 
haps,  be  due  to  an  argument  often  used  by 
reformers.  Unquestionably,  no  one  in  his 
senses  would  think  of  managing  his  own  busi¬ 
ness  as  the  people’s  business  is  still  managed 
in  great  part,  and  was  managed  universally 
before  the  reform  legislation  of  recent  years. 
A  man  who  filled  up  his  store  or  factory  with 
workmen  chosen  because  they  agreed  with  him 
as  to  the  tariff  or  state’s  rights,  and  changed 
whenever  their  places  were  needed  for  more 
effective  political  workers,  would  probably 
get  into  a  strait-jacket  even  before  he  got  into 
bankruptcy.  But  to  a  moralist  there  would 
be  a  vast  difference  between  his  behavior  and 
similar  conduct  on  the  part  of  a  president  or 
governor  or  mayor.  After  all,  he  would  be 
but  doing  as  he  chose  with  his  own  ;  unless  he 
endangered  the  rights  of  his  creditors  or  the 
confort  of  his  family,  the  worst  to  be  said  of 
him  would  be  that  he  was  a  fool  for  his  pains, 
[f,  during  his  absence,  however,  his  trusted 
manager  or  foreman  were  to  deal  thus  with  his 
interests,  the  most  charitable  critic  would 
recognize  in  the  latter  something  worse  than 
a  fool.  His  conduct  might  not  be  a  crime, 
while  the  larceny  or  embezzlement  of  his 
employer’s  goods  would  be ;  but  this  is  only 
because  for  so  unlikely  a  form  of  moral 
obliquity  no  law  has  made  provision ;  it 
would  be  equally  abhorrent  to  right-thinking 
men,  equally  dangerous  to  society.  And  this 
is  precisely  the  conduct  of  every  public  officer 
who  creates  a  vacancy  or  makes  an  appoint¬ 
ment  for  personal  or  partisan  gain.  A  presi¬ 
dent  who  deprives  the  country  of  an  upright 
and  competent  postmaster  or  naval  officer  to 
meet  the  views  or  advance  the  ends  of  selfish 
and  unscrupulous  political  intriguers  is  no 
less  blameworthy  than  one  who  should  give 
them  the  public  moneys;  he  may  be,  indeed, 
less  keenly  conscious  of  his  guilt,  if  he  has 
lived  long  years  in  a  moral  atmosphere  poi¬ 
soned  by  the  malaria  of  “  spoils  ”  politics,  but 
while  he  has  any  conscience  or  honor  left  he 
will  feel  ashamed  of  what  he  does. 

The  question  is  equally  clear  if  regarded  in 
another  aspect.  All  thoughtful  and  patriotic 
men  agree  that  bribery,  more  or  less  direct  and 
more  or  less  open,  in  connection  with  elections 
is  a  great  and  growing  evil,  although  it  is  no 
less  evident  that  this  evil  can  be  much  more 
readily  recognized  and  denounced  than  reme¬ 
died.  But  it  is  a  perfectly  legitimate  and  log¬ 
ical  outcome  of  the  spoils  system  in  politics, 
and  can  not  be  consistently  condemned  by  any 
one  who  approves  of  using  appointments  to 
influence  political  action  or  reward  partisan 
service.  Whether  a  “worker”  is  paid  by  a 
check  or  hy  a  sinecure — whether  a  man’s  vote 
is  bought  for  five  dollars  or  for  the  chance  to 
dawdle  a  fortnight  at  street  sweeping,  can 
make  no  difference  as  to  the  right  or  wrong  of 
the  matter;  or  rather,  while  the  man  bribed 
is  equally  guilty,  whatever  the  form  of  his 
reward,  it  is  surely  more  odious  and  more 
noxious  to  bribe  with  what  is  the  people’s  than 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


61 


with  what  is  one’s  own,  to  purchase  suffrages 
or  influence  at  the  taxpayers’  cost,  than  to  pay 
for  these  out  of  the  corrupter’s  pocket. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  that,  in  my 
view,  to  establish  the  principle  of  civil  service 
reform,  or,  in  other  words,  to  thoroughly  erad¬ 
icate  from  our  politics  the  doctrine  that  offices 
are  spoils,  is  a  work  which  interests  good  citi¬ 
zens  almost^ beyond  any  other.  Compare  it, 
for  example,  with  the  movement  for  tarifl' 
reform,  with  which  it  is  often  classed.  I  en¬ 
tertain  certain  very  definite  views  as  to  the 
relative  merits  of  free  trade  and  protection, 
and  I  believe  that  everyone  who  thinks  other¬ 
wise  is  mistaken;  but  I  must,  in  common 
sense  and  candor,  recognize  the  fact  that  many 
intelligent  and  conscientious  men,  of  whom 
some  have  devoted  far  more  time  and  thought 
to  the  subject  than  I  have,  do  think  otherwise. 
Motives  on  either  side,  are,  indeed,  freely  im¬ 
pugned  in  discussion,  and,  no  doubt,  many 
protectionists  have  a  more  or  less  conscious 
bias  from  self-interest,  while  free  traders  some¬ 
times  approach  the  subject  rather  as  students 
than  as  statesmen;  but,  after  all,  the  question 
is  one  regarding  which  the  purest  and  wisest 
men  here  and  elsewhere  have  not  agreed,  and 
do  not  agree,  and  while  this  is  true,  it  is  not  a 
moral  question,  as  I  use  the  words.  I  shall 
always  vote  against  a  party  professing  my 
views  as  to  the  tariff  if  I  believe  that  in  so 
doing  I  shall,  on  the  whole,  promote  the  cause 
of  honest  government  and  pure  politics. 

In  saying  this,  I  do  not  overlook  the  fact 
that  moral  considerations  afiect  the  expedi¬ 
ency  of  tariff  reform.  The  most  earnest  pro- 
tionist,  if  sensible  and  candid,  will  admit  that 
a  tarifl'  not  solely  for  revenue  is  a  prolific 
source  of  corruption  and  intrigue  in  the 
national  legislature,  and  that  this  constitutes 
a  strong  argument  for  free  trade.  But  this 
argument  may  not  be  to  all  minds  decisive  ; 
protective  imposts  are  in  theory  laid  for  the 
public  good,  and  a  conscientious  man  may 
uphold  them,  as  many  do,  without  denying 
their  liability  to  grave  abuse.  There  is  the 
same  distinction  between  approving  them  and 
approving  the  spoils  system  that  there  is  be¬ 
tween  licensing  saloons  and  licensing  brothels  : 
the  former  may  be  often  nests  of  vice  and 
crime,  but  they  are  not,  whilst  the  latter  are, 
mala  in  se. 

In  dealing  with  questions  really  political, 
charity  and  forbearance  in  argument,  a  read¬ 
iness  to  accommodate  differences  by  compro¬ 
mise,  and  the  pursuit  of  practical  good  at  the 
expense  of  theory  or  sentiment,  mark  the  wor¬ 
thy  citizen  of  a  free  state.  He  assumes  his 
adversary’s  sincerity,  and  expects  from  him 
the  same  consideration  ;  he  recognizes  in  those 
against  whom  he  contends,  not  his  enemies, 
aiming  to  injure  his  and  their  common  coun¬ 
try,  but  his  and  its  friends,  seeking  its  welfare 
as  earnestly  as  he  does,  though  not,  to  his 
mind,  so  wisely.  But  when  there  arises,  as  I 
believe  there  has  arisen  here,  a  true  question 
of  morals;  when  the  task  allotted  to  friends  of 
good  government  is  not  to  convince  mistaken 
fellow-citizens  of  their  error,  but  to  shame  or 


frighten  faithless  public  servants  into  doing 
what  these  know  to  be  their  duty  and  to  rouse 
a  sluggish  or  careless  people  to  a  sense  of 
wrong  and  danger  ;  when,  in  strictness  of 
speech,  there  is  need,  not  for  argument,  since 
no  one  truly  disputes  what  we  maintain,  but 
for  an  effective  appeal  to  public  opinion 
against  insolent  persistence  in  wrong-doing, 
then  our  bearing  should  fit  the  season.  We 
can  make  no  bargain  with  iniquity  ;  we  ask, 
and  ask  only,  that  public  trustees  shall  do  their 
duty;  not  the  half,  or  any  other  fraction,  but 
the  whole  of  their  duty ;  not  that  they  do  it 
here  and  there,  or  now  and  then,  but  that  they 
do  it  everywhere  and  always,  and  we  can  and 
will  be  satisfied  with  no  less.  To  tell  us,  in 
extenuation  of  this  unfit  appointment  or  that 
unjust  removal,  that  elsewhere  the  guilty  offi-‘ 
cer  has  done  what  he  ought  to  have  done  here* 
is  no  more  to  the  point  than  obedience  to  the 
eighth  commandment  would  justify  a  breach 
of  the  seventh.  And  in  dealing  with  such  an 
officer,  we  must  see  to  it  that  he  knows  what 
we  think  of  him.  Believe  me,  such  as  he  are 
not  to  be  gained  over  to  righteousness  by  soft 
words  or  tender  silence  or  diplomacy  in  any 
form.  They  will  never  love  us,  do  what  we 
may;  but  they  will  and  do  shrink  from  hear¬ 
ing  us  tell  them  what  in  truth  they  are.  No 
spoilsman,  however  hardened,  is  really  indif¬ 
ferent  when  he  hears,  “  You  are  faithless  to 
your  trust  and  false  to  your  oath  of  office; 
your  motives  are  unworthy,  your  excuses  mere 
sophistry;  and,  however  much  you  may  stu¬ 
pefy  your  conscience  or  deceive  your  neigh¬ 
bors,  you  know  in  your  heart  that  you  are  not 
an  honest  man.” 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

[An  address  before  the  National  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
form  League,  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Philadelphia, 
October  1,  1889. 

Since  our  last  annual  meeting,  the  second 
party  change  in  the  administration  of  the  na¬ 
tional  government  since  the  formation  of  the 
league  has  occurred.  Seven  months  of  the 
new  administration  have  passed,  and  as  friends 
of  civil  servi  -e  reform  our  questions  to-day  are 
obvious  and  simple.  What  was  the  declara¬ 
tion  of  the  successful  party  upon  the  subject  of 
reform  ?  What  were  the  pleiiges  of  its  candi¬ 
dates?  Have  those  pleiiges  been  fulfilled,  and 
what  are  the  prospects  of  reform  ?  Four  years 
ago,  in  speaking  of  President  Cleveland,  then 
recently  elected  and  inaugurated,  I  said  that 
he ‘‘was  not  committed  to  the  prosecution  of 
reform  as  the  candidate  of  a  party  which  se¬ 
riously  desired  it  or  promised  it.”  Certain'y, 
I  can  not  say  this  of  President  Harrison.  The 
promises  of  the  successful  party  last  year  were 
as  ardent  as  they  were  detailed  and  absolute. 
They  left  nothing  unexpressed.  The  pure  pur¬ 
pose  of  reform  was  depicted  in  the  platform 
with  a  touch  as  glowing  as  that  of  the  poet  in 
his  epitaph  upon  a  highly  respectable  lady  : 

“  Yea,  Venu.s,  Pallas,  Diana,  aud  the  graces. 

Compared  with  her  should  all  have  lost  their 
places.” 

The  irrepressible  platform  pledged  the  party  to 
many  things,  but  to  nothing  with  such  re¬ 
duplicated  and  reiterated  ze^l  as  to  reform  in 
the  civil  service;  and,  having  done  this  in 
the  most  precise  and  positive  words,  it  pledged 
the  party  with  especial  fervor  to  keep  its 
pledges.  Indeed  sucdi  was  the  frenzy  of  fidel¬ 


ity  that  less  excited  friends  of  the  good  cause 
were  fain  to  say  : 

"  Choose  a  firm  cloud  before  it  fall,  and  in  it 

Caich,  ere  she  change,  the  Cynthia  of  this  minute.” 

To  the  ardor  of  the  platform  the  protesta¬ 
tions  of  the  President,  as  a  candidate,  fitly  and 
fully  respond.  He  declared  that  it  would  be 
his  sincere  purpose,  if  elected,  to  advance  re¬ 
form,  He  said  that  fitness  and  not  party  ser¬ 
vice  should  be  the  essential  test  in  appoint¬ 
ment,  that  fidelity  and  efficiency  should  be  the 
only  sure  tenure  of  office,  and  that  only  the 
interest  of  the  public  service  should  suggest 
removals  from  office.  The  significance  of  these 
words  is  unmistakable.  Naturally  and  fairly 
interpreted,  they  forecast  an  executive  action 
absolutely  incompatible  with  the  practice 
known  as  the  spoils  system.  The  country  had 
precisely  the  same  assurance  from  the  suc¬ 
cessful  party  of  a  policy  of  honest  reform  in 
the  civil  service  that  it  had  of  an  administra¬ 
tion  favorable  to  the  policy  of  protection; 
and,  that  no  doubt  might  arise  from  political 
differences  between  the  executive  and  the  leg¬ 
islative  branches  of  the  government,  the  result 
of  the  election  showed  that  the  executive  and 
the  legislature  would  be  in  entire  political 
accord. 

When  a  great  representative  body  of  Amer¬ 
ican  citizens  voluntarily  and  solemnly  pro¬ 
claim  that  they  hold  certain  views  upon  the 
tariff,  or  upon  the  system  of  public  pensions, 
or  upon  the  internal  revenue,  which  they 
invite  their  fellow-citizens  to  support  by  voting 
for  their  candidates,  they  can  not  be  suj>posed 
to  trifle  with  popular  government  and  with 
their  own  honor  by  deliberately  hanging  out 
false  lights.  In  a  republic  where  the  govern¬ 
ment  is  administered  by  party,  if  the  party 
pledges  of  an  authorized  convention  prove  to 
be  tricks  and  lies,  the  party  justly  forfeits 
public  confi  lence,  and  every  member  of  it  is 
vicariously  dishonored.  When  its  authorized 
re  presentatives,  in  order  to  secure  for  the  party 
the  control  of  the  administration,  declare  that 
the  spirit  and  purpose  of  civil  service  reform 
should  be  observed  in  all  executive  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  that  all  laws  at  variance  with  the 
object  of  existing  reform  should  be  repealed, 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  meaning  of  the  words 
nor  of  the  impression  which  they  are  meant  to 
convey.  The  declaration  is  a  voluntary,  defi¬ 
nite,  and  solemn  engagement  with  the  country ; 
and  those  who,  in  consequence  of  such  an 
engagement,  are  entrusted  with  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  the  government  are  bound  in  honor 
to  fulfill  it  or  to  show  adequate  reason  for 
their  inability  to  discharge  their  obligations. 
If  they  sneer  at  declarations  which  by  their 
acceptance  of  office  have  become  their  own  as 
absurd,  if  they  chuckle  over  violations  of  their 
own  pledges,  if  they  choose  to  figure  officially 
as  statesmen  forsworn,  they  do  not  discredit 
or  injure  the  cause  to  which  they  eagerly  pro¬ 
fessed  fidelity,  nor  do  they  show  it  to  be  un¬ 
wise,  untimely,  or  impracticable.  The  dis¬ 
credit,  the  shame,  the  dishonor,  fall  elsewhere 
than  upon  the  cause  of  reform. 

THE  PROMISE. 

President  Harrison  thus  entered  upon  his 
administration  as  the  choice  of  a  party  which 
expressly  claims  the  honor  of  beginning  re¬ 
form  in  the  civil  service,  and  has  vehemently 
promised  to  complete  it.  Not  content  with 
requiring  that  the  existing  law  should  be  ex¬ 
tended  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it 
is  applicable,  the  party  went  entirely  beyond 
these  grades,  and  affirmed  that  “  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed  in 
all  executive  appointments.”  Tins,  however, 
was  not  a  pledge  to  any  extraordinary  action. 
It  was  merely  a  declaration  that,  if  the  party 
were  successful  at  the  polls,  the  administra¬ 
tion  would  do  its  plain  constitutional  duty; 
for  such  it  is.  Whether  the  convention  had 


62 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


said  anything  upon  the  question  or  had  re¬ 
mained  silent,  the  executive  duty  would  have 
been  the  same.  For  the  executive  is  morally 
bound,  as  Mr.  Bonaparte,  president  of  the 
Reform  Association  of  Maryland,  said  in  his 
admirable  annual  address  last  May,  to  dis¬ 
charge  all  his  duties  upon  acknowledged  prin¬ 
ciples  of  equity  and  regard  for  the  public 
interest  and  economy. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  administration,  in 
obedience  to  such  principles,  not  to  remove 
honest  and  efficient  public  servants  whose  du¬ 
ties  are  in  no  sense  political,  but  which  remain 
the  same  whatever  public  policy  the  country 
may  have  approved  at  the  election.  The  rea¬ 
son  is  not  that  they  have  any  vested  right  in 
office,  but  that  the  country  has  the  right  to 
the  most  efficient  and  devoted  official  service, 
which  is  impracticable  when  office  is  regarded, 
not  as  a  public  trust,  but  as  party  spoils.  No¬ 
body  is  so  foolish  as  to  assert  the  right  of  any 
public  agent  to  his  place.  There  are  always 
equally  honest  and  capable  and  fit  persons 
who,  with  the  same  experience,  might  be  as 
serviceable  and  efficient.  The  simple  and  con¬ 
clusive  argument  against  change  is  not  vested 
right :  it  is  that  there  is  no  good  reason  affect¬ 
ing  the  public  interest  which  in  the  case  of 
satisfactory  officers  requires  change.  Arbi¬ 
trary  removal  for  causes  not  connected  with 
the  service  is  as  pernicious  to  public  as  it  is  to 
private  business.  To  make  such  removals, 
therefore,  is  contrary  to  public  policy,  whiiffi 
the  administration  is  morally  bound  to  respect 

But  more  than  this.  Mr.  Madison,  who  was 
a  wise  interpreter  of  the  Constitution  which 
he  largely  moulded,  said  that  an  executive 
who  should  make  such  removals  ought  to  be 
impeached.  The  assistant  postmaster-general 
is  reported  to  have  stated  that  about  fifteen 
thousand  fourth  class  postmasters,  more  than 
one-quarter  of  the  whole  number  of  such  offi 
cers,  were  displaced  during  the  first  five  months 
of  this  administration,  But  the  change  in 
every  instance,  when  not  due  to  death  or  res 
ignation,  or  to  some  reason  connected  with  the 
service,  is,  according  to  Mr.  Madison,  an  un¬ 
constitutional  act.  If  a  postmaster  has  ffien 
removed  because  of  his  religious  belief,  or  his 
philosophical  or  scientific  theories,  or  his 
views  of  a  tariff,  or  of  the  question  of  the  seal 
fisheries  in  the  Behring  Sea,  or  of  a  sub-treas 
ury,  or  a  United  States  bank,  his  removal  has 
been  not  only  a  violation  of  the  deliberate  and 
repeated  pledges  of  the  party  of  administration 
an  1  of  the  executive,  but  it  is  an  act  which,  in 
the  case  of  a  great  business  company,  would 
lead  to  the  dismissal  of  the  agent  who  had 
abused  his  power,  and  in  the  case  of  a  Presi 
dent,  Mr.  Madison  says,  should  subject  him  to 
impeachment. 

Undoubtedly,  the  President  has  the  power 
of  removal.  That  was  the  decision  of  the  first 
great  constitutional  debate  in  congress.  But, 
like  all  executive  power,  it  may  be  abused  and 
exercised  in  an  unconstitutional  spirit.  Re¬ 
moval,  made  arbitrarily  or  from  an  unworthy 
motive,  can  not  be  justified  by  the  mere  fact 
that  the  power  of  removal  exists.  In  the  last 
angry  days  of  the  slavery  controversy,  when 
Mr.  Douglass  argued  that  the  people  of  a  ter¬ 
ritory,  meaning  a  majority  of  male  white 
adults,  had  the  right  to  establish  slavery  if 
they  should  choose  to  do  so,  the  conclusive 
answer  was  that  they  had  no  moral  right  to 
choose  to  do  a  wrong,  for  a  wrong  slavery  was 
adjudged  to  be  by  the  common  conscience  of 
mankind.  All  power  is  to  be  exercised  rea¬ 
sonably,  not  arbitrarily,  and  in  case  of  the 
President  it  is  to  be  exercised  in  accordance 
with  the  constitutional  intent’on  and  with  the 
announcement  previously  made  to  the  country 
of  the-  principles  by  which,  and  in  the  spirit 
in  which,  it  will  be  exercised,  and  which  the 
country  has  approved. 

How,  then,  have  the  pledges  of  the  success¬ 


ful  party  and  candidate  been  fulfilled?  Have 
fidelity  and  efficiency  proved  to  be  the  sure 
tenure  of  office?  Has  fitness  and  not  party 
service  been  the  essential  test  in  determining 
appointments?  Has  the  interest  of  the  public 
service  alone  dictated  removals  from  of¬ 
fice?  Has  the  great  pledge  of  the  platform 
that  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should 
be  observed  in  all  executive  appointments 
been  honorably  fulfilled?  Or  have  such  ap¬ 
pointments  generally  been  made  precisely  as. 
they  would  have  been  made  had  there  been  no 
platform  promises,  no  pledges  of  the  candi¬ 
date,  and  no  public  interest  in  civil  service 
reform? 

It  is  not  an  answer  to  these  questions,  it  is 
only  an  evasion  of  them,  to  say  that  reform  is 
not  favored  by  a  majority  of  the  people.  The 
only  way  in  which  the  views  of  a  majority  of 
the  people  can  be  known  is  by  the  result  of  an 
election.  If  the  election  of  last  year  showed 
that  the  country  was  in  favor  of  protection,  it 
showed,  by  precisely  the  same  demonstration, 
that  it  is  in  favor  of  civil  service  reform.  If 
there  be  any  relation  between  party  platforms, 
the  pledges  of  candidates,  and  the  results  of  an 
election,  the  country  in  electing  Mr.  Harrison 
declared  for  civil  service  reform.  For,  if  an 
election  can  not  be  held  to  be  a  popular  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  platform  and  the  personal 
pledges  of  candidates,  who  shall  decide  how 
much  of  them,  and  in  what  sense  and  degree 
any  of  them,  have  been  approved?  In  any 
event,  whatever  doubt  may  rest  upon  the  views 
of  the  majority  of  the  people  in  regard  to  re¬ 
form,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  views  and 
purposes  and  pledges  of  one  citizen.  There 
may  be  some  question  of  the  extent  and  degree 
of  the  sympathy  of  others.  But,  if  the  sira 
plest  statement  which  the  English  language 
permits,  if  the  plainest  engagement  to  pursue 
a  certain  course  of  conduct,  if  the  most  sol¬ 
emn  pledges  uttered  before  God  and  the  coun¬ 
try  have  any  meaning,  there  is  no  doubt  what¬ 
ever  of  the  opinions  and  intentions  upon  this 
subject  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Nor  is  it  any  answer  to  the  questions  to  say 
that  the  President  can  not  outrun  public 
opinion  nor  proceed  faster  than  his  party  will 
permit.  When  a  party  has  made  no  distinct 
or  intelligible  declaration  upon  a  question  in¬ 
volving  his  action,  the  President  may  plausi¬ 
bly  plead  that  his  party  has  not  declared  its 
views,  and  that  he  must  conform  his  conduct 
to  a  course  which  he  believes  the  party  would 
support.  But  when  his  party,  in  the  act  of 
nominating  him,  distinctly  states  its  views 
and  prescribes  the  rule  of  his  action,  he  can 
no  longer  offer  that  plea.  It  is  open  to  another, 
but  not  to  him.  His  party  engages  to  support 
him.  His  duty  is  to  follow  the  course  which 
his  party  proclaim.s,  which  he  prefers,  and 
which  the  country  by  his  election,  has  ap¬ 
proved.  He  can  not  plead  that  the  party 
chiefs,  secretaries,  senators,  representatives, 
local  leaders,  newspapers  and  committees  are 
cruelly  coercing  him  to  violate  the  party 
promise  and  his  own  pledge,  without  conced¬ 
ing  that  the  party  platform  was  a  trick,  and 
that  the  party  sought  power  under  false  pre¬ 
tences.  Still  less  can  an  honorable  president 
offer  this  plea  when  his  party  in  nominating 
him  has  prescribed  his  course,  because,  when 
the  same  plea  was  urged  for  a  president  whose 
party  had  purposely  made  no  such  definite 
declaration,  it  was  denounced  as  a  futile  and 
desperate  excuse  for  sham  and  fraud,  for 
monstrous  hypocrisy  and  contemptible  char¬ 
latanry. 

Our  question,  however,  is  not  whether  one 
president  violates  pledges  more  or  less  fre¬ 
quently  than  another.  Still  less  is  it  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  comparative  sagacity  of  the  friends 
of  reform  in  their  party  action.  We  meet  not 
to  explain  or  justify  such  action,  not  to  de¬ 
fame  or  exalt  any  administration,  but,  as 


friends  of  reform,  and  unmindful  of  party 
sympathies,  to  measure  fairly  and  accurately 
the  situation.  Our  question  is  whether  the 
great  pledge  of  the  party  of  administration, 
that  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should 
be  observed  in  all  executive  appointments,  has 
been  fulfilled.  If  the  pledge  has  been  kept, 
our  meeting  must  be  one  of  unmixed  congrat¬ 
ulation.  If  it  has  been  reasonably  fulfilled, 
we  must  all  rejoice.  If  the  administration 
party,  by  the  conduct  of  its  executive,  cabinet, 
senators,  representatives  and  recognized  lead¬ 
ers,  by  the  general  tone  of  its  press  and  of  its 
adherents,  proves  that  the  platform  was  a  just 
statement  of  the  actual  reform  spirit  and  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  party,  there  is  not  an  honest  friend 
of  reform  who  will  not  gladly  confess  any 
error  of  judgment  in  political  action,  while  he 
intones  triumphantly  the  Gloria  in  excelsis. 

THE  AXSWER. 

What  then  is  the  answer?  What  is  the 
spirit  of  the  party  and  the  conduct  of  the  ex¬ 
ecutive?  The  answer,  of  course,  involves  great 
detail,  and  can  be  only  generally  indicated. 
Let  us  look  at  the  signs  ot  party  feeling. 

A  few  weeks  ago,  a  hilarious  administration 
party  organ  at  the  capital  ot  New  York,  one 
of  the  most  influential  and  representative 
party  journals,  exclaimed  :  "Fifteen  thousand 
fourth-class  postmaters  have  been  removed  to 
date,  and  Mr.  Clarkson  remains  in  Washing¬ 
ton  with  his  coat  off  and  his  shirt  sleeves 
rolled  up.  Go  it,  Clarkson!  Out  with  the 
whole  fifty-five  thousand  by  January  Ist.”  It 
adds,  with  natural  enthusiasm,  that  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform  can  not  command  the  support  of 
a  corporal’s  guard  of  republicans  in  New  York, 
In  Missouri,  the  chief  party  organ  thinks  Mr. 
Clarkson’s  labors,  although  laudable,  yet 
rather  deliberate  in  the  direction  of  true  re¬ 
form,  and  is  confident  that,  “when  the  dog 
days  areover  and  cool  weather  sets  in.  Colonel 
Clarkson  will  greatly  accelerate  his  speed.” 
The  leading  rural  organ  in  the  state  of  Indi¬ 
ana  asserts  plainly,  “  Neither  political  party 
cares  a  continental  about  this  humbug  civil 
service  reform.”  In  New  Hampshire,  the  chief 
administration  organ,  arraigning  reform  as 
“a  stuffed  and  painted  and  unpopular  hum¬ 
bug,”  and  “a  bald  and  rickety  affair  that  bul¬ 
lies  and  wheedles  good  citizens,”  inexorably 
condemns  it  “to  the  scrap  heap.”  In  West 
Virginia,  a  zealous  organ  believes  devotedly 
that  the  spoils  belong  to  the  victor;  and  the 
editor,  having  secured  his  part  of  the  booty, 
announces  that  at  the  earliest  practical  date 
every  democratic  appointee  in  the  office  en¬ 
trusted  to  him,  “from  the  humble  and  poorly 
paid  apple-jack  gaugers  to  the  well-paid  store¬ 
keeper  and  clerks,  will  be  succeded  by  simon- 
pure-all-wool-and  yard-wide  republicans.”  In 
Pennsylvania,  an  administration  journal  of 
importance  declares  that  “the  people  are  tired 
of  the  sham  of  reform,  and  would  gladly  snow 
it  under  with  their  votes.”  In  Ohio,  a  similar 
representative  administration  organ  warmly 
commends  an  officer  who  disregards  the  hum¬ 
bug.  In  Iowa,  the  Washington  correspondent 
of  a  journal  of  the  same  character  says  that 
no  administration  member  of  congress  that  he 
meets  favors  the  law,  and  announces  that  “  it 
will  be  repealed  as  it  ought  to  be  ;  ”  while  one 
of  the  chief  journals  in  Central  New  York 
holds,  nothwithstanding  the  express  words  of 
the  platform,  that  the  President  is  not  bound 
to  go  beyond  the  law  and  enforce  the  spirit  of 
reform.  Another,  commending  the  refusal  of 
the  President  to  place  the  clerks  of  the  census 
bureau  under  the  rules  of  the  civil  service,  de¬ 
clares  its  belief  that  the  decision  will  be  sat¬ 
isfactory  to  the  party. 

This  is  the  tone  of  the  larger  part  of  the 
press  of  the  administration  party.  No  jeer  is 
too  contemptuous  for  reform,  no  epithet  is  too 
acrid.  No  platform  of  the  opposition  was  ever 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


63 


denounced  by  party  fury  with  greater  scorn 
than  that  with  which  a  representative  body  of 
the  administration  press  now  spurns  its  own. 
Naturally,  this  uniformity  of  tone  in  the  party 
journals  throughout  the  Union  is  echoed  by 
party  assemblies.  The  federation  of  republican 
clubs  in  the  third  Maryland  district,  represent¬ 
ing  twenty-three  associations,  pledge  them¬ 
selves  not  to  support  for  any  office  a  cindidate 
who  honestly  adheres  to  the  national  republican 
declaration  upon  reform.  The  central  com¬ 
mittee  of  the  District  of  Columbia  denounces 
“  the  cowardly,  treacherous  policy  that  to  the 
defeated  belong  the  spoils”  The  republican 
central  committees  in  two  New  York  counties 
denounce  as  un-American  and  unfair  the  civil 
service  law  which  the  republican  platform 
pledges  the  party  to  extend  ;  and  state  conven¬ 
tions  of  the  administration  party  in  three  of 
the  great  states  which  it  controls,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  Iowa  and  Ohio,  which  formerly  loudly 
declared  for  reform,  are  this  year  silent.  Three 
members  of  the  cabinet  decline  to  profess  their 
adherence  to  the  most  emphatic  declaration  of 
the  party  platform;  and  one  laughingly  re¬ 
marks  that  he  does  not  think  he  has  appointed 
many  democrats  to  office  so  far.  Eminent 
senators  and  representatives  of  the  party  sneer 
with  warmth  at  the  cant  of  reform  and  dog 
the  President  for  patronage.  One  representa¬ 
tive  announces  that  he  will  “test  the  sentiment 
of  the  house  on  the  sham  civil  service  law,” 
alleging  that  “nine  tenths  of  the  members 
know  that  the  law  is  a  fraud,  and  say  so  in 
private;”  and  the  energetic  representative 
proposes  “  to  smoke  them  out  and  put  them  on 
record.” 

These  are  facts  wholly  without  precedent  in 
our  political  history.  To  find  a  parallel,  we 
must  appeal  to  imagination,  and  suppose  some 
secretary  in  Jacksou’s  cabinet  publicly  laugh¬ 
ing  at  the  party  platform,  and  democratic 
clubs  and  committees  and  a  powerful  part  of 
^the  party  press  eagerly  sustaining  the  United 
States  bank  and  insisting  that  true  democracy 
and  the  genius  of  American  institutions  de¬ 
mand  its  recharter  and  permanence.  Or  we 
must  try  to  figure  republican  senators  and  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  the  last  generation  arguing  the 
justice  and  humanity  of  the  fugitive  slave 
law,  and  the  republican  press  and  local  com¬ 
mittees  asserting  the  right  of  slave  holders  to 
take  slaves  into  the  territories,  and  declaring 
'the  freedom  of  the  territories  as  demanded  by 
the  party  platform  to  be  unconstitutional  and 
un-American.  The  republican  platform  of 
thirty  years  ago  did  not  declare  against  the 
extension  of  slavery  into  the  territories  more 
forcibly  and  absolutely  than  the  platform  of 
last  year  declared  for  reform  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice.  Such  an  attitude  of  party  leaders  and 
of  the  party  press  in  former  years  toward  the 
platform  of  their  own  party  would  have  been 
that  which  the  larger  part  of  the  administra¬ 
tion  press  and  of  the  boldest  and  most  aggres¬ 
sive  administration  leaders  to-day  hold. 

While  this  is  the  sentiment  of  the  party  as 
revealed  in  all  the  ordinary  methods,  what  is 
the  executive  action?  Does  that  conform  to 
the  platform  promise  and  the  President’s 
pledge?  The  knowledge  of  every  citizen  in  his 
own  community  answers.  The  daily  record  of 
the  newspapers  for  seven  months  answers.  The 
general  political  proscription;  the  policy 
which  President  Harrison  when  a  senator  de¬ 
fined  as  “the  frank  and  bold,  if  brutal,  meth¬ 
od  of  turning  men  and  women  out  simply  for 
political  opinion;”  the  clean  sweep  which  is 
proceeding  in  the  post-office,  the  alarm  which 
pervades  every  branch  of  the  service,  the  open, 
flagrant  contempt  for  public  opinion,  for  pri¬ 
vate  information,  and  for  the  party  promise, 
which  was  shown  in  the  appointment  of  'he 
late  commissioner  of  pensions;  the_  executive 
refusal  to  include  the  census  service  in  the 
rules  and  the  removal  of  public  officers  con¬ 


spicuously  fitted  for  their  posts  by  character, 
ability,  and  experience,  who  have  absolutely 
and  confessedly  disregarded  politics  in  their 
devotion  to  official  duty  and  the  public  ser¬ 
vice, — all  these  facts,  and  such  as  these,  an¬ 
swer  the  question.  How  has  the  executive  ac¬ 
tion  conformed  to  the  party  promise  and  the 
President’s  pledge? 

There  are  two  signal  illustrations  of  the 
manner  in  which  those  pledges  have  been 
kj?pt.  The  fundamental  principle  of  reform 
or  of  reasonable  conduct  of  the  public  service 
requires  the  retention  and  reappointment  of 
public  officers  in  important  places  who  are 
especially  fitted  for  their  trusts  by  personal 
character  and  proved  ability,  by  long  service 
and  great  experience ;  who  are  in  no  sense  ac¬ 
tive  politicians,  and  who  are  exclusively  and 
most  efficiently  devoted  to  their  official  duties. 
When  the  administration  came  into  power 
upon  a  platform  of  reform,  it  found  two  such 
officers  in  the  city  of  New  York — the  post¬ 
master  and  the  naval  officer.  Both  of  them 
had  what  is  almost  impossible  under  a  spoils 
system,  pride  and  enthusiasm  in  the  public 
service,  in  which  both  of  them  were  knights 
without  fear  and  without  reproach.  The  ad¬ 
ministration  could  have  given  no  such  practi 
cal  proof  of  its  regard  for  reform  as  their  re¬ 
tention  in  office.  One  of  them,  the  jjostmas- 
ter,  was  summarily  dismissed  at  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  his  term,  nor  can  any  reason  connected 
with  the  public  interest  be  assigned  as  the 
cause  of  his  dismissal.  The  other,  the  naval 
officer,  was  displaced  before  the  end  of  his 
term  without  a  word,  or  a  sign,  or  a  reason 
alleged.  The  ablest  and  most  serviceable  of 
experienced  public  officers  are  dismissed  like 
messenger  boys.  There  is  no  other  civilizet' 
government  which  pursues  iu  its  public  ser¬ 
vice  such  a  course  which  the  President  has 
truly  described  as  brutal,  and  which  he  has 
cho-<en  to  pursue. 

There  is  no  pretence  that  the  public  interest, 
or  the  principles  of  reform,  or  the  professions 
of  the  party,  or  the  pledges  of  the  President,  re¬ 
quired  their  dismissal.  The  President, speak¬ 
ing  for  the  party,  had  made  the  four  pledges 
which  1  have  mentioned,  and  every  one  of 
them  was  violated  by  these  dismissals.  It  is 
not  pretended  that  there  was  any  reason  for 
the  executive  action,  except  the  desire  to  re¬ 
ward  party  service,  which,  whether  a  sound 
reason  or  not,  the  President  had  publicly  dis¬ 
claimed  as  a  proper  motive  for  appointment 
or  cause  for  removal.  The  dismissal  in  the 
case  of  the  naval  officer  was  delayed  only  un¬ 
til  the  factions  of  the  party  which  had  pro¬ 
claimed  that  the  public  service  should  not  be 
made  party  plunder,  could  agree  upon  a  sat¬ 
isfactory  distribution  of  the  spoils.  The  re¬ 
sult  is  that  the  two  public  offices,  one  of  them 
by  far  the  largest  and  most  important  of  its 
kind  in  the  country,  which  were  in  themselves 
conclusive  illustrations  of  the  practical  value 
of  reform  to  the  public  welfare,  have  been  de¬ 
graded  again  into  prizes  of  partisan  activity 
by  the  administration  of  a  party  which  so¬ 
licited  support  upon  the  plea  that  reform  of 
the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun  under 
its  guidance,  should  be  further  extended 
wherever  it  was  applicable.  The  genius  of 
Shakespeare,  which  embraces  all  experience 
and  gives  us  words  for  every  emergency,  in 
the  passionate  scene  between  Hamlet  and  his 
mother  depicts  him  as  accusing  her  of  con¬ 
duct  which  “calls  virtue  hypocrite,”  and 
makes  her  vows  “  as  false  as  dicers’  oaths.” 

Do  I  conceal  or  distort  the  significance  of 
the  situation  ?  It  must  be  judged,  of  course, 
as  a  whole.  Certainly,  every  act  of  the  ad¬ 
ministration  is  not  a  violation  of  the  party 
declarations.  Every  removal  is  not  unjustifi 
able,  nor  is  every  appointment  unnecessary. 
But,  whenever  a  change  is  made,  the  essential 
question,  according  to  the  principles  of  reform 


and  the  party  pledge,  is  not  whether  party  pol¬ 
iticians  demand  a  change,  but  whether  there 
are  legitimate  reasons  for  it.  It  is  not  enough 
that  the  appointment  of  a  postmaster  or  a 
naval  officer  shall  be  acceptable  to  the  party 
machine  of  which  he  is  a  screw :  the  vital 
question  is  whether  the  interests  of  the  public 
service  and  the  express  engagements  of  the 
party  with  the  country  require  that  a  perfect¬ 
ly  competent  and  satisfactory  officer  shall  be 
dismissed.  This  question  is  not  answered  by 
saying  that  his  successor  is  personally  honest 
and  intelligent.  If  all  the  public  officers 
were  changed  every  week,  the  supply  of  hon¬ 
est  and  intelligent  successors  would  not  be  ex¬ 
hausted.  The  appointment  of  a  good  officer 
is  no  excuse  for  the  needless  and  arbitrary  re¬ 
moval  of  another  good  officer.  This  league 
justly  held  that  the  course  in  regard  to  the 
civil  service  pursued  in  Massachusetts  by  the 
late  administration  was  no  excuse  for  the 
course  pursued  in  Maryland.  It  is  true  that 
Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day,  and  that  a  great 
reform  can  not  be  accomplished  at  once.  That 
is  a  sound  general  proposition.  But  no  exec¬ 
utive  bent  upon  reform  in  the  civil  service 
would  urge  as  an  excuse  for  displacing  an  en¬ 
tirely  capable  office  that  he  desired  to  reward 
a  serviceable  partisan  with  his  place.  Upon 
those  terms  Rome  would  not  only  never  have 
been  built,  but  the  first  stone  would  never 
have  been  laid. 

NO  MITIGATION 

The  President  has  selected  an  admirable 
civil  service  commission.  Every  member  of 
it  is  a  sincere  believer  in  the  necessity  and 
the  practicability  of  reform;  and  its  vigilance 
and  vigor  are  the  bed  earnest  of  its  effective 
service.  He  has  refused,  also,  to  extend  the 
time  appointed  for  including  the  railway  mail 
service  within  the  rules,  and  he  has  author¬ 
ized  the  publication  of  the  eligible  lists.  Be¬ 
sides  these  few  executive  acts,  the  significance 
of  which  is  destroyed  by  the  general  executive 
course,  there  is  little  that  shows  any  effective 
party  regard  for  the  resounding  promises  of 
the  platform.  The  new  administration  sen¬ 
ators  and  representatives  who  have  professed 
to  favor  reform,  and  who  lashed  with  stinging 
rhetoric  the  failures  and  inconsistencies  of  the 
late  administration,  now,  when  their  convic¬ 
tion  and  courage  find  a  fitting  opportunity, 
are  passive  and  silent.  They  see  the  general 
violation  of  pledges  by  which  the  party 
pledged  them.  They  see  the  principles  which 
they  declare  ought  to  control  the  power  of  ap¬ 
pointment  and  removal  openly  disregarded. 
They  see  the  abuses  running  riot,  and  appar¬ 
ently  with  their  connivance,  which  they  have 
themselves  denounced.  Yet,  instead  of  frank¬ 
ly  refusing  to  do  what  they  joined  in  declar¬ 
ing  should  not  be  done,  instead  of  indignant 
protest  in  the  name  of  their  party  and  of  hon¬ 
est  politics  which  should  alarm  those  who 
make  merchandi.se  of  the  party  faith  and  of 
the  public  service,  they  wait  feebly  that  it  is 
doubtful  if  the  country  really  wants  reform, 
that  the  pressure  of  trading  politicians  is  very 
strong,  and  that  there  are  many  other  impor¬ 
tant  questions;  and  the  Massachusetts  conven¬ 
tion,  in  face  of  the  familiar  and  flagrant  facts, 
congratulates  the  President  upon  the  practical 
wisdom  and  honest  purpose  with  which  he  has 
dealt  with  the  complicated  and  difficult 
matter  of  appointments— praise  which  was  as 
justly  due  to  the  first  great  presidential  spoils¬ 
man,  Andrew  Jackson,  as  it  is  to  his  latest 
successor. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  firm  and  strong  protest 
in  a  portion  of  the  party  press  against  the 
abandonment  of  the  platform.  But  these  pa¬ 
pers,  like  the  leaders,  do  not  condemn  the  con¬ 
stant  contempt  for  reform  shown  by  the  ad¬ 
ministration.  They  commend  the  personal 
character  of  those  who  are  appointed  to  office, 
without  stating  frankly  that  it  is  not  the  ap- 


64 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


pointment  but  the  removal  which  truly  iudi- 
cales  the  spirit  aud  drift  of  the  admiuistra- 
tion.  They  speak  iu  no  tone  of  challenge  and 
command  and  conscious  power  to  arrest  the 
executive  and  the  party  chiefs  of  every  degree 
in  the  reckless  repudiation  of  good  faith  with 
the  country.  Unwilling  to  own  that  the  plat¬ 
form  promise  and  the  executive  pledge  are  of 
those  professions 

“  That  palter  with  us  in  a  double  sense  ; 

That  keep  the  word  of  promise  to  our  ear, 

And  break  it  to  our  hope,” 

they  serve  only  like  stakes  planted  in  a  current 
to  show  the  swiftness  of  the  stream.  One  of 
them  only,  so  far  as  I  know,  and  that  a  repub¬ 
lican  journal  in  Philadelphia,  with  an  inde¬ 
pendence  worthy  of  an  American  newspaper, 
with  whatever  party  in  sympathy,  says  of  the 
administration  what  must  he  accepted  as  a 
just  verdict:  “The  administration,  in  almost 
every  one  of  its  acts  since  it  was  inaugurated, 
on  the  4ih  of  March  last,  has  scouted  and  flout¬ 
ed  civil  service  reform  and  trampled  under 
foot  its  own  promises  to  respect  it.  It  has 
turned  it  out  of  doors  and  barred  the  doors 
against  it.  That  is  the  truth  about  the  mat¬ 
ter,  in  brief;  and  the  administration  and  its 
organs  could  do  no  better,  wiser  thing,  than  to 
frankly  confess  that,  having  found  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform  to  interfere  with  its  plans,  it  whis¬ 
tled  it  down  the  wind  as  remorselessly  as  it 
would  dismiss  an  objectionable  tramp.” 

So  say  you,  Mr.  Foreman,  so  say  we  all,  gen¬ 
tlemen  of  the  jury.  There  was  never  a  more 
comprehensive  and  significant  declaration  of 
reform  made  in  a  party  platform  than  that 
under  which  the  present  administration  came- 
into  power.  But  no  party  ever  broke  faith 
with  itself  and  with  the  country  more  com¬ 
pletely.  It  is  not,  however,  a  new  situation. 
During  the  nine  years  of  the  existence  of  the 
league,  whatever  may  have  been  the  profession, 
reform  has  not  been  the  practice  of  either 
party.  Nevertheless,  it  has  advanced  steadily 
and  surely  in  the  face  of  party  contempt  and 
wrath  and  denunciation. 

“  Yet,  Freedom  !  yet  thy  banner,  torn,  but  flying, 

Streams  like  a  thunder-storm  against  the  wind.” 

Last  year,  I  recounted  in  detail  the  actual 
achievements  of  reform  in  the  laws  and  in 
practice.  They  mark  the  rising  tide  of  public 
sentiment.  “  With  public  sentiment,”  said 
Mr.  Lincoln,  “nothing  can  fail;  without  pub¬ 
lic  sentiment,  nothing  can  succeed.”  The  se¬ 
vere  standards  by  which  executive  conduct  in 
regard  to  the  civil  service  is  tested  by  intelli¬ 
gent  and  independent  citizens  wbo  believe  that 
honesty  is  the  best  political  policy;  tbe  im¬ 
pressive  and  startling  contrast  ofFered  in  the 
centennial  year  of  the  constitution  between 
the  tone  and  the  course  of  the  first  and  later 
administrations;  the  deepening  sense  of  shame 
that  alone  among  the  great  powers  of  Christen¬ 
dom  we  degrade  our  own  public  service — all 
show  unmistakably  how  profoundly  the  public 
conscience  is  stirred.  The  great  spectacle  of 
the  moment  is  a  great  object  lesson.  The  ar¬ 
gument  for  reform  is  steadily  driven  home  by 
wanton  party  prostitution  of  the  public  ser¬ 
vice.  Happily,  there  is  a  conservative  and 
patriotic  public  intelligence  which  is  the  sure 
and  invincible  bulwark  of  popular  institu¬ 
tions,  because  it  saves  popular  impulse  from 
its  own  exf'esses.  When  that  intelligence  fails, 
the  republic  ends.  But  that  it  is  not  failing 
our  rrcent  history  shows.  It  has  already  ex¬ 
torted  from  party  a  profession  of  reform.  It 
will  presently  compel  a  policy  of  reform,  un¬ 
less,  as  Goldwin  Smith  suggests,  party  can  be 
maintained  only  by  corruption  and  the  bribery 
of  place.  But  that  is  not  yet  the  American 
faith.  We  do  not  believe  that  popular  gov¬ 
ernment  is  possible  only  when  dishonest.  But, 
on  the  contrary,  although  taught  by  recent 
and  startling  experience  that  corruption  is  to¬ 
day  the  chief  peril  of  the  republic,  and  believ¬ 


ing  that  nothing  more  certainly  stimulates  it 
than  the  practice  of  converting  the  vast  sum 
of  the  salaries  of  the  civil  service  into  a 
bribery  fund  at  every  national  election,  we 
have  seen  the  awakening  and  the  advance  of 
the  spirit  of  reform.  As  with  all  progress 
worth  fighting  for,  the  contest  is  stubborn  aud 
resolute.  Delays  and  defeats  are  inevitable, 
but  temporary.  The  advance  is  sure.  The 
thunders  of  the  church  did  not  persuade  Gali¬ 
leo  that  the  earth  did  not  move;  and  the  roar 
of  the  party  machine  and  the  gross  violation 
of  public  pledges  by  the  President,  the  post¬ 
master  general,  by  senators  and  representativs 
in  congress,  by  party-  committees  and  local 
leaders,  all  of  which  we  have  heard  and  seen 
before,  do  not  convince  us  that  the  reform 
sentiment  of  the  country  is  not  stronger  every 
day. 

THE  TIDE- WATERS  AND  THE  PRESIDENT’S 
POLICY. 

The  familiar  plea  by  which  the  partisan 
prostitution  of  the  civil  service  is  defended  is 
that  the  admisitration  should  be  entrusted  to 
the  friends  of  the  national  policy  which  has 
been  approved  at  the  polls.  This  is  true  of 
every  post  in  the  administration  of  which  the 
duties  are  in  any  degree  affected  by  the  elec¬ 
tion.  But  it  is  true  no  farther,  and  it  is  true  of 
but  a  very  small  number  of  places.  The  sub 
ordinate  executive  agents,  as  such,  have  no 
political  duties.  They  are  sworn  simply  to 
administer  the  law.  If  they  are  honest,  their 
political  views  can  not  injuriously  affect  their 
diligence  and  devotion  to  their  duties.  If  they 
are  dishonest,  their  political  views  can  not 
qualify  them  for  public  employment.  Those 
who  raise  the  cry  that  the  government,  mean¬ 
ing  the  civil  service,  ough  to  be  in  the  hands 
of  its  friends  shall  not  esca{)e  by  refusing  to 
say  what  they  mean.  If  the  cry  does  not 
mean  that  a  postmaster  would  be  more  honest, 
energetic,  and  efficient  in  the  handling  and 
distribution  of  the  mail  because  of  his  polit¬ 
ical  views,  it  has  no  legimate  meaning  what¬ 
ever.  It  is  merely  a  black  flag  flown  at  a 
masthead.  It  means  only  that  we  have  cap¬ 
tured  the  administration,  and  not  content  with 
enacting  and  executing  the  laws,  which  is  our 
true  end  as  a  party,  we  make  prize  of  the  vast 
emoluments  of  the  civil  service  to  distribute 
among  our  followers  as  booty. 

But  this  cry  is  fatal  for  those  who  raise  it; 
for  it  is  the  confession  that  a  partisan  service 
is  so  corrupting  that  it  unfits  men  for  honest 
and  eminent  public  duty.  It  leaves  theoham- 
pions  of  spoils  conten  ding  for  a  system  which 
they  admit  to  be  demoralizing.  It  asserts 
that  a  public  servant  who  is  faithful  and  ca¬ 
pable  under  an  administration  which  favors 
a  national  bank,  for  instance,  will  become 
dishonest  or  inefficient  under  one  which  pre¬ 
fers  a  sub-treasury,  becau.se,  if  he  remain  hon¬ 
est  and  efficient  under  the  new  administra¬ 
tion,  then,  as  his  views  do  not  affect  his  con¬ 
duct,  the  public  interest  does  not  demand  a 
change.  Whoever  alleges  that  an  American 
citizen,  whatever  his  political  views  may  be, 
will  do  his  sworn  duty  less  efficiently,  or  even 
connive  at  the  violation  of  laws  which  he  is 
sworn  to  obey,  because  his  party  has  not  made 
the  laws,  accuses  him  of  being  a  fool  or  a 
knave.  To  assert  this  of  the  great  body  of 
public  officers  is  to  brand  American  citizens 
as  rascals.  Yet  this  is  the  assumption  of  the 
theory  that  every  non-political  employe  in  the 
public  service  should  change  with  a  party 
change  of  administration.  Why  should  such 
public  officers  be  expected  to  regard  their 
oaths  more  strictly,  or  to  do  their  duty  more 
faithfully,  because  they  agree  with  the  politi¬ 
cal  views  of  the  president,  than  the  employes 
of  a  great  private  corporation  because  they 
agree  with  the  religious  views  of  the  superin¬ 
tendent? 


I  will  take  an  illustration  familiar  to  all  of 
us.  The  late  postmaster  of  New  York  was  a 
republican.  But  when  a  democratic  admin¬ 
istration  came  into  power,  he  was  reappointed 
postmaster.  Did  that  administration  betray 
its  trust  and  wrongfully  imperil  the  public 
service  by  retaining  an  important  officer,  who, 
not  holding  the  political  views  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  under  the  theory  we  are  considering, 
would  be  passive,  careless,  and  inefficient  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties?  In  fact  and  by 
the  record,  did  this  difference  of  political 
view  in  the  least  degree  affect  the  energy,  the 
devotion,  the  ability  of  this  man,  who  served 
his  country  as  faithfully  and  at  a  sacrifice  as 
great  as  any  hero  of  the  war?  Did  he  flout 
his  oath,  did  he  connive  at  inefficiency  and 
sloth  and  delay  and  misconduct  in  the  postal 
service,  in  order  to  discredit  the  party  with 
whose  political  views  he  did  not  agree?  Had 
he  no  honor  as  a  man?  Had  he  no  pride  in 
the  good  name  of  the  American  government? 
Was  he  so  poor  a  creature  as  to  derange  the 
business  convenience  of  the  metropolis  of  the 
continent,  despite  his  oath,  his  honor,  and  his 
fame,  because  he  was  a  republican  and  the 
President  a  democrat? 

To  ask  the  question  is  to  answer  it.  Mr. 
Pearson  was  the  same  upright,  faithful  and 
honorable  officer  under  democratic  ascendan¬ 
cy  that  he  had  been  under  republican  adminis¬ 
tration.  Yet,  warm  as  my  regard  for  the  man, 
and  high  as  was  my  admiration  of  the  public 
officer,  I  do  not  think  that  he  was  singular  in 
this  honarable  fidelity  to  his  trust.  Americans 
are  not  the  scoundrels  that  the  common  spoils 
theory  assumes.  What  Mr.  Peanson  was,  in 
honesty  and  fidelity,  thegreat  multitudeof  pub¬ 
lic  officers  and  employes  would  be,  if  selected 
and  retained  as  he  was  for  his  fitness,  and  not 
for  his  opinions.  It  is  one  of  the  worst  evils 
of  the  spoils  system  that  it  tends  to  corrupt 
this  honesty  and  to  destroy  this  fidelity  by 
making  personal  favor  and  political  opinion, 
not  proved  fitness,  both  the  condition  of  ap¬ 
pointment  and  of  the  official  tenure.  There¬ 
fore  it  is  that  the  removal  of  every  such  officer 
solely  that  his  office  may  be  degraded  to  a  re¬ 
ward  for  partisan  activity  is  a  gross  public 
wrong,  a  deadly  blow  to  political  morality,  to 
the  self  respect  of  honest  public  servants,  and 
to  the  American  name. 

The  successful  party  in  the  election  of  last 
year  pledged  itself  to  promote  civil  service  re¬ 
form,  “to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  in¬ 
stitutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  offi'dal 
patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effectually  avoid¬ 
ed.”  It  was  not  the  power  of  patronage,  but  a 
great,  humane,  j)atriotic  purpose  that  created 
the  party  which  made  that  declaration.  Did 
the  complete  control  of  the  patronage  of  the 
government  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  a  pa¬ 
tronage  enormously  increased  and  extended, 
and  bestowed  solely  upon  partisans,  strengthen 
the  party  in  public  confidence,  or  elevate  its 
leadership,  or  secure  its  ascendency?  Is  it 
not  true  that,  with  the  great  increase  of  pa¬ 
tronage,  political  corruption  has  greatly  and 
consequently  increased  within  the  party  and 
throughout  the  country  ?  Is  it  less  true  that 
the  determination  no  longer  to  treat  the  vast 
sums  paid  in  public  business  salaries  as  a 
fund  to  reward  partisan  service  would  be  the 
first  serious  check  to  the  corruption  which 
now  threatens  our  political  life?  Thirteen 
years  ago  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  republi¬ 
can  leaders  said  in  the  senate — and  if  it  was 
true  then  is  it  less  true  now  ? — “  I  have  heard 
the  taunt  from  friendliest  lips  that,  when  the 
United  States  presented  herself  in  the  east 
to  take  part  with  the  civilized  world  in  gen¬ 
erous  competition  in  the  arts  of  life,  the  only 
product  of  her  institutions  in  which  she  sur- 
pas.sed  all  others  beyond  question  was  her  cor¬ 
ruption.”  When,  three  years  hence,  we  wel¬ 
come  that  world  upon  our  western  shores  to 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


65 


another  competition  of  proficiency  in  those 
arts,  shall  we  be  content  with  industrial  su¬ 
periority  and  material  splendor?  While  our 
inventive  genius,  our  daring  enterprise,  our 
swift  civilization  of  a  continent,  may  stir  the 
wonder  of  the  world,  shall  it  not  be  our  proud¬ 
est  boast  that,  as  the  material  miracle  has 
been  wrought  under  popular  government,  our 
greatest  achievement  is  the  moral  miracle  of 
the  constant  purification  of  that  government 
by  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people  ? 


THE  THANKSGIVING  DAY  SERMON. 


The  progress  of  this  movement  continues  to 
be  encouraging.  It  is  not  possible  to  note  this 
month  more  than  the  following: 


% 


Resolved,  That  in  accordance  with  a  sugges¬ 
tion  made  by  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh,  on  behalf 
of  the  National  Civil  Service  League,  the 
ministers  belonging  to  the  Pacific  Unitarian 
conference  are  requested  to  take  for  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  their  sermons  at  the  approaching 
Thanksgiving  Day  service  “  The  Reform  of  the 
National  Civil  Service,”  or  to  devote  at  least 
a  portion  of  their  discourse  to  it,  believing,  as 
we  do,  that  it  is  a  theme  of  vital  importance 
to  our  country,  and  should  enlist  the  warm 
support  of  our  pastors  and  people. 


An  appeal  has  been  issued  to  the  ministers 
of  the  United  States,  urging  them  to  unite  on 
^Thanksgiving  Day,  or  such  other  day  as  may 
^seem  suitable  or  convenient,  iu  the  presenta- 
ition  of  the  subject  of  civil  service  reform. 

In  general,  a  pastor  can  scarcely  be  too  care¬ 
ful  with  regard  to  the  public  expression  of  his 
views  on  such  matters  as  may  invite  the  heat 
of  discussion,  or  engender  rivalries  between 
those  of  differing  positions,  classes  or  political 
views.  He  is  and  must  be  first,  last  and  all  the 
time  a  religious  leader.  Ilis  one  object, to  which 
all  others  must  be’  subordinated,  should  be  to 
help  men  in  their  soul  experiences  to  lead 
the  life  of  Christ.  As  pastor  he  must  know  no 
republican  or  democrat,  no  employer  or  em¬ 
ployed,  no  public  official  or  private  servant. 
His  people  are  all  individual  souls,  to  be 
helped  by  him  in  their  individual  life  with 
God.  At  the  same  time  he  is  a  citizen,  and 
not  only  may  but  must  have  personal  opin¬ 
ions  on  public  affairs  which  must  guide  his 
public  action.  How  to  be  unwavering  in  the 
one,  and  at  the  same  time  true  to  the  other,  is 
often  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  and  needs 
the  most  careful  tact  and  judgment.  It  is  as 
essential  that  a  man  be  a  Christian  at  the  polls 
as  in  his  home,  yet  to  emphasize  the  requisites 
for  Christians  voting,  and  not  to  imply  that 
they  are  coincident  with  the  preacher’s  own 
political  preferences,  is  no  easy  matter.  The 
result  has  been  too  often  that  preachers  re¬ 
fused  to  take  up  in  the  pulpit  the  great  ques¬ 
tions  of  government,  and  there  are  multitudes 
to  whom  the  ideas  of  Christianity  and  politics 
are  as  far  removed  as  possible  from  each 
other.  This  extreme  is  just  as  wrong  as  the 
other.  While  it  is  none  of  the  business  of 
the  pulpit  to  discuss  party  politics,  it  is  the 
bounden  duty  of  the  pulpit  to  present  as  fully 
and  clearly  as  possible  the  principles  that 
should  control  party  politics. 

The  question  of  civil  service  reform,  how¬ 
ever,  is  in  no  sense  a  party  question.  It  is  one 
that  involves  the  comfort  and  the  rights  of 
every  community.  It  embraces  in  its  scope 
the  principles  that  should  underlie  all  govern¬ 
ment  in  its  local  relations,  in  that  it  empha¬ 
sizes  the  “service”  element,  brings  out  most 
forcibly  the  truth  that  public  office  is  a  pub¬ 
lic  trust,  that  the  public  official  should  be  as 
impartial,  as  unbiased  in  his  public  action, 
as  the  preacher  himself  in  his  church  duties. 
The  Homiletic  Review  for  October. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PRESS  ON  CIVIL 
SERVICE  REFORM. 

[For  want  of  space  a  considerable  number  go  over  to 
next  issue.] 

General  Harrison  has  spoken  in  no  uncertain  terms 
of  his  purpose  to  promote  and  perfect  the  great  re¬ 
form.  Between  cringing  on  the  one  hand  and  trick¬ 
ery  on  the  other,  tlie  present  administrators  of  the 
civil-service  law  and  rules  have  lost  public  confi¬ 
dence.  By  the  elimination  of  those  non-progressive 
agents  of  reform,  and  the  appointment  of  men  hon¬ 
estly  in  sympathy  with  the  principles  involved,  such 
progress  may  be  made  under  the  new  President  that 
retrocession  will  be  impossible  hereafter.  With  edu¬ 
cated,  alert,  and  jaithjul  men  in  every  branch  of  the 
civil  service,  it  may  one  day  become  and  be  deemed  as 
honorable  to  serve  in  that  as  in  the  naval  or  military  serv¬ 
ice  —Frank  Leslie's  [ifep.],  December  1, 1888. 

Of  course  many  removals  will  be  made— many 
ought  to  be  made  for  the  good  of  the  government— 
but  anything  like  a  clean  sweep  will  react  upon  the  party 
and  jeopardize  its  welfare.— Baltimore  American  [J?ep.] 
November  27,  1888. 

The  cause  of  civil  service  reform  has  not  yet  made 
such  progress  but  that  there  are  seme  republicans 
who  openly  avow  their  approval  of  the  doctrine  that 
“  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,”  and  who  unhesi¬ 
tatingly  advocate  a  clean  sweep  of  all  democrats  in 
oBice.  It  was  this  very  doctrine  and  practice  that 
created  a  necessity  for  civil  service  reform.  The 
movement  did  not  come  any  too  soon,  and,  if  held 
to  its  original  purpose,  it  can  not  be  too  earnestly 
prosecuted  for  the  welfare  of  the  country.  The  fact 
that  it  has  been  made  more  or  less  odious  by  hypo¬ 
critical  professions  and  Pecksniffian  pretenses  is  not 
the  fault  of  the  movement  itself.  The  movement  is 
essentially  right.  It  aims  to  reduce  the  business  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  government  to  business  princi¬ 
ples,  to  place  it  on  a  stable  basis,  to  remove  the 
minor  offices  from  the  field  of  mere  political  spoils, 
and  to  make  merit  and  efficiency  ruling  principles 
in  appointments  and  promotions.  It  is  impossible 
to  deny  the  justice  of  a  movement  that  aims  at 
these  ends.  All  good  citizens  and  both  parties  alike 
are  interested  in  their  accomplishment.  They  must 
be  accomplished  if  our  civil  service  is  to  be  saved  from  be 
coming  the  mereprey  of  spoilsmen  and  a  perpetual  source 
of  corruption  and  danger  to  the  government.  No  govern¬ 
ment  can  be  permanently  maintained  on  a  basis  that 
openly  defies  business  principles  which  are  founded  in  the 
common  sense  of  mankind.  Civil  service  reform  in  its 
true  sense— that  is,  in  the  sense  of  introducing  an 
element  of  stability  into  the  civil  service  and  con¬ 
ducting  it  on  a  basis  of  merit  and  efficiency,  rather 
than  of  mere  political  spoils— civil  service  reform  in 
this  sense  has  come  to  stay,  and  will  move  forward 
rather  than  backward.  The  republican  clean  sweep¬ 
ers  should  not  be  unreasonable  in  their  demands  on 
the  next  administration.  The  democrats  made  that 
mistake  four  years  ago,  and  republicans  should  pro¬ 
fit  by  their  example.  The  more  unreasonable  the 
demands  and  expectations  in  this  regard  the  greater 
the  liability  to  disappointment,  and  of  its  proving  a 
.source  of  party  w'eakness.  Those  who  make  it  forget 
that  the  republican  party  is  fully  committed  by  its  plat¬ 
form  pledges  to  civil  service  reform,  and  that  General 
Harrison  has  declared  himself  in  full  sympathy  with  it ; 
they  forget  that  the  clean- sweeping  business  was  one  of  the 
main  counts  in  the  indictment  against  the  democratic 
party,  and  the  consequent  demoralization  of  the  public 
service  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  its  defeat.— Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal  [ftep.],  November  'IZ,  1888. 

The  curse  of  offiee-seekiiig  appears  in  two  ways— 
it  prevents  a  President,  senator  or  congressman 
from  exercising  any  possible  statesmanship,  and  it 
leads  to  the  election  of  men  to  those  positions  who 
have  no  ability  for  statesmanship  even  if  they 
should  have, time  for  its  use.— Omaha  Republican  [J2<p.] 

Shrew'd  political  managers  will  see  after  awhile 
that  the  doctrines  of  civil  service  reform  are  as  ben¬ 
eficial  to  the  discipline  of  party  as  they  are  to  the 
efficiency  of  the  government  service.  —  Louisville 
Commercial  [Rep  ] 

The  republican  party  is  thoroughly  committed  to 


the  advocacy  of  this  reform,  and  we  do  not  believe 
that  there  is  any  possibility  of  the  repeal  of  the  law. 
The  efforts  in  that  direction  by  a  few  politicians  and 
public  men  are  viasted. —Philadelphia  Press  [Rep.l 

The  pressure  for  office  is  well  nigh  intolerable, 
even  with  the  protection  at  present  afforded  by  the 
law,  and  the  only  way  out  of  the  diffieulty  is  to  en¬ 
large  the  scope  of  the  competitive  system  to  keep 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  civil  service,  or,  better 
still,  to  gain  upon  it.— Aew  York  Tribune  [Ucp.] 

General  Hairison,  as  is  well  known,  has  devoted  all  his 
waking  hours,  even  at  the  risk  of  seriously  endangering 
his  health,  to  listening  to  office-brokers  and  office  seekers. 
So  long  as  they  are  encouraged  they  will  make  their 
periodical  onslaughts,  but  once  the  President  puts 
his  foot  down  and  stops  it  there  will  be  an  end  of  the 
miserable  business,  and  he  need  not  fear  that  the 
people  will  not  endorse  and  applaud  him  in  taking 
any  step  which  will  relieve  him  from  this  unseemly 
and  disgraceful  occupation  of  his  time,  and  give  him 
the  opportunity  to  attend  to  public  business  and  to 
devote  to  it  the  leisurely  care  and  consideration 
which  it  needs.— C/tfea^/o  Tribune  [Rep  ]. 

We  believe  the  mass  of  the  republican  party  is  in 
favor  of  strengthening  the  civil  service  laws  rather 
than  relaxing  them  or  trying  to  get  around  them. 
New  York  Prm[I?ep.]. 

The  Lowell  [Mass.]  Courier  [Rep.]  tells  Senator 
Blair  of  New  Hampshire  that  in  denouncing  civil 
service  reform  he  ‘‘is  not  a  republican  in  good  and 
regular  standing.”  The  Courier  explains  that  “the 
reform  of  the  civil  service  is  a  republican  tenet”  It 
has  been  formally  seth  forth  in  every  republican 
platform  since  1876,  and  whatever  there  is  of  law  or 
practice  of  the  reform  is  of  republican  origin.  The  re¬ 
publican  party  can  not  disclaim  the  doctrine  without 
inconsistency,  nor  can  it  ignore  it  without  disgrace. 

Patronage  kills  off  more  Congressmen  than  it  helps, 

*  «  «  Even  with  the  President  himself,  the  rec¬ 
ognition  of  his  services  and  abilities  as  a  statesman 
and  national  executive  officer  are  almost  lost  track  of 
in  the  continual  uproar  for  and  against  his  manner 
of  dispensing  the  official  patronage.  Cleveland’s 
failure  to  please  his  party  in  handling  the  official 
patronage  was  more  responsible  for  his  defeat  than 
his  course  upon  national  questions  of  statecraft  and 
governmental  affairs. — Cincinati  Commercial  Gazette 
[Rep.l. 

Not  until  the  whole  rank  and  file  of  the  host  of 
office-holders  are  brought  fully  under  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  regulations  can  the  main  w'ork  of  the  reform  re¬ 
ally  be  said  to  have  been  accomplished.— Bos<o»i 
Journal  [Uq).] 

Judging  from  the  declarations  of  those  people,  the 
principle  of  civil  service  reform  has  been  abandoned, 
and,  like  the  old  Roman  augurs,  even  the  coryphmi 
of  the  reform  movement  are  laughing  in  their 
sleeves  at  it  as  if  it  were  a  good  joke.  But  they  are 
mistaken.  If  there  were  such  abandonment  of  the 
civil  service  reform  principle,  it  would  not  be  diffi¬ 
cult  to  secure  a  repeal  of  the  law  by  congress,  but 
this  can  not  be  done  and  will  not  be  done.— Sf.  Paul 
Pioneer  Press  [Rep.] 

The  republicans  are  battling  with  that  element  of 
weakness,  the  patronage,  and  are  getting  the  worst 
of  it.  The  scramble  for  offices  is  disgusting,  dis¬ 
heartening;  the  antagonism  of  men  who  last  fall 
professed  the  most  disinterested  zeal  for  the  party, 
but  are  now  squabbling  over  the  division  of  the 
political  spoils,  are  making  glad  the  enemy. — Brook¬ 
lyn  Times  (Rep.) 

And  here  comes  the  Philadelphia  Press  to  assert 
that  “the  republican  party  is  not  going  back  on  its 
civil  service  reform  pledges  to  please  anybody,  much 
less  disappointed  politicians.”  Whata  whack  that  is 
at  Ingalls,  Blair,  ex-Senator  Platt,  the  New  York  lead¬ 
er,  and  others,  who  would  fain  have  the  republican 
party  follow  the  course  of  the  old  whig  party  respect¬ 
ing  slavery.  That  organization  would  resolve  against 
its  extension  before  election,  and  afterwards  turn 
round  and  join  in  any  compromise  that  would 
strengthen  the  institution  nationally.  The  natural 
result  was  that  the  whig  party  fell  by  the  wayside.— 
Boston  Transcript  [i?ep.]. 


66 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


The  Buffalo  Express  [Rep.]  is  not  a  believer  “in 
the  system  which  makes  the  senators  and  represent¬ 
atives  assistant  presidents  in  so  far  as  the  patronage 
of  their  districts  is  concerned.’’  The  Express  s&ys 
that  the  system  “  has  been  tried  and  found  wanting. 
The  scandals  it  gave  rise  to  under  former  adminis¬ 
trations  weakened  the  republican  party  by  creating 
factions  and  faction- chiefs,  and  by  driving  from  the 
entire  organization  some  of  its  best  members.  Its 
only  good  result  was  the  passage  of  the  national 
civil  service  law.’’ 

Certain  republican  members  of  congress  who  have 
not  obtained  all  the  offices  they  want  vent  their  dis¬ 
content  by  flings  at  the  civil  service  law,  and  demo¬ 
cratic  papers  eagerly  pick  up  their  remarks  as  evi¬ 
dence  that  republican  support  of  the  reform  is  di¬ 
minishing.  But  a  handful  of  discontented  congress¬ 
men  do  not  represent  the  party.  The  reform  is  here 
to  stay.— Boston  Journal  [Rep.]. 

The  Milwaukee  Sentinel  [Rep.]  says  that  it  is  not 
“disposed  to  commend  Mr.  Clarkson’s  activity  with 
the  cleaver.’’ 

That  the  faith  of  the  republican  party  is  pledged 
to  promote  the  best  good  of  the  civil  service  of  the 
country.— Joioa  Republican  Platform,  1874. 

THE  MEETING  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
LEAGUE. 

The  National  League  of  civil  service  reform 
associations  held  its  annual  meeting  in  Phila¬ 
delphia,  October  1  and  2.  The  resolutions 
adopted  were  as  follows: 

First.  The  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League 
gladly  recoguizes  the  steady  advance  of  the  reform 
sentiment  in  the  public  mind,  and  the  good  results 
already  happily  achieved  in  legislation. 

Second.  The  national  convention  of  the  party  now 
administering  the  government  made  the  following 
declaration : 

“The  men  who  abandoned  the  republican  party 
in  1884,  and  continue  to  adhere  to  the  democratic  par¬ 
ty,  have  deserted  not  only  the  cause  of  honest  gov¬ 
ernment,  of  sound  finance,  of  freedom  and  purity  of 
the  ballot,  but  especially  have  deserted  the  cause  of  re¬ 
form  in  the  civil  service.  We  will  not  fail  to  keep  our 
pledges  because  they  have  broken  theirs,  or  because 
their  candidate  has  broken  his.  We,  therefore,  re¬ 
peat  our  declaration  of  1884,  to  wit :  ‘  The  reform  of 
the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun  under  the  re¬ 
publican  administration,  should  be  completed  by 
the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system,  already 
established  by  law,  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to 
which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 
reform  should  be  observed  in  all  executive  appointments, 
and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the  object  of  existing 
reform  legislation  should  be  repealed,  to  the  end  that 
the  dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power 
of  official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effectually 
avoided.’’’ 

The  president  elected  upon  that  platform  declared 
in  his  letter  of  acceptance:  “In  appointments  to 
every  grade  and  department,  fitness  and  not  party  ser¬ 
vice  should  be  the  essential  and  discriminating  test, 
and  fidelity  and  efliciency  the  only  sure  tenure  of 
office.  Only  the  interest  of  the  public  service  should 
suggest  removals  from  office.” 

Third.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  league  to  consider 
how  these  solemn  pledges  have  been  fulfilled.  The 
personal  character,  ability  and  experience,  and  the 
unquestionable  and  fearless  devotion  to  reform  of 
the  members  of  the  civil  service  commission  ap¬ 
pointed  by  the  administration  and  the  support  ac¬ 
corded  to  them  by  the  President  deserve  the  heartiest 
commendation.  The  administration  of  the  reform 
law  has  been  improved  by  regulations  making  the 
eligible  lists  public,  and  permitting  the  appointment 
upon  local  boards  of  members  whose  tenure  in  the 
service  is  independent  of  the  heads  of  the  respective 
clas,sifled  offices. 

Fourth.  The  execution  of  the  law,  however,  is  se¬ 
riously  endangered  by  the  appointment,  with  few 
exceptions,  as  heads  of  offices  within  the  classified 
service,  of  men  who  are  not  in  sympathy  with  the 
law  or  its  purposes,  but  who  are  in  many  cases  its 


open  or  secret  enemies.  A  brief  necessary  delay  in 
the  preparation  of  eligible  lists  by  the  civil  service 
commission  was  improved  to  sweep  out  of  the  rail¬ 
way  mail  service  hundreds  of  employes,  regardless 
of  efficiency,  and  into  these  vacancies  were  hurried 
hundreds  of  partisans  of  the  administration,  with 
but  a  subordinate  regard  for  their  fitness.  In  the 
civil  service  generally,  the  President  seems  in  great 
measure  to  have  abdicated  his  constitutional  power 
of  appointment,  by  placing  the  appointments  at  the 
disposal  of  partisan  leaders,  thus  enabling  them  to 
debauch  constituencies  and  control  elections.  Thus 
the  pledge  of  the  President,  that  fitness  and  not  party 
service  should  be  the  sole  discriminating  test  of  ap¬ 
pointment,  is  disregarded. 

Fifth.  An  equally  flagrant  violation  of  pledges  is 
the  removal  of, thousands  of  public  ofificers,  especially 
in  the  postal  service,  for  mere  partisan  reasons,  and 
especially  of  some  trained  by  years  of  faithful  ser¬ 
vice,  and  universally  recognized  to  be  peculiarly 
fitted  for  their  several  positions,  and  whose  only 
fault  was  their  unwillingness  to  seek  the  favor  of  in¬ 
fluential  politicians  by  subordinating  to  their  inter¬ 
ests  those  of  the  country.  Against  these  excesses  of 
the  spoils  system,  whereby  its  injustice  and  cruelty 
are  strikingly  illustrated,  the  league  records  its  un¬ 
qualified  protest. 

The  league  also  expresses  its  regret  at  the  refusal 
of  the  President  to  extend  the  civil  service  examina¬ 
tions  to  the  census  bureau,  inasmuch  as  the  proper 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  bureau  imperatively 
demands  entire  freedom  from  partisan  spirit. 

Sixth.  The  league  renews  its  earnest  declaration  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  repeal  of  the  four  years  laws, 
which  are  the  fruitful  source  of  political  removals. 
When  the  power  of  removal  is  unrestricted,  it  is  of 
the  highest  importance  that  every  officer  should  be 
held  to  the  responsibility  which  accompanies  au¬ 
thority,  and  that  every  incentive  to  the  arbitrary  ex¬ 
ercise  of  authority  should  be  destroyed.  To  stimu¬ 
late  the  official  sense  of  this  responsibility,  the  league 
recommends  to  its  constituent  associations  the  widest 
publication  of  the  details  of  removals,  that  the  pub¬ 
lic  may  be  fully  informed  of  any  ease  in  which  its 
service  may  be  made  subservient  to  personal  and 
partisan  objects. 

Seventh.  The  league  renews  its  recommendation 
that  public  officers  entrusted  with  power  of  appoint¬ 
ment  and  removal  should  be  required  by  law  or  ex¬ 
ecutive  order  to  place  upon  public  record  all  appoint¬ 
ments,  removals  and  resignations,  and  the  reason  for 
every  removal  made  by  them ;  and  appointing  offi¬ 
cers,  when  in  their  discretion  they  do  not  select  those 
rated  highest  upon  the  eligible  list  presented  to  them, 
should  be  required  in  each  case  to  file  their  reasons 
for  such  action. 

While  fully  recognizing  that  the  absolute  power  of 
removal  must  be  vested  in  the  appointing  power  sub¬ 
ject  only  to  a  sound  discretion,  the  league  holds  that 
the  system  of  making  removals  upon  secret  charges 
of  specified  acts  proffered  by  unknown  accusers,  with 
out  opportunities  for  explanation  or  denial,  is  inquis- 
torial  in  its  character,  unjust  in  its  results,  and,  like 
the  spoils  system  itself,  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of 
American  institutions. 

Eighth.  The  league  warmly  approves  the  appeal 
to  the  clergy  of  the  United  States  to  commend  to  the 
people  the  moral  aspect  of  the  question  of  reform. 
The  promotion  of  public  honesty,  and  the  stay  of  in¬ 
creasing  corruption,  are  not  political  or  partisian 
questions ;  they  are  coiicerns  of  the  truest  patriotism 
and  the  pulpit  in  the  discharge  of  its  office  of  apply¬ 
ing  eternal  principles  of  morality  to  human  conduct, 
and  aiding  nations  as  well  as  individuals  to  walk  in 
in  the  right  way,  may  well  demand  of  the  public 
conscience  that  specific  and  acknowledged  evils 
affecting  the  highest  public  welfare  shall  be  speedily 
and  effecively  redressed. 

WORK  MAPPED  OUT. 

A  special  committee  of  the  league  advocated 
the  following  plan  of  agitation,  which  was 
adopted  : 

The  report  from  the  special  “Committee  on  Work,” 
as  named  by  Mr.  Wheeler,  was  then  read  by  that 


gentleman.  It  outlines  a  plan  of  procedure,  and  is 
as  follows:  i 

Reso  ved,  That  the  several  associations  constituting 
the  league  be  requested,  without  delay,  to  take  ap¬ 
propriate  action  to  secure  adequate  appropriations 
for  the  civil  service  commission  ;  to  promote  the  con¬ 
firmation  by  the  senate  of  the  commissioners  lately 
appointed,  and  to  guard  against  legislation  hostile  to 
merit  system,  and  as  means  to  these  ends  that  each 
of  said  associations  prepare  and  circulate  suitable 
petitions  ;  appoint  delegations  to  visit  Washington, 
present  these  petitions  to  congress,  and  obtain  pub¬ 
lic  hearings  before  committees  of  that  body ;  hold 
public  meetings  at  which  addresses  on  the  topics 
above  indicated  may  be  delivered,  resolutions 
adopted  and  committees  appointed  to  lay  these  reso¬ 
lutions  before  congress;  interrogate  senators  and 
representatives  from  its  state  before  the  meeting  of 
congress  (whenever  this  course  seems  to  be  advisable) 
as  to  their  respective  sentiments  on  the  foregoing 
subjects,  and  make  judicious  representations  to  them 
caleulated  to  induce  favorable  oflficial  action  on  their 
part ;  promote  public  expressions  of  opinion  by 
noted  citizens  and  the  press,  advocating  the  adoption 
by  congress  and  the  President  of  a  policy  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  principals  of  civil  service  reform ;  col¬ 
lect  and  transmit  to  the  secretary  of  the  league,  and 
to  journals  friendly  to  the  cause  of  reform,  the  facts 
respecting  removals  from  office,  and  the  working  of  I 
the  reformed  system  whenever  it  is  in  force,  and  that  • 
the  secretary  of  the  league  communicate  such  facts  jj 
to  the  several  associations.  1 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  of  the  league  trans¬ 
mit  the  foregoing  resolution  to  the  secretaries  of  the 
several  associations,  with  a  letter  urging  its  prompt 
consideration,  and  that  the  president  of  the  league 
address  to  the  presidents  of  the  several  associations 
a  circular  letter  suitable  for  publication,  impressing 
upon  them  the  importance  of  the  action  therein  ad¬ 
vised. 

Resolved,  That  the  executive  committee  of  the 
league  co-operate  with  the  several  local  associations  j 
in  organizing  the  agitation  proposed  in  the  first  res¬ 
olution,  and  assist  them  in  obtaining  well  known  ’ 
speakers  for  their  meetings,  and  proper  introductions  ^ 
for  their  delegations  and  committees  in  the  nat  onal 
capital,  and  that  it  cause  to  be  prepared  maps,  with 
appropriate  quotations  and  statistics,  for  exhibition 
at  public  meetings. 

Resolved,  That  the  several  monthly  papers  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  interest  of  civ'il  service  reform  be  re-  : 
quested  to  have  at  least  one  article  in  each  issue,  be-  * 
tween  December  and  June  next,  devoted  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  congressional  action  relative  to  the  reform, 
and  to  send  marked  copies  of  each  issue  to  the  per¬ 
sons  whose  names  shall  be  furnished  them  by  the 
executive  committee  of  the  league,  the  actual  cost  of 
publishing  such  additional  numbers  to  be  defrayed 
by  the  league,  and  that  the  several  associations  be 
requested  to  promote  the  circulation  of  these  papers, 
especially  among  those  who  are  not  members  of  such 
associations. 

Resolved,  That  the  executive  committee  be  author¬ 
ized,  in  their  discretion,  to  undertake  a  thorough  in¬ 
vestigation  of  the  working  of  the  civil  service  law 
under  the  present  administration,  and  for  this  pur¬ 
pose  to  secure,  if  they  shall  think  lit,  one  or  more 
suitable  representatives,  who  shall  further,  if  ap¬ 
proved  by  the  committee,  present  the  cause  of  civil  ^ 
service  reform  to  popular  audiences  in  different  parts 
of  the  country  and  aid  in  the  organization  of  associa¬ 
tions  in  union  with  the  league,  and  also  obtain  infor¬ 
mation  as  to  proposed  legislation  at  Washington ; 
correspond  with  the  executive  committee  and  local 
as.sociations,  .see  that  petitions  and  resolutions  are 
duly  presented  and  delegations  and  committees  re¬ 
ceived,  and  generally  promote,  by  all  proper  means, 
the  objects- of  the  league. 

Resolved,  That,  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  action 
which  the  executive  committee  is  hereby  authorized  ! 
to  take,  the  treasurer  of  the  league  request  the  treas¬ 
urers  of  all  the  affiliated  societies  to  send  him  the  ' 
names  of  persons  in  their  judgment  able  and  willing 
to  contribute  toward  such  expenses,  and  then  send 
to  all  persons  thus  suggested  a  circular  setting  forth 
the  importance  of  the  propo.sed  work,  and  asking 
their  assistance  in  paying  for  it. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


To  promise  or  confer  public  office  as  a  bait  or  reward  for  personal  or  party  service  is  always  and  everywhere  immoral ; 
it  is  a  breach  of  trust  and  a  form  of  bribery.— Charles  J.  Bonaparte. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  NOVEMBER,  1889. 


VoL.  I,  No.  9. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


“  Patronage  has  been  the  great  drawback 
of  my  life.  If  it  had  not  been  for  patronage  I 
would  have  been  nominated  for  president  of 
the  United  States.  You  can  put  it  down  as  a 
rule  that  when  you  make  half  a  friend  by 
some  appointment,  you  will  make  from  twenty 
to  forty  enemies.  For  instance,  take  the  Co¬ 
lumbus  postoffice.  There  are  eight  applicants, 
and  each  one  is  strongly  recommended.  The 
one  to  be  appointed  will  probably  consider  he 
is  entitled  to  it  anyway,  and  the  other  seven 
will  each  form  a  nucleus  for  a  mass  of  dissen¬ 
sion.” — Senator  Sherman. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  will  be 
glad  to  receive  copies  or  reports  of  those 
sermons  preached  on  Thanksgiving  Day 
that  touch  upon  civil  service  reform.  It 
is  especially  desired  to  know  of  those 
preached  in  this  state. 


The  admirable  address  of  Mr.  Henry  A. 
Richmond,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  before  the 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  of  that 
city,  has  been  printed.  Mr.  Richmond  was 
one  of  the  civil  service  commissioners  of 
that  state,  and  he  therefore  speaks  with  au¬ 
thority.  The  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association  has  a  limited  number  of  copies 
for  distribution. 

During  the  Indiana  campaign  of  1888 
James  N.  Huston  was  chairman  of  the  re¬ 
publican  state  committee.  Soon  after  his 
inauguration  President  Harrison  having 
been  elected  upon  a  platform  which  said 
“  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform 
should  be  observed  in  all  executive  ap¬ 
pointments,”  made  the  head  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  machine.  United  States  treasurer. 
Mr.  Huston  accepted  the  place  and  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  Washington.  His  duties  as 
treasurer,  however,  seemed  secondary  and 
announcements  began  to  appear  that  he 
was  holding  gatherings  to  determine  the 
distribution  of  offices  in  Indiana.  For  a 
time  it  was  believed  that  he  was  the  lord 
of  the  Indiana  manor,  and  his  rooms  be¬ 
came  as  popular  as  the  office  of  George 
Law’s  subscription  books.  He  was  turned 
out  of  one  boarding  house  because  the 
crowds  seeking  his  favor  swamped  the 
operations  of  the  house.  Having  moved  to 
a  hotel  the  rush  continued  for  a  while  and 
then  suddenly  died  away.  It  came  out  that  1 


.Mr.  Huston  was  desirous  of  having  “  head¬ 
quarters”  in  Washington  where  all  persons 
desiring  a  federal  office  relating  to  Indiana 
should  apply  and  receive  or  be  refused  office 
by  him.  President  Harrison,  for  reasons 
of  his  own,  declined  to  sanction  this  plan 
which  caused  a  coldness  on  the  part  of 
Huston.  It  was  not  known  until  lately 
how  the  matter  was  arranged.  For  this 
later  knowledge  we  are  indebted  to  the 
Indianapolis  News  which  got  the  facts  from 
L.  T.  Michener,  who  has  succeeded  Mr* 
Huston  as  chairman  of  the  republican  state 
committee,  and  who  says : 

“When  I  became  chairman  of  the  state  central 
committee,  the  assignment  of  such  fourth-class  post- 
offices  as  remained  in  democratic  hands  in  democratic 
congressional  districts  was  put  into  my  hands.  I  found 
most  of  the  postoffiices  in  these  districts  already  provided 
with  republican  postmasters  when  I  came  in.  Before  I 
was  given  control  of  them,  their  assignment  was  in 
Mr.  Huston’s  hands.  If  my  recommendations  of 
applicants  have  conflicted  with  those  of  Mr.  Huston, 
and  been  given  precedence  over  them,  I  am  not 
aware  of  it.” 

The  fourth  class  postmasters  have  im¬ 
portant  duties  to  perform  and  they  are 
more  intimately  associated  with  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  than  any  other  class  of 
federal  officers.  They  have  no  possible  rea¬ 
son  for  existence  as  officers  except  to  per¬ 
form  those  duties  efficiently  and  courteous¬ 
ly.  Mr.  Michener  as  chairman  of  the  state 
committee,  is  actively  engaged  in  putting 
the  republican  machine  in  order  for  the 
campaign  next  year.  With  the  consent  of 
President  Harrison  he  is  using  the  fourth 
class  post-offices  to  strengthen  this  machine* 
and  as  part  of  it,  to  help  carry  the  election 
at  that  time.  These  men  will  be  expected 
to  see  to  primaries  and  conventions  in  the 
interest  of  the  man  who  appoints  them. 
They  will  be  expected  to  contribute  money 
and  work  in  the  campaign  for  the  nominees 
of  a  party  although  they  are  paid  by  all  the 
people.  This  is  the  personal  and  party 
service  which  they  will  render  for  the 
offices  that  are  now  being  given  them.  This 
is  the  M  ihone  business  over  again,  and  the 
Mahone  business  has  come  to  be  a  very 
dangerous  business. 

It  is  called  the  American  system.  This 
“  is  keeping  the  offices  near  to  the  people.” 
A  system  like  that  described  in  Mr.  Dana’s 
article  in  another  column,  which  would 
make  these  officers  dependent  only  upon 
their  efficiency  and  character  and  leave 
them  to  reasonably  and  fully  exercise  their 


rriTTJMQ  •  J  50  cents  per  annum. 
A  JiixtOJo  •  1  5  cents  per  copy. 


political  rights,  is  un-American,  aristro- 
cratic,  savors  of  monarchy,  forms  a  privi¬ 
leged  class,  and  is  attended  with  many 
other  evils.  Appointing  to  office  according 
to  the  order  of  a  chairman  of  a  political 
committee  is  an  insulting  and  offensive 
piece  of  despotism.  To  permit  it  is  not 
only  to  violate  the  plain  promises  upon 
which  President  Harrison  was  elected  but 
it  is  to  make  a  corrupt  use  of  the  appoint¬ 
ing  power. 

The  result  of  the  election  in  Virginia 
more  than  met  the  repeatedly  expressed 
hope  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle. 
The  spoils  system  was  used  by  the  repub¬ 
licans  in  its  most  efficient  development. 
No  man  in  the  country  except  Gorman  can 
handle  public  offices  and  bring  the  emol¬ 
uments  connected  with  them  to  bear  up¬ 
on  an  election  better  than  Mahone.  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  was  very  deliberate  about 
it;  he  knew  Mahone  and  his  methods;  he 
had  other  advice  and  plenty  of  it  from 
Virginia  republicans,  but  he  decided  to 
put  the  federal  service  connected  with  Vir¬ 
ginia  into  the  hands  of  the  head  of  the 
machine.  He  risked  the  whole  case  upon 
putting  the  spoils  theory  into  complete 
practice  and  he  constituted  Mahone  in  ef¬ 
fect  a  feudal  chief.  The  latter  relentlessly 
used  all  the  power  thus  given.  The  Valley 
a  Republican  paper,  says,  that  the 
only  question  in  the  campaign  was  Mahone 
and  Mahone  methods.  He  was  beaten  by 
42,000  majority, and  the  result  must  gladden 
the  heart  of  every  good  citizen. 

The  elections  in  other  states  afford 
ground  for  similar  satisfaction.  In  Iowa 
Clarkson  had  carried  on  his  operation  of 
dividing  the  offices  to  the  greatest  extent. 
In  subsidizing  the  press,  in  rewarding 
friends  and  punishing  enemies,  and  in  a 
wholesale  political  proscription,  he  had 
given  the  spoils  system  its  fill.  He  had 
impudently  and  boastfully  tabulated  his 
work  and  published  it,  columns  long,  in 
his  paper.  He  had  been  made  an  assistant 
postmaster-general  because  of  his  supposed 
capacity  to  divide  offices  rapidly  and  with 
the  least  friction  among  the  workers,  re¬ 
fusing  the  weak  and  unimportant,  making 
small  gifts  to  others,  placating  the  danger¬ 
ous  and  insatiable  with  larger  bribes,  and 
distributing  "plums”  to  administration 
favorites.  He  did  his  best,  and  the  result 
is  that  the  democrats  have  carried  Iowa  for 


68 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  first  time  since  the  republican  party 
was  formed,  in  1854. 

New  York  has  been  managed  upon  the 
principles  of  Plattism,  and  a  studied  em¬ 
phasis  was  given  to  those  principles  by  the 
displacement  of  such  officers  as  Pearson 
and  Burt.  That  state  was  full  of  republi¬ 
cans  like  Sherman  S.  Rogers,  whose  advice 
would  have  elevated  the  party,  but  instead 
the  resurrection  and  domination  of  Platt, 
a  sly  machine  worker,  was  preferred  by 
President  Harrison. 

In  Ohio  the  key-note  of  the  campaign 
was  given  by  Congressman  Grosvenor  in  a 
speech  abusive  and  contemptuous  of  civil 
service  reform.  Congressman  Cooper,  who 
as  chairman  of  the  nominating  convention 
made  a  strong  speech  in  the  line  of  repub¬ 
lican  reform  promises,  was  retired  from 
the  active  list  in  the  campaign.  The  head 
of  the  ticket,  Foraker,  characterizes  ciyil 
service  reform  in  private  as  “  all  rot.” 
Here,  too,  the  party  had  the  full  control 
and  benefit  of  the  federal  patronage.  Yet 
in  Ohio  and  New  York  the  republicans  on 
election  day  were  helpless. 


President  Harrison  entered  upon  his 
office  with  the  determination  that  he  would 
enforce  the  civil  service  law.  He  may  or 
may  not  have  had  it  in  mind  that  he  would 
notin  his  acts  give  the  words  of  the  plat¬ 
form  and  of  his  letter  of  acceptance  the 
meaning  which  those  words  clearly  have. 
He  may  or  may  not  then  have  determined  to 
give  all  the  offices,  over  100,000  aside  from 
the  few  to  which  admission  must  be  gained 
by  examination,  to  personal  and  party 
favorites.  If  he  had  so  determined,  his 
course  would  have  been  what  it  has  been. 
The  machinery  of  our  government  can 
never  be  made  to  work  faster  in  turning 
one  set  of  office-holders  out  and  putting  in 
another.  In  this  work  the  administration 
has  proceeded  without  rest  or  relaxation. 
It  has  done  no  other  work. 

If  the  offices  are  necessary  to  keep  a 
party  together  and  to  enable  it  to  carry 
elections.  President  Harrison  may  have  the 
consolation  of  knowing  that  he  has  done  the 
best  he  could  toward  imparting  that 
strength.  Many  bitter  criticisms  are  made 
against  him  by  the  party  workers,  but  un¬ 
justly.  With  only  occasional  exceptions 
workers  got  the  places.  Ransdall,  who  was 
made  marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
was  certainly  “a  worker”  if  ever  there  was 
one  in  Indiana,  yet  no  appointment  the 
President  has  made  has  created  so  much 
dissatisfaction  here.  It  is  true  Mr.  Hilde¬ 
brand,  who  was  made  collector  of  customs 
here,  had  not  been  a  party  worker,  but  all 
his  deputies  were,  and  his  is  an  exceptional 
case.  These  are  fair  instances,  yet  all  over 
the  country  appear  such  criticisms  as  this 
of  Congressman  Frank,  of  Missouri,  who 


says  that  “the  President  has  disorganized 
the  party  by  his  appointments.  The  men 
who  zealously  labor  for  party  success  are 
not  to  be  studiously  ignored.”  The  Presi¬ 
dent  must  feel  that  party  machines  at  least 
are  ungrateful.  He  has  sacrificed  every¬ 
thing  upon  the  altar  of  the  party  workers, 
and  now  they  turn  and  rend  him. 


It  is  not  likely  that  the  President  values 
the  advice  of  men  outside  of  his  party  ma¬ 
chine.  He  has  not  yet  given  any  sign  of 
changing  his  course ;  in  fact  the  signs  are 
that  something  like  a  Mahone  attempt  is  to 
be  made  in  Indiana  next  year.  Neverthe¬ 
less  the  administration  ought  to  try  to 
save  the  respect  of  somebody.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  ought  to  be  willing  to  hear  reason. 
He  knows  that  the  republican  party  was 
in  power  for  twenty-four  years  and  that  the 
offices  by  means  of  the  party  work  of  the 
incumbents,  and  of  assessments  and  of 
ruthless  proscription  of  any  independence 
of  party  lines  were  large  factors  in  keeping 
the  republicans  in.  But  equally  powerful 
was  the  theory  that  the  democratic  party 
would  wreck  the  country.  With  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Cleveland  the  spell  was  broken. 
A  party  can  no  longer  keep  control  of  the 
country  by  slave  drivers’  whips  in  the  hands 
of  the  Gormans  and  the  Mahones  however 
much  that  party  may  strengthen  their  arras 
by  federal  patronage.  The  public  mind  is 
turned  toward  administrative  reform,  and 
a  party  in  power  must  not  be  or  appear  to 
be  besotted.  Apparently  President  Harri¬ 
son  had  not  read  the  signs  of  the  times. 

He  tried  the  spoils  plan  with  all  his 
strength,  and  he  has  failed.  If  he  keeps  on 
he  will  fritter  away  his  opportunity  to  ren¬ 
der  a  great  service  to  his  country.  He  can 
not  make  or  unmake  laws,  but  in  the  three 
years  and  a  half  yet  remaining  he  can  de¬ 
stroy  the  spoils  system.  This  is  the  only 
field  in  which  he  can  make  himself  rank 
among  our  greater  presidents.  We  know 
the  objections ;  his  party  will  fall  off  from 
him.  It  will  not  fall  off  more  than  it  has 
now.  He  will  be  at  war  w’ith  the  modern 
barons  who  pose  as  congressmen ;  that  is 
true,  and  speed  the  day.  He  will  not  be 
renominated;  that  may  be  true,  but  what 
of  a  renomination  followed  by.  defeat? 
The  demand  of  the  time  is  that  he  disre¬ 
gard  objections  and  be  fearless  of  the  con¬ 
sequences.  With  a  statesman’s  plan,  exe¬ 
cuted  with  a  statesman’s  boldness,  he  would 
accomplish  what  is  now  utterly  wanting. 
He  would  stir  and  rouse  the  patriotism  of 
the  people,  who  will  gather  about  a  strong 
man  fighting  on  the  right  side. 


The  road  is  plain  to  any  one  who  will 
see  it.  Let  the  President  demand  of  con¬ 
gress  an  appropriation  sufficient  for  widely 
extended  operations  of  the  civil  service 


commission.  Let  him  bring  every  clerical 
position  in  the  federal  service  within  the 
civil  service  law.  Let  him  make  rules  that 
the  non-technical  labor  service  of  the  coun¬ 
try  shall  be  hired  according  to  the  system 
of  the  Boston  labor  service.  Let  him  throw 
the  fourth-class  post-offices  into  divisions 
on  lines  similar  to  the  railway  mail  service 
and  operated  upon  the  plan  elaborated  by 
Mr.  Richard  H.  Dana.  Let  him  provide  a 
system  of  filling  the  larger  post-offices  by 
competition  among  subordinates  in  a  group 
of  offices.  These  are  paths  along  which 
the  President  may  pursue  a  brilliant 
course.  Braced  by  remembering  “  the 
dangers  to  free  institutions  that  lurk  in 
official  patronage,”  he  should,  by  his  con¬ 
stitutional  fiat  and  at  whatever  cost,  once 
and  forever  cut  off  congressmen  from  that 
patronage.  It  is  true  that  like  the  nobles 
with  a  king  granting  privileges  to  the  peo¬ 
ple,  our  oligarchy  of  spoils  dividers  would 
attempt  to  wreck  the  President,  but  in  the 
end  the  wreckers  would  be  wrecked. 


Mr.  Henry  C.  Lea,  of  Philadelphia,  is  a 
far-sighted  and  powerful  advocate  of  civil 
service  reform.  He  was  a  republican,  but 
voted  for  Mr.  Cleveland  in  1884  and  did  all 
he  could  to  defeat  him  in  1888  on  the 
ground  of  betrayal  of  this  reform.  In  1889, 
although  presidents  and  parties  may  sacri¬ 
fice  their  principles,  Mr.  Lea  does  not  de¬ 
part  from  his,  as  the  following  extract  from 
his  letter  in  the  Philadelphia  Times  of  Oc¬ 
tober  15,  shows : 

Believing  that  republicanism  represents  the  higher 
and  nobler  interests  of  the  community,  lam  anxious 
for  its  success  so  long  as  it  fairly  upholds  those  in¬ 
terests.  When  it  proves  false  to  them  it  is  false  to  it¬ 
self.  It  can  then  be  brought  to  a  sense  of  its  duty- 
only  by  defeat,  and  its  truest  friends  are  those  who 
will  not  hesitate  to  rebuke  it  in  the  only  way  made 
practicable  under  our  system.  If  it  is  to  remain  in 
power,  it  can  hope  for  supremacy  only  by  deserv¬ 
ing  it. 

Unfortunately  the  President  seems  to  have  mis- 
understood  wholly  the  les.son  taught  by  the  last  elec¬ 
tion.  He  has  abused  the  appointing  power  to  place 
the  party  in  New  York  under  the  domination  of  Tom 
Plattism,  in  Pennsylvania  under  Quayism,  in  Vir- 
ginia  under  Mahoneism.  He  has  degraded  it  and 
himself  in  obedience  to  a  short-sighted  opportunism 
which  seeks  to  utilize  the  baser  element  of  the  party 
at  the  expense  of  the  principles  to  which  it  and  he 
alike  are  pledged.  Unless  his  course  can  be  arrested 
it  needs  no  prophet  to  foretell  that  by  the  end  of  his 
administration  he  will  have  sunk  the  party  so  low  in 
the  estimation  of  its  honest  members  that  even  the 
phenomenal  capacity  for  blundering  of  the  democ¬ 
racy  will,  in  all  human  probability,  not  save  it.  If 
it  would  teach  him  wisdom,  the  most  wholesome 
thing  for  the  parly  this  year  would  be  defeat  in  New 
York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio. 

Mr.  Lea  is  following  the  only  course  by 
which  an  administrative  evil  can  be  rooted 
out— dealing  with  the  man  who  is  now  do¬ 
ing  the  evil.  As  he  wrote  in  1888,  “  when 
a  farmer  nails  a  chicken  hawk  to  his  barn 
door  he  not  only  gets  rid  of  a  plunderer, 
bnt  he  gives  a  wholesome  warning  to  its 
fellows.” 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


69 


CONGRESSMAN  LODGE  ON  THE  DI¬ 
VISION  OF  SPOIL. 

Mr.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  now  a  con¬ 
gressman  from  Massachusetts,  has  written 
a  letter  to  the  Civil  Service  Record  elab¬ 
orating  some  ideas  expressed  by  him  be¬ 
fore  the  Middlesex  Club  recently.  He 
describes  himself  as  a  “strong  party  man,” 
which  seems  to  mean  that  he  is  a  republi¬ 
can  first  and  a  civil  service  reformer  next. 
He  says  that  President  Cleveland  is  not  to 
be  criticised  because  he  made  a  clean 
sweep  outside  of  the  classified  service,  but 
for  saying  that  he  would  not  do  it.  “  All 
these  cries  ”  about  the  “  spirit  of  the  re¬ 
form”  and  “wholesale  removals”  are 
understood  by  the  American  people  as  de¬ 
pending  on  party  feeling.  The  republi¬ 
cans  look  upon  the  civil  service  reform 
associations  as  democratic  clubs  in  disguise 
and  “  do  not  value  their  utterances  at  all.” 
The  present  spoils  system  is  “  thoroughly 
vicious”  in  its  effects  upon  “the  entire 
J public  life  of  the  United  States.”  The  only 
tway  to  get  rid  of  it  is  by  law  backed  by 
'public  opinion.  Mr.  Lodge  also  tells  us 
[that  Mr.  Cleveland  made  a  clean  sweep  of 
[the  300  employes  of  the  Charlestown  Navy 
'yard,  and  now  he  says  “  the  patronage  of 
the  yard  has  fallen  largely  into  my  hands.” 
Also,  “  if  I  have  not  administered  it  well  or 
judiciously,  I  am  open  to  fair  criticism,  as 
was  my  predecessor  on  the  other  side ;  but 
neither  is  he  nor  am  I  open  to  criticism 
for  the  fact  that  we  administered  it.” 

In  this  naivete  he  is  only  to  be  compared 
to  Reuben  Davis,  who  has  recently  written 
his  life  of  broils  and  fights,  and  of  whom 
the  Nation  recently  said,  “  the  author  has 
not  a  suspicion  that  he  is  not  a  strictly 
moral  and  religious  man.”  Mr.  Lodge 
superintends  the  expulsion  of  300  la¬ 
boring  men,  many  of  them  support¬ 
ing  families,  from  their  places  without  a 
reason  in  the  world  except  that  they  do  not 
belong  to  his  party,  and  that  the  places 
are  wanted  for  party  favorites.  For  this  he 
is  not  to  be  criticised.  It  is  useless  to  ask 
Mr.  Lodge  the  meaning  of  that  sentence  in 
General  Harrison’s  letter  of  acceptance 
which  reads,  “  Only  the  interest  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  service  should  suggest  removals  from 
office.”  Equally  useless  would  it  be  to  ask 
him  the  meaning  of  that  part  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  platform  which  reads,  “  The  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed 
in  all  executive  appointments.”  It  is  use¬ 
less  also  to  reason  with  a  man  who  in  his 
own  words  thus  grades  his  political  moral¬ 
ity.  We  can,  however,  tell  him  some  plain 
facts:  Following  Mr.  Josiah  Quincy,  be¬ 
cause  many  drunkards  will  have  drink,  Mr. 
Lodge  is  not  justified  in  keeping  a  doggery. 
As  to  the  law  which  Mr.  Lodge  wants,  the 
power  of  appointment  is  found  in  the  con¬ 
stitution,  and  in  that  instrument  there  is 


not  the  slightest  authority  for  using  the  300 
places  in  the  Charlestown  navy  yard  as  Mr. 
Lodge  has  used  them.  Apparently  we  do 
need  a  law  to  put  congressmen  in  jail  for 
law-breaking.  Finally  we  quote  to  Mr. 
Lodge  the  words  of  Mr.  Bonaparte  :  “To 
promise  or  confer  public  office  as  a  bait  or 
reward  for  personal  or  party  service  is  al¬ 
ways  and  everywhere  immoral;  it  is  a 
breach  of  trust  and  a  form  of  bribery.” 
And  we  assure  him  that  that  statement  is 
an  absolute  truth,  and  that  while  he  and 
many  others  are  with  the  President  en¬ 
gaged  in  violating  that  truth  by  using  over 
100,000  public  offices  to  pay  for  such  ser¬ 
vice,  they  are  to  be  and  will  be  criticised, 
and  the  criticism  ought  to  be  proclaimed 
from  the  house-tops. 


REMOVALS  IN  THE  FIRE  DEPART¬ 
MENT. 

Trusler  and  Thalman,  two  members  of  the 
common  council  of  this  city,  are  taking  the 
lead  in  putting  through  that  body  an  ordi¬ 
nance  providing  that  no  fireman  shall  be  dis¬ 
missed  until  charges  are  filed  against  him  and 
he  has  a  hearing,  and  both  branches  of  the  city 
legislature  dismiss  him  hy  a  two-thirds  vote 
in  each  body.  All  the  republican  members 
seem  to  be  aiding  in  this  business,  and  the 
party  journals  offer  no  objection.  It  is  given 
out  that  the  object  of  the  ordinance  is  to  keep 
politics  out  of  the  fire  department.  Doubtless 
this  is  meant  as  a  joke,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
early  this  year  these  same  republicans,  led  by 
Trusler,  displaced  Mr.  Webster  from  his  place 
as  chief  of  that  department  because  he  would 
not  dismiss  the  dozen  democrats  out  of  the  82 
employes  of  that  department.  The  restoration 
of  this  officer  was  one  plank  of  the  democratic 
platform  in  the  late  city  election,  and  if  any¬ 
thing  was  decided,  it  was  that  the  people 
wanted  him  restored,  and  with  his  restoration 
the  banishment  of  politics  from  the  depart¬ 
ment.  By  reason  of  that  election  the  republi¬ 
cans  are  soon  to  lose  control  of  the  city  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  now  they  propose  to  fly  in  the 
face  of  the  expressed  will  of  the  city  by  legis¬ 
lating,  not  to  keep  politics  out  of  this  depart¬ 
ment,  but  to  keep  politics  in  in  the  worst  form. 
The  reported  declaration  of  Thalman,  “  We 
must  take  care  of  our  friends,”  contains  the 
whole  matter — the  object  is  to  prevent  remov¬ 
als  except  with  the  consent  of  the  republican 
minority. 

Let  it  be  admitted  that  the  democrats  would 
do  the  same  thing.  The  duty  of  a  party  is  not 
to  be  gauged  by  that.  The  judgment  must  be 
upon  whether  a  majority  does  the  right 
thing  for  the  public  business.  Civil  service 
reformers  are  accused  of  favoring  perpetual 
office-holding.  The  most  extreme  have  never 
favored  such  inflexible  permanence  as  this 
ordinance  proposes.  Under  this  a  fireman 
may  be  disobedient,  and  for  every  reason 
worthless;  yet  he  has  only  to  have  a  “pull” 
upon  one-third  of  the  councilmen  or  aldermen 
and  he  is  safe.  Trusler  and  Thalman  will  be 


part  of  that  third,  and  they  will  take  care  of 
their  “  friends.” 

Now,  those  who  have  studied  this  question 
most  are  a  unit  upon  the  principle  that,  to 
secure  efficiency,  the  power  of  removal  must 
be  left  in  the  head  of  each  department,  and 
must  be  untrammelled.  Beyond  this  they 
simply  ask  that,  as  no  removal  is  made  with¬ 
out  a  motive,  the  removing  officer  shall  make 
a  written  record  of  the  cause  and  that  such 
record  shall  be  public.  The  public  then  may 
judge  whether  a  removal  is  for  cause,  as,  for 
instance,  drunkenness,  or  whether  it  is  an  abuse 
of  power,  as  would  be  a  removal  to  make  room 
for  a  partisan.  Although  this  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  “  civil  service  theorists,”  its  practical 
sense  will  appeal  to  every  one.  They  rely  upon 
public  opinion  alone  to  prevent  improper  re¬ 
movals,  and  this  reliance  will  not  fail.  It  is 
only  when  things  can  be  kept  secret  that  ward 
politicians  control  heads  of  departments.  No 
such  officer  will  ever  write  in  a  public  record 
“  Removed  because  he  was  a  democrat  and 
Trusler  had  a  man  who  worked  three  weeks 
for  him  in  the  last  city  campaign  and  whom  he 
had  to  provide  for.”  Even  the  Truslers  would 
be  ashamed  to  have  such  a  public*record.  We 
have  reached  the  point  where  a  man’s  fellow- 
citizens  will  take  up  his  cause  when  he  is  un¬ 
justly  dismissed.  The  case  of  Mr.  Webster,  the 
motive  of  whose  dismissal  was  well  known,  is 
ample  proof. 

Placed  side  hy  side,  each  system  proves  the 
motive  which  prompts  its  adoption.  The  one 
means  a  department  head,  with  power  to  bring 
and  keep  his  men  up  to  the  highest  efficiency; 
this  is  for  the  public  benefit.  The  other  means 
a  department  powerless  to  enforce  discipline 
without  the  consent  of  a  minority  made  up  in 
part  of  men  who  have  already  shown  that 
they  will  sacrifice  the  public  welfare  for  a  petty 
partisan  gain.  The  fire  department  is  of  vast 
importance  to  this  city,  and  it  should  be  gov¬ 
erned  by  the  strictest  business  rules,  with  con¬ 
centrated  authority  and  absolutely  free  from 
partisan  influence.  When  men  seek  to  put 
upon  it  a  drag  like  this  ordinance,  they  cease 
to  be  public  trustees  and  become  public  pests. 
Doubtless  we  shall  always  have  with  us  the 
Truslers  and  Thalmans,  but  there  is  hope  that 
sometime  the  public  will  require  fitness  in  a 
public  officer,  and  this  will  effectually  keep 
them  out  of  public  office. 


MR.  WANAMAKER  IN  POLITICS. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  postmasters  in  Wash¬ 
ington,  Postmaster  General  Wanamaker  is  re¬ 
ported  to  have  said  : 

There  is  necessity  for  a  radical  reform  in  the 
railway  mail  .service.  It  matters  not  to  me  if 
a  man  can  talk  all  day  about  cube  and  square 
root,  theorems,  and  geometry,  and  climatic  ef¬ 
fects  in  Africa  and  Asia,  so  long  as  he  does  not 
thoroughly  know  the  section  of  the  country 
through  which  his  postal  car  may  be  running. 
1  would  sooner  have  a  postal  clerk  who  knows 
every  nook  and  corner  in  his  district  than 
some  theorist  who  could  tell  all  about  zones  and 
geographical  centers  remote  from  his  own 
country;  and  I  shall  recommend  to  congress 


70 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


that  the  civil  service  examinations  be  modified 
to  this  extent. 

This  has  been  denied,  but  whether  he  said 
it  or  not  it  is  consonant  with  his  career  as 
postmaster  general.  In  other  ways  the  belief 
has  spread  that  he  means  harm  to  the  merit 
system.  Lists  of  questions  have  been  put  to 
individuals  over  the  country,  couched  in  a 
form  which  indicates  that  the  answers  are 
wanted  to  enable  some  one  to  make  an  attack 
upon  the  merit  system.  From  all  indications 
those  answers  are  wanted  for  Mr.  Wanamaker. 
It  is  also  reported  that  he  will  attempt  to  in¬ 
fluence  congress  to  accomplish  his  end.  Mr. 
Wanamaker  belongs  to  the  class  of  rich  men 
wholly  ignorant  of  what  is  peculiarly  known 
as  politics,  who  are  often  chosen  as  a  re.spect- 
able  cat’s-paw  when  the  party  bosses  want  “  to 
pander  to  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  commu¬ 
nity.”  Flattered  by  the  distinction  the  man 
thus  chosen  readily  quiets  his  conscience  and 
adapts  himself  to  the  new  requirements  that 
while  a  Sunday-school  is  run  upon  one  set  of 
principles,  politics  have  to  be  run  upon  another. 
The  result  is  that  acting  upon  this  practical  ten¬ 
et  in  this  ne^wspherehegenerally  out-Quays  the 
Quays.  His  newly  rounded  character  is  now 
upon  the  level  of  the  plantation  negro  who 
worships  lustily  in  the  evening  meeting  and 
steals  chickens  on  the  way  home. 

In  this  case  Mr.  Wanamaker  was  first  se¬ 
lected  to  raise  money  for  the  campaign.  He 
collected  a  large  sum,  and  with  arguments 
which  look  queer  when  placed  beside  the  prin¬ 
ciples  which  are  supposed  to  guide  a  religious 
man,  he  attempted  to  raise  another  large  sum 
and  failed.  Next  he  was  made  postmaster- 
general,  and  under  him  hundreds  of  railway 
mail  clerks  have  been  dismissed  in  plain  vio¬ 
lation  of  promises,  and  deprived  of  means 
of  supporting  their  families,  and  in  the  same 
manner  some  30,000  fourth-class  postmasters 
have  been  dismissed  without  cause,  and  to 
make  room  for  30,000  political  mercenaries 
trained  to  uphold  the  Quays. 

On  one  day  in  the  week  he  exhorts  a  large 
Sunday-school  to  acts  of  Christian  charity, 
kindness  and  tolerance,  and  on  the  other  six 
days  he  affords  an  object  lesson  on  an  enor¬ 
mous  scale  of  sly  intolerance,  cruelty,  and 
meanness  that  would  be  shocking  in  a  barba¬ 
rian. 


THE  MARYLAND  ELECTION. 

In  the  recent  election  another  effort  was 
made  in  Maryland  to  break  the  grip  by  which 
Senator  Gorman  holds  the  state.  There  is  no 
other  case  of  modern  feudalism  in  the  country 
which  compares  with  this.  Year  after  year 
the  attempt  has  been  made  to  break  up  his 
machine.  It  would  have  been  accomplished 
in  1887  if  President  Cleveland  had  not  sus¬ 
tained  Gorman  by  giving  him  control  of  the 
federal  patronage.  The  surrender  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  to  Gorman,  and  of  President 
Harrison  to  Mahone,  are  and  always  will  be 
two  very  black  spots  upon  the  presidential  of¬ 
fice.  The  recent  result  shows  that  the  long- 
continued  and  determined  efforts  of  some  of 


the  best  democrats  in  Maryland  to  free  their 
state  from  Gorman’s  control  is  having  its  ef¬ 
fect.  In  the  meantime  they  may  rest  assured 
that  their  work  is  not  without  appreciation. 
We  quote  from  a  private  letter  from  a  corre¬ 
spondent  exceptionally  well  informed  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  election : 

I  do  not  think  that  the  party  workers 
who  passed  the  anti-civil  service  reform  reso¬ 
lutions,  as  a  rule,  knifed  the  fusion  ticket. 
So  far  as  I  could  see,  the  great  majority  of 
them  supported  the  movement  with  a  fair  de¬ 
gree  of  earnestness. 

Of  course  the  issues  upon  which  the  fusion 
leaders  made  the  fight  were  away  above  the 
heads  of  the  “  boys  ”.  But  as  the  ‘‘spoils  ”  of 
the  republican  victory  of  1888  are  in  Mary¬ 
land  as  yet  for  the  most  part  uudisiributed, 
the  “  heelers”  as  a  rule  seemed  to  think  that 
their  best  policy  was  to  work  hard  for  the 
ticket  which  the  republican  party  had  offi¬ 
cially  endorsed.  While  tliis  however  is,  I 
believe,  true,  it  is  also  true  that  some  republi¬ 
can  votes  were  given  to  the  ring  ticket,  and 
that  a  great  many  more  republican  votes  were 
not  polled  at  all. 

There  are  in  Baltimore,  and  I  suppose  almost 
everywhere  else,  a  certain  number  of  party 
men  who  are  always  stupidly  and  bitterly  op¬ 
posed  to  any  fusion  with  any  persons  belonging 
to  the  other  party.  They  will  not  vote  for  a 
ticket  which  is  the  result  of  such  a  fusion. 
Then  whenever  the  ring’s  control  of  the  city 
and  state  is  threatened,  it  fights  a  good  deal 
harder  than  it  does  when  only  the  president  or 
a  member  of  congress  is  at  stake.  It  buys 
republican  votes,  white  and  black,  probably 
more  of  the  former  than  of  the  latter.  It  pulls 
all  the  wires  that  control  of  the  courts  and 
police  force  give  it  over  people  engaged  in 
liquor  selling  andother  stillmore  questionable 
pursuits,  a  minority  of  whom  are  republicans. 
It  is  probable  that  in  this  canvass,  from  these 
several  causes,  the  regular  democrats  received 
the  votes  of  at  least  1,500  republicans,  while 
perhaps  2,000  more  deliberately  refused  to 
vote.  The  ring  began  their  preparation  for 
the  campaign  by  raiding  the  registration  lists. 
By  striking  off  all  the  republicans,  for  whose 
striking  ott’ they  had  color  of  excuse,  and  by 
leaving  on  all  the  democrats  they  were  not 
actually  compelled  to  strike  off,  they  managed 
to  get  off  the  lists  at  least  2,000  more  republi¬ 
cans  than  democrats.  On  election  day  repeat¬ 
ers  were  extensively  employed  throughout  the 
city,  and  in  many  parts  of  the  city  workers  for 
the  fusion  ticket  were  assaulted  and  beaten  by 
the  democratic  roughs.  In  some  precincts 
the  judges  of  election  were  changed  on  the 
night  before  the  election  when  it  was  too  late 
to  protest  against  the  new  appointees.  In  some 
precincts  the  fusion  watchers  were  excluded 
from  the  polling  rooms.  This  violence  and 
fraud  must  have  been  worth  at  least  3,000 
votes  to  the  ring. 

Mr.  Cleveland’s  plurality  last  year  in  Balti¬ 
more  was  5,000.  As  above  stated,  the  registra¬ 
tion  lists  were  manipulated  so  as  to  cause  the 
republicans  a  net  loss  of  2,000  votes,  1,500  re¬ 
publicans,  making  a  change  of  3,000  votes, 
voted  the  democratic  ticket,  2,000  more  did 
not  vote  at  all,  and  fraud  and  violence  counted 
for  3,000  more  votes.  If  we  add  to  Cleveland’s 
plurality  of  5,000,  the  republican  net  loss  in 
registration  2,000, 1,500  republicans  voting  the 
democratic  ticket  3,000,  republicans  who  did 
not  vote  2,000,  ring  gain  by  fraud  3,000,  the 
majority  the  ring  would  have  had,  had  no 
democrats  voted  against  them,  would  have 
been  15,000.  But  their  actual  majority  was 
only  3,000,  so  that  6,000  democrats,  counting 
12,000  on  a  division,  must  have  voted  the  fu¬ 
sion  ticket. 

The  ring,  then,  by  the  exertion  of  its  every 
resource,  and  by  the  perpetration  of  every  kind 


of  election  rascality,  returned  itself  a  majority 
of  3,000  votes  in  the  city,  but  for  the  first  time 
since  the  ^'a^  it  failed  to  return  a  solid  demo¬ 
cratic  delegation  to  the  legislature.  One  of 
the  three  legislative  districts  of  the  city  re¬ 
turns  a  solid  republican  delegation  of  six. 
Year  after  year,  as  the  fights  keep  on,  one  part 
of  the  state  or  city  after  another  slips  from  the 
control  of  the  dominant  party. 

We  are  by  no  means  discouraged  and  in¬ 
tend  to  keep  up  the  fight  as  persistently  as 
ever. 


The  Old  Dominion  Republican  League, 
made  up  chiefly  of  office-holders,  is  one  of 
those  organizations  that  exist  in  Washington 
solely  to  raise  money  to  help  party  leaders 
carry  state  elections.  This  body  took  meas¬ 
ures  to  help  Mahone  carry  Virginia,  and  its 
committee  got  out  a  circular  asking  for  money 
for  this  purpose  and  mailed  it  to  government 
employes  in  government  buildings.  Three 
members  of  the  committee  were  office-holders. 
Mr.  Thompson,  of  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion,  first  heard  of  it,  and  promptly  took  steps 
to  bring  violators  of  the  law  to  account.  Cer¬ 
tain  newspaper  correspondents  began  to  tele¬ 
graph  out  from  Washington  that  Mr.  Thomp¬ 
son’s  “  reconstruction  was  not  thorough,”  but 
Mr.  Roosevelt  at  this  juncture  returned  and 
seconded  Mr.  Thompson  with  his  well-known 
vigor.  Probably  Mr.  Roosevelt  will  now  have 
to  be  “  reconstructed.”  The  law  declares  that 
no  ofiice-holder  shall  anywhere  solicit  money 
of  another  office- holder,  and  that  no  person 
shall  solicit  money  of  an  office-holder  in  a 
government  building.  For  office-holders  to 
send  a  circular  asking  money  of  other  office¬ 
holders,  and  for  this  committee  to  send  such  a 
circular  into  a  government  building  to  office¬ 
holders  seem  clear  violations  of  the  law.  The 
matter  will  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
grand  jury.  Nobody  is  deceived  by  the  pre¬ 
tense  that  the  clerks  in  Washington  wanted  to 
contribute  to  Mahone.  They  were  in  constant 
terror  lest  Mahone  should  ^et  them  out  of 
their  places.  There  has  been  enough  talk 
about  this  matter  of  assessments,  and  when 
three  men  go  upon  a  committee  and  get  out 
what  is  in  effect  an  assessment  circular,  they 
know  what  they  are  doing.  There  are  two 
men  in  Washington  who  have  a  duty  to  perform 
in  this  matter  which  they  can  not  shirk  upon 
the  grand  jury.  These  are  Secretary  Noble 
and  President  Harrison.  They  have  no  right 
to  keep  in  the  government  service  these  three 
deliberate  violators  of  the  law. 


How  easy  it  would  be  to  protect  government 
employes  and  stop  this  blackmailing  if  their 
superiors  really  wanted  to  do  it.  The  urgent 
invitation  by  the  present  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  to  alt  persons  to  come  forward  and 
compete  for  employment,  and  the  bold  assur¬ 
ance  that  all  would  be  treated  fairly,  has  for 
the  first  time  inspired  general  confidence  in 
the  working  of  the  law.  So  in  this  case,  a  gov¬ 
ernment  clerk  is  asked  for  money  by  campaign 
managers  not  because  he  is  able  to  pay  it, 
for  he  is  no  more  able  than  the  average 
citizen,  but  because  he  can  be  frightened  into 
paying  it  by  an  implied  threat.  If  the  Presi- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


71 


dent  is  anxious  to  stop  this  business,  let  him 
give  notice  that  while  any  government  em¬ 
ploye  is  free  to  contribute  to  any  object  he 
chooses,  he  is  also  absolutely  free  to  refuse  to 
contribute  to  any  party  purpose  and  he  shall 
be  safe  in  such  refusal  and  that  the  law  pro¬ 
tecting  him  from  the  vengeance  of  party  bosses 
for  refusal  to  pay  money  shall  not  be  evaded. 

When  Mr.  Saltonstall  became  collector  of 
the  Boston  custom  house  in  1885  there  were 
334  employes.  Of  these  222  now  remain.  Of 
the  119  who  were  separated  from  the  service, 
34  were  removed  by  the  department  to  re¬ 
duce  the  force,  and  7  of  these  have  been  rein¬ 
stated  by  the  collector ;  17  resigned,  14  died, 
7  weredropped  as  private  warehouses  went  out 
of  bond,  and  47  were  removed  for  cause.  There 
were  no  removals  for  political  reasons.  The 
collector  has  never  found  any  difficulty  in 
giving  reasons  for  removals.  After  the  first 
onslaught  for  places  by  the  party  workers  had 
been  successfully  resisted,  the  “pressure”  fell 
off  and  soon  ceased.  Collector  Saltonstall’s 
administration  of  the  merit  system  has  con¬ 
quered  criticism  and  now  has  the  approval  of 
his  critics.  It  is  an  object  lesson  in  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform,  and  as  is  always  the  case  under 
this  system,  with  less  force  he  has  done  more 
work.  This  comes  from  putting  at  the  head 
of  an  office  a  friend  of  the  law  and  a  man  who 
is  not  afraid  of  politicians.  We  ask  Congress¬ 
men  Hoar,  Dawes  and  Lodge  why  Collector 
Saltonstall  should  not  be  retained  ? 

Generam  Raum  is  reported  in  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal  to  have  said  ; 

“I  find  that  the  clerks  are  willing  to  cheer¬ 
fully  accede  to  any  demand  that  I  may  make 
upon  them  if  it  affects  their  retention  in  office. 
They  are  all  glad  to  buckle  down  to  business 
and  do  everything  that  is  required,  and  are 
perfectly  contented  if  only  permitted  to  re¬ 
main.  Very  many  of  them  have  been  expect¬ 
ing  to  be  forcibly  retired,  and  they  seem  to  be 
more  anxious  to  stay  than  I  ever  supposed  an 
employe  could  be.  Ever  since  the  rerating 
agitation,  and  the  statement  that  a  number  of 
the  employes  who  had  to  do  with  the  reratings 
would  be  discharged,  trepidation  and  fear 
have  reigned  throughout  the  office.” 

Here  is  competent  evidence  that  democratic 
and  republican  clerks,  for  the  sake  of  a  chance 
to  support  their  families,  are  willing  to  aid 
the  man  responsible  for  the  office  with  all 
their  might.  It  is  precisely  what  happens  in 
private  employment.  A  Methodist  workman 
feels  an  interest  in  the  success  of  his  Baptist 
employer,  although  they  hold  diverse  relig¬ 
ious  views,  and  his  employer  does  not  feel  that 
to  carry  out  the  “policy”  of  his  business  his 
employe  must  be  a  Baptist. 

AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

Service.s  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser¬ 
vice  was  to  pay  a  siiiii  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge 
or  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

— The  editor  of  the  Rahway  [N.  J.]  Advocate 
has  been  made  postmaster  of  that  town. 

— William  Smyth,  senior  editor  of  the  Owego 


[N.  Y.]  Times  has  been  appointed  postmaster 
in  place  of  Frederick  O.  Cable,  removed.  The 
Times  is  the  home  organ  of  Tom  Platt. 

— J.  W.  Watrous,  editor  of  the  Sunday  Tele¬ 
graph,  has  been  appointed  collector  of  the  port 
of  Milwaukee.  He  “was  indorsed  by  the  en¬ 
tire  congressional  delegation  of  Wisconsin.” 
It  is  also  stated  that  “  the  patronage  of  the 
office  is  large,  including  eighteen  or  twenty 
employes.”  The  commission  of  the  former 
collector  did  not  expire  until  May  17,  1890, 
but  he  did  not  resign,  and  he  was,  therefore,  re¬ 
moved  without  cause. 

— According  to  the  Boston  Traveler,  Postmast- 
Lawshe  of  Xenia,  Indiana,  runs  a  paper  with 
er  a  patent  inside  which  it  is  fair  to  presume  he 
does  not  read  before  publishing.  In  a  recent 
issue  two  columns  of  the  patent  side  were  de¬ 
voted  to  criticism  of  the  administration.  The 
postmaster  has  asked  mercy  by  affidavits  filed 
with  the  department. 

— The  republican  postmaster  at  Syracuse, 
New  York,  served  out  his  term,  three  years, 
under  President  Cleveland,  and  then  the  editor 
of  the  Syracuse  Courier  was  appointed.  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  has  now  removed  him  and  ap¬ 
pointed  Carroll  E.  Smith,  editor  of  the  Syra¬ 
cuse  Journal.  In  making  this  appointment  Sen¬ 
ator  Hiscock  overruled  Congresman  Belden  of 
the  Syracuse  district,  although  the  latter  made 
a  hard  struggle.  Senator  Hiscock  has  the 
President’s  ear  and  confidence,  and  in  combi- 
bination  with  Tom  Platt  he  is  irresistible 
when  any  spoil  is  to  be  divided  in  that  state. 
Anything  which  throws  light  upon  the  history 
of  such  a  man  is  always  of  interest,  especially 
if  it  comes  from  a  reliable  source.  Since  Post¬ 
master  Smith,  who  has  been  the  editor  of  the 
Journal  all  along,  is  Hiscock’s  man  what  he 
says  in  that  paper  must  be  very  reliable. 

Carroll  E.  Smith,  Nov.  2,  1872. 

Hiscock  is  a  notoriously  bad,  unscrupulous  and 
DANGEROUS  MAN,  who  sceks  to  get  a  seat  in  Congress 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  introducing  there  the  same  cor¬ 
rupt  AND  ABO.MINARLE  PRACTICES  WHICH  HE,  AS  A 
RING  ATTORNEY,  has  successfully  praciiced  at  Al¬ 
bany. 

Carroll  E.  Smith,  Oct.  26,  1872. 

Mr.  Hiscock  is  an  accomplished  politician  in  the 
LOWEST  SENSE  OF  THE  TERM.  But  when  he  strives 
to  occupy  the  higher  place  in  politics  he  fails  ut¬ 
terly— for  he  LACKS  .MORAL  APPRECI.ATION  OF  PRINCI¬ 
PLE. 

Carroll  E.  Smith,  Nov.  1,  1872. 

Republicans  of  honor  and  principle  owe  Hiscock 
nothing  but  execration  and  opposition  to  the  bit 

TER  END. 

Carroll  E.  Smith,  Oct.  20,  1872. 

By  that  record  [the  official  record  of  the  canal  in¬ 
vestigation],  he  appears  to  have  had  a  prominent 
part  in  at  least  one  of  those  gigantic  swindles  by 
which  the  state  has  been  robbed  of  immense  sums 
OF  MONEY.  The  weight  of  proof  is  that  25 

per  cent,  was  the  share  of  the  Hiscocks  in  this  opera¬ 
tion— a  COOL  ten-thousand-dollar  transaction. 
These  investigations  must  suffice  for  the  public  to 
make  up  their  minds  as  to  the  worth  and  integrity 
of  the  man  who  will  thuspaf  large  sums  of  money  in 
his  pocket  which  he  and  everybody  knows  were  wrong¬ 
fully  TAKEN  FRO.M  THE  STATE  TREASURY.  It  IS  COOl 
and  deliberate  plundering  of  the  people.  Mr.  Frank 
Hiscock  has  provoked  this  exposure  by  his  lofty  and 
unwarranted  pretensions  to  the  character  of  a  re¬ 
former. 

Carroll  E.  Smith,  Oct.  30,  1872. 

Like  the  criminal  fleeing  from  justice,  Hiscock  and  his 
apologists  see  an  officer  of  the  law  in  every  bush  ! 

No  MAN  IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  HAS  A  DEEPER 
RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE  SCHEMES  OF  JOBBERY  AND 
WRONG  UPON  THE  TREASURY  THAN  THIS  MAN. 


A  man  who,  skilled  in  the  crooked  ways  of  th 
law  and  in  appliances  for  evading  the  conditions  of 
solemn  agreements,  can  first  frame  a  law  for  relief, 
then  “  get  it  through  ”  the  legislature,  then  control 
the  representative  of  the  canal  board  taking  testi¬ 
mony  in  the  case,  then  secure  a  full  report  for  the 
full  amount  of  excessive  damages  named  in  the  law, 
and  finally  pocket  a  quarter  or  fifth  of  that  award— 
is  one  who  prostitutes  great  abilitiesto  the  basest 
AND  MOST  MERCENARY  PURPOSES,  perpetrates  a  tlagraut 
outrage  against  the  people,  and  becomes  infinitely  a 
greater  offender  against  the  public  and  is  incompara¬ 
bly  a  more  dangerous  man  than  those  who,  on  their 
own  resources  and  responsibility,  drive  a  sharp  bar¬ 
gain  and  make  all  they  can  out  of  it  in  whatever 
ways  the  experience  and  .shrewdness  of  public  con¬ 
tractors  have  taught  them. 

— C.  J.  Hovey,  a  son  of  Governor  Hovey, 
has  been  appointed  postmaster  at  Mount  Ver¬ 
non,  Ind. 

— J.  C.  De  Gress  has  been  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Austin,  Texas.  He  is  chairman  of 
the  republican  state  committee. 

— M.  P.  Curran  has  been  removed  from  the 
place  of  assistant  appraiser  in  the  Boston  cus¬ 
tom  house  without  cause  to  make  room  for  L. 
A.  Dodge,  a  relative  of  Abigail  Dodge,  a 
member  of  Secretary  Blaine’s  family. 

— Mr.  W.  T.  Durbin,  of  Anderson,  who  is  a 
member  of  the  republican  state  central  com¬ 
mittee,  visited  the  departments  to-day  before 
his  departure  for  New  York,  and  as  a  result 
of  his  labors  some  appointments  will  be  made 
from  Madison  and  Hancock  counties. — Special 
to  Indianapolis  Journal.,  Oct.  11. 

— Washington,  Nov.  13.— The  railroad  men 
of  Indiana  will  this  week  get  substantial  rec¬ 
ognition  in  the  appointment  of  Augustus  D. 
Shaw  to  be  deputy  third  auditor  of  the  treas¬ 
ury.  Mr.  Shaw  is  one  of  the  bread-winners  in 
the  ranks,  and  is  indorsed  by  railroad  em¬ 
ployes  all  over  the  state.  He  was  one  of  the  or¬ 
ganizers  and  active  promoters  of  the  raihvay  tvorkers 
that  did  such  excellent  service  for  the  republican  par¬ 
ly  in  the  state  last  year. — Special  to  the  Indianapo¬ 
lis  Journal. 

— Governor  Foraker  was  not  without  weap¬ 
ons,  although  they  did  not  seem  to  be  of  avail. 
He  made  up  the  board  of  public  affairs  in 
Cincinnati.  This  board  appoints  1,400  muni¬ 
cipal  office-holders, lets  all|contracts  forjpublic 
works,  and  has  a  pay-roll  of  $800,000  a  year. 
The  1,400  appointees  are  personal  or  party 
favorites  of  Foraker. 

— Congressman  Wm.Pitt  Kellogg,  of  Louis¬ 
iana,  has  been  “ignored”  by  the  present  ad¬ 
ministration.  He  did  not  want  anything  him¬ 
self,  but  he  wanted  to  dictate  the  disposal  of  the 
patronage  in  Louisiana.  Harrison  chose  to  make 
Congressman  Coleman  the  dispenser  of  the  spoils, 
and  Kellogg  has  ceased  to  admire  the  Harri¬ 
son  administration. — Special  to  St  Louis  Rep^ib- 
lic,  Nov.  1 1 . 

— Ex-representative  Gofi',  of  West  Virginia, 
makes  frequent  visits  to  the  capital,  and  al¬ 
ways  goes  away  with  the  scalps  of  some  demo¬ 
cratic  office-holders.  In  fact,  he  has  so  much 
influence  with  the  administration  that  repub¬ 
licans  from  his  state  say  Boss  Steve  Elkins  and 
the  minor  bosses  who  train  with  him  have  be¬ 
come  dissatisfied  with  him  and  are  laying  their 
plans  to  secure  a  larger  share  of  the  distribu¬ 
tion  of  patronage.  Goff  must  “  tote  fair,”  they 
say,  or  prepare  for  trouble  from  the  wealthy 
syndicate  of  politicians  headed  by  Elkins. — 
Special  to  New  York  Times. 

—  Mr.  D.  I.  Throckmorton,  of  Lafayette,  Ind., 
is  among  the  arrivals  here  to-day.  He  is  a 
candidate  for  postmaster  of  that  town,  and  his 
friends  think  he  will  be  appointed.  It  is  un¬ 
derstood,  however,  that  congressman  Cheadle, 
who  resides  in  Lafayette,  prefers  the  appoint- 


72 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


meut  of  au  ex-soKlier,  who  was  a  messmate 
with  Cheadle  in  the  army ;  but,  as  the  former 
is  said  to  be  a  saloon-keeper,  the  President 
will  not  consider  the  recommendation.  The 
congressman,  therefore,  has  signified  a  willingness  to 
compromise  on  Throckmorton. —  Washington  Spe¬ 
cial  Cincinnati  Enquirer. 

— The  Concord  postmastership  is  the  subject 
of  a  bitter  fight.  Lysauder  Carroll,  the  last 
republican  incumbent,  is  a  candidate  and  has 
a  host  of  competitors,  and  in  this  case  Senator 
Chandler  seems  to  have  over  reached  him¬ 
self.  Mr.  Carroll  went  to  Washington  in  the 
early  days  of  the  administration,  and  Senator 
Chandler  materially  assisted  in  getting  prom¬ 
inent  signers  for  him.  But  now  up  steps  Sen¬ 
ator  Corning,  one  of  Chandler’s  strongest  sup¬ 
porters  in  the  legislature,  and  asks  for  the 
place,  refusing  to  accept  the  dictum  of  “  too 
young,”  and  he  is  only  one  of  several  who  have 
special  claims  on  Senator  Chandler. 

— Census  Superintendent  Porter  has  com¬ 
pleted  a  list  of  places  which  will  be  assigned 
to  Pennsylvania  in  census  work.  The  entire 
personnel  of  the  seiwice  in  the  state,  superintendent, 
supervisors,  and  enumerators,  will  be  appointed upon 
the  recommendation  of  Senators  Cameron,  and  Quay 
in  conference  in  the  republican  districts  with  their 
representatives  in  congress.  With  this  view  a 
schedule  for  organization  for  the  collection  of 
statistical  data  has  been  prepared  for  the  use 
of  the  senators.  A  great  mass  of  applications 
of  persons  for  the  different  places  in  the  state 
have  been  accumulating  in  the  census  office 
for  the  past  four  months,  none  of  which  have 
been  opened,  but  will  be  referred  in  bulk  to 
the  senators.  As  this  is  the  rule  which  has 
been  adopted,  it  is  useless  for  persons  desirous  of 
positions  in  Pennsylvania  under  the  census  bureau 
applying^to  the  authorities  here. — Special  to  Phila¬ 
delphia  Inquirer. 

— Most  of  the  Brooklyn  politicians  who  have 
been  here  hunting  for  spoils  for  the  last  day 
or  two  went  home  to-night.  They  were  joined 
this  morning  by  Representative  Wallace,  and 
they  ought  not  to  complain  of  the  result  of 
their  visit.  With  Mr.  Wallace’s  help  they  se¬ 
cured  the  appointment  of  Joseph  C.  Fuller  to 
be  one  of  the  special  inspectors  in  the  custom 
house,  and  they  say  they  are  promised  that 
Granville  W.  Harmon  shall  be  made  an  assis¬ 
tant  appraiser;  that  William  C.  Booth  shall 
be  superintendent  of  the  federal  building  in 
Brooklyn,  and  that  “Mike”  Dady  shall  fill  a 
similar  office  in  New  York.  Messrs.  Wallace 
and  Woodruff  and  their  companions  do  not 
claim  that  they  were  promised  the  speedy  out- 
seting  of  Postmaster  Hendrix  they  have  been 
so  anxiously  seeking,  but  they  insist  upon  it 
that  Brooklyn  will  have  a  republican  post¬ 
master  before  many  days  have  passed. —  Wash¬ 
ington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times. 

— Postmaster  Murray,  of  Johnstown,  New 
York,  was  appointed  by  President  Cleveland 
in  February,  1887.  His  work  as  postmaster  is 
spoken  of  in  the  highest  terms.  The  free  de¬ 
livery  system  has  just  been  added,  and  some 
carriers  being  needed,  the  post-office  depart¬ 
ment  required  Murray  to  confer  with  the  con¬ 
gressman,  who  sent  him  to  the  republican 
county  committee.  This  committee  named 
four  republicans,  refusing  the  postmaster’s  re¬ 
quest  that  two  of  the  four  should  be  demo¬ 
crats.  Murray  sent  the  names  of  two  republi¬ 
cans  and  two  democrats  to  Washington.  The 
department  requested  him  to  withdraw  the 
names  and  comply  with  the  orders  of  the 
county  committee.  Murray  refused,  and  the 
department  repeated  its  directions,  to  which 
Murray  replied  : 


United  States  Post-office,  i 
Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  18, 1889.  j 
Hon.  Thomas  Marche,  Acting  Superintendent  Free  De¬ 
livery  Str  vice,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

Sir:  Yours  of  the  16th  inst.  at  hand.  For  rea¬ 
sons  stated  in  my  letter  to  your  office  of  12th  inst., 
strengthened  by  public  opinion  in  this  village  and 
community,  I  feel  it  would  be  a  violation  of  my  .sense 
of  duty  and  a  disregard  of  the  wishes  of  the  patrons 
of  this  office  to  nominate  for  carriers  some  of  the 
names  mentioned  in  your  letter  of  the  9th  inst.  I  do 
not  recede  from  my  position  stated  in  my  letter  of 
the  12tli  inst.  The  more  the  character  and  qualifica¬ 
tions  of  the  candidates  for  carriers  are  examined  the 
more  I  am  convinced  that  the  candidates  nominated 
by  me  should  be  appointed.  Having  in  view  the 
success  of  the  service,  I  respectfully  decline  to  nomi¬ 
nate  the  persons  mentioned  in  your  letter,  and  ask 
the  appointment  of  the  ones  nominated  by  me. 

M.  D.  Murray,  Postmaster. 

— In  the  division  of  the  patronage  last  mring  the 
the  Lincoln  postoffice  fell  to  Congressman  Connell,  of 
Omaha.  All  the  candidates  for  the  place  ex¬ 
cept  one  have  cultivated  his  acquaintance  in 
the  hope  of  capturing  the  plum.  This  one,  the 
Hon.  Charles  H.  Gere,  of  the  Journal,  made 
his  fight  in  another  quarter  when  it  became 
reasonably  certain  that  the  Hon.  Ed.  P.  Rog- 
gen  stood  highest  in  the  estimation  of  the  con¬ 
gressman.  Gere  laid  siege  to  Senators  Man- 
derson  and  Paddock  and  asked  for  a  new  deal. 
It  is  now  currently  reported  that  the  senators 
have  agreed  to  force  Gere’s  appointment,  they 
threatening  to  prevent  the  confirmation  of  any 
other  appointment.  It  is  even  said  they  have 
tendered  the  place  to  Gere  over  Connell’s 
shoulders.  Connell  was  seen  this  evening  and 
exjiressed  his  doubts  concerning  the  rumor. 
There  is  a  bitter  feeling  between  the  Roggen  and 
Gere  factions  in  this  city. — Special  to  Chicago 
Times,  Oct  16. 

— The  senate  will  be  reorganized  just  before 
time  for  it  to  convene  in  December.  The  intro¬ 
duction  of  eight  new  sen;»tors  from  the  four  new 
states  will  make  the  reorganization  quite  in¬ 
teresting,  and  will  bring  about  an  almost  com 
plete  rearrangement  of  office-holders.  Many 
of  the  old  men,  who  have  been  held  in  inferior 
positions,  will  undoubtedly  be  asked  to  give 
way  to  new  men,  that  the  new  senators 
may  be  given  their  share  of  the  patronage.  It 
is  understood  that  the  present  sergeant- at-arms  is 
calculat  ing  to  give  to  each  of  the  new  republican  sen¬ 
ators  one  position  worth  from  $1,SOO  to  $1,500  a 
year.  This  the  new  senators  will  not  consent 
to,  as  there  are  many  of  the  old  senators  who 
are  given  patronage  under  the  sergeant-at- 
arms  and  under  the  secretary  of  the  senate  ag¬ 
gregating  away  up  in  the  thousands,  some  of 
them  having  twice  as  much  patronage  as  their 
own  salaries  aggregate.  The  demands  of  the 
new  senators  will  undoubtedly  cause  a  great 
deal  of  chagrin,  and  very  rightly  will  dispose 
of  a  number  of  barnacles  who  have  been  bob¬ 
bing  along  on  the  old  ship  of  state  for  a  good 
many  years. — Special  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
Oct.  32. 

— Mr.  Brosius,  the  new  member  from  Lan¬ 
caster  (who,  though  he  never  has  sat  in  the 
house  at  all,  has  been  elbow  deep  in  office 
handling  since  the  day  his  official  term  began), 
is  criticised  by  his  factional  opponents  for 
not  getting  the  democrats  out  more  rapidly. 
The  Examiner,  remarking  that  it  doesn’t  care 
particularly  “who  is  postmaster  at  May, 
Huber,  Buck  or  Chestnut  Level,  if  he  be 
an  honest,  competent  man,”  spurs  up  Mr. 
Brosius  concerning  the  larger  and  more  desir¬ 
able  places,  Lancaster,  Columbia,  Manheim, 
Strasbiirg,  New  Holland,  Litiiz,  Marietta,  and 
all  the  big  boroughs — which,  it  says,  “  mean 
something  else.”  As  to  these,  the  Examiner 
insists,  “the  rascals” — meaning  the  demo¬ 
cratic  incumbents — “should  be  turned  out  as 
soon  as  possible.” 


— Now  note  the  reply  of  the  New  Era,  Mr. 
Brosius’s  defender.  It  sets  out  to  show  that  he 
has  done  everything  a  reasonable  spoils-seeker 
could  ask.  At  Ephrata,  a  “  big  borough,”  a 
republican  was  appointed  in  June,  the  demo¬ 
crat  who  preceded  having  only  had  five 
months  in  the  place.  At  Manheim  a  republi¬ 
can  was  appointed  three  days  earlier  than  at 
Ephrata.  At  New  Holland  the  change  was 
made  two  months  ago.  At  Strausburg  the 
present  incumbent  is  a  woman,  “  and  there  is 
no  applicant  for  her  place.”  At  Columbia, 
Marietta,  Mount  Joy  and  Lititz  the  incum¬ 
bents  were  appointed  in  1885,  1886  and  1888, 
and  so  can  not  be  ousted,  except  by  preferring 
charges,  “  as  was  the  case  with  the  change  at 
Ephrata.” 

Certainly  this  shows  pretty  fairly  for  Mr. 
Brosius.  What  more  could  he  do  unless  he 
manufactured  au  applicant  for  the  lady’s 
place  at  Strausburg,  or  invented  some  charges 
against  the  officers  at  Columbia  and  the  other 
three  boroughs?  But  the  New  Era  clinches 
the  nail  at  the  close  of  its  article.  The  facts 
in  the  foregoing  statement,  it  triumphantly 
adds,  “  are  still  further  strengthened  by  the 
additional  one  that  Mr.  Brosius  has  sent  on  to 
Washington  the  name  of  a  person  to  fill  the  last 
fourth-class  post-office  in  this  coimtry  yet  held  by  a 
democrat,  f 01-  which  there  is  an  applicant. — Phila¬ 
delphia  American  [J?ep.]. 

-■-The  question  whether  the  “patronage”  of 
Berks  county  should  be  “distributed”  by  Mr. 
High,  an  agent  alleged  to  have  been  designated 
for  the  work  by  the  United  States  senators 
from  Pennsylvania,  has  actually  split  the  re¬ 
publican  organization  in  that  county,  and  two 
conventions  were  held  on  Saturday,  two  sets 
of  candidates  named,  and  two  delegations  ap¬ 
pointed  to  attend  next  year’s  state  convention. 
The  High  faction  claim  that  their  leader  has 
in  his  hands  the  distinct  and  unmistakable 
power-of-attorney  to  parcel  out  the  places — 
the  post-office  at  Reading  being  most  impor¬ 
tant — and  that  to  look  sourly  upon  him  is  not  mere¬ 
ly  to  affront  the  administration  and  fioul  the  senator's, 
but  to  forfeit  the  chance  of  any  appointment.  This 
seems,  it  is  true,  rather  a  sweeping  claim,  but 
who  shall  say  where  the  powers  of  a  local  boss 
begin  and  end,  under  the  spoils  regime?  A 
like  designation  is  said  to  have  been  made  in 
Lebanon,  as  was  mentioned  last  week,  and  in 
Lehigh  a  bitter  local  fight  took  place  over  the 
matter  .some  weeks  ago.  In  Carbon  the  case 
is  much  the  same  as  in  Berks,  a  split  having 
also  occurred  there,  and  two  sets  of  delegates 
chosen. 

Is  this  sort  of  thing  good  for  the  party  that 
develops  it?  A  dispatch  from  Reading  to  the 
Philadelphia  Pi-esssays  of  the  fight  over  High’s 
assumptions,  that  “there  has  never  been  so 
much  bitterness  in  any  political  contest  in  this 
county,  and  it  is  being  carried  into  personal 
and  business  matters  to  an  extent  never  before 
known.” 

The  Dispatch,  of  Reading,  a  calm  and  con¬ 
templative  party  journal,  remarks  that  “  there 
is  scarcely  a  county  in  the  commonwealth 
where  are  not  mutterings  of  discontent  that 
break  out  in  some  places  into  the  most  em¬ 
phatic  kind  of  protests.”  It  speaks  at  some 
length  of  the  situation  in  Lancaster,  and  says 
that  in  Lebanon  county  also  “the  republicans 
are  very  much  dsssatisfied  with  the  way  in 
which  patronage  is  dispensed  there.  It  has 
been  a  common  rumor  upon  the  streets  of  Lebanon, 
for  some  time,  that  the  people  of  that  city  are  to  have 
no  say  whatever  as  to  who  shall  be  the  postmaster  of 
that  place,  but  that  an  attorney  of  Harrisbxirg  is  to 
name  the  successful  man — that  man  his  oivn  brother." 
— Philadelphia  American  [Rep.]. 

— S.  B  Ginn,  of  Henrico  county,  Va.,  re¬ 
fused  a  §900  post-office  rather  than  agree  to 
pay  one  per  cent,  assessment  and  have  his 
deputy  named  by  Mahone. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


73 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  LAW. 

Representative  Chandler,  of  Georgia, 
[Dem.] — “The  internal  revenue  and  civil 
service  laws  naust  be  abolished.  One  is  a 
pernicious  burden;  the  other  a  fraud.” 

Congressman  Reagan  [Texas)  says: 

I  fear  that  if  the  civil-service  law  is  to  be 
carried  out,  and  there  are  many  valuable  rea¬ 
sons  suggested  for  its  existence,  it  will  end  in 
retirement  for  the  balance  of  their  lives  of 
people  who  may  have  grown  old  in  the  serv¬ 
ice.  This  would  be  such  an  innovation  upon 
the  character  of  our  government  that  I  think 
it  will  overbalance  all  the  good  that  can  come 
out  of  the  law. 

Congressman  Payson  says : 

I  think  there  is  a  growing  feeling  through¬ 
out  the  country  that  there  is  st  necessity  for 
some  radical  changes  in  the  experience  we  are 
having  under  the  civil  service  laws.  Whether 
the  laws  themselves  need  radical  amendment 
or  the  practice  under  them  by  the  commission 
needs  changing  by  express  provision  of  law, 
and  whether  either  would  be  effective,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say,  because,  to  be  candid,  I  am 
not  at  all  an  admirer  of  the  system  as  I  have 
seen  it  administered.  I  have  had  occasion  to 
say  more  than  once  that  I  thought  the  rail¬ 
way  mail  service  in  the  Arthur  administration 
the  best  civil  service  in  the  world.  Its  em¬ 
ployes  were  the  energetic,  brainy  young  men 
of  the  country,  recommended  by  the  members 
of  congress  and  appointed  permanently  if  they 
proved  efficient  after  a  probationary  service. 
I  see  now  very  little  except  pedantry  and  book¬ 
learning.  Questions  are  asked  of  candidates 
for  letter  carriers  that  members  of  congress — 
yes,  indeed,  members  of  the  commission — could 
not  answer.  We  are,  as  the  commission  is 
now  working,  simply  creating  a  vast  list  of 
“eligibles,”  not  one  in  1,000  of  whom  scarcely 
will  ever  be  called  on  for  service  ;  keeping  up 
an  expensive  bureau  which  will  constantly  be 
enlarging  its  claims  and  jurisdiction,  and  with 
little  practical  good,  in  my  judgment.  There 
is  too  much  sentiment  and  too  little  business 
in  it,  and  I  have  no  doubt  this  matter  will  be 
earnestly  canvassed  during  the  session.  If 
carried  on  as  begun  it  will  eventually  result 
in  an  office  holding  class  and  a  civil  pension 
list.  To  this  I  know  there  is  strong  opposi¬ 
tion.  It  may  be  that  a  reform  among  the  re¬ 
formers  will  meet  the  public  demand,  but  I 
doubt  it.  But  the  whole  matter  will  be  thor¬ 
oughly  canvassed  I  have  no  doubt. 

Congressman  Cutchins  of  Mississippi  does 
not  look  for  the  repeal  of  the  civil  service 
law. 

Congressman  Dolph  [Oregon]  says: 

The  civil  service  law  will  be  amended,  but 
will  not  be  repealed. 

Congressman  Hitt  [Ill  ]  says: 

As  for  the  civil-service  law,  too  many  sen¬ 
ators  and  congressmen  of  both  parties  are 
pledged  in  its  support  to  allow  of  its  repeal. 
To  be  sure,  it  is  not  apt  to  be  extended  at  all, 
but  if  anything  is  done  it  will  only  be  in  the 
line  of  an  amendment  to  supply  some  want. 

Congressman  Simmonds  [Conn.]  says  of  the 
civil-service  law : 

Undoubtedly  there  is  a  decided  opposition 
to  the  law  among  the  workers  of  both  parties, 
but  speaking  entirely  from  a  partisan  point  of 
view,  I  think  patronage  is  a  positive  evil.  I 
have  no  slurs  to  cast  upon  a  man  who  seeks 
office.  I  think  any  man  may  have  an  !honor- 
able  ambition  to  hold  an  office,  and  that  he 
has  a  perfect  right  to  seek  it;  but  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  patronage  is  a  positive  injury  to  a  par¬ 
ty,  and  I  think  the  civil-service  law  should  be 
maintained  and  extended  as  far  and  as  rapid- 
Iv  as  it  can  be  of  benefit  to  the  public  service. 


ANTI-AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

The  Louisville  Cummercial  [Rep.]  says  that 
all  classes  of  officers,  without  exception,  are 
being  allowed  in  Kentucky  to  serve  out  their 
terms. 

The  Lewiston  [Me.]  Journal,  Congressman 
Dingley’s  paper,  says  that  all  the  democrats 
holding  four-year  offices  are  being  allowed, 
with  few  exceptions,  to  serve  out  their  terms, 
while  Mr.  Cleveland  made  many  removals  of 
republicans  holding  four-year  offices  in  Maine. 

That  changes  have  not  been  made  more  rap¬ 
idly  in  this  district  is  probably  due  to  the  fact 
that  Congressman  Hitt  devotes  more  attention 
to  intellectual  problems  that  pertain  to  his  po¬ 
sition  than  he  does  to  importuning  the  presi¬ 
dent  to  disregard  his  pledges  and  those  of  the 
Chicago  platform,  by  which  he  is  bound  not  to 
make  wholesale  removals  in  the  business  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  country  merely  for  political  rea¬ 
sons. — Rockport  [///.]  Register  [i?ep.]. 

Congressman  Milliken,  of  Maine,  says: 
“Only  three  men  in  my  district  have  been  su¬ 
perseded  by  appointees  of  the  present  adminis¬ 
tration,  and  they  were  for  cause.  I  have  not 
asked  the  removal  of  any  man  whose  term  has 
not  expired,  and  I  don’t  intend  to  unless  there 
is  very  great  need  for  it  in  the  interest  of  the 
service.  The  repvblicans  of  my  disUicl,  so  far  as 
1  know,  don’t  desire  their  remoml.” 

Congressman  Moore  is  the  editor  of  the 
Nashua  [N.  H.]  Telegraph,  and  he  invited  the 
republicans  of  Nashua  to  choose  a  man  for 
postmaster.  Thereupon  the  Mirror,  another 
republican  paper,  declared  that  the  man  who 
spends  the  most  money  and  does  the  most  work  for 
his  party  and  to  promote  the  candidacy  of  a  con¬ 
gressman  should  everywhere  be  appointed  post¬ 
master.” 

To  this  congressman  Moore’s  paper  replied: 

“A  more  scandalous  and  pestiferous  doctrine 
was  never  uttered  by  anybody  outside  of  a 
mad-house  ;  carried  to  its  logical  results,  it 
would  reduce  our  government  to  a  system  of 
gigantic  favoritism,  intrigue,  and  jobbery.” 

And  the  editor  further  adds,  that  if  he  owes 
any  persons  anything  for  helping  him  to  get 
elected  to  congress,  he  will  pay  the  claims  out 
of  his  own  money,  but  he  “will  not  steal  the 
public  offices,  that  are  public  trusts,  with 
which  to  pay  them.” 


THE  THANKSGIVING  DAY  SERMON. 

The  clergy  of  this  city  have  been  the 
subject  of  mistaken  criticism  in  relation  to  the 
plan  formulated  by  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh,  look¬ 
ing  to  inducing  clergymen  everywhere  to  some 
time  preach  a  sermon  upon  civil  service  reform 
advocating  it  “so  far  as  it  involves  fundamental 
principles  of  righteousness.”  Some  weeks  ago 
the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  published  interviews 
with  a  few  of  them  whose  remarks  showed 
that  they  had  not  seen  the  appeal.  Those  in¬ 
terviewed  did  not  seem  inclined  to  preach  such 
a  sermon  upon  Thanksgiving  day.  With  a 
single  exception  all  were  in  favor  of  breaking 
up  the  spoils  system.  Father  Gavisk,  Catholic, 
says  of  the  reform,  “  I  would  be  heartily  in 
favor  of  it  and  would  like  to  see  it  established 
in  this  country.”  Dr.  Cleveland,  Methodist, 
says,  “  I  heartily  believe  in  the  principles  of 
civil  service  reform  and  that  their  adoption 


by  the  great  political  parties  would  bring  an 
almost  incalculable  blessing  to  the  country.” 
Mr.  Haines,  Presbyterian,  says,  “  I  am  in  favor 
of  ihe  civil  service  reform  movement.  I  hope 
it  will  speed  and  grow.”  Dr.  McLeod,  Pres¬ 
byterian,  is  in  favor  of  it  but  wanted  to  begin 
“by  getting  all  the  bad  men  out  and  putting 
the  good  men  in  and  then  keeping  them  there.” 
Dr.  Jenckes,  Episcopalian,  says  of  the  reform, 
“It  has  to  come  sometime,  but  the  adoption 
will  probably  be  gradual  ;”  and  he  believes 
that  the  present  administration  or  the  next 
one  “  will  bring  out  civil  service  in  good 
shape”  without  his  intervention.  Most  of 
these  gentlemen  seem  to  think  that  in  touch¬ 
ing  upon  this  subject  in  a  sermon  they  would 
be  carrying  politics  into  the  pulpit  against  the 
rule  that  church  attendants  have  the  right  to 
presume  that  their  political  feelings  will  not 
be  hurt.  We  are  sure  that  upon  reflection 
they  will  not  hold  to  this  impression.  The  use 
of  more  than  200,000  state  and  federal  oflSces 
to  pay  personal  and  party  debts  is  a  gigantic 
system  of  bribery,  and  it  is  therefore  immoral. 

Mr.  Lucas,  Christian,  says  :  “  I  used  to  be 

quite  a  civil  service  reformer  myself,  but  the 
more  I  studied  the  subject  the  more  I  became 
convinced  that  it  is  a  humbug  and  impractic¬ 
able  and  of  no  use  in  a  republican  govern¬ 
ment.”  Also,  “  to  say  that  some  offices  are 
political  and  others  are  not  is  an  easy  way  of 
covering  up  the  hypocricy  of  the  so-called 
civil  service  reformers.”  There  is  much  more, 
including  the  statement  that  “all  offices  and 
positions  in  this  country  are  political,”  and 
that  “  the  men  who  are  at  present  making  the 
greatest  cry  and  running  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  of  the  country  are  greater  politicians 
than  many  of  those  whom  they  oppose.”  It  is  a 
matter  for  congratulation  that  Postmaster 
Wallace  of  this  city  does  not  propose  to  put  his 
pastor’s  principles  into  effect  in  the  post- 
office. 

Twenty-seven  bishops  of  the  Episcopal 
church  have  approved  the  suggestion  that 
the  clergy  preach  a  sermon  upon  the  moral 
aspects  of  civil  service  reform.  In  addition 
the  house  of  bishops  in  the  pastoral  letter  show 
that  for  them  there  is  a  duty  in  this  matter  to 
which  they  will  not  close  their  eyes,  and  that 
in  performing  this  duty  they  are  dealing  with 
a  fundamental  evil  which  can  not  be  passed 
by  on  the  ground  that  it  is  “  politics.”  We 
quote  the  following: 

“And  while  the  church  of  God — the  king¬ 
dom  not  of  this  world — does  not  undertake  to 
wage  the  warfare  of  the  partisan,  it  is  never¬ 
theless  charged  with  the  duty  of  establishing 
and  maintaining  principles  which  shall  find 
expression  in  the  political  as  well  as  in  the 
social  and  family  life.  Official  place  in  mor¬ 
als  and  in  politics  is  not  the  prize  won  by  a 
vulgar  selfishness,  nor  the  refuge  of  patronized 
incompetence,  nor  yot  the  barter  price  prom¬ 
ised  and  paid  for  political  influence,  but  the 
place  in  which  a  righteous  man  may  serve  his 
fellow-men  and  advance  the  reputable  inter¬ 
ests  of  his  country.  The  emoluments  of  office 
are  derived  from  a  fund  contributed  to  the 
state  by  the  loyal  obedience  and  patient  toil 
of  the  industrious  masses.  To  say  the  very 
least,  it  should  be  distributed  so  as  to  secure 


74 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  most  efficient  and  economical  conduct  of 
public  affairs.  Tlie  honors  of  office  are  the 
legitimate  rewards  bestowed  by  popular  con¬ 
fidence  upon  upright  citizenship.  It  must  be 
an  evil  day  for  our  country  when  both  emolu¬ 
ments  and  honors  are  made  the  prey  of  a  par¬ 
tisan  activity  which  often  discards  all  honesty 
in  its  methods  and  renounces  all  shame  in  its 
corrupt  and  corrupting  success.” 


— We  do  not  believe  in  introducing  politics 
into  the  pulpit,  but  the  time  has  come  when 
Christian  ministers  and  Christian  men  must 
lift  up  their  voices  in  solemn  and  indignant 
protest  against  the  rule  of  the  political  spoils¬ 
man. — Ckurleslon  News  and  Courier  [Demi. 

IS  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM  SIMPLY 
A  QUESTION  OF  POLITICS? 

— B.  S.  Clayton  has  been  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Columbia,  S.  C.  in  place  of  Wade 
Hampton  Gibbes  removed.  Senator  Wade 
Hampton,  whose  word  will  be  credited,  writes 
to  Wanamaker  under  date  of  November  9, 
1889,  as  follows: 

“  Perhaps  you  may  remember,  if  your  mem¬ 
ory  is  not  treacherous,  your  assurance  to  me 
a  few  days  ago  that  Mr.  Gibbes  should  not  be 
removed  until  the  expiration  of  his  term  in 
Februrary  next.  Not  only  did  you  do  this, 
but  you  voluntarily  assured  me  that  inasmuch 
as  Columbia  was  my  post-office,  you  would, 
when  the  successor  to  Mr.  Gibbes  was  to  be  ap¬ 
pointed,  consult  me. 

“It  is  a  matter  of  small  importance  to  me 
who  takes  the  place  of  Mr.  Gibbes,  but  as  I  in¬ 
formed  him  in  passing  through  Columbia,  of 
the  promise  you  had  made,  you  may  perhaps 
understand  how  your  action  has  placed  me  in 
a  false  position.  But  it  is  fortunate  for  me 
that  Mr.  Gibbes  will  know  that  I  at  least  told 
him  the  truth,  though  T  was  grievously  de¬ 
ceived  in  believing  what  was  said  to  me.  I 
shall  know  better  in  future  what  reliance  to 
place  on  statements  emanating  from  the  same 
source.” 


The  New  York  Evening  Post  of  November 
13  gives  the  following,  through  its  correspond¬ 
ence,  which  it  believes  reliable:  “The  post¬ 
master  at  Lawrenceville,  Va.,  has  filled  the 
office  for  many  years  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
entire  community.  Hearing  that  Mahone  was 
to  remove  him  to  make  room  for  a  ‘  drunken 
illiterate,’  a  lady  who  receives  through  the 
post  office  large  sums  of  money  as  gifts  for 
charitable  and  educational  work  among  the 
negroes,  and  whose  efforts  in  this  direction 
have  given  her  a  national  reputation,  went  to 
Washington  to  find  means  to  avert  the  disaster. 
Wanamaker  promised  her,  and  in  her  presence 
gave  the  order  to  Clarkson  that  no  removal 
should  be  made.  Some  weeks  later  the  re¬ 
moval  was  made  and  the  ‘  drunken  illiterate  ’ 
appointed,  who  has  since  had  to  resign.” 

TAKING  THE  POST-OFFICES  OUT 
OF  POLITICS.* 

President  Harrison  in  his  inaugural  address, 
said  :  “  The  civil  list  is  so  large  that  a  personal 
knowledge  of  any  large  number  of  applicants 
is  impossible.  The  President  must  rely  upon 
the  representation  of  others.”  This  is  perfectly 
true,  and  in  no  branch  of  the  service  more  true 
than  among  the  postmasters.  The  question  is 
who  are  those  “ot/iers”  upon  whose  “  represen¬ 
tations  ”  the  President  m  ust  rely  ?  The  propo¬ 
sition  is  frequently  put  as  if  the  members  of 

*From  the  paper  by  Richard  H.  Dana,  of  Bo.ston, 
read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Civil  Service  Reform 
League  Philadelphia,  October  1.  1889.  Reprinted 
from  the  Philadelphia  Ameriean,  October  19. 


congress  belonging  to  the  President’s  own 
pary  were  the  only  persons  on  whom  he  could 
rely,  and  yet  we  all  know  they  are  the  very 
persons  most  interested  in  turning  the  post- 
offices  into  electioneering  machines,  and  the 
least  to  be  trusted  from  purely  business  con¬ 
siderations. 

Far  from  having  to  resort  to  the  unconsti¬ 
tutional  method  of  relying  on  the  legislative 
branch  for  executive  appointments,  the  admin¬ 
istration  has  at  hand,  in  the  post-office  depart¬ 
ment  itself,  a  body  of  men,  who,  by  the  scope 
of  theii  duties,  are  the  very  persons  upon  whose 
representations  a  president  can  rely  for  infor¬ 
mation  regarding  postmasters.  These  are  the 
post-office  inspectors.  They  are  now  selected 
under  civil  service  rules  and  usually  by  pro¬ 
motion  from  other  parts  of  the  service.  They 
are  a  picked  lot  of  men,  trained  in  the  postal 
service,  knowing  the  wants  of  the  service,  and 
having  continually  to  examine  into  the  con¬ 
duct  of  the  various  offices,  and  report  on  the 
need  of  new  post-offices,  the  discontinuance  of 
old  ones,  etc. 

When  a  vacancy  occurs  in  any  of  the  smaller 
post-offices,  an  inspector  can  be  detailed  to 
visit  the  locality,  see  the  applicants,  and  make 
inquiries  regarding  their  character  and  ex¬ 
perience.  For  the  sake  of  fairness  and  regu¬ 
larity  the  applicants  should  be  made  to  fill  out 
certain  blank  forms  in  their  own  handwriting, 
and  on  a  basis  of  all  this  information  the 
inspector  would  make  his  report,  just  as  a 
road  agent  of  an  express  company  makes  his 
report  on  the  relativ'e  merits  of  several  candi¬ 
dates  for  local  agencies.  The  higher  post- 
offices,  say  all  above  the  fourth  class — that  is, 
all  with  salaries  above  $1,000  a  year— could 
be  filled  by  promotion  either  from  the  classified 
service  or  from  among  the  postmasters  of  rela¬ 
tively  lower  grades,  promotions  to  he  based  on 
the  efficiency  with  which  they  have  performed 
their  duties.  There  are  already  complete  sta¬ 
tistics  kept  regarding  the  management  of  all 
the  [)ost- offices,  and  these  could  be  used  for 
this  purpose.  For  greater  convenience,  the 
country  should  be  divided  into  postal  districts, 
as  is  done  in  England  for  the  postal  depart¬ 
ment  there,  and  in  this  country  for  the  great 
express  compaies.  Indeed  this  division  into 
postal  districts  is  greatly  needed  for  many 
other  purposes.  Each  district  requires  some 
general  manager  who  can  know  its  wants,  see 
to  expediting  the  mails,  etc.,  as  can  never  be 
done  properly  from  Washington  alone.  Such 
a  system  as  this  would  doubtless  work  well  in 
the  hands  of  an  administration  friendly  to  it, 
provided  there  was  not  too  great  an  opposition 
from  congressmen.  Any  system,  however, 
which  loe  propose  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
left  to  the  mercies  of  an  indifferent  or  possible 
hostile  administration,  and  will  lie  open  to 
attacks  from  local  politicians.  If  the  appoint 
ments  of  all  the  fourth-class  postmasters  are 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  inspectors,  there  is  a 
danger  that  the  pressure,  which  no  postmaster- 
general  has  yet  been  able  to  withstand,  will 
simply  be  transferred  from  him  to  the  inspect¬ 
ors.  Though  they  are  appointed  under  civil 
service  rules,  iv  would  not  be  impossible  to 
intimidate  the  weaker  ones,  and  either  remove 
'  I  he  stronger  ones  or  put  them  on  other  branches 
ork.  We  do  not  want  to  find  ourselves  in 

^  I'ositionof  having  urged  the  adoption  of  a 
^  .  a  which  will  allow  the  spoilsmen,  when 
criticised,  to  turn  around  and  say  :  “  We  have 

made  these  appointments  which  you  complain 
of  on  the  reports  of  your  civil  service  inspect¬ 
ors.  What  more  do  you  want?” 

It  seems  well,  therefore,  that  any  system  we 
propose  should  be  as  strongly  fortified  from 
attack  as  possible.  Two  very  efficient  means 
of  fortification  occur  to  one.  The  first  is  to 
incorporate  into  our  system  some  re^ilation 
of  removals.  Let  any  bill  we  propose  state 
clearly  that  there  are  to  be  no  removals  be¬ 


cause  of  political  opinions.  With  that  as  the 
fundamental  rule  give  every  man  a  hearing 
who  wants  it,  and  have  no  removals  except  on 
the  written  reports  of  inspectors  who  conduct 
these  hearings.  Suspensions  can  be  made,  in 
extreme  cases,  awaiting  the  reports.  The  hear¬ 
ings,  too,  need  not  be  conducted  with  the  for¬ 
mality  of  judicial  proceedings,  and  a  well- 
grounded  suspicion,  not  satisfactorily  explain¬ 
ed  away,  may  be  sufficient  cause  for  removal. 
There  is  nothing  unpractical  or  unbusiness¬ 
like  in  this  regulation  of  removals.  Mr.  Adams 
told  me  lately  that  in  the  Adams  express  com¬ 
pany  they  give  “  the  meanest  man  a  hearing” 
before  removal,  and  if  he  thinks  he  has  been 
treated  unfairly  at  a  road  agent’s  hearing,  he 
is  given  another  hearing  by  an  assistant  man¬ 
ager.  According  to  the  last  official  report, 
that  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1888,  out  of 
the  1,244  removals  of  postmasters,  663 — that 
is,  more  than  one-half--had  been  made  on  the 
recommendation  of  post-office  inspectors.  Why 
should  there  be  any  removals  except  on  such 
reports,  unless,  indeed,  a  hearing  be  waived  by 
the  postmaster  himself?  How  quickly  many 
of  the  so-called  reasons  for  removal,  trumped 
up  by  politicians,  would  vanish  into  air  if 
there  was  to  be  a  hearing  on  them  conducted 
by  a  trained  and  competent  government  in¬ 
spector  ? 

The  second  method  of  fortifying  this  system 
of  reform  would  be  by  eliminating  as  far  as 
practicable  the  personal  element  of  choice  left 
to  the  inspectors.  I  know  no  better  method 
than  a  system  of  competitive  examinations; 
if  it  were  not  too  cumbersome,  it  would  be  well 
to  apply  the  examination  system  to  all  the 
forrth-class  postmasters.  A  great  majority  of 
these  postmasters,  however,  have  a  very  small 
salary,  so  small  :is  not  to  be  worth  having,  as 
a  republican  congressman  from  New  York 
state  said  the  other  day,  on  boasting  that  he 
had  got  every  postmaster  in  his  district 
changed  whose  office  was  worth  having. 

Of  the  67,376  postmasters,  2,.502  are  above 
the  fourth-class  and  their  aggregate  of  salaries 
is  $4,202,800.  The  aggregate  salary  of  the 
54,874  fourth-class  postmasters,  is  only  $8,386,- 
968,  or  just  about  an  average  of  only  $153  a 
year  apiece.  As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
estimate  it,  there  are  less  than  6,000  having 
$500  or  more  a  year ;  the  average  salary  of  the 
remainder  being  about  $90  a  year.  The  chief 
pressure  that  would  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  inspectors  would  be  for  these  6,000  places, 
and  if  they  could  be  included  within  the 
classified  civil  service,  the  inspectors  might  be 
able  to  resist  the  weaker  pressure  that  would 
be  brought  to  bear  for  the  large  number  of 
smaller  places,  many  of  them  hardly  worth 
the  holding. 

These  6,000  with  fair  salaries,  with  chances 
of  promotion  and  security  against  removal 
without  a  hearing,  would  probably  average  a 
tenure  of  not  less  than  ten  years.  That  would 
give  600  post  masterships  to  be  filled  each  year 
by  examinations.  If  the  country  were  divided 
into  12  districts,  that  would  give  50  for  each 
district.  Now  in  Massachusetts  alone,  the 
civil  service  commission  held  no  less  than  172 
examinations  last  year,  all  conducted  by  the 
chief  examiner,  and  73  of  these  were  held  in 
cities  outside  of  Boston.  Under  the  United 
States  commission  for  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1888,  there  were  held  no  less  than  450 
examinations.  The  examinations  for  post¬ 
master  of  this  grade  would  all  be  of  the  same 
general  character  and  easy  to  devise,  while  no 
small  part  of  the  examinations  just  mentioned 
were  for  a  great  variety  of  positions,  requir¬ 
ing  many  different  kinds  of  test.  A  good  deal 
of  the  machinery  of  local  examining  boards 
could  be  made  use  of  and  perhaps  the  post- 
office  inspectors  might  conduct  the  examina¬ 
tions  in  distant  towns.  Furnishing  good 
securities  on  the  postmasters’  bonds,  as  already 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


75 


required  by  the  law,  is  of  itself  a  guarantee 
of  character,  worth  more  than  a  usual  letter 
of  recommendation,  as  no  person  with  prop¬ 
erty  wants  to  go  on  the  official  bond  of  a  dis- 
■  honest  or  inefficient  man. 

The  system  I  should  propose  would  be  sum¬ 
med  up  as  follows:  Removals  never  for  po¬ 
litical  opinions,  and  only  after  a  hearing,  and 
I  on  a  written  report  of  an  inspector,  who  is 
himself  selected  under  the  civil  service  law. 
Appointments  to  all  the  postmasterships,  with 
^  a  salary  above  $1,000  as  rewards  for  executive 
;  ability  shown  in  the  postal  service,  made  either 
i  from  among  other  postmasters  who  may  apply 
for  a  promotion,  or  from  the  classified  postal 
service — a  system  that  has  been  in  successful 
operation  in  England  for  many  years.  Ap¬ 
pointment  to  all  with  a  salary  between  $500 
and  $1,000  by  competitive  examinations.  And 
I  «  as  to  the  still  lower  grades  on  the  reports  of 
4.  inspectors,  regulated  in  such  a  way  as  to  se- 
;7  cure  the  greatest  possible  uniformity  and  fair¬ 
ness.  And  for  convenience  in  all  of  this,  a 
sub-division  of  the  country  into  suitable  pos¬ 
tal  districts. 

Why  is  not  the  reclaiming  of  the  postmasters 
f  from  the  patronage  system  the  next  great  work 
|.  for  the  league  to  take  in  hand?  Let  us 
I  ^  unite  on  some  measure,  as  we  united  on  the 
Eaton  bill,  afterwards  called  the  Pendleton 
bill,  and  press  for  its  adoption,  and  I  believe 
we  can  get  it  adopted.  If  some  of  us  have 
thought  that  our  efforts  since  1883  have  been 
too  diffuse,  why  is  not  this  the  very  concen- 
|j  tration  we  need  ? 


AFTER  THE  ELECTIONS. 

It  is  not  the  question  of  a  few  post-offices.  I  freely 
say  to  my  colleague  that  tlie  republican  party  would 
I  be  stronger  in  Indiana  if  you  put  every  republican 
out  of  office,  and  I  think  the  democratic  party  would 
I*  be  weaker  in  precisely  the  same  proportion  that  you 
III  put  democrats  in. — Senator  Benjamin  Harrison,  March 

f*  ^  26,  1886. 

!  — It  is  high  time  that  all  those  connected  with 

I  this  administration  who  have  a  real  regard  for 
n  civil  service  reform,  and  all  republicans  every- 
1?  where  who  would  be  sorry  to  see  their  party 
^  committed  to  the  foolish  and  fatal  policy  of  a  re¬ 
turn  to  the  spoils  system,  should  speak  out  boldly 
yt  and  emphatically.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
^  danger  that  the  civil  service  law  will  be  re¬ 
pealed  or  the  reform  move  in  any  other  direc 
tion  than  forward.  But  th&re  is  danger  more  or 
less  that  the  party  position  may  be  misrepresented 
and  the  affections  of  the  voters  alienated  to  some  ex¬ 
tent  by  the  utterances  of  a  few  spoilsmen,  whose 
|!  boldness  increases  with  their  disappointment 
J  at  finding  that  they  can  not  make  free  and 
complete  loot  cf  all  the  government  offices. 
— St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press  [Pep.],  before  the  elections. 

j  — Mr.  Harrison  is  responsible  only  in  as  far 
i  as  he  has  not  found  it  practicable  to  put  a 
j  stern  and  final  veto  on  the  projects  of  the 
i  spoilsmen.  But  he  is  responsible  in  a  larger 

I  measure  for  the  conduct  of  the  post-office  de 
partraent ;  because  the  record  which  Mr. 
Clarkson  is  making  there  is  a  distinct  injury 
to  the  party.  It  does  not  greatly  matter  to 
the  public  or  greatly  affect  the  service  whether 
the  postmaster  at  some  cross-roads  is  republi- 
[  can  or  democrat.  But  it  does  affect  the  party  in 
the  eyes  of  the  people  to  know  that  removals  in  the 
postal  .service  have  been  made  at  the  rate  of  about 
I  20,000  in  six  months.  We  speak  plaMy,  and 

(  speak  as  republicans,  anxmis  for  the  future  of  the 

I  party ;  and  we  say  most  emphatically  that  this  is 
neither  civil  service  reform  nor  good  politics.  There 
I  are  some  signs  already  of  discontent  with  it.  Local 
\  elections  here  and  there,  notably  that  in  Indianapo¬ 
lis,  evidence  the  growing  discontent  that  follows  as  a 
constant  Nemesis  on  the  footsteps  of  the  party  that, 
in  these  days,  fails  to  come  up  to  the  height  of  its 
own  aspiration  and  disappoints  public  hope  and 


expectation, — St,  Paul  Pioneer  P-ess  [Rep.],  before 
the  elections. 

— “The  truth  is,”  says  (he  Pittsburg  Dis- 
patch  [Rep.],  after  discussing  the  causes  of 
Tuesday’s  overwhelming  defeat  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  party,  “that  the  republican  success  of 
last  year,  in  connection  with  the  reverses  of 
this  year,  show,  if  anything,  that  the  party  is 
stronger  without  patronage  than  with  it.” 

— I  am  greatly  surprised  at  the  outcome  of 
the  Ohio  campaign.  A  heavy  defection  in 
Hamilton  and  Franklin  counties  was  to  be 
expected,  but  I  certainly  expected  to  see  Gov. 
Foraker  pull  through  by  a  decreased  majority. 
Now,  what  has  lost  the  fight?  In  the  first 
place,  I  noticed  a  sullen  spirit  among  Ohio 
republicans.  They  were  heavy  and  apathetic. 
They  were  displeased  ivith  the  administration.  The 
offices  were  distributed  without  proper  consideration, 
and  those  who  got  offices  were  not  app'eciative. — 
Gen.  Geo.  A .  Sheridan,  who  was  in  Ohio  through 
the  campaign. 

— “  Did  the  distribution  of  official  patron¬ 
age  have  anything  to  do  with  the  result  in 
Ohio?” 

“Naturally;  not  in  the  way  of  bad  ap¬ 
pointments,  because  there  have  been  none ; 
but  there  were  nearly  two  hundred  thousand 
applicants  for  places  in  the  service  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  from  Ohio.  Most  of  those  applicants 
wanted  post-offices.  Congressman  J.  D.  Tay¬ 
lor  had  two  thousand  applicants  in  his  dis¬ 
trict.  Now  most  of  these  people  have  had  to 
be  disappointed,  and  that  made  them  indiffer¬ 
ent  to  republican  success  this  year.” — F.  B. 
Loomis,  a  newspaper  correspondent,  who  was  in  Ohio 
all  through  the  campaign. 

— Some  persons  are  disposed  to  hold  the  ad¬ 
ministration  responsible  for  the  loss  of  the  re¬ 
publican  state  ticket  in  New  York.  The  same 
individuals  declare  that  had  the  President 
been  more  generous  in  the  distribution  of  offi¬ 
ces,  victory  would  certainly  have  perched  on 
the  republican  banner.  Take  the  Twenty-first 
Assembly  District  in  New  York  city,  for  ex¬ 
ample.  Warner  Miller  a  year  ago  carried  it 
by  a  majority  of  about  1,500.  Yesterday  the 
republican  state  ticket  got  a  plurality  of 
scarcely  one-tenth  of  that  figure.  Ernest  H. 
Crosby,  as  a  candidate  for  assembly  until  last 
year,  was  accustomed  to  receive  from  1,000  to 
1,500  majority.  Lewis,  Crosby’s  successor,  gets 
less  than  150.  President  Harrison  has  appointed 
more  men  to  office  from  this  district  than  from  any 
other  in  the  state.  The  collector  of  the  port,  the 
surveyor,  the  United  States  district  attorney, 
the  minister  to  France,  the  minister  to  Aus¬ 
tria,  the  judge  to  the  court  of  arbitration  at 
Cairo,  a  United  States  commissioner  for  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad,  and  at  least  a  dozen 
more  appointments  of  greater  or  less  import 
ance,  have  been  awarded  to  the  Twenty-first. 
Yet  her  showing  on  election  day  was  nearly  as 
bad  as  the  districts  in  which  the  republicans 
made  little  or  no  effort  to  win,  and  yet  barely 
succeeded.  What  is  true  of  the  Twenty-first  is 
also  true  of  other  districts  which  have  been 
treated  liberally,  so  far  as  patronage  is  con¬ 
cerned. — Philadelphia  Enquirer’s  Washington  Gor- 
respondence. 

—  The  distribution  of  this  patronage,  ii 
spective  of  any  other  issue  involved,  tend^ 
create  unpopularity  for  the  administratio'iff? 
The  congressman  or  senator  through  whose 
influence  an  appointment  is  secured  is  strength¬ 
ened  by  the  support  of  the  office-holder,  and 
this  is  felt  in  the  district  conventions,  but  the 
party  at  large  loses  votes.  There  are  about  150 
consulates  at  the  disposal  of  the  President. 
There  were  2,000  applications  for  these  posi¬ 
tions.  At  the  New  York  custom-house  there 
are  1,500  places,  of  which  about  one-third  may 
be  available  for  party  rewards.  There  were 
25,000  men  who  wanted  these  500  places. 


Take  the  pbstmastership  in  a  country 
village.  It  is  an  important  post,  but  it  is 
generally  held  by  a  storekeeper,  to  whom  cus¬ 
tom  is  drawn  by  the  appointment.  Here  are 
six  storekeepers  in  a  place,  all  working  to  get 
the  benefit  of  the  extra  trading  that  goes  to 
the  postmaster.  The  man  who  gets  the  apoint- 
ment  works  hard  for  the  congressman  who 
secured  it  for  him,  but  the  five  other  men  are 
disappointed,  and  either  neglect  to  vote  for  the 
party  at  the  next  election  or  vote  for  the  op¬ 
posite  side.  Where  one  vote  is  secured  for  the 
distribution  of  patronage,  three — yes,  five  — 
votes  are  driven  away. —  Chauncey  t)epew  in 
New  York  Tribune. 

— It  will  take  hard  work  for  the  republican 
party  to  recover  the  ground  which  it  lost  on 
Tuesday.  The  administration  will  have  to 
help  in  this  work.  One  thing  that  it  can  do 
is  to  drop  all  such  crazy  folly  as  the  Mahone 
business.  Another  thing  that  it  can  do  is  to 
fill  the  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the  supreme 
court  by  appointing  a  man  whose  fitness  no 
one  can  question.  This  is  a  perfectly  easy 
thing  to  do.  Another  thing  is  to  pay  some  at¬ 
tention  to  the  public  sentiment  of  a  state  out¬ 
side  of  the  political  machine  of  that  state. 
Another  thing  is  to  stop  appointing  republi¬ 
can  editors  to  office.  The  appointment  of  ed¬ 
itors  is  very  complimentary,  but  when  they 
are  foolish  enough  to  accept  it  takes  away 
from  the  party  its  most  effective  advocates,  and 
muzzles  the  paper  from  which  the  appoint¬ 
ment  is  made.  Another  thing  is  to  keep  an 
eye  single  for  the  public  good,  and  allow  all 
officers  who  are  doing  their  work  properly  to 
serve  out  their  terms  without  molestation.  Mr. 
Hayes’s  saying  that  he  who  serves  his  country 
best  serves  his  party  best,  is  a  very  good  one 
to  apply  in  this  emergency,  no  matter  what 
the,  men  who  are  after  something  may  think 
about  it. —  Wilmington  Morning  News  [Rep.]. 

— To  his  friends  who  called  on  Wednesday 
President  Harrison  is  understood  to  have  said 
that  no  administration  could  in  its  first  year 
successfully  withstand  the  assaults  of  the  office- 
seekers.  Later  on  he  believed  the  political 
horizon  would  brighten  and  better  conditions 
prevail. 

If  the  President  is  correctly  represented, 
here  we  have  an  acknowledgment  that  the 
republican  vote  only  can  be  brought  out  when 
office-seekers  are  interested  in  the  contest.  If 
they  are  indifferent,  there  is  no  one  to  bring 
out  voters,  and  the  republican  candidates  ac¬ 
cordingly  suffer.  The  obvious  meaning  of 
this  is,  when  the  machine  is  out  of  gear,  the 
republican  party  gets  into  trouble.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  if  the  inactivity  of  party 
workers  altogether  explains  republican  de¬ 
fection.  With  anything  but  approval  the 
people  have  watched  the  proceedings  of  the 
national  administration.  President  Harrison 
complains  that  he  has  been  unable  to  appease 
office-seekers,  and  that  their  resentment 
brought  disaster  to  the  republican  party. 
Many  voters  believe  that  too  much  time  and 
attention  have  been  bestowed  on  the  office¬ 
seeking  class.  They  desire  to  see  this  admin¬ 
istration  address  itself  to  work  of  greater  mo- 
lOaent,  but  do  not  seem  to  consider  that  down 
ij  the  present  time  it  has  had  but  little  oppor- 
,'unity  to  show  affirmatively  what  it  can  do. — 
: Albany  Express  [Rep.}. 

— Republicans  of  the  “  rural  districts”  did 
their  duty  nobly.  The  city  did  damnably. 
The  returns  show  that  only  about  60  per  cent, 
of  the  republican  vote  of  1888  in  this  city 
showed  up  at  the  polls,  while  Tammany 
drummed  up  and  dragged  out  by  systematic 
work  nearly  eighty  per  cent,  of  their  vote. 
Equal  republican  activity  and  vigilance  here 
would  have  given  us  a  complete  victory  in 
this  state.  Dissatisfaction  and  disappointment 
ovei'  the  distribution  of  the  favors  of  the  administra- 


76 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


lion  may  have  contributed  somewhat  to  the  apathetic 
feeling  and  lack  of  interest.  The  rum  power  and 
its  ally,  the  prohibitionists,  can  each  claim 
their  share  of  the  credit.  They  both  did  their 
worst. — Tom  Platt,  Head  Distributor  of  .New 
York  Patronage. 

— “  Civil  service  reform  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  defeat  of  the  republicans  in  Virginia, 
Ohio  and  New  York,”  says  the  Boston  Tran¬ 
script  [Rep.]  “  The  old  system  of  patronage, 
in  which  the  government  honors  all  the  drafts 
drawn  on  it  by  a  certain  recognized  ‘  king 
maker,’  did.” 

— The  St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat,  [Rep.]  is 
convinced  that  there  is  no  political  efficacy  in 
spoils.  Speaking  of  the  recent  Republican 
defeat  in  the  capital  of  Indiana,  it  says:  “The 
Indianapolis  episode  this  year,  like  the  Mary¬ 
land  and  Indiana  incidents  of  a  year  or  two 
ago,  furnishes  one  more  proof  that  federal 
patronage,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  brings 
weakness  instead  of  strength  to  the  party  dis¬ 
pensing  it.” 

— The  Philadelphia  North  American  [Rep.] 
does  not  conceal  the  significance  of  this  week’s 
elections.  “The  North  American,"  it  says, 
“  can  not  commit  the  folly  of  underestimating 
what  has  just  occured,  and  it  sees  very  clearly 
that  the  republican  party  must  show  courage, 
honesty,  and  clean-handed  leadership  to  win 
success  hearafter.  Its  power  was  broken  by  a  too 
great  belief  that  in  those  qualities  it  had  degenerated, 
and  its  power  was  regained  largely  because  it  was 
supposed  that  it  had  profited  by  that  rebuke  to  cast 
off  the  leaders  and  the  methods  which  had  weakened 
it." 

— The  elections  furnish  an  excellent  com¬ 
ment  on  Mr.  Harrison’s  statement,  made  while 
he  still  Avas  a  senator,  that  a  great  party  is 
weakened  rather  than  strengthened  by  the  pos¬ 
session  of  the  federal  “patronage.”  An  Eng¬ 
lish  statesman  once  said  that  every  place  he 
bestowed  made  three  enemies  and  one  ingrate. 
Mr.  Clarkson  has  been  very  busy  for  eight 
months  past  in  securing  to  the  i)arty  the  kind 
of  influence  which  is  supposed  to  attend  the 
possession  of  the  offices.  He  certainly  did  not 
neglect  his  own  state  in  doing  so.  Iowa  has 
seen  as  thorough  an  application  of  the  spoils 
theory  in  the  matter  of  its  post  offices  as  has 
any  state  of  the  Union.  We  hope  he  is  pleased 
with  the  result.  His  “  Pyrrhic  victories,”  if 
carried  a  little  farther,  would  put  an  end  to 
the  republican  party.  They  have  been  won 
not  only  in  Iowa  but  in  Massachusetts,  in  New 
York,  in  New  Jersey,  in  Virginia,  and  in 
Ohio.  In  all  these  states  the  party  was  dis 
tinctly  stronger  before  he  began  to  sign  com¬ 
missions  upon  the  reqnsition  of  the  congress¬ 
men.  And  if  the  democrats  could  have 
stopped  their  quarreling,  and  pulled  them¬ 
selves  together,  there  might  have  been  an  ap¬ 
proach  to  the  same  showing  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  truth  is  that  the  failure  of  the  adminis¬ 
tration  to  come  up  to  the  expectation  of  the 
better  self  of  the  party  in  the  matter  of  the 
civil  service,  is  disheartening  the  party  every¬ 
where.  Brooklyn  may  be  taken  as  an  exam¬ 
ple.  The  republicans  had  a  good  case  there. 
The  state  and  city  tickets  on  the  other  side 
were  bad.  The  registration  was  heaviest  in 
the  parts  of  the  city  where  the  republican 
strength  lies.  The  canvass  was  as  vigorous  as 
could  be  expected  in  an  off  year.  Two  years 
ago  Mr.  Chapin  had  a  plurality  of  882.  This 
year  it  is  nearly  ten  times  as  great.  The  dem¬ 
ocratic  state  ticket  has  a  plurality  of  close 
upon  eleven  thousand,  and  a  district  hereto¬ 
fore  republican  elects  a  democrat  to  the  legis¬ 
lature. — Philadelphia  American  [jRep.]. 

— The  failure  of  the  administration  to  meet 
expectations  in  the  enforcement  of  the  civil 
service  law  has  also  alienated  from  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  many  of  those  adherents  of  civil 


service  principles  who  voted  with  the  party 
last  year.  The  loss  may  not  have  been  large, 
but  it  was  something.  The  administration 
has  undoubtedly  been  a  disappointment  to  all 
who  hoped  for  and  expected  something  more 
than  a  change  of  politicians  in  the  offices. 
The  distribution  of  spoils  and  the  waste  of 
public  money  stand  out  most  conspicuously  as 
the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  new 
administration  in  its  brief  reign.  It  is  not  a 
record  that  the  people  could  be  expected  to 
endorse,  and  they  have  not  availed  themselves 
of  the  small  opportunity  afforded  them  for 
giving  what,  if  there  had  been  a  sweeping  re¬ 
publican  victory,  would  have  been  construed 
as  an  endorsement.  The  general  result  we 
believe,  indicates  that  the  trend  of  sentiment 
is  against  the  kind  of  politics  exemplified  in 
republican  management  of  public  affairs. — 
Indianapolis  News  \_Ind.\ 

— We  are  of  the  opinion  that  while  other 
issues,  such  as  the  tariff,  the  liquor  qestion, 
and  pension  profligacy,  have  contributed  to 
the  republican  losses  this  year,  the  chief  cause 
has  been  disgust  among  decent  people  at  the 
sack  of  the  civil  service  by  the  Harrison  ad¬ 
ministration,  combined  with  the  rage  of  office- 
seekers  who  have  not  got  what  they  asked  for, 
or  “  something  equally  as  good.”  It  is  need¬ 
less  to  lecount  particular  examples,  but  no 
man  who  has  kept  his  ears  open  this  year  to 
the  conversation  that  may  be  heard  on  the 
cars,  or  at  watering-places,  clubs,  counting- 
rooms,  or  w'herever  educated  people  are  gath¬ 
ered  together,  can  have  failed  to  discover  pro¬ 
found  and  pervading  disappointment  with  Mr. 
Harrison  and  his  policy.  Since  his  policy  up 
to  this  time  has  been  nothing  but  a  spoils  pol¬ 
icy  of  the  worst  type,  there  has  been  nothing 
else  to  find  fault  with.  He  has  done  nothing 
but  cut  and  slash  among  the  office-holders, 
and  now  he  has  received  a  pretty  severe  re¬ 
buke.  If  this  had  been  a  congressional  elec¬ 
tion  he  would  be  confronted  with  a  hostile 
majority  in  the  house. — New  York  Evening 
Post  [/nd.]. 


THE  STATE  PRESS. 

—Men  who  are  after  the  “spoils,”  and  who  succeed 
in  getting  what  they  seek,  as  a  general  thing  are  not 
nearly  as  efficient  officers  as  men  would  be  who  had 
been  selected  simply  because  of  their  fitness  and 
qualifications  for  their  work.  In  the  very  nature  of 
things  it  must  be  so.  “Spoilsmen”  have  no  heart 
for  the  duties  of  the  particular  position  they  may  fill. 
Their  sole  purpose  in  seeking  it  was  the  “spoils,” 
and  the  “spoils”  is  all  they  care  for.  Patriotism, 
desire  for  the  public  good,  conscientious  discharge 
of  duty,  are  the  last  things  they  think  of.  With 
them,  public  office  is  not  a  public  trust,  but  rather 
a  foothold  whereby  they  mean  to  get  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  public  with  the  least  possible  re¬ 
turn  for  the  “spoils”  so  won.  “Spoils,”  “spoils,” 
"spoils.”  Down  with  the  whole  system.  Let  civil 
service  reform,  in  theory  and  practice,  win  the 
place  it  ought  to  fill  in  a  government  like  ours.— 
Steuben  [Did.]  Republican  [i?ep.]. 

—There  is  a  great  deal  of  kicking  against  the  civi 
.service  law,  and  many  disappointed  applicants  are 
venting  their  spleen  against  the  administration,  as  if 
the  President  were  responsible  for  the  existence  of 
the  law,  or  deserving  of  censure  for  its  enforcement. 
The  civil  service  law  is  all  right,  and  if  it  can  only  be 
kept  on  the  statute  books,  with  such  amendments  as 
may  be  needed  to  perfect  it  and  extend  its  scope,  it 
will  in  a  few  years  work  out  its  own  salvation.  It  is 
hard  on  the  spoilmen,  of  course,  but  few  of  that  class  are 
realli  competent  to  discharge  the  responsibilities  of  office 
and  oughe  not  to  be  appointed.— Indiana  New  Castle 
Courier  [Rep.]. 

—The  spoils  system  of  appointing  men  to  place 
solely  on  account  of  politics  has  been  tried  long  and 
often  and  has  proved  a  failure.  It  is  a  relic  of  bar¬ 
barism  and  will  have  to  go  along  with  many  other 


bad  customs.  It  will  not  answer  in  this  enlightened 
age,  which  is  an  age  of  business  sense,  progress  mio 
steady  advance  in  civilized  methods.  The  principles 
of  the  law  will  eventually  be  applied  to  every  de¬ 
partment  of  the  federal  service.  The  time  will  come 
when  the  people  will  no  more  tolerate  the  removal 
or  appointment  of  clerks  on  account  of  their  opin¬ 
ions  than  they  will  now  tolerate  ostracism  of  the 
same  for  their  religious  views.  In  other  words,  we 
are  slowly  progressing  from  the  methods  of  barbar¬ 
ism  to  the  methods  of  an  enlightened  civilization. — 
Indiana  ShelbyviUe  Republican  [i?ep..] 

—Frank  Hatton,  a  political  cow'boy,  is  running  the 
Washington  Post,  to  cater  to  the  spoilsmen  in  the 
dominant  party.  Hatton  is  a  republican  for  spoils, 
not  for  any  principle  the  party  cherishes.  His  politi¬ 
cal  methods  are  of  the  same  order  as  the  frontier 
bully,  swagger  and  general  brutishness  included. 
Hatton  has  neither  the  courage  to  oppose  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform  in  conventions  and  campaigns,  nor  the 
honor  to  regard  the  pledges  there  given. — Indiana 
Richmond  Sunday  Register  [Rep.] 

—That  the  spoils  system  has  assumed  an  alarming 
tendency  there  can  be  no  douht,  and  the  necessity 
for  remedying  the  evil  is  apparent.  What  the  reme¬ 
dy  shall  consist  of  is  still  debatable.  In  the  case  of 
local  appointments,  such  as  for  postmasters,  for  in¬ 
stance,  the  most  satisfactory  results  are  usually  ob¬ 
tained  by  effecting  recommendations  on  the  result 
of  popular  elections,  but  even  this  plan  is  open  to 
serious  objections.  Real  and  permanent  reform  can 
only  come  through  the  education  of  the  masses  to 
cease  looking  upon  “  public  office  as  a  private  snap,” 
and  the  senators  and  representatives  in  congress  should 
be  first  to  encourage  that  idea  instead  of  continuing  the 
custom  of  standing  out  as  conspicuous  adherents  of  the 
spoils  system  in  its  most  offensive  phases. — Indiana  La¬ 
fayette  Courier  [Rep.]. 

—The  Democrat  is  a  friend  of  civil  service  reform. 
It  prefers  the  merit  system  to  the  spoils  system.  In 
common  with  thousands  of  good  republicans  and 
equally  good  democrats,  it  believes  that  busines.« 
principles  should  obtain  in  the  administration  of  the 
government.  In  no  other  way  can  corruption,  prof- 
llgac'-’  and  inefficiency  be  rooted  out  of  the  public 
service.  Every  political  party  has  resolved  in  favor 
of  the  reform.  Every  republican  president,  save 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  Benjamin  Harrison,  urged  its 
adoption  upon  congress.  The  present  executive 
voted  for  the  civil  service  law.  Both  by  his  repeated 
declarations  and  the  pledges  that  led  to  its  restora¬ 
tion  to  power,  the  republican  party  stands  commit¬ 
ted  to  a  faithful  observance  of  the  law  both  in  letter 
and  spirit.— Dwfiana  Putnam  Democrat  [Rep.]. 

—Politicians  ought  not  to  be  blamed  for  trying  to 
get  rid  of  it,  for  it  is  greatly  in  their  way.  But  the 
reason  why  the  average  voter  should  oppose  civil 
service  reform  is  not  clear.  The  masses  of  the  people 
have  no  hope  of  getting  the  offices,  and  in  fact  do 
not  aspire  to  them.  Good  government  is  all  they 
have  to  hope  for,  and  all  they  have  a  right  to  expect. 
Why  then  should  they  wrangle  over  the  offices,  when 
their  only  real  interest  is  to  have  good  public  ser¬ 
vants?  That  an  aspirant  to  public  office  should 
prove  his  efficiency  for  it  by  submitting  to  an  exam¬ 
ination  is  entirely  practical  and  reasonable.  That 
the  ablest  man  should  carry  the  prize  will  strike  any 
man  as  being  proper  and  sensible. 

That  the  distribution  of  the  offices  as  party  rewards 
is  liable  to  abuse  is  within  the  knowledge  of  any 
man.  The  extension  of  the  merit  system  would  be 
the  most  effective  electoral  reform  ever  thought  of. 
The  scrambling  for  offices  is  the  primary  cause  for  all 
the  bribery  and  corruption  which  occur  at  every 
election.  We  can  conceive  of  no  reason  why  a  sin¬ 
cere  democrat  or  republican  should  be  opposed  to 
the  merit  system.  It  is  eminently  fair  and  demo¬ 
cratic,  as  it  gives  the  offices  to  the  ablest  aspirants.— 
Indianapolis  Catholic  Record. 


-Four-fifths  of  the  republican  journals  of  charac¬ 
ter  and  infiuence  in  the  United  States  are  honestly 
in  favor  of  a  reform  of  the  civil  service  on  the  general 
line  of  principle  advocated  by  Mr.  Curtis  and  his  as¬ 
sociates.— Bulletin  [Rep.]. 


I 


The  Civil  service  Chronicle. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  oflSce,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 

'  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

'  ,  — 

'  VoL.  I,  No.  10.  INDIANAPOLIS,  DECEMBER,  1889.  terms  :<(  fcenWcopy."” 


I  f  “  Now,  tills  doctrine,  wliich  proposes  to  give  the  spoils  to  the  victors,  has  been  imputed  mostly  to  one  of  our  political  parties, 
I*  and,  as  some  suppose,  has  been  avowed  by  that  party.  .  .  .  We  shall  see,  perhaps,  how  fiir  the  opposing  party  will  abjure  this 
doctrine  of  the  spoils,  and  whether  it  is  not  yet  to  be  the  universal  doctrine  of  politics  in  the  laud.  If  so,  then  shall  we  have  a 
'  scene  in  this  laud  never  before  exhibited  on  earth,  one  which  would  destroy  the  integrity  and  sink  the  morality  of  a  nation  of 
h  angels.  .  .  .  Only  conceive  such  a  lure  held  out  to  this  great  people,  and  all  the  little  offices  of  the  Government  thus  set  up 
I  for  the  price  of  the  victory,  without  regard  to  merit  or  anything  but  party  services,  and  you  have  a  spectacle  of  baseness  and  ra¬ 
pacity  such  as  was  never  seen  before.  No  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  our  laud,  no  parental  discipline,  no  schools,  not  all  the  ma* 
’  chinery  of  virtue  together,  can  long  be  a  match  for  the  corrupting  power  of  our  political  strifes  actuated  by  such  a  law  as  this. 
It  would  make  us  a  nation  of  apostates  at  the  foot  of  Sinai.”— From  a  Sermon  by  Rev.  Horace  BushneU,  in  I84O. 


I  .  “  ^ 

A-T  the  recent  dinner  of  the  Cambridge 
[T^and  Boston  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa- 
■■ition  James  Russell  Lowell  said  ; 


H  Mr.  Clarkson's  recent  reverses  appear 

■  to  have  thrown  him  into  a  state  of  irrita- 

■  tion  and  mental  confusion.  His  organ  at 
Des  Moines  says : 

“  The  civil  service  commission  is  the  greatest  hum- 
'  bug  principle  that  has  ever  been  forced  upon  the 
I  people  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  species  of  feudal 
'  aristocracy  that  should  have  no  encouragement  in  a 
republic.” 

A  commission  which  superintends  open 
^  competition  for  public  employment  can 
I  hardly  be  hurt  by  Clarkson’s  paper  calling 
it  names. 


The  executive  committee  of  the  Nation¬ 
al  Civil  Service  Reform  League,  in  pursu¬ 
ance  of  the  instructions  of  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  League  in  Philadelphia, 
has  appointed  a  committee  to  examine  into 
the  management  of  the  federal  civil  serv¬ 
ice.  The  committee  consists  of  W.  D. 
Foulke,  chairman,  of  Indiana;  Sherman  S. 
Rogers,  of  New  York;  Charles  J.  Bona¬ 
parte,  of  Maryland ;  Richard  H.  Dana,  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Wayne  MaeVeagh,  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  a  general  way  the  inves¬ 
tigation  will  be  like  that  made  in  Indiana 
in  1886,  but  it  will  extend  over  the  whole 
country,  and  will  be  so  thorough  in  its  col¬ 
lection  of  facts  that  its  work  will  be  of 
great  historical  value,  and  will  deal  the 
staggering  spoils  system  the  hardest  blow 
it  has  ever  had.  That  system  can  not  sur¬ 
vive  the  publication  of  the  facts.  Four 
members  of  the  committee  voted  for  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison.  The  committee  is  a  strik¬ 
ingly  able  one,  and  will  be  so  regarded  by 
the  country.  To  a  man  it  is  impartial  and 
fearless,  and  it  will  not  blink  the  facts. 

The  sixth  report  of  the  civil  service 
commission,  covering  the  time  from  July  1, 
1888,  to  June  30, 1889,  has  been  published. 
No  one  can  read  it,  and  every  one  ought  to 
read  it,  without  being  convinced  that  a 
great  advance  has  been  made  in  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  law.  It  can  be  obtained 
by  application  to  the  commission.  We  have 
room  for  but  a  single  extract.  How  many 
years  have  Indiana  reformers  fought  for 
the  recognition  of  the  principle  there 
stated. 

“But  any  sweeping  and  wholesale  removals  of 
large  numbers  of  employes  in  the  classified  service 
for  causes  not  in  each  case  fully  specified,  certainly 
create  a  very  strong  presumption  that  they  are  made 
for  political,  and  therefore  improper,  reasons,  and 
the  commission  holds  that  if  in  any  department  or 
office  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  employes  is 
changed,  the  burden  of  proof  .should  be  considered 
to  rest  on  the  officer  making  the  change  to  show  that 
his  conduct  was  proper,  and  the  failure  on  his  part 
to  establish  the  necessity  for  these  changes  ought  to 
be  held  to  warrant  his  dismissal.” 


Congressman  Cheadle,  from  Indiana, 
has  introduced  a  bill  to  repeal  the  civil 
service  law.  It  is  fitting  that  he  should  do 
this.  For  months  he  has  been  on  the  road 
to  Washington  or  back  to  Frankfort,  his 
whole  soul  and  mind  bent  upon  obtaining 
offices,  whether  by  bullying,  extortion,  per¬ 
suasion  or  guile.  He  has  had  Broils,  In¬ 
trigues,  Conspiracies,  Revolts,  Tumults  and 
Dissensions  without  number  among  his 
henchmen  and  his  tributary  Towns  and 
Hamlets.  The  League  investigating  com¬ 
mittee  can  do  no  better  than  to  commence 
with  Cheadle’s  Territory. 


We  print  that  portion  of  the  President’s 
message  which  relates  to  the  civil  service. 
It  must  be  said  that  he  shows  a  clear  ap¬ 
preciation  of  the  purpose  of  the  law,  and 
that  he  knows  when  the  law  is  honestly 
executed.  He  also  understands  that  no 
progress  can  be  made  without  an  honest 
and  vigorous  enforcement  of  the  act.  His 
statement  that  incumbency,  impartiality, 
moderation,  fidelity  to  public  duty,  and  a 
good  attainment  in  the  discharge  of  it, 
make  a  conclusive  argument  for  retention 
in  office  can  hardly  be  improved  upon. 
There  is  nothing  in  his  suggestion  that 
heads  of  departments  keep  records  of  faith¬ 
fulness  and  efficiency  so  long  as  he  employs 
Clarksons  and  Ransdells,  and  makes  feudal 
lords  of  the  Quays  and  the  Platts.  After  read¬ 
ing  this  message,  the  question  is  constantly 
suggested,  why  does  a  president  who  writes 
so  well  permit  hundreds  of  railway  mail 
clerks  to  be  turned  out  without  cause,  and 
why  does  he  permit  Clarkson  to  turn  out 
30,000  fourth- class  postmasters  in  nine 
months  for  no  reason  whatever,  except  on 
the  principle  that  a  pirate  strips  his  prey, 
and  why  does  a  president  write  such  an 
indescribable  letter  as  President  Harrison 
wrote  to  General  Manson,  and  so  on 
through  a  long  list  ?  Further,  why  does 
the  President  say  that  the  duty  of  appoint- 


Mr.  John  Q.  Donnell,  of  Kingston,  in 
this  State,  has  recently  delivered  a  series  of 
lectures  on  practical  economics  before  the 
senior  and  junior  classes  of  Hanover  Col¬ 
lege.  One  lecture  was  upon  civil  service 
reform.  If  we  are  not  mistaken  this  is  the 
first  time  that  the  students  of  this  college 
have  had  a  lecture  upon  this  subject. 


“  When  I  was  in  Spain  I  could  not  help 
"thinking  that  the  decay  of  that  noble  country, 
fwith  every  element  of  greatness  in  it,  due,  no 
doubt,  to  many  other  causes,  was  due  mainly 
to  a  civil  service  precisely  like  our  own,  but 
which  had  gone  further  in  the  inevitable  road 
in  which  ours  is  going.” 


The  Civil  Service  Record  for  December 
contains  a  full  account  of  the  recent  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  Boston  and  Cambridge  Civil 
Service  Reform  Associations.  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  was  the  guest  of  the  evening,  and  the 
following  extract  should  surely,  coming 
from  him,  carry  great  weight: 

“  To  me  the  spoils  system  is,  in  its  essence, 
brutal  and  degrading,  and  I  do  not  see  how 
any  man  can  see  its  workings  and  not  feel  as 
I  do.  In  Washington  any  man  who  keeps  his 
eyes  open  must  see  around  him,  continually 
going  on,  things  that  make  his  heart  bleed. 
There  are  wrongs  that  have  gone  on  for  years, 
that  are  still  going  on,  that  should  arouse 
every  manly  instinct  in  a  man  to  make  him 
protest  against  them.” 


78 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


ment  “  is  devolved  by  the  constitution  or 
by  the  law,”  and  then  allow  congressmen 
to  bully  him  to  a  wholesale  practice  of  re¬ 
movals  and  appointments  not  warranted  by 
the  constitution  or  the  law,  and  to  his  own 
“actual  distress?”  Why  dues  he  not  stop 
the  practice?  Does  he  not  believe  what  he 
writes,  or  is  he  a  weak  man  who  can  not 
carry  out  his  principles,  or  is  he  afraid 
that  he  will  not  be  renominated  ?  What¬ 
ever  the  reason  is,  the  message  leaves  the 
country  in  darkness  as  to  any  remedy. 


“A  PATRIOTIC  INTEREST  IN  THE 
ELECTIONS." 

There  has  been  another  Dudley  episode  in 
this  city  caused  by  his  appearance  here.  A 
warrant  was  sworn  out  for  him,  but  the  United 
States  commissioner,  after  making  it,  did  not 
deliver  it  to  the  marshal  because  of  the  dis¬ 
trict  attorney,  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  who  says: 

“  I  exercised  the  prerogative  in  this  case  that 
I  would  exercise  in  any  other  case  of  like 
character,  and  decided  that  the  warrant  he  not 
issued  upon  this  affidavit.” 

With  the  legal  aspects  of  the  case  we  have 
nothing  to  do.  The  judges  have  decided  in 
effect  that  Dudley  has  not  committed  a  pun¬ 
ishable  crime,  and  that  ends  the  matter.  But 
there  are  other  aspects  worthy  of  comment. 
That  Dudley  wrote  the  letter  which  has  be¬ 
come  famous  there  now  seems  to  be  no  manner 
of  doubt.  When  it  was  first  published  a  few 
days  before  the  election,  it  was  a  time  for  for¬ 
geries,  and  there  were  marks  about  it  not  con¬ 
sonant  with  Dudley’s  reputation  for  “fine 
work.”  For  instance,  the  injunction  to  divide 
the  floaters  into  blocks  of  five  seemed  impos¬ 
sible  to  come  from  Dudley,  because  every  one 
posted  in  floater  rules  knew  that  a  party- 
worker  never  “  voted  ”  more  than  one,  or  at 
most  two  floaters.  The  rule  given  in  the 
printed  directions  used  in  Shelby  county  in 
1884  was,  “  do  not  count  the  ‘  floaters  ’  as 
‘doubtful,’  because  the  ‘doubtful’  voter  is 
not  the  man  who  votes  for  a  consideration.  * 
*  *  You  must  appoint  at  least  one  man  for 
every  two  floaters.” 

Subsequent  events,  however,  fix  upon  Dud¬ 
ley  the  letter,  which  is  as  follows: 

“  New  York,  Oct.  24th,  1888. 

“  Dear  Sir— I  hope  you  have  kept  copies  of  the 
lists  sent  me.  Such  information  is  very  valuable  and 
can  be  used  to  great  advantage.  It  has  enabled  me 
to  demonstrate  to  friends  here  that  with  proper  as¬ 
sistance  Indiana  is  surely  republican  for  governor 
and  president,  and  has  resulted,  as  I  hoped  it  would, 
in  securing  for  Indiana  the  aid  nece.ssary.  Your 
committee  will  certainly  receive  from  Chairman 
Huston  the  assistance  necessary  to  hold  our  floaters 
and  doubtful  voters,  and  gain  enough  of  the  other 
kind  to  give  Harrison  and  Morton  10,000  plurality. 
New  York  is  now  safe  beyond  peradventure  for  the 
republican  presidential  ticket;  Connecticut  like¬ 
wise.  In  short  every  northern  state,  except  possibly 
New  Jersey,  though  we  still  hope  to  carry  that  Slate. 
Harrison’s  majority  in  the  electoral  college  will  not 
be  less  than  100.  Make  our  friends  in  each  precinct 
wake  up  to  the  fact  that  only  boodle  and  fraudulent 
votes  and  false  counting  of  returns  can  beat  us  in  the 
slate.  Write  each  of  our  precinct  correspondents, 
1st.  To  find  out  who  has  democratic  boodle,  and 
steer  the  democratic  workers  to  them,  and  make 


them  pay  big  prices  for  their  own  men.  2d.  Scan 
the  election  officers  closely,  and  make  sure  to  have 
no  man  on  the  board  whose  integrity  is  even  ques¬ 
tionable,  and  insist  on  republicans  watching  every 
movement  of  the  election  officers.  3d.  See  that  our 
workers  know  every  voter  entitled  to  a  vote,  and  let 
no  one  else  even  ofler  to  vote.  4th.  Divide  the  float¬ 
ers  into  blocks  of  five,  and  put  a  trusted  man  with 
necessary  funds  in  charge  of  these  five,  and  make 
him  responsible  that  none  get  away,  and  that  all 
vote  our  ticket.  5th.  Make  a  personal  appeal  to  your 
best  business  men  to  pledge  themselves  to  devote  the 
entire  day,  Nov.  6th,  to  work  at  the  polls,  i.  e,  to  be 
present  at  the  polls  with  tickets.  They  will  be  as¬ 
tonished  to  see  how  utterly  dumbfounded  the  ordi¬ 
nary  Democratic  election  bummer  will  be.  and  how 
quickly  he  will  disappear.  The  result  willfully  jus¬ 
tify  the  sacrifice  of  time  and  comfort,  and  will  be  a 
source  of  satisfaction  afterwards  to  those  who  help 
in  this  way.  Lay  great  stress  on  this  last  matter.  It 
will  pay. 

“  There  will  be  no  doubt  of  your  receiving  the  nec¬ 
essary  assistance  through  the  national,  state  and 
county  committees,— only  see  that  it  is  husbanded 
and  made  to  produce  results.  I  rely  on  you  to  advise 
your  precinct  correspondents,  and  urge  them  to  un¬ 
remitting  and  constant  efTorts  from  now  till  the  polls 
close  and  the  result  is  announced  officially.  We  will 
fight  for  a  fair  election  here  if  necessary.  The  rebel 
crew  can’t  steal  this  election  from  us  as  they  did  in 
1884,  without  some  one  getting  hurt.  Let  every  re¬ 
publican  do  his  w'hole  duty,  and  the  country  will 
pass  into  republican  hands,  never  to  leave  it,  I  trust. 
Thanking  you  again  for  your  efforts  to  assist  me  in 
my  work,  I  remain.  Yours  sincerely, 

“  W.  W.  Dudley. 

“  Please  wire  me  result  in  principal  precincts  and 
county." 

The  man  who  wrote  that  letter  believed  in 
the  principles  there  stated.  Some  of  those 
principles  are  literally  subversive  of  free  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  when  they  run  their  logical 
course,  they  take  a  country,  through  corrup¬ 
tion  and  anarchy,  to  the  rule  of  the  strongest 
leader,  and  to  despotism.  The  man  who  writes 
such  a  letter  ought  to  be  a  political  and  social 
outcast.  He  ought  to  be  as  much  under  the 
ban  as  Benedict  Arnold.  Yet  Dudley  comes 
to  Indianapolis  and  dines  with  the  chairman 
of  the  republican  state  committee.  He  is 
called  upon  and  congratulated  by  men  who 
pass  for  respectable  citizens.  He  is  escorted 
by  the  United  States  m.arshal  into  the  federal 
court  room,  and,  without  invitation,  is  con¬ 
ducted  upon  the  bench  and  impudently  forces 
the  federal  judge  to  shake  hands  with  him 
There  has  never  been  more  convincing  proof 
of  how  the  ways  of  recent  politics  have  rotted 
the  public  conscience.  We  have,  however,  one 
other  proof  in  District-Attorney  Chambers, 
which  would,  if  needed,  complete  the  demon¬ 
stration.  In  an  interview  in  the  Indianapolis 
Journal,  December  13,  he  said  : 

“  I  wish,  also,  to  state  that  I  have  read  the  letters 
printed  in  the  press,  purporting  to  be  written  by  the 
Colonel,  and,  in  my  opinion,  unattended  by  any  ex¬ 
traneous  evidence,  they  do  not  advise  bribery,  as  ap¬ 
pertaining  to  the  election  of  1888.  The  letters,  con¬ 
strued  in  the  light  of  the  knowledge  that  we  all  pos¬ 
sess  of  how  elections  in  Indiana  are  conducted  by 
both  parties,  have  nothing  in  them  of  a  criminal  char¬ 
acter,  but,  upon  the  other  hand,  when  so  construed, 
are  honorable,  and  indicate  simply  a  patriotic  inter¬ 
est  in  the  elections.” 

Several  readings  are  necessary  to  make  sure 
that  one  sees  that  statement  aright.  There  is 
no  one  in  Indiana  who  does  not  know  that  a 
floater  is  a  man  who  requires  and  receives  pay 


for  his  vote;  that  the  bargain  is  made  with 
him  before  hand  ;  that  he  is  accompanied  to 
the  polls  by  the  party  worker  to  whom  has 
been  assigned  the  task  of  “voting”  him; 
that  before  approaching  the  polls  the  worker 
has  put  the  party  ticket  into  the  floater’s 
hands  and  does  not  lose  sight  of  it  until  it  is 
dropped  into  the  ballot-box  ;  that  some  where 
within  reach  is  the  man  who  “handles”  the 
money  of  the  precinct ;  and  that  after  the 
voting,  the  worker  reports  to  the  precinct 
boodle  man  and  he  pays  the  floater  the  stipu¬ 
lated  price.  The  floaters  come  from  every 
grade  and  class,  not  excepting  the  pecuniarily 
well  to  do.  They  are  utterly  dead  to  patriot¬ 
ism  and  to  any  concern  whatever  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  welfare.  This  public  debauchery  has  been 
carried  on  by  party  managers  until  there 
are  in  Indiana,  according  to  the  poll-book 
makers,  from  20,000  to  30,000  floaters.  They 
are  well  known  to  the  committees  of  each 
precinct.  Their  number  varies  from  42  out 
of  260  voters  in  the  township  where  Abraham 
Lincoln’s  mother  lies  buried,  to  450  in  Monroe 
county,  in  which  is  located  Indiana  Uni¬ 
versity,  and  800  in  Shelby  county,  the  home 
of  the  late  Vice-President  Hendricks.  It  is 
but  just  to  Indiana  to  say  that  this  system  is 
identical  with  that  prevailing  to  an  equal  ex¬ 
tent  in  New  York,  Rhode  Island  and  else¬ 
where. 

What  now  shall  be  said  of  a  district  attor¬ 
ney  who  reads  “your  committee  will  certainly 
receive  from  Chairman  Huston  the  assistance 
necessary  to  hold  our  floaters  and  doubtful 
voters  and  gain  enough  of  the  other  kind 
[democratic  floaters]  to  give  Harrison  and 
Morton  10,000  plurality  *  *  »  Divide 

the  floaters  into  blocks  of  five  and  put  a  trust¬ 
ed  man  with  necessary  funds  in  charge  of 
thesefiveand  see  that  none  of  them  get  away,” 
and  after  reading  says  that  such  injunctions 
are  “honorable  and  indicate  simply  a  patriotic 
interest  in  the  elections.”  Bad  as  politicians 
have  been  charged  to  be,  Mr.  Chambers  has 
voluntarily  given  an  instance  of  political 
corruption  which  startles,  and  the  more  so  con¬ 
sidering  his  office.  The  people  of  Indiana 
would  indeed  be  to  be  despaired  of,if  they  could 
face  such  sodden  immorality  indifferently. 

INDIAN  COMMISSIONER  MORGAN. 

There  is  opposition  to  the  confirmation  of 
Indian  Commissioner  Morgan.  This  opposi¬ 
tion  comes  first  from  the  senators  who  have 
not  succeeded  in  getting  their  fill  of  spoil. 
The  following  letter  shows  the  unceasing  as¬ 
saults,  of  these  senatorial  freebooters  upon  the 
hapless  wards  of  this  country  : 

“  Greenwood,  South  Dakota,  Nov.  26, 1889. 

“ Mr.  Herbert  Welsh,  1.305,  Arch  St.,  Philadelphia: 

“  My  Dear  Mr.  Welsh — Last  Sunday  there  appear¬ 
ed  a  man  here  armed  with  a  letter  from  Senator 
Moody,  of  South  Dakota.  It  stated  that  he  could  not 
get  for  him  the  land  office  for  which  he  had  asked, 
but  that  if  he  would  like  it,  he  thought  it  possible  to 
get  the  Yankton  agency  for  him,  and  that  that  was  the 
only  agency  in  South  Dakota  which  could  be  had,  as 
all  the  rest  of  the  agents  were  to  be  retained  in  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  help  which  they  had  given  the 
Sioux  commission.  This  man,  Foster,  came  from 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


79 


Redfield,  near  Huron,  where  he  is  a  farmer  with  a 
I  large  family,  whether  with  or  without  qualities  for 
Such  a  position  I  do  not  know.  He  did  not  intimate 
whether  he  would  accept  the  offer  of  the  position. 

.  He  brought  with  him  a  man  whom  he  proposed  to 
make  clerk  if  he  did. 

!  “Now  I  know  nothing  whatever  about  this  man  per- 
•  sonally.  He  may  be  just  the  right  material  for  an 
I  excellent  agent,  or  he  may  not.  That  is  neither  here 
I  nor  there.  1  write  to  you  again  to  appeal  to  the  I u- 
'  dian  Rights  Association  to  bring  their  influence  to 
bear  to  save  us  from  the  change  of  agents  here,  and 
j  the  risk  of  it.  Major  heavy  has  not  completed  a  year 
'  here  yet,  but  he  is  the  best  and  most  acceptable  agent, 
both  to  whites  and  In  iians,  that  we  have  had  here 
for  twelve  years.  He  is  doing  a  good  work  here,  and 
he  commands  the  respect  and  love  of  all.  He  seems 
"  to  have  the  confidence  of  the  Indian  office.  They  do 
.  most  everything  he  asks,  and  I  doubt  not  the  com- 
‘  missioner  does  not  desire  to  make  a  change.  But, 
alas,  these  wretched  politicians  and  spoils  seekers  ! 
Help  us.  and  ward  them  off  if  it  be  possible. 

The  agent  himself  will  make  no  effort  for  himself. 
He  says  he  can  not  ask  for  favors  from  republicans, 
although  he  would  like  to  stay  and  see  something  of 
the  working  out  of  his  efforts  and  his  plans, 
f  Sincerely  yours,  Joseph  \V.  Cook. 

?  ^  There  is  also  opposition  to  General  Morgan 
t  from  the  officials  of  the  Catholic  church.  It 
is  claimed  that  he  is  hostile  to  the  contract  or 
denominational  schools  in  which  this  church 
has  large  interests.  Opposition  on  this  ground 
is  a  matter  of  difference  of  opinion,  and  is 
strictly  legitimate  ;  but  it  is  also  claimed  that 
General  Morgan  and  Mr.  Dorchester  have  dis- 
I  criminated  in  their  removals  against  the  em¬ 
ployes  of  the  Catholic  faith.  Unfortunately 
Mr.  Dorchester’s  strong  feeling  against  the 
Catholic  church  lends  color  to  the  accusation. 
Both  General  Morgan  and  Mr.  Dorchester 
deny  that  any  removal  has  been  made  on  ac¬ 
count  of  religion,  or  that  the  Catholic  em¬ 
ployes  have  been  removed  in  greater  numbers 
than  those  of  other  denominations.  Mr. 
Herbert  Welsh  also  says  that  he  has  made  a 
careful  investigation  and  does  not  find  this 
charge  sustained. 

There  is  in  these  days  of  spoils  intrigue  and 
treachery,  but  one*  way  to  meet  such  charges 
and  it  is  to  follow  the  plan  of  Mr.  Roosevelt — 
publicity — and  to  state  to  all  the  people  the 
reasons  for  each  removal.  General  Morgan 
has  done  this  to  a  few,  and  while  his  motives 
for  protecting  incumbents  from  scandal  are 
praiseworthy,  it  is  not  the  true  way  to  meet  a 
,  charge  publicly  made  though  weakened  by  be¬ 
ing  general.  Secret  removals,  secret  reasons, 
secret  charges,  are  all  poisonous  outgrowths  of 
the  spoils  system  that  flourishes  and  grows 
mighty  in  the  darkness  and  becomes  in  the 
light  of  day,  a  dwindling,  contemptible  thing 
which  nobody  fears. 


Senators  Farwell  and  Cullom  continue  to 
amuse  the  country  with  the  cheerful  alacrity 
with  which  they  pursue  small  spoil  under  a 
multitude  of  rebuffs.  Senator  Farwell  has 
had  an  honor  conferred  upon  him  here  in  the 
President’s  home.  A  few  months  ago  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  persons  organized  themselves  as  the 
tin-horn  club.  Some  few  had  places  in  the 
city  government  which  were  soon  to  slip  away 
from  them.  Every  member  deemed  himself  a 
party  worker,  and  every  one  wanted  an  office. 


I  It  was  as  strong  an  organization  as  could  be 
I  made  in  this  city  of  the  much-heard  of  men 
who  are  claimed  to  “keep  up”  a  party  and 
who  must  be  paid  for  their  services.  The 
tin-horn  club  wrote  to  various  eminent 
persons  for  a  photograph  and  received 
liberal  responses.  It  rented  fine  quarters, 
and  having  thus  adorned  it  walls  it 
proceeded  to  resolve  against  civil  service  re¬ 
form.  It  secured  speakers,  but,  somehow,  when 
the  speakers  came,  there  were  so  few  present 
that  the  speech  was  put  off.  Finally  one  mem¬ 
ber  got  a  small  deputyship,  and  the  club  soon 
after,  probably  from  jealousy,  expelled  him. 
Then  the  funds  began  to  run  short,  and 
one  night,  the  story  goes,  a  man  put  the 
“  truck  ”  from  those  fine  quarters  into  his 
wheelbarrow  and  dumped  it  in  the  back  room 
of  an  obscure  quarter.  But  a  single  meeting 
was  held  in  the  humble  room.  Some  six  mem¬ 
bers  gathered  together  and  as  a  sort  of  funeral 
ob-sequy  deliberated  upon  a  new  name.  The 
name  of  Oliver  P.  Morton  was  summarily  re¬ 
jected.  But  the  inspiration  came  at  last,  and 
the  name  Farwell  Club  was  chosen,  on  the 
ground  that  Senator  Farwell  is  the  only  man 
who  has  the  “sand”  to  oppose  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  law. 

Austin  H.  Brown,  of  this  city,  was  chief  of 
the  horse  claim  division  in  the  third  auditor’s 
office,  a  place  of  great  responsibility.  He  was 
originally  appointed  to  reward  him  for  party 
services,  but  he  had  become  competent,  was 
liked  and  was  respected  by  the  people  of  In¬ 
diana,  and  his  integrity  was  beyond  question. 

Not  long  since  one  Thomas  Ryan  came,  it 
is  reliably  said,  with  a  note  from  the  Presi¬ 
dent  directing  that  he  be  made  chief  of  this 
division,  which  was  done.  Ryan  had  been 
made  a  government  agent  in  Alaska  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  and  then  removed  for  cause 
upon  evidence  which  is  now  on  file  in  Wash¬ 
ington,  and  to  which  the  administration  re¬ 
fuses  access.  After  his  dismissal  in  1886,  Ry¬ 
an  turned  republican  and  was  active  for  the 
election  of  General  Harrison.  This  is  his  re¬ 
ward.  The  members  of  the  tin-horn-Far- 
well  club  are  crazed  because  President  Harri¬ 
son  has  picked  out  a  worker  of  only  a  few 
months  and  ignored  them  who  have  carried 
torches  and  transparencies  longer. 

The  Indianapolis  Journal  has  allowed  itself 
to  be  taken  in  by  Senator  Gorman.  Under 
date  of  December  2,  it  quotes  him  as  follows: 

“I  never  pay  any  attention  to  the  small  ap¬ 
pointments,  but  there  was  one  case  in  Balti¬ 
more,  some  time  ago,  that  attracted  my  atten¬ 
tion.  A  very  bright  young  man,  of  splendid 
physique,  and  perfectly  familiar  with  every 
street  and  number  in  the  city,  submitted  him¬ 
self  for  examination  for  a  position  as  letter- 
carrier.  He  could  read  and  write,  and  had 
been  attending  night-school,  and  was  in  every 
way  fitted  for  a  letter-carrier,  but  he  failed 
when  asked  the  most  direct  route  from  Balti¬ 
more  to  China.  He  said  he  had  never  been  in 
China,  nor  did  he  expect  to  go  there,  and  he 
only  wanted  to  be  a  letter-carrier.” 

Then  the  Journal  goes  on  to  say  that  Mr, 
Roosevelt  is  an  enthusiastic  young  man  who 


means  well,  but  is  hasty.  Also  that  although 
Gorman  is  no  friend  of  the  reform,  his  testi¬ 
mony  is  not  less  worthy  of  attention.  Also 
that  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  other  advocates  of  the 
system  should  remedy  such  defects  and  not 
berate  the  critics.  Now  comes  Mr.  Roosevelt 
with  an  open'  letter  and  mortifies  the  Journal 
by  showing  that  no  such  question  was  ever 
asked  an  applicant  for  a  carriership  since  ex¬ 
aminations  began.  Gorman  is  not  dashed. 
Confronted  with  the  proofs  of  his  falsehood,  he 
jauntily  replies  that  he  believes  it  to  be  true, 
and  is  content  to  let  Mr.  Roosevelt  undertake 
to  convince  the  people  that  the  examinations 
are  practical.  The  Journal  should  know  that 
Gorman  and  his  likes  do  not  start  such  lies  for 
civil  service  reform  papers  like  the  Journal  to 
copy.  He  expects  civil  service  reformers  to 
know  him  too  well.  His  purpose  is  to  furnish 
a  stock  from  time  to  time  for  the  use  of  bour¬ 
bon  spoils  papers  like  the  Cincinnati  Commer¬ 
cial-Gazette,  which  must  occasionally  have  a 
change. 

Frank  Hatton’s  Washington  Post,  a  co¬ 
worker  and  preceptor  of  the  Commercial  Ga¬ 
zette  in  this  matter  has  taken  itself  in  by  an 
interview  with  General  James  R.  Carnahan, 
of  this  city.  The  Post  probably  did  not  know 
that  an  interview  with  Carnahan,while  itdoubt- 
less  flattered  him,  would  not  carry  great 
weight  with  either  the  spoilsmen  or  the  civil 
service  reformers.  Needing  some  new  stories 
it  therefore  puts  into  his  mouth,  statements 
which  make  him  and  the  Post  appear  ridiculous. 
These  statements  can  be  understood  from  the 
answer  made  to  them  by  a  civil  service  com¬ 
missioner  : 

He  says,  or  implies,  that  in  an  examination 
for  admission  to  the  naval  academy  our  com¬ 
mission,  among  other  questions,  caused  to  be 
asked  the  location  of  Bitter  mountain.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  never  do  nor  have  examined 
any  one  for  admission  to  the  naval  academy. 
Again,  he  says  a  man  examined  as  a  copyist 
was  asked  the  names  and  areas  of  the  five  great 
lakes.  We  never  have  and  never  do  examine  a 
copyist  in  geography,  and  we  never  ask  such  a 
question  as  that  about  areas  of  any  applicant 
whatever.  Then,  he  states  that  a  certain  coun¬ 
try  school -master  passed  almost  perfectly  every 
branch  of  a  mail-carrier’s  examination,  and 
when  appointed  made  a  failure,  because  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  streets  or  local  geography 
of  the  city.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  third  of 
the  marks,  or  thereabouts,  in  a  mail-carrier’s 
examination  are  given  precisely  on  the  subject 
of  streets  and  local  geography  of  the  city,  so 
that  the  General’s  statement  must  be  in¬ 
correct.  If  the  General  has  been  correctly  re¬ 
ported,  I  would  suggest  that  he  learn  not  only 
the  places  for  which  we  examine  applicants, 
but  also  the  questions  we  ask  them,  before  in¬ 
dulging  in  further  criticism. 

George  H.  Pendleton  died  in  Brussels  No¬ 
vember  24.  The  cause  of  civil  service  reform 
is  under  lasting  obligations  to  him  for  intro¬ 
ducing  and  managing  the  bill  which  became 
the  present  civil  service  law.  He  had  what 
few  congressmen  had  or  have,  an  intelligent 
conception  of  the  way  in  which  it  was  expect¬ 
ed  to  break  up  the  use  of  the  federal  service  as 
spoil.  The  bill  was  drawn  by  Dorman  B. 
Eaton,  and  Mr.  Pendleton  was  its  steady  and 


80 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


efficient  advocate  until  he  secured  its  passage, 
during  which  he  was  dogged  in  Ohio  by  his 
party  after  the  following  manner,  taken  from 
the  Butler  County  Democrat:  “Senator  Dan 
Voorhees  polished  off  the  Pendleton  snivel 
service  hog-wash  in  a  style  just  too  beautiful.” 
It  is  a  just  compliment  to  say  that  the  law  in 
honest  hands  answers  its  purpose  admirably, 
and  six  years’  experience  has  not  shown  the 
need  of  radical  amendment.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  Mr.  Pendleton’s  advocacy  of  this 
reform  made  it  possible  by  bribery  to  defeat 
his  re-election  to  the  senate.  But  that  advo¬ 
cacy  will  give  him  a  permanent  place  in  the 
history  of  his  country,  and  his  place  will  be 
the  higher  when,  in  the  future,  history  looks 
back  upon  the  breaking  up  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  and  rates  it,  as  it  will  rate  it,  second  only 
to  the  destruction  of  slavery. 

In  sending  him  abroad.  President  Cleveland 
rid  Gorman,  Voorhees  and  other  looters  of  the 
civil  service  of  a  powerful  opponent,  of  which 
another,  though  less  conspicuous,  example 
was  in  the  appointment  of  Rufus  Magee,  of 
Indiana,  to  Sweden  and  Norway. 

Mr.  W.  D.  Foulke  addressed  the  Common¬ 
wealth  Club  of  New  York  City,  December  16, 
on  “  Present  Political  Problems.”  No  one 
doubts  Mr.  Foulke’s  republicanism,  nor  the 
sincerity  of  his  regard  for  President  Harrison, 
and  such  candid  and  just  criticism  any  party 
or  any  president  should  heed.  The  worst  en¬ 
emies  of  any  administration  are  those  friends 
whose  personal  admiration  blinds  them  and 
whose  standard  of  comparison  varies.  We 
quote  as  follows  from  the  report  in  the  New 
York  Evening  Post: 

A  certain  circular  letter  marked  “confiden¬ 
tial  ”  was  sent  by  one  Marshall  Cushing  (who 
has  since  been  appointed  private  secretary  to 
Postmaster-General  Wanamaker)  to  a  number 
of  civil  service  reformers,  and  one  copy  came 
to  me.  As  the  correspondence  has  been  al¬ 
ready  published  on  several  occasions,  I  do  not 
suppose  there  is  anything  very  secret  about  it, 
at  the  present  time,  but  even  if  it  were  other¬ 
wise,  I  do  not  recognize  the  right  of  a  public 
officer  to  make  me  the  mask  of  concealing  his 
insincerity,  without  my  consent.  The  writer 
says  :  “  I  have  undertaken  some  investiga¬ 

tions  of  the  present  civil  service  system  for  a 
cabinet  officer,”  and  he  asks  a  number  of  ques¬ 
tions.  Why  are  the  law  and  the  commission 
subject  to  so  much  criticism  ?  Is  not  a  civil 
pension  list  a  logical  result  of  the  system? 
Are  not  the  commissioners  merely  providing 
themselves  with  employment?  Will  not  the 
efficiency  of  the  departments  be  hereafter  in¬ 
terfered  with  by  the  old  age  of  clerks  who  can 
not  be  removed  ?  And  then  follows  the  re¬ 
markable  interrogatory,  “  Why  should  not 
both  parties  discard  all  their  insincere  pro¬ 
fessions  for  the  law  and  have  the  patriotism  to 
go  back  to  the  old  system  under  which  it  was 
inquired  simply  whether  a  man  was  honest, 
capable,  and  faithful  to  the  constitution?” 

The  questions  asked  have  already  been  very 
fully  answered  by  Mr.  Charles  J.  Bonaparte 
and  Mr.  Lucius  B.  Swift.  I  shall  not  repeat 
these  answers,  but  I  want  to  say  a  word  with 
regard  to  this  last  question.  I  believe  this  is 
the  first  time  in  our  history  where  an  investi¬ 
gation  made  on  behalf  of  a  cabinet  officer  is 
based  upon  the  assumption  that  the  professions 
of  his  own  party  contained  in  the  very  plat¬ 
form  upon  which  he  came  into  power  were  in¬ 


sincere  and  unpatriotic.  If  Mr.  Wanamaker 
is  willing  to  declare  this  to  the  world,  one  of 
two  things  is  true — either  the  party  which  he 
represents  is,  in  fact,  insincere,  or  he  has  no 
right  to  represent  it  and  remain  one  of  the  in¬ 
struments  of  carrying  out  its  policy  in  regard 
to  the  matters  in  which  he  assumes  that  it  did 
not  mean  what  it  said.  So  long  as  such  a  man 
remains  at  the  head  of  the  post-office  depart¬ 
ment  the  administration  of  President  Harri¬ 
son  is  not  a  civil-service-reform  administra¬ 
tion,  and  he  has  not  kept,  and  can  not  keep, 
the  promise  that  “  the  spirit  and  purpose  of 
reform  shall  be  observed  for  all  executive  de¬ 
partments.”  For  he  has  put  at  the  head  of 
the  greatest  of  departments  of  the  government, 
to  carry  out  this  spirit  and  purpose,  a  man  whO’ 
assumes  that  the  declaration  of  his  party 
and  his  own  chief  were  insincere  and  unpatri¬ 
otic  professions. 

We  had  a  few  years  ago  some  little  trouble 
in  Indiana  in  reference  to  one  Aquilla  Jones, 
the  postmaster  at  Indianapolis,  who,  when  ap¬ 
pointed  to  the  place,  said  of  the  civil  service 
law,  “I  despise  it,”  and  who  consistently  main¬ 
tained  his  opinion  by  a  constant  course  of 
evasion  and  violation  of  the  statute.  We 
thought  then  that  the  initial  fault  lay  with 
the  President  in  appointing  such  a  man  That 
he  could  not  expect  the  law  and  its  provisions 
to  be  observed  when  he  put  such  instruments 
there  to  do  the  work.  But  if  this  were  true  in 
a  subordinate  and  unimportant  office,  how 
much  more  is  it  the  case  when  a  cabinet  offi¬ 
cer,  whose  work  it  is  to  carry  out  the  policy  of 
the  administration,  declares  that  the  princi¬ 
ples  professed  by  his  own  party  in  its  platform 
are  nothing  but  a  mockery  and  a  sham.  Men 
do  not  gather  grapes  from  thorns  nor  figs  from 
thistles,  nor  can  the  President  carry  out  the 
principles  of  civil  service  reform  to  which  he 
pledged  his  adherence  in  his  letter  accepting 
the  nomination  by  means  of  a  cabinet  minis¬ 
ter  who  assumes  that  this  pledge  was  an  in¬ 
sincere  and  unpatriotic  profession. 

There  is  one  thing  of  which  the  politicians 
of  the  country  may  be  welt  assured,  that 
whether  or  not  the  people  favor  civil  service 
reform,  they  will  not  continue  to  have  confi¬ 
dence  in  the  party  which  knowingly,  with  its 
eyes  open,  fails  to  perform  its  solemn  promises 
to  the  country.  There  is  something  more  im¬ 
moral  in  this  than  even  in  the  spoils  system. 
The  republican  party  has  been  successful 
in  the  past  because  it  has  been  true  to 
its  great  promises  and  plans  —  emancipa¬ 
tion,  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  enfran¬ 
chisement,  payment  of  the  national  debt. 
These  became  embodied  as  fixed  .facts  in  the 
history  of  our  country.  The  party  was  as 
good  as  its  word.  But  if  at  the  last  conven¬ 
tion  it  has  in  most  solemn  manner  made  a  dis¬ 
tinct  pledge  to  the  people,  and  if  it  fails  to 
keep  that  promise  now,  the  people  will  know 
just  the  value  of  every  pledge  hereafter  made. 


Daniel  M.  Eansdell,  at  present  marshal  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  has  an  added  im¬ 
portance  because  of  his  undoubted  intimacy 
and  influence  with  the  President.  When  in 
Indianapolis  soon  after  his  appointment 
Ransdell  said,  according  to  the  Indianapolis 
News:  “I  am  very  thankful  that  my  office 
does  not  come  under  the  civil  service  rules.  I 
shall  have  no  hesitancy  about  making  places 
for  just  as  many  republicans  as  possible.” 
With  this  preliminary  statement,  this  officer, 
appointed  by  a  President  who  said  that  only 
the  interest  of  the  public  service  should  sug¬ 
gest  removals  from  office,  and  that  fitness,  and 
not  party  service,  should  be  the  essential  and 
discriminating  test  of  appointment,  set  about 


his  work.  He  “controlled  ”  thirty-five  places. 
He  turned  officers  out  with  the  remark,  “I 
recognize  that  these  gentlemen  have  been  good 
and  efficient  officers.”  Among  his  appointees 
he  has  made  his  brother-in-law,  John  R.  Leon¬ 
ard,  a  deputy.  Another  is  his  brother,  Edward 
S.  Ransdell,  who  was  formerly  a  letter-carrier 
of  tbe  Indianapolis  post-office,  who  stole  let¬ 
ters,  was  convicted  in  the  federal  court  and 
then  pardoned  by  President  Arthur,  the  latter 
being  induced  thereto  by  influence  brought  to 
bear  by  Marshal  Ransdell.  Thus  Marshal 
Ransdell  is  exemplifying  his  idea  of  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  the  government  service.  He  owns 
these  thirty-five  places.  He  may  give  them  to 
whom  he  wishes,  without  any  regard  to  public 
feeling  or  to  public  decency.  They  are  simply 
spoil  to  be  divided.  It  may  be  said  that  his 
brother  has  repented.  That  is  very  likely  the 
case,  and  if  President  Harrison,  or  any  other 
friend  of  Marshal  Ransdell,  saw  fit  to  aid  him 
in  an  attempt  to  recover  his  foot-hold  by  giv¬ 
ing  him  employment,  the  act  would  be  praise¬ 
worthy,  but  no  one  has  any  right  to  quarter 
him  upon  the  people.  And  the  offense  is 
doubly  aggravated  by  the  dismissal  of  an  ef¬ 
ficient  officer  to  make  room  for  him.  And  so 
the  injunction  of  the  platform  that  “  the  spirit 
and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed 
in  all  executive  appointments,”  is  carried  out 
by  this  favorite  of  the  administration. 

THE  PRESIDENT  ON  THE  CIVIL 
SERVICE. 

On  the  4th  of  March  last  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  had  but  a  single  member.  The  vacancies  were 
filled  on  the  7th  day  of  May,  and  since  then  the  com¬ 
missioners  have  been  industriously,  though  with  an 
inadeqate  force,  engaged  in  executing  the  law.  They 
were  assured  by  me  that  a  cordial  support  would  be 
given  them  in  the  faithful  and  impartial  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  statute  and  rules  and  regulations  adopt¬ 
ed  in  aid  of  it.  Heretofore  the  book  of  eligibles  has 
been  closed  to  every  one,  except  as  certifications 
were  made  upon  the  requisition  of  the  appointing 
officers.  This  secrecy  was  the  source  of  much  suspi¬ 
cion  and  of  many  charges  of  favdriti.sm  in  the  admin- 
tration  of  the  law.  What  is  secret  Is  always  suspect¬ 
ed;  what  is  open  can  be  judged.  The  commission, 
with  the  full  approval  of  all  its  members,  has  now 
opened  the  list  of  eligibles  to  the  public.  The  eligi¬ 
ble  lists  for  the  classified  post-office  and  custom 
houses  are  now  publicly  posted  in  the  respective  of¬ 
fices,  as  are  also  the  certifications  for  appointments. 
The  purpose  of  the  civil  service  law  was  absolutely 
to  exclude  any  other  consideration  in  connection 
with  appointments  under  it  than  that  of  merit  as 
tested  by  the  examinations. 

The  business  proceeds  upon  the  theory  that  both 
the  examining  boards  and  the  appointing  officers  are 
absolutely  ignorant  as  to  the  political  views  and  as¬ 
sociations  of  all  persons  on  the  civil  service  lists.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say,  however,  that  some  recent 
congressional  investigations  have  somewhat  shaken 
confidence  in  the  impartiality  of  the  selections  for 
appointments.  The  reform  of  the  civil  service  will 
make  no  safe  or  satisfactory  advance  until  the  pres¬ 
ent  law  and  its  administration  are  established  in  the 
confidence  of  the  people.  It  will  be  my  pleasure,  as 
it  is  my  duty,  to  see  that  the  law  is  executed  with 
flrmne.ss  and  impartiality.  If  some  of  its  provisions 
have  been  fraudulently  evaded  by  appointing  offi¬ 
cers,  our  resentment  should  not  suggest  the  repeal  of 
the  law,  but  reform  in  its  administration.  We  should 
have  one  view  of  the  matter,  and  hold  it  with  a  sin¬ 
cerity  that  is  not  affected  by  the  consideration  that 
the  party  to  which  we  belong  is  for  the  time  in  power. 

My  predecessor,  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  1889,  by 
an  executive  order  to  take  effect  March  15,  brought 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


81 


the  railway  mail  service  under  the  operation  of  the 
civil  service  law.  Provision  was  made  that  the  order 
should  take  effect  sooner  in  any  state  where  an  eli¬ 
gible  list  was  sooner  obtained.  On  the  11th  day  of 
March,  Mr.  Lyman,  then  the  only  member  of  the 
commission,  reported  to  me  in  writing  that  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  have  the  list  of  eligibles  ready  be¬ 
fore  May  1,  and  requested  that  the  taking  effect  of 
the  order  be  postponed  until  that  time,  which  was 
done,  subject  to  the  same  provision  contained  in  the 
original  order  as  to  states  in  which  an  eligible  list 
was  sooner  obtained. 

Asa  result  of  the  revision  of  the  rules  of  the  new 
classification,  and  of  the  inclusion  of  the  railway 
mail  service,  the  work  of  the  commission  has  been 
greatly  increased,  and  the  present  clerical  force  is 
found  to  be  inadequate.  I  recommend  that  the  ad¬ 
ditional  clerks  asked  by  the  commission  be  appropri¬ 
ated  for.  The  duty  of  appointment  is  devolved  by 
the  constitution  or  by  the  law,  and  the  appointing 
officers  are  properly  held  to  a  high  responsibility  in 
its  exercise.  The  growth  of  the  country  and  the  con¬ 
sequent  increase  of  the  civil  list  have  magnified  this 
function  of  the  executive  disproportionally.  It  can 
not  be  denied,  however,  that  the  labor  connected 
with  this  necessary  work  is  increased,  often  to  the 
point  of  actual  distress,  by  the  sudden  and  excessive 
demands  that  are  made  upon  an  incoming  adminis¬ 
tration  for  removals  and  appointments.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  not  true  that  incumbency  is  a  con¬ 
clusive  argument  for  a  continuance  in  office.  Im¬ 
partiality,  moderation,  fidelity  to  public  duty,  and 
a  good  attainment  in  the  discharge  of  it  must  be 
added  before  the  argument  is  complete.  When  those 
heading  an  administrative  oflice  so  conduct  them¬ 
selves  as  to  convince  just  political  opponents  that  no 
party  consideration  or  bias  affects  in  any  way  the 
discharge  of  their  public  duties,  we  can  more  easily 
stay  the  demand  for  removals. 

I  am  satisfied  that  both  in  and  out  of  the  classified 
service  great  benefit  would  accrue  from  the  adoption 
of  some  system  by  which  the  officer  would  receive 
the  distinction  and  benefit  that  in  all  private  em¬ 
ployments  come  from  exceptional  faithfulness  and 
efficiency  in  the  performance  of  duty.  I  have  sug¬ 
gested  to  the  heads  of  the  executive  departments 
that  they  consider  whether  a  record  might  not  be 
kept  in  each  bureau  of  all  those  elements  that  are 
covered  by  the  terms  “faithfulness”  and  “efficien¬ 
cy,”  and  a  rating  made  showing  the  relative  merits 
of  the  clerks  of  each  class,  this  rating  to  be  regarded 
as  a  test  of  merit  in  making  promotions.  I  have  also 
suggested  to  the  postmaster  general  that  he  adopt 
some  plan  by  which  he  can,  upon  the  basis  of  the  re¬ 
ports  to  the  department  and  of  frequent  inspections, 
indicate  the  relative  merit  of  postmasters  of  each 
class.  They  will  be  appropriately  indicated  in  the 
official  register  and  in  the  report  of  the  department. 
That  a  great  stimulus  would  thus  be  given  to  the 
whole  service,  I  do  not  doubt,  and  such  a  record 
would  be  the  best  defense  against  inconsiderate  re 
movals  from  office. — President’s  Message,  Dec.  3,  1889. 


SECRETARY  WINDOM  ON  THE 
CIVIL  SERVICE. 

Under  the  old  plan  appointments  were  usually 
made  to  please  some  one  under  political  or  other  ob¬ 
ligations  to  the  appointee,  and  the  question  of  fitness 
was  not  always  the  controlling  one.  The  temptation 
to  make  removals  only  to  provide  places  for  others 
was  always  present  and  constantly  being  urged  by 
strong  influences,  and  this  restless  and  feverish  con¬ 
dition  of  departmental  life  did  much  to  distract  and 
disturb  the  even  current  of  routine  work.  Under 
instrumentalities  which  are  now  used  to  secure  selec¬ 
tions  for  clerical  places,  the  department  has  some  as¬ 
surance  of  mental  capacity,  and  also  of  moral  worth  : 
the  character  of  the  candidate  is  ascertained  before 
examination.  The  manifold  duties  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  require  the  closest  application  on  the  part  of 
the  secretary  and  his  assistants,  and  the  freedom  from 
importunity  now  enjoyed  for  appointments  to  places 
that  are  within  the  classified  service,  and  the  saving 
of  valuable  time  heretofore  devoted  to  the  distribu¬ 
tion  of  minor  patronage,  are  of  very  great  advantage, 
and  enable  these  officers  to  devote  more  thought  to 


the  important  questions  of  administration  ccii'.tantly 
arising.  The  clerks  received  from  the  civil  service 
commission  usually  adapt  themselves  readily  to  th® 
duties  they  are  called  upon  to  perform,  and  rank 
among  the  most  efficient  in  the  department.— A  jnmaJ 
Report,  1889. 

A  PAID  PRESS. 

Senator  Benjamin  Harrison,  in  the  senate 
March  26,  1886: 

“I  find  in  looking  over  the  list  of  appoint¬ 
ments  in  Indiana  that  sixteen  democratic  news¬ 
paper  proprietors  and  editors  have  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  office.  *  *  *  If  I  could  believe 

that  in  appointing  these  men  Mr.  Cleveland 
meant  that  they  should  pursue  a  perfectly  in¬ 
offensive  course  politically,  that  these  news¬ 
papers  should  not  irritate  the  feelings  of  re¬ 
publicans,  should  not  publish  charges  against 
republican  candidates  for  office,  should  say 
nothing  offensive  to  the  republicans — if  I 
believed  he  meant  by  these  appointments  sin¬ 
cerely  to  put  these  sixteen  democratic  news¬ 
papers  under  those  bonds,  I  should  have  brighter 
hopes  than  I  have  now  of  carrying  Indiana  next 
time.  Bui  it  will  not  he  so.  Here  are  these  six¬ 
teen  editors,  two  of  the  three  collectors  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  in  Indiana,  and  the  others  hold¬ 
ing  influential  post-offices  ;  and  Mr.  Cleveland 
knows,  and  every  honest  democrat  knows,  that 
those  sixteen  newspapers  will  be  fulminating 
with  all  the  force  and  vigor  and  power  and 
partisanship  they  can  against  the  republican 
party.  I  am  not  complaining  of  that;  but  if 
a  man  is  to  be  put  out,  as  my  old  soldier,  Mr. 
Bain,  of  Martinsville,  who  marched  with  the 
regiment  which  I  had  the  honor  to  command 
in  the  war,  was  put  out,  because  he  was  the 
editor  and  proprietor  of  a  republican  news¬ 
paper,  and  the  editor  of  the  democratic  news¬ 
paper  in  the  same  town  was  put  in  his  place — 
if  that  is  good  reason  for  turning  a  republican 
out,  the  same  history,  the  same  services  to  the 
democratic  party,  ought  not  to  be  good  reason 
for  putting  the  other  in.” 


Under  President  Harrison  in  the  state  of 
New  York,  the  editors  of  the  New  York  Trib¬ 
une,  the  New  York  Press,  the  Utica  Herald, 
the  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser,  the  Owego 
Times  and  the  Syracuse  Journal  have  received 
important  offices. 

And  in  Iowa  there  is  already  the  govern¬ 
ment  press,  or,  what  is  the  same,  a  Clarkson- 
Allison  press — as  follows: 

Iowa  State  Register — Its  editor  appointed 
first  assistant  postmaster  general. 

Burlington  Hawkeye— Its  editor  appointed  to 
the  office  of  collector  of  internal  revenue. 

Muscatine  Journal — Its  editor  appointed 
postmaster. 

Fairfield  Ledger — Its  editor  given  an  office 
in  the  interior  department. 

Keokuk  Gate  City  —  Its  editor  appointed 
commissioner  of  education. 

Marshalltown  Times — Republican — Its  edi¬ 
tor  appointed  postmaster. 

President  William  Henry  Harrison  in 
1841: 

There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  executive  which  might  be  used  with 
greater  effect,  for  unhallowed  pui-poses,  than  the 
control  of  the  public  press. 


Daniel  Webster  in  1832: 

But  rembember,  sir,  that  these  are  the  attri¬ 
butes  of  a  free  press  only.  And  is  a  press  that 


is  purchased  or  pensioned  more  free  than  a 
press  that  is  fettered?  Can  the  people  look  for 
truths  to  partial  sources,  whether  rendered 
partial  through  fear  or  through  favor?  Why 
shall  not  a  manacled  press  be  trusted  with  the 
maintenance  and  defense  of  popular  rights? 
Because  it  is  supposed  to  be  under  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  a  power  which  may  prove  greater  than 
the  love  of  truth.  Such  a  press  may  screen 
abuses  in  government  or  be  silent.  It  may 
fear  to  speak.  And  may  it  not  fear  to  speak, 
too,  when  its  conductors,  if  they  speak  in  any 
but  one  way,  may  lose  their  means  of  liveli¬ 
hood  ?  Is  dependence  on  government  for  bread 
no  temptation  to  screen  its  abuses?  W'ill  the 
press  always  speak  the  truth,  when  the  truth, 
if  spoken,  may  be  the  means  of  silencing  it  for 
the  future?  Is  the  truth  in  no  danger,  is  the 
watchman  under  no  temptation,  when  he  can 
neither  proclaim  the  approach  of  national 
evils,  nor  seem  to  decry  them,  without  the 
loss  of  his  place  ? 

Mr.  President,  an  open  attempt  to  secure  the  aid 
and  friendship  of  the  public  press,  by  bestowing  the 
emoluments  of  office  on  its  active  conductors,  seems 
to  me,  of  everything  we  have  witnessed,  to  be  the  most 
reprehensible.  It  degrades  both  the  government 
and  the  press.  As  far  as  its  natural  effect  ex¬ 
tends,  it  turns  the  palladium  of  liberty  into  an 
engine  of  party.  It  brings  the  agency,  activ¬ 
ity,  energy,  and  patronage  of  government  all 
to  bear,  with  united  force,  on  the  means  of 
general  intelligence  and  on  the  adoption  or  re¬ 
jection  of  political  opinions. 


The  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser  [fettered] 
says  of  the  appointment  of  the  editor  of  the 
Syracuse  Jaurnal  in  1889: 

Mr.  Smith  has  rendered  long,  faithful  serv¬ 
ice  as  a  hard  w’orker  in  the  republican  ranks, 
and  as  the  editor  of  one  of  the  most  influential 
journals  in  the  service  of  the  party.  He  has  al- 
ivays  been  ready  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  republican 
party,  and  has  done  so  promptly,  courageously, 
efficiently,  and  unselfishly. 

THE  CLERGY  AND  THE  CIVIL 
SERVICE. 

In  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  Rev.  H.  W.  Nelson,  Jr.,  of 
Trinity  Church,  said : 

“  To  treat  office  as  the  prize  of  the  successful  party 
at  an  election  is  a  tremendous  source  of  corruption, 
and  it  turns  the  patronage  of  the  government,  de¬ 
signed  solely  for  the  public  convenience,  into  a  vast 
bribery  fund.  It  teaches  the  citizen  to  expect  pay¬ 
ment  for  discharging  a  duty  incumbent  upon  every 
voter.  It  tends  to  transform  an  election  from  a  pop¬ 
ular  verdict  upon  differing  public  policies  into  a 
desperate  struggle  for  the  emoluments  of  place.  For 
whether  a  worker  is  paid  by  a  check  or  by  an  office, 
makes  no  difference  as  to  the  right  or  the  wrong  of 
the  matter;  or  rather,  while  the  man  bribed  is 
equally  guilty,  whatever  the  form  of  his  reward,  it 
is  surely  more  odious  and  more  noxious  to  bribe 
with  what  is  the  people’s  than  with  what  is  one’s 
own ;  to  purchase  suffrages  or  influence  at  the 
taxpayer’s  cost  than  to  pay  for  these  out  of  the  cor¬ 
rupter’s  pocket.” 

Rev.  Dr.  Newman  Smyth  preached  on  “Sci¬ 
entific  Patriotism  ”  in  the  Centre  Congrega¬ 
tional  Church  in  New  Haven  : 

“  Looked  at  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  social 
scientist,  the  spoils  system  has  no  reason  for  its  ex¬ 
istence  save  greed.  It  owns  no  higher  law  than  sor¬ 
did  success,  and  holds  no  better  promise  for  the 
future  than  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  free  institutions. 
Yet  even  under  this  weight  of  condemnation  the 
spoils  system  might  remain  nndestroyed  were  it  not 
for  the  further  fact  that,  looked  at  from  the  point  of 
view  even  of  political  leaders  as  different  adminis¬ 
trations  in  turn  come  into  power,  tha  spoils  system 
begins  to  be  felt  more  and  more  heavily  as  a  mill- 


82 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


stone  about  the  neck  of  tlie  party  in  office,  threaten¬ 
ing,  if  it  can  not  be  broken  off,  to  cast  the  adminis¬ 
tration  into  the  depths  of  the  Salt  Lake.  The  spoils 
system  is  proving  to  be  bad  politics  as  well  as  bad 
statesmanship. 

“This  reform  moves  slowly,  yet  with  steady  and 
sure  advance.  In  1865  the  first  bill  by  which  it  was 
proposed  to  cut  off  some  of  the  evils  of  our  civil  ser¬ 
vice  was  received  by  Congress  with  scorn.  Yet,  fif¬ 
teen  years  later,  the  Pendleton  bill  was  passed,  and 
to-day  some  27,000  inferior  officers  of  the  government 
can  eat  their  Thanksgiving  dinner  in  peace.  The 
day  is  hastening  when  the  whole  Babylonish  system 
of  spoils  shall  be  fallen.” 

In  New  York  Rev.  Morgan  Dix,  rector  of 
Trinity  parish,  said ; 

“The  practice  of  making  public  office  the  reward 
of  political  .service  that  is  the  evil  against  which  we 
are  called  to  protest.  I  am  glad  to  add  my  voice  to 
those  which  will  be  raised  to  day  throughout  the 
land  on  this  subject.  Our  House  of  Bishops  has  al¬ 
ready  spoken  on  this  scandal  of  our  system  of  gov¬ 
ernment  in  their  pastoral  letter. 

“There  is  a  wide  distinction  between  political 
office  and  public  office.  He  who  accepts  a  ‘political’ 
office  is  bound  to  promote  the  views  of  his  chiefs ;  it 
is  his  duty  to  aid  in  carrying  out  the  policy  of  the 
administration  ;  he  serves,  first,  the  party  in  power. 
But  the  holder  of  a  ‘  public’  office  has  no  necessary 
relation  to  politics  and  party.  He  serves  the  public, 
and  the  man  who  serves  them  best  is  he  whose  acts 
have  no  political  reference.  Cabinet  ministers,  and 
a  few  other  prominent  officials,  must  be,  of  course,  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  head  of  the  government. 
But  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  public  that  the  great 
army  of  the  servants  of  a  nation  should  have  any 
personal  partisan  duty  outside  the  line  of  their 
business.” 

Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  of  the  Church  of  the 
Messiah,  resigned  liis  pulpit  to  Mr.  Dormon 
B.  Eaton,  who  said  : 

“  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  assume,  as  so  many  repvib- 
licans  do,  that  civil  service  reform  has  no  support 
among  the  democrats,  and  that  its  fate  depends  upon 
the  republicans  alone.  The  civil  service  bill  in  both 
houses  of  congress  was  introduced  by  democrats— 
by  Mr.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  in  the  senate,  and  by  Mr. 
Willis,  of  Kentucky,  in  the  house.  The  effective  sup¬ 
port  which  Mr.  Pendleton,  now  just  deceased,  gave 
to  that  bill  is  one  of  his  highest  claims  upon  the 
grateful  memory  of  his  countrymen. 

“  President  Cleveland  faithfully  sustained  the  e-x- 
aminations  while  president,  and  three  members  of 
his  cabinet,  Messrs.  Bayard,  Endicott  a ud  Whitney, 
gave  them  a  more  friendly  support  than  they  have 
received  from  any  of  President  Harrison’s  cabinet. 

“The  passage  of  the  civil  service  reform  law  of  the 
state  of  New  York  was  vigorously  promoted  and  was 
signed  by  a  democratic  governor,  Mr.  Cleveland.  It 
has  been  since  executed,  though  in  a  way  by  no 
means  satisfactory,  by  another  democratic  governor, 
Mr.  Hill.  The  president  of  the  New  York  state  com¬ 
mission  is  also  a  democrat,  and  is  showing  a  zeal  for 
the  reform  which  Governor  Hill  doubtless  would 
like  to  check  a  little.  The  New  York  law  has  been 
well  executed  by  two  democratic  mayors  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  Mr.  Grace  and  Mr.  Hewitt.  In  the  tri¬ 
umphant  and  salutary  administration  of  the  civil  s  r- 
vice  law  of  Massachusetts,  Mayor  O’Brien,  of  Boston, 
an  Irishman,  a  catholic  and  a  democrat,  has  had  a 
most  creditable  part. 

“In  no  city  of  the  country  have  civil  service  laws 
and  rules  been  better  administered  than  in  the  city 
of  Brooklyn,  under  its  democratic  mayor,  Mr. 
Chapin.  If  Mayor  Grant  expects  to  run  an  even  race 
for  honors  in  his  party  with  that  young  statesman  he 
will  need  very  soon  to  imitate  more  nearly  the  ex¬ 
ample  of  Mayor  Chapin  in  promoting  the  cause  of 
civil  service  reform. 

“If,  therefore,  the  republican  partisans,  patronage 
mongers,  and  bosses  who  have  been  so  successful  in 
making  war  on  their  President  and  discrediting  his 
administration  shall  attempt  to  stave  off  the  reform 


by  refusing  adequate  appropriations  in  this  congress, 
we  may  be  sure,  I  think,  that  democratic  votes  will 
prevent  it.  But,  if  the  majority  of  the  republican 
parly  really  wish  to  reject  the  reform  as  too  much 
for  tlieir  patriotism,  the  democrats,  I  am  sure,  will 
be  ready  to  take  it  up  and  go  with  it  before  the  peo¬ 
ple  in  the  next  presidential  election.  Civil  service 
refoim  wili  cau.se  radical  changes  in  the  parties  and 
politics  of  the  country,  if,  indeed,  it  does  not  create 
a  new  party.” 

In  Brooklyn,  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick,  pas¬ 
tor  of  the  Second  Unitarian  Church,  said: 

“The  worst  operation  of  the  spoils  system  is  the  dis¬ 
honoring  of  the  whole  order  of  government  in  men’s 
eyes.  Government  never  can  be  regarded  as  noble 
and  august  under  a  spoils  system.  To  have  it  under¬ 
stood  that  sharpness,  that  management,  that  trickery 
and  fraud,  that  running  with  the  machine,  are  the 
appointed  ways  of  political  advancement,  is  a  sure 
way  of  making  government  contemptible,  even  in 
the  eyes  of  those  who  are  mixed  up  in  all  these 
things.  To  make  it  noble  and  august  it  must  be  un¬ 
derstood  that  public  office  is  a  recognition  of  ability 
and  character.  If  the  spoils  system  had  no  other 
condemnation  it  would  have  one  all  sufficient  in  its 
responsibility  for  the  birth  and  existence  of  the  po¬ 
litical  boss.  Without  the  spoils  system  his  occupa¬ 
tion  would  be  gone.  As  it  is,  he  stands  between  the 
people  and  the  government,  promising  offices  with 
one  hand,  asking  for  votes  with  the  other,  and  cor¬ 
rupting  both  alike.  ‘  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them.’ 

“The  fruit  of  the  spoils  system  is  the  political  boss, 
the  most  poisonous  growth  ever  fattened  in  the  sun. 
We  shall  never  deal  with  them  effectually  until  we 
cut  up  by  the  roots  the  monstrous  growth  upon 
which  they  feed.” 

* 

In  Syracuse  Bishop  Huntington  preached 
on  Christian  Politics,  using  the  text : 

"  II  came  to  pass  when  Samuel  was  old  he  made  his 
sons  judges  over  Israel,  *  And  his  sons  walked  not 
in  his  ways  bul  turned  aside  after  lucre  and  took  bribes 
and  pei  verted  judgment.  Then  all  the  elders  of  Israel 
gathered  themselves  together  and  said” 

“  Now  make  us  a  king  to  judge  us  like  all  the  nations.” 
I  Sam.  viii,  1-5. 

“  He  that  walketh  righteously  and  speaketh  uprightly 
he  that  despiseth  the  gain  of  oppressions,  that  shaketh  his 
hands  from  holding  of  bribes— he  shall  dwell  on  high ; 
his  place  of  defense  shall  be  the  munitions  of  rocks.” 
Isaiah  xxxiii,  15,  16. 

“About  two  months  ago,  after  some  preparatory 
personal  correspondence,  forty-six  citizens,  in  dift'er- 
ent  parts  of  the  country,  put  their  names  to  a  request 
that  ministers  of  religion  in  their  several  places 
should,  on  this  day  of  thanksgiving,  appeal  to  the 
conscience  of  the  people  in  behalf  of  high  principles 
and  a  purified  practice  in  the  civil  service  of  the  re¬ 
public,  in  all  its  branches.  Within  a  short  time  sev¬ 
eral  hundred  men  declared  in  writing  their  hearty 
concurrence  in  this  invitation.  They  represent 
nearly  all  denominations  of  Christians  and  Jews, 
strong  institutions  of  education  and  enterprise,  and 
are  leaders  of  learned  professions  and  practical  in¬ 
dustry,  men  of  enterprise  and  men  of  thought.  Such 
a  call  creates  no  new  obligation.  It  carries  no  other 
than  a  moral  authority.  With  me  it  has  weight  not 
only  in  the  character  and  judgment  of  the  petition¬ 
ers,  but  for  the  following  reasons :  A  movement  at 
once  so  general,  so  spontaneous,  and  so  direct  in  its 
object,  is  an  evidence  first  that  there  is  a*  perilous 
wrong  working  in  the  life  of  the  nation,  and  then 
that  it  is  in  the  power  and  the  will  of  the  people  to 
set  it  right.  Reform  implies  abuse.  Here  the  abuse 
hurts  the  health  and  damages  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  political  body.  It  is  treachery  to  a  social  cov¬ 
enant.  It  is  a  violation  of  a  sacred  trust.  It  is  the 
enslavement  of  the  common  interest  of  the  many  to 
the  self  interest  of  the  few.  In  a  free  government 
this  is  disloyalty.  Everywhere  it  is  dishonor.  In 
officers,  who  are  republican  servants,  it  is  a  fraud. 
Most  significantly  this  is  now  acknowledged  in  the 
platform  of  each  of  the  great  parties,  no  one  of 
them  daring  to  face  an  eleetion  without  that  cer¬ 


tificate  of  honesty.  So  much  the  deeper  is  the  guilt 
if  under  these  plausible  pretentions  there  is  a  crafty 
hope  that  after  that  fair  confession  of  faith  some  one 
of  a  dozen  ways  may  be  found  to  discard  the  creed 
with  a  jest,  and  turn  reform  into  contempt.  Rightly, 
therefore,  it  seems  to  me,  at  a  great  national  festival, 
when  all  eyes  look  upward,  when  all  hearts  in  the 
wide  land  are  supposed  to  be  lifted  from  the  heritage 
and  the  stewardship  to  the  righteous  Giver  and  Lord, 
do  we  ask  light  and  instruction  from  God’s  word, 
while  we  adore  him  for  his  mercy.  Why  congratu¬ 
late  our.selves  on  a  government  of  which  we  are  loos¬ 
ening  and  unsettling  the  foundations?  Will  he  ac¬ 
cept  us  when  we  thank  him  for  our  laws  if  we  break 
his  own  ?  To  what  purpose  are  our  sacrifices  of 
praise  in  his  church  unless  while  we  worship  at  his 
altars  we  renew  our  pledges  of  obedience  to  his 
commandments?” 

In  St.  Louis,  Bishop  Tuttle  preached  at 
Christ  Church  Cathedral,  saying: 

“  It  may  sound  manly  to  say  ‘to  the  victor  belong 
the  spoils,’  as  if  manifestly  a  determination  to  abide 
the  consequences  of  a  square  fight,  but  the  manliness 
goes  clear  out  when  considering  that  the  spoils  are 
the  public  money  and  the  motherland’s  dower  of 
ownership.” 

Rev.  S.  J.  Nichols,  of  the  Second  Presbyte¬ 
rian  Church,  said  : 

“  It  would  be  be  well  to  cast  about  for  a  few  rea¬ 
sons  why  this  debauchery  of  public  sentiment  pre¬ 
vails.  I  believe  they  could  be  summed  up  in  the 
spoils  system.  A  system  that  places  partisan  service 
above  the  public  good,  which  makes  character  of  the 
least  ac^’QUiit,  which  has  done  more  within  the  past 
few  years  to  corrupt  the  fountain  head  of  govern¬ 
ment  and  undermine  our  freedom.  It  has  supplant¬ 
ed  the  rights  of  the  people  with  chicanery  and  fraud  ; 
it  has  stood  in  the  way  of  the  efficiency  of  the  civil 
service,  and  made  ita  laughing-stock  for  thenations; 
it  has  dethroned  the  respectable  citizen  and  elevated 
the  political  boss ;  has  metamorphosed  the  primary 
into  a  den  of  infamy  and  has  desecrated  the  sanctity 
of  the  ballot-box ;  it  has  placed  a  premium  upon  all 
forms  of  rascality  and  fraud,  and  has  well  nigh  de¬ 
stroyed  political  integrity.  The  doors  of  office  swing 
open  to  the  political  fine-worker,  who  enters  to  plun¬ 
der  instead  of  serve  the  people.” 

Rev.  M.  Rhodes,  in  St.  Mark’s  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church,  said  : 

“Political  assessments  came  next  before  the  speak¬ 
er’s  consideration.  It  is  argued  that  an  office  is  the 
political  gift  of  a  party,  and  that  candidates  seeking 
office  at  the  hands  of  the  party  should  be  willing  to 
pay  for  it.  It  is  a  plausible  argument,  but  it  makes 
a  lottery  scheme  of  politics,  with  money  as  the  prin¬ 
cipal  factor  in  winning  the  prize.  It  is  under  such 
condiiions  that  iu  March,  1888,  an  open  and  direct 
bid  of  81,500  for  the  consulship  at  Guttenberg,  Switz¬ 
erland,  was  made.  It  is  bound  to  have  a  demoraliz¬ 
ing  effect.  It  is  a  bribe  paid  to  stifle  conscience, 
judgment  and  manhood.” 

Dr.  Holland,  rector  of  St.  George’s  Episcopal 
Church,  said  : 

“The  United  States  is  not  a  democracy— it  is  a 
monarchy  with  far  more  despotic  power  vested  in  its 
sovereign  than  is  vested  in  the  Queen  of  England. 
We  call  our  ruler  a  president,  and  instead  of  having 
a  life  tenure  in  the  title  hereditary  in  his  family  he 
is  only  elected  for  four  years— not  by  the  people,  but 
by  a  set  of  men,  chosen  by  another  set  of  men  whose 
American  soubriquet  is  most  appropriate.  They  are 
bo.sses.” 

Dr.  John  Snyder,  pastor  of  the  Church  of 
the  Messiah,  preached  on  civil  service  reform. 
*  -s 

In  Chicago  the  Union  Park  Congregational, 
the  First  Congregational,  and  St.  Paul’s  Re¬ 
formed  Episcopal  Church  united.  Dr.  Noble, 
of  the  Union  Park  Congregational  Church, 
preached  on  political  parties  and  municipal 
government. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


83 


In  St.  Mark’s  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
the  pastor,  Rev.  Wm.  White  Wilson,  on  the 
ethics  of  civil  service  reform. 

Rev.  T.  P.  Prudden,  of  the  Leavitt  Street 
Congregational  Church,  said  : 

“This  present  manner  of  dealing  in  offices  is  brib¬ 
ery.  A  candidate  says  in  effect  to  men  :  ‘Work  for 
me,  and  if  I  am  elected  I  wili  get  you  this  or  that 
position.’  And  the  bribe  runs  all  the  way  from  a 
foreign  mission  to  managing  an  elevator  in  a  govern¬ 
ment  building.  What  difference  does  it  make 
whether  the  bribe  is  in  money  or  something  else  ? 
The  bribery  in  our  civil  service  is  especially  bad,  be¬ 
cause  it  prevents  a  free  and  full  expression  of  opin¬ 
ion  at  election.  It  is  especially  bad  bribery  because 
it  maintains  an  army  of  politicians  who  control  con¬ 
ventions  and  laugh  at  conscience  in  politics.  It  is 
especially  bad  bribery  because  it  is  bribery  with 
some  one  else’s  property.  It  is  misappropriating 
funds  to  bribe  with.  But  the  immorality  of  our 
present  civil  service  is  further  evident  because  it 
tends  to  corrupt  men.  It  really  puts  into  a  man’s 
hands  a  fund  of  offices  for  him  to  use  as  a  bribery 
fund.’’ 

Rev.  J.  C.  Learned,  of  the  Church  of  the 
Unity,  preached  on  the  moral  side  of  poli¬ 
tics. 

“The  speaker  began  his  address  by  referring  to  the 
granting  of  the  Magna  Charta  in  an  article  of  which 
the  king  promised  not  to  appoint  auv  ‘justices,  con¬ 
stables,  sheriffs  or  bailiffs  but  such  as  knew  the  law 
of  the  realm  and  meant  truly  to  observe  it.’ 

“It  has  been  said,’’  continued  the  speaker,“that  this 
ancient  provision  is  the  gist  of  civil  service  reform, 
which  is  only  an  attempt  in  modern  times  to  restrain 
the  encroachments  of  arbitrary  power  for  selfish  or 
partisan  purposes,  to  limit  such  disposition  as  still 
survives  even  under  republican  form  of  govern¬ 
ment.’’ 

A 

Sermons  were  also  preached  by  Rev.  W.  H. 
Kaufman,  Heber  City,  Utah,  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Hickok,  pastor  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  Rev.  Wm.  Richmond,  rector  of 
All  Saints  Church,  in  East  Orange,  N.  J.  In 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  Rev.  S.  S.  Weatherby, 
of  Pitman  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  McKnight, 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  M.  V. 
McDuffie,  of  the  Remsen  Avenue  Church,  and 
Rev.  H.  C.  Applegarth,  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  preached  on  the  spoils  system.  Mr. 
Applegarth  said  : 

“  I  can  see  how  there  may  be  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  how  this  evil  shall  be  suppressed, 
just  as  there  may  be  differences  of  opinion  as 
to  how  the  liquor  traffic  is  to  be  suppressed  or 
controlled,  but  I  can  not  see  how  any  one  can 
stand  up  and  say  that  the  system  ought  not  to 
be  abolished,  one  way  or  the  other,  unless  he 
is  crazy  or  a  veritable  scoundrel  and  rogue.” 


THE  STATE  REPUBLICAN  PRESS. 


—Repeal  [of  the  civil  service  law]  would  be  a  stu¬ 
pid  blunder.— SoM</i  Beiid  Times. 

—There  is  hardly  a  republican  criticism  of  the  ad¬ 
ministration  but  that  would  have  been  avoided  if 
there  had  been  no  offices  to  distribute.— iapranpe 
Standard. 

—If  republicans  don’t  mean  what  they  say  in  their 
platforms,  they  are  dishonest.  They  put  civil  ser¬ 
vice  into  their  platform  of  principles  and  now  they 
must  stand  by  it.  President  Harrison  has  nowhere 
else  to  look  to.  He  must  be  guided  by  the  principles 
upon  which  he  fought  and  succeeded.—  Winchester 
Herald. 

—The  action  of  certain  Indianapolis  republicans 
in  naming  a  republican  club  the  Farwell  club,  be¬ 
cause  Senator  Farwell  proposes  to  introduce  a  bill  in 
the  senate  to  repeal  the  civil-service  law  will  scarcely 


meet  with  the  approval  of  repuhlicans  throughout 
the  state.  The  republican  policy  is  fixed  and  certain 
on  the  civil-service  law,  and  a  few  disgruntled  politi¬ 
cians  can  not  change  it.— Columbus  Republican. 

—The  more  we  see  of  the  wild  rush  forofflee  under 
the  government— the  disappointments,  the  valuable 
time  wasted,  and  finally  the  demoralization  that 
generally  follows  one  who  has  once  held  an  office— 
the  more  we  are  inclined  to  believe  in  a  civil  service 
law  honestly  carried  out.— Afar  ion  Chronicle. 

—A  newly  organized  republican  club  at  Indian¬ 
apolis  has  dubbed  itself  the  “Farwell  club,”  because 
the  senator  of  that  name  is  opposed  to  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  law.  There  is  no  accounting  for  tastes,  and  this 
is  only  equaled  by  that  other  cluh  down  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  state  which  burned  up  its  cam¬ 
paign  paraphernalia  because  the  President  didn’t 
appoint  one  of  its  members  postmaster.— Porter 
County  Vidette. 

—It  is  the  offices ;  and  yet  how  slow  we  are  to  learn 
that  the  distribution  of  the  offices  is  sure  to  weaken 
the  party  that  has  it  to  do.  It  is  impossible  to  please. 
The  .sourness  and  the  soreness  that  was  felt  towards 
Cleveland  was  all  on  account  of  office  hunger,  and  it 
is  precisely  so  in  the  case  of  President  Harrison.  It 
is  impossible  to  satisfy  all  the  hungry  ones,  and  it  is 
not  practicable  always,  at  least  it  is  not  always  done, 
to  appoint  the  very  best  man  for  a  particular  office. 
And  then  there  are  two  kicks,  and  the  kickers  are 
much  more  numerous  than  the  happy  ones  who  draw 
the  prizes.  Shall  not  an  editor,  for  instance  who  is 
an  applicant  for  a  good,  solid  office  and  gets  left,  lift 
up  his  voice  and— weep  ? — New  Albany  Tribune. 

— There  is  a  growing  independent  element  in  the 
country  which  is  less  and  less  interested  in  partisan 
politics  from  year  to  year.  It  is  a  blessing  that  this 
is  so.  The  party  managers  have  not  near  the  grip 
they  had  a  few  years  ago,  and  machine  methods  are 
constantly  declining  in  popularity  and  power.  Peo¬ 
ple  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  government  is 
not  for  the  office-holders,  but  for  the  wise  and  hon¬ 
est  management  of  the  people’s  business,  which  is 
too  often  miserably  mismanaged.— Terre  Haute  Mail. 

—The  patriotism  that  puts  patronage  above  prin¬ 
ciple,  and  threatens  death  and  damnation  to  every 
one  engaged  in  the  distribution  of  a  few  offices  con¬ 
trary  to  its  will  and  wish,  is  the  source  and  support 
of  civil  service  reform.  The  plain  people  who  are 
not  office-seekers,  disgusted  with  these  exhibitions  of 
selfish  arrogance,  will  consent  to  almost  any  policy 
which  promises  to  abate  them,  and  so  the  kickers  de¬ 
crease  their  chances  of  getting  their  noses  in  the 
public  trough.— Lofiransporf  Journal. 

—The  Tribune  will  be  glad  to  see  President  Harri¬ 
son  take  strong  ground  in  his  message  in  favor  of  im¬ 
proved  methods  in  the  civil  service,  especially  in  the 
vital  matter  of  appointment  to  office.  And  having 
spoken  in  behalf  of  it,  we  shall  be  glad  to  see  him 
push  it  all  along  the  line.  The  defects  in  the  law 
should  be  promptly  remedied  by  congress,  and  then 
let  its  operations  be  enlarged  and  extended.  Such 
disgusting  performances  as  that  which  occurred  at 
Jeffersonville  will  soon  bring  thinking  people  to  a 
rigid  demand  for  more  rigid  laws  on  this  subject.— 
New  Albany  Tribune. 

—It  is  confidently  expected  that  President  Harrison 
will  rub  a  liberal  allowance  of  salt  into  the  discharg¬ 
ing  wounds  of  dis.sapointed  office-seekers,  next  Mon¬ 
day,  by  renewing  his  pledges  to  civil  service  reform 
which  gives  the  opportunity  to  remark  that  the  Pres¬ 
ident’s  determination  to  be  a  man  of  his  word,  and 
of  a  few  words,  will  prove  a  God-send  to  the  govern¬ 
ment  service,  whatever  misfortune  he  may  risk  indi¬ 
vidual!  y.—Kendallville  Standard. 

—Senators  and  representatives  have  no  more  claim 
to  dictate  appointments  than  the  man  in  the  moon, 
except  so  far  as  custom  goes,  and  if  there  is  anything 
in  the  petty  plea  set  up  by  Senator  Farwell  by  a  jug¬ 
gling  of  the  language  of  the  constitution,  democratic 
members  of  congress  have*the  same  legal  right  to 
say  who  shall  or  shall  not  be  office  holders  in  their 
respective  districts  as  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  practice  has  grown  to  be  a  great  evil, 
and  if  the  present  head  of  the  administration  suc¬ 


ceeds  in  taking  some  of  the  conceit  out  of  the  patron 
age  brokers,  and  thereby  correcting  a  most  flagrant 
abnse,  the  result  will  be  appreciated  by  large  propor¬ 
tion  of  the  people  who  cling  to  the  old-fashioned  no¬ 
tion  that  a  statesman’s  duties  consists  of  something 
more  than  office-begging.— La/oj/effe  Courier. 


The  New  York  Evening  Post,  of  Decem¬ 
ber  9,  contains  a  valuable  interview  with 
Mr.  Deland,  a  government  employe  of 
eighteen  years,  on  the  practical  working 
of  the  merit  system. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser¬ 
vice  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow'  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge 
or  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

— Samuel  A.  Kercheval  has  been  appointed 
examiner  in  the  department  of  justice.  His 
duty  is  to  examine  the  records  of  attorneys, 
marshals, clerks  and  commissioners.  Kerche¬ 
val  was  chairman  of  the  Spencer  county  re¬ 
publican  committee  during  the  campaign. 
After  the  election,  according  to  the  Chicago 
Times,  in  the  bar-room  of  the  New-Denison 
hotel  of  this  city,  Kercheval  made  the  follow¬ 
ing  statement,  which  has  never  been  denied  : 

“  Of  course,  it  was  an  expensive  campaign— the 
most  expensive  the  state  has  ever  known.  The  prices 
of  votes  averaged  over  $20  each,  and  in  some  cases  we 
had  to  pay  as  high  as  $10  and  $50.  But  we  got  them, 
and  we  carried  the  state.  In  Spencer  county  we  had 
a  great  many  ‘  floaters,’  and  it  was  an  open  question 
whether  we  or  the  democrats  could  buy  them.  We 
got  most  of  them.” 

“How  could  you  be  sure  that  a  vote  which  you  had 
paid  for  would  be  really  delivered  ?” 

“  Nothing  simpler.  If  you  buy  dry  goods  you  get 
the  package  when  you  give  the  money.  We  went  on 
the  same  principle.  We  had  one  man  stationed  at 
the  polling  places  who  was  able  to  see  the  ballot  from 
the  time  it  left  his  hands  until  the  time  it  went  into 
the  box.  Now,  suppose  a  floater  is  secured  by  a 
worker.  Say  you  are  a  worker  and  this  gentleman  is 
the  voter,  and  this  gentleman  here  is  the  guard  at  the 
polls.  Now,  you  agree  with  this  man  to  pay  him  $20 
for  a  straight  republican  vote.  You  steer  him  up  to 
the  guard  at  the  polls  and  call  his  attention  to  him. 
The  guard  gives  him  a  ballot  folded  and  reidy  to 
put  into  the  judge’s  hands.  The  voter  takes  it,  and 
if  he  votes  as  he  has  contracted  to  do,  without  look¬ 
ing  at  it  or  ‘monkeying’  with  it  in  any  way— and  the 
guard  can  see  whether  he  does  or  not,  for  he  is  never 
more  than  three  feet  away  from.the  ballot  box— then 
he  (the  guard)  signals  back  to  you  that  the  man  is 
all  right,  and  you  take  him  off  and  give  him  his 
money.  He  has  to  trust  you  that  far,  although  I 
have  seen  cases  in  this  election  when  the  ‘  floater  ’ 
would  not  trust  the  worker,  but  insisted  on  having 
one  hand  on  the  money  whiie  he  put  in  the  ballot.” 

“  How.is  the  money  paid  afterward  ?  ” 

“  Well,  down  in  our  part  of  the  country  we  took  a 
room  which  had  been  used  as  a  gambling  hell.  The 
door  had  one  of  those  little  openings  to  it  in  the  cen¬ 
ter  from  which  you  could  see  out,  but  you  could  not 
see  in.  When  a  worker  had  got  a  vote,  he  wrote  on 
a  little  piece  of  blue  paper  the  amount  of  money  to 
which  the  voter  was  entitled,  and  the  voter  poked 
his  hand  through  the  hole  with  that  bit  of  card-board 
in  it.  The  paper  was  taken  off  by  a  young  man  in¬ 
side,  examined  and  verified,  and,  if  it  was  all  right, 
the  money— $10.  $20,  $50,  as  the  case  might  be— was 
placed  in  the  still  open  hand.  The  man  outside  .saw 
nothing;  neither  did  the  man  inside.  It  was  ali 
done  quietly  and  cff.clually,  and  nobody  was  the 
wiser.” 


84 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— It  is  reported  that  John  C.  Houk,  son  of 
Representative  Ilouk,  of  Tennessee,  and  at 
present  in  the  employ  of  the  census  bureau,  is 
to  be  assistant  doorkeeper  of  the  house.  Mr. 
Houk,  it  will  be  remembered,  despises  the 
civil  service  law  as  un-American  and  un-dem- 
ocratic.  Mr.  Houk  does  not  wish  his  son  to 
be  subjected  to  the  test  of  open  competition. 
It  is  better  to  get  into  a  place  because  he  is 
the  son  of  a  feudal  baron. 

— Washington,  Nov.  29. — President  Harri¬ 
son  this  afternoon  appointed  the  following 
United  States  consuls : 

Hiram  S.  Dunlap,  of  Illinois,  to  Breslau, 
Germany.  Mr.  Dunlap  is  ediior  of  the  Cham¬ 
paign  Gazette. 

William  E.  Gardner,  of  Wisconsin,  to  Rot¬ 
terdam.  Mr.  Gardner  has  been  for  several  years 
connected  with  the  Evening  Wisconsin,  Milwaukee. 

John  B.  Osborne,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  Ghent, 
where  a  vacancy  exists.  Mr. Osborne  is  a  son  of 
the  congresman  from  Wilkes  Barre. 

— Col.  C.  S.  Forbes,  of  the  Boston  Journal, 
and  F.  N.  Whitney,  of  the  Burlington  Clipper, 
have  been  appointed  deputy  collectors  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  for  the  district  of  New  Hamp¬ 
shire. 

— Senator  Moody,  of  South  Dakota,  seems 
to  have  surprised  even  old  stagers  at  office¬ 
grabbing  by  appointing  his  son  a  page  in 
the  senate. 

— Wm.  A.  McDowell,of  Lafayette,  has  passed 
a  successful  examination  for  a  position  in  the 
census  office,  and,  upon  the  recommendation  of 
Congressman  Cheadle,  will  soon  receive  an  appoint¬ 
ment. 

— Dudley  W.  Fleming,of  Warren  county,  has 
been  appointed,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Mr. 
Cheadle,  to  a  position  in  the  government  print¬ 
ing  office.  —SpeckU  to  the  Indianapolis  Jouinal 
Dec.  5. 

— A  postmaster  at  Lafayette  is  expected  to  be 
named  this  week.  It  is  undecided  yet  who 
will  get  the  position.  B.  Wilson  Smith  and 
Messrs.  Throckmorton  and  Creigmyer  are 
mentioned  prominently.  The  latter  has  received 
the  indorsement  of  Congressman  Cheadle. 

— “The  people  in  my  locality,”  said  W.  T. 
Durbin,  of  Anderson,  “are  beginning  to  realize 
that  this  is  purely  and  strictly  a  republican 
administration.  The  party  in  Madison  and 
Shelby  counties  is  harmonious,  and  in  Han¬ 
cock  the  outlook  is  very  bright.  As  to  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison’s  message,  I  have  heard  nothing 
but  praise.” 

Mr.  Durbin  means  that  so  far  as  his  domain 
extends  this  is  a  Durbin  administration,  and 
that  he  has  dispensed  the  patronage  to  the  sat¬ 
isfaction  of  Mr.  Durbin  and  Mr.  Durbin’s  Fav¬ 
orites. 

— A  hundred  and  ten  prominent  republi¬ 
cans,  headed  by  Gen.  Adam  E.  King,  from 
Baltimore,  came  over  to-day  and  called  upon 
the  postmaster-general  for  the  purpose  of  mak¬ 
ing  a  recommendation  for  the  appointment  of 
a  postmaster  at  Baltimore.  After  they  pre¬ 
sented  their  candidate  the  postmaster-general 
looked  the  delegation  in  the  face  and  smil¬ 


ingly  inquired  :  “  Are  there  any  more  citizens 
left  in  Baltimore  ?  ” 

“  Yes,”  replied  Gen.  King,  “  there  are  a  few 
women  and  children  left  over  there.” 

Mr.  Stockbridge,  the  newly  elected  repre¬ 
sentative  of  congress  from  Baltimore,  has 
recommended  the  appointment  of  another  man 
than  the  one  urged  by  this  delegation.  Mr. 
King  told  the  postmaster-general  that  they  de¬ 
sire  it  understood  the  man  recently  elected  to 
congress  in  Baltimore  was  not  authorized  to 
speak  for  500,000  patrons  of  the  Baltimore 
office  in  the  selection  of  a  postmaster,  and  that 
they  desired  to  take  issue  with  Mr.  Stock- 
bridge’s  recommendations. 

“Well,”  said  Mr.  Wanamaker,  “you  have 
elected  Mr.  Stockbridge  to  represent  you  in 
congress,  and  I  shall  take  it  for  granted  that 
you  have,  by  his  election,  decided  it  to  be 
known  that  he  is  your  authorized  representa¬ 
tive,  and  it  is  the  policy  here  to  recognize  the 
recommendations  of  republican  congressmen 
in  the  selection  of  federal  officers  in  their 
districts.” — Special  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal, 
Nov.  25. 

— The  delay  in  the  confirmation  of  Maj.  Cra¬ 
vens,  internal  revenue  collector  for  this  dis¬ 
trict,  has  caused  the  friends  of  the  appointee  to 
resent  what  appears  to  them  to  be  unwarranted 
interference  on  the  part  of  Messrs.  Browne, 
Cheadle  and  Owen,  republican  congressmen 
from  this  state.  These  gentlemen  (since  there 
is  no  republican  senator  from  Indiana)  have 
assumed  to  control  the  patronage. 

The  collector  of  revenue  has  fifty-eight  ap¬ 
pointments  to  make,  including  storekeepers, 
gaugers  and  deputies.  The  deputies  are  ap¬ 
pointed  by  the  collector,  and  are  responsible 
to  him  only.  The  other  appointees  are  named 
by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  upon  the 
recommendation  of  the  collector.  The  ap¬ 
pointment  of  ten  of  these  has  been  “hung  up  ” 
because  the  congressmen  named  will  not  con¬ 
sent  to  the  recommendations  made  by  the  col¬ 
lector,  and  the  collector  will  not  name  the  men 
whom  the  congressmen  are  trying  to  hoist  into 
place.  The  congressmen  have  even  gone  so 
far,  it  is  asserted,  as  to  resist  the  confirmation 
of  Cravens,  on  the  ground  that  he  is  “  a  back 
member,”  and  only  agree  to  “  let  up  ”  in  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  concessions  desired. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  friends  of  the  col¬ 
lector  say  time  will  shame  the  congressmen 
out  of  their  position.  They  are  particularly 
severe  on  Congressman  Tom  Browne.  “  It  is 
understood  that  this  is  his  last  term,”  said  one 
of  them,  to-day,  and  I  don't  see  what  right  he 
has  to  interfere.  He  will  have  no  further  need  for 
his  friends’  political  support. — Indianapolis  Neivs, 
December  18. 

— Frank  H.  Challis,  editor  of  the  Manches¬ 
ter,  N.  H.,  Daily  Press  (Rep.),  was  a  candidate 
for  the  deputy  collectorship  for  his  district, 
but  another  man  was  appointed  on  Tuesday. 
Challis,  therefore,  says  in  his  paper:  “  With 
the  election  of  a  republican  president  the  ed¬ 
itor  was  insane  enough  to  think  there  was  go¬ 
ing  to  be  an  administration  of  the  government 
of  which  a  young  republican  might  be  proud, 
and  of  which  it  might  be  an  honor  to  be,  even 
in  a  small  way,  a  part.  He  therefore  foolishly 
allowed  himself  to  become  a  candidate  for  the 
office.  But  the  editor  himself  is  eminently 
satisfied  (he  does  not  say  pleased)  with  the 
outcome.  He  is  glad  that  he  is  not  to  be 
placed  in  a  position  which  might  seem  in  any 
degree  to  demand  a  cordial  support  of  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  cheapest  pattern  of  the 
genus  homo  that  ever  was  wafted  into  the  pres¬ 
idential  chair.” 

— Joel  Hyatt,  of  Indiana,  who  was  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  clerk’s  document  room,  house 
of  representatives,  during  the  past  three  con¬ 
gresses,  has  been  superceded  by  a  Pennsylva¬ 
nia  republican.  Mr.  Hyatt  was  one  of  the 


most  intelligent  and  popular  officials  under 
the  late  administration.  This  position  was 
promised  General  Browne  for  one  of  his  con¬ 
stituents  at  Muncie,  but  Pennsylvania  seems 
to  fall  heir  to  about  all  the  good  places  under 
Mr.  McPherson,  who  is  a  Pennsylvanian,  He 
has  already  given  to  his  state  the  positions  of 
chief  clerk,  assistant  disbursing  clerk,  station¬ 
ery  clerk,  index  clerk  and  clerk  to  the  docu¬ 
ment  room.  Besides  these,  the  state  comes  in 
for  the  lion’s  share  of  committee  clerks,  chair¬ 
manships  and  positions  under  the  door-keeper, 
sergeant-at-arms  and  postmaster.  —  (^eciaf  to 
the  Indianapolis  Journal,  Dec.  13, 

— The  new  postmaster,  of  Kansas  City,  has 
made  the  son  of  the  President’s  brother  [a 
democrat]  his  deputy. 

— The  President,  through  Marshal  Ransdell, 
has  given  A.  D.  Shaw  a  $2,000  place  as  chief 
of  a  division  in  Washington.  Shaw  was  pres¬ 
ident  of  the  railroad  men’s  club  here  in  the 
campaign.  Other  members,  however,  say  that 
it  will  take  more  than  this  appointment  to  re¬ 
ward  the  club  for  their  services. 

— The  appointment  of  Eugene  G.  Hay  to  be 
district  attorney  for  Minnesota,  made  to-day, 
ends  a  controversy  that  has  been  going  on  for 
some  time.  Mr.  Hay  was  indorsed  by  Senator 
Washburn  and  opposed  by  Senator  Davis,  who 
had  another  candidate.  Mr.  Hay  has  lived 
in  Minnesota  only  a  few  years.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  resident  of  Indiana,  and  is  a 
warm  personal  friend  of  President  Harrison. — 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Dec.  17. 

— Maj.  Kinney,  one  of  the  editors  of  The 
Courant,  wishes  to  be  postmaster,  and  he  is 
backed  by  Senator  Hawley,  the  editor-in- 
chief,  who  is  said  to  have  secured  from  the 
President  the  promise  of  Kinney’s  appoint¬ 
ment.  Leading  merchants  and  other  eminent 
republican  citizens  are  also  in  favor  of  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
republican  party  of  the  city  are  opposed  to 
Kinney  and  in  favor  of  a  merchant  named  A. 
B.  Gillette,  who  is  an  active  member  of  the 
young  republican  wing  of  the  party,  and  is 
backed  by  the  republican  city  committee  and 
its  chairman,  Mr.  McGovern.  Maj.  Kinney 
supposed  he  had  the  inside  track  till  yesterday, 
when  McGovern  issued  a  call  for  the  republi¬ 
cans  of  the  city  to  assemble  in  one  of  the  public 
halls  on  Saturday  next  and  decide  by  ballot 
between  the  two  candidates.  This  has  created 
consternation  in  the  editorial  camp,  for  it  is 
feared  that  McGovern,  as  the  leader  of  the 
machine,  can  get  out  his  men  in  far  greater 
numbers  than  the  Kinney  faction  can  get  out 
theirs,  and  can  thus  show  a  large  popular 
majority  in  favor  of  Gillette. — New  York  Eve¬ 
ning  lost. 

— Primarily  the  national  administration 
and  President  Harrison  have  not  been  accep¬ 
table  to  the  republicans  so  far  as  the  distribu¬ 
tion  of  patronage  is  concerned ,  and  the  Ohio 
republicans  have  not  received  what  they  con¬ 
sider  their  full  share. — Interview  with  Judge 
Thurman. 

— The  people  demand  immeasurably  more 
from  the  republican  party  than  they  do  from 
the  democratic  party.  The  second  can  retain 
its  voters  by  doing  comparatively  well  ;  the 
first  can  keep  its  hold  upon  its  followers  only 
by  doing  positively  weU. —Philadelphia  Press 
[iJep.],  since  the  elections. 

—This  is  a  question  of  the  greatest  interest  to 
workingmen,  inasmuch  as  the  reform  looks  to  the 
placing  of  all  men  on  an  equal  footing  for  chances  of 
appointment  to  the  public  service,  irrespective  of  the 
power  of  iniluence  or  favor.  Those  who  oppose  it 
seek  to  delude  the  masses  with  the  false  cry  that  it 
is  a  scheme  for  placing  the  aristocrats  and  college- 
bred  in  control  of  the  offices,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
common  people,  because  an  educational  test  of  merit 
is  required  as  an  evidence  of  fitness.  This  is  simply 
a  shallow  pretence,  or  worse,  a  bare-faced  misrepre  ■ 
seiit&tion.— Buffalo  Sunday  Truth  [Labor]. 


The  civil  Service  chronicle. 


No  matter  what  a  person’s  position,  whether  king  on  his  throne,  or  judge  on  the  bench,  or  only  village  postmaster,  to  disregard  the  principles  Which  should 
naturally  and  justly  govern  his  conduct,  whether  to  advance  his  own  selfish  interests  or  those  of  some  party  he  has  associated  himself  with— this  is 
immoral;  and  no  obligations  to  his  party,  no  traditions  of  the  past,  can  make  it  otherwise  than  immoral.— Rev.  Joseph  May,  November  28, 1889. 


VoL.  I,  No.  11.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JANUARY,  1890.  teems  :  ^  fee® tfpefcSpy.”” 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana 

Probably  if  the  letter  books  of  all  the  congressmen 
in  the  country  were  published  a  bloiv  ivould  be  struck 
at  the  spoils  system  from  which  it  would  never  recover. 
The  people  of  the  country,  irrespective  of  party,  would 
be  shocked  to  find  for  what  mean  and  paltry  reasons 
good  men  and  women  are  discharged,  how  unwoi'thy 
are  the  agents  to'whom,  in  great  measure,  the  federal 
patronage  is  committed,  and  how  poorly  their  own 
interests  are  eonsulted  in  the  choice  of  officeholders. — 
Boston  Post  [Z)ewi.]  January,  11. 


Mr.  Oliver  T.  Morton  has  written  an 
article  upon  “  Some  Popular  Objections  to 
Civil  Service  Reform,”  which  will  appear 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  in  March  and 
April. 


A  strange  report  comes  from  Philadel¬ 
phia  to  the  effect  that  Quay’s  Collector 
Cooper  appoints  men  as  laborers  and  then 
promotes  them  to  clerkships  within  the 
classified  service.  It  is  also  said  that  Mr. 
Roosevelt  has  investigated  this  and  pro¬ 
nounced  it  true.  The  Philadelphia  asso¬ 
ciation  ought  to  make  open  and  continu 
ous  war  upon  this  cheating  and  illegal 
practice.  It  hardly  seems  possible  that 
President  Harri.son  will  wait  to  have  his 
elbow  jogged  before  he  will  correct  such  a 
clumsy  fraud. 


Our  barons  are  disturbed,  and  are  show¬ 
ing  their  hands — a  bad  thing  to  come  to  in 
this  country.  They  are  proposing  bills  to 
put  the  some  150,000  federal  places  into 
congressional  districts  to  be  divided  for 
their  benefit,  but  at  less  personal  trouble 
and  risk  than  they  now  have.  General 
Rosecrans  has  a  bill  called  a  civil  service 
reform  bill,  which  proposes  to  have  the 
places  lotted  out  to  congressmen,  and  for 
each  congressman,  when  a  vacancy  in  his 
bailiwick  occurs,  to  select  five  of  his  hench¬ 
men  and  to  put  these  under  an  examina¬ 
tion  for  the  final  test. 


The  Farwell  club  is  no  more.  Senator 
Farwell  felt  that  it  was  more  than  even  he 
could  carry,  and  wrote  them  a  letter  refus¬ 
ing  to  have  the  club  named  after  him, 
whereupon  it  expired.^  Its  effects  were 
gathered  in  a  heap  and  sold  to  William 


Pritchard  for  $36.41  for  debt.  This  is  a 
very  instructive  life  and  death.  The  tin- 
horn-Farwell  club  was  composed  exclu¬ 
sively  of  that  class  constantly  spoken  of  as 
the  active  party  workers,  the  men  who 
keep  up  the  party,  the  men  who  get  out  the 
voters  on  election  day,  the  torch  bearers^ 
the  men  who  ride  forty  miles  at  night  for 
the  Ingallses,  the  boys  with  cold  toes,  the 
wheel-horses,  the  members  who  must  be 
taken  in  out  of  the  cold,  and  finally  and 
above  all,  the  men  who  must  be  fed  with 
spoil  or  party  ruin  is  inevitable.  In  this 
view,  when  banded  together,  they  should 
have  been  irresistible.  In  fact  they  were 
the  contempt  and  the  subject  of  ridicule  of 
every  class.  They  got  no  spoil.  They 
whined  and  threatened,  and  went  to  pieces- 
As  individuals  they  breathe  vengeance,  but 
if  the  republicans  had  only  them  to  fear,  it 
would  not  need  to  dread  the  future. 


A  GOOD  deal  of  space  is  given  in  this 
number  to  illustrate  the  operation  by 
which  those  characterized  by  a  president 
of  a  republican  club  as  “  lean  and  hungry 
republican  shoats,”  crowd  each  other  at  the 
official  trough.  The  information  is  given 
as  it  has  been  reported  from  time  to  time 
in  the  public  prints,  and  in  certain  cases 
allowance  will  have  to  be  made  for  partisan 
bias.  In  the  main,  however,  any  one  con¬ 
versant  with  the  operations  in  this  state 
will  recognize  that  the  statements  under¬ 
color  the  true  situation  rather  than  the  op¬ 
posite.  It  is  also  recognized  on  every  hand 
that  the  process  has  honey-combed  the  re¬ 
publican  party  strength.  This  is  what  cer¬ 
tain  congressmen  describe  as  keeping  the 
offices  near  to  the  people. 


Mr.  Henry  A.  Richmond,  of  Buffalo, 
New  York,  one  of  the  first  civil  service 
commissioners  under  the  law  of  that  state, 
has  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  editor  of 
the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  fifty  dollars 
to  be  used  to  further  civil  service  reform 
in  Indiana.  Believing  that  the  destruction 
of  the  spoils  system  only  depends  upon  the 
publication  of  the  facts,  it  has  been  deter¬ 
mined  to  otter  the  above  sum  as  a  prize  for 
the  best  statement  of  the  facts  of  the  use 
of  the  federal  offices  as  spoil  in  any  given 
district.  For  instance,  a  concise  account 
of  the  efforts  of  Congresmen  Cheadle  and 
Owen  in  this  behalf,  in  their  respective 
districts,  would  be  very  instructive.  A 


sample  question  might  be :  Why  was  the 
editor  of  the  Delphi  Journal  given  an  office  ? 
Young  men  in  college  and  out  of  college, 
and  all  others  who  are  interested  in  such 
investigations,  will  be  especially  urged  to 
compete. 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  will  be  held  in 
March  or  April.  As  the  time  approaches 
the  project  of  holding  it  in  Fort  Wayne  is 
being  discussed.  Many  prominent  men  in 
that  city  have  become  identified  with  the 
Association,  and  have  taken  an  active  in¬ 
terest  in  its  work.  It  is  true,  also,  that 
cities  like  Fort  Wayne,  Richmond  and 
Terre  Haute  should  have  the  civil  service 
law  applied  to  their  local  federal  offices ; 
this  object,  agitation  at  home  would  tend 
to  hasten. 

A  CRITIC’S  INCENTIVE. 

If  the  committee  to  investigate  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice,  of  which  Mr.  Foulke  is  chairman,  should 
do  nothing  more  than  to  prepare  a  list  of  the 
newspapers  that  have  been  subsidized  by  of¬ 
fice,  it  would  be  an  impressive  object-lesson. 
We  know  that  a  congressman  receives  the  sup¬ 
port  of  a  county  paper,  and  later  gives  its  ed¬ 
itor  an  office  ;  but,  all  the  same,  it  is  difficult 
to  rid  the  mind  of  the  fiction  that  a  newspa¬ 
per  reflects  public  opinion.  Not  till  the  lists 
of  the  subsidized  newspaper  editors  and  the 
office  holders,  made  of  the  political  commit¬ 
teemen,  are  printed,  shall  we  realize  the  grip 
of  a  political  machine  and  the  tremendous 
agencies  it  employs  to  stifle  public  opinion. 
An  instance  of  this  has  recently  occurred 
at  Delphi,  this  state.  The  republican  pa¬ 
per,  week  after  week,  attacked  the  civil- 
service  law  and  the  merit  system  with  bitter 
hostility.  So  far  the  editor  may  have  been 
wrong,  but  honest,  though  all  the  old  lies 
against  the  merit  system  were  repeated  with  a 
gusto  that  forbade  correction.  But  it  later 
appeared  that  the  animus  of  these  phillipics 
was  an  office  wanted  that  had  not  come.  Then 
the  editor  discarded  generalities  and  made  his 
wishes  known  in  a  way  that  must  have  caused 
his  worthy  congressman  to  shake  with  appre¬ 
hension.  Space  must  limit  the  the  quotation  : 

If,  when  John  C.  New,  of  the  Jour7ioi,  asked  for  the 
London  consulship,  he  had  been  informed  that 
Cleveland’s  appointee  would  be  retained,  what  a 
blue  tinge  the  air  would  have  taken  on.  And  how 
Dan  Ransdell  and  W.  11.  H.  Miller  and  Porter  and 
Huston  and  all  the  rest  of  them  would  have  howled 
in  agony  if  civil  service  sloi>  had  been  doled  out  to 
them.  Under  these  circumstances  would  the  In. 
dianapolis  Journal  be  feeding  the  pampered,  weak- 


86 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


minded,  scrofulous  child  on  choice  bonbons?  No 
indeed.  The  Indianapolis  Journal  would  have  been 
a  center  from  which  greased  lightning  would  have 
darted  in  all  directions.  The  Journal  ought  to  know 
that  it  is  of  infinitely  more  importance  to  satisfy  the 
working  republicans  in  the  out  counties  on  this  poin* 
than  the  prominent  politicians  of  that  paper  and  in  In 
dianapolis.  For  the  out  counties  give  the  republican  ma 
j  orities.  ,j 

We  can  see  that  President  Harrison  is  merely  exe¬ 
cuting  the  law  as  it  now  is.  This  is  all  right.  But 
unless  the  present  congress  relieves  him  of  the  law 
by  wiping  it  out  of  existence  they  will  show  to  the 
country  that  they  lack  the  courage  of  their  convic¬ 
tions,  that  they  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  repub¬ 
lican  sentiment  of  the  country. 

Let  Congressman  Cheadle  go  ahead.  Let  him  force 
his  bill  to  a  vote.  We  want  to  see  the  names  of  the 
cowards  who  are  tarred  with  the  same  stick  that  has 
made  the  names  of  Roosevelt,  Curtis,  et  al.,  odorifer¬ 
ous  to  a  purgative  extent. 

Mr.  Eicketts  got  his  office  forthwith. 


THE  LOOT  OF  THE  INDIAN  SERVICE 

It  would  seem  to  be  a  simple  matter  for  an 
association  known  to  be  entirely  non-partisan 
and  composed  of  men  of  the  highest  standing 
to  have  its  word  regarding  evils  investigated 
by  it  accepted  by  a  President.  But  so  dense  is 
the  officialism  at  Washington  that  the  Indian 
Rights  Association  labored  nearly  four  years 
before  they  succeeded  in  really  making  any 
headway  in  impressing  President  Cleveland 
with  the  gravity  of  the  evil  that  had  gone  on. 
Every  one  else  knew  of  the  shameful  wrong  and 
scandal  resulting  from  giving  the  places  in 
the  Indian  service  as  spoil.  At  the  close  of 
his  administration,  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Oberly  doubtless  foreshadowed  a  reform  in 
this  service.  During  President  Harrison’s 
candidacy  and  after  his  election,  every  effort 
was  made  to  induce  him  to  subject  this  service 
to  no  risk,  but  to  at  once  put  it  under  the  com¬ 
petitive  system.  General  Harrison  showed 
entire  familiarity  with  the  abuses  that  had 
gone  on  in  this  service,  but  he  was  reluctant 
to  say  that  the  competitive  system  was  the  best 
practicable  system.  Why  has  President  Har¬ 
rison  also  apparently  given  this  service  over  to 
the  clutch  of  congressional  spoilsmen?  Last 
month  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  printed  a 
letter  from  an  entirely  trustworthy  source, 
stating  that  Senator  Moody  had  sent  over  a 
henchman  to  spy  out  the  Yankton  agency  to 
see  whether  it  would  suit  him.  A  protest  was 
made  against  removing  the  best  agent  the 
Yankton  Indians  had  had  for  twelve  years, 
but  to  no  purpose.  Since  protests  do  not  avail, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  Indian  Rights  Association 
to  appeal  to  public  opinion  and  to  give  a  par¬ 
ticular  account  of  every  instance  where  a  con¬ 
gressman  attempts  to  remove  a  competent 
employe  in  order  to  put  some  man  who  has  made 
“his  hedge”  or  carried  out  “his  dung”  into  a 
place.  Mr.  Welsh  may  be  sure  that  if  he  will 
give  his  fellow  citizens  the  facts,  they  will  not 
be  indifferent.  Nor  can  the  responsibility  of 
the  President  end  with  the  appointment  of 
General  Morgan.  Has  he  said  to  him,  these 
places  are  not  congressional  or  other  spoil,  do 
your  duty  and  I  will  do  mine.  If  a  recent  in¬ 
terview  with  General  Morgan  is  correct,  he 
has  already  reluctantly  come  to  admit  that 


these  congressional  barons,  if  they  so  insist, 
must  be  obeyed,  and  places  made  as  they 
dictate,  to  be  filled  as  they  will. 


THE  CLERGY  AND  CIVIL  SERVICE 
REFORM. 

The  Civil  Service  Record  for  January  prints  a 
list,  as  the  names  have  casually  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  editor,  of  the  clergymen  who 
have  already  preached  or  will  in  the  near 
future  preach  a  sermon  on  civil  service  reform. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  list  of  two  hundred  or 
more.  Many  of  these  sermons  will  be  printed 
and  circulated,  the  more  the  better.  Those 
clergymen  who  have  tried  to  maintain  that 
this  question  was  only  a  political  one,  and 
thus  not  for  pulpit  discussion,  can  not  hold 
their  ground  in  the  face  of  the  sermons,  treat¬ 
ing  it  as  a  grave  moral  question.  That  the 
list  of  the  Record  by  no  means  indicates  the 
number  of  sermons  actually  preached,  but  not 
reported,  may  be  illustrated  by  Richmond,  in 
this  state.  There  Rev.  I.  M.  Hughes,  Rev. 
Alexander  Gilchrist,  Rev.  J.  W.  Stone  and 
Rev.  A.  W.  Lamport,  preached  upon  this  ques¬ 
tion.  In  Indianapolis,Eev.  John  Hilliard  Ran¬ 
ger,  of  Christ  church,  will  shortly  preach  upon 
it.  Rev.  E.  R.  Johnson  of  Crawfordsville,  in 
his  sermon  said  ;  “To-day  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
250,000  offices  of  the  civil  .service  are  like  so 
many  distinct  sums  of  money  used  as  political 
capital  in  the  hands  of  the  wire-workers  in 
both  parties  in  order  to  secure  the  election  of 
their  candidates.  In  this  way  the  offices  of 
the  country  have  become  the  stronghold  of  the 
party  in  power,  and  the  party  out  of  power 
makes  strenuous  efforts  to  become  possessed  of 
them.”  This  is  brave  talk  in  Indiana,  but  we 
are  informed  that  this  sermon  was  fully  en¬ 
dorsed  by  Mr.  Johnson’s  congregation,  and  that 
the  question  of  civil  service  reform  is  to  be 
further  discussed  by  the  ministerial  associa¬ 
tion  of  Crawfordsville.  All  this  is  most  en¬ 
couraging. 

CONGRESS  AND  THE  CIVIL  SER¬ 
VICE. 

The  confirmation  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  Mr. 
Thompson  as  civil  service  commissioners 
marks  a  decisive  advance  of  the  merit  system. 
They  came  upon  the  commission  at  a  time 
when  it  was  in  sore  need  of  a  fearless  attitude, 
and  it  can  not  be  said  that  they  have  been 
me.k.  With  Mr.  Roosevelt  as  the  chief 
spokesman  the  commission  has  allowed  no  di¬ 
rect  attack  to  go  unnoticed.  It  has  given 
blow  for  blow,  and  very  generally  its  critics 
are  badly  disfigured.  The  commission  also 
has  understood  the  duties  laid  upon  it  by  the 
law  and  has  not  been  backward  in  perform¬ 
ance.  Office  after  office  accustomed  to  obey 
the  law  so  far  as  party  exigency  permitted 
was  brought  up  with  a  round  turn.  The  com¬ 
mission  proclaimed  everywhere  that  demo¬ 
crats  and  all  non-republicans  and  republicans 
would  have  exactly  the  same  treatment  when 
competing.  It  overhauled  local  boards  and 
had  it  understood  that  these  boards  are  not 
local  party  machines.  It  did  not  hesitate 


to  beard  Mahone  when  his  henchmen  under¬ 
took  to  unlawfully  collect  money.  The  result 
is  that  the  law  is  being  enforced  in  a  manner 
never  known  before,  and  it  necessarily  follows 
that  this  enforcement  will  not  in  the  future  be 
less  rigid,  but  more  so.  That  the  senate,  made 
up  almost  entirely  of  partisans,  now  confirms 
these  appointments  indicates  that  even  par¬ 
tisans  have  come  to  recognize  the  inevitable — 
that  the  merit  system  is  thoroughly  rooted  in 
the  federal  service. 

Another  indication  of  this  decisive  advance 
is  the  constitution  of  the  committee  on  the 
civil  service  by  Speaker  Reed.  The  members 
are,  Lehlbach  of  New  Jersey,  Bayne  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  Butterworth  of  Ohio,  Hopkins  of  Ill¬ 
inois,  Greenhalge  of  Masschusetts,  Sanford  of 
New  York,  Lind  of  Minnesota,  Stephenson  of 
Michigan,  Dargan  of  South  Carolina,  Stone  of 
Missouri,  Alderson  of  West  Virginia,  Andrew 
of  Masschusetts,  Boatner  of  Louisiana. 

The  formation  of  this  committee  proves  that 
the  merit  system  is  to  be  built  up.  Let  con¬ 
gress  now  give  the  little  sum  of  S53,000  asked 
by  the  commission  and  that  system  will  make 
progress  that  will  please  its  friends  and  con¬ 
vince  its  enemies.  It  will  relieve  congressmen 
of  the  greatest  burden  they  now  carry — the 
importunities  of  place  hunters.  Once  relieved  of 
these  importunities  the  very  congressmen  who 
are  now  struggling  to  retain  the  distribution 
of  offices,  will  turn  and  thank  the  civil  service 
reformers.  It  is  doubtful  if  upon  self-exam¬ 
ination  any  congressman  who  is  now  an  out 
spoken  spoilsman  would  find  that  he  had  any 
other  motive  than  fear  of  his  party  workers  at 
home.  This  is  an  ignoble  fear  and  to  a  large  ex¬ 
tent  unnecessary.  The  fate  of  theFarwell  club 
in  Indianapolis  proves  that  the  men  who  do 
party  work  only  for  party  spoil  are  the  weak¬ 
est  of  enemies.  Any  congressman  has  but  to 
fight  them  openly  and  take  the  people  into  his 
confidence  to  put  them  to  rout. 


THE  PRESIDENT’S  OPPORTUNITY. 

It  is  not  true  that  incumbency  is  a  conclusive  ar¬ 
gument  for  a  continuance  in  office.  Impartiality,  moder¬ 
ation,  flidcUty  to  public  duty,  and  a  good  attainment  in 
the  discharge  of  it  must  be  added  before  the  argument  is 
complete.  When  those  heading  an  administrative  office 
so  conduct  themselves  as  to  convince  just  political  oppo¬ 
nents  that  no  party  consideration  or  bias  affects  in  any 
way  the  discharge  of  their  public  duties,  we  can  more 
easily  stay  the  demand  for  removals.— Rmide?i<’s 
Messsage,  December,  1889. 

The  President  can  find  in  the  postmasters 
at  Springfield  and  Quincy,  Mass.,  public  serv¬ 
ants  who  have  not  only  shown  all  the  qualifi¬ 
cations  he  would  exact  for  retention,  but  whose 
retention  is  demanded  by  public  opinion  in 
the  communities  in  which  they  have  labored. 
Mr.  Spear,  the  democrat  appointed  postmaster 
at  Quincy  by  President  Cleveland,  is  past 
middle  life,  an  old  resident  and  a  successful 
business  man.  He  has  administered  the  office 
to  the  satisfaction  of  citizens  of  all  classes. 
The  republican,  whom  Congressman  Morse 
intends  to  have  appointed,  is  the  chairman  of 
the  republican  ward  and  city  committee,  and 
at  present  without  any  regular  business.  In 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


87 


Massachusetts  a  congressman  feels  constrained 
to  appear  to  defer  somewhat  to  public  opinion, 
and  Congressman  Morse  therefore  suggested  a 
caucus  to  determine  the  wishes  of  the  republi¬ 
can  pAtrons  of  the  office.  Later  the  republican 
city  committee,  hearing  that  the  caucus  was  to 
be  conducted  on  the  plan  of  the  Australian  bal¬ 
lot  system,  objected,  and  Mr.  Morse  saw  fit  to 
withdraw  his  offer.  Instead,  he  sent  some  cir¬ 
culars  around  and  asked  that  the  preference 
be  indicated  by  letter  to  him.  Nothing  be¬ 
comes  an  aristocratic  government  by  congress¬ 
men  like  secrecy!  Nevertheless,  a  caucus  was 
held,  and  out  of  150  votes  Mr.  Spear  received 
100.  Mr.  Morse  explained  the  situation  by 
saying,  “The  republicans  are  indifferent,  and 
do  not  care  who  is  postmaster  so  long  as  he  is 
a  good  man.”  This  is  simply  the  congres¬ 
sional  way  of  saying  that  the  republican  tax¬ 
payers  do  not  approve  of  turning  out  a  good 
man. 

The  President  can  now  decide  between  a 
public  servant  who  has  not  allowed  “party 
consideration  or  bias  ”  to  in  any  way  affect 
the  discharge  of  his  public  duties,  and  a  re¬ 
publican  chairman  of  a  political  committee 
whose  whole  experience  unfits  him  to  become 
the  public  official  indicated  by  the  President. 

The  case  of  Postmaster  Rice  is  much  strong¬ 
er.  He  is  all  and  more  than  the  President 
asks  for.  At  the  end  of  four  years  there  are 
more  republican  than  democratic  subordi¬ 
nates  employed  under  this  democratic  post¬ 
master.  Over  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
republican  patr9ns  of  the  office  were  willing 
publicly  to  petition  for  his  retention.  Four¬ 
teen  republican  papers,  including  the  Boston 
Journal,  the  Boston  TranscHpt,  the  Haverhill 
Gazette,  the  Palmer  Journal,  the  Brattleborn 
Pluenix  commend  the  efforts  of  the  Springfield 
Republican  to  retain  the  services  of  such  a  man. 
The  President  has  always  expressed  a  tender¬ 
ness  for  the  veterans  of  the  civil  war.  What 
ruler,  except  in  the  United  States,  would  even 
consider  the  brutal  discharge  [the  four  years 
tenure  is  nothing  except  an  opportunity  for 
evasion]  of  an  employe  of  the  highest  efficiency 
and  popularity,  a  veteran  with  this  record, 
which  we  copy  from  the  Republican : 

John  L.  Rice  enlisted  April  19,  1861,  in  the 
2d  New  Hampshire  regiment.  It  was  the  very 
day  when  the  first  Union  soldiers,  men  of  the 
Massachusetts  6th,  were  slain  in  the  streets  of 
Baltimore.  In  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  in 
the  final  struggle  for  the  Henry  hill,  just  be¬ 
fore  ihe  stampede  of  the  Federal  army.  Rice 
fell  with  a  musket  ball  through  the  lungs.  He 
was  borne  off'  by  his  comrades  toward  Sudley 
church,  which  had  been  taken  for  a  hospital, 
but  being  sharply  pursued,  and  thinking  him 
dead,  they  left  him  under  a  fence.  There 
he  lav  two  days,  unconscious,  and  was  found 
by  a  Virginian  and  his  wife  who  had  been  tak¬ 
ing  care  of  the  wounded  men  in  Sudley  church, 
they  cleansed  his  festering  wounds,  tended 
and  fed  him,  until  the  end  of  ten  days  he  could 
be  moved.  He  was  taken  to  Manassas  Junc¬ 
tion,  placed  on  board  a  freight  car,  and  con¬ 
veyed  with  other  prisoners  to  Richmond. 
In  Libby  prison,  14  days  after  the  battle.  Rice 
for  the  first  time  had  his  wound  properly 
dressed.  Meantime,  he  had  been  reported 
dead,  and  his  friends  at  home  had  held  funer¬ 
al  services.  In  Libby  he  remained  six  months 


when  he  was  exchanged,  and  immediately  re¬ 
joined  his  regiment,  although  for  several 
months  he  was  unable  to  carry  more  than  his 
musket  and  ammunition.  He  served  in  its 
ranks,  through  all  its  battles  on  the  Peninsula 
and  in  Pope’s  Bull  Run  campaign,  at  South 
Mountain  and  at  Antietam.  On  the  field  of 
Antietam  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire 
found  him  doing  guard  duty  and  promoted 
him  to  a  captaincy.  Capt.  Rice  was  among 
the  troops  detailed  to  accompany  Gen.  Banks 
when  he  went  to  Louisiana  to  relieve  Gen. 
Butler. 

There  ought  to  be  no  objection  to  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  operations  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission  and  no  friend  of  the  merit 
system  will  make  any.  Somethings  are,  how¬ 
ever,  clear  without  any  investigation.  One  is 
that  no  relative  of  any  member  of  the  commis¬ 
sion  should  be  in  its  employ.  After  the  years 
of  public  scandal  of  appointing  officers  giving 
offices  to  relatives,  for  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  to  have  such  a  case  is  per  se  improper. 


In  the  same  line,  also.  Senator  Edmunds  cuts 
a  poor  figure  in  the  matter  of  the  proposed 
Dudley  investigation.  That  he  could  read 
Dudley’s  letter  and  not  get  up  and  heartily 
second  the  investigation  is  a  grave  disappoint¬ 
ment  to  many  who  have  for  years  believed 
that  Senator  Edmunds  would  never  be  afraid 
to  hunt  for  the  truth  and  face  it.  This  mat¬ 
ter  can  not  be  allowed  to  rest  here.  Dudley 
wrote  that  letter;*  unimpeachable  witnesses 
have  sworn  to  his  signature.  The  district  at¬ 
torney  of  Indiana  illegally  prevented  his  ar¬ 
rest  and  pronounced  his  letter  honorable  and 
patriotic,  and  still,  by  sufferance  of  President 
Harrison,  unbearably  disgraces  his  office  by 
occupancy.  These  facts  make  a  situation 
which  can  not  be  ignored.  The  administra¬ 
tion  and  its  party  will  have  to  learn  the  lesson 
that  discovered  scoundrels  must  become  dis¬ 
carded  and  discountenanced  scoundrels.  Not 
withstanding  all  that  has  occurred,  it  is  not 
by  any  means  certain  that  with  a  prosecutor 
who  meant  to  do  his  duty  Dudley  could  not 
yet  be  sent  to  prison. 

A  remarkable  and  disgraceful  struggle  be¬ 
tween  Congressman  Dalzell  and  Congressman 
Quay  over  the  Pittsburgh  post-office  has  recent¬ 
ly  come  to  a  close  in  the  triumph  of  Quay. 
Complete  statements  of  each  side  are  given  in 
another  column.  Their  frankness  is  truly  as¬ 
tonishing.  Dalzell  says,  “  The  President  *■  * 
seems  to  think  that  precedent  could  not  stand 
against  the  demand  of  the  chairman  of  the 
national  committee.  ^  *  It  is  a  wrong 
against  the  representative  of  my  district.” 
Quay  says,  “The  President  is  the  absolute 
arbiter  of  all  federal  patronage.  »  *  *. 

The  fact  is  that  the  city  organization  of  Pitts¬ 
burgh  has,  until  very  recently,  been  exceed¬ 
ingly  hostile  to  me,  and  the  Pittsburgh  post- 
office  embraces  about  three  hundred  appoint¬ 
ments,  which  to  put  it  mildly,  I  decline  to 
have  placed  in  the  hands  of  my  adversaries. 
*■  *  The  President  *  *  could  not  under 

the  circumstances  well  avoid  complying  with 
my  wishes.”  Will  President  Harrison  read 


the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  say 
that  he  is  not  disgraced  by  this  transaction? 
Not  only  his  oath  of  office,  but  his  manhood  is 
trampled  upon  and  dragged  in  the  dirt. 


The  Maryland  opponents  of  American  feud¬ 
alism  and  of  Mr.  Gorman  as  its  striking  ex¬ 
ample,  have  now  been  for  several  years  giving 
Senator  Gorman  Pyrrhus-like  victories.  There 
are  signs  that  these  assaults  have  told  on  even 
Senator  Gorman’s  nerves,  and  that  his  hand  has 
lost  somewhat  of  its  cunning.  A  ballot-reform 
bill  would  be  inconvenient  for  the  carrying 
out  of  his  political  methods,  but  a  ballot-re¬ 
form  bill  had  been  promised.  He  therefore 
prepared  a  crafty  speech,  which  was  intended 
only  for  the  ears  of  the  county  weekly  papers, 
and  which  was  to  give  them  the  keynote  of 
opposition  to  the  Australian  system,  and  to 
undo  the  chance  of  passing  any  bill.  But 
Mr.  Gorman’s  speech  got  into  print,  and  the 
outcome  was  such  a  burst  of  public  disap¬ 
proval  that  he  felt  obliged  to  announce  that 
he  would  explain  more  fully  his  opinions 
about  ballot  reform.  There  are  bad  days 
ahead  for  the  Maryland  boss. 


Delegate  E.  M.  Clements  of  Petersburg,  has 
introduced  into  the  Virginia  legislature  a  bill 
providing  for  non-partisan  boards  of  fire  and 
police  commissioners  in  cities,  who  shall  after 
e.xamination  of  applicants,  without  reference 
to  political  opinion,  nominate  men  for  posi¬ 
tions  in  those  departments.  The  common 
council  has  the  confirmation  of  the  nomina¬ 
tion.  The  term  of  office  in  the  departments 
named  is  six  years,  one  third  going  out  each 
year.  This  is  not  a  complete  merit  .system, 
but  it  is  a  step  and  it  will  be  a  very  consider¬ 
able  step  in  a  state  that  has  been  ridden  by 
Mahoneism. 

In  connection  with  this  bill  the  Petersburg 
Progress  gives  some  interesting  facts  about  the 
government  of  that  city.  In  1869  a  military 
order  put  out  the  democrats  and  filled  their 
places  with  republicans.  Early  in  1870  under 
the  new  constitution  the  democrats  came  in 
and  turned  out  all  the  republicans.  In  May, 
1870,  after  a  city  election,  the  republicans  got 
control  and  turned  out  all  the  democrats.  In 
1874  the  democrats  in  turn  put  out  all  the  ’ 
republicans.  In  1882  Mahone  coalitionists 
got  control  and  swept  out  the  democrats.  In 
1888  the  city  council  again  became  demo¬ 
cratic  and  made  the  last  clean  sweep.  After 
the  rotation  of  1882,  a  large  fire  occured  from 
lack  of  a  known  convenient  supply  of  water. 
Within  one  hundred  feet  of  the  burning  build¬ 
ing  was  a  reservoir  with  abundance  of  water, 
but  so  complete  had  been  the  application  of 
the  rule  of  “giving  some  else  a  chance”  that 
not  a  person  connected  with  the  fire  depart¬ 
ment  knew  of  this  cistern.  It  was  as  com¬ 
pletely  lost  as  a  buried  city. 


Two  of  the  three  recent  post-office  appointees 
from  the  top  of  the  eligible  list  are  stated  to 
be  democrats. 


88 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


The  appointment  by  the  President  of  John 
B.  Harlow  as  postmaster  of  St.  Louis  is  not 
only  a  creditable  act,  in  that  it  gives  a  large 
city  a  good  postmaster,  but  the  promotion  of  a 
faithful  and  efficient  clerk  to  be  the  head  of 
an  office  is  the  very  essence  of  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem.  A  curious  injustice  of  the  spoils  system 
has  been  the  custom  of  going  out  to  select  an 
inexperienced  man  to  be  the  head  of  a  depart¬ 
ment,  and  to  consume  months  in  teaching  him 
his  duties,  and  to  ignore  the  men  whose 
fidelity  and  efficiency  had  earned  them  the 
right  of  promotion.  The  civil  service  law  has 
thus  largely  been  in  the  hands  of  its  enemies. 
The  men  who  have  entered  the  service  under 
the  merit  system,  trained  to  the  belief  that 
their  chief  duty  was  to  do  the  best  work  pos¬ 
sible,  have  been  superintended  by  working 
politicians,  trained  in  the  belief  that  the  of¬ 
fice  was  to  be  made  the  backbone  of  the  par¬ 
ty’s  strength.  This  has  been  a  constant  menace 
and  peril  to  the  law,  and  to  the  men  who  have 
entered  the  service  under  the  law.  Every 
time  the  President  promotes  a  worthy  federal 
employe  he  strengthens  the  principles  of  the 
merit  system  the  country  over. 


Census  Superintendent  Porter,  according  to 
the  Indianapolis  Journal,  says  :  “  It  will  simply 
be  impossible  to  see  any  more  applicants  for 
clerical  positions.  My  whole  time  has  nearly 
been  consumed  in  talking  with  applicants. 
The  business  of  the  office  has  been  neglected.” 
The  responsibility  for  this  condition  of  things 
is  upon  the  President.  Long  ago  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  commission  not  only  offered  to  furnish  the 
clerks  for  the  census  bureau  under  the  system 
of  open  competition,  which  permitted  tests 
that  would  have  supplied  the  best  class  of  men, 
but  urged  upon  the  President  the  adoption  of 
this  course.  He  refused  with  deliberation, 
and  it  is  no  injustice  to  him  to  say  that  he  re¬ 
fused  with  the  sole  object  of  giving  his  party 
the  benefit  of  the  use  of  these  places  as  spoil. 
The  result  was,  of  course,  inevitable.  A  su¬ 
perintendent  of  the  census,  who  has  in  hand  a 
work  which  would  tax  to  the  utmost  the  capa¬ 
bilities  of  the  ablest  specialist,  if  absolutely 
free  for  that  work  alone,  has  his  whole  time 
consumed  in  “  talking  with  applicants,”  and 
in  trying  to  find  quarters  at  the  expense  of  the 
people  for  multitudes  of  congressional  hench¬ 
men. 


The  attention  of  the  esteemed  civil  service 
reform  league  of  Indiana  is  invited  to  the  fact 
that  the  postmaster  at  Fort  Wayne  has  just 
been  elected  a  member  of  the  republican  cen¬ 
tral  committee  of  Allen  county.  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  didn’t  permit  federal  office-holders  to  be¬ 
come  members  of  political  committees,  but  he 
wasn’t  a  good  enough  civil  service  man  for  the 
Indiana  reformers,  so  they  helped  elect  Har 
rison,  who  has  no  objection  whatever  to  federal 
office-holders  acting  in  this  capacity.  The  In¬ 
diana  reformers  are  what  Sam  Weller  would 
call  a  “rum  lot,”  sure  enough. — Indianapolis 
Sentinel. 

There  is  no  more  gratifying  sign  of  the  in¬ 
crease  of  public  sentiment  against  the  use  of 
public  offices  as  personal  or  party  spoil  than  is 


afforded  by  the  Sentinel  under  its  new  manage¬ 
ment.  This  management  evidently  has  not 
read  the  back  numbers  of  that  paper.  If  it 
had,  it  would  find  that  Mr.  Cleveland’s  post¬ 
master  Kaough,  at  Fort  Wayne,  was  one  of  the 
most  pestiferous  party  workers  during  his 
whole  term  of  office.  As  chief  marshal  of  the 
federal  office-holders  in  the  service  of  Congress¬ 
man  Lowry,  he  led  his  party  to  disaster  in  the 
twelfth  district  in  1886.  He  was  one  of  the 
large  class  of  brazen  insulters  and  contemners 
in  Indiana  of  Mr.  Cleveland’s  orders  and  de¬ 
clared  principles.  In  a  friendly  way,  we  ad¬ 
vise  the  Sentinel  to  avoid  comparisons  like 
this.  Those  who  lived  here  at  the  time  were 
long  suffering  and  are  full  of  facts.  Ugly  as 
those  facts  are,they  do  not  in  any  manner  ex¬ 
cuse  President  Harrison,  and  it  is  a  vicious 
impropriety  to  allow  the  postmaster  at  Fort 
Wayne  to  be  a  member  of  a  republican  county 
committee. 

THE  AMERICAN-DEMOCRATIC  AN¬ 
TI- CHINESE- SYSTEM. 

This  pork  is  fat  enough  to  kill,  and  it 
ought  to  be  disposed  of  while  the  political 
k)nl^  is  sharp  and  the  water  hot,  so  as  to 
give  place  to  a  few  of  the  lean  and  hungry 
republican  shoats  who  have  been  rooting 
and  digging  for  the  last  four  years  in  hopes 
to  get  a  whack  at  Uncle  Sam’s  crib  before 
the  corn  is  all  gone. — S.  ft.  Stratton,  President 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Republican  Association  in 
Washington,  Aug.  29,  1SS9. 

—Jeffersonville— The  republicans  of  this  city  are 
indignant  over  the  appointment  of  Major  A.  M.  Luke 
as  postmaster.  He,  like  all  other  appointees  here 
held  office  for  years  when  Cleveland  came  in.  The 
Lincoln  League  last  night  burned  all  campaign  out¬ 
fits  and  Harrison’s  pictures,  as  expressive  of  its  dis¬ 
like.— Special  to  IndianayoHs  News. 

—Sullivan— The  republican  wrangle  for  postmaster 
at  Sullivan  yesterday  culminated  in  a  mass  meeting, 
and  E.  P.  Lacey,  deputy  postmaster  at  Sullivan  in 
Garfield’s  time,  was  named  as  the  choice.  J.  P- 
Clugage,  editor  of  the  Union,  who  is  also  an  aspir¬ 
ant,  refused  to  go  into  this  meeting. 

—Berne— After  a  bitter  wrangle  John  N.  Sullivan, 
an  old  soldier,  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Berne, 
and  he  moved  the  post  oflSce  into  a  drug  store  owned 
by  a  democrat.  This  added  additional  fuel  to  the  ill- 
feeling  already  existing,  and  the  di.sgruntled  repub¬ 
licans  were  successful  in  getting  Sullivan’s  appoint¬ 
ment  revoked,  and  a  township  committeeman  named 
Wagoner  appointed.  The  latter  refuses  to  qualify, 
and  the  tangle  is  greater  than  ever.— Indianapolis 
News. 

— Logansport— It  is  stated  that  the  postotfice  tight 
in  Logansport  has  been  settled,  and  that  Congress 
man  W.  D.  Owen  will  recommend  the  appointment  oj 
Daniel  W.  Tomlinson,  chairman  of  the  Republican 
county  central  committee. —Indianapolis  Journal. 

— Muncie— We  made  a  gain  of  480  for  Harrisoin 
showing  the  second  largest  gain  of  any  county  in  the 
state.  Yet  we  have  not  secured  a  single  appoint¬ 
ment.  Marion  county  lost  1,100  and  the  annual  sal¬ 
aries  of  the  citizens  who  have  been  appointed  from 
Indianapolis  will  aggregate  $200,000.  If  this  is  good 
politics,  we  don’t  know  anything  about  politics 
Probably  this  accounts  for  the  indifference  up  our 
way. — Intel  view  in  Indianapolis  News, 
—Monroeville— Monroeville  republicans  are  so 
determinedly  opposed  to  Hugh  Stewart,  recently  ap¬ 
pointed  postmaster,  that  a  boycott  has  been  organ¬ 
ized  against  the  office,  and  citizens  have  arranged  for 
a  pony  express,  and  send  their  mail  to  a  little  town 


across  the  Ohio  line  to  be  loiwaided.— Indianapolis 
Netvs. 

— The  Monroeville  postotfice  war  continues.  U.  S. 
Marshall  Blair  was  there  last  week  for  the  purpose  of 
looking  into  the  affair,  and  found  that  the  majority 
of  the  people  would  have  nothing  at  all  to  do  with 
the  postotfice,  mailed  their  letters  upon  passing 
trains,  and  purchased  their  stamps  at  Fort  Wayne. 
— Indianapolis  News. 

—The  squabble  over  the  Monroeville  r  ost-office  has 
been  settled  by  the  resignation  of  Hugh  Stewart, 
who  takes  a  place  in  one  of  the  departments  at 
Washington,  while  George  Webster  succeeds  him  as 
postmaster.  Captain  J.  B.  Davis,  another  applicant, 
has  been  appointed  government  agent  for  the  Sioux 
Indians.  The  situation  is  still  further  ameliorated  in 
Allen  county  by  making  Robert  A.  Liggett,  of  Fort 
Wayne,  revenue  guager  for  that  district,  vice  Edward 
R.  Sweet,  remoyed.— Indianapolis  News. 

—Kokomo.— Almost  the  last  act  of  President  Ar¬ 
thur  was  to  nominate  Colonel  Milt.  Garrigus,  of  Ko¬ 
komo,  as  collector  of  that  revenue  district,  but  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison  was  a  member  of  the  senate  committee, 
investigating  certain  charges  which  had  been  pre¬ 
ferred,  and  Garrigus  was  not  confirmed  through  his 
efforts.  In  the  last  campaign  Garrigus  was  chairman 
of  the  Howard  county  central  committee,  and  he  in¬ 
creased  the  republican  majority.  After  Harrison’s 
inauguration  he  filed  an  application  to  be  appointed 
postmaster  of  Kokomo,  but  his  friends  have  been 
notified  by  Harrison  that  he  can  not  be  appointed, 
because  of  the  old  accusation,  which  has  been  with¬ 
drawn  from  the  senate,  and  of  which  the  only  copy 
is  in  possession  of  one  man,  who  has  notified  the 
President  that  no  one  save  himself  can  produce  the 
charge  against  Garrigus,  and  that  it  is  his  property. 
President  Harrison,  however,  is  determined  not  to 
appoint  Garrigus,  although  Congressman  Cheadle  is 
making  a  personal  fight  for  him,  and  in  consequence,  there 
is  great  hubbub  in  this  section  of  the  state. — Special  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  June  8,  1889. 

— WiNAMAC— A  correspondent  of  the  Indianapolis 
Sentinel  states  that  Congressman  Owen  recommended 
the  editor  of  the  Winamac  Republican  for  postmaster, 
but  that  the  President  refused,  on  the  ground  that 
there  were  too  many  old  soldiers  who  had  been  neg¬ 
lected.  However,  he  was  told  that  any  compromise 
which  might  be  reached  whereby  Editor  Atchison 
could  receive  a  portion  of  the  salary  from  any  of  the 
soldier  candidates,  the  appointment  would  be  made 
in  harmony  with  the  compromise.  Mr.  Owen  so  in¬ 
formed  the  committee,  who  made  the  proposition  to 
each  of  the  soldier  candidates  for  the  position  that  if 
he  would  pay  Atchison  $200  per  year  out  of  the  sal¬ 
ary,  that  his  appointment  would  be  made  forthwith. 
E.  N.  Hughes,  George  Douglass  and  Johnny  James, 
all  honest  and  highly  respected  citizens,  were  the 
soldier  candidates,  but  they  concluded  that  they 
would  take  the  ‘‘entire  swine”  or  none.  Another 
soldier  was  then  approached,  who  accepted  the  terms 
made  by  the  committee,  and  he  being  the  highest 
and  best  bidder,  at  the  recommendation  of  Congress¬ 
man  Owen  and  by  order  of  Chief  Harrison,  the  post- 
office  was  ‘‘  knocked  off”  to  him.— Indianapolis  Sen¬ 
tinel. 

— Franklin— Our  city  is  all  torn  up  over  the  new 
postmaster.  Certainly  the  slick  six  here  got  in  their 
work.  As  against  either  of  his  leading  opponents, 
Richardson  or  McLaughlin,  he  could  not  have  got 
one  vote  in  ten.  I  have  heard  prominent  republi¬ 
cans  denounce  his  appointment  most  emphatically. 
There  was  a  call  published  to  the  old  soldiers  to  meet 
Saturday,  and,  if  possible,  to  defeat  this  very  nomi¬ 
nation.  which  was  telegraphed  to  Washington,  and 
the  appointment  hastened  to  head  off  any  expression 
from  them.— LeMer  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

— Portland — It  had  a  soldier  democratic  post¬ 
master  with  nearly  three  years  time  yet  to  serve  in 
office.  He  was  removed  and  a  republican  appointed. 
Postmaster  Lowrie  was  the  most  popular  official  who 
has  ever  served  in  the  office,  and  a  man  in  needy 
circumstances  He  was  given  the  “  razzle-dazzle.” 
There  were  six  republican  candidates— Levi  L.  Gil¬ 
pin,  a  gallant  soldier ;  Nimrod  Headington,  a  gallant 
soldier;  Thomas  Bosworth,  a  gallant  soldier;  Theo¬ 
dore  Baily,  a  gallant  soldier;  Mr.  Buck,  a  gallant 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


89 


soldier  (every  one  has  a  good  soldier  record),  and 
Elias  J.  Marsh,  a  civilian  and  a  crank.  Marsh  was 
appointed.  There  is  no  more  unpopular  man  in  hi 
own  party.  The  kicking  ismighiy  among  the  repub_ 
lican  cohorts.  It  was  totally  unexpected  here  that 
Marsh  would  get  the  appointment.  His  candidacy 
was  laughed  at,  but  Congressman  Browne,  of  Win¬ 
chester,  was  enlisted  in  his  behalf  and  the  appoint¬ 
ment,  it  seems,  was  easily  ob'ained.— letter  in  In¬ 
dianapolis  Sentinel. 

—Greenfield— Word  has  reached  this  city  that 
Mr.  Isaac  Davis  has  been  appointed  postmaster  of 
Greenfield  vice  N.  P.  Howard,  jr.,  removed.  This 
change  has  been  looked  for  for  some  time  past,  as  it 
was  known  to  be  the  choice  of  Col.  Richard  Alex¬ 
ander  Black,  the  boss  of  the  republican  graveyard. 
It  will  require  several  days  to  file  the  necessaiy  pa¬ 
pers  to  enable  Mr.  Davis  to  enjoy  the  possession  of 
the  prize.  The  appointment  is  not  sa'isfactory  to  a 
large  number  of  republicans,  esjeciatly  our  friend^ 
Mr.  Montgomery,  editor  of  the  Greenfield  Republicaii. 
—Hancock  Democrat. 

—Columbus— Republicans,  twelve  or  fifteen  in 
number,  who  want  the  post-office,  with  their  friends 
held  a  convention  last  night  to  try  to  settle  on  a 
man  to  be  recommended  for  the  Columbus  post, 
office.  When  the  time  arrived,  three  or  four  aspir. 
ants,  with  their  followers,  bolted  and  swore  they 
would  not  abide  by  the  decision  reached.  The 
wrangle  was  kept  up  until  a  late  hour,  when  the 
choiee  fell  on  Amos  Hartman,  a  groceryman.  There 
is  great  dissatisfaetion,  and  the  party  is  torn  up  in 
consequence. — Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

— The  Reelsville  post-office  was  a  bone  of  conten¬ 
tion  until  the  appointment  of  G.  L.  Elliott  was  made 
a  week  or  two  since.  Mr.  Elliott  no  sooner  got  pos¬ 
session  of  the  office  than  “an  influence”  was 
brought  to  bear  on  the  powers  that  be  by  which 
his  removal  was  efiected,  and  the  offiee  was  given  to 
Mr.  J.  P.  Gaskin.  We  are  not  advised  as  to  the 
causes  leading  to  the  change.— Putnam  Democrat 
Jan.  8,  1890. 

—Indianapolis  —  The  appointment  of  Nicholas 
Ensley  as  pension  agent  at  this  point  has  stirred  up 
trouble  for  the  administration.  President  Harrison’s 
old  regiment,  the  seventieth,  is  sizzling  hot.  When 
the  regiment  met  here  to  attend  Harrison’s  inaugu¬ 
ration  in  a  body,  there  were  145  members  from  all 
parts  of  the  country.  Before  starting  to  the  union 
station  the  regiment  held  a  meeting  and  passed  a 
series  of  resolutions  indorsing  Colonel  Merrill  and 
asking  President  Harrison  to  appoint  him  to  an  of¬ 
fice,  as  a  compliment  to  the  regiment  and  a  reward 
for  his  services  in  Harrison’s  behalf.  These  resolutions 
were  intrusted  to  Captain  P.  S.  Carson,  of  Southport, 
and  Lieutenant  Hadley,  of  Logansport,  who  pre¬ 
sented  them  to  the  President.  No  request  was  made 
for  any  particular  office.  The  President  is  believed 
to  have  promised  to  look  after  Colonel  Merrill  at  the 
proper  time.  He  was  suggested  for  the  post  office,  but 
didn’t  get  it;  then  for  collector  of  internal  revenue, 
and  that  appointment  went  el.sewhere.  The  collec- 
torship  of  customs  also  went  fleeting. 

“  There  was  nothing  left  for  us,  then,”  said  a  prom¬ 
inent  member  of  the  regiment,  “  except  the  pension 
agency,  and  we  felt  assured  that  Colonel  Merrill 
would  get  that.  Harrison  has  gone  back  on  us  and 
we  are  disappointed.  We  are  unable  to  understand 
the  President’s  treatment  of  his  old  regiment.  The 
boys  had  their  hearts  set  on  having  Colonel  Merrill 
rewarded.  It  looks  to  us  very  much  like  that  por¬ 
tion  of  our  regiment  which  has  always  been  in  office 
has  absorbed  all  the  pap  there  is  for  the  regiment, 
and  that  it  is  not  worth  while  for  anybody  to  apply 
who  ha.sn’tthe  Slick  Six’s  ears.  We  have  nothing 
against  Ensley,  but  here  was  a  chance  to  stir  up  en¬ 
thusiasm  by  a  capital  appointment,  but  it  isn’t  made, 
aud  we  don’t  understand  it.” — Indianapolis  News. 

—Russellville— The  appointment  of  J.  W.  Harvey 
as  postmaster  at  this  place  is  not  sati.sfactory  at  all  to  a 
majority  of  the  republicans  here.  Uriah  Brown,  the 
present  postmaster,  was  appointed  under  the  demo¬ 
cratic  administration  on  the  resignation  of  the  form¬ 
er  postmaster,  on  a  republican  petition  signed  by 
fifty  of  the  most  prominent  republicans  here,  and 
since  the  present  administration  went  in,  another 


petition  signed  by  more  than  one  hundred  repub¬ 
licans  was  forwarded.  Also  a  personal  letter  from 
Ira  J.  Chase  was  sent  to  the  postmaster  general  rec¬ 
ommending  him.  All  the  republicans  except  a^ew 
hustlers,  the  most  of  them  applicants  for  the  office, 
were  .satisfied.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  stanch  republican; 
has  lived  here  for  thirty  years  ;  is  one  of  the  best  cit- 
zens,  and  not  able  to  work  and  make  a  living.  There 
is  not  a  single  person  here  that  can  say  a  word  of 
harm  of  him.  Harvey  is  a  physician,  has  plenty  to 
live  on,  has  only  lived  here  three  or  four  years,  and 
wants  the  office  for  some  one  else.  Simplybecau.se 
Mr.  Brown  was  appointed  by  a  democrat  he  must  be 
removed  by  his  own  party  and  against  his  party’s 
wishes.— Indianapolis  Sentinel  Special,  June  12,  1889. 

—Clay  City  —  Petitions  are  being  prepared  in 
which  a  vigorous  protest  will  be  made  against  what 
is  claimed  to  be  an  outrage  upon  the  people  of  this 
place  and  neighborhood.  Brown  is  a  republican 
without  guile,  and  has  given  universal  satisfaction. 
Mrs.  Wilbur,  it  is  asserted,  is  unable  to  read  and 
write,  and  the  office  is  an  important  one.  She  is 
the  widow  of  Joseph  Wilbur,  who,  while  intoxicated 
and  returning  from  a  republican  rally  last  fall,  fell 
from  the  cars  and  was  killed.  He  was  one  of  the  re¬ 
publican  committeemen  of  this  township  at  the 
time.— Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

—Cumberland  —  The  applicants  were  Edward 
Bonge,  a  postmaster  under  a  former  republican  ad¬ 
ministration  ;  Lewis  Wasting  wanted  it  because  his 
father  had  been  a  soldier  in  Harrison’s  regiment ; 
Samuel  P.  Davis  wanted  it  because  he  was  a  soldier 
and  a  member  of  the  Cumberlund  G.  A.  R.  post. 
Bonge  and  Wasting  both  circulated  petitions,  which 
were  sent  to  the  department.  Bonge  finally  secured 
the  appointment  and  the  old  soldiers  were  knocked 
out.— Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

— Noblesville — The  greatest  dissatisfaction  seems 
to  exist  up  in  Congressman  Cheadle’s  district,  where 
both  the  Congressman  and  the  President  are  being 
severely  criticised  on  account  of  a  good  many  un¬ 
satisfactory  appointments.  Congressman  Cheadle 
and  a  good  many  of  his  constituents  were  around 
the  hotel  yesterday  afternoon  and  last  night,  and  it 
was  quite  evident  from  their  actions  that  there  was 
not  a  unity  of  feeling 

State  Senator  Boyd,  of  Noblesville,  is  one  of  Chea¬ 
dle’s  constituents  who  has  become  thoroughly  dis¬ 
gusted  with  the  congressman’s  appointments.  Chea¬ 
dle,  it  seems,  recommended  Jake  Frybarger  for  post¬ 
master  at  Noblesville,  although  Boyd  and  nearly  all 
the  patrons  of  the  office  wanted  another  man.  Fry¬ 
barger  is  not  even  a  resident  of  the  township  in 
which  Noblesville  is  situated,  and  does  not  get  his 
mail  at  that  office.  At  Westfield,  where  two  old 
soldiers  were  candidates  for  the  postoffice,  Cheadle 
gave  the  place  to  the  widow  of  a  democrat,  and  at 
Windfall,  where  nearly  a  unanimous  vote  was  cast 
fora  man  named  Swoveland  for  postmaster,  he  gave 
the  place  to  a  man  who  wasn’t  thought  of  for  the 
place. — Indianapolis  News. 

—Congressman  Cheadle  has  withdrawn  the  name 
of  Jacob  Frybarger,  whom  he  had  selected  as  post¬ 
master  at  Noblesville,  and  Nathan  Royer,  a  resident 
of  the  place,  has  been  recommended. — Indianapolis 
News. 

—Mitchell— Another  of  the  predictions  made  in 
these  dispatches  regarding  the  appointment  of  an 
Indiana  postmaster  has  bean  verified.  Wood,  the 
original  purchaser,  has  been  made  postmaster  at 
Mitchell.  Soon  after  the  meeting  of  the  chairmen  of 
republican  county  committees  of  Indiana,  at  Indian, 
apolis,  to  eonfer  with  Harrison  and  the  state  bosses 
in  September,  1888,  when,  it  will  be  remembered, 
the  county  chairmen  were  authorized  to  auction  off 
the  post-offices  in  their  counties  in  order  to  raise  some 
needed  ready  money.  Wood  bid  $250  for  the  Mitchell 
post-office,  and  it  was  knocked  down  to  him.  By 
some  mistake— it  is  to  be  presumed  it  was  a  mis¬ 
take— the  county  committee  at  the  same  time  ac¬ 
cepted  a  bid  of  $300  from  a  patriot  named  Hobbs  for 
the  same  post-office  at  Mitchell  that  had  been  knock¬ 
ed  down  to  Wood. 

After  the  election  a  dispute  arose  between  Wood 
and  Hobbs  over  the  office.  Both  had  receipts  show¬ 
ing  that  they  had  paid  their  good  cash  for  the  office. 


The  fight  became  hot  and  embarrassed  the  bosses 
greatly.  To  add  to  the  embarrassment  the  local 
grand  army  post  put  forward  a  wounded  veteran  for 
the  office,  who  was  a  very  capable  man.  Because  of 
the  fight  the  democratic  incumbent  has  been  con¬ 
tinued  in  the  service  up  to  this  time.  Harrison  was 
appealed  to  personally,  and  told  the  Mitchell  breth¬ 
ren  that  they  would  have  to  fix  matters  amicably 
among  thems  Ives  before  he  took  action.  It  was 
finally  arranged  that  Wood  was  to  pay  to  Hobbs  the 
$300  he  put  up  for  the  office  during  the  campaign. 
The  office,  therefore,  has  cost  Wood  $550— he  bid  $250 
himself  originally,  and  had  to  give  Hobbs,  the  other 
bidder,  the  money  he  put  up,  and  which  was  fraud¬ 
ulently  or  mistakenly  accepted  by  the  county  chair¬ 
man. 

W'ood’s  name  was  sent  to  the  senate  a  few  days 
ago. — Dispatch  to  St.  Louis  Republic,  Jan.  17, 1890. 

—Greencastle— Perhaps  the  most  interesting  post- 
mastership  contest  now  in  progress  in  Indiana  is  to 
be  found  at  Greencastle.  The  following  list  is  sup, 
posed  to  contain  the  name  of  the  next  postmaster, 
together  with  the  names  of  his  defeated  opponents  : 
James  McD.  Hays,  a  merchant;  Major  Jonathan 
Burch,  an  attorney;  Captain  L.  P.  Chapin,  a  mer¬ 
chant;  Private  J.  B.  Sellers,  of  Putnamville;  Mrs. 
Jeannette  Preston;  A.  A.  Smith,  editor  of  the  Times. 
—Indianapolis  News. 

—The  office  being  of  the  presidential  class,  and 
President  Harrison’s  experience  with  it  in  times 
past  being  somewhat  educational,  it  would  be 
strange  if  he  were  not  disposed  to  profit  by  that  ex¬ 
perience.  While  a  member  of  the  Senate,  he  was  re¬ 
quired  by  a  custom  “  more  honored  in  the  breach 
than  the  observance”  to  recommend  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  a  postmaster  for  Greencastle  by  President 
Arthur.  There  was  a  long  and  bitter  contest  over 
the  succession,  which  finally  terminated  in  the  re¬ 
appointment  of  Postmaster  Langsdale.  The  senator 
was  beseiged  with  letters,  petitions,  remonstrances, 
charges  and  countercharges,  and  visiting  delegations 
with  duly  accredited  spokesmen  waited  upon  him 
at  Washington  and  Indianapolis  to  lay  their  griev¬ 
ances  before  him.  It  is  charged,  and  the  President 
is  doubtless  led  to  believe,  that  the  same  influences 
are  at  work  in  the  present  contest.— Puhiam  Democrat 

The  two  candidates  are  A.  A.  Smith,  editor  of  the 
Times,  and  James  McD.  Hays,  a  merchant.  The  lat¬ 
ter  represents  the  faction  which  stood  by  George  J. 
Langsdale,  now  president  of  the  state  soldiers’  mon¬ 
ument  association,  when  he  was  a  citizen  of  Green¬ 
castle,  being  the  postmaster  and  editor  of  the  Green¬ 
castle  Banner,  and  after  he  had  aroused  against 
himself  the  ire  of  about  half  the  republicans  of 
Putnam  county  because  of  his  domineering  meth¬ 
ods,  notwithstanding  he  was  one  of  the  brightest 
political  writers  and  best  political  workers  among 
the  republicans  in  the  state.  Mr.  Smith’s  paper 
was  started  in  the  interest  of  the  anti-Laugsdale 
faction. 

—It  has  been  several  months  since  President  Har. 
rison  appointed  a  postmaster  for  Greencastle,  but 
many  old  soldiers  of  the  town,  and  a  good  many  other 
citizens, ha ?e  not  yet  forgiven  him  for  the  way  he  went 
counter  to  the  desire  of  the  patrons  of  the  office  in 
making  the  appointment,  Jonathan  Birch,  a  maimed 
soldier, was  indorsed  for  the  position  by  three-fourths 
of  the  patrons  of  the  office,  and  had  the  support 
of  the  old  soldiers  in  Putnam  county. 

A  leading  Greencastle  republican,  who  was  in  the 
city  yesterday,  tells  this  story  of  how  Mr.  Harrison 
treated  Mr.  Birch  and  his  supporters ;  “Just  before 
the  time  of  the  old  postmaster  had  expired  Alpheus 
Birch,  the  woolen  goods  manufacturer,  went  to 
Washington  at  the  request  of  the  old  soldiers  in  the 
interest  of  his  brother.  After  he  had  stated  to  the 
President  the  object  of  his  visit,  the  President  be¬ 
came  irritated  and  demanded  to  know  what  was  the 
matter  with  the  people  of  Greencastle,  that  they 
were  all  the  time  quarreling  about  who  should  be 
postmaster.  Mr.  Birch  said  that  if  there  was  any 
quarrel  his  brother  and  his  friends  were  not  respon¬ 
sible  for  it.  He  saw  the  President  would  not  give 
him  a  hearing,  and  he  withdrew  from  the  room. 
The  friends  of  Major  Birch  were  mad  when  they  heard 


90 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


of  the  incident.  In  a  few  days  the  appointment  of 
one  of  the  civilian  candidates  was  announced 
(Langsdale’s  man,  Hays,  was  appointed).  He  will 
probably  make  a  good  postmaster,  but  his  appoint¬ 
ment  was  unpopular.”— Jndjaviajjoh's  News. 


—Hamjiond— Congressman  Owen’s  postmaster  does 
not  give  satisfaction  to  the  editor  of  the  Daily  Tri¬ 
bune,  the  republican  organ.  It  says : 

The  salary  that  is  paid  to  the  postmaster  at  Ham¬ 
mond  is  enough  to  secure  the  services  of  a  qualified 
officer,  who  would  be  willing  to  give  to  its  duties 
his  personal  supervision  ;  but  this  is  not  done  by  the 
present  inciimbent,  nor  has  he  pretended  to  do  so 
since  receiving  his  appointment,  subscribing  to  the 
oath  of  office,  and  drawing  the  salary ;  but  he  farms 
out  the  office  to  persons  whose  chief  aim  seems  to  be : 
To  discriminate  between  the  patrons  of  the  post- 
office:  to  deliver  mail  to  unauthorized  persons ;  to 
disobey  the  special  orders  of  the  higher  officials  of 
the  postoffice  department;  to  intercept  and  delay 
mail  matter  which  has  been  deposited  for  transmis¬ 
sion  to  other  destinations  ;  to  withhold  mail  matter 
from  delivery  to  the  persons  addressed,  sometimes  as 
long  as  six  and  eight  hours  after  its  arrival ;  and  to 
study  to  make  the  service  as  vexatious  as  they  can 
for  persons  against  whom  they  harbor  petty  mali¬ 
cious  spite — in  short,  the  postoffice  at  Hammond  is  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  appear  to  strive  to  administer 
the  duties  in  a  manner  so  outrageous  as  to  make  the 
service  welluigh  contemptible  to  the  public.  Mean¬ 
time  the  public  service  which  he  undertakes  and  is 
sworn  to  discharge,  and  for  which  he  is  paid  a  liberal 
salary  to  perform,  goes  to  the  dogs,  and  “  you  be 
d— d.”  =1'  «  «• 

It  is  singular,  even  strange,  indeed,  that  President 
Harrison  is  so  partial  in  the  disposition  of  public 
benefits.  Perhaps,  however,  the  cause  may  be  “a 
little  owen,”  to  use  a  backwoods  vernacular,  to  the 
misrepresentation  returned  to  Washington  from  the 
tenth  congressional  district.  Time  enough  has 
elapsed  for  this  slipshod  manner  of  treating  the 
public  service  to  be  discontinued,  and  for  salutary 
reforms  to  be  introduced  and  enforced  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  spirit  and  design  of  the  law.  Some¬ 
thing  different  is  required  by  a  city  of  six  thousand 
inhabitants  and  a  numerous  transient  shifting  pop¬ 
ulation,  from  the  rural,  back-country,  fourth-class 
post-office  service. 

AMERICAN  FEUDALISM, 

Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser¬ 
vice  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge 
or  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

The  appointment  of  William  W.  Johnson 
as  postmaster  at  Baltimore  terminates  a  bitter 
struggle  for  that  place  extending  over  mouths. 
Large  delegations  of  Baltimoreans,  number¬ 
ing,  in  some  instances,  as  high  as  fifty,  have 
visited  the  White  House  by  appointment  and 
submitted  arguments  for  and  against  Johnson. 
*  *  The  appointment,  therefore,  may  serve 
as  an  indication  of  the  material  Mr.  Harrison 
has  a  liking  for.  In  the  first  place  the  Presi¬ 
dent  rejected  a  thorough  going  business  man 
and  selected  a  very  active  politician.  Mr. 
Johnson  organized  the  republican  league  clubs  in 
Maryland,  and  is  president  of  the  largest  one  in 
Baltimore.  He  ivas  v,  member  of  the  Maryland 
republican  central  committee  for  four  years,  and  as 
its  treasurer  handled  the  campaign  fund  in  1884. 
— Springfield  Republican. 

— Victor  L.  Ricketts,  editor  of  the  Delphi 
Journal,  was  some  days  ago  appointed  clerk  to 
the  house  committee  on  immigration  and 


navigation,  of  which  Mr.  Owen  is  chairman. 
Mr.  Ricketts,  who  is  one  of  the  leading  repub¬ 
lican  w’orkers  in  his  district,  has  not  yet  ar¬ 
rived  to  enter  upon  his  official  duties,  but  is 
soon  expected. — Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal. 

— While  the  case  against  one  Chairs,  a  dem¬ 
ocrat  of  Leon  countv,  Florida,  was  being  tried 
in  the  United  States  court  at  Jacksonville  yes¬ 
terday,  C.  C.  Kirk,  a  deputy  United  States 
marshal,  was  put  on  the  stand  and  reluctantly 
produced  the  following  letter  : 

Jacksonville,  Fla.,  July  5, 1889. 

C.  C.  Kirk,  Esq.,  Deland,  Fla.: 

Sir— You  will  at  once  confer  with  Mr.  Bielby  and 
make  out  a  list  of  fifty  or  sixty  names  of  true  and 
tried  republicans  from  your  county  registration  list 
for  jurors  in  the  United  States  court  and  forward  the 
same  to  Mr.  P.  Walters,  clerk  of  the  United  States 
court,  and  it  is  necessary  to  have  them  at  once,  as 
you  can  see.  Please  acknowledge  this. 

I  am,  yours  truly, 

John  R.  Mizell,  U.  8.  Marshal. 

P.  S.— Please  get  the  names  of  parties  as  near  the 
steamboat  and  railroad  stations  as  possible. 

The  law  provides  that  the  names  of  jurors 
shall  be  selected  without  regard  to  political 
affiliations.  Judge  Swayne,  however,  would 
not  admit  the  letter  in  evidence. 

— The  district  attorney  for  the  southern  dis¬ 
trict  of  Iowa  has  made  W.  C.  Howell,  Mrs. 
Harrison’s  cousin,  his  assistant. 

— A  small  fourth-class  post-office  in  the  town 
of  Winters,  Yolo  county,  California,  was  held 
by  a  poor  widow,  Mrs.  L.  W.  McKinley.  On 
the  slender  salary  she  supported  herself,  two 
children,  and  an  aged  father  and  mother. 

Her  appointment  under  President  Cleveland 
was  non-political.  The  office  had  been  pre¬ 
viously  held  by  Mr.  Moody,  a  distant  relative 
of  ex-President  Hayes.  Mr.  Moody  resigned 
on  the  change  of  administration  in  1885,  and 
his  successor  defaulted  and  was  removed.  On 
the  petition  of  the  people  of  the  town,  Mrs.  Mc¬ 
Kinley  was  made  postmistress  and  gave  satis¬ 
faction  to  the  department  and  the  people,  as  ap¬ 
peared  by  the  favorable  report  of  the  post-office 
inspectors  and  by  a  long  petition  for  her  reten¬ 
tion.  The  third  district,  in  which  this  post- 
office  is  situated,  is  represented  by  Hon.  Joseph 
McKenna,  who  before  his  election  had  ex¬ 
pressed  his  satisfaction  with  the  efficiency  of 
this  lady  as  postmistress.  After  election  came 
the  payment  of  private  political  debts,  and 
this  poor  widow  had  to  be  sacrificed  to  the 
political  ambition  of  this  brave  representa¬ 
tive. 

The  only  breath  of  dissatisfaction  that  has 
reached  her  is  the  vague  insinuation  at  the 
end  of  the  following  letter,  addressed  to  her  in 
reply  to  a  request  for  reasons  for  her  removal : 

SUISUN,  Cal.,  May  14, 18S9. 

Dear  Mad  A  ME— Received  your  letter.  Engagements 
and  absence  have  prevented  answering  sooner.  With 
change  of  administration  there  is  usually  a  change  of 
officers  appointed  by  the  successful  political  party,  and 
there  is  no  blame  necessarily  implied  by  the  removal.  Of 
course  there  is  more  reluctance  to  remove  a  lady 
than  a  gentleman.  You  say  I  expressed  this  reluc¬ 
tance.  Very  likely;  but  there  is  some  discontent  of 
you  into  which  I  think  I  ought  to  inquire. 

Respectfully,  J.  McKenn  , 

To  Mrs.  McKinley. 


Notice  the  insinuation  is  that,  after  he  has 
caused  her  removal,  he  is  going  to  look  into 
“some  discontent  of  her.”  This  is  but  one  in¬ 
stance  of  thousands  like  it.  Nor  do  we  for 
this  particular  case  lay  any  special  blame  on 
the  President,  apart  from  his  allowing  a  meth¬ 
od  to  continue  which  is  sure  to  work  such  in¬ 
justice  to  individuals  as  well  as  to  corrupt 
politics. — Civil  Service  Record  for  January. 

— Philadelphia,  December  19. — A  Washing¬ 
ton  dispatch  to  the  Press  gives  the  following 
statement  of  Representative  Dalzell  about  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  McKean  to  be  postmaster 
at  Pittsburgh : 

I  have  long  expected  the  appointment  to  be 
made.  Mr.  Wanamaker,  at  my  first  interview 
with  him,  openly  announced  himself  on  the 
side  of  Mr.  Quay,  as  against  me.  The  Presi¬ 
dent,  conceding  the  force  of  precedent,  seemed 
to  think  that  precedent  could  not  stand  against 
the  demands  of  the  chairman  of  the  national 
committee. 

I  think  the  appointment  an  unfortunate  one 
for  many  reasons,  which  I  do  not  care  to  par¬ 
ticularize;  not  because  Mr.  McKean  is  the 
man,  but  for  other  reasons.  Mr.  McKean  has 
known  all  along  that  my  feeling  for  him  per¬ 
sonally  is  of  the  kindest  character,  and  that 
my  fight  against  him  involved,  in  my  honest 
judgment,  a  principle  for  which  I  was  morally 
bound  to  contend.  Those  who  know  me  know 
that  personally  I  care  not  at  all  for  patronage, 
and  that  the  dispensation  of  it  is  the  most  dis¬ 
agreeable  part  of  my  duties.  The  appoint¬ 
ment  does  not  change  my  opinion  in  the  least. 
I  stand  now  where  I  stood  before  it  was  made. 

It  is  a  wrong  against  the  representative  of 
my  district.  It  is  an  indefensible  violation  of 
republican  precedent.  It  is  a  wrong  done  at 
the  dictation  of  a  selfish  grinding  bossism,  as 
to  which  the  self-respect  of  the  people  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  will  sooner  or  later  (I  think  very 
soon)  vindicate  itself.  Every  wrong  brings  its 
own  fruits.  This  one  will  prove  no  exception 
to  the  rule.  I  am  glad  that  the  suspense  is 
over;  I  can  now  dismiss  the  subject  from  my 
mind  and  attend  to  what  I  consider  the  legiti¬ 
mate  duties  of  a  representative  to  try  and  leg¬ 
islate  wisely  for  the  country. 

Senator  Quay  was^hown  Mr.  Dalzell’s  state¬ 
ment.  He  read  it  over  carefully,  and  then 
dictated  the  following  reply  : 

In  the  first  place  the  President  is  the  abso¬ 
lute  arbiter  of  all  federal  patronage.  In  the 
second  place,  in  all  presidential  appointments 
the  constitution  gives  the  senate  the  right  to 
advise  and  consent.  Nowhere  in  the  consti¬ 
tution  or  in  written  or  unwritten  law  is  there 
a  single  word  requiring  the  President  to  con¬ 
sult  representatives  about  presidential  ap¬ 
pointments  ;  but  in  the  nature  of  things  the 
President  can  not  be  acquainted  with  the  per¬ 
sonal  character  or  political  standing  of  appli¬ 
cants,  and  he  must,  therefore,  consult  some 
one,  it  may  be  a  congressman,  or  it  may  be  a 
personal  friend  living  in  the  district. 

As  to  the  Pittsburgh  postoffice,  no  precedent 
has  ever  been  established  as  to  whether  the 
senator  or  the  representative  should  be  recog¬ 
nized  in  relation  to  that  office,  for  the  reason 
that  heretofore  the  people  controlling  the  pol¬ 
itics  of  Allegheny  county  and  sending  its  rep¬ 
resentatives  to  congress  have  always  been  in 
accord  with  the  senator  from  western  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  McKean 
does  not  violate,  but  establishes  a  precedent. 

As  to  Mr.  McKean,  the  circumstances  at¬ 
tending  my  advocacy  of  his  claim  to  appoint¬ 
ment  are  briefly  these  :  Gentlemen  favorable 
to  Mr.  McKean  waited  on  me  in  relation  to 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


91 


his  candidacy.  I  told  them  that  I  wished  to 
know  before  committing  myself  whether  the 
appointment  of  Mr,  McKean  would  be  satis¬ 
factory  to  Mr.  Dalzell,  Mr.  Henry  S  Paul, 
president  of  the  Americus  Club  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  Mr.  McKean  subsequently  informed  me 
that  they  had  waited  upon  Mr.  Dalzell,  and 
that  he  had  said  that  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
McKean  would  be  entirely  satisfactory  if  he 
were  sustained  by  the  sentiment  of  the  busi¬ 
ness  people  of  Pittsburgh.  If  I  am  in  error  in 
this  statement  either  of  these  gentlemen  can 
correct  me.  Neither  of  them  is  unfriendly  to 
Dalzell.  I  then  said  to  Mr.  Paul  that  I  would 
do  what  I  could  to  secure  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  McKean.  There  is  no  absolute  difference 
between  Mr.  Dalzell  and  myself  in  relation  to 
Allegheny  county  politics.  What  difference 
there  is  lies  under  and  beyond  him,  as  all  men 
familliar  with  the  politics  of  western  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  well  understand. 

Promptly  after  the  announcement  of  Mr. 
McKean’s  candidacy  Mr.  Ford  was  produced 
as  a  candidate.  He  is  president  of  the  select 
council  in  Pittsburgh,  and  is  in  absolute  ac¬ 
cord  with  the  gentlemen  who  returned  Mr. 
Dalzell  to  congress,  and  who,  as  everybody 
knows  in  western  Pennsylvania,  are  my  oppo¬ 
nents.  I  have  no  more  objection  to  Mr.  Ford 
than  Mr.  Dalzell  seems  to  have  to  Mr. 
McKean,  Mr.  Ford  is  a  former  resident  of 
Beaver  county,  where  he  has  hitherto  often 
assisted  me  in  county  conventions,  but  he  was 
at  least  no  better  qualified  for  the  postmaster¬ 
ship  than  Mr.  McKean,  and  he  did  not  have 
the  business  backing  which  Mr.  McKean  pro¬ 
duced,  and  I  saw  no  reason,  when  Mr.  Ford’s 
candidacy  was  announced,  to  change  my  posi¬ 
tion. 

The  Jacl  is  that  the  city  organization  of  Pittsburgh 
has  until  very  recently  been  exceedingly  hostile  to  me) 
and  the  Pittsburgh  post-office  embraces  about  SOO  ap¬ 
pointments,  which,  to  put  it  mildly,  I  decline  to  have 
placed  in  the  ha7ids  of  my  adversaries  if  I  can  pre  ■ 
vent  such  a  result.  Therefore,  I  adhered  very 
persistently  to  my  original  agreement  to  sus¬ 
tain  Mr.  McKean,  and  the  President,  though 
very  anxious  to  gratify  Mr.  Dalzell,  for  whom 
he  has  a  high  esteem,  could  not,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  well  avoid  complying  with  my 
wishes 

The  appointment  is  not  antagonistic  to  Mr. 
ETalzell.  If  the  gentlemen  on  whom  he  is  now 
relying  should  combine  to  bowl  him  out  of 
public  life,  he  can  make  the  Pittsburgh  post- 
office  his  bulwark  if  he  desires  to  do  so.  I  re¬ 
gard  Mr.  Dalzell  as  a  brilliant,  accomplished, 
and  scholarly  gentleman,  a  thorough  lawyer, 
and  one  of  the  most  valued  representatives  we 
have  at  present  in  congress,  and  I  exceedingly 
regret  that  any  bitterness  has  arisen  between 
us  over  this  question. 

I  note  what  Mr.  Dalzell  says  in  his  state¬ 
ment  about  bossism  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
truth  is  that  there  is  less  bossism  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  at  the  present  day  than  there  has  been 
at  anytime  in  the  last  half  century,  and  I 
think  Mr.  Dalzell  brainy  enough  to  know  this. 
He  is  yet  very  young  in  politics,  but  it  is  my 
belief  that  before  the  brilliant  future  which 
now  seems  opening  before  him  is  con¬ 
cluded  he  will  discover  that  it  is  not  wise  to 
allow  political  differences  to  interfere  with 
personal  relations. 


ENCOURAGING  SIGNS. 

— Postmaster  Sperry,  of  New  Haven,  de¬ 
clares  himself  a  believer  in  civil  service  re¬ 
form,  and  says  the  law  shall  be  strictly  en¬ 
forced  in  his  office. 


— Representative  Simond,  of  Connecticut, 
has  secured  the  postmaster-general’s  indorse¬ 
ment  for  the  reappointment  of  Postmaster 
Montgomery  at  Bristol.  This  postmaster  is  a 
democrat.  Mr.  Simonds  proposes  also  to  have 
the  postmaster  at  Canton,  Conn.,  kept  in  office, 
and  he  announces  that  he  will  not  consent  to 
the  removal  of  any  fourth-class  postmaster  in 
his  district  until  he  has  served  four  years. 

— Representative  Greenhalge,  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  will  recommend  the  reappointment  of 
Postmaster  Bancroft,  the  democratic  incumb¬ 
ent,  at  Concord.  Mr.  Bancroft  was  a  brave 
soldier  in  the  war,  and  has  the  indorsement  of 
the  grand  army  people  as  well  as  of  Judge 
Hoar  and  other  prominent  republicans.  Some 
of  the  workers  are  very  angry,  but  Mr.  Green¬ 
halge  is  willing  to  brave  their  opposition  for 
the  sake  of  standing  by  a  worthy  veteran. 

— Iowa  furnishes  a  fresh  illustration  of  the 
way  in  which  the  spoils  system  forces  the  best 
sort  of  men  out  of  public  life.  Judge  Reed, 
who  had  served  with  ability  on  the  supreme 
bench  of  the  state,  was  elected  last  year  to  the 
lower  branch  of  congress.  He  already  an¬ 
nounces  that  “he  will  not  run  for  congress 
again  because  of  the  discontent  he  made  in 
distributing  the  offices,  and  his  own  discontent 
with  the  work  of  a  congressman.” — New  York 
Evening  Post. 


WANTON  REMOVALS. 

For  I  contend  that  the  wanton  removal  of  meritorious 
officers  would  subject  him  {the  President)  to  impeachment 
and  removal  from  his  own  high  trust.  Such  an  abuse  of 
power  exceeds  my  conception.— Congressman  James  Mad¬ 
ison,  June,  1789. 

— The  statement  originally  madein  thesedis- 
patches,  several  weeks  ago,  that  First  Assist¬ 
ant  Postmaster-General  Clark.son  contemplat¬ 
ed  resigning,  was  verified  to-day.  Mr.  Clark¬ 
son,  in  conversation  with  your  correspond¬ 
ent,  said  that  he  had  originally  taken  the 
office  under  the  strongest  importunities,  and 
that  he  had  accepted  it  then  under  the  condi¬ 
tion  that  he  would  not  be  asked  to  hold  it 
more  than  a  year.  When  he  accepted  the  office 
he  did  so  only  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  the  party  of 
democratic  postmasters,  so  far  as  it  lay  in  his  poicer. 
He  hopes  to  be  through  with  this  before  very  long, nod 
then  he  will  return  to  the  more  congenial 
field  of  journalism.  He  regards  the  time  that 
he  has  spent  in  the  office  as  the  most  instruc¬ 
tive  year  of  his  life.  He  says  he  has  learned 
more  of  the  politics  of  every  county  and  state 
in  the  union  in  the  ten  months  that  he  has 
been  in  office  than  the  rest  of  his  life  put  to¬ 
gether.  There  is  not  a  county  in  the  states  but  that 
has  had  its  leading  republicans  here  before  him  fight¬ 
ing  out  their  local  battles,  and  he  knows  now  the  ex  ■ 
act  standing  and  exact  work  of  every  republican  poli¬ 
tician  in  the  country. — Dispatch  to  the  Indianapolis 
Journal,  Jan.  6. 

— A  number  of  fourth-class  postmasters  were 
agreed  upon  to-day  for  Washington  county, 
and  they  are  expected  to  be  appointed  to-mor¬ 
row.  Nearly,  if  not  quite  all  the  democrats 
holding  the  fort  in  that  county  will  be  dis¬ 
lodged  by  these  appointments. — Dispatch  to 
the  Indianapolis  Journal,  Nov.  11. 


— The  Fostoria  (Ohio)  post-office  matter  is 
settled  and  off  the  hooks.  Nobody  at  the  post¬ 


office  department  seems  inclined  to  talk  about 
it,  and  the  air  of  mystery  with  which  it  is  sur¬ 
rounded  justifies  the  inference  that  there  is 
something  about  the  affair  which  will  not  bear 
scrutiny.  Levi  Wooster,  the  democratic  hold¬ 
over  postmaster,  as  may  be  remembered,  re¬ 
fused  to  give  Ex-Governor  Foster  unlimited 
authority  to  select  four  letter-carriers  for  him, 
although  he  had  received  orders  from  the  de¬ 
partment  headquarters  to  do  so,  as  the  sole 
condition  on  which  the  town  was  to  be  given 
a  free  delivery.  The  controversy  between  the 
postmaster  and  his  superiors  in  Washington 
waxed  warm.  He  declared  his  willingness  to 
appoint  two  republicans  and  two  democrats, 
but  he  saw  no  reason  why  he  should  appoint 
all  republicans  and  turn  over  their  choice  to 
an  outsider  at  that.  The  department  got  the 
better  of  him  by  a  process  which  has  beeu 
steadily  and  most  successfully  employed  since 
the  present  administration  came  in,  w’henever 
an  obstinate  office-holder  was  to  be  brought  to 
terms.  A  detective  of  the  department,  po¬ 
litely  known  as  a  special  agent,  was  sent  to 
Fostoria  with  orders  to  find  some  flaw  in  Mr. 
Wooster’s  record.  It  is  a  familiar  principle 
of  postal  management  that  there  is  no  post¬ 
master  so  honest  and  clever  as  to  have  entirely 
disarmed  his  enemies  of  a  cause  for  censure. 
It  may  not  be  a  great  one,  but  there  is  invari¬ 
ably  something — a  letter  gone  astray  through 
momentary  carelessness,  or  a  few  technical  er¬ 
rors  in  making  up  an  official  return,  perhaps 
— that  will  form  a  groundwork  for  attack. 
The  agent  did  his  work  well  in  Mr.  Wooster’s 
case,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,-  and, 
having  contrived  to  bring  some  kind  of  a 
charge  against  him,  practically  gave  him  his 
choice  between  yielding  his  point  and  quitting 
the  service.  Mr.  Wooster  preferred  staying  in 
to  going  out,  and  the  patronage  plum  was 
tossed  into  Mr.  Foster’s  basket. 

That  Foster  has  made  effective  use  of  it  for 
the  purposes  of  the  campaign  just  closed  there 
is  no  room  for  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  one 
who  knows  him.  The  case  was  effectively  sum¬ 
marized  by  one  of  the  department  officers,  who 
remarked  to-da>:  “Yes,  the  Fostoria  business 
is  amicably  settled.  We  put  the  special  agent 
on  the  postmaster,  and  that  fetched  him.” — 
Dispatch  to  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  Nov.  6. 


— Another  post  office  outrage,  on  a  par  with 
that  recently  committed  at  Fostoria,  Ohio,  has 
just  beeu  perpetrated  at  Flushing,  L.  I.,  in  the 
removal  of  postmaster  Carpenter.  The  post¬ 
master-general  some  months  ago  authorized 
the  free  delivery  system  at  Flushing.  This  was 
preparatory  to  the  late  election,  and  postmas¬ 
ter  Carpenter,  being  in  a  district  represented 
by  a  democratic  congressman,  Covert,  was  or¬ 
dered  to  report  to  Mr.  Baldwin,  chairman  of 
the  Queen’s  county  republican  committee,  to 
have  his  four  letter-carriers  selected  for  him 
with  reference  to  the  needs  of  the  party  at  the 
polls.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  was  put  on 
the  black  list  at  once  and  turned  over  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  an  inspector.  It  seems  to 
have  taken  the  inspector  all  the  fall  to  scrape 
together  enough  so-called  charges  to  make  a 
report  on.  But  at  last  something  was  got 
which  would  pass  muster.  Yesterday  off'eame 
Carpenter’s  head. 

Your  correspondent  applied  politely  to  first- 
assistant  Clarkson,  who  has  had  charge  of  the 
case  and  knew  all  about  it,  to  be  informed 
what  Carpenter’s  offense  was.  Clarkson,  in  his 
characteristically  boorish  way,  snapped  out  a 
refusal,  and  threw  responsibility  forthe  w’hole 
matter  on  the  postmaster-general,  who  was  not 
in  his  office.  As  Clarkson  was  third  in  a  line 
of  officials,  who  declined  to  have  anything  to 
say  on  the  subject,  the  public  may  draw  their 
OW’D  conclusions  as  to  the  weight  of  the  accusa¬ 
tions  which  form  the  basis  for  the  removal. — 
Dispatch  to  New  Ywk  Evening  Post,  Nov.  22. 


92 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


CURRENT  ITEMS. 

The  civil  service  reform  association  of 
Philadelphia  has  presented  a  memorial  to 
President  Harrison  protesting  against  Senator 
Paddock’s  bill  to  withdraw  the  railway  mail 
service  from  the  operations  of  the  civil  service 
act.  This  association  has  also  printed  for 
general  distribution  some  20,000  copies  of  a 
tract  prepared  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Lea,  giving 
the  pledges  of  the  republican  party  and  the 
President  upon  civil  service  reform,  and  Sena¬ 
tor  Farwell’s  cowardly  plan  of  killing  the  law 
by  taking  away  its  machinery. 

The  Massachusetts  association  urges  the 
President  to  extend  the  operations  of  the  law 
to  offices  having  twenty  five  employes.  Con¬ 
gress  is  urged  to  grant  the  $53,000  asked  by 
the  civil  service  commission  necessary  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  the  commission. 

The  association  of  Missouri  has  issued  its 
eighth  annual  report.  This  association  pro¬ 
poses  to  print  a  compilation  of  extracts  from 
the  Thanksgiving  Day  sermons  for  general  cir¬ 
culation  and  by  so  doing  to  endeavor  to  increase 
its  membership.  The  association  also  asks  the 
President  to  put  a  check  upon  his  headsman 
in  his  work  of  official  decapitation  in  the 
post-office  department. 

The  report  of  the  civil  service  commission 
of  the  state  of  New  York  states  that  no  com¬ 
plaint  has  been  received  that  the  examina¬ 
tions  have  not  been  fair  tests,  and  that  the  tes¬ 
timony  has  been  uniform  that  the  persons  se¬ 
lected  from  the  eligible  lists  have  been  effi¬ 
cient. 

Again,  the  statistics  of  the  report  of  the  civil 
service  commission  of  the  state  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  prove  that  the  competitive  system  benefits 
those  who  have  had  the  common^fechool  edu¬ 
cation  rather  than  the  college  graduates.  Out 
of  1,483  examined  1,016  passed  the  examina¬ 
tions.  Of  this  number  989  had  a  common 
school  education  and  27  had  attended  college. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

It  seems  to  me  something  further  can  be 
said  by  way  of  answer  to  one  of  the  questions 
of  the  disingenuous  letter  of  Mr  Wanamaker’s 
private  secretary  about  the  civil  service  law. 

He  asks  “Why  are  the  laws  and  the  com¬ 
mission  subject  to  so  much  criticism?”  Be¬ 
cause  the  professional  politician  knows  that 
his  power  largely  depends  on  the  spoils  system, 
and  consequently  he  and  all  his  henchmen, 
his  organs  and  those  blind  partisans  who  are 
his  ready  dupes,  have  combined  to  oppose, 
abuse  and  criticise  that  law,  the  extension  of 
which  would  tend  to  overthrow  machine  poli¬ 
tics.  Was  any  serious  criticism  of  the  civil 
service  law,or  any  opposition  to  a  reform  of  the 
civil  service  ever  heard,  except  from  a  profes¬ 
sional  or  from  a  partisan,  who  is  always — 
sometimes  unconsciously — the  tool  of  the  pro¬ 
fessional? 

For  many  years  our  political  parties  have 
had  no  reason  for  continued  existence,  except 
that  furnished  by  the  spoils  of  office.  Since 


the  disappearance  of  real  difference  on  ques¬ 
tions  of  governmental  policy,  the  professional 
politicians,  to  whom  belong  the  spoils,  have 
only  kept  their  respective  parties  alive  by  the 
aid  of  blind  party  spirit,  and  what  the  parti¬ 
san  says  against  the  civil  service  law  is  but 
the  echo  of  the  fear  of  his  master,  the  profes¬ 
sional. 

Who  are  the  authors  of  some  of  the  recent 
criticism  of  the  civil  service  law  and  the  com¬ 
mission?  The  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette, 
Frank  Hatton’s  Washington  Post  and  Clarkson’s 
Iowa  State  Register  are  good  examples  of  the 
newspapers,  and  A.  P.  Gorman,  C.  B.  Farwell 
and  J.  B.  Cheadle  of  the  individuals.  The 
men  are  all  products  of  the  spoils  system  and 
naturally  attack  its  enemy.  The  newspapers 
are  organs,  and  mainly  live  by  partisan  poli¬ 
tics. 

A  thorough  reform  of  the  civil  service  would 
limit  if  not  destroy  the  usefulness  of  the  party 
organs.  These  organs  approved  the  candidacy 
of  Blaine  ;  they  applauded  the  Murchison 
letter;  they  have  never  denounced  W.  W 
Dudley’s  election  methods  nor  that  appointee 
of  President  Harrison,  who  forgot  his  oath  of 
office  and  said  that  to  “divide  floaters  into 
block  of  five  and  put  a  trusted  man  with 
necessary  funds  in  charge  of  this  five,  and 
make  him  responsible  that  none  get  away  and 
that  all  vote  our  ticket,”  indicates  “simply  a 
patriotic  interest  in  the  elections.”  Surely 
criticism  from  such  sources  as  these  could  not 
disturb  any  honest  inquirer. 

No  man  e’er  felt  the  halter  draw 

With  good  opinion  of  the  law. 

Chas.  B.  Wilby. 

Cincinnati,  Jan.  3,  1890. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PRESS. 

They  are  the  opinions  which  will  prevail,  which 
will  control  the  legislation  and  administration  of 
the  future,  which  wili  compel  the  extension  of  the 
reform  principle  to  other  branches  of  the  public 
service,  and  make  a  much  closer  adherence  to  its 
letter  and  spirit  than  is  now  practiced  the  obvious 
and  necessary  course  of  every  president  and  other 
official  who  has  the  power  of  appointment.—  Worces¬ 
ter  Spy  [iJep.] 

—When  the  higher  offices  of  the  public  service — 
the  postmasterships  and  collectorships  in  our  large 
cities— shall  also  cease  to  be  the  rewards  of  party  ac¬ 
tivity,  the  public  will  have  confidence  in  the  impar¬ 
tial  administration  of  the  civil  service  law,  and  not 
till  then. — Philadelphia  Record. 

—The  civil  service  law  will  not  be  repealed  at  the 
coming  session  of  congress,  as  the  mugwumps  pro¬ 
fess  to  fear.  That  is  what  they  would  like,  but  the 
republicans  are  too  wise  to  gratify  such  a  desire.— 
St.  Louis  Globe- Democral  [ifep.]. 

— The  wrath  of  the  office-seekers,  who  repudiate 
the  republican  platform,  and  “  want  no  Chinese 
civil  service,”  is  oue  of  the  most  encouraging  testi¬ 
monials  to  the  sincerity  of  this  administration  that 
can  be  obtained.— Ptteburp  Dispatch  [/2ep.]. 

—Civil  service  reform  has  come  to  stay  and  to  grow, 
and  the  corruptionists,  boodlersand  manipulators  of 
practical  politics  v?ho  oppose  it  may  as  well  bear  the 
fact  in  mind  and  remember  that  they  are  not  mas¬ 
ters,  and  that  they  can  be  servants  only  by  obeying 
those  who  are  masters,— New  York  Press. 

— A  remark  of  the  Buffalo  Commercial  [Rep.],  [one 
of  whose  editors  has  received  an  oflice],  about  “amus¬ 
ing  phases  of  the  civil  service  humbug,”  leads  the 
Syracuse  Standard  [Rep.]  to  say  that  “  the  Commer¬ 
cial  and  other  republican  papers  of  its  way  of  talking 
did  not  discourse  in  that  manner  during  the  latest 
or  the  preceding  presidential  campaign.  Let  us  be 
honest  and  consistent,  brethren  of  the  republican 
press.” 


— The  petty  clerkships  covered  by  the  civil  service 
law  are  not  connected  with  the  party  organization, 
for  the  federal  service  can  not  be  looked  upon  in  the 
light  of  a  party  machine,  and,  in  any  event,  the  in¬ 
cumbents  of  these  places  can  exercise  little  more  in¬ 
fluence  upon  the  administration  or  on  politics  than 
do  Kansas  grasshoppers  upon  the  government  of 
Nova  Scotia.  So  long  as  their  work  is  well  done,  un¬ 
der  the  direction  of  responsible  superiors,  it  matters 
not,  either  to  the  administration  or  the  party, 
whether  they  are  republicans,  democrats,  or  prohib¬ 
itionists. — Cincinnati  Times  Star  [Rep.]. 

—Spoilsmen  Should  “Get  Together.”— There 
seems  to  be  an  incongruity  between  the  state 
merits  of  various  classes  of  spoilsmen  concerning 
the  civil  service  law,  which  breaks  the  force  of  all 
of  them. —  Washington  Star  [Rep.]. 

— The  principle  that  merit,  and  not  the  mere  com¬ 
plexion  of  a  clerk’s  politics,  shall  determine  the 
character  of  his  tenure  of  public  office,  tends  to  give 
to  the  government  better  service  for  the  money  which 
it  pays  in  salaries,  tends  to  relieve  the  lot  of  the  gov- 
errrmerit  employe  of  some  of  its  featirres  of  harrass- 
irig  and  demoralizing  uncertainty,  and  terrds  to  con¬ 
vert  a  rrumerousand  intelligent  elemeirt  of  the  capi¬ 
tal’s  population  from  transitory  guests  into  property- 
ownirrg,  reasonably  permanent  citizens.—  IKos/impfon 
Star  [/?ep.]. 

—No  one  could  describe  the  utter  weakness  of 
the  spoils  system  more  accurately  than  the  secretary 
has  in  these  few  terse  sentences.  No  word  need  be 
added  to  them  to  prove  the  imperative  necessity  of 
the  reform  law  and  the  great  value  of  the  work  which 
the  commission  is  doing.  As  we  have  already  inti¬ 
mated,  Secretary  Windom’s  opinions  deserve  atten¬ 
tion  because  they  are  in  the  nature  of  expert  testi¬ 
mony,  and  his  hearty  approval  of  the  law,  together 
with  the  powerful  reasons  he  gives  for  approving  it, 
far  outweigh  the  clamor  of  the  disappointed  office- 
seekers  and  the  twaddle  of  the  spoilsmen  who  attack 
the  law  and  the  commission. — Cleveland  Leader 
[Rep.]. 

—Honesty  in  politics. 

Civil  service  reform. — Part  of  the  Cedar  Rapids 
[Iowa]  Gazette  Platform  [Rep.]. 

— It  is  not  presumed  that  professional  political 
workers  will  be  in  favor  of  a  law  which  opens  the 
public  service  to  all  the  people  on  a  fair  competition 
of  qualification  for  specific  duties.  They  prefer  that 
the  old  regime  when  favoritism  reigned  should  re¬ 
turn.  The  reform  law  sets  up  a  simple  test  of  merit 
instead  of  favor,  and  allows  an  equal  chance  to  all 
whether  they  have  infiueiiiial  political  friends  or 
not.  It  is  proper  in  this  connection  to  remind  the 
federation  of  republican  clubs  in  Maryland  that  the 
highe.st  republican  authority— the  national  conven¬ 
tion  of  the  party- has  repeatedly  declared  in  favor 
of  the  reform  law  ;  and  that  President  Harrison,  in 
letters  and  addresses,  is  fully  committed  to  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  this  reiorm.  —  Rockport  [/H.]  Register  [Pep.]. 

— The  Toledo  (O.)  Blade  [Rep.]  thinks  the  number 
of  congressmen  opposed  to  the  civil  service  law  very 
small.  “  The  spoilsmen  must  go,”  it  says. 

—No  one  who  has  watched  the  party  press  during 
the  past  six  months  can  doubt  that  the  sentiment  in 
favor  of  this  reform  is  constantly  growing.  A  few 
republican  papers,  following  a  few  republican  con¬ 
gressmen,  have  denounced  the  law  and  called  for  its 
repeal.  But  instead  of  exerting  any  influence  against 
it  they  have  simply  succeeded  in  calling  out  the  real 
opinion  of  the  party  on  the  subject.— Philadelphia 
Press. 

—Valuable  testimony  as  to  the  good  effect  of  the 
civil  service  law,  even  in  Maryland,  is  furnished  by 
the  Hagerstown  Herald,  a  republican  weekly.  The 
Herald  takes  up  and  condemns  the  recent  action  of 
the  republican  clubs  of  the  third  congressional  dis¬ 
trict  of  Maryland  in  calling  for  a  repeal  of  the  civil 
service  law,  declaring  that  “if  the  republican  parly 
should  go  before  the  country  on  the  platform  which 
these  Baltimore  politicians  have  laid  down,  it  would 
be  beaten  out  of  sight  ”  In  arguing  for  the  superior¬ 
ity  of  the  merit  system  to  the  spoils  policy,  the  Her¬ 
ald  makes  the  following  statement  as  to  the  operation 
of  the  former  in  Maryland  under  Mr.  Cleveland, 
which  is  of  value  as  the  testimony  of  a  political  op¬ 
ponent!  “  Without  the  civil  service  law  the  demo¬ 
cratic  heelers  in  Baltimore  would  have  held  high 
carnival  in  the  federal  offices.  With  it  we  have  had 
an  honest  management  of  the  public  business,  and 
only  in  a  few  instances  has  the  public  sense  of  de¬ 
cency  been  shocked  by  the  appointment  of  notorious 
rascals  to  responsible  positions.  If  there  had  been 
no  civil  service  law,  so  fair  and  moderate  a  man  as 
ex-Gov.  Groome  would  not  have  been  made  collector 
of  the  port,  and  certainly  a  very  different  class  of 
men  would  have  forced  their  way  into  all  the  subor¬ 
dinate  places.”— J^Vomf/ie  New  York  Evening  Post. 


The  civil  Service  Chronicle. 


I 


{ 

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4 


“  The  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party  are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise  people  to  discourage  and  restrain  it.  It 
serves  always  to  distract  the  public  councils  and  enfeeble  the  public  administration. Farewell  Address, 


VoL.  I,  No.  12.  INDIANAPOLIS,  FEBRUARY,  1890.  terms 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  begins  its 
second  year  with  the  next  issue.  It  will 
be  of  material  assistance  if  its  subscribers 
will  promptly  renew,  as  it  can  not  afford 
to  hire  a  collector.  It  aims  to  gather  into 
compact  shape  the  current  facts  in  regard 
to  the  civil  service,  especially  for  those  who 
desire  to  keep  well  informed,  but  who  are 
otherwise  too  much  engaged  to  get  for 
themselves  these  widely  distributed  facts. 
The  paper  aims  also  to  aid  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  in  the  effort  to  add  to  the  list  of 
believers  m  the  merit  system.  Much  has 
been  accomplished  the  past  year  by  send¬ 
ing  the  paper  to  lists  of  college  and  other 
libraries,  to  teachers,  ministers  and  others 
throughout  the  state.  To  any  who  desire 
to  subscribe  for  this  purpose,  we  may  say 
that  the  field  is  large  and  that  a  careful 
selection  will  be  made. 


President  Harrison  is  reported  to  have 
said : 

“  If  I  take  the  advice  of  Massachusetts 
senators  and  representatives  in  making  ap¬ 
pointments  in  that  state  you  have  no  right 
to  blame  me.  If  they  do  not  represent 
public  opinion  among  you,  you  should 
send  men  here  who  do.” 

Senators  and  representatives  are  not 
elected  to  advise  the  President  as  to  ap¬ 
pointments  ;  they  are  elected  as  law  mak¬ 
ers.  With  the  exception  of  a  small  num¬ 
ber  of  his  personal  supporters,  the  people 
in  voting  for  a  congressman  do  not  think 
of,  or  have  reference  to  his  capability  as  an 
office-broker  ;  when  they  think  of  him  as 
such  their  feeling  is  disagreeable  and  not 
to  his  credit.  The  need  of  the  times  is  a 
President  who  will  break  up  this  congres¬ 
sional  usurpation.  President  Harrison’s 
predecessor  talked  in  this  way  to  Maryland 
democrats  and  then  gave  Gorman  the  full 
swing  of  the  federal  patronage  which  he 
used  to  keep  those  same  democrats  under. 


The  signatures  to  the  petition  started  in 
Massachusetts  asking  for  a  fit  appropria¬ 
tion  for  the  work  of  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  is  a  remarkable  one.  In  order  to 


show  the  significance  of  the  names  their 
political  position  has  been  indicated.  It 
has  often  seemed  that  civil  service  reform¬ 
ers  in  Boston  and  elsewhere  underestima¬ 
ted  the  strength  of  the  reform  sentiment 
in  Indiana  among  the  people  at  large  ;  that 
they  were  unable  to  realize  that  the  politi¬ 
cal  leaders  did  not  in  fact  represent  the 
desire  among  the  rank  and  file  of  both 
parties  to  be  done  with  the  spoils  system. 
But  when  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  active 
politicians  favoring  the  reform,  this  list 
shows  that  we  are  far  behind  Massachusetts. 


The  Massachusetts  legislature  has  passed 
the  following  resolution  with  one  dissent¬ 
ing  vote  : 

Our  senators  and  representatives  are 
hereby  requested  to  favor  such  legislation 
as  will  extend  the  provisions  of  the  United 
States  civil  service  law  to  all  persons  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  navy  yards  of  the  United 
States. 


Attention  is  called  to  the  office  broker¬ 
age  in  Missouri,  set  forth  in  another  col¬ 
umn.  These  facts  have  been  brought  to 
light  by  the  St.  Louis  Republic,  and  are 
believed  to  be  authentic.  It  is  much  to  be 
desired  that  the  Civil  Service  Reform  As¬ 
sociation  of  that  state  should  take  the  mat¬ 
ter  up  and  print  the  facts  over  their  own 
name.  They  would  then  convince  a  class 
of  people  who  feel  justified  in  refusing  to 
be  convinced  now  because  those  facts  have 
been  unearthed  by  a  party  paper.  The 
congressmen  implicated  have  been  pecu¬ 
liarly  brazen  and  venal ;  but  to  sell  an  office 
for  a  small  sum  of  ready  cash  does  not 
dift'er  in  principle  from  sales  by  Quay  and 
others  for  influence  and  for  hire  as  a  ser¬ 
vile  laborer. 

In  an  examination  for  firemen  in  the 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  fire  department  was 
the  following  question  : 

“  If  you  had  a  strong  fire,  and  your 
steam  was  inclined  to  raise,  what  would 
you  do?”  The  New  York  Sun  (spoils) 
ridicules  and  condemns  this  question  as 
not  being  up  to  a  proper  literary  standard. 
The  question  was  probably  framed  by  a 
practical  engineer  who  made  use  of  the 
common  colloquialism  of  his  craft.  How 
about  the  people  like  the  Sun,  who  are 
always  complaining  that  the  questions  are 
literary  to  an  extent  that  none  but  the  col¬ 
iege-bred  can  answer  them  ?  | 


It  is  seriously  “  charged  ”  against  the 
civil  service  commission  that  there  are 
now  on  the  eligible  list  names  of  enough 
persons  to  supply  clerks  to  the  depart¬ 
ments  for  several  years.  Civil  service  re¬ 
formers  have  never  been  that  hard  pushed 
that  they  were  compelled  to  urge  as  an 
objection  to  the  spoils  system  that  each 
congressman,  by  encouraging  applications 
and  making  promises  in  regard  to  offices, 
had  made  a  longer  eligible  list  than  he 
could  use  up  if  he  were  a  congressman  a 
hundred  years.  The  competitive  system 
need  not  fear  a  comparison.  Under  the 
spoils  system  place-hunters  by  hundreds 
go  hundreds  of  miles  to  Washington.  They 
stay  there  for  weeks  and  months  literally 
stopping  the  operations  of  the  government. 
They  are  pests  in  Washington  and  are  ob¬ 
jects  of  derision  at  home.  They  go  through 
a  descending  scale  of  living,  beginning 
with  the  most  extravagant  hotel  and  end¬ 
ing  with  the  place  that  sells  “  board  by  the 
day,  week  or  meal.”  At  best  they  become 
penniless  beggars  for  a  place ;  and  yet  they 
persist  and  some  few  succeed.  This  is  the 
competition  of  the  spoils  system,  and  the 
eligible  list  never  starts  new.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  applicant  under  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem,  who  has  successfully  competed  at  an 
examination  near  his  own  home,  sees  his 
name  on  the  eligible  list  and  goes  about 
his  daily  business.  He  is  proud  of  the 
fact,  he  talks  about  it,  and  if  he  applies  for 
private  employment,  his  successful  compe¬ 
tition  is  his  strongest  point,  and  is  the  one 
he  urges  the  most.  It  helps  him  materi¬ 
ally  and  it  is  an  advantage  in  seeking  other 
work,  and  not  a  disadvantage  to  him  to  be 
on  that  list;  and  the  same  is  true  of  every 
other  person  on  it,  even  though  there  may 
be  enough  to  supply  the  departments  for 
years.  Importunity  for  place  is  useless, 
and  they  do  not  importune.  If  the  year 
passes  without  appointment  that  is  the  end 
of  the  list  and  of  their  present  chance. 
Justice  to  the  new  crop  that  wants  public 
employment  demands  a  new  competi¬ 
tion.  No  one  can  say  that  this  is  not  an 
educational  process  of  great  value  to  the 
country,  and  which  will  render  a  great 
number  of  persons  better  fitted  for  public 
and  private  employment.  And  not  the 
least  of  its  advantages  is  its  upbuilding  of 
manhood  in  place  of  the  cringing  and  hu¬ 
miliation  which  accompany  ordinary  office 
seeking. 


94 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


After  Mr.  Pearson  and  Colonel  Burt,  it  is 
perhaps  not  worth  while  to  express  sur¬ 
prise  at  the  removal  of  Collector  Salton- 
stall,  which  took  place  after  the  following 
correspondence : 

I. 

Treasury  Department,  ) 
Washington,  January  17,  1890.  j 
The  Hon.  L.  SallonstaU,  Collector  of  Customs,  Boston, 
Mass.: 

My  Dear  Sir:  The  President  is  ready  to  make  a 
change  in  the  collectorship  at  Boston,  hut  would  be 
glad  to  do  so  in  a  way  that  would  be  most  agreeable 
to  you.  Very  truly  yours, 

W.  WiNDoM  Secretary. 

II. 

Custom  House,  Office  of  the  Collector,  I 
Boston.  January  20, 1890.  J 
The  Hon.  William  Windom,  Secretary  of  Treasury: 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  this  day  received  your  let¬ 
ter  of  the  17th  inst.  informing  me  that  “the  Presi¬ 
dent  is  ready  to  make  a  change  in  the  collectorship 
at  Boston,  and  would  he  glad  to  do  so  in  a  way  that 
would  be  most  agreeable  to  you.”  In  reply,  I  beg  to 
say  that,  placing  entire  confidence  in  the  declaration 
of  the  President  concerning  tenure  of  office,  I  am 
prepared  to  serve  the  term  of  four  years  for  which  I 
was  commissioned  on  the  5th  of  May,  1886,  unless 
removed  by  the  authority  of  the  President  for  such 
cause  as  he  has  announced  to  be  controlling  in  such 
cases.  If  such  cause  exists,  I  respectfully  request  to 
be  informed  of  the  same. 

In  the  conduct  of  this  ofllce  I  have  endeavored  to 
perform  its  important  duties  with  fidelity  to  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  merchants 
of  Boston,  and  to  conform  to  the  spirit  as  well  as  the 
letter  of  the  civil  service  laws.  I  therefore  can  not 
stultify  myself  by  any  act  which  would  imply  the 
consciousness  of  dereliction  on  my  part,  and  prefer 
to  leave  the  decision  of  this  matter  in  the  hands  of 
the  President,  to  whom  I  forward  a  copy  of  this  letter. 
I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  communicate  this  my  con¬ 
clusion  with  entire  respect  for  the  President  and  for 
yourself,  and  hoping  that  it  may  not  be  misunder¬ 
stood,  I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

Lverett  Saltonstall,  Collector. 

III. 

Custom  House,  Office  of  the  Collector,  1 
Boston,  Jan.  20,  1890.  J 
To  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison,  President : 

My  Dear  Sir— I  herewith  inclose  a  copy  of  my  let¬ 
ter  of  this  date  to  Secretary  Windom,  in  answer  to 
his  letter  informing  me  that  you  were  ready  to  make 
a  change  in  the  collectorship  at  this  port.  I  take  this 
course,  deeming  it  proper  that  you  should  be  in¬ 
formed  without  delay  of  my  views  as  to  the  tenure 
of  the  office  which  I  have  the  honor  to  hold,  and  am, 
with  great  respect,  very  truly  yours, 

Lverett  Saltonstall,  Collector. 

No  criticism  is  made  upon  Mr.Saltonstall, 
as  an  officer.  He  has  carried  out  to  the 
fullest  extent  the  civil  service  reform  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  republican  platform.  The 
Indianapolis  Journal  says  that  Mr.  Salton¬ 
stall  has  been  sick  for  six  months  and  there¬ 
fore  was  removed.  The  Boston  Journal  says 
that  the  collector  is  called  upon  at  dinners 
to  respond  for  the  President  and  asks  us 
to  “  imagine  a  gentleman  who  had  defied 
the  President  occupying  such  a  position ;  ” 
by  “  defied  ”  it  is  meant  that  Mr.  Salton¬ 
stall  is  a  democrat.  Senator  Hoar  says 
that  the  office  is  akin  to  a  cabinet  position 
and  that  the  collector  ought  to  be  a  protec¬ 
tionist;  also  that  a  free  trader  “can  not 
interpret  our  protective  tariff.”  In  the 
variety  of  reasons  the  real  one  becomes 
apparent.  The  place  was  wanted  as  partj' 
spoil  and  it  was  so  taken,  and  the  President 


has  added  another  to  his  broken  promises. 
The  removal  was  brought  about  by  Senators 
Hoar  and  Dawes,  whose  greedy  pursuit  of 
this  place  marks  distinctly  the  decline  of 
Massachusetts  republican  statesmen.  Sen¬ 
ator  Hoar  will  hardly  expect  his  excuse  to 
be  treated  soberly.  The  law  and  the  rules  of 
the  department  regulate  the  duties  of  a 
collector.  With  these  as  his  guide  one 
honest  and  capable  officer  produces  the 
same  results  as  another.  There  is  no  way 
to  honestly  “interpretour  protective  tariff” 
except  according  to  law.  Any  other  way 
is  a  system  of  tips  and  winks ;  and  this 
shows  thai  Senator  Hoar  can  not  mean 
what  he  says.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  know 
that  the  course  of  the  administration  is  re¬ 
probated  by  such  republican  papers  as  the 
Boston  Advertiser,  the  Boston  Traveller  and 
the  Boston  Transcript. 


PRESIDENT  HARRISON’S  FIRST 
YEAR. 

In  a  few  days  President  Harrison  will 
complete  the  first  year  of  his  term.  With 
this  number  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle 
also  ends  its  first  year.  It  has  been  well 
known  that  those  in  control  of  the  paper 
actively  favored  the  election  of  General 
Harrison ;  but  in  commencing  this  publi¬ 
cation,  they  laid  down  the  principle  that 
the  standard  of  criticism  which,  in  other 
fields,  they  had  before  applied  to  the  man¬ 
agement  of  the  civil  service  should  not  be 
changed ;  President  Harrison  should  be 
judged  by  the  same  rules  by  which  they 
had  judged  his  predecessor.  And  now  at 
the  end  of  the  year  they  feel  that  they  have 
kept  to  the  mark.  It  would  have  been  easy 
to  say  that  the  President  has  a  hard  row  to 
hoe,  that  those  at  a  distance  can  not  realize 
the  pressure  upon  him,  that  he  can  only 
reform  the  civil  service  as  fast  as  public 
sentiment  will  support  him,  that  he  means 
well,  but  he  is  deceived  by  those  around 
him,  that  he  can  accomplish  nothing  with¬ 
out  his  party,  and  if  he  goes  faster  than 
he  can  carry  his  party,  he  will  sit  down 
between  two  stools,  and  so  on ;  but  it  has 
seemed  better  to  say  that  he  is  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  and  he  is  to  be  held  to  his  constitu¬ 
tional  responsibility  without  evasion  or  ex¬ 
cuse.  And  this  course  has  met  with  an 
approbation  both  personal  and  in  the 
public  prints  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
that  will  always  be  an  unalloyed  gratifica¬ 
tion. 

President  Harrison  closes  his  first  year, 
leaving  behind  him  some  acts  of  which 
history  will  never  be  proud.  He  has  a  set¬ 
tled  policy  of  keeping  appointees  after  their 
unworthiness  has  become  notorious.  In 
this  way  he  bids  fair  to  make  cases  like 
those  of  McFarlane,  Bagby  and  Chambers, 
in  Indiana,  rival  those  of  Tompkins  and 


Dowling  under  the  late  administration. 
His  putting  the  federal  patronage  in  Vir¬ 
ginia  into  the  hands  of  Mahone  was  an  as¬ 
sault  upon  the  rights  of  half  of  the  people 
of  that  state,  and  its  disastrous  results  do 
not  seem  to  have  taught  him  any  lesson. 
His  failure  to  dismiss  the  office-holders 
who  attempted  to  collect  money  for  Ma¬ 
hone  does  not  indicate  a  determination  to 
execute  that  part  of  the  law.  His  removal 
of  Pearson,  Burt,  Graves  and  Saltonstall  in¬ 
dicate  a  spirit  of  putting  his  heel  upon 
the  neck  of  the  reform  sentiment  of  the 
country.  His  allowing  the  railway  mail 
service  to  be  looted  while  the  eligible  lists 
were  being  prepared,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  done  were  peculiarly  in 
broken  faith.  His  sweep  of  the  fourth- 
class  postmasters  by  Clarkson,  his  turning 
the  census  bureau  over  to  be  common 
spoil,  his  advance  in  the  same  direc¬ 
tion  with  the  Indian  service,  his  sub¬ 
sidizing  the  press,  his  grudging  reten¬ 
tion  of  some  democrats  to  the  end  of  their 
terms,  his  greedy  removal  of  others,  like 
General  Manson,  his  turning  whole  states 
over  to  men  like  Platt  and  Quay,  his  ap¬ 
pointment  of  relatives  to  office,  and  his 
general  use  of  the  100,000  places  in  the  un¬ 
classified  service  to  pay  personal  and  party 
debts,  unmistakably  mark  him  as  a  man 
who  believes  in  such  use  of  a  great  public 
trust.  That  he  has  a  constitutional  right 
to  so  use  it,  he  would  not  himself  claim. 
Like  other  presidents,  he  has  frittered 
away  the  golden  opportunity  of  breaking 
up  the  spoils  system.  Yet  he  has  not  built 
himself  up  in  other  directions.  He  has  re¬ 
fused  to  work  in  his  one  peculiar  field, 
and  no  others  are  or  will  be  open  to  him, 
except  in  a  limited  and  routine  extent.  If 
he  goes  to  the  end  as  he  has  started,  he  will 
have  been  a  common-place  president  whose 
term  has  had  its  full  share  of  vicious  ad¬ 
ministration. 

There  is  one  branch  of  this  subject  that 
must  be  treated  by  itself.  President  Har¬ 
rison  said  that  he  would  enforce  the  civil 
service  law  and,  leaving  out  the  Mahone 
assessments,  he  has  done  so.  To  begin  at 
home,  if  a  democrat  in  Indiana,  examined 
by  the  Indianapolis  local  board,  does  not 
get  upon  the  eligible  list,  it  is  his  own  fault. 
It  may  be  stated  with  absolute  certainty 
that  any  person  coming  before  this  board 
for  examination  will  be  treated  exactly  ac¬ 
cording  to  his  merits,  and  will  get  the  place 
on  the  list  that  he  earns  in  open  competi¬ 
tion.  And  it  may  be  added  that  if  he  se¬ 
cures  a  place  upon  the  eligible  list  of  the 
Indianapolis  post-office,  he  will  be  appoint¬ 
ed  when  his  name  comes  to  the  top  of  the 
list.  That  office  employs  a  large  propor¬ 
tion  of  democrats,  yet  no  one  is  dismissed 
without  cause.  We  are  glad  to  say  this 
because  we  have  been  a  severe  critic  of 
this  post-office  and  we  desire  to  give  full 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


95 


credit  to  the  present  course  of  its  manage¬ 
ment. 

And  elsewhere,  and  so  far  as  we  can 
learri,  everywhere  the  law  is  honestly  en¬ 
forced.  When  the  post-offices  in  Philadel¬ 
phia,  Baltimore,  Chica^^o,  Milwaukee  and 
elsewhere  are  remembered,  the  revolution 
which  has  taken  place  becomes  apparent. 
Possibly  with  a  less  courageous  and  less 
able  man  than  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  his  place 
on  the  civil  service  commission,  the  result 
might  have  been  different;  but  the  Presi¬ 
dent  is  to  be  given  the  credit  due  for  a  wise 
selection  of  a  civil  service  commission  and 
for  then  sustaining  it.  The  result  is  that 
the  merit  system  is  vindicating  itself  on 
■  every  hand.  Never  before  did  it  overthrow 
so  many  enemies  and  so  easily,  and  the 
general  summing  up  must  be  that  never 
has  it  made  such  rapid  progress  as  during 
the  past  year.  To  such  an  extent  does  it 
now  meet  public  approval  that  no  party 
can  safely  go  into  a  presidential  campaign 
ignoring  this  subject,  however  much  that 
party  may  be  agitating  some  other  ques¬ 
tion. 


Gr'  ROYAL  DISFAVOR. 

The  President  has  again  disregarded  the 
wishes  of  Senator  Farwell,  and  has  appointed 
Mr.  Clark  collector  of  the  port  of  Chicago. 
Goaded  by  his  repeated  defeats  and  by  the  un¬ 
friendly,  not  to  say  jeering,  criticisms  of  the 
press,  Senator  Farwell  has  written  the  follow¬ 
ing  letter : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chicago  Tnbune  : 

In  your  issue  of  the  24th,  in  the  editorial 
'  columns,  you  have  an  article  headed  “  What 
the  Constitution  Says,”  and  indulge  in  some 
criticism  upon  the  demands  of  the  senators  in 
regard  to  appointments,  quoting  the  article  of 
the  constitution  which  refers  to  that  subject. 
I  fully  agree  with  you  in  your  definition  of 
that  clause  ,  but  the  President  is  empowered 
and  compelled  by  this  to  appoint  postmasters 
having  salaries  of  $1,000  and  upward  and 
thousands  of  other  officers — in  fact,  all  officers 
of  the  United  States  but  those  below  that 
grade — and  if  he  acts  intelligently  in  making 
these  appointments  he  must  consult  with  per¬ 
sons  whom  he  knows  and  who  know  the  per¬ 
sons  to  be  appointed.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned 
I  claim  that  the  people  have  the  right  to  se¬ 
lect  the  officers  they  want,  and  inasmuch  as 
they  can  not  all  come  to  Washington  to  make 
known  their  wishes  it  is  but  natural  that  their 
representatives  should  speak  for  them  in  this 
matter  as  well  as  in  all  other  matters.  Indeed, 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  render  it  imper¬ 
ative  that  the  President  shall  consult— if  he 
do  his  duty— with  these  representatives;  and 
the  only  complaint  I  make  against  the  present 
occupant  of  the  White  House  in  regard  to  ap¬ 
pointments  in  Illinois  is  that  he  prefers  to  con¬ 
sult  persons  other  than  the  people’s  chosen  rep¬ 
resentatives.  The  congressmen  and  senators 
of  one  neighboring  western  state,  whose  dele¬ 
gation  in  the  late  nominating  convention  in 
Chicago  swung  first  into  line  for  him,  have  no 
trouble  whatsoever  in  convincing  the  Presi¬ 
dent  that  their  nominees  are  proper  persons 
to  fill  the  offices  in  that  state.  _  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  the  representatives  of  Illinois  who  did 
not  support  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
White  House  in  the  nominating  convention. 


have  found  it  impossible  to  convince  the  Pres¬ 
ident  that  they  are  qualified  to  select  anybody 
for  official  position  in  the  state.  I  know  ©f 
no  other  reason  than  this  why  we,  as  well  as 
other  United  States  senators,  are  not  consulted 
in  regard  to  important  appointments. 

The  appointment  of  the  collector  of  internal 
revenue  at  Springfield  was  made  with  the 
knowledge  that  it  was  against  the  wishes  of 
the  two  senators.  The  President’s  refusal  to 
appoint  Mr.  Campbell  was  an  expression  of 
that  want  of  confidence  in  me  above  referred 
to,  and  impelled  him  to  consult  with  private 
citizens.  By  this  action  the  President  has 
notified  us  that  he  does  not  wish  to  further 
consult  with  us  in  regard  to  Illinois  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  that  he  will  rely  upon  other 
sources  of  information  than  the  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  people.  C.  B,  Farwell. 

Washington,  Jan.  27. 

To  make  his  record  complete  it  is  necessary 
to  add  some  remarks  of  Senator  Farwell  in 
various  newspaper  interviews  which  are  ap¬ 
parently  authentic : 

“  I  believe,”  he  says,  “  that  this  is  a  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people.  In  the  Chicago  collectorship  case  the 
people  wanted  Mr.  Campbell,  the  white-headed 
boy  of  the  republican  party  of  Illinois.  I 
have  nothing  to  say  against  Mr.  Clark.  I 
could  no  doubt,  have  defeated  the  confirma¬ 
tion,  but  it  would  have  availed  nothing;  it 
would  have  resulted  in  punishing  a  worthy 
citizen  ;  that  is  all.  The  President’s  nomina¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Clark  was  a  very  astonishing  and 
unusual  proceeding,  and  in  making  it  he 
wholly  ignored  the  wishes  of  the  Illinois  dele¬ 
gation,  and  acted  in  a  very  strange  manner 
toward  them.  He  did  not  even  consult  any 
one  of  them 

Mr.  Campbell  was  chairman  of  our  cam¬ 
paign  committee,  and  devoted  months  of  his 
time  and  his  whole  energies  for  the  election  of 
Mr.  Harrison.  Mr.  Clark  did  not  do  this. 
But,  then,  this  is  Mr.  Harrison’s  way  of  reward¬ 
ing  political  friends.  I  regret  that  he  enter¬ 
tains  such  notions,  for  it  results  in  a  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  party  to  which  he  and  I  belong. 
It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  duty  of  those 
holding  important  official  positions  to  try  and 
carry  out  the  will  of  the  people,  but  in  this 
matter  Mr.  Harrison  has  wholly  Ignored  them, 
and,  so  far  as  I  remember,  this  is  the  first  in¬ 
stance  in  which  the  wishes  of  an  entire  delega¬ 
tion  in  congress  from  any  state  have  been  so 
completely  disregarded.” 

We  have  given  space  to  this  because  when 
senators  have  ceased  to  exist  as  office-brokers 
the  record  will  be  curious  and  valuable.  It 
marks  the  last  stage  of  congressional  usurpa¬ 
tion  of  the  appointing  power.  Only  recently 
have  congressmen  become  so  calloused  as  to 
go  into  the  public  prints  and  claim  office  dis¬ 
tribution  as  a  right.  It  is  fitting  that  the 
claim  should  be  made  by  a  man  who  could 
not  stay  in  public  life  an  hour  on  his  merits 
as  a  statesman.  In  refusing  him  offices,  the 
President  knocks  every  prop  from  under  him. 
The  “people”  whom  Senator  Farwell  repre¬ 
sents  are  the  Illinois  party  machine.  His 
party  comprises  about  half  of  the  people  of 
the  state,  and  the  machine  does  not  include 
one  fiftieth  of  this  half.  Congressmen  are  not 
chosen  to  distribute  offices,  but  to  make  laws. 
So  far  as  they  interfere  with  the  distribution 
of  offices  they  are  a  common  nuisance.  They 
are  the  worst  advisers  a  president  can  have, 
for  with  rare  exceptions  they  distribute  places 
according  to  the  power  and  will  of  the  re¬ 


cipients  to  help  their  renomination  and  re- 
election. 

The  President,  however,  can  not  be  given 
any  credit.  It  is  no  virtue  in  him  to  pull 
down  Farwell  and  Cullom,  giving  them  no 
spoil,  while  he  builds  up  Quay  and  makes 
him  virtually  dictator  of  the  distribution  of 
federal  offices  in  Pennsylvania.  A  peculiar 
emphasis  is  given  to  this  impropriety  by  the 
fact  that  he  puts  the  latter  state  under  the 
heel  of  Quay,  in  face  of  the  steady  and  indig¬ 
nant  protests,  not  of  independents,  like  Henry 
C.  Lea,  but  of  men  whose  republicanism  is  un¬ 
impeachable,  like  Wharton  Barker,  who  rep¬ 
resent  a  large  body  of  people  in  that  state. 


“WORDS,  MERE  IDLE  WORDS.” 


The  Indianian- Republican  is  published  at 
Warsaw  in  this  state,  and  General  Reuben 
Williams  has  long  been  its  editor.  In  a  re¬ 
cent  issue  of  his  paper  General  Williams  says 
he  advocated  General  Harrison  as  a  suitable 
candidate  for  governor  in  1868,  but  the  re¬ 
publican  press  did  not  respond.  In  1872  and 
1876  he  again  urged  the  same  point.  In  1885, 
in  a  column  and  a  half  article,  he  presented 
General  Harrison’s  name  for  the  presidency, 
and  kept  it  up  until  after  the  latter’s  nom- 
ication  and  election.  The  rest  of  the  story 
can  only  be  told  in  the  Indianian- Republican’s 
own  words : 

After  the  election  was  over  and  victory 
achieved,  those  who  knew  how  warmly  we  had 
advocated  the  President’s  claims,  insisted  that 
we  should  become  an  applicant  for  some  posi¬ 
tion  under  an  administration  for  which  our 
paper  had  fought  for  so  valiantly;  and  yet, 
fully  aware  of  the  intrigues  and  disappoint¬ 
ments  so  frequently  occurring  in  politics,  we 
hesitated,  until,  in  reply  to  a  dispatch  of  con¬ 
gratulations  we  sent  the  Pesident  the  next 
morning  after  the  election,  we  received  the 
following  reply : 

INDIANAPOMS,  Ind.,  Nov.  28,  1888. 
Oen.  Reub.  Williams,  Warsaw,  Ind.: 

My  Dear  General — I  know  that  you  will  under¬ 
stand  that  my  long  delay  In  acknowledging  your 
kind  telegram  of  congratulations  is  not  to  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  any  lack  of  appreciation  of  your  cor¬ 
dial  and  constant  friendship.  I  know  how  unselfishly 
you  have  supported  me,  and  value  very  highly  the 
many  evidences  you  have  given  me  of  your  confi¬ 
dence.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  at  an>  time.  Very 
truly  yours,  Benjamin  Harrison. 

The  letter  deceived  us,  and  we  at  once  made 
application  for  the  state  pension  agency,  stat¬ 
ing  in  the  original  application  that  we  had 
neither  time  nor  money  to  fritter  away  in 
making  an  unsuccessful  race,  and  that  a  hint 
that  such  would  be  the  case  would  prevent  us 
from  making  one  at  all.  Every  individual  to 
whom  we  showed  the  above  letter,  construing 
it,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  long  sup¬ 
port  of  this  paper  of  Mr.  Harrison,  as  an  invi¬ 
tation  to  become  a  candidate  for  something, 
and  it  was  this  interpretation  by  our  friends 
that  finally  induced  us  to  ask  Mr.  Harrison 
for  the  place,  we  selecting  that  special  posi¬ 
tion  for  the  reason  that  it  permitted  us  to  re¬ 
main  within  the  borders  of  the  state.  We  be¬ 
lieved,  too,  that  thirty-four  years  of  as  faith¬ 
ful  service  as  any  man  ever  gave  his  party,  en¬ 
titled  us  to  some  consideration  at  his  hands, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  twenty  years  of  personal 
loyalty  to  the  individual  just  elected  to  the 
highest  position  within  the  gift  of  the  people. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


9<i 


and  we  are  free  to  say  that  under  these  cir¬ 
cumstances  we  felt  our  defeat  most  keenly. 
The  press  of  the  state  was  practically  unani¬ 
mous  in  our  favor,  and  certainly  no  one  who 
ever  obtained  a  position  under  the  government 
was  ever  more  enthusiastically  or  emphati¬ 
cally  indorsed  by  leading  republicans  from 
every  section  of  Indiana  in  private  letters, 
while  petitions  in  large  numbers  were  also 
forwarded.  It  was  a  blunder  of  our  own. 
During  the  thirty-four  years  of  political  serv¬ 
ice  we  have  given  our  party,  we  have  seen  so 
much  of  intrigue,  of  insincerity,  of  double- 
meaning  phrases,  that  we  ought  to  have  con¬ 
sidered  the  above  letter  at  its  proper  value. 
With  our  experience  we  should  have  interpre¬ 
ted  its  contents  at  what  it  really  was — words, 
mere  idle  words.  It  was  our  blunder,  and  we 
exonerate  Mr.  Harrison  wholly.  We  should 
have  known  better  than  to  have  expected  any¬ 
thing  ! 

So  far  as  is  possible  sympathy  ought  to  be 
extended  to  General  Williams.  Coming  down 
to  the  level  on  which  he  and  the  President 
stand,  he  makes  a  very  fair  showing  of 
“claims;”  thirty-four  years  of  party  service, 
and  at  least  twenty-two  years  of  personal  ser¬ 
vice  in  repeated  nominations  of  General  Har¬ 
rison  for  public  office  and  in  urging  his  inter¬ 
est  in  column-and-a-half  editorials  clearly  en¬ 
title  General  Williams  to  “recognition.”  By 
that  is  not  meant  a  nod  or  a  hand-shake,  but  a 
payment  for  the  thirty-four  years  of  party  ser¬ 
vice  and  the  twenty-two  years  of  personal  ser¬ 
vice  in  nominations  and  in  column-and-a-half 
editorials,  by  handing  over  a  good  solid  office 
like  the  pension  office  of  this  city,  worth  thou¬ 
sands  of  dollars  a  year  in  cash. 

After  all  his  experience,  however.  General 
Williams  and  Solomon  have  come  to  the  same 
conclusion.  All  things  are  “  words,  mere  idle 
words.”  We  now  invite  him  to  a  higher  level 
and  ask  him  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
President  has  no  right  to  give  out  public  offices 
to  pay  Huston,  Ransdell,  Leonard,  Hornaday, 
Bagby,  McFarlane,  Chambers,  Dunlap,  Ens- 
ley,  nor  even  General  Williams  himself.  All 
offices  except  the  highest  should  be  given  upon 
a  system  of  merit  and  promotion  solely  for 
business  reasons  and  without  any  regard  to 
personal  and  party  service.  This  is  the  prac¬ 
tice  that  is  going  to  prevail  in  the  state  and 
national  service,  and  General  Williams  can 
render  his  state  and  country  a  substantial  ben¬ 
efit  by  helping  to  establish  it. 


SECRET  CHARGES. 

As  soon  as  removals  began  to  be  freely  made 
during  President  Cleveland’s  administration 
apparently  without  cau.se,  civil  service  re¬ 
formers  began  to  complain  and  to  question. 
They  were  met  with  various  charges  on  file 
against  these  office-holders,  and  there  seemed 
to  be  fair  ground  why  they  we'e  not  entitled 
to  any  special  consideration  at  the  hands  of 
the  administration  or  of  reformers.  It  took  a 
considerable  time  to  realize  how  easily  a  post 
office  inspector,  though  he  be  a  republican  un¬ 
der  a  democratic  administration  or  a  democrat 
under  a  republican  administration,  learns  to 


feel  that  his  own  tenure  will  be  longer  by  not 
kicking  against  the  pricks,  and  that  his  duty 
to  his  superior  officers  is  to  aid  rather  than  to 
oppose  their  desire  for  removals  “  for  cause.” 
This  evil  has  thriven.  Mr.  Vilas’s  men  knew 
what  w'as  wanted,  and  Mr.  Wanamaker’s  men 
likewise.  General  Harrison  was  very  out¬ 
spoken  regarding  the  impropriety  of  secret 
charges  during  the  preceding  administration. 
In  a  letter  to  the  democratic  postmaster  at 
Mt.  Vernon,  dated  December  19,  1885,  he 
said : 

The  course  pursued  by  the  postmaster-gen¬ 
eral  in  removing  republicans  upon  secret 
charges,  embarrasses  us,  and  may  possibly  em¬ 
barrass  some  of  his'  nominees,  for  I  shall  not 
feel  free  to  consent  to  the  removal  of  any  effi¬ 
cient  public  officer  upon  charges,  until  he  has 
been  advised  of  their  character  and  has  had 
an  opportunity — which  I  shall  certainly  ex¬ 
tend  to  you — to  meet  and  refute  them. 

But  President  Harrison  has  put  no  stop  to 
secret  charges.  Faithful  public  servants  are 
still  harrassed  by  false  accusations  made  by 
those  who  feel  that  though  they  may  not  suc¬ 
ceed,  they  will  not  be  known. 

Mr.  English,  the  democratic  postmaster  at 
New  Haven,  was  removed  by  President  Harri¬ 
son  at  the  end  of  four  years  of  service,  though 
he  had  been  efficient  and  had  enforced  the 
civil  service  law  in  the  teeth  of  the  local  dem¬ 
ocratic  machine  hungering  for  spoil.  Out  of 
the  twenty-three  clerks  whom  he  found  in  the 
office,  nearly  one-half  remained  at  the  end  of 
the  four  years.  Of  the  twenty-three  letter- 
carriers,  ten  were  left.  Of  the  whole  forty-six, 
fifteen  were  removed,  and,  according  to  the 
postmaster’s  statement,  every  one  of  these  for 
causes  quite  disconnected  with  politics.  Twice 
during  the  four  years  the  New  Haven  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  investigated  the 
office,  and  each  time  it  commended  in  the 
highest  terms  the  postmaster’s  record.  He  re¬ 
fused  to  allow,  during  the  last  presidential 
campaign,  certain  democratic  managers  to  “go 
through  ”  his  office,  and  he  told  them,  more¬ 
over,  that  they  had  no  business  to  ask  for  such 
contributions  at  all. 

For  months  after  the  incoming  administra¬ 
tion  reports  were  rife  of  “charges”  against  Mr. 
English.  Last  summer  he  was  informed  by 
the  post-office  department  that  he  was  charged 
with  allowing  party  contributions  to  be  col¬ 
lected  in  his  office.  He  went  at  once  to  Wash¬ 
ington  and  asked  Mr.  Wanamaker  to  see 
the  charges.  The  postmaster-general  drew  a 
bulky  bundle  from  a  pigeon  hole  and  informed 
Mr.  English  briefly  of  the  charges,  but  he  re¬ 
fused  to  show  the  papers  or  to  give  the  names 
of  the  accusers.  It  does  not  seem  too  harsh 
to  infer  that  Mr.  Wanamaker  believed  the 
charges  to  have  been  trumped  up  by  local  re¬ 
publican  politicians,  and  that  he  sanctioned 
their  course  as  one  of  the  peculiar  nece-ssities 
of  politics  to  an  extent  that  he  deliberately 
shielded  them  from  exposure  and  from  the 
odium  of  their  fellow-townsmen. 


The  Indianapolis  Journal,  for  January  27, 
has  a  careful  statement  of  the  nature  of  the 


examinations  for  department  clerkships,  let¬ 
ter-carriers  and  clerks  in  the  railway  mail- 
service,  and  gives  samples  of  the  questions 
asked. 


The  February  Oivil  Service  Recmd  (Boston) 
contains  illustrations  of  tests  for  penmanship 
required  of  applicants  for  the  highest  class  of 
clerkships,  and  gives  various  examples  with 
the  marks  and  the  reasons  for  the  diflferent 
gradings. 


Richardson,  a  member  of  the  Maryland  leg¬ 
islature,  has  offered  a  resolution  in  the  house 
of  delegates  instructing  the  Maryland  repre¬ 
sentatives  in  congress  to  vote  for  the  repeal  of 
“that  obnoxious,  unconstitutional,  undemo¬ 
cratic  and  unrepublican  measure,  known  as 
the  so-called  civil  service  law,  which  strikes  at 
the  fundamental  principles  of  free  government, 
which  disfranchises  three-fourths  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  people  from  the  right  of  holding  public 
office.” 


— The  Kokomo  Dispatch,  of  January  16,  says 
that  Daniel  Webster  Martin,  recently  appoint¬ 
ed  postmaster  at  Oakford  [Fairfield  Station, 
Ind.]  was  formerly  postmaster  there,  but  was 
superseded  in  April,  1887,  by  J.  W^  Croussore. 
That  when  the  official  envelope  containing 
Croussore’s  appointment  came,  Martin  laid  it 
away,  and  for  the  next  five  months,  until  Au¬ 
gust  27,  told  Croussore  repeatedly  that  there 
was  nothing  for  him.  That  a  second  official 
package,  registered,  was  treated  in  the  same 
way,  until  January  6,  1888,  when  Martin  re¬ 
turned  both  letters  to  Washington  indorsed, 
“No  such  person  getting  mail  at  this  office.” 
That  some  weeks  later  Martin  was  trapped  by 
an  inspector  and  a  decoy  letter  directed  to 
Croussore  and  denied  to  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  inspector.  If  these  statements  are  true,  it 
would  be  interesting  to  know  what  particular 
“  influence  ”  secured  the  reappointment. 


The  effect  of  the  first  session  to-day  of  the  house 
committee  on  reform  in  the  civil  service  was  to  make 
the  most  favorable  impression  for  the  commission. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  made  a  speech  which  was  a  strong  ar¬ 
gument  in  favor  of  the  most  searching  investigation, 
and  Commissioner  Thompson  spoke  equally  forcibly. 

When  Frank  Hatton  was  called  on  he  was  evident¬ 
ly  very  nervous,  his  voice  being  beyond  his  control. 
His  disavowal  of  any  personal  animus  in  his  pursuit 
of  the  commission,  his  suggestion  that  the  commis¬ 
sion  be  reorganized  under  a  single  head,  and  that 
head  be  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  his  fears  lest  the  witnesses 
he  will  produce  may  suffer  some  damage  from  telling 
the  truth,  caused  a  general  smile.— Special  Dispatch 
to  New  York  EveningPost,  January  20. 

It  is  not  surprising  to  see  Hatton  and  his 
paper  beginning  to  sing  small.  Politicians 
are  trained  to  a  warfare,  always  under  cover. 
They  make  charges  secretly,  and  they  answer 
them  secretly.  Met  in  their  underground 
fights  they  are  adepts  in  all  manner  of  knifing 
and  are  dangerous  foes.  But  when  they  oc¬ 
casionally  meet  a  man  like  Mr.  Roosevelt  who 
has  nothing  to  fear  and  who  insists  that  the 
fight  shall  be  open  and  public,  they  dwindle 
into  the  most  contemptible  of  opponents. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


97 


CATHOLICS  AND  CITIZENSHIP. 

[From  au  address  delivered  before  the  Catholic 
Club  of  Baltimore,  Wednesday,  February  5, 1890,  by 
Charles  J.  Bonaparte.] 

In  an  address  of  welcome  to  the  prelates  of 
the  Third  Plenary  Council  some  five  years  ago 
I  said,  speaking  of  the  presidential  contest  of 
1884,  then  just  concluded  :  “The  Catholic 
Church  has  no  politics  :  she  knows  nothing  of 
candidates  or  platforms,  of  administrations  or 
policies,  of  tariffs  or  currencies  ;  she  is  mute 
on  every  question  as  to  which  honest  men  may 
honestly  differ,  and  no  more  tells  her  children 
what  ticket  they  shall  vote  than  what  food 
they  shall  eat  or  what  clothes  they  shall  wear. 
But  as  she  demands  that  they  shall  eat  with 
temperance,  that  they  shall  dress  with  decency, 
so  she  requires  of  them  to  vote  with  an  un¬ 
clouded  judgment,  with  an  undrugged  con¬ 
science,  with  the  good  of  the  country  as  their 
motive,  with  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes.” 

I  avail  myself  of  your  very  flattering  invi¬ 
tation  for  this  evening  to  recur  to  this  subject 
and  point  out  why  and  how  the  church,  as  one 
and  the  first  of  those  forces  which  in  modern 
society  “make  for  righteousness,”  can  and  of 
right  should  affect  the  nation’s  political  life. 
Macaulay  claimed  that  to  say  of  Charles  I  “He 
was  a  good  man,  but  a  bad  king,”  involved  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  No  one  who  violated 
in  the  discharge  of  public  duties  the  principles 
of  morality  and  honor  could,  he  urged,  be  rea¬ 
sonably  and  justly  thought  of  as  “  a  good 
man.”  If  this  be  true  of  an  English  king,  it 
is  no  less  true  of  an  American  citizen.  His 
conduct  as  a  citizen  can  not  be  ignored  in  any 
fair  estimate  of  his  character. 

When,  however,  men  were  told  that  for  ev- 
[ery  idle  word  or  wantonness  of  wrath  they 
[should  one  day  strictly  answer,  no  exception 
[was  made  for  words  spoken  at  a  primary.  The 
[decalogue  contains  no  clause  suspending  its 
^operation  while  ballots  are  counted  or  votes 
.returned  or  appointments  sought.  A  Chris- 
[tian  can  not  draw  a  sponge  over  his  record  as 
fa  member  of  civil  society;  that  record  will 
avail  to  fix  his  destiny,  and  if  it  does,  it  con¬ 
cerns  the  church.  p]ven  if  she  would,  she  can 
not  limit  her  mission,  can  not  escape  dealing 
with  evils  by  closing  her  eyes  to  their  exist¬ 
ence.  Doubtless  it  is  a  delicate  task  to  deal 
with  those  evils.  Her  serpent  wisdom  must 
endow  with  prudence  and  tact  those  who  speak 
in  her  name.  Zeal  not  according  to  knowl¬ 
edge,  however  well  meant,  may  here  be  read¬ 
ily  harmful,  but  all  this  amounts  to  saying 
that  the  work  must  be  done  wisely,  not  that  it 
should  be  left  undone.  For  be  well  assured 
that  if  this  field  is  given  up  to  the  enemy,  his 
tares  will  spread  to  those  adjacent.  You  can 
not  abandon  a  heart  to  sordid  passions  in  the 
forum  and  hope  that  it  will  be  pure  and  hon¬ 
orable  and  generous  at  the  fireside.  Burke 
has  well  said,  “There  never  yet  was  long  a  cor¬ 
rupt  government  of  a  virtuous  people.”  The 
church,  then,  must  help  good  men  to  purify 
and  elevate  politics.  But  how  shall  the  help 
be  given?  Not,  I  need  hardly  say,  by  partici¬ 
pation  in  political  struggles.  Her  kingdom  is 


not  of  this  world,  she  covets  not  the  things  of 
Ciesar,  and  her  ministers,  while  entitled  to  the 
unobtrusive  exercise  of  their  rights  as  citizens, 
and,  indeed,  in  my  opinion,  bound  in  con¬ 
science  to  thus  exercise  these  rights,  can  not 
be  too  rigidly  or  sternly  forbidden  to  display 
any  partisan  activity.  She  can  promote  hon¬ 
est  government,  pure  politics,  sound  and  lofty 
public  spirit,  by  teaching  through  the  words 
and  acts  of  her  representatives  that  she  be¬ 
lieves  in  and  prizes  these  things  and  does  not 
hold  them  mere  phantoms:  by  making  those 
who  fight  for  them  feel  that  in  spirit  and  sym¬ 
pathy  she  is  on  their  side,  and  those  who  fight 
against  them  know  that  she  counts  as  her  ene¬ 
mies  enemies  to  their  country’s  welfare.  When 
we  read  that  mediaeval  barons  bestowed  on 
churches  and  monasteries  wealth  acquired  as 
the  spoil  of  a  life  devoted  to  rapine  and  blood¬ 
shed,  we  can  be  charitable  to  the  imperfect 
manners  of  a  barbarous  age;  but  there  is 
room  for  no  such  indulgence  if  the  material 
interests  of  any  enterprise,  however  laudable 
in  itself,  are  advanced  through  agencies  which 
imply  a  condonation  for  intrigue  and  corrup¬ 
tion  and  suggest  indifference  to  wrong-doing. 
The  courage  of  consistency  is  the  first  virtue 
of  a  moralist.  He  will  never  lead  others  who 
is  afraid  to  show  by  his  life  that  he  believes 
what  he  teaches. 

“Those  love  truth  best  who  to  themselves  are  true. 
And  what  they  dare  to  dream  of  dare  to  do.” 


MR.  ROOSEVELT  ON  POLITICAL  AS¬ 
SESSMENTS. 

In  a  recent  report  on  political  assessments 
in  New  York,  Commissioner  Roosevelt  says : 

“  Experience  in  a  number  of  investigations 
of  this  sort  has  convinced  me  that  the  talk 
often  heard  about  the  injustice  of  not  allow¬ 
ing  clerks  to  make  ‘voluntary  contributions,’ 
which  the  law  in  nowise  prevents,  is  all  non¬ 
sense.  Government  employes  do  not,  as  a 
rule,  contribute  simply  from  a  desire  to  help 
the  political  cause  in  which  they  believe. 
The  so-called  ‘  voluntary  contributions  ’  are, 
nine  times  out  of  ten,  made  from  some  per¬ 
sonal  motives,  that  is,  either  in  the  hope  of 
being  retained  in  office,  or  else  with  the  object 
of  gaining  some  advantage  over  the  other 
clerks.  In  other  words,  the  employes  are  co¬ 
erced  into  making  them,  for  fear  that  their 
positions  will  be  jeopardized  if  they  fail  to  do 
so.  It  is  probably  safe  to  say  that  90  per 
cent,  of  the  money  collected  for  political  pur¬ 
poses  from  minor  governmental  employes  rep¬ 
resents  so  much  blackmail.  This  particular 
species  of  robbery  is  mean  enough  at  best,  and 
one  of  its  meanest  features  is  the  fact  that  the 
men  most  apt  to  contribute  money,  the  men 
most  susceptible  to  pressure,  are  those  of  oppo¬ 
site  political  faith  to  the  dominant  party. 
Those  who  agree  in  politics  with  the  party  in 
control  feel  some  assurance  of  protection  if 
they  refuse  to  be  coerced  into  parting  with 
their  money  ;  but  the  unfortunates  of  opposite 
political  faith  feel  they  have  no  power  behind 
the  throne  on  which  to  rely,  are  nervously 
afraid  of  giving  offence,  and  yield  helplessly 


when  threatened.  The  amount  paid  is  not  ab¬ 
solutely  very  great  in  any  individual  case, 
but  to  a  poor  clerk  just  able  to  get  along,  the 
loss  of  3  per  cent,  of  his  salary  may  mean  just 
the  difference  between  having  and  not  having 
a  winter  overcoat  for  himself,  a  warm  dress 
for  his  wife,  or  a  Christmas  tree  for  his  chil¬ 
dren.  Such  a  forced  payment  is  a  piece  of 
cruel  injustice  and  iniquity. 

“Another  fact  to  be  remembered  is  that  very 
much  of  the  money  so  collected  is  never  turned 
into  the  party  campaign  chests  at  all,  being 
kept  for  their  own  private  uses  by  the  jackals 
who  have  collected  it.  If  the  head  of  the 
office  is  determined  to  have  his  subordinates 
contribute,  the  latter  soon  know  it,  and  the 
fact  that  they  must  pay  becomes  common  talk 
among  them.  In  some  offices  the  system  of 
making  political  assessments  has  obtained 
steadily  for  so  many  years  that  many  of  the 
clerks  have  come  to  regard  it  as  part  of  the 
established  order  of  nature,  against  which 
they  do  not  think  of  rebelling,  but,  whatever 
their  own  politics,  regularly  pay  their  contri¬ 
butions  into  the  compaign  chest  of  the  domi¬ 
nant  party  ;  as  one  of  them  expressed  it,  ‘  They 
feel  that  the  desk,  not  the  man  at  it,  owes  just 
so  much  to  the  party  in  power.’  Many  politi¬ 
cians  take  this  view  as  a  matter  of  course. 
One  of  the  witnesses  in  the  present  case,  a 
strong  republican,  who  was  holding  office  un¬ 
der  the  last  administration,  testifies  that  he 
was  advised  to  contribute  to  the  democratic 
campaign  by  one  of  his  friends,  a  New  York 
republican  district  leader,  as  being  the  only 
thing  to  do  if  he  wished  to  keep  his  place.” 

The  result  of  his  inquiries  seems  to  show 
that  in  the  naval  office  under  Colonel  Burt 
this  disgraceful  practice  was  broken  up.  But 
under  Collector  Magone  there  was  widespread 
effort  to  collect  money.  There  was,  however, 
no  active  coercion.  In  the  surveyor’s  office, 
under  Mr.  Beattie,  the  contributions  were 
levied  generally.  Both  democrats  and  repub¬ 
licans  gave  to  the  democratic  fund.  By  means 
of  covert  threats  even  the  most  unwilling  were 
forced  to  pay.  Some  who  refused  at  first  were 
made  very  uncomfortable  by  being  removed 
from  their  posts  to  others  less  agreeable.  After 
payment  they  were  sent  back. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

To  the  Editor  of  The  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

In  the  current  number  of  your  entertaining 
publication  I  notice  your  offer  of  fifty  dollars, 
given  you  by  an  admirer  to  “use  in  furthering 
the  cause  of  civil  service  reform  in  Indiana,”  as 
a  reward  for  the  “best  statemeht  of  facts  of  the 
use  of  federal  offices  as  spoil  in  any  district.” 
You  aid  those  ambitious  to  secure  the  prize  by 
giving  this  sample  question  :  “Why  was  the 
editor  of  the  Delphi  Journal  given  an  office?  ” 

Assuming  the  statement  you  require  must  be 
in  answer  to  the  query,  I  base  my  claim  to  the 
fifty  dollars  upon  the  following  explanation  : 
The  Delphi  Journal  is  a  republican  newspaper 
published  in  one  or  more  of  the  important 
towns  in  the  tenth  congressional  district.  That 
district,  one  politically  doubtful,  is  now  repre- 


98 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


seated  in  congress  by  a  preacher  politician 
named  Owen,  whose  chief  ambition  at  the 
present  writing  is  to  bring  about  his  renomin¬ 
ation  and  re-election.  As  the  district  is  un¬ 
comfortably  “close,”  a  kicking  newspaper 
might  be  able  to  create  dissensions  disastrous 
to  the  congressman’s  ambition.  The  Delphi 
Journal  is  of  this  variety,  was  a  very  rank 
Gresham  organ  previous  to  the  nomination  of 
Mr.  Harrison,  and  was  compelled  to  indulge 
in  a  number  of  feats  of  retromingency  before 
it  became  finally  and  firmly  adjusted  to  the 
situation.  It  was,  therefore,  excellent  policy 
in  Mr.  Owen,  by  the  use  of  the  patronage  al- 
loted  him  by  the  President  for  that  purpose, 
to  secure  the  influence  of  the  Journal  in  his 
own  behalf,  and,  by  so  doiijg,  spike  another 
of  the  annoying  Gresham  guns. 

Further,  the  Delphi  Journal  oflBce  was  only 
recently  purchased  by  the  present  proprietors, 
the  purchase-money  being  advanced  and  se¬ 
cured  by  a  number  of  local  republicans  who 
are,  therefore,  personally  interested  in  the 
financial  success  of  the  paper.  Ordinarily  the 
prospects  for  this  success  would  be  clouded 
with  doubts,  but,  through  the  aid  of  the 
editor’s  salary  as  a  federal  employe,  the  future 
is  made  to  look  perceptibly  brighter,  and,  as 
the  young  editor’s  application  for  appoint¬ 
ment  was  doubtless  “  backed  ”  by  these  same 
interested  local  republicans,  it  is  safe  to  as¬ 
sume  that  their  interest  in  Mr.  Owen’s  re-elec¬ 
tion  has  at  least  been  revived. 

Carroll  county,  in  which  the  city  of  Delphi 
18  situated,  is  a  “close”  county  which  has 
twice  given  a  small  republican  majority, 
whereas,  formerly  it  was  good  for  at  least  a 
hundred  the  other  way.  Was  it  not,  there¬ 
fore,  proper  that  something  handsome  should 
be  done  for  the  boys  who  converted  a  majority 
for  Cleveland  and  a  democratic  congressman 
into  one  for  Harrison  and  Owen? 

I  think  the  sagacious  editor  of  the  Chronicle 
will  sustain  me  in  the  proposition  that  similar 
tactics  in  each  of  the  towns  in  the  tenth  dis¬ 
trict  would  summarily  dissipate  any  doubts 
as  to  the  chances  for  Mr.  Owen’s  renomina¬ 
tion,  and  this  would  be  demonstrated  by  the 
modern  law  that,  though  Mr.  Owen  is  incon¬ 
sequential  in  congress,  indifferent  to  political 
principles,  ignorant  as  to  the  tariff,  silent  con¬ 
cerning  silver  coinage,  deaf  to  civil  service  or 
other  reform,  a  “dummy,”  in  fact,  as  a  rep¬ 
resentative  of  the  people,  he  is  a  success  be¬ 
cause  he  “gets  there.” 

A  personal  acquaintance  with  the  men  and 
the  circumstances,  and  a  consistent  regard  for 
my  own  hereafter,  prompts  me  to  insist  that 
there  is  no  other  reason  why  the  editor  of  the 
Delphi  Journal  should  have  been  given  an 
office.  D.  A.  Fawcett. 

La  Grange,  Ind,,  Feb.  3,  1890. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

I  have  read  with  interest  an  article  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Chronicle  for  January,  enti¬ 
tled  “The  Loot  of  the  Indian  Service.”  Will 
you  kindly  grant  me  space  in  your  columns  for 
a  few  words  in  connection  with  this  subject? 


As  secretary  of  the  Indian  Rights  Associa¬ 
tion  I  have  endeavored,  so  far  as  my  power 
and  opportunities  permitted,  to  direct  _my 
course  upon  the  lines  of  policy  adopted  by  our 
society.  That  policy  is  one  of  impartial  in¬ 
vestigation  into  the  condition  of  the  Indian 
service,  and  an  honest  and  frank  statement  of 
the  facts  concerning  it,  and  the  recommenda¬ 
tions  for  such  a  reform  of  the  abuses  as  in  our 
judgment  is  called  for  by  these  facts.  I 
called  attention  last  summer,  through  various 
prominent  newspapers,  to  a  development  of 
the  spoils  system  known  as  the  “  Home  Rule” 
policy  of  appointment,  which  the  President 
and  secretary  of  the  interior  were  applying  to 
the  Indian  service.  By  this  policy  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  Indian  agents  for  the  various 
western  reservations  was  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  local  politicians  in  the  states  and 
territories  in  which  these  reservations  were 
located,  thus  removing  the  power  from  where 
it  belonged — the  executive  at  Washington.  I 
protested  against  this  policy  as  applied  to  the 
Indian  service  as  false  in  principle  and  likely 
to  be  disastrous  in  practice,  claiming  that  it 
was  an  absurdity  to  call  that  a  “  Home  Rule  ” 
policy  which  restricted  the  selection  of  the 
managers  of  Indian  affairs  to  localities  often 
notoriously  hostile  to  Indian  interests.  This 
protest,  as  might  be  supposed,  had  no  influence 
upon  the  subsequent  action  of  the  President 
and  the  secretary  of  the  interior.  The  re¬ 
moval  of  Agent  Levy  at  the  Yankton  reserva¬ 
tion,  referred  to  in  your  article,  is  an  illustra¬ 
tion  of  the  evil  effects  of  the  policy.  An 
exceptionally  excellent  agent  who  had  gained 
the  confidence  of  both  Indians  and  whites  at 
a  reservation  which  had  suffered  the  blight  of 
incompetent  administration  of  the  past,  is  re¬ 
moved  to  gratify  a  senatorial  demand.  In 
this  instance  a  sound  principle  of  administra¬ 
tion,  viz.,  the  retention  of  a  competent  and 
faithful  officer,  is  deliberately  violated  in 
favor  of  a  vicious  principle  of  administration. 

I  know  another  agency  at  which  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  removal  of  the  Indians  located 
there,  against  the  best  interest  of  the  Indians 
and  in  order  to  gratify  the  desire  of  neighbor¬ 
ing  whites  to  possess  their  lands,  is  being  agi¬ 
tated.  The  agent  at  this  reservation  and  an¬ 
other  employe  there  were  chosen  under  the 
“Home  Rule”  policy.  Both  these  men  freely 
admitted  that  they  had  accepted  their  posi¬ 
tions  with  a  view  to  securing  lands  on  the  res¬ 
ervation  when  it  should  be  thrown  open  to 
settlement.  How  far  men  accepting  their 
posts  through  such  motives  could  be  expected 
to  take  an  impartial  view  of  the  question  at 
issue,  or  in  other  ways  to  serve  the  best  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  Indians,  may  readily  be  inferred. 

A  letter  reached  me  this  morning  inform¬ 
ing  me  of  another  instance  where  this  same 
disastrous  policy  was  to  be  put  into  operation, 
and  the  removal  of  a  good  agent  was  to  be  se¬ 
cured  under  its  dictation.  The  “Home  Rule” 
policy  is  but  a  phase  of  the  spoils  system,  and 
as  such  is  essentially  vicious.  You  and  your 
readers  may  rest  assured  that  there  will  be  no 
hesitation  on  my  part  in  publishing  whatever 


facts  come  to  my  knowledge  showing  the  evils 
connected  with  Indian  administration.  Though 
our  society  in  this  matter  can  hope  to  be  lit¬ 
tle  more  than  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
we  can  at  least  have  the  satisfaction  of  ren¬ 
dering  our  testimony  to  evils  which  are  so 
strongly  entrenched  that  only  a  distant  and 
brighter  future  is  likely  to  see  them  corrected. 

In  closing,  I  should  like  to  make  one  point 
clear  concerning  General  Morgan,  the  present 
Indian  commissioner.  He  is  not  responsible 
for  the  “Home  Rule”  policy  of  appointment, 
nor  has  he  anything  to  do  with  the  selection 
of  Indian  agents.  These  appointments  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  President  and  the  secretary 
of  the  interior.  I  have  had  close  experience 
with  General  Morgan’s  management  of  Indian 
affairs  and  I  have  never  known  him  to  make 
an  appointment  on  any  but  sound  reasons. 
Indeed,  he  has  excited  the  wrath  of  some  sen¬ 
ators  in  his  own  party  on  account  of  his  re¬ 
fusal  to  act  at  their  dictation  in  making  par¬ 
tisan  appointments  to  offices  within  the  range 
of  the  commissioner’s  jurisdiction.  Gen.  Mor¬ 
gan  is  wholly  in  sympathy  with  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  Indian  affairs  upon  reform  principles 
and  for  this  reason  should  receive  the  earnest 
support  of  reformers.  His  confirmation  is  now 
hanging  in  the  senate  on  account  of  his  fidel¬ 
ity  to  the  principles  for  which  reformers  have 
fought.  The  violence  of  the  assault  made  up¬ 
on  him — I  say  it  after  a  careful  examination 
of  the  facts — is  the  highest  tribute  to  his  cour¬ 
age  and  faithfulness  as  a  public  officer. 

-Respectfully,  Herbert  Welsh. 

Philadelphia,  January  29. 


The  ideal  citizen  is  always  a  disturbing  in¬ 
fluence  in  his  own  political  fold.  He  is  in  the 
position  of  the  missionary  to  a  congregation 
of  southern  negroes,  who  persisted  in  preach¬ 
ing  against  theft,  covetousness,  and  other  vio¬ 
lations  of  the  ten  commandments,  while  his 
hearers  were  longing  only  to  hear  of  the  won¬ 
ders  described  in  the  book  of  Revelations  and 
to  exult  in  anticipation  of  rambling  through 
the  golden  streets  and  stately  mansions  of  the 
great  hereafter.  “Pahson,”  said  one  emotion¬ 
al  and  tearful  brother,  “ef  you  don’  quit  talk¬ 
in’  ’bout  stealin’  chickens  an’  bein’  fon’  of 
other  men’s  wives,  you’ll  knock  all  de  ’ligious 
stuffin’  out  ob  dis  meetin’.” — From  Address  on 
The  Ideal  Citizen,  by  John  Habberton. 


Speaking  of  civil  service  reform,  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  said  it  was  quite  apparent  that  many  of 
the  politicians  of  both  parties  would  be  de¬ 
lighted  if  they  could  smother  it  out  of  exist¬ 
ence  by  withholding  the  necessary  appropria¬ 
tions  for  its  maintenance.  Of  course,  they 
would  not  have  the  courage  to  kill  it  directly. 
There  was  little  fear  they  would  succeed  even 
by  indirection,  for  the  principle  had  too  firm 
a  hold  upon  the  country  to  be  destroyed,  and 
he  looked  for  the  time  when  its  scope  would 
be  enlarged  and  its  benefits  extended. — Balti- 
more  Sun,  February  12. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


99 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser- 
viee  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge 
or  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

— The  Civiii  Service  Chronicle  for  May, 
1889,  printed  the  letter  of  A.  C.  Eubanks,  of 
Missouri,  a  defeated  candidate  for  congress,  in 
which  he  said  : 

In  thinking  about  the  matter  we  were  talk¬ 
ing  about  last  night,  I  concluded  that  an 
office  like  your  P.  O.  ought  to  afford  me  $25 — 
say  $15  now  and  $10  when  you  get  your  com¬ 
mission. 

The  St.  Louis  Republic  also  has  photo¬ 
graphs  of  other  letters,  one  of  February  8, 
1889,  in  which  he  said  : 

I  was  the  republican  candidate  for  congress, 
and  hence  by  custom  am  measurably  entitled 
to  have  the  patronage  to  somewhat  reimburse 
me  for  labor  and  expense  incurred  in  the  cam¬ 
paign,  which  was  considerable. 

And  in  an  offer  to  sell  an  office  to  one  C.  F. 
Davis,  he  said  : 

Your  district  being  but  partly  in  this,  you 
can  suggest  about  what  would  be  right  in  the 
premises,  and  if  you  have  other  recommend¬ 
ations  you  would  wish  to  call  my  attention 
to  you  will  do  so. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  for  Septem¬ 
ber,  1889,  printed  affidavits  showing  that 
Joseph  D.  Upton,  a  defeated  candidate  for  con¬ 
gress,  had  been  given  the  patronage  of  his  dis¬ 
trict,  about  234  post  offices  alone,  and  had  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  realize  upon  them,  selling  the  War¬ 
saw  office  for  $25,  and  that  various  applicants 
for  other  offices  were  commanded  by  Upton  to 
meet  him  on  a  certain  day  at  Warsaw,  where 
he  “  assessed  them  all  according  to  the  amount 
of  salary  attached  to  the  offices.” 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  for  May, 
1889,  also  printed  portions  of  a  speech  to  a 
campaign  committee  by  James  Love,  another 
defeated  camlidate  for  congress,  in  which  he 
said  that  he  should  control  the  patronage  of 
his  district  and  that  he  would  receive  all  ap¬ 
plications  for  local  offices  and  present  them  to 
the  President  or  the  proper  department  at 
Washington,  and  further,  “Of  course,  it  will 
be  understood  that  there  will  be  some  expense 
attached  to  the  proceedings,  and  applicants 
will  fee  expected  to  contribute  to  this  expense.” 

This  open  talk  causing  a  scandal,  Clarkson 
proceeded  to  “investigate”  the  facts  which,  so 
far  as  made  public,  we  printed  in  June,  1889. 
Clarkson  declared  Love  innocent  of  any“charge 
affecting  your  honor.” 

The  St  Louis  Republic,  later  had  the  follow¬ 
ing  affidavit  which  we  have  delayed  printing 
to  see  whether  it  would  be  denied  or  taken 
notice  of  by  the  administration. 

Kingston,  Mo.,  Sept.  12,  1889.— Wm.  J.  Ward,  of 
Pattonsburg,  Daviess  county,  Mo.,  deposeth  and  on 
oath  states ;  That  he  was  an  applicant  for  the  Pat¬ 
tonsburg  post-office,  an<i  that  in  the  forepart  of  May, 
1889,  he  made  a  visit  to  Liberty,  Clay  county.  Mo., 
for  the  purpose  of  soliciting  the  indorsement  of  James 
Love,  late  defeated  republican  candidate  for  con¬ 
gress,  called  at  his  home  between  1  and  2  o’clock,  on 
the  date  of  his  arrival  at  Liberty,  was  introduced  by 
one  Martin,  presented  Indorsements  for  Love’s  con¬ 


sideration.  Mr.  Love  produceil>]clipping  from  the 
St.  Louis  Olobe  Democrat,  which  contained  the  ttaie- 
merit  that  the  department  had  made  ruling  requiring  in¬ 
dorsement  of  the  defeated  candidate  for  congress,  and  he 
stated  that  no  one  would  be  appointed  to  office  without  his 
indorsement.  After  an  inspection  of  the  indorsements 
he  said  that  he*was  going  to  Washington,  said  that  the 
congressional  committee  had  made  considerable  fuss 
over  the  speech  that  he  had  made  at  Gallatin,  but  that 
it  would  have  no  effect,  as  his  relations  with  the 
department  had  been  established,  and  nothing  the 
committee  could  do  would  serve  to  disturb  them. 
After  some  other  conversation  with  Mr.  Love,  I 
left  bis  home  and  did  not  see  him  until  the  next 
day.  In  the  morning  I  met  him  on  the  north  side  of 
the  court-house  yard.  He  spoke  to  me,  and  after  we 
had  conversed  a  short  time  Mr.  Love  said :  “  Ward, 

I  understand  that  you  are  a  man  of  considerable 
means.”  I  told  him  that  I  was  only  in  moderate 
circumstances,  and  had  had  some  reverses  in  finan¬ 
cial  aftairs,  and  was  not  worth  very  much.  In 
speaking  of  his  Washington  trip,  said  he  would  be 
to  considerable  expense.  I  told  him  that  I  was  will¬ 
ing,  if  he  made  my  case  a  personal  matter,  to  con¬ 
tribute  a  portion  to  said  expense,  but  that  under  no 
circumstances  would  I  pay  him  for  his  indorsement. 
He  said  that  he  did  not  think  there  was  anything 
wrong  for  a  man  paying  for  a  favor,  and  that,  in  in 
dorsing  applicants’  petitions,  he  was  doing  such  a 
favor  as  would  secure  the  appointment .  I  told  him 
tha,t  I  thought  it  was  wrong  to  pay  anything  for  an 
indorsement.  I  then  left  him,  and  was  well  satisfied 
with  the  conversation  that  I  had  that  I  would  not 
succeed  in  securinghis  indorsement,  as  I  was  unwill¬ 
ing  to  pay  anything,  and  he  was  unwilling  to  indorse 
unless  I  did. 

The  report  as  above  detailed  is  substantially  cor¬ 
rect  in  every  particular. 

Wm.  J.  Ward. 

County  of  Caldwell,  K„ 

State  of  Missouri.  j  • 

Sworn  and  subscribed  to,  before  me,  a  Notary 
Public,  tbis  12tb  day  of  September,  1889. 

[Seal]  Joseph  Myers, 

Notary  Public. 

That  the  administration  has  not  rebuked 
this  office  brokerage  would  appear  from  the 
following  facts  given  in  the  St.  Louis  Republic, 
December  11 : 

In  the  fourth  congressional  district  Mr.  H. 
R.  W.  Hartwig  was  the  defeated  republican 
candidate  in  the  general  election  in  1888.  The 
elected  democratic  member  subsequently  died, 
and  a  special  election  was  held,  at  which  Mr. 
F.  M.  Postgate  was  the  republican  nominee. 
The  quarrel  between  these  two  for  recognition 
has  given  us  some  of  the  facts,  and  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  these  has  led  to  further  investigation. 
Mr.  Hartwig  finding  Mr.  Postgate  in  posses¬ 
sion  of  the  spoils  during  his  absence,  on  his 
return  wrote  President  Harri.son  a  letter,  say¬ 
ing  : 

I  passed  through  a  long  and  exciting  canvass,  my¬ 
self  bearing  all  the  expenses,  amounting  to  a  sum 
exceeding  $20,000,  used  for  local,  state,  and  national 
purposes.  .  .  .  Taking  into  account  the  work  done 
and  the  great  sacrifices  for  the  party  made  by  me  and 
my  friends,  it  would  be  rankest  injustice  to  ignore 
my  claims  for  recognition— an  act  without  precedent 
and  calculated  to  destroy  confidence  in  our  party  in¬ 
tegrity,  discourage  party  workers,  and  disintegrate 
party  organization  and  effectiveness. 

Respectfully,  H.  R.  W.  Hartwig, 

Late  Republican  Candidate,  Fourth  District,  Missouri. 

— President  Harrison  has  appointed  John  C. 
Kinney  postmaster  at  Hartford,  Conn.  The 
Neto  York  Times  says  :  “  The  contest  over  this 
place  has  been  long  and  earnest  between  Sen¬ 
ator  Hawley  and  ‘  Pat  ’  McGovern.  The 
latter  is  the  boss  of  the  practical  ward  heelers 
of  the  party  in  Hartford,  and  he  insisted  that 
one  of  his  lieutenants  should  be  postmaster. 


He  wanted  the  men  who  did  the  party’s  work 
at  the  polls  to  be  recognized,  and  long  ago  he 
announced  that  if  he  did  not  have  his  way  he 
would  transfer  his  force  to  the  democratic 
side.  Mr.  Hawley  insisted  upon  his  right,  as 
a  senator,  to  nafiae  the  postmaster  in  his  own 
city,  and  he  selected  Mr.  Kinney,  a  young 
man  employed  upon  the  senator’s  newspaper, 
who  is  said  to  control  nobody’s  vote  but  his 
own.  Mr.  Hawley’s  claim  has  been  allowed, 
and  the  party  workers  in  Hartford  will  have 
a  chance  in  the  near  future  to  vote  as  they 
please.” 

— House  op  Representatives,  U.  S.  I 
Washington,  D.  C.,  Feb.  8, 1890.  / 

Captain  Edward  F.  Phinney,  South  Farmington. 

Mass. : 

Dear  Sir — You  are  well  aware  of  the  con¬ 
test  which  I  have  had  over  the  post-office  in 
your  town.  I  consider  it  settled,  and  your  ap¬ 
pointment  has  been  made  and  sent  to  you.  It 
gives  me  pleasure  to  congratulate  you  on  hav¬ 
ing  received  it,  and  I  think  after  the  citizens 
consider  it  fully  they  will  decide  that  my  ac¬ 
tion  was  judicious.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  me 
that,  after  looking  over  the  ground  with  a 
great  deal  of  care  and  doing  justice  to  the 
claims  of  others,  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
indorsing  an  old  soldier  who  has  an  honorable 
record  in  the  service  of  his  country.  I  feel 
that  it  is  only  a  few  years  that  we  may  recog¬ 
nize  the  veterans ;  they  soon  will  pass  off’  the 
stage;  and,  as  you  well  know,  whenever  my 
judgment  will  permit  me  to  do  so,  giving 
careful  consideration  to  the  claims  of  others, 
my  preference  is  to  recognize  the  members  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  I  wish  to 
say  also  that  your  conduct  during  this  contest 
has  been  very  dignified.  You  presented  to 
me  your  petitions  without  reflecting  upon  any 
of  your  competitors,  and  left  the  matter  to  me 
to  decide  upon  the  merits  of  your  claims.  I 
have  no  doubt  of  your  success  in  the  office, 
and  I  feel  interested  that  it  shall  be  equal  to 
any  other  in  the  district  in  prompt  attention 
to  business  and  in  the  courteous  .and  careful 
attention  to  the  demands  of  those  who  do  busi¬ 
ness  with  it.  Very  truly  yours, 

John  W.  Candler,  M.  C., 
Massachusetts  Ninth  District. 

— Ten  days  ago  Robert  I.  Patterson  was  ap¬ 
pointed  postmaster  here.  O.  J.  Sturgis,  editor 
of  the  Republican  Standard,  had  been  led  to 
believe  that  he  was  to  have  the  place,  and  had 
been  indorsed  by  Senator  Quay.  Next  day 
Sturgis  charged  in  his  paper  that  Patterson’s 
success  was  due  to  the  interference  of  Henry  C. 
Frick,  the  millionaire  coke  manufacturer  and 
partner  of  Andrew  Carnegie.  Frick,  he 
charged,  is  a  friend  of  Postmaster-General 
Wanamaker  and  buys  goods  from  his  store. 
The  statement  was  also  made  that  Frick  had 
contributed  $20,000  to  the  republican  cam¬ 
paign  fund. 

Now  Sturgis  comes  forward  with  another 
story.  He  says  in  his  paper:  “  The  first  post- 
office  appointment  made  in  Fayette  county 
under  the  new  administration  was  at  Brad¬ 
ford.  Very  shortly  after  the  inauguration 
Congressman  Ray  recommended  J.  H.  Flenni- 
ken,  and  First  Assistant  Postmaster-General 
Clarkson  appointed  him.  Mr.  H.  C.  Frick 
thereupon  protested  to  Postmaster  General 
Wanamaker,  who  at  once  recalled  the  ap¬ 
pointment.  Mr.  Ray  declined  thus  to  be 
stripped  of  his  prerogative  by  a  private  citi¬ 
zen  living  outside  the  district,  and  insisted  on 
the  appointment.  Merchant  Wanamaker  re¬ 
fused  to  offend  Merchant  Frick  with  his 
twenty  stores  in  the  coke  region,  and  so  the 
matter  hangs  fire  to-day — the  office  still  in  the 
hands  of  a  democrat.  What  is  the  use  to  send 
representatives  to  Washington  if  they  are  to 
be  overriden  by  outside  interference?” — Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times  from  Uniontown,  Pa., 
February  9. 


100 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— Congressman  Morse  this  evening  filed  the 
following  dispatch  at  the  Western  Union  tele¬ 
graph  office : 

“  Warren  W.  Adams,  Quincy,  Mass. — Upon 
my  recommendation  to  the  postmaster-general 
you  are  nominated  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  confirmed  as  postmaster  of 
Quincy  by  the  senate  to-day.” 

This  is  the  end  of  the  efforts  of  the  citizens 
of  Quincy  to  secure  the  retention  of  their  com¬ 
petent  postmaster,  Mr.  Speare.  A  popular 
vote,  taken  before  the  party  screws  were  put 
upon  the  voters,  would  have  given  Mr.  Speare 
a  majority  of  the  republicans.  Mr.  Adams 
has  been  a  hard  worker  in  the  party  ranks,  and 
begets  his  reward.  President  Harrison  made 
some  declarations  once  about  fitness  and  not 
party  service  being  a  tenure  of  office.  There 
are  a  few  people  in  Washington  who  remember 
them. — Boston  Post,  Januai-y  31,  1890. 

— The  President  to-day  ended  a  long  con¬ 
test  for  the  postmastership  at  this  place  by  ap¬ 
pointing  Capt.  W.  Underwood  to  the  position. 
Underwood  was  months  ago  selected  by  Con¬ 
gressman  Ray,  but  Secretary  Blaine  recom¬ 
mended  his  cousin,  Samuel  Ewing,  for  the 
place,  and  the  matter  has  been  held  in  abey¬ 
ance  ever  since.  Meanwhile  another  cousin 
of  the  .secretary.  Col.  William  Ewing,  has  en¬ 
tered  the  lists  for  collector  of  the  port  at  Pitts¬ 
burgh,  a  soft  berth,  which  Senator  Quay  had 
picked  out  for  his  neighbor,  John  F.  Drapo  of 
Beaver.  Col.  Ewing  is  also  said  to  have  the 
indorsement  of  his  distinguished  relative  at 
the  capital. 

For  some  weeks  it  has  been  common  rumor 
that  the  President  was  willing  to  accept  one  of 
these  cousins,  but  drew  the  line  on  a  double 
dose.  As  the  aspirant  for  postmaster  has  fal¬ 
len  by  the  wayside,  it  is  thought  the  other 
cousin  will  get  the  collectorship. — Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times  from  Washington,  Penn.,  Feb 
ruary  13. 

— Charles  Emory  Smith,  of  Pennsylvania, 
editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Press,  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister 
plenipotentiary  to  Russia. 

ENCOURAGING  SIGNS. 

—  Congressman  Bayne,  of  Pennsylvania, 
thinks  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  the 
appointment  of  postmasters  of  certain  grades 
were  regulated  by  the  laws  of  the  civil  service 
commission. 

— Congressman  Moore,  of  New  Hampshire, 
recommended  the  reappointment  of  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  postmaster  at  Franklin  Falls.  He  was 
selected  at  a  caucus  by  a  vote  of  178  to  38  be¬ 
cause  he  had  been  an  efficient  officer. 

— Congressman  Charles  H.  Turner,  of  New 
York,  has  at  his  disposal  a  cadetship  in  the 
naval  academy  at  Annapolis.  Instead  of  fol¬ 
lowing  the  usual  practice  of  handing  this  place 
out  to  pay  for  personal  service,  or  of  letting  a 
few  of  his  personal  followers  compete  for  it, 
he  has  already  asked  the  youth  of  his  district 
to  compete  for  the  place. 

—  Congressman  Greenhalge  has  formally 
recommended  the  reappointment  of  Postmaster 
Buttrick  at  Concord. 

The  Boston  Post  says :  “He  served  with  credit 
in  the  United  States  navy,  and  is  a  direct  de¬ 
scendant  of  the  Major  Buttrick  who  led  the 
Concord  farmers  in  their  assault  upon  the 
British  troops.  Mr.  Buttrick  has  performed 
his  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  whole  town, 
and,  though  a  democrat,  he  is  supported  by  the 
leading  republicans  of  the  place,  including  so 
staunch  a  party  man  as  Judge  Hoar.” 


— Congressman  Morse  says  that  unless  the 
situation  changes  heshall  recommend  the  reap¬ 
pointment  of  Postmaster  Harlow  at  Whitman. 
Mr.  Harlow  is  a  democrat,  and  his  term  ex¬ 
pires  in  March,  but  he  has  given  such  satis¬ 
faction  that  he  has  the  indorsement  of  the  re¬ 
publican  town  committee  and  nearly  all  the 
republican  voters.  Mr.  Charles  H.  Edson,  who 
is  in  tow'n  to  day,  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Morse, 
and  assured  him  that  Mr.  Harlow’s  appoint¬ 
ment  would  satisfy  everybody. — Boston  Post, 
January  39. 

— Secretary  Tracy’s  recommendation  of  Capt. 
Folger  to  succeed  Commodore  Sicard  as  chief 
of  the  bureau  of  ordnance  is  strictly  in  the  line 
of  civil-service  reform.  There  is  no  abler 
young  officer  in  the  navy  than  Capt.  Folger, 
and  his  specialty  has  been  ordnance.  His 
record  as  superintendent  of  the  gun  factory  at 
the  Washington  navy  yard  has  been  admir¬ 
able  from  a  technical  point  of  view,  and  he 
has  especially  distinguished  him.self  by  serving 
under  two  administrations,  and  allowing  the 
adherents  of  neither  to  run  his  factory  as  a 
political  machine. 

The  republican  bummers  of  the  district 
have  done  their  best  for  the  last  six  months  to 
drive  him  out  of  his  place,  because  he  would 
not  let  them  dictate  his  appointments.  But, 
instead  of  getting  him  sent  to  sea,  or  put  on 
inferior  duty  they  have  succeeded  merely  in 
hastening  his  promotion. — Dispatch  to  New  York 
Evenvig  Post,  Jan.  34. 

— The  interest  which  has  centered  in  the 
choice  of  postmaster  for  Newtonville  has  been 
intense  and  outspoken.  With  remarkable 
unanimity  the  republicans  in  a  village  caucus 
held  last  September,  voted  for  the  reappoint¬ 
ment  of  J.  B.  Turner,  a  democrat,  who  was 
appointed  to  the  position  when  President 
Cleveland  was  at  the  helm.  Mr.  Turner  has 
made  a  faithful  official.  He  has  introduced 
better  business  methods  into  the  management 
of  the  office,  has  systematized  the  work,  been 
accommodating  and  thoroughly  efficient,  and 
has  thus  given  satisfaction  to  both  republicans 
and  democrats.  The  caucus  did  not  seem  to 
settle  the  matter  satisfactorily  to  the  oppo¬ 
nents  of  Mr.  Turner,  so  it  was  finally  decided 
to  hold  another;  and  Congressman  Chandler, 
in  a  letter  to  C.  B.  Coffin,  chairman  of  the 
Newton  republican  ward  and  city  committee, 
stated  that  he  shall  recommend  for  the  place 
the  nominee  of  the  caucus.  A  call  was  issued 
and  the  polls  were  open  at  a  vacant  store  in 
the  village  from  4  to  9  p.  m.  to-day. 

The  vote  was  taken  by  the  Australian  bal¬ 
lot  system,  six  booths  being  set  up,  each  of 
the  three  candidates  being  allowed  two  tellers. 

It  was  a  quiet  but  interesting  afternoon,  and 
as  the  hour  for  closing  approached  the  room 
was  a  place  of  attraction  for  quite  a  number 
of  citizens.  The  names  were  plainly  printed 
in  alphabetical  order.  There  were  240  ballots 
cast,  as  follows :  C.  A.  Burgess  had  25,  E.  S. 
Cotton  43,  J.  B.  Turner  172.  The  result  was 
greeted  with  applause,  and  will  without  ques¬ 
tion  be  final.  The  office  is  first-class,  carrying 
a  salary  of  $2,100  beshles  the  rent  and  an  al¬ 
lowance  of  about  $900,  which  pays  the  salaries 
of  the  two  clerks. — Springfield  Republican,  Feb¬ 
ruary  3. 

— Postmaster  Childs  will  remain  in  place  for 
another  four  years.  Such  was  the  verdict  of 
the  people  at  this  afternoon’s  caucus,  called  by 
the  congressmen  of  the  state  to  decide  upon 
whom  their  benediction  should  fall.  The  vote 
has  been  counted,  and  Frederick  W.  Childs, 
the  present  incumbent,  who  was  appointed  by 
President  Cleveland  in  1886,  wins  by  a  vote  of 
467  against  401  for  George  A.  Hines.  Mr. 
Hines  was  the  nominee  of  the  republican  man¬ 
agers,  led  by  Col.  George  W.  Hooker,  who  de¬ 


manded  the  office  as  spoils  for  the  victors. 
The  home  of  Mr.  Childs  this  evening  is  be¬ 
sieged  by  the  people  offering  congratulations 
to  the  successful  candidate.  In  one  town  in 
the  United  States  to-night  principle  rather 
than  bossism  holds  sway. 

This  struggle  between  the  people  of  Brattle- 
boro  and  the  republican  politicians  has  at¬ 
tracted  wide  attention.  Given  the  most  effi¬ 
cient,  brightest  and  most  enterprising  post¬ 
master  the  town  has  ever  had,  the  busine.ss 
men  and  citizens  generally,  as  early  as  last 
spring,  determined  to  interpret  literally  the  re¬ 
publican  national  platform  and  demand  his 
reappointment,  even  though  he  be  a  democrat. 
Dea  and  Col.  Estey  of  the  Estey  organ  works 
were  foremost  in  this  crusade  for  reform,  and, 
with  others  equally  interested,  had  circulated 
the  petition  for  Mr.  Childs,  which  was  signed 
by  four-fifths  of  the  republican  voters.  Col. 
George  W.  Hooker  then  came  forward  and, 
without  impugning  Mr.  Childs’s  executive 
ability,  popularity  or  brilliant  success,  de¬ 
clared  that  he  must  not  succeed  himself  be¬ 
cause  he  was  not  a  republican.  Not  even  a 
charge  of  offensive  partisanship  was  laid  at 
Mr  Childs’s  door.  The  most  that  the  ex-ser- 
geant-at-arms  has  said  was  that  no  govern¬ 
ment  salary  should  swell  democratic  cam¬ 
paign  funds  while  a  republican  administration 
was  in  power.  But  in  Mr.  Childs’s  case  not 
even  that  objection  holds,  since  he  not  only 
has  never  contributed  to  democratic  funds  but 
has  a  letter  from  Don  M.  Dickinson,  the  last 
democratic  postmaster-general,  informing  him 
that  to  so  contribute  is  a  crime,  and  that  fail¬ 
ure  to  respond  to  any  request  from  democratic 
committees  would  in  no  way  jeopard  his  ten¬ 
ure  of  office.  That  letter  was  written  during 
the  heat  of  the  last  presidential  campaign. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  contest  has  been 
the  enthusiasm  with  which  the  best  class  of 
the  republican  party  has  rallied  to  Mr. 
Childs’s  support.  That  they  have  worked  for 
him  as  for  one  of  their  own  political  belief  is 
very  clear.  Why  they  have  done  so  was  con¬ 
cisely  stated  by  Col.  Julius  Estey  this  after¬ 
noon  :  First,  because  Mr.  Childs’s  retention  is 
required  on  good  business  grounds;  second, 
because  such  retention  will  give  practical  ap¬ 
plication  to  orthodox  republican  doctrines. — 
Special  Dispatch  to  the  Springjield  Republican, 
Feb.  1. 

— The  Brooklyn  Times  prints  the  following 
letter  from  the  republican  assemblyman-elect 
for  the  second  district  of  Queens  county  to  the 
republican  postmaster  of  Long  Island  City  : 

William  Richensteen,  Esq.:  Dear  Sir — James 
Purcell  informs  me  that  he  is  an  applicant  for 
appointment  as  letter  carrier,  and  states  that 
you  have  promised  to  appoint  him  if  Mr.  C.  W. 
Hallett  and  I  will  join  in  a  letter  asking  you  to 
make  the  appointment  and  designate  in  such 
letter  the  particular  carrier  now  in  position 
whom  we  would  like  to  have  removed  to  make 
room  for  him  (Purcell). 

Mr.  Purcell  is  a  republican  and  voted  and 
worked  for  my  election  to  the  legislature  last 
fall.  It  is  alleged  that  all  the  present  car¬ 
riers  are  “  democrats  and  consequently  unde¬ 
serving  of  consideration  at  the  hands  of  re¬ 
publicans,  and  ought  therefore  to  be  summa¬ 
rily  removed.” 

1  do  not  believe  that  a  man  ought  to  be  ap¬ 
pointed  to  office  because  he  voted  for  me,  nor 
do  I  believe  that  one  ought  to  be  removed 
from  office  because  of  having  voted  against  me. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  several  of  these 
democratic  letter  carriers  voted  for  me  at  the 
same  time  Purcell  did,  although  they  have 
not  confessed  to  me  that  they  did  so.  Othei-s 
no  doubt,  voted  against  me.  ’ 

I  have  no  means  of  knowing  (without  ask¬ 
ing)  who  voted  for  me  and  who  against. 

If  the  claim  of  position  is  based  upon  the 
votes  cast  at  the  recent  election,  and  the  decis- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


101 


ion  in  the  premises  is  left  to  me,  I  must  con¬ 
fess  my  inability  to  select  the  carrier  for  re¬ 
moval  to  make  room  for  Purcell,  and  there¬ 
fore  decline  the  honor  of  designating  a  victim 
for  sacrifice  in  the  interest  of  reform. 

If  there  exist  other  than  partisan  reasons 
for  the  removal  of  any  carrier  I  am  not 
aware  of  them. 

I  have  enough  confidence  in  your  judgment 
to  believe  you  will  make  no  removals  without 
good  cause,  and  enough  faith  in  your  repub¬ 
licanism  to  believe  that  in  filling  vacancies 
you  will  not  refuse  an  appointment  to  an  oth¬ 
erwise  good  man  because  he  is  also  a  repub¬ 
lican. 

I  was  once  a  republican  postmaster,  and 
tried  to  be  a  good  one.  I  asked  a  democratic 
president  to  allow  me  to  retain  office  under 
him  to  the  end  of  my  term,  and  the  request 
was  granted. 

Under  all  these  circumstances  it  is  perhaps 
unfortunate  for  Mr.  Purcell  that  I  should  be 
made  the  arbiter  of  his  fate  in  connection 
with  the  office  he  seeks,  and  this  I  regret, 
for  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  he  would 
make  an  efficient  carrier. 

This  long  letter  is  prompted  more  by  a  be¬ 
lief  that  you  want  to  share  with  your  friends 
the  responsibility  of  deciding  embarrassing 
-questions  of  this  kind,  than  that  you  seri- 
[  ously  think  I  will  select  a  man  from  among 
your  subordinates  for  removal  for  no  better 
reason  than  to  provide  a  place  for  a  man 
who  voted  the  same  ticket  that  you  and  I 
did.  Very  respectfully  yours, 

Henky  C.  Johnson. 

Astoria,  L.  /.,  Dec.  11, 18S9. 

WANTON  REMOVALS. 

For  I  contend  that  the  wanton  removal  of  meritorious 
officers  would  subject  him  {the  President)  to  impeachment 
and  removal  from  his  own  high  trust.  Such  an  abuse  of 
power  exceeds  my  conception. — Congressman  James  Mad¬ 
ison,  June,  1789. 

— John  A.  Pyle,  appointed  postmaster  at 
West  Chester,  Pa.,  by  President  Cleveland,  has 
been  removed.  A  letter  to  the  New  York 
Times  says  (January  19): 

Now,  Postmaster  Pyle  is  complimented  on 
all  sides  by  republicans,  prohibitionists  and 
democrats  for  the  many  reforms  he  has  intro¬ 
duced  for  the  convenience  of  the  public.  He 
has  brought  the  office  up  to  a  very  high 
standard,  and  it  has  been  visited  on  numerous 
occasions  by  postmasters  of  other  localities  to 
gain  information.  There  has  never  been  a 
word  of  complaint  against  Postmaster  Pyle  or 
his  assistants.  Every  patron  of  the  office,  ex¬ 
cepting  the  office-seeking  politicians,  is  satis¬ 
fied  with  his  management. 

But  Mr.  Pyle  is  a  democrat,  and  not  even  an 
“offensive  partisan.”  He  never  fails  to  vote 
the  democratic  ticket,  but  beyond  that  he  does 
no  ward  work  except  upon  himself. 

— After  fifteen  years  of  continuous  duty  in 
the  Scranton  post-office  and  four  years  in  the 
railway  mail  service,  A.  H.  Hartley,  who  h,as 
recently  been  acting  as  superintendent  of  mails 
in  this  city,  has  been  summarily  dismissed  with¬ 
out  cause,  for  the  reason  that,  although  a  re¬ 
publican  in  politics,  he  has  not  been  in 
harmony  with  the  local  machine.  The  Scran¬ 
ton  Truth,  ot  this  evening’s  issue,  calls  the  at¬ 
tention  of  Postmaster-general  Wanamaker  to 
the  case,  and  asks  if  this  is  the  sort  of  civil 
service  reform  the  people  may  expect  under 
the  Harrison  administration. 

Hartley  was  appointed  to  a  position  in  the 
Scranton  post-office  in  1871  by  Postmaster 
Slocum.  He  became  a.  most  efficient  clerk  and 
soon  mastered  the  details  of  the  office.  In  the 
discharge  of  his  duty  some  years  ago  he  in¬ 
curred  the  displeasure  of  Congressman  Scran¬ 
ton,  who  was  then  postmaster  of  this  city,  and 
he  has  not  been  in  favor  with  the  local  bosses 


ever  since.  His  conduct  was  commended  by 
the  highest  officials  of  the  post-office  depart¬ 
ment,  however,  and  when  the  whirligig  of 
politics  precipitated  his  dismissal  he  obtained 
a  responsible  position  in  the  railway  mail 
service,  where  his  ability  was  soon  recognized 
and  approved.  When  President  Cleveland 
was  elected  Mr.  Hartley  was  again  offered  an 
important  position  in  the  Scrantan  post-office 
under  Postmaster  Connolly  and  he  accepted. 
It  was  thought  that  the  guillotine  would  be 
applied  to  him  as  soon  as  Postmaster  Jones 
came  into  office  by  the  grace  of  Congressman 
Scranton,  and  there  was  some  disappointment 
because  this  did  not  occur  forthwith,  but  it 
finally  came  to  pass  when  everybody  supposed 
that  Hartley’s  experience  and  knowledge  of 
post-office  affairs  were  sufficient  to  cancel  the 
old  grudge  and  make  him  a  fixture. 

The  business  men  of  Scranton,  who  have 
reason  to  appreciate  Hartley’s  valuable  serv¬ 
ices  in  the  post-office,  are  indignant  over  his 
summary  dismissal,  which  is  a  direct  violation 
of  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  civil  service  law, 
and  many  wonder  whether  Postmaster-Gen¬ 
eral  Wanamaker  would  treat  one  of  his  faith- 
and  efficient  employes  in  that  manner  after 
nineteen  years  of  devoted  service. — Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  January  14. 


SPOILSMEN’S  METHODS. 

Frank  Hatton’s  Post  charged  Commissioner 
Roosevelt  with  having  used  a  spoilsman’s 
methods  to  secure  a  place  in  the  census  bu¬ 
reau  for  a  friend.  “Opposition  was  made  to 
the  appointment  of  Roosevelt’s  man.  Trades 
and  dickers  were  necessary.  Roosevelt  made 
them.  The  Wisconsin  man  was  appointed  and 
charged  to  the  District  of  Columbia.” 

Mr.  Roosevelt  in  answer  said  : 

“  I  had  no  intention  of  noticing  that  attack  till  it 
could  be  made  a  subject  of  official  investigation. 
Then  1  could  have  got  the  true  story  out  under  oath, 
and  shown  how  unblushingly  false  some  of  these 
statements  are.  It  is  a  fact  that  I  have  interested 
myself  in  i)rocuring  the  appointment  of  a  man  from 
Wisconsin  to  a  place  in  the  census  bureau,  and  with 
that  the  truth  of  the  article  begins  and  ends.  I  not 
only  do  not  deny  that  part  of  the  story,  but  I  want 
to  state  here  and  now  that  I  have  nothing  to  regret, 
but  shall  take  a  precisely  similar  course  whenever 
similar  circumstances  arise.  When  we  went  to  Mii- 
w  ukee  to  investigate  the  charges  against  Postmaster 
Paul,  the  principal,  and,  indeed,  the  vital  witness 
for  the  government  was  a  man  named  Shidy,  who 
had  been  in  the  civil  service  about  twenty  years.  He 
had  begun  life  as  a  physician,  but  night  work  threat¬ 
ened  to  wreck  his  health,  and  he  had  to  give  up  his 
practice  and  take  a  place  far  less  profitable,  but  with 
easier  hours,  iu  the  public  employ.  He  had  a  family 
to  support,  and  was  dependent  upon  his  salary;  so 
at  the  last  moment  he  came  to  the  Commission  and 
pleaded  to  be  excused  from  testifying,  on  the  ground 
that  his  evidence  would  surely  cost  him  his  posi¬ 
tion.  We  refused  to  let  him  off,  but  T  pledged  him 
my  word  that  he  should  be  protected  in  telling  the 
truth.  It  was  as  he  predicted.  Mr.  Paul  lost  no 
time  in  driving  him  out  of  office.  The  commission 
did  its  utmost  to  keep  him  in  his  place,  and  when 
that  failed  I  got  the  postmaster-general  to  write  a 
letter  recommending  him  to  a  position  in  the  census 
bureau.  There  was  not  a  ‘  trade  ’  or  a  ‘  dicker  ’  of 
any  ki|id.  Superintendent  Porter  consented  to  ap¬ 
point  him  if  he  could  pa.ss  the  neces.sary  examin¬ 
ation,  and  when  the  appointment  was  linally  made 
out,  Mr.  Lyman  went  in  person  to  Secretary  Noble, 
exi)lained  the  circumstances,  and  asked  in  the  name 
of  the  commission  that  it  might  be  confirmed.  Now 
you  see  just  what  that  assault  in  the  Post  has  back 
of  it. 

“  How  about  the  assignment  of  this  Wisconsin 
man  to  the  quota  of  the  District  of  Columbia?  ” 

“1  know  nothing  about  that.  When  Postmaster 

•sf*- 


Paul  heard  that  we  were  getting  this  place  for  Shidy, 
he  did  all  in  his  power  to  block  our  efforts.  From 
various  quarters  came  protests,  to  which  Superin¬ 
tendent  Porter  paid  no  attention,  having  given  me 
his  promise.  Among  the  rest,  the  Wisconsin  senators 
inquired  into  the  case  ;  but  I  assured  them  that  I  did 
not  want  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  their  pregog- 
ative ;  I  wished  Shidy  charged  to  the  commission’s 
account— not  to  theirs.  Mr.  Porter  said  thathe  should 
be  appointed,  not  from  Wisconsin’s  quota,  but  from 
the  ‘general  list.’  Whether  matters  are  in  such  con¬ 
dition  that  the  general-list  appointments  are  all  from 
the  District,  I’m  sure  I  don’t  know.  Now,  as  I  said 
in  the  beginning,  I  have  nothing  to  conceal  or  take 
back.  I  shoulder  the  entire  responsibility,  and  am 
ready  to  do  the  same  thing  over  again  when  a  wit¬ 
ness  for  the  government  is  persecuted  because  he 
does  his  duty  and  tells  the  truth.  It  is  the  govern^ 
ment’s  business  to  protect  its  witnesses  from  foui 
play.  If  it  doesn’t  stand  by  them,  the  time  is  not 
far  distant  when  it  won’t  be  able  to  command  the 
services  of  a  witness,  except  one  who  is  moved  by 
feelings  of  revenge  or  by  some  other  impulse  equally 
damaging  to  the  value  of  his  testimony.” 

When  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  remarks  were  repeated  to 
Commissioner  Thompson,  and  he  was  asked  if  the 
commission  were  ready  as  a  whole  to  stand  by  them, 
he  answered:  “Yes,  though  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  wil¬ 
ling  to  accept  all  responsibility,  this  affair  was  really 
the  commission’s  joint  act  throughout.  Shidy  is  an 
educated  man,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should 
not  make  an  efficient  clerk  in  his  new  place.  I  fully 
approved  of  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  conduct.  Indeed,  the 
commission  discussed  every  stage  of  the  proceeding. 
But  there  is  one  part  of  the  story  which  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  has  not  told  you,  and  which  I  think  ought  to  be 
told,  in  justice  to  him.  In  the  same  letter  in  which 
Shidy  was  notified  to  come  on  and  submit  to  an  ex¬ 
amination  for  admission  to  the  census  bureau,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  wrote  that  he  must  not  let  money  consid¬ 
erations  stand  in  his  way;  and  that,  if  he  should 
fail  in  the  examination,  the  entire  expenses  of  his 
trip  from  Milwaukee  and  back  would  be  paid  out  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt’s  own  pocket.  That  Involved,  of 
course,  a  possible  expenditure  of  $75  to  $100;  but  it 
is  my  colleague’s  notion  of  the  way  to  keep  faith 
with  a  man  to  whom  he  has  given  his  personal 
word.” 

The  brutality  of  the  spoils  system  is  well 
known,  and  there  has  rarely  been  a  more  per¬ 
fect  illustration  ol  it. 


AN  INSTANCE  OF  THE  MERIT 
SYSTEM. 

The  Eastern  Dispensary  in  New  York  city 
has  for  years  carried  on  an  invaluable  work 
among  the  poor  of  the  city.  During  the  year 
1889,  it  treated  61,228  patients  106,748  times. 
As  an  illustration  of  how  invariably  the 
merit  system  benefits  the  many  while  the 
spoils  system  aids  a.limited,  privileged  class, 
we  quote  from  the  account  of  the  New  York 
Evening  Post  Jan.  ‘29: 

“It  is,  perhaps,  the  only  institution  of  its  kind  iu 
the  country  where  civil  service  principles  are  abso¬ 
lutely  applied  in  the  selection  of  physicians.  Form¬ 
erly  the  physicians  were  selected  in  the  ordinary 
way,  and  the  influence  of  friends  always  decided  the 
matter  where  there  was  a  question  as  to  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  one  or  another  applicant.  The  employes 
gave  such  time  and  attention  to  the  work  of  the  dis¬ 
pensary  as  they  could  consistently  with  their  other 
interests,  attending  upon  alternate  days  and  receiv¬ 
ing  no  compensation.  Three  years  ago  the  trustees 
adopted  an  entirely  new  course  ;  when  vacancies  oc¬ 
curred,  advertisements  were  inserted  in  the  medical 
journals,  public  examinations  were  held  under  the 
direction  of  some  of  the  most  prominent  physicians 
in  the  city,  the  applicants  were  graded  strictly  on 
the  merits  of  their  examination,  and  the  appoint¬ 
ments  were  given  in  every  instance  to  the  man  having 
the  highest  rank.  Care  was  taken,  of  course,  to 


102 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


ascertain  that  the  physicians  appointed  were  men  of 
proper  character.  The  physicians  were  required  to 
attend  at  the  dispensary  a  certain  number  of  hours 
each  day,  and  were  paid  a  small  salary.  This  system 
has  been  strictly  followed,  and  with  most  excellent 
result.  Much  good  work  was  done  under  the  old 
system,  but  the  new  one  has  been  found  so  much 
better  that  no  one  connected  with  the  management 
of  the  dispensary  would  think  of  returning  to  the 
old  method  of  appointment.  Much  of  the  increase 
in  the  work  done  by  the  dispensary  has  been  due  to 
this  new  method  of  appointing  physicians,  giving 
them  compensation,  and  requiring  their  attendance 
at  regular  hours  every  day.  Even  the  very  poor 
people,  many  of  whom  are  by  no  means  intelligent, 
but  often  quite  the  reverse,  highly  appreciate  the 
superior  character  and  skill  of  the  physicians  ap¬ 
pointed  by  this  civil  service  method,  and  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  being  able  without  fail  to  secure  first- 
rate  medical  attendance  at  certain  hours  each  day. 


THE  CLERGY  AND  THE  CIVIL 
SERVICE. 

Thii  spoils  system  must  be  destroyed,  or  the  liberty  of 
the  American  citizen  will  become  a  fiction.  I  am  not  an 
alarmist,  nor  am  I  a  pessimist ;  but  I  believe  that  this 
system  will  sooner  or  later  subvert  our  republican  institu. 
lions,  unless  it  is  itself  abolished.  And  I  very  much 
doubt  whether  any  other  great  reform  or  any  considerable 
progress  in  any  other  direction  will  or  can  be  made  until 
elections  and  official  life  are  freed  from  the  baleful  in- 
fiuence  of  patronage.— Rev.  J.  H.  Grooker,  in  Problems 
in  American  Society,  page  190. 

Rev.  Sydney  Strong  having  delivered  an 
address  on  the  spoils  system  on  Thanksgiving, 
Day  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio,  says  :  “  I  am  glad 
that  my  eyes  are  opened.  I  think  I  opened 
the  eyes  of  a  few  others.  The  fact  is  our  par¬ 
tisan  press  and  politicians  keep  the  eyes  of  the 
people  closed.” 

Most  undoubtedly  it  is  because  the  average 
citizen  allows  himself  to  be  fooled  and  hood¬ 
winked  into  thinking  that  the  undeniable 
abuses  will  be  corrected  by  the  politicians ;  in 
other  words,  that  this  is  a  political  question  to 
be  settled  by  the  regular  party  machinery. 
Never  was  there  a  more  disastrous  blunder. 
The  interest  of  the  machine  politicians  on  both 
sides  is  exactly  identical,  and  it  is  inevitably 
and  radically  opposed  to  the  interest  of  the 
people  and  the  government.  Do  you  still  ex¬ 
pect,  after  witnessing  for  years  how  the 
civil  service  reform  plank  is  inserted  in  every 
party  platform  of  both  parties,  as  one  of  our 
great  politicians  forcibly  but  inelegantly  said, 
“not  to  stand  on,  but  to  spit  upon,”  do  you  still 
expect,  after  seeing  how  each  administration 
differs  from  its  predecessor  only  in  the  degree  of 
shamelessness  with  which  it  betrays  its  pre¬ 
election  pledges,  do  you  still  expect  the  poli¬ 
ticians  of  their  own  free  will  to  disgorge  the 
control  of  more  than  $60,000,000  a  year — which 
they  have  appropriated  in  common  from  the 
public,aud  shamelessly  speak  of  as  their“spotZs.?” 
Then  either  you  must  be  an  extremely  unso¬ 
phisticated  person,  or  else  you  marvelously  un¬ 
derestimate  the  power  of  a  machine  politician 
and  the  ease  with  which  he  can  agree  with  his 
brother  wire-puller  of  the  opposite  party.  Why 
should  it  be  hard  for  a  democratic  spoilsman 
to  agree  with  a  republican  spoilsman  to  hold 
on  to  the  spoils  from  which  both  get  their  liv¬ 
ing,  at  all  hazards,  and  “divvy  up”  after  elec¬ 
tion  as  best  they  can?  Surely,  New  Yorkers 


do  not  need  to  be  told  of  the  notorious  bargain 
entered  into  by  the  party  bosses  of  opposite 
sides  in  the  metropolis,  by  which  a  certain  por¬ 
tion  of  the  offices  were  allotted  in  advance 
to  the  heelers  nominated  by  each  ring,  and  the 
election  was  a  mere  farce  to  amuse  the  people, 
who  might  just  as  well  have  had  no  vote  at 
all. — From  the  sermon  of  Rev.  Benj.  Wimer  Ba¬ 
con,  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  November  S7,  1889. 

PETITION  TO  CONGRESS  FOR  LAR¬ 
GER  APPROPRIATIONS  FOR  THE 

CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMISSION. 

The  following  petition  for  larger  appropria¬ 
tions  for  executing  the  civil  service  law  has 
been  started  by  the  Massachusetts  Civil  Serv¬ 
ice  Reform  League  : 

To  the  Honorable,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  United  States : 

Whereas,  The  President  of  the  United 
States  in  his  last  message  to  congress,  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  work  of  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion,  says:  “As  a  result  of  the  revision  of  the 
rules,  of  the  new  classification,  and  of  the  in¬ 
clusion  of  the  railway  mail  service,  the  work 
of  the  commission  has  been  greatly  increased, 
and  the  present  clerical  force  is  found  to  be 
inadequate.  I  recommend  that  the  additional 
clerks  asked  by  the  commission  be  appropri¬ 
ated  for” ;  and 

Whereas,  The  civil  service  commissioners 
charged  with  the  execution  of  the  law,  in  their 
report,  just  published,  say  (pp.  4,  5):  “The 
sum  of  money  at  present  appropriated  for  the 
expenses  of  the  commission  is  altogether  in¬ 
sufficient  for  the  purpose,  in  spite  of  the  most 
rigid  economy . Therefore,  the  require¬ 

ments  to  enable  the  commission  efficiently  to 
discharge  merely  its  present  duties  will  be 
about  $18,000  over  and  above  the  sum  appro¬ 
priated  this  year,  or  a  total  appropriation  of 
$53,000.  To  extend  the  system  as  it  ought  to 
be  extended,  the  appropriation  would  need  to 
be  proportionately  larger,” — therefore 

We,  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  believing  that  the  great  importance  of 
the  work  of  the  United  States  civil  service 
commission  demands  ample  appropriations 
from  congress,  earnestly  petition  your  honor¬ 
able  bodies  to  appropriate  not  only  the  sum 
of  fifty-three  thousand  dollars  asked  for  by 
the  commission  for  its  present  work,  but  also 
the  additional  sum  needed  for  such  extension 
of  the  system  under  the  present  law  as  the 
commission  recommend,  and,  with  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  approval,  may  be  able  to  make. 

The  following  gentlemen,  among  many  hun¬ 
dred  others,  have  already  signed  it: 

Gov.  J.  Q.  A.  Brackett  [Present  Governor  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts]. 

Hon.  George  D.  Robinson  [Ex-Governor  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts]. 

Hon.  Alexander  H.  Rice  [Ex-Governor  of  Massachu¬ 
setts]. 

Hon.  Patrick  A.  Collins  [Ex-Congressman,  demo¬ 
crat]. 

J.  O.  Burdett  [Chairman  republican  State  Commit¬ 
tee]. 

Wm.  D.  Sohier  [Leading  democrat  in  State  Legis¬ 
lature]. 

J.  Otis  Wardwell  [Leading  republican  in  State  Leg¬ 
islature]. 

Hon.  George  G.  Crocker  [Ex-President  of  State  Sen¬ 
ate]. 


Hon.  Hugh  O’Brien  [Ex-Mayor  of  Boston,  demo¬ 
crat]. 

Hon.  Alanson  W.  Beard  [Ex-Collector  of  Boston 
and  present  Collector], 

Hon.  Jonathan  A.  Lane  [President  of  Boston  Mer¬ 
chants’  Association,  republican]. 

Hon.  A.  P.  Martin  [Ex-Mayor  of  Boston,  demo 
crat]. 

Hon.  Robert  Howard  [Prominent  Advocate  of  la¬ 
boring  men]. 

Charles  Theodore  Russell  [Leading  democrat]. 

Hon.  Thomas  N.  Hart  [Mayor  of  Boston,  republi¬ 
can]. 

Hon.  John  E.  Fitzgerald  [Ex-Revenue  Collector, 
democrat]. 

Hon.  A.  E.  Pillsbury  [Ex-President  of  State  Senate, 
republican]. 

Hon.  Wm.  E.  Russell  [Ex-Mayor  of  Cambridge, 
democratic  candidate  for  governor]. 

Hon.  John  D.  Long  [Ex-Governor  of  Massachu¬ 
setts]. 

Hon.  Leopold  Morse  [Ex-Congressman,  democrat]. 

Hon.  Wm.  Claflin  [Ex-Governor  of  Ma.s.sachusetts]. 

Nathan  Matthews,  Jr.  [Chairman  Democratic  State 
Committee]. 

Josiah  Quincy  [Secretary  of  Democratic  State  Com¬ 
mittee]. 

Hon.  Henry  H.  Sprague  [President  of  Senate]. 

Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall  [Ex  Collector  of  the  port 
of  Boston]. 

Hon.  W.  W.  Crapo  [Ex-Congressman,  republican]. 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson. 

Hon.  E.  S.  Converse. 

Hon.  Henry  L.  Parker. 

Hon.  Edw.  J.  Donavan. 

Hon.  Henry  L.  Pierce  [Ex-Congressman]. 

Hon.  George  M  Towle. 

Hon,  Wm.  E.  Barrett  [Speaker  of  the  House]. 

John  Boyle  O’Reilly  [I.eading  Irish  democrat  and 
Editor  of  the  Pilot]. 

The  seventh  annual  report  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Indian  Rights  Association 
[Philadelphia,  1305  Arch  street]  is  a  docu¬ 
ment  that  ought  to  be  read  by  all  citi¬ 
zens.  It  is  a  depressing  and  shameful  re¬ 
cord  of  the  efforts  made  to  secure  the  common¬ 
est  principles  of  fair  and  decent  treatment  to 
a  helpless  people.  The  report  says  : 

“A  prominent  feature  in  the  work  of  the 
association  during  the  past  five  years  has  been 
an  effort  to  prevail  upon  the  government  to  in¬ 
troduce  the  merit  system  into  the  Indian  ser¬ 
vice.  It  has  been  shown  in  numerous  publi¬ 
cations  and  reports  hitherto  issued  that  it  is 
impossible  to  conduct  a  satisfactory  and  effi¬ 
cient  Indian  service  upon  a  system  of  appoint¬ 
ment  which  violates  every  sound  principle  of 
administration  ;  which  makes  appointment  to 
office  the  reward  of  party  service  rather  than 
of  merit,  and  which  dictates  removals  not  for 
misconduct  or  inefficiency,  but  for  partisan 
reasons.  Abundant  illustrations  of  the  fruits 
of  this  pernicious  system,  as  practiced  by  the 
Indian  bureau  during  the  greater  part  of  Pres¬ 
ident  Cleveland’s  administration,  were  col¬ 
lected  and  published  by  the  association.  This 
vigorous  and  impartial  action  was  followed  by 
excellent  results,  since  the  ofi'ending  commis¬ 
sioner  and  assistant  commissioner  toward  the 
close  of  the  last  administration  retired  from  of¬ 
fice  under  the  incessant  fire  of  criticism  which 
their  course  had  brought  upon  them.” 

And  yet  in  the  face  of  this  President  Harri¬ 
son  is  deaf  to  the  appeal  to  put  this  service 
under  the  merit  system,  and  he  has  inaugu¬ 
rated  a  so-called  “home  rule”  policy  against 
which,  thus  far,  the  Indian  Rights  Associa¬ 
tion  has  protested  to  no  purpose.  We  quote 
from  the  report : 

“  The  ‘home  rule’  policy  is  the  legitimate 
offspring  of  the  spoils  system.  It  removes  the 
power  of  appointment  from  the  federal  an  - 
thority  in  Washington,  where  it  belongs,  and 
places  it  in  the  hands  of  local  politicians  in 
the  territories,  by  whom  it  has  been  usurped. 

Having  chosen  his  course  with  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  the  preceding  administration  before 
him.  President  Harrison  must  challenge  the 
criticism  which  does  and  will  follow. 


The  Civil  service  chronicle. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
lad.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianqpolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  13.  INDIANAPOLIS,  MARCH,  1890.  teems  :  ^ 


Last  year  at  this  time  you  gave  us  all  the 
keynote  of  reform  for  the  year,  and  whatever 
may  have  occurred  since  then  that  note  has 
not  flattened  upon  our  lips.  If  it  was  hopeful 
then,  it  is  not  elegiac  now,  for  the  note  of 
the  reformer  is  always  cheerful  and  in 
the  major  key,  and  in  view  of  the  steady  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  good  cause,  it  rises  naturally  and 
involuntarily  into  a  triumphant  strain.  I 
should  think  it  a  happy  year  for  reform  if  it 
had  done  nothing  more  for  us  than  to  give  us 
the  present  national  commission— whatever 
may  halt  or  falter,  that  marches  on.  It 
offers  us  the  stimulating  spectacle  of  an  ag¬ 
gressive  contest  for  reform.  It  is  not  apolo¬ 
getic,  nor  hesitating,  hut  its  attitude  is  well 
represented  by  one  of  the  commissioners,  whose 
hold  mien  and  crisp  and  conclusive  dealings 
with  the  enemy  remind  me  of  Sir  Philip  Syd¬ 
ney’s  advice  to  his  brother  Robert,  then  upon 
his  travels:  ‘‘If  you  hear  of  any  good  wars, 
go  to  them  at  once.”  If  there  be  any  better 
war  at  present  than  that  in  which  we  are  all 
soldiers,  I  have  not  heard  of  it ;  and  if  there 
be  any  better  fighting  th:-  n  General  Roose¬ 
velt’s,  it  is  yet  to  be  discovered.  When  I  en¬ 
listed  I  certainly  did  not  expect  to  be  wafted 
to  success  on  flowery  beds  of  ease.  But  neither 
did  I  suppose  that,  against  tradition  and  prej¬ 
udice,  and  ignorance  and  honest  doubt,  and 
party  spirit  and  falsehood,  and  wrath  and  rid¬ 
icule,  and  the  huge  organized  political  ma¬ 
chine,  the  demand  for  reform  in  the  civil 
service  would  make  such  rapid  and  prodigi¬ 
ous  progress  as  to  become  within  a  very  few 
years  one  of  the  two  or  three  chief  practical 
questions  of  politics.  I  am  sure  we  all  agree 
that  fighting  in  this  cause  is,  as  virtue  issaid  to 
be,  its  own  exceeding  great  reward.  A  genuine 
American  likes  nothing  better  than  to  attack 
monstrous  public  abuses,  save  that  when,  as 
in  this  case,  the  country  begins  to  ask  about 
them,  it  will  ask  more  and  more  loudly  and 
imperiously,  until  it  answers  itself  by  cor¬ 
recting  them.” — Letter  of  George  William  Curtis 
to  the  Maryland  Association. 

The  investigation  of  the  civil  service 
commission  by  a  congressional  committee 
seems  to  have  exhausted  the  ammunition 
of  Hatton  and  those  who  are  secretly  sup¬ 
porting  him.  It  is  better,  however,  to  de¬ 
fer  extended  comment  until  the  committee 
has  finished  its  work  and  made  its  report. 
It  ought  to  be  understood  that  the  friends 
of  the  merit  system  are  in  favor  of  a 
thorough  investigation,  not  only  of  the  acts 
of  the  commission  but  of  the  workings  of 
the  law.  They  challenge  the  spoilsmen  to 
make  their  very  best  showing.  So  far 
their  case  is  a  fiasco.  Slight  errors  of  judg¬ 
ment  on  the  part  of  the  commission  ap 
pear,  as  for  instance,  the  retention  of  a  rel¬ 
ative  of  Mr.  Lyman’s  in  their  employ,  a 
mistake,  no  matter  how  fit  the  man.  This 
fault  belongs  upon  Mr.  Lyman’s  shoulders. 
He  had  settled  the  matter  before  his  two 
colleagues  became  members  of  the  com¬ 


mission.  They  heard  of  the  charge  that 
this  relative  had  improperly  handed  out 
examination  questions,  but  they  found  that 
it  had  been  investigated  and  the  matter 
settled  by  the  previous  commission,  and 
they  very  naturally  did  not  reopen  it. 
Mr.  Lyman’s  re-appointment  as  commis¬ 
sioner  was  unfortunate.  He  is  not  equal 
to  such  a  position.  He  had  always  been  a 
clerk,  and  is  filled  with  the  technicalities 
of  the  clerical  mind.  His  acquiescence 
under  President  Cleveland,  in  a  misuse  of 
the  law  by  the  heads  of  offices,  proved 
him  to  lack  entirely  those  fighting  quali¬ 
ties  which  were  absolutely  necessary.  The 
misdoings  of  the  Milwaukee  postmaster 
were  known  to  him  before  the  election  of 
1888,  but  he  ignored  them.  If  he  had  any 
duty,  it  was  to  denounce  to  the  President 
the  delinquencies  of  such  a  postmaster. 
The  man  fit  to  be  a  civil  service  com¬ 
missioner  is  one  who  is  not  afraid  to  do 
his  duty  at  the  risk  of  losing  his  place. 
No  blame  can  be  attributed  to  President 
Harrison  for  this  appointment,  as  it  was 
urged  by  the  great  bulk  of  the  civil  service 
reformers. 

When  the  commission  was  investigating 
the  Milwaukee  post-office,  one  member  of 
the  local  board  named  Shidy  told  them 
that  under  the  direction  of  Postmaster 
Paul  he  had  manipulated  the  examination 
records  so  that  Paul’s  favorites  could  ap¬ 
pear  at  the  top  of  the  list,  and  that  appoint¬ 
ments  had  been  made  in  accordance  with 
this  manipulation.  He  did  not  want  to 
testify  to  this,  and  held  up  to  the  commis¬ 
sion  his  certain  loss  of  place  and  the  cer¬ 
tain  destitution  of  his  family  which  would 
follow.  The  commission  promised  to  pro¬ 
tect  him.  He  testified,  and  was  for  that 
dismissed  by  Paul.  Mr.  Roosevelt  ex¬ 
plained  the  circumstances  to  Superintend¬ 
ent  Porter,  and  the  latter  agreed  that  Shi¬ 
dy  might  try  for  a  place  in  the  census  bu¬ 
reau.  Mr.  Roosevelt  then  personally  guar¬ 
anteed  Shidy’s  expenses  to  Washington, 
where  the  latter  came,  and  having  passed 
the  examination  received  a  clerkship  from 
Mr.  Porter.  He  was  pursued  by  Paul  and 
the  whole  body  of  the  Wisconsin  spoilsmen 
as  a  traitor  to  the  spoils  cause.  In  the  con- 
grfssional  investigation  Shidy  testified  the 
other  day : 

If  the  superintendent  of  the  census  wants  false  re¬ 
ports  he  knows  that  matter.  I  am  his  servant.  He 
can  direct  me  in  all  matters.  In  regard  to  post-office 


affairs,  Mr.  Paul  was  my  superior  officer  and  directed 
me.  In  regard  to  the  civil  service  commission  mat¬ 
ter  he  ought  not  to  have  been  my  superior  or  to  have 
directed  me  in  any  way,  but,  unfortunately,  it  was 
impossible  to  separate  the  two  I’s. 

This  is  the  spoils  system  in  its  highest 
development.  The  New  York  Times  has 
already  pointed  out  that  Shidy  is  its  natu¬ 
ral  product.  The  fear  of  losing  his  place 
and  of  beggaring  his  family  makes  him 
manipulate  records  at  the  order  of  a  post¬ 
master.  The  same  fear  makes  him  beg  to 
be  excused  from  telling  the  facts.  And  so 
long  has  he  been  accustomed  to  seeing 
public  affairs  manipulated  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Pauls  and  the  Hattons,  the  Clarksons 
and  the  Wanamakers,  that  he  declares  the 
correct  principle  to  be  that  a  clerk  must 
trick  laws  and  records  at  the  bidding  of  his 
official  superior. 

Postmaster  General  Wanamaker  has  ta¬ 
ken  a  hand  in  the  investigation,  and  his 
course  is  well  described  in  a  recent  press 
letter  by  Mr.  Foulke.  It  seems  that  Mr. 
Roosevelt  obtained  Wanamaker’s  consent 
to  get  Shidy  a  place  in  the  census  bureau. 
Wanamaker  now  comes  upon  the  stand, 
smooth  and  smug,  and  says  that  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  never  told  him  of  Shidy’s  misdoings, 
or  he  would  not  have  consented,  but  would 
have  warned  any  head  of  department 
against  appointing  him.  As  Mr.  Foulke 
says,  he  evidently  makes  his  evidence  as 
strong  as  possible ;  he  has  no  hesitation  or 
doubts  of  memory.  By  an  unfortunate  slip, 
however,  Wanamaker  admitted  that  he  had 
at  the  time  read  the  commission’s  report 
of  the  Milwaukee  investigation.  That  re¬ 
port  contained  the  following: 

“We  examined  the  secretary  of  the  board,  Hamil¬ 
ton  Shidy,  and  the  chairman,  J.  B.  Johnson.  Shidy 
is  admitted  by  all  to  have  done  the  work  of  the  board. 

#  <<  <•  Shidy  testified  that  he  was  compelled  by  the 
postmaster  to  give  the  latter  free  access  to  the  list  of 
eligibles,  although  such  access  was  at  that  time 
strictly  forbidden,  and  he  further  testified  that  the 
postmaster,  knowing  those  that  were  eligible  as  well 
as  their  standing,  appointed  whomsoever  he  chose, 
and  then  forced  him  [Shidy]  to  torture  the  list  of  eli¬ 
gibles  and  certification  book,  so  as  to  produce  a  cer¬ 
tification  which  should  bear  the  appointee’s  name.” 

#  #  <C  «  *  * 

“As  for  Shidy,  he,  equally  with  his  colleagues, 
Johnson  and  Fahsel,  was  certainly  guilty  of  grave 
misconduct  in  permitting  the  board  to  become  the 
tool  of  Mr.  Paul,  but  he  did  it  under  fear  of  losing 
his  place  if  he  rebelled,  bAng  wholly  in  the  power 
of  Mr.  Paul,  and,  unlike  his  colleagues,  who  were 
equally  guilty  with  himself,  he  had  the  manliness  to 
come  forward  and  tell  what  had  occurred  when  the 
chance  was  given  him.  It  is  manifestly  unjust  to 
visit  him  with  any  punishment  not  also  inflicted  on 
Johnson  and  Fahsel.” 

“Shidy  and  Johnson  testified  before  us,  in  Mr. 


104 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Paul’s  presence,  that  on  one  occasion  he  examined 
the  papers  of  an  applicant,  which  papers  they  had 
already  marked,  and  forced  them,  against  their  own 
judgment,  to  re-mark  them,  giving  them  a  lower 
grade.  *  Mr.  Shidy  testified  that  Mr.  Paul 

made  his  appointment  first,  and  then  forced  him 
[Shidy]  to  gerrymander  the  list  of  eligibles,  so  as  to 
produce  a  stuffed  certification  which  should  contain 
the  name  of  the  already  appointed  man.” 

By  some  curious  manipulation  of  his 
conscience  Mr,  Wanamaker,  without 
qualms,  retains  Johnson  in  the  employ  of 
the  post-office  department.  After  Wana- 
maker’s  profession  of  ignorance  of  Shidy’s 
conduct,  the  commission  brought  out  a 
copy  of  his  letter  to  Paul  on  receipt  of  the 
latter’s  resignation,  which  said  : 

“  Before  its  receipt  the  civil  service  commission 
had  submitted  a  report  of  an  examination  of  your 
office,  upon  which  I  should  have  taken  action  before 
this  but  for  your  request  for  delay  in  order  that  you 
might  submit  a  statement  in  your  own  behalf.  After 
the  examination  by  the  civil-service  commission,  a 
post-office  inspector  was  sent  to  examine  your  office 
and  his  report  has  been  submitted  to  me.  Upon  these 
reports  your  removal  from  office  has  been  deter¬ 
mined  on.” 

The  report  of  the  commission  upon  the 
Milwaukee  post-office  was  full  of  references 
to  Shidy’s  conduct,  and  for  Wanamaker  to 
say  that  he  had  read  that  report  and  did 
not  know  of  Shidy’s  misdoings,  and  was 
misled  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  into  consenting  to 
Shidy’s  employment  in  the  census  bureau 
is  to  the  ordinary  mind  incomprehensible 
and  had  better  be  left  to  Senator  Hampton 
to  characterize.  The  evidence  is  very 
strong  in  support  of  Mr.  Foulke’s  opinion, 
that  this  proceeding  is  an  attempt,  mainly 
instigated  and  supported  by  high  adminis¬ 
trative  officers  to  break  down  Mr,  Roose¬ 
velt.  The  result  will  be  that  he  will  be 
stronger  than  he  was  before. 

In  another  column  is  set  forth  a  portion 
of  the  public  career  of  Quay,  whose  hands 
have  been  further  strengthened  by  the 
handling  of  the  vast  patronage  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.  In  this  case  the  following  letter 
shows  of  how  little  avail  are  the  protests  of 
influential  citizens  when  once  an  office 
baron  gets  his  feet  on  the  neck  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  : 

February  18,  1889. 

General  Benjamin  Harrison : 

My  Dear  Sir— I  have  your  letter  of  February  12. 

.  .  .  .  You  must  be  sure  that  I,  who  have  so  long 
urged  your  election  as  President,  do  not  now  wish 
your  administration  to  fail.  I  am  therefore  com¬ 
pelled  to  address  you  a  further  protest  concerning 
the  course  which  it  is  evident  you  have  decided  upon 
taking . Senator  Quay’s  status  in  Pennsyl¬ 

vania  is  repugnant  to  the  men  whose  support  you 
need.  He  has  been  and  is  a  "machine”  organizer 
and  manager.  His  control  of  the  politics  of  this  state 
is  already  causing  serious  discontent.  Yet  you  choose 
him  and  the  agent  whom  he  designates,  and  you 
practically  decline  to  hear  the  voice  of  remonstrance 
raised  by  men  of  high  character  and  influential  po¬ 
sition  in  Pennsylvania  alTairs . You  are 

therefore  not  merely  taking  a  negative  step,  you  are 
taking  one  of  positive  weakness,  and  sure  evil  conse¬ 
quences.  You  are  depriving  yourself  of  support 
which  you  ought  to  have,  and  you  are  making  your 
administration  the  ally  of  those  influences  and  prac¬ 
tices  in  politics  against  which  the  republican  party 
has  more  than  once  revolted.  I  am  sorry  this  should 


be  the  case,  and  I  can  not  therefore  let  the  time  pass 
of  frankly  telling  you  the  truth. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  very  truly  your  friend, 

Wharton  Barker. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  will  be 
glad  to  receive  information  upon  the  fol¬ 
lowing  points: 

The  name  of  any  newspaper  editor  or 
owner  who  has  or  may  receive  a  federal 
appointment,  and  the  name  of  the  office. 

The  names  of  all  members  of  political 
committees  or  delegates  given  a  federal 
appointment,  and  the  name  of  the  office. 

The  names  of  all  federal  office-holders 
who  are  members  of  any  political  commit¬ 
tee  or  who  act  as  delegates,  naming  the 
committee  or  the  convention. 

Statements  regarding  any  political  ac¬ 
tivity  in  primaries,  conventions  or  politi¬ 
cal  work  done  for  any  nominees  by  federal 
office-holders. 

These  accounts  should  be  as  explicit  as 
possible. 

David  Essex  Porter,  a  son  of  Admiral 
Porter,  has  been  arrested  in  Washington 
on  a  charge  of  obtaining  $1,900  in  money 
and  goods  from  a  colored  man,  F.  W.  John¬ 
son,  for  securing  an  office  for  Johnson,  but 
which  the  latter  never  got.  Porter  admits 
that  he  received  the  above  property  and 
also  other  sums  from  other  persons,  but 
says  it  was  for  expenses  incurred  in  trying 
to  get  them  offices.  There  are  some  excel¬ 
lent  people  in  Indiana  who  avoid  the  civil 
service  reform  agitators  as  jarring  upon 
the  evenness  of  their  day  and  as  jostlers  of 
“the  past.”  We  ask  their  attention  to  the 
above  specimens  of  dangerous  degenera¬ 
tion,  and  suggest  that  these  good  people 
quicken  their  activities.  Major  Porter  is 
said  to  have  a  brilliant  military  record  and 
powerful  social  and  political  influence  in 
Washington,  where  he  resides. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  commercial  club 
of  this  city  to  a  series  of  articles  in  the 
Civil  Service  Record  (Boston)  on  competitive 
tests  applied  to  the  Boston  police  force. 
And  further,  the  primary  evil  in  the  man¬ 
agement  of  our  city  affairs  is  the  spoils 
system.  Thousands  of  dollars  are  spent 
every  year  upon  the  streets,  and  yet  we 
have  no  clean  streets.  The  first  reason  is 
that  the  men  who  receive  the  wages  are 
not  hired  because  they  are  good  workmen, 
but  because  they  have  influence  with  some 
councilman.  The  Indianapolis  News  last 
year  stated  that  Councilman  Darnall  had 
thirty  men  in  the  city  employ.  That 
means  that  they  were  employed  not  for 
their  capacity  to  do  work,  but  because  Mr. 
Darnall  wanted  them  employed.  The 
commercial  club  should  destroy  this  sys¬ 
tem,  root  and  branch,  and  compel  the  sub¬ 
stitution  of  the  system  of  the  Boston  la¬ 


bor  service,  and  this  should  be  thoroughly 
tried  before  any  additional  direct  taxation 
is  proposed.  Let  us  get  the  worth  of  the 
money  we  do  spend  before  we  add  to  the  : 
sum.  This  is  one  step  in  a  revolution  which 
ought  to  take  place  in  our  city^ govern-  \ 
ment.  ( 


A  POLITICAL  CENSUS. 

Superintendent  Porter  goes  bravely  on  with 
the  work  of  allotting  the  positions  connected 
with  the  census,  as  spoils.  He  has  taken  to 
writing  to  postmasters  for  information 
as  to  the  character  of  persons  about  to 
be  employed.  There  has  been  no  better 
chance  lately  for  one  local  partisan  to 
give  another  a  lift.  It  is  probably  a  pleas¬ 
ant  fiction  of  Porter’s  to  seem  to  inquire  into 
the  fitness  of  his  employes.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  he  de.scribes  himself  “as  waist-deep  in 
congressmen,”  and  these  really  make  the  ap¬ 
pointments.  Each  state  is  divided  into  dis¬ 
tricts,  with  a  supervisor  at  the  head  of  each, 
and  each  district  has  a  large  number  of  enu¬ 
merators.  In  addition  there  are  other  offices, 
such  as  gathering  the  statistics  of  mortgage 
indebtedness.  In  Massachusetts  this  last  posi¬ 
tion  has  been  allotted  to  Senators  Dawes  and 
Hoar,  as  their  share  of  census  spoil ;  the  bal¬ 
ance  goes  to  the  other  congressmen.  The  allot¬ 
ment  is  now  well  under  way,  and  is  of  interest. 
In  the  Rockford,  Illinois,  district,  two  weeks 
ago,  the  supervisor  had  700  applications  for 
265  places,  and  was  just  sending  out  in  one 
mail  101  letters  in  relation  to  them.  In  In¬ 
diana  there  are  six  districts,  and  the  super¬ 
visor  of  the  first  district  is  Francis  Scholtz,  of 
Evansville,  described  as  “a  prominent  German 
republican.”  In  the  second  district  is  Am¬ 
brose  E.  Nowlin,  “clerk  of  the  Dearborn 
county  republican  committee.”  In  the  third 
district  the  appointee  is  Sid  Conger,  for  whom 
Wanamaker  recently  named  a  post-office,  and 
of  whom  it  is  said  “there  is  no  more  popular 
and  earnest  republican  anywhere.”  In  the 
fourth  district  is  Wilson  Soale,  described  as 
“one  of  the  most  active  young  republicans  in 
the  state.”  The  qualifications  of  the  ap¬ 
pointee  in  the  fifth  district,  Charles  Harley, 
we  are  unable  to  state,  except  that  he  is  a  re¬ 
publican.  In  the  sixth  district  is  S.  S.  Be- 
shore,  described  “as  an  active  republican.” 
In  this  connection  we  get  this  bit  of  informa¬ 
tion  from  the  Indianapolis  Journal: 

Mr.  Wilson  H.  Soale,  census  supervisor  for  the 
Terre  Haute  district,  has  referred  the  appointment 
of  census  enumerators  to  the  chairmen  of  the  several 
county  committees  of  his  district,  and  these  in  turn 
are  referring  them  to  the  chairmen  of  the  diflferent 
township  committees.  That  seems  a  queer  way  of 
getting  official  subordinates  to  perform  an  important 
executive  work. 

There  is  nothing  queer  about  it  except  that 
some  one  let  out  the  secret.  The  entire  census 
establishment,  including  all  its  positions  and 
the  great  sum  appropriated  to  it,  was  as  delib¬ 
erately  turned  over  to  be  divided  among  party 
workers  as  any  pirate  ever  divided  the  cargo 
of  a  ship  among  those  who  had  helped  to  cap¬ 
ture  it.  It  is  time  now  for  Senator  Hoar  to 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


105 


come  forward  and  argue  that  these  are  politi¬ 
cal  offices,  and  that  the  enumerators  in  their 
townships  will  have  to  respond  to  the  presi¬ 
dential  toasts  at  feasts.  The  result  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  process  may  be  that  we  shall  have  a  polit¬ 
ical  census,  in  which  on  all  economic  questions 
affecting  party  doctrine  no  one  will  have  any 
confidence.  This  is  the  logical  end  of  the 
practice  advocated  by  Senator  Hoar  when  he 
says,  in  the  Boston  Journal  of  February  25: 
“  I  still  think,  as  I  have  always  thought,  that 
the  collectors  of  our  principal  ports  should  be 
men  in  political  harmony  with  the  adminis¬ 
tration,  with  whom  the  President  and  the  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  treasury  may,  whenever  they  find 
it  necessary,  establish  the  most  confidential  re¬ 
lations.  I  think  this  is  specially  true  under 
an  administration  one  of  whose  chief  duties  is 
the  framing,  reforming,  construing,  and  ad¬ 
ministering  a  tariff. 

A  DOUBLE  INSTANCE. 

I. 

“  Only  the  Interests  of  the  Public  Service 

should  Suggest  Removals  from  Office.” 

Mr.  Saltonstall’s  fellow-citizens  desired  to 
give  him  a  dinner  as  a  manifestation  of  their 
esteem,  and  in  their  letter  to  him,  among  oth¬ 
er  things,  they  said  : 

“  We  have  seen  that  during  your  tenure  of  oflice, 
the  administration  of  the  custom  house  has  been,  for 
the  first  time  in  a  generation,  free  from  partisan  in¬ 
fluence:  that  it  has  been  conducted  upon  business 
principles,  by  business  methods,  and  by  men  trained 
in  those  principles  and  methods;  that  it  h'ls  been 
just  and  considerate  to  importers  and  entirely  faith¬ 
ful  to  the  government.” 

In  the  Civil  Service  Record  for  March  is 
the  letter  of  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton  to  the  Bos¬ 
ton  Journal  taking  up  Senator  Hoar’s  excuse 
for  pressing  the  removal  of  Collector  Salton- 
stall  on  the  ground  that  the  collectorship  is  a 
“political”  office,  and  Senator  Hoar’s  reply, 
which  contains  this  astonishing  statement  in 
support  of  his  opinion  that  the  collectorship 
is  a  political  office  : 

“I  have  been  familiar  with  the  leading  friends  and 
promoters  of  the  policy  of  divorcing  the  civil  service 
of  the  country  from  politics  here  in  Washington  since 
I  served  with  Mr.  Jenckes  of  Rhode  Island  in  1869, 
and  was  intimate  with  him  and  his  plan.  I  believe 
that  this  has  been  the  opinion  of  all  of  them  without 
exception.  I  never  heard,  in  private  speech  or  pub¬ 
lic  debate,  an  intimation  to  the  contrary.” 

Mr.  Eaton  is  well  known  as  an  urbane  but 
dangerous  adversary.  After  demolishing  Sen¬ 
ator  Hoar  on  the  above  entirely  incorrect 
statement,  he  proceeds  to  the  assertion  that 
that  the  collector  must  be  in  political  harmo¬ 
ny  with  the  President,  and  closes  as  follows : 

The  simple  answer  is  that  the  collector  is  in  no 
.sense  a  political  officer,  that  he  has  no  right  to  have 
any  party  secrets  or  party  aims  regarding  the  tariff, 
that  he  is  as  much  bound  as  any  judge  in  Ma.ssachu- 
setts  to  administer  the  tariff  laws  openly  and  hon¬ 
estly  in  the  common  interests  of  the  people,  regard¬ 
less  of  party.  He  is  no  more  a  political  officer  than 
the  superintendent  of  the  public  schools,  the  chief 
of  police  or  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  are  po¬ 
litical  officers.  It  is  no  part  of  his  duty  to  speak  for 
the  President.  He  discredits  his  office  in  the  exact 
degree  that  he  interferes  with  party  management,  or 
attempts  to  use  his  official  influence  for  party  pur¬ 


poses.  I  believe  the  time  is  not  remote  when  this  | 
view  will  be  as  universally  accepted  in  this  country 
as  it  was  before  Jackson’s  time,  and  now  is  in  Great 
Britain.  When  Massachusetts  took  the  lead  in  the 
general  struggle  for  independence,  all  the  collectors 
under  George  III,  if  not  some  of  the  judges,  were 
political  officers.  I  hope  and  believe  Massachusetts 
will  add  to  her  glories  by  taking  the  lead  in  bringing 
in  the  triumph  of  those  principles  in  public  admin¬ 
istration  which  will  cause  it  to  be  utterly  immaterial, 
in  the  estimation  of  her  people,  what  are  the  party 
politics  of  the  collector  of  Boston.  Who  can  fail  to 
see  the  great  gain  of  making  the  collectorship  of  Bos¬ 
ton  a  reward  to  be  won  in  fair  competition  by  the 
highest  merit  in  the  customs  administration,  rather 
than  a  prize  to  be  contended  and  bargained  for 
through  a  long  period  in  the  lottery  cf  party  by  the 
rival  leaders  and  politicians  of  the  state— a  contest  in 
whicli  the  issues  are  as  false  and  needless  as  they  are 
perplexing  and  demoralizing.  To  repeal  the  four 
years’  term  and  to  take  the  collectorships,  both  of 
customs  and  internal  revenue,  tens  of  tliousands  of 
post-offices  and  many  other  miscellaneous  offices  of 
a  purely  business  nature  out  of  party  contests  and  no 
longer  allow  them  to  be  the  subject  of  degrading  in¬ 
trigues,  corrupt  bargains  and  alarming  bribery, would 
be  an  era  in  our  politics  which  would  enable  presi¬ 
dents  to  discharge  their  proper  functions  instead  of 
spending  months  on  removals,  open  the  way  for  the 
senate  to  regain  its  old  dignity,  and  exalt  republican 
government  not  only  in  our  own  eyes,  but  in  the  es¬ 
timation  of  the  w'hole  civilized  world. 

This  whole  unfortunate  matter  is  fitly  sum¬ 
med  u  p  by  Harpers'  Weekly : 

The  whole  country  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Saltonstall 
for  the  demonstration  that  the  collectorship  of  Bos¬ 
ton  is  not,  as  Senator  Hoar  calls  it,  a  political 
office,  and  for  showing  that  the  principles  of  the 
conduct  of  the  public  service  which  the  republican 
platform  of  1838  warmly  commends  with  a  demand 
for  their  general  application,  are  not  only  practic¬ 
able,  but  productive  of  the  best  results.  The  Presi¬ 
dent,  also,  although  consenting  to  make  spoils  of 
the  office,  in  deference  to  the  alleged  persistence  Of 
Senators  Hoar  and  Dawes,  must  yet  feel  grateful  to 
the  officer  who  has  illustrated  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  men  the  wisdom  of  the  President’s  declaration 
that  “fidelity  and  efficiency  should  be  the  essential 
test  in  appointment,  and  that  only  the  interest  of 
the  public  service  should  suggest  removals  from 
office.” 

The  removal  of  Mr.  Saltonstall  by  the  author  of 
this  truthful  remark  has  had  the  good  effect  of  illus¬ 
trating  conspicuously  to  the  country  the  truth  of 
another  remark  by  the  same  author,  in  which  he 
describes  such  acts  as  Mr.  Saltonstall’s  removal  as 
“the  frank  and  bold,  if  brutal,  method  of  turning 
men  and  women  out  simply  for  political  opinion.’’ 
The  platform  of  Mr.  McKinley  bitterly  reproached 
misguided  citizens  who  thought  it  possible  that  a 
republican  President  could  be  capable  of  such  con¬ 
duct. 

ir. 

”  Fitness  and  Not  Party  Service  should  be 

the  Essential  and  Discriminating  Test.” 

When  the  President,  last  August,  nominated 
ex-Gov.  Warmouth,  the  Indianapolis  Journal 
said  :  “The  appointment  of  ex  Governor  War- 
mouth  as  collector  at  New  Orleans,  probably 
indicates  his  purpose  to  engage  again  in  active 
politics,  and  that  means  republican  activity 
in  Louisiana.”  Warmouth  has  just  been  con¬ 
firmed  after  a  determined  opposition, in  which 
his  whole  history  was  brought  out.  The  Civ¬ 
il  Service  Chronicle  gives  a  few  facts.  The 
New  York  Tribune  said  of  him,  December  28, 
1874,  “That  his  administration  as  governor 
was  corrupt  and  bad,  is  unfortunately  true.” 
And  again,  July  12,  1877,  “Most  of  the  Louis¬ 
iana  gang  were  brought  into  prominence  be¬ 
cause  they  were  great  rascals.”  Warmouth 


was  governor  of  Louisiana  between  1868  and 
1872,  when  he  was  impeached  by  the  legisla¬ 
ture  for  offering  a  bribe.  He  afterwards  went 
from  the  republican  to  the  democratic  party, 
and,  in  1877,  back  again.  In  December,  1874, 
Warmouth  and  an  editor  named  Byerly  had, 
on  Warmouth’s  challenge,  arranged  to  fight  a 
duel.  Before  it  came  off  they  met  on  the 
street,  and  Byerly  struck  Warmouth  with  a 
cane.  Warmouth  said,  “  He  struck  me  three 
times  with  the  stick,  when  I  clinched  with 
him,  in  the  meantime  taking  a  knife  out  of  my 
pocket.  With  my  arms  around  his  shoulders, 
I  got  my  hands  together  and  opened  the  knife. 
Just  then  I  felt  Byerly  falling  on  me.  Soon 
after  we  fell  a  policemen  took  the  knife  out  of 
my  hands,  and  some  of  the  crowd  pulled  By¬ 
erly  off.  I  understand  Byerly  has  been  cut,  and 
I  am  accused  of  doing  the  cutting.”  In  closing 
this  account  the  New  York  Evening  Post  says^ 
“Byerly  had  been  ‘cut’  in  six  places  in  the  ab¬ 
domen,  twice  before  he  fell,  one  wound  being 
six  inches  deep,  and  died  in  a  few  hours.” 
The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  says  there  is  a 
vast  difference  between  Leverett  Saltonstall 
and  H.  C.  Warmouth 


THE  RISE  OF  AN  AMERICAN  BARON. 

The  following  account  of  Matthew  S.  Quay 
is  condensed  from  the  New  York  World,  of 
February  10.  He  was  originally  a  lawyer  in 
Beaver  (Pa.),  but  appears  to  have  had  no  prac¬ 
tice  to  speak  of,  and  early  turned  his  attention 
to  all  kinds  of  public  offices.  The  account 
runs  that  in  1867,  being  a  member  of  the  state 
legislature  when  Simon  Cameron  and  Governor 
Curtin  were  candidates  for  the  United  States 
senatorship.  Quay  was  the  Curtin  candidate 
for  speaker,  and  it  was  generally  reported  that 
he  received  $13,000  for  his  work  for  Curtin. 
In  the  midst  of  the  contest  Quay  gave  up  his 
speakership  candidacy,  joined  the  Cameron 
forces  against  Curtin  and  nominated  his  own 
opponent  for  speaker.  The  charge  was  openly 
made  that  he  received  $20,000  for  deserting 
to  Cameron.  When  Quay  entered  the  legisla¬ 
ture  he  was  poor,  but  soon  after  he  began  the 
erection  of  a  building  in  Beaver  costing  $13,- 
000.  This,  and  other  things,  attracted  atten¬ 
tion,  and  the  Pittsburgh  Commercial  commented 
upon  Quay’s  malfeasance.  He  sued  the  Com¬ 
mercial  before  a  Pittsburgh  alderman  as  ex¬ 
amining  magistrate,  and  the  World  gives  an 
amusing  extract  from  the  cross-examination 
of  Quay,  where,  aided  by  the  magistrate,  he 
avoided  answering  every  question  which  tended 
to  elicit  information  as  to  where  he  got  his 
money.  After  a  veritable  Dogberry  session, 
the  Commercial  was  held  for  the  upper  court  and 
then  Quay  dropped  the  matter.  Later  a  friend 
of  Quay’s  bought  the  Commercial  and  it  has 
ever  since  been  an  organ  in  whose  sight  Quay 
can  do  no  wrong. 

Quay  became  secretary  of  the  common¬ 
wealth,  and  had  now  got,  in  certain  fields, 
the  control  of  the  government  of  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  which,  with  occasional  intervals,  he  has 
held  ever  since.  He  had  the  legislature  pass 
a  bill  establishing  the  office  of  recorder  for 


106 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Philadelphia,  and  then  had  himself  appointed 
to  the  place  which  paid  over  $40,000  a  year. 
He  lacked  two  votes  of  getting  the  recordership 
bill  passed,  and  he  secured  one  by  a  bribe  of 
$5,000.  In  1878  he  removed  to  Philadelphia 
and  entered  upon  his  office. 

Liking  Harrisburg  better.  Quay  in  1879 
again  had  himself  appointed  secretary  of  the 
commonwealth  In  that  year  a  bill  was  in¬ 
troduced  to  indemnify  for  the  damages  caused 
by  the  Pittsburgh  rioters.  The  grand  jury  in¬ 
dicted  certain  persons,  among  them  Emil  Pe- 
troff  and  William  H.  Kemble,  for  bribery  in 
connection  with  this  bill.  Petroff  was  con¬ 
victed  and  Kemble  and  others  plead  guilty. 
They  were  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary,  but 
somehow  were  extremely  unconcerned.  The 
bill  which  they  had  attempted  to  bribe 
through  was  Quay’s  pet  scheme,  and  the  ex¬ 
cellent  grounds  for  their  unconcern  soon  be¬ 
came  apparent.  The  board  of  pardons  was 
made  up  of  state  officers,  including  Quay.  He 
got  them  together  and  had  them  recommend 
the  pardon  of  Kemble  and  Petroff,  and  then 
had  the  governor  pardon  them.  Kemble  be¬ 
came  and  is  now  the  president  of  the  People’s 
Bank,  Philadelphia,  an  institution  noted  as  a 
depository  of  state  funds,  which  it  gets  through 
the  friendship  of  Quay. 

Another  similar  instance  is  given  in  the  ca.se 
of  A.  F.  Lynch,  charged  with  forgery.  Quay 
declared  that  he  would  secure  his  release  if 
convicted.  Lynch  was  convicted  and  sen¬ 
tenced,  and  then  Quay,  through  the  pardoning 
board,  set  him  at  liberty. 

Quay  had  a  crony  in  J.  Blake  Walters 
cashier  of  the  state  treasury.  The  account, 
runs  that  he  and  Walters  and  another  state 
official  speculated  in  stocks  in  the  New  York 
market  until  they  had  lost  $260,000  of  the 
state’s  money,  which  Walters  had  taken  out 
of  the  treasury.  There  was  about  to  be  a 
change  of  treasurers,  and  an  accounting  must 
be  had.  Quay  was  considering  ways  of  sui¬ 
cide  when  the  matter  came  to  the  ears  of  Don 
Cameron,  who,  to  save  the  reputation  of  the 
republican  party,  paid  over  $100,000  toward 
making  up  the  deficit.  Quay  gave  his  notes, 
and  one  for  $25,000  has  not  yet  been  paid. 
For  a  time  after  this  transaction  Quay  kept 
in  the  background.  Yet  the  astounding  fact 
appears  that  in  1885  he  had  himself  nominat¬ 
ed  for  state  treasurer,  and  he  was  elected.  He 
entered  upon  the  office  in  May,  1886,  and  held 
it  until  he  caused  the  legislature  to  elect  him 
a  United  States  senator  in  1887,  which  office 
he  now  holds. 

The  account  of  the  World  can  be  supple¬ 
mented  by  saying  that  at  the  Chicago  conven¬ 
tion,  which  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison,  Quay’s  first  question  to  every 
proposed  combination  of  delegates  was,  “  How 
is  that  going  to  benefit  me?  I  must  have  con¬ 
trol  of  the  federal  patronage  of  Pennsylvania.” 
He  was  not  a  part  of  the  combination  which 
finally  made  the  nomination,  but  he  has, 
nevertheless,  gained  his  object.  His  control 
of  the  federal  patronage  of  Pennsylvania  has 
been  absolute.  From  small  beginning  as  a 


ward  worker  in  Beaver,  he  has  gradually  en¬ 
larged  his  field,  until  he  has  to-day,  without 
exaggeration,  absorbed  the  legislative  and  ex¬ 
ecutive  powers  of  the  state,  as  much  as 
Julius  Caesar,  although  apparently  only 
princeps  senalus  absorbed  the  powers  of  the  Ko- 
man  government.  Quay  is  to-day  only  ap¬ 
parently  a  senator  from  Pennsylvania,  yet  he 
actually  possesses  an  aggregation  of  federal 
and  state  governmental  powers  wholly  at  va¬ 
riance  with  republican  government,  and  dan¬ 
gerous  to  the  country,  and  the  World  is  per¬ 
forming  a  public  service  in  holding  him  up 
where  the  whole  country  can  see  him  as  he  is. 

ANNALS  OF  “  PRACTICAL  POLI¬ 
TICS.” 

It  will  be  better  to  begin  this  account  by 
describing  briefly  the  chief  characters  who 
will  figure  in  it. 

Albert  Daggett,  commonly  called  “Al,”  ap¬ 
peared  in  Brooklyn  about  1870.  He  “  went 
into  politics,”  and  in  1875  was  elected  sheriff 
of  Kings  county,  after  an  extraordinary  fac¬ 
tory  to  factory  and  house  to  house  canvass. 
In  1884  and  1885  he  was  a  member  of  the  state 
senate.  Between  times  he  has  been  a  manager 
of  local  campaigns,  using  money  lavishly, 
with  a  reputation  for  using  it  corruptly.  He 
was  what  is  known  as  “execution  proof.” 
After  the  late  inauguration  he  s"  cured  the  gov¬ 
ernment  contract  for  furnishing  postal  cards. 
He  had  probably  never  seen  a  card  factory, 
but  he  made  a  shift  by  some  process  of  re-let- 
ting,  and  is  now  furnishing  the  country  with 
postal  cards  under  a  steady  charge  of  under 
size  and  poor  quality.  Being  thus  on  his  feet 
again,  he  turned  to  “politics”  with  new  zest. 

Michael  J.  Dady  is  also  a  Brooklyn  politi¬ 
cian.  Of  him  the  New  York  Tribune  in  1882 
said : 

Mr.  Dady  is  a  contractor  who  devotes  all  his  spare 
time  and  energy  to  Brooklyn  ward  politics.  He  has 
been  a  democrat  and  a  republican  by  turns,  and  has 
always  adapted  his  principles  to  suit  the  demands  of 
the  occasion.  He  was  at  one  time  superintendent  of 
sewers  in  Brooklyn,  and  while  holding  that  oflBce 
was  temporarily  embarra.ssed  by  having  five  indict¬ 
ments  found  against  him  for  felony  and  conspiracy. 
He  extricated  himself,  however,  by  turning  state’s 
evidence,  securing  his  own  safety  by  convicting  his 
companions  in  crime.  He  has  recently  returned  to 
the  allegiance  of  Mr.  North,  from  whom  he  had  sep¬ 
arated  politically  while  the  stalwarts’  chances  for 
oflice  were  poor,  and  he  has  received  his  reward.  He 
showed  his  appreciation  of  the  service  in  which  he 
had  been  appointed  by  driving  at  once  to  the  navy 
yard,  on  Tuesday,  and  giving  notice  that  a  clean 
sweep  in  favor  of  the  stalwarts  was  soon  to  be  made.” 

Franklin  Woodruft’  was  chairman  of  the 
Kings  county  republican  committee,  and  in 
addition  held  for  a  brief  period  the  position 
of  “  patronage  dispenser,”  having  already,  in 
in  1889,  spent  three  months  in  Washington 
performing  the  duties  of  that  position  without 
the  title  ;  but  in  a  month  he  was  forced  out  of 
his  office,  and  when  asked  if  he  would  take 
further  part  in  the  distribution  of  patronage, 
said,  “  Not  much.  I  have  all  I  want  of  such 
dirty  business,  and  more,  too.  They  gave  me 
that  office  against  my  desire,  and  then  put  me 
out  in  a  very  indecent  manner.  I’ll  have  no 
more  of  it.” 


Theodore  B.  Willis  is  naval  officer  at  New 
York,  having  succeeded  Col.  Burt.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Kings  county  campaign  com¬ 
mittee  in  1888,  and  is  described  as  having  done 
“Herculean  work  for  the  party.”  James  W, 
Birkett  is  a  member  of  the  state  senate  from 
Brooklyn,  and  treasurer  of  the  county  com¬ 
mittee.  Greenleaf  A.  Smith  is  boss  of  the  six¬ 
teenth  ward  in  Brooklyn. 

The  object  in  life  of  these  men  and  their  as¬ 
sociates  is  to  be  able  to  distribute  to  them¬ 
selves  and  their  friends  the  public  offices  which 
fall,  or  can  be  made  to  fall,  to  inhabitants  of 
Kings  county  (N.  Y.).  In  order  to  get  and 
keep  this  power,  they  have  to  fight  for  places 
in  the  party  machine.  These  places  are  chair¬ 
manships  of  county,  ward  or  other  commit¬ 
tees,  places  of  bosses  of  wards,  controllers  of 
votes,  and  so  on. 

Franklin  Woodruff  desired  a  re-election  to 
the  chairmanship  of  the  county  committee 
and  was  opposed  by  one  Baldwin.  Daggett 
“supported”  the  latter,  and,  votes  being  scarce, 
he  cast  about  to  meet  the  demand.  He  went 
to  Greenleaf  A.  Smith,  and,  by  a  preponder¬ 
ance  of  evidence,  bought  nine  votes  of  the  six¬ 
teenth  ward  delegation,  for  Baldwin,  paying 
Smith  therefore  $3,166.66  by  giving  him  Sen¬ 
ator  Birkett’s  check  on  the  committee  funds 
for  $416.66,  and  his  own  eleven  notes,  indorsed 
by  Senator  Birkett,  for  $2,750.  The  conven¬ 
tion  was  held,  Naval-Officer  Willis  and  United 
States  District  Attorney  Johnson  being  active 
spirits,  and  Woodruff  was,  with  their  help,  re¬ 
elected,  Willis  casting  the  first  vote  for  him. 
Afterwards  the  opposing  factions  criminated 
and  recriminated  in  writing  and  from  these 
sources  the  impartial  historian  may  get  much 
light. 

Daggett  says:  “This  campaign  was  inaugurated 
and  carried  to  a  successful  termination  by  Franklin 
Woodruff,  Theodore  B.  Willis,  and  Israel  F.  Fischer. 
It  embraced  bribery,  forgery,  the  prostitution  of  the 
patronage  of  the  government,  lying,  trickery,  and 
every  wicked  device  known  or  practiced  by  the  worst 
specimen  of  pot-house  politics.” 

He  cites  interviews  in  the  public  prints 
where  these  men  claim  to  have  secured  places 
for  over  a  dozen  Baldwin  delegates  who  after¬ 
wards  voted  for  Woodruff.  To  this  Naval- 
Officer  Willis  answers: 

“  The  statement  is  an  unvarnished  lie.  I  never 
sought  to  bribe  any  delegate. 

It  is  true  that  at  that  time  I,  with  Mr.  Fischer  at 
the  request  of  that  organization,  went  to  Washington 
to  look  after  the  status  of  certain  recommendations 
that  had  been  made  some  time  previous  by  ward  or¬ 
ganizations  ;  that  they  believed  they  had  been  over¬ 
looked  in  the  excitement  pertaining  to  the  carrying 
on  of  the  fall  election ;  and,  as  a  result,  these  omis¬ 
sions  were  corrected  by  the  appointments  being 
made.  They  were  in  the  main  minor  positions,  and 
at  any  other  time  would  have  attracted  little  if  any 
attention.” 

It  seems  that  Naval-Officer  Willis,  before 
the  convention  occurred,  heard  of  the  sale  of 
votes  by  Smith,  and  with  one  Gilluly  went  to 
Smith’s  house  on  Sunday  evening  and  found 
there  Smith  and  his  friend  Buchman.  Hav¬ 
ing  been  assured  by  Smith  that  the  report 
was  true,  the  talk,  according  to  Willis,  ran  as 
follows : 

“  ‘Well,’  I  said,  ‘what  are  you  to  receive?  Are  you 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


107 


to  be  given  a  position  ?  ’  ‘  No,’  he  replied  ;  ‘  they 
haven’t  given  me  a  plaee,  hut  they  have  given  me 
what  is  better  to  me  just  now  than  a  place.  The  fact 
is,  I  would  rather  have  the  “stuff,”  ’  meaning  cash. 
This  was  said  in  a  very  emphatic  manner,  and  he 
continued,  ‘It  will  do  me  more  good  ;  I  can  utilize  it* 
if  I  choose,  in  business.’ 

“Silence  came  over  the  group  upon  thiscold-blood- 
_  ed  statement  being  made,  and  for  a  moment  we  were 
at  a  loss  for  words  or  thoughts  with  which  to  con¬ 
tinue  the  conversation.  While  we  were  thus  silenced 
Mr.  Buchman,  to  relieve  the  painfulness  of  the  situ¬ 
ation,  wheeled  around  on  the  piano  stool,  opened 
the  lid  of  a  music-box  on  the  piano,  and  started  it 
going.  As  the  melodious  strains  floated  out  on  the 
air  of  the  room,  Mr.  Smith  said  :  ‘  Why  do  you  want 
music?’  ‘Well,’  said  Buchman,  ‘it  seemed  to  be  get¬ 
ting  so  gloomy  I  thought  some  good  music  would 
have  a  cheering  effect.’  Then  turning  to  me  he  said: 

‘  Mr.  Willis,  do  you  play  the  piano?’  Whereupon 
Smith  said  ;  ‘  You  had  better  stop  the  music  and  let 
us  talk  business.’  The  music  was  stopped. 

“Mr.  Gilluly  said;  ‘Has  this  thing  gone  so  far  that 
it  is  iron-clad?’ 

“Smith  replied:  ‘I  don’t  know  as  it  has,  but  I 
suppose  the  Baldwin  people  consider  the  transaction 
closed.  I  wish  that  I  had  seen  your  people  last 
night.’ 

“  ‘When  was  the  business  closed?’  said  I.  ‘Yester¬ 
day,’  he  replied.” 

“  ‘Smith,  would  you  not  rather  have  money  for 
the  notes  than  to  retain  them  ?’ 

“  ‘Of  course,’  he  answered,  ‘I  would  prefer  cash  to 
the  notes.’ 

“Gilluly  said:  ‘Suppose  we  can  have  the  notes 
cashed  for  you;  of  course  you  will  allow  a  good  dis¬ 
count  for  so  doing  ?’ 

“  ‘Oh,  yes,’  said  Smith,  ‘I  will  take  82,500  cash  for 
the  notes,  their  face  value  being  something  like 
$2,800.  I  would  be  willing  to  throw  off  $300  or  $400 
for  cash.’ 

“I  said;  ‘I  should  think  $2,000  would  be  a  very 
good  sum  for  that  amount  of  notes  that  might  be 
'  ■  repudiated,  and  so  be  worthless.’ 

“Hessid:  ‘No,  $2,000  would  not  satisfy  me.  But 
1  would  split  the  difference  and  take  $2,250  for  the 
notes  and  the  check.’ 

“I  said:  ‘We  are  not  in  a  position  to  cash  notes  or 
check.’  Then  Mr.  Gilluly  said;  ‘Would  you  object 
to  calling  at  the  sheriff’s  office  to-morrow  morn- 
;  ingat9:30?’ 

“He  replied:  ‘No,  I  do  not  object.  1  and  Buchman 
i  will  come  down  to  the  sheriff’s  office  at  the  time  you 
have  named.’ 

’  “We  bade  him  good  night  and  departed.” 

,  Greenleaf  A.  Smith  describes  this  meeting 
as  follows : 

I,  “The  said  Willis  then  opened  the  conversation  by 

i  saying  to  deponent :  ‘Mr.  Smith,  I  understand  you 
are  for  Baldwin,’  to  which  deponent  replied  :  ‘Yes, 
that’s  so.’  Then  Willis  asked  deponent  if  it  was  true 
that  there  were  nine  votes  for  Baldwin  among  de- 

■  ponent's  friends,  to  which  deponent  said,  ‘Yes.’ 
Then  said  Willis  asked  deponent  how  much  ne  would 
take  to  swing  those  nine  votes  of  the  sixteenth  ward 

■  delegation  for  Woodruff,  to  which  deponent  replied 
!  that  he  would  take  $3,000.  Then  Willis  said  that  was 
'  too  high  a  figure;  then  deponent  said  he  would  take 

$2,500,  to  which  said  Willis  replied  :  ‘Is  that  the  very 
lowest  you  will  take?’  and  deponent  then  asked: 
‘Well,  what  are  you  willing  to  give?’  and  said  Gilluly 
then  offered  deponent  $2,000,  which  sum  deponent 
refused.  That  after  a  little  lull  in  the  conversation 
deponent  said  he  would  split  the  difference  and  take 
82,250,  to  which  Willis  and  Gilluly  replied  that  was 
satisfactory,  and  told  deponent  to  call  at  the  sheriff’s 
office  next  morning  at  9:30  o’clock  and  the  matter 
would  then  be  arranged  and  he  would  get  the  money. 
That  the  .said  Willis  then  said  to  deponent :  That  in 
this  transaction  or  transactions  of  this  kind  he  gen¬ 
erally  had  nothing  to  do,  but  he  had  other  people 
behind  him  who  would  fix  it  up,” 

There  was  a  meeting  at  the  sheriff’s  office, 
followed  by  one  at  night  at  Woodruff’s  house, 


where  the  notes  and  check  were  produced  and 
handed  to  him.  Naval-Officer  Willis  goes  on  : 

“Then  Mr.  Woodruff  said,  addressing  his  remarks 
to  Smith  and  Buchman :  ‘Well,  gentlemen,  do  .vou 
say  these  notes  and  cheeks  which  you  have  given 
were  given  you  by  Mr.  Daggett?’ 

“  ‘Yes,  sir,’  they  replied. 

“  ‘And  for  what  purpose?  Let  us  understand  this 
thing  clearly,’  continued  Mr.  Woodruff. 

“  ‘Well,’  said  Smith,  ‘for  nine  votes  of  the  sixteenth 
ward  delegation  for  David  A.  Baldwin,  for  chairman 
of  the. general  committee.’ 

“  ‘Well,  now,  what  is  your  proposition  to  me?’ 
said  Woodruff. 

“  ‘Well,  for  $2,250,’  replied  Smith,  ‘I  will  send  the 
notes  and  check  back  to  Daggett,  and  I  will  hold  the 
nine  votes  for  you,  and  you  will  find  a  letter  in  the 
envelope  which  I  have  prepared  to  day,  thinking  I 
might  have  use  for  it,  and  in  which  I  explain  to  Mr. 
Daggett  why  I  send  the  cheek  and  notes  back  to 
him.” 

The  letter  was  as  follows: 

January  13, 1890. 

Albert  Daggett,  Esq.; 

Dear  Sir:  After  consultation  with  a  number  of 
delegates  which  I  was  to  deliver,  I  find  it  impossible 
to  do  so,  consequently,  as  I  can  not  come  up  to  my 
part  of  the  agreement,  it  is  not  just  that  I  should 
keep  you  to  yours. 

Therefore,  inclosed  you  will  find  the  check  and 
notes  which  are  returned. 

Respectfully,  G.  A.  Smith. 

Smith’s  version  of  the  meeting  at  Woodrufl’s 
is  as  follows  : 

“Woodruff  asked  if  deponent  had  been  given  a 
place  by  Daggett.  That  said  Woodruff  then  asked  de¬ 
ponent  whether  he  had  any  objection  to  produce  the 
papers  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Daggett  and  whether 
he  had  any  objection  to  showing  them  to  him.  That 
deponent  said  he  had  no  objection,  and  produced 
them;  thereupon  said  Woodruff  a.sked  whether  de¬ 
ponent  would  sell  said  papers  or  notes,  and  deponent 
said  he  would  not  sell  them  under  any  consideration. 
That  said  Woodruff  then  had  said  papers  in  his  hands 
and  pretended  to  examine  them,  during  which  time 
said  Willis  and  Gilluly  came  into  the  room,  and 
thereupon  said  Woedruff  and  Willis  left  the  room 
for  a  minute,  and  upon  their  return  said  Woodruff 
opened  the  door  and  asked  deponent  and  Buchman 
to  step  into  the  back  room.  Deponent  there  saw 
Sheriff  Rhinehart,  and  then,  in  the  presence  of  said 
Rhinehart,  Willis,  Gilluly  and  Buchman,  the  said 
Woodruff  said  that  he  would  keep  those  papers,  and 
if  either  Senator  Daggett  or  Senator  Birkett  wanted 
them  they  would  have  to  come  for  them.  That  de¬ 
ponent  then  and  since  strenuously  demanded  the 
return  of  said  papers  from  said  Woodruff,  but  said 
Woodruff  has  refused  to  deliver  them  to  deponent. 
That  among  said  papers  so  purloined  from  deponent 
by  said  Woodruff  was  a  letter  written  by  deponent 
addressed  to  Mr.  Albert  Daggett,  but  not  yet  sent  to 
said  Daggett  or  delivered  to  him,  telling  said  Daggett 
that  the  deponent  was  unable  to  deliver  the  nine 
votes  from  the  sixteenth  ward  to  Baldwin.  This  let¬ 
ter  deponent  intended  to  send  upon  the  strength  of 
the  cash  offer  made  by  said  Willis  and  Gilluly  for 
said  votes  as  above  stated,  as  advised  by  Buchman 
in  the  morning.” 

Having  gained  possession  of  the  papers 
Woodruff  appears  to  have  sought  interviews, 
as  Daggett  says : 

He  sent  three  messengers  after  Birkett,  and  agreed 
to  meet  him  under  a  gas  lamp  on  Remsen  street. 
Birkett  went  there  and  found  “Mike”  Dady,  who 
said  that  Woodruff’s  friends  would  not  let  him  come 
for  fear  he  would  be  “slugged.”  Dady  told  Birkett 
that  the  exposure  would  ruin  the  latter  and  drive 
him  out  of  the  senate,  but  Birkett  did  not  beg  for 
mercy.  He  did  agree  to  go  to  Woodruff’s  house 
with  me,  and  he  went.  The  interview  took  place  in 
the  presence  of  Woodruff  and  Willis,  but  Major 
Hobbs  and  others  were  in  the  house. 

Nothing  came  of  the  interview  except 
threats  and  counter  threats,  and  the  rest  of 


the  time  before  the  convention  seems  to  have 
been  occupied  in  “mutual  checkmating,” 
finally  resulting  in  the  defeat  of  Baldwin. 

The  business  in  which  Naval-Officer  Willis 
occupies  his  time  can  not  fail  to  attract  atten¬ 
tion,  and  this  will  cause  it  to  be  re-called  that 
his  predecessor,  Silas  W.  Burt,  had  been  in  the 
civil  service  twenty  years,  and  during  all  that 
time  had  been  known  as  a  faithful  and  skilled 
officer,  devoted  to  his  duties.  He  had  never 
given  the  government,  or  the  people,  or  his 
friends  any  cause  to  feel  that  he  had  even  the 
slightest  connection  with  crooked  people  or 
crooked  transactions,  or  that  he  in  any  man¬ 
ner  used  his  public  office  or  his  influence  as  a 
public  officer  for  purposes  not  connected  with 
the  transaction  of  public  business,  much  less 
to  force  the  election  of  a  chairman  of  a  polit¬ 
ical  committee.  It  is  inconceivable  that  he 
should  have  had  to  make  a  public  apology 
like  that  of  Willis,  for  connection  with  dis¬ 
graceful  and  dishonest  transactions.  At  the 
end  of  his  years  of  service  he  was  turned  into 
the  street,  without  notice  or  thanks,  to  make 
room  for  Willis,  who  was  given  the  place  be¬ 
cause  he  had  been  chairman  of  a  campaign 
committee  and  had  done  “  Herculean  work 
for  the  party”  in  the  last  presidential  cam¬ 
paign. 

There  was  recently  held  in  this  city  a  com¬ 
petitive  examination  for  the  vacancies  in  the 
staff  of  physicians  for  the  city  hospital  and 
city  dispensary.  It  is  credited  with  having 
been  the  most  rigid  medical  examination  ever 
held  here.  There  were  five  sessions  extending 
over  a  period  of  three  days.  Thus  the  merit 
system  makes  its  way. 

Miss  Sweet  succeeded  to  the  pension  agency 
at  Chicago  upon  the  death  of  her  father.  Gen¬ 
eral  Sweet.  She  held  the  office  one  term.  Then 
Mrs.  Mulligan,  the  widow  of  General  Mulli¬ 
gan,  applied  for  the  position.  She  had  the  sup¬ 
port,  says  the  New  York  Post,  of  nearly  every 
influential  man  in  Chicago  of  both  parties  and 
of  the  republican  senators  and  representatives 
from  Illinois,  but  Mr.  Schurz,  then  secretary 
of  the  interior,  insisted  that  a  faithful  and  effi¬ 
cient  officer  should  be  retained,  and  Miss  Sweet 
was  re-appointed.  Pension  Commsssioner  Black 
attempted  to  remove  her,  but  on  account  of  the 
uproar  she  was  allowed  to  finish  her  term. 
Then  President  Cleveland  appointed  Mrs.  Mul¬ 
ligan.  She,  too,  has  proved  faithful  and  effi¬ 
cient.  A  long  leap  downward  has  now  been 
taken  by  President  Harrison  in  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  Col.  Ike  Clements,  described  as  an  ac¬ 
tive  republican  worker  and  stumper  for  many 
years  in  his  end  of  the  state,  a  busy  adherent 
of  Senator  Cullom  and  useful  to  the  republi¬ 
can  State-house  clique. 

The  house  of  representatives  has  passed  a 
bill  providing  for  the  appointment  of  thirty 
new  examiners  for  the  pension  office.  The 
bill  provides  that  the  appointments  shall  be 
made  without  the  intervention  of  the  civil 
service  commission,  although  the  commission 
stood  ready  to  furnish  the  men.  A  more  vi- 


108 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


cious  blow  could  hardly  have  been  dealt  the 
merit  system.  Mr.  Bynum  of  this  district 
voted  for  it,  as  did  also  a  number  of  congress¬ 
men  who  pose  as  civil  service  reformers,  and 
the  latter  have  since  been  busy  making  lame 
excuses.  The  moving  cause  in  this  is  the 
enmity  of  Commissioner  Kaum  to  anything 
which  interferes  with  distributing  places  to 
his  favorites  as  plums.  The  bill  has  not  yet 
passed  the  senate:  if  it  should,  after  the  pub¬ 
lic  disapproval  which  has  been  expressed,  it 
will  appear  like  a  deliberate  beginning  to 
undermine  the  merit  system  as  now  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  service.  If  President  Harrison 
should  sign  such  a  bill  he  would  become  a 
party  to  a  flagrant  breach  of  faith. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  will  be  held  at 
Fort  Wayne  in  April.  The  proceedings  will 
consist  of  an  afternoon  business  meeting  open 
to  members  of  the  Association,  and  an  evening 
meeting  open  to  the  public.  The  evening 
meeting  will  be  held  in  the  hall  of  the  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Association,  and  the  address 
will  be  by  Mr.  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  president 
of  the  Maryland  Association.  There  will  be 
an  introductory  address  by  Mr.  Lucius  B. 
Swift,  president  of  the  Indiana  Association. 
The  Association  is  much  favored  in  securing 
Mr.  Bonaparte.  He  is  a  strikingly  brilliant 
and  able  speaker.  The  date  will  be  announced 
in  the  newspapers. 

The  ofiicers  of  the  Association  are  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Lucius  B.  Swift,  Indianapolis,  President. 

Charles  B.  Lane,  Richmond,  Secretary. 

Arthur  A.  McKain,  Indianapolis,  Treasurer. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

Hilton  U.  Brown,  Indianapolis. 

Noble  C.  Butler,  Indianapolis. 

Orrln  B.  Clark,  Bloomington. 

William  Dudley  Foulke,  Richmond. 

John  H.  Jacobs,  Fort  Wayne. 

Charles  B.  Lane,  Richmond. 

Chester  T.  Lane,  Fort  Wayne. 

Thomas  F.  Leech,  J  udson. 

Charles  S.  Lewis,  Indianapolis. 

Arthur  A.  McKaiu,  Indianapolis. 

Albert  E.  Metzger,  Indianapolis. 

John  W.  Moncrief,  Franklin. 

Rollo  B.  Oglesbee,  Plymouth. 

David  A.  Owen,  Franklin. 

Lucius  B.  Swift,  Indianapolis. 

Henry  W.  Williams,  Fort  Wayne. 

The  Bloomington  branch  of  the  Indiana 
association  will  hold  a  public  meeting  about 
March  26th,  which  will  be  addressed  by  Mr. 
Theodore  Roosevelt.  In  both  the  State  Uni¬ 
versity  and  Franklin  College  there  is  a  very 
healthy  activity  in  favor  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  speech  will  not 
tend  to  diminish  this. 

AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser¬ 
vice  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  liedge 
or  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 

— Col.  Edwin  A.  McAlpin,  who  was  one  of 
the  presidential  electors  in  the  last  campaign,  has 
been  appointed  by  the  President  postmaster  of 
Sing  Sing,  New  York. 


— Harris  A.  Barrow  was,  March  12,  ap¬ 
pointed  deputy  naval  officer,  by  Naval  Officer 
Willis.  Barrow  is  secretary  of  the  Kings  county 
republican  committee.  He  has  always  been  an 
applicant  for  office. 

— Collector  Erhardt’s  deputies,  John.  H. 
Gunning  and  Dennis  Shea  are  active  members 
of  party  committees. 

— Ed  Conway  is  a  deputy  in  United  States 
Marshal  Dunlap’s  office,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
one  of  the  city  committeemen  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth  ward. 

— The  caucus  of  the  republicans  of  Brattle- 
boro,  Vermont,  to  determine  whether  Post¬ 
master  Childs,  the  democratic  incumbent, 
should  be  re-appointed  under  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  republican  committee,  opened 
at  3  P.  M.  The  party  workers  applied  the 
party  whip.  The  voting  was  not  secret  so 
that  every  one  voting  for  the  retention  of  the 
democratic  postmaster  ran  the  risk  of  losing 
favor  with  the  machine.  Colonel  Taylor,  the 
special  treasury  agent,  was  most  active.  The  only 
government  official  in  the  place  who  did  not 
take  any  part  in  the  canvass,  but  who  attended 
to  the  duties  of  the  office,  was  Postmaster 
Childs. 

— So  it  fell  out  that  at  the  primary  election 
held  at  Hildebrandt’s  hall,  in  Second  avenue, 
on  Tuesday  evening,  there  was  a  large  force  of 
custom-house  employes  on  hand  to  help  Mr. 
Frank  Raymond  accomplish  his  patriotic  de¬ 
signs,  and  not  a  few  of  these  fit  and  faithful 
public  servants  were  chosen  as  officers  and 
members  of  the  republican  district  committee, 
and  as  delegates  to  the  county  committee. 
Mr.  Donald  McLean,  the  general  appraiser, 
was  chosen  president  of  the  district  committee, 
and  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Robertson,  the  chief 
clerk  in  the  general  appraiser’s  office,  at  a 
salary  of  |2,500,  was  elected  secretary.  Mr. 
McLean  and  Mr.  Robertson  were  also  made 
delegates  to  the  county  committee.  Among 
the  other  delegates  chosen  were  the  follow¬ 
ing:  James  B.  Kilsheimer,  law  clerk  in  Mr. 
McLean’s  office,  salary  $1,900 ;  Peter  Stieb, 
messenger,  $340 ;  John  W.  Love,  opener  and 
packer,  $3.75  per  day,  and  Henry  C.  Robin¬ 
son,  John  Ellard,  and  Samuel  Wallace,  ic- 
spectors  of  customs.  Kilsheimer  and  Robert¬ 
son  also  appear  as  inspectors  of  election. 

There  were  elected  as  members  of  the  re¬ 
publican  district  committee,  Daniel  Leech, 
confidential  clerk  in  the  general  appraiser’s 
office,  salary  $2,200;  Louis  Spatz  and  Morti¬ 
mer  C.  Lee,  inspectors  of  customs ;  John 
Reilly,  opener  and  packer,  $3  per  day,  was 
made  sergeant  at  arms. 

The  customs  inspectors  on  this  list  are 
appointees  of  the  collector  and  surveyor;  the 
others  were  appointed  by  General  Appraiser 
McLean  without  civil  service  examination. 
— New  York  Times,  January  17, 

— Schmidt  and  Nowland,  custom-house  dep¬ 
uties  of  this  city,  were  delegates  to  the  repub¬ 
lican  township  convention,  March  1.  The  for¬ 
mer  put  the  successful  candidate  in  nomina¬ 
tion. 

The  public  will  never  be  made  to  believe 
that  the  appointment  of  a  relative  is  made 
on  the  ground  of  merit  alone,  uninfluenced 
by  ftunily  views;  nor  can  they  ever  see 
with  approbation  offices,  the  disposal  of 
which  they  entrust  to  their  presidents  for 
public  purposes,  divided  out  as  family 
property. — Thomas  Jefferson. 

— Robert  G.  Blaine,  brother  of  Secretary 
Blaine,  who  has  for  some  years  held  the  office 
of  curator  of  the  department  of  agriculture, 
has  been  appointed  by  Secretary  Rusk  super¬ 


intendent  of  quarantine  stations,  under  the 
bureau  of  animal  industry. 

— James  G.  Blaine,  Jr.,  has  been  appointed 
clerk  of  the  house  committee  of  foreign  aff  airs, 
at  a  salary  of  $2,190. 

— S.  V.  Morris  has  been  appointed  chief 
clerk  in  the  paymaster’s  office  at  St.  Paul.  He 
is  a  brother-in-law  of  the  President,  and  at 
one  time  could  have  had  a  place  in  tli  e  In¬ 
dianapolis  post-office,  but  it  is  reported  that 
he  felt  that  “Ben  ought  to  do  something  better 
for  him.” 

— Pension  Agent  Ensley,  of  this  state,  has 
appointed  his  son,  O.  P.  Ensley,  chief  clerk  in 
the  pension  office  to  succeed  .Joseph  L.  Riley. 
The  appointee  has  been  bookkeeper  for  Eckert 
&  Co.,  carriage  manufacturers  at  Auburn,  for 
several  years. 

— Postmaster  Van  Cott,  of  New  York,  has 
appointed  his  son  cashier  of  the  post-office. 

— Congressman  Elijah  Adams  Morse,  who 
points  to  his  middle  name  as  evidence  that  he 
is  connected  with  the  John  Adams  family,  has 
got  his  (Morse’s)  nephew  appointed  a  page  in 
the  house  of  representatives. 

—There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  in 
the  bands  of  the  executive  which  might  be 
used  with  greater  effect,  for  unhallowed 
purposes,  than  the  control  of  the  public 
press.  We  have  learned,  too,  from  our 
own  as  well  as  tlie  experience  of  other 
countries,  that  golden  shackles,  by  whom¬ 
soever  or  by  whatever  pretense  imposed, 
are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the  iron  bonds  of  des¬ 
potism. 

President  William  Henry  Harrison 

— C.  H.  Gere,  the  editor  of  the  Journal,  has 
been  appointed  postmaster  at  Lincoln,  Neb. 
It  is  now  interesting  to  quote  the  following 
from  the  November  (1889)  issue  of  the  Civil 
Service  Chronicle  : 

In  the  division  of  tlie  patronage  last  spring  the 
Lincoln  post-office  fell  to  Congressman  Connell,  of 
Omaha.  All  the  candidates  for  the  place  except  one 
have  cultivated  his  acquaintance  in  the  hope  of  cap¬ 
turing  the  plum.  This  one,  the  Hon.  Charles  H. 
Gere,  of  the  Joiirnal,  made  his  fight  in  another  quar¬ 
ter,  when  it  became  reasonably  certain  that  the  Hon. 
Ed.  P.  Roggen  stood  highest  in  the  estimation  of  the 
congressmen.  Gere  laid  siege  to  Senators  Manderson 
and  Paddock  and  asked  for  a  new  deal.  It  is  now 
currently  reported  that  the  senators  have  agreed  to  force 
Gere's  appointment,  they  threatening  to  prevent  the  con¬ 
firmation  of  any  other  appointment. 

— Another  editor  has  an  office.  It  is  Charles 
E.  Fitch  of  the  Rochester  Democrat  and  Chron¬ 
icle,  who  was  appointed  by  President  Harrison 
this  week  to  the  collectorship  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  internal  revenue  district,  with  head¬ 
quarters  at  Buffalo.  The  office  is  the  most 
important  and  lucrative  at  the  disposal  of  the 
administration  in  western  New  York,  and  a 
pretty  fight  has  been  waged  to  secure  the  plum. 

— The  State  Journal,  the  official  organ  of  the 
state  and  of  the  republican  party  of  Wiscon¬ 
sin,  was  sold  to  Horace  A.  Taylor,  of  Hud¬ 
son,  Wis.,  formerly  candidate  for  governor, 
then  anti  railroad  champion  in  the  state 
senate,  and  now  holding  a  federal  office  at 
Washington. 

— J.  P.  Clugage,  editor  of  the  Union,  has 
been  appointed  postmaster  at  Sullivan,  this 
state. 

— Collector  Beard  has  made  Gen.  John  L. 
Swift,  of  the  Boston  Traveller,  his  third  deputy. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


109 


I 

CONGRESSMAN  HITT  AND  “THE 
LEAN  AND  HUNGRY  REPUBLI¬ 
CAN  SHOATS.” 


[Compiled  from  the  Rockford  Register  (Ills.),  from 
November,  1889,  to  March,  1890] 

I. 

The  Rochelle  post-office  fight  is  now  on.  There 
are  some  who  may  be  inclined  to  ask,  “  Has  it  ever 
been  off?”  So  conspicuous  and  hot  and  prolonged 
have  been  the  struggles  for  the  possession  of  that 
post-office  that  many  people  have  gained  the  impres¬ 
sion  that  the  battle  rages  there  perennially. 

‘‘There’s  never  been  but  one  post-office  fight  in 
this  town,”  a  Rochelle  man  said  the  other  day,  ‘‘and 
that’s  been  going  on  ever  since  the  office  was  first 
established  down  to  the  present  time,  without  any 
indication  of  ever  terminating.” 

The  present  fight  is  one  of  unusual  interest,  for  out 
of  it  there  is  to  be,  unless  all  signs  fail,  a  struggle  for 
a  position  much  higher  than  that  of  postmaster  of 
Rochelle.  Congressman  Hitt  is  in  danger  of  removal 
from  the  house  of  representatives  as  well  as  is  Post¬ 
master  Furlong,  the  democratic  incumbent,  from  the 
Rochelle  post-office,  as  a  result  of  the  trouble  which 
has  arisen.  Official  patronage  has  frequently  caused 
political  death,  and  in  this  instance  it  has  attacked 
.  Congressman  Hitt.  It  has  called  forth  the  first  out- 
,  spoken  opposition  to  his  return  to  congress. 

'j-J  ’■  1  think  Mr.  Hitt  is  serving  his  last  term,”  said  an 
Ogle  county  republican,  recently,  to  a  Register  repre¬ 
sentative.  The  speaker  is  one  of  the  best  political 
workers  in  that  county,  and  is  at  present  holding  an 
official  position. 

‘‘ He  has  made  himself  unpopular  in  some  places 
by  not  acting  promptly  enough  in  regard  to  post-office 
changes.  I  do  not  mean  that  he  has  not  sought  to 
have  democrats  ousted,  but  that  he  has  apparently 
been  afraid  to  select  a  postmaster  where  there  have 
been  more  than  one.  His  listlessness  in  pushing  the 
claims  of  those  seeking  appointments  has  turned 
^  many  against  him. 

■  ‘‘  The  Rochelle  post-office  fight  has  led  to  war  be- 
'ing  declared  on  him.  As  usual,  there  were  half  a- 
dozen  candidates  for  postmaster.  Hartong,  the  drug¬ 
gist  is  endorsed  by  Hitt.  Nick  Walters  is  the  choice 
of  the  workers.  The  objections  to  Hartong  are  that 
he  has  resided  there  but  a  few  years,  that  it  is  not 
known  how  he  voted  four  years  ago,  and  that  he  is 
not  the  choice  of  the  people  there,  but  seems  to  have 
gained  Hitt  s  endorsement  through  the  influence  oj 
Senator  Farwell  and  Congressman  Hopkins.  If  there  is 
anything  that  will  stir  up  Rochelle  it  is  to  have  out¬ 
siders  attempt  to  dictate  who  shall  be  postmaster. 
That  has  been  done  before,  notably  in  the  case  of 
Gardner  and  his  successor,  the  present  incumbent, 
and  the  people  there  want  no  more  of  it.  Wallers  on 
the  other  hand  was  born  and  raised  there,  was  a  sol¬ 
dier,  is  extremely  popular,  and  has  been  a  hard 
worker  for  the  party.  There  has  never  been  any 
question  as  to  how  he  voted  four  years  ago.  A  pro¬ 
test  against  Hortong’s  appointment  was  sent  to  Hitt. 
Among  others  who  signed  it  were  Joseph  Parker, 
chairman  of  the  town  committee,  and  G.  W.  Clark 
and  Colonel  May,  the  two  last  named  having  been 
candidates  for  the  office.  They  virtually  endorsed 
Walters,  thereby  carrying  out  Hitt’s  suggestion  that 
they  get  together  and  decide  upon  a  man. 

“  Mr.  Hitt  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  the  protest, 
and  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Parker  said  he  recognized  the 
high  standing  and  character  of  its  twenty  signers. 
They  are,  in  fact,  about  the  most  politically  influ¬ 
ential  twenty  in  Rochelle^  and  it  is  almost  certain  thaty 
under  conditions  as  they  exist  in  that  town,  they  will  be 
easily  able  to  control  the  next  congressional  caucus.  It 
is  believed  yet  that  Hartong  will  be  appointed,  but 
whether  he  is  or  not  the  feeling  is  that  they  have 
had  enough  of  Hitt.  They  are  indisposed  to  accept 
conciliation,  and  inclined  to  spurn  any  advances  in 
that  direction  from  the  congressman. 

III. 

‘‘There  is  a  sort  of  young  men’s  movement  over 
Ogle  county,  and  the  anti- Hitt  twenty  of  Rochelle  are 
in  with  the  controlling  nng.  This  made  Deloss  Baxter, 


Jr.,  mayor  of  Rochelle  and  state’s  attorney  of  the  county; 
Frank  Bacon  mayor  of  Oregon,  and  Bishop  sheriff  of 
Ogle  county.  Speaking  of  Bisliop  reminds  me  of  his 
candidacy  for  the  United  States  marshalship,  and 
the  trouble  Ilitt  will  have  in  that  connection.  Bish¬ 
op’s  friends  say  that  they  have  no  confidence  in  Hitt, 
and  that  while  pretending  to  be  woiking  for  the 
sheriff  he  has  really  done  little  to  aid  him.  They 
propose  to  get  back  at  Hitt  for  this.  But  the  Bacon 
and  Bishop  crowd  of  Oregon  and  the  anti-Hitt  crowd 
of  Rochelle,  together  with  all  their  influential  ramifi¬ 
cations,  can  carry  the  county  against  Hitt.  The  po¬ 
sitions  that  the  leaders  now  hold  show  their  power. 

‘‘And  the  feeling  against  Hitt  is  not  confined  to  the 
Oregon  and  Rochelle  elements,  extensive  as  their  in¬ 
fluence  is,  but  there  is  dissatisfaction  all  over  the 
county.  This  is  noticeable  at  Polo. 

‘‘There  are  men,  and  prominrnt  ones,  too,  in  Ro¬ 
chelle  who  say  that  they  believe  that  Otis  was  really 
promised  the  post-office  in  that  fight  by  Hitt,  and 
that  the  latter  broke  his  promise,  as  Otis  claimed,  and 
these  are  not  men  who  felt  friendly  to  Otis,  either. 

IV. 

‘‘As  1  look  at  it,  Hitt’is  a  goner.  I  am  reliably  in' 
formed  that  the  feeling  which  exists  in  Ogle  county 
can  be  found  all  over  the  district.  I  know  that  there 
are  towns  in  Jo  Daviess  that  are  dead  against  him 
on  account  of  post-office  fights.  There’s  Apple  River 
as  an  example.  He  certainly  hasn’t  strengthened 
himself  in  any  post  office  appointment.  Wliere 
there  was  a  fight  he  has  held  back  until  both  sides 
have  got  down  on  him,  and  where  there  was  no  fight 
neither  the  postmaster  appointed  nor  his  friends  con¬ 
sider  that  they  are  indebted  to  Hitt.  Do  you  suppose 
that  Smith  Atkins  feels  that  he  owes  Hitt  anything? 
Certainly  not.  Take  it  up  at  your  city.  Is  Tom 
Lawler  under  any  obligations  to  Hitt?  Not  much. 
If  anything,  Hitt  should  feel  thankful  to  Lawler  that 
he  possessed  such  strength  and  had  such  a  grip  as  to 
permit  Hitt  to  escape  being  harrassed  by  any  other 
candidate  and  his  friends.  In  such  cases  as  that  of 
Atkins  and  Lawler  the  appointees  know  that  they 
owe  nothing  to  Hitt.  They  know  that  he  was  only 
too  glad  to  find  such  smooth  sailing.  Now,  if  Har¬ 
tong  should  be  appointed  he  would  certainly  be  un¬ 
der  obligations  to  Hitt,  as  he  has  backed  him  against 
the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Rochelle. 

‘‘Outside  of  the  post  office  appointments  Hitt  has 
done  nothing  for  the  seekers  of  patronage.  While 
other  congressmen  secured. places  for  scores  of  work¬ 
ers,  Hitt  has  seemed  to  think  that  no  one  in  his  dis¬ 
trict  wanted  anything.  The  workers  are  the  people, 
and  they  have  decided  that  they  want  a  man  in 
congress  who  will  do  something  for  them.  But  as  1 
said  in  the  first  place.  Ogle  county  is  the  battle 
ground.  If  Hitt  has  a  fight  here  he  is  beaten,  and 
you  can  depend  upon  it  he  will  have  a  fight.  He  can 
not  be  renominated.” 

V. 

There  were  four  candidates  for  the  Lanark  post- 
office  in  Carroll  county,  viz.:  L.  G.  Burrows,  editor  of 
the  Lanark  Gazette;  Joseph  Yeager,  an  old  settler,  who 
made  a  close  run  for  the  office  once  before;  Maj.  G.  A. 
Root;  and  Rev.  H.  D.  Dennis,  the  latter  now  removed 
to  Rockford  as  pastor  of  the  Christian  church,  de¬ 
scribed  in  the  Freeport  Dmocraf  as  “an  eloquent  and 
polished  orator,  a  gentleman  popular  with  the 
people,  and  one  who  has  rendered  service  to  his  party 
by  making  speeches  during  many  campaigns.” 

The  first  three  candidates  finally  combined  against 
Mr.  Dennis,  and  on  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Hitt 
the  appointment  was  given  to  Maj.  Root. 

Again  our  member  finds  misery  in  umpiring  the 
distribution  of  the  spoils.  When,  after  a  long  contest, 
he  finally  refused  to  recommend  Mr.  E.  L.  Otis  for 
the  Rochelle  post-office,  the  latter  charged  with  em¬ 
phasis  that  a  straight,  unequivocal  pledge  was  vio¬ 
lated,  and  to  this  day  there  are  numerous  persons  in 
Rochelle  (who  were  not  partisans  of  Mr.  Otis)  who 
insist  that  Mr.  Hitt  broke  a  plain  agreement  to  give 
Otis  the  Rochelle  office. 

Now  we  have  another  like  chapter,  with  Lanark  as 
the  scene,  and  Rev,  H.  D.  Dennis,  the  new  pastor  of 
the  Christian  church  of  this  city,  framing  the  indict¬ 
ment  against  Mr.  Hitt.  The  reverend  gentleman 
was  interviewed  by  the  Freeport  Democrat  regarding 


the  matter  and  from  that  paper  we  clip  the  follow¬ 
ing. 

“Rev.  H.  D.  Dennis  was  not  in  the  best  of  humor 
when  the  newspaperman  called  upon  him.  In  fact 
he  expressed  a  decided  contempt  for  Congressman 
Hitt,  and  the  methods  he  claimed  were  employed  in 
securing  the  appointment  of  Maj.  Root.  He  said: 

“  ‘All  1  have  to  say  is  that  I  have  been  greatly 
deceived  by  Mr.  Hitt,  and  I  have  taken  occasion  to 
make  him  acquainted  with  that  fact.  I  have  no 
confidence  whatever  in  him,'  continutd  the  gentle¬ 
man,  ‘and  I  will  soon  give  the  public  a  statement  of 
the  case.  Until  I  hear  from  him  I  do  not  desire  to 
say  much  This  I  will  .say:  I  was  led  to  believe 
from  what  he  had  said  to  me  that  I  was  to  receive 
the  appointment.’  ” 

“Several  days  ago  Mr.  Hitt  sent  me  a  brief  of  the 
recommendation  he  had  sent  in  for  Major  Root,  and 
then  it  was  learned  that  the  combine  had  certainly 
been  made.  When  my  friends  learned  the  state  of 
affairs,  seventy  letters  from  patrons  of  the  office, 
many  of  them  parties  who  had  signed  the  petitions 
of  Burrows  and  Yeager,  were  sent  to  the  department 
protesting  against  the  appointment  of  Major  Root. 
But  it  was  rushed  through,  and  the  nomination  was 
confirmed,  although  I  had  assurance  from  Senator 
Cullom  that  there  would  be  plenty  of  lime  left  to  en¬ 
ter  a  remonstrance  before  the  confirmation  would 
take  place.  I  believe  if  a  vote  was  taken  1  would  se¬ 
cure  a  large  majority  of  the  patrons  of  the  office  over 
Root. 

“I  believe  now  that  Mr.  Hitt  had  all  along  intended 
to  secure  the  appointment  of  Major  Root.  It  is  the 
worst  kind  of  deception.” 

“  Mr.  Dennis  is  a  gentleman  who  can  understand 
the  English  language,  and  he  certainly  had  assurance 
that  he  would  be  the  next  postmaster,  or  else  he 
would  have  gone  to  Rockford  long  ago,  where  he  has 
accepted  a  call  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  Christian 
Church,”  said  a  gentleman  who  is  a  well-known  Car- 
roll  county  republican. 

Among  the  prominent  backers  of  Mr.  Dennis  are 
Representative  Bray  and  e.x  Representative  Emanuel 
Stover.  It  is  said  that  at  least  Mr.  Bray  will  make  a 
determined  fight  against  Hitt,  and  he  will  use  his  in¬ 
fluence  to  secure  an  anti-Hitt  delegation  from  Car- 
roll  county. 

It  is  very  evident  if  something  is  not  done  to  satis¬ 
fy  Mr.  Dennis,  that  both  his  voice  and  his  vote  will 
be  against  Mr.  Hitt, 

In  a  letter  to  one  of  the  other  candidates,  Decem¬ 
ber  29,  Mr.  Hitt  makes  the  following  statement, 
whieh,  it  will  be  observed,  raises  the  issue  of  verac¬ 
ity  between  him  and  Mr.  Dennis: 

“  I  have  never  yet  in  contested  cases  thought  it 
proper  to  express  even  an  opinion  before  the  time  of 
action,  as  it  is  to  be  presumed  always  that  the  whole 
case,  as  then  presented,  will  be  considered  and  passed 
upon  fairly.  I  think  you  know  me  well  enough  to 
believe  that  I  will  take  great  pains  to  do  the  fairest 
thing  possible  in  the  case,  and  what  I  believe  will  be 
most  satisfactory  to  the  republicans  of  Lanark.” 

VI. 

Mr.  Hitt  has  been  acting  as  referee  in  an  interest¬ 
ing  post-office  fight  in  Apple  River,  Jo  Daviess  coun¬ 
ty.  The  strife  between  the  two  candidates,  Messrs. 
Serviss  and  Lamont,  has  raged  with  such  bitterness 
that  the  department  has  decided  not  to  appoint 
either,  and  it  is  said  that  Mr.  Hitt  has  been  directed 
to  present  a  new  name.  This  will  naturally  earn  for 
him  the  enmity  of  the  friends  of  both,  who  probably 
include  the  total  population. 

VII. 

The  Oregon  Reporter  renews  its  vows  of  allegiance 
to  Mr.  Hitt,  declaring  that,  although  the  latter  made 
a  blunder  in  appointing  Frank  Tice  to  the  Mt.  Morris 
post-office,  it  will  forgive  him  this  time  and  hope  for 
better  things  in  the  future.  It  insists,  however,  that 
Mr.  Tice  should  divert  the  emoluments  of  the  office 
to  some  “young  republican  worker,”  to  be  appointed 
as  deputy.  Mr.  Tice,  as  a  member  of  the  “old  politi¬ 
cal  ring,”  is  not  entitled  to  any  share  in  the  spoils  at 
this  time,  according  to  the  Reporter. 

The  Oregon  Independent  takes  its  contemporary  to 
task,  as  follows : 

“Why  should  the  Reporter  censure  Hon.  R.  R.  Hitt 
for  appointing  Hon.  Frank  Tice  to  be  postmaster  at 
this  place?  Has  he  not  appointed  his  friend  Jewett 
in  Oregon  ?  Is  not  Mr.  Jewett  the  choice  of  the  ‘boss 
delegate,’  the  ‘  boss  of  boss  ’  of  the  immortal  sixteen 
who  resurrected  Mr.  Hitt  to  the  position  he  now 
holds?  Then,  if  consistent,  why  does. the  Reporter 
kick,  unless  to  be  inconsistent?  ” 


no 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


VIII. 

All  Ogle  county  politician,  who  seems  to  have  been 
sent  to  Washington  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  de¬ 
lay  in  the  expected  liring  of  the  democratic  incum¬ 
bent  from  the  Rochelle  post-office,  has  made  his 
report  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  which  appears  in  the 
last  issue  of  the  Rochelle  Herald.  He  states  that  on 
his  arrival  in  Washington  he  called  on  Mr.  Hitt,  and 
considerations  which  call  for  a  change  in  the  Ro¬ 
chelle  office  were  presented.  Thereupon  Hitt  called 
upon  Clarkson  and  received  the  assurance  that  he 
was  ready  and  anxious  to  dispose  of  the  Rochelle 
appointment  at  once.  Mr.  Wanamaker  was  then 
seen,  and  gave  assurance  that  his  views  were  in  ac¬ 
cord  with  those  of  Clarkson.  The  story  of  Hitt’s 
further  efforts  and  encounter  with  a  rank  snub  from 
the  President  is  told  in  the  Herald  letter,‘from  which 
we  quote : 

“  Elated  by  such  frank  confessions,  Mr.  Hilt  then 
called  upon  the  President  and  presented  the  case. 
He  called  Mr.  Harrison’s  attention  to  the  majorities 
from  the  northern  districts  that  saved  the  state  of 
Illinois  from  democratic  rulers.  He  called  his  at¬ 
tention  to  the  indifference  expressed  by  leading  re¬ 
publican  papers  of  the  district,  and  to  the  opinions 
of  the  republican  war  horses  who  openly  acknowl¬ 
edged  danger,  to  which  Mr.  Harrison  made  this  re¬ 
ply :  'All  this  does  not  affect  me  one  particle.'  You 
can  imagine  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Hitt  at  the  outcome 
of  this  interview.  The  interests  of  the  republicans 
of  Rochelle  does  not  affect  Mr.  Harrison  ‘one  par¬ 
ticle.’  The  interests  of  the  party  in  this  district  are 
of  no  concern  to  him.  The  election  of  democrats  is 
nothing  to  him.  And  this  is  the  man  w-e  worked  to 
elect  President.  I  ask  the  voters  of  Rochelle,  why 
then  blame  Mr.  Hitt?  He  has  taken  this  particular 
case  of  Rochelle  to  the  highest  official,  and  has  been 
promptly  sat  down  upon.  No  explanation  even  is 
offered  why  the  affairs  of  Northern  Illinois  are  no- 
of  interest  to  the  President.  At  the  particular  intert 
view  above  referred  to  Mr.  Hitt  did  not  champion 
the  cause  of  any  particular  candidate  ;  he  urged  the 
appointment  of  a  republican  postmaster — a  choice 
from  the  list  of  applicants.  ‘  No,  sir,’  was  the  reply, 

‘  your  interests  do  not  affect  me  one  particle,’  ” 

The  editor  of  the  Herald  becomes  philosophic  un¬ 
der  the  visitations  of  disappointment  and  despair. 
When  he  advocated  the  election  of  General  Harrison 
he  supposed  that  the  old  Jacksonian  doctrine  that 
the  spoils  belong  to  the  victors  would  govern  the  ad¬ 
ministration,  in  spite  of  the  pledges  of  platform  and 
candidates  against  partisan  changes  or  removals  not 
dictated  by  the  interests  of  the  public  service.  He 
finds  now  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  huge  confi¬ 
dence  scheme.  The  mingling  of  sorrow,  disappoint¬ 
ment  and  resignation  is  seen  in  the  following  editor¬ 
ial  expression  clipped  from  the  Herald: 

“It  seems  that  the  republicans  fished  out  a  mug¬ 
wump  when  they  selected  Benjamin  Harrison  for 
president.  Cleveland  gave  us  a  good  democratic 
postmaster,  and  we  have  made  up  our  mind  that  we 
can  stand  him  because  we  have  got  to  during  Harri¬ 
son’s  administration,  as  his  term  does  not  expire 
until  1892.’’ 

IX. 

[Extract  from  a  letter  to  the  Rochelle  Herald.] 

Oregon,  III.,  March  3,  1890.— Now  friend  Morris,  1 
know,  and  you  know,  there  is  a  deep  feeling  of  hos¬ 
tility  to  the  actions  of  our  congressman  regarding 
the  way  he  has  acted  towards  your  people  regarding 
your  post-office  matter.  Not  alone  at  your  place  but 
at  many  other  points  throughout  the  district;  and 
not  post-offices  alone,  but  I  speak  of  them  as  that  be¬ 
ing  your  official  trouble.  1  am  credibly  informed, 
and  know  there  is  no  mistake  about  it,  Mr.  Hitt  told 
some  of  your  candidates  he  would  require  no  peti. 
tions,  that  petitions  were  of  little  value,  that  any¬ 
body  would  sign  a  petition,  etc. ;  saying  to  them,  I 
will  call  on  your  people,  take  the  case  up,  and  de. 
cide  on  the  party  for  the  office.  They  all  tell  me  he 
called,  but  whenever  post  office  was  mentioned  he 
was  “  off,’’  and  his  only  reply  was,  Mr.  So  So  has  the 
best  petition.  The  old  party  workers,  those  to  whom  in 
a  great  measure  he  owed  his  promotion,  scarcely  received 
a  passing  notice;  and  when  their  names  were  suggested 


by  their  friends,  the  reply  was,  "Can’t  recommend,  too 
many  down  on  them;  can’t  do  it,  Mr.  — ; — .’’  Now  I 
would  simply  ask,  where  can  you  find  an  active  po¬ 
litical  w-orker  anywhere  who  has  not  political  ene¬ 
mies?  A  man  without  enemies  generally  amounts 
to  but  little. 

I  am  informed  Mr.  Hitt  told  the  people  of  Rochelle 
they  must  decide  upon  one  man,  or  a  change  coidd 
not  be  made.  I  understand  all  the  old  workers  in  the 
party  got  together  and  recommended  a  party,  nearly  all 
the  aspirants  signed  the  recommend.  He  also  said 
to  the  people  of  Rochelle  mouths  ago,  “Agree  on  a 
man  and  he  will  be  appointed  in  ten  days.’’ 

Now,  Morris,  from  all  I  can  learn  in  Ogle,  Jo 
Daviess,  Carroll  and  Stephenson  counties,  there  is 
something  rotten  in  Denmark.  If  our  congres.sman 
has  no  higher  regard  for  the  interests  of  his  district 
than  laboring  to  repair  fei  ces  at  the  expense  of  his 
friends,  those  who  have  labored  for  years,  is  it  not 
time  to  call  a  halt  ?  As  for  Benjamin,  he  is  a  played- 
out  nag  already.  In  1892  he  will  be  consigned  to  a 
political  grave  from  which  there  will  be  no  resur¬ 
rection. 

What’s  the  matter  with  Charley  Works?  He’s  all 
right.  Republican. 

X. 

The  Rochelle  Herald  has  come  to  the  unwilling 
conclusion  that  there  is  a  determined  opposition  to 
Mr.  Hitt  in  Ogle  county,  and  it  undertakes  to  find  its 
origin,  and  traces  it  to  dissatisfaction  with  his 
course  regarding  “spoils”  distribution.  It  says  he 
has  discharged  his  duties  in  congress  with  fidelity  to 
the  district  and  to  the  republican  party.  The  Herald 
thus  continues: 

“If  this  question  was  put  to  those  now  in  opposi¬ 
tion  to  name  their  grievance  we  believe  there  could 
not  a  single  person  be  found  but  that  would  say  he 
discharged  every  duty.  Office  is  the  one  great 
stumbling  block  which  he  has  now  to  overcome,  and 
that  is  making  rapid  strides  to  defeat  him.  Were  we 
convinced  that  he  is  disregarding  the  wishes  of  his 
constituents  then  we  should  be  ready  to  oppose  his 
re-nomination  as  are  the  ones  who  are  now  out  on 
the  war  path.  We  believe  that  he  is  trying  to  suit  all  as 
pirants  for  office  in  this  district,  but  when  we  take 
into  consideration  the  numerous  candidates  out  for 
certain  offices  in  the  district,  and  many  for  the  same 
office  in  every  village,  we  discover  how  difficult  is 
the  attempt  to  please  all.  If  he  has  promised  any 
man  that  he  would  stand  by  him  until  he  secured  or 
lost  the  position,  he  does  wrong  in  deserting  him. 
Among  the  many  conversations  we  have  had  with 
him  we  have  never  discovered  him  acknowledging 
any  promises  further  than  we  would  see  that  they 
had  a  fair  show  at  Washington.  If  we  did  not  ad¬ 
mire  his  faithful  care  of  the  republican  party  of  this 
district  in  congress,  then  we  might  be  found  among 
the  kickers.” 

XI. 

The  Chicago  News  correspondent  discusses  the  ap¬ 
pointment  affairs  of  this  section  as  follows: 

“Both  the  senators  and  nearly  all  the  representa¬ 
tives  from  northern  Illinois  have  recommended 
James  I.  Neff  of  Freeport  for  a.ssistant  treasurer,  but 
he  is  not  indorsed  by  Representative  Hitt,  in  whose 
district  he  lives.  The  latter  made  a  vigorous  effort 
to  secure  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Avery,  of  Galena, 
as  United  States  marshal,  and  is  committed  to  him 
for  any  office  that  he  can  secure.  While  Mr.  Avery 
is  not  an  active  candidate  for  the  sub-treasurership, 
still  he  would  accept  the  appointment,  and  as  long 
as  he  stands  in  that  position,  with  Mr.  Hitt  pledged 
to  support  him,  the  latter  can  not  say  anything  in 
favor  of  Neff.  The  case  is  thus  complicated,  and 
there  is  no  telling  what  the  President  will  do.” 

XII. 

There  bids  fair  to  be  a  bitter  factional  fight  in  the 
.sixth  district  w-hen  the  republicans  are  called  upon 
to  nominate  some  one  to  succeed  Robert  R.  Hitt  as 
their  representative  in  congress.  Mr.  Hitt  will  have 
to  answer  to  the  charge  of  being  an  unsuccessful,  un¬ 
trustworthy  distributor  of  political  spoils.  Uuful- 
fillment  of  promises  and  bad  faith  in  general  are 
charged  against  him.  The  appointment  of  James  G. 
Blaine,  Jr.,  to  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  foreign 
affairs  committee,  which  was  made  by  Mr.  Hitt,  was 
particularly  unpopular  in  the  district.  Mr.  Hitt’s 


constituents  argue  that  he  should  have  given  the 
plum  to  some  capable  young  man  of  his  own  dis¬ 
trict.— Galena  Dispatch  to  Chicago  News. 

XIII. 

There  has  always  been  a  latent  hostility  to  Mr. 
Hitt  down  there  and  his  course  as  an  almoner  of 
official  spoils  has  not  mollified  the  old  opposition. 
He  has  in  fact  been  peculiarly  unfortunate  in  his  re¬ 
lations  with  office-seekers.  The  necessity  of  disap¬ 
pointing  some  aspirant  has  not  been  the  sum  of  his 
troubles.  The  issue  of  veracity  regarding  promises 
arose,  and  the  tenacity  with  which  unfavorable 
opinions  regarding  his  course  in  such  matters  are 
held  was  illustrated  a  few  days  ago,  when,  in  con¬ 
versation  with  a  county  official,  he  asserted  to  the 
writer  his  emphatic  belief  that  “Hitt  did  give  Otis  a 
fair  and  square  promise  of  the  Rochelle  postoffice.” 
Mr.  Hitt  positively  denies  that  he  made  such  promise 
to  Mr.  Otis,  but,  unfortunately  for  him,  he  has  not 
been  able  to  extinguish  the  belief  that  he  did,  and 
many  Rochelle  residents,  not  particularly  friendly 
to  Otis,  take  the  latter’s  side  in  the  veracity  issue 
against  Mr.  Hitt. 

There  are  noticeable  elements  of  opposition  to  that 
gentleman  in  nearly  every  county  of  the  district. 
The  Galena  Gazette,  edited  by  J.  B.  Brown  (Gen. 
Grant’s  old  friend)  is  decidedly  hostile.  There  have 
been  unfavorable  comments,  by  the  editors  of  such 
republican  papers  as  the  Oregon  Reporter,  Polo  Press, 
Rochelle  Herald,  and  Rochelle  Regider,  all  published 
ill  Ogle  comity.— Rockford  Register. 


THE  VERDICT. 

From  Moorfield  Storey,  Boston,  Mass. : 

“Its  collections  of  telling  facts  and  quota¬ 
tions  are  so  arranged  as  to  make  them  unan¬ 
swerable  arguments.  I  know  no  equally  val¬ 
uable  collection  of  materials  for  argument, 
and  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  my  share  of  the 
benefit.” 

From  Hon.  Dorman  B.  Eaton  : 

“  The  Chronicle  is  an  admirable  and  use¬ 
ful  paper.” 

From  Gen.  W.  A.  Aikin,  Norwich,  Conn  : 

“Your  review  of  the  first  year  of  the  admin¬ 
istration  is  very  fair  and  good.  The  only 
thing  to  do  is  to  ‘  keep  peggin’  away.’  It ’s 
coming  very  slow,  but  dead  sure.” 

“With  congratulations  for  your  first  year’s 
work,  I  am.  Yours  truly, 

“  Wm.  E.  Cushing,  Cleveland,  O.” 

“You  have  fulfilled  your  promise. 

“  J.  E.  Follett,  Milwaukee,  Wis.” 

“  I  wish  to  congratulate  you  on  the  gallant 
and  effective  fight  you  are  making  for  civil 
service  reform. 

“  Zeph  Brown,  Providence,  R.  I.” 
From  Professor  H.  S.  White,  Cornell  Univeisity; 

“Your  racy  paper  is  too  good  reading  to 
miss.” 

“  It  is  with  eminent  satisfaction  that  a  New 
Englander  greets  the  appearance  in  a  different 
section  of  the  country  of  still  another  paper 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  advancement  of  the 
reform. 

“  Albert  Matthews,  Boston,  Mass.” 
From  John  H.  Magee,  Scottsbnrg,  N.  Y.: 

“  I  can  not  sufficiently  express  the  great  ad¬ 
miration  I  feel  for  the  single-handed  fight  you 
are  making  for  the  good  in  your  state,  and  can 
only  bid  you  God-speed. 

Unselfish  labor  finds  little  recompense  out¬ 
wardly,  but  then  does  it  not  bring  a  sweet  con¬ 
tent  to  the  soul? 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Publi.shed  monthly.  Publication  oilice,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  14. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  APRIL,  1890. 


TERMS : { 


50  cents  per  annam. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires  facts  re¬ 
garding  the  so  called  “  resignations"  of  fourth- 
class  postmasters  ;  who  has  requested  these  res 
ignations,  by  uhat  agencies  have  these  been 
effected,  and  in  what  instances  have  resigna 
tions  been  pmctically  forced  to  prevent  loss  on 
the  post-office  furniture  by  disposing  of  U  to  the 
would-be  successor  in  office. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires  informa¬ 
tion  of  all  cases  where  the  man  at  the  top  of  the 
eligible  lists  for  positions  in  the  railway  mad 
service  has  not  been  chosen. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  will  be  glad  to 
receive  information  upon  the fullounng  points: 

The  name  of  any  newspaper  editor  or  owner 
who  has  or  may  receive  a  federal  appointment, 
and  the  name  of  the  office. 

The  names  of  all  members  of  political  com¬ 
mittees  or  delegates  given  a  federal  appoint¬ 
ment,  and  the  name  of  the  office. 

The  names  of  all  federal  office  holders  who 
are  members  of  any  political  committee  or  tvho 
act  as  delegates,  naming  the  committee  or  the 
convention.- 

Statements  regarding  any  political  activity  in 
primaries,  conventions  or  politiced  work  done 
for  any  nominees  by  federal  office-holders. 

Owing  to  pressing  professional  engage¬ 
ments  of  Mr.  Bonaparte  it  is  still  impossible 
to  fix  the  exact  date  of  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  State  Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  to 
be  held  in  Fort  Wayne. 


The  letter  of  Mr.  Henry  C.  Lea  to  the  Pres¬ 
ident  is  but  the  outward  expression  of  a  wide¬ 
spread  indignation  which  among  a  large  class 
has  been  smouldering  and  gathering  force. 
The  matter  is  not,  as  the  Indianapolis  Journal 
seems  to  think,  an  attempt  to  hold  the  Presi 
dent  for  the  election  of  Quay  to  the  senate  or 
for  his  getting  the  Pennsylvania  republican 
machine  under  his  absolute  control.  The  point 
is  that  the  President  is  giving  the  distribution 
of  the  federal  offices  of  thatstate  into  the  hands 
of  a  man  who  stands  silent  when  charged  by  a 
financially  responsible  newspaper  with  being 
a  briber,  a  political  corruptionist  of  the  worst 
kind,  and  a  colossal  thief.  The  President  is 
thus  enabling  Quay  to  distribute  among  his 
friends  some  millions  a  year  and  thus  perpet 
uate  his  own  power. 

And  when  Quay  says  that  the  President  can 
not  avoid  complying  with  his  wishes,  and 
when  the  President  says,  as  he  does  according 
to  the  Philadelphia  Inquirer,  that  on  account 
of  his  obligations  to  Quay  he  can  not  decline 
any  request  the  latter  may  make,  both  of  them 
put  into  words  the  President’s  humiliating 
position. 


There  is  a  striking  analogy  between  this 
case  and  President  Cleveland’s  subjection  to 
Gorman.  The  latter  was  also  the  ruling  spirit 
of  his  national  party  committee  which  man¬ 
aged  the  successful  campaign.  President 
Cleveland  was  also  warned  against  Gorman 
by  democrats  whose  word  was  not  to  be  disputed. 
Yet  to  the  end  of  that  presidential  term  Gor¬ 
man,  by  having  control  of  the  federal  offices, 
practically  deprived  Maryland  of  free  gov¬ 
ernment.  This  was  one  of  the  potent  influ¬ 
ences  which  led  to  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Cleveland. 
Quay’snearly  absolute  influence  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  only  two  Philadelphia  daily  papers, 
the  Times  and  the  lelegraph,  dare  publish  Mr* 
Lea’s  letter.  If  continued  in  control  of  the 
offices,  his  hand  will  for  .some  time  be  higher 
than  ever.  Gorman’s  was  to  the  very  end,  and 
even  during  the  elections  after  Mr.  Cleveland’s 
renomination.  Deprived  of  his  patronage 
after  he  has  nearly  made  Maryland  a  republi¬ 
can  state,  Gorman  can  now  probably  be  driven 
out  of  public  life,  and  the  people  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  will  sooner  or  later  bring  down  Quay. 
The  President  by  continuing  him  in  control 
of  the  patronage  may  delay  the  day  and  they 
may  both  fall  together. 

The  records  of  the  charity  organization  so¬ 
ciety  of  this  city  cover  about  8,000  cases  of 
individuals  who  have  applied  to  the  township 
embracing  Indianapolis  for  relief.  Most  of 
these  still  apply  from  time  to  time.  This  great 
number  have  been  traced  back  by  the  society 
from  three  to  five  generations,  and  with  excep¬ 
tions  have  been  found  to  coinefrom  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-seven  original  families.  They 
monopolize  the  crime  and  the  pauperism  of 
this  city,  and  their  wits  are  devoted  to  getting 
supplies  from  the  township.  The  necessity  at 
once  becomes  apparent  of  having  the  township 
trustee’s  office  equipped  with  clerks  who  know 
these  people  personally,  and  the  office  now  has 
one  such  man  in  Mr.  Frank  Wright.  He 
has  for  years  visited  them,  talked  with  them, 
made  up  records  of  them  and  traced  their 
lineage  and  migrations  until  he  has  obtained 
a  mass  of  information  that  is  priceless  to  the 
people  of  this  city.  Such  a  man  is  indispen¬ 
sable  ;  his  information  can  not  be  transmitted 
to  another,  nor  could  another  acquire  it  in 
years,  and  without  heavy  cost  to  the  people. 
This  is  a  matter  far  above  a  party,  and  not¬ 
withstanding  that  there  are  a  hundred  appli¬ 
cants  for  the  place,  to  remove  Mr.  Wright 
would  not  only  do  him  an  injustice  but  would 
inflict  upon  the  interests  of  the  city  a  severe 
injury.  All  but  a  few  politicians  will  com¬ 
mend  the  new  trustee,  Mr.  Gold,  in  refusing 
to  take  such  a  step. 


We  reprint,  from  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  part 
of  Mr.  Morton’s  article,  “  Some  Popular  Ob¬ 
jections  to  Civil  Service  Reform.”  This  is, 
without  exception,  the  ablest  article  upon  the 
merit  system  which  has  lately  appeared  ;  and 
this  is  true  both  in  style  and  matter.  In  In¬ 
diana,  especially,  it  will  be  given  added  at¬ 
tention,  and  have  added  weight  from  the  fact 
that  it  comes  from  a  son  of  the  late  Governor 
Morton.  To  destroy,  in  this  country,  the  idea 
and  practice  of  using  its  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  offices  for  private  or  party  benefit  is  a  work 
for  which  no  man  is  too  strong.  It  is  peculi¬ 
arly  fitting  that  as  the  father  stepped  into  the 
breach  in  Indiana  in  the  greatest  crisis  of  his 
day,  the  son  should  now  attack  the  present 
greatest  evil  of  American  civil  government. 

Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton  should  reprint  in 
pamphlet  form  his  recent  valuable  letters  in 
answer  to  Senator  Hoar’s  assertion  that  collec- 
torships  are  political  offices;  the  letter  to  Sen¬ 
ator  Allison  showing  the  insidious  attack  upon 
the  merit  system  by  the  vote  to  exclude  cer¬ 
tain  pension  examiners  from  the  test  of  com¬ 
petition  ;  and  the  letter  showing  the  effect  of 
civil  service  reform  in  Australia.  They  are 
just  what  is  needed  for  distribution,  and  they 
should  be  put  into  those  sections  where  little 
reform  literature  has  been  distributed.  It  is 
a  great  mistake  to  relax  the  efforts  to  arouse 
an  aggressive  feeling  for  civil  service  reform 
in  the  states  where  there  has  been  no  organi¬ 
zation.  W’hy  do  not  civil  service  reformers 
seize  upon  Iowa  as  the  tariff  reformers  have 
done  ? 

A.S  an  illustration  of  how  widely  distributed 
is.the  wish  to  see  the  spoils  system  ended,  we 
are  permitted  to  quote  from  a  recent  letter  of 
Rev.  W.  H.  Kaufman,  of  Heber,  Utah,  to  the 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  :  “I  am  constantly 
surprised  at  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  for 
this  reform  and  that  they  are  so  responsive  to 
appeals  for  independence  of  partisanship  in  the 
civil  service  appointments.”  And  this  paper 
has  twenty-one  subscribers  in  Utah. 

THE  TOWNSHIP  ELECTIONS. 

The  recent  township  elections  seem  to  have 
been  a  surprise  to  the  republicans,  especially 
in  Indiana.  If  ordinary  prudence  guided  an 
administration  the  total  defeat  which  followed 
the  open  and  unstinted  use  of  the  federal 
patronage  to  secure  the  election  of  Mahone  in 
Virginia,  would  have  taught  its  lesson.  The 
administration,  however,  kept  steadily  on  in 
the  impossible  endeavor  to  strengthen  its  party 
by  distributing  spoil.  In  Indiana  it  could 
not  possibly  have  made  the  distribution  any 


112 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


faster,  and  before  the  election  the  clean  sweep 
was  practically  complete,  only  scattering 
places  being  left.  This  distribution  also  has 
been  preeminently  in  the  hands  of  the  men 
who  ought  to  know  where  to  place  the  offices 
to  do  the  party  the  most  good.  The  President 
has  used  his  extensive  personal  knowledge  of 
the  workers.  The  three  republican  congress¬ 
men  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  task. 
Finally  the  chairman  of  the  republican  state 
committee,  who  of  all  men  ought  to  know 
how  to  strengthen  his  party  with  patronage, 
has,  in  the  distribution  of  the  bulk  of  the 
minor  offices,  been  practically  dictator.  Chair¬ 
man  Huston  attended  to  this  until  he  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  Chairman  Michener,  and  the  abso¬ 
lute  power  of  the  latter  can  not  be  better  illus¬ 
trated  than  by  the  following  correspondence  : 

Columbus,  Ind.,  April  1, 1889. 
First  Assistant  Postmaster  General,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

Sir— I  hope  you  will  not  overlook  what  I  wrote  you 
conceruing  the  postmaster  at  Freedom,  Owen  county, 
Indiana.  He  is  a  one-legged  soldier  who  has  done 
his  duty  in  the  office,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  re¬ 
move  him.  Respectfully  yours. 

Geo.  W.  Cooper,  M.  C., 
Fifth  Indiana  District. 

Columbus,  Ind.,  May  16, 1889. 
Postmastei'- General,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

Dear  8ir— I  wrote  you  some  time  ago  asking  that 
the  present  incumbent  of  the  post-office  at  Freedom, 
Ind.,  he  not  removed,  giving  as  a  reason  that  he  Avas 
a  crippled  soldier,  and  that  he  was  doing  good  serv¬ 
ice  to  the  public.  While  the  heads  of  our  boys  have 
been  rolling  off  all  around,  I  believe  he  still  holds 
his  place,  and  this  encourages  me  to  present  one 
more  case  equally  as  meritorious.  Mr.  L.  H.  Gamble, 
at  Brooklyn,  Ind.,  is  a  soldier.  He  served  honorably 
through  the  war.  Two  of  his  brothers  gave  up  their 
lives  in  the  service— one  at  Brownsville,  Tex.,  and 
the  other  at  New  Orleans,  La.  Mr.  G.’s  case  is  a  hard 
one.  He  came  out  of  the  service  without  a  scratch, 
but  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  arm  by  an  accident 
since,  but  he  draws  no  pension. 

Will  you  not  please  make  an  exception  in  this  case? 
I  am  sure  that  while  it  may  be  a  disappointment  to 
the  applicant  for  the  place,  the  patrons  of  the  office, 
without  regard  to  politics,  will  fully  sustain  you. 

Please  do  not  forget  or  overlook  what  I  wrote  you 
regarding  Mr.  W.  J.  Suffall  at  Freedom. 

Respectfully,  George  W.  Cooper,  M.  C. 

Columbus,  Ind.,  May  16, 1889. 
Hon.  H.  C.  Duncan,  Bloomington,  Ind.: 

Dear  Clay— There  are  two  postmasters  in  this  dis¬ 
trict  who  ought  not  to  be  removed,  viz.:  W.  J.  Suffall 
at  Freedom,  Owen  county,  and  L.  H.  Gamble  at 
Brooklyn,  Morgan  county.  They  are  both  crippled 
soldiers.  Mr.  Suffall  lost  a  leg,  Mr.  Gamble  an  arm. 
Mr.  Gamble’s  case  is  particulaily  hard.  He  served 
through  the  war.  Two  of  his  brothers  lost  their  lives 
—one  at  New  Orleans,  La.,  the  other  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.;  but  Mr.  Gamble  lost  his  arm  by  an  accident 
since  he  came  out  of  the  service,  and  so  gets  no  pen¬ 
sion.  Now,  Clay,  I  understand  the  applicants  for 
both  these  places  were  never  in  the  army.  I  have 
written  the  postmaster-general  asking  that  these  gen¬ 
tlemen  be  allowed  to  retain  their  places.  Will  you 
not  aid  me  ?  I  am  informed  that  a  word  from  you 
will  settle  the  matter.  I  hope  you  will  allow  these 
poor  fellows  to  hold  their  places.  No  complaint  is 
made  of  their  services.  Please  write  the  department 
and  let  me  know  what  you  have  done. 

Fraternally  yours,  George  W.  Cooper. 

Hon.  John  Wanamaker : 

Sir— Mr.  Cooper  is  the  present  representative  in 
congress  from  this  district,  and  my  opponent.  I 
Avould  take  it  a  favor  that  this  matter  be  carefully 
examined  before  removals  are  made  at  the  places 
named.  I  knoAV  nothing  personally  of  the  men,  and 
know  that  Mr.  Cooper  would  not  misrepresent  mat¬ 
ters.  We  made  a  strong  fight  in  Indiana  on  the  sol¬ 


dier  question,  and  we  can  not  afford  to  wage  war 
against  the  sons  of  the  democratic  household  of  faith. 

Yours,  etc.,  H.  C.  Duncan. 

Bloomington,  Ind.,  May  27,  ’89. 

Office  of  Attorney  General,  \ 
Indianapolis,  Ind.  J 
W.  W.  Hart,  Washington,  D.  C.; 

My  Dear  Hart— We  have  decided  that  Frank  Watts 
should  he  appointed  postmaster  at  Freedom,  Owen 
county. 

Please  have  it  attended  to  at  once.  You  may  put 
this  on  file  as  a  recommendation. 

Yours  truly,  L.  T.  Michener. 

The  change  was  made  at  Michener’s  direc¬ 
tion.  The  new  offices  created  for  the  census 
were  filled  as  far  as  possible  and  always  by 
republican  wheel-horses.  Numerous  office¬ 
holders,  including  Treasurer  Huston  and 
Third  Auditor  Hart,  came  from  Washington 
to  give  the  party  the  added  strength  of  offi¬ 
cialism.  The  usual  influence  of  the  Indiana 
republican  club  of  office-holders  at  Washing¬ 
ton  was  at  work.  The  Far  well  club  had  run 
its  anti-civil  service  reform  career.  Congress¬ 
man  Cheadle  had  introduced  a  bill  to  repeal 
the  civil  service  law,  and  when  unanimous 
consent  was  asked  to  amend  a  bill  so  as  to 
have  the  medical  examiners  therein  provided 
for  appointed  under  the  civil  service  law,  as 
such  examiners  now  are,  Cheadle  promptly 
objected.  Congressman  Browne  had  declared 
himself  opposed  to  the  civil  service  law.  In 
short,  not  only  the  theory  but  the  practice  of 
the  spoils  system  had  with  the  republican 
party  full  swing,  except  in  the  classified 
service,  which  in  Indiana  embraces  compara¬ 
tively  few  places.  And  yet  the  republicans 
have  sufiered  a  decisive  defeat.  Never  in  In¬ 
diana  has  that  party  been  in  a  more  complete 
state  of  collapse. 

It  is  indeed  fortunate  that  such  unbridled 
profession  and  practice  of  the  spoils  system 
can  be  followed  by  such  party  weakness.  That 
it  powerfully  contributed  to  this  weakness 
there  is  no  question.  The  soldiers  were  in  a 
state  of  open  exasperation  because  more  was 
not  given  to  them.  All  the  workers  except 
those  who  got  places  struck  for  the  non-pay¬ 
ment  of  wages.  Thousands  of  citizens  looked 
at  the  appointments  of  the  Eansdells,  the  Mc- 
Farlanes  and  the  Bagbys  and  observed  the  ad¬ 
ministration  under  the  control  of  Quayism 
and  Plattism,  and  did  not  vote  or  voted  with 
the  democrats.  Happily  for  such  strikers  and 
for  such  lethargy  there  is  no  remedy  ;  it  is  im¬ 
possible  for  a  president  to  divide  the  federal 
offices  as  spoil  and  produce  any  other  result. 


AN  OPEN  LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT 
HARRISON. 

To  the  President : 

Sir— No  graver  scandal  has  darkened  our 
political  history  than  the  charges  brought 
against  Senator  Quay  by  the  New  York  Wwld 
in  its  issues  of  February  10th  and  March  3d. 
It  would  be  useless  here  to  recapitulate  them 
further  than  to  say  that,  with  full  details  of 
names,  and  places,  and  dates,  the  PForW  asserts 
him  to  be  a  man  whose  political  career  has 
been  a  succession  of  flagrantly  dishonest  acts, 
including  the  temporary  abstraction  from  the 


state  treasury  of  $260,000  in  one  instance,  and 
of  $400,000  in  another. 

No  such  accusations,  involving  iniquity  so 
varied  and  so  continuous,  and  supported  by 
such  an  array  of  minute  detail,  have  ever  be¬ 
fore,  I  believe,  been  brought  against  a  politi¬ 
cian  so  conspicuous.  If  they  are  true,  Senator 
Quay  ought  to  be  in  the  penitentiary.  If  they 
are  false,  he  is  a  cruelly  libelled  man  ;  his  ac¬ 
cuser  is  a  journal  of  the  highest  financial  stand¬ 
ing,  and  no  jury  of  his  countrymen  would  re¬ 
fuse  him  exemplary  damages  that  would  put 
him  beyond  all  future  reach  of  want.  Vindi¬ 
cation  and  profit  both  await  him  as  an  incen¬ 
tive  to  prove  his  innocence,  but,  although  two 
months  have  elapsed  since  the  gravest  of  the 
charges  were  made  public,  neither  solicitude 
for  his  character  nor  desire  of  gain  has  prompt¬ 
ed  him  to  break  silence.  It  is  his  own  fault 
if  the  public  should  regard  him  as  acquiescing 
in  the  truth  of  the  charges. 

It  is  true  that  the  crimes  alleged  against 
Senator  Quay  are  connected  only  with  his 
career  as  a  Pennsylvania  boss,  but  your  close 
connection  with  him  has  rendered  the  scandal 
national.  You  were  duly  warned  in  advance 
from  a  friendly  source  of  the  dangers  of  such 
an  alliance,  yet  by  accepting  his  man,  Mr. 
Wanamaker,  as  a  member  of  your  cabinet,  you 
assumed  responsibility  for  both  of  them.  In 
pursuance  of  this  alliance,  you  have  enlarged 
Mr.  Quay’s  importance  by  virtually  giving 
him  control  of  the  federal  patronage  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  thus  rendering  him  the  dictator  of 
the  republican  party  in  the  state.  He  boasted 
of  your  subserviency  to  him  when,  in  explain¬ 
ing  his  triumph  over  Representative  Dalzell 
in  the  struggle  for  the  Pittsburgh  post  office, 
he  publicly  said  that  “  the  President,  though 
very  anxious  to  gratify  Mr.  Dalzell,  for  whom 
he  had  a  high  esteem,  could  not,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  well  avoid  complying  with  my 
wishes.”  Even  Mr.  Quay’s  remarkable  silence 
under  the  accusations  of  the  World,  does  not 
seem  to  have  lessened  his  influence  over  you. 
He  signalized  his  return  from  Florida  a  week 
or  two  since  by  capturing  the  Pittsburgh  sur- 
veyorshipof  customs  against  candidates  urged 
respectively  by  Secretary  Blaine  and  Repre¬ 
sentative  Dalzell.  Indeed,  his  power  would 
seem  to  be  as  great  in  Washington  as  in  this 
state,  for  the  party  organs  now  tell  us  that  he 
has  been  endeavoring  to  buy  off  a  superfluous 
candidate  for  the  governorship  with  an  assist¬ 
ant  secretaryship  of  war.  In  thus  entering 
into  a  political  partnership  with  Mr.  Quay, 
you  must  share  the  losses  as  well  as  the  gains 
of  the  venture.  It  is  not  Pennsylvania  alone, 
nor  even  the  republican  party  only,  that  has 
a  right  to  protest ;  every  citizen  of  the  land 
must  feel  humiliation  at  the  smirch  thus  in¬ 
flicted  on  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  nation. 

As  a  republican  by  conviction,  ardently  de¬ 
siring  the  success  of  the  party  so  long  as  it  de¬ 
serves  success,  let  me  request  you,  Mr.  Presi¬ 
dent,  to  take  a  calm  survey  of  the  situation 
and  render  to  yourself  an  account  of  your  stew¬ 
ardship.  Thirteen  months  ago  you  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  highest  office  which  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


113 


world  has  to  bestow  ;  your  party  was  supreme 
iu  the  control  of  both  houses  of  congress  and 
of  the  executive;  everything  promised  a  pros¬ 
perous  and  useful  administration,  in  which 
you,  by  simply  adhering  to  the  pledges  under 
which  you  were  elected,  might  earn  another 
term  from  the  confidence  and  gratitude  of  the 
people.  The  only  cloud  upon  the  political 
horizon  was  your  acceptance  of  a  postmaster- 
general  at  Mr,  Quay’s  dictation,  ostensibly  as 
a  reward  for  certain  services  performed  dur¬ 
ing  the  canvass.  That  cloud,  then  no  larger 
than  a  man’s  hand,  has  spread  till  it  covers 
the  firmament.  Look  back  now  and  reflect 
upon  your  work.  You  have  sedulously  de¬ 
voted  yourself  to  the  distribution  of  “  patron¬ 
age you  have  turned  out  nearly  forty  thous¬ 
and  Democratic  office-holders,  and  in  this  ig 
noble  business  you  have  filled  vacancies  thus 
made  by  giving  “  recognition  ”  to  the  worst  ele¬ 
ments  in  the  party.  You  have  thus  degraded 
it  to  the  lowest  level,  till  it  no  longer  deserves 
or  enjoys  the  public  confidence,  and  its  inter¬ 
est,  as  well  as  that  of  the  nation,  demands  its 
purification  by  defeat.  You  have  earned  for  it 
the  denunciation  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  ; 

“The  heads  thereof  judge  for  reward,  and 
the  priests  thereof  teach  for  hire,  and  the  pro¬ 
phets  thereof  divine  for  money  ;  yet  will  they 
lean  upon  the  Lord  and  say.  Is  not  the  Lord 
among  us?  none  evil  can  come  among  us. 
Therefore  shall  Zion  for  your  sake  be  plowed 
as  afield,  and  Jerusalem  shall  become  heaps.” 

But  it  needs  no  prophet  to  foretell  the  re¬ 
sult.  The  elections  of  last  November  were  a 
warning  that  the  people  would  not  tolerate 
your  methods.  You  have  refused  to  heed  the 
lesson,  and  the  elections  of  next  November  will 
emphasize  it.  The  narrow  republican  major¬ 
ity  in  the  lower  house  will  be  swept  away,  and 
your  path  for  the  latter  half  of  your  adminis¬ 
tration  will  be  a  path  of  thorns.  You  have 
rewarded  the  magnificent  majority  of  80,000 
given  to  you  by  Pennsylvania  by  riveting  upon 
her  the  chains  of  Quayism  ;  you  need  not  won¬ 
der  that  disaffection  is  spreading  rapidly 
throughout  her  borders  in  a  manner  that  may 
render  even  her  allegiance  doubtful.  The  out¬ 
look  for  1892  is  even  darker.  Were  the  presi¬ 
dential  election  to  take  place  tomorrow,  there 
could  scarce  be  doubt  of  democratic  success. 
Let  me  counsel  you,  Mr.  President,  as  a  friend, 
to  reflect  that  this  has  been  your  work  in  one 
short  year  of  misused  power. 

If  this  retrospection  should  bring  with  it  re¬ 
pentance  and  amendment,  you  still  have  be¬ 
fore  you  three  years  which  may  be  fruitful  for 
good.  Bear  in  mind  that  “  faithful  are  the 
wounds  of  a  friend,  but  the  kisses  of  an  enemy 
are  deceitful.”  Discard  the  advisers  who  are 
luring  you  to  your  downfall.  Recognize  that 
the  truest  political  expediency  lies  in  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  conscience  to  public  affairs,  and 
that  you  can  serve  your  party  best  by  stimu¬ 
lating  the  nobler  aspirations  of  the  nation 
rather  than  by  pandering  to  the  baser  appe¬ 
tites  of  spoilsmen.  Cease  to  expect  to  gather 
figs  of  thistles,  or  to  touch  pitch  without  de¬ 
filement.  Apply  to  your  public  duties  the 
high  standard  of  morality  to  which  you  ad¬ 


here  in  your  private  life.  Remember  that  evil 
can  give  birth  only  to  evil,  and  that  you,  as 
chief  magistrate  of  sixty-five  millions  of  free¬ 
men,  have  on  your  soul  a  charge  for  which 
you  must  reckon  to  posterity  and  to  God. 

I  am,  Mr.  President,  your  obedient  servant, 

Henry  Charles  Lea. 

Philadelphia,  April  8,  1890. 


CONGRESS  AND  PATRONAGE. 


To  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Civil  Serv¬ 
ice  Reform  League : 

Gentlemen— Your  special  committee  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  federal  civil  serv¬ 
ice  and  the  operation  of  the  reform  law  would  re¬ 
spectfully  report— 

That  on  the  15th  of  February,  1890,  your  committee 
had  its  first  meeting,  in  Philadelphia,  and  outlined 
its  general  plan  of  work. 

Among  other  things  it  was  determined  to  make  in¬ 
quiries,  at  as  early  a  period  as  possible,  in  regard  to 
the  system  of  congressional  patronage,  and  ascertain 
to  what  extent  appointments  to  oflSce  were  still  con¬ 
trolled  by  members  of  congress,  and  to  what  degree 
this  patronage  interfered  with  their  proper  legisla¬ 
tive  duties.  In  regard  to  this  branch  of  their  inves¬ 
tigation  your  committee  is  now  prepared  to  make  its 
report. 

The  chaiiman  of  your  committee,  on  its  behalf, 
addressed  to  each  of  the  republican  members  of  the 
house  of  representatives  the  following  questions : 

How  many  offices  are  there  in  your  district  or  else¬ 
where  where  the  appointments  depend  upon  you  ? 

How  many  applications  for  office  have  you  received 
during  the  past  year? 

What  is  the  average  amount  of  correspondence 
which  each  of  these  applications  requires  on  your 
part  ? 

What  amount  of  time,  either  your  own  or  of  your 
secretary  or  clerk,  is  required,  as  nearly  as  you  can 
judge,  for  conducting  this  correspondence  and  for 
attending  to  appointments? 

Have  any  elections  been  held  in  your  district  to  de¬ 
termine  who  the  appointees  should  be;  and  if  so,  in 
how  many  instances,  where,  and  for  what  positions? 

To  these  questions  a  number  of  responses  were  re¬ 
turned  with  the  statement  that  the  writers  had  not 
the  data  at  hand  to  answer  these  inquiries,  but  some 
twenty-four  answers  were  received,  giving  more  or 
less  completely  the  information  asked  for.  A  sum¬ 
mary  of  these  answers  is  as  follows:  To  the  ques¬ 
tion  “How  many  offices  are  there  in  your  district 
or  elsewhere  where  the  appointments  depend  upon 
you?”  the  following  answers  have  been  received: 

1.  About  one  hundred  and  twenty  post-offices  in 
the  district  I  represent. 

2.  One  hundred  and  seventy-nine  post-offices  and 
about  thirty  other  places;  also  one  hundred  and 
eight  census  enumerators,  with  an  endless  number 
of  applicants. 

3.  About  one  hundred  and  forty. 

4.  About  two  hundred. 

5.  A  hundred  and  twenty. 

6.  A  hundred  and  forty-six  post-offices  in  the  dis¬ 
trict,  and  under  the  rule  I  am  expected  to  recom¬ 
mend  a  postmaster  for  each. 

7.  The  federal  offices  are  deemed  of  so  much  im¬ 
portance  that  the  senator  and  all  the  party  represent¬ 
atives  from  the  state  insist  upon  making  recommend¬ 
ations  for  appointments,  and  no  appointment,  there¬ 
fore,  depends  upon  me  alone. 

8.  Two  hundred  post-offices  and  probably  three  or 
four  others. 

9.  No  answer. 

10.  There  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  offices  in  my 
district  where  the  appointments  depend  upon  my¬ 
self. 

11.  Nearly  fifty. 

12.  About  one  hundred  and  twenty. 

13  Probably  three  hundred  or  three  hundred  and 
fifty. 

14.  About  six  hundred  and  fifty,  in  which  the  two 
senators  often  unite. 

15.  No  answer. 

16.  About  eight  hundred. 

17.  Six  hundred. 

18.  None  but  the  post-offices;  but  a  very  general 
impression  prevails  that  1  can  control  others,  which 
calls  for  many  letters  of  reply. 

19.  About  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

20.  Can  not  say. 

21.  Not  given. 

22.  Perhaps  one  hundred  and  twenty-five. 

23.  Ten  or  fifteen  fourth-class  postmasters. 

24.  Perhaps  two  hundred. 

An  average  of  the  above  (omitting  numbers  7,  9, 15, 
18,  20  and  21,  in  which  numerical  estimates  are  not 


given)  would  give  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  ap¬ 
pointments  depending  upon  each  of  these  congress¬ 
men. 

To  the  question  “  How  many  applications  for  office 
have  you  received  during  the  past  year  ?  ”  the  follow¬ 
ing  answers  were  received : 

1.  I  can  not  give  you  the  exact  number,  but  I  am 
quite  sure  the  number  of  written  applications  must 
be  at  least  eight  or  nine  thousand,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  verbal  requests. 

2.  About  three  hundred,  in  addition  to  home  post- 
offices  ;  five  thousand  applications  for  them. 

3.  About  five  hundred. 

4.  About  one  thousand. 

5.  Sixty. 

6.  There  are  one  hundred  and  forty-six  post-offices 
in  my  district,  and  under  the  lule  1  am  expected  to 
recommend  a  postmaster  for  each.  I  think  there  has 
been,  so  far  at  least,  on  an  average,  five  applicants 
for  each  vacancy.  During  the  first  year  of  the  present 
administration  1  was  called  on  to  recommend  for 
office  to  the  appointing  power  two  hundred  and 
forty-six  applicants,  exclusive  of  applicants  for  the 
position  of  postmaster.  (This  would  make  nine 
hundred  and  seventy-six  in  all.) 

7.  About  two  thousand. 

8.  Not  far  from  one  thousand. 

9.  Can  not  tell ;  hundreds,  if  not  thousands. 

10.  There  have  been  about  fifteen  hundred  appli¬ 
cations  for  office  received  by  me  during  the  past  year. 
In  addition  to  the  applications  of  those  who  want 
office  for  themselves,  numerous  letters  and  petitions 
are  received,  in  nearly  every  case  urging  claims  of 
those  who  are  applicants. 

11.  About  four  hundred. 

12.  Impossible  to  tell;  hundreds,  perhaps  one 
thousand. 

13.  I  think  I  can  modestly  say  two  thousand.  Where 
there  are  ten  candidates  for  the  office,  each  man 
thinks  he  is  the  one  most  entitled  to  it ;  and  it  is  gen¬ 
erally  quite  easy  to  disappoint  nine  of  them. 

14.  Approximately,  about  five  hundred. 

15.  The  number  of  applications  for  office  during 
the  past  year  is  something  over  eight  hundred,  as  ap¬ 
pears  on  my  docket,  yet  there  are  only  eleven  fourth- 
class  post-offices  in  the  district  and  ten  presidential 
offices.  The  applications  for  these  have  been  practi¬ 
cally  nothing.  The  great  mass  of  applications  are 
for  positions  in  the  unclassified  service  in  the  custom 
house,  and  every  branch  of  the  government  service, 
and  in  the  navy  yard. 

16.  About  two  thousand  ;  not  less. 

17.  About  two  thousand. 

18.  About  two  hundred. 

19.  Could  not  guess ;  hundreds. 

20.  Something  less  than  a  million. 

21.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  say  how  many  appli¬ 
cations  for  office  I  have  received  during  the  past 
twelve  months,  but  they  have  been  almost  inumer- 
able,  and  it  has  been  impossible  for  me  to  favor  a 
tenth  of  those  who  desire  positions,  and  the  most  of 
the  applicants  I  know  to  be  worthy  and  deserving 
men,  whom  I  would  be  glad  to  aid  if  it  were  possible 
for  me  to  do  so. 

Taking  an  average  of  the  above  (omitting  numbers 
9,  19,  20  and  21),  the  number  of  applications  made 
was  something  over  1700  to  each  member. 

To  the  interrogatories  “  What  is  the  average  amount 
of  correspondence  which  each  of  these  applicationg 
requires  on  your  part,  and  what  amount  of  time, 
either  of  your  own  or  of  your  secretary  or  clerk,  is 
required,  as  nearly  as  you  can  judge,  for  conducting 
this  correspondence  and  for  attending  to  appoint¬ 
ments?”  your  committee  have  received  the  follow¬ 
ing  answers : 

1.  During  the  past  year  more  than  three-quarters 
of  my  time  in  the  day  was  given  to  attending  to  ap¬ 
pointments,  and  late  every  evening  (except  Sunday) 
was  given  to  my  correspondence,  with  the  valuable 
assistance  of  a  stenographer,  and  even  then  I  found 
it  impossible  to  answer  more  than  half  or  two-thirds 
of  my  correspondence. 

2.  The  amount  of  time  is  about  one  full  day  iu 
each  week. 

3.  About  half  the  time  of  one  man. 

4.  The  probable  average  amount  of  correspond¬ 
ence  is  about  five  letters  for  each  application,  requir¬ 
ing  about  one-fourth,  po.ssibly  one- third,  of  my  entire 
time. 

5.  The  average  amount  of  correspondence  is  about 
six  letters  each  ;  about  two  hours’  time. 

6.  I  think  that  attention  to  the  demands  of  those 
applications  consumes  one-fourth  of  my  working 
time. 

7.  About  half  my  time.  Perhaps  two  letters  each. 

8.  Could  give  no  light  upon  it;  but  quite  a  bur¬ 
densome  correspondence. 

9.  One-third  of  time  of  self  and  clerk.  Several  let¬ 
ters  each ;  some  of  them  fifty  or  a  hundred. 

10.  These  applications  will  require,  on  an  average, 
two  letters  each.  I  should  think  that  at  least  two 
hours  a  day  have  been  required  for  conducting  this 
correspondence  and  attending  to  appointments. 

11.  Nearly  two  hours  daily  during  last  summer; 
not  so  much  now,  and  I  can  not  easily  give  an  esti¬ 
mate. 

12.  The  average  amount  of  correspondence  which 
each  of  these  applications  requires  is  rarely  less  than 
two  or  three,  sometimes  ten.  I  have  had  cases  of 


114 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


twenty.  The  amount  of  lime  required  is  more  than 
any  branch  of  my  public  duties  since  November, 
1888. 

13.  Probably  five  letters  each,  all  around.  All  the 
time  1  could  get. 

14.  About  four  letters  to  each  applicant.  About 
one-tenth  of  my  time. 

15.  A  low  estimate  of  the  average  amount  of  cor¬ 

respondence  which  each  of  these  applications  re¬ 
quires  on  my  part  would  be  five  in  each  case,  or  be¬ 
tween  four  and  five  thousand  letters  in  all.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  distribution  of  these  offices,  it  would 
be  easy  for  me  to  conduct  my  official  correspondence 
personally,  but,  as  it  is,  a  secretary  is  required,  and 
the  burden  of  the  office  greatly  increased.  I 

16.  Eight  to  fifteen  letters  each  ;  eight  to  ten  hours 
per  day. 

17.  An  average  of  three  letters  each ;  one-half  of 

my  time.  j 

18.  About  two  letters  each ;  about  one  hour  each 
day. 

19.  About  a  dozen  letters,  on  the  average,  to  each ; 
half  of  my  time. 

20.  One  prolonged  and  continuous  correspond-  I 
ence ;  the  constant  and  entire  time  of  both  myself  j 
and  secretary  would  not  suffice. 

21.  I  think  that  during  the  last  twelve  months  the 
lives  of  most  of  the  republican  members  of  congress 
have  been  made  miserable  by  the  post-office  contro¬ 
versies  in  their  congressional  districts. 

22.  Each  place  filled  on  my  recommendation  has 
required  probably  twelve  letters  written. 

2;-t.  Do  not  know  what  amount  of  time,  but  a  good 
part  of  it. 

It  is  not  au  extravagant  estimate  from  the  above 
answers  to  say  that  more  than  one-third  of  the  entire 
time  of  these  congressmen  (time  which  should  prop¬ 
erly  be  devoted  to  their  legislative  duties)  is  con¬ 
sumed  in  the  distribution  of  offices. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  this  respect  does  not 
seem  to  have  changed  very  greatly  from  the  time 
when  General  Garfield,  in  his  speech  at  Williams 
College,  said  :  “One-third  of  the  working  hours  of 
senators  and  representatives  is  hardly  suflTicient  to 
meet  the  demands  made  upon  them  in  reference  to 
appointments  for  office.’’  The  number  of  places 
withdrawn  from  congressional  patronage  by  the  civil 
service  law  has  been  about  29,000,  but  this  has  been 
counterbalanced  by  the  growth  of  the  service. 

Your  committee  then  proceeded  to  inquire  more 
particularly  into  the  extent  to  which  this  patronage 
interfered  with  the  proper  performance  of  the  legis¬ 
lative  duties  which  the  constitution  imposes  upon 
members  of  congress.  Your  committee  examined 
the  records  of  congress,  for  the  purpose  of  deter¬ 
mining  the  relative  number  of  measures  which  re¬ 
main  unconsidered  at  the  end  of  each  session  from 
lack  of  time  to  give  them  proper  Consideration- 
Taking  the  last  congress  as  an  illustration,  your  com¬ 
mittee  found  that  the  number  of  bills  and  joint  reso¬ 
lutions  introduced  was  17,078,  to  wit:  House  bills, 
12,664;  resolutions,  269;  senate  bills,  4,000;  resolu¬ 
tions,  145.  Out  of  this  total  number  of  17,078,  your 
committee  ascertained  that  the  bills  and  resolutions 
passed  were  only  1,824,  or  a  little  more  than  ten  per 
cent.,  leaving  a  balance  of  15,254  measures  intro-  j 
duced  but  not  adopted.  This,  however,  does  not  i 
furnish  a  just  criterion  of  the  measures  which  con-  | 
gress  was  unable  to  consider,  since  some  of  these  | 
measures  were  passed  upon  adversely.  Your  com-  j 
mittee,  therefore,  examined  the  indexes  of  the  last  j 
congressional  record  of  both  sessions,  and  found  ' 
that,  out  of  the  17,078  measures  introduced,  more  | 
than  11,000  were  referred  to  committees  and  never  j 
reported  by  the  committees  to  which  they  were  re-  ' 
ferred ;  that  about  1,400  were  introduced  and  re-  j 
ported  by  these  committees,  but  never  reached  final  | 
consideration  in  the  respective  houses  in  which  they  | 
were  originally  introduced ;  that  something  more 
than  1,000  passed  the  house  in  which  they  were  in¬ 
troduced,  but  never  reached  final  consideration  in 
the  other  branch  of  congress,  while  less  than  3,500 
were  finally  acted  upon.  Your  committee  included 
in  the  measures  finally  disposed  of  all  bills  and  reso¬ 
lutions  approved  by  the  President :  all  which  became 
laws  without  his  approval ;  all  which  passed  both 
houses  and  were  examined  and  approved,  even 
though  they  finally  failed  to  become  laws  through 
lack  of  proper  stibmission  to  the  executive;  all; 
measures  which  were  vetoed  by  the  President 
whether  afterwards  considered  by  congress  or  not; 
and  all  measures  which  were  withdrawn,  laid  on  the 
table,  or  indefinitely  postponed  in  either  house.  It 
js  evident,  however,  that  many  of  these  measures, 
including  bills  which  were  laid  on  the  table  (from 


which  they  might  be  taken  at  any  lime),  were  not 
intended  to  be  definitely  rejected. 

Why  is  it  that  the  committees  to  which  this  pro¬ 
posed  legislation  is  referred  have  no  time  to  sort  out 
the  good  from  the  bad  ;  no  time  to  consider  more 
than  a  small  fraction  of  the  measures  submitted  to 
them?  Why  is  it  that  so  many  bills  reported  fail  to 
receive  consideration  in  the  respective  houses  of  con¬ 
gress?  Why  is  it  that  so  many  measures  which  final¬ 
ly  pass  are  ill-digested  and  carelessly  drawn  and  re¬ 
quire  expensive  litigation  toconstrue  theirmeaning? 
It  is  not  hard  to  find  an  answer  when  it  is  known 
that  more  than  one  third  of  the  working  hours  of  the 
members  belonging  to  the  party  which  is  responsible 
for  the  legislation  of  the  country  is  devoted  to  busi¬ 
ness  entirely  foreign  to  that  legislation. 

The  system  itself  is  inherently  vicious.  The  union 
in  a  single  person  or  body  of  men  of  different  func¬ 
tions  of  government,  which  are  distinct  in  their  na¬ 
ture,  is  evidence  of  a  low  form  of  political  organism. 
In  a  large  community  with  complicated  interests  it  is 
only  where  these  functions  are  definitely  distributed 
that  we  can  expect  to  see  them  properly  ]ierformed. 
It  is  just  as  inconsistent  with  good  government  for 
the  legislators  to  appoint  the  officers  who  are  to  ad¬ 
minister  the  laws  as  it  would  be  for  a  j  udge  to  under¬ 
take  personally  the  execution  of  the  process  which  he 
issues,  or  as  it  would  be  for  these  lawmakers  them¬ 
selves  to  act  as  judges  in  administering  and  applying 
their  own  laws  It  is  only  where  the  legislative,  ex¬ 
ecutive  and  judicial  departments  are  kept  distinct 
that  we  can  expect  efficient  work  from  any  of  them. 
An  encroachment  by  any  of  these  departments  upon 
the  duties  of  the  other  is  a  manifest  usurpation.  The 
federal  constitution  has  carefully  distributed  to  each 
its  own  powers  and  duties.  The  duty  of  congress  is 
CO  make  the  laws.  The  senate,  as  the  adviser  of  the 
president,  has  a  qualified  right  to  pass  upon  his  nom¬ 
inations  for  certain  offices ;  but  to  the  house  of  repre¬ 
sentatives  no  such  right  is  given  in  any  form,  and 
yet  we  find  members  of  both  houses,  in  violation  of 
the  purposes  of  the  constitution,  controlling  appoint¬ 
ments  in  every  bianch  of  the  public  service,  and  de 
manding  that  their  constituents  and  political  friends 
shall  receive  situations,  often  as  a  reward  for  person¬ 
al  and  political  favors,  and  not  on  account  of  any 
qualifications  for  public  office.  So  it  has  been  com 
mon  to  find  these  appointees  active  in  conventions, 
caucuses  and  primaries,  working  for  the  iutere.sts  of 
the  particular  congressman  to  whom  they  owe  their 
appointments,  and  often  without  regard  for  the  pub¬ 
lic  welfare ;  and  it  is  for  this  work,  or  with  the  hope 
of  securing  it  in  the  future,  that  the  appointment  is 
often  given  as  the  reward  or  the  incentive. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  against  civil  service  reform 
that  the  head  of  each  department  and  bureau  ought 
to  have  the  selection  of  his  own  subordinates;  but 
under  the  patronage  system  he  has  no  such  selection 
at  all.  The  men  selected  are  chosen,  not  on  account 
of  the  knowledge  of  their  fitness  possessed  by  the  ap¬ 
pointing  officer,  but  because  they  are  recommended 
by  a  certain  representative  or  senator.  The  head  of 
the  department  or  bureau  feels  little  responsibility 
for  their  acts.  It  often  happens  that  he  is  not  at  lib¬ 
erty  to  discharge  an  inefficient  man,  lest  he  may 
offend  the  congressman  whose  influence  secured  the 
appointment  of  that  man.  The  congressman,  on  the 
other  hand,  does  not  feel  the  responsibility  for  these 
appointments,  for  he  is  not  nominally  nor  legally  the 
appointing  officer.  In  many  cases  it  is  not  known 
on  whose  recommendation  the  appointment  is  made. 
This  system  “  invades  the  independence  of  the  exec¬ 
utive  and  makes  him  less  responsible  for  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  his  appointments.  It  impairs  the  efficiency  of 
the  legislator  by  diverting  him  from  his  proper 
sphere  of  duties  and  involving  him  in  the  intrigues 
of  the  aspirants  for  office.”  (Jas.  A.  Garfield,  At 
lantic  Monthly,  July,  1877.) 

But  not  only  does  the  patronage  system  impair  the 
efficiency  of  the  service,  it  actually  weakens  the 
party  in  power.  As  was  said  in  one  of  the  answers 
to  the  above  questions,  “  where  ten  men  apply  for  an 
affice,  it  is  easy  to  disappoint  nine  of  them.”  The 
experience  of  the  last  administration,  as  well  as  of 
the  present  one  up  to  this  time,  clearly  shows  that 
this  irregular  and  unconstitutional  mode  of  dis¬ 
tributing  public  offices  serves  only  to  cripple  the 


members  who  make  the  appointments  and  the  polit¬ 
ical  party  under  which  it  is  done.  Members  of  con¬ 
gress  realize  this  embarrassment  when  they  order  an 
election  or  caucus  among  the  voters  of  their  own 
party  in  the  respective  neighborhoods  where  i)OSt- 
offices  are  to  be  filled.  The  efl’ort  in  such  cases  is 
undoubtedly  to  cast  from  themselves  the  responsi¬ 
bility  of  making  a  choice,  which  is  quite  sure  to  en¬ 
gender  dissension. 

Such  an  expedient  is  not  only  unjust  in  itself,  but 
it  rarely  affords  the  relief  sought.  It  is  manifestly 
unfair  to  make  an  appointment  for  postmaster  in  a 
certain  town  depend  upon  the  votes  of  one  political 
party  only.  These  may  be  an  actual  minority  among 
the  patrons  of  that  office.  The  service  to  be  per¬ 
formed  is  public  service,  paid  for  without  reference 
to  the  political  affiliations  of  the  patrons,  and  if  the 
choice  is  to  be  made  by  the  suffrages  of  those  who 
are  interested,  it  is  not  just  that  any  should  be  dis¬ 
franchised.  The  result  of  these  elections  often  adds 
to  the  confusion  and  embarrassment  which  patron¬ 
age  entails,  as  your  committee  has  learned  in  the 
course  of  its  inquiries. 

To  our  question,  “Have  any  elections  been  held  in 
your  district  to  determine  who  the  appointee  should 
be;  and  if  so,  in  how  many  instances,  where,  and 
for  what  positions?”  the  following  answers  have 
been  received  from  congressmen  in  whose  districts 
such  elections  have  been  held  : 

4.  In  two  Instances,  for  postmasters,  resulting  in 
both  cases  in  difficulty  and  dissatisfaction. 

6.  Elections  have  been  held  in  eight  pjaces  in  my 
congressional  district  for  the  selection  of  postmasters. 
No  elections  have  been  had  for  the  purpose  of  desig¬ 
nating  any  other  appointment. 

8.  One  election,  to  determine  who  should  be  the 
post-office  appointee ;  we  let  all  parties  vote  and  con¬ 
fined  it  to  one  town  ;  would  not  hold  another  elec¬ 
tion  for  that  purpose  under  any  consideration. 

9.  One  election  was  held,  so  far,  for  postmaster, 
which  was  unsatisfactory  on  account  of  small  attend¬ 
ance.  There  will  be  another  on  March  27ih  for  post¬ 
master. 

11.  In  a  few  instances  elections  by  petitions  for  the 
position  of  postmaster. 

12.  One  last  year  for  postmaster.  The  result  in¬ 
creased  strife. 

13.  None.  At  the  solicitation  of  candidates]  and 
others  I  called  three  post-office  elections,  and  I  got 
into  hot  water.  '1  he  very  persons  who  had  asked  for 
elections  protested  most' loudly  against  them,  ano  I 
then  appointed  the  postmasters,  or  recommended 
them  myself. 

15.  In  case  of  every  presidential  post-office  in  the 
district  where  there  has  been  a  vacancy  since  the  4ih 
of  March,  18>9,  a  caucus  of  republican  voters  has 
been  held  to  recommend  the  candidate  for  the  office. 
These  caucuses  have  been  largely  attend,  and  the  re¬ 
sult  in  every  instance  has  been  perfectly  satisfactory, 
both  in  the  character  of  the  candidates  elected,  who 
have  been,  without  exception,  excellent  men,  and 
entirely  removing  the  disputes  and  factious  quarrels 
which  arise  from  such  appointments. 

16.  Two  for  postmasters. 

17.  Two  for  post-offices. 

18.  None.  One  was  held  without  my  knowledge, 
in  which  voters  were  excluded  who  had  a  right  to  be 
heard,  and  I  paid  no  attention  to  the  election. 

21.  I  had  a  few  post-office  elections  in  my  congres¬ 
sional  district,  but,  as  there  is  no  law  regulating  such 
elections,  they  have  resulted  in  bitterness  and  strife, 
and  did  more  to  engender  animosities  and  ill-will 
between  the  patrons  of  the  office  than  any  other 
method  I  could  have  adopted  for  settling  po.st-office 
contentions,  hence  I  have  not  favnred  them,  and 
henceforth  shall  discourage  them  where  I  can. 

22.  Yes;  I  settled  perhaps  twenty  post-office  con¬ 
tests  by  a  caucus  of  republican  electors.  It  worked 
fairly  well. 

24.  In  one  instance  elected  a  postmaster. 

The  other  answers  state  that  no  eleciions  were 
held. 

An  amusing  account  of  an  election  held  in  his 
district  was  given  in  an  interview  with  one  of  the 
representatives.  He  .said  :  “  I  have  held  one  election 
only  under  this  administration,  and  that  had  a  most 
disastrous  result.  It  resulted  in  several  men  losing 
their  characters,  one  or  two  were  ttirned  out  of 
church,  and  all  was  turmoil  and  confusion.  Car¬ 
riages  were  hired  to  bring  voters  fourteen  miles  dis¬ 
tant,  and  citizens  of  another  state  voted.  The  doors 
of  the  polling  places  were  broken  in.  Democrats 
were  allowed  to  vote.  There  were  no  safeguards 
about  the  polls.  No  oaths  were  required,  and  there 
was  no  respect  for  the  election.  The  judges  certified 
the  election  of  one  man,  but  sent  a  statement  with 
the  certification  that  the  election  was  carried  by 
fraud,  the  same  name  appearing  upon  both  papers. 
The  consequence  was,  I  went  outside  for  the  post 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


115 


master,  and  chose  a  man  wlio  had  not  voted  and 
took  no  part  in  the  fight.  He  moved  into  town  and 
took  the  office  (worth  not  more  than  $150  per  year) ; 
but  they  would  have  torn  the  election  nominee  to 
pieces  if  I  had  recommended  him.  I  look  upon 
the  c  elections  as  a  party  disaster.’  ’ 

Other  members,  as  well  as  some  of  the  above,  have 
expressed  their  opinion  of  the  patronage  system  in 
no  favorable  terms.  One  says;  “This  patronage 
busine.ss  is  a  great  nuisance.”  Another:  “I  gave 
two  hours  a  day  to  candidates  for  office  all  last  sum¬ 
mer,  throwing  open  a  room  to  them  six  days  out  of 
the  week.  Of  course  it  was  an  imposition,  but  I  do 
not  want  to  be  put  in  the  attitude  of  complaining  of 
my  constituents  so  long  as  the  system  exists.”  An¬ 
other  says  that  he  regards  appointments  by  congress¬ 
men  as  injurious  to  the  best  performance  of  their 
legitimate  duties ;  but  while  the  system  exists,  it  is 
not  possible  for  members  of  congress  to  avoid  the  re" 
sponsibility,  and  their  duty  is  to  make  the  best  pos¬ 
sible  use  of  the  patronage  which  custom  imposes 
upon  them. 

Another  objection  to  the  patronage  system  is  the 
secrecy  by  which  it  is  surrounded.  Recommenda¬ 
tions  and  petitions,  which  are  signed  upon  solicita¬ 
tion  and  which  mean  nothing ;  charges  and  counter¬ 
charges  preferred  in  the  dark  ;  political  iiiHuence, 
which  is  often  really  exerted  in  favor  of  one  man 
while  it  appears  to  be  exerted  in  favor  of  another; 
intrigues  and  defamation  of  character— all  these 
things  are  only  incidents  to  a  system  which  pro¬ 
duces  and  nourishes  them. 

Another  consequence  of  this  system  of  congres 
sional  patronage  has  been  the  distribution  of  offices 
in  many  congressional  districts  by  the  defeated  can¬ 
didates  for  Congress  belonging  to  the  party  in  power. 
This  Irresponsible  and  illegal  apportionment  of  pat¬ 
ronage  has  led  to  many  scandals.  In  Misso  iri  there 
are  a  number  of  instances  in  which  these  distribu¬ 
tors  of  patronage  have  collected  considerable  sums  of 
money  from  the  men  seekingtheirrecommendations. 
These  “  donations  or  free  gifts  ”  (as  they  have  been 
called  by  the  recipient.s  of  them)  are  ostensibly  made 
to  cover  “the  expense  attached  to  the  proceedings”  of 
recommending  them,  but  it  is  evident  that  transac¬ 
tions  of  this  character  are  essentially  corrupt. 

The  object  of  your  committee  in  laying  these  facts 
before  the  public  is  rather  to  expose  the  infirmities 
of  the  patronage  system  than  to  criticise  the  action  of 
individual  congressmen  or  of  the  parly  in  power. 
These  evils  have  existed  under  both  political  parlies, 
and  so  long  as  the  present  system  exists,  it  is  difficult 
for  any  individual  congressman  to  refuse  to  exercise 
that  patronage  which  universal  custom  has  thrust 
upon  him,  often  without  his  consent  or  desire.  The 
remedy  lies  in  the  adoption  of  general  laws  which 
shall  remove  these  offices  from  congressional  inter 
ference.  In  this  connection  we  desire  to  call  to  the 
attention  of  the  league  the  provisions  of  a  bill  re¬ 
cently  introduced  into  the  house  of  representatives 
by  the  Hon.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts, 
in  respect  to  fourth-class  postmasterships,  offices 
which  at  present  constitute  the  bulk  of  those  subject 
to  congressional  patronage.  This  bill  provides  that 
the  United  Slates  shall  be  divided  by  the  postmaster 
general  into  postal  districts,  and  that  he  shall  desig¬ 
nate  for  each  district  a  post  office  inspector  to  act  as 
examiner.  (As  these  inspectors  are  now  appointed  in 
pnrsuracce  of  the  civil  service  law,  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  they  will  not  be  greatly  subject  to  polit¬ 
ical  influence.)  The  bill  provides  that  whenever  a 
fourth -class  postmaster  is  to  be  appointed  the  inspec¬ 
tor  for  the  district  shall  post  notices  in  conspicuous 
places  in  the  vicinity,  stating  the  place  where  the 
post  office  is  situated,  the  compen-sation,  the  amount 
of  bond,  the  place  where  application  papers  may 
be  obtained,  and  to  which  they  must  be  returned, 
and  any  other  proper  information.  At  least  fourteen 
days'  time  is  to  be  given  for  returning  the  application 
papers.  The  inspector  must  furnish  all  applicatits 
with  blank  forms  of  certificates,  in  which  the  appli¬ 
cant,  in  his  own  handwriting,  shall  state  upon  oath, 
his  name,  residence,  post-office  address,  citizenship, 
time  and  place  of  birth,  education,  health  and  phys¬ 
ical  capacity  for  service,  previous  employment  in 
the  military  or  naval  service,  business  and  residence 
for  the  previous  five  years,  whether  convicted  or  un¬ 


der  indictment  for  any  crime,  and  if  so,  what,  and 
the  particular  building  where  the  applicant  proposes 
to  establish  the  post-office,  and  whether  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  any  other  business.  The  candidate  shall 
furnisli  a  sworn  certificate,  signed  by  three  reputable 
citizens,  declaring  their  belief  that  he  is  a  suitable 
person.  No  other  recommendation  shall  be  offered. 
No  certificate  shall  be  signed  by  any  person  liolding 
office  in  the  federal  or  state  government.  No  appli¬ 
cation  shall  ca'l  for  or  furnisli  any  information  con¬ 
cerning  the  politics  of  the  applicant..  At  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  the  time  for  receiving  application  papers  the 
Inspector  shall  post  a  list  of  the  applications  in  the  vi¬ 
cinity,  and  visit  the  place  and  make  such  inquiries  as 
shall  enable  him  to  form  an  intelligent  judgment  on 
the  qualification  of  the  respective  applicants.  He  shall 
then  send  to  the  postmaster-general  all  the  applica¬ 
tion  papers,  together  with  the  report,  in  whicli  he 
shall  grade  the  applicants  in  the  order  of  their  rela¬ 
tive  fitness,  according  to  his  inquiries,  and  giving  tlie 
reasons.  These  papers  are  to  be  preserved  for  five 
years,  and  upon  them  the  postmaster-general  shall 
appoint  one  of  the  candidates  whoso  names  are  re 
ported  and  designated  as  fit  to  be  appointed  ;  but  if 
heshall  select  any  other  than  the  one  graded  highest, 
he  shall  place  his  reasons  upon  record,  and  these  shall 
be  open  to  public  inspection.  No  appointment  shall 
be  absolute  until  the  appointee  has  served  one  year 
on  probation.  The  postmaster-general  shall  not  ap¬ 
point  upon  political  grounds,  nor  the  inspector  rec¬ 
ommend  any  candidate  upon  such  grounds. 

This  bill  is  an  entirely  new  measure  and  is  largely 
tentative  in  its  character,  but  it  is  progressive,  it 
affords  to  the  atlministration  a  means  of  appointing 
fourth-class  postmasters  without  the  necessity  of 
consulting  members  of  congress,  and  it  will  help  to 
remove  this  great  mass  of  small  offices  from  political 
control  and  restore  to  members  of  congress  the  dig¬ 
nity  which  ought  to  belong  to  the  law  makers  of  the 
country.  It  will  help  to  abolish  a  system  of  patron¬ 
age  which  leads  to  endless  contentions  and  bicker¬ 
ings  in  almost  every  community  in  the  United  States, 
which  paralyzes  the  legislative  power  of  congress, 
and  which  holds  these  small  prizes  up  as  a  reward 
for  the  lowest  forms  of  p  ditical  activity. 

We  would  respectfully  urge  tlie  league  to  take 
every  measure  possible  to  promote  tlie  favorable 
consideration  and  adoption  of  this  or  some  otlier 
measure  which  seeks  to  substitute  general  rules  for 
the  individual  discretion  and  self-interest  of  mem¬ 
bers  of  congress  and  their  political  supporters.  If 
the  fourth-class  post-offices  can  be  removed  from  the 
field  of  political  strife,  the  reform  of  the  federal 
civil  service  will  be  more  than  half  accomplished. 

(Mr.  MaeVeagh,  being  absent  on  account  of  illne.ss, 
is  unable  to  sign  this  report  before  its  presentation  to 
the  executive  committee.) 

Wm.  D.  Foulke,  Chairmaji. 

Chas.  J.  Bonaparti;. 

Richard  H.  Dana. 

Sherman  S.  Rooers. 

Washmgton,  D.  C.,  April  8,  1890. 


SOME  POPULAR  OBJECTIONS  TO 
CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM  • 


I. 

“  You  gentlemen  never  weary  of  telling  us  that  we 
are  fallen  on  degenerate  days ;  that  during  the  first 
forty  years  of  our  government,  before  we  lap.sed  from 
onr  sinless  state,  officials  were  removed  only  for 
cause,  and  incumbents  held  on  good  behavior;  in 
other  words,  that  civil  service  reform  prevailed  in 
all  its  purity.  Now,  it  is  philosophical  generaliza¬ 
tion,  founded  on  broad  experience,  that  revolutions 
do  not  go  backwards.  Heed  it,  gentlemen,  heed  it! 
The  revolution  of  1820-29  is  an  accomplished  fact.  It 
is  here  to  stay,  for  then  did  the  people  come  into 
their  own.  The  present  status  has  endured  for  half 
a  century ;  civil  service  reform  is  aneient  history. 
You  are  chasing  moonbeams.” 

’■•‘Such  of  these  objections  as  are  taken  from  the 
records  of  congre.'-s  are  indicated  by  marginal  ref- 
eieuces  and  are  quoted  literally.  The  others— which 
reffect  current  lay  discus>ion  of  the  newspaper  and 
the  street— are  repeated  substantially,  but  not  form¬ 
ally. 


The  fatalist  entrenches  him.self  in  platitude,  and 
warns  reason  beyond  speaking  distance.  With  him, 
what  is  mtist  forever  be  ;  what  has  been  and  is  not 
will  never  be.  And  thus  is  the  controversy  closed. 

He  forgets  that  much  that  is  done  remains  to  be 
undone ;  that  political  progress  is  mostly  negative, 
consisting  mainly  in  the  repeal  of  bad  laws  or  in  the 
abolition  of  evil  customs.  In  this  sense  history  is  re¬ 
versed  every  day,  and  the  process  will  continue  so 
long  as  legislation  is  experimental  and  legislators  are 
supine.  It  is  true  that  some  things  in  political  his¬ 
tory  may  be  regarded  as  settled.  But  this  can  be 
predicted  only  of  those  changes  which  are  based 
upon  the  immutable  principles  of  right.  The  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  spoils  system  into  the  administrative 
hr  rich  of  the  American  government  is  not  of  these. 
That  system  is  at  war  with  eiinality,  freedom,  justice, 
and  a  wise  economy,  and  is  already  a  doomed  thing 
fighting  extinction.  Its  establishment  was  in  no 
sense  a  popular  revolution,  but  was  the  work  of  a 
self-willed  man  of  stubborn  and  tyrannical  nature, 
who  had  enemies  to  punish  and  debts  to  pay.  He 
overrode  a  vehement  opposition,  disregarding  the 
protest  and  sage  predietion  of  the  great  statesmen  of 
his  lime.  He  wielded  a  power  that  was  arbitrary  ; 
his  caprice  was  law,  his  rule  was  reign.  If  he  wished 
to  do  a  thing,  it  was  enough  toat  it  seemed  good  to 
him  to  do  it.  His  idea  of  government  was  a  per¬ 
sonal  one  solely.  Every  public  official  was  a  private 
servitor,  who  must  take  the  oath  of  allegienee  and 
do  homage  to  his  chief.  In  his  view,  no  man  could 
honestly  disagree  with  him.  He  was  always  right; 
his  opponents  were  hopelessly  and  eriminally  wrong. 
Here  was  a  fit  man  to  establish  the  spoils  system,  to 
explore  the  constitution  for  latent  executive  powers, 
to  attach  to  the  person  of  the  president  the  high  pre¬ 
rogatives  of  a  monarch.  That  the  king  is  the  foun¬ 
tain  of  honor,  office,  and  privilege  is  the  theory  of 
the  English  state  ;  that  the  civil  service  of  the  United 
States  is  a  perquisite  of  the  presidency  was  the  theory 
of  (ieneral  Jackson. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  American  common¬ 
wealth  was  not  founded  upon  any  such  doctrine. 
Jackson’s  interpretation  of  the  constitution  was  a 
gross  perversion  of  the  intent  and  meaning  of  that 
instrument.  This  was  to  be  a  government  of  laws, 
not  of  men  ;  and  so  far  as  the  prescience  of  its  fram¬ 
ers  availed  it  was  made  so.  'J  he  liberties  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  were  not  to  be  left  to  individual  scruple,  but 
were  secured  by  specific  inhibitions  upon  the  govern¬ 
mental  agencies.  Three  departments  were  oiganized 
severally  to  make,  execute,  and  interpret  the  laws, 
and  each  was  to  act  as  a  check  upon  the  other.  tVith 
the  adoption  of  the  first  ten  amendments  to  the  con¬ 
stitution,  it  was  thought  that  every  avenue  of  attack 
upon  popular  rights  had  been  closed.  But  the  power 
of  construction  is  gieater  than  that  of  legislation. 
The  intention  of  the  lawgiver  is  determined,  not  by 
himself,  but  by  some  other  who  construes  the  law  ; 
and  with  that  other  interpretation  is  purely  a  sub¬ 
jective  matter.  Madison  held  that  “the  wanton  re¬ 
moval  of  meritorious  officers”  was  an  impeachable 
offense.  But  Jackson  swore  to  defend  and  protect 
the  constitution  as  he  understood  it,  ancl  not  as  Mad¬ 
ison,  one  of  its  framers,  conceived  it.  Regarding  the 
right  of  removal  the  instrument  itself  is  wholly 
silent,  except  as  it  provides  impeachment  for  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors.  When,  therefore.  Jack- 
son  organized  the  civil  service  into  a  gigantic  polit¬ 
ical  machine,  proscribing  office-holders  because  of 
his  personal  enmity  to  them  or  because  of  their  po¬ 
litical  affiliations,  it  can  not  be  .said  that  he  violated 
any  specific  provision  of  the  constitution.  That  such 
action  was  an  usurpation  of  authority  and  a  wanton 
betrayal  of  trust  needs  no  verbal  empha.sis.  With 
equal  propriety  and  moral  ju.stification,  he  might 
have  used  those  other  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  ex¬ 
ecutive  department,  the  army  and  navy,  to  perpetu¬ 
ate  himself  and  his  party  in  power.  This  he  did  not 
attempt  to  do.  Perhaps  he  did  not  need  their  aid. 
At  any  rate,  after  securing  his  own  re  election,  and 
after  naming  his  successor,  his  ambition  rested— for¬ 
tunately  for  the  country.  But  what  he  did,  he  did 
thoroughly.  The  system  of  political  brigandage  in¬ 
augurated  by  him  has  subsisted  even  unto  this  day. 
But  it  is  now  upon  the  verge  of  dissolution.  Its  end 
is  written  and  sealed.  This  last  is  the  work  of  those 


116 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


who  are  grown  weary  of  the  spoliation  of  office— of 
those  who  are  jealous  of  the  encroachments  of  the 
executive,  and  who  would  tie  the  hands  of  that  func¬ 
tionary  for  all  time  to  come.  With  them  it  is  not  a 
question  whether  a  clerk  holds  his  office  for  four 
years  or  for  fifteen  years.  They  are  determined  that 
the  great  army  of  the  civil  service  shall  not  be  used 
by  any  man  or  by  any  set  of  men  for  purposes  of  per¬ 
sonal  or  partisan  aggrandizement;  that  the  freedom 
of  elections  shall  not  be  as.sailed  by  an  intriguing, 
corrupt,  and  organized  force  ;  that  presidential  con¬ 
tests  shall  not  be  tumults  threatening  anarchy. 
Hereafter  there  will  be  no  “prizes  of  victory,"  no  car¬ 
nival  of  spoil.  Place-holders  will  attend  to  the  busi¬ 
ness  for  which  they  are  paid  to  attend  ;  fitness  will 
be  the  essential  of  appointment,  not  the  accident  and 
the  incident.  This  is  the  popular  revolution  that  is 
moving  forward  irresistably,  that  is  coming  to  stay. 
Already  has  a  law  been  enacted  which,  though  par¬ 
tial  in  its  effects,  is  capable  of  large  extension  by  the 
president  alone,  without  further  action  on  the  part 
of  congress.  This  measure  leaves  the  power  of  re¬ 
moval  for  all  except  partisan  reasons  untouched. 
By  regulating  the  method  of  appointment,  it  takes 
away  the  temptation  to  the  abuse  of  that  discretion. 
It  IS  not  a  revival  of  a  faded  statute,  nor  has  it  i's 
counterpart  in  early  legislation.  It  is  a  new  order¬ 
ing  of  things;  practically  a  reversal  of  procedure. 
Although,  during  the  first  forty  years  of  the  republic, 
there  was  no  statutory  restriction  upon  the  manner 
of  appointment  and  removal,  nevertheless  the  power 
of  removal  was  controlled  by  an  unwritten  law  which 
depended  for  its  enforcement  upon  mental  sanc¬ 
tions.  But  this  was  a  frail  dyke  with  which  to  with¬ 
stand  the  pressure  of  a  hungry  and  inflowing  sea, 
and  it  was  only  a  question  of  time  until  it  should  be 
swept  away.  That  congress  did  not  strengthen  it  by 
positive  legislation  is  to  be  deplored.  But  the  omis¬ 
sion  is  explicable.  At  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
our  government  no  law  was  deemed  necessary.  The 
civil  service  numbered  but  a  thousand  persons;  to¬ 
day  it  numbers  two  hundred  thousand,  and  not 
many  decades  hence  it  will  increase  to  a  half  mil¬ 
lion.  Again,  congress  had  absolute  faith  in  the  ex¬ 
ecutive.  All  presidents  would  be  Washingtons,  pa¬ 
tient  and  moderate,  patriotic  rather  than  partisan. 
So  highly  was  the  first  president  esteemed  that  that 
body  waived  its  consent  to  the  removal  of  those  offi¬ 
cers  whose  appointment  required  their  approval.  Of 
course  they  did  not  contemplate  the  capricious  exer¬ 
cise  of  this  power;  the  causeless  removal  of  an  offi¬ 
cial  being  to  them  an  unthinkable  proposition.  But 
events  outran  prevision,  and  in  the  course  of  years 
not  only  did  a  Jackson  appear,  but  congress  itself 
ceased  to  desire  to  protect  the  service.  Such  legisla¬ 
tive  changes  as  were  made  subserved  a  private  and 
not  a  pul)lic  interest.  The  Immense  patronage  which 
was  controlled  by  the  chief  executive,  either  direct* 
ly  by  commission,  or  indirectly  through  the  heads  of 
departments,  came  to  be  administered  for  the  ben¬ 
efit,  not  of  himself  alone,  but  of  the  representative 
politicians  as  well.  This  step  was  gained  partly 
through  a  recognition  by  the  president  of  the  emi¬ 
nent  utility  of  sub  allotment  for  personal  purposes, 
and  partly,  in  the  failure  of  that  persuasion,  through 
the  e.xercise  of  such  coercive  power  as  could  be  wield¬ 
ed  by  the  senate  in  confirmation,  and  by  both  houses 
in  the  passage  of  acts  regulating  the  term  and  tenure 
of  office.  Gradually,  out  of  the  chaotic  scramble  for 
spoil,  there  was  evolved  a  system  of  distribution 
which  was  founded  upon  hoary  precedent,  and 
which,  in  nice  precision  and  in  perfect  on  of  detail, 
lacked  nothing  of  a  scientific  character.  The  whole 
country  was  staked  out  into  districts,  as  many  in 
number  as  there  were  congressmen.  After  a  con¬ 
quest,  the  enemy  were  driven  from  their  holdings 
and  the  victors  took  possession  of  the  glebe.  But  the 
estates  thus  granted  we:e  made  conditional  upon  the 
performing  of  certain  services  or  upon  the  rendering 
of  certain  tribute.  Each  tenant  held  of  some  feudal 
superior,  and  all  held,  mediately  or  immediately,  of 
the  lord  paramount,  the  president.  The  governmen¬ 
tal  offices  scattered  everywhere  were  so  many  baro¬ 
nial  strongholds,  and  were  filled  with  retainers  who 
were  chosen  for  their  fighting  qualities.  The  chief 
duty  of  these  men  was  to  check  uprisings  and  to  keep 


the  people  in  subjection.  Their  places  depended 
upon  the  faithful  discharge  of  it.  In  other  words, 
the  civil  service  was  a  graded  vassalage  of  a  militant 
character.  All  offices  were  the  private  property  of 
the  head  of  the  state,  and  were  dispensed  by  roya] 
favor.  What  is  this  but  feudalism  in  new  clothes, 
or,  rather,  the  garbed  skeleton  thereof?  By  some 
fantastic  jugglery,  this  mocking  semblance  of  a  dead 
and  buried  past  has  become  a  stalking  figure  in  a 
new  and  progressive  civilization.  Verily  has  a  revo¬ 
lution  gone  backwards,  if  it  be  not  promptly  rele¬ 
gated  to  the  gla.ss  case  of  antiquities,  there  to  remain 
as  a  curiosity  for  posterity  to  stare  at. 

The  spoils  sjstem  should  have  perished  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago,  in  the  cataclysm  which  destroyed 
that  other  relic  of  feudalism,  slavery.  For  they  were 
twin  evils,  and  were  ever  unfailing  allies;  and  when 
the  time  shall  come  towiite  the  history  of  public 
opinion  in  America  during  the  nineteenth  century, 
they  will  be  classed  together,  John  Morley  suggest¬ 
ively  says  of  the  “peculiar  institution,”  “Nobody 
has  yet  traced  out  the  full  effect  upon  the  national 
character  of  the  Americans  of  all  those  years  of  con¬ 
scious  complicity  in  slavery,  after  the  immorality 
and  iniquity  of  slavery  had  become  clear  to  the  inner 
conscience  of  the  very  men  who  ignobly  sanctioned 
the  mobbing  of  the  abolitionists.”* 

Adherence  to  the  letter  of  a  contract  which  was  “a 
covenant  with  death  and  an  agreement  with  hell  ” 
was  due  partly  to  an  unfaltering  instinct  of  union. 
But  many  were  influened  by  motives  less  worthy.  Be¬ 
fore  the  war  the  fidelity  of  most  northern  politicians 
to  the  south  was  a  degrading  sycophancy.  Eager  and 
grateful  for  the  crumbs  which  fell  from  the  southern 
table,  and  despairing -of  obtaining  those  crumbs 
elsewhere,  they  suffered  themselves  to  become  the 
supple  tools  of  the  slave  power.  These  “Swis.s  guards 
of  slavery  fighting  for  pay”  were  a  race  of  place-hunt¬ 
ers,  with  whom  office  was  the  end,  not  the  means, 
and  whose  statesmanship,  like  that  of  the  Augustan 
senate,  consisted  in  justifying  personal  flattery  by 
speculative  principles  of  servitude.  They  steadily 
prostituted  principle  to  preferment,  and  came  near 
involving  this  country  in  irretrievable  ruin. 

But  the  age  of  compromise— the  era  of  “bigotry 
w'ith  a  doubt”  and  of  “persecution  without  a  creed” 
— was  succeeded  by  the  age  of  blood  and  iron.  The 
war  was  an  ethical  education  ;  like  a  great  storm,  it 
purified  the  air.  After  it  was  over  the  people  began 
to  see  more  clearly  and  more  truly ;  they  learned  to 
view  things  “in  the  visual  angle  of  the  absolute  prin¬ 
ciple.” 

Before  this  keener  vision  the  spoils  system,  a  long- 
established  practice  claiming  charter  by  prescription , 
has  been  called  upon  to  justify  itself.  Until  recently, 
the  people  of  this  country  supposed  that  traffic  in 
place,  the  unceasing  clamor  for  office,  the  sack  and 
pillage  of  the  government  by  the  dominant  party, 
were  a  necessary  part  of  democratic  institutions. 
Many  politicians,  with  selfish  purposes  to  subserve, 
were  interested  in  enforcing  this  view.  To  the  prin¬ 
ciple  that  the  majority  must  rule  they  added  the  cor¬ 
ollary  that  all  the  offices  are  essential  to  that  rule. 
They  further  inculcated  the  idea  that  every  national 
election  is  a  battle  of  enemies,  instead  of  an  amicable 
contest  cf  friends,  whose  interests  are  the  same,  and 
“  who  disagree  not  except  in  opinion.” 

It  must  be  confessed  that  during  the  rebellion, 
when  the  north  was  divided  between  the  war  party 
and  the  peace  party,  there  was  some  foundation  for 
this  doctrine.  He  who  was  not  with  you  was  against 
you.  But  the  intense  partisanism  engendered  by 
that  strife  is  relaxing  into  an  amiable  toleration. 
Happily,  party  fealty  is  not  always  to  be  a  test  of  pa* 
triotism.  The  government  is  not  the  property  of  fac¬ 
tion,  and  the  minority  have  rights  which  must  be  re¬ 
spected.  “  Vse  victis”  is  no  longer  the  slogan  of  the 
fight.  If  civil  service  reform  has  not  made  that  pro¬ 
gress  which  idealists  expect,— conquering  all  on  the 
instant,— let  it  be  remembered  that  the  growth  of 
moral  movements  is  necessarily  slow,  especially  in  a 
democracy,  where,  it  is  scarcely  hyperbole  to  say,  the 
last  man  must  be  convinced.  It  is  none  the  less  sure, 
however ;  for  “  one  man  in  the  right  l>ecomes  a  ma- 


*  Critical  Miscellanies,  Harriet  Martineau,  page  268. 


joiity,”  and  the  American  people  mean  to  do  light 
when  they  know  where  the  right  lies. 

11. 

“  I  believe  this  commission  to  be  undemocratic.  I 
believe  it  favors  certain  voters  in  this  country  at  the 
expense  of  other  voters,  and  I  know  that  if  the  rul¬ 
ings  of  the  civil  service  commission  were  applied  to 
the  members  of  this  house  not  seven  eighths  of  the 
members  would  ever  reach  the  floor  again.  [Laugh¬ 
ter.]  Now,  sir,  believing  this  to  be  undemocratic, 
and  believing  that  it  is  in  violation  of  the  funda¬ 
mental  principles  of  the  government,  I  move  to  strike 
out  the  whole  section,  and  hope  that  it  will  be  agreed 
to.”  t 

To  apply  the  rules  of  the  merit  system  to  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  eongress  would  be  a  cruelty  indeed,  and  is 
altogether  a  harrowing  suggestion.  But  it  is  beside 
the  point.  If  civil  service  reform  be  undemocratic, 
and  if  it  violate  the  fundamental  principles  of  our 
government,  the  motion  made  in  the  house  of  repre- 
sentaves  to  strike  out  the  appropriation  to  the  com¬ 
mission  should  have  prevailed.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
it  was  overwhelmingly  defeated  by  a  vote  of  twenty- 
five  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight.  This  would 
appear  to  be  decisive.  It  is  evident,  however,  from 
the  discussion  that  preceded  the  calling  of  the  yeas 
and  nays,  that  the  scope  and  object  of  civil  service 
reform  are  still  profoundly  misunderstood  by  .some 
congressmen,  and  infertntially  by  their  constituen¬ 
cies.  A  restatement  may  therefore  serve  a  useful 
purpose: 

The  doctrine  of  ci\il  service  reform  as  applied  to 
the  subordinate,  clerical,  or  purely  ministerial  offices 
of  the  government  is  based  upon  the  following  self- 
evident  propositions  :  that  offices  are  created  to  fulfill 
certain  necessary  functions  involved  in  the  routine 
of  government,  and  not  to  give  some  men  a  place  ; 
that  offices  are  supported  by  non-partisan  taxation; 
that  taxation  is  an  evil,  and  therefore  it  is  essential 
that  the  public  service  shall  be  as  efficient  and  eco¬ 
nomical  as  possible  ;  that  offices  are  public  and  not 
private  property,  and  administration  is  a  trust,  not 
an  ownership  ;  that  in  a  republic  something  less  ar¬ 
bitrary  than  favoritism  shall  govern  appointment 
and  removal ;  that  men  shall  be  appointed  solely  on 
the  ground  of  merit ;  and  not  in  payment  of  personal 
debt :  that  an  examination  is  the  fairest  means  of  as¬ 
certaining  the  qualifications  of  an  appointee,  because 
it  insures  that  a  clerk  shall  know  how  to  write,  a 
book-keeper  how  to  keep  books,  and  a  gauger  how  to 
gauge  ;  that  such  examination  shall  be  competitive 
and  open  to  all,  not  being  confined  to  the  members 
of  any  one  political  party ;  that  a  class  system  is  op¬ 
posed  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  and  therefore 
offices  should  not  be  invested  property  of  ward-work¬ 
ers  and  political  henchmen,  to  the  total  and  absolute 
exclusion  of  the  great  body  of  the  common  people  ; 
that  an  office-holder  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  is  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  attach¬ 
ing  to  such  citizenship ;  that  neither  the  president 
nor  any  other  executive  officer  has  the  right  to  pro¬ 
scribe  such  office-holder,  remove  him  from  place,  or 
threaten  his  subsistence  on  account  of  his  polities ; 
that  such  a  brutal  procedure  is  un-American;  that 
tenure  of  office  should  not  be  dependent  upon  the 
degradation  of  manhood  and  the  prostitution  of  po¬ 
litical  opinion  ;  that  the  practice  of  the  president  and 
his  cabinet  in  changing  two  hundred  thousand  office¬ 
holders  at  will,  for  causes  unconnected  with  good  ad¬ 
ministration,  is  dangerous  and  despotic,  and  should 
be  restrained ;  that  under  the  present  system  these 
office-holders  constitute  a  great  standing  army  of 
paid  servitors,  ever  ready  to  do  the  bidding  of  their 
patrons,  to  the  perverMon  of  the  public  will,  and  are 
a  menace  to  good  government;  that  political  as¬ 
sessments,  if  paid  unwillingly,  are  an  extortion  and 
a  direct  theft  from  the  office-holder,  and,  if  paid 
willingly,  are  generally  a  brokerage  commission  for 
appointment,  or  a  bribe  to  the  appointing  power  for 
continuance  in  place;  that  if  salaries  are  so  large 
that  assessments  can  be  endured  without  inconven¬ 
ience,  such  salaries  should  be  cut  down  to  a  saving 
of  the  people’s  money ;  that  promises  of  appointment 


t  Mr.  Cummings,  Proceedings  of  the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives,  December  19,  1888. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


117 


to  office  made,  whether  definitely  or  indefinitely, 
w'ork  a  coruption  of  public  opinion  ;  that  the  enor¬ 
mous  bribe  of  two  hundred  thousand  offices,  offered 
as  a  reward  for  party  work,  tends  to  obscure  the  real 
issues  of  politics,  encourages  the  sacrifice  of  princi¬ 
ple  to  selfish  personal  gain,  and  induces  a  laxity  of 
political  morals ;  that  a  “  clean  sweep  ”  of  the  offices 
demoralizes  the  public  service,  and  is  the  direct  and 
indirect  source  of  great  financial  loss  ;  that  skill  in 
the  manipulation  of  a  caucus  and  in  the  packing  of  a 
primary  is  not  presumptive  evidence  of  capacity  for 
the  performance  of  official  duties ;  that  the  constitu¬ 
tion  of  the  United  States  contemplates  the  election  of 
a  congressman  as  a  legislator,  and  not  as  a  patronage- 
monger;  that  such  patronage  is  a  burden  to  every 
honest,  conscientious  and  able  congressman,  compels 
the  neglect  of  his  proper  duties,  creates  petty  fac¬ 
tional  disputes  and  wrangles  among  his  constituents, 
and  often  defeats  the  re-election  of  a  trustworthy 
servant  of  honorable  record ;  that  the  statesman  is 
thus  rapidly  becoming  an  extinct  species,  being  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  the  politician,  and  the  consequent  loss  in- 
flcted  on  the  people  through  crude  and  unwise  legis- 
lation  is  incalculable ;  that  the  fear  of  losing  the  spoils 
of  office  is  paralyzing  the  legislative  branch  of  the 
government,  makes  cowards  of  political  parties,  and 
is  the  enemy  of  progress;  that  the  retention  of  the 
vast  patronage  of  two  hundred  thousand  offices  is  be¬ 
coming  of  more  concern  than  the  triumph  of  princi¬ 
ple  ;  that  the  mania  for  place-hunting  is  increasing; 
that  the  clamor  of  spoilsmen  compels  the  creation 
of  sinecures,  thereby  increasing  the  taxes;  and  finally 
that  all  the  evils  here  before  enumerated  are  grow¬ 
ing  with  the  multiplication  of  offices,  and  will  ulti¬ 
mately,  unless  checked  by  a  comprehensive  and  de¬ 
cisive  enactment,  undermine  and  overthrow  the  in¬ 
stitutions  of  our  country. 

Such  is  an  imperfect  outline  of  the  doctrine  of  civil 
service  reform  and  of  the  abuses  it  is  designed  to 
remedy.  By  this  showing,  is  it  not  the  spoils  system 
which  is  ‘‘  undemocratic,”  and  which  ‘‘favors  cer¬ 
tain  voters  of  this  country  at  the  expense  of  other 
voters”?  What,  to  repeat,  can  be  less  democratic, 
less  American,  than  persecution  for  opinions’s  sake? 
Yet  this  is  the  very  essence  of  the  spoils  system,  its 
guiding  spirit  and  its  crowning  infamy.  If  this  as¬ 
sertion  need  further  explication,  it  may  be  found  in 
a  recital  of  what  takes  place  in  this  country  when 
one  party  succeeds  another  in  the  control  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  The  newly  elected  president  goes  (by 
deputy)  through  all  the  departments,  and  may  be 
supposed  to  interview  each  clerk  in  a  conversation  of 
which  the  following  is  typical : 

President.  Whom  did  you  vote  for  at  the  last  elec¬ 
tion  ? 

Clerk.  That  does  not  concern  you.  I  am  an  Am 
erican  citizen,  and  have  the  right  to  vote  for  whom¬ 
soever  I  please,  without  being  subjected  afterwards 
to  a  governmental  imiuisiliou  by  you  or  any  other 
man. 

President.  I  a.sked  the  question  in  conformity  with 
a  time-honored  practice,  and  shall  insist  upon  an 
answer. 

Clerk.  Very  well ;  I  will  answer  the  question,  not 
because  of  your  menaces,  but  because  I  do  not  hold 
my  political  opinions  covertly.  I  voted  for  your  op¬ 
ponent. 

President.  Then  you  must  vacate  this  office. 

Clerk.  If  you  can  show  that  I  have  not  performed 
inv  duties  properly,  or  that  I  have  neglected  them 
for  politics  or  any  other  reasons,  I  am  willing  to  go. 

President.  I  have  not  looked  into  that,  it  is  im¬ 
material,  any  way.  I  want  your  place  for  some  one 
else. 

Clerk.  For  one  of  your  partisan  “.ivorkers,”  per¬ 
haps,  whose  qualifications  you  have  also  not  looked 
into? 

President.  Possibly. 

Clerk.  By  what  right  do  you  proscribe  me,  then  ? 
You  are  merely  a  trustee  ;  these  offices  do  not  belong 
to  you. 

President.  You  are  the  victim  of  an  illusion.  These 
offices  do  belong  to  me.  They  are  my  personal 
patronage  and  plunder,  to  do  with  whatsoever  I  will. 
If  you  refuse  to  resign,  I  will  remove  you. 

Clerk.  Very  well ;  I  will  yield  the  place  as  I  would 


my  purse  to  a  highwayman  who  puts  a  pistol  to  my 
head.  Nevertheless,  I  denounce  your  action  as  an 
outrage  upon  my  rights  as  an  American  citizen. 

If  this  conversation  does  not  often  take  place  ac¬ 
tually  as  reported,  its  substance  is  at  least  tacitly  un¬ 
derstood.  Generally  the  clerk  stifles  his  protest  and 
resigns,  quietly  submitting  to  a  system  that  is  an 
heritage  of  barbarism.  Proscription  of  minor  office¬ 
holders  on  account  of  political  opinion  is  as  com¬ 
pletely  indefensible  as  proscription  on  account  of  re¬ 
ligious  belief.  It  has  no  proper  place  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  an  anachronism,  and  belongs  to  the  age 
of  the  crusades  against  the  Catholics  and  the  Jews, 

III. 

“Civil  service  reform  is  an  Englisli  importation^ 
upon  which,  unfortunately,  there  is  no  tariff.  We 
broke  with  England  and  with  her  monarchical  in¬ 
stitutions  a  century  ago,  and  set  up  a  government  of 
our  own — a  democratic  government.  It  supplies  our 
needs,  and  stands  as  an  example  to  mankind.  Ser 
vile  imitation  of  foreign  polities  is  unworthy  of  our 
pride  of  race  or  nation.” 

Anglophobia  is  in  the  American  blood.  A  com¬ 
mon  law,  language,  literature,  and  religion  do  not 
of  necessity  constitute  the  ties  of  sentiment.  Al¬ 
though  the  American  people  are  the  heirs  of  all  the 
ages,  they  do  not  like  to  be  reminded  of  their  obli¬ 
gations,  nor  to  acknowledge  an  ancestry.  Tliey  will 
not  claim  kinship  even  with  Shakespeare.  To  them 
their  history  knows  no  perspective;  in  the  dis. 
covery  of  a  new  and  virgin  world  was  the  beginning 
of  things.  England  is  the  traditional  enemy,  and 
all  the  pretty  speeches  made  over  London  dinner- 
tables  do  not  alter  this  fact  in  the  least.  This  preju¬ 
dice  seems  to  be  enduring,  and  any  appeal  made  to 
it  by  politicians  is  generally  successful. 

Happily  in  the  present  case,  the  retort  is  com¬ 
plete.  The  spoils  system,  with  the  stamp  of  feudal¬ 
ism  upon  it,  was  imported  into  this  country  from 
England,  where  it  had  obtained  in  the  modern  form 
for  one  hundred  and  forty  years.  It  pervaded  all 
departments  of  the  English  state,  the  army,  the  navy, 
and  the  church,  as  well  as  the  civil  service,  attaining 
a  growth  which  it  has  never  known  here.  Offices 
were  openly  bought  and  sold,  the  purchaser  acquir¬ 
ing  a  proprietary  interest  therein.  There,  as  here, 
patronage  was  the  active  coefficient  of  corrupt  elec¬ 
tions.  Rotten  boroughs  were  exposed  for  sale  in  the 
market,  and  members  of  parliament  were  bribed  to 
the  support  of  the  crown  by  sinecures,  pensions, 
and  money.  At  the  time  our  government  was 
founded,  the  spoils  system  was  flourishing  luxuri¬ 
antly  in  England,  and  George  III  found  it  a  most 
serviceable  instrument  in  enforcing  his  policy  of 
persecution  against  the  thirteen  colonies.  It  is  a 
pity  that  those  gentlemen  who  claim  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  as  peculiarly  “American”  should  have  forgot¬ 
ten  this.  It  embarrasses  their  argument.  Per  contra, 
the  merit  system  is  a  democratic  institution,  and  its 
practical  application  to  our  civil  service  was  coeval 
with  the  beginning  of  our  government.  That  Eng¬ 
land  should  have  been  before  us  in  embodying  it  in 
the  form  of  law  proves  nothing  more  than  the  im¬ 
mense  progress  which  has  been  made  in  that  country 
towards  popular  institutions. 

IV. 

“The  executive  power  of  Great  Britain  is  heredi¬ 
tary,  and  changes  only  at  the  death  of  the  monarch. 
The  administration,  however,  changes  at  will,  and 
may  change  every  week.  Therefore,  the  idea  of  life 
tenure  for  executive  officers  is  consistent  with  an 
executive  for  life.  Therefore,  an  official  class  of 
lifelong  tenure  is  consistent  with  monarchical  and 
aristocratic  government,  which  is  peculiarly  a  gov¬ 
ernment  of  classes.  But  it  is  not  consistent  with  a 
democratic  government  and  a  short-lived  executive 
where  no  class  is  recognized  by  law  and  all  men  are 
equal.” 

It  happens,  unfortunately  for  the  consistency  of 
this  argument,  that  in  England,  under  the  modern 
system  of  parliamentary  government,  the  adminis¬ 
tration  is  the  executive.  The  executive  powers  of 
the  crown  are  obsolete,  having  passed  to  the  prime 

»  Senator  Vance,  Cong.  Rec.,  vol.  xxii.  Part  III.,  p. 
‘2949. 


minister  and  his  cabinet.  But  these  officials  “  change 
at  will;”  they  “may  change  every  week.”  Conse¬ 
quently,  tenure  on  good  behavior— miscalled  life 
tenure — is  consistent  with  democratic  government 
and  a  short-lived  executive.  If  civil  service  reform 
is  not  adapted  to  the  United  States,  where  the  presi¬ 
dent  holds  for  four  years,  a  fortiori,  it  is  not  adapted 
to  England,  where  the  tenure  of  the  premier— the 
real  executive— is  the  shortest  and  most  precarious 
imaginable.  Indeed,  what  we  call  civil  service  re¬ 
form  is  the  very  life  of  parliamentary  government. 
If,  with  every  change  of  the  ministry,  a  “  clean 
sweep”  of  the  officers  should  be  made,  the  English 
civil  seivice  would  soon  be  in  a  state  of  anarchy. 
Under  snch  a  system,  rapid  alternation  in  party  con¬ 
trol  would  totally  disorganize  the  administrative 
machinery  of  the  government,  and  would  be  a  per¬ 
petual  threat  against  the  existence  of  the  empire 
itself— a  thing  of  course  not  to  be  tolerated.  The 
situation  in  England  was  logically  reducible  to  this: 
Either  the  spoils  system  must  be  abolished,  or  some 
one  party  must  be  continued  in  power  indefinitely 
which  would  mean  the  destruction  of  popular  gov¬ 
ernment.  There  could  be  no  he.sitation  in  choosing. 
The  new  democracy  achieved  a  victory  over  feudal- 
istic  privilege  that  was  complete  and  final. 

Even  apart  from  any  political  principle,  the  re. 
form  has  vindicated  itself.  When  the  administra¬ 
tive  departments  ceased  to  be  asylums  for  decayed 
gentry,  and  were  thrown  open  to  public  competi¬ 
tion,  there  was  an  improvement  in  the  morale  and 
efficiency  of  the  service.  Reorganization  upon  the 
basis  of  the  meritsystem  was  extended  even  to  India, 
where  the  duties  of  officials  are  of  a  most  delicate 
and  complicated  character,  involving,  as  they  do 
tactful  relations  with  and  control  over  two  hundred 
millions  of  aliens. 

But  it  has  come  to  pass  that  civil  service  reform, 
which  was  denounced  in  England  as  “democratic,” 
is  opposed  in  the  United  States  as  representing  ex¬ 
actly  the  opposite  tendencies.  “  Aristocracy,”  “  bu¬ 
reaucracy,”  and  “insolence  of  office”  are  expres¬ 
sions  as  familiar  as  they  are  misleading.  They  de¬ 
serve  a  brief  consideration. 

Aristocracy  means  the  permanent  exaltation  cf  a 
few  individual  names.  It  implies  great  .social  dig¬ 
nity  and  distinction,  and  generally  is  based  upon  an 
hereditary  succession  of  title  and  land.  An  aristoc¬ 
racy  of  department  clerks  and  mail-carriers  is  an 
absurdity.  However  worthy  such  persons  may  be, 
they  will  have  no  more  sr  eial  distinction  than  clerks 
in  business  houses,  whose  tenure  is  the  same  as  theirs. 
They  possess  neither  title  nor  wealth,  and  are  con¬ 
demned  to  a  routine  of  labor.  The  effect  of  service 
in  a  great  government  machine  is  to  sink  individ¬ 
uality,  not  to  exalt  it.  The  tens  of  thousands  of 
school-teachers  who  are  in  the  pay  of  every  state  do 
not  constitute  an  aristocracy.  In  fact,  they  are  rarely 
in  the  public  view,  and  this  for  the  reason  that  they 
are  not  “  in  politics.”  Fortunately,  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  has  not  been  applied  to  our  public  schools.  If, 
however,  it  were  the  practice  to  dismiss  all  the  re¬ 
publican  school- teachers  whenever  a  democratic  gov¬ 
ernor  was  elected,  and  viceversa,  we  should,  wiiliout 
doubt,  be  feelingly  assured  that  any  other  tenure 
would  seriously  imperil  our  institutions. 

Bureaucracy  is  another  chimera.  It  can  not  exist 
where  the  heads  of  administration  are  constantly 
changing,  where  admission  to  the  civil  service  is 
open  to  all,  and  where  the  removal  of  the  unfit  serv¬ 
ant  is  expeditious  and  easy. 

Insolence  of  office  is  an  a  priori  argument.  It  has 
been  pertinently  said,  in  answer  to  it,  that,  at  the 
time  tenure  on  good  behavior  was  superseded  by 
Crawford’s  four-year  law  and  by  Jackson’s  regime, 
it  was  never  urged  by  the  innovators  as  a  reason  for 
the  change  that  the  manners  of  office  holders  were 
contemptuous  and  overbearing.  The  objection  is  an 
after-thought.  Of  the  insolence  of  bureaucracy  and 
of  the  arrogance  of  aristocracy  the  American  people 
have  had  no  experience  under  any  official  tenure, 
and  are  not  likely  to  have. 

A  civil  service  becomes  formidable  to  the  liberties 
of  a  people  only  when  it  .seeks  to  perpetuate  itself  by 
Interfering  with  elections.  Inasmuch  as  this  purpose 
(to  override  the  public  will  and  to  create  a  bureau 


118 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


oracy)  is  the  very  vice  of  the  American  spoils  system, 
speculation  as  to  what  may  be,  nndcr  civil  service 
reform,  can  be  profitably  postponed  to  an  observa¬ 
tion  of  what  is. 

The  countless  minor  oflices  of  the  United  Slates 
are  tiiled  by  a  distinct  cla.ss  known  as  “professional 
])oliticians.’’  Tlicsc  men  live  by  politics,  receiving 
place  as  reward  for  political  work.  Their  control 
of  public  office  is  monopolistic.  Mr.  Bryce  estimates 
their  number  at  two  hundred  thousand,  but  this  is 
probably  an  underestimate.  They  constitute  a  guild, 
although  they  are  not  organized  under  formal  art¬ 
icles  of  association.  With  them  office-getting  (or 
keeping  in  office)  is  an  industry,  and  the  fees  and 
emoluments  are  accepted  as  payment  for  partisan 
services  rather  than  for  the  exercise  of  official  func¬ 
tions.  The  influence  which  the  office-holders  wield 
is  altogether  out  of  proportion  to  their  numbers  or 
to  their  inteliectual  attainments.  But  they  possess 
this  advantage  over  ali  other  classes— they  are  uni¬ 
fied  and  organized.  They  make  the  management 
of  primaries  and  conventions  the  serious  business 
of  their  lives,  and  ac(iuire  a  skill  and  experience 
in  “wire-pulling”  which  ordinary  citizens  can  not 
hope  to  cope  with.  The  politics  of  the  country  is 
In  the  hands  of  these  men.  The  people  elect,  but 
can  not  nominate,  being  reduced  to  a  choice  of  can¬ 
didates  selected  by  the  politicians  of  opposing  par¬ 
ties.  These  -politicians  dictate  nominations,  high 
and  low,  and  afterwards  foreclose  a  lien  upon  pub¬ 
lic  place  which  they  claim  to  have  earned.  All 
others,  those  who  can  not  show  a  certificate  of  this 
character,  are  excluded.  The  spoils  system  has  been 
compared  with  a  fairly  conducted  lottery,  in  which 
every  one  has  an  eipial  chance.  Ifut  the  analogy 
is  loose.  In  all  lotteries  the  prizes  are  limited  to 
ticket-holders,  and  in  the  American  political  lot¬ 
tery  the  ticket-holders  are  few.  The  farmer,  the 
shopkeeper,  and  the  laborer  generally  have  not  the 
remotest  chance  of  prefennent,  unless  they  can  pro¬ 
duce  evidence  of  partisan  woik  more  or  less  tech¬ 
nical  or  questionable.  Of  course  the  number  who 
can  ofl'er  such  credentials  is  comparatively  small. 
To  begin  with,  all  the  members  of  the  defeated  po¬ 
litical  party  (who,  under  our  electoral  system,  con¬ 
stitute,  as  often  as  not,  more  than  one  half  of  the 
people)  are  rigidly  debarred.  Secondly,  only  that 
small  contingent  of  the  dominant  party  who  have 
been  of  practical  use  to  the  candidates  in  conven¬ 
tion  and  elsewhere,  and  who  posses.ses  the  advant¬ 
age  of  a  personal  scqnaintance  with  one  or  more 
of  them,  receive  any  consideration  whatever.  The 
idea,  therefore,  that  the  offices  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  people  is  the  shallowest  of  delusions.  They  are 
sold  to  the  few  for  a  jirice  which  the  many  are  un. 
willing  and  are  unable  to  pay.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that,  in  this  barter  and  sale  of  public  place,  the 
proper  transaction  of  government  business  is  lost 
sight  of.  Competency  does  not  appoint  an  applicant, 
and  can  not  save  an  incumbent.  Other  motives  of 
a  mercenary  or  selfish  character  control  in  both 
cases.  Office  brokerage  is  a  shameless  and  conspicu¬ 
ous  fact,  as  the  newspapers  and  the  congre.ssional 
debates  daily  attest.  It  is  the  great  object  of  civil 
service  reform  to  restore  these  oflices  to  the  people, 
and  to  overthrow  the  bastard  aristocracy  who  have 
despoiled  them.  Those  good  citizens  who  are  ap¬ 
prehensive  of  government  by  “official  caste”  need 
not  strain  their  eyes  to  the  future.  They  should 
look  about  them. 

V. 

“The  political  disqualification  of  office-holders  is 
an  invasion  of  their  rights  as  American  citizens.” 

Civil  service  reform,  as  embodied  in  the  Pendle¬ 
ton  Act  of  188;!,  does  not  deny  to  an  office-holder 
any  rights  which  properly  belong  to  him  as  a  citi¬ 
zen  of  the  United  States  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  restores 
to  him  those  rights  of  which  he  has  been  deprived. 
It  protects  him  against  partisan  discrimination  by 
the  appointing  power:  it  protects  his  salary  from 
assessment  by  his  official  superiors;  it  protects  him 
against  removal  for  refusing  to  render  any  political 
service.  It  restores  to  him  the  right  to  think  for 
himself,  and  to  register  his  opinion  at  the  ballot- 
box,  free  from  the  espionage  of  the  informer.  In 
this  wise  the  law  protects  him.  But  civil  service 


reform,  in  its  gross  and  scope,  within  the  statute  and 
without,  looks  to  the  protection  of  the  jieople  also. 
There  are  certain  things  which  a  citizen  as  a  place¬ 
holder  may  not  do.  He  may  not  use  hisofiicial  in¬ 
fluence  to  coerce  the  political  actions  of  his  neighbor, 
to-wit :  he  may  not  neglect  the  duties  of  his  office  to 
do  a  henchman’s  w  ork  ;  he  may  not  pack  primaries, 
manipulate  conventions,  collect  and  disbur.se  elec¬ 
tion  funds,  corrupt  the  ballot  box,  or  tamper  with 
the  returns.  Some  of  these  things  arc  forbidden  by 
the  federal  and  state  criminal  law ;  others  not.  But 
whether  or  not,  any  and  all  of  them  are  grave 
breaches  of  his  duty,  both  as  a  citizen  and  ns  an 
oflice-holder.  Yet  these  are  the  things  which,  in 
varying  kind  and  degree,  many  officials  notoriously 
are  doing.  Is  it  neces.sary  to  characterize  such  par 
tisan  activity  as  a  monstrous  evil  in  a  country  where 
the  triumph  of  right  is  a  iiuestion  of  majority,  or 
to  justify  the  executive  orders  which  have  been 
Issued  to  suppress  it? 

In  England,  more  tlian  a  century  ago,  the  inter¬ 
ference  of  office-holders  in  elections  assumed  such 
proportions  that  the  whole  body  of  subordinates  in 
the  executive  department  were  forbidden  by  law 
to  vote  for  members  of  parliament.  In  18G8,  after 
the  introduction  of  the  merit  system,  this  law  was 
repealed,  as  being  an  unnecessary  restriction.  If  a 
man  procures  an  appointment  on  his  deserts,  and 
not  through  political  influences,  tlie  obligations  of 
appointee  to  patron  do  not  exist,  and  the  tempta¬ 
tion  to  indulge  in  corrupt  election  practices  disap¬ 
pears.  The  American  doctrine  of  the  relation  of  the 
office-holder  to  the  body  politic  was  set  forth  (albeit 
iittle  to  the  immediate  purpose)  by  President  Cleve¬ 
land  in  an  executive  order  issued  .Inly  14,  1886.  In 
it  he  said : 

“Individual  interest  and  activity  in  |>olitical  af. 
fairs  are  by  no  means  condemned.  Office-holders 
are  neither  disfranchised  nor  forbidden  the  exercise 
of  jiolitical  privileges,  but  their  privileges  are  not  en¬ 
larged,  nor  is  their  duty  to  party  increased  to  perni-. 
cions  activity,  by  office  holding.  A  just  discrimina 
tion  in  this  regard  between  the  things  a  citizen  may 
properly  do  and  the  purposes  for  which  a  public  of¬ 
fice  should  not  be  used  is  easy,  in  the  light  of  a  cor¬ 
rect  appreciation  of  the  relation  between  the  jieople 
and  those  entrusted  with  official  place,  and  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  necessity,  under  our  form  of  govern¬ 
ment,  of  Jiolitical  action  free  from  official  coercion.” 

VI. 

“  Is  a  competitive  examination  the  best  or  any  test 
for  official  competency  or  efficiency  ?  May  not  a  man 
be  eminently  competent  for  official  preferment,  and 
not  at  all  competent  for  a  competitive  examina¬ 
tion?’”:' 

Tne  system  of  competitive  examination  may  not  be 
perfectly  adapted  to  ascertaining  the  comparative  fit¬ 
ness  of  candidates  for  place;  but  it  is  the  best  that 
has  been  suggested,  and  it  is  infinitely  better  than  a 
system  in  which  fitness  is  not  considered  at  all. 

It  accomplishes,  within  the  sphere  to  which  it  has 
been  limited,  the  chief  object  of  civil  service  reform, 
namely,  the  removal  of  the  ministerial  offices  from 
tlie  domain  of  partisan  politics.  It  tends  also  to  in¬ 
crease  the  efficiency  and  to  decrease  the  cost  of  the 
civil  service— an  imjiortant  though  secondary  consid¬ 
eration.  There  are  some  kinds  of  ollicers  who  can 
not  well  be  chosen  by  competition :  the  fourlh-cla.ss 
postmasters,  lor  instance,  who  live  in  sparsely  settled 
districts,  and  who  may  be  appointed  by  one  of  sev¬ 
eral  feasible  plans  that  have  been  suggested,  and  the 
higher  grade  of  officers,  such  as  chiefs  of  bureaus, 
who.se  competency  would  be  better  assured  if  they 
obtained  their  positions  by  promotion,  ba.sed  upon 
worth,  fidelity,  and  long  ex  lerience.  As  to  the  in¬ 
termediate  offices,  the  system  of  competitive  exam¬ 
ination  works  satisfactorily.  The  official  duties  are 
clearly  defined,  and  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  test  the 
qualifications  of  applicants.  If  it  be  urged  that  busi¬ 
ness  men  do  not  select  their  employes  by  this  meth¬ 
od,  it  may  be  replied  that  they  always  make  search¬ 
ing  verbal  Inquiries  into  the  capacity  of  applicants, 
and  that,  in  some  instances,  where  large  numbers  of 
men  are  employed,  written  questions  arc  submitted. 

’^'Senator  Call,  Cong.  Kec.,  vol.  xiv.  Part  I.  p.  498.  j 


In  fact,  competition,  in  some  form,  is  the  unwritten 
law  of  the  commercial  world,  it  being  a  needful  guar-  [ 
antee  of  the  best  service. 

It  is,  of  course,  po.ssible  that  a  man  may  be  “emi¬ 
nently  competent  for  official  preferment,  and  not  at 
all  competent  for  a  competitive  examination;”  but 
the  chances  are  greatly  against  it,  if  the  examination 
be  “  practical,”  as  the  law  says  it  shall  be.  The  civil 
.service  commi.ssion  have  performed  their  duty  in 
this  matter  judiciously.  That  part  of  the  examina¬ 
tion  which  is  intended  to  test  the  general  fitness  of 
applicants  will  not  greatly  tax  the  mental  resources 
of  anyone  po.s.sessing  a  common  school  education, 
unless  expert  s.  rvices  are  reijuired.  Tlie  standard 
set  is  low  rather  than  high.  Sir  G.  O.  Trevelyan  says 
that  the  opening  of  tlie  English  civil  and  military 
services  to  comjietition,  in  its  influence  upon  nation¬ 
al  education,  was  equivalent  to  a  hundred  thousand 
scholarships  and  exhibitions  of  the  most  valuable 
kind.  Whatever  may  be  the  influence  of  the  system 
of  federal  examinations  upon  the  education  of  the 
American  people,  there  can  not  be  two  opinions  as 
to  the  effect  of  that  system  upon  the  national  charac¬ 
ter.  It  is  needless  to  point  out  that  a  public  contest  ’ 
of  merit,  inio  which  any  one  may  enter  without  fear 
or  solicitation,  induces  high  endeavor,  and  conserves  j 
manhood.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  patent 
that  where  offices  go  by  favor  thrift  follows  fawning.  • 
Women  seeking  an  honest  career  are  reduced  to  im¬ 
portuning,  mayhap  subjected  to  insult;  young  men 
are  transformed  into  mendicants  and  sycophants; 
and  the  position  of  all  applicants  does  not  differ  ma¬ 
terially  from  that  of  the  Elizabethan  courtier,  whose 
ignominy  Spenser,  in  travail  of  spirit,  has  described 
.so  vividly  .•  ' 

“  Full  little  knowest  thou,  that  hast  not  tride. 

What  hell  it  is  in  suing  long  to  bide: 

To  loose  good  days,  that  might  be  better  spent; 

To  waste  long  nights  in  pensive  discontent ;  1 

To  speed  to  day,  to  be  put  back  to  morrow ;  J 

To  feed  on  hope,  to  pine  with  feare  and  sorrow ; 

To  fret  thy  soul  with  crosses  and  with  cares; 

To  eate  thy  heart  through  comfortless  dispaires; 

To  fawne,  to  crouche,  to  wait,  to  ride,  to  ronne. 

To  spend,  to  give,  to  want,  to  be  undonne.” 

—  Oliver  T.  Morton,  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  April 


Congressman  Ray  contributes  the  follow¬ 
ing  interview  to  the  Washington  Penny  Press: 
“Senator  Quay  gets  evi  rything  he  goes  after 
He  is  very  willing  to  sign  the  applications  of 
office-seekers,  but  he  has  a  special  method  of 
indicating  the  man  whom  he  wants  appointed. 
lie  will  sign  the  papers  of  a  dozen  men  who  want  ; 
the  same  place,  but  he  will  make  a  personal  visit  to  j 
a  department  for  the  man  of  his  choice.  Some  time 
ago  I  went  to  the  agricultural  department  to 
get  a  friend  a  place,  and  urged  upon  Secretary  | 
Rusk  the  fact  that  my  man  was  warmly  in-  | 
dorsed  by  Senator  Quay.  But  the  secretary  I 
told  me,  ‘Bless  your  soul.  I’ve  already  ap- 
pointed  a  man  for  that  place,  and  he  was  j 
especially  endorsed  personally  by  the  senator.’  ? 
So  you  see  Senator  Quay  has  several  degrees 
of  indorsement,  and  the  departments  under¬ 
stand  how  to  regard  his  name  on  a  document.” 


John  A.  Sample,  the  present  democratic 
postmaster  of  this  city,  has  sent  his  resigna¬ 
tion  to  the  President.  A  number  of  worthy  re¬ 
publican  citizens  are  applicants  for  the  office, 
and  as  a  compromise.  Congressman  Browne  has 
consented  to  allow  the  citizens  to  hold  an  election,  by 
which  means  to  choose  from  among  the  appli¬ 
cants  the  one  to  be  appointed.  The  election 
will  be  held  in  the  near  future.  Postmaster 
Sample’s  term  did  not  expire  until  December 
next.  Knightstown  Special  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  March  5. 


The  Civil  Service  chronicle. 


“  VVh«t  is  needed  is  a  Christian  conscience  vital  and  real  enough  to  damn 
iniquity  even  when  it  would  be  more  convenient  to  have  it  taken  up  into  glory. 
So  that  if  you  are  a  democrat  and  hear  a  democrat  lie,  you  will  be  prepared  to 
brand  it  as  a  lie  then  and  there.  If  you  are  a  republican  and  know  a  man  is 
a  bribe  giver,  you  will  be  prepared  to  brand  him  as  a  bribe  giver,  even  though  he 
V)e  a  republican  and  worth  a  good  deal  to  his  party.” — Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhust. 


“  The  purification  of  politics  is  an  iridescent  dream.  The  decalogue  and 
the  golden  rule  have  no  place  in  a  political  campaign.  The  object  is  success. 
To  defeat  the  antagonist  and  expel  the  party  in  power  is  the  puri)08e.  This 
modern  cant  about  the  corruption  of  politics  is  fatiguing  in  the  extreme.  It 
proceeds  from  the  tea  custard  and  syllabub  dilettanteism,  the  frivolous  and 
desultory  sentimentalism  of  epicenes.— Senator  Pigals. 


VoL.  I,  No.  15. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  MAY,  1890. 


’T'E'DM’Q  .  J  50  cents  per  annnm. 
Xiiilvlim  •  5  cents  per  copy. 


fT 

I 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  adveriisements  will  be  received. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

■  Indianapolis,  Indiana 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires  facts  regard¬ 
ing)  the  so-called  '^resignations'’  of  fourth  elms 
posbna.ders ;  who  has  reguested  these  resignations, 
bj)  what  agencies  have  these  been  effected,  and  in 
rvhal  instances  have  resignations  been  practically 
forced  .0  prevent  loss  on  the  post-office  furniture  by 
disposing  of  it  to  the  ivould-be  successor  in  office. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires  infoimation 
of  all  cases  where  the  man  at  the  top  of  the  eligible 
lists  for  positions  in  the  railway  mail  service  has 
i  not  been  chosen. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  will  be  glad  to  receive 
information  upon  the  following  points : 

The  name  of  any  nexvspaper  editor  or  owner  who 
has  or  may  receive  a  federal  appointment,  and  the 
name  of  the  office. 

The  names  of  all  members  of  political  committees 
or  delegates  given  a  federal  appointment,  and  the 
name  of  the  office. 

The  names  of  all  federal  office-holders  who  are 
members  of  any  political  committee  or  who  act  as 
delegates,  naming  the  committee  or  the  convention. 

Statements  regarding  any  political  activity  in 
primaries,  conventions  or  political  work  done  for 
any  nominees  by  federal  offiee- holders. 

The  civil  service  commissioners  have  sum¬ 
med  up  their  case  before  the  congressional  in¬ 
vestigating  committee.  We  have  not  received 
Mr.  Thompson’s  argument,  hut  it  is  spoken  of 
as  a  remarkably  eloquent  defense  of  the  merit 
system.  Mr.  Roosevelt  answered  the  accusers 
point  by  point  and  conclusively.  Whatever 
the  report  of  the  committee  may  be,  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  attack  upon  the  commission  was 
made  and  carried  on  because  the  commissoin 
enforced  the  law. 

The  conclusion  of  Mr.  Oliver  T.  Morton’s 
article  in  the  Atlantic  upon  “Some  Popular 
Objections  to  Civil  Service  Reform,”  appeared 
in  the  May  number  and  fully  sustained  the 
character  of  the  first  part.  The  Indiana  civil 
service  reform  association  should  divide  this 
article  into  tracts  and  send  them  broadcast 
over  the  state.  What  friend  of  the  association 
will  furnish  the  means? 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  civil 
service  reform  association  was  held  at  Fort 
Wayne,  May  16.  The  business  meeting  in  the 
afternoon  adopted  the  resolutions  published, 
elsewhere.  In  the  evening  the  address  of  Mr- 
Bonaparte,  which  the  Chronicle  also  pub¬ 
lishes,  was  delivered  to  a  large  and  clo.sely  in¬ 
terested  audience.  Both  meetings  were,  in 
size  and  interest,  the  most  successful  ever  held. 
Fort  Wayne  is  perhaps  the  best  instance  of  the 
notable  progress  made  during  the  last  year. 


The  individuals  in  favor  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form  became  united  in  the  association,  and 
having  taken  upon  themselves  the  arrange¬ 
ments  for  the  annual  meeting,  they  were  strong 
enough  to  make  it,  as  we  have  said,  the  best 
ever  held.  The  same  organization  has  been 
accomplished  in  other  parts  of  Indiana,  and  it 
may  be  put  down  as  a  sure  sign  of  the  growth 
of  the  reform  sentiment. 

The  most  important  struggle  yet  had  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  merit  system  since  the  passage  of 
the  Pendleton  act,  and  which  has  been  going 
on  in  the  house  the  entire  session,  reached  its 
climax  in  the  debate  over  the  appropriation 
for  the  commission.  The  spoilsmen  put  forth 
their  full  strength,  and  were  completely  routed 
by  a  vote  of  120  to  61.  It  is  doubtful  if  they 
can  again  muster  so  many  votes.  The  debate 
indicated  the  growing  feeling  among  party 
managers  that  the  merit  system  will  have  to 
be  shouldered  and  advocated  as  a  party  meas¬ 
ure.  It  was  well  known  that  Mr.  Lodge  would 
give  it  his  best  efforts,  but  when  Mr.  McKin¬ 
ley,  the  republican  leader  of  the  house,  stood 
up  and  claimed  the  civil  service  law  as  a  re¬ 
publican  measure,  and  declared  that  it  was 
good  and  wholesome  for  the  whole  country, 
and  that  no  party  will  have  the  courage  to  re- 
l>€al  it,  he  gave  proof  that  republican  party 
management,  whether  from  virtue  or  nece.ssity, 
is  actually  taking  its  stand  upon  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  the  merit  system  instead  of  confining 
itself  largely  to  platform  expressions.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  when,  some  four  years 
ago.  Senator  Harrison  was  criticising  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland’s  shortcomings  with  the  civil 
service,  he  expressly  reserved  his  own  opinion 
of  the  system.  It  is  fair  to  state  the  claim 
that  many  leading  democrats  were  anxious  to 
speak  in  favor  of  the  merit  system,  but  could 
not  obtain  recognition.  This  may  indicate 
the  beginning  of  a  race  by  both  parties  to  get, 
in  fact  as  well  as  in  words,  upon  civil  service 
reform  ground.  Our  Indiana  congressmen 
allowed  Cheadle  to  make  a  sorry  appearance 
for  himself  and  the  state. 


The  Norfolk  republican  club,  of  Boston,  has 
“  banquetted  ”  Clarkson.  It  was  stated  that 
this  proceeding  was  intended  to  give  an  “  im¬ 
petus”  to  the  campaign  in  that  state.  The 
scattered  fragments  of  the  tin-horn  Farwell 
club  might  try  the  cohesive  properties  of  a 
meal  to  Clarkson.  If  this  worked  well  they 
might  change  their  name  to  the  tin-horn 
Clarkson  club,  and  buy  some  more  furniture 
and  rent  another  room.  Clarkson  could  give 
this  club  enough  impetus  to  keep  the  constable 
off  from  their  efiects  for  at  least  three  months. 


Now  IS  the  time  for  civil  service  reformers 
in  Ohio  to  be.stir  themselves.  They  are  there 
in  plenty.  It  only  needs  a  little  patience  and 
enthusiasm  to  find  one  another  out  and  to 
effect  an  organization.  Ohio  politics  have 
been  graded  quite  as  low  as  the  Indiana  arti¬ 
cle,  and  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  say  neither 
state  wanted  anything  different.  The  fact  is 
that  the  bulk  of  the  people  of  both  states  have 
but  little  sympathy  with  spoils  politics,  but 
the  intense  partisanship  common  to  both 
has  been  a  hindrance  to  any  reform  that  might 
require  a  reproof  to  the  party  in  power.  It 
is  true  that  we  have  outstripped  our  neighbor, 
but  surety  now,  after  the  stand  taken  by  Con¬ 
gressmen  Butterworth  and  McKinley,  those 
who  realize  the  dangers  of  the  spoils  system 
should  for  a  time  forsake  ease  and  fight  ac¬ 
tively  for  a  good  principle.  It  ought  to  be 
matter  for  encouragement  not  to  have  a  spokes¬ 
man  like  our  Cheadle. 

When  the  Civil  Service  Record,  the  first  paper 
printed  entirely  for  the  dissemination  of  facts 
regarding  the  civil  service  and  the  reform  of 
that  service,  was  started  in  1880  it  was  a  paper 
of  four  pages.  A  look  at  its  early  issues  shows 
how  thoroughly  its  editors  had  searched  for 
current  news  and  how  meagre  the  field  was. 
The  daily  papers  did  not  think  it  worth  while 
to  chronicle  the  quarrels  and  contests  and 
happenings  going  on  among  the  spoilsmen  big 
and  little.  What  is  the  place  to-day  of  all 
facts  relating  to  the  civil  service?  There  is 
no  other  topic  the  year  through  that  occupies 
an  equal  space  in  the  public  prints.  It  was 
not  that  the  facts  did  not  exist,  but  it  had  not 
been  discovered  that  under  the  surface  of  the 
ordinary  political  currents  which  ran  in  the 
shape  of  high  sounding  doctrines  and  plat¬ 
forms  was  a  seething  mass  of  corruption, 
engendered  solely  by  the  anxiety  to  get  office 
and  draw  pay  from  the  public  treasury;  and 
that  this  corruption  had  spread  until,  in  the 
shape  of  political  assessments,  vote  buying, 
perjury,  mercilessness,  and  degradation  of  po¬ 
litical  character,  it  had  gone  far  to  kill  out 
patriotism  and  stifle  patriotic  efforts,  and  had 
led  the  people  in  many  localities  to  submit 
themselves,  almost  without  protest,  to  the  rule 
of  Quays  and  Gormans --a  rule  which  has  no 
other  foundation  and  no  other  development 
than  the  feudalism  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Now 
all  is  changed  ;  the  cover  has  been  torn  away 
and  all  the  reform  papers  in  the  country  can 
not  find  space  for  the  facts  which  prove  the 
ruin  to  which  the  spoils  system,  unless  broken 
up,  will  lead  us;  and  this  publication  of  the 
facts  is  remorselessly  grinding  that  system  to 
pieces. 


120 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Mr.  Rooskvelt,  upon  his  return  to  Wash¬ 
ington  from  his  western  trip,  made  a  favorable 
report  regarding  the  enforcement  of  the  law  in 
this  post-office.  The  following,  from  the  re- 
{)ort,  is  of  interest : 

The  civil  service  board  at  Indianapolis  has 
evidently  been  doing  its  duty  well ;  and  a  spe¬ 
cial  meed  of  praise  belongs  to  Messrs.  Fishback 
and  Butler,  who  are  outside  of  the  post-office 
department,  and  who  nevertheless  have  done 
valuable  service  as  members  of  the  board  with 
no  other  motive  than  a  disinterested  desire  to 
perform  a  public  duty.  We  were  able  to  ap¬ 
point  Messrs.  Butler  and  Fishback  because 
they  were  in  the  service  of  the  government, 
though  really  outsiders  as  regards  the  special 
work  to  be  performed.  The  faithfulness  with 
which  thev  have  done  their  duty  and  the  good 
effect  it  &as  had  upon  the  outside  public  to 
know  that  two  gentlemen  of  their  character 
and  standing  were  officiating  as  examiners, 
emphasizes  the  recommendation^  that  we  have 
made  in  our  annual  report  to  the  effect  that 
our  local  boards  should  contain  members  not 
in  the  government  service  at  all  who  could  not 
j)OSsibly  be  coerced  by  any  official  in  the  per¬ 
formance  of  their  public  duty.  This  would 
tend  greatly  to  increase  the  public  confidence 
in  the  fairness  of  the  examinations.  They  are 
as  a  rule  i>erfectly  fair  now;  and  the  chief 
thing  to  do  is  to  get  the  public  to  believe  that 
this  is  the  case.  I  am  confident,  however,  that 
this  belief  is  growing  day  by  day. 

The  people  of  this  city  now  have  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  note  the  warped  views  which  prevail 
as  to  what  constitutes  a  good  fireman.  There 
are  twelve  vacancies  in  the  fire  department, 
and  the  chief,  Mr.  Dougherty,  thinks  that 
seven  democrats  and  five  republicans  are 
necessary.  Now  comes  Councilman  Hicklin 
and  says  that  the  people  want  a  non-partisan 
fire  department,  and  he  therefore  proposes 
that  eighteen  democrats  shall  be  appointed, 
although  this  would  make  it  necessary  to  dis¬ 
pense  with  some  experienced  firemen,  while 
but  three  of  the  eighteen  proposed  have  had 
any  experience.  Hicklin  proposes  to  continue 
turning  out  experienced  men  and  appointing 
democrats  until  the  parties  are  balanced,  and 
then  he  says  we  shall  have  a  non-partisan  fire 
department.  The  people  will  sometime  put  an 
end  to  this  trifling  with  their  vital  interests. 
The  law  puts  the  nomination  of  men  to  fill  va¬ 
cancies  upon  Mr.  Dougherty.  If  he  wants  to 
do  his  duty  to  the  people  of  this  city,  let  him 
call  upon  Messrs.  Butler  and  Fishback  of  the 
federal  examining  board,  and  we  venture  to 
say  that  they  will  make  up  for  him  a 
series  of  tests  for  candidates  for  the  position  of 
fireman  based  upon  the  tests  long  in  use  in 
New  York,  Brooklyn  and  Boston.  We  ven¬ 
ture  also  to  say  that  those  gentlemen,  with  the 
necessary  teachers  of  gymnastics,  and  physi¬ 
cians,  will,  without  charge,  act  as  an  examin¬ 
ing  board  for  him.  These  preliminaries  set¬ 
tled,  let  Mr.  Dougherty  advertise  that  he  has 
twelve  vacancies  to  be  competed  for,  and  that 
the  competition  is  open  to  all  comers.  When 
the  board  has  held  its  examination  and  made 
out  its  graded  list,  let  Mr.  Dougherty  nomi¬ 
nate  the  highest  twelve  and  let  us  see  if  the 
council  will  refuse  to  confirm  them  because 
their  party  or  factional  stripe  does“not  hap¬ 
pen  to  suit.  The  citizens  who  own  the  prop¬ 


erty  in  this  city  care  nothing  about  the  politi¬ 
cal  beliefs  of  the  firemen,  but  they  do  want 
firemen  of  the  best  physical  and  other  attain¬ 
ments  that  can  be  obtained  for  that  busine.ss; 
and  in  the  effort  to  get  such  men  they  may 
well  pray  to  be  delivered  from  the  Hicklins 
of  all  parties.  There  is  one  way  to  get  them; 
and  that  is  by  competition  open  to  all  before 
an  impartial  board. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Passed  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  In¬ 
diana  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa¬ 
tion,  May  i6. 

The  Indiana  civil  service  reform  association 
believes  that  the  purpose  of  public  office  of  wha^^ 
ever  kind  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  absolutely 
exclude  the  use  of  such  office  in  any  manner  as 
personal  or  party  spoil ;  and  any  such  use 
may  justly  be  considered  as  a  violation  of 
the  trust  undertaken  by  the  acceptance  of  the 
office. 

2.  We  desire  to  express  our  full  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  present  civil  service  commission 
whose  fearless  and  efficient  performance  of  its 
duties  has  secured  the  enforcement  of  the 
civil  service  law  and  has  gained  many  victo¬ 
ries  for  the  merit  system. 

3.  A  great  improvement,  however,  in  one  de¬ 
partment  makes  it  not  the  less  our  duty  to  point 
out  great  evils  in  the  rest  of  the  civil  service, 
comprising  more  than  100,000  places;  nor  is 
it  any  excuse  to  say  that  the  present  is  follow¬ 
ing  in  the  steps  of  proceeding  adminis¬ 
trations. 

4.  In  general  this  vast  number  of  public 
offices  with  annual  emoluments  of  many  mil¬ 
lions  are  being  parcelled  out  by  the  President 
to  congressmen  who  in  turn  divide  them  among 
their  most  active  personal  followers.  This  is 
feudalism,  and  being  such  it  is  undemocratic 
and  un-American  and  is  in  direct  contiadic- 
tion  of  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  constitu¬ 
tion.  It  is  a  direct  violation  of  the  promi¬ 
ses  of  the  platform  upon  which  the  adminis¬ 
tration  was  elected.  As  one  of  the  many  scan¬ 
dalous  and  humiliating  results  of  this  system 
we  note  the  boasted  displacement  of  more  than 
30,000  postmasters  in  a  single  year,  and  the 
proposed  displacement  of  10,000  more. 

5.  We  thank  our  western  congressmen,  Mc¬ 
Kinley  and  Butterworth,  and  those  who  joined 
with  them,  for  their  able  and  successful  as 
sistance  in  beating  back  the  recent  attack 
upon  the  civil  service  law.  This,  and  other 
attacks  upon  the  merit  system,  we  regret  to 
say,  were  fostered  and  encouraged  by  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  offices  by  the  Administration  until 
the  appetite  for  spoils,  always  insatiable,  be¬ 
came  too  sharp  to  be  controlled. 

6.  We  respectfully  request  the  President  to 
bring  all  cities  having  free  delivery,  within 
the  operation  of  the  civil  service  law  at  an 
early  day.  And  we  earnestly  insist  that  the 
present  practice  with  the  unclassified  service 
cannot  continue.  The  offices  cannot  remain 
in  part  spoil  and  in  part  competitive. 

Believing  that  the  merit  system  must  over¬ 
come  its  opponent,  we  ask  the  President  and 
congress  to  take  such  measures  as  will  soon 


bring  the  operations  of  the  government  to  an 
exclusively  business  basis.  Toward  this  end 
we  ask  a  careful  consideration  of  the  bid  in¬ 
troduced  by  Mr.  Lodge  to  regulate  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  fourth-class  postmasters. 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

[Address  before  the  New  York  Association,  May  8.] 

It  is  very  droll  that  a  practice  which  was 
gaily  satirized  in  Steele’s  Taller  nearly  two 
centuries  ago  as  an  absurdity  in  the  local  life 
of  London  should  be  gravely  defended  as  a 
proper  and  characteristic  policy  for  the  great¬ 
est  and  most  intelligent  of  republics.  A  friend 
of  the  Taller' s  describes  certain  solicitations 
for  employment.  “  Mr.  Jobn  Taplish,  having 
served  all  offices  and  being  reduced,  desires 
your  vote  for  singing  clerk  of  the  parish.” 
Another  “has  had  ten  children,  all  whom  his 
wife  has  suckled  herself,  therefore  humbly 
desires  to  be  a  schoolmaster.”  In  this  country 
if  Mr.  John  Taplish,  who  is  reduced  in  cir 
cumstances,  or  the  worthy  father  of  ten  chil¬ 
dren,  will  both  add  to  those  qualifications  for 
public  employment  a*  willingness  to  get  up  at 
any  hour  of  the  night  and  ride  thirty  miles 
upon  the  private  biisiness  of  a  senator  of  the 
United  States,  we  have  the  senator’s  own  au¬ 
thority  for  saying  that  he  should  consider  it  a 
service  which  ought  to  be  paid  for  out  of  the 
public  treasury. 

The  humor  of  this  proposition,  which  would 
certainly  haveseemed  to  Dick  Steele  to  require 
another  bottle  for  its  adequate  celebration,  is 
greatly  heightened  by  its  grave  advocacy  as  a 
peculiarly  American  proceeding.  But  as  the 
distinction  of  America  is  self-reliance  and 
fair  play,  it  might  be  supposed  that  a  system 
which  makes  2)ublic  agents  of  private  servants, 
which  fills  the  public  employment  by  personal 
servility  and  not  by  proved  merit,  which  prac¬ 
tically  excludes  nine-tenths  of  the  people  from 
all  opportunity  of  such  employment  and  effects 
a  general  corruption  of  politics  by  patronage, 
would  be  considered  especially  un-American. 

DEMOCRATIC  STRAWS. 

Harrison  is  the  last  president  who  will 
ever  use  the  deputy  president  and  patronage 
boss  system  to  distribute  the  offices  as  prizes  to 
the  scalawags  who  do  the  “  dirty  work  ”  of  the 
campaign.  Members  of  congress  will  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  resign  as  deputy  presidents.  They 
can  not  be  congressmen  and  patronage  bosses 
both.  Some  of  them  will  be  convinced  of  that 
before  the  year  is  out,  but  in  the  mean  time 
they  may  accept  or  reject  as  they  please  the 
assurance  that  the  decent  people  of  the 
country  are  heartily  sick  of  patronage  brokers 
and  patronage  bossism. — Si.  Louis  Republic, 
April  26,  1890. 


“  I  feel  the  deepest  interest  in  the  movement 
which  looks  to  the  success  of  civil  service  re^ 
form,  and  would  make  any  reasonable  sacri¬ 
fice  to  promote  its  progress.  The  unfair  as¬ 
saults  which  have  been  made  upon  it  will 
prove  abortive  if  its  friends  will  persevere  in 
their  advocacy  and  good  work.  It  may  be  my 
duty  to  have  something  to  say  in  the  senate,  if 
the  enemies  of  the  reform  should  endeavor  to 
cripple  the  vfork."— Senator  Buller,  of  South  Caro¬ 
lina. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


121 


a 


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4 

I 

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■V 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an 
oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition 
did  homage,  “  openly  and  humbly  kneeling, 
being  unigrt,  uncovered  and  holding  up 
liis  hands,  both  together,  between  tliose  of 
his  lord,  who  sate  before  him,  and  there 
professing  that  he  did  becomes  his  MAN 
from  tliat  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
eartly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss 
from  his  lord.” 


— An  intensely  bitter  fight  has  been  raging 
for  some  lime  among  the  republicans  at  Stan- 
berry,  Mo.,  over  the  postmastership  of  that 
place,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  term  of  the 
democratic  incumbent  expires  on  the  29th  of 
this  month.  A  few  days  since  the  name  of 
Vinson  T.  Williams,  the  editor  of  the  Stan- 
berry  Herald,  was  sent  to  the  senate  as  the  suc¬ 
cessor  of  Postmaster  Dunn.  The  confirmation 
followed  swiftly,  being  made  on  Friday  last, 
but  on  Monday  A1  Tomblin,  of  Staiiberry,  and 
one  of  the  leading  republicans  of  the  city,  ap¬ 
peared  here  to  contest  the  selection  of  Wil¬ 
liams,  and  at  his  request  the  confirmation  of 
Williams  was  reconsidered  .so  as  to  give  him 
an  opportunity  to  present  the  case  to  the  Pres¬ 
ident.  To-day  the  President  issued  an  order 
recalling  Williams’s  name,  which  makes  the 
case  interesting,  as  many  republicans  of  that 
vicinity  have  wired  the  President  in  Wil¬ 
liams’s  hehalf,  among  them  C.  0.  Patton,  a 
llan'iso)i  elector  for  the  third  congressional  district, 
and  A.  R.  Stockton,  th*:  chairman  of  the  republican 
county  central  committee. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
St.  Louis  Republic,  March  14. 

— He  [the  President]  found,  for  instance,  that 
the  national  committee,  hoping  to  win  the 
election  without  Indiana,  was  disposed  to  in¬ 
sist  that  Indiana  should  pay  its  own  way  and 
secure  the  electoral  vote  of  the  state  for  its 
not  very  favorite  son.  Platt,  Quay,  Clarkson, 
and  Dudley  were  believed  to  be  willing  that 
Harrison  should  be  beaten  in  his  own  state 
if  they  could  elect  him  in  other  states  and  so 
put  him  in  the  White  House  with  a  black 
eye.  Then  it  was  that  a  conference  of  the  In¬ 
diana  leaders  was  called  at  the  Denison 
House  in  Indianapolis  to  hear  the  candidate’s 
appeal  for  help.  The  leaders  were  implored 
to  raise  money.  The  chairmen  of  county 
committees  were  at  the  conference  addressed 
by  Harrison.  After  the  candidate,  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  had  personally  told  the  workers 
about  the  refusal  of  the  national  committee 
to  furnish  any  funds,  Huston,  New,  Michener, 
and  other  members  of  the  state  committee  saw 
them  privately.  The  chairmen  were  assured 
that  if  they  would  raise  the  needed  money, 
and  get  out  the  vote  of  their  counties  so  as  to 
carry  the  state,  they  should  control  the  pat¬ 
ronage  of  their  counties  when  the  President 
had  been  safely  landed. 

In  Daviess  county  a  half  dozen  formed  a 
pool,  raised  $100  apiece,  and  bid  off  the  post- 
office  at  Washington  to  M.  L.  D.  Sefrits,  pro¬ 
prietor  of  the  Washington  Gazette,ih.e  arrange¬ 
ment  being  that  the  pool  men  were  to  be  rec¬ 
ompensed  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  office 
after  it  had  been  given  to  the  winner. —  Wash¬ 
ington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  NatK  19. 

— The  ring’s  candidate  for  postmaster  had  not 
been  a  soldier,  and  up  came  the  Grand  Army 
Post  with  one  W.  P.  Ellis,  an  old  soldier,  as  an 
applicant,  and  the  war  began.  The  Grand 
.\rmy  veterans  made  it  very  hot  for  the  ad¬ 
ministration.  They  demanded  the  fulfillment 
of  the  promises  made  during  the  campaign  to 
the  soldiers,  and  threatened  vengeance  in  that 
locality  if  one  of  their  number  was  turned 
down  for  a  civilian.  The  contest  raged  for  a 
considerable  time  and  finally  Ellis  won,  and 


now  the  members  of  the  ring  who  put  up  the 
funds  have  nothing  to  show  for  it,  and  a  feel¬ 
ing  as  though  they  possessed  the  proper  anat¬ 
omy  if  some  person  with  a  No.  10  brogan 
would  volunteer  to  do  the  kicking. 

Mr.  Sefrit’s  organ,  the  Washington  Gazette, 
recently  raised  the  howl.  It  said  : 

Before  the  Chicago  convention  the  party  organizers 
were  all  right.  They  were  begged  to  interest  the  peo¬ 
ple  in  the  candidate  that  the  state  managers  had  de¬ 
cided  upon.  They  were  implored  to  manufacture  a 
sentiment  which  would  send  the  Indiana  delegates 
to  Chicago,  practically  a  unit  for  General  Harrison. 
How  well  this  was  accomplished  we  all  know.  After 
the  Indiana  man  had  been  chosen  by  the  great  con¬ 
vention,  further  responsibilities  of  the  gravest  char¬ 
acter  fell  upon  the  “workers.”  They  cheerfully  and 
nnhesiiatingly  accepted  the  burden  and  nnstintingly 
devoted  their  time,  influence  and  money  to  the  in¬ 
terests  of  the  party’s  nominee. 

Daviess  county  republicans  have  been  miserably 
treated,  and  there  is  no  county  in  the  state  that 
showed  better  work  for  the  national  ticket  last  year. 
Yet  the  organization  here  was  unable  to  secure  the 
appointment  of  a  postmasterat  a  village  in  the  north 
part  of  the  county  for  a  man  that  the  whole  neigh¬ 
borhood  wanted  in  the  office,  and  who  was  a  soldier, 
a  reputable  gentleman  and  a  good- working  republl 
can.  Some  hidden  influence  defeated  the  wish  of 
the  whole  community,  and  the  persons  interested 
were  not  even  given  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  how 
it  was  done.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  St.  Louis  Repuh- 
ic,  Nov.  18. 

— Pl,att  has  arranged  for  taking  the  census 
of  his  state.  Superintendent  Porter  had  rec¬ 
ommended  a  man  named  Doremus,  whose 
services  in  the  taking  of  the  last  census  fitted 
him  for  the  position  of  general  superintendent 
of  the  1,000  men  necessary  for  the  work  in 
New  York  City.  Platt,  however,  caused  his 
henchman  to  be  named  by  the  President.  The 
New  York  Times,  March  31,  gives  the  follow¬ 
ing  description  : 

.  An  illustration  of  how  this  little  scheme  of  Platt’s 
works  was  furnished  in  the  twenty-third  assembly 
district  Friday  evening.  Frank  Raymond  is  the  re¬ 
publican  boss  there.  In  response  to  instructions 
from  Mr.  Murray  (or  Platt)  he  had  the  stuffy  little 
republican  headquarters  at  2250  Third  avenue  packed 
with  such  of  his  henchmen  as  desired  to  be  appoint¬ 
ed  to  do  this  census  work.  The  crowd  was  not  a 
pretty  one.  It  smoked,  was  profane,  and  shed  to¬ 
bacco  juice  profusely. 

These  patriots  were  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
number  of  census  enumerators  to  be  appointed.  All 
had  filled  out  applications  in  advance.  Raymond 
was  there,  ani,  taking  the  applications,  he  seated 
himself  at  a  table  on  a  platform  where  his  portly 
form  could  be  admired  by  his  as.sembled  satellites. 
Raymond  had  beside  him  a  couple  of  workers  who 
examined  the  republican  enlistment  roll  of  the  dis¬ 
trict  and  checked  off  the  names  as  the  appointments 
were  made. 

The  process  was  very  simple.  Raymond  would 
call  off  a  name.  The  man  who  was  its  proud  posses¬ 
sor  would  go  to  the  platform.  Then  Boss  Raymond 
would  .say: 

“Are  you  on  the  roll  ?” 

The  question  was  purely  a  perfunctory  one,  for 
Raymond  well  knew  that  every  name  he. called  was 
on  the  roll.  Then  he  would  ask : 

“  What  district  would  you  like?” 

The  applicant  would  choose  a  district,  which,  if  it 
,had  not  already  been  selected,  would  be  assigned  to 
him.  .Some  of  the  names  were  not  responded  to  in 
person,  but  by  men  who  were  supposed  to  hold  some 
sort  of  proxies.  These  men  would  inform  Raymond 
that  the  absentees  could  not  possibly  attend,  but  “it 
was  all  right.” 

Thus  one  hundred  or  more  men  were  appointed, 
and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  neighboring  beer 
dispensaries.  Many  of  the  appointees  were  respect¬ 
able-looking,  but  the  majority  were  henchmen  of  the 


most  approved  type.  If  the  one  thousand  men  to  be 
appointed  in  this  city  are  to  be  of  the  same  general 
variety,  the  citizens  of  New  York  will  do  well  to  cau¬ 
tion  their  wives  and  daughters  not  to  get  frightened 
if,  on  answering  the  door  during  the  time  that  the 
census  is  being  taken,  they  encounter  rough-looking 
men. 

The  capability  for  the  work  that  these  appointees 
po.ssess,  at  least  in  the  majority  of  cases,  is  very 
much  in  doubt.  The  spirit  with  which  they  will  en¬ 
ter  into  it  was  shown  in  at  least  one  instance  last 
evening.  A  i>erson  known  as  “Joe”  approached  an¬ 
other  whom  he  addressed  as  “Pete,”  and  said: 

“  Hello,  Pete  1  Youse  don’t  want  this  job,  do  ye  ?  ” 

“  Well,  yer  can  bet  I  wants  the  coin  in  it,”  was  the 
reply. 

“  But  have  yez  got  the  time  to  do  it  ?  ” 

“  Well,  I  don’t  waste  no  time  on  it,  see  ?  If  I  can’t 
do  it  nights  I  don’t  do  it  at  all,  but  it’s  a  cinch,  a 
perfect  snap.” 

Both  Pete  and  Joe  were  appointed  to  districts. 

— The  adherents  of  the  Woodruff-Willis  [na¬ 
val  officer]  faction  in  the  Kings  county  repub¬ 
lican  general  committee  undertook  last  night 
to  begin  the  fight  for  control  of  the  third  con¬ 
gressional  district.  They  succeeded  in  draw¬ 
ing  out  an  adverse  vote  of  nearly  two  to  one. 
The  test  came  up  soon  after  the  general  com¬ 
mittee  met  in  the  Athenaeum  on  Atlantic 
avenue,  when  Secretary  Barrow  read  a  peti¬ 
tion  from  about  two  hundred  residents  of  the 
twenty-third  ward,  asking  for  a  re-enrollment. 

This  ward  is  now  controlled  by  Ernst  Nathan, 
and  he  thought  the  fight  of  last  night  so  impor  tant 
that  he  attended  in  person,  and  from  a  seat  in  the 
gallery  directed  his  subordinates.  He  recognized 
that  a  re-enrollment  might  mean  the  loss  of 
his  control  in  the  ward,  which  in  turn  would 
signify  the  defeat  of  Congressman  Wallace’s 
demand  for  a  renomination  and  the  selection 
of  Robert  D.  Benedict. 

The  petition  called  out  a  number  of  speeches 
and  propositions,  which  finally  dwindled  down 
to  a  motion  that  the  whole  matter  be  referred 
to  the  delegates  of  the  ward  affected.  This 
meant  a  decided  triumph  for  Nathan,  and 
through  him  for  Wallace.  It  was  adopted  by 
a  vote  of  114  to  58.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
Wallace  will  get  the  full  vote  of  the  twenty- 
third  ward. — New  York  Times,  May  I4. 

— The  two  republican  factions  held  six  con¬ 
ventions  in  this  city  to-night.  It  was  the  cul¬ 
mination  of  the  contest  which  began  on  Mon¬ 
day. 

The  “  ins,”  led  by  Postmaster  W.  W.  Johnson, 
and  other  recent  appointees,  and  the  “  outs,”  by 
William  Henderson  and  other  leaders  who  did  not 
get  offices,  held  separate  primaries  on  Monday,  each 
claiming  to  be  the  lawful  organization.  There 
were  carriages  for  voters,  and  workers  were 
out  in  full  force.  In  some  wards  each  faction 
returned  a  vote  several  times  larger  than  the 
combined  vote  of  both,  and  each  claimed  that 
its  delegates  were  elected.  Last  night  the  city 
convention  was  opened  by  Postmaster  Johnson. 
The  Henderson  faction  was  not  given  repre¬ 
sentation,  and  it  went  off  and  held  a  conven¬ 
tion  of  its  own.  To-night  each  faction  held  a 
separate  conventions  in  the  three  legislative 
districts  and  adopted  resolutions  against  the 
other. — New  York  Times,  May  7,  Baltimore  Dis¬ 
patch. 


— A  red-hot  post-oflice  fight  is  on  at  Clear 
Lake.  To  adjust  matters  Congressman  Sweeney 
has  consented  to  an  election,  and  is  to  appoint  the 
one  receiving  the  greatest  number  of  votes. — 
Dispatch  from  Mason  City,  loua,  March  11. 

— I  am  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  duties  of  the 
office,  and  do  not  know  when  I  shall  take  hold.  It 
is  not  a  civil-service  office,  and  will  probably  be 
more  or  less  under  the  control  of  politics. — Intemiew 
with  Collector  Mamer  in  Chicago  Times. 


Extracts  from  the  Debates  in  the  House  of 


ANTI-FEUOAI.ISM. 


Mr.  Lodge  [Mass.  Rep].— Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  what 
is  really  un-American  and  un-republican  are  the 
favoritism  and  the  nepotism  of  the  patronage  system, 
which  mtist  be  destroyed  by  some  such  means  as 
this  law  if  by  no  other  way.  I  think  it  is  un-Ameri¬ 
can  to  see  the  representatives  of  the  American  people 
hunting  up  and  down  the  corridors  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  to  obtain  an  office  for  some  friend.  *  It  is 
this  which  is  not  American,  nor  anythingelse  thatis 
respectable  or  decent  or  manly,  this  practice  which 
compels  the  great  officers  of  the  government  to  give 
hours  and  days  when  anew  administration  comes  in 
to  personal  appeals  and  political  appeals  and  every¬ 
thing  of  that  sort,  and  which  makes  senators  and 
represenatives  wait  hour  after  hour  in  the  hope  of 
picking  up  a  clerkship  or  messengership  for  some¬ 
body. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  patronage  and  spoils  system  is 
an  un-American  system.  It  is  a  system  that  was 
practiced  by  Sir  Robert  Walpole  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago,  and  carried  by  him  to  the  highest 
point  of  perfection.  It  was  the  system  by  which  the 
French  monarchy  sucked  the  life  blood  of  the  people 
of  France.  There  is  nothing  American  about  it.  There 
is  nothing  American  or  republican  in  anything  which 
is  all  favoritism  and  personal  influence.  What  is 
American  is  fair  play  and  an  open  field.  I  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  the  system  that  we  have  substituted 
Ls  perfect.  1  have  no  doubt  it  has  many  imperfec¬ 
tions— most  things  have.  But  it  is  Infinitely  better, 
in  my  opinion,  than  the  system  which  it  has  replaced. 
We  hear  in  private  on  every  side  complaints  from 
gentlemen  who  belong  to  the  party  in  power  of  the 
way  in  which  their  time  is  taken  up,  and  of  the 
quarrels  with  which  their  districts  are  filled  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  distribution  of  offices.  Patronage  never 
benefited  any  man  or  any  party. 

As  I  said  in  the  last  congress,  your  side  of  the 
house  had  the  patronage  in  the  last  election  and 
there  is  no  evidence  that  it  helped  you  very  much. 
We  had  it  in  the  election  before.  There  is  no  evi¬ 
dence  that  It  helped  us  then.  We  have  had  it  since 
the  last  election.  How  much  has  it  helped  us  since 
that  time?  [Laughter.]  We  have  been  distributing 
the  patronage  of  office  with  a  free  hand.  How  much 
good  has  it  done?  Talk  about  humbug  and  fraud  1 
I  will  tell  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  where  the  humbug 
and  fraud  come  in.  They  come  in  in  the  party  con¬ 
ventions  which  meet  and  resolve  one  thing,  mean¬ 
ing  another.  Gentlemen  go  there  and  never  lift 
their  voices  against  those  fair-seeming  resolutions; 
they  do  not  strike  them  down  in  the  party  conven¬ 
tions  or  protest  against  them  then  and  there  like  hon¬ 
est  men.  They  take  them  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  build  upon  and  to  ask  votes  upon,  because 
they  know  that  down  at  the  bottom  the  masses  of 
the  people,  without  going  into  any  great  detail  as  to 
how  it  is  done,  approve  civil  sendee  reform  and  dis¬ 
like  to  have  these  revolutions  in  office.  They  know 
that  the  people  dislike  to  have  the  offices  made  the 
sjjoil  of  parly  victory. 

The  people  are  not  greedy  for  changes  in  office,  and 
the  clamor  in  your  ears  is  that  of  a  few  and  not  of  the 
many.  *  *  I  accepted  my  party  platform  in  good  faith. 
I  accepted  that  pledge  about  the  civil-service  law,  as 
I  did  others.  I  do  not  think  it  is  a  sham  or  a  fraud 
for  a  party  to  undertake  to  uphold  that  which  it  has 
solemnly  pledged  itself  to  uphold.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
in  his  message,  asked  increased  appropriations  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  civil-service  law. 
The  gentleman  who  has  stood  twice  at  the  head  of  the 
democratic  ticket  as  their  candidate  for  the  presidency 
said  in  a  speech  in  Boston  not  three  months  ago  that  in 
his  judgement  the  civil-service  law  was  all  that  stood  be¬ 
tween  the  civil-service  of  the  government  and  political 
degradation.  Those  are  the  opinions  of  the  the  two 
leaders  of  the  two  great  parties.  The  platforms  of 
tho.se  parties  are  before  you.  The  fair  and  honest 
tiling  to  do  is  not  to  stand  here  and  bicker  as  to  who 


has  lived  nearest  to  the  law,  but  to  try  and  make 
that  law  better  if  possible,  to  try  and  put  these  offices 
on  some  better  footing,  upon  somethingmore  Ameri¬ 
can  than  a  system  of  back-stairs  influence  and  po¬ 
litical  intrigue. 

One  other  point.  The  argument  is  made  over  and 
over  again  with  reference  to  what  is  done  with  the 
offices  which  are  not  under  the  law  but  which  are 
filled  by  patronage,  as  if  that  had  anything  to  do 
with  civil  service  reform.  It  has  nothing  in  the 
world  to  do  with  it.  As  to  the  offices  that  are  filled 
by  political  patronage,  whether  their  occupants  are 
turned  out  and  men  of  a  different  political  faith  take 
their  places  in  one  year  or  in  three  years  makes  no 
difference.  It  is  going  to  be  done  on  a  change  of 
parties.  We  all  know  it  is  going  to  be  done.  You 
did  it.  We  have  done  it.  You  can  not  help  it  nor 
can  we,  for  we  are  bound  hand  and  foot  by  a  vicious 
system.  The  only  way  is  to  take  offices  and  by  law 
put  them  out  of  the  reach  of  patronage.  When  you 
talk  about  the  people  who  are  excluded  from  office  by  the 
civil  service  law,  I  answer  that  one  in  three  of  the  list  of 
eligibles  reaches  appointment.  Now  compare  that  with 
the  old  method. 

Before  the  railway  mail  service  went  under  the  civil 
service  law  I  had  sixty  applicants  from  my  district  for 
clerkships.  Neither  I  nor  any  other  congressman  could 
have  gotten  over  five  of  those  places.  That  is  one  in  twelve. 
The  number  of  people  who  get  office  does  not^de- 
dend  on  the  method  by  which  they  are  selected.  It 
depends  on  the  proportion  between  the  number  of 
places  and  the  number  of  applicants.  With  the  law 
you  reduce  somewhat  the  number  of  applicants. 
With  patronage  you  multiply  them.  Under  the  law 
you  cause  less  of  the  waiting  that  maketh  the  heart 
sick.  You  are  fairer  at  least  to  the  people  who  come 
here  seeking  offices,  and  you  have  a  system  which, 
whatever  may  be  its  defects,  is,  in  my  judgment, 
more  manly,  more  honest,  more,  respectable,  and 
more  American  than  hanging  about  and  begging  for 
offices  as  a  personal  favor  from  those  who  for  the 
moment  are  supposed  to  hold  them  in  their  gift. 
[Applause.] 


Mr.  Henderson  [Iowa,  Kep.]— Mr.  Chairman,  civil 
service  has  come  to  this  government  to  stay  [ap¬ 
plause],  and  the  political  party  that  deserts  it  will 
not  stay,  and  ought  not  to.  [Applause.]  »  i 

say  to  my  as.soclates  on  this  side  of  the  house,  that  I 
helped  to  make  the  platform  in  1888.  I  believed  in 
it  then.  I  believe  in  it  now,  and  I  am  here  to  act 
upon  my  convictions.  Upon  that  platform  we  car¬ 
ried  the  country  in  1888. 

We  carried  the  best  thought  and  sentiment  of  the 
country,  and  I  say  to  my  associates,  do  not  now  in 
this  indirect  way  desert  that  great  standard  of  prin. 
ciples  and  turn  your  backs  upon  the  people  of  this 
country  who  put  you  into  power  and  responsibility 
in  the  weighty  issues  of  that  great  campaign.  I  do 
not  want  to  go  back  to  the  old  spoils  system.  I  want  to  get 
further  away  from  it.  I  want  the  lawmaker  to  be  able  to 
make  laws  and  to  equip  himself  for  doing  so,  and  not  to 
become  a  mere  lackey  for  the  spoils  system.  In  the  name 
of  progress,  now  that  we  have  advanced  the  standard, 
let  us  keep  hold  of  it,  stand  under  it,  fight  for  it,  and 
perfect  a  law  which  was  born  of  much  thought,  of 
much  conflict,  and  which,  whatever  any  political 
party  may  desire,  the  people  of  this  country  will 
never  desert.  [Applause.]  v  *  « 


PRO 


Mr.  I’erkiiis  [Kansas,  Rep.]— i  believe  that  the 
administration  in  poiver  ought  to  stand  by  the 
men  who  have  conferred  honors  on  it  and  made 
it  possible  for  it  to  administer'  the  affairs 
of  this  great  nation.  I  would  not  have  it  rewanl 
those  who  are  unworthy  or  who  have  been  guilty  of 
unlawful  or  corrupt  practices ;  but  I  know  there  are 
rnen  who  have  been  active  day  after  day  in  working 
in  the  interestsof  their  party,  who  are  just  as  honest, 
just  as  faithful,  just  as  efficient  and  capable  toper- 
form  the  duties  that  might  be  assigned  to  them 
in  the  service  of  the  government  as  the  men  who  pass 
civil-service  e.xaminations,  and  who  are  without  po¬ 
litical  convictions. 

*  IC*  # 

Mr.  Cheadle  [Indiana,  Rep.]— Mr.  Chairman,  I  am 
in  favor  of  striking  out  this  section  because  I  am  op¬ 
posed  to  the  whole  theory  of  the  civil  service  reform 
law.  It  is  un-American  in  all  its  provisions.  Its 
purpose  is  to  build  up  a  class  of  office  holders  for  life 
who  will  be  exempt  from  all  the  burdensand  obliga¬ 
tions  of  citizenship.  *  * 

Mr.  Tracey.  Did  you  not  promise  to  sustain  the 
Civil  service  law  ? 

Mr.  Cheadle.  I  may  have  made  a  quasi  promise,  but 
I  did  not  consider  it  an  essential  factor  of  my  political 
faith.  I  want  to  tell  my  friend  from  New  York  [Mr. 
Tracey]  that  I  believe  this  is  a  government  of  the 
people,  and  I  am  opposed  to  class  legislation,  and 
because  this  civil  service  law  is  class  legislation  I  am 
opposed  to  it,  and  the  people  that  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent  here  are  just  as  much  opposed  to  it  as  I 
am. 

[The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  ob¬ 
served  in  all  executive  appointments,  and  all  laws  at 
variance  with  the  objects  of  existing  reform  legisla¬ 
tion  should  be  repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to 
free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patron¬ 
age  may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided.— Republican 
Platform,  1884.] 

[The  men  who  abandoned  the  republican  party  in 
1884  and  continue  to  adhere  to  the  democratic  party 
have  deserted  not  only  the  cause  of  honest  goverm 
ment,  of  sound  finances,  of  freedom  and  purity  of  the 
ballot,  but  especially  have  de.serted  the  cause  of  re¬ 
form  in  the  civil  service.  We  will  not  fail  to  keep  our 
pledges  because  they  have  broken  theirs  or  because  their 
candidate  has  broken  his.  We  therefore  repeat  our  dec¬ 
laration  of  1884,  to  wit :  “The  reform  of  civil  service, 
auspiciously  begun  under  the  republican  adminis¬ 
tration,  should  be  completed  by  the  further  exten¬ 
sion  of  the  reform  system  already  established  by  law 
to  all  the  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applica¬ 
ble.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  shotUd  be  ob¬ 
served  in  all  executive  appointments,  and  all  laws  at  va. 
riancewith  the  object  of  existing  reform  leg  isolation  shmdd 
be  repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions 
which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  paironage  may  be  wise¬ 
ly  and  effectively  avoided.”— Republican  Platform,  1887.] 

v  V  « 

Mr.  Spinola  [New  York,  Tam.  Dem.]— This  scheme 
has  proved  to  be  infamous.  That  is  what  I  mean  to 
say,  and  the  longer  it  continues  the  more  obnoxious 
does  it  become  to  the  people.  As  1  told  you  before, 
the  reaons  are  that  it  is  absolutely  un-American,  and 
it  is  absulutely  in  conflict  with  the  principles  upon 
which  our  government  is  founded.  It  creates  a  class 
in  this  country,  and  will  ultimately  lead  to  a  burden 
upon  our  posterity  by  the  creation  of  a  civil-ser¬ 
vice  pension-list.  You  can  not  avoid  it.  They  will 
tell  you  that  whenever  a  man  has  served  the  gov¬ 
ernment  his  whole  life  he  ought  to  be  put  upon  the 
pension-roll  to  be  taken  care  of  in  his  old  age. 


Representatives,  April  23,  25  and  26,  1890 


FBUDALIS9I. 


ANXI-FEFDABISM. 


Mr.  tirosrenor  [Ohio,  RepJ.— The  republican  plat¬ 
form  adopted  at  Chicago  in  1888  did  not  approve  and 
indorse  the  present  civil  service  law  and  this  faulty 
system  of  administration,  nor  did  it  promise  to  stand 
by  the  present  civil  service  commission.  It  is  the 
general  principle  of  civil  service  and  the  purifica¬ 
tion  of  the  civil  service  that  that  platform  speaks 
about.  * 

Mr.  Clements. — I  only  want  to  ask  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio  what  civil-service  system  it  is  that  the  pir- 
ty  at  Chicago  was  in  favor  of  ? 

Mr.  Grosvenor.— To  turn  Vie  democratic  party  out  of 
poxoer  and  put  the  republican  party  in.  [Great  ap¬ 
plause.] 

I  do  not  believe  that  under  the  system  of  govern¬ 
ment  under  which  we  live  there  ought  to  be  a  power 
subordinate,  or  collateral,  perhaps,  is  a  better  word, 
to  the  responsible  administration  of  the  government, 
that  shall  be  permitted  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
the  control  of  appointments,  or  the  establishment  of 
a  system  of  civil  service  in  the  country,  or  the  pro¬ 
motion  of  a  class  of  individuals  to  be  favored  by  a 
permanent  occupancy  of  the  places  under  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  [Renewed  applause.]  That  is  my  view  of 
this  whole  business;  and  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  no 
time  to  elaborate  upon  the  principle  underlying  my 
views.  I  believe  that  the  present  organization  of  the 
civil  service  commission  is  faulty,  feeble  in  adminis¬ 
tration,  unworthy  of  the  high  place  that  it  occupies 
in  this  government,  and  I  couple  together  the  effect 
of  its  administration  and  the  administration  itself 
<>  <■ 

{Under  the  constitution  the  president  and  heads  of  de¬ 
partments  are  to  make  nominations  for  office;  the  senate 
is  to  advise  and  consent  to  appointments,  and  the  house  of 
representatives  is  to  accuse  and  prosecute  faithless  officers 
The  best  interest  of  the  public  service  demands  that  these 
distinctions  be  respected;  that  senators  and  representa¬ 
tives  who  may  be  judges  and  accusers  should  not  dictate 
appointments  to  office. — Republican  platform,  1876.] 

[The  republican  party,  adhering  to  the  principles 
affirmed  by  its  last  national  convention  of  respect  for  the 
constitutional  rules  governing  appointments  to  office, 
adopts  the  declaration  of  President  Hayes.— Republican 
platform,  1880.] 

V.  #  «  I  am  told  that  there  are  to  day  on  the  elig¬ 
ible  list  persons  who  have  had  an  examination  be¬ 
fore  this  commission  in  various  portions  of  this 
country,  young  men  and  young  women  who  are  cer¬ 
tified  to  be  eligible  to  office,  sufticient  to  fill  the 
places  for  twenty-five  years  to  come  under  the  reason¬ 
able  expectations  of  accidents  and  casualties  of 
death  and  resignation  ;  and  yet  hundreds  of  men 
and  women  in  my  congressional  district  and  all  over 
the  country  are  being  inveigled  and  cajoled  or  urged  to 
go  to  Columbus,  to  Parkersburgh,  Cincinnati,  or  elsewhere 
and  spend  their  money  and  time  to  be  examined  before 
this  commission  when  there  is  not  one  chance  in  a 
thousand  that  one  of  them  will  get  a  position,  and 
all  of  which  is  known  to  the  commission  when  it 
.sends  out  its  invitations. 

Take  my  district.  It  is  a  district  with  plenty  of 
schools  and  colleges.  My  constituents,  as  a  rule,  are 
educated  people ;  people  of  refinement  and  charac¬ 
ter.  A  large  number— I  do  not  know  how  many— have 
applied,  been  examined,  and  pas.sed  successfully  for 
high  positions  under  this  system,  and  yet  outside  of 
two  or  three  who  have  found  their  way  into  the  postal 
service  under  the  restrictions  and  limitations  as  to 
geographic  location,  which  aided  them,  I  have  not 
been  informed  of  one  who  has  found  a  place  in  the 
classified  service  from  my  congressional  district.  I 
know  that  my  district  far  excels  in  education  the' 
districts  which  have  produced  at  least  two  of  the 
civil  service  commission.  1  know  that  ten  thousand 
of  my  people  are  better  educated  than  the  people  of 
their  districts  are  in  like  numbers,  and  yet  after 
having  been  marked  up  to  the  highest  grades  they 
have  been  allowed  to  go  on  until  they  have  lapsed, 
and  so  far  as  I  know  not  one  clerical  position  has  been 
assigned  to  my  congressional  district. 


Mr.  Moore  [Rep.,  N.  H.]— 1  believe  thoroughly,  in 
the  first  place,  that  every  element  of  patronage,  no 
matter  how  high  or  how  low,  should  be  eliminated 
from  connection  with  the  American  house  of  repre¬ 
sentatives.  I  believe,  secondly,  that  the  constitution 
does  not  warrant,  that  it  never  did  warrant,  and  that 
it  never  was  contemplated  that  representatives  in 
congress  should  have  any  connection  whatever  with 
the  patronage  of  the  government.  I  challenge  any 
man  on  this  floor  to  point  out  to  me  one  .single  word 
uttered  in  any  of  the  conventions  that  discussed  the 
original  constitution,  whether  it  be  the  convention 
that  sat  in  Philadelphia  or  whether  it  be  the  conven¬ 
tions  that  sat  in  the  several  states,  where  any  speaker 
ever  suggested,  directly  or  remotely,  that  the  Ameri¬ 
can  house  of  representatives  should  have  any  con¬ 
nection  with  patronage.  * 

There  has  grown  up  in  this  country  a  perversion  of 
the  constitution  by  which  a  connection  has  been  es¬ 
tablished  between  the  law-makers  and  appoint 
ments.  This  Is  wholly  outside  of  and  in  direct  viola¬ 
tion  of  the  plain  letter,  spirit,  and  genius  of  the  con¬ 
stitution  itself.  *  * 

The  assaults  made  on  the  civil  service  law,  and 
especially  on  the  civil  service  commission,  are  with¬ 
out  parallel  in  our  history.  The  law  has  been  de¬ 
rided  and  held  up  to  public  contempt,  by  politicians 
and  journalists,  in  and  out  of  sea.son,  and  the  com 
mission  has  been  pursued,  maligned,  and  persecuted 
in  the  very  capital  of  the  nation,  in  a  manner  and 
to  an  extent  that  have  been  a  scandal  and  a  disgrace 
to  journalism  and  justice. 

The  civil  service  law  has  now  been  upon  the  stat¬ 
ute  books  for  nearly  seven  years.  Its  work  can  be 
measured  and  weighed,  and  the  friends  of  the  law 
only  ask  that  it  shall  thus  be  treated.  The  follow¬ 
ing  statement  shows  the  work  achieved  by  the  law 
and  its  execution  for  the  six  years  ending  June  30, 
1889: 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

Statistics  of  examinations,  failures  and  appointments. 


Number  examined  in  six  years . 53,301 

Number  failed . 22,603 

Per  cent,  of  failure .  35.1 

Passed . 40,626 

Appointed . 15,017 

Per  cent,  appointed  to  these  that  passed .  37. 

The  past  year. 

Number  examined . 19,132 

Number  failed .  7,082 

Number  passed . 11,978 

Number  appointed .  3,781 

Per  cent,  appointed  to  those  that  v>assed .  31.6 


SPECIALISTS  EXAMINED  AND  APPOINTED  THE  PAST 
YEAR. 

14  patent  examiners . All  appointed. 

10  pension  examiners . All  appointed.* 

11  stenographers  and  type  writers . All  appointed. 

6  stenographers .  5  appointed. 

26  type-writers . 17appointed. 

91  special  pension  examiners . 43  appointed. 

The  average  of  all  appointments  is  as  2  to  5  of  ex¬ 
aminations. 

Of  those  who  pass  the  probationary  term,  98  per 
cent,  are  retained  in  the  service. 

educational  QUAIIFICATIONS  OF  APPLICANTS  FOR 
THREE  YEARS. 


Public  schools . 18,476 

Colleges .  3  029 

Business  colleges .  1,164 


It  was  stated  by  the  distinguished  representative 
of  the  fifteenth  Ohio  district.  General  Grosvenor,  in 
his  remarks  on  Wednesday,  that  he  knew  of  no  per¬ 
son  who  had  secured  an  appointment  in  the  classi¬ 
fied  service  from  his  district.  The  misleading  and 
astonishing  character  of  this  statement  must  go  with 
the  fact  that  the  commission  have  made  eight  such  ap¬ 
pointments,  aside  from  four  appointments  in  the  railway 
maU  service.  As  there  are  twenty-one  congressional  dis¬ 
tricts  in  Ohio  the  absolute  fact  is  that  the  fifteenth 
Ohio  district  has  had  more  than  its  proportion  of  the 
113  fo  which  the  state  is  entitled. 

So  ns  to  Minnesota.  The  distinguished  gentleman 
from  that  state,  Mr.  Dunnell,  said  he  knew  of  but 
one  appointment  to  the  classified  service  from  his 
state.  The  absolute  fact  is  that  under  the  operation  of 
the  law  Vie  enterprising  youth  of  Minnesota  have  secured 
twenty-six  appointments  in  the,  classified  service,  only  two 
less  than  her  quota.  *  *  * 


Mr.  Greenlialge  [Ma.ss.,  Rep.]— 1  stand  here  as  a 
civil  service  reformer,  if  1  am  only  one  of  a  dozen  in 
this  house.  I  did  not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  de¬ 
fend  this  principle,  in  which  I  believe  there  is  life 
and  energy  and  immortality.  I  did  not  expect  to  be 
called  upon  by  my  republican  a.ssociales  on  this  floor 
to  defend  what  I  supposed  had  been  written  into  the 
political  law  of  the  republican  party.  I  did  not  ex¬ 
pect  to  hear  these  attacks  from  the  other  side  when  I 
remembered  that  the  same  political  principle  had 
been  written  into  Jheir  platform. 

Why,  Mr.  Chairman,  are  we  to  stand  here  as  mere 
hypocrites  and  humbugs?  Are  we  to  listen  quietly 
to  these  statements  that  when  we  write  a  declaration 
into  a  party  platform  we  do  not  mean  it,  but  that  we 
consider  it  is  put  in  for  “  buncombe’’ ?  I  cer¬ 

tainly  do  not  believe  it  of  the  republican  party ;  I 
have  faith  that  every  word  about  civil  service  reform 
was  honest  and  true,  yet  we  have  gentlemen  sitting 
here  who  say  these  declarations  were  meant  simply 
for  “buncombe,”  for  sound,  for  show.  Now,  Mr. 
Chairman,  let  me  tell  you  why  that  dcctarntion  was  2}ut 
there  in  both  platforms.  They  put  it  there  because  the  pol¬ 
iticians  who  attended  these  conventions  heard  the  voice  of 
the  American  people  demanding  that  it  should  be  ])ut 
there!  These  sagacious  gentlemen,  these  practical 
politicians,  never  put  anything  in  those  platforms 
unless  it  means  business;  unless  it  is  going  to  count; 
unless  it  is  the  sentiment  which  will  do  the  most 
good  with  the  voting  population  of  the  country.  I 
say,  Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  encouraging  to  hear  on  this 
floor;  not  direct  and  manly  attacks  upon  this  princi¬ 
ple— it  is  encouraging  to  hear  only  attacks  upon  the 
manner  in  which  the  principle  has  been  carried  out 
and  applied.  I  like  to  hear  the  charges  and  the 
countercharges  hurled  from  side  to  side— crimina¬ 
tions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  principle  was 
violated  under  the  last  adminstration. 

I  like  to  hear  the  charges  of  violations  of  this  prin¬ 
ciple  under  the  present  administration.  It  means 
the  health,  ihe  welfare,  and  the  salvation  of  the  law. 
All  we  have  to  do  with  the  matter  to  day,  Mr.  Chair¬ 
man,  is  to  say  this:  “  The  principle  of  civil  service 
reform  has  been  written  into  the  political  law  of  both 
parties;  it  has  been  written  upon  the  statute  books 
of  the  United  States.” 

V  # 

Mr.  Hill  [Illinois,  Rep.]— Noone  who  has  seen,  even 
froni  a  distance,  even  with  this  civil  service  law  on 
the  statute  book,  the  tremendous  pressure  for  office 
upon  this  and  the  preceding  administration,  can  for 
a  moment  doubt  that  some  method  of  relieving  each 
incoming  administration  from  that  pressure  should 
be  provided. 

This  is  not  the  occasion,  nor  have  I  now  the  time, 
to  point  out  the  evils  of  such  a  system,  but,  Mr. 
Chairman,  I  hope  to  see  the  time  when  great  political 
parties  will  be  organized  and  run,  and  when  polit¬ 
ical  campaigns  will  be  fought  and  won,  on  great 
principles,  questions  of  policy  afl'ecling  the  well¬ 
being  of  people  at  home  and  abroad,  and  not  for  the 
purpose  of  dividing  the  spoils  of  office. 

Mr.  Chairman,  political  patronage  is  an  element  of 
weakness,  and  not  of  strength,  to  a  party.  All  ex¬ 
perience  shows  this.  Every  member  on  this  floor 
knows  that  as  a  fact.  The  history  of  this  as  well  as 
the  preceding  administration  demonstrates  its  truth. 
Look  at  it,  sir.  Reflect  for  a  moment  upon  the  re¬ 
verses  which  overtook  the  Cleveland  administration 
four  years  ago,  and  which  have  now  overtaken  this 
administration  at  the  polls. 

What  does  it  mean?  Simply. this.  That  five  out 
of  every  six,  yes,  nine  out  of  ten,  candidates  for  office 
are  disappointed  and  show  their  resentment  by  stay¬ 
ing  away  from  the  polls. 

The  republican  party  is  now  experiencing  the  ruin¬ 
ous  effects  of  that  appetite  for  office.  It  is,  as  I  said, 
an  element  of  weakness  and  not  of  strength,  and  will 
ruin  any  party  that  tolerates  or  encourages  the  sys¬ 
tem.  «  *  * 


Extracts  from  the  Debates  in  the  House  of 


ANTI-FKMUALISJW. 


Mr.  Cutrlieon  [Mich.,  Rep.]  Tiic  question  before 
ns  is,  shall  we  abolish  the  civil  service  commission 
and  return  to  tlie  old  system  of  appointments  fArojtp/i. 
the  influence  of  members  af  congress,  or  shall  we  con¬ 
tinue  in  its  i>resent  or  some  modified  form  the  civil 
service  commission  ? 

Mr.  ('hairman,  I  am  opposed  to  this  motion.  I  am 
opposed  to  it  at  the  present  time,  and  in  its  present 
form  ;  and  I  am  opposed  to  the  abolition  of  the  civil 
service  commission  at  any  time  or  in  any  form. 
Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  mean  to  be  understood  by 
that  to  say  the  present  system  is  not  to  be  criticised 
or  that  it  can  not  be  improved  ;  but  I  do  mean  to  be 
understood  that  the  appointments  to  office  should  be  con¬ 
tinued  in  the  executive  departments  of  this  government, 
and  ought  not  now  or  ever  to  be  again  remitUdlo  the  con¬ 
trol  of  senators  and  members  of  congress,  who  are  the 
legislative  department.  There  is  an  ancient  instrument, 
not  yet  forgotten  or  entirely  obsolete,  called  the  constitu¬ 
tion  of  the  United  States.  *  <=  <■ 

In  brief,  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  pro¬ 
vides  that  appointment  to  office  is  an  executive  func¬ 
tion  ;  that  it  is  not  a  legislative  function ;  that  it 
belongs  to  the  president  and  to  the  heads  of  depart¬ 
ments:  and  that  it  does  not  belong  to  senators  and 
members  of  congress.  I  am  opposed  to  this  indirect 
nuliification  of  this  provision  of  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States ;  I  am  opposed  to  this  proposition 
to  give  to  senators  and  members  of  congress  the 
powers  that  belong  solely  and  legitimately  to  the 
president  of  the  United  States  and  the  heads  of  the 
departments.  I  am  oppo.sed  to  it,  first,  because  it  is 
unconstitutional;  because  it  is  an  attempted  nullifi¬ 
cation  of  that  ancient  instrument.  I  am  opposed  to 
it,  in  the  second  place,  because  it  interferes  with  the 
proper  and  orderly  discharge  of  the  duties  of  mem¬ 
bers  of  congress.  We  arc  a  legislative  body,  and  we 
have  no  business  with  the  appointments.  We  have 
no  cau.se  to  meddle  in  this  matter  of  filling  the  sub¬ 
ordinate  places  in  the  government. 

Our  business  is  here,  to  make  laws;  and  it  is  the 
function  of  the  president  and  heads  of  the  depart¬ 
ments  to  fill  the  offices  in  the  executive  departments 
and  to  execute  the  law.  I  am  thankful  to  be  able  to 
say  that  since  I  hare  been  a  member  of  congress,  now 
nearly  eight  years,  I  have  never  yet  secured  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  a  clerk  in  any  department  of  this  government.  It 
doe.snot  belong  to  me  and  I  do  not  covet  it.  Neither  do 
I  believe  in  the  benefit  of  having  the  appointment  of 
fourth-class  postmasters.  It  has  always  injured  the  mem¬ 
ber  who  does  it.  Almost  invariably  there  are  from 
two  to  half  a  dozen  candidates.  But  one  of  them  can 
have  the  place,  and  the  others  are  dissatisfied.  I 
would  gladly  see  the  law  so  modified  that  it  would 
extend  to  the  appointment  of  all  executive  offices, 
so  that  representatives  should  not  be  called  upon 
to  recommend  or  advise  appointments.  Now,  be¬ 
cause  these  men  and  women  arc  appointed  to  office 
by  the  advice  or  influence  of  members  of  congress 
they  cease  to  look  to  the  faithful  and  proper  per¬ 
formance  of  their  duties  that  the  law  imposes  upon 
them,  but  look  to  their  “congressional  influence’’  for 
retaining  their  places.  How  often  have  we  heard 
that  expression  in  W’ashington “Congressional  in¬ 
fluence  !’’  1  have  heard  it  here  over  and  over  again 
until  I  am  nauseated  with  the  word. 

Congressional  influence!  What  ought  congres¬ 
sional  influence  have  to  do  with  keeping  a  man  or  a 
woman  in  some  clerkship  in  one  of  these  depart¬ 
ments  ?  Nothing  I  The  tenure  of  ottice  ought  to  de¬ 
pend  upon  the  faithful  dischargeof  the  duties  which 
the  law  imposes  upon^the  incumbent,  and  not  upon 
congressional  or  other  official  influence.  [Ap¬ 
plause.] 

<<  <■  * 

Mr.  Biitterwortli  [Ohio,  rep.]— Mr.  Chairman,  I 
want  to  endorse  every  word  that  my  honored  col¬ 
league  [Mr.  McKinley]  has  said  in  this  behalf.  The 
civil  service  .system  which  is  a.ssailed  is  not  of  recent 
origin.  It  is  the  result  of  a  healthy  evolution.  It 
has  come  to  stay  and  grow. 


Sir,  the.  campaign  of  1882  was  won  by  the  democracy  be¬ 
cause  we  were  charged,  and  it  was  believed,  that  we  were 
fllling  the  offices,  not  with  free  and  intelligent  men,  but 
with  mere  political  retainers.  “Monarchical!”  There  is 
nothing  that  smacks  of  “monarchical  ’’  forms  so  much  as 
the  “spoils”  system,  under  which  a  man  stands  here,  not 
the  representative  of  the  people,  but  the  especial  represent 
ative  of  retainers  who  go  at  his  beck  and  nod — political 
“  bummers  ’’  who  become  stronger  than  the  free  intelligent 
citizens  who  stand  by  his  side.  In  other  words,  we  expect 
to  return  to  our  places,  not  upheld  61/  the  virtue  and  intel- 
ligenee  of  the  constituents  we  represent,  but  by  gathei  mg 
together  retainers  and  packing  the  conventions  with  all 
that  that  implies. 

We  can,  as  my  colleague  here  suggests,  trust  the 
republican  boys  and  girls  of  this  country  to  win  their 
way  by  merit.  If  not,  our  government  is  a  failure 
altcgether. 

One  gentleman  says  that  we  knew  nothing  of  cor¬ 
ruption  under  the  old  system.  Why,  he  hius  forgot 
ten  the  history  of  his  own  country.  Has  he  read  the 
Covode  investigation,  under  the  administration  of 
James  Buchanan,  showing  that  there  was  hardly  a 
congressional  district,  there  was  not  a  navy-yard,  in 
fact  there  was  not  a  pi  ce  in  the  country  where  there 
was  not  a  hast  of  mere  political  retainers,  not  employ¬ 
ed  to  discharge  any  duty  in  which  the  people  were 
interested,  but  appointed  simply  for  political  ser¬ 
vice  ?  And  at  that  time  the  land  was  filled  with  men 
who  served  no  other  mission  upon  earth  tljan  to  be 
the  mere  political  pimps  of  men  who  were  a  political 
power  in  the  nation. 

Sir,  we  went  out  of  power  on  that  issue. 
We  are  in  power  to-day  because  we  prompty  passed 
this  civil-sei  vice  law.  My  colleague  has  well  said  that 
that  law  is  here  to  stay,  and  stay  it  will. 

*  ji?  i;* 

Mr.  McKinley  [Ohio,  Rep.]— Mr.  Chairman,  if  the 
republican  party  of  this  country  is  pledged  to  any 
one  thing  more  than  another  it  is  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  civil  service  law  and  its  efficient  execution- 
not  only  that,  but  to  its  enlargement  and  its  further 
application  to  the  public  service. 

The  law  that  stands  upon  our  statute  books  to  day 
was  put  there  by  republican  votes.  It  was  a  republi¬ 
can  measure.  Every  national  platform  of  the  repub 
lican  party  since  its  enactment  has  declared  not  only 
in  favor  of  its  continuance  in  full  vigor,  but  iu  favor 
of  its  enlargement  so  as  to  apply  more  generally  to 
the  public  service.  And  this,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  not 
alone  the  declaration  and  purpose  of  the  republican 
party,  but  it  is  iu  accordance  with  its  highest  and  best 
sentiment— ay,  more,  it  is  sustained  by  the  best  senti¬ 
ment  of  the  whole  country,  republican  and  democrat¬ 
ic  alike.  And  there  is  nota  man  on  this  floor  who  does 
not  know  that  no  party  in  this  country,  democratic 
or  republican,  will  have  the  courage  to  wipe  it  from 
the  statute  book  or  amend  it  save  in  the  direction  of 
its  improvement. 

Look  at  our  .situation  to-day.  When  this  party  of 
ours  has  control  of  all  the  branches  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  it  is  proposed  to  annul  this  law  by  withholding 
appropriations  for  its  execution,  when  for  four  years 
under  a  democratic  administration  nobody  on  this 
side  of  the  house  had  the  temerity  to  rise  in  his  place 
and  make  a  motion  similar  to  the  one  now  pending 
for  the  nullification  of  this  law.  We  thought  it 
was  good  then,  good  enough  for  a  democratic  ad¬ 
ministration  ;  and  I  say  to  my  republican  associates, 
it  is  enough  for  a  republican  administration; 
it  is  good  and  wholesome  for  the  whole  country.  If 
the  law  is  not  administered  in  letter  and  spirit  im¬ 
partially,  the  President  can  and  will  supply  the  rem¬ 
edy.  Mr.  Chairman,  the  republican  party  must  take 
no  backward  step.  The  merit  system  is  here,  and  it 
is  here  to  stay,  and  we  may  just  as  well  understand 
and  accept  it  now,  and  give  our  attention  to  correct¬ 
ing  the  abuses,  if  any  exist,  and  improving  the  law 
wherever  it  can  be  done  to  the  advantage  of  the 
public  service. 


PRO 


Mr.  Loiik  [Tenn.,  Rep.]— I  do  not  believe  in  this 
“flfih  wheel  to  the  wagon  ;’’  bxU  this  commission  is  in¬ 
consistent  with  the  teachings  of  American  institutions, 
unrepresentative  of  anybody  except  the  gentlemen 
who  presume  they  are  sanctified  politically  and  have 
aright  to  pa.ss  on  ihe  rights  of  everybody  else. 

Mr.  McMillin.  Did  you  vote  for  the  civil  service 
bill  heretofore? 

Mr.  Houk.  I  think  possibly  I  did.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  McMillin.  I  merely  wanted  to  refresh  my 
friend’s  memory  in  that  connection,  for  I  think  he 
did  vote  for  it.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Houk.  If  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to  look  at 
what  I  previously  said  at  that  time,  the  gentleman 
would  have  found  that  I  did  not  want  to  allow  any¬ 
body  to  be  any  bigger  hypocrite  than  I  was,  for  I 
considered  there  was  much  hypocrisy  on  the  part  of 
the  professional  civil  service  reformers.  [Laughter.] 
They  ought  to  see  that  the  boys  who  carry 
the  torches,  who  hand  out  the  tickets,  who  go  out 
into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel  the  voters 
to  come  in,  should  have  the  places  and  have  the 
courage  to  say  so.  The  people  of  this  country  will 
never  .sanction  a  policy  that  authorizes  a  public  man 
to  say,  “I  am  elected  to  congress,’’  “I  am  in  the 
White  Hou.se,’’  or  “  1  am  in  the  cabinet ;  I  have  got  a 
good  posiiion,  but  you  boys  who  rallied  round  the 
polls  and  sent  me  and  others  into  these  high  places, 
you  may  stand  back  ;  there  is  nothing  for  you  unless 
the  civil  .service  commission  prescribes  it  for  you.’’ 
[Laughter.] 

[Any  system  of  thecivil  service  underwhich  the  subordi¬ 
nate  positions  of  the  government  are  considered  rewards 
for  mere  party  zeal  is  fatally  demoralizing.— Sejniblican 
I  Platform,  1872  ] 

<=  <1  <■ 


Mr.  Coleman  [La.,  Rep.]— Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  in 
favor  of  the  motion  to  strike  out.  I  am  opposed  to 
“  civil  service  reform,’’  and  feeling  that  way  I  feej 
justified  in  striking  at  it  whenever  I  can  and 
wherever  I  can,  for  the  purpose  of  helping  to  kill  it 
if  I  can. 


*  *  * 


Mr.  Diinnel  [Minn.,  Rep.]— It  can  not  be  said  for 
I  the  republican  party  that  it  has  iu  all  respects  ob- 
!  served  the  spirit  of  the  civil  service  law. 

We  are  treating  fourth  class  postmasters  very  much 
as  Cleveland  treated  them.  I  am  aware  that  these 
j  offices  are  not  within  the  civil  service  law.  *  * 

[  We  have  been  having  examinations  for  places  in  the 
various  departments  now  going  on  for  a  number  of 
years  past.  Young  men  and  women  in  Minnesota 
!  have  gone  to  St.  Paul,  to  Des  Moines,  and  to  Chicago 
to  be  examined  for  these  places,  but  from  all  of  the.se 
examinations  but  one  young  man  has  been  appointed 
from  my  congressional  district  under  the  civil  service  sys¬ 
tem. 

The.se  young  people  have  spent  hundreds  of  dollars 
to  little  avail,  for  hardly  a  man  has  been  appointed. 
It  has  been  to  them  a  delusion  and  a  snare. 

Mr.  Chairman,  let  me  ask  you  whether  the  postal 
service  is  any  better  to-day  than  it  was  six  years  ago. 
No  man  can  say  that  it  is.  It  is  no  better  than  it  was 
j  two  years  ago.  [Applause  on  the  democratic  side.] 
It  will  be  no  better  two  years  hence  than  it  is  now. 

1  The  young  men  who  now  get  in  are  not  better  than  the 
I  young  men  the  members  of  congress  took  from  the  farms 
and  the  workshops,  intelligentyoungmen,  and  brought 
into  the  mail  service  in  the  years  gone  by.  There  is 
a  man  in  one  of  the  departments  here  to-day  that  I 
I  put  there  nineteen  years  ago,  who  stands  exceeding- 
'  ly  high  in  that  department.  I  took  him  from  the 
jfarm;  he  was  an  upright,  earnest  young  man.  He 
could  not  have  passed,  perhaps,  the  civil  .service  ex. 
'  amination  ;  he  could  not  tell  you  when  the  next  eclipse  of 
the  sun  would  occur.  [Laughter.] 


iPEXJiD^Lzsn^vd:. 

Representatives,  April  23,  25  and  26,  1890 


FEUOALISM, 


ANXI-FEOUAEISIH. 


Mr.  [Cal.,  Dein.]— Sir,  Thomas  Jefferson  was 

the  author  of  the  doctrine  that  to  the  victors  belong 
the  spoils.  [Cries  of  “  Jackson!  ”  “  Jackson!  ”] 

Mr.  Biggs.  No,  sir;  Jefferson  was  the  author  of 
the  doctrine  that  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils.  If 
any  one  denies  it  I  wiil  send  my  authority  to  the 
clerk’s  desk  and  have  it  read.  Thomas  Jefferson  was 
the  author  of  that  doctrine,  but  General  Jackson  and 
Governor  Marcy  gave  it  a  more  defined  and  wider 
application.  That  is  what  the  liistorian  says,  and  I 
challenge  any  man,  republican  or  democrat,  to  deny 
it.  [T.aughter.]  I  am  that  kind  of  a  civil  service  re¬ 
former.  [I>aughter.]  I  will  tell  you  what  is  the  fact: 
I  never  visited  that  civil  service  reform  office  but 
what  I  felt  as  if  there  was  something  in  the  atmos' 
phere  thatinspired  a  desire  in  me  to  steal  something. 
[Laughter.] 

Those  are  the  facts.  I  tell  you  this  civil  service  was 
conceived  in  sin  and  brought  forth  in  iniquity. 
[Renewed  laughtt  r.]  Who  was  the  father  of  it?  George 
Pendleton  was  the  father,  George  Curtis  was  the 
granny,  Dorman  Eaton  was  the  nurse  and  clout, 
washer  of  this  infamous  bill.  [Laughter.]  Tell  it  not 
in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in  Ihe  streets  of  Askelon !  If 
there  ever  was  a  corrnpt  measure,  a  measure  that  is 
demoralizing,  and  that  has  received  the  condemna 
tion  of  the  American  people,  it  is  this  iniquitous, 
accursed,  civil  service  reform  law.  [Great  laughter.] 
Sir,  I  have  had  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  men  in 
my  employ,  and  I  insist  that  I  was  a  more  competent 
judge  of  their  qualifications  than  any  civil  service 
reform  commission  ever  could  be.  [Laughter.] 

[Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

Mr.  Biggs.  I  ask  for  about  two  minutes  more. 

The  Chairman.  Is  there  objection  to  the  request  of 
the  gentleman  from  California,  that  he  be  allowed  to 
proceed  ? 

There  was  no  objection. 

Mr.  Biggs.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  going  to  support 
this  bill,  but  I  ask  this  house,  republicans  and  dem¬ 
ocrats,  to  come  to  the  front  and  wipe  out  the  appro¬ 
priation  made  necessary  by  this  odious,  iniquitous 
law.  Ihe  idea  of  having  three  men  sit  up  thereat  the 
city  hall  and  pass  upon  the  qualiflcations  of  people  seek¬ 
ing  office!  What  do  they  dot  I  will  tell  you.  1  sent  a 
lady  friend  of  mine  there,  a  native  daughter  of  the  golden 
west.  I  sent  her  there  and  they  promised  to  give  her  a 
position.  She  stood  S7  high  on  the  roll  in  her  examina¬ 
tion.  They  kept  her  here  eleven  months  and  twenty  days 
and  gave  her  no  position  at  all.  [Great  laughter.] 

I  will  tell  you  a  little  incident  that  occurred  be¬ 
tween  Mr.  Cleveland  and  myself.  I  have  got  time 
have  I  not?  [Laughter.]  [Cries  of  “Yes.”  “yes!” 
“Go  on  !”]  I  was  here  in  Washington  before  I  was  a 
member  of  congress,  and  as  I  had  been  a  presiden¬ 
tial  elector,  Mr.  Cleveland  sent  me  a  note  requesting 
me  to  call  and  see  him.  I  went  and  called  on  him. 
He  met  me  very  cordially.  There  were  some  one 
hundred  or  two  hundred  gentlemen  there  waiting, 
and  I  said,  “  I  will  not  trespass  on  your  time,  Mr. 
President.”  “Oh,”  said  he,  “you  have  corneas  far 
as  any  other  gentleman,  and  you  have  a  right  to  be 
heard.” 

Mr.  Spinola.  And  that  was  about  all  he  did  for 
you  ?  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Biggs.  I  will  tell  you  about  that  Says  I, 
“  Mr.  President,  I  want  no  office.” 

Mr.  Henderson,  of  Iowa.  That  was  a  great  relief. 

Mr.  Biggs.  Says  I,  “Mr.  President,  I  want  no 
office,  nobody  tnrned  out  or  put  in,  but,”  said  I, 
“  I  differ  with  you,  Mr.  President,  upon  the  civil 
service  reform  question.  I  admit  that  itisthelaw, 
it  was  in  the  platform  on  which  you  were  elected,  and  in 
your  letter  of  acceptance  also;  hut  you  have  a  right  to 
coiisiTuc  it  ill  your  own  wetyy  “  Major  Biggs/*  the 
President  replied,  “  what  would  you  do  if  you  were 
in  my  place?”  “Well,”  said  I,  “Mr.  President,  it 
is  infinitely  better  to  obey  a  bad  law  than  to  violate 
it  •  hut  if  I  were  in  your  place  I ivould  put  avery  liberal 
co'nslruction  on  that  law."  [Great  laughter.]  I  went  a 
Utile  further  than  that,  and  I  said  to  him :  "  If  1  were 
in  a  w(it€r  melon  potch  I  uould  yH  oil  the  best  melons  I 
could.”  [Laughter.] 


Mr.  McComas  [Md.  Rep].— The  republican  parly 
has  never  been  able  to  break  its  pledges  without 
paying  the  penalty.  This  is  a  cowardly  attempt  to 
nullify  the  existing  Uw.  Why  do  I  say  it  is  coward¬ 
ly?  The  republican  party  are  not  ordinarily  nulli- 
tiers.  If  we  face  something  as  a  party,  we  march 
forward,  take  our  ground  and  stand  upon  it.  But 
this  back-door  way  of  attacking  the  civil  service 
commission  now  established  by  law  by  attempting 
to  starve  it  out  is  dishonorable  and  unworthy  of  a 
great  party  that  won  a  glorious  victory  on  a  dozen 
pledges,  in  the  front  of  which  it  puts  its  solemnly 
repeated  pledge  that  it  would  stand  by  this  reform 
when  the  democratic  party  failed  to  stand  by  its 
pledge  for  civil  service  reform. 

What  is  the  result  of  this  proposition  ?  For  seven 
years  under  the  existing  law  and  by  its  invitation 
you  have  sent  a  hundred  thousand  men  and  women 
and  young  gir  Is  from'the  farms  and  villages  up  to  the 
cities  of  the  country  where  you  have  held  your  ex¬ 
aminations  ;  and  they  have  been  placed  on  the  eligi¬ 
ble  list — one  hundred  thousand  of  them  last  year- 
many  of  them  poor.  They  are  hoping  that  you 
meant  what  you  said  when  they  went  to  be  exam¬ 
ined.  They  found  that'22  per  cent,  of  those  examined 
had  been  placed  on  the  rolls  of  government  employment 
last  year,  and  they  thought  that  they  had  one  chance 
out  of  four  this  year  of  appointment  if  you  should 
keep  your  pledge.  They  are  relying  on  your  honor, 
your  i)arty’s  honor,  to  give  them  the  opportunity 
which  was  promised  them  under  the  law.  =•'  *  * 

I  now  say,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  we  as  the  republi¬ 
can  party,  on  that  distinct  and  unequivocal  pledge, 
the  most  distinct  and  explicit  that  ever  was  made  by 
any  party,  would  stultify  our  party  and  humiliate 
oyrselves  if  we  dared  to  attempt  in  any  such  manner 
to  sneakingly  try  to  evade  the  responsibility  of  the 
law.  [Applause.]  We  dare  not.  This  system  has 
come  to  stay,  and  ours  it  is  to  faithfully  administer 
it. 

Over  and  above  the  clamor  here,  over  and  al>ove 
the  desire  for  office  that  many  men  have,  over  and 
above  the  natural  desire  I  have  in  common  with 
other  men  in  behalf  of  the  aspirations  of  men  who 
are  good  and  true,  I  say  when  it  comes  to  forfeiting 
my  honor  and  that  of  my  party  I  would  rather  leave 
public  life  and  be  a  decent  private  citizen  than  to 
surrender  that  over  and  despoil  my  party  and  its 
pledges  made  twice  in  the  terms  I  read.  I  had  rather 
go  home  and  preserve  my  self  respect  than  to  under¬ 
take  to  repudiate  those  pledges  by  accepting  the 
proposition  made  here  and  vote  out  of  this  bill  an 
appropriation  which  we  are  in  honor  bound  to  sus¬ 
tain.  [Applause.  I 

Mr.  Tracey  [New  York,  Dem.]— Mr.  Chairman,  1 
wish  to  allude  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
only  in  respectfnl  terms,  and  I  am  well  aware  that 
human  endurance  is  sorely  tried  by  constant  appeals 
for  places  which  can  only  be  supplied  by  removals, 
and  I  make  some  excuse  for  the  executive  not 
havinglived  up  to  his  professions;  but  his  failure  to 
do  so  has  been  a  great  mistake,  and  that  he  has  failed 
is  most  distinctly  showui  in  the  numerous  cases  where 
he  has  removed  worthy  officials  before  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  their  terms,  such  instances  of  removal  being 
by  his  direct  personal  act.  In  my  own  district  two 
presidential  postmasters  were  removed  in  this  man¬ 
ner,  entirely  without  cause,  so  far  as  I  am  informed. 

The  president  should  be  credited  with  having 
made  two  admirable  appointments  to  the  commis¬ 
sion.  Messrs.  Roosevelt  and  Thompson  are  gentle¬ 
men  of  the  highest  character,  who,  with  their 
colleague,  will,  I  am  sure,  carry  out  the  requirements 
of  the  law  without  fear  or  favor ;  but,  Mr.  Chairman, 
what  will  it  avail  to  have  made  these  men  commis¬ 
sioners  if  the  postmaster-general,  his  first  assistant, 
and  the  superintendent  of  the  railway  mail  service 
are  to  be  allowed  to  conspire  to  violate  both  the  spirit 
and  the  letter  of  the  law  ?  It  has  been  done  in  the 


district  which  I  have  llic  honor  to  represent,  where 
e.xcellent  railway  mall  clerks  have  been  removed  and 
men  illegally  appointed  in  their  places. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  President,  in  looking  back  up¬ 
on  the  first  year  of  his  administration  must  realize 
that  members  of  his  cabinet  and  subordinate  officers 
have  either  forced  or  induced  him  to  act  contrary  to 
the  line  of  duty  his  promises  as  a  candidate  called 
for;  and  he  may  well  question  whether  these  persons 
have  been  unselfish  friends.  His  predecessor,  and 
opponent,  to  my  mind,  had  earnestly  endeavored, 
under  much  more  trying  circumstances,  to  elevate 
the  civil  serv  ice,  and  as  a  consequence  had  alienated 
a  portion  of  his  party,  while  at  the  same  time  losing 
the  support  of  many  former  friends,  who  were  at¬ 
tracted  by  the  unexpected  proffer  made  by  the  pres¬ 
ent  executive  to  take  even  a  more  advanced  stand  for 
civil  service  reform  than  w'as  demanded  by  the  most 
enthnsia.stic  advocates  of  its  cause. 

Indeed,  many  hold  to  the  opinion  that  in  the  states  of 
New  York  and  Indiana  this  course  attracted  a  sufficient 
number  of  voters  to  the  republican  ticket  to  account  for  its 
success  in  both  those  states. 

The  cause  of  good  government  is  dear  to  us  all.  and 
laws  which  have  been  enacted  to  benefit  the  people 
should  not  be  obstructed  by  a  refusal  on  our  part  to 
give  the  necessary  amounts  for  enforcing  them,  nor 
by  short-sighted  political  tricksters  trying  to  evade 
their  requirements. 

I  believe,  Mr.  Chairman,  if  any  change  be  made  in 
this  appropriation  for  the  civil  service  it  should  be 
an  increase,  and  that  congress  should  encourage  and 
direct  the  commissioners  to  carry  out  the  law  and 
assist  them  in  eftbrts  to  secure  punishment  for  all  who 
violate  it,  even  if  lieads  of  departments  or  cabinet 
officers  are  made  to  suffer.  Let  those  officials, 
whether  in  this  city  or  in  any  part  of  the  country, 
who  sneer  at  the  law,  not  forget  that  severe  penalties, 
includir  g  fine  and  imprisonment,  may  be  inflicted 
upon  those  who  transgress,  and  that  the  president  of 
the  United  States,  after  all,  may  not  have  the  desire, 
if  he  has  the  power,  to  shield  them  from  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  wrong-doing. 

The  friends  of  reform  owe  a  great  debt  of 
gratitude  to  its  enemies  in  congress  for  re¬ 
cently  establishing  this  fact  still  more  plainly. 
If  any  man  doubted  the  hold  of  reform  upon 
public  opinion  the  doubt  was  removed  by  the 
late  debate  in  the  house  of  representatives 
upon  the  appropriation  for  the  civil  service 
commission.  The  pricking  of  the  bubble  of 
reform,  the  overthrow  of  lunar  politics  and 
sentimental  quackery  were  duly  announced  as 
about  to  occur.  The  field  was  chosen,  the 
charge  was  sounded,  but  more  ludicrous 
skirmishing  was  never  seen.  “  I  have  led  my 
ragamuffins  where  they  were  peppered,”  rue¬ 
fully  exclaimed  the  perspiring  Falstaft’,  and 
surely  never  were  recruits  more  sorely  pep¬ 
pered  than  the  spoilsmen  in  the  house.  They 
were  first  overwhelmed  by  the  weight  of  abil¬ 
ity  and  political  standing,  then  crushed  by  the 
vote  of  two  to  one.  The  good  cause  was 
maintained,  not  doubtfully  and  with  hesita¬ 
tion,  not  apologetically  and  reluctantly,  but 
aggressively  and  without  reservation.  The 
argument  was  placed  where  it  belongs,  upon 
the  public  and  party  advantage  of  reform. 
Its  advocates  gladly  professed  their  faith  in  it 
as  truly  American  and  reasonable.  They 
spoke  as  patriots  and  honest  men,  conscious  of 
a  host  of  patriotic  and  honest  men  behind 
them. — (Jeorge  William  Curtis. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


12() 


— 'I'liere  is  no  i)ai  t  of  (lie  moans  placed  in 
llie  hands  of  tlie  exeentive  nliicli  niig:ht  he 
used  with  greater  etlect,  for  unhallowed 
purposes,  than  the  control  of  the  public 
l>ress.  Vie  have  learned,  too,  from  our 
own  as  well  as  the  experience  of  other 
countries,  tlnit  golden  shackles,  by  whom¬ 
soever  or  by  whatever  pretense  imposed, 
are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the  iron  bonds  of  des¬ 
potism. — President  William  Henry  Har¬ 
rison. 

—Col.  J.  A.  Watrous,  proprietor  and  editor  of  the 
Milwaukee  Sunday  Telegraph,  was  made  collector  of 
customs  at  Milwaukee. 

—Gen.  Miehael  Kerwin, editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Tablet,  was  made  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  the  second  district  of  New  York. 

—David  F.  Ritchie,  editor  of  the  republican  paper 
at  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York,  was  appointed  post¬ 
master.  [It  is  stated  that  the  Vice-President  re¬ 
quested  llie  appointment  of  a  friend,  but  qualified 
his  request  that  anybody  would  do  but  Editor 
Ritchie.  Editor  Ritchie  has  fought  Congressman 
Sanford’s  battles  and  Over  Lord  Sanford  met  and 
unhorsed  his  adversary,  though  a  vice-president.] 

—John  A.  Place,  editor  of  the  Oswego  [  N.  Y.] 
Times,  has  been  appointed  postmaster  at  that  town. 
[A  correspondent  writes  explanatory  of  the  appoint¬ 
ment  :  “A  peculiarly  obnoxious  case  has  just  occur¬ 
red  in  Oswego,  N.  Y.  On  expiration  of  term  of  P. 
M.  Barry,  it  being  known  that  both  Alonzo  H.  Fail¬ 
ing  and  John  A.  Place,  both  of  this  city,  were  being 
urged  for  the  position,  letters  were  sent  by  all  the 
clergymen  of  Oswego  and  many  of  the  most  promi¬ 
nent  citizens,  representing  the  pre  eminent  fitness  of 
Mr.  Failing.  On  the  other  hand,  strong  protests  were 
sent  in  against  the  unfitness,  on  moral  grounds,  of 
Mr.  Place.  No  candid  person  in  Oswego  will  deny 
that  the  respectable  people  of  Oswego  entertained 
the  strongest  preference  for  Mr. .  Failing,  Neverthe¬ 
less  Place  has  received  the  office,  with  no  other 
(lualifleation  than  that  of  being  editorof  the  “Times,". 
thick  and  thin  republican  organ.  As  a  thorough¬ 
going  spoilsman,  he  announces  a  “clean  sweep,” 
which  is  begun  by  the  appointment  of  his  own 
daughter  to  the  position  of  assistant  postmaster.] 

— Alonzo  A.  Smith,  editorof  the  Ogdensburg  [N.Y.] 
Republican  andJournal,  and  chairman  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  county  committee,  has  been  made  postmaster 
of  the  town.  Mr.  Baird  was  removed  to  make  the 
place. 

— F.  L.  Dodge,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Hanford 
[Cal.]  Sentinel,  has  been  made  postmaster  of  Hanford. 
The  place  was  made  by  the  removal  of  the  incum¬ 
bent. 

— F.  L.  Meacham,  of  the  Plainview  [Minn.]  News, 
has  been  made  postmaster  of  the  town. 

— Alvah  Eastman,  of  the  Anoka  [Minn.]  Herald, 
has  been  appointed  special  agent  of  the  internal  rev¬ 
enue  department,  at  eight  dollars  per  day  and  trav¬ 
eling  expenses. 

— J.  H.  Iludder,  Aurora  [Ill.]  Beacon,  has  been 
made  postmaster. 

—Smith  D.  Adkins,  Freeport  [111.]  Joantaf,  has  been 
made  postmaster. 

— E.  S.  Fletcher,  Morris  [Ill.]  Herald,  has  been  made 
postmaster. 

— H.  J.  Dunlop,  Champaign  [Ill.]  Gazette,  has  been 
made  consul  to  Breslau. 

— M.  M.  Lewis,  Lena  [Ill.]  Star,  has  been  made  post¬ 
master. 

—John  F.  Dewey,  Aurora  [Ill.]  News,  has  been 
made  marine  deputy,  Chicago  custom  house. 

— E.  N.  Stevens,  local  editor  of  the  Paxton  [Ill.] 
Record,  has  been  made  postmaster. 

— E.  A.  Nattinger,  of  the  Ottawa  [Ill.]  Times,  has 
been  made  postmaster. 


— Capt.  Frank  Mahin,  editorof  the  Clinton  [Iowa] 
Herald,  has  just  been  appointed  postmaster. 

— S.  A.  Marine,  editorof  the  Vinton  [Iowa]  Observer, 
has  been  appointed  pension  agent  for  Iowa  and  Ne¬ 
braska. 

—Editor  Baldwin,  of  the  Ellis  [Kan.]  Headlight,  has 
secured  a  position  in  the  government  printing  office 
at  Washington. 

— H.  A.  Perkins,  of  the  Olathe  [Kan.]  Mirror,  has 
been  appointed  postmaster. 

— O.  II.  Bronson,  of  the  North  Star,  at  New  Rich¬ 
land,  Kan.,  has  been  appointed  postmaster. 

— D.  W.  Irwin,  of  the  Akron  [Col.]  Pioneer-Press, 
has  been  appointed  postmaster. 

—Ed  Charles,  editor  of  the  Carthage  [Ind.]  Record 
has  been  made  postmaster. 

—Isaac  Jeuklnson,  editor  of  the  Richmond  [Ind.] 
Palladium,  has  been  appointed  postmaster. 

— Thad  Butler,  editor  of  the  Huntington  Herald, 
was  appointed  postmaster  in  November  last.  [Mr. 
Butler  has  just  resigned  from  his  federal  position  on 
the  ground  that  he  can  not  with  satisfaction  to  him¬ 
self  hold  the  two  positions  at  the  same  time.] 

— W.  F.  Vogt,  publisher  of  Spence's  People's  Paper, 
has  just  been  appointed  postmaster  at  Covington, 
Ind. 

— L.  M.  Noyer,  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Echo, 
has  been  made  postmaster  at  Akron,  Ind. 

— J.  P.  Prickett,  editor  and  publisher  of  the  New 
Era,  has  been  made  postmaster  at  Albion,  Ind. 

— L.  H.  Beyerle,  editor  of  the  Goshen  Times,  has 
been  made  postmaster  at  Goshen,  I«d. 

— W.  E.  Knight,  editor  of  the  Monitor,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Grand  View. 

— C.  E.  Newton,  editor  of  the  Herald,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Kawanna,  Ind. 

—John  H.  Rerick,  editor  of  the  La  Grange  [Ind.J 
Standard,  has  been  made  postmaster  of  that  town.  • 

— M.  L.  Enyart,  editor  of  the  Monitor,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Macy,  Ind. 

— G.  W.  Fountain,  editor  of  the  Gazette,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  New  Carlisle. 

— J.  P.  Carr,  editor  of  the  Tribune,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Oxford,  Ind. 

— C.  B.  Caddy,  editor  of  the  Republican,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Pendleton,  Ind. 

— J.  W.  Siders,  editor  of  the  Republican,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Plymouth,  Ind. 

— E.  J.  Marsh,  editor  of  the  Commercial,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Portland,  Ind. 

— J.  H.  Cluggage,  editor  of  the  Union,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Sullivan,  Ind. 

—A.  L.  Lawshe,  editor  of  the  Journal,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Xenia,  Ind. 

—Col.  G.  G.  Benedict,  editor  of  the  Burlington 
[Vermont]  Free  Press  has  been  appointed  collector  of 
that  district. 

— F.  C.  Smith,  editor  of  the  St.  Albans  [Vermont] 
Sentry,  has  been  appointed  deputy  collector  at  St. 
Albans. 

—A.  H.  Butterfield,  editor  of  the  North  Troy  [Ver¬ 
mont]  Palladium,  has  been  given  a  federal  job. 

— F.  N.  Whitney,  editor  of  the  Burlington  [Ver¬ 
mont]  Clipper  has  been  made  deputy  internal  rev¬ 
enue  collector. 

—Col.  C.  S.  Forbes,  Vermont  correspondent  of  the 
Boston  Journal,  has  been  made  deputy  internal  rev¬ 
enue  collector. 

—Joseph  A.  Ernst,  editor  of  the  St.  Geneneive  [Mo.] 
Herald,  was  made  postmaster  of  that  town. 


— Louis  Kimmell,  of  Lafayette,  was  to-day 
appointed  deputy  United  States  marshal,  un¬ 
der  Marshal  Ransdell,  for  the  District  of  Co¬ 
lumbia.  Mr.  Kimmel  is  a  representative  Ger- 
m,an,  was  editor  of  a  German  newspaper  at 
Lafayette,  and  for  three  terms  was  mayor  of 
Lafayette.  The  position  pays  $2,000  a  year. — 
j  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  March  IS, 


THE  SCOPE  AND  DIFFICULTIES  OF 
CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM. 

[An  address  by  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  delivered  at  the 

annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
form  Association  at  Fort  Wayne,  May  16  ] 

In  any  enterprise  it  is  a  condition  of  success  to 
know  what  we  want:  mistakes,  disapfointments 
and  discouragement  are  inevitable  if  the  results  re¬ 
ally  sought  are  imperfectly  understood.  I  believe 
that  many,  perhaps  most,  civil  service  reformers  err 
in  that  they  underestimate  the  magnitude  of  their 
undertaking;  they  recognize  this  to  be  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  "spoils”  system  of  politics,  but  they  fail 
to  appreciate  how  this  system  has  become  interwoven 
with  almost  every  phase  of  our  national  life.  Some 
of  them  said,  probably  a  majority  thought,  when 
their  agitation  first  took  definite  shape  through  the 
foimation  of  local  associations  and  of  the  national 
league  that  when  a  statute  such  as  they  wished  had 
been  enacted  by  congress,  their  work  w'ould  be  vir¬ 
tually  done;  the  law  thus  obtained  would  work  au¬ 
tomatically  and  its  benefits  be  so  obvious  that  simi¬ 
lar  legislation  by  states  and  municipalities  would 
follow  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  need  not  pause  to 
point  out  their  error;  seven  years  of  experienee 
have  done  this  so  clearly  that  no  one,  however  pre¬ 
disposed  to  optimism,  certainly  no  one  living  either 
in  Indiana  or  Maryland,  can  now'  believe  that  this 
law  has  power  (any  more  than  any  law  which  the 
wit  of  man  ever  devised)  to  work  “automatically,” 
or  that  our  politicians  admire  and  would  extend  the 
effects  of  its  practical  w'orking.  But  that  such  should 
have  been,  as  it  unquestionably  was,  the  expecta¬ 
tion  of  many  earnest  reformers  proves  them  to  have 
very  inadequately  appreciated  how  complete  a  rev¬ 
olution  their  success  would  work,  not  merely  in  the 
dispatch  of  our  public  business,  but  in  the  entire 
machinery  of  our  politics,  proved  indeed  that  they 
failed  to  realize  what  are  the  political  institutions 
under  which  we  live. 

This  failure  is  neither  so  surprising  nor  so  blame¬ 
worthy  as  it  might  seem  at  first  sight;  even  intelli¬ 
gent  and  well  informed  Americans  have  some  excuse 
for  not  knowing  who  are 

THEIR  TRUE  RULERS. 

No  doubt  it  is  a  trite  saying  that  the  English  con¬ 
stitution  was  not  made  but  grew.  VVe  all  know  that 
agencies  and  customs,  unmentioned  in  the  written 
law',  gradually  became  their  instruments  of  govern¬ 
ment  and  invariable  rules  for  public  men,  .so  that, 
by  a  striking  anomaly,  the  mutual  relations  of  the 
law-making  bodies  are  determined  by  a  mere  tacit 
understanding  and  general  acquiescence,  and  the 
constitution  of  the  country,  which  has  been  here 
solemnly  declared  “the  supreme  law  of  the  land,” 
does  not  there  rise  to  the  dignity  of  a  law  at  all.  But 
it  is  not  so  easy  to  realize  that  we  also  entrust  the 
substance  of  political  power  to  extra-legal  forces,  and 
only  its  form  to  those  recognized  in  the  statute-book; 
that  here  not  less  than  in  our  mother  country,  and 
notwiihstanding  our  numerous  and  frequently  va¬ 
ried  written  constitutions,  political  institutions  of 
over  mastering  weight  and  importance  have  grown 
up  amongst  us,  of  which  no  trace  can  be  found  in 
these  and  which,  as  in  England,  have  reduced  the 
nominal  sovereign  to  a  dignified  nonentity. 

A  ready  illustration  of  this  is  at  hand.  It  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  the  president  of  the  United 
States  for  the  term  succeeding  the  present  will  be 
nominated  at  either  the  next  republican  or  the  next 
democratic  national  convention.  Their  organization 
and  proceedings,  the  characters,  sentiments,  aims, 
de.sires,  prejudices  of  the  delegates  chosen  to  form 
them,  will  be  facts  of  the  greatest  weight  in  deter¬ 
mining  who  shall  next  occupy  the  White  House.  Yet 
a  foreigner,  knowing  us  only  through  a  study  of  our 
constitution,  would  not  suspect  this;  he  would  find 
nothing  in  our  laws  suggesting  the  power  or  even  the 
existence  of  either  of  these  bodies,  or  the  importance 
to  the  country  of  their  selection  and  conduct.  On 
the  contrary,  he  would  attach  consequence  to  the 
composition  of  a  totally  different  body,  one  so  shad¬ 
owy  in  its  powers,  so  inechanical  in  its  duties,  that 
most  of  us  forget  its  very  being.  Of  the  millions  of 
voters  who  cast  their  ballots  in  November,  1892,  I 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


127 


doubt  if  one  in  a  hundred  will  even  read  ihe  names 
of  the  figure-heads  printed  on  them  as  electors,  much 
less  reflect  that  the  men  so  named,  if  elected,  have 
the  right  conferred,  and  even  the  duty  imposed,  up¬ 
on  them  by  the  constitution  of  each  one  exercising 
his  personal,  unbiased  judgment  in  recording  his 
vote  for  president.  Yet  this  independent  judgment 
in  the  electoral  college  was  certainly  contemplated 
by  the  framers  of  our  constitution  and  was  exercised, 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in  the  earlier  elections 
held  under  it:  since  its  adoption  nominating  conven¬ 
tions  have  developed  as  new  organs  in  our  body  po¬ 
litic,  and  there  has  been  what  naturalists  call  a 
“correlated  atrophy”  of  the  organ  whose  functions 
they  have  usurped. 

To  answer  the  question :  By  what  institutions  are 
we  now  practically  governed  ?  we  must  first  under¬ 
stand  its  meaning.  When  we  say  that  Russia  or  Tur¬ 
key  is  “  governed  ”  by  the  czar  or  the  sultan,  we  do 
not  mean  that  his  will  directly  controls  or  his  wishes 
immediately  affect  every  act  of  the  public  adminis¬ 
tration  :  the  most  despotic  monarch  must  act  through 
agents,  and  the  test  of  his  dominion  is  not  the  extent 
to  which  he  retains  or  delegates  his  powers,  but 
whether  he  remains  the  sole  source  of  oflicial  life. 
The  man  or  organization  that  creates  and  destroys 
the  depositaries  of  power  is  the  true  sovereign,  how¬ 
ever  indirectly  he  or  it  may  govern,  and  to  know  who 
are  our  present  rulers,  we  must  discover  by  whom  are 
presidents,  and  governors,  and  mayors,  and  congress¬ 
men,  and  assemblymen  and  aldermen,  made  and  un* 
made. 

The  question  thus  slated,  the  answer  is  easy.  The 
United  States  are  now  governed 

BY  TWO  IMMENSE  CORPORATIONS, 
calling  themselves  respectively  the  republican  and 
the  democratic  parties,  having  each  a  general  organ¬ 
ization  for  national,  and  divisions  and  sub-divisions 
for  sUite  and  municipal  purposes,  and  whose  activity 
extends  to  the  remotest  portions  of  our  territory  and 
to  the  humblest  manifestations  of  our  public  life. 
Although  they  assume  the  name  of  “parties’”  the 
term  misleads ;  for  they  differ  essentially  from  polit¬ 
ical  parties  in  all  other  enlightened  countries,  and 
from  those  known  here  before  the  present  generation. 
Here  formerly  and  elsewhere  now,  parties  were  and 
are  organizations  of  men  entertaining  similar  views 
on  questions  of  public  policy,  and  combining  to  ob. 
tain  practical  acceptance  for  their  views.  Of  course, 
legislative  and  some  executive  oflflees  were  always  and 
are  everywhere  the  immediate  prizes  of  political  con¬ 
tests,  for  through  their  possession  only  can  practical 
effect  be  given  to  the  principles  of  the  victorious  par¬ 
ty.  Moreover,  in  all  times  and  in  all  countries  un¬ 
principled  men  will  be  found  who  mask  the  schemes 
of  self-interest  under  an  affectation  of  patriotism; 
and  those  placed  in  positions  of  public  trust  will 
sometimes  abuse  their  patronage  for  partisan  or  per¬ 
sonal  advantage.  But  everywhere  else,  and,  until 
these  days,  here,  offices  have  been,  avowedly,  at  least, 
a  means  only  ;  the  end  of  a  party,  the  reason  of  its 
life,  has  been  to  promote  or  defeat  some  measure 
more  or  less  definite,  of  legislation  or  administration, 
and  the  use  of  ministerial  offices  to  reward  parti.san 
services,  has  been,  for  all  statesmen  but  those  of  our 
day  and  country,  a  form  of  bribery  practiced,  no 
doubt,  but  never  defended  and  but  little,  if  at  all, 
le.ss  odious  than  the  simple  purchase  of  votes  or  influ¬ 
ence  for  money. 

But  for  our  parties  to  obtain  the  principal  execu¬ 
tive  oftices,  and  through  them  those  in  their  gift,  is 
the  whole  end  and  reason  of  existence ;  far  from 
wishing  the  offices  to  carry  out  a  policy,  tliey  fear 
above  all  things  to  advocate  an  intelligible  policy^ 
lest  it  may  cost  them  the  offices. 

The  (piestion  vastly  exceeding  any  other  in  im¬ 
portance  to  our  national  parties,  indeed  the  only 
question  which  truly  interests  them  at  all,  is  whether 
after  the  4th  of  March,  1893,  a  democratic  president 
shall  distribute  many  thousands  of  federal  offices  to 
democrats,  or  a  republican  president  shill  reserve 
them  for  republicans.  As  a  national  organization 
the  one  party  has  no  other  aim  than  to  seek  these 
ollices,  the  other,  no  purpose  but  to  keep  them  ;  for 
analogous  rea.sons  do  they  exist  and  contend  in  every 
state  and  division  of  a  state  throughout  the  Union. 


An  American  political  party  is  kept  up  for  purposes 
as  strictly  interested  as  a  railroad  or  life  insurance 
company ;  the  sentiments  of  its  platform  mean  no 
more  than  the  devotion  to  the  public  to  be  found  in 
a  prospectus  of  the  former,  or  the  longing  to  care  for 
the  widow  and  orphan  professed  in  the  circulars  of 
the  latter:  they  are  advertisements  and  nothing 
more.  The  very  men  who  prepare  them  look  with 
undisguised  contempt  upon  any  one  who  takes  them 
more  seriously:  a  politician  of  to-day  can  hardly 
conceive  of  a  party  with  other  ends  than  to  secure 
support  at  public  expense  for  as  many  as  possible  of 
its  members;  that  citizens  should  combine  for  any 
other  purpose  seems  to  him  absurd  and  visionary. 

The  whole  purpose  of  our  parties,  being 

TO  OBTAIN  AND  DISTRIBUTE  OFFICES, 

they  are  correspondingly  organized.  Their  leaders 
are  prominent  office-holders  or  those  who  will  be¬ 
come  such  if  the  party  succeed ;  their  active  mem¬ 
bers  are  the  incumbents  of  petty  offices,  or  such  as 
hope  to  dispossess  them ;  their  revenues  are  derived 
from  assessments  on  official  salaries  supplemented 
by  the  investments  of  capitalists  having  contracts  to 
obtain  or  taxes  to  evade.  Every  public  office,  how¬ 
ever  responsible,  or  however  humble,  that  of  chief 
justice  of  the  supreme  court  or  that  of  a  village  lamp¬ 
lighter,  is  for  our  politicians  simply  current  coin  to 
excite  and  reward  partisan  activity.  An  association 
of  this  character  po.ssesses  a  permanence  and  cohesion 
which  no  ordinary  party  could  acquire ;  such  a  party 
dissolves  when  the  end  for  which  it  was  formed  has 
been  attained  or  become  clearly  unattainable ;  and 
one  result  or  the  other  will  ordinarily  be  reached 
before  many  years.  But  as  the  object  of  these  as¬ 
sociations  is  one  never  to  be  irrevocably  effected, 
there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  endure  for 
all  time.  So  long  as  the  only  distinction  between  re- 
•  publicans  and  democrats  is  that  the  former  hold  some 
offices  which  the  latter  covet,  and  the  latter  hold  some 
which  the  former  covet,  the  present  parties  may  last 
as  long  as  we  allow  offices  to  be  bestowed  for  party 
reasons.  There  will  never  come  a  time,  while 
both  human  nature  and  our  institutions  remain  the 
same,  when  those  who  wish  for  places  need  finally 
despair  of  ousting  those  who  have  them. 

Moreover,  although  no  ruling  power  can  wholly 
escape  the  influence  of  public  opinion,  qur  political 
corporations  are  singularly  free  from  it.  However 
unpopular  outside  of,  or  even  within,  the  party  or¬ 
ganization,  may  be  the  candidate  finally  chosen,  he 
can  count  upon  the  regular  party  workers.  Politi¬ 
cians  support  him,  not  from  respect  or  affection,  bu^ 
from  self-interest ;  he  may  not  be  the  man  they 
would  like  to  see  in  the  place  to  which  he  aspires, 
but,  if  he  is  the  regular  nominee,  no  one  else  can  do 
the  work  they  must  have  done ;  only  he  will  be 
bound  to  put  or  keep  them  in  office,  and  keep  or  put 
their  opponents  out.  Formerly  a  commonplace  but 
effective  check  was  imposed  on  parties  by  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  appealing  to  the  public  for  their  campaign 
funds;  the  popularity  of  their  nominee  was  fairly 
measured  by  the  readiness  and  liberaiity  with 
which  his  wealthier  supporters  subscribed,  and  a 
candidate  thoroughly  distasteful  to  the  more  intelli¬ 
gent  classes  of  the  community  must  have  been  rich 
enough  to  dispense  with  pecuniary  assistance.  But 
political  managers  have  no  longer  this  fear  before 
their  eyes ;  office-holders  and  office-seekers  subscribe 
with  what  would  be  amazing  liberality,  considering 
their  means,  were  the  sums  given  really  gifts;  they 
are,  however,  simply  investments.  The  givers  know 
that  if  their  party  goes  or  stays  out,  they  all  certain 
ly  go  or  stay  out  of  pubiic  employment  with  it;  if  it 
stays,  or  comes  in,  each  of  them  has  the  chance,  at 
least,  to  stay  or  come  in  also.  The  worst  man  of 
their  party  may  give  or  leave  them  the  means  of 
earning  their  living ;  the  best  man  of  the  other  is 
sure  to  do  neither. 

These  two  powerful  corporations  have  reduced 
the  legal  sovereign  of  the  country,  that  is  to  say,  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  to  a  condition  of 

MAJFSTIC  IMPOTENCE, 

closely,  resembling  that  of  the  titular  ruler  of  Great 
Britain.  Queen  Victoria  has  nominally  all  and  more 
than  the  powers  of  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  but  she  can  ex¬ 


ercise  these  powers  only  through  her  ministers,  and 
these  are  chosen  virtually,  though  indirectly,  by  the 
house  of  commons.  She  is  treated  with  such  out 
ward  deference  as  to  conceal  the  contrast  between 
her  legal  and  her  practical  authority,  and  she  is  not 
quite  a  nullity  in  the  government ;  she  would  be  held 
justified  in  refusing  a  minister  on  reasonable  grounds 
offensive  to  her.  But  the  ruler  of  England  is  the 
leader  of  the  commons ;  sustained  by  them,  he  owes 
the  crown  a  little  formality  of  manner  and  a  little 
hypocrisy  of  language.  So  the  American  people  has 
never  in  form  abdicated  its  sovereignty,  but  its  nom¬ 
inal  servants  are  the  creatures  of  one  or  other  polit¬ 
ical  party.  It  may  be  sated  with’  fulsome  adulation, 
but  it  retains  only  the  shadow  of  power.  The  mass 
of  our  citizens  come  to  the  polls,  not  to  choose  their 
rulers,  but  at  most,  to  record  a  preference  between 
nominees  of  two  usurping  monopolies,  selected  by 
each  to  do  its  own  work,  and  with  scarcely  a  thought 
of  their  fitness  for  the  work,  of  the  people.  Only  in 
those  extreme  cases,  when  the  glaring,  monstrous 
impropriety  of  candidacies  makes  them  insults  to 
the  dignity  of  the  nation,  will  the  latter  sometimes 
really  exercise  its  right  of  choice.  As  a  rule  every 
successful  candidate  is  conscious  that  he  owes  his 
position,  not  to  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
but  the  favor  of  an  office-seeking  organization,  that 
to  it  he  must  above  all  give  satisfaction  as  a  place- 
jobber,  and  may  then  safely  devote  to  his  legitimate 
duties  the  leavings  of  his  time  and  the  dregs  of  his 
energy. 

What  I  have  said  may  be  met  by  the  objection , 
that  the  two  great  national  parties  taken  together 
embrace,  for  practical  purposes,  the  entire  electo¬ 
rate  ;  therefore  the  one  successful  at  the  polls  is 
shown  to  include  a  majority  of  the  voters,  and  their 
elaborate  organization  amounts,  after  all,  only  to  a 
mechanism  whereby  this  majority  first  a.scertains  its 
own  will,  then  imposes  it  upon  the  people.  This 
view  is  plausible  and  is  adopted,  more  or  less  con¬ 
sciously,  by  most  of  those  who  think,  write  or  speak 
concerning  our  institutions;  but  reflection  will  show 
it  to  be  radically  erroneous  ;  for,  although  every 
man  who  votes  the  republican  or  the  democratic 
ticket  may  be  called  pro  hoc  vice  a  member  of  the  re¬ 
publican  or  democratic  party,  he  is  not  such  in  a 
sense  which  ensures  that  the  party’s  candidate  has 
received  his  actual  or  constructive  assent.  The  es¬ 
tablished  practice  of  both  parties  is  to  choose  their 
candidates,  directly  or  indirectly,  through  what  are 
called  “primaries,”  in  other  words,  elections  at 
which  the  right  of  suffrage  is  confined  to  those  more 
or  less  expressly  pledged  to  support  the  nominee 
of  the  party.  The  governing  bodies  of  either  party 
are  chosen  in  the  same  manner;  and  regarding  our 
parties  as  corporations,  even  their  nominal  member¬ 
ship  must  be  confined  to  those  attending  the  prima¬ 
ries,  by  no  means  ali,  or  even  a  majority  of  those  who 
usually  vote  their  repective  tickets. 

But  this  is  not  all :  our  great  industrial  corpora¬ 
tions  are  virtually  governed  by  a  very  small  fraction 
of  their  nominal  membership.  As  an  illustration, 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad  company  is  technically 
composed  of  every  owner  of  its  stock ;  but  when  we 
hear  that  it  promotes  this  scheme  or  discourages 
that,  does  any  suppose  that  all,  or  a  majority,  or  even 
a  considerable  number  of  its  stockholders  have  ever 
been  consulted  about  the  matter?  For  purposes  of 
action  and  influence  the  Pennsylvania  railroad 
means  certain  well-known  gentlemen  whose  names 
can  be  told  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand.  In  like 
manner  our  vast  political  corporations  are  ruled 
each  by  a  small  inner  circle  of  men  whose  stake  in 
its  operations  is  sutficient  to  have  them  make  its 
control  the  business  of  their  lives.  When  the  or¬ 
dinary  voter  enters  the  primary,  he  finds  invariably 
his  choice  narrowed  to  two  or  three  candidates. 
How  these  have  come  to  be  all  that  have  the  slight¬ 
est  chance  of  election,  he  does  not  know ;  the  result 
has  been  brought  about  by  infiuences  in  which  he 
has  had  no  part,  and  whose  nature  he  generally  very 
imperfectly  understands;  but  he  knows,  or  will  soon 
learn  by  experience,  that  unless  his  vote  is  cast  for 
some  one  of  these  two  or  three,  it  will  have  no  more 
bearing  on  the  nomination  than  if  he  had  staid  at 
home.  The  nominee  of  a  primary  in  ninety-nine 
cases  out  of  a  hundred  owes  his  success  toaprevi- 


128 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


ous  uomiiidtion  by  some  man  or  clique  of  men  who 
make  politics  a  trade:  he  is  the  creature  of  a  “boss” 
or  a  “ring.”  There  is  nothing  really  mysterious  in 
this;  some  one  must  make  it  his  business  to  control 
any  association,  or  to  direct  any  corporate  work ; 
and  the  more  unwieldy  the  assemblage  the  more  im¬ 
perative  is  the  need  of  expert  guidance.  Profes¬ 
sional  politicians  are  indispensable  in  any  popular 
government;  we  are  peculiar  only  in  having  a  hun¬ 
dred-fold  more  of  them,  and  those  of  a  vastly  lower 
type  than  other  nations.  We  have  in  our  midst  sev¬ 
eral  hundred  thousand  persons  who  obtain  their 
livelihood  by  Influencing  the  nomination  of  party 
candidates;  we  may  not  admire  their  aims  or  their 
methods,  but  no  one  can  deny  or  need  wonder  that 
they  succeed. 

OUR  LAWS  ARK  .MADE  AND  ENFORCED 

by  men  who  owe  their  official  life  to  our  professional 
politicians;  these  constitute,  for  practical  purposes, 
the  two  great  corporations  we  call  parties,  and  if  the 
source  of  power  is  the  true  sovereign,  the  American 
people  has  virtually  abdicated  in  favor  of  this  partic¬ 
ular  class  of  its  citizens.  As  formerly  in  Venice,  an 
oligarchy  has  grown  up  insensibly  among  us,  and  its 
rule  is  such  as  should  be  expected  from  the  charac¬ 
teristics  of  the  ruling  class. 

A  glance  at  these  will  repay  our  attention.  The 
typical  American  politician  earns  his  living  by  hold¬ 
ing  a  public  office  (usually  of  subordinate  importance 
and  purely  ministerial  function.s)  in  return  for  past 
or  expected  party  work.  He  is  liable  at  any  moment 
to  be  thrown  out  of  employment  for  no  other  fault 
than  being  less  useful  to  his  party,  or  faction,  or  spe¬ 
cial  patron  than  some  one  else  who  wants  his  place, 
and  his  chance  of  promotion  depends  on  his  ability 
to  supplant  in  like  manner  somebody  else ;  in  no  le¬ 
gitimate  way  can  he  ensure  himself  and  his  family  a 
continued  subsistence,  much  less  make  a  provision 
for  the  future :  that  he  should  be  usually  dishonest 
is  a  logical  sequence  of  his  conditions  of  life.  He 
passes  his  time  in  an  atmosphere  of  intrigue  and  dis¬ 
simulation,  concealing  or  exaggerating  his  senti¬ 
ments,  amplifying  his  importance,  striving  to  arouse 
hopes  and  fears  he  know's  to  be  groundless,  and  to 
gain  a  confidence  he  will  be  strongly  tempted  to 
abuse :  it  is  therefore  a  law  of  his  being  to  deceive  in 
words  and  actions.  He  is  regarded  by  the  commun¬ 
ity,  and  especially  by  the  classes  who  usually  fix  its 
standards  of  thought  and  conduct,  much  as  usurers 
were  in  the  Middle  Ages,  feared  and  occasionally 
courted  for  their  power,  but  hated  and  despised. 
Although  fortunes  are  no  doubt  made  in  it,  politics, 
regarded  as  a  way  to  make  money,  is  a  poor  trade: 
the  proportion  of  really  prosperous  politicians  is  very 
small  compared  with  the  vast  number  for  whom  a 
needy  and  anxious  life  ends  in  a  dishonored  and 
miserable  old  age.  It  has  consequently  few  attrac¬ 
tions  for  men  of  character  and  ability,  and  such  men, 
with  rare  exceptions,  shun  it :  it  is  recruited  from 
the  failures  and  outcasts  of  all  honorable  professions, 
those  too  dull,  indolent  or  vicious  to  hold  their  own 
in  any  field  of  worthy  competition.  Its  lowest  stra¬ 
tum  is  made  up,  in  no  small  measure,  of  habitual 
criminals:  we  may  truly  say  that  our  Botany  Bay  is 
the  political  arena;  we  reform,  or  further  debauch, 
our  convicts  by  making  them  otir  rulers. 

Among  so  many  thousands  a  certain  number  of 
men  of  ability  will,  of  course,  be  found,  but  I  be¬ 
lieve  the  impression  that  politicians  are  generally 
acute  and  ingenious,  though  untrustworthy,  is 
wholly  groundless;  the  vast  majority  of  them  are 
men  of  the  most  moderate  natural  abilities,  and  the 
most  limited  acquirements.  Your  President  has  on 
several  occasions  pointed  out  very  clearly  that  the 
relations  between  the  prominent  and  ordinary  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  calling  resemble  those  between  the  rob¬ 
ber  barons  and  their  men  at  arms:  the  "bosses” 
are  noted  for  skill  in  obtaining  plunder,  and  liberal¬ 
ity  in  its  distribution  among  their  followers ;  while 
the  latter  believe  in  their  patron's  star,  that  is  to  say, 
feel  confidence  in  his  continued  ability  to  find  them 
places,  they  adhere  to  him  with  unscrupulous  fidel¬ 
ity,  but  he  will  be  deserted  in  an  instant  if  another 
jiroves,  or  is  thought,  better  able  to  reward  efifective 
service  at  the  people’s  cost. 


With  little  exaggeration  it  may  be  said  that 

WE  HAVE  MADE  OUR  RULERS 

that  class  of  the  community  which  is  universally 
and  unhesitatingly  pronounced  the. most  unworthy 
of  confidence  in  any  of  the  relations  of  private  life: 
it  is  dlfificult  to  find  a  term  to  correctly  represent 
this  unique  type  of  government:  I  have  suggested 
for  it  “kakistocracy”  at  the  risk  of  a  charge  of 
peudantry.  That  the  public  business  is  carried  on 
at  all  tolerably  under  it,  and  that  the  country’s  pros¬ 
perity  is  unchecked,  forcibly  illustrates  the  immense 
advantages  of  our  national  position  :  to  some  extent, 
however,  it  is  due  to  certain  characteristics  of  our 
politicians,  which  in  some  measure  neutralize  their 
more  baneful  qualities.  They  are  greedy  and 
shameless,  but  seldom  bold,  and  cowardice  with  the 
bulk  of  them  is  some  substitute  for  conscience.  I 
have  alluded  to  the  comparatively  small  influence 
considering  the  perfect  freedom  of  speech  and  great 
intellectual  activity  of  our  people,  exerted  by  the 
sentiment  of  the  educated  and  reflecting  classes  on 
the  administration,  but,  devoid  as  these  classes  are 
of  direct  political  power,  it  argues  great  timidity  in 
our  politicians  that  public  opinion  has  any  weight 
with  them  whatever:  that  they  are  ever  bullied  or 
scolded  into  temporarily  decent  behavior.  Moreover, 
a  thoroughly  corrupt  and  self-seeking  class  is  by  na¬ 
ture  conservative.  The  American  politician  has  in 
his  mind  no  dangerously  vague  visions  of  general 
improvement  for  mankind ;  he  has  the  perfectly 
definite  and  common-place  intention  to  advance  his 
own  interest,  and  no  mirage  of  the  irtiagination  lures 
him  into  perilous  paths  in  this  pursuit.  He  is  not 
naturally  a  demagogue  ;  when  he  attempts  the  role, 
he  is  clumsy  and  unsuccessful,  because  trans¬ 
parently  insincere.  To  inflame  and  play  on  passions 
and  prejudices  of  class  or  race  or  creed  is,  in  truth, 
greater  work  than  he  is  fit  for;  the  practice  of  vulgar 
frauds  and  petty  intrigues  does  not  train  men  to  be 
real  popular  leaders  in  mischief.  The  reflection  that 
our  tyrants  are  too  contemptible  to  oppress  us,  may 
not  tend  to  our  self  complacency,  but  the  fact  does 
much  to  make  their  yoke  endurable. 

Through  the  reform  we  advocate  and  not  other¬ 
wise  that  yoke  will  be  thrown  off;  thus  and  thus 
only  will  the  country  be  freed  from  the  domination 
of  its  most  degraded  and  dangerous  class  and  be 
made  worthy  of  its  greatness  and  its  past.  The 
remedy  is  right  before  us.  No  one  can  fail  to  find 
who  troubles  himself  to  seek  it,  or  hesitate  to  apply 
it  if  he  recognize  the  gravity  of  the  evil.  The  nation 
has  made  its  civil  service  a  breeding  place  for  in¬ 
numerable  petty  parasites,  and  these  poison  its  po¬ 
litical  life  with  their  noisome  presence ;  restore  the 
service  to  its  proper  functions  and  they  will  die  out 
like  the  antediluvian  animals  for  want  of  an  envi¬ 
ronment  in  which  they  can  live.  But  precisely  be¬ 
cause  the  effects  of  the  reform  will  be  so  far  reach¬ 
ing  and  so  beneficent  it  encounters  the  implacable 
hostility  of  all  professional  politicians.  The  thorough 
going  practical  application  of  its  principles  to  the 
conduct  of  public  business  would  make  them  starve 
or  change  their  calling,  and  neither  prospect  is 
pleasant. 

“  No  thief  ere  felt  the  halter  draw 

With'good  opinion  of  the  law.” 

And  our  “  statesmen  ”  are  no  exception  to  this 
general  rule  of  their  kind.  Nor  must  we  disguise 
from  ourselves  that  professional  politicians  are  not 
its  only  enemies.  In  his  speech  at  Pittsbugh,  Mr. 
Clark.sou  recently  predicted  that  if  the  claim  of  the 
mugwump  that  the  people  favored  civil  service  re¬ 
form  could  be  “  submitted  to  the  people  themselves  ” 
it  “  would  be  rejected  by  ten  millions  of  votes.” 

.MR.  CLARKSON  DISPLAYS 

at  least  one  mark  of  a  prophet,  the  last  election  in 
Iowa  shows  that  he  has  little  honor  in  his  own  coun¬ 
try,  nevertheless  I  consider  him  very  ill  qualified  to 
predict  what  would  or  would  not  happen  in  the  con¬ 
tingency  suggested  ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  a  good 
many  votes  would  be  cast  against  “  the  claim  of  the 
mugwnmp,”  or,  in  other  words,  against  honesty  and 
morality  in  public  life,  by  people  who  would  be 
secretly  ashamed  of  themselves  for  doing  s6.  It  is 
not  that  they  are  -misled  by  the  arguments  or 


wretched  apologies  for  arguments  that  have  been 
used  against  civil  service  reform  ;  had  any  man,  sin¬ 
cerely  desiring  the  country’s  good,  been  led  by  these 
to  doubt  its  wisdom,  the  practical  working  of  the 
Pendleton  bill  must  have  dispelled  his  misgivings 
Under  it  the  public  service  has  not  been  filled  up  with 
book-worns  or  valetudinarians,  nor  have  letter  car¬ 
riers  and  custom-house  inspectors  become  brutal  in 
their  manners  or  lordly  in  their  bearing  towards  the 
ordinary  citizen.  College  graduates  have  not  monop¬ 
olized  the  petty  offices,  nor  have  we  seen  a  peerage 
of  departmental  clerks  created,  or  our  liberties 
otherwi.se  endangered  by  the  introduction  of  com¬ 
petitive  examinations.  What  some  politicians  called 
the  “  English  pension  system,”  possibly  because  it 
had  nothing  in  the  world  to  do  with  England,  and 
nothing  in  the  world  to  do  with  pensions,  has  been 
established  without  creating  a  bureaucracy  or  un¬ 
dermining  the  constitution ;  in  brief,  all  the  silly 
pretexts  and  affected  fears  invented  as  excuses  for 
resisting  the  reform  have  been  proven  groundless 
and  absurd.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  demon¬ 
stration  was  needless;  no  one  to  whom  any  one 
would  think  for  a  moment  of  listening  on  such  a 
topic  really  believed  them  ;  they  were  repeated,  it  is 
true,  by  some  who  ought  to  have  known  and  did 
know  better,  but  such  men  used  them  only  to  blind 
their  fellow  citizens,  perhaps  to  blind  their  own  con¬ 
sciences,  to  the  real  motives  of  their  hostility  to  re¬ 
form.  When  it  was  practically,  although  only  par¬ 
tially,  applied,  civil  service  reform  produced  none  of 
tire  evils  they  pretended  to  expect  from  it,  but  as  no 
one  had  expected  these  evils  in  fact,  this  proved  only 
their  own  insincerity  which  needed  no  proof.  Nor 
has  the  demonstration  in  anywise  disarmed  the  hos¬ 
tility  of  its  enemies :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  because 
they  understand  it  better  than  many  persons  like 
civil  service  reform  less.  They  have  learned  from  per 
sonal  experience  that  it  may  be  a  serious  hindrance 
to  obtaining  public  employment  for  themselves  or 
billeting  relatives  or  friends  or  dependants  upon  the 
government,  and  some  who  once  saw  its  theoretical 
merits  no  longer  think  it  “  practical  ”  or  “  suited  to 
our  institutions.” 

THE  REAL  STUMBLING  BLOCK  TO  REFORM 
is  not  ignorance,  but  the  torpor  of  the  national  con¬ 
science.  We  do  not  feel  our  ignominy.  The  average 
American  is  so  accustomed  to  having  politicians  re¬ 
duce  him  to  a  choice  between  two  almost  equally 
distasteful  candidates  :  to  voting  for  one  to  show  his 
disgu  ,t  with  the  other,  or  staying  at  home  and  grum¬ 
bling  to  show  his  disgust  with  both,  that  he  looks  on 
this  impudent  usurpation  as  a  part  of  the  order  of 
nature:  let  him  feel  that  his  submission  to  it  is  un¬ 
worthy  of  himself,  and  a  source  of  loss  and  peril  to 
the  commonwealth,  and  its  overthrow  is  at  hand. 
Let  us  then  ,  abjure  the  cowardly  optimi.sm  which 
ignores  evils  it  is  too  lazy  to  correct ;  the  ostrich 
wisdom  which  hides  from  itself  the  enemy  with 
which  it  fears  to  strive.  No  good  or  worthy  thing 
was  ever  done  through  self-deception:  to  redeem 
our  manhood,  we  must  recognize  our  degradation. 

“  Yon  shall  Know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make 
you  free  ”  We  should  expect  and  court  the  enmity 
of  those  who  live  by  the  abuses  which  for  three  gen¬ 
erations  have  now  grown  with  our  growth  and 
strengthened  with  our  strength  :  what  bad  men  cor¬ 
dially  detest  must  contain  in  it  some  element  of 
active  good.  It  is  well  for  civil  service  reform  to  be 
hated  by  Tammany  Hall  as  it  was  well  for  England 
to  be  hated  by  Barere.  We  would  spare  Americans 
from  being  asham3d  of  their  government,  would 
rescue  the  noblest  work  of  our  polity  from  it,s  basest 
hands ;  would  extirpate  national  vices  which  make 
us  a  political  Sodom  among  Christian  peoples  :  with 
such  a  goal  before  us  we  can  well  fight  on  with  a 
calm  confidence  that  any  apostacy,  any  temporary 
reverse,  any  seeming  injustice  of  public  opinion  are 
bnt  inevitable  incidents  of  so  momentous  a  struggle 
but  fitting  preludes  to  so  glorious  a  victory. 


The  State  Civil  Service  Reform  Association 
has  a  limited  number  of  copies  of  Mr.  Bona¬ 
parte’s  address  for  distribution. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


'Washington,  In  1789. 

“As  the  Coiislilutioiial  Convention  was  about  to  organize  when  success  seemed  hopeless  and  despair  suggested  fatal  compromise  Washington  said  ;  ‘If  to  please 
the  people  we  oiler  what  wo  ourselves  disapprove  how  cau  we  afterward  defend  our  work  ?  Let  us  raise  a  standard  to  which  the  wise  and  honest  can  repair — 
the  event  is  in  the  hands  of  God.’  There  sj)oke  the  good  genius  of  America.  If  any  words  were  to  be  inscribed  upon  this  arch,  these  words  of  Washington  would 
be  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver.  What  he  said  to  the  convention  he  says  to  us.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  heroic  spirit  which  in  council  and  in  the  field  has 
made  and  alone  will  perserve  our  America.  It  is  the  voice  that  will  speak  from  this  memorial  arch  to  all  coming  generations  of  Americans.  Whatever  may 
betide,  whatever  war,  foreign  or  domestic,  may  threaten,  whatever  specious  sophistry  may  as.sail  the  political  conscience  of  the  country  or  bribery  of  place  or 
money  corrupt  its  political  action,  above  the  roar  of  the  mob  and  the  insidious  clamor  of  the  demagogue,  the  voice  of  Washington  will  still  be  the  voice  of 
American  patriotism  and  of  manly  honor — ‘  Let  us  raise  a  standard  to  which  the  wise  and  honest  can  repair— the  event  is  in  the  hands  of  God  !  ’  ’’ — George  If’tif- 
iam  Curtis,  at  the  Laying  of  the  Corner-stone  of  the  Washington  Arch,  May,  1890. 

Ingalls,  in  1890. 

“  The  purification  of  politics  is  an  iridescent  dream.  The  decalogue  and  the  golden  rule  have  no  place  in  a  political  campaign.  The  object  is  success.  To 
defeat  the  antagonist  and  expel  the  party  in  [lower  is  the  purpose.  This  modern  cant  about  the  corruption  of  polities  is  fatiguing  in  the  extreme.  It  proceeds 
from  the  tea-custard  and  syllabub  dilettanteism,  the  frivolous  and  desultory  sentimentali.sm  of  c\Ac,mas.— Senator  Ingalls. 


VoL.  I,  No.  16. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  ofiice.  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires  facts 
re}?ardiiig  the  so-called  “resignations” 
of  fourth-class  postmasters;  who  has  re¬ 
quested  these  resignations,  hy  wlnit  agen¬ 
cies  have  these  been  elfected,  and  Hi  what 
instances  have  resignations  been  practical¬ 
ly  forced  to  prevent  loss  on  the  post-ollice 
furniture  by  disposing  of  it  to  the  woiild- 
be  successor  in  ollice. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires  in¬ 
formation  of  all  cases  where  the  man  at 
the  top  of  the  eligible  lists  for  positions  in 
the  railway  mail  service  has  not  been 
chosen. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  will  be  glad 
to  receive  information  upon  the  following 
points : 

The  name  of  any  newspaper  editor  or 
owner  who  has  or  may  receive  a  federal 
appointment,  and  the  name  of  the  ollice. 

The  names  of  all  members  of  political 
committees  or  delegates  given  a  federal 
appointment,  and  the  name  of  the  ollice. 

The  names  of  all  federal  ollice-holders 
wiio  ar«^  members  of  any  political  commit¬ 
tee  or  who  act  as  delegates,  naming  the 
committee  or  the  convention. 

Statements  regarding  any  [[olitical  ac¬ 
tivity  in  primaries,  conventions  or  politi¬ 
cal  work  done  for  any  nominees  by  federal 
ollice-holders. 

One  of  the  reasons  given  by  Senator 
Hoar  why  Collector  Saltonstall  should  be 
immediately  succeeded  by  Beard  was  that 
the  collector  had  to  represent  the  Adminis¬ 
tration  at  dinners.  Collector  Beard  made 
his  maiden  appearance  in  this  capacity  at 
the  Clarkson  dinner.  His  enthusiasm  for 
Clarkson  and  for  Clarkson’s  ideas  was  al¬ 
most  hilarious,  and  its  only  check  seemed 
to  be  that  the  collector’s  conscience  was 
once  or  twice  pricked  by  the  recollection 
that  his  office  is  within  the  civil  service 
law. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  JUNE,  1890. 

Since  the  writing  in  another  column, 
further  facts  about  the  census  in  this  city 
have  come  to  light.  As  is  well  known  tile 
appointments  were  made  upon  Pension 
Commissioner  Rauni’s  principle,  which  is, 
“  When  I  appoint  a  man  I  want  to  look 
him  in  the  face  and  form  my  own  judg¬ 
ment  of  him.”  In  this  manner  “  Sid  ” 
Conger,  a  defeated  republican  candidate, 
was  appointed.  He  had  a  friend  here  in 
Mr.  Merrill  Moores,  who  is  not  in  any 
manner  connected  with  the  government 
service  nor  with  the  census,  but  who  is  a 
member  of  the  republican  county  com¬ 
mittee  and  a  very  active  republican  poli¬ 
tician.  Conger  seems  to  have  left  it  to 
him  to  do  the  looking  in  the  face.  This 
was  the  true  Clarkson  idea ;  no  examina¬ 
tion  by  theorists  like'  Mr.  Fishback  and 
Mr.  Butler  of  the  federal  local  board,  but 
the  unbiased  judgment  of  a  party  com¬ 
mitteeman.  The  result,  however,  was  the 
choice  of  a  sorry  crowd  of  republican 
workers,  whose  work  has  exasperated  the 
people  of  the  city  as  much  as  if  Falstatf 
had  come  with  his  recruits  to  take  the 
census.  In  the  Sentinel  of  June  19, 
Mr.  Moores  says  “some  of  those  I 
recommended  have  turned  out  most  mis¬ 
erable  failures.  When  Mr.  Conger  was 
first  appointed  supervisor,  a  great  many 
people  knowing  him  and  me  to  be  intimate 
friends  besieged  me  for  recommendations 
as  enumerators.  After  they  had  received 
their  appointments,  they  bothered  me  for 
instructions,  and  now  since  they  are  at 
work  and  have  found  out  they  won’t  get 
their  money  before  the  middle  of  July  at 
the  earliest,  they  have  importuned  me  to 
loan  them  money.”  We  wish  Mr.  Moores 
well  out  of  the  hands  of  his  apparently  im¬ 
pecunious  crowd.  A  spice  is  added  to  the 
situation  by  Conger’s  suggestion  that  the 
Commercial  Club  hire  a  horse  and  buggy 
to  act  as  a  courier  between  omitted  inhab¬ 
itants  and  Moores’s  henchmen. 

Congressman  Cheadle  was  defeated  for 
renomination.  Indiana  and  the  country 
can  well  spare  him  from  the  list  of  con¬ 
gressmen.  In  the  recent  debate  in  the 


50  cents  per  annum. 

5  cents  per  copy. 

house,  referring  to  the  party  promises  to 
sustain  the  civil  service  law,  he  said :  “  I 
may  have  made  a  quasi  promise,  but  I  did 
not  consider  it  an  essential  factor  of  my 
political  faith.”  The  departure  of  such  a 
man  from  the  public  eye  can  not  be  re¬ 
gretted.  He  is  not  known  to  the  people  of 
Indiana  excejit  as  a  demander  of  patronage- 
at  the  end  of  his  congressional  career  this  is 
the  only  work  that  sticks  to  him  and  marks 
him.  He  must  now  feel  the  exceeding  short¬ 
ness  of  his  reward.  He  did  not  get  the  pa¬ 
tronage  he  demanded,  and  probably  this  ac¬ 
counts  for  his  defeat.  La  Follette  was  the 
Administration  candidate,  and  by  a  happy 
coincidence  they  were  killed  ot!  together. 
It  is  whispered  that  the  Lord  Paramount 
resented  the  imperious  style  of  the  Under 
Lord  and  withheld  favors  from  him  accord¬ 
ingly. 


The  President  was  present  at  the  dedi¬ 
cation  of  the  monument  to  Garfield,  the 
most  conspicuous  victim  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem.  The  feuds  of  two  great  patronage 
bosses  broke  out  afresh  over  Garfield’s  al¬ 
lotment  of  their  spoil,  and  a  poor  crazed 
creature,  because  his  portion  was  not  forth¬ 
coming,  assassinated  the  man  who  seemed 
responsible.  What  an  opportunity  for  the 
occupant  of  the  most  commanding  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  United  States.  An  appeal  from 
him  to  his  fellow-citizens  against  the  mob 
now  about  him,  howling  and  wrangling 
for  sjtoil,  would  have  been  responded  to 
with  an  overwhelming  pati’iotisra.  The 
St.  Louis  Republic  well  said  : 

standing  under  the  figure  of  the  murdered  Pres¬ 
ident  and  reiterating  his  own  pledge  to  make  fltne.ss 
the  essential  and  discriminating  test,  Mr.  Harri.son 
might  have  thrilled  the  whole  country  with  his  de¬ 
nunciation  of  the  corrupt  system  which  assas.sinated 
an  American  President. 

But  President  Harrison  had  only  this 
lesson  to  point  out  as  he  stood  at  the  tomb 
of  Garfield : 

The  cruel  circumstances  attending  his  death  had 
but  one  amelioration— that  space  of  life  was  given 
him  to  teach  from  his  dying  bed  a  great  lesson  of 
patience  and  forbearance.  His  mortal  part  will  find 
honorable  rest  here,  but  the  lessons  of  his  life  and 
death  will  continue  to  be  instructive  and  inspiring 
incidents  in  American  history. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


ino 


Mr.  L.  M.  Blackford,  at  the  head  of 
the  Episcopal  high  school  of  Virginia,  has 
in  the  Virginia  Seminary  Magazine  for 
June,  an  excellent  article  upon  “  The  Mor¬ 
als  of  Civil  Service  Reform,”  from  which 
an  extract  is  given  elsewhere.  He  calls 
attention  to  the  first  systematic  effort  to 
enlist  the  moral  and  religious  sense  of  the 
country  in  behalf  of  civil  service  reform 
by  Mr.  Welsh.  That  was  a  year  ago,  and 
it  serves  as  a  standard  of  measurement  for 
the  great  stride  made  in  a  short  time. 
That  marked  the  beginning  of  a  careful 
examination  of  the  spoils  system  as  a 
moral  question  by  people  in  general.  It 
convinced  great  numbers  of  the  clergy  that, 
disagreeable  as  was  the  duty,  they  could 
not  longer  be  silent  under  the  steady  low¬ 
ering  of  the  standard  of  conduct  in  politi¬ 
cal  matters.  The  consequence  has  been  a 
distinct  and  unmistakable  revival  of  the 
popular  conscience,  a  disgust,  with  the 
coarse  immorality  of  the  sentiments  of 
Senator  Ingalls,  the  multiplication  all  over 
the  country  of  sermons  dealing  boldly  and 
eloquently  with  various  moral  aspects  of 
present  phases  of  politics,  and  the  firm 
avowal  of  many  clergymen  that  they  have 
rights  and  duties  as  to  the  management  of 
the  country  they  live  in,  not  to  be  evaded 
because  of  their  sacred  calling. 

When  Bishop  Potter,  Rev.  Heber  New¬ 
ton  and  Rev.  Father  Ducey  join  in  a  call 
for  a  citizens’  movement  for  the  purifica¬ 
tion  of  municipal  politics  by  non-partisan 
nominations  in  New  York  City,  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reformers  do  not  feel  “fretful,”  as  Mr. 
Clarkson,  who  must  have  been  momentar¬ 
ily  startled  by  his  own  shadow,  said  in 
Boston,  They  will  give  careful  attention 
to  him,  and  when  he  says  “  that  everything 
that  we  have  that  is  noble  in  our  govern¬ 
ment  and  sweet  and  splendid  in  our  social 
life  is  largely  the  result  of  partisanship,” 
they  will  hasten  to  furnish  as  facts  for 
illustration  biographies  of  the  Tammany 
toughs  now  ruling  New  York,  details  of 
the  way  a  boss  like  Quay  subjugates  a 
state,  how  a  senator  like  Pettigrew  can 
arrogantly  flaunt  his  right  to  use  the 
Indian  service  of  his  own  domain  sis  he 
pleases,  and  by  cumulative  facts  the  coun¬ 
try  over  show  the  significance  of  a  fettered 
press  and  illustrate  how  an  office  holding 
class  rules  primaries  and  conventions. 


PENSION-COMMISSIONER  RAUM. 

The  character  of  Pension-Commissioner 
Raum  as  a  public  officer  is  at  last  rounded 
to  completion,  and  may  be  reviewed  from  all 
quarters.  He  had  left  office  when  the  merit 
system  was  little  more  than  talk,  and  it  is 
doubtful  'if  he  had  then  ever  given  it  a  seri¬ 
ous  thought.  He  came  back  into  office  after 
the  system  had  in  a  few  places  become  thor¬ 
oughly  rooted  and  had  been  vindicated  by  trial. 


In  some  degree  it  was  applied  to  the  iiension 
office.  Mr.  Raum  had  evidently  learned  noth¬ 
ing  in  his  vacation  years,  and  evidently  re¬ 
garded  the  civil  service  law  as  troublesome 
but  not  seriously  so.  Wanting  thirty  medical 
examiners,  he  got  Congressman  Banks  to  in¬ 
troduce  a  resolution  authorizing  their  ap¬ 
pointment  as  spoil.  It  passed  the  house  with¬ 
out  difficulty,  and  for  a  time  seemed  a  most 
dangerous  attack.  All  of  the  other  medical 
examiners  were  appointed  after  competition 
and  these  thirty  could  have  been  furnished 
by  the  civil  service  commission  immediately. 
If  these  places,  however,  should  be  deliber¬ 
ately  classed  by  congress  as  spoils,  the  same 
influences  might  remove  other  places  by 
wholesale  from  the  operation  of  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  law.  A  word  from  President  Harrison  to 
Raum  would  have  secured  the  withdrawal  of 
the  resolution,  which  was  in  direct  violation 
of  republican  promises,  but  it  was  not  spoken. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  of  this  resolution  that  it 
is  now  pending  in  the  senate,  which  body  it 
will  never  pass. 

When  the  resolution  was  introduced  in 
February,  Raum  was  interviewed  by  the  New 
York  Evening  Post  to  the  following  effect: 

“Where  is  the  trouble  with  that  plan?  As  it  is 
now  we  get  our  medical  examiners  through  the  civil 
service  commission,  but  the  commission  have  no  fa¬ 
cilities  for  conducting  such  technical  examinations. 
We  have  to  send  them  a  detail  of  our  surgeons  to  do 
that  work.  Now,  what  is  the  difference,  in  practical 
effect,  whether  we  conduct  the  examinations  under 
our  own  departmental  jurisdiction  or  take  those  men 
whom  the  commission  examines  through  the  agency 
of  our  departmental  examiuers?’’ 

“  It  prevents  a  dangerous  personal  discrimination, 
does  it  not?” 

“It  prevents  me  from  knowing  what  kind  of  men  I 
am  going  to  get.”  The  commissioner  spoke  with 
more  than  his  usual  warmth.  “When  I  appoint  a 
man,  I  want  to  look  him  in  the  face  and  form  my 
own  judgment  of  him.  When  1  buy  a  horse,  I  look 
at  its  teeth  and  its  t.ail,  and  feci  its  coat;  it  doesn’t, 
satisfy  me  to  take  somebody  else’s  statement  that  the 
animal  is  brown,  or  gray,  or  black,  and  stands  so 
many  hands  high.  It  is  the  .same  way  with  the  men 
who  are  to  serve  under  me.  I  don’t  care  to  choose  a 
man  from  the  bare  statement  that  he  has  made  an 
average  of  76,  or  83,  or  91  per  cent.” 

Commissioner  Raum  looked  his  own  son, 
Green  B.  Raum,  Jr.,  in  the  face  and  formed  a 
judgment  of  him.  He  did  not  require  him 
to  make  an  average  of  76,  or  88  or  91  per 
cent.,  but  he  lumped  him  off  and  decided  that 
a  suitable  place  must  be  made  for  this  sou, 
and  so  he  created  a  new  division  known  as 
the  appointment  division,  and  put  Green  B. 
Raum,  Jr.,  at  the  head  of  it  with  the  title 
assistant  chief  clerk.  This  done.  Commis¬ 
sioner  Raum  again  looked  his  son  in  the  face 
and  formed  a  second  judgment  of  him  with¬ 
out  requiring  any  per  cent.  As  the  result  of 
this,  he  removed  a  woman  clerk  out  of  the 
chief  clerk’s  room,  where  she  had  been  mak¬ 
ing  some  fifteen  dollars  a  month  in  notary 
fees,  and  put  this  son  in  the  way  of  turning  an 
honest  penny  with  his  notary’s  seal.  The 
Journal  correspondent,  under  date  of  June  11, 
says:  “When  visitors  to  the  office  have  in¬ 
quired  for  a  notary  they  havte  u.sually  been 
sent  to  him,  and  he  is  doing  a  considerable 


portion  of  the  business  that  the  woman  did 
formerly.” 

There  is  another  son,  John  Raum,  who  has 
begun  the  pension  claim  business  since  his 
father  became  commissioner.  In  the  pension 
office  there  are  a  thousand  chances  for  sly 
favoritism,  and  we  make  bold  to  say  that  no 
man  with  a  fine  sense  of  honor  would  ever 
hold  the  office  of  commissioner  and  allow  his 
son  to  prosecute  claims  for  pensions  before 
him.  The  mere  relationship  as  a  “draw”  to 
business  would  put  money  into  the  Raum 
pocket. 

Of  the  same  improper  nature  is  the  fact  that 
George  E.  Lemon,  a  claim  agent,  who  prose¬ 
cutes  claims  for  pensions  in  immense  numbers 
before  Raum,  should  indorse  the  latter’s  note 
for  $25,000.  Lemon  employs  hundreds  of 
clerks,  and  stimulates  business  by  publishing 
a  paper  in  Washington,  which  appears  under 
the  guise  of  the  soldiers’  welfare.  Its  one  cry 
is  more  pensions,  and  few  agencies  have  done 
more  to  destroy  patriotism.  That  Commis¬ 
sioner  Raum  should  have  any  connection 
whatever  with  such  a  man,  and  of  all  things 
should  be  under  obligations  to  him,  and  still 
further,  an  obligation  of  such  magnitude,  is 
without  excuse ;  it  is  the  embodiment  of  the 
spoils  idea,  and  it  is  such  a  demonstration  of 
Raum’s  unfitness  for  his  position  that  the  Pres¬ 
ident  ought  not  to  overlook  it. 

In  other  words,  I  believe  that  the  United  States 
government  is  a  political,  and  not  a  business,  organ¬ 
ization.  The  interest  of  the  average  man  in  politics 
must  be  kept  alive  to  make  a  republic  succeed. — 
Clarkson,  in  Boston. 

The  degradation  of  spoils  politics  has  a 
fresh  illustration  in  the  case  of  Charles  E. 
McChesney,  the  Indian  agent  at  Cheyenne 
River  Agency  (8.  D.).  If  the  word  of  such 
men  as  Bishop  Hare,  Herbert  Welsh,  and  the 
army  officers  who  have  the  best  means  of 
knowing  is  to  be  taken,  McChesney  is  an  up¬ 
right  man,  and  a  competent  and  honest  agent. 
On  account  of  impending  land  questions  at 
this  agency,  he  can  be  ill-spared.  However, 
his  place  was  “  wanted,”  and  charges  were 
made  against  him  of  drunkenness  and  improper 
conduct  with  women.  Of  these  charges  he 
was  promptly  and  overwhelmingly  cleared. 
The  following  letter  is  indicative  of  the  spirit 
of  the  clearing : 

To  the  Right  Reverend  W.  H.  Hare,  D.D.,  Bishop  of 

South  Dakota : 

Sir  :  The  information  that  you  gave  me  last  night 
that  Dr.  Chas.  E.  McChesney,  the  Indian  agent  at 
Cheyenne  Indian  Agency,  S.  D.,  was  accused  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  with  drunkenness,  and  had  been 
seen  drunk  at  the  village  of  Pierre,  al.so  that  he  was 
an  immoral  man  with  the  squaws  at  the  agency,  has 
filled  me  with  amusement  and  indignation.  I  can 
not  understand  how  any  one  could  be  so  vile  and  un¬ 
principled  as  to  make  so  unjust  charges  against  a 
man  that  I  have  known  for  about  three  years,  and 
have  always  found  him  to  be  a  temperate  and  good 
man,  a  faithful  and  honest  Indian  agent. 

Some  unprincipled  politician,  who  either  wants 
the  place  for  himself  or  one  of  his  friends,  must  have 
hatched  up  the  complaint  out  of  whole  cloth,  think¬ 
ing  it  would  never  come  to  the  ears  of  the  doctor  or 
his  friends.  If  they  want  his  place  why  not  sail  un- 


THE  CIVIL  -  SERVICE  ^CHRONICLE. 


131 


I 


\ 


f 

i 

> 

( 


I. 


der  true  colors,  and  say  the  doctor  is  a  democrat, 
for  that  is  all  that  can  possibly  be  said  against  him. 
I  am,  and  always  have  been  a  “black  repnblican,” 
bnt  do  not  believe  that  a  good  and  faithful  public 
servant  should  be  put  out  of  office  simply  because 
he  dilVers  with  me  in  politics. 

You  can  use  this  letter  in  any  way  that  you  think 
will  stamp  the  charges  of  drunkenness  and  immor¬ 
ality  as  an  infamous  lie. 

Very  truly,  your  friend, 

A.  B.  MacGowan, 

U.  S.  Indian  Service,  Capl.  12th  U.  S.  Infy. 
Rosehekg  Agency,  S.  D.,  May  3, 1890. 

Baffled  in  their  efforts,  the  hidden  gang,  to 
whom  libel  and  slander  are  apparently  ready 
and  natural  weapons,  announced  through 
Senator  Pettigrew  that  Dr.  McChesney  will 
hold  until  the  end  of  his  term,  August  2. 
McChesney  is  reported  to  have  thwarted  Sen¬ 
ator  Pettigrew's  brother  in  the  latter’s  effort 
to  get  hold  of  some  Indian  lands.  It  will  be 
interesting  to  see  whether  this  agent  is  re¬ 
moved  at  the  end  of  his  term,  and  if  so,  it 
will  he  pertinent  to  inquire  why  ;  and  further, 
if  so,  it  will  be  interesting  to  observe  whether 
Pettigrew  names  the  new  man. 


A  CONTRAST. 

President  Cleveland  appointed  Mr.  Hendrix 
in  the  place  of  the  worthy  but  notoriously  in¬ 
capable  republican  incumbent  of  the  Brooklyn 
post-office.  Mr.  Hendrix,  upon  the  high  au¬ 
thority  of  ex-Postmaster-General  James  and 
Postmaster  General  Wanamaker,  has  made  this 
office  of  very  great  efficiency.  He  would  have 
liked  to  keep  his  place,  and  would  have  con¬ 
tinued  to  devise  improvements.  But  for 
months  past  the  President  has  been  giving 
time  and  reflection  to  the  problem  of  putting 
in  a  republican  politician.  It  is  a  pity  for  the 
future  students ’of  American  institutions  that 
this  paper  has  not  space  to  quote  the  daily  dis¬ 
patches  describing  the  struggles  of  the  several 
Brooklyn  factions,  all  equally  vulgar  and  sel¬ 
fish,  to  whom  the  President  of  the  United 
States  has  bent  a  respectful  ear.  The  outcome 
was  the  appointment  of  Col.  Baird,  a  promi¬ 
nent  business  man  and  politician.  He  knew 
nothing  of  running  a  post-office,  and  it  was 
not  his  intention  to  give  the  office  his  personal 
attention.  When  he  failed  to  secure  a  private 
secretary  to  whom  he  could  delegate  the  busi¬ 
ness  functions  [he  presumably  giving  personal 
attention  to  the  pol  itical  functions],  he  declined 
the  appointment.  Meanwhile  the  President 
will  resume  the  hunt  for  some  one  to  take  the 
place  of  the  present  admirable  postmaster 
There  is  the  faint  hope  that  the  limit  of  his 
endurance  may  have  been  reached  and  that  he 
may  appoint  the  very  capable  republican  as¬ 
sistant  postmaster,  who  co-operated  with  Post¬ 
master  Hendrix  to  make  the  office  of  such  no¬ 
table  excellence.  This  would  be  a  pacific  and 
statesmanlike  end  of  a  fight  now  threatening 
extensive  ruptures  in  several  directions. 


In  St.  Louis  the  President  ended  a  disgrace¬ 
ful  struggle  by  promoting  Major  Harlow,  who 
had  by  many  years  of  efficiency  and  faithful¬ 
ness  worked  his  way  up  in  the  public  service. 
His  long  experience  at  once  was  felt  in  vari¬ 


ous  improvements,  as  indicated  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  report  of  a  subordinate  : 

When  you  assumed  the  duties  of  postuia.ster  there 
were  79  red  boxes  collected  from  in  the  evening. 
Under  your  directions  the  number  has  been  in¬ 
creased  to  331,  making  an  increase  of  252  boxes  em¬ 
braced  in  the  following  territory.  <■>!•<' 

In  addition  to  the  improvement  in  the  collection 
fully  as  much  has  been  accomplished  in  the  deliv¬ 
ery  service.  When  you  assumed  control  of  the  St. 
Louis  post-office  there  was  only  one  delivery  west  of 
Kings  highway  and  Manchester  road  to  Delmar  av¬ 
enue;  east  on  Delmar  avenue  to  Walton  avenue: 
north  on  Walton  avenue  to  Easton  avenue ;  west  on 
Easton  avenue  to  Kings  highway;  north  on  Kings 
highway  to  Natural  Bridge  road;  south  on  line  of 
city  limits  to  Pernod  road ;  northeast  on  Pernod  road 
to  old  Manchester  road.  Two  deliveries  are  now 
made  in  the  territory  above  described.  * 

This  increase  in  deliveries  and  collections  has  been 
done  without  the  addition  of  a  single  man  or  cent 
to  the  government.  In  this  work  you  have  been 
ably  assisted  by  Mr.  John  Grogan,  superintendent 
city  delivery;  James  Deveraux,  assi.stant  superin¬ 
tendent;  Mr.  E.  P.  Fox,  superintendent  Station  C; 
R.  M.  Johnson,  superintendent  Station  D;  Peter 
Gundlah,  superintendent  Station  A.  Alsoby  the  wil¬ 
lingness  and  pride  both  carriers  and  collectors  display  in 
try  ing  to  build  up  the  service. 

Major  Harlow,  intent  upon  his  duty  of 
making  the  St.  Louis  post-office  the  best  he 
can  make  it,  finds  no  difficulty  in  securing  the 
faithful  assistance  of  the  many  democratic 
employes  under  him.  Yet  Clarkson  goes  down 
to  Boston  to  complain  that  men  such  as  these, 
who  give  all  their  time  and  energies  to  mak¬ 
ing  a  better  post-office,  and  cut  oft’  all  service 
to  the  Quays,  Tom  Plaits,  Claytons  and  Filleys, 
are  so  wanting  in  patriotism  as  to  be  a  menace 
to  the  country. 


CLARKSON  IN  BOSTON. 

Assistant  Postmaster  General  Clarkson  has 
been  in  Boston  making  a  speech  largely  upon 
civil  service  reform  to  the  Norfolk  Club,  a  re¬ 
publican  organization.  Clarkson  has  done  the 
Administration  more  harm  than  almost  all  the 
partisan  office-holders  under  it.  Public  criti¬ 
cism  has  evidently  made  him  understand  this, 
and  he  is  sore  in  consequence.  His  appear¬ 
ance  before  the  Norfolk  Club  is  much  like 
that  of  a  prize  fighter  advocating  the  merits 
of  prize  fighting  to  a  collection  of  theological 
students.  Some  of  his  arguments  have  a  fa¬ 
miliar  sound.  For  instance : 

When  the  government  called  on  these  men 
to  save  its  life,  it  did  not  ask  them  how  far 
the  weather  was  below  zero  and  the  space  be¬ 
tween  the  stars  [laughter  and  applause],  nor 
require  them  to  calculate  the  width  and  slant 
of  the  shadow  of  a  tree  at  four  o’clock  in  the 
afternoon.  [Laughter.] 

He  appears  to  have  hoodwinked  the  people 
of  Boston.  Out  West  he  is  known  as  a  tricky 
politician,  who  goes  by  the  name  of  “  Rhet. 
Clarkson.”  No  one  would  think  of  taking  him 
seriously  when  posing  as  a  disinterested  dis¬ 
cusser  of  a  public  question.  He  touched  very 
lightly  his  own  exploits.  Indeed,  he  sang 
much  smaller  than  when,  some  months  ago,  he 
had  the  impudence  to  boastingly  publish  in 
his  paper  in  Iowa,  the  list  of  the  multitude  of 
changes  of  office-holders  he  had  at  that  date 
brought  about.  Perhaps  the  defeat  of  his 
party,  which  followed  soon  after  in  that  State, 


for  the  first  time  since  the  republican  party 
was  organized,  had  toned  him  down.  He 
smarts  under  the  strictures  of  the  Indiana  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association,  and  claims  that 
his  work  among  the  fourth -class  postmasters, 
which  has  justly  earned  for  him  the  title  of 
Headsman  Clarkson,  more  than  half  of  it  con¬ 
sisted  in  filling  vacancies  caused  by  “resigna¬ 
tions.”  We  beg  leave  to  inform  Mr.  Clarkson 
that  the  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Associ¬ 
ation  knows  that  old  trick.  The  cros.s-roads 
postmaster  has  a  case  of  pigeon  holes  and  a  lot 
of  traps  connected  with  the  office.  The  new 
man  is  settled  upon  by  the  congressman.  Then 
a  quiet  intimation  is  conveyed  to  the  incum¬ 
bent  that  if  he  will  resign  without  a  fus.s,  he 
will  get  so  much  in  cash  for  his  pigeon  holes 
and  his  traps  ;  but,  if  he  waits  to  be  removed, 
he  will  find  no  purchaser.  He  is  wise  in  his 
day,  and  prefers  cash  to  seeing  dead  stock  of 
this  kind  stored  under  his  shed.  Having,  with 
a  steady  countenance,  disposed  of  a  large  block 
of  his  cases  by  classing  them  as  “  resignations,” 
Clarkson  would  now,  doubtless,  like  us  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  all  his  removals  were  for  cause. 

A  POLITICAL  MACHINE  AS  A  CEN¬ 
SUS-TAKER. 

As  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  has  often 
repeated.  President  Harrison  was  urged  to 
have  the  appointment  of  the  employes  of  the 
census  bureau  made  under  the  competitive 
system,  but  with  deliberation  he  turned  over 
the  places  to  his  party  as  spoil.  The  country 
was  full  of  young  men  thoroughly  competent, 
who  would  have  taken  a  pride  in  doing  this 
work  well,  and  who  would  have  gladly  com¬ 
peted,  but  it  was  deemed  better  to  let  the  party 
bosses  use  the  places  for  their  behoof.  As  a 
natural  result  of  this  decision.  Superintend¬ 
ent  Porter  described  himself  as  “  waist  deep 
in  congressmen.”  The  manner  of  appoint¬ 
ment  may  be  further  illustrated  by  the  case  of 
Wilson  H.  Soale,  supervisor  of  the  Terre 
Haute  district,  who  referred  the  appointment 
of  enumerators  to  the  chairmen  of  the  county 
committees  of  his  district,  and  these  in  turn 
referred  them  to  the  chairmen  of  the  township 
committees.  The  supervisor  of  the  fourth 
district  of  North  Carolina,  before  getting  his 
appointment,  made  the  following  pledge  : 

This  is  to  certify  that  if  I  am  appointed  supervis¬ 
or  of  the  eleventh  census  for  the  fourth  district  of 
North  Carolina,  that  the  republicans  of  each  county 
in  my  district  shall  have  the  patronage,  and  that  I 
will  lend  my  influence  to  that  party.  This  Dec.  10, 
1889.  W.  E.  Webb. 

Witness:  W.  H.  Pulley. 

L.  W.  McKinney  writes  to  the  St.  Louis  Re- 
pnblic,  under  date  of  June  7,  saying  that  the 
postmaster  at  Moberly,  Missouri,  was  having 
the  enumerators  poll  their  districts  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  taking  the  census,  instructing  them  to 
do  the  work  “  on  the  quiet ;  ”  this  postmaster 
took  a  natural  view  of  the  duties  of  appointees 
under  such  a  system.  The  fitting  results  seem 
to  be  coming  on.  On  such  high  authority  as 
the  Indianapolis  Journal  of  June  15,  the  facts 
seem  to  be  that  well  over  the  country  “  the 
work  has  been  unreasonably  dela)'ed  by  the 
inefficiency  of  the  enumerators,  and  many  per- 


132 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


sons  are  known  to  have  l)een  missed  *  ®  *. 
The  tronhle  grows  out  of  the  inexperience  of 
enumerators  and  slipshod,  unfaithful  perform¬ 
ance  of  duty  on  their  part.”  In  Indianapolis, 
the  whole  community,  headed  by  the  Commer¬ 
cial  Club,  is  at  tliis  writing  about  to  turn  out 
en  vuisse  to  get  itself  enumerated  by  these  par¬ 
ty  pensioners  upon  the  public  treasury.  How 
it  works  to  use  these  offices  first  to  pay  party 
workers,  and  second  to  take  the  census,  is  best 
shown  by  quoting  again  from  the  Jmirnal, 
which,  speaking  of  carelessness  and,  we  add, 
utter  incapacity  and  unfitness,  says: 

A  case  of  this  kind  was  reported  liy  a  citizen  on 
Ka.st  Walnut  street.  The  enumerator  called  at  his 
house  yesterday  morning,  and  was  mot  by  the  Wal- 
nnt-street  resident's  wife,  who  informed  him  she  was 
ready  to  answer  any  questions  the  law  reiinired.  The 
enumerator,  .seating  him.self  on  the  step  of  the  front 
porch,  took  out  his  portfolio,  and,  placing  his  ink- 
bottle  on  the  floor  beside  him,  began.  At  the  head 
of  the  list  he  wrote  the  family  name  and  after  it  the 
w'ords,  “  St.  Clair  street.”  Upon  being  told  that  he 
had  made  a  mistake  in  the  name  of  the  street  he  re¬ 
placed  the  sheet  in  his  portfolio  and,  taking  out  a 
second,  made  a  fresh  start.  This  time  he  succeeded 
in  getting  the  name  of  the  street  correct,  and  pro¬ 
ceeded  with  hisque.stiouing.  The  name  of  the  lady’s 
husband  was  given,  and  his  oecnpation,  when  the 
enumerator  inquired,  “How  many  children  have 
you  ?” 

“Two,”  was  the  reply. 

“Oh,  well,  then,”  he  said,  “I’ll  come  ha ek  again 
and  complete  the  list.” 

With  this  remark  he  prepared  to  leave.  Seizing 
his  book  and  paper  in  one  hand,  he  grasped  the  open 
ink-bottle  in  the  other,  and,  witliout  replacing  the 
stopper,  put  the  bottle  into  his  coat  pocket.  As  he 
walked  down  to  the  gate  he  left  a  trail  of  ink  that 
furnished  the  lady  of  the  hou.se  two  hours’  good 
work  in  removing. 

This,  it  seems  from  the  complaints  that  are  coming 
in,  is  only  one  ca.se  out  of  many.  In  a  home  on 
North  New  .letsey  street  the  enumerator  asked  no 
questions  concerning  diseases  that  might  he  prev¬ 
alent  in  the  family  and  escaped  all  notice  of  a  mute 
daughter,  whose  age  and  nativity  he  only  a.sked  for. 
M.  II.  Spades  reports  that  the  Windsor  block,  on 
Illinois  street,  which  contains  at  least  two  hun¬ 
dred  rooms,  has  not  yet  been  visited. 

Failure  of  the  enumerators  to  properly  observe 
their  instructions,  as  well  as  the  repeated  urging  of 
Supervisor  Conger  to  have  them  do  what  they  were 
told  to  do  to  the  letter,  is  further  shown  by  inquiries 
that  were  made  in  this  oflice.  Out  of  forty  com¬ 
positors  who  were  at  the  cases  last  night  twenty  had 
been  ml.s.sed.  One  of  them  also  said  that  he  knew  of 
four  families  on  his  block  who  had  been  overlooked. 


FACTS  TO  ILLUMINE  CLARKSON’S 
BOSTON  SPEECH. 

A  confession,  they  say,  is  good  for  the  soul 
and  I  will  tell  of  one  committed  unanimously 
hy  the  commission  about  six  months  ago,  for 
which  I  was  perhaps  chiefly  to  blame.  You 
know  we  are  frequently  told  that  this  or  that 
office  has  special  needs.  The  head  of  the  office 
speaks  of  the  latitude  allowed  his  predecessor. 
He  claims  that  he  requires  men  with  a  peculiar 
fitness  not  possessed  by  men  upon  the  eligible 
list,  and  must  have  such  men  for  the  good  of  the 
office.  A  new  incumbent  of  a  particular  New 
York  office  asked  that  two  of  the  places  under 
him — he  only  had  six — betaken  from  the  class¬ 
ified  list.  He  must  have  men  of  fitne.ss,  and  if 
he  had  to  take  “  boys  fre.sh  from  school,”  a 
phrase  often  heard,  they  would  not  fill  the  bill. 
It  was  a  fact  which  we  knew  that  the  best  pos¬ 
sible  men  could  not  be  filled  from  the  list,  and 
we  granted  the  request.  Two  officers  of  a  re¬ 
publican  as.sociation  of  a  New  York  assembly 


district  got  the  places,  and  ten  days  afterward, 
at  a  primary  election  in  the  district,  that  as¬ 
sociation  was  victorious.  We  could  have  given 
two  men  eminently  better  fitted  than  those 
chosen.  I  doubt  if  we  can  undo  this  mistake, 
but  I  guarantee  the  four  other  officers  will  be 
kept  under  classification  with  an  iron  hand. — 
From  the  Adrtresta  of  Theodore  Roonerell  before  the 
CivU  Service  Reform  Aeeoei(dion  of  .Maryland,  Feb. 
£1,  1890. 


Having  succeeded  to  the  right,  title  and 
interest  in  the  post-office  at  New  Castle,  Dr. 
W.  F.  Shelley  hopes  the  ohl  patrrns  will  con¬ 
tinue  their  favors  as  to  his  j)redecessor,  and 
that  many  new  ones  may  be  added.  The  bim- 
ness  in  new  to  him  and  hin  ansintantn,  and  all  go 
home  very  tired  at  night,  hnl  nhorlly  he  hopes  to 
have  the  rnn  of  the  esUddishment  well  in  hand,  and 
be  able  to  give  his  old  customers  in  the  dental  line 
such  attention  as  they  may  require.  —New  Castle 
Courier. 


The  nomination  of  David  Lake  to  be  United 
State  marshal  is  looked  upon  as  a  plan  by 
which  ( V)ngre,ssman  Wallace  hopes  to  be  re¬ 
nominated  next  fall. 

For  years  “  Ran  ”  Ijake  has  been  one  of  the 
most  active  democratic  political  ward  workers  in 
Brooklyn,  lie  mis  “  boss  ”  of  the  Fighth  ward,  and 
was  in  the  good  gracesof  the  ring.  Several  times 
he  was  elected  supervisor,  ami  for  two  terms 
he  sat  in  the  county  auditor's  oflice.  It  was 
while  he  was  there  that  all  the  fraudulent  bills 
for  county  work,  for  passing  which  the  super¬ 
visors  have  recently  been  indicted,  were  au¬ 
dited,  and  it  was  on  the  strength  of  Lake’s 
guarantee  that  they  were  paid. 

When  .lohn  Y.  McKane  was  expelled  from 
the  democratic  party  for  treachery  he  ordered 
Lake  to  follow  him  out,  and,  although  the  lat¬ 
ter  then  held  the  office  of  auditor,  to  which 
democratic  votes  had  elected  him,  he  obeyed 
the  order.  When  the  next  election  came 
around  he  saw  he  would  be  out  of  a  job,  so  he 
made  a  deal  by  which  the  republicans  nomi¬ 
nated  him  for  supervisor  at  large.  The  re¬ 
sult  showed  that  he  was  about  the  weakest  man 
on  the  ticket. 

John  Y.  McKane,  report  says,  has  been  boast¬ 
ing  that  he  demanded  and  oi)tained  Lake’s 
nomination  in  return  for  his  services  in  casting 
the  vote  of  Gravesend  for  Harrison.  He  thinks 
he  and  Lake,  if  they  can  get  a  little  patronage 
to  dispense,  can  entice  about  3,000  democrats 
from  the  support  of  the  local  machine  and  so 
convert  Brooklyn  into  a  del)atable  city. — New 
York  Times,  March  17. 


Ill  Lake’s  own  ward,  the  Eighth,  this  feeling 
is  most  intense,  for  that  ward  had  a  candidate 
for  the  office  in  the  person  of  Robert  W.  Field¬ 
ing,  a  life-long  republican,  who  had  been 
formally  indorsed  by  the  entire  party  organiza¬ 
tion. 

Chairman  Woodruff  and  all  his  followers 
had  gone  to  the  capital  in  person  and  urged 
Fiehling’s  appointment.  That  he  was  basely  be¬ 
trayed  Mr.  Fielding  boldly  asserts,  and  he  says  he 
proposes  to  .see  if  half  a  dozen  men  like  Woodruff  and 
Naval  Officer  Willis  can  sell  out  a  man  who  had 
been  backed  up  by  the  entire  Kings  County  Repub¬ 
lican  General  Committee.  “They  added  insult 
to  injury,”  said  Fielding  yesterday,  “by  shelv¬ 
ing  me  and  taking  in  my  place  a  democrat 
from  my  own  ward,  a  man  whom  I  have  had 
to  fight  politically  for  over  a  dozen  years.  Here 
I  have  been  struggling  to  hold  our  party  vote  in 
this  democratic  district  for  a  decade,  and  have 
had  to  buck  against  the  great  power  of  this 
fellow,  Lake,  backed  by  ‘  Boss  ’  McLaughlin, 
and  yet  when  a  chance  of  reward  comes  I  am 
told  to  step  aside  .so  that  the  man  who  beat  us 
on  so  many  occasions  may  be  put  forward.  It 
was  a  shameful  political  swindle.” — New  York 
Times,  March  10. 


The  appointment  to-day  of  John  F.  Scan- 
tan  to  be  special  treasury  agent  at  Chicago 
was  due  rather  to  J.  N.  Huston  and  other  In¬ 
diana  politicians  than  to  Illinois  influences. 
He  was  indorsed  by  Senator  Farwell  before 
th^  appointment  of  the  col  lector  of  customs 
and  by  prominent  party  men  in  Chicago,  but 
steady  pressure  for  Mr.  Scanlan  came  from  the  In¬ 
diana  men  who  were  grateful  to  him  for  services  in 
two  presidential  campaigns.  Mr.  Scanlan  begins 
as  one  of  the  three  a.ssistants  of  J.  J.  Crowley, 
chief  of  the  Chicago  division  of  special  agents 
and  a  hold-over  democrat.  As  soo7i  as  he  shall 
have  gained  experience  in  the  difficult  duties  of  a 
treasury  agent,  he  irill  probably  be  appointed  chief 
of  the  division.  His  salary  is  |!3, 000  a  year. — 
Washington  Dispatch,  March  12. 


There  i.s  no  |mrt  of  the  ineniis  placed  in 
the  liandsofllie  executive  wliicli  niiglit  he 
used  with  greater  effect,  for  unhallowed 
purposes,  Ilian  flie  control  of  the  piihlie 
pre.ss.  We  have  learned,  too,  from  our 
own  as  well  as  the  experience  of  other 
countries,  t  hat  golden  sliackles,  hy  whom¬ 
soever  or  hy  whatever  pretense  imposed, 
are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the  iron  homls  of  d<’s- 
potism. — I’kesident  Wiijaam  Henry  Hak- 

RI.SON. 

— The  announcement  this  afternoon  that 
President  Harri.son  had  named  Alexander  Von 
Landberg,  editor  of  the  Union,  the  German 
repuhlican  organ,  for  internal  revenue  col¬ 
lector  for  the  twenty  first  district,  was  fol¬ 
lowed  by  the  firing  of  cannon  by  enthusiastic 
Germans  who  believe  that  it  was  Representa¬ 
tive  Belden’s  influence  and  sanction  that  de¬ 
cided  the  ajipointment. 

The  naming  of  Mr.  Von  Landberg  will,  in 
a  measure,  heal  the  breach  between  the  His- 
cock  and  Belden  factions.  It  is  a  victory  for 
Mr.  Belden  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  It 
has  been  evident  since  Mr.  Belden’s  appoint¬ 
ment  to  the  chairmanship  of  the  congre.'-sional 
committee  that  to  insure  success  in  the  col - 
lectorship  matter  Mr.  Hi.scock  must  select  one 
of  several  candidates  whom  Mr.  Belden  would 
agree  to  accept.  It  having  been  made  public, 
last  night,  that  the  representative  had  com¬ 
mitted  him.self  to  Mr.  Von  Landberg,  Hiscock 
fell  back  upon  the  German  editor  as  his  third 
candidate.  James  M.  Gilbert  was  the  first 
Cfliarles  E.  Ide  the  second,  and  finally  Mr. 
Von  Landberg.  Senator  Hiscock  gets  no 
credit  among  the  German  republican  element 
for  the  naming  of  their  countryman  for  the 
lucrative  place. 

A  great  deal  of  patronage  follows  the  ap- 
j)ointment  which  will  be  under  Mr.  Belden’s 
control,  and  it  amounts  to  a  great  deal  in  this 
district.  There  is  now  no  doubt  hut  what 
Mr.  Belden  will  have  the  naming  of  the  can¬ 
didates  on  the  republican  side  for  the  assem¬ 
bly  this  i&\\ .— Syracuse  Dispatch  to  the  New  Vmk 
Times,  June  G. 

— Although  Chauncey  I.  Filley  could  not 
pull  him.self  through  in  his  contest  for  the  post¬ 
mastership  at  St.  Louis,  he  manages  to  stock 
the  fourtli-cla.ss  offices  throughout  the  .state 
with  his  friends.  He  i-ecently  succeeded  in  having 
Ij.  M.  Spirely,  editor  of  the  Kingston  Times,  made 
postmaster  at  Kingston,  Caldwell  county.  John  A. 
Cannon  was  recommended  forthisoffice  by  all 
the  republican  officials  of  Caldwell  county, 
and  by  a  majority  of  the  republicans  of  the 
town.  Cannon  was  originally  appointed,  but 
Filley  succeeded  in  getting  Clarkson  to  “hold 
him  up,”  and  finally  induced  Clarkson  to  ap¬ 
point  Spirely.  It  is  understood  that  the 
Kingston  republicans  are  imlignant,  but  Filley 
has  his  man  in  oflice.  As  long  as  the“old  bluin’’ 
can  stock  the  fourth-class  offices  there  is  no  doubt  of 
his  ability  to  maintain  his  grip  on.  the  machine. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Sl.  Louis  Republic,  Jan. 
17. 


S.  QTJ^^T, 

Uiiilod  Slates  Senator  and  Cliairinan  of  the  National  Republican  Coniinittee,  Silent  Under  the  Oharj^e  of  Einhezzleiiient 

hy  Rejuitable  Newspapers. 


The  Ways  and  Means  of  the  Snhjngation  of  a  State  by  a  Modern  Ollice  Raron. 


The  Chrmiicle- Telegraph  (re[)ul)lican)  pub¬ 
lishes  a  long  dispatch  from  Indiana,  Penn., 
which  throws  some  light  upon  the  methods 
being  pursued  by  Senator  Quay’s  friends  to  se¬ 
cure  the  delegation  from  that  county  for  State 
Senator  Delamaler  for  governor.  The  dispatch 
says : 

“The  republicans  of  Indiana  have  discovered 
that  Chairman  Andrews  of  the  state  commit¬ 
tee,  acting  for  Delama  ter,  has  captured  tem¬ 
porarily  the  Indiana  republican  county  com¬ 
mittee,  and  is  trying  to  seize  the  Indiana  del¬ 
egation  to  the  state  convention,  as  he  did  that 
of  Cambria.  In  December  last  Chairman  An¬ 
drews  saw  County  Chairman  Langham.  Mr. 
Langham  was  ordered  to  immediately  create 
a  Delamater  boom  in  Indiana  through  the 
county  committee  members.  Gossips  say  that 
he  was  amply  provided  with  funds  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  this  campaign.  Delamater  ‘hus¬ 
tlers’  were  set  to  work  in  every  township.  Not 
only  was  this  accomplished  with  as  much 
haste  as  possil)le,  hut  the  county  press  was  also 
secured.  Within  a  ehort  lime  after  Chairman 
Langham's  liait  to  Piltrlmrgh  several  county  papers 
published  editor iaLs  lauding  Mr.  Delamater.  The 
Indiana  Messenger  toas  offered  the  same  thing  and 
refused  to  print  it,  although  the  editor  was  informed 
by  one  of  the  Delamater  managers  that  the  other  pa¬ 
pers  had  ‘  made  a  good  thing  out  of  it.'  ” — Pitts¬ 
burgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Feb.  26. 

*  •»  * 

No  man  ever  entered  upon  the  canvass  for  a 
nomination  with  more  of  the  party  machinery 
in  harmony  with  his  aspirations.  Mr.  Dela¬ 
mater  has  all  the  power  and  influence  of  the 
chairman  of  the  national  republican  com¬ 
mittee,  Colonel  Quay,  and  of  the  chairman 
of  the  republican  state  committee,  the  Hon. 
William  H.  Andrews,  who  expects  to  suc¬ 
ceed  Mr.  Delamater,  in  the  state  senate.  Both 
the  United  States  senators  from  Pennsylvania 
are  with  him,  as  is  Postmaster  General  Wan- 
amaker  and  all,  save  five,  of  the  republi¬ 
can  congressmen  from  this  state.  Add  to 
the.se  the  thousands  of  postma.sters  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  and  the  other  thousands  of  census 
enumerators,  and  it  will  not  be  difficult  to 
understand  where  Mr.  Delamater  gets  his 
strength  which  he  admittedly  shows  in  every 
republican  county  convention  that  is  held. 

It  is  no  .secret  that  city  and  cross-roads  postmas¬ 
ters  and  the  great  army  of  census  takers  in  this 
state  are  being  appointed,  first,  with  a  view  to  their 
political  usefulness  to  Mr.  Quay  and  Lis  mpporters, 
and  after  that  with  regard  to  their  fitness.  This  is 
true  of  all  save  Allegheny  county,  where  con¬ 
gressman  John  Dalzell  of  the  Twenty-second 
District  made  such  a  determined  fight  that  Su- 
|)erintenden(  Porter  created  a  special  census 
district,  and  the  nomination  of  George  T.  Oli¬ 
ver  to  he  supervisor  was  pushed  through  the 
senate  in  spite  of  the  the  written  jjrotests  of 


Senators  Cameron  and  (^uay  and  Congressmen 
Bayne  and  Ray. 

Along  with  the  power  of  the  party  machin¬ 
ery  and  party  spoils,  thus  so  graciously 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  candidate  Delama¬ 
ter,  goes  the  control  of  nine  out  of  every  ten 
of  the  republican  newspapers  in  the  state, 
from  the  dignified  Philadelphia  Press  anti  In- 
(juirer  and  the  Pittsburgh  Commercial-Gazette 
down  to  the  most  oh.scure  little  journal  in  the 
backwoods  towns  of  the  Pennsylvania  lumber 
regions.  From  editor  Charles  Fmory  Smith, 
who  is  given  the  Russian  mission  at  !fl2,500 
a  year,  on  through  the  list  iu  every  one  of 
the  sixty-seven  counties  of  the  commonwealth 
the  newspaper  people  are  kept  singing  the 
Delamater  .song  through  promises  and  places 
political. — MeudviUe  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
March  16. 

»  ■*  -s 

The  Chronicle- Telegraph  (rep.)  to  <lay  makes 
more  charges  of  corrupt  practices  against  W. 
II.  Andrews,  chairman  of  the  republican  state 
committee,  and  George  W.  Delamater,  (Quay’s 
candidate  for  governor.  It  says ; 

“In  addition  to  the  purcha.se  of  Cambria 
and  other  counties,  it  is  now  stated  on  good 
authority  that  the  most  open,  shame-faced 
bribery  was  resorted  to  in  .left’erson,  and  Chair¬ 
man  Andrews,  it  is  asserted,  rode  over  that 
county,  .accompanied  hy  the  county  chairman, 
and  pul  out  the  cash  freely  among  the  pur¬ 
chasable  element.” — Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  April  6. 

*  *  * 

Ten  letter-carriers  in  the  Pittsburgh  post- 
office,  which  comes  within  the  civil  service 
law,  have  received  this  notice,  dated  April  12; 

“  You  are  hereby  notified  that  your  services 
will  no  longer  be  required  as  a  carrier  at  the 
Pittsburg  post-office  after  April  15.  Respect¬ 
fully,  James  S.  McKean, 

Postmaster.” 

Mr.  McKean  is  tlie  new  republican  post- 
ter  and  friend  of  Senator  Quay.  The  dis¬ 
missed  carriers  are  all  democrats  and  have 
been  in  the  service  for  some  time.  As  the 
dismissals  were  apparently  without  cause,  and 
clearly  in  violation  of  the  civil  service  law, 
John  C.avanaugh,  one  of  the  discharged  car¬ 
riers,  appeared  before  the  postmaster  and  de¬ 
manded  to  know  the  why  and  wherefore. 

“I  know  nothing  about  it,”  replied  Mr. 
McKean.  “  The  orders  came  from  Washing¬ 
ton  and  I  am  only  carrying  them  out,  as  I  am 
in  duty  hound  to  do.” 

lie  did  not  say  whether  Mr.  Quay  or  Mr. 
Wanamaker  had  sent  the  order.  Mr.  Cav¬ 
anaugh  insisted  upom'  having  something  in 
explanation,  and  asked  if  charges  had  been 
made  against  him  for  any  cause,  but  the  post¬ 
master  declared  that  he  knew  nothing  what¬ 
ever  as  to  the  reasons  for  the  discharges.  There 
are  some  who  suspect  that  the  post-office  influ¬ 


ence  is  to  be  used  in  securing  delegates  from 
Pittsburgh  favorable  to  the  candidacy  of 
Quay’s  friend  Delamater  for  governor. — Pitts¬ 
burgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  April  14. 

* 

The  Republican,  the  most  w’idely  circulated 
paper  in  Schuylkill  county,  to-day  prints  the 
following  savage  attack  upon  Senator  Quay’s 
candidate  for  governor  ; 

“  George  W.  Delamater  has  been  a  selfish 
traitor  to  his  party,  and  he  has  given  proof  of 
his  fealty  to  the  Standard  Oil  Comjiany.  The 
story  of  his  course  on  the  anti-discrimination 
hill  of  1887  is  almost  as  had  as  that  of  his 
conduct  on  the  Billingsley  bill.  The  republi¬ 
can  state  convention  of  1880  pledged  the  party 
to  the  p.assage  of  an  anti-di.scrimination  bill. 
Sul)sequently,  on  firet  and  second  readings, 
this  bill  was  supported  by  Delamater.  On  the 
night  of  March  10,  1887,  Senators  Delamater, 
Watres  and  McFarland  were  noticed  in  close 
consultation  with  Senators  Wolverton,  Ross, 
Ilemininger  and  other  democratic  leaders. 
Later  in  the  night  Delamater  was  accused  of 
contemplating  treachery  to  his  party,  and  he 
confessed  it.  He  said  that  eight  republican 
senators,  under  the  lead  of  himself  and 
Watres,  had  agreed  to  vote  with  the  democrats 
and  defeat  the  anti-discrimination  hill. 

“  When  asked  the  rea.son  he  replied  that  he 
had  been  ignored  by  Senators  Rey  burn,  George 
Handy  Smith,  Penrose,  Rulan,  Cooper,  Mew- 
myer,  Scott,  Alexander,  and  other  republican 
leaders.  He  declared  that  he  intended  to  make 
him.self  a  leader  even  if  he  had  to  break  up 
the  party  in  the  senate  on  an  important  stale 
measure.  A  member  familiar  with  Delama- 
ter’s  connections  suggested  that  perhaps  there 
was  some  way  to  reach  him  through  the  Stand¬ 
ard  Oil  Company.  The  lobby  representative  of 
the  Standard  said  that  Delamater  was  acting 
foolishly,  and  that  he  would  fix  the  thing  up. 
He  did  so. 

“A  caucus  of  republican  senators  was  in  ses¬ 
sion  when  it  was  announced  that  Delamater 
was  outside  and  wanted  to  see  the  leaders. 
These  gentlemen  were  told  by  Delamater  that 
he  would  vote  for  the  anti-discrimination  hill, 
provided  they  would  promise  that  henceforth 
he  should  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  republi¬ 
can  leaders  and  he  consulted  on  all  measures 
and  questions  of  policy,  and  that  the  men  to 
whom  he  talked  should  agree  to  oppose  the 
Billingsley  hill  and  help  him  defeat  it.  This 
was  agreed  to.  Mr.  Delmater  voted  for  the 
anti-discrimination  bill  on  the  same  day,  de¬ 
serting  Waters  and  the  men  to  whom  he  had 
pledged  himself  the  night  before.  The  Stand¬ 
ard  had  influence  enough  to  bring  Delamater 
to  terms  when  all  other  efforts  failed. — Poits- 
ville  Dispatch  to  New  Yivk  Times,  April  22. 

^  »  -*  -» 

Detroit,  Mich.,  May  7. — The  following  let¬ 
ter,  addressed  to  a  leading  republican  of  De- 


134 


TILE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


troit,  was  received  yesterday  and  explains 
itself.  Inclosed  were  a  number  of  handsome 
certificates,  suggestive  of  the  most  artistic 
hank  paper,  <lecorated  with  a  neat  ten  dollar 
mark  and  having  a  coupon  attached.  The 
nse  to  which  they  are  to  be  applied  appears  in 
the  “  confidential  ”  communication.  The  let¬ 
ter  is  as  follows : 

Washington,  I>.  C.,  April  30,  1800. 

My  Dear  Sir;  Tlie  republican  national 
committee  has  established  permanent  head¬ 
quarters  in  this  city,  in  order  that  the  party’s 
interests  throughout  the  nation  may  not  be 
lost  sight  of  between  presidential  elections. 
We  have  found  many  opportunities  since  the 
close  of  the  campaign  of  1888  to  aid  in 
strengthening  the  party  organization  in  various 
sections  of  the  country.  *  * 

I  send  you  herewith  a  number  of  certifi¬ 
cates  which  illustrate  this  plan.  I  trust  you 
may  be  able  at  an  early  day  to  place  them 
with  some  of  the  zealous  repiiblieans  of  your 
neighborhood.  Please  fill  up  the  coupons 
with  full  name  and  addres.s,  cut  them  ofi’,  and 
return  them  to  us  with  the  !?I0  for  each.  All 
checks,  money  orders,  etc.,  should  be  made 
payable  to  F.  W.  Leach,  assistant  secretary, 
who  has  charge  of  this  branch  of  the  work. 
A  record  will  be  kept  of  all  the  subscribers,  who  will 
be  known  as  registered  cnntrilmtors  to  the  republican 
national  committee.  [It  is  stated  that  govern¬ 
ment  employes  are  receiving  intimations  to 
buy  a  coui)on.] 

Believing  you  to  be  deeply  interested  in  re¬ 
publican  success  and  influential  in  the  coun¬ 
cils  of  the  party,  I  very  earnestly  ask  you  to 
assist  us.  If  we  can  not  invoke  the  aid  and 
CO- operation  of  republicans  of  your  standing 
and  activity,  upon  whom  can  we  depend?  If 
you  conclude  that  you  can  not  help  us,  kindly 
return  the  certificates,  in  order  that  we  may 
place  them  elsewhere.  In  such  events,  please 
name  some  one  who,  in  your  opinion,  will  be 
likely  to  aid  us  in  the  manner  indicated. 
With  the  hope  that  your  convenience  may  per¬ 
mit  you  to  accord  us  an  early  response,  I  am^ 
very  truly,  yours,  M.  S.  Quay. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  ex-State  Senator  Lewis 
Emery,  in  a  speech  in  the  opera  house  in  Brad¬ 
ford,  charged  Senator  Delamater  (Quay’s  can¬ 
didate  for  governor)  with  perjwy  in  taking  the 
oath  of  office  and  stating  that  he  had  not  used  cor- 
nipt  means  to  gain  his  election  ;  with  accepting  a 
bribe  to  the  amount  of  $05,000  to  defeat  the  Bill- 
ingsly  bill,  and  with  forging  the  names  of  a  confer¬ 
ence  committee  of  the  legislature,  which  had  never 
been  appointed,  to  a  report  in  the  interest  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company.  Senator  Emefry  made  the 
charges  specifically,  and  challenged  prosecution  or 
arrest.  Senxdor  Delamater  said,  in  response  to  the 
challenge,  “  /  wUl  cany  Emery's  men  county  for 
ym'crnor.  That  is  my  answer." — Ne%v  York  Times, 
May  10. 

*  »  * 

The  managing  editor  of  the  Pittsburgh  Chron¬ 
icle  Telegraph  (rep.)  to  day  telegraphs  his  paper 
as  follows,  from  Meadville,  Pa.:  “  State  Chair¬ 
man  W.  H.  Andrews,  is  trying  to  get  into  the 
state  senate,  and  his  canvass  is  being  con¬ 


ducted  in  his  usual  style,  through  political 
boodlers.  Andrews  has  said  he  is  willing  to 
spend  $20,000  to  get  the  state  senatorship,  and 
he  is  in  a  fair  way  to  do  it  now. 

“  In  this  highly  laudable  mi.ssionary  work 
the  rej)ublican  state  chairman  is  ably  assisted 
by  his  two  brothers,  who  live  on  the  crumbs 
that  fall  when  the  state  chairman  makes  a 
grab.  There  is  one  big  wave  of  disgust  sweep¬ 
ing  over  the  county  at  the  methods  of  these 
three  men.  Charles  Andrews  does  the  township 
distribution  of  cash  prize  and  W.  E.  Andrews 
helps  distribute  part  of  the  time  and  also  runs 
a  funny  little  ‘patent-outside’  daily  paper 
in  Meadville.  This  paper  has  so  little  weight 
that  the  state  chairman  does  not  depend  upon 
it.  La.st  week  he  bought  a  semi-weekly,  ed¬ 
ited  by  a  man  named  Keisinger,  ami  filled  it 
full  of  puffs  for  himself  and  denunciations  of 
everybody  else.  Reisinger for  months  has  abused 
Andrews  in  a  most  vigor  mis  manner,  hut  in  consid- 
eratimi  of  a  promise  of  the  Meadville  post-office  and 
a  couple  of  hundred  dollars  he  sold  out  his  entire 
stock  of  vituperation  and  hattery. 

“Chairman  Andrews  is  running  a  boodle 
campaign  on  the  platform,  ’If  you  don’t  elect 
me,  W.  L.  Scott  will  be  sent  to  the  United 
States  senate.’  Some  people  say  that  there  is 
more  danger  from  Scott  with  Andrews  in  the 
senate  than  out  of  it. 

“  Candidate  Andrews  three  weeks  ago  sent 
for  Messrs.  Brown  and  Potter,  candidates  for 
the  legislative  nomination.  The  senatorial 
candidate  produced  a  written  agreement  for 
the  legislative  candidates  to  sign.  It  was  set 
forth  in  this  that  Andrews  and  his  brother 
would  agree  to  stop  fighting  Brown  and  Pot¬ 
ter  and  support  them  if  they  would  agree  to 
vote  for  any  candidate  for  United  States  sena¬ 
tor  whom  W.  II.  Andrews  would  name. 
Brown  and  Potter  indignantly  refused  to  enter 
into  any  agreement,  and  the  chairman  threat¬ 
ened  all  sorts  of  things.  Does  this  mean  that 
Andrews  intends  to  get  members  of  the  next 
legislature  in  shape  so  as  to  sell  them  to  Scott 
or  some  other  boodler?  It  certainly  looks 
like  it.” — Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
June  2. 

*  -»  * 

The  Chronicle- Telegraph  (republican  and  an¬ 
ti  Delamater)  on  Wednesday  printed  a  three- 
column  dispatch  from  Bradford  tending  to 
show  that  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  the 
democracy  have  joined  forces  to  secure  a  De¬ 
lamater  delegation  from  McKean  county  to 
the  republican  state  convention.  The  dispatch 
is  signed  by  Parker  L.  Walter,  the  managing 
editor  of  the  Chronicle-Telegraph,  who  boldly 
charges  that  “open  bribery  and  wholesale  cor¬ 
ruption  ”  are  being  resorted  to  by  the  friends 
of  Senator  Delamater,  both  to  secure  a  delega¬ 
tion  favorable  to  him  and  to  crush  the  ambi¬ 
tious  spirit  of  ex  State  Senator  Lewis  Emery, 
Jr.,  who  has  attacked  Mr.  Delamater  and  now 
seeks  congressional  honors. 

The  writer  says  that  immediately  after  Em¬ 
ery’s  now  famous  speech,  “Chairman  Andrews 
decided  to  carry  the  delegates  of  McKean 
county  for  Delamater  at  any  cost.”  To  this 


end  “he  devoted  himself  to  forming  the  federal  office¬ 
holders  into  battall  ions,  at  the  same  time  openly 
and  flagrantly  purchasing  the  influence  of  men 
here  and  there  who  up  to  this  time  were  out¬ 
spoken  in  the  cause  of  Secretary  of  the  Com¬ 
monwealth  Stone.  The  main  body  of  the 
army  was  composed  of  employes  of  the  United 
Pipe  lines  and  workmen  in  every  branch  of 
ihe  oil  business  who  could  be  influenced  by 
the  Standard  and  democratic  politicians.” 

The  disj)atch  continues :  “In  all  his  curi¬ 
ously  indecent  political  career  chairman  An¬ 
drews  has  never  been  more  shameless  in  open 
bribery  than  in  this  contest  in  McKean. 
Money  has  been  scattered  into  every  nook  in 
the  county,  and  where  money  would  not  do 
federal  offices,  promises  of  patronage  or  threats 
have  been  used  by  Anthony  Bannon,  the 
Delamater- Andrews  representative  in  Mc¬ 
Kean.”  The  writer  says  Bannon  gave  Benja¬ 
min  Thornton  and  P.  II.  Friel  money  to  use  in 
Delamater’s  interest,  and  acting  for  Bannon. 
Eu.ssell  McAllister  gave  money  to  a  colored 
man  named  Rutherford  and  to  B.  D.  Pait. 
The  dispatch  says:  “A  man  named  Bickford 
was  disabled  while  working  for  the  United 
Pipe  lines.  He  is  a  Delamater-Watson  dele¬ 
gate,  and  says  that  if  elected  he  has  the  prom¬ 
ise  of  general  superintendent  Daniel  O’ Day 
that  he  will  have  back  pay  for  the  time  he  has 
been  unable  to  work,  and  will  in  future  draw 
a  pension  from  the  Standard.  O.  M.  Coe,  of 
Tarport,  was  a  warm  Stone  and  Emery  man. 
He  was  made  census  enumeratm',  and  is  now  work- 
ing  for  Delamater,  and  Watson  Davis,  postmaster 
of  Kane,  is  working  as  a  Delamater  delegate,  as  is 
the  editor  of  the  Eldred  Eagle,  who  is  a  candidate 
for  census  enumerator.  Komitz,  postmaster  at  La¬ 
fayette  Corners;  Beaunmit,  postmaster  at  Alton, 
and  Kerns,  postmaster  at  Smethport,  are  far  Dela¬ 
mater.  Promises  of  work  for  drillers  and  other 
oil  men  are  offered  in  the  name  of  the  Stand¬ 
ard  in  return  for  Delamater-Watson  support.” 
— Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  May  G. 

■»  * 

All  the  recent  contests  for  the  election  of 
delegates  have  been  unfavorable  to  Mr.  Dela¬ 
mater,  his  defeat  in  Chester  county  at  the  pri¬ 
maries  on  Saturday  last,  by  the  Hastings 
forces,  being  particularly  disastrous.  But  it  is 
announced  that  Mr.  Quay — who  will  go  into 
the  state  convention  as  a  substitute  delegate — 
intends  to  .secure  Mr.  Delamater’s  nomination, 
and  we  have  no  doubt  this  statement  will 
prove  true,  unless  between  this  and  the  25th 
Mr.  (^uay  should  have  still  more  evidence  of 
the  certainty  of  a  “Folger  disaster”  to  fol¬ 
low  such  a  course,  and  so  be  driven  to  a  safer 
policy. 

The  Washington  correspondents  all  assure 
us  that  the  convention  will  be  easily  in  Mr. 
(Quay’s  control.  The  correspondent  of  the 
Philadtlphia  Ledger,  quoting  “a  republican 
who  is  prominent  in  the  councils  of  the  party 
in  Pennsylvania,”  and  who  believes  General 
Hastings  will  get  the  nomination,  states  that 
this  prominent  republican  said  :  “Of  one  thing 
ymi  may  be  certain,  and  that  is,  the  convention  will 
be  controlled  by  Mr.  Quay.”  And  the  corre¬ 
spondent  of  the  Press,  saying  that  there  is  a 
variety  of  opinion  as  to  what  will  be  done,  de¬ 
clares  that  “all  agree,  hmvevcr,  that  the  conven¬ 
tion  will  be  beyond  all  dispute  in  the  hands  of 
Quay’s  friends,  and  that  the  power  as  well  as  the 
responsibility  of  making  the  ticket  will  be  his.” 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


135 


Among  tlie  luiiiiber  of  respectable  citizens 
who  have  signed  the  letter  to  Mr.  Delamater 
there  must  be  many,  we  have  no  doubt,  who 
are  ignorant  of  the  relation  which  he  holds 
to  Mr.  Quay’s  political  operations,  and  of  the 
contract  with  that  individual  on  which  his 
candidacy  rests.  They  must  be  unaware, 
also,  we  should  presume,  of  the  charges  which 
have  been  brought  against  this  aspirant  for 
the  governorship,  in  connection  with  his  elec¬ 
tion  to  the  state  senate  in  1880.  Mr.  Lewis 
Emery,  Jr.,  recently  state  senator  from  Mc¬ 
Kean  county,  in  a  })ublic  speech  at  Bradford 
over  two  months  ago,  exhibited  documents 
which  he  said  were  proof  that  Mr.  Delamater 
had  secured  his  election  by  means  of  bribery, 
and  then  had  bribed  persons  to  silence  who 
were  about  to  disclose  the  facts.  It  followed, 
of  course,  that  in  taking  the  oath  of  office,  on 
assuming  a  seat  in  the  senate  he  had  sworn 
falsely  that  he  had  not  used  any  corrupt  means 
to  secure  election.  These  charges  Mr.  Emery 
declared  he  ivas  ready  to  sustain  in  court  if  Mr. 
Delamater  would  bring  suit  against  him  for  slander, 
and  up  to  the  present  time  the  latter  gentleman  has 
not  either  brought  such  a  suit,  or  even,  made  a  distinct 
denial  of  the  impeachment.  The  Philadelphia 
Press,  several  weeks  ago,  called  on  him  to 
make  a  denial,  and  assured  him  that  his  fail¬ 
ure  to  do  so  would  be  a  serious  injury  to  his 
standing,  but  Mr.  Delamater  has  nevertheless 
maintained  silence. 

The  efforts  of  Mr.  Quay  to  help  the  candi¬ 
dacy  of  Mr.  Wallace,  and  so  diminish  the  risk 
of  running  Mr.  Delamater,  have  become  very 
generally  perceptible  now,  even  to  the  ordi¬ 
nary  observer,  and  the  daily  journals  have 
contained  many  interesting  details  pointing 
out  the  why  and  wherefore  of  the  case.  Appar¬ 
ently,  the  democratic  masses’hare  perceived  the  in¬ 
terest  which  the  republican  boss  has  in  giving  them 
a  candidate,  and  the  result  of  several  recent 
county  contests  has  been  in  tbe  direction  of 
another  than  Mr.  Wallace.  Blair  county,  in 
which  a  snaj)  judgment  had  been  taken,  and 
the  choice  of  the  voters  reversed  (after  the 
fashion  of  Mr.  Delamater’s  work  in  Cambria), 
has  been  corrected  by  a  county  convention,  in 
wbich  the  Wallace  men  found  themselves  an 
insignificant  faction,  and  in  Cambria,  which 
they  had  counted  on  with  the  greatest  confi¬ 
dence,  they  were  also  in  a  minority.  Both 
these  counties  elected  delegates  for  Mr.  Patti- 
son.  In  Chester  county  the  feeling  for  Mr. 
Pattison  was  so  strong  as  to  be  practically 
unanimous. 

The  delegates  chosen  to  the  convention  are 
not,  like  those  who  met  at  Harrisburg  last 
year,  simply  a  party  of  Mr.  Quay’s  political 
followers,  told  off  for  this  business.  On  the 
contrary  a  majority  of  them  have  been  elected 
upon  an  understanding  more  or  less  positive 
that  they  would  oppose  the  nomination — of 
Mr.  Delamater — which  it  was  well  known  Mr. 
Quay  desired  to  have  made.  *  *'  * 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  if  Mr.  Quay  is  to 
have  the  complete  control  which  is  ascribed 
to  him  ;  if  he  is  to  have  power  to  nominate 


Mr.  Delamater  or  to  defeat  him,  it  must  be  be¬ 
cause  he  will  be  able  to  use  in  his  own  inter¬ 
ests  delegates  who  have  been  chosen  for  a  dif¬ 
ferent  purpose.  It  must  be  that  he  can  employ 
some  })ersuasive  to  induce  them  to  desert  the 
candidates  for  whom  they  have  been  chosen, 
and  to  support  a  candidate  whom  they  were 
particularly  expected  to  oppose.  *  *  * 

What  is  the  power  that  Mr.  Quay  is  thought  to 
huvef  Why  should  a  majority  of  the  republican 
conventum  of  Pennsylrunia,  assembling  under  cir¬ 
cumstances  which  especially  call  for  personal  indepen 
dence  and  political  courage,  be  regarded  us  certain 
to  sei vilely  follow  whatever  orders  Mr.  Quay  may 
issue  ?  Obmously  enough,  this  inlluence  conies  from 
the  supposed  gift  to  him  of  the  federal  patronage  of 
Pennsylvania.  *  *  Is  it,  then,  Mr.  Harrison’s 

purpose  to  further  this  business?  Does  he 
mean  still  to  back  Mr.  Quay  in  Pennsylvania? 
Will  he  assure  Mr.  Quay  that  whatever  prom¬ 
ises  he  may  make  of  federal  appointments  will 
be  faithfully  carried  out  at  Washington? 

We  desire  to  say  to  the  President  that  every 
further  step  he  takes  in  company  with  Mr. 
Quay  and  his  following  will  be  another  step 
on  the  road  to  political  disaster. —  2'he  Ameri 
can,  June  I4. 


Executive  Mniision,  Wjishingtoii,  I).  C., 
July  14,  ISSG. — To  the  Heads  of  Depart' 
lueiits  ill  the  Service  of  the  (leiieral  (»ov- 
eruineut:  I  deem  this  a  proper  time  to 
especially  warn  all  subordinates  in  the 
several  departments  and  all  ollice-holders 
under  the  general  government  against  tlie 
use  of  their  otlicial  positions  in  attempts 
to  control  political  movements  in  their 
localities. 

Office-holders  are  tlie  agents  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  not  their  masters.  Not  only  is  their 
time  and  labor  due  to  the  government,  but 
they  should  scrupously  avoid  in  their  polit¬ 
ical  action,  as  well  as  in  the  discharge  of 
their  official  duty,  offending  by  a  display 
of  obtrusive  ]>artisanshi|)  their  neighbors 
who  have  relations  with  them  as  public 
officials. 

They  should  also  constantly  remember 
that  their  parly  friends  from  whom  they 
have  received  jircferment  have  not  in¬ 
vested  them  with  the  power  of  arbitrarily 
managing  their  political  affairs.  They  have 
no  right,  as  office-holders,  to  dictate  the 
political  action  of  their  parly  associates, 
or  to  throttle  freedom  of  action  within 
party  Hues  by  methods  and  jiractices  which 
prevent  every  useful  and  Justiliable  pur- 
l>ose  of  party  organization. 

The  inlluence  of  the  federal  ollicc-hold- 
ers  should  not  be  felt  in  the  manipulation 
of  political  primary  meetings  and  nomi¬ 
nating  conventions.  The  use  by  these  of- 
licials  of  their  positions  to  compass  their 
selection  as  delegates  to  political  conven¬ 
tions  is  indecent  and  unfair,  and  proper 
regard  for  the  [irojirieties  and  require¬ 
ments  of  official  jilace  will  also  prevent 
their  assuming  the  active  conduct  of  polit¬ 
ical  campaigns. 


Individual  interests  and  activity  in  jiolit- 
ical  affairs  are  by  no  means  comiemned. 
Office-holders  are  neither  disfranchised 
nor  forbidden  the  exercise  of  political 
privileges,  nor  is  their  duty  to  the  parly 
increased  to  pernicious  activity  by  office¬ 
holding.  A  just  discrimination  in  this  re¬ 
gard  between  the  things  a  citizen  may 
properly  do  and  the  purpose  for  which  a 
public  officer  should  not  be  used  is  easy  iu 
the  light  of  a  coi’rect  appreciation  of  the 
relation  between  the  people  and  those  in¬ 
trusted  with  official  place,  and  a  consider¬ 
ation  of  the  necessity  under  our  form  of 
government  of  political  action  free  from 
political  coercion. 

You  are  requested  to  communicate  the 
substance  of  these  views  to  those  for  whose 
guidance  they  are  intended.— (Jrover 
Cleveland. 

Approved  by  Poslmaster  General  Wana- 

maker,  April  25,  1890. 

— The  republican  state  convention  met  in 
Augusta  (Me.)  June  12.  The  chairman  was  the 
postmaster  of  Augusta.  A  dispatch  to  the 
New  York  Times  slates  that  nearly  all  the  fed¬ 
eral  office-holders  of  the  state  were  present  as 
delegates. 

— Formal  complaint  has  been  made  to  Post¬ 
master-General  Wanamaker  that  the  post- 
offices  in  the  twenty-third  congressional  dis¬ 
trict  are  being  used  to  further  the  nomination 
of  Col.  Thomas  M.  Bayne  for  an  eighth  term 
in  congress.  Col.  Bayne’s  competitor  is  George 
Shiras,  a  young  lawyer,  who  is  pushing  the 
veteran  pretty  hard.  The  letter  of  complaint 
says : 

The  postmaster  of  Allegheny,  the  assistant  post¬ 
master,  the  subordinates  already  appointed,  and 
those  assured  of  position  are  standing  as  primary 
delegates  for  the  present  congressional  incumbent. 
Iu  every  borough  and  township  the  postmasters  are 
either  delegates  or  have  expressly  stated  that  they 
are  responsible  for  the  eleeiion  of  delegates  favor¬ 
able  to  the  renomination  of  the  incumbent.  So  bit¬ 
ter  has  the  feeling  become  tliat  tlie  parly  is  in  serious 
danger  of  disruption,  simply  and  solely  by  rea.son  of 
federal  dictation.  Personal  friends  of  Mr.  Shiras,  as 
they  daily  witness  the  aggressive  and  offensive  ac¬ 
tivity  of  Postmaster  Gilliland,  of  Allegheny,  and  his 
subordinates  are  overcome  with  distrust  iu  regard  to 
the  safety  and  wisdom  of  using  the  post  ollice  for 
even  the  most  ordinary  purposes.  Wiih  the  incum¬ 
bent  using  the  post  office  as  his  private  headquarters 
the  mistrust  of  this  so  called  public  institution  is 
not  exactly  without  reason.— Pif/s&?rrp/i  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  May  '25. 

— Naval  Officer  Willis  professed  great  .vurpi-ise  at 
the  mention  of  Collins’  name.  “/  left  Washington 
last  night,”  he  said,  “  and  I  had  talked  a  great  deal 
about  this  subject,  but  there  was  no  Collins  in  it.” — 
Brooklyn  post  office  fight.  May  IG. 

— Secretary  Tracy  favors  Wm.  G.  Taylor 
because  his  selection  would  help  Kobert  1). 
Benedict  in  bis  desire  to  become  Congressman 
Wallace’s  successor.  All  the  news  that  comes 
from  Washington  is  favorable  to  Mr.  Taylor, 
but  his  closest  friends  do  not  care  to  stale  pos¬ 
itively  that  be  will  be.  selected.  Naval  Officer 
Willis,  who  has  been  working  hard  for  Mr.  Taylor, 
thinks  that  the  selection  will  be  made  within  a 
few  days,  but  he  declined  yesterday  to  say 
whether  Taylor  would  get  the  prize  or  not. — 
New  York  Times,  May  26. 


136 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— Mr.  Hill’s  poslmasler  here,  Geo.  F.  Bucher, 
has  beat  about  the  county,  and  he  says  the  county 
delegation  will  be  instructed  for  Hitt.  The 
towns  of  Wysox,  York,  Rock  Creek,  Shannon, 
Savanna,  Washington,  Woodland  and  Free¬ 
dom  will  send  Ilitt  delegates  to  the  county 
convention,  and  this,  he  insists,  will  insure 
the  county  for  Hitt.  What  Mr.  Rucher  con¬ 
siders  a  test  of  the  Hitt  sentiment  was  made  in 
Lanark  this  spring.  Levi  T.  Bray,  member 
of  the  last  state  assembly,  ran  for  supervisor 
of  Lanark  and  was  badly  beaten.  Bray  was 
the  principal  backerof  H.  I).  Dennis,  applicant 
for  the  post-ofKce  at  Lanark.  The  post-office 
was  given  to  Maj.  Geo.  A.  Root,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  which  Bray  is  against  Hitt.  Post¬ 
master  Bucher  says  it  was  Hitt’s  friends  who 
snowed  Bray  under  for  supervisor. — Leila'  to 
Chicayo  Herald  from  Carroll  on  Congressman  Hill’s 
renomination,  May  23. 

—  The  ■poslmasler,  A.  W.  Harlong,  has  started 
out  to  see  tvhal  he  can  do  for  his  boss  through  the 
county.  The  soreheads  here  say  they  will  see 
to  it  that  an  anti-Hitt  delegation  goes  from 
their  town  to  the  county  convention.  They 
may  and  they  may  not  be  able  to  do  this. — 
Letter  to  Chicago  Herald  from  Rochelle  on  Con¬ 
gressman’s  Hill’s  renomination.  May  20. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Maryland 
Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  held  May 
27,  among  others,  the  following  resolutions 
were  passed  : 

Resolved,  That  llie  disposal  of  federal  patronage 
through  congressmen  and  senators  is  a  grave  abuse, 
subversive  of  the  constitutional  distinction  between 
the  executive  and  legi.slative  departments  of  thegov- 
cinnient;  and  we  especially  protest  against  and  de- 
pU)re  the  course  of  ITesident  Harrison  in  submitting 
his  appointments  in  Tennsylvania  to  the  dictation  of 
a  man  who  makes  no  defense  when  charged  by  re¬ 
sponsible  citizens  and  newspapers  with  participation 
in  the  criminal  mi-appropriation  of  public  money. 

Resolved,  That  the  use  of  public  ollice  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  paying  partisan  and  personal  political  debts 
is  immoral,  and  it  is  to  be  classed  with  the  misuse 
and  misappropriation  of  all  other  public  property. 

The  Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  of 
Missouri,  held  its  ninth  annual  meeting  June 
7.  From  the  excellent  report  of  Mr.  Charles 
Chitlin  Allen,  of  the  executive  committee,  we 
(jiiote : 

The  administration  of  the  classified  service  under 
the  maiiageraenl  of  the  j>resent  civil  service  com- 
mi-ssion  has  been  admirable.  The  commission  itself, 
led  by  Mr.  Roo.sevelt,  has  showu  an  energy  and  ac¬ 
tivity  ii  the  performance  of  the  duties,  hitherto  un¬ 
equaled.  Its  supervision  of  the  service,  its  quick¬ 
ness  to  investigate  all  reported  abuses  and  to  correct 
them  when  proved,  and  its  improvement  in  the  prac¬ 
tical  character  of  examinations,  have  placed  the  re¬ 
form  system  uuou  a  firmer  footing  than  it  has  ever 
held. 

In  the  non  cla-ssified  service  all  is  chaos.  Whole¬ 
sale  removals  and  ai)pointments  constitute  a  con¬ 
glomerate  mass,  in  which  it  is  impo-ssible  to  discrim¬ 
inate  between  the  deserved  and  the  undeserved. 


The  civil  service  reform  association  of  New¬ 
ton,  Mass.,  whose  president  is  Rev.  Henry  Lam¬ 
bert,  is  an  object  lesson  to  various  other  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country.  It  has  a  membership  of 
several  hundred,  and  it  is  thoroughly  alive  to 
its  duty.  Mr.  Clarkson’s  recent  crafty  pro¬ 
testation  of  the  patriotism  and  Americanism 
inherent  in  spoilsmen  was  an  irritant  that 
provoked  an  effective  demolition  at  the  hands 
of  Charles  Theodore  Russell,  Jr.,  the  late 
democratic  candidate  for  governor. 


RECENT  EXAMPLES  OF  THE  MERIT 
SYSTEM. 

Gen.  James  M.  Warner,  postmaster  at 
Albany,  New  York,  has  been  enforcing  the 
civil  service  law.  He  found  among  the  clerks 
and  carriers  twelve  men  who  had  remained 
through  the  administration  of  Dr.  O’Leary 
from  the  itrevious  rejiublican  administration. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  two  years  of  Dr. 
O’Leary’s  term  there  were  twenty-nine  repub¬ 
licans.  Gen.  Warner  has  now  in  the  force 
under  him  not  to  exceed  thirty  democrats. 
This  made  the  spoilsmen  beside  themselvts 
and  the  republican  general  committee  of 
Albany  county  passed  resolutions  asking  for 
his  removal.  When  they  found  the  post¬ 
master  calmly  going  about  his  business  in  the 
teeth  of  their  resolutions,  they  got  panic- 
stricken  and  failed  to  forward  them. 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Ryan  as  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  New  England  division  of  the 
railway  mail  service  was  in  accordance  with 
•Mr.  Bigelow’s  dying  wish  that  his  capable  as¬ 
sistant  should  be  his  successor.  Spencer  W. 
Shepardson,  chief  clerk  of  the  various  lines 
in  tlie  first  division,  has  been  appointed  to  the 
position  made  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Mr. 
Ryan.  The  latter  has  been  in  the  railway 
mail  service  about  twenty  one  years,  during 
twelve  years  of  which  he  fias  been  chief  clerk 
of  the  first  division.  Mr.  Shepardson  has 
been  in  the  service  over  seventeen  years. 


W.  H.  Lamb  has  been  ajjpointed  superin¬ 
tendent  of  mails  at  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Lamb  is 
at  present  engaged  in  the  office  of  the  division 
superintendent  of  the  railway  mail  service  at 
this  place,  and  is  among  the  oldest  employes 
of  the  postal  department  now  stationed  in  St. 
Louis.  He  entered  the  service  in  the  far 
western  country  seventeen  years  ago  as  a  route 
agent,  and  was  regularly  promoted  to  second 
clerk,  and  then  clerk  in  charge  of  a  car,  which 
position  he  held  until  1882,  when  he  resigned 
to  accept  his  luesent  situation  in  the  local  su¬ 
perintendent’s  office.  The  place  to  which  Mr. 
Lamb  has  just  been  appointed  is  the  one  so 
long  filled  by  Maj.  J.  B.  Harlow,  prior  to  his 
selection  as  postmaster  last  January. 

William  P.  Campbell,  of  Illinois,  has  been 
appointed  assistant  general  superintendent  of 
the  railway  mail  service,  under  the  law  re¬ 
cently  passed  creating  that  office,  and  Mr.  Al¬ 
exander  Grant,  of  Michigan,  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  chief  clerk  to  the  general  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  railway  mail  service.  Both 
Mr.  Campbell  and  Mr.  Grant  have  for  many 
years  occupied  prominent  positions  in  this 
service,  and  are  regarded  as  men  of  excep¬ 
tional  ability  and  fitness  for  the  positions  to 
which  they  have  been  apfwinted.  Mr.  Camp¬ 
bell  has  been  longest  in  the  service,  and  was 
directly  in  the  line  of  promotion  for  the  posi¬ 
tion  to  which  he  has  been  appointed. 

THE  MORALS  OF  CIVIL  SERVICE 
REFORM. 

The  first  objection  to  the  spoils  system  is  that 
under  it  the  offices  are  little  better  than  a  vast 
aggregation  of  bribes  for  party  workers,  and 
that  they  thus  constitute  a  huge  corruption 
fund,  tbe  dispensing  of  which  belongs  to  the 
party  for  the  time  being  in  the  ascendant. 
“  The  promise  of  an  office,  whether  express  or 
implied,  as  an  inducement  to  a  man  to  vote  or 
work  in  an  election,  is  as  real  a  bribe  as  so 
many  dollars  in  hand  paid  ;  with  this  distinc¬ 
tion,  however,  that  it  is  a  much  worse  form  of 
bribery.  It  is  so  for  two  reasons  :  it  is  a  prom¬ 
ise  to  pay  what  does  not  belong  to  him  who 
promises,  and  its  effect,  when  fulfilled,  is,  or 


may  be,  to  put  a  corrupt  matt  into  the  service 
of  his  country.”  The  federal  civil  service  costs 
the  country  in  salaries  altogether  $00,000,000. 
Of  this  compensation  the  recipients  of  about 
one-half  come  now  happily  under  the  reform 
law,  but  $30,000,000  remain  attached  to  offices 
not  so  jirotected.  Who  can  estimate  the  evil 
to  the  bribe-giver  and  the  bribe-taker  thus 
rendered  possible?  And,  further  :^when  it  be¬ 
came  recognized  that  a  congressman  might  pay 
those  who  worked  for  his  election  by  places 
under  government,  and  there  were  not  enough 
such  places  to  go  around  (as  there  never 
are),  the  next  step  was  to  make  places, 
i.  put  upon  the  pay-rolls  of  a  bureau  or  de- 
jtartment  more  names  and  employ  more  per¬ 
sons  than  were  necessary  to  do  the  work  in 
order  to  satisfy  increased  demands.  At  one 
period  since  tlie  war  there  were  more  than 
1  ,r>00  such  in  the  treasury  department  alone. 
Two-thirds  of  those  employed  in  the  bureau 
of  printing  and  engraving  at  this  time  were 
found  by  a  congressional  committee  of  inves¬ 
tigation  to  be  supertluous,  and  the  annual  ap¬ 
propriation  was,  in  consequence,  reduced  with¬ 
out  interfering  with  its  efficiency,  from  eight 
to  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  bu¬ 
reau  has  now  long  been  under  civil  service 
rules,  and  is  one  of  the  purest  and  best  or¬ 
dered  in  Washington. 

Another  objection  to  the  patronage  system  is 
its  grievous  injuslice.  It  is  an  inheritance  from 
the  days  of  feudalism,  and  an  abuse  which 
they  set  about  reforming  in  the  mother 
country  about  the  time  it  was  first  rooting 
itself  here.  When  the  great  reform  laws,  be¬ 
ginning  in  1882,  gradually  admitted  the  mass 
of  the  English  people  to  suffrage,  they  quickly 
began  to  .show  their  appreciation  of  exclusive 
|)rivilege  and  to  reorganize  their  civil  service, 
though  radical  change  dates  only  from  1853. 
Now  the  son  of  the  peer  and  the  son  of  the  [teas- 
ant,  irrespective  of  politics,  has  an  equal 
chance  to  gain  admission  to  the  service  of  his 
country.  ®  *  How  dillerent, except  in  the  clas¬ 
sified  service,  is  the  case  with  us!  We  delude 
ourselves  with  the  idea  that  here  all  men  are 
free  and  equal,  and  that  we  have  eliminated 
old  abuses,  whereas  we  tolerate  some  of  the 
gravest  that  ever  existed.  One  of  these  is  the 
practical  exclusion,  sometimes  for  a  long  term 
of  years,  from  a  chance  to  earn  a  living  in 
public  employment  of  one-half  our  population  ; 
that  is,  all,  however  worthy,  who  do  not  hap¬ 
pen  to  belong  to  the  same  party  as  the  Presi¬ 
dent  ;  and,  indeed,  all  of  that  party  who  can 
not  command  inlluonce  with  the  appointing 
power.  *  * 

The  last  evil  of  the  spoils  sy.stem  which  we 
have  room  to  particularize  is  its  heartlessness. 
Men  who  would  shrink  from  taking  the  bread 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  widow  and  orphan, 
or  of  depriving  a  man  with  dependent  family 
of  his  only  means  of  support,  in  any  other 
way,  will  do  their  utmost  on  a  change  of  ad¬ 
ministration  to  get,  and  will  even  make  merry 
over  getting  a  postmastership  the  loss  of 
which  amounts  to  this,  and  that,  too,  when 
the  office  is  really  not  needed.  “  One  of  the 
winning  party  is  bound  to  have  it,”  it  is  said, 
“  why  should  not  I  be  the  man  ?”  Such  is  the 
brutalizing  tendency  of  the  system,  and  it  is 
the  system  far  more  than  the  individual  in 
such  a  case  that  is  to  be  blamed.  Justice,  de¬ 
cency  and  humanity  alike  are  set  at  naught  by 
the  inexorable  spirit  of  spoils- mongering.  A 
poor  widow  in  California  last  year  out  of  the 
salary  of  a  fourth  class  post-office  supported 
herself,  two  children,  and  an  aged  father  and 
mother.  She  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  the 
peoide,  and  was  assured  before  his  election  of 
the  favor  of  the  congressmen.  When  elected, 
bowever,  the  place  was  necessary  to  assist  in 
paying  his  political  debts,  and  she  was,  with 
scant  ceremony,  dismissed.— L.  M.  Blackford, 
in  the  Virginia  Seminary  Magazine  for  June.  ’ 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


For  siile  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Penusylvania  St  ,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  ollicc,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  sul>scriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


Voii.  I,  No.  17. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  JULY,  1890. 


T'E'RMC!  •  J  ^  cents  per  annum, 
jlo  •  5  cents  per  copy. 


August  1,  the  Battle  Ground  Camp 
Meeting  Association,  at  Battle  Ground, 
will  be  addressed  in  the  forenoon  by  the 
various  political  candidates  of  that  section, 
and  in  the  afternoon  by  the  Rev.  A.  C. 
Van  Anda,  of  Indianapolis,  on  “  Purity 
of  the  Ballot,”  and  by  Lucius  B.  Swift,  of 
Indianapolis,  on  civil  service  reform. 

At  the  recent  republican  convention  of 
this  county  the  chairman,  Mr.  C.  W.  Fair¬ 
banks,  said : 

The  republican  party  of  Marion  county  rarely  has 
had  a  better  opportunity  to  render  signal  service  to 
itself  and  to  the  people.  There  is  a  demand  that  the 
vast  allairs  of  this  county  shall  be  managed  on  a 
strictly  business  basis  and  that  they  shall  not  be  pros¬ 
tituted  to  |)i-omoting  the  interests  of  any  imlitical 
party.  They  shall  be  conducted  according  to  the 
most  conservative  and  economical  methods  to  the 
end  that  the  best  service  shall  be  rendered  at  the 
least  cost. 

This  sounds  exceedingly  well,  but  it  is 
still  a  question  how  far  these  ideas  would 
lire  vail  in  case  of  reimblican  success.  The 
republicans,  through  a  republican  super¬ 
intendent,  now  control  the  fire  department 
of  the  city,  and  the  chief  has  the  nomina¬ 
tion  of  men  for  appointment.  There  are 
twelve  vacancies,  and  he  can  not  agree 
with  the  council  as  to  what  men  shall  have 
them.  Some  time  ago  this  paper  suggest¬ 
ed  a  X)lan  by  which  he  could  throw  open 
these  vacancies  to  competition,  but  up 
comes  the  Indianapolis  Jnurnid,  which  has 
for  years  been,  on  pajier,  a  supporter  of  the 
merit  system,  and  says  that  the  proposal  is 
not  feasible  in  practice.  It  is  entirely  feas¬ 
ible  in  practice  and  practice  has  so  proved 
it.  The  Journal  knows  this  well  enough, 
but  there  are  twelve  places  in  the  fire  de 
partment  which  hungry  workers  want. 

Both  parties  have  this  year  an  opportu¬ 
nity  to  i)rove  the  sincerity  of  their  profes¬ 
sions,  many  times  expressed,  of  opposition 
to  the  spoils  system.  Our  state  civil  serv¬ 
ice,  by  reason  of  the  increase  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  state  institutions,  has  become  large. 
It  is  with  rare  exceptions  used  as  party 
spoil.  We  have  four  large  institutions  for 
the  insane,  two  prisons,  a  home  for  feeble¬ 
minded  children,  a  soldiers’  orphan  home, 
an  institute  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  a  school 
for  the  blind,  and  so  on.  It  is  a  disgrace 
that  party  politics  sliould  control  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  these  institutions.  The 
taxes  do  not  furnish  money  sufficient  to 


keep  the  state  government  going.  Before 
increasing  the  levy  would  it  not  be  well  to 
try  the  transaction  of  the  state  business 
upon  a  business  basis?  Here  is  a  great 
work  for  either  jiarty  to  undertake.  Be¬ 
fore  a  voter  votes  for  a  candidate  for  the 
general  assembly,  he  should  find  out  how 
the  candidate  stands  on  this  matter. 


The  readers  of  the  Chronicle  will  be 
interested  to  learn  that  Congressman  Hitt’s 
postmasters  pulled  him  through,  and  that 
Charlie  Works  so  feelingly  alluded  to  in 
the  various  letters  and  reported  interviews 
with  the  workers  printed  in  the  Chronicle 
some  months  since,  was  the  man  to  nom¬ 
inate  him.  Congressman  Hitt  is  far  above 
the  average  congressman.  His  instincts 
are  toward  a  state  of  aflairs  where  a  man 
will  not  be  debauched  himself,  nor  de¬ 
bauch  his  constituents  by  elections  secured 
by  spoil. 


Senator  John  S.  Wirt,  a  democrat  of 
Maryland,  spoke  recently  to  the  Alumni 
of  St.  John’s  College  upon  “The  Relation 
of  the  Alumni  of  St.  John’s  as  Men  of  Lib¬ 
eral  Education  to  the  Civil  Service  Reform 
Movement.”  The  address  is  an  admirable 
one  and  is  printed  in  the  Civil  Service  lie- 
former  for  July.  A  single  extract  will  show 
that  there  was  no  vagueness  nor  uncer¬ 
tainty  in  what  he  said,  nor  any  belittling 
of  the  evil : 

“I  know  of  no  single  cause  in  our  history  which 
lias  eontributeil  more  to  dwarf  the  mental  and  moral 
stature  of  our  public  men,  and  more  encouraged 
venality  and  .servility  in  lho.se  engaged  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  service,  while  it  has  lowered  the  whole  moral 
tone  of  the  nation.  To  make  the  skillful  and  cor¬ 
rupt  maniimlation  of  patronage  almost  the  sole 
(lualification  for  political  station  must,  with  occa¬ 
sional  exceptions,  produce  a  class  of  public  men 
who  are  neither  disposed  nor  able  to  deal  with  pub¬ 
lic  quest  ions  with  a  view  to  the  iiermanent  interests 
of  the  country. 


The  BuiFdlo  civil  service  reform  associa¬ 
tion  held  its  annual  meeting  June  25,  and 
received  ninety-nine  new  members.  This 
association  is  remarkable  in  two  respects. 
It  has  the  public  hearty  sympathy  and 
co-operation  of  the  labor  associations  of  the 
city,  and  of  several  of  the  most  prominent 
of  the  Catholic  clergymen.  Father 
Cronin’s  speech  is  reported  to  have  been 
particularly  brilliant,  and  it  was  repeated¬ 
ly  applauded  enthusiastically. 


PosTMA.STER  Johnson,  of  Baltimore,  has 
made  numerous  removals  of  clerks  and 
carriers,  and  charges  have  been  filed  with 
the  civil  service  commission.  Mr.  John 
C.  Rose  was  appointed  supervisor  of  the 
census  for  Baltimore.  This  enabled  the 
civil  service  commission  to  put  him  on  the 
local  examining  board.  There  is  now  the 
opportunity  to  look  into  Postmaster 
Johnson’s  methods.  The  system  of  having 
a  local  board  made  up  of  a  postmaster’s 
employes,  but  who  are  supposed  to  act  in 
entire  independence  of  him,  is  an  anom¬ 
aly  and  vicious  in  its  effects.  In  view  of 
Postmaster  Johnson’s  apparent  attempt  to 
construct  a  political  and  personal  machine 
it  is  well  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  again 
stepped  in  to  foil  the  attempt  by  a  notice 
in  the  Baltimore  Sun,  inviting  demo¬ 
crats  to  compete  and  assuring  all  of 
fair  treatment.  While  Mr.  Rose  is  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  local  board  the  operations  of  the 
law  will  be  conducted  with  absolute  fair¬ 
ness.  He  is  an  experienced  and  skillful 
hand  at  ballling  Baltimore  law  breakers. 


DR.  JENCKES  AND  THE  MUGWUMP. 

Rev.  Joseph  S.  Jenckes,  of  St.  Paul’s  Epis¬ 
copal  church  of  this  city,  recently  closed  a 
criticism  of  Bishop  Potter  with  the  remark 
that  he  (Potter)  was  a  mugwump,  and  that  he 
(Jenckes)  respected  republicans  and  demo¬ 
crats,  but  that  politically  he  could  have  no 
respect  for  a  mugwump.  A  mugwump  is  a 
man  who  believes  he  can  get  certain  princi¬ 
ples  worked  into  laws,  or  certain  laws,  al¬ 
ready  enacted,  enforced,  or  better  administra¬ 
tion  by  public  officers  by  voting  direct  for  the 
men  who  are  for  the  time  being  most  likely  to 
accomplish  one  or  all  of  these  objects  rather 
than  by  wearing  the  collar  of  a  party  ma¬ 
chine,  which  is  in  these  times  kept  together, 
not  by  princii)les  but  by  nothing  but  the  sj)oil 
of  office,  and  which  intends,  except  under 
great  pre.ssure,  to  put  forward  to  be  voted  for 
uo  man  who  can,  if  elected,  interfere  with  its 
daily  loot.  His  freedom  permits  him  often  to 
render  the  public  a  valuable  service  by  voting 
against  a  tainted  candidate. 

Even  his  range  of  choice  is  often  too  narrow 
for  the  making  up  of  a  respectable  ticket. 

The  coming  election  in  Pennsylvania  affords 
a  great  field  of  operations  for  voters  of  this 
class.  The  present  dictator  of  that  state  is 
Senator  Quay.  The  result  of  republican  suc¬ 
cess  would  be  to  extend  his  power.  He  ha.s 


138 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


been  charged  by  respectable  people  of  great 
financial  responsibility  with  having  taken 
some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  from 
the  treasury  of  the  state  and  used  it  in  j)rivale 
speculation.  He  does  not  deny  the  charge, 
and  those  who  make  it  say  that  they  are  ready 
to  prove  it.  His  candidate  for  governor,  l)el- 
amater,  is  also  charged  with  the  crime  of 
bribery,  which  his  accuser  offers  to  i)rove  in 
court.  Other  charges  of  a  grave  nature  are 
made  against  both  of  these  men.  Both  are  si¬ 
lent.  We  should  like  to  ask  Dr.  Jenckeswhat 
he  would  advise  a  citizen  of  Pennsylvania  to 
do  under  the  circumstances?  Ought  he  to  read 
the  charges,  and  if  so,  ought  he  to  give  them 
any  weight?  If  he  became  convinced  they 
were  true,  ought  he  to  vote  to  sustain  Quay, 
and  if  not,  ought  he  to  vote  to  defeat  the  Quay 
regime,  even  though  by  so  doing  lie  should  be 
classed  as  a  mugwump?  Will  Dr.  Jenckes 
say  that  a  man  may  put  his  conscience  into 
the  keejiing  of  another  and  that  since 
President  Harrison  and  Mr.  Wanamaker  do 
not  denounce  Quay  and  Delamater,  he  may 
therefore  excuse  himself  from  investigation? 

If  we  have  misunderstood  his  meaning,  what 
does  Dr.  Jenckes  mean  by  saying  that  politi¬ 
cally  he  has  no  respect  for  a  mugwump? 


THE  AMERICAN  OFFICIAL  CLASS. 

A  BRIEF  BIOGRAPHY. 

Eugene  Saulcy,  of  this  city,  is  an  interesting 
example  of  the  present  spoils  system  which 
seeks  to  perfietuate  itself  by  crying  out  that 
any  other  system  would  give  rise  to  an  office¬ 
holding  class.  He  first  appears  in  the  city 
directory  in  1873  as  a  laborer.  In  1874  he 
was  not  enrolled,  but  in  1875  he  was  put  down 
as  barkeeper  for  C.  McGroarty.  In  1870  and 
1877  he  does  not  appear.  In  1878  he  appears 
as  bartender  for  Harry  McFarland,  the  pres¬ 
ent  notorious  emidoye  of  the  printing  office  at 
Washington.  In  1879  Saulcy  ajipears  as  bar¬ 
tender.  In  1880  he  was  turnkey  at  the  cen¬ 
tral  i)olice  station.  In  1881  he  held  the  same 
place.  In  1882  he  was  clerk  to  the  chief  of 
police.  In  1883  he  held  the  same  place.  In 
1884,  1885  and  1886  he  was  city  assessor.  In 
1887  he  is  called  a  clerk,  and  was  in  fact  in 
the  assessor’s  office.  In  1888  he  was  clerk  in 
the  assessor’s  office.  In  1889  he  had  no  occu¬ 
pation.  He  was  then  waiting  for  a  federal 
position.  This  did  not  come,  and  he  again 
took  a  place  as  clerk  in  the  assessor’s  office  at, 
we  understand,  two  dollars  a  day.  Later  he 
became  a  deputy  in  the  office  of  the  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  in  which  office  he  still 
holds  a  place  with  emoluments  amounting  to 
about  $1,200  a  year. 

The  question  was  put  to  an  ex  chairman  of 
the  republican  county  committee,  why  Saulcy 
always  had  a  “  place,”  and  the  answer  came 
instantly,  “  Because  he  is  the  best  organizer 
in  Marion  county.”  In  this  answer  is  the  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  use  to  which  a  vast  number 
of  state  and  federal  officers  are  put.  Saulcy 
has  been  all  these  years  literally  a  party- 
worker.  At  the  primaries,  as  a  delegate  to 


conventions,  as  committee  man,  as  secretary 
of  the  county  committee,  and  in  other  similar 
capacities,  he  has  plied  liis  trade.  The  places 
he  has  held  were  his  pay.  Ilis  pay  has  not 
always  been  prompt.  For  instance,  the  place 
he  now  holds  was  only  vacated  and  turned 
over  to  him  after  an  earnest  and  almost  threat¬ 
ening  demand  by  a  large  crowd  of  those  who 
had  a  high  esteem  for  Saulcy’s  abilities  as  a 
party-worker,  and  on  this  ground  the  place 
was  demanded  and  given.  He  is  a  perfect 
specimen  of  our  large  American  official  class 
who  owe  and  acknowledge  no  allegiance  ex¬ 
cept  to  the  ))arty  machine. 


PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  coming  election  in  Penn.syl vania  is  a 
matter  of  grave  concern.  It  is  Mahone  and 
Virginia  over  again,  but  on  a  larger  scale  and 
of  greater  importance.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
repeat  that  (^uay  now  holds  the  government 
x)f  Pennsylvania,  both  state  and  national, 
firmly  by  the  throat;  he  keeps  his  hold  by 
means  already  fully  set  out  in  these  columns. 
He  does  not,  and  »an  not,  deny  that  he  stole 
large  amounts  of  money  from  the  treasury  of 
his  state,  and  he  is  in  the  ordinary  acceptation 
of  the  term,  a  thief.  The  fact  that  he  has 
since  been  chosen  to  high  offices  does  not  in 
the  least  take  away  the  stain  of  his  crime,  nor 
the  disgrace  of  the  respectable  people  of  his 
state  who  now  support  him.  If  he  succeeds 
in  the  coming  election  the  stain  will  remain 
and  the  disgrace  will  be  doubled.  The  cor¬ 
ruption  which  the  spoils  system  has  worked 
among  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  is  power¬ 
fully  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  a  great  body 
of  honest  people  who  believe  in  sending 
thieves  to  prison,  propose  to  smother  their 
honest  principles  and  do  what  they  can  to 
help  (iuay  through,  notwithstanding  his 
crime.  President  Harrison  is  in  the  attitude  of 
working  side  by  side  with  (^uay,  and  with  them 
Postmaster-General  Wanamaker.  They  have 
turned  the  federal  service  in  Pennsylvania 
over  to  (^uay.  As  with  Mahone  in  Virginia, 
every  good  citizen  ought  to  hope  that  they 
will  here  also  meet  with  a  stinging,  over¬ 
whelming  and  disgraceful  defeat.  It  is  not 
sure  that  they  will ;  but  it  is  sure  they  can  not 
afford  to  win.  For  to  do  so,  would  be  the  tri¬ 
umph  of  the  wicked.  Henry  C.  Lea  thus 
warns  his  party  : 

Fellow  republicans,  a  vindication  truly  is  needed 
at  the  coming  election,  but  it  i.s  not  the  vindication 
of  tainted  i)oliticians  who  dare  not  vindicate  them¬ 
selves.  You  are  called  upon  to  vindicate  your  own 
tnanhood,  to  vindicate  the  lionesty  of  your  own 
party,  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  your  own  state. 
You  are  called  upon  show  that  you  do  not  wear  the 
collar  of  .Mr.  Quay;  that  your  votes  are  not  to  be 
bought  and  .sold  by  the  manipulation  of  patronage, 
and  that  you  are  not  to  be  driven  to  the  polls  like 
cattle  to  make  good  the  bargains  of  your  bos.ses. 
You  are  called  upon  to  teach  a  lesson  to  your  self, 
eonstituted  masters,  and  to  show  the  country  at 
large  that  the  grand  old  party  may  still  be  trusted 
to  manage  the  aflairs  of  the  nation.  If  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  the  stronghold  of  republicanism,  the  typical 
republican  state,  tamely  ac<iuiesces  in  the  de¬ 
bauched  domination  of  tinayisin  and  proclaims 
that  Messrs.  Quay  and  Delamater  are  its  trusted  and 


honored  leaders,  what  chance,  think  you,  will  the 
republican  party  have  wlien  it  asks  the  support  of 
the  sober  second  thought  of  the  country  in  1892? 
Rebellion  against  usurped  domination  of  sucli  lead¬ 
ers  is  the  truest  fidelity  to  party  and  the  highest 
duly  of  patrioti.sm. 


VIEWS  OF  DEMOCRATIC  LEADERS. 

The  position  ami  great  inffiience  of  tlie  Si. 
Louvi  Republic  makes  its  utterances  on  any 
subject  im|)ortant.  It  reads  clearly  the  signs 
of  the  times,  and  in  what  it  says  of  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform  we  give  it  credit,  not  only  for 
clear  sight,  but  for  an  earnest  desire  to  see  a 
great  benefit  conferred  upon  the  country.  It 
said,  June  24,  1890: 

The  Pendleton  law  was  a  first  step— a  short  one. 
Its  enforcement  is  but  the  beginning,  not  the  end  to 
be  reached  by  the  reform  of  the  civil  service.  The 
reform  itself  must  be  imshed  until  no  party  can  re¬ 
ward  its  scavenger  woikcrs  with  ollice  and  salary  at 
the  expense  of  the  people.  Tlie  system  under  which 
the  President  acts  as  the  head  of  a  District  of  Col¬ 
umbia  bureau  of  bossism  and  patronage  brokerage, 
with  an  agent  in  every  congressional  district  and 
sub  agents  in  every  county,  all  operating  together 
for  the  control  of  state  politics,  must  be  abolished, 
and  the  federal  civil  service  restored  and  restricted 
to  its  proper  function  of  serving  as  an  agency  for 
tramsacting  the  common  business  of  the  people  of 
the  several  states. 

There  is  no  obscurity  about  this  from  any  stand- 
I)oint  possible  for  the  democratic  i)arty.  It  is  clear. 
There  is  a  great  work  to  be  done,  and  the  democratic 
party  must  do  it.  It  is  impossible  that  the  pre.sent 
system  should  continue.  Under  it  the  federal  ollices 
are  farmed  out  to  senators,  to  members  of  congre.ss, 
to  defeated  candidates,  to  state  and  county  commit¬ 
teemen,  to  anyone  who  can  make  any  sort  of  show 
of  title  to  be  a  patronage  boss.  The  President  trades 
in  the  federal  oflices  to  secure  power  over  congress. 
The  senators  and  congressmen  of  the  party  in  jmwer 
trade  in  them  to  control  politics  in  their  states  and 
districts.  The  committeemen  and  minor  bosses 
trade  in  them  for  every  conceivable  purpose  of  cor¬ 
ruption,  from  controlling  a  primary  to  outright  sale 
for  cash— as  The  Hcpublic  h&a  repeatedly  demonstrat¬ 
ed  in  the  last  two  years.  This  will  go  on  until  the 
system  which  makes  such  corruption  inevitable  is 
radically  changed  for  the  better. 

No  democrat  can  refuse  to  co  operate  in  the  move¬ 
ment  to  bring  that  about.  No  democrat  can  believe 
tliat  it  is  well  for  his  party,  his  state,  or  his  country, 
that  an  adminisQation  ring  in  the  District  of  Colum¬ 
bia  should  thus  be  allowed  to  draw  on  the  federal 
treasury  for  the  purimse  of  controlling  state  ))oIitics 
and  dictating  to  the  states  what  attitude  tliey  shall 
assume  in  national  all'airs. 

On  tlie  same  date  Judge  Nildack,  now  and 
always  a  democrat,  addressed  the  Hendric  ks 
Club,  of  this  city,  on  tlie  same  suhject.  Judge 
Niblack  has  recently  concluded  a  period  of 
twelve  years  on  the  supreme  hench  of  this 
state.  Before  that  he  was,  several  terms,  a 
member  of  congress,  where  he  voted  against 
the  Pendleton  act,  because  he  thought  the 
country  not  ready  for  it.  He  now  says  that 
civil  service  reform  is  engrossing  the  attention 
of  the  country  and  must  be  .settled  one  way  or 
another;  that  when  an  office-seeker  cannot 
obtain  his  ends  he  generally  abuses  the  civil 
service  law,  and  therein  receives  plenty  of  aid 
and  comfort  from  his  congressman;  that  the 
time  has  come  when  there  should  be  a  system 
of  equality  in  the  distribution  of  the  offices; 
it  is  not  right  that  they  should  be  given  out 
as  the  perquisites  of  congressmen.  In  times 
past,  no  matter  how  competent  the  clerk,  he 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


139 


was  discharged  just  as  soon  as  the  term  of  his  ^ 
“influence”  expired,  to  make  way  for  the 
protege  of  his  congressman’s  successor — a 
gross  injustice.  The  clerks  absolutely  trans¬ 
act  Ihe  business  of  the  various  departments, 
and  the  country  hardly  realizes  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  having  these  competent  men.  Judge 
Nil)lack  also  says  that  the  peo|)le  have  no 
conception  of  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
place-hunters  who  are  wholly  unqualified  for 
the  places  they  want.  We  quote  from  the 
Sentinel  report: 

“A  stock  man,”  saidhe,  ‘‘once  came  to  me  and 
asked  for  my  signattirc  to  a  petition  for  his  appoint¬ 
ment  ns  an  Indian  agent.  I  a.sked  him  what  quali¬ 
fication  he  had  for  the  position,  and  he  replied; 

‘  Well,  I  have  been  so  used  to  dealing  in  cattle  that 
I  can  look  at  a  cow  and  tell  yon  just  what  she  is 
thinking  about ;  so,  I  guess,  I  can  handle  Indians.’  ” 
‘‘  Well,”  said  the  judge,  with  a  laugh,  “  I  signed  his 
petition,  but  he  didn’t  get  the  place.” 

We  conclude  that  Judge  Niblack  would  not 
now  sign  such  a  petition,  and  we  may  add 
that  he  has  also  said  that,  in  the  matter  of 
the  merit  system,  it  is  useless  for  his  party  to 
kick  against  the  pricks.  Wo  hope  he  will  use 
his  undoubted  influence  to  bring  his  party  to 
stop  the  use  of  the  public  institutions  of  this 
.state  as  party  spoil,  and  that  he  will  labor 
with  his  fellow  democratic  leaders  to  holdly 
make  the  merit  system  a  tenet  of  that  party. 

SECOND  REPORT 

Of  the  Special  Committee  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League. 

PATENT  OFFICE. 

The  patent  office  is  a  bureau  quite  unique 
in  its  character.  Having  to  deal  with  the 
claims  of  inventors,  it  reaches  nearly  every 
manufacturing  interest  in  the  country;  and 
there  is  a  great  body  of  mechanics  and  skilled 
artis.'ins  who  are  concerned  in  its  proper  ad¬ 
ministration  and  keenly  watchful  of  its  pro¬ 
ceedings.  The  posse.ssion  of  a  patent  is  often 
the  only  hope  which  a  mechanic  can  cling  to 
for  a  permanent  betterment  in  his  condition. 
The  duties  of  most  of  the  higher  officials  in 
the  patent  oflice  are  largely  judicial  in  char¬ 
acter.  Though  appeals  arc  allowed  from  their 
decisions,  yet  a  large  numher  are  not  appealed 
from,  and  are  therefore  final;  and  for  the  per¬ 
formance  of  these  judicial  duties  there  is  need 
of  freedom  from  partisan  polHics  and  a  rea¬ 
sonable  degree  of  security  of  tenure  during 
honesty  .and  efficiency,  and  a  hope  of  promo¬ 
tion  for  special  ability.  There  is  even  less 
re  ison  why  these  offices  should  be  “political” 
th  in  that  the  United  States  district  or  circuit 
judges  should  be  “political,”  though  in  such 
|)osi'ions  as  those  of  the  patent  office  changes 
shonld  be  allowed  where  it  is  clear  the  effi- 
cien.  y  of  the  office  is  to  be  thereby  increased; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  no  political  influence 
should  shelter  incompetent  or  dishonest  men 
from  r-moval. 

The  head  of  the  office  is  a  commissioner, 
havit.g  a.ssociated  with  him  an  assi.stant  com¬ 
missioner;  a  law  clerk,  who  aiils  in  the  judi¬ 
cial  labors;  a  chief  clerk,  who  is  the  principal 
administrative  officer  of  the  bureau;  a  finance 


clerk,  in  whose  charge  are  the  revenues  of  the 
office;  a  librarian;  an  examining  corps,  con¬ 
sisting  of  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  per¬ 
sons,  who  investigate  the  claims  of  applicants, 
to  determine  what  is  new  and  patentable  in 
their  inventions;  and  about  three  hundred 
and  sixty  other  employes,  clerks,  copyists, 
draughtsmen,  laborers  and  messengers,  dis¬ 
tributed  chiefly  among  four  principal  divi.s- 
ions.  The  first  of  these  divisions,  which  is 
under  the  supervision  of  the  chief  clerk,  re¬ 
ceives,  registers  and  distrihutes  all  applica¬ 
tions  for  patents,  and  has  charge  of  interfer¬ 
ence  and  appeal  records  and  the  general 
corresjiondence  of  the  office,  as  well  as  of  the 
models  and  .scientific  library,  and  attends  to 
the  financial  duties  of  the  office;  the  second,  or 
“issue  and  gazette  division,”  prepares  patents 
for  delivery,  and  issues  the  Officinl  Gazette  and 
other  official  publications;  the  third,  or 
“draughtsman’s  division,”  has  chairge  of  the 
drawings,  printed  patents,  photo-lithographic 
copies,  and  rejected  and  abandoned  applica¬ 
tions;  and  the  fourth,  or  “assignment  divis¬ 
ion,”  registers  the  transfers  of  patents,  attends 
to  the  making  of  manuscript  copies,  preserves 
files  of  caveats,  etc.  Each  of  the  last  three 
divisions  is  under  the  control  of  a  chief  of 
division.  The  revenues  of  the  patent  office 
average  about  $^1,000  to  the  working  day,  and 
represent  fees  jiaid  for  patents,  for  the  registry 
of  a.ssignments,  the  purch.a.se  of  patent  publi¬ 
cations  and  copies  of  specifications  of  Ameri¬ 
can  and  foreign  patents,  and  of  American  ap¬ 
plications  for  patents,  and  of  manuscript  de¬ 
cisions  of  the  judicial  officers  of  the  patent 
office.  Between  the  commissioner  of  patents 
and  the  examining  corps  there  exists  an  inter¬ 
mediate  tribunal,  known  as  the  board  of  ex¬ 
aminers  in  chief,  composed  of  three  members 
appointed  by  the  President,  which  entertains 
appeals  from  the  adverse  decisions  made  by 
the  principal  examiners;  and  from  the  ad¬ 
verse  decisions  of  this  board  an  appeal  lies  to 
the  commissioner  in  person.  Aside  from  these 
proceedings  a  vast  number  of  interlocutory 
appeals  arise,  which  concern  the  methods  of 
jn-.actice  under  the  rules;  and  the.se  are  taken 
from  the  principal  examiners  directly  to  the 
commissioner  in  person.  It  will  be  perceived 
that  the  office  of  commissioner  unites  duties 
which  are  administrative  and  judicial,  .and 
demands,  not  merely  a  good  lawyer,  familiar 
with  science  and  mechanics  and  with  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  legal  jirinciples,  but  at  the  same 
time  a  man  of  unusual  executive  capacity. 

The  beginning  of  the  present  administration 
found  this  whole  bureau  in  the  control  of 
spoilsmen,  as  far  as  the  civil  service  law  would 
allow  it  to  be.  They  were  in  pos.session,  both 
above  and  below  the  classified  list,  of  nearly 
all  the  offices  on  which  they  could  lay  their 
hands.  It  would  be  no  injustice  to  Mr.  Mont¬ 
gomery,  the  first  commissioner  appointed  by 
President  Cleveland,  to  say  that  he  entered  the 
office  without  any  experience  in  matters  of 
patent  law,  and  knew  next  to  nothing  of  the 
practice  and  needs  of  the  office.  Me  appoint¬ 
ed  his  brother  as  his  confidential  clerk,  to  dis¬ 


tribute  the  offices  of  the  bureau  among  some 
of  the  more  influential  congressmen.  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  appointed  as  assistant  commis¬ 
sioner,  presumably  upon  political  influence, 
.the  brother  of  a  democratic  senator,  who  had 
.served  in  Congress  and  had  been  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  patents.  He  was  not  a  law¬ 
yer,  and  w.as  without  experience  in  the  duties 
of  such  an  office. 

The  appointment  of  the  law  clerk  by  the 
commi.ssioner  was  al.so  purely  a  matter  of  pat¬ 
ronage.  This  was  a  position  for  which,  dur¬ 
ing  many  years  previous,  the  appointment  had 
been  made  from  members  of  the  examining 
corps,  detailed  by  {versonal  selection  of  the 
commissioner.  The  duties  of  law  clerk  are 
not  defined  by  law.  He  is  an  a.ssistant  to  the 
commissioner;  .and,  although  he  can  not  ren¬ 
der  decisions  finally,  he  acts  as  a  sort  of  ref¬ 
eree,  who  advises  the  commissioner  on  matters 
of  fact  ami  questions  of  practice  which  the 
latter  officer  can  not  find  time  to  examine  in 
detail.  It  often  happens  that  an  efficient  law 
clerk  will  pre})are  decisions  which  are  after¬ 
wards  signed  by  the  commissioner  upon  in¬ 
spection  and  .approval.  When  cases  go  to  the 
courts  on  appeal,  the  law  clerk  is  the  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  patent  office.  The  variety  and 
character  of  the  work  and  the  dignity  of  the 
place  aroused  the  ambition  of  all  those  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  lower  examining  corps  who  had 
some  legal  training,  and  made  them  eager  to 
fit  themselves  in  law  and  perform  their  duties 
well,  in  the  hope  that  they  might  sometime  he 
selected  for  this  position.  This  incentive  had 
developed  a  splendid  a^pril  de  corjie  among  these 
men,  who  were  thus  encouraged  to  engage  in 
the  study,  of  patent  law. 

This  position  of  law  clerk  had  been  held 
successively  by  men  who  have  attained  prom¬ 
inence  at  the  patent  bar.  Only  one  exception 
had  been  made  to  the  rule  of  appointing  to 
this  office  by  promotion  from  the  lower  posi¬ 
tions  in  the  examining  corps.  On  that  occa¬ 
sion  the  law  clerk  was  cho.sen  from  outside  the 
office;  and  it  was  the  cau.se  of  much  discour¬ 
agement  among  the  examiners,  who  thus  saw 
their  own  hopes  of  promotion  taken  away. 
This  was  the  only  exception  until  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  Commissioner  Montgomery,  who 
appointed  the  law  clerk  from  outside  and  upon 
political  grounds.  This  new  law  clerk  was 
entirely  inexperienced  in  the  duties  of  the 
place,  and  could  make  no  pretensions  to  be¬ 
ing  well  qualified  to  perform  them.  This  was 
a  disastrous  blow  to  the  ambition  of  the  ex¬ 
aminers,  who  sought  this  promotion  as  a  re¬ 
ward  for  the  faithful  performance  of  their 
duty.  Another  jdace  which  had  been  held 
up  as  the  prize  of  efficiency  under  former 
commissioners  was  that  of  examiner  of  inter¬ 
ferences,  a  .sort  of  court  of  first  instance  where 
trials  are  had  by  conflicting  claimants  upon 
proofs  regularly  introduced.  This  was  also 
filled  from  the  corps  of  examiners  before  Mr. 
Montgomery  became  commi.ssioner.  Under 
him,  however,  the  new  ex.aminer  was  appoint¬ 
ed  from  outside  the  office.  Up  to  the  time  of 
his  appointment  he  knew  little  about  the 


140 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


working  of  the  patent  office,  and  was  not 
greatly  experienced  in  patent  law;  but  he  has 
doubtless  acquired  considerable  experience 
during  his  service.  He  remains  in  office. 

Commissioner  Montgomery  also  reduced 
two  out  of  the  three  chiefs  of  divisions  to 
$1,800  clerkships,  and  filled  the  places  of  these 
chiefs  by  men  from  the  outside,  politicians  of 
influence,  but  without  experience,  the  men  re¬ 
duced  doing  the  bulk  of  the  work.  One  of 
the  new  appointees  brought  considerable  scan¬ 
dal  upon  the  office.  He  also  still  holds  his 
position. 

Another  remarkable  practice  was  begun  un¬ 
der  Commissioner  Montgomery.  The  offices  of 
fourth  assistant  examiners  (whose  duties 
properly  related  exclusively  to  the  examina¬ 
tion  of  patents)  were  in  many  instances  filled 
by  clerks  who  were  still  retained  at  their  cler¬ 
ical  work,  and  did  no  duty  at  all  as  assistant 
examiners,  although  they  were  classified  as 
such.  At  one  time  there  were  no  fewer  than 
twenty  of  these  clerks  who  had  thus  been 
transferred  to  fourth  assistant  examinerships, 
the  duties  of  which  position  they  did  not  per¬ 
form.  This  weakened  perceptibly  the  exam¬ 
ining  corps  and  impaired  the  efficiency  of  the 
office.  Your  committee  was  for  sometime  at 
a  loss  to  understand  any  motive  for  this  trans¬ 
fer,  as  both  these  clerkships  and  examiner- 
ships  were  embraced  in  the  classified  service, 
and  so  could  not  be  filled  with  political  favor¬ 
ites;  but  your  committee  afterwards  learned 
that  the  clerk.ships  vacated  by  this  transfer 
were  filled  by  promotion  from  a  lower  grade, 
that  the  ranks  from  which  these  places  were 
recruited  were  in  their  turn  filled  by  a  special 
examination  for  examiner’s  clerks,  and  that  a 
number  of  persons  appointed  without  com¬ 
petitive  examination  as  ‘‘skilled  laborers” 
had  been  detailed  for  duty  as  examiners’ 
clerks,  and  had  thus  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
the  duties  of  that  office,  which  gave  them  pe¬ 
culiar  advantages  for  passing  the  special  ex¬ 
amination  for  it.  Thus,  by  making  a  jmliti- 
cal  favorite  first  a  “  skilled  laborer”  and 
then  giving  him  a  “special”  examination, 
he  could  obtain  a  clerkship  from  which  polit¬ 
ical  favorites  were  usually  barred  by  open 
competitive  examinations.  The.se  irregulari¬ 
ties  and  perversions  of  the  law  could  not  but 
be  followed  by  disastrous  results. 

The  work  of  the  patent  office  under  these 
conditions  steadily  declined  in  efficiency.  The 
examining  corps  had  been  under  the  control 
of  the  comj)etitive  system  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  it  was  mostly  beyond  the  reach  of 
|)olitical  influence.  Tlie  principal  examiners, 
of  whom  there  were  twenty-eight,  were  offi¬ 
cials  whoso  salaries  ranged  above  that  fixed 
by  the  classified  service;  but  the  commis¬ 
sioner  doubtless  recognized  that  to  remove 
these  men  of  long  training  to  make  place  for 
politicians  would  cause  inextrical)le  confu¬ 
sion,  and  that  without  tliem  the  bureau  would 
be  helpless  and  unable  to  perform  its  func¬ 
tions.  Hence  they  were  retained. 

President  Cleveland  saw  his  way  clear  to 
transfer  Commissioner  Montgomery  into  a 


diflTerent  field  ;  and  he  appointed  as  his  suc¬ 
cessor  llenton  J.  Hall,  of  Iowa,  who  had  also 
served  in  congress  and  was  a  lawyer  known  to 
be  of  some  ability  and  character  in  his  own 
state,  but  not  specially  acquainted  with  patent 
law  or  the  needs  of  the  patent  office.  He  de¬ 
voted  his  energies  mainly  to  j)re.serving  the 
remnants  of  good  servicse  against  further  in¬ 
undations,  and  he  gained  the  resi)ect  of  all 
who  knew  him  in  the  office.  He  was  sur¬ 
rounded,  however,  by  many  incompetents,  who 
had  been  inducted  into  office  during  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  his  predece.ssor,  and  whom  he 
did  not  discharge.  He  found  it  necessary  to 
resort  frequently  to  the  practice  of  letting  out 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  judicial  func¬ 
tions  of  the  office  to  commissions  specially 
created  from  time  to  time  from  among  the 
older  and  more  experienced  men  of  the  exam¬ 
ining  corps.  These  men,  whose  official  duties 
required  all  their  time,  were  obliged  to  take 
up  details  which  ought  to  have  been  within 
the  ea.sy  reach  of  the  assistant  commissioner 
and  law  clerk  ;»bnt,  while  these  latter  were 
retained,  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  way  of 
doing  the  public  business  than  that  of  calling 
in  these  examining  officers  to  perform  the  du¬ 
ties  of  their  superiors.  A  change  for  the  worse 
was  made  during  the  administration  of  Com¬ 
missioner  Hall,  when,  in  .July,  1887,  Schuyler 
W.  Duryee  was  displaced  from  the  office  of 
chief  clerk,  anil  a  succes.sor  was  ajijiointed  for 
political  rea.sons  who  was  without  experience, 
and  therefore  largely  dependent  upon  his  sub¬ 
ordinates. 

The  appointment  of  the  present  commis¬ 
sioner  by  President  Harrison  was  made  in 
pursuance  of  sound  business  principles.  There 
were  several  candidates  for  appointment, some 
of  them  retired  congressmen,  and  many  of 
them  with  strong  political  backing;  hut  the 
President  resisted  this  influence,  and  de¬ 
clared  that,  if  the  patent  bar  would  unite 
in  a  recommendation,  he  would  appoint  the 
man  they  recommended.  The  present  com¬ 
missioner,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Mitchell,  was  sug¬ 
gested.  He  was  a  patent  lawyer  of  extensive 
experience  and  recognized  standing,  with  a 
large  income  from  his  profession ;  and  his 
acceptance  of  the  office  involved  considerable 
pecuniary  sacrifice.  As  soon  as  it  was  ascer¬ 
tained  that  he  would  accept,  the  leading  pat¬ 
ent  lawyers  of  the  country  endeavored  to  se- 
sure  his  appointment.  He  had  their  almost 
unanimous  support  as  thoroughly  well  qual¬ 
ified  for  the  position.  This  commissioner 
.seems  to  be  independent  of  political  in¬ 
fluences,  and  has  inaugurated  valu¬ 
able  reforms.  The  Pre.sident  appointed  to  the 
office  of  a.ssistant  commissioner,  in  place  of 
Mr.  Vance,  Robert  J.  Fisher,  who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  board  of  examiners  in  chief, 
and  who  had  been  a  competing  applicant  for 
the  commi.ssionership.  This  appointment  was 
strictly  in  the  line  of  civil  service  reform 
principles.  The  office  was  next  in  grade  above 
that  which  he  had  filled;  and  he  was  well 
qualified  for  it,  had  been  in  the  service  about 
twelve  years,  and  had  gone  through  the  vari¬ 


ous  grades  from  lowest  assistant  examiner  up 
to  the  j)lace  he  then  occupied,  and  he  had 
filled  every  grade  worthily  and  satisfactorily. 
He  was  familiar  with  the  husine.ss  of  the  of¬ 
fice  and  the  personnel  oi  the  corps.  The  f’rt  s 
ident,  on  the  advice  of  the  commissioner,  next 
promoted,  to  the  vacancy  made  by  the  ]>ro- 
rnotion  of  Mr.  Fisher,  Mr.  Solon  W.  Stocking, 
who  liad  also  begun  at  the  lowest  grades  and 
had  been  in  the  office  about  seventeen  years,  a 
tried  examiner  of  proved  ability,  upon  whon) 
the  democratic  commissioners  during  their 
terms  had  greatly  relied.  Mr.  Stocking  had 
entered  the  examining  corps  by  competitive 
examination,  which  had  been  applied  to  the 
examining  corps  for  many  years  continuously 
[irevious  to  the  passage  of  the  Pendleton 
bill,  and  had  risen  through  each  grade 
in  the  same  way,  and  is  himself  a 
typical  fruit  of  the  competitive  sys¬ 
tem.  Although  an  ardent  republican, 
he  had  given  to  the  democratic  head  of  the 
office  his  best  .service.  He  had  come  in  under 
civil  service  rules,  and  considered  public  duty 
as  paramount  to  mere  i)arty  claims.  The 
commi.ssioner  also  reappointed  as  his  chief 
clerk  Mr.  Schuyler  W.  Duryee,  who  came  in 
from  the  treasury  department  in  1883 — had 
been  chief  clerk  during  the  administration  of 
President  Arthur  (but  had  been  dis[)laced 
during  the  administration  of  Commissioner 
Hall),  and  was  a  man  of  excellent  executive 
capacity.  The  commissioner  also  changed  the 
law  clerk,  superseding  him  by  Mr.  Frothing- 
ham,  a  change  for  the  better;  although,  as 
Mr.  Frothingham  was  appointed  to  the  jilace 
from  the  outside,  this  change  has  not  restond 
to  the  corps  of  examiners  the  incentive  to 
faithful  and  efficient  work  which  had  for¬ 
merly  been  inspired  by  the  hope  of  promotion 
to  this  office  from  their  own  ranks.  It  is  true 
that  the  office  of  law  clerk  is  somewhal  confi¬ 
dential  in  its  nature  and  the  occupant  should 
be  in  touch  with  the  bar  and  outside  world, 
and  it  may  hajipen  that  the  right  sort  of  jier- 
son  may  not  always  he  found  within  the  ranks 
of  the  examining  corps.  In  such  a  ca.se,  it 
might  be  proper  to  make  au  exception  from 
the  salutary  method  of  jiromotion  ;  but  it 
must  also  be  rememhereil  that  special  train¬ 
ing  and  a  knowledge  of  the  office  are  re¬ 
quired,  and  these  can  rarely  be  found  outside 
of  the  office  itself, — that  promotion  to  the 
office  of  law  clerk  is  the  only  promotion  lie- 
sides  that  to  the  office  of  examiner  of  inter¬ 
ferences  to  which  the  examining  corps  can 
look, — that  the  good  an  established  system  of 
promotion  does  to  the  whole  force  is  greater 
in  its  total  result  than  the  individual  gain 
likely  to  be  had  by  making  an  exception  to 
the  rule,  and  that  one  exception  is  likely  to 
be  followed  by  discouragement  and  uncer¬ 
tainty.  Adding  to  this  the  fact  that  long  ex- 
jierience  in  the  department  has  shown  admir¬ 
able  law  clerks  can  he  found  among  the  , 
e.xamining  corps,  which  ,at  jiresent  is  cer¬ 
tainly  not  below  the  average,  yonr  committee 
think  it  was  a  mistake  not  to  revive  the  ad¬ 
vantages  gained  by  the  former  .system  of  pro¬ 
motion  within  the  office. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


141 


Your  oommitlee  are  glad  to  report  from  in¬ 
formation  in  their  possession,  derived,  as  they 
l)elieve,  from  trustworthy  and  non-political 
sources,  that  there  has  been  a  decided  im¬ 
provement  in  the  efficiency  of  the  office  since 
the  appointment  of  the  present  commissioner. 

The  system  of  competitive  examinations,  as 
applied  to  the  Patent  Office,  had  l)een  begun 
nnder  the  civil  service  commission  and 
rules,  estal)lishe<l  by  General  Grant  in  1871- 
72;  .and,  though  these  rules  were  in  operation 
for  a  short  time  only,  “the  system  of  com¬ 
petitive  examinations,  once  established,”  to 
quote  from  a  letter  written  ns  by  a  former 
commissioner  of  patents,  and  representing  the 
opinions  of  several  of  the  leading  commis¬ 
sioners  from  1872  to  1885,  “so  approved  itself 
that  succeeding  commissioners  clung  to  it.” 
“Experience  had  shown  that  the  office  ob¬ 
tained  better ‘raw  material’  nnder  open  com¬ 
petition,  and  that  promotion  in  grade  for  ap¬ 
proved  fitness  in  like  competition  relieved  the 
commissioner  from  a  tremendous  amount  of 
importunate  buttoidioling,  and  was  accepted 
by  the  corps  as  a  fair  and  square  test;”  that 
the  members  of  the  corps  “were  thus  secure  in 
zealous  efforts  to  study  and  work  for  their 
own  advance ;”  and  “the  efficiency  and  atprit 
de  corpse  of  the  appointees  were  thus  constantly 
improving.  These  examinations,  as  contin¬ 
ued  by  the  commissioner  of  patents,  a])plied 
only  to  the  variotis  grades  of  the  examining 
corps;  while,  nnder  the  Pendleton  law  (1884), 
the  examinations  have  been  extended  to  the 
positionsof  clerks,  draughtsmen,  skilled  labor¬ 
ers,  and  others. 

The  following  tables  show  the  positions  in 
the  unclassified  and  classified  service  of  the 
patent  office,  with  the  salaries: 

POSITIONS  IN  THE  PATENT  OFFICE  NOT  WITHIN  THE 
CIVIC  SEIIVICE  IHH.ES. 


Commissioner .  8r>,(i00 

Assistant  commissioner .  3,000 

Chief  Clerk .  2,2r>0 

Law  clerk .  2,000 

3  Examiners  in  chief . $3,000  each,  0,000 

Examiner  of  interferences .  2,500 

Financial  clerk .  2,000 

3  Chiefs  of  divisions .  2,000  “  6,000 

Messenger  and  property  clerk.  1,000 

4,5  Laborers .  000  “  27,000 

40  Laborers .  4.S0  “  10,200 

15  Me.ssengcr  boys .  360  “  5,400 


1  Draughtsmen  . 

. (,’ . 

1,000  each 

4,000 

25  Permanent  clerks. 

1,000  “ 

25,000 

5  Model  attendants . 

. N.C . 

1,000  “ 

5,000 

10  Model  attendants. 

. N.C . 

800  “ 

8,000 

60  Copyists . 

. C . 

000  " 

51,000 

4  Copyists . 

720  “ 

2,.S,S0 

02  Skilled  laborers.... 

. N.C . 

720  “ 

66.240 

468  Total . 

$,- 

73,720 

In  the  history  of 

tliis  office, 

we  see  not 

only 

how  beneficial  the  civil  service  system  has 
been  in  giving  increased  efficiency  in  this  im¬ 
portant  office,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the 
general  public,  but  also  how  it  is  possible, 
notwitbstanding  the  civil  service  law,  for  a 
head  of  a  bureau  who  is  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  purposes  of  that  law  to  go  very  far  toward 
demoralizing  the  bureau.  This  was  done  by 
filling  the  places  above  and  below  those  cov¬ 
ered  by  the  law  with  political  favorites,  and 
by  making  exceptions  to  the  rules  and  “back¬ 
door  entrances”  to  the  classified  .service ;  and, 
lastly,  we  see  how  it  was  mainly  the  good 
effects  of  the  civil  service  rules  acting  upon 
those  places  to  which  it  applied  thatsaved  the 
demoralization  from  being  complete. 

The  contrast  between  the  two  .systems,  as 
affecting  the  efficiency  of  an  office,  is  .striking. 
The  spoils  system  means  giving  the  offices  for 
partisan  purposes  to  those  who  feel  it  a  favor 
to  receive  the  appointments.  The  reform 
system  seeks  to  establish  permanent  adminis¬ 
trative  methods  for  guarding  business  princi¬ 
ples  in  office,  against  political  interference. 
The.se  methods  consist  of  open  competitive 
tests  made  to  suit  the  special  duties  to  be  per¬ 
formed,  practical  trial  in  office  during  a  pro¬ 
bationary  period  before  final  appointment, 
tilling  the  higher  grades  by  promotion,  and  at 
the  heads  of  the  bureaus  to  put  such  persons 
as  confer  a  favor  upon  the  public  by  accept¬ 
ing  the  position  rather  than  such  as  consider 
the  office  as  a  favor  to  themselves  in  return 
for  political  influence  or  work. 

(Mr.  MacVeagh,  on  account  of  illness,  is 
unable  to  examine  this  report  before  its 
publication.) 

Wm.  D.  Eoulke,  t'-hairman. 

Charles  J.  Bonaparte. 

IvioiiARO  11.  Dana. 

Sherman  S.  Hooers. 

.June  80,  1800. 

A  MANACLED  PRESS, 

Daniel  Webster  in  1832. 


113  Total  .  $84,3.50 


POSITIONS  WITHIN  THE 

civil. 

SEP.VICE 

RULES. 

:;0  Principal  examiners.... 

..N.C.-: 

..$2,400  each,  $72,000 

32  First  assistant  exam . 

.C.L... 

..  l,.S0O 

‘‘ 

.57,600 

:I6  Second  assistant  exam. 

.C.L.... 

..  1,600 

.57,600 

41  Third  lessistant  exam.. 

.C.L... 

..  1,-100 

.57,400 

50  Fourth  assistant  exam..C . 

..  1,200 

t « 

60,000 

1  Librarian . 

.N.C... 

..  2,000 

4  ( 

2,000 

3  Ass’tchiefsof divisions.!; . 

..  1,800 

** 

5,100 

3  Clerks  of  class  four . 

.C . 

..  1,.800 

i  4 

5,  KM) 

1  Machinist . 

.C . 

..  1,600 

4  4 

1,600 

5  Clerks  of  class  three . 

.C . 

.,  1,600 

44 

8,000 

12  Clerks  of  class  two . 

.C . 

..  1,100 

i  4 

16,.S00 

.50  Clerks  of  class  one . 

.C . 

..  1,200 

** 

60,000 

1  Skilled  laborer . 

.C . 

..  1,200 

1,200 

3  Skilled  draughlsmen  .. 

c . 

..  1,200 

3,600 

*  C.  indicates  the  positions  are  gained  only  by  open 
competition.  N.C.  indicates  the  positions  are  gained 
hy  appointment,  subject  to  a  non-competitive  exam¬ 
ination.  U.L.  indicates  the  positions  are  gained  by 
a  competitive  examination,  limited  to  the  grade  lie- 
low. 


And  is  a  press  that  is  piircha.sed  or 
pensioned  more  free  Ilian  a  press 
that  is  feiteretl !  Can  the  people  look  for 
truths  to  partial  sources,  ivhether  ren¬ 
dered  partial  through  fear  or  through 
favor  f  Why  shall  not  a  manacled  press  lu^ 
trusted  with  the  maiiitenanee  and  defense 
of  popular  rights?  Heeause  it  is  supimsetl 
to  he  under  tlie  inHiienceof  a  power  which 
may  prove  greater  than  the  love  of  truth. 
Such  a  press  may  screen  abuses  in  govern¬ 
ment  or  be  silent.  It  may  fear  to  speak. 
Ami  may  it  not  fear  to  speak,  too,  when  its 
conductors,  if  they  speak  in  any  but  one 
way,  may  lose  their  means  of  livelihood  ! 
Is  dejiendeiice  on  government  for  bread  no 
temptation  to  screen  its  abuses?  Will  the 
press  always  speak  the  truth,  when  the 
truth,  if  siioken,  may  be  the  means  of  si¬ 
lencing  it  for  tJie  future?  Is  the  truth  in 
no  danger,  is  the  watchman  under  no 
temptation,  when  he  can  neither  proclaim 


the  approach  of  national  evils,  nor  seem  to 
decry  ihem,  without  the  loss  of  his  place? 

Mr.  President, an  open  attempt  to  secure 
the  aid  and  friendship  of  the  jHiblic  press, 
hy  be.stowing  the  emoluments  of  ollice  on 
its  active  conductors,  seems  to  me,  of 
everything  we  have  witnessed,  to  be  the 
most  reprehensible.  It  degrades  both  the 
government  and  the  jiress. 

-Ezra  M.  Wilson,  editor  of  li  e  drya.s,  li,i.s  been 
made  postmaster  at  Ad  in,  Hal. 

— Samuel  F.  Smith,  editor  of  the  Corijsf  VidcHe, 
has  been  made  postmaster  at  Encinitas,  f:al. 

— S.  A.  Drummond,  of  the  Antelope  Valley  Timm, 
has  been  made  postmaster  at  Lancaster,  Cal. 

— C.  Frost  Liggett,  of  the  Chiff,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Chivington,  Col. 

—George  E.  Miles,  editor  of  the  Citrus  County  Slav, 
has  been  made  postmaster  at  Manufield,  Fla. 

—  Harvey  .1.  Cooper,  editor  of  the  Journal,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Tampa,  Fla. 

— Walter  Colyer,  editor  of  the  Journal,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Albion,  Ill. 

— Danels  E.  Donley,  of  the  Budget,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  llaylis.  Ill. 

— R.  M.  Pritchett,  editor  of  the  Herald,  has  heen 
made  postmaster  at  Dana,  Ill. 

— Wm.  H.  Jewell,  editor  of  the  Nnm,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Danville,  Ill. 

—Johnson  Potter,  editor  of  the  Bentinel,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Davis,  111. 

— John  M.  Rrecn,  editor  of  the  Home  Times,  has 
been  made  postma.ster  at  Flanagan,  III. 

— II.  Reed,  editor  of  the  Southern  Illinois  Journal, 
has  been  made  postmaster  at  Flora,  Ill. 

—  D.  W.  Hartman,  editor  of  the  Issue,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Genoa,  Ill. 

— Charles  W.  Warner,  editor  of  the  Chronicle,  has 
liecn  ma<le  postmaster  at  Hoopeston,  III. 

— R.  F.  Lawson,  editor  of  the  Express,  has  been 
made  i>ostmaster  at  Kinmundy,  Ill. 

— Volney  Weaver,  editor  of  the  Times,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Loda,  111. 

— J.  Van  Slyke,  cilitor  of  the  Plain  Dealer,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  McHenry,  111. 

— B.  C.  Lansdon,  editor  of  the  News,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Nebo,  Ill. 

— Thomas  R.  Hancock,  editor  of  the  News,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Neoga,  111. 

— W.  R.  Parks,  editor  of  the  Observer,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Petersburg,  Ill. 

— J.  S.  Barnnm,  editor  of  the  Telephone,  has  been 
made  iiosi  master  at  Princeville,  Ill.  file  also  i.ssnes 
for  .Vita,  Dunlap  and  Monica,  III] 

— C.  A.  Wilcox,  of  the  Whig,  has  been  made  post¬ 
master  at  Quincy,  HI. 

—George  W.  Harper,  editor  of  the  Argus,  has  been 
postmaster  at  Robinson,  Ill. 

— C.  A.  Hebbard,  editor  of  the  Times,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Roseville,  111. 

— C.  S.  Brydia,  editor  of  the  Gazelle,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Sannemin,  111. 

—  .1.  A.  Mace,  editor  of  the  Independent  Gazelle,  line 
been  made  ])oslmaster  at  Saybrook,  111. 

—J.  Mastin,  editor  of  the  Express,  has  been  mads 
postmaster  at  Shannon,  Ill. 

— S.  Lovejoy  Taylor,  editor  of  the  Plain  Dealer, 
has  been  made  postmaster  at  Sparta,  111. 

—John  T.  Conner,  editor  of  the  Express,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Toledo,  111. 

— E.  B.  (diapin,  editor  of  the  Herald,  has  been 
made  po.stmaster  at  Tolona,  111. 

— A.  C.  Hotchki.ss.  of  the  Dallas  Co.  News,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Adel,  Iowa, 

— J.  B.  Ilnngerford,  of  the //crahf,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Carroll,  Iowa. 

— J.  C.  Harwood,  editor  of  the  Wright  county  Moni¬ 
tor,  has  been  made  postmaster  at  Clarion,  Iowa. 


142 


TME  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— W.  H.  Webster,  editor  of  the  Iieptd>licaii ,  lias  lieen 
made  postmaster  at  Cresco,  Iowa. 

—Fred  W.  Brown,  editor  of  the  Recorder,  lias  been 
maile  iKistmaster  at  Dysart,  Iowa. 

—Almond  W.  Utter,  of  the  Palo  Alto  ReporUr,  hius 
been  made  postmaster  at  Emmet.sbnrK,  Iowa. 

—.1.  T.  Notson,  of  the  Itemizer,  has  been  made  jiost- 
inaster  at  Farragnl,  Iowa. 

— F.  M.  Smock,  of  the  Alta,  has  been  made  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Keota,  Iowa. 

— A.  F.  Sell  reckon  gast,  of  the  Enfilc,  was  appointed 
census  enumerator  for  the  town  of  Keota. 

- Ilowarih,  of  the  Richland  (Iowa)  Clnrion., 

was  appointed  census  enumerator. 

[This  correspondent  says:  “  I  think  there  is  scarce¬ 
ly  a  newspaper  man,  I  mean  reimblican,  who  lias 
not  been  rewarded  in  some  way.”] 

— Ueorge  Van  Ilonten,  editor  of  the  Time  Tahir  has 
been  made  postmaster  at  Lenox,  Iowa. 

— (diaries  II.  Austin,  editor  of  the  Tribune,  has 
been  made  postmaster  atLineville,  Iowa. 

—George  I.  Long,  of  the  Journal,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Manson,  Iowa. 

— C.  1).  Lyon,  editor  of  the  Motor,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Milo,  Iowa. 

— John  Vandermost,  editor  of  the  Mirror,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Monroe,  Iowa. 

— David  Vail,  editor  of  the  Star,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  New  Sharon,  Iowa. 

— George  K.  Moore,  editor  of  the  Advertiser,  has 
been  made  postmaster  at  Nora  Springs,  Iowa. 

— C.  J.  Burke,  editor  of  the  Recorder,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Oliii,  Iowa. 

—Willis  C.  Hills,  of  the  Exponent,  ha.s  been  made 
postmaster  at  Smithland,  Iowa. 

— A.  L.  Wood,  editor  of  the  Telegram,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  St.  Charles,  Iowa. 

—Frank  T.  Piper,  editor  of  the  Mail,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Sheldon,  Iowa. 

— O.  B.  Peterson,  editor  of  the  News,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Story  City,  Iowa. 

— C.  J.  Wonser,  editor  of  the  Herald,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Tama,  Iowa. 

— W.  A.  Tyrrell,  editor  of  the  Republican,  has  been 
made  postmaster  at  Waverly,  Iowa. 

— Martha  , I.  Cowman,  wife  of  W.  P.  Cowman,  edi 
tor  of  the  Vindicator,  has  been  made  postmaster  at 
Casey,  Iowa. 

— C.  B.  Hunt,  editor  of  the  Transcript,  has  been 
made  xiostmaster  at  Greenfield,  Iowa. 

— M.  A.  Rany,  editor  of  the  Observer,  has  been  made 
postmaster  at  Fontanelle,  Iowa. 

— W.  P.  Moulton,  editor  of  the  Locomotive,  has  lieeii 
made  postmaster  at  Stuart,  Iowa. 


“THE  SOLE  DISCRIMINATING 
TEST.” 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  complaint  among  the  ofli- 
cers  at  the  navy  yard  at  the  slow  work  being  done 
on  the  Pensacola’s  bottom.  That  vessel  went  into 
dry  dock  a  month  ago  and  repairs  were  at  once  be¬ 
gun,  but  at  this  time  she  is  far  from  completed,  and 
will  probably  be  in  dock  for  some  time  to  come.  It 
was  said  yesterday  by  the  men  supposed  to  be  at 
work  on  her  that  they  were  delayed  because  of  a 
lack  of  nails.  The  real  truth  about  the  matter, 
however,  is  that  the  work  on  the  Pensacola  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  navy  yard  is  controlled  by  ‘‘bosses” 
appointed  by  Brooklyn  politicians.  These  men  draw 
their  pay  by  the  day  and  work  just  about  as  they 
please. 

The  ollicers  of  the  yard  are  practically  powerless 
in  wliatever  supervisory  capacity  they  may  be 
placed.  Frequently  they  have  remonstrated  with 
the  “bosses”  of  the  gangs  at  work,  but  always  in 
vain.  Several  times  they  have  threatened  to  have 
tlie  indolent  men  discharged,  and  in  one  or  two  in¬ 
stances  their  threats  have  been  carried  out,  but  with 


very  few  exceptions  tlie  dl-scharged  men  have  re¬ 
stored  themselves  to  their  old  imsitions  through 
political  inlinence  of  a  kind  that  is  outrageously 
exercised  in  Brooklyn  under  this  administration. 
It  can  hardly  be  expected  that  beneficiaries  of  such 
a  system  of  political  iiatronage  will  prove  to  be 
workmen  of  the  class  reiiuired  to  superintend  the 
complicated  ami  oftentimes  dillicult  work  incident 
to  an  active  navy  yard. 

Not  long  ago  a  number  of  republican  laborers  in 
Brooklyn,  who  aspire  to  the  easy-going  perennial 
jobs  of  their  more  fortunate  brethren,  appeared  at 
the  navy  yard  with  applications  indorsed  by  Senator 
Birkctt.  They  were  armc<1  with  other  and  equally 
formidable  recommendations,  and  the  way  .seemed 
clear  to  an  immediate  occupancy  of  all  the  vacan¬ 
cies  in  the  yard.  'I'liey  wore  met,  however,  by  the 
foreman,  who,  according  to  their  rejiort,  is  an  insur¬ 
mountable  obstacle  in  the  way  of  partisan  )mtron- 
ago.  Be  told  the  hopeful  applicants  that  cnougli 
republicans  in  tiieir  wards  had  been  given  positions, 
and  that  as  far  as  navy  yard  berths  were  concerned, 
those  wards  were  irrevocably  boycotted. 

This  resulted  in  a  mass  meetingof  tlie  disgruntled, 
which  found  vent  in  a  formal  protest  that  was  sent 
to  Washington.  After  complaining  of  the  unjust 
discrimination  exercised  by  the  foreman,  the  protest 
stated  many  of  the  men  who  had  been  given  jobs  were 
t  hose  who  had  formally  lived  in  remote  poitions  of 
the  city,  but  whrl  had  moved  into  the  wards  contigu¬ 
ous  to  the  navy  yard  in  order  to  insure  the  recogni¬ 
tion  that  had  been  heretofore  denied  them. 

This  remonstrance  appears  to  have  found  a  listen¬ 
er,  for  it  received  immediate  response  in  the  shape 
of  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Tracy,  .secre¬ 
tary  of  the  navy.  This  letter  was  received  at  the 
navy  yard  Tuesday.  It  contained  a  large  number  of 
blank  forms,  which  are  to  be  distributed  among  the 
employes  in  every  <lepartment  of  the  navy  yard, 
calling  for  each  man’s  name,  age,  street  number, 
ward,  rating,  pay,  date  of  appointment,  by  whom 
appointed,  and  by  whom  recommended.  The  blanks 
also  re<iuire  the  residence  of  tlie  workman  previous 
to  the  date  of  liis  aiipointmcnt. 

All  of  these  papers,  when  tilled  out,  will  be  exam¬ 
ined  ami  checked  oil  by  the  ollicers  of  the  several 
ilepartmcnts  and  then  forwanled  to  Washington  for 
sncli  u.se  as  this  administration,  in  playing  the  game 
of  politics,  may  see  fit  to  make  of  them.— N'ciu  York 
Tillies,  July  11. 


Naval  ollicers  in  port  declare  that  the  alleged 
workmen  now  employed  are  the  most  incompetent 
and  worthless  that  could  be  selected,  that  work  is 
delayed  and  shirked,  and  that  the  condition  of  alfairs 
is  deplorable  in  the  extreme.  'The  basis  for  this  de¬ 
moralization  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  lieutenants  of 
Thomas  C.  I’latt,  the  boas  of  the  republican  party, 
and  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Benjamin  F.  Tracy 
have  had  a  falling  out,  and  that  in  the  .senllle  for  su¬ 
periority  the  public  welfare sutrers. 

The  facts,  so  far  as  learned,  indicate  that  Secretary 
Tpacy  has  drawn  tlie  line  at  last,  and  i'nsisted  that 
hereafter  every  person  who  applies  fora  job  shall 
place  the  name  of  his  backer  in  his  recommenda¬ 
tion.  Tlie  seventeenth  ward  seems  to  be  the  object 
of  universal  envy.  There  reside  both  William  C. 
Wallace  and  Mr.  Robert  1).  Benedict.  The  latter  was 
defrauded  out  of  the  congressional  nomination  two 
years  ago,  and  he  is  determined  to  obtain  it  this  fall. 
Both  of  these  gentlemen  are  powers  in  their  district. 
Congre&sman  Wallace  is  supported  by  'riiomas  C. 
Platt,  John  A.  Nicholls,  Senator  Birkett,  who  boasts 
of  having  obbiined  more  places  for  his  henchmen 
than  any  other  man,  Ernst  Nathan,  and  the  rest  of 
the  gang  that  in  the  past  have  made  Brooklyn  poli¬ 
tics  notorious  and  infamous.  Mr.  Benedict  is  backed 
by  the  rcsjiectable  element  of  his  party.  His  friends 
have  not  fared  .so  well,  .so  far  as  patronage  is  con¬ 
cerned,  as  their  opponents.  An  ofiiceron  duty  in 
the  yard  said : 

“This  factional  fight  between  these  Brooklyn  poli¬ 
ticians  is  proving  disastrous  to  our  work  here  and 
to  our  men.  If  a  gang  of  men  are  at  work  aboard 
ship  the  officers  have  no  control  whatever  over  them, 
tut  on  the  contrary  are  regaled  by  conversations 


wliich  are  carrieil  on  between  them  for  lioursata 
time, to  the  utter  disregard  and  neglect  of  the  work 
in  hand.  Of  course  we  are  not  suppo.sed  to  know 
who  is  responsible  for  this  state  of  allalrs.  That  is 
not  onr  businc.ss.  All  that  concerns  us  is  to  have  the 
work  performed  in  as  short  a  time  as  is  consistent 
with  thorough nc.ss.  You  can’t  find  that  here.  The 
workmen  do  as  they  please.  And  \vork  that  ought 
to  be  performed  in  an  honror  two  is  nsnally  stretche<l 
out  to  two  or  three  days.” 

Brooklyn  politicians  predict  that  this  breach  at  the 
navy  yard  is  only  a  prelude  to  a  more  .serious  breach 
between  Secretary  Tracy  and  I’latt.  Receutly  the 
secretary  heard  that  the  twenty-third  ward,  which  is 
bossed  by  Platt’s  faithful  henchman,  Ernst  Nathan, 
had  been  favored  in  the  matter  of  appointments  to 
the  detriment  of  the  thirteenth,  whose  leader  is  Wil¬ 
liam  H.  Lcaycraft,  wlio  is  committed  to  the  fortunes 
of  Mr.  Benedict.  The  secretary  wrote  an  autograph 
letter  to  tlie  olficer  wlio  has  had  charge  of  the  dis¬ 
bursing  of  some  of  the  federal  patronage  and  Wanted 
to  know  how  it  was  that  one  ward  had  been' more 
generously  rewarded  than  the  other.  This  was  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  second  letter  re<iucsting  that  all  appli¬ 
cants  shall  have  the  names  of  their  backers  indorsed 
on  the  back  of  their  recommendations. 

“  Work  in  the  navy  yard  nowadays  is  a  farce,”  said 
a  Brooklyn  contractor  yesterday.  “If  yon  raked  the 
yard  fore  and  aft  yon  would  be  rewarded  by  finding 
men  unfit  and  incompetent,  lazy  and  worthleas. 
The  Harrison  administration  is  responsible  for  much 
that  is  censurable,  but  this  business  at  the  yard  is 
simply  outrageous.  Why  an  investigation  is  not  or¬ 
dered  or  reform  instituted  is  inexplicable.  Of 
course,  none  of  the  naval  officers  stationed  there 
can  speak  for  publication,  out  of  a  mistaken  sense  of 
etiquette  and  loyalty  to  their  chief,  the  secretary, 
but  there  is  not  an  olficer  stationed  in  the  yard,  from 
the  commandant  to  the  junior,  who  is  not  aware  of 
the  demoralization  that  exists  and  the  absolute  dis-. 
regard  of  responsibility  that  firevails.  They  laugh 
over  it  among  themselves,  but  no  one  will  speak  for 
publication  for  obvious  reasons.  It  is  the  .system 
that  is  wrong.  It  is  wrong  for  any  boss  such  ns 
Platt  or  for  any  of  his  heelers  to  imagine  that  the 
navy  yard  patronage  is  tlieir  personal  properly,  to  be 
awarded  to  their  shooters  who  are  unable  from  tlicir 
incompetence  and  laziness  to  obtain  work  anywhere 
else.  It  Ims  been  a  common  remark  ui)  to  within  a 
fortnight  that  Mr.  Platt’s  heelers  had  the  bulk  of 
the  patronage,  but  since  then  it  is  understood  that 
Secretary  Tracy  had  stepped  in  and  the  Platt  men 
have  not  carried  their  heads  quite  .so  high.”— Wcic 
York  Times,  July  12. 


Orders  that  arrived  at  the  navy  yard  on  Wednes¬ 
day  removing  Foreman  Arthur  Boyle  from  his 
position  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  new 
crui.ser.  No.  7,  and  appointing  John  O’Rourke,  an 
experienceil  shipbuilder,  formerly  in  the  employ  of 
John  Roach,  to  the  position  were  made  public  yes. 
terday.  The  news  was  a  tremendous  snrpri.se  to  the 
republicans  of  the  twentieth  ward,  Brooklyn,  for 
Boyle  is  the  republican  lieutenant  there  of  Mr.  Win. 
H.  Beard  and  United  States  District  Attorney  Jesse 
.Johnson.  So  great  a  rumpus  did  the  removal  cause  that 
Mr.  Johnson  left  for  Washington  yesterday  to  see  if  the 
mailer  could  not  be  arranged. 

This,  however,  is  not  at  all  jirobablc,  as  Foreman 
Boyle  was  removed  for  neglect  of  duty.  He  was  in 
the  habit  of  going  to  the  yard  wearing  a  silk  hat,  his 
best  clothes,  and  patent-leather  shoos,  and  rarely 
remained  on  duty  more  than  three  or  four  hours  a 
day..  This  kind  of  “sojering”  did  notatall  snitsuch 
an  old  sea  dog  as  Admiral  Braine,  and  after  a  few 
kindly  warnings  he  let  the  axe  fall. 

As  foreman,  Mr.  Boyle  had  the  authority  to  hire 
his  own  men,  and  the  faithful  of  the  twentieth 
ward  were  well  provided  for  with  places.  He  is  now 
reduced  to  the  position  of  a  quartorman  under  Fore¬ 
man  O’Rourke,  but  he  declines  to  accept  the  situa¬ 
tion,  and  has  told  Mr.  Johnson  that  if  the  latter  wants 
the  support  of  the  republicans  of  the  twentieth  ward  he 
must  straighten  the  matter  out  right  away.—Nciv  York 
Times,  July  20. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


143 


Office-Holders  Defending  their  Possessions. 

Allotmeiit.s  thus  acquired,  mutually  engaged  such  as  accepted  them  to  defend  them;  and  as  they  all  sprang  from  the  same  right  of  conquest,  no  part 
could  subsist  independent  of  the  whole  ;  wherefore  all  givers  !is  well  as  receivers  were  mutually  bound  to  defend  each  other’s  possessions.  #  *  *  Every 

receiver  of  lauds,  or  feudatory,  was  therefore  bound  when  called  u[>on  by  his  benefactor,  or  immediate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  defend 
him.  Such  benefactor  or  lord  was  likewise  subordinate  to  and  under  the  command  of  his  imme<liate  benefactor  and  superior;  and  so  upwards  to  the  prince  or 
general  himself ;  and  the  several  lords  were  also  reciprocally  bound,  in  their  respective  gradations,  to  protect  the  possessions  they  had  given.  Thus  the  feudal 
connectii>n  was  established,  a  proper  military  subjection  was  naturally  introduced  and  an  army  of  feudatories  was  always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually  prepared 
to  muster.  .  .  —  lUackslone. 


(Mlice-Iufltlers  lire  llie  }i??eiits  of  Ihe  i>eo- 
|ile,  not  llieir  luasteris.  Not  only  is  their 
lime  and  labor  due  lo  tlie  jifovernnient,  but 
they  slionltl  sernimlonsly  avoid  in  their  po- 
iilieal  aetion,  as  well  as  in  the  discharge 
of  their  ollicial  duly,  oll'ending  by  a  display 
of  obtrusive  parti.sanship  their  neighbors 
who  have  relations  with  them  as  imhlie 
ollieials. 

They  should  also  eons<anlly  remeinher 
that  their  party  friends  from  whom  tliey 
have  reeeivi’d  ]irefei  ment  have  not  in¬ 
vested  them  with  the  power  of  arbitrarily 
managing  their  politieal  alfairs.  They  have 
no  right,  as  olliee-holders,  to  dietate  the 
liolitieal  aetion  of  their  jiarty  associates, 
or  to  throttle  freedom  of  action  within 
party  lines  by  met  hods  and  practices  which 
prevent  every  nsefnl  and  jnstiliable  pnr- 
|M>se  of  ]iarty  organi/ation. 

The  in II lienee  of  the  federal  oHlcc-hold- 
ers  should  not  be  felt  in  the  manipnlatiou 
of  political  primary  meetings  and  nomi¬ 
nating  conventions.  The  use  by  these  of- 
llcials  of  their  positions  to  compass  their 
selection  as  delegates  to  political  conven¬ 
tions  is  indecent  and  unfair,  and  proper 
regard  for  the  proprieties  and  require¬ 
ments  of  ollicial  place  will  also  prevent 
their  assuming  the  active  conduct  of  polit¬ 
ical  campaigns.— rnsuleiit  Cleveland,  July 
14,  1886. 

Approved  by  Poslmaster-Geueral  Wana- 
uiaker,  April  25,  181)0. 


—  Gen.  Atkins,  postmaster  at  Freeport,  went 
to  Springfield  as  a  delegate  to  the  republican 
state  convention.- /ioc/i/brd  [///  ]  Register,  July  4- 

— Dan.  Hogan,  made  collector  of  internal 
revenue  at  Chicago  becau.se  he  was  a  powerful 
ward  boss,  was  at  the  republican  state  conven¬ 
tion  at  Si)ringlield,  .June  23. 

— The  lion.  J.  13.  Smith,  of  Hillsborough, 
had  a  long  conference  yesterday  with  Senator 
Chandler,  Naval  Officer  Oarrier,  and  other  parly 
manayera,  and  it  is  practically  settled  that  Mr, 
Tuttle  has  withdrawn  and  that  Mr.  Smith 
shall  receive  the  republican  gubernatorial 
nomination.— Apecia/  to  lioeton  Advertiser,  from 
Concord,  N.  H  ,  July  10. 

— The  meeting  of  the  republican  state  com¬ 
mittee  to-night  seemed  more  like  a  meeting  of 
otlice- holders  than  anything  else.  There  were 
present  Gov.  Goodell  and  members  of  his 
council.  President  of  the  Senate  laggart. 
Speaker  Upton,  United  States  Senator  Chan¬ 
dler,  Pension  Ayent  Cheney,  Treasury  Ayent 
Aaron  Young,  Naval  Officer  Cuirier,  Internal 
Revenue  Collector  French,  Secretary  of  State 
Thompson,  Book  Commissioner  Lyford,  Rail¬ 


road  Commissioner  Putney,  Mayor  Humphrey, 
and  Postmaster  Robinson  of  this  city,  ex-Govern- 
or  Cheney,  Postmaster  Piper,  Senator  Means, 
Judge  of  Police  Court  Hunt,  of  Manchester, 
and  some  others. —  DisjHitch  from  Concord,  N.  II., 
July  1. 

—  United  iSlales  Attorneys  Reynolds  and  Neal, 
of  the  eastern  aiul  western  districts,  and 
United  /Stales  Marshals  Tracy  and  Buchanan, 
and  Ai>praiser  Metcalfe,  of  the  port  of  St. 
Louis,  met  with  the  Missouri  state  rejmblican 
committee,  July  8. 

—  United  Slates  District  Atlomey  Walter  Lyon, 
who  was  permanent  chairman  of  the  republican  stale 
convention,  SHid  to  a  reporter  to-day  : 

“  1  never  was  pledged  to  .VIontooth,  and  it 
was  well  known  that  /  was  a  Delamuter  man. 
1  came  out  as  a  delegate  for  him,  and  hal  1 
so  desired  could  have  been  instructed  by  the 
convention  which  sent  me  for  Delamater. 
Had  there  been  the  least  chance  for  Mon- 
tooth’s  nomination  I  would  have  stuck  to  him. 
1  knew  there  was  no  chance  from  the  start,  and 
I  didn’t  propose  to  have  the  Allegheny  coun¬ 
ty  delegation  sit  in  the  convention  with  their 
thumbs  in  their  mouths  and  take  no  part  in 
the  nomination  for  governor.  Some  of  the 
Allegheny  county  delegation  desired  to  have 
the  delegation  remain  solid  for  Montooth,  so 
that  when  it  came  home  it  could  be  said  that 
(Juay  was  not  able  to  influence  a  man  in  the 
delegation.  It  was  intended  to  hurt  Quay  by 
this  means,  and  when  the  delegation  came 
home  it  expected  to  have  a  good  laugh  over 
Quay’s  failure  to  inlluence  the  Allegheny 
county  delegation.  I  didn’t  propose  to  be  a 
()arty  to  any  such  scheme.  If  1  had  been 
asked  by  any  one  to  stick  to  Montooth,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  I  knew  it  was  hopeless,  I 
should  have  declared  that  Montooth  was  never 
in  the  light,  although  some  of  his  people 
actually  persuaded  him  he  was. 

“  Those  who  understood  the  situation  knew 
better.  What  little  fight  there  seemed  to  be 
was  between  Delamater  and  Hastings,  but  it 
hardly  deserved  the  name  of  fight.  Delama¬ 
ter  could  have  been  nominated  on  the  first 
ballot  had  it  been  deemed  advisable.  A  re¬ 
gard  for  Mayor  Filler,  of  Philadelphia,  was 
the  only  thing  that  prevented  this.  All  the 
delegates  needed  to  nominate  Delamater  could 
have  been  obtained  from  the  Philadelphia 
delegation.  In  order  to  prevent  him  from 
kicking  it  was  deemed  best  to  let  the  Phila¬ 
delphia  delegation  go  lo  Hastings  on  the  first 
ballot;  that  is,  as  many  as  desired,  and  lo 
nominate  Delamater  on  the  second.  We 
wanted  to  let  Filler  down  as  easy  as  possible, 
and  so  only  took- -just  enough  to  nominate 
Delamater  from  Philadelphia.” — New  York 
'limes,  June  28. 

— Complaint  has  been  made  here  to  the 
President  and  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
sustained  by  ample  proof,  that  ex-Gov.  War- 
mouth,  the  collector  of  the  port  of  New  Or- 
lean.s,  is  using  all  the  power  of  his  great  ollice 
in  favor  of  the  rechartering  of  the  Louisiana 
lottery  company.  A  few  days  ago  Warmouth 
sent  an  employe  of  his  office  to  East  Louisiana, 


where  there  is  an  election  contest,  the  lottery 
(piestion  being  the  issue.  Warmonlb’s  custom 
house  employe  was  named  George  S.  Swayzee, 
and  his  busine.ss  was  to  distribute  lottery  cir¬ 
culars. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  St.  Louis  Re¬ 
public,  June  18. 

— T.  G.  Lawler,  Congressman  Hilt’s  post¬ 
master  at  Rockford,  was  a  delegate  present  at 
the  convention  that  nominated  Congressman 
Hitt. 

— “The  republican  state  convention  met 
here  to-day,”  says  a  dispatch  from  Montgom¬ 
ery  last  evening.  “There  were  only  thirty 
white  men  in  the  convention,  most  of  whom 
are  federal  office-holders  in  Alabama. — New 
York  Evening  Post,  June  5. 

—  'The  Auburn  Advertiser  {rep.)  the  organ  of 
.lohn  K.  Knapp,  chairman  of  the  republican  state 
committee  and  postmaster  at  ylafittm,  announcis 
that  Platt’s  candidacy  for  the  United  Slates 
senate  “may  now  be  considered  public,  avowed 
and  active.  He  will  go  back,  if  he  can,  to  the 
seat  from  which  the  appointment  of  Senator 
Robertson  hurried  him  in  1881.” 

— The  interest  in  the  third  congressional 
battle  is  centred  just  now,  anil  will  be  for  .some 
time,  ill  the  twenty-third  ward,  where  Inter¬ 
nal  Revenue  C(/llector  Nathan  has  a  growing 
opposition  to  fight. 

The  cause  of  the  dissatisfaction  is  the  high-handed 
way  in  which  Nathan  i-uns  the  ward.  He  could  not 
affect  more  absolute  ownership  if  it  were  an  old 
family  pocket  borough,  and  tlie  thousands  of  new 
residents  who  are  making  the  twenty-third 
one  of  the  biggest  wards  in  town  object  to 
wearing  Nathan’s  collar.  They  lay  claim  to 
a  sufficient  number  of  adherents  to  beat  Na¬ 
than,  but  complain  that  by  all  sorts  of  hocus  pocus 
he  prevents  them  from  yetting  the  names  <f  their 
friends  on  the  roll  book  of  the  association.  Nathan's 
object,  of  course,  is  lo  keep  these  people  out  until 
after  he  elects  his  delegates  lo  the  apjivoachivy  con¬ 
ventions  in  the  third  congressional  and  the  ninth 
and  eleventh  assembly  districts,  all  three  of  which  he 
has  practically  owned  for  the  last  four  years. 

The  strong  attempt  now  being  made  by 
Robert  D.  Benedict,  backed  by  Secretary 
Tracy,  to  dislodge  Nathan,  backed  by  T'hos. 
C.  Platt,  from  at  least  one  of  these  republican 
strongholds,  the  third  congressional,  is  what 
makes  this  fight  in  the  twenty  third  ward  in¬ 
teresting  to  the  general  public. 

Nathan  is  claiming  to  have  won  a  signifi¬ 
cant  victory  for  Congressman  Wallace  in  the 
appointment  of  Michael  Malone  as  master 
Vilumber  on  the  new  federal  building.  Malone 
is  ex-Judge  Rooney’s  man  and  a  big  figure  in 
the  Home  and  Country  Protective  Brother¬ 
hood  of  Workingmen.  Nathan  is  trying  to 
get  the  backing  of  tbe  brotherhood  in  the  Wal¬ 
lace- Benedict  fight. — New  York  Times,  July  IS. 


144^ 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONlCI>E 


— The  Harrison  administration  received  a 
set-hack  here  to  day,  for,  at  a  meetinj?  of  the 
repnl)lican  state  central  committee  in  this  (dty, 
the  control  of  the  parly  machinery  passed  into 
tlie  liands  of  ihe  anti-ailministration  men. 

After  the  election  of  last  fall  the  repnl)lican 
party  in  this  city,  which  has  always  heen  no¬ 
ted  for  its  factional  fights,  split  into  two  fac¬ 
tions,  and  the  feeling  between  them  has  been 
very  bitter.  So  intense  was  this  feeling  tliat 
last  May,  when  the  city  had  to  elect  members 
to  the  state  central  committee,  two  .sets  of  pri¬ 
maries  were  held,  and  May  fi  two  re|)nblic.an 
conventions  were  held  in  each  legislative  dis¬ 
trict  in  the  city,  and  two  sets  of  men  were 
chosen  members  from  lialtimore  of  the  state 
central  committee,  the  first  meeting  of  which 
was  hehl  to  day. 

One  of  thci^e  factions  is  called  Ihe  Johnson  faction, 
is  headed  by  Postmaster  Williavi  W.  Johnson,  and 
includes  nearly  all  the  office,  holders  in  the  city. 
Many  federal  officials,  though  caring  nothing 
for  the  postmaster,  suj)ported  him  to  day  be¬ 
cause  they  wanted  all  the  administration  men 
together,  and  they  wanted  to  show  the  Presi- 
<lent  that  the  Maryland  rejuiblicane  were  all 
for  him.  Congressman  Sidney  E.  Mudd,  to 
whom  they  gave  a  seat,  ousting  Parnes  Comp¬ 
ton,  championed  Johnson’s  cau.se  to-day  in 
thecommittee  as  a  i)roxy  from  Charles  county. 

The  Henderson  faction,  or  the  antis,  is  head¬ 
ed  by  W'dliam  T.  Henderson,  a  local  boss,  who 
7vanted  the  place  that  W.  W  Johnson,  nmu  holds — 
the  postmaster  ship.  His  cause  to-day  was  champi¬ 
oned  by  Thomas  //.  Hodson  of  Somerset  cminty, 
7vho  wanted  the  district  attorneyship  and  did  not  get 
it. —  Dispatch,  from  llaltimore  to  N.  Y.  Times,  July 
17. 

— A  well  informed  correspondent  writes  to 
the  CivinSuKViCK  Chkonici.e: 

“That  the  spirit  of  the  civil  servii^e  law  is 
being  violated  in  Indiana  is  perfectly  well 
known  to  any  one  who  pays  the  slightest  at¬ 
tention  to  the  working  of  the  rei)ublican  ma¬ 
chine.  Michener,  attorney  general  and  can¬ 
didate  for  the  United  States  senate,  has  the 
control  of  the  federal  patronage  in  Indiana- 
He  is  chairman  of  the  state  central  commit¬ 
tee.  A  state  central  committee  was  elected 
last  January.  At  the  various  district  conven¬ 
tions  the  federal  office- holders,  j)articularly 
the  postmasters,  were  very  prominent.  In  one 
district,  the  third,  in  which  the  administra¬ 
tion,  through  Michener,  was  very  anxious  to 
win.  Postmaster  Ridland,of  Scottsburgh,  a  re¬ 
cent  a{)pointee,  was  compelled  to  change  the 
vote  of  his  county  from  the  man  of  his  choice 
to  Michener’s  candidate.  Postmaster  God¬ 
frey,  of  New  Albany,  was  a  delegate  to  that 
convention  and  worked  actively  for  Carter, 
the  Michener  candidate,  for  committeeman. 
Put  for  the  official  pressure  brought  to  bear  in 
that  convention  Carter  would  not  have  re¬ 
ceived  one-third  the  vote.  In  the  ninth  con¬ 
gressional  district  contest  for  the  nomination 
Mr.  La  Follctte,  superintendent  of  public  in¬ 
struction,  was  backed  by  Chairman  Michener 
and  all  the  patronage.  P.  Wilson  Smith, 
postmaster  at  La  Fayette,  was  particularly 
active  in  Mr.  La  Follette’s  behalf.  Postal 
clerk  Hack  helped  out,  but  in  si>ite  of  all. 
La  Follette  was  beaten.  Several  post-office  in¬ 
spectors  were,  it  is  said,  traveling  over  the 
ninth  district  for  La  Follette.  Right  here  in 
Indianapolis  the  federal  officers  are  an  active 
part  of  the  machine.  Postmaster  Wallace, 
United  States  Marshal  Dunlap  and  Collector 


Hildebrand  take  no  open  part  in  the  manipu¬ 
lation,  but  they  have  good  trusty  subordinates 
who  do.  Deputy  Postmaster  Wallace  is  a  del¬ 
egate  to  all  conventions.  Deputy  Unitetl 
States  Marshal  Conway  is  a  delegate  to  all 
conventions,  and  is  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee.  Fred  vSehmidt,  in  the 
office  of  Collector  Hildebrand,  is  the  same. 
The  same  officer  has  as  his  deputy  Eugene 
Saulcy,  a  hustler  from  away  back,  who  is  a 
member  of  the  county  committee.” 


CLARKSON  vs.  DANA. 

“  .SUBSIDIZED  ”  EDITOKS. 

A  neat  and  epigrammatic  little  story,  in 
which  Assistant  Postmaster  General  CMarkson 
figures  as  the  hero,  and  Editor  R.  H.  Dana  of 
Poston  as  the  victim,  was  recently  going  the 
rounds  of  the  New  York  press.  It  runs  as 
follows : — 

There  is  a  periodical  published  in  Poston 
and  devoted  to  civil  service  reform,  whose 
editor  is  Richard  Henry  Dana.  When  J.  S. 
Clarkson  was  in  Poston  a  week  ago,  he  was  in¬ 
troduced  to  ^r.  Dana.  Indeed,  the  Poston 
mugwumps  paid  quite  as  much  court  to  the 
first  assistant  postmaster  general  as  if  he  was 
not  the  axe-wielder  for  the  decajiitation  of 
50,000  official  heads.  At  the  head  of  his  edi¬ 
torial  page,  Mr.  Dana  prints  in  each  number 
of  his  journal  a  list  of  editors  appointed  by 
President  Harrison  to  office,  under  the  head¬ 
ing  of  “  Subsidized  Editors.”  Mr.  Clarkson 
has  seen  this  list,  and  in  course  of  conversa¬ 
tion  he  asked  Mr.  Dana  this  quiet  and  some¬ 
what  leading  question  : — 

“Would  you  accept  a  federal  position,  Mr. 
Dana,  provided  it  should  be  ofrere<l  you  by 
the  President,  and  should  be  a  high  and  re- 
sj)onsible  one, — say,  civil  service  commission¬ 
er?” 

With  the  idea  that  Mr.  Clarkson  might  be 
jnitting  out  a  feeler  for  the  administration, 
Mr.  Dana  responded  emphatically, 

“  Yes, 'I  think  I  would.” 

“  In  that  event,”  continued  Mr.  Clarkson, 
with  satire  in  his  tone,  “  woubl  you  continue 
to  print  in  your  paper  a  list  of  subsidized  edi¬ 
tors,  with  your  own  name  in  the  list?” 

Mr.  Dana’s  reply  has  not  yet  reached  the 
first  assistant  postmaster-general. 

The  only  defect  noticeable  in  the  narrative 
is  the  defect  often  found  in  good  stories; 
namely,  the  defect  that  it  has  been  ingenious¬ 
ly  invented,  but  does  not  happen  to  be  true. 
Mr.  Dana  never  met  Mr.  Clarkson  in  Poston. 
The  Boston  editor  did  not  respond  emphati¬ 
cally,  “Yes,  I  think  I  would,”  nor  did  the 
first  assistant  postmaster-general  continue  the 
conversation  with  a  satirical  rejoinder.  All 
that  happened  in  this  connection  was  simply 
this, — that  Mr.  Clarkson  wrote  to  Mr.  Dana, 
and  that  Mr.  Dana  sent  a  re})ly  which  has 
reached  the  first  assistant  postmaster-general. 
The  correspondence  is  as  follows: — 

OeEICE  of  THE  FiHST  ASSISTANT  POST¬ 
MASTER-  G  ENEK  A  E. 

Washington,  I).  C.,  April  25,  1890. 

My  Dear  Sir,  .  .  .  Since  you  were  here,  I 
have  seen  a  copy  of  your  paper.  I  have  read  it 
with  interest.  I  was  particularly  interested 
in  the  last  leaf  of  it,  where  you  print  a  list  of 
“Subsidized  Editors.”  I  see  I  am  in  the  list. 

I  did  not  know  before  that  I  was  subsidized. 
I  would  like  to  know  what  good  cause  is 
served  by  keeping  a  list  like  this  before  the 
public.  I  presume,  if  the  President  would 


tender  you  a  jiosition  on  the  civil  .service  com¬ 
mission,  you  would  accept  it.  If  you  should, 
I  would  like  to  know  if  you  would  print  your 
own  name  in  this  list  of  subsidized  editors ; 
and,  if  not,  why  not  ? 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  J.  S.  Clarkson. 

Poston,  A[)ril  29,  1890. 

My  Dear  Sir, — I  have  your  letter  of  .\pril 
25,  with  the  enclosure  of  an  official  statement 
regarding  changes  among  postmasters.  .  .  . 

As  to  “Subsidized  Piditors,”  you  may  remem¬ 
ber  that  in  1888  Mr.  George  William  Curtis, 
in  hissurnmaryof  Cleveland’s  administration, 
accu.sed  Mr.  (  leveland  of  having  subsidized 
the  press  with  the  federal  patronage  ;  and  this 
paj)er  made  the  same  accusation,  and  Presi- 
ilent  Harrison  appears  to  have  been  doing  the 
same  thing  to  about  the  same  extent.  We 
shall  probably  have  a  more  complete  list 
formed,  covering  both  Cleveland  and  Har¬ 
rison’s  administration,  by  next  autumn.  The 
facts  on  which  the  peoi>le  found  their  opinion 
of  governments  are  almost  wholly  got  through 
the  press.  We  all  admit  the  suj)|)ression  of 
facts  by  government  control,  such  as  we  see 
in  Piurope  to-day,  is  subversive  of  the  rights 
of  the  people.  Here  and  there  an  editor  may 
be  found  fair-minded  enough  to  give  Ihe  facts, 
both  favorable  and  unfavorable,  to  an  admin¬ 
istration  under  which  he  holds  office;  but  his 
jiosition  as  a  government  subordinate  would 
then  be  an  awkward  one.  We  have  again 
and  again  seen  the  effect  of  jiatronige  on  the 
ordinary  editor.  It  closes  his  mouth,  his 
ears,  and  his  eyes  to  any  criticisms 
of  his  administration  or  fair  treat¬ 
ment  of  his  opponents.  The  public  are  the 
losers  in  such  cases,  just  as  much  as  if  the 
government  controlled  or  subsidized  the  [iress. 

I  could  not  edit  this  paper  indej)endently  and 
fearlessly  and  yet  hold  my  position,  ]>rovided 
I  got  one,  under  the  government,  without  act¬ 
ing  in  a  way  that  would  be  unbecoming  a 
subordinate.  An  editor  like  yourself,  of  a 
strictly  party  paper,  may  be  able  to  perform 
both  duties  at  once,  but  few  succeed  in  this. 

Very  truly  yours,  R,  H.  Dana. 

To  Hon.  J.  S.  Clarkson, 

First  Assistant  Postmaster-General,  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C. 

For  the  cause  of  reform  it  makes  very  little 
difference  whether  Mr.  Clarkson,  as  he  tells 
the  story,  or  Mr.  Dana,  as  the  correspondence 
shows,  had  the  last  word.  It  is  of  the  great¬ 
est  importance,  however,  that  the  public 
should  be  aroused  to  the  evil  of  this  phase  of 
the  s[)oils  system. 

In  the  days  of  ancient  Greece,  the  orators 
did  the  work  now  done  by  the  press;  and 
Philip  of  Macedon,  in  order  to  bring  the  free 
Greek  states  under  his  sway,  subsidized  all 
the  orators  with  money  or  office,  excepting 
Demosthenes.  Even  the  warnings  of  Demos¬ 
thenes  were  not  enough  to  save  his  country, 
which,  though  able  to  withstand  the  Macedo¬ 
nian  jihalanx,  yielded  to  the  persuasions  of 
the  subsidized  orators. 

Since  publishing  our  last  list  of  “subsi¬ 
dized  editors,”  we  have  had  some  forty-six 
new  cases  brought  to  our  attention,  and,  besides 
these,  the  special  committee  of  the  national 
league  has  a  long  list  of  editors  appointed  by 
Presidents  Harrison  and  Cleveland  as  presi¬ 
dential  postmasters.  It  is  bad  enough  to  use 
the  offices  to  control  the  caucuses  and  conven¬ 
tions  in  favor  of  this  or  that  man  or  clique, 
but  to  use  the  offices  for  the  purpose  of  pay¬ 
ing  editors  to  keep  the  facts  hidden  from  the 
people  and  to  write  up  rose-colored  accounts 
of  the  doings  of  an  administration  seems 
worse. —  Civil  Service  Becord,  July,  1S!)0. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VOL.  I,  No.  18. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  AUGUST,  1890.  terms  :<(  f cents Vefcopy."“ 


THE  CONSPICaOUS  DANGER. 


For  one,  I  believe  in  that  conscience  and  that  vis¬ 
ion  [of  the  great  body  of  the  people]  to-day  as  pro¬ 
foundly  as  I  believe  in  the  better  instincts  of  hu¬ 
manity  everywhere.  That  they  may  be  temporarily 
blinded  and  confused,  we  have  perhaps  as  painful 
evidence  of  late  as  any  which  the  history  of  the 
republic  has  given  us.  But  that  they  have  not  lost 
their  power,  there  are  abundant  and  cheering  signs. 
What  now,  1  ask  you,  in  such  an  emergency,  is  your 
duty  and  mine?  The  republic  at  this  moment  is 
confronted  by  three  conspicuous  dangers. 

A  policy  of  favoritism  which  makes  partisan  service 
the  substantial  basis  for  political  preferment,  and  a 
fine  disdain  for  the  element  of  personal  fitness, 
whatever  the  place  or  task,  which  exacts  only  so 
much  competency  as  can  rescue  the  place  holder 
from  absolute  disgrace  ;  this  has  come  to  be  the  war 
cry  which  treats  every  office  of  trust  as  so  much 
spoil,  and  every  political  contest  as  simply  a  scram¬ 
ble  for  personal  emolument.  That  such  a  view  of 
the  service  of  the  government  should  be  held  by 
some  Tuscan  bandit  escaped  out  of  his  trans-Alpine 


fastnesses  to  prey  upon  our  unsuspecting  institu¬ 
tions,  would  not  be  occasion  for  surprise.  But  that 
it  has  come  to  be  the  deliberate  conviction  of  men 
in  high  place  among  us,  and  that  this  new  gospel  of 
unscrupulous  sclf-seekirg  is  openly  proclaimed  as 
the  only  spell  powerful  enough  to  maintain  a  healthy 
and  active  interest  in  our  political  institutions— that, 
in  other  words,  theje  is  no  instinct  of  patriotism 
strong  enough  to  consirain  a  man  to  active  partici¬ 
pation  in  the  political  life  of  the  nation  unless  there 
dangles  before  him,  all  the  while,  the  po.ssible  prize 
which  he  may  snatch  out  of  the  sordid  and  shame¬ 
less  strife— this  certainly  is  a  teaching  which  may 
well  make  all  honest  people  flush  with  keen  and 
indignant  shame !  For,  in  close  touch  with  it, 
there  stands  plainly  enough  the  inevitable  corollary 
that  no  man  who  serves  the  state  only  from  such 
motives  will  scruple  to  sacrifice  X'ublic  interests  to 
private  ends,  whenever  he  can  .safely  do  so.  Once 
grant  that  civic  place  is  a  private  placer,  out  of  which 
you  and  I  must  first  snatch  that  which  shall  com¬ 
pensate  ourselves  for  the  discomfort  and  degradation 


involved  in  scrambling  for  it,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
see  how  the  sequence,  which  puts  self  or  one’s  party 
first  and  one’s  country  last,  does  not  hold  all  the  way 
through.  And,  Indeed,  that  no  higher  sense  of  civic 
obligation  than  this  is  widely  prevalent  is  indicated 
by  the  painful  fact  (to  which  one  finds  it  difficult  to 
allude  with  becoming  delicacy  and  reserve)  that 
great  parties  and  great  personages  are  able  in  this 
matter  to  affirm,  on  platforms  and  in  official  pronun- 
ciamentos,  and  with  such  unctuous  solemnity,  a  vir¬ 
tue  which,  in  practice,  they  find  it  no  less  easy  with 
open  and  brazen  impunity  to  doubt  and  disregard. 
Such  a  situation,  gentlemen,  disguise  or  dispute  it 
as  men  may,  never  can  be  belittled  or  ignored  as  a 
mere  partisan  issue.  It  is  an  issue  of  morals,  it  is  a 
question  of  common  honesty,  for  men  in  civic  power 
are  simply  the  servants  of  the  state,  and  the  public 
service  is  a  public  trust,  abuse  or  perversion  or  mal¬ 
feasance  in  which  is  not  a  less,  but  a  greater,  crime 
than  unfaithfulness  to  a  private  trust.— From  Bishop 
Potter's  Phi  Beta  Oration,  at  Harxard,  June  26, 1890. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  now 
well  into  its  second  year.  As  has  been  be¬ 
fore  stated  no  one  but  the  printer  is  paid 
anything  for  services.  In  the  light  of  a 
multitude  of  assurances  it  is  believed  that 
the  paper  is  liked  and  has  its  field.  We 
are  anxious  to  extend  its  circulation,  and 
in  view  of  the  large  amount  of  work  given 
freely  to  each  issue,  it  is  not  too  much  to 
ask  the  friends  of  civil  service  reform  to  do 
their  share  by  getting  new  subscribers. 
Subscribers  must  also  bear  in  mind  that  it 
is  not  well  to  spend  money  in  a  system  of 
collecting  subscriptions,  and  that  if  each 
one  will  send  his  own  he  will  thereby 
further  co-operate. 


The  paper  on  civil  service  reform,  an¬ 
nounced  last  month,  was  read  at  the  Bat¬ 
tle  Ground  camp  meeting,  August  1,  the 
subject  being" The  Gift  of  Offices.”  Note¬ 
worthy  matters  are  the  interest  with  which 
general  audiences  listen  to  this  class  of  dis¬ 
cussions  and  the  lack  of  specific  informa¬ 
tion  which  prevails  among  the  clergymen. 
The  latter  is  undoubtedly  due  to  their  very 
general  determination  to  avoid  politics, 
and  it  is  harmful  to  them  and  to  the  coun¬ 
try.  When  Senator  Ingalls  says  that  the 
ten  commandments  can  not  be  applied  to 
a  political  campaign,  it  is  time  for  clergy¬ 
men  not  only  to  know  of  his  statement,  but 
to  declare  against  it. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League  will  be  held 


October  1  and  2,  in  Boston.  This  is  a  league 
of  the  civil  service  reform  associations  of 
the  country.  Any  member  of  any  asso¬ 
ciation  is  entitled  to  take  part  and  vote  in 
its  general  deliberations.  The  location  of 
the  meeting,  and  the  number  of  eminent 
men  in  Massachusetts  who  are  members  of 
local  associations,  will  make  the  occasion 
one  of  great  interest  and  enjoyment.  There 
is  no  pleasanter  season  of  the  year  for 
travel,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Indiana 
members  who  have  never  attended  will 
find  it  in  their  way  to  be  in  Boston 
at  that  time.  The  headquarters  will  be  at 
the  Parker  House. 


When  a  party  platform  is  the  work  of 
the  little  inside  ring  of  party  workers  the 
omission  of  an  important  question  like  the 
reform  of  the  civil  service  is  not  significant^ 
but  the  omission  of  all  reference  to  this  in 
the  platform  of  the  state  convention  of 
democrats  of  Delaware,  held  August  12, 
seems  studied,  and  can  not  be  passed  by, 
in  that  Mr.  Bayard,  a  member  of  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  cabinet,  and  one  supposed  to 
be  antagonistic  to  the  spoils  system,  drafted 
the  platform  in  great  detail  and  read  it, 
and  later  made  an  earnest  speech  in  its 
favor. 

Elsewhere  in  this  number  will  be  found 
a  long  and  interesting  history  of  the  use  of 
the  navy  yards  as  spoil  and  of  the  laws  re¬ 
lating  to  such  use,  founded  in  part  on  the 
recent  speech  of  Congressman  Cummings. 


The  law  is  explicit  that  no  man  shall  be 
discharged  from  the  navy  yards  for  political 
opinion,  and  that  the  hiring  of  employes 
shall  be  based  upon  capacity  alone.  Since 
1876  the  law  has  required  a  certificate  of 
necessity  from  the  secretary  of  the  navy  if 
men  are  to  be  hired  in  a  navy  yard  sixty 
days  preceding  a  presidential  or  congres¬ 
sional  election.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  since 
the  law  was  passed  there  has  been  no  real 
necessity  for  such  a  certificate.  The  certi¬ 
ficates  which  have  been  made  were  for  the 
purpose  of  filling  the  yards  with  men  just 
preceding  elections,  so  that  their  wages 
might  act  as  a  bribe  for  their  votes.  It  is 
a  humiliating  and  disgraceful  spectacle  to 
see  presidents  and  secretaries  lending 
themselves  to  this  business.  The  un¬ 
doubted  facts  as  to  Secretary  Whitney’s 
acts  are  given.  Secretary  Tracy  is  now 
engaged  in  the  same  business.  There  is 
nothing  about  repairing  old  wooden  ves¬ 
sels  up  at  the  Kittery  yard  which  can  not 
wait  until  after  the  election.  It  is  an  at¬ 
tempt  to  put  voters  under  government  pay 
and  thus  bribe  them  to  vote  for  the  re- 
election  of  Congressman  Reed,  whose  last 
majority  was  1,616,  regardless  of  the  talk 
of  the  republican  platform  about  “the  dan¬ 
gers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the 
power  of  official  patronage.” 

Since  March,  1889,  republican  congress¬ 
men  of  the  Cheadle-Grosvenor-Houk  type 
have  met  with  many  grievous  defeats,  but 
no  other  has  so  many  elements  of  satis- 


146 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


faction  as  the  last  encounter  before  the 
congressional  investigating  committee. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  had  challenged  Grosvenor 
and  Houk  to  meet  him  before  the  com¬ 
mittee  and  make  good  their  charges 
against  the  merit  system,  but  they  dis¬ 
creetly  remained  away.  Last  Friday,  at 
the  close  of  the  investigation,  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  told  the  committee  that  he  should 
leave  the  next  day  for  his  Dakota  ranch, 
and  he  bought  his  ticket  for  the  trip. 
Promptly  Saturday  morning  came  Houk 
and  Grosvenor  and  asked  to  be  heard. 
The  Washington  dispatch  of  the  New 
York  Times,  August  24,  best  describes 
their  humiliating  overthrow: 

Just  as  they  were  about  to  begin,  Roosevelt  came 
in.  He  had  given  up  his  ticket  as  soon  as  he  had 
heard  that  Grosvenor  had  asked  to  be  heard  by  the 
committee,  and  there  he  was  to  talk.  And  he  had  a 
great  time  of  it. 

Grosvenor  whined  most  pitifully.  When  he  had 
said  that  the  platform  of  the  republican  party  in  the 
last  campaign  was  ‘‘Turn  the  democrats  out  and 
put  republicans  in,”  he  was  oniy  joking.  He  be¬ 
lieved  in  the  merit  system.  Gradually  he  withdrew 
all  the  damaging  things  that  he  had  said,  and  when 
Mr.  Roosevelt  pushed  him  loo  closely  about  the 
assertions  he  had  made  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  he 
fell  back  on  his  constitutional  privilege,  declined  to 
be  questioned  for  what  he  had  said  on  the  floor,  and 
left  the  committee  room. 

Houk,  who  had  been  rather  more  careless  than 
Grosvenor  in  making  his  charges,  ran  away  while 
Grosvenor  was  undergoing  his  "skinning”  at  the 
hands  of  Roo.sevelt,  and  he  has  not  intimated  any 
desire  to  be  heard  at  any  other  time.  So  ridiculous 
did  the  business  appear  to  the  members  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  both  parties  that  they  laughed  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  the  men  who  had  made  the  assertions  that 
had  been  the  basis  of  the  investigation,  and  it 
seemed  probable  that  the  inquiry  would  only  result 
in  strengthening  the  reform  that  it  was  intended  to 
injure. 

At  the  recent  exanaination  held  in  this  city 
for  clerks  and  carriers  in  the  post-office,  a  negro 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  eligible  list  with  a 
standing  of  96  per  cent.  That  his  own  man¬ 
liness  has  increased  many  per  cent,  by  win¬ 
ning  a  place  through  merit,  no  one  will  deny. 
But  the  effect  upon  him  is  little  beside  the 
object  lesson  to  all  others  of  his  race  here.  It 
quickens  the  tendency  to  go  to  school;  it  in¬ 
creases  self-respect  and  ambition,  and  these 
feelings  take  possession  of  many  impression¬ 
able  and  easy-going  people,  and  are  often  the 
basis  of  a  change  of  character.  But  while 
this  winning  of  spurs  by  merit  is  being  en¬ 
acted  here,  in  St.  Louis  a  mass  meeting  of 
negro  politicians  and  spoilsmen  is  being  held 
to  denounce  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Wen- 
neker  to  Secretary  Wiudom,  because  spoil  for 
the  colored  men  has  not  been  forthcoming  in 
sufficient  quantities.  A  committee  of  three 
waited  upon  the  unhappy  Wenneker,  and 
their  report  is  printed  in  the  St.  Louis  Re¬ 
public,  of  August  12,  from  which  the  follow¬ 
ing  is  an  extract : 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  August  11, 1890. 
To  the  colored  dlizens  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  mass  meet¬ 
ing,  greeting  : 

Gentlemen— We,  your  committee,  having  been 
appointed  last  Wednesday  evening,  August  6,  by 
you  to  represent  your  interests  and  wait  upon  Mr. 


Charles  F.  Wenneker,  collector  of  internal  revenue, 
and  ascertain  his  position  and  intentions  as  a  repub¬ 
lican  official  towards  the  negro  population  of  the 
city,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report: 

First.— Mr.  Wenneker  says  he  is  very  friendly  di.s- 
posed  toward  our  people  and  has  always  been,  and 
that  he  has  always  intended  to  make  a  representa¬ 
tive  appointment  from  among  the  negroes  in  his 
office. 

Second.— Mr.  Wenneker  says  he  does  not  wish  it 
to  be  understood  that,  while  he  inteuds  and  will 
make  an  appointment  of  a  representative  negro  to 
the  SI, 200  clerical  position  which  Prof.  Murray  re¬ 
fused  to  accept,  he  has  been  forced  to  make  it,  or 
that  we  negroes  compelled  him  to  make  the  same. 

Third.— He  will  make  said  appointment  about 
September  1. 

Fourth.— That  there  arc  several  other  minor  posi¬ 
tions  outside  of  the  city  paying  from  82  to  83  per 
day,  such  as  store-keepers,  for  which  he  would  gladly 
and  willingly  consider  applications  of  any  negro  in 
the  city  who  feels  like  applying  for  the  same,  and 
who  would  like  to  brave  such  inconveniences. 

Fifth.— Mr.  Wenneker  asks  the  colored  citizens  to 
be  patient  and  quiet  with  him  and  he  will  prove  to 
them  that  he  is  their  friend,  and  that  he  will  give 
them  an  equal  show  with  a  white  man,  as  he  fully 
knows  that  there  are  ^uite  a  large  number  of  ne¬ 
groes  in  the  city  capable  of  filling  any  position  equal 
to  any  white  man. 

Sixth.— He  says  he  waited  quite  a  while  all  day 
Saturday  for  the  committee,  and  was  sorry  that  ill¬ 
ness  prevented  his  meeting  the  committee  on  Fri¬ 
day.  and  that  he  had  been  waiting  all  the  (this  day) 
morning  to  receive  the  committee  and  set  himself 
right  with  the  people.  The  committee  had  made  a 
favorable  impression  upon  him  and  had  taken  a 
great  burden  of  anxiety  and  weight  from  his  shoul¬ 
ders. 


CENTERTOWNSHIPTRUSTEE’S  OF¬ 
FICE. 

Township  Trustee  Gold,  whose  town.ship  em¬ 
braces  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  has  removed 
all  of  the  employes  of  the  office  except  one,  a 
woman,  and  has  put  in  Frederick  Vogt,  a  mol- 
der,  Charles  McCreery,  an  advertising  agent, 
Thomas  L.  Duffy,  a  laborer,  and  Joseph  Keis- 
burg,  whose  name  we  can  not  find  in  the  di¬ 
rectory.  Considering  the  importance  of  the 
work  which  the  law  permits  the  township 
trustee  to  do,  Mr.  Gold  ought  to  have  had 
excellent  reasons  for  taking  this  step,  especially 
when  the  township  by  it  loses  the  services  of 
such  skilled  and  faithful  men  as  Smith  King 
and  Frank  Wright.  Mr.  King  had  had  long 
experience  with  the  office,  and  had  built  up  a 
reputation  for  an  independent  and  honest  per¬ 
formance  of  his  duties.  We  are  informed  that 
Mr.  Gold  had  promised  before  election  to  re¬ 
tain  Mr.  Wright,  and  if  so  he  ought  to  have 
some  trouble  with  his  conscience.  At  any 
rate,  Wright’s  removal  is  entirely  indefensi¬ 
ble.  He  had  been  in  the  office  about  four 
years,  and  acted  in  the  capacity  of  visitor,  or 
investigator  of  claims  for  relief.  Having  been 
formerly  a  newspaper  reporter,  he  was  well 
trained  for  the  work  and  acquired  a  reputa¬ 
tion  far  beyond  any  one  else.  It  must  be  re¬ 
membered  that  within  a  few  years  ten  thous¬ 
and  different  persons  have  applied  for  relief  at 
this  office,  a  very  large  class  of  whom  have 
a  skill  in  deception  that  has  become  a 
fine  art.  Mr.  Wright  had  come  to  know 
personally  the  great  bulk  of  these  cases.  He 
could  intuitively  detect  a  fraud.  He  had 
a  map  on  which  was  drawn  the  genealogical 


lines  of  generations  of  paupers.  If  an  appli¬ 
cant  for  relief  fitted  into  that  map,  a  Hood  of 
light  was  thrown  upon  the  best  method  of 
treatment.  He  worked  for  the  paltry  sum 
of  fifteen  dollars  a  week.  He  is  said,  upon 
good  authority,  to  have  saved  the  city  ten 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  He  simply  can  not 
be  replaced,  whatever  excuses  Mr.  Gold  may 
make  for  not  keeping  him.  Joseph  Keisburg 
has  been  put  at  his  work.  We  do  Mr.  Gold  no 
injustice  in  saying  that  the  sole  reason  for 
making  these  changes  was  to  pay  somebody 
out  of  the  public  treasury  for  having  done 
party  work  and  probably  personal  work  for 
Mr.  Gold.  His  election  was  urged  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  a  high  minded  and  honor¬ 
able  business  man.  We  ask  him  to  consider 
the  morality  of  his  acts. 

To  fully  understand  the  importance  of  this 
matter  it  should  be  known  that  the  county 
commissioners  have  general  charge  of  the 
poor  of  the  county,  while  the  township  trus¬ 
tee  is  the  overseer  of  the  poor  in  his  township. 
We  have  a  system  of  relief  by  sending  pau¬ 
pers  to  the  county  poor-house.  We  have  also 
another  system  called  out-door  relief  whereby 
the  township  trustee  is  given  absolute  discre¬ 
tion  as  to  supporting  people  in  their  homes. 
A  better  plan  for  breeding  paupers,  robbing 
the  people  and  corrupting  politics  could  not 
be  devised.  It  is  a  well  recognized  fact  that 
Indiana  township  trustees’  offices  are  pauper 
breeding  institutions.  If  the  trustee  happens 
to  be  running  for  a  nomination,  he  distributes 
relief  to  help  him  in  that.  Local  leaders  of  his 
party  have  crowds  who  are  fed  at  public  ex¬ 
pense.  The  people  are  helpless  so  long  as  the 
law  remains  on  the  statute  books,  except  as 
men  like  Smith  King  and  Frank  Wright  ap¬ 
ply  the  principles  of  common  honesty  to  this 
work.  It  is  impossible  for  the  people  to  fol¬ 
low  the  work  of  a  township  trustee.  Practi¬ 
cally  it  is  secret  and  without  any  system  of 
checks  and  balances.  Th's  makes  it  doubly 
exasperating  when  a  new  trustee  steps  into  his 
office  and  turns  out  of  it  the  only  men  who 
can  possibly  be  of  any  service  to  the  people. 
Mr.  Gold  may  or  may  not  intend  to  run  his 
office  as  a  part  of  his  party  machine  in  the 
coming  election.  Every  citizen  ought  to  be 
on  the  watch  for  this,  and  if  this  office  is  so 
run  it  ought  to  cost  Mr.  Gold’s  party  dear. 

THE  NAVY  YARDS  AND  SPOILS. 

Congressman  Amos  J.  Cummings  has  ren¬ 
dered  the  country  an  important  service  by  a 
speech  delivered  in  the  house,  August  6,  upon 
the  present  increase  of  employes  at  the  Kit- 
tery  (Portsmouth)  navy  yard.  Section  1546 
of  the  revised  statutes,  passed  March  2,  1867, 
says : 

No  officer  or  employe  of  the  government  shall 
require  or  request  any  working  man  in  any  navy 
yard  to  contribute  or  pay  any  money  for  political 
purposes,  nor  shall  any  working  man  be  removed  or  dis-. 
charged  for  'political  opinion. 

Section  1544  of  the  revised  statutes,  passed 
July  23, 1872,  says  : 

Laborers  shall  be  employed  in  the  several  navy 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


147 


yards  by  the  proper  officers  in  charge  with  reference 
to  skill  and  efficiency,  and  without  regard  to  other 
considerations. 

The  Kittery  yard  lies  opposite  Portsmouth, 
N.  II.,  and  is  in  the  first  congressional  dis¬ 
trict  of  Maine.  In  1872  Maine  held  her  state 
election  in  September,  and  the  presidential 
election  followed  in  November.  In  Septem¬ 
ber  there  were  1,318  employes  in  the  Kittery 
yard;  in  October  there  were  1,424  employes; 
in  December,  less  than  a  month  after  the  elec¬ 
tion,  there  were  G19  employes.  In  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year,  says  .Mr.  Cummings,  1873,  an 
important  state  election  was  held  in  Maine. 
New  Hampshire  also  had  an  election  pending 
and  she  was  not  forgotten,  as  the  following 
telegram  referring  to  the  Kittery  yard  shows: 

TELEGR.\M. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  February  21, 1873. 
Commodore  J.  C.  Howell,  Comviandant  Navy  Yard: 

As  the  Monongahela  is  wanted,  you  may  employ 
forty  men  on  her  in  addition  to  the  present  force. 
Give  N.  H.  a  large  share.  I.  IIanscom, 

Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair. 

[A  true  copy.]  H.  A.  Mitcheli., 

First  Clerk  to  Commandant. 

In  consequence,  this  yard  had  in  September 
1,213  employes,  but  in  November  after  the 
election  there  were  only  914.  In  the  Decem¬ 
ber  following  there  were  only  260. 

In  1874  elections  for  congressmen  were 
pending  in  two  Massachusetts  districts,  and 
the  following  telegrams  relating  to  the  Char¬ 
lestown  navy  yard  were  sent: 

(PRIVATE.)  Boston,  Mass.,  Oct.  23, 1874. 

My  Dear  Commodore— I  wish  you  would  approve 
requisitions  for  men  to  be  employed  as  they  may  be 
made  until  the  first  of  November.  Some  fifty  addi¬ 
tional  men  have  been  allowed  from  the  Chelsea 
district,  and  I  suppose  some  more  will  be  required 
from  Gooch’s  district.  The  administration  desire 
the  success  of  Gooch  and  Frost. 

Yours  respectfully,  I.  IIanscom. 

Commodore  E.  T.  Nichols,  U.  S.  N.  Commandant. 

In  1875  the  Whitthorne  congressional  com¬ 
mittee  overhauled  the  navy-yard  manage¬ 
ment,  and  Mr.  Cummings  gives  some  very 
pointed  extracts  from  the  testimony  taken. 
We  make  quotations  relating  to  the  Kittery 
yard,  beginning  with  the  examination  of  Con¬ 
structor  Webb : 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  a  meeting  in  the  office  of  the 
commandant  of  the  Kittery  yard  in  which  polili 
cians  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  were  present? 

A.  I  was  so  informed  by  Commodore  Pennock. 

Q.  Did  you  see  a  list  that  was  furnished  at  that 
meeting? 

A.  I  was  furnished  with  a  list  by  the  commodore, 
which  was  addressed  to  him  by  the  committee. 

Q.  That  was  a  list  of  men  to  be  taken  on  for  work? 

A.  A  list  of  men  to  be  employed. 

Q.  Did  it  come  to  you  in  the  first  instance? 

A.  It  did. 

Q.  What  did  you  do? 

A.  I  sent  it  back  with  word  that  it  must  be  ad¬ 
dressed  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  yard. 

Q.  Did  it  subsequently  come  to  yon  through  the 
commandant? 

A.  It  did. 

Q.  Did  you  exercise  any  discretion  at  all,  or  just 
take  the  men  on  in  obedience  to  the  order? 

A.  I  considered  that  I  was  not  allowed  any  dis¬ 
cretion  in  the  matter,  but  simply  took  the  men  and 
operated  them  to  the  best  advantage. 

(i.  While  you  were  at  Kittery,  did  you  note  the 
fact  that  while  elections  were  pending  in  Maine 
laborers  and  mechanics  were  employed  from  that 
state  in  exce.ss  of  those  from  New  Hampshire,  and 


when  an  election  in  New  Hampshire  was  pending 
you  took  on  men  from  that  state  in  excess  of  those 
from  Maine? 

A.  Such  was  the  case. 

A  man  named  Weeks  had  been  discharged 
for  stealing,  but  Comptroller  Broadhead  re¬ 
quested  that  he  be  re-employed,  which  was 
done  on  the  following  order  from  George  M. 
Robeson,  secretary  of  the  navy  : 

Commodore  Pennock  will  employ  this  man  at 
request  of  comptroller.  G.  M.  R. 

The  following  is  from  Commodore  How¬ 
ell’s  testimony: 

Q.  Docs  an  election  tend  to  dimiui.sh  or  to  in¬ 
crease  the  number  of  laborers  in  the  yard? 

A.  In  my  experience  I  have  found  it  rather  to  in¬ 
crease  ihem. 

Q.  Is  that  a  fact  at  the  Portsmouth  navy  yard  ? 

A.  It  was,  upon  occasion. 

Q.  What  occasion  was  that? 

A.  Upon  my  word,  I  don’t  know.  It  was  some 
election  there  in  1873  and  ’74,  probably.  I  recollect 
that  a  number  of  men  were  taken  on  just  before  the 
election  ;  I  have  forgotten  exactly  how  many.  I  also 
recollect  that  forty  of  them  voted  the  democratic 
ticket  the  next  day.  There  was  a  mistake  appa¬ 
rently. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  in  what  proportion  they 
were  taken  on  at  that  time? 

A.  I  think  one  hundred  men  were  taken  on. 

Q.  How  long  before  the  election  ? 

A.  Three  or  four  days. 

(J.  Under  what  kind  of  order  were  they  taken  on  ; 
the  recommendation  of  any  committee  or  any  out¬ 
side  parties:  and  if  so,  whose? 

A.  I  foiget.  There  was  an  order  of  some  sort,  of 
course,  or  they  would  not  have  been  taken  on ; 
whether  it  came  from  the  chief  of  the  bureau  of 
construction  or  not,  I  do  not  know.  Those  orders 
generally  did  come  from  him. 

(1.  Was  it  to  take  on  a  specific  number  of  men  ? 

A.  I  think  the  order  was  worded  somewhat  in  this 
way:  “One  hundred  men  will  be  required  to  work 
on’’  some  .ship  or  other,  “and  you  are  authorized 
to  take  them  on.’’  The  men  were  taken  on,  and,  as 
I  said,  forty  of  them  voted  the  other  way.  They 
worked  honestly  and  faithfully  while  they  were 
there. 

Q.  How  many  days  were  they  kept  in  the  yard  ? 

A.  I  .should  say  about  ten  or  twelve  or  fourteen 
days. 

Commander  Fairfax,  of  the  Kittery  yard, 
testified  : 

Q.  What  are  those  abuses? 

A.  The  unnece.s.sary  number  of  men  employed 
prior  to  elections. 

Q.  Is  that  a  matter  within  your  own  personal  ob¬ 
servation  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  at  the  Kittery  navy  yard.  I  was  there 
two  years,  and  have  witnessed  the  constant  interfer¬ 
ence  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Hanscom  in  discharging  and 
employing  men.  He  often  took  on  worthle.ss  men 
instead  of  good  men. 

Commodore  Bryson,  of  the  Kittery  yard, 
was  examined,  thus : 

Q.  Have  you  any  written  communications  from 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  or  chief  of  the  bureau  on 
the  subject  of  the  employment  of  hands,  or  any 
orders  to  employ  certain  men  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir  ;  I  have. 

Q.  I  suppose  such  ordei's  are  liable  to  come  along 
at  any  time? 

A.  At  any  time. 

Q.  Certain  men  are  named? 

A.  Certain  men  are  named,  and  we  take  them  on. 
As  military  men  we  obey  williont  question. 

Q.  These  men  are  latoring  men  in  the  yard  — 
blacksmiths,  shipwrights  and  all  that  sort  of  thing? 

A.  Yes,  sir  ;  in  the  various  departments. 

Q.  Tnat  is,  men  are  taken  on  without  any  requisi¬ 
tion  from  your  departments  here,  under  peremi)tory 
orders  from  W'ashington  ? 


A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  those  orders  comprehend  more  than  one 
name,  or  frequently  a  number  of  names? 

A.  Freiiuently  a  number  of  names. 

Captain  Young,  of  the  Kittery  yard,  was 
another  witness: 

Q.  Has  it  been  customary  for  the  department,  for 
political  reasons,  to  remove  skillful  mechanics  and 
others,  and  put  in  unskillful  ones,  that  they  may 
serve  political  ends  by  it? 

A.  That  has  been  done,  but  I  can  npt  say  that  it  is 
purely  for  political  ends? 

Q.  Have  you  had  skillful  laborers  removed  and 
unskillful  ones  put  in  their  places? 

A.  O,  yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  you  have  to  submit  to  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  we  have  to  submit. 

Q.  You  do  not  feel  that  you  could  safely  say  to  the 
department  at  Washington:  “This  is  detrimental 
to  the  public  service?  ’’ 

A.  An  officer  would  incur  the  risk  of  getting  into 
bad  odor  if  he  did,  and  might  be  detached  from  the 
yard. 

Q.  I  say  you  do  not  feel  safe  in  doing  it? 

A.  No,  sir;  we  do  not  feel  safe. 

To  cure  one  evil  shown  by  this  investiga¬ 
tion,  the  following  law  was  made  June  30,1876  : 

And  no  Increase  of  the  force  at  any  navy  yard 
shall  be  made  at  any  time  within  sixty  day  s  next  be¬ 
fore  any  election  to  take  place  for  president  of  the 
United  Slates  or  members  of  congress,  except  when 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  shall  certify  that  the  needs 
of  the  public  service  make  such  increase  necessary 
at  that  time,  which  certificate  shall  be  immediately 
published  when  made. 

Mr.  Cummings  is  mistaken  in  saying  that 
there  was  no  complaint  under  President  Cleve¬ 
land.  In  1885  Secretary  Whitney  interfered, 
as  follows : 

Navy  Department,  Washington,  April  2, 1885. 

Sir  :  You  will  please  discharge  Nelson  Proctor, 
foreman  laborer,  and  C.  P.  Reuttler,  rodman  in  the 
department  of  yards  and  docks,  and  J.  H.  Downing 
and  Samuel  Wigg,  writers  in  the  commandant’s 
office,  at  the  yard  under  your  command. 

This  discharge  is  made  necessary  by  reason  of  the 
limited  amount  of  money  remaining  of  the  appro¬ 
priation  from  which  they  are  paid. 

Very  respectfully, 

•  W.  C.  WHITNEY, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Commodore  W'.  K.  Mayo,  U.  S.  N., 

Commandant  Navy  Yard,  Norfolk,  Va. 

Commandants  Office  United  Stati-s  Navy  Yard, 
Norfolk,  Va.,  April  13,  1885. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
to-day  of  the  department’s  letter  of  the  11th  instant, 
asking  whether  there  are  any  persons  in  any  of  the 
departments  of  this  yard  whose  services  can  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with,  etc.  Also  letter  of  the  same  date  in¬ 
closing  for  my  consideration  certain  applications  for 
appointment  and  employment  at  this  yard. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  T.  TRUXTUN, 
Commodore,  Commandant. 

HoN.  W.  C.  Whitney, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Navy  Department,  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C. 

In  1886,  the  following  certificate  was  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Times  of  Portsmouth: 

[Certificate.] 

Navy  Department,  Washington,  D.  C., 
September  15, 1880. 

In  pursuance  of  the  act  of  June  30, 1876, 1  hereby 
certify  that  the  needs  of  the-  public  service  make  it 
necessary  to  increase  the  force  in  the  navy  yard  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,as  follows:  One  hundred  and 
twenty-six  men  in  the  department  of  the  construc¬ 
tion  and  repair  and  twenty  men  in  the  department 
of  steam  engineering.  D.  B.  HARMONY, 

Acting  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

We  have  not  the  number  of  the  employes  of 


148 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


this  yard  in  the  months  succeeding  this  cer¬ 
tificate,  hut  in  its  number  for  March,  1889, 
the  Civil  Service  Record  of  lloston,  after  a  care¬ 
ful  investigation,  gave  a  statement  of  what  it 
had  found  of  the  management  of  the  Brook¬ 
lyn  navy  yard  by  Secretary  Whitney.  Know¬ 
ing  the  carefulness  of  the  Recoi'd,  we  feel 
warranted  in  saying  that  its  report  is  true. 
Further,  these  same  facts,  in  substance,  were 
laid  before  President  Cleveland,  under  date  of 
July  20,  1888,  but  received  no  notice  except  a 
prompt  reference  to  Secretary  Whitney,  who 
thus  tried  himself.  We  quote  from  the  Record: 

Never  witliin  recent  years  have  the  civil  em¬ 
ployes  of  the  navy  yard,  the  clerks,  mechanics,  and 
laborers,  been  of  so  poor  a  quality,  and  never  has  so 
little  work  been  performed  for  the  enormous  amount 
of  money  paid  them.  Although,  when  Mr.  Whitney 
took  office  four  years  ago,  the  force  in  the  navy  yard, 
clerks,  laborers,  and  mechanics,  was  on  the  whole 
excellent. 

On  October  19. 1885,  Mr.  Whitney  issued  a  general 
order  addressed  to  the  foremen  in  the  respective  navy 
yards,  stating  that  the  appointment  of  workmen  and 
laborers  would  thereafter  be  entrusted  to  them,  that 
no  political  consideration  should  govern  their  selec¬ 
tion,  and  that  the  duty  of  the  appointing  power 
would  be  to  disregard  every  consideration  except 
the  efficiency  of  the  men  as  workmen.  Brave  words, 
indeed !  but,  unfortunately,  this  manife.sto  was  soon 
followed  by  a  visit  from  a  confidential  messenger  of 
Mr.  Whitney’s,  who  confided  to  the  different  heads 
of  departments  the  secretary’s  message  to  the  effect 
that  this  general  order  did  not  really  mean  anything, 
but  that,  when  workmen  were  required,  application 
should  be  made  to  one  of  three  persons,  represent- 
respectively  Tammany  Hall,  the  County  Democracy, 
and  the  Brooklyn  Democracy.  As  rapidly  as  possi¬ 
ble  the  former  workmen  were  discharged,  and  their 
places  filled  by  these  democratic  procurers  with  nom- 
nees  of  the  ward  politicians,  among  whom  the  rum¬ 
selling  element  was  prominent  and  influential.  The 
consequence  was  that  rum-drinkers  who  could  be  re¬ 
lied  upon  to  spend  a  large  portion  of  the  money,  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  government,  in  the  rum  shops  soon 
filled  the  yard.  Shipwrights,  joiners,  blacksmiths, 
and  machinists,  the  best  of  their  kind,  who  had 
been  employed  in  the  yard  for  years,  were  summa¬ 
rily  turned  oft’  for  no  fault,  and  their  places  were 
filled  with  a  lazy,  inefficient,  and  drunken  set  of 
heelers  for  the  various  democratic  bosses,  the  fore¬ 
men  themselves  were  terrorized,  knowing  that  they 
held  their  places  at  the  pleasure,  not  of  the  officers 
of  the  yard,  but  of  the  gang  of  ward  politicians, 
who  ruled  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  whose  hum¬ 
ble  servants  they  were,  with  but  one  or  two  excep¬ 
tions. 

For  two  or  three  weeks  before  the  recent  presiden¬ 
tial  election,  the  yard  was  thronged  with  men  em¬ 
ployed  to  do  nothing  but  vote  the  democratic  ticket. 
Bribery  was  shamlessly  resorted  to,  by  giving  men 
who  did  not  work  and  never  intended  to  work  from 
five  to  twenty  days’  pay.  Men’s  wages  were  charged 
to  ships  which  they  never  .saw,  the  result  being  that 
the  money  appropriated  for  the  repair  and  outfit  of 
ships  was  used  to  carry  the  election  instead  of  being 
legitimately  expended  in  a  proper  manner. 

The  clerical  appointments  in  the  yard  fared  no 
better.  An  inquiry  into  the  competency,  industry, 
sobriety,  and  trustworthiness  of  the  clerks  in  the 
various  departments  would  bring  to  light  some  re 
markable  and  disgraceful  facts.  The  patronage  of 
filling  these  places  was  apparently  exacted  of  Mr. 
Whitney  by  the  democratic  magnates  of  New  York 
and  Brooklyn,  and  was  held  like  any  other  piece  of 
personal  property  by  coroners,  sheriffs,  fire  commis¬ 
sioners,  and  police  justices.  Representations  to  the 
navy  department  by  the  officers  of  the  yard  of  the 
utter  unfitness  of  these  appointees,  of  their  absence 
without  leave,  of  their  habitual  drunkenness,  met 
with  no  attention  whatever.  Honest  and  capable 
men, .who  had  proved  themselves  trustworthy,  were 
summarily  dismissed  by  orders  signed  by  the  secre¬ 


tary  of  the  navy,  and  their  plac.ss  filled  by  igno 
rant,  drunken  loafers.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  not  one-third  of  the  present  clerical  force  of 
the  navy  yard  would  hold  their  places  were  the 
most  elementary  examination  as  to  fitness  ordered. 

Bad  as  this  state  of  afiairs  is,  there  is  another  most 
serious  aspect  of  it  to  those  who  have  at  heart  the 
honor  and  uprightness  of  the  American  naval  offi¬ 
cer.  Such  conditions  are,  of  course,  known  and 
acquiesced  in  by  the  officers  who  superintend  these 
worthless  employes.  They,  however,  are  painfully 
aware  that  it  only  requires  the  order  of  the  secre¬ 
tary,  if  they  remonstrate,  to  turn  them  out  of  their 
rent-free  houses,  and  by  placing  them  on  “waiting 
orders”  to  reduce  their  income  by  a  sum  of  from 
$700  to  81,000.  It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  in  many 
cases  ofticers  have  been  obliged  to  signify  their  will¬ 
ingness  to  please  the  secretary  in  all  such  appoint¬ 
ments  before  they  could  succeed  in  being  ordered  to 
congenial  duty  there  as  well  as  elsewhere. 

Coming  down  to  the  present,  Secretary 
Tracy  recently  published  the  following  cer¬ 
tificate  in  the  Portsmouth  Daily  Chronicle: 

/ 

CERTIKICATE. 

July  23, 1890, 

In  compliance  with  the  act  of  congress  approved 
June  30,  1876,  I  hereby  certify  that  the  needs  of  the 
public  service  make  it  necessary  to  increase  at  this 
time  tlie  force  employed  at  the  navy  yard,  Ports¬ 
mouth,  N.  H.,  for  the  purpose  of  reconstructing 
buildings  numbered  45  and  46,  destroyed  by  fire  in 
January  last;  of  completing  the  gunnery  ship  Lan¬ 
caster;  of  making  necessary  repairs  and  alterations 
of  the  training  ship  Monongahela;  increasing  the 
water  supply;  completing  the  hydrant  system,  and 
constructing  a  ferry-boat,  the  appropriation  for 
which  objects  becomes  available  at  the  beginning  of 
the  current  month.  B.  F.  Tracy, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

A  state  and  congressional  election  occurs  in 
Maine  next  month,  and  a  congressional  elec¬ 
tion  is  pending  in  New  Hampshire.  The  sen¬ 
ate  naval  committee  this  year  recom¬ 
mended  against  an  appropriation  to  recon¬ 
struct  the  burned  buildings.  The  Lancaster 
is  a  wooden  sailing  ship,  built  in  1858,  of 
which  the  secretary  of  the  navy  in  1875  re¬ 
ported  :  “Rotten  at  Portsmouth.  Probable 
cost  of  repairs,  $750,000.  Not  worth  it.”  Of 
the  Monongahela,  also  a  wooden  sailing  ship, 
built  in  1862,  he  also  said  fifteen  years  ago : 
“  In  service.  Tolerable  condition.  Speed, 
10^  knots.” 

Since  the  above  was  in  type  some  additional 
facts  have  appeared  about  the  Kittery  yard. 
It  seems  that  the  $50,000  were  finally  allowed 
for  the  rebuilding  of  the  burned  buildings. 
This  appropriation  became  available  July  1, 
and  Secretary  Tracy’s  public  certificate  reached 
the  yard  July  24.  Since  that  date  fifty-six 
men  have  been  taken  on.  Congressman 
Reed’s  political  boss  at  Kittery  is  one  Dr. 
Wentworth,  and  he  regards  this  addition  of 
fifty-six  men  as  mere  mockery,  when  a  con¬ 
gressional  election,  September  8,  has  to  be 
prepared  for.  Nothing  short  of  hundreds 
will  do.  But  Commodore  Skerritt,  the  com¬ 
mandant,  stands  in  the  way.  There  are  no 
materials  to  work  with,  and  Skerritt  says  he 
will  not  have  men  standing  idle  about  the 
yard,  and  there  is  a  deadlock.  This  is  all  the 
harder  to  bear  for  Reed’s  henchmen,  because 
after  September  8,  by  baronial  rules,  the  yard 
goes  to  New  Hampshire  to  be  filled  under  the 
direction  of  Bill  Chandler. 


A  MANACLED  PRESS. 

Daniel  Webster  in  1832. 

And  i.s  a  press  tliat  is  imrcliased  or  ptui- 
sioned  more  free  tliaii  a  press  that  is  fet¬ 
tered.'  Can  the  people  look  for  tnitlrs  to 
partial  sources,  ivliether  rendered  partial 
through  fear  or  tli rough  favor?  Why 
sliall  not  a  manacled  ]>ress  he  trusted  vvilh 
the  maintenance  and  defense  of  popular 
rights  I  Because  it  is  supposed  to  he  un¬ 
der  the  influence  of  a  power  whiclt  may 
prove  greater  than  the  love  of  truth. 
Such  a  press  may  screen  abuses  in  gov¬ 
ernment  or  be  silent.  It  may  fear  to 
to  speak.  And  may  it  not  fear  to  speak, 
too,  when  its  conductors,  if  they  speak  in 
any  but  one  way,  may  lose  their  means  of 
livelihood  I  Is  dependence  on  government 
for  bread  no  temptation  to  screen  its 
abuses  ?  Will  the  press  always  speak  the 
truth,  when  the  truth,  if  spoken,  may  be 
the  means  of  silencing  it  for  the  future  ? 
Is  the  truth  in  no  danger,  is  the  watch¬ 
man  under  no  temptation,  when  he  can 
neither  proclaim  the  approach  of  national 
evils,  nor  seem  to  decry  them,  without  the 
loss  of  his  place  ? 

Mr.  President,  an  open  attempt  to  secure 
the  aid  and  friendship  of  the  public  press, 
by  be.stowing  the  emoluments  of  ofiice  on 
its  active  conductors,  seems  to  me,  of  ev¬ 
erything  we  have  witnessed,  to  be  the 
most  reprehensible.  It  degrades  both  the 
government  and  the  press.  As  far  as  its 
natural  effect  extends,  it  turns  the  pallad¬ 
ium  of  liberty  into  an  engine  of  party.  It 
brings  the  agency,  activity,  energy,  and 
patronage  of  government  all  to  bear,  with 
united  force,  on  the  means  of  general  intel¬ 
ligence,  and  on  the  adoption  or  rejection  of 
political  opinions. 


President  William  Henry  Harrison  in  1841. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  executive  which  might  be 
used  with  greater  effect,  for  unhallowed 
purposes,  than  the  control  of  the  public 
press. 

— F.  E.  Learned,  son  of  the  editor  of  the  Argus,  is 
postmaster  at  Benson,  Ill.  The  editor  is  deputy  post¬ 
master. 

—Chester  A.  Wilcox,  of  the  Whig,  is  postmastei  at 
Quincy,  Ill. 

[This  correspondent  writes  that  “  The  republicans 
have  made  a  clean  sweep  in  the  federal  offices  here. 
The  postmaster  removed  two  Union  veterans;  both 
very  capable  men  ;  and  the  collector  of  internal  rev¬ 
enue  removed  Edward  Cleveland,  a  one-legged  vet¬ 
eran,  because  of  his  democracy,  from  his  position  as 
stamp  clerk.”] 

- Dallam,  of  the  Bulletin,  Warsaw,  Ill.,  is 

deputy  United  States  revenue  collector. 

—Sarah  P.  Lacey,  wife  of  A.  H.  Lacey,  editor  of  the 
Wet  Mountain  Tribune,  is  postmaster  at  Westcliffe, 
Col. 

— Myron  A.  Rhea,  of  the  Journal,  is  postmaster  at 
Altoona,  Kan. 

—A.  K.  Stoufer,  of  the  Neios,  is  postmaster  at  Arka- 
lon,  Kan. 

— J.  D.  Greason,  of  the  Republican  Citizen,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Atwood,  Kan. 

— U.  Feustemaker,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Augustine,  Kan. 

— C.  A.  McMullin,  of  the  Echo,  Is  postmaster  at 
Benedict,  Kan. 

— W.  R.  Davis,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster  at 
Canton,  Kan. 

— R.  S.  Playford,  of  the  Carbondalian,  is  postmaster 
at  Carbondale,  Kan. 

Geo.  W.  Loman,  of  the  Record,  is  postmaster  at 
Chase,  Kan. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


149 


— J.  G.  Smith,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at  Cun¬ 
ningham,  Kan. 

— W.  II.  Melrose,  of  the  Star,  is  postmaster  at  Esk¬ 
ridge,  Kan. 

—A.  M.  EnglLsh,  of  the  ^Vewi.s,  is  postmaster  at  Fon¬ 
tana,  Kan. 

— L.  C.  Headley,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Gaylord,  Kan. 

—John  II  Tait,  of  the  Sherman  County  Dark  Horse, 
is  postmaster  at  Goodland,  Kan. 

— J.  W.  Bliss,  of  the  Journal,  is  postmaster  at  Green- 
leaf,  Kan. 

—A.  Tansel,  of  the  Clipper,  is  postmaster  at  Had- 
dam,  Kan. 

— E.  H.  Rathbone,  of  the  Courant,  is  postmaster  at 
Herndon,  Kan. 

— M.  G.  Woodmansee,  of  the  Enterprise,  is  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Holy  rood,  Kan. 

— Geo.  Burroughs,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Hope,  Kan. 

— F.  Gray,  of  the  Times,  is  postmaster  at  Ivanhoe, 
Kan. 

— James  Burton,  of  the  Kansan,  is  postmaster  at 
Jamestown,  Kan. 

— J.  A.  Webster,  of  the  Journal,  is  postmaster  at 
John.son,  Kan. 

— E.  C.  Lane,  of  the  Jourrial,  is  postmaster  at  La 
Cyge,  Kan. 

— R.  H.  Cadwallader,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster 
at  Louisburg,  Kan. 

— R.  H.  Chase,  of  the  Gazelle,  is  postmaster  at  Lu- 
dell,  Kan. 

— J.  R.  Sedgwick,  of  the  Times,  is  postmaster  at  Mc¬ 
Donald,  Kan. 

— G.  C.  Armstrong,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster 
at  Moline,  Kan. 

— C.  Borin,  of  the  Eye,  is  postmaster  at  Oberlin, 
Kan. 

— F.  H.  Roberts,  of  the  Independent,  is  postmaster 
at  Oskaloo.sa,  Kan. 

— John  B.  Kessler,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Ottawa,  Kan. 

— M.  L.  Hart,  of  the  Chic/tain,  is  postmaster  at  Ra¬ 
venna,  Kan. 

— N.  D.  Adams,  of  the  Scott  county  Neivs,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Scott,  Kan. 

—Dwight  Beach,  of  the  Hews,  is  postmaster  at  Val¬ 
ley  Center. 

— H.  C.  Robinson,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster 
at  Washington,  Kan. 

— G.  G.  Grimes,  of  the  Times,  is  postmaster  at 
Balrdstown,  O. 

— W.  C.  Scott,  of  the  Gazette,  is  postmaster  ai  Dal¬ 
ton,  O. 

— F.  S.  Pursell,  of  the  Republican  GazeHc,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Logan,  O. 

— C.  B.  Murdock,  of  the  Messenger,  is  postmaster  at 
Middlefleld,  O. 

— F.  M.  Carl,  of  the  Independent,  is  postmaster  at 
Narvarre,  O. 

— E.  B.  Lewis,  of  the  Plain  Talk,  is  postmaster  at 
New  Holland,  O. 

— C.  W.  Horn,  of  the  Dealer,  is  postmaster  at  Plain 
City,  O. 

— J.  C.  HarrLson,  father  of  Herbert  Harri.son,  of  the 
Times,  is  postmaster  at  Smithfleld,  O. 

—Annie  B.Hale.wife  of  James  R.  Hale,  of  the  Blade, 
Is  postmaster  at  Spring  Valley,  O.  The  editor  is  as¬ 
sistant  postmaster. 

— H.  E,  Harris,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Utica,  O. 

— H.  R.  Snyder,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster  at 
Waverly,  O. 

—John  Spidle,  of  the  Review,  is  postmaster  at  Wil- 
mot,  O. 

— Jno.  Maywood,  of  the  Huron  Tribune,  is  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Bad  Axe,  Mich. 


—Eugene  Foster,  of  the  Gladwin  county  Record,  is 
postmaster  at  Gladwin,  Mich. 

-^B.  J.  Lowrey,  of  the  Record,  is  postmaster  at  How¬ 
ard  City,  Mich. 

— E.  O.  Shaw,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster  at 
New'aygo,  Mich. 

— F.  D.  Larke,  of  the  Advance,  is  postmaster  at  Rog¬ 
ers  City,  Mich. 

—Fred.  Wade,  of  the  Commercial,  is  postmaster  at 
Sangatnek,  Mich. 

— E.  W.  Wheeler,  of  the  Pioneer,  is  postmaster  at 
Sherman,  Mich. 

— D.  J.  Easton,  of  the  Register,  is  postmaster  at  Un¬ 
ion  City,  Mich. 

— C.  A.  Baldwin,  of  the  Commercial,  is  postmaster 
at  Vicksburg,  Mich. 

— A.  C.  Laurence,  of  the  Sentinel,  is  postmaster  at 
Evansville,  Minn. 

—Jacob  Brynildsen,  of  the  Transcript- Democrat,  is 
postmaster  at  Graceville,  Minn. 

— John  A.  Henry,  of  the  Argus,  is  postmaster  at 
Jonesville,  Minn. 

— Selah  S.  King,  of  the  Journal,  is  postmaster  at 
Jasper,  Minn. 

—Geo.  B.  Mair,  of  the  Courier,  is  postmaster  at  Cal¬ 
loway,  Neb. 

— E.  W.  Buser,  of  the  Neivs  Boy,  is  postmaster  at 
Dawson,  Neb. 

— A.  W.  Mayfield,  of  the  Echo,  is  postmaster  at 
Elmwood,  Neb. 

—James  P.  Gandy,  of  the  Pioneer-Republican,  is 
postmaster  at  Gandy,  Neb. 

— S.  R.  Rhodes,  of  the  Review,  is  postma.ster  at 
Gresham.  Neb. 

— D.  P.  Davis,  father  of  W.  H.  Davis,  of  the  Herald, 
is  postmaster  at  Harrison,  Neb. 

— J.  F.  Paradis,  of  the  Guide,  is  postmaster  at  Ilem- 
ingford.  Neb. 

— M.  A.  Hammell,  of  the  Enquirer,  is  postmaster  at 
Mullen,  Neb. 

— E.  T.  Best,  of  the  Leader,  is  postmaster  at  Niligh, 
Neb. 

— Aug.  E.  Hassler,  of  the  Republiean,  is  postmaster 
at  Pawnee  City,  Neb. 

— H.  G.  Cross,  of  the  Press,  is  postmaster  at  Peters¬ 
burg,  Neb. 

— J.  B.  Sharob,  of  the  Call,  is  postma.ster  at  Pierce, 
Neb. 

— J.  L.  Stevens,  of  the  Gazette,  is  postmaster  at 
Plainview,  Neb. 

— B.  F.  Thomas,  of  the  Union,  is  postmaster  at  Wy- 
more.  Neb. 

— W.  E.  Robison,  of  the  Telegram,  is  postmaster  at 
Beallsville,  Pa. 

—John  B.  Patrick,  of  the  Republican  Gazette,  is  post- 
master  at  Clarion,  Pa. 

—Emma  D.  Wiley,  wife  of  R.  T.  Wiley,  of  the  Her¬ 
ald,  is  postmaster  at  Elizabeth,  Pa. 

— C.  B.  Gould,  of  the  Press,  is  postmaster  at  Empo¬ 
rium,  Pa. 

— H.  B.  Moyer,  of  the  Courier,  is  postmaster  at  Free- 
burgh.  Pa. 

— N.  M.  Cheney,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster  at 
LaPorte,  Pa. 

—Jesse  M.  Vail,  of  the  Advertiser,  is  postmaster  at 
New  Milford,  Pa. 

—George  W.  Littlejohn,  of  the  Independeni,  is  post 
master  at  Grayson,  Ky. 

- Hopley,  of  the  Journal,  is  postmaster  at 

Bucyrus,  Ohio. 

[For  more  than  a  score  of  years  it  has  happened 
that  once  in  six  years  Ohio  has  elected  a  democratic 
legislature.  By  a  singular  coincidence  this  has  al¬ 
ways  occurred  when  a  United  States  senator  was  to 
be  elected  to  succeed  Senator  Sherman’s  colleague. 
Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  growing  belief  that 
this  was  because  Senator  Sherman  so  willed  it,  and 
that  he  purposely  caused  the  republicans  to  lo.se  the 


legislature  in  order  that  he  should  have  a  demo, 
cratic  colleague  and  thus  have  undivided  control  of 
the  federal  patronage  of  the  state.  With  this  rumor 
has  grown  a  strong  anti-Sherman  feeling  in  many 
parts  of  the  state,  and  it  looks  now  as  if  “  Uncle 
John”  would  have  to  do  some  shrewnl  fence  fixing 
if  he  wishes  to  succeed  him.self  in  1893. 

As  an  indication  of  the  bitterness  that  is  felt 
against  him  in  many  quarters,  the  resolutions  re¬ 
cently  adopted  by  the  republican  county  conven¬ 
tion  of  Crawford  county,  at  Bucyrus,  are  an  amusing 
illustration.  The  feeling  of  indignation  was  wrought 
up  to  the  required  pitch  by  the  fight  over  the  Bucyrus 
post-office,  in  which  Senator  Sherman  disregarded  the 
wishes  oj  most  of  the  working  republicans  of  the  county, 
who  had  indorsed  M.  K.  Fidton,  and  secured  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  Editor  Hopley  of  the  Bucyrus  Journal.  Where¬ 
upon  the  republicans  in  their  eounty  convention 
adopted  with  a  thunder  of  yeas  the  followingcaustic 
resolutions : 

Whereas,  The  Right  Hon.  John  Sherman,  our  be¬ 
loved  senator,  has  assumed  the  prerogative  of  de¬ 
ciding  upon  the  appointment  of  local  government 
officials  against  the  expressed  will  of  the  republicans 
who  do  the  work  and  pay  the  expenses  of  each  cam¬ 
paign  without  reward ;  and,  <• 

Fecoad— That  our  beloved  and  courteous  senator  be 
directed,  if  he  sees  fit  to  do  so.  to  cast  the  entire  vote 
of  Crawford  county  or  the  state  as  a  unit,  which  will 
be  the  first  unit  ballot  ever  secured  in  his  native 
slate  by  the  distinguished  statesman. 

Fifth— That  we  favor  and  indorse  a  Federal  Civil 
Service  Reform  bill  that  will  give  at  all  times  but 
one  republican  senator  from  Ohio,  and  bequeath  to 
said  senator  sole  autocratic  powers  and  the  exclusive 
farming  out  of  the  local  offices  of  the  state  to  main¬ 
tain  sole  senatorial  autonomy. 

Finally— That  we  tender  our  apologies  to  Senator 
Sherman  for  attempting  to  interfere  or  exercise  in¬ 
fluence  in  the  selection  of  local  officers.- Cfcrcfand 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  July  21.] 

[“I  find  in  looking  over  the  list  of  appointments 
in  Indiana  that  sixteen  democratic  newspaper  pro¬ 
prietors  and  editors  have  been  appointed  to  office. 
*  *  *  If  I  could  believe  that  in  appointing  these 
men  Mr.  Cleveland  meant  that  they  should  pursue 
a  perfectly  inoffensive  course  politically,  that  these 
newspapers  should  not  irritate  the  feelings  of  repub¬ 
licans,  should  not  publish  charges  against  republi¬ 
can  candidates  for  office,  should  say  nothing  offen¬ 
sive  to  the  republican.s— if  I  believed  he  meant  by 
these  appointments  sincerely  to  put  these  sixteen 
democratic  newspapers  under  those  bonds,  I  should 
have  brighter  hopes  than  I  have  now  of  carrying  Indiana 
neat  lime.  But  it  will  not  be  so.  Here  are  these  sixteen 
edii  ars,  two  of  the  three  collectors  of  internal  reve- 
nin  in  Indiana,  and  the  others  holding  influential 
posi-offices ;  and  Mr.  Cleveland  knows,  and  every 
hoi  est  democratic  knows,  that  those  sixteen  news¬ 
papers  will  be  fulminating  with  all  the  force  and 
vigor  and  power  and  partisanship  they  can  against 
the  republican  paTty.”—Senator  Benjamin  Harrison  in 
187G.] 


CLARKSON’S  “RESIGNATIONS.” 

J.  Mustard  was  to-day  appointed  fourth- 
class  postmaster  at  Glen  Hall,  Tippecanoe 
county,  vice  J.  M.  Stepp,  resigned. — Indian- 
opolii  Journal,  Aug.  14. 

John  Stepp,  groceryman  and  postmaster  at 
Glenn  Hall,  sold  out  to  Mr.  Snyder,  condi¬ 
tioned  that  Mrs.  Snyder  was  appointed  post¬ 
mistress,  but  Congressman  Cheadle  recom¬ 
mended  James  Mustard.  The  majority  of  the 
community  favor  Mrs.  Snyder,  and  there  is 
war. — Indianapolis  New.s,  Aug.  13. 


150 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Office-Holders  Defending  their  Possessions. 

Allotments  thus  acquired,  mutually  engaged  such  as  accepted  them  to  defend  them;  and  as  they  all  sprang  from  the  same  right  of  conquest,  no  part 
could  subsist  independent  of  the  whole;  wherefore  all  givers  as  well  as  receivers  were  mutually  bound  to  defend  each  other’s  possessions.  «  Every 

receiver  of  lands,  or  feudatory,  was  therefore  bound  when  called  upon  by  his  benefactor,  or  immediate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  defend 
him.  Such  benefactor  or  lord  was  likewise  subordinate  to  and  under  the  command  of  his  immediate  benefactor  and  superior;  and  so  upwards  to  the  prince  or 
general  himself ;  and  the  several  lords  were  also  reciprocally  bound,  in  their  respective  gradations,  to  protect  the  possessions  they  had  given.  Thus  the  feudal 
connection  was  established,  a  proper  military  subjection  was  naturally  introduced  and  an  army  of  feudatories  was  always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually  i)repared 
to  muster.  .  .  —Blackstone. 


— The  St.Louis  Republic  of  August  16 gives  by 
wards  the  men  who  make  up  the  Filley  ma¬ 
chine  and  who  now  control  the  republican 
party  in  that  city.  There  is  no  more  useful 
work  a  paper  can  do,  because  it  drives  home 
by  the  graphic  method  to  every  citizen  the 
unpleasant  consciousness  (hat  he  is,  as  a  rule, 
the  agent  to  execute  the  orders  of  a  small  and 
despotic  oligarchy,  the  chief  of  whom  are  an 
office-holding  class,  federal,  state,  county  and 
city.  The  following  is  an  illustrative  list 
taken  from  the  Republic : 

First  ward - .  Second  ward - .  Third  ward, 

George  Weber,  employed  by  Collector  Ziegenhein. 
Fourth  ward,  Philip  Sauf,  father  of  the  deputy  sher¬ 
iff.  Fifili  ward,  Charles  Proll,  of  Collector  Ziegen- 
hein’s  office.  Sixth  ward,  Peter  Gnndloch,  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Station  A.  Seventh  ward,  John  Herrold,  store¬ 
keeper  in  Collector  Wenneker's  office,  and  Theodore 

Horman,  marriage  license  clerk.  Eighth  ward - . 

Ninth  ward,  Henry  Becker,  deputy  in  Ziegcnheiii’s 
office,  Collector  Ziegenhein,  Wm.  L.  Price,  deputy 
city  marshal,  Gustave  Wiirzburger,  saloon  license 
clerk,  Leo  Hartmann,  storekeeper  for  Collector  Wen- 

ncker.  Tenth  ward - .  Eleventh  ward,  Coroner’s 

Clerk  Paschall,  Deputy  City  Marshal  Theo.  Cast,  Dep¬ 
uty  Coroner  John  Weis,  Fred.  Gerber,  ehief  clerk  of 
tax  department  in  collector’s  office.  Twelfth  ward, 
T,  W.  H.  Wiesehan,  clerk  in  Collector  Wenneker’s  of¬ 
fice.  Thirteenth  ward - .  Fourteenth  ward,  Jo¬ 

seph  Brown,  clerk  in  Hobbs’s  office.  Fifteeiiih  ward. 
Deputy  Sheriff  Frank  Meis.  Sixteenth  ward.  Collec¬ 
tor  Wenneker,  August  Gundlach  and  George  Krcch- 
man,  each  of  whom  has  a  high-salaried  position  un¬ 
der  Wenneker,  and  Deputy  City  Collector  Henry  C. 
Meyer.  Seventeenth  ward,  E.  D.  Chamberlain,  of  the 
collector’s  office.  Deputy  Sheriff  H.  J.  Heitsmeyer, 
C.  T.  Ridgway,  janitor  in  city  hall.  Eighteenth 

ward - .  Nineteenth  ward.  Deputy  Sheriff  J.  J. 

Kirby,  V.  J.  Matthews,  deputy  city  collector,  W.  H- 
Stevens,  clerk  in  the  custom  house,  and  Charles 
Hotchkiss,  clerk  in  Surveyor  Metcalf’s  office.  Twen¬ 
tieth  ward - .  Twenty-first  rvard,  Herman  Line- 

burger,  deputy  in  Collector  Zeigenhein’s  office. 
Twenty-second  ward,  Archie  Carr,  special  agent  of 
the  Interior  Department,  Chas.  Arnold,  deputy  city 
collector,  Tom  Vermillion,  clerk  in  Hobbs’s  office. 
Twenty-third  ward,  Richard  Schmester,  employed 
in  post-office,  and  Deputy  Sheriff  Dick  Wallincott. 
Twenty-fourth  ward.  Deputy  Sheriff  Billy  Pohlman- 
and  Commodore  Smith,  of  Hobbs’s  office.  Twenty, 
fifth  ward,  John  F.  Doerbanra  from  the  post  office. 
Twenty-sixth  ward,  George  Schubert,  clerk  in  the 
collector's  office.  Deputy  Sheriff  Bill  Jackson.  Twen¬ 
ty-seventh  ward,  Deputy  Collector  Christ  Guenther. 
Twenty-eighth  ward,  Gus  Vogel,  a  federal  office¬ 
holder. 

Filley  gets  these  men  places  where  they  are  sup¬ 
ported  at  public  expense,  and  he  lights  with  all 
his  might  when  the  place  of  the  least  important  even 
is  threatened.  In  return,  they  work  for  Filley.  His 
power  and  his  willingness  to  give  favors  are  dwelt 
on,  his  instructions  as  to  what  primaries  and  cau¬ 
cuses  are  expected  to  develop  are  carried  out,  and 
so  long  as  Filley  can  control  patronage, they  neither 
acknowledge  allegiance,  nor  feel  obligation  to  any 
other. 

— The  Picayune  (democratic)  has  the  follow¬ 
ing  dispatch  from  Dallas,  Tex. :  It  is  learned 
from  good  authority  that  when  the  State 


republican  convention  assembles  at  San  An¬ 
tonio,  on  September  3,  the  white  republicans 
will  be  headed  by  men  of  southern  birth  and 
will  make  a  fight  to  dethrone  Wright  Cuney,  col¬ 
lector  of  customs  at  the  port  ef  Galveston,  and 
build  up  a  white  republican  party  in  Texas. 
-—New  Orleans  Dispatch,  August  10. 

— The  democratic  committee  of  the  eighth 
congressional  district  had  a  lively  time  at 
their  meeting  at  the  Hendricks  Association 
rooms  last  night.  Politicians  claim  that  the 
meeting  resulted  in  a  clean  defeat  for  John  J. 
O’Neill,  but  the  ^x-congressman  will  admit 
nothing  of  the  sort. 

Mr.  O’Neill,  when  asked  after  the  meeting 
what  he  thought  of  the  $3,00U  assessment,  couhl 
scarcely  voice  his  indignation,  “  It  issimply  an 
outrage,”  he  declared,  “fc  make  an  assessment  of 
that  kind  before  the  primaries  have  been  held,  and  to 
insist  upon  a  candidate  putting  up  the  money  before 
being  allowed  to  go  before  the  people.  It  is  simply 
a  scheme  to  freeze  me  out  by  placing  the  as¬ 
sessment  at  a  figure  they  think  I  can  not  pay. 
Their  plea  is,  that  they  ivanl  the  money  to  affect  a 
precinct. organization.  I  believe  in  precinct  or¬ 
ganization,  but  not  until  after  the  primaries 
have  been  held. — St.  Louis  Republic,  July  31. 

— Editor  and  Internal  Kevenue  Collector 
Alexander  Von  Landberg  to-day  removed  a 
large  number  of  deputies  in  the  office  and 
filled  their  places  with  the  friends  of  Senator  His 
cock.  Among  the  deputies  removed  was  Wm. 
E.  Iloyt  of  Fayetteville,  brother-in-law  of  Ex- 
President  Cleveland.  Mr.  Iloyt  has  been  a 
most  competent  and  faithful  official. 

Collector  Von  Landberg  has  also  determined 
to  appoint  Charles  lliscock,  brother  of  the  sen¬ 
ator,  a  deputy  in  place  of  L.  D.  Mowry.  1 1  iscock’s 
appointment  is  to  date  from  Sept.  1.  There 
is  great  indignation  among  working  republi¬ 
cans  at  Hiscock’s  appointment  and  Collector 
Von  Landberg  applied  to  some  influential 
repulicans  to  help  him  out  of  the  scrape  by 
urging  Senator  Hiscock  not  to  insist  upon  his 
brother’s  appointment.  This  they  refused  to 
do,  and  the  senator  was  obdurate. — New  York 
Times. 

— A  full  meeting  of  the  republican  state 
committee  was  held  last  evening.  Chairman, 
Postmaster  Manley  presided.  Chairman  Man- 
ley  said  that  it  was  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
committee  that  the  campaign  be  very  short, 
and  that  the  public  speaking  would  be  confined 
to  the  last  two  weeks  of  the  campaign. — 
Press  Dispatch,  August  13. 

— Internal  Revenue  Collector  Ernst  Nathan 
has  several  men  at  work  getting  up  a  Brooklyn 
citizens’  movement,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
renominate  Congressman  William  C.  Wallace. 
— New  York  Times,  July  11. 

— Collector  Erhardt  has  appointed  Wm.  G. 
Deane  head  of  the  customs  cab  service  at  a 
salary  of  $1,500  a  year.  He  succeeds  W.  A. 
Ducy,  who  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Magone. 
Mr.  Deane  is  the  son  of  the  republican  leader  of  the 
ninth  district. 

Nathan  C.  Clarkson  was  to  day  appointed 
postmaster  at  Hamilton,  Caldwell  county.  Mo. 
Nearly  all  the  leading  I'epublicans  of  Caldwell 
county,  and  most  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 


Hamilton,  had  indorsed  for  this  place  Wm. 
B.  Walker,  a  prominent  republican  of  Ham¬ 
ilton. 

There  is  only  one  rea.son  why  Walker  should 
not  be  appointed,  and  why  Clarkson  should  be 
appointed.  Clarkson  is  a  cousin  of  John  S. 
Clarkson. — St.  Louis  Republic,  June  5. 

— The  nomination  of  John  Pentreath  to  suc¬ 
ceed  Miss  Lilian  C.  Keyes,  as  postmaster  at 
Yonkers,  also  made  to-day,  is  due  to  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  Speaker  JIusled  and  James  TBood,  the 
defeated  candidate  for  congress  in  the  fourteenth 
district. — June  19. 

—The  republican  county  committee  of 
Schuyler  county  had  a  meeting  and  adopt¬ 
ed  resolutions  protesting  against  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  Peter  Conroy  as  postmaster  at 
Watkins,  alleging  that  Conroy  is  a  democrat. 
Conroy  is  Congressman  Flood's  man,  and  Senator 
Hiscock  is  vigorously  opposing  the  confirma¬ 
tion  of  the  nomination  in  the  senate,  which 
has  accasioned  considerable  ill  feeling  be¬ 
tween  him  and  Flood. 

- — President  Harrison  has  the  opportunity 
to  select  a  new  man  for  internal  revenue  col¬ 
lector  in  the  Fifth  North  Carolina  district. 
The  nomination  of  John  B.  Eaves  for  that  office 
wasrejected  by  the  senate.  Eaves  was  appointed 
a  few  days  more  than  a  year  ago.  His  nomina¬ 
tion  was  sent  to  the  senate  early  in  December. 
Ever  since  his  appointment  strong  efforts  have 
been  made  by  republicans  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  Settle-Mott  faction  and  the  old  Sher¬ 
man  “machine”  and  by  the  democrats  of  the 
state  to  prevent  his  confirmation.  It  was  de¬ 
clared  that  Eaves  was  a  mere  figurehead  for 
ex-Collector  J.  J.  Mott,  and  that  there  was  a 
deed  by  which  the  men  appointed  to  subordinate 
places  had  to  pay  so  much  cash  to  cover  Eaves's  ex¬ 
penses  in  securing  the  collectorship,  while  a  certain 
percentage  of  all  salaries  was  collected  by  the  ring 
which  obtained  from  President  Harnson  control  of 
the  federal  patronage  in  North  Carolina.  Accusa¬ 
tions  were  also  made  affecting  the  personal  fit¬ 
ness  for  office  of  the  col  lector. — New  York  Times. 

THE  OFFICE-HOLDING  CLASS. 

—The  appointment  of  Henry  II.  Fay  as 
postmaster  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  was  made  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  two  senaterrs,  ivith  the  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  representatives.  Mr.  Fay  has  been  in 
the  legislature  and  held  many  other  public  offices. 

—The  appointment  of  Herbert  G.  Briggs  to 
be  postmaster  of  Portland  created  no  surprise 
in  this  city  to-night,  for  it  has  been  expected 
for  the  past  three  months  that  Mr.  Briggs  was 
to  receive  the  appointment  when  it  was  made. 
Mr.  Briggs  is  a  native  of  Auburn  in  this  state, 
and  is  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  He 
has  been  very  prominent  as  a  ward  politician  and 
has  held  several  mincyr  offices.  He  has  been  an  al¬ 
derman  and  is  to-day  one  of  the  park  commissioners. 
He  has  been  chairman  of  the  republican  city  com¬ 
mittee  and  is  a  strong  personal  friend  of  Speaker 
Reed,  and  it  is  due  to  the  latter's  infiuence  that  Mr. 
Briggs  received  the  appointment.— Portland,  Me., 
July  10. 

—The  nomination  of  Ex-Postmaster  Blunt, 
of  Haverhill,  to  be  surveyor  at  the  custom’ 
house  was  a  cruel  blow  to  the  Hohart  men. — 
Boston  Post,  Aug.  11. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


151 


n>v4:^TTHEW  S_ 

United  States  Senator  and  Cliainnan  of  tlie  Nationsl  Itepubliean  Conimitlee,  Silent  under  the  Charge  of  Embezzlement 

by  Reputable  Newspapers. 


The  IVays  and  Means  of  the  Subjugation  of  a  State  by  a  Modern  Oflice  Baron. 


For  once  Senator  Quay  has  been  beaten  at 
bis  own  game  of  buying  votes.  Maj.  Mc¬ 
Dowell,  who  was  nominated  by  the  republi¬ 
cans  for  congress  in  the  twenty-fifth  district  by 
the  votes  of  four  purchased  delegates  (three 
quoted  at  $(>50  each,  and  one  dirt  cheap  at 
$250)  has  resolved  to  maintain  a  discreet 
policy  of  silence.  “I  have  secured  the  nomi¬ 
nation,  and  that  ends  it,”  says  the  Major,  “  I 
shall  pay  no  attention  to  anything  that  may 
come  out.  I  shall  not  withdraw,  nor  shall  I 
agree  to  a  new  convention.”  So  he  informs 
the  Pittsburgh  Commercial  Ga3e</e,Quay’s  organ. 

William  D.  Wallace,  of  New  Castle,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  conducted  the  negotiations 
that  converted  four  Townsend  conferees  into 
voters  for  McDowell,  says  also  in  an  interview 
in  the  Commercial  Gazette:  “Mr.  Quay,  the 
leader  of  the  republican  party,  has  established 
the  precedent  of  answering  no  charges.  I  am 
willing  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  voters, 
and  I  will  patiently  await  the  result.  People 
with  stolen  goods  in  their  pockets  are  not  in  a 
position  to  cry  thief.” 

This  delicate  reference  to  receivers  of  stolen 
goods  refers  to  the  fact  that  two  years  ago 
Congressman  Townsend’s  friends  bought  away 
from  Oscar  L.  Jackson  the  one  vote  that  nom¬ 
inated  Townsend. 

The  Post  this  morning  says  editorially : 
“  There  is  a  great  joke  in  this  whole  business. 
In  1888  a  vote  from  Lawrence  county  was 
bought  up  to  defeat  Jackson  of  Lawrence.  In 
1890  four  votes  from  Beaver  county  were 
purchased  to  defeat  Townsend  of  Beaver.  The 
necessity  of  the  policy  of  silence  is  apparent. 
It  has  become  one  of  the  fundamental  beliefs 
and  practices  of  the  republican  party  of  Quay- 
sylvania.  Four  disciples  of  the  political 
methods  of  Boss  Quay  in  his  own  county  of 
Beaver  have  confessed  they  accepted  bribes  as 
the  price  of  their  vote  for  a  congressional 
candidate.  They  were  elected,  pledged,  and 
instructed  to  vote  for  Congressman  Charles  C. 
Townsend,  and  did  so  for  awhile;  but  when 
negotiations  were  completed,  and  the  fitting 
moment  arrived  on  the  109th  ballot,  they 
flopped  with  the  money  in  their  pockets  and 
voted  for  and  nominated  McDowell  for  con¬ 
gress.  The  primary  election  law  of  this  state 
subjects  these  self-confessed  receivers  of  bribes 
to  fine  and  imprisonment.  We  are  glad  to  see 
that  the  Pittsburgh  Commercial  Gazette  has 
awakened  to  the  enormity  of  bribery  and  em- 
bez7.1ement,  and  parades  its  virtue  by  insisting 
that  Mr.  Quay’s  district  attorney  in  Beaver 
county  and  Mr.  Quay’s  county  committee 
shall  bring  Mr.  Quay’s  bribed  heelers  into 
court  at  “  the  earliest  practicable  moment.” 


The  twenty-fifth  district  includes  the  coun¬ 
ties  of  Beaver,  Butler,  Mercer  and  Lawrence. 
Beaver  county’s  action  in  calling  a  meeting  of 
the  county  committee  to  take  action  in  the 
matter  was  followed  yesterday  by  Butler  coun¬ 
ty.  A  meeting  of  the  republican  county  com¬ 
mittee  has  been  called  for  July  23,  the  object 
being  to  discuss  and  take  action  on  the  bribery. 
If  anything  were  wanting  to  complete  the 
proof  of  the  bribery  of  congressional  delegates 
at  New  Castle,  it  was  obtained  yesterday. 
Thomas  Downing,  the  Townsend  conferee,  who 
is  charged  by  the  other  three  boodlers  with 
having  conducted  the  negotiations  for  the  sale 
of  their  votes,  made  a  full  confession  to  the 
Philadelphia  Press  correspondent,  and  signed 
it  in  the  presence  of  witnesses. — Special  Dis¬ 
patch  to  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  July  15. 

The  facts  have  been  unearthed  by  republi¬ 
can  journals  like  the  Philadelphia  Press  and 
Pittsburgh  Commercial  Gazette,  and  appear  well 
substantiated  in  every  detail.  The  affidavit 
of  Tate  is  explicit,  even  to  his  own  degrada¬ 
tion.  This  disciple  of  Quay  ism  says  : 

“I  went  into  Wallace’s  office.  Downing  re¬ 
marking  that  he  wanted  to  see  another  party. 
While  I  was  talking  to  Wallace  Downing  re¬ 
turned.  Then  Wallace  said,  ‘  I’ve  got  the  cash 
right  here,’  and  he  produced  four  envelopes, 
in  each  of  which  he  said  there  was  $300.  I 
then  and  there  promised  to  vote  for  McDowell. 
Previous  to  that  time  I  had  made  no  promise 
to  vote  for  McDowell.  Wallace  wanted  to 
know  if  we  would  change  our  votes  from 
Townsend  to  McDowell  on  the  first  ballot  af- 

.4 

ter  assembling.  ‘  Do  it  on  the  first  ballot  and 
be  done  with  it,’  were  his  words.  I  objected, 
and  said  that  it  ought  to  be  done  on  the  second 
or  third  ballot.  He  said,  ‘All  right ;  I’ll  have 
it  fixed  on  the  third  ballot.’  In  consideration 
of  this  promise  of  Mr.  Wallace  I  voted  for  Mr. 
McDowell  that  night.  After  we  got  to  Beaver 
Falls  Downing  handed  me  an  enveloj)e  in 
which  there  was  .$645.  After  we  came  out  of 
the  convention  hall  Shaffer  told  me  that  he 
had  the  money.” 

Our  inquiries  were  more  than  ordinarily 
useful  in  Pennsylvania,  owing  to  the  muzzled 
condition  of  the  republican  press  in  that  state, 
the  like  of  which,  we  think,  has  never  been 
seen  in  a  free  community,  unless  we  call  the 
southern  states  during  the  days  of  slavery  free 
communities.  Our  correspondent  found  some 
ministers  who  had  neve)'  heard  of  the  charges  against 
Quay,  owing  to  their  confining  their  newspaper 
reading  to  two  newspapers,  one  of  them,  we 
regret  to  say,  a  journal  which  we  greatly  re¬ 
spect —  The  Ledger.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor¬ 


tance  that  the  lid  should  be  taken  oft’  such 
minds  as  these,  and  a  little  of  the  light  of  con¬ 
temporaneous  history  be  allowed  to  shoot  in. 
— New  York  Evening  Post. 

To  the  Hon.  Matthew  S.  Quay  : 

Dear  Sir — The  charges  of  embezzlement 
while  state  treasurer  of  Pennsylvania  brought 
against  you  by  the  New  York  World,  Evening 
Post,  Nation,  Puck,  and  other  papers  of  respon¬ 
sibility,  have  so  far  met  neither  reply  nor  de¬ 
nial  at  your  hands.  It  is  and  has  been  very 
irritating  to  many  earnest  republicans  to  have 
you  ignore  these  grave  accusations,  made  most 
pointed  and  emphatic  in  last  week’s  Puck, 
which  undoubtedly  you  have  seen.  You  are 
there  depicted  i^  a  felon’s  garb,  plainly  called 
a  felon,  holding  the  whip,  and  compelling  the 
respectable  leaders  of  the  “  Grand  Old  Party  ” 
to  march  at  the  command  of  a  felon  overseer. 

As  you  perhaps  shun  suit  for  libel  against 
any  or  all  of  your  accusers  on  account  of  the 
great  expense  therein  involved,  it  has  been 
suggested  by  some  of  those  republicans  who 
are  indirectly  smarting  under  these  accusa¬ 
tions,  to  raise  a  fund  of  sufficient  amount  to 
institute  and  push  suits  for  civil  and  criminal 
libel  against  your  open  accusers. 

Please  let  me  know  if  this  plan  of  vindicat¬ 
ing  your  honor  as  chairman  of  the  republican 
national  committee  and  United  States  senator 
meets  with  your  approval,  and  oblige  yours, 
respectfully,  Rudolph  Blankenburg. 

Philadelphia,  Tuesday,  Aug.  5,  ISOO. 

[Mr.  Quay  still  maintains  his  iiolicy  of  si¬ 
lence.] 

The  legislature  of  1879,  which  assembled 
January  7,  and  adjourned  June  6,  of  the  same 
year,  was  a  notable  one  in  the  annals  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  Governor  Hoyt  was  entirely  under 
the  power  of  Quay,  and  the  latter  was  abso¬ 
lute  monarch  of  the  situation  at  Harrisburg. 
The  bill  of  indemnity  for  the  damage  by  the 
Pittsburg  rioters  would  place  $2,000,000  at 
Quay’s  disposal  to  divide  among  his  gang  of 
followers,  bribe  members  of  the  legislature 
and  fatten  his  own  purse. 

Of  course  so  monstrous  a  scheme  could  not 
be  run  through  the  legislature  rough-shod. 
The  comment  on  the  action  of  Quay  in  creat¬ 
ing  the  office  of  recorder  of  Philadelphia  for 
his  individual  benefit  had  been  widespread, 
and  the  newly  elected  members  were  not  all  in 
accord  with  the  eminent  statesman’s  methods. 
Certain  of  their  number  were  at  Harrisburg 
for  other  reasons  than  merely  those  of  senti¬ 
ment,  and  among  them  was  Emil  Petroff, 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives. 
The  bill  was  introduced  in  the  house,  and  the 


152 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


workers  for  the  bill  were  as  active  as  cats  in 
their  efforts  to  obtain  votes.  One  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  manipulators  was  Willunn  H.  Kemble, 
at  present  the  highly  respectable  president  of 
the  People’s  Bank,  on  Fourth  street,  at  Phila¬ 
delphia.  Under  (Quay’s  able  counsel,  the 
highly  respectable  Kemble  was  detected  as 
among  the  corrupters,  and  Emil  Petroffand 
others  were  likewise  found  in  the  same  boat 
of  criminality. 

The  grand  jury  of  Dauphin  county,  in¬ 
dicted  the  bribers.  Under  the  new  constitu¬ 
tion  the  legislature  and  the  state’s  business 
were  guarded  in  a  measure  against  the  old 
loosenessof  past  days  and  you  could  no  longer 
openly  perpetrate  frauds  upon  the  people. 
Openly?  Isay.  Important  distinction.  The 
difference  was  simply  that  the  frauds  had  to 
be  covertly  enacted.  In  the  old  days  bribers 
would  do  their  work  while  the  member  sat  at 
his  desk  in  session.  The  lobby  carried  out 
the  task  they  had  undertaken  with  a  tithe  of 
circumspection  in  later  times. 

Petroff  was  tried  for  bribery.  Matt  Carpen¬ 
ter,  of  Wisconsin,  the  great  Jeremiah  Black 
and  F.  B.  Gowen,  afterwards  president  of  the 
Reading  railway,  were  the  prosecuting  coun¬ 
sel.  Gowen  was  after  higher  game  than  Petroff 
and  he  would  have  driven  it  to  the  wall  had 
not  Quay  and  his  friends  been  too  smart  for 
him.  Ry  reason  of  Quay’s  grip  on  the  state 
government  he  was  in  a  position,  as  will  be 
shown,  to  protect  his  friends.  When  Petroff 
was  convicted,  and  the  eminent  lawyers  of  the 
prosecution  had  sharpened  their  wits  for  the 
run  for  bigger  rascals,  Kemble  et.  al.  aston¬ 
ished  every  one  by  pleading  guilty.  By  so 
doing  the  dangers  of  an  examination  in  open 
court  were  averted.  The  conspirators  were 
greatly  alarmed  by  Petroff’s  trial.  They 
knew  that  with  Kemble  before  the  bar  of  jus¬ 
tice,  the  outpouring  of  iniquity  would  be  tre¬ 
mendous.  Kemble  is  the  author  of  the  famous 
epigram  which  indicates  his  morality  :  “Ad¬ 
dition,  Division  and  Silence.”  And  well  he 
understood  how  to  apply  his  political  creed, 
as  his  worldly  prosperity  to-day  will  demon¬ 
strate. 

Kemble  smiled  jauntily  after  he  had  been 
sentenced  to  the  state  penitentiary  by  the 
court.  Some  of  his  unsophisticated  friends 
were  alarmed,  but  he  reassured  them.  “  Don’t 
fear,”  he  said.  “  I  will  prove  another  Samson 
and  pull  the  temple  down  over  their  heads  ” 
— referring  to  Quay  and  other  members  of  the 
gang — “  unless  they  fix  things  for  me.” 

When  the  excitement  over  the  conviction  of 
Petroff’  and  the  self-acknowledged  criminality 
of  Kemble  diminished  a  little.  Statesman 
Quay  displayed  his  hand.  The  state  board 
of  pardons  was  a  machine  which  was  practi¬ 
cally  in  his  power,  and  he  proceeded  to  use  it 
in  behalf  of  his  followers  who  were  at  the 
gates  of  the  state  prison.  The  board  of  par¬ 
dons  consists  by  law  of  the  secretary  of  the 
commonwealth,  then  held  by  Statesman  Quay  ; 
the  lieutenant-governor,  then  C.  W.  Stone; 
the  attorney-general,  then  F.  W.  Palmer,  and 


the  secretary  of  internal  affairs,  then  A.  K. 
Doble.  Quay  caused  the  board  to  be  assem¬ 
bled  in  extra  session  and  without  ado  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  pardon  the  scoundrels.  It  is  alleged 
that  Attorney-General  Palmer  and  Licut.- 
Gov.  Stone  objected  seriously  to  the  scheme, 
but,  as  in  another  abuse  of  power,  the  superior 
will  of  Quay  dominated  and  Petroff  and  Kem¬ 
ble  were  whitewashed  for  their  misdeeds  by  a 
vote  of  the  board,  which  recommended  to  the 
governor  their  pardon.  Gov.  Hoyt,  as  Quay’s 
henchman,  of  course  carried  out  his  part  and 
the  culprits  were  free  to  again  conspire  against 
the  state. 

An  odd  bit  of  history  leaked  out  about  this 
time.  Samuel  Butler,  of  Delaware  county, 
was  the  state  treasurer  elect.  His  bond,  as 
required,  was  a  large  one.  Butler  was,  as  far 
as  is  known,  an  honest  man.  Certainly  his 
antecedents  weref  above  criticism,  and  that 
Quay  should  have  allowed  such  a  person  to 
obtain  the  office  of  treasurer  was  a  subject  of 
criticism  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  members 
of  the  gang.  Butler  secured  a  number  of 
good  names  as  bondsmen  in  his  home  county, 
and  then  the  document  went  to  Philadelphia 
and  Harrisburg.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  Kemble  was  a  convicted  felon,  his  name 
was  placed  on  the  bond  of  the  treasurer  of  the 
state  he  had  only  recently  conspired  to  indi¬ 
rectly  rob.  The  bond  was  held  in  secret  at 
Harrisburg.  When  any  one  asked  for  the 
names  of  the  bondsmen  the  list  was  handed 
out  with  Kemble’s  name  omitted. 

A  storm  of  indignation  swept  over  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  owing  to  the  pardoning  board  scandal- 
Quay’s  conduct  was  discussed  by  respectable 
people,  and  he  was  strongly  condemned.  Pres¬ 
byterian  synods  passed  resolutions  against  the 
shameless  pardoning  board,  and  in  a  state 
where  a  healthy  public  sentiment  prevailed 
Statesman  Quay’s  career  would  have  ended 
then  and  there.  Had  the  people  been  aware 
of  his  greater  rascality,  which  had  then  been 
perpetrated,  the  storm  would  have  burst  in  a 
manner  that  would  have  been  disastrous  to 
the  unprincipled  boss. — New  York  World,  Feb¬ 
ruary  10. 


United  States  Senator  Quay  and  William  H. 
Kemble  sat  together  this  afternoon  on  the 
porch  of  Mr.  Kemble’s  handsome  country 
residence,  near  Glen  Side,  Montgomery  coun¬ 
ty.  The  two  were  engaged  in  earnest  conver¬ 
sation.  Mr.  Kemble  more  frequently  being 
the  listener  than  the  talker. 

The  senator’s  visit  to  Mr.  Kemble  was  not 
generally  known  in  the  city,  and  the  two  had 
nearly  the  entire  day  to  themselves.  Colonel 
(^uay  told  the  Times’s  correspondent  he  had 
simply  taken  a  quiet  run  to  the  country  to 
spend  the  day  with  Mr.  Kemble.  When  asked 
if  "his  visit  was  purely  social,  he  replied  yes. 
The  senator  said,  with  a  smile,  “I  am  resting 
here  for  the  day,  having  a  quiet  time,  as  you 
see.  I  expect  to  leave  this  evening,  and  will 
go  straight  through,  without  stopping  in  Phil¬ 
adelphia.” — Neiv  York  Times,  Aug.  10. 


REPORTS  ON  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE' 

The  Civil  Service  Record,  which  has  been 
printing  a  series  of  facsimile  and  wood  cut 
illustrations  of  the  examinations  in  the  dif¬ 
ferent  departments  of  the  civil  service,  con¬ 
tains  in  its  August  number  an  especially  val¬ 
uable  one  illustrative  of  the  labor  service. 

Mr.  Theodore  L.  De  Land,  chief  clerk  of  the 
treasury  department,  and  member  of  the  board 
of  examiners,  has  written  an  excellent  report 
illustrative  of  the  examinations  in  the  treas¬ 
ury  department. 

The  report  of  the  civil  service  commission 
of  Brooklyn  for  1889  has  been  printed.  Among 
the  samples  of  examination  questions  the  fol¬ 
lowing  are  to  determine  the  “intelligence”  [rat¬ 
ing  13  out  of  100]  of  candidates  for  park  po¬ 
licemen  : 

1.  State  briefly  what  you  understand  to  be  the  du¬ 
ties  of  the  place  for  which  you  apply,  park  police¬ 
man  or  doorman,  as  the  case  may  be. 

2.  About  What  is  the  population  of  New  York 
City? 

3.  What  other  large  cities  are  there  in  New  York 
State? 

-1.  Give  the  boundaries  of  Long  Island. 

5.  Name  as  many  .savings  banks  in  Brooklyn  as  you 
can. 

6.  What  are  the  different  kinds  of  pavements  used 
in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  between  the  curbstones? 

7.  What  are  the  daily  newspapers  published  in 
Brooklyn? 

8.  Enumerate  the  bridges  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn, 
telling  at  what  streets  they  are,  and  over  what  streams 
of  water. 

9.  Enumeiate  the  parks  in  Brooklyn,  telling  where 
they  are  and  about  how  large  they  are. 

10.  Give  the  names  of : 

(a.)  The  present  president  of  the  United  States. 

(?;.)  The  present  governor  of  the  state  of  New  York. 

(c.)  The  present  mayor  of  Brooklyn. 

[d.)  The  present  commissioner  of  police. 

(e.)  The  present  president  of  the  park  commission. 

The  seventh  annual  report  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission  of  the  state  of  New  York  has 
been  printed.  A  competitive  examination  for 
instructors  of  pupil  assistants  in  the  state  li¬ 
brary  was  held  last  March.  Seven  candidates 
were  examined  on  cataloguing,  classification, 
card  cataloguing,  library  training,  library 
binding  and  library  economy.  The  highest 
average  was  96.85  and  the  lowest  87.7.  At  the 
same  time  an  examination  for  court  interjjre- 
ter  was  held,  and  these  were  examined  in  dic¬ 
tation,  handwriting,  spelling,  English  to  Ger¬ 
man,  French,  Hungarian,  Spanish  and  Italian. 
The  report  also  contains  samples  of  the  exam¬ 
ination  questions. 

The  sixth  annual  report  of  the  civil  service 
commissioners  of  Massachusetts  says  that  “  in 
nearly  one-half  the  subordinate  offices  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  and  her  cities,  the  people  have  for 
their  public  servants  persons  who  have  passed 
the  examinations,  been  certified  from  the  top 
of  the  eligible  lists,  and,  so  far  as  the  commis¬ 
sioners  know,  have  been  appointed  to  office 
without  regard  to  political  or  religious  belief 
or  influence.”  This  report  also  contains  many 
sample  examination  questions. 

These  reports  should  be  in  every  college  li¬ 
brary  in  the  state. 


The  civil  service  Chronicle. 


For  sale  at  Wylie's  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  oflice.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


Voii.  I,  No.  19. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  SEPTEMBER 


,  JLOtJU. 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League  will  be  held 
in  Boston,  Oct.  1  and  2.  The  annual  ad¬ 
dress  will  be  delivered  by  the  president, 
George  William  Curtis,  at  Tremont  Tem¬ 
ple,  at  8  o’clock  on  the  evening  of  Oct.  1. 
The  first  general  business  session  of  the 
league  will  be  held  at  10  o’clock  A.  m.  in 
Meionaon  Hall,  on  Tremont  street. 

The  business  at  this  session  will  be  the 
election  of  a  president  and  the  reading  of 
the  following  papers:  “Examination  in 
Character  essential  to  a  Complete  Competi¬ 
tion,”  by  Edward  M.  Shepard  ;  “  The  Rela¬ 
tion  of  Civil  Service  Reform  to  other  Re¬ 
forms,”  by  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  and  “All 
other  Reforms  should  be  subordinated  to 
Civil  Service  Reform,”  by  Lucius  B.  Swift. 
The  second  general  business  session  will  be 
held  at  the  same  place  at  2  o’clock  p.  m.  the 
same  day.  This  session  will  be  devoted  to 
the  hearing  and  consideration  of  reports 
and  resolutions.  At  6:30  p.  m.,  Oct.  2,  the 
members  of  the  Massachusetts  Civil  Service 
Reform  League  will  give  a  dinner  at  the 
Parker  house  to  members  of  the  National 
League. 

Some  forty  federal  office  holders  were 
helping  to  run  the  republican  state  conven¬ 
tion  held  in  this  city,  September  10.  Con¬ 
spicuous  among  these  were  Postmasters 
Higgins,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Smith,  of 
La  Fayette,  Greiner,  of  Terre  Haute,  Ben¬ 
nett,  of  Evansville,  Crockett,  of  South  Bend, 
Tomlinson,  of  Logansport ;  and  Postmaster 
De  Motte,  of  Valparaiso,  read  the  platform 
to  the  convention.  The  excuse  can  not  be 
made  that  if  these  office-holders  had  not 
got  up  the  primaries  and  conventions, 
there  would  have  been  no  party  organiza¬ 
tion,  no  primaries  and  conventions,  and  no 
delegates  to  the  state  convention.  Every 
meeting  would  have  been  held  just  the 
same,  the  same  number  of  delegates  would 
have  come  together,  and  the  zeal  would 
have  been  in  no  manner  less.  A  con¬ 
vention  managed  by  office  holders  is  not  a 
party  convention.  It  is  the  lordship  of  a  fac¬ 
tion,  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury  and 
having  means  and  leisure,  over  the  rest  of 
the  party  and  in  the  service  of  some  lord 
paramount.  At  this  convention,  without 
the  interference  of  office-holders  no  at¬ 
tempt  would  have  been  made  to  make  it  a 
Harrison  convention — an  attempt  which 
failed.  Such  an  attempt  ought  to  fail.  A 


president  has  no  business  to  allow  office¬ 
holders  to  appear  in  party  meetings  to  see 
that  he  is  properly  puffed.  He  should 
stand  before  the  country  on  his  own  mer¬ 
its  and  not  upon  the  true  or  false  praises 
which  a  gang  of  office-holders  may  get  into 
a  platform.  Possibly  he  might  not  secure 
a  renomination,  but  he  has  no  right  to  use 
office  holders  to  secure  a  renomination. 

The  latest  attempt  to  get  money  out  of 
government  clerks  appears  in  a  circular  by 
one  W.  W.  Curry,  a  pension-claim  man, 
who  writes  as  agent  for  the  Indiana  state 
republican  committee.  The  circular  is 
very  insulting  in  its  insinuations,  and  no 
self  respecting  clerk  will  contribute  any¬ 
thing  in  answer  to  such  a  demand.  There 
is  no  need  of  much  money  to  run  a  cam¬ 
paign.  Every  attempt  to  get  it  out  of  gov¬ 
ernment  employes  ought  to  be  denounced 
and  fought,  because  these  attempts  are 
plain  declarations  that  the  employes  must 
thus  pay  for  their  places. 

Congressman  Grosvenor,  of  Ohio,  hav¬ 
ing  failed  of  renomination,  bids  fair  to  fol¬ 
low  Cheadle  of  this  state  into  private  life. 
Of  Grosvenor,  also,  it  may  be  said,  that  he 
retires  noted  for  nothing  except  a  frantic 
opposition  to  the  civil  service  law.  He  set 
his  heart  upon  this  work,  and  evidently 
thought  he  was  going  to  have  an  easy  road 
to  travel.  His  efforts  have  been  a  complete 
failure,  and  he  is  apparently  very  sore. 

Secretary  Tracy  returned  a  rather 
curt  answer  to  the  house  inquiry  regarding 
the  employment  of  men  in  the  Kittery  yard 
just  before  election,  in  which  he  says  that 
public  work  shall  not  be  interrupted  nor 
shall  he  be  deterred  from  the  performance 
of  his  duty  by  unfounded  suspicions.  This 
is  all  very  well,  but  two  things  are  undoubt¬ 
edly  true.  One  is  that  the  outcry  unques¬ 
tionably  warded  off  the  disgrace  of  seeing 
the  Kittery  yard  tilled  with  voters  to  help 
Congressman  Reed’s  election,  of  which 
every  one  including  Reed  himself  was  in 
doubt.  The  other  thing  is  that  Secretary 
Tracy’s  expression  of  injured  innocence 
would  be  much  more  appropriate  if  it 
were  not  a  fact  that  he  has  allowed  the 
Brooklyn  navy-yard  to  be  looted  by  the 
fighting  factions  of  Brooklyn  ward  politics. 
According  to  the  Boston  Post,  the  order 
sending  the  Chicago  for  repairs  to  the 
Charlestown  yard,  in  the  district  where 


Congressman  Lodge’s  campaign  is  going 
on  has  been  revoked.  But  the  Norfolk  yard 
is  in  full  blast  with  a  thousand  men  work¬ 
ing  at  ante-election  repairs  to  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  Congressman  Bowden,  who  the 
white  republicans  claim  puts  on  too  many 
negroes.  Undoubtedly  “  local  option  ’  has 
something  to  do  with  deciding  what  yards 
it  is  safe  to  “  work.” 

Republican  opposition  to  Quay  has  be¬ 
come  organized  in  Pennsylvania  and  will 
do  what  it  can  against  him  in  the  cam¬ 
paign.  This  is  the  duty  of  every  republi¬ 
can  who  recognizes  the  impassable  gulf  be¬ 
tween  Quay  and  common,  ordinary  hones¬ 
ty.  And  each  man  should  perform  this 
duty  with  all  his  might,  without  any  regard 
to  the  result  of  the  election.  Those  leaders 
who  hesitate  to  again  take  up  such  a  strug¬ 
gle  because  once  they  defeated  Cameron 
and  got  Quay,  and  now  feel  that  a  defeat  of 
Boss  Quay  will  simply  raise  up  Boss  Mc¬ 
Gee,  are  falterers  by  the  way.  Defeat  in 
detail  is  one  of  the  powerful  forces  that 
will  in  time  free  this  boss-ridden  country, 
and  restore  its  political  self-respect. 

President  Harrison  has  promoted 
Henry  Sherwood  to  succeed  Mr.  Ross  as 
postmaster  at  Washington,  Mr.  Ross  hav¬ 
ing  been  appointed  by  the  President  to  an 
other  position.  Mr.  Sherwood  has  been 
twenty-eight  years  in  the  military  and  civ¬ 
il  service  of  the  country.  For  twelve  years 
he  was  in  the  postal  service,  for  four  years 
he  was  postmaster  of  the  house  of  repre¬ 
sentatives.  For  eight  years  he  has  been 
assistant  postmaster  in  the  Washington 
post-office.  He  was  retained  by  Mr  Ross, 
who  was  the  democratic  incumbent  under 
Mr.  Cleveland.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  a 
competent  and  conscientious  public  serv¬ 
ant  is  promoted  according  to  his  merit. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  in  its  recent 
issues  has  been  printing  a  list  of  persons  con¬ 
nected  with  newspapers  who  have  received  fed¬ 
eral  positions — mostly  postmasterships.  The 
list  is  a  very  incomplete  one  ;  some  states  are 
omitted  altogether.  No  state  has  been  inves¬ 
tigated  thoroughly,  and  those  who  have  re¬ 
ceived  or  whose  family  has  received  federal 
positions  other  than  postmasterships  were 
not  investigated  at  all.  But  the  list  as  it  is 
ought  to  surprise  and  alarm  people.  There^ 
could  be  no  better  work  for  some  important  and  f 
powerful  newspaper  than  to  print  a  revised  ^ 


154 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


and  complete  list,  for  it  would  show  as  by 
no  other  method  that  this  country  has,  as  a 
rule,  government  by  the  people  only  in  name 
and  government  by  bosses  in  fact.  Were 
these  newspaper  office  holders  as  they  run  for 
their  congressman  or  other  boss,  in  uniform, 
distinguished  by  a  Quay  button  or  an  Ingalls 
rosette,  then  their  number  and  activity  and 
power  would  be  realized.  As  it  is,  the  village 
paper  and  the  village  postoffice,  although  con¬ 
spicuous  parts  of  the  local  machine  and  a 
steady  irritant  to  a  part  of  the  inhabitants, 
seem  isolated  cases  and  the  editor  himself  too 
harmless  a  fellow  to  provoke  rebellion.  But 
print  lists  covering  the  entire  country,  then 
the  consequences  of  being  able  to  control 
a  great  number  of  country  papers,  of  bringing 
forward  or  holding  back  facts,  of  exaggerat¬ 
ing  or  belittling  political  news,  become  appar¬ 
ent.  No  wonder  that  Mr.  Clarkson  in  an  out¬ 
break  of  irritation  wrote  Mr.  Dana,  “  I  would 
like  to  know  what  good  cause  is  served  by 
keeping  a  list  like  this  before  the  public.” 

These  papers  are  manacled,  and  of  the  harm 
and  danger  nothing  can  be  added  to  Daniel 
Webster’s  eloquent  statement.  But  even  he 
did  not  foresee  the  usual  condition  of  the  news¬ 
paper  office-holder  of  to-day.  Daniel  Webster 
characterized  the  effect  of  the  gift  of  office  in 
silencing  the  paper ;  he  did  not  conceive  the 
possibility  of  the  scandal  caused  by  continued 
political  activity  on  the  part  of  the  office-hold¬ 
er  and  of  making  his  paper  his  chief  weap¬ 
on  for  controling  caucuses  and  county 
and  district  conventions.  It  is  so  grave  a  scan¬ 
dal,  and  will  in  time  arouse  such  widespread 
indignation  that  no  wonder  Mr.  Clarkson  dep¬ 
recates  publicity. 

It  is  not  only  republican  editors  who  have 
been  subsidized.  It  is  instructive  to  note  the 
great  number  of  democratic  editors  who  have 
been  allowed  to  hold  on  to  their  offices.  On 
every  ground  of  offensive  partisanship,  if  any 
office-holders  were  to  go,  these  should  have 
been  the  first.  But  shrewd  Mr.  Clarkson 
spiked  his  enemies’  guns  far  more  effectually 
by  his  process.  Another  significant  thing  was 
the  gift  of  office  to  such  great  numbers  of  so 
called  “independent”  papers.  Again  Mr. 
Clarkson  had  mastered  well  the  meaning  of 
that  happy  statement  of  President  William 
Henry  Harrison,  that  with  “golden  fetters”  on, 
how  much  less  troublesome  an  “  independent” 
paper  would  be. 

OFFICE-HOLDING  STRABISMUS. 

Elsewhere  is  printed  an  extract  from  the 
speech  of  District  Attorney  Chambers,  deliv¬ 
ered  before  a  republican  club  of  this  city,  and 
which  the  Indianapolis  Journal  says  will  prove 
an  “effective  campaign  document.”  Few  things 
have  happened  to  disgrace  the  administration 
so  much.  No  matter  whether  a  government  is 
run  on  the  spoils  system  or  on  any  other  sys¬ 
tem,  the  gross  impropriety  of  a  speech  by  any 
public  officer  in  such  a  spirit  and  tone  must 
be  apparent  to  any  one.  Let  us  take  a  single 
instance.  Mr.  Chambers  says  that  democratic 


committees  have  at  times  issued  “corrupt  cir¬ 
culars  inviting  and  urging  bribery.”  He 
quotes  from  a  Morgan  county  circular,  “Those 
who  have  to  be  bought  are  not  doubtful  but 
are  floats.”  Again,  from  a  Decatur  county 
circular:  “Get  the  float  well  in  hand.”  There 
can  be  no  possible  question  but  that  Mr. 
Chambers  means  by  the  word  “float”  or  “float¬ 
er”  a  man  who  is  paid  for  his  vote.  Turning 
to  the  Dudley  letter,  it  is  written,  “Your  com¬ 
mittee  will  certainly  receive  from  Chairman 
Huston  the  assistance  necessary  to  hold  our 
floaters.  *  *  Divide  the  floaters  in  blocks 

of  five  and  put  a  trusted  man  with  necessary 
funds  in  charge  of  these  five.”  Of  the  two 
versions  of  that  letter,  which  differed  in  no 
essential  respect.  Chambers  said,  in  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal  of  December  13,  1889,  that 
they  “have  nothing  in  them  of  a  criminal 
character,  but,  upon  the  other  hand,  *  are 
honorable,  and  indicate  simply  a  patriotic  in¬ 
terest  in  the  elections.”  We  should  like  to 
have  Mr.  Chambers,  in  writing,  over  his  own 
signature,  explain  himself.  AVill  he  make  it 
clear  that  money  paid  to  a  “  float”  by  demo¬ 
crats  is  bribery,  and  money  paid  to  “  floaters 
in  blocks  of  five”  by  republicans  is  not  brib¬ 
ery,  but  indicates  “simply  a  patriotic  interest 
in  the  elections.”  He  can  not  do  this,  for  he 
knows  that  the  Dudley  letter  means  bribery. 
He  appears  to  be  verifying  Dr.  Johnson’s  defi¬ 
nition  that  patriotism  is  the  last  refuge  of  a 
scoundrel,  and  he  affords  to  the  people  of  In¬ 
diana  the  spectacle  of  a  public  prosecuting 
officer,  paid  out  of  the  common  treasury,  ex¬ 
cusing  bribery  in  his  own  party  while  joining 
in  a  campaign  cry,  for  bribery,  against  the 
opposite  party.  Such  an  officer  does  not  de¬ 
serve  the  respect  of  the  public  or  of  his  neigh¬ 
bors.  The  Columbia  Club,  which  prides  it¬ 
self  upon  its  “clean  politics,”  ought  to  petition 
the  President  to  remove  Chambers  from  office. 

CLARKSONISM. 

Clarkson  has  gone  out  of  office  at  last,  and 
there  is  uncertainty  as  to  what  he  will  do  next. 
He  says  he  has  nothing  to  apologize  for,  though 
no  one  expects  or  is  calling  for  an  apology. 
It  is  the  President  who  ought  to  make  an  apoD 
ogy,  if  he  can.  He  has  allowed  Clarkson  to 
give  the  country  an  example  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  such  as  has  never  been  known  before. 
Through  Clarkson’s  agency  thirty  odd  thou¬ 
sand  post-offices  have  been  absorbed  as  spoil 
in  eighteen  months.  President  Harrison  can 
never  show  that  this  is  not  a  defiant  disregard 
of  the  platform  upon  which  he  was  elected, 
and  which  said  :  “  The  spirit  and  purpose  of 

the  reform  should  be  observed  in  all  executive 
appointments.”  When  the  President  places 
the  partisan  seizure  of  these  thirty-odd  thou¬ 
sand  post-offices  by  the  side  of  this  platform 
promise,  he  will  have  to  keep  silent. 

The  Maryland  republican  clubs  sent  a  dele¬ 
gation  to  Clarkson  to  thank  him  for  his  op¬ 
position  to  the  civil  service  law.  The  Indian¬ 
apolis  News  of  September  13,  treats  the  matter 
fully.  It  says: 

It  is  worth  while  noting  this  spectacle:  A  repre¬ 


sentative  body  of  citizens  thanks  a  man  for  his  op¬ 
position  to  the  law  of  the  country  while  he  was  an 
official  of  that  country  sworn  to  execute  its  laws. 
There  is  a  spectacle  demoralizing  enough,  surely. 
Mr.  Clarkson’s  notion  of  a  reformed  civil  service  as 
explained  was  that  he  would  make  the  examinations 
departmental,  conducted  by  those  under  whom  the 
clerks  would  have  to  work,  and  would  always  select 
all  clerks  in  sympathy  with  the  party  in  power.  He 
added  that  he  believed  this  to  be  a  representative 
government  based  on  party  responsibility,  and  that 
no  party  in  power  could  escape  this  responsibility 
if  it  tried  ;  therefore,  he  believed  that  any  adminis¬ 
tration,  state,  national  or  county,  was  entitled  to  have 
all  places  under  it  filled  by  its  friends,  or  those 
anxious  for  its  .success  and  not  its  failure. 

It  is  not  worth  while  controverting  the  fallacy  that 
the  routine  work  of  the  public  affairs;  the  keeping 
of  books  and  writing  of  letters;  the  scrubbing  of 
floors  and  cleaning  of  spitoons,  can  have  no  possible 
influence  upon  a  policy  or  principle  of  govern¬ 
mental  administration.  The  theory  that  a  clerk  or 
scrub  woman  is  going  to  obstruct  the  public  service 
in  order  to  di.scrodit  the  political  party  charged  with 
administration,  springs  from  the  spoils  idea  that  the 
public  service  is  the  prize  of  victory  to  be  fought  for 
by  the  people,  divided  into  two  armies,  each  absolved 
from  any  consideration  of  the  other,  the  victor  war¬ 
ranted  in  taking  this  service  as  his  earned  reward,  as 
the  victorious  prize  fighter  takes  the  purse  that  has 
been  “hung  up”  to  spend  in  treating  his  backers 
and  heelers.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  public 
service  in  every  attribute  of  its  exercise  and  all  the 
justification  of  its  being  is  as  much  the  possession  of 
the  defeated  party  as  it  is  of  the  victorious  party. 
That  in  every  contemplation  which  does  not  degrade 
public  administration  to  the  level  of  brigandage, 
the  “victor”  is  entitled  only  to  its  direction  along 
certain  lines  of  policy,  and  that  this  applies  only  to 
administration— not  to  substance.  That  the  service 
is  not  a  visible  mass  of  loot,  to  be  portioned  out 
among  retainers  by  a  feudal  lord  entering  upon  a 
conquered  domain,  but  that  it  is  the  possession  of 
the  whole  people,  created  and  maintained  by  them 
for  their  benefit,  aud  that  control  of  it  means  control, 
not  ownership. 


MINISTERS  AND  POLITICS. 

There  is  everywhere  a  part  of  the  clergy 
who  maintain  that  their  work  in  the  church 
is  to  inculcate  the  broad  principles  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man  and  the  saving,  elevating 
power  of  Christianity,  but  it  is  not  to  apply 
those  principles  to  matters  of  conduct.  There 
is  now  and  then  a  preacher  of  such  largeness 
of  mind  and  eloquence  of  tongue  that  he  can 
move  the  hearts  of  men  and  women  to  seek  for 
noble  living  by  these  general  truths  and  by  no 
special  application  to  matters  of  conduct.  But 
men  in  the  pulpit  with  these  gifts  are  rare, 
and  were  they  more  common,  would  we  be 
willing  to  spare  the  men  who  have  shown  the 
relation  of  religion  to  conduct?  Could  we 
spare  the  ministers  whose  denunciations  of 
slavery  still  make  the  heart  beat  faster? 

But  suppose  a  church  has  for  years  heard 
from  the  pulpit  the  sermons  declaring  “the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  truths  only  related 
to  that,”  and  yet  its  members  are  callous  to 
the  immorality  of  buying  a  public  office  by 
the  gift  of  money  or  place,  or  who  excuse  it 
on  the  ground  that  a  politician  must  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  have  a  different  code  of  morals. 
What  is  to  be  said  of  the  results  of  such 
preaching?  Surely  it  has  been  a  dishearten¬ 
ing  failure.  Clergymen  can  not  allow  them¬ 
selves  to  be  blind  to  this.  If  they  find,  for  in¬ 
stance,  that  a  large  number  of  their  intelligent 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


155 


church  members  are  lethargic  over  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  votes  by  money  or  office,  their  duty  is 
plain  to  change  their  method  of  the  present¬ 
ment  of  the  principles  of  Christianity  and  to 
apply  them  to  matters  of  political  conduct.  It 
need  not  be  stated  that  they  should  not  be 
partisan,  that  their  horizon  should  be  large, 
and  that  they  should  be  just  and  temperate  in 
expression. 

The  work  now  being  undertaken  by  clergy¬ 
men  in  New  York  illustrates  this  view.  In 
spite  of  their  teachings  there  has  grown  strong 
a  most  corrupt  political  organization  ;  it  robs 
the  people,  it  cheats  justice,  and  its  corrupting 
influence  is  all-pervading.  Those  clergymen 
now  see  a  chance  to  bring  their  influence  as 
clergymen  to  bear  on  a  great  plague  spot,  and 
it  is  encouraging  to  note  how  heartily  their 
attempt  is  co-operated  with  by  the  young  men 
of  their  churches. 


WORKINGMEN  AND  DISMISSALS. 

Of  late  years  one  of  the  characteristics  of 
attempted  settlement  of  strikes  has  been  that 
the  workingmen  stipulate  that  there  shall  be 
no  dismissal  without  cause.  In  some  cases 
they  have  proposed  that  each  man  shall  first 
be  granted  a  hearing  before  a  board  composed, 
in  part,  of  his  fellow-workmen.  The  recent 
railroad  strike  in  New  York  was  based  upon 
the  assertion  that  certain  workmen  had  been 
dismissed  without  any  apparent  business  rea¬ 
son.  Yet  labor  organizations  stand  by  with¬ 
out  protest  and  see  successive  presidents  dis¬ 
miss  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  wage- 
earners  without  any  reason  whatever  except 
to  find  places  for  favorites.  For  instance, 
President  Cleveland  in  this  manner  turned  the 
hundreds  of  employes  out  of  the  Brooklyn 
navy  yard  and  put  in  his  favorites,  and  now 
President  Harrison  has  turned  these  out  and 
put  in  his  favorites.  Under  such  a  system  of 
course  a  large  share  of  government  work  falls 
to  sycophants,  heelers,  and  hangers-on.  Hon¬ 
est  and  industrious  labor  gets  little  benefit 
from  this  colossal  employer  of  labor.  It  is 
the  inexplicable  enigma  of  the  present  move¬ 
ment  of  workingmen  to  better  themselves  that, 
year  after  year,  they  let  this  richest  of  labor 
prizes  go  without  even  an  attempt  to  secure  it. 
This  undoubtedly  proceeds  from  a  mistaken 
idea  that  government  labor  has  something  pe¬ 
culiar  about  it.  It  has  not;  public  bookkeep¬ 
ing  and  carpentering  are  just  the  same  as  pri¬ 
vate  bookkeeping  and  carpentering,  and  to 
hire  either  done  upon  the  principle  of  favor¬ 
itism  is  a  detriment  to  honest  labor.  Govern¬ 
ment  labor  should  be  brought  into  the  general 
labor  field.  To  secure  this  only  a  few  simple 
rules  are  necessary.  Let  the  workingmen’s 
principle  of  no  dismissal  without  cause  be  en¬ 
forced  in  the  government  service.  To  avoid 
favoritism  in  appointment,  the  places  requir¬ 
ing  skilled  labor  should  be  filled  by  open  com¬ 
petition.  Unskilled  laborers,  in  selecting 
whom  there  now  exist  the  greatest  scandals, 
should  be  chosen  on  the  plan  of  the  Boston 
labor  system — which  has  met  with  unanimous 


approval.  If  these  rules  were  observed  both 
in  the  states  and  with  the  federal  government, 
fully  200,000  places  which  are  now  practically 
of  no  benefit  to  workingmen  would  be  brought 
where  they  and  their  children  could  secure 
permanent  employment  at  good  wages,  not 
exactly  in  the  same  way  but  upon  the  same 
principles  by  which  they  now  secure  employ¬ 
ment  of  private  employers.  Why  do  they  sit 
still  and  see  this  field  go  to  waste  year  after 
year  ? 

A  MANACLED  PRESS. 

Daniel  Webster  in  1832. 

And  is  a  press  that  is  purcliased  or  pen¬ 
sioned  more  free  than  a  press  that  is  fet¬ 
tered  I  Can  the  people  look  for  truths  to 
partial  sources,  whether  rendered  partial 
through  fear  or  through  favor  J  Why 
shall  not  a  manacled  press  be  trusted  with 
the  maintenance  and  defense  of  popular 
rights !  Because  it  is  supposed  to  be  un¬ 
der  the  inlliience  of  a  power  wliich  may 
prove  greater  than  the  love  of  truth. 
Such  a  press  may  screen  abuses  iii  gov¬ 
ernment  or  be  silent.  It  may  fear  to 
speak.  And  may  it  not  fear  to  speak, 
too,  when  its  conductors,  if  they  speak  in 
any  but  one  way,  may  lose  their  means  of 
livelihood  1  Is  dependence  on  government 
for  bread  no  temi)tation  to  screen  its 
abuses!  Will  the  press  always  speak  the 
truth,  when  the  truth,  if  spoken,  may  be 
the  means  of  silencing  it  for  the  future  ! 
Is  the  truth  iii  no  danger,  is  the  watch¬ 
man  under  no  temptation,  when  he  can 
neither  proclaim  the  approach  of  national 
evils,  nor  seem  to  decry  them,  without  the 
loss  of  his  place ! 

Mr.  President,  an  open  attempt  to  secure 
the  aid  and  friendship  of  the  public  press, 
by  bestowing  the  emoluments  of  office  on 
its  active  conductors,  seems  to  me,  of  ev¬ 
erything  we  have  witnessed,  to  be  tlie 
most  reprehensible.  It  degrades  both  the 
government  and  the  press.  As  far  as  its 
natural  effect  extends,  it  turns  the  palla¬ 
dium  of  liberty  into  an  engine  of  party.  It 
brings  the  agency,  activity,  energy,  and 
patronage  of  government  all  to  bear,  with 
united  force,  on  the  means  of  general  intel¬ 
ligence,  and  on  the  adoption  or  rejection  of 
political  opinions. 

President  William  Henry  Harrison  in  1841. 

There  is  no  part  of  tlie  means  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  executive  which  might  be 
used  with  greater  elfect,  for  unhallowed 
purposes,  than  the  control  of  tlie  public 
press. 

—Henry  L.  Spooner,  of  the  Courier,  is  postmaster 
at  Brookfield,  N.  Y. 

—Nathan  J.  Milliken,  of  the  Ontario  County  Times, 
is  postmaster  at  Canandaigua,  N.  Y. 

— Wm.  J.  Glenn,  of  the  Patriot,  is  postmaster  at 
Cuba,  N.  Y. 

—Frederick  Bennett,  of  tlie  Patriot  and  Gazette,  is 
postmaster  at  Fulton,  N.  Y. 

— L.  H.  Brown,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at  Ham- 
mondsport,  N.  Y. 

— C.  M.  Cartwright,  of  the  Phcrnix,  is  postmaster  at 
Hunter,  N.  Y. 

— J.  M.  Williams,  of  the  Register,  is  postmaster  at 
Phoenix,  N.  Y. 

— A.  W.  Lansing,  of  the  Sentinel,  is  postmaster  at 
Plattsburgh,  N.  Y. 

— L.  R.  Muzzy,  of  the  Democrat,  is  postmaster  at 
Pulaski,  N.  Y. 


—A.  L.  Riuewalt,  of  the  Amherst  Bee,  is  postmaster 
at  Williauisville,  N.  Y. 

—Fred  De  K.  Griffen,  of  the  Central  Dakotian,  is 
postmaster  at  Bangor,  S.  Dak. 

—Edward  L.  Bales,  of  the  Courier,  is  postmaster  at 
Bloomington,  S.  Dak. 

—John  W.  Banbury,  of  the  Dakota  X)aj/hV;/i<,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Britton,  S.  Dak. 

— Wm.  B.  Tapley,  of  the  Advocate,  is  postmaster  at 
Frankfort,  S.  Dak. 

— H.  O.  Besaneon,  of  the  Star,  is  postmaster  at  Har¬ 
old,  S.  Dak. 

—John  W.  Jones,  of  the  Advocate,  is  postmaster  at 
Oelrichs,  S.  Dak. 

— Orin  A.  Cheney,  of  the  Country  Home,  is  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Pitrodie,  S.  Dak. 

—Spencer  L.  Sage,  of  the  South  Dakota  State  Jour¬ 
nal,  is  imstmaster  at  St.  Lawrence.  S.  D. 

—Peter  W.  Emmert,  of  the  Unakean,  is  postmaster 
at  Erwin,  Tenn. 

—John  Schrader,  Jr.,  of  the  Lawrence  Union,  is 
postmaster  at  Lawrenceburg,  Tenu. 

— Wm.  R.  Keyes,  of  the  Tennes.see  Tomahawk,  is 
po.stmaster  at  Mountain  City,  Tenn. 

—Frank  H.  Dunning,  of  the  Dispatch,  is  postmaster 
at  Sunbright,  Tenn. 

—John  R.  McLain,  of  the  Review,  is  postmaster  at 
Della  Plain,  Texas. 

— L.  C.  Chambers,  of  the  Vindicator,  is  postmaster 
Liberty,  Texas. 

— W.  L.  Golson,  of  the  Iron  City  News,  is  postmaster 
at  Llano,  Texas. 

— David  K.  Simonds,  of  the  Journal,  is  postmaster 
at  Manchester,  Vermont. 

— L.  E.  Kellogg,  of  tlie  Big  Bend  Empire,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Waterville,  W’a.shington. 

— J.  R.  Greenawalt,  of  the  McDowell  Progress,  is 
postmaster  at  Elkhorn,  W'.  Va. 

— Henry  W.  Deen,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Jackson  Court  House,  Va. 

— Marion  F.  Hall,  of  the  Republican,  is  postmaster 
at  Phillippi,  W.  V'a. 

— P.  Lipscoinn,  son  of  Jeff.  Lipscomb  of  the  Tucker 
County  Pioneer,  is  postma.ster  at  St,  George,  W.  Va. 

—Edwin  II.  Flinn,  of  the  Roane  County  Record,  is 
postmaster  at  Spencer,  W.  Va. 

—John  W.  Jones,  of  the  Register,  is  postmaster  at 
Barucveld,  Wis. 

— C.  G.  Bell,  of  the  Press,  is  postmaster  at  Bayfield, 
Wis. 

—Will  C.  Thomas,  of  the  Blade,  is  postmaster  at 
Osseo,  Wis. 

— Edwin  R.  Beebe,  of  the  Republic,  is  postmaster  at 
Princeton,  Wis. 

— M.  E.  Kenealy,  of  the  Alaskan,  is  postmaster  at 
Sitka,  Alaska. 

— James  J.  Chatham,  of  the  Herald,  is  postmaster  at 
Nogales,  Arizona. 

— Wm.  E.  Wheeler,  of  the  Idaho  Register,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Eagle  Park,  Idaho. 

— D.  Bacon,  of  the  Progress,  is  postmaster  at  Nampa, 
Idaho. 

-.Tames  Casebee,  of  the  Mail,  is  postmaster  at  Ca.s- 
per,  Wyoming. 

—Isaac  C.  Wynn,  of  the  Fremont  Clipper,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Lander,  Wyoming. 

[“I  find,  in  looking  over  the  list  of  appointments 
in  Indiana,  that  sixteen  democratic  newspaper  pro¬ 
prietors  and  editors  have  been  appointed  to  office. 
*  «  -•>  If  I  could  believe  that  in  appointing  these 
men  Mr.  Cleveland  meant  that  they  should  pursue  a 
perfectly  inoffensive  course  politically,  that  these 
newspapers  should  not  irritate  the  feelings  of  repub¬ 
licans,  .should  not  publish  charges  against  republi¬ 
can  candidates  for  office,  should  say  nothing  offen¬ 
sive  to  the  republicans— if  I  believed  he  meant  by 
these  appointments  siucerely  to  put  these  sixteen 
democratic  newspapers  under  those  bonds,  I  should 


156 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


havebrigkter  hopes  than  I  have  now  of  carrying  Indiana 
next  time.  But  it  •will  not  he  so.  Here  are  these  six¬ 
teen  editors,  two  of  the  three  collectors  of  internal 
revenue  in  Indiana,  and  the  others  holding  influen¬ 
tial  post-offices;  and  Mr.  Cleveland  knows,  and  every 
honest  democrat  knows,  that  those  sixteen  news¬ 
papers  will  be  fulminating  with  all  the  force  and 
vigor  and  power  and  partisanship  they  can  against 
the  republican  party.” — Senator  Benjamin  Harrison 
in  1886. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  PARTIES. 

We  reaffirm  the  declaration  of  the  national 
republican  convention  with  reference  to  civil 
service  reform,  and  we  commend  the  efforts  of 
the  national  administration  to  secure  the  best 
result  of  the  wise  provision  of  the  existing  law 
on  this  subject. — Illinois  Republican  Platfoimi, 
June,  1890. 


6.  The  silence  of  M.  S.  Quay  under  the 
charges  which  have  been  made  against  him 
through  the  public  press  can  only  be  inter¬ 
preted  as  a  confession  of  his  guilt,  and  his  re¬ 
tention  of  a  seat  in  the  U.  S.  senate,  while  re¬ 
fusing  to  demand  a  legal  investigation  of 
these  charges,  is  a  national  scandal.  We  ac¬ 
cept  the  issue  of  Quayism  as  now  tendered  by 
the  republican  state  committee  and  conven¬ 
tion. 

7.  We  arraign  the  republican  party  *  *  * 
for  its  open  disregard  of  the  provisions  of  the 
civil  service  law,  which  the  President  of  its 
choice  was  solemnly  pledged  to  support. — 
Pennsylvania  Democratic  Platform,  July,  JS90. 

For  the  chairman  of  our  national  commit¬ 
tee,  Mr.  Quay,  we  feel  a  lasting  sense  of  grati¬ 
tude  for  his  matchless  bearing  in  the  last  pres¬ 
idential  campaign,  and  commend  his  bearing 
under  the  slanders  which  his  successjxd  leadership 
of  our  party  has  purchased  for  him.  As  a  citizen, 
a  member  of  the  general  assembly,  as  secretary 
of  the  commonwealth  under  two  successive 
administrations,  as  state  treasurer  by  the 
overwhelming  suffrages  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
and  as  senator  of  the  United  States,  he  has 
won  and  retains  our  respect  and  confidence. — 
As  Originally  Presented  in  Pennsylvania  State  Con¬ 
vention,  June,  1890, 

For  the  chairman  of  our  national  commit¬ 
tee,  M.  S.  Quay,  we  feel  a  lasting  sense  of 
gratitude  for  his  matchless  services  in  the  last 
presidential  campaign.  As  a  citizen,  a  member 
of  the  general  assembly,  as  secretary  of  the 
commonwealth  under  two  successive  adminis¬ 
trations,  as  state  treasurer  by  the  overwhelming 
suffrage  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  as  senator  of 
the  United  States  he  has  won  and  retains  our 
respect  and  confidence. — As  Passed  by  the  Con¬ 
vention,  June,  1890. 

We  denounce  the  administration  of  Ben¬ 
jamin  Harrison  for  its  deliberate  abandon¬ 
ment  of  civil  service  reform ;  for  its  use  of 
cabinet  positions  and  other  high  stations  in 
payment  of  financial  campaign  debts;  for 
treating  public  patronage  as  a  family  ap¬ 
pendage,  instead  of  a  public  trust,  and  quar¬ 
tering  a  host  of  relatives,  by  blood  and  by 
marriage,  upon  the  national  treasury  ;  for  dis¬ 
missing  honest  and  competent  public  servants, 
in  violation  of  solemn  pledges,  because  of 


their  political  opinions,  and  filling  their  places 
with  men  devoid  of  character  or  capacity,  and 
whose  only  title  to  preferment  rested  upon  dis¬ 
reputable  partisan  work. — Indiana  Slate  Demo¬ 
cratic  Platform,  August,  1890. 

— Among  the  resolutions  adopted  at  a  meet¬ 
ing  of  representative  republicans  of  Wayne 
county  held  at  Lyons  a  few  days  ago,  and 
carefully  excluded  from  the  columns  of  the 
republican  newspapers  of  the  county  and 
elsewhere,  are  the  following  : 

“jResofied,  That  we  condemn  and  denounce 
any  attempt  to  build  up  or  strengthen  a  per¬ 
sonal  following  by  assuming  to  parcel  out  in 
advance  public  offices,  which  are  the  gift  of 
the  people,  and  should  be  conferred,  held,  and 
administered  solely  in  the  interest  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  at  large. 

'•'Resolved,  That  we  insist  upon  the  largest  in¬ 
dividual  frtedom  of  thought,  speech  and  ac¬ 
tion  without  dictation  or  interference;  upon 
the  free,  fair,  untrammeled,  and  unbought  ex¬ 
pressions  of  caucuses. 

“Resolved,  That  w'e  insist  that  no  mao,  or  set 
of  men,  shall  be  permitted  to  make  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  subservient  to  their  own  personal 
aggrandizement,  or  to  dictate  nominations,  or 
to  ostracise  republicans  who  refuse  to  surren¬ 
der  their  manhood  and  bow  in  submission  to 
their  will. — Evening  I'ost,  August  2. 


The  great  increase  in  state  expenses  and  the 
creation  of  an  army  of  needless  officers,  paid 
out  of  the  state  treasury  to  perform  republican 
party  service,  show  that  the  same  disposition 
to  impose  on  the  people  and  squander  their 
money  for  party  gain  still  prevails  in  Madison 
as  in  Washington. —  Wisconsin  State  Democratic 
Platform,  August,  1890. 


The  present  administration  came  into  power 
as  a  result  of  a  deliberate  agreement  that  it 
would  reward  the  vast  army  of  political 
jobbers  and  speculators  which  for  four  years 
had  been  held  at  bay  by  opening  to  them 
the  federal  treasury  for  miscellaneous  pillage. 
Its  sanctimonious  professions  in  favor  of  civil 
service  reform  have  been  followed  by  yie'most 
flagrant  exhibitions  of  official  spoliation  ever 
witnessed.  —  New  Hampshire  Stale  Democratic 
Platfomn,  September,  1890. 

We  indorse  the  administration  of  Benjamin 
Harrison  and  the  able  statesmen  selected  as 
his  co-laborers  and  advisers,  as  being  wise, 
vigorous  and  patriotic.  It  has  kept  the  pledges 
made  to  the  people.  *  * 

We  demand  that  our  benevolent  institu¬ 
tions  be  placed  above  the  level  of  partisan 
politics,  and  that  they  be  controlled  by  boards 
composed  of  members  of  different  political 
parties,  appointed  by  the  governor,  to  the  end 
that  the  cost  of  their  maintenance  may  be  re¬ 
duced,  and  the  helpless  and  unfortunate  wards 
of  the  state  may  not  be  made  the  victims  of 
unfit  appointments  dictated  by  the  caucus  and 
made  as  a  reward  for  party  services. — Indiana 
State  Republican  Platform,  September,  1890. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  ADDRESS  OF 
THE  LINCOLN  INDEPENDENT  RE¬ 
PUBLICAN  COMMITTEE  OF  PEN- 
SYLVANIA. 

*•**»*»» 

The  platform  of  the  republican  party  in 
Pennsylvania  indorses  wdthout  qualification 
or  reserve,  the  junior  senator  of  this  state, 
Matthew  S.  Quay,  a  man  w'hose  very  name 
has  entered  the  political  vocabulary  as  a  term 
of  political  domination  and  corruption ;  a 


man  whose  way  to  political  eminence  has 
been  won  by  no  distinguished  service  to  the 
nation  or  the  state,  either  by  the  conception  or 
the  execution  of  a  single  great  or  beneficent 
public  measure,  but  solely  by  chicanery  and 
political  corruption,  by  the  creation  of  an 
immense  army  of  servile  followers  through 
bribes  of  public  office  and  by  the  skillful  dis¬ 
tribution  of  public  patronage.  This  man  has 
so  successfully  increased  his  own  power  that 
he  is  to-day  among  the  most  influential,  if  he 
is  not  indeed  the  most  influential,  of  republi¬ 
cans,  and  in  his  own  state  his  personal  will 
has  virtually  usurped  the  will  of  the  people. 
He  is  at  least  popularly  understood  to  have 
controlled  the  last  republican  state  conven¬ 
tion  and  to  have  imposed  upon  it  a  candidate 
of  his  own  selection.  But  to  crown  his  own 
dishonor  and  the  shame  of  the  common¬ 
wealth,  he  stands  for  months  silent  under  pub¬ 
lic,  repeated  and  specific  accusations  of  the 
greatest  official  misconduct,  of  having  taken 
from  the  treasury  of  the  state  large  sums  of 
money  with  the  knowledge  of  its  official  guar¬ 
dian.  In  this  man  the  republican  party  plat¬ 
form  expresses  entire  confidence,  and  it  calls 
upon  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  to  indorse 
both  him  and  it  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Dela- 
mater  as  governor  of  the  state. 

*  S-  «  «  sjs  ♦  ♦ 

Are  the  men  who  saw  the  republican  party 
begotten,  through  the  eloquence,  the  stateman- 
ship,  the  lofty  public  morality  of  Sumner,  the 
political  genius,  the  all-embracing  humanity 
and  self-sacrifice  of  Lincoln,  through  the 
great  and  popular  hatred  of  Avrong  and  op¬ 
pression,  through  the  great  and  first  awaken¬ 
ing  of  a  national  heart  and  a  national  con¬ 
science,  dead,  that  they  should  accept  such  a 
lame  and  impotent,  such  a  disgraceful  conclu¬ 
sion  to  a  great  party  history  as  this?  Indeed, 
all  keen  sense  of  public  honor  and  of  justice 
must  have  fled  the  state  if  its  citizens  will 
tolerate  this  disgrace.  It  was  unswerving  de¬ 
votion  to  principle  as  opposed  to  greed,  to 
selfish  expediency,  to  every  low  inducement, 
that  made  the  republican  party  and  its  found¬ 
ers  great.  If  we  honor  them  and  approve 
their  political  policy  we  can  not  be  false  to 
their  example. 


CONGRESSMAN  KENNEDY  ON  MAT¬ 
THEW  S.  QUAY,  IN  THE  HOUSE, 
SEPTEMBER  4,  1890. 

Some  time  since  I  stood  up  in  my  place  on 
this  floor  and  denounced  a  senator  from  my 
native  state  because,  when  charged  with  cor¬ 
ruption  and  branded  with  infamy,  he  did  not 
arise  in  his  seat  and  demand  an  investigation 
and  inquiry  that  should  establish  the  purity 
of  his  actions  and  his  personal  honor.  One 
other,  occupying  the  high  place  in  the  coun¬ 
sels  of  the  party  to  which  I  belong,  has  suf¬ 
fered  himself,  month  in  and  month  out,  to  be 
charged  with  crimes  and  misdemeanors  for 
which,  if  guilty,  he  should  have  been  con¬ 
demned  under  the  laws  of  his  state  and  have 
had  meted  out  to  him  the  fullest  measure  of 
its  punishment. 

This  man  is  a  republican.  Shall  I  now  re¬ 
main  silent?  Is  it  just  and  honest  to  remain 
in  my  seat  silent  because  one  who  is  accused 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


157 


m 


of  crimes  and  refuses  to  seek  for  vindication 
is  a  republican  and  that  republican  the  recog¬ 
nized  leader  of  my  party  ?  Neither  decency 
nor  honor  would  permit  me  to  do  so.  I  do 
not  know  whether  the  charges  made  against 
the  chairman  of  the  national  republican  com¬ 
mittee  are  true  or  false,  but  I  do  know  that 
they  have  been  made  by  journals  of  character 
and  standing  again  and  again,  and  I  do  know 
that  in  the  face  of  these  charges  Mat  Quay  has 
remained  silent,  and  has  neither  sought  nor 
attempted  to  seek  opportunity  to  vindicate 
^  himself  of  them.  I  do  know  that,  as  a  great 
I  ^  republican  leader,  he  owed  it  to  the  great  par- 
! '/i  who.se  head  he  was  either  to  brand  them 
as  infamies  or  to  prove  their  falsity,  or  he 
\  owed  it  to  that  party  to  stand  aside  from  its 
leadership. 

He  has  done  neither,  and  for  this  I  de- 
j  nounce  him.  The  republican  party  can  not 
afford  to  follow  the  lead  of  a  branded  crimi- 
;  nal.  He  has  failed  to  justify  himself,  and 

I  though  opportunity  and  ample  time  have  been 
i;  ft  given  him,  he  remains  silent.  His  silence  un- 

*  der  such  circumstances  is  the  confession  of 
guilt.  An  honorable  man  does  not  long  dally 
when  his  honor  is  assailed.  He  has  delayed 
too  long  to  justify  the  belief  in  his  innocence, 
and  he  stands,  a  convicted  criminal  before 
the  bar  of  public  opinion.  Under  such 
circumstances  he  should  be  driven  from  the 
head  of  a  party  whose  very  life  his  presence 
. .  U  imperils.  The  republican  party  has  done 
enough  for  its  pretended  leader.  Let  him  be 
■  relegated  to  the  rear.  It  is  no  longer  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  his  vindication  ;  it  is  now  a  question  of 
.  the  life  of  the  party  itself. 

i  THE  ARISTOCRATIC  SYSTEM. 

t  - 

'  ■'  English  statisticians  have  displayed  much  individ¬ 
ual  interest  in  the  complicated  mechanism  and  ex¬ 
tensive  scope  of  our  census-taking,  but  they  have 
not  been  inspired  thereby  to  alter  their  own  census 
scheme,  which  is  simplicity  itself.  The  enumeration 
will  be  begun  and  finished  on  a  single  day— Sunday, 
April  5.  In  striking  contrast  with  the  American 
method,  nothing  is  here  attempted  beyond  the  bare 
counting,  with  a  few  elementary  facts  as  to  age  and 
sex,  and  whether  married  or  single.  To  do  this  work 
Ih  re  ivill  6e  40  000  enumerators  in  England  and  Wales. 
All  of  these  will  be  appointed  by  the  local  registrar.^  of 
,  births  and  deaths,  and  nothing  coidd  be  stranger  to  A  mer¬ 

ican  notions  than  that  so  much  as  a  hint  of  political  influ¬ 
ence  being  used  or  desired  will  never  be  heard  of.  The 
higher  clerks  who  are  to  tabulate  the  returns  will  be  chosen 
by  public  competition,  the  terms  of  ivhich  will  shortly  be 
issued  by  the  civil  service  commission.  No  suggestion  of 

II  partisanshij)  will  enter  the  whole  arrangement  from  top  to 
II  bottom.  Perhaps  that  is  the  reason  for  Mr.  Giffen’s 

confidence  that  the  census  will  be  absolutely  com¬ 
plete  and  trustworthy.— X<o;jdo7i  Letter  to  New  York 
Times,  Sept.  7. 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  SYSTEM. 

A  sample  of  Porter’s  methods  is  afforded  by  the 
system  adopted  to  take  the  census  of  this  city.  Here 
is  the  metropolis  of  the  nation,  a  vast  aggregation  of 
people  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  speaking  all  sorts 
of  languages,  living  in  all  kinds  of  crowded  build¬ 
ings.  The  task  of  taking  the  census  in  New  York 
was  beset  by  the  utmost  difficulties,  and  required 
the  services  of  the  very  highest  type  of  enumerators 
that  could  be  secured.  What  type  did  we  have? 
The  method  adopted  by  Mr.  Porter’s  representative 
in  this  city  was  to  send  out  to  the  “Jakes”  and  ‘  ‘Bar¬ 
neys”  and  ’“Mikes”  who  “run  the  machine”  in  the 
various  districts  this  circular : 

Dear  Sir— You  will  please  forward  to  this  office 
the  list  of  applicants  that  the  republican  organiza 
tion  of  your  district  desires  to  have  named  as  census- 
enumerators.  This  list  must  be  sent  here  on  or  be¬ 
fore  April  1.  Yours,  C.  H.  Murray. 

Comment  upon  such  a  performance  would  be  a 
waste  of  space.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  count  of 
New  York  returned  by  enumerators  thus  selected  by 
the  republican  machine  falls  fully  100,000  short  of 
the  number  to  which  the  city  is  entitled  by  every 
test  that  has  applied  to  all  previous  censuses? — New 
York  Evening  Post,  Sept.  12. 


BARONS  AT  WAR, 

“I  know  of  no  such  division,”  said  he,  “in 
the  state,  and  I  am  surprised  that  any  one 
should  misunderstand  the  very  plain  state¬ 
ment  and  purport  of  my  protest.  It  was  sim¬ 
ply  and  clearly  a  denunciation  of  a  systematic 
attempt  of  one  of  the  Maine  senators  to  con¬ 
trol  the  politics  of  the  state  by  the  use  of  pa¬ 
tronage,  by  seeking  to  dictate  the  most  im¬ 
portant  federal  appointments  in  the  city  of  his 
residence,  and  the  fact  that  the  same  thing  had 
been  attempted  in  my  own  district  induced  me 
to  call  a  halt  in  the  work  of  setting  up  a  po¬ 
litical  dictatorship  in  Maine.  I  have  known 
of  no  instance  in  which  any  of  the  representa¬ 
tives  from  Maine  has  sought  to  interfere  with 
the  rights  or  privileges  of  the  senators,  but  I 
regard  the  invasion  of  Portland  and  Bangor, 
to  control  the  selection  of  public  offices,  as  in¬ 
defensible  and  mischievous.  *  *  * 

“  It  is  a  significant  fact,”  said  Mr.  Boutelle, 
“that  when  Mr.  Reed  was  believed  to  have  a 
desperate  fight  on  his  hands  for  re-election,  the 
most  important  offices  in  his  district,  and,  in 
some  respects,  the  most  important  federal  office 
in  Maine,  the  collectorship  of  Portland,  was 
occupied  by  one  of  the  leading  democrats  of 
the  state,  whose  term  expired  months  ago, 
because  the  senators  would  not  consent  to  the 
appointment  of  a  man  regarded  by  Mr.  Reed 
as  friendly  to  himself.  It  is  certainly  diffi¬ 
cult  to  reconcile  this  with  any  theory  that  the 
senators  were  zealously  desirous  of  strengthen¬ 
ing  the  speaker  in  the  greatest  contest  of  his 
political  life.” 

“  You  complain  of  similar  treatment  in  your 
own  district?” 

“I  have  been  perfectly  frank  about  that.  On 
the  same  ground  upon  which  I  dispute  the 
right  of  the  senators  to  thrust  upon  Mr.  Reed 
a  hostile  collector,  I  regard  the  appointment 
of  a  supervisor  of  the  census  in  my  city  with¬ 
out  consulting  me  as  a  gross  political  indigni¬ 
ty.  The  supervisor  had  the  selection  of  enum¬ 
erators  iu  every  town  in  my  district,  and, 
while  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  be 
hostile  to  me,  yet  the  fact  of  the  selection  of 
so  important  an  official  in  my  own  town  with¬ 
out  reg'-'f-  to  my  wishes  was  significant.  In 
fact,  when  the  appointment  was  announced  in 
the  morning  paper,  and  it  was  naturally  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  been  made  by  the  congressman 
from  the  district,  the  democratic  evening  pa¬ 
per,  in  commenting  upon  it,  said  its  reporters 
had  talked  with  a  large  number  of  prominent 
republicans,  all  of  whom  were  surprised  at 
Mr.  Boutelle’s  selection.” 

“What  was  Mr.  Hale’s  motive?” 

“The  obvious  motive  seems  to  be  to  hamper 
and  embarrass  me  in  my  congressional  dis¬ 
trict,  and,  so  far  as  he  may  have  been  success¬ 
ful,  I  think  I  may  justly  construe  the  gratify¬ 
ing  support  of  my  constituents  as  a  rebuke  to 
that  sort  of  interference.  In  other  words,  my 
complaint  has  been  and  is  that  the  powers 
granted  by  the  people  of  Maine  for  public 
purposes  have  been  unfairly  diverted  to  the 
advantage  of  individuals,  in  derogation  of  the 
rights  of  others.  I  believe  that  in  Maine,  as 
elsewhere,  public  men  should  stand  upon  their 
merits  and  be  judged  by  the  service  they  may 
render  to  the  public.” — New  York  Times,  Sept. 
l5,  Interview  with  Repi'esentative  Boutelle. 

THE  UNAMERICAN  SYSTEM. 

Examples  from  a  Recent  Examination  under 
the  Merit  System  in  Baltimore. 

1st  Exercise. — Writing  from  Dictation. 

N.  B.— Spelling,  use  of  capitals,  punctuation,  and 
all  omi.ssions  and  mistakes  will  be  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration  in  marking  the  exercises  of  this  subject. 

Penmanship  will  not  be  marked  on  this  exercise. 

One  of  the  examiners  will  dictate  an  exercise  of 
not  less  than  ten  lines  so  distinctly  that  all  persons 
being  examined  can  hear  him.  The  passage  will 
first  be  read  for  information,  and  then  be  dictated  in 


phrases  of  five  or  six  words,  at  the  rate  of  from  fif¬ 
teen  to  twenty  five  words  per  minute,  if  from  any 
cause  the  competitor  miss  a  word,  he  should  not 
pause,  but  leave  a  blank  space  and  go  on  wiih  the 
next  words  he  hears.  Three  minutes  will  be  al¬ 
lowed  after  the  dictation  for  punctuation  and  cor¬ 
rection. 

Specimen  papers. 

Pereons  failing  to  pass  an  examination  may, 
after  six  months  from  the  date  of  their  fail¬ 
ure,  file  new  applications,  and  be  re-examined. 

No  person  who  has  passed  an  examination, 
shall,  while  eligible  on  the  register  supplied 
by  such  examination,  be  re-examined. 

Re-examinations,  other  than  as  specified 
above,  can  be  had,  only  by  special  permission 
of  the  Commission,  and  such  permission  will 
be  given  only  in  very  exceptional  cases,  where 
special  reason  exists  on  account  of  sickness, 
and  then  only  upon  affidavit  of  the  facts. 

Every  appointment  is  made  for  a  probation¬ 
ary,  period  of  six  months,  at  the  full  salary 
attached  to  the  position,  at  the  end  of  which 
time,  if  the  conduct  and  capacity  of  the  per¬ 
son  appointed  have  been  found  satisfactory, 
the  appointment  is  made  absolute. 

Mark  100. 

Persons  Failing  to  Pass  an  examination 
May  ater  Six  Month,  ater  Date  of  there  fail¬ 
ure  May  File  New  Application  and  be  Re  ex- 
amined  while  elegeble  supplied  by  such  Ex¬ 
aminations  be  Re-examined.  Reexamination 
Specified  above  can  be  had  oly  by  Special  Per- 
mition  and  such  permition  will  be  given  oly 
in  very  Exceptionled  Cases  oly  where  Special 
reasons  exist  on  account  of  sickness  and  then 
aply  upon  Affedavid)  of  the  facts  every  ap¬ 
point  is  made  for  a  probation  period  of  Six 
Months  at  the  full  sallery. 

if  the  Conduect  and  capasity  of  the  person 
appointed  have  bein  foun  satisfactory  the  ap¬ 
pointment  is  made  absalut. 

Mark  0. 


ENCOURAGING  SIGNS. 

_  K 

Plainfield  republicans  are  signing  a  petition 
to  be  forwarded  to  Washington  asking  that 
the  postmaster,  E.  R.  Pope,  be  “influenced”  to 
discharge  the  clerks  and  carriers  left  in  office 
by  the  democratic  administration,  and  to  sub¬ 
stitute  in  their  places  “deserving”  republicans. 
Postmaster  Pope  has  held  his  present  office 
only  a  fetv  months.  Already  he  has  had  124 
applicants  for  positions  under  him.  He  has 
made  no  changes,  but  the  resignation  of  one 
man  has  enabled  him  to  make  his  son  first  as¬ 
sistant  postmaster.  Because  of  this  alleged 
family  favoritism  there  has  been  considerable 
fault-finding.  Some  of  the  applicants  for  posi¬ 
tions  are  men  who  were  removed  four  years 
ago  to  make  room  for  democrats.  Mr.  Pope  says 
that  he  will  not  imitate  the  mistakes  of  pred¬ 
ecessors,  but  will  adhere  to  civil  service  rules 
altogether.  The  existing  staff  of  clerks  and 
carriers  is  deemed  very  efficient.  The  women 
of  Plainfield,  who  have  the  most  frequent 
dealings  with  them,  are  especially  ardent  in 
praising  their  work.  The  housewives  are  just 
beginning  to  learn  of  the  petition  their  hus¬ 
bands  are  signing,  and  threaten  to  prepare  an 
opposition  document.  The  men  have  already 
secured  600  signatures. — New  York  Evening  Post, 
Aug.  12. 


— The  nomination  of  John  Kirkpatrick  for 
postmaster  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  sent  to  the 
senate  to-day,  was  recommended  by  Congress¬ 
man  Wallace.  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  is  a  democrat 
and  a  veteran  of  the  war,  but  there  were  no 
other  candidates  and  his  reappointment  was 
recommended  hy  both  republicans  and  demo¬ 
crats  of  the  town.  He  was  appointed  during 
the  last  administration  when  the  office  was 
fourth-class.  It  has  just  been  raised  to  the 
presidential  grade,  and  a  nomination  by  the 
President  was  necessary. — Boston  Post,  May  9. 


158 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Office-Holders  Defending  their  Possessions. 

Allotments  thns  acquired,  mutually  engaged  such  as  accepted  them  to  defend  them ;  and  as  they  all  sprang  from  the  same  right  of  conquest,  no  part 
could  subsist  independent  of  the  whole  ;  wherefore  all  givers  as  well  as  receivers  were  mutually  bound  to  defend  each  other’s  possessions.  Every 

receiver  of  lands,  or  feudatory,  was  therefore  bound  when  called  upon  by  his  benefactor,  or  immediate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  defend 
him.  Such  benefactor  or  lord  was  likewise  subordinate  to  and  under  the  command  of  his  immediate  benefactor  and  superior;  a«id  so  upwards  to  the  prince  or 
general  himself ;  and  the  several  lords  were  also  reciprocally  bound,  in  their  respective  gradations,  to  protect  the  possessions  they  had  given.  Thus  the  feudal 
connection  was  established,  a  proper  military  subjection  was  naturally  introduced  and  an  army  of  feudatories  was  always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually  prepared 
to  muster.  .  .  —Blacksto7ie. 


Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  Sept.  6, 1890. 

—Dear  Sir  :  Those  favoring  the  candidacy  of  our 
fellow  citizen,  Mr.  George  W.  Pixley,  for  treasurer  of 
state,  have  gratifying  a.ssurances  that  his  nomination 
can  be  secured  by  a  prompt  and  tangible  evidence 
that  such  is  our  de.sire.  You  are  hereby  invited  and 
requested  to  go  to  the  state  convention,  at  Indian¬ 
apolis,  to  forward  his  candidacy.  The  fare  for  the 
round  trip  will  not  exceed  83.00.  Please  signify  at 
once  toC.  R.  Higgins  whether  you  accept  this  invita¬ 
tion.  As  many  as  can  should  go  Monday  afternoon. 

A.  A.  Chapin. 

D.  N.  Foster. 

N.  R.  Leonaru. 

Wm.  Geake. 

II.  C.  Hanna. 

.1.  B.  Harper. 

A.  H.  Dougall. 

P.  Dickinson. 

C.  R.  Higgins. 

[Mr.  C.  R.  Higgins  is  the  republican  post¬ 
master  at  Fort  Wayne.] 

— Postmaster C.  R.  Higgins,  of  Fort  Wayne, 
was  among  the  civil  service  reformers  who 
were  hustling  at  the  Denison  last  evening. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Sept.  10. 

— The  postmasters  from  Fort  Wayne,  Terre 
Haute,iFvansville,  Lafayette,  South  Bend  and 
Logansport  were  conspicuous  men  in  the  con 
vention  hall  yesterday.  There  were  not  less 
than  forty  of  the.se  federal  officers  present,  and 
five  of  them  presented  an  unusual  scene — 
drinking  together  at  the  Denison  bar. — -From 
the  Re/port  of  the  Indiana  State  Republican  Con¬ 
vention  in  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  September  11. 

— The  republicansof  Warrick  county  met  in 
mass  convention  in  Boonville,  Saturday,  Sept. 
G,  and  nominated  the  following  county  ticket 

*  J.  B.  Cockrum,  assistant  district-attorney 
of  Indianapolis,  came  down  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  convention.  He  told  Ihe  boys 
here  how  things  were  worked  at  Ipdianapo- 
lis,  and  how  this  convention  must  act.  They 
made  John  chairman  of  the  committee  on  res¬ 
olutions,  and  let  him  write  them  to  suit  him¬ 
self,  and  to  flatter  the  bosses  at  Washington 
and  Indianapolis. — Boonville  Dispatch  to  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Sentinel,  Sept.  S. 

—District  Attorney  Chambers’s  speech  at  the  Col¬ 
umbia  Club,  to-night,  will  be  devoted  to  democratic 
iniquities  and  election  methods.  He  will  have  for  his 
text  that  portion  of  the  democratic  platform  that  al¬ 
leges  all  political  evils  against  the  opponents  of  that 
party  and  claims  for  it  all  political  purity.  Mr. 
Chambers  will  detail  many  instances  of  democratic 
bribery,  not  those  of  mere  assertion,  but  those  that 
have  been  established  by  evidence.  He  has  given 
great  care  to  this  speech,  and  it  will  be  made  up 
of  facts  obtained  from  nearly  every  county  in  the 
state.— Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  5, 1890. 

*«>.■> 

The  speech  of  Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  delivered 
last  night  before  the  Columbia  Club,  will  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  paper.  It  abounds  in  indisputable 
facts  concerning  democratic  rascality,  and  gives  in 
detail  some  of  the  political  infamies  committed  by 
that  party  in  Indiana.  These  crimes  have  been  fre¬ 
quent  and'  flagrant,  and  the  party  committing  them 
should  be  deprived  of  power  by  an  outraged  people. 
The  speech  is  strong  in  statement,  and  will  prove  an 
effective  campaign  document.— Tndianapolh  Journal, 
Stpl.  6,  1890. 


All  these  years  there  has  been  a  democratic  major¬ 
ity  in  the  legislative  department.  It  is  a  disgrace  to 
the  state,  a  reflection  upon  the  ability  of  the  people 
to  manage  their  own  affairs,  and  should  and  doubt¬ 
less  will  be  repudiated  by  the  people  at  the  polls. 
You  may  investigate  the  affairs  of  the  cities  of  the 
state  where  democracy  prevails  and  there  will  be 
found  incompetency,  defalcation,  and  disregard  of 
public  rights,  as  in  affairs  of  the  state.  ^  From 
that  time  [1876]  to  the  present  the  corrupt  use  of  mon¬ 
ey  has  been  more  or  less  indulged  by  the  democratic 
party  in  every  location  in  Indiana,  until  everywhere 
and  on  all  hands  it  has  become  a  well-recognized  fact 
that  the  use  of  money  has  been  limited  only  by  the 
amount  that  could  be  procured.  This  has  brought 
its  legitimate  results  to  the  people  of  the  state  of  In¬ 
diana,  so  that  corruption  has  not  been  confined  to 
national  politics,  but  has  spread  into  state,  county 
and  township  elections,  ramifying  and  pervading 
every  corner  of  the  state.  Taught  in  the  use  of  mon¬ 
ey,  democratic  leaders  in  Indiana  have  resorted  to 
every  device  known  to  ingenuity  to  deceive  the 
voter,  to  tyrannize  him,  to  corrupt  him,  to  thwart 
the  will  of  the  people,  legitimately  expressed,  at  the 
ballot-box. 

Another  feature  is  the  corruption  of  the  demo¬ 
cratic  press.  On  all  hands  we  find  the  .same  spirit 
which  we  have  heretofore  characterized  prevailing 
so  that  there  is  no  respect  for  law,  nor  for  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  law,  where  the  same  comes  in  con¬ 
flict  with  democratic  success. 

As  a  result,  the  most  ignoble  methods  were  re¬ 
sorted  to  by  democratic  leadens  [in  1888] ;  ingenuity, 
skill  and  device  were  all  used  in  originating  meth¬ 
ods  for  disturbing  and  confusing  republicans,  and 
breaking  up  their  solid  ranks,  and  for  encouraging 
democracy,  and  drawing  into  its  ranks  all  the  ragged 
edges  of  society.  The  amount  of  money  brought 
into  the  state  from  New  York  and  the  b^er  states 
of  the  South,  has  never  been  told,  but  undoubtedly 
it  far  exceeded  anything  that  had  ever  occurred  be¬ 
fore.  Democraev  was  in  charge  of  the  state  and  fed¬ 
eral  offices  within  the  state,  and  the  rank  and  file 
were  led  to  believe  that  they  would  be  protected  in 
everything  that  was  done  for  the  success  of  the 
p  irty,  no  difference  what  its  character,  nor  who  was 
the  author  of  it.  Supported  by  the  stale  central 
committee,  the  central  committees  of  the  various 
counties  issued  corrupt  circulars,  inviting  and 
urging  bribery,  intimidation,  and  every  other 
means  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  defeat  of 
the  republican  ticket.  As  a  sample  of  that  which 
was  issued  in  many  counties,  I  give  you  one  issued 
by  the  chairman  of  the  democratic  county  commit¬ 
tee  of  Morgan.”  Make  the  doubtful  list 

as  small  as  po.sslble  and  mark  every  one  who  has  to 
have  money  as  a  ‘float.’  Those  who  have  to  be 
bought  are  not  doubtful,  but  are  ‘  floats.’  Let  no 
one  escape.  Your  prompt  attention  in  this  matter 
will  aid  materially  in  the  efficiency  of  our  efforts. 

‘‘  Respectfully, 

‘‘ N.  A.  Whittaker,  Chairman.” 

The  date  of  this  letter  is  September  7,  near  two 
months  before  the  election,  and  discloses  a  conspir¬ 
acy,  formed  early  in  the  campaign,  to  carry  the  elec¬ 
tion  by  fraud  and  corruption.  I  have  before  me  a 
copy  of  a  letter  sent  out  by  the  chairman  and  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Decatur  county  central  committee.  It 
was  sent  from  the  office  of  the  democratic  central 
committee.  In  it  is  found  the  following  advice; 

‘‘  For  the  plan  of  organization  we  suggest  the  fol¬ 
lowing  :  Select  with  care  such  men  as  are  safe  c  .un- 
selors,  and  can  be  trusted.  Meet  frequently  at  each 
other’s  homes,  and  canva.ss  all  matters  pertinent  to 


the  coming  election.  Canvass  all  doubtful  voters. 
Get  the  float  well  in  hand.  Let  it  be  well  under¬ 
stood  before  the  election  day  arrives  what  each  man 
is  to  do.  Select  men  to  look  after  all  doubtful  and 
floating  voters.” 

Imagine  the  good  citizens  of  Decatur  getting  to¬ 
gether  in  their  homes  surrounded  by  their  wives 
and  boys,  devising  ways  and  means  to  buy  votes, 
to  debauch  the  ballot-box  and  destroy  the  morals  of 
the  people.  Yet,  such  is  the  advice  of  the  demo¬ 
cratic  management  of  Decatur  county.  A  similar 
letter  was  sent  out  by  the  chairman  of  the  Shelby 
county  democratic  committee,  and  largely  acted 
upon  by  the  democrats  of  that  county.  As  a  result 
of  these  circulars,  it  is  not  surprising  that  local  lead¬ 
ers  in  the  different  localities  should  fiave  been  led 
into  excesses,  into  corruption  and  intimidation  un¬ 
paralleled  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  which,  it  is 
hoped,  will  never  be  repeated.— E.cfracfs  from  Ihe 
Speech  of  District  Attorney  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  before 
the  Columbia  Club,  September  5.  1890. 

[This  is  from  a  United  States  district  at¬ 
torney  appointed  by  President  Harrison  to 
prosecute  for  all  the  people  of  Indiana  offenses 
against  the  law  whether  committed  by  repub¬ 
licans  or  democrats.  This  same  prosecuting 
officer  said,  in  December,  1889,  regarding  his 
suppression  of  the  warrant  for  Dudley’s  arrest : 
“  I  exercised  the  prerogative  iii.this  case  that 
I  would  exercise  in  any  other  of  like  charac¬ 
ter,  and  decided  that  the  warrant  be  not  issued 
upon  this  affidavit.” 

And  after  reading  in  Dudley’s  circular  : 
“Your  committee  will  certainly  receive  frotp 
Chairman  Huston  the  assistance  necessary  to 
hold  our  floaters.  *  Find  out  who  has  democratic 
boodle  and  steer  the  democratic  workers  to 
them,  and  make  them  pay  big  prices  for  their  own 
men.  Divide  the  floaters  in  blocks  of  five  and 
put  a  trusted  man  with  necessary  funds  in  charge 
of  these  five,  and  make  him  responsible  that 
none  get  away  and  that  all  vote  our  ticket,” 
this  same  United  States  district  attorney  said 
in  an  interview  in  the  Indianapolis  Journal 
of  December  13  : 

”  I  wish  also,  to  state  that  I  have  read  the  letters 
printed  in  the  press,  purporting  to  be  written  by  the 
colonel,  and,  in  my  opinion,  unattended  by  any  ex¬ 
traneous  evidence,  they  do  not  advise  bribery,  as  ap¬ 
pertaining  to  the  election  of  1888.  The  letters,  con¬ 
strued  in  the  light  of  the  knowledge  that  we  all  possess  of 
how  elections  in  Didiana  are  conducted  by  both  parties 
have  nothing  in  them  of  a  criminal  character,  but,  upon 
the  other  hand,  when  so  construed,  are  honorable,  and 
indicate  simply  a  patriotic  interest  in  the  elections.’’] 

—Three  days  ago  N.  W.  Cuney,  the  colored  coffeefor 
of  the  port  of  Oalveslon,  and  the  dispenser  of  federal  pa¬ 
tronage  in  that  slate,  made  a  speech  here  in  which  he 
vilely  abused  certain  leaders  of  the  white  republi¬ 
cans  by  calling  them  ‘‘flee  dogs”  and  ‘‘northern 
dough-faces.”  To  day  they  have  made  out  papers 
and  forwarded  them  to  VVashington  charging  him 
with  offensive  partisanship.— y/oit.sfon  Dispatch  to  the 
St.  Louis  Republic,  August  28. 

* 

The  republican  state  convention  will  meet  in 
this  city  next  Wednesday,  the  :5d  prox.,  and,  if  all 
signs  are  not  wofully  misleading,  it  will  be  the  liveli- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


159 


est  assemblage  of  the  kind  ever  held  in  San  Antonio. 

■’  N.  W.  Cuney,  President  Harrison’s  black  collector  of 
I  customs  at  Galveston,  is  the  acknowledged  leader  of 
j  the  colored  faction,  as  he  is  also  the  most  influential 
dispenser  of  federal  patronage  in  this  state  under  the 
(f  present  administration.  The  leader  of  the  white 
.'  faction  is  yet  to  be  developed. 

Hon.  Webster  Flanagan  is  coming  down  here  as 
peacemaker,  with  a  hope  of  playing  the  role  of  the 
monkey  who  acted  as  arbitrator  between  the  two 
cats  quarrelling  over  a  hunk  of  cheese  and  marching 
off  with  the  gubernatorial  prize.  That  is  “what  he 
will  be  here  for,”  so  the  wiseacres  say. 

In  view  of  the  fierce  contention  between  the  “Lily 
*  Whites”  and  the  blacks,  there  is  hardly  room  for 
doubt  that  the  convention  will  split.  The  whites, 
most  of  them,  will,  by  preconcerted  movement,  arise 
in  the  convention  as  one  man  if  Cuney  and  his  col¬ 
ored  supporters  get  control  of  the  organization  of  the 
assemblage,  march  out  of  the  hall  and  take  them¬ 
selves  to  Mission  Garden,  in  another  part  of  the  city, 
and  proceed  to  nominate  a  ticket  independent  of  the 
blacks.  Local  republicans  to-day  made  arrange¬ 
ments  for  renting  the  Mission  Garden  for  convention 
purposes,  and  they  make  no  bones  of  declaring  their 
.  intention  of  assembling  there  with  the  whites  from 
other  parts  of  the  state  if  the  Cuney  crowd  does  not 
allow  them  to  have  their  way  in  the  regular  conven¬ 
tion. 

Two  republican  Bexar  county  conventions  were 
held  in  this  city  to-day.  The  colored  cohorts,  with 
quite  a  sprinkling  of  whites,  met  at  Turner  hall  with 
a  total  attendance  of  140,  and  the  “Lily  Whites” 
assembled  at  the  Mission  Garden  65  strong,  with 
only  one  negro  present,  and  he  was  employed  as  jan¬ 
itor.  Postmaster  Johnson,  Assistant  United  States  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  Terrell,  brother  of  Harrison’s  minister 
to  Belgium,  and  Hon.  George  Paschal,  state  district 
attorney,  were  the  most  conspicuous  whites  at  the 
colored  convention  and  were  elected  delegates  to  the 
state  convention.  Col.  Jim  Newcomb,  postmaster 
under  Arthur;  Judge  A.  P.  Tugwell,  ex-collector 
customs  at  Eagle  Pass,  and  John  A  Bolton,  second  in 
command  of  the  G.  A.  R,  in  Texas,  were  the  leaders 
of  the  “  Lily  Whites  ”  and  head  their  delegation  to 
the  state  convention.  They  declare  that  they  are  going 
to  have  Postmaster  Johnson  and  Collector  Cuney  removed 
from  office  for  offensive  partisanship,  and  likewise  that 
they  will  occupy  seats  in  the  state  convention  or 
burst  up  the  whole  affair.— Son  A nforeio  Dispatch  to 
St.  Louis  Republic,  Aug.  30. 

i'.i  n* 

The  republican  state  convention  delegates  are 
beginning  to  arrive  already,  and  A.  W.  Cnney, 
the  colored  collector  of  the  port  of  Galveston,  is  on 
the  ground  preparing  plans  for  the  campaign,  a?id 
was  in  consultation  with  the  federal  administration  lead¬ 
ers  this  morning.  At  this  conference  it  was  under 
stood  that  it  was  to  be  war  to  the  knife  and  the  knife 
4  to  the  hilt  against  the  Lily  White  League.  A.  B. 
Reutfle,  collector  of  the  port  at  Brownsville,  who  is  an  as¬ 
pirant  to  the  congressional  seat  of  the  seventh  district  oc 
cupied  by  Mr.  Crain,  will  arrive  this  evening  with  a  dele¬ 
gation  of  hvelve. — San  Antonio  Dispatch  to  St.  Louis  Re¬ 
public,  Sept.  1. 

«= 

The  republican  state  convention  was  called  to  or¬ 
der  at  noon  by  Executive  Committee  Chairman  De¬ 
gress,  of  Austin.  There  were  something  near  500 
delegates  present,  forty  percent,  of  whom  were  black 
as  Erebus. 

Wright,  of  J^amar  county,  was  put  up  by  the  “Lily 
Whites”  for  temporary  chairman,  and  Cuney  and  his 
colored  following  pitted  R.  B.  Hawley,  of  Galveston, 
against  the  Lamar  man.  The  Cuney  people  won  and 
will  perhaps  continue  to  win  throughout  the  conven¬ 
tion. 

When  the  convention  reassembled  this  evening  at 
five  o’clock  none  of  the  committees  wore  ready  to  re¬ 
port,  and  adjournment  was  taken  until  nine  o’clock 
to-morrow  morning.  Before  adjournment  the  Hon. 
Webster  Flanagan  delivered  an  add/ess.  He  pleaded 
for  harmony,  and  said  as  a  republican  he  knew  no 
white  nor  black.  Harri.son,  he  said,  was  the  best 
president  since  Washington  ;  he  had  expelled  from  pub¬ 
lic  office  mote  rascals  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  The 


speaker  had  been  a  candidate  for  office  under  Harrison 
and  had  been  disappointed,  but  felt  no  bitterness  toward 
the  administration,  as  he  recognized  that  there  were  not 
enough  offices  to  go  around.— San  Antonio  Dispatch  to  St. 
Louis  Republic,  Sept.  3. 

t.*t  t‘,i 

The  republican  slate  convention  was  rapped  to 
order  this  morning  promptly  at  10  o’clock  by  tem¬ 
porary  chairman  Hawley.  There  were  not  more 
than  half  the  delegates  present  and  those  who  were 
there  had  red  eyes  and  a  tired  look.  They  had  been 
wrangling  in  committees  with  closed  doors  nearly 
all  night  and  scores  of  them  had  had  no  sleep. 

Every  man  closed  up  like  a  clam  when  questioned 
as  to  the  details  of  the  committee  proceedings  further 
than  to  announce  with  joyful  gladness  that  the 
“  Lily  Whites  ”  had  been  sat  upon  and  mashed  so 
flat  that  even  the  traditional  pancake  aiipcaredmas- 
todonic  in  comparison.  This  was  the  work  of  the 
committee  on  credentials.  Every  white  contesting 
delegation  was  forbidden  seats  in  the  convention. 

Cuney  and  his  blacks  are  here  for  harmony,  and  they 
swear  they  will  have  it  at  any  cost— or  to  put  it  in 
the  language  of  an  ebony  statesman  from  the  cane- 
brakes  of  the  Brazos  Bottom  :  “  Dis  here  am  a  fight 
between  de  dog  and  de  coon  dis  season,  and  de  coon 
from  Galveston  done  got  de  enemy  in  de  water  whah 
he  want  him.” 

D.  C.  Kolp,  of  Wichita,  was  chosen  permanent  sec¬ 
retary,  with  S.  C.  McCoy,  of  Galveston,  and  J.  H, 
Stuart,  of  Robinson,  as  assistant  seeretaries.  McCoy 
is  a  mulatto,  and  one  of  Cunty's  main  henchman  in  the 
Galveston  Custom  House. 

The  gubernatorial  stock  of  the  Hon.  Webster  Flan¬ 
agan  took  a  big  jump  to-day.  It  is,  however,  gener¬ 
ally  conceded  that  Judge  Bell  can  have  the  nomina¬ 
tion  if  he  wants  it,  but  his  friends  say  he  will  notac- 
cept  it,  and  Flanagan  very  openly  and  bluntly  de¬ 
clares  himself.  He  says  he  is  extremely  anxious  to 
secure  the  nomination,  even  at  great  personal  sacri¬ 
fice,  in  order  to  meet  Hogg  on  the  stumj)  all  over 
Texas.  Osterhout,  of  Bell,  is  also  still  quite  popular, 
while  Rector,  of  Travis,  has  a  large  and  big  lunged 
following.  The  proceedings  on  the  whole  to-day 
were  featureless,  except  for  much  noise. 

The  convention  reassembled  to-night  at  eight 
o’clock.  The  only  business  transacted  was  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  the  committee  on  platform  and  resolu¬ 
tions,  composed  of  one  member  from  each  senatorial 
district.  Hon.  R.  B.  Rentfrow,  collector  of  customs  at 
Brownsville,  is  chairman  of  the  committee.  Cuney  is 
not  on  it. — San  Antonio  Disgalch  to  St.  Louis  Republic, 
September  4. 

The  republican  state  convention  adjourned  sine 
die  this  afternoon.  The  Cuney  wing  of  the  party  re¬ 
turn  home  flushed  with  victory  save  the  bare  nomination 
of  Web  Flanagan  for  governor.  They  won  everything 
else  and  they  lost  that  by  only  a  hair's  breadth.  Flana¬ 
gan’s  only  opponent  was  C.  W.  Ogden  of  this  city, 
who  received  only  forty  six  votes  less  than  the  suc¬ 
cessful  candidate.  The  only  fight  in  the  convention 
was  over  the  selection  of  a  chairman  of  the  state  ex¬ 
ecutive  committee.  Cuney  wanted  to  get  Degress  out 
and  Degress  was  determined  to  stay  in.  After  a 
short,  .sharp  and  decisive  battle,  Cuney  put  in  Lock 
McDaniel,  of  Grimes  county,  by  a  very  close  vote.— 
San  Antonio  Dispatch  to  St.  Louis  Republic,  September  b. 

—The  negro  state  convention  assembled  here  to¬ 
day.  Sixty  counties  are  represented  by  200  delegates. 
They  are  the  most  intelligent  men  of  the  negro  race. 
Speeches  have  been  made  by  nearly  every  leading 
man,  and  the  burden  and  strength  of  their  addresses 
have  been  the  unequal  division  of  the  federal  patron¬ 
age  and  the  discrimination  against  the  negroes  in 
this  respect  by  the  white  leadeis  of  the  republican 
party. 

The  revolt  against  the  white  leaders  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  is  full  and  complete,  and  the  federal  pat¬ 
ronage  throughout  the  state  must  be  redistributed 
or  there  will  be  dire  disaster,  politically,  w'herever 
the  negroes  number  many  voters.  The  republican 
state  convention  meets  in  this  city  on  Thursday  next, 
and  most  of  the  delegates  to  this  convention  are  del¬ 
egates  to  the  republican  state  convention,  and  they 
are  instructed  to  enforce  the  position  of  this  conven¬ 
tion  in  that  body. 


A  committee  will  be  appointed  to  wait  upon  the 
President  and  the  cabinet  officers  and  present  the 
resolutions  to  them,  and  insist  that  the  federal  offi¬ 
cers  throughout  the  state  at  once  reconstruct  their 
forces  and  give  the  negroes  their  full  share  of  the  offi¬ 
ces  under  their  control.— Raleigh,  N.  C.,  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  Aug.  26’ 

=',!  * 

The  republican  state  convention  met  here  to-day 
and  eighty  counties  were  represented.  Gieat  inter¬ 
est  was  taken  in  the  convention  because  it  was  ex¬ 
pected  that  it  would  be  the  scene  of  a  bitter  fight  be¬ 
tween  the  contending  factions  as  represented  by  J. 
B.  Eaves  on  the  one  side  and  Dr.  J.  J.  Mott  on  the 
other.  Eaves  was  rejected  by  the  senate  for  collector  of 
the  fifth  district  through  the  influence  of  Mott.  The 
President,  Secretary  Wiudom  and  Commissioner  Ma¬ 
son,  of  the  internal  revenue  bureau,  are  all  known  to 
be  supporters  of  Eaves,  and  they  are  said  to  feel 
greatly  outraged  at  his  rejection.  Some  one  or  all  of 
these  gentlemen  have  given  Eaves  to  understand 
that  if  he  could  obtain  an  indorsement  from  the  state 
convention  his  name  would  be  sent  to  the  senate  by 
the  President  for  collectorof  the  fifth  district. 

Proceeding  upon  this  assurance,  Mr.  Eaves  organized 
his  forces  all  over  the  state  and  then  called  the  state  com¬ 
mittee  together  onjhe  SOth  of  July  and  issued  the  call  for 
the  convention  to  be  held  to  day.  This  only  gave  thirty 
days’  notice  in  which  to  elect  the  delegates  by  ninety- 
seven  counties.  As  soon  as  Dr.  Mott  and  his  friends 
ascertained  the  plan  of  battle,  and  that  Eaves  was 
seeking  an  indorsement  from  the  convention,  they 
did  all  they  could  to  rally  their  forces  in  order  to 
control  the  convention.  Collector  White,  fourth  inter¬ 
nal  revenue  district,  put  all  his  deputies  and  storekeepers 
and  gaugers  in  moving  order,  and,  of  course.  Eaves  did 
the  same,  and  theresidtis  that  a  very  large  number  of 
the  delegates  are  feeler  al  office-holders. 

The  same  scene  has  been  presented  to-day  as  was 
presented  before  Cleveland’s  election,  when  every 
convention  was  controlled  by  the  internal  revenue 
officers.  Everything  was  at  white  heat  when  to-day 
it  was  announced  that  the  contending  factious  had 
usurped  the  functions  of  the  convention'  and  had 
settled  their  difliculties,  and  that  there  would  be  no 
fight.  The  arrangement  agreed  on  is  this:  Eaves  is  to 
be  re  elected  chairman  of  the  state  committee,  and  in  con¬ 
sideration  therefor  he  is  to  indorse  some  gentleman  from 
the  ninth  congressional  district  for  collector  to  succeed 
himself. 

It  now  turns  out  that  Eaves  has  played  a  very 
shrewd  game.  He  intends  to  go  to  Washington  and 
press  the  President  to  renominate  him  to  the  senate 
for  collector.  Eaves  says  that  Ransom  and  Vance 
will  not  oppose  his  confixmaWon,  that  he  has pid  two 
negroes  in  his  office,  and  has  promised  to  put  in  as  many 
more  as  may  be  demanded  of  him,  and  that  Senator 
Blair  will  not  therefore  oppose  his  confirmation  ashe 
did  before.  It  is  understood  that  Jeter  C.  Pritchard, 
of  Madison  county,  will  be  recommended  for  col¬ 
lector  by  Eaves  after  Eaves  has  failed  to  be  re¬ 
nominated  to  the  senate.  Congressman  Ewart  is  for 
Pritchard.  The  whole  convention  has  been  subor¬ 
dinated  to  the  questions  of  federal  patronage. — 
Raleigh,  N.  C.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Aug.  28. 

* 

The  last  effort  of  Collector  J.  B.  Eaves  in  the  conven¬ 
tion  last  night  was  the  introduction  by  his  henchman,  W. 
E.  Henderson,  colored,  a  clerk  in  his  office,  of  a  resolution 
requesting  the  President  to  reappoint  Eaves  collector. 
This  was  an  attempt  to  nullify  the  bargain  of  the  night 
previous,  and  brought  a  storm  of  objections.  It  appeared 
at  one  time  as  if  there  would  be  a  genuine  row,  but  J.  C. 
Pritchard,  who  is  to  be  Eaves’s  successor  by  virtue  of 
Eaves’s  indorsement,  went  to  Eaves  and  told  him  that  he 
would  fight  that  resolution  and  rvould  expose  the  bargain 
and  trade  between  Mott,  Eaves  and  Pritchard.  This 
frightened  Eaves,  and  the  resolution  was  withdrawn. 

T.  N.  Cooper  and  G.  H.  Brown  are  disgusted  with 
Eaves,  as  both  feel  that  they  have  been  sold  out  by 
him.  Both  expected  to  have  the  recommendation  of 
Eaves  for  collector,  and  the  fact  that  Pritchard  is  to 
have  Eaves’s  support  is  greatly  disappointing  to 
them.  Cooper  is  furious  over  the  fact  that  Congress¬ 
man  Ewart  has  indorsed  Pritchard. 

The  general  expression  to  day  as  to  the  result  of 


160 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  conventions  of  the  week  is  that  the  republican 
parly  has  been  seriously  injured.  The  domination 
of  the  revenue  ollicers  and  the  open  and  notorious 
fact  that  nothing  but  public  plunder  in  the  shape  of 
olUces  moved  the  convention  has  created  general 
disgust.— Kaieif/fi,  iV.  C.,  Dispatch  to  N.  Y.  Times,  Au- 
gust  29. 

— Mr.  Orcntt,  the  new  collector  of  internal 
revenue,  says  the  Boston  Post,  enters  actively 
into  the  factional  contest  of  the  republicans  of 
the  sixth  Mid<lle.sex  senatorial  district  as  a 
delegate  to  the  convention. 

— Mr.  Currier,  the  new  naval  officer,  still 
acts  as  secretary  of  the  republican  state  com¬ 
mittee  of  New  Hampshire,  and  lately  served 
in  that  capacity  at  a  meeting  of  the  man 
agers  with  Senator  Chandler  in  Boston. 

— Senator  Higgins,  of  Delaware,  is  at  pres¬ 
ent  engaged,  if  reports  to  trustworthy  newspa¬ 
pers  are  correct,  in  packing  caucuses  and  oth¬ 
erwise  preparing  the  way  for  a  republican 
gubernatorial  nomination  in  accordance  with 
his  own  inclinations.  The  rank  and  file  of 
the  party  have  other  views.  The  chief  feature 
of  the  canvass  is  the  pernicious  activity  of  the 
federal  office  holders.  Internal  revenue  col¬ 
lectors,  United  Slates  marshals,  post-office  em- 
j)loyes  and  others  are  earnestly  engaged  in 
turning  the  crank  of  the  Higgins  machine. — 
Boston  Post,  Sept.  2. 

— Early  this  morning  the  office  holders  of  the 
fifteenth  congressional  district  began  to  assem¬ 
ble  around  the  court  house.  Among  them 
were  James  H.  Clark,  of  Mattoon;  Bank  Ex¬ 
aminer  Capt.  J.  Swisher,  Paris;  Census  Super- 
visor  Charles  P.  Sitch,  Paris;  United  Slates  Mar¬ 
shal  J.  C.  Glenn,  Mattoon;  Member  State  Board 
of  Eciualization  Jake  Bell,  Paris,  formerly 
postmaster;  Geo.  A.  Rice,  of  Ridge  Farm,  post- 
office  inspector;  C.  H.  Kiemle,  St.  Joseph,  collector 
of  statistics  for  the  census;  Dr.  I.  S.  Wilcox,  Cham¬ 
paign,  revenue  collector,  and  concerning  whom  it 
is  whispered  around  here  that  he  was  con¬ 
firmed  by  the  senate;  W.  R.  Jewell,  Danville, 
postmaster,  and  many  country  poslmastei's. 

'The  object  of  the  gathering  was  the  republi¬ 
can  convention  for  the  fifteenth  congressional 
district.  The  delegates  were  selected  by  Con¬ 
gressman  Cannon  and  his  brother  “Bill,”  and 
they  took  care  that  the  majority  of  the  dele¬ 
gates  should  be  either  office-holders  or  rela¬ 
tives  of  office-holders. — Danville  Dispatch  to  St. 
Louis  Republic,  Aug.  28. 

— “Agent  for  the  Indiana  Republican  State  Co.m- 
MITTEE.  Room  No.  7,  631  F  street,  N.  W.,  Wa.shing- 
TON,  D,  C.,  Aug.  15,  1890.— Dear  Sir:  Having  been 
designated  by  the  republican  state  committee  of  In¬ 
diana  to  receive  and  forward  sucli  funds  as  the  re¬ 
publicans  of  Washinglon  may  see  proper  to  con¬ 
tribute  towards  defraying  the  campaign  expenses  of 
the  present  year,  I  respectfully  ask  your  considera¬ 
tion  to  the  following  suggestions: 

“  First,  as  intelligent  citizens,  you  are  well  aware 
that  to  organize  a  party  and  conduct  a  campaign  re¬ 
quires  money.  With  the  most  patriotic  devotion  and 
self-sacrificing  labor  on  the  part  of  committees  and 
candidates,  there  are  still  unavoidable  expenses  which 
must  be  met  by  the  rank  and  file  who  desire  party 
success  All  parties  expect  to  and  do  rai.se  money  by 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  their  members.  There 
arc  two  classes  who  are  always  ready  to  cry  out  against 
such  contributions— those  whose  meanness  seeks  an  excuse 
Jor  refusing  to  aid  in  securing  the  success  of  the  party 
of  which  they  are  the  beneficiaries  and  those  whose 
consciousness  of  their  own  corruptness  make  them 
able  to  charge  corrupt  motives  on  others.  I 
feel  sure  that  you  do  not  belong  to  either  of  these 
classes,  and  will  feel  willing  to  bear  your  sh’are  of  the 
burdens  and  necessary  expenses. 

“  Second— as  republicans  you  mu.st  desire  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  the  party,  and  especially  that  we  retain  control 
of  the  next  congress  in  order  to  complete  necessary 
legislative  work.  A  single  congress  is  not  enough  in 
which  to  harmonize  opinions,  mature  laws  to  protect 
the  equal  rights  of  all  citizens,  and  determine  what 


is  best  to  be  done  for  the  vast  and  varied  material  iii' 


“  the  boss  ” 


more  actively. — St.  Louis  Republic, 


tcrests  of  this  great  country.  Since  the  successful  in¬ 
troduction  of  the  shot  gun,’  ‘tissue  liallot’  and 
‘counting  out  industries’  into  the  democratic  policy 
in  the  south,  we  have  not  had  two  successive  repub¬ 
lican  congresses  because  of  the  large  number  of  stolen 
.seats  the  other  party  has  held.  As  we  have  special 
interest  in  the  success  of  President  Harrison's  ad¬ 
ministration,  a  duty  devolves  on  ns  to  do  our  utmost 
to  obtain  a  republican  majority  in  the  next  house. 

“  Third— As  Indiana  repul)licans,  yon  know  the 
<le.sperate  political  meth.ods  of  the  democracy  of  our 
state,  and  the  infamous  means  to  which  they  have 
resorted  to  hold  it.  In  open  and  flagrant  violation  of 
the  constitution  of  the  state  they  have  passed  an 
election  law  intended  to  deprive  republicans  of  just 
and  e(inal  reprc.sentation  in  congre.ss  and  the  legisla¬ 
ture;  they  have  shamefully  prostituted  the  public 
and  charitable  in.stitutions  of  the  state  to  the  mean¬ 
est  party  uses,  and  they  have  doubled  the  state  debt 
as  a  result  of  their  mismanagement. 

“You  are,  therefore,  confidently  appealfd  toby 
your  fellow  republicans  of  the  state,  to  assist  them  in 
the  present  campaign  with  so  much  of  the  sinews  of  tear 
as  you  can  afford.  This  will  enable  them,  by  thor- 
ougli  organization  and  a  free  use  of  the  means  of  infor¬ 
mation,  to  make  a  successful  appeal  to  the  people  of 
the  state.  Two  years  ago  we  wrested  from  the  dem¬ 
ocrats  the  executive  and  the  judicial  department.s, 
and  this  year  we  should  win  the  legislature.  This  wiil 
give  us  the  senator,  to  whom  we  are  justly  entitled ; 
will  secure  to  us  a  fair  apportionment  under  the  new 
census,  and  will  enable  us  to  remedy  the  abuses  of 
the  last  ten  years  of  democratic  misrule. 

“To  those  republicans  who  are  in  oflice  allow  me 
to  say :  You  have  the  same  right  to  contribute  to  the 
campaign  funds  of  your  party  as  if  you  were  not  in 
office.  No  one  has  a  right  to  assess  or  to  coerce  you 
into  giving;  but  no  one  has  a  right  to  prohibit  you. 
You  can  not  be  solicited  at  your  places  of  official  duty, 
but  outside  these  you  can  confer  and  contribute  as 
you  please.  The  civil  service  laws  are  designed  to 
protect  you  in  the  free  exercise  of  your  rights— not  to 
convert  you  into  political  eunuchs.  Any  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commissioner,  superior  officer  or  fellow  employe 
who  attempts  to  hinder  your  giving  will  be  himself 
in  violation  of  the  law.  I  address  you,  therefore,  as 
free  men,  as  republicans,  desirous  of  aiding  your 
party  in  all  proper  and  lawful  ways. 

“  Thatall  Indiana  republicans,  in  and  outof  office, 
who  wi.sh  to  aid  the  state  committee  by  their  contri¬ 
butions  may  have  the  opportunity  of  so  doing,  I  have 
the  honor  to  ann  ounce  that  I  wilt  be  at  my  office  during 
business  hours  and  will  remain  therefrom  4  to  6  o' clock  on 
the  following  days:  August  HI  and  September  1,  lb  and 
30.  Come  and  see  me  as  above. 

“  Very  truly  your.s,  w.  W.  Curry.” 

The  St.  Louis  Republic,  whicli  prints  the 
above,  adds  that  Curry  is  an  old  machine 
worker  whose  office  adjoins  Dudley’s,  and  that 
tlie  circular  has  been  mailed  to  every  Indiana 
republican  employed  in  the  government  ser¬ 
vice.  The  dates  above  given  are  the  days  on 
which  the  department  employes  are  paid  their 
salaries. 

— Nic  Karr  has  been  made  head  dog  catcher 
by  Marshal  Thomas.  He  made  a  hot  fight  for 
the  place  when  the  marshal  went  into  office, 
but  Thomas  wanted  him  to  take  the  honor  of  the  of 
ficial  title  and  divide  the  emoluments  with  John 
Loesch,  who  looked  after  the  marshal’s  interests  in 
the  seventh  ward  during  the  campaign.  Karr  re¬ 
fused  to  accept  it  with  that  condition,  and 
Loesch  was  appointed.  But  Loesch  and  Karr 
have  worked  together.  They  joined  hands  in 
an  effort  to  induce  the  municipal  assembly  to 
give  them  $5,000  for  destroying  dogs  this  year. 
They  failed.  The  appropriation  was  reduced 
to  $3,000.  and  now  Karr  is  put  in  charge  of 
the  dog-killing  department  of  the  marshal’s 
office.  Loesch  has  recently  been  quite  con¬ 
spicuous  in  the  fights  in  his  ward,  and  he  may 
get  something  “equally  as  good,”  but  the 
chances  are  against  him,  unless  he  cultivates 


Sept.  4. 

— The  appointment  of  “  Jim  ”  Asay,  of  Ogle 
county,  to  a  position  in  the  Indian  service  is 
generally  credited  to  Mr.  Hitt,  and  it  testifies 
to  the  fact  that  patronage  is  an  injury  rather 
than  a  benefit  to  our  congressmen.  The  ap¬ 
pointee  is  exceedingly  obnoxious.  If  spoils 
principles  were  to  control  in  a  department  of 
the  public  service  from  which  they  should  be 
rigorously  excluded,  Asay  should  still  be  ex¬ 
cluded.  Pie  has  not  been  a  working  and  rep¬ 
resentative  Ogle  county  republican.  It  is  even 
asserted  by  some  that  he  is  a  democrat,  but 
whatever  his  politics  he  does  not  have  that 
standing  in  the  county  which  warrants  his  se¬ 
lection  by  Mr.  Hitt  as  the  recipient  of  official 
favors.  He  is  remembered  in  connection  with 
legal  proceedings  in  the  circuit  court  at  Ore¬ 
gon  in  which  a  young  woman  from  Chicago 
was  complainant.  In  course  of  the  trial  his 
conduct  was  shown  in  a  light  far  from  com¬ 
mendable,  and  Judge  Cartwright  rendered  de¬ 
cision  for  the  complainant.  He  is  perhaps 
popular  in  a  certain  limited  circle  where  his 
convivial  habits  commend  him,  but  the  people 
of  Ogle  county  are  generally  not  of  the  class 
who  admire  men  of  Asay’s  stamp.  Many  feel 
indignant  that  such  a  man  should  be  preferred 
for  official  place  and  obtain  it  through  the 
favor  of  Mr.  Hitt. — Rockford  (III.)  Register, 
Aug.  22. 

— That  was  an  extraordinary  illustration  of 
the  spoils  system  which  was  described  by  cur 
Washington  correspondent  yesterday.  A  let¬ 
ter-carrier  in  a  western  city,  with  an  excellent 
record,  was  requested  to  resign  his  place,  which 
he  naturally  refused  to  do.  The  republican 
congressman  who  had  sought  to  get  rid  of  the 
carrier,  because  he  was  a  democrat  and  the 
place  was  wanted  for  a  republican  “worker,” 
then  induced  the  post-office  department  to  is¬ 
sue  an  order  for  his  removal.  But  the  carrier 
would  not  give  up  the  fight,  and  he  sent  to 
Washington  letters  of  remonstrance  from  many 
of  the  leading  citizens  on  his  route,  who  de¬ 
clared  him  well  qualified,  efficient,  and  faith¬ 
ful.  The  congressman  then  made  the  plea 
that  he  wanted  the  place  for  a  veteran  of  the 
civil  war,  whereupon  the  carrier  produced 
a  petition  for  his  retention  signed  by  600  old 
soldiers  whose  mail  he  had  been  carrying  for 
years.  Nevertheless,  the  order  for  his  removal 
was  not  revoked,  and  the  papers  for  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  his  successor  had  been  made  out, 
when  his  wife  appeared  in  Washington  in  his 
behalf.  “She  visited  the  department,  learned 
the  exact  state  of  things  in  regard  to  her  hus¬ 
band,  and  at  last  accounts  was  chasing  the  ob¬ 
durate  member  of  congress  around  the  city, 
resolved  to  convert  him  with  the  testimonials 
she  carried  with  her.”  The  congressman  has 
already  spent  probably  one  hundred  dollars’ 
worth  of  the  time  which  the  government  pays 
him  for  devoting  to  the  public  interests  in 
this  disgusting  squabble  over  a  petty  office, 
which  pays  the  incumbent  only  about  $2.50  a 
day,  and  the  end  is  not  yet !  -New  York  Even¬ 
ing  Post,  Aug.  29. 

— Boss  Quay  took  an  active  part  in  the 
“freezing  out”  of  Sergeant-at  Arms  Canaday, 
although  he  did  not  succeed  in  putting  in  his 
man  Bailey.  Canaday  does  not  retire  until 
July  1.  This  morning  the  sergeant-at-arms 
discharged  George  H.  Mann,  a  page,  who  had 
been  appointed  at  Quay’s  dictation,  and  filled  the 
place  thus  provided  by  puttiug  in  a  Montana  boy  at 
the  request  of  Mr.  Sanders. 

Quay  was  mad,  and  within  ten  minutes  af¬ 
ter  the  senate  met  he  introduced  a  resolution 
directing  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  make  no 
changes  in  his  force  without  the  consent  of  the 
senate.  The  resolution  was  laid  over  until 
to  morrow.  ‘Meanwhile  Quay’s  page  is  out 
and  Sander’s  page  is  in.  and  Canaday  is  still 
sergeant-at-arms.— Wew  York  Times,  June  19. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Pnblieation  ofllce.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  20.  INDIANAPOLIS,  OCTOBER,  1890.  terms  :  ^  feen^p^rT^opyr' 


Indianapolis,  September  5, 1890. 

My  Dear  Sir— For  about  a  year  and  a  half  we  have 
been  sending  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  to  the 
public  library.  I  observed  yesterday  that  it  is  not 
on  your  printed  list  of  periodicals.  Our  object  in 
sending  it  is  to  have  it  in  the  usual  way  brought  to 
the  notice  of  those  who  frequent  the  library  in  the 
hope  that  some  of  them  may  be  led  to  read  it. 

If  there  is  any  reason  why  it  should  not  be  placed 
on  the  printed  list  we  shall  be  obliged  if  you  will  in¬ 
form  us  of  it.  Respectfully, 

Lucius  B.  Swift, 

For  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle. 

Mr.  Charles  Evans.  Librarian. 

Public  Library,  September  6, 1890. 

Dear  Sir— It  has  been  the  intention  for  some  time 
to  revise  the  list  of  periodicals  and  print  a  new  re¬ 
vised  list,  containing  all  periodicals  now  currently 
received.  This  will  be  done  as  soon  as  possible. 
The  fact  that  this  was  to  be  done  was  the  sole  reason 
why  the  Chronicle  has  not  been  added.  The 
omission  was  one  of  several,  and  I  am  obliged  to  you 
for  calling  my  personal  attention  to  the  matter. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

Charles  Evans,  Librarian. 

Lucius  B.  Swift,  Esq. 

The  list  referred  to  is  a  printed  one  of  peri¬ 
odicals  with  additions  of  names  of  new  papers 
from  time  to  time  inserted  in  writing  and 
tacked  up  in  the  reading-room  of  the  library. 
While  the  question  when  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  shall  go  upon  the  list  is  being  de¬ 
cided,  any  one  wishing  to  see  this  paper  can 
get  it  in  the  reading-room  by  asking  for  it. 


The  National  League  of  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
form  Associations  held  its  annual  meeting  in 
Boston,  October  1st  and  2d.  In  this  con¬ 
genial  atmosphere  the  League  could  but  get 
and  it  got  a  large  hearing.  The  speech  of 
Mr.  Curtis,  in  Tremont  Temple,  was  listened 
to  by  a  large  and  appreciative  audience,  and 
was  admirably  adapted  to  the  occasion.  This 
speech  and  the  papers  read  and  the  resolutions 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  paper.  The 
resolutions  justly  and  fairly  point  out  what  the 
administration  has  failed  to  do  according  to 
promise.  In  speaking  of  the  civil  service 
commission  the  resolutions  could  not  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  distinguish  individuals.  But  both 
in  the  meetings  and  at  the  dinner,  where  two 
hundred  guests  were  present,  the  mention  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt’s  name  was  always  applauded. 
It  is  well,  known  that  Mr.  Thompson  is  an 
equally  fearless  upholder  of  the  law  against 
its  enemies  and  is  in  accord  with  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt,  but  being  a  democrat  he  is  not  under  a 
republican  administration,  and  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  reform,  so  effective  a  spokes¬ 
man.  If  the  next  administration  should  be  of 
his  party  we  may  hope  that  he  will  be  the  com¬ 
missioner  militant  to  beat  off  the  Grosvenors, 
Houks,  Ewarts  and  Hattons. 


The  men  who  live  by  campaigns  and  elec¬ 
tions  are  trying  in  every  way  they  dare  to 
scare  money  out  of  the  department  clerks  in 
Washington.  Among  others.  Congressman 
Grosvenor’s  brother  is  particularly  bold.  Re¬ 
ferring  to  these  attempts,  Mr.  Roosevelt  says: 

Any  government  employe  who  is  directly  or  indi¬ 
rectly  concerned  in  soliciting  or  receiving  money  for 
campaign  purposes  from  any  other  government  em¬ 
ploye,  whether  he  does  so  on  his  own  account  or 
through  a  club  or  association  which  acts  as  his 
agent,  renders  himself  liable  to  prosecution,  and 
whenever  we  get  any  evidence  against  such  offend¬ 
ers,  we  will  immediately  lay  his  case  before  the 
proper  authorities.  No  government  employe  need 
pay  a  cent  unless  he  wishes  to,  and  we  will  welcome 
information  from  any  one  as  to  any  effort  being 
made,  no  matter  how  indirectly,  to  force  him  to 
subscribe  for  political  purposes. 

The  country  and  the  clerks  now  know  that 
this  is  no  sham  protection  which  is  offered 
against  political  pirates.  Prosecutions  of  vio¬ 
lators  of  the  law  are  not  so  certain,  thanks  to 
President  Harrison’s  prosecutors,  but  with  Mr. 
Roosevelt  ready  and  certain  to  make  open 
war,  no  officer  will  dismiss  a  clerk  for  re¬ 
fusing  to  contribute.  Nothing  like  this  atti¬ 
tude  of  the  commission,  of  which  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  is  the  spokesman,  so  well  shows  the  prog¬ 
ress  and  gathering  strength  of  the  merit 
system. 

The  Pennsylvania  campaign  presents  a  sight 
that  gratifies  every  one  who  is  tired  of  being 
ruled  by  bosses,  not  to  say  rascals.  A  great 
body  of  Pennsylvania  republicans  refuse  to 
vote  for  Quay’s  man  Delamater,  and  are  act¬ 
ively  working  for  his  opponent  Pattison, 
whom  the  democrats  elected  governor  of  the 
state  in  1882.  Quay  has  carried  the  golden- 
rule  maxim  of  Ingalls  too  far,  and  a  large 
number  of  ministers  are  aroused  against  him. 
A  meeting  which  packed  the  Academy  of  Mu¬ 
sic  ill  Philadelphia  was  held  October  20,  to 
give  public  expression  to  the  protest.  There 
is  no  question  but  that  the  revolt  is  widespread 
and  embraces  many  thousands  of  the  best  re¬ 
publicans  in  Pennsylvania.  Whatever  the 
result,  the  agitation  will  add  to  the  number  of 
independent  voters  and  will  bring  into  activ¬ 
ity  against  boss  rule  a  large  number  of  new 
men.  There  is  a  majority  of  80,000  to  over¬ 
come.  There  would  be  no  hesitation  in  say¬ 
ing  that  this  would  be  done  were  it  not  for  the 
means  possible  with  Quay.  As  Mr.  Bonaparte 
says,  if  we  had  not  seen  Gorman  under  like 
circumstances  make  the  figures  in  Maryland 
foot  up  right  for  his  side,  we  should  feel  sure 
of  Quay’s  defeat  now.  It  may  again  be  re¬ 
marked  for  the  benefit  of  President  Harrison 
and  Mr.  Wanamaker  that  Quay  does  not  and 
can  not  deny  that  he  stole  money  from  the 


Pennsylvania  treasury;  and  that  he  could  not 
remain  in  public  life  if  deprived  of  the  federal 
patronage.  The  latter  the  Lincoln  republi¬ 
cans  have  already  told  the  President  in  a  for¬ 
mal  communication. 

Mr.  Robert  Lincoln  has  interfered  in  the 
Pennsylvania  matter  by  writing  a  letter  say¬ 
ing  that  the  anli-Quay  republicans  have  no 
right  to  use  his  father’s  name  and  call  them¬ 
selves  Lincoln  republicans.  It  was  hoped  that 
this  letter  was  a  forgery,  as  it  smacked  too 
much  of  a  man  of  few  wits  defending  a  knave. 
As  the  New  York  Evening  Post  says,  Mr.  Lin¬ 
coln  can  not  in  this  manner  write  his  father 
up,  but  he  can  very  decidedly  write  himself 
down.  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh  thus  puts  him  to 
shame : 

“You  further  say  that  you  can  not  agree  ‘in  the 
soundness  of  a  position  which  is  based  on  an  assump¬ 
tion  of  representing  the  opinions  of  Republican 
leaders  who  can  no  longer  speak  for  themselves.’ 
Your  father,  my  dear  sir,  be  it  said  in  all  .sincerity 
and  reverence,  was  one  of  that  goodly  company  of 
martyrs  and  of  prophets,  who,  ‘being  dead,  yet 
speak.’  You  do  him  less  honor  than  we  to  suppose 
the  contrary.  Neither  the  lapse  of  years  nor  the  de¬ 
basement  of  the  name  which  his  speech  and  acts 
made  glorious  can  silence  his  words  in  the  heart  of 
the  American  people.  Neither  the  words  nor  the 
counsels  of  Abraham  Lincoln  are  of  private  or  family 
interpretation.  They  are  the  common  property 
of  the  nation.” 

The  Buffalo  common  council  thought  it 
was  a  ■  oiger  man”  than  the  law  and  it  ap¬ 
pointed  some  street  and  health  inspectors  in 
entire  disregard  of  the  New  York  civil  service 
law.  Mr.  Sherman  S.  Rogers,  representing  the 
Buffalo  Civil  Service  Reform  Association, 
promptly  took  the  common  council  into  court, 
and  has  won  a  succession  of  victories  in  the 
special  term,  in  the  general  term,  and  now  in 
the  court  of  appeals.  The  payment  of  salaries 
to  the  persons  improperly  appointed  is  en¬ 
joined.  In  its  opinion  handed  down  October 
7,  the  court  of  appeals  says  of  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem  : 

“  If  the  system  were  to  be  carried  out  to  its  fullest 
extent  by  appropriate  legislation,  and  if  the  laws 
thus  enacted  were  to  be  enforced  bona  fide  and  with 
cordial  heartiness  by  the  men  to  whose  hands  it 
would  necessarily  be  confided,  it  has  been  confi¬ 
dently  predicted  that  the  improvements  in  our  en¬ 
tire  civil  service  would  be  such  that  no  unprejudiced 
citizen  would  ever  give  his  consent  to  return 
to  the  old  order  of  things.  *  That  the  former 
system  was  bad,  very  bad  indeed,  is  a  fact  re¬ 
garding  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  dispute. 
=;<  <•  ■>  That  the  results,  if  the  legislation  be  fairly 
carried  .out,  will  be  immeasureably  superior  to 
those  obtained  under  the  old  system,  is  a  pre¬ 
diction  most  confidently  made  by  those  whose 
knowledge  upon  the  subject  is  the  greatest.  It  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  imagine  a  worse  than  the  old 
system  of  appointments  to  civil  office.  That  a  letter- 
carrier  should  lose  his  position  because  his  views 
upon  the  question  of  the  tariff  were  not  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  ruling  powers  seems  to  be  the  very 
height  of  absurdity.” 


162 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


ALL  GIVERS  AS  WELL  AS  RECEIVERS  WERE 
MUTUALLY  BOUND  TO  DEFEND  EACH  OTHER’S 
POSSESSIONS.— Blatkstone. 


The  middle  ages  in  Europe  had  its  local  despots, 
its  robber  barons,  who  seized  the  control  of  its  cities 
and  provinces,  levied  tribute  on  citizens  and  toll 
from  passers-by.  At  present  dungeons  and  daggers 
are  discarded  from  the  use  of  the  successors  of  these 
early  tyrants.  But  not  the  less  really  is  the  power 
used  and  we  made  the  prey  and  the  sport  of  a  class 
as  infamous  in  the  sight  of  any  true  man  as  any  rob¬ 
ber-baron  of  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  century.  The 
weapons  they  use  now  are  vastly  more  potent  tlian 
prison  or  sword.  They  are  organization  and  money. 
The  very  form  of  our  institutions  makes  them  potent, 
and  to  the  whole  extent  that  our  institutions  are  de¬ 
signed  for  the  discharge  of  duty  by  virtuous  citizens 
are  they  adapted  to  serve  the  purposes  of  vile  dem¬ 
agogues,  when  the  respectable  class  become  neglect¬ 
ful  of  public  duty  and  unvigilant  as  to  the  condition 
of  the  state,  and  permit  themselves  to  be  betrayed 
by  appeals  to  their  own  selfish  interests  and  carried 
away  by  cheap  party  cries  to  prefer  anything  to  the 
pure  welfare  of  the  state  and  the  honest  administra¬ 
tion  of  government. — From  the  Sermon  of  Itev.  Jof^eph 
May  on  the  present  situation  in  Pennsylvania. 


— About  two  hundred  republicans  will  go  to 
Indiana  from  Washington  to  vote.  Twenty-jive 
have  already  gone. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Get.  16. 

— At  Fort  Wayne  the  postmaster  and  his 
chief  deputy  headed  the  petition  for  federal 
supervisors. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  October  22. 

— Thomas  V.  Cooper,  who  holds  a  federal 
appointment  in  Philadelphia  has  been  selected 
by  Senator  Cameron  to  conduct  his  campaign. 

— Mr.  Thomas  Ryan,  of  the  treasury  de¬ 
partment  at  Washington,  is  home  to  vote.  As 
an  Irish-American  he  is  an  enthusiastic  sup¬ 
porter  of  the  McKinley  tariff  law. — Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  Oct.  15. 

— Hon.  Smiley  Chambers  [United  States  dis¬ 
trict  attorney]  delivered  a  splendid  address  be¬ 
fore  a  large  audience  at  the  opera  house  this 
evening.  He  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Sentinel  and  its  anarchistic  utterances 
and  tendencies,  and  stated  a  fact  not  generally 
known — that  the  editor  of  the  Sentinel  had  cir¬ 
culated  in  Fort  Wayne  a  petition  for  the  par¬ 
don  of  the  Chicago  anarchists  after  they  had 
been  convicted. — Marion  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  Oct.  15. 

— Mr.  Hinton  was  followed  by  Hon.  J.  B. 
Cockrum  [assistant  U.  S.  district  attorney],  of 
Indianapolis,  in  a  masterly  presentation  of 
state  issues,  giving  a  thorough  discussion  of 
the  iniquities  of  the  democratic  party  that 
have  passed  directly  under  his  notice  as  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  court. — Rushville 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  17. 

— District  Attorney  Chambers  has  written  to 
the  state  central  committee  that  he  and  Mr. 
Trusler,  republican  candidate  for  secretary  of 
state,  had  two  grand  meetings  at  Marion  and 
one  at  Kokomo.  “Our  meetings  have  been 
well  attended  and  very  enthusiastic,”  he  writes. 
— Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  17. 

— The  Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum  delivered  a 
telling  speech  to  a  large  and  enthusiastic  audi¬ 
ence  at  the  court-house  in  this  city  last  night. 
*  *  He  also  dealt  with  the  infamous  violation 
of  election  laws  by  the  democratic  party,  and 
the  extravagant  and  dishonest  manner  in 
which  the  affairs  of  the  state  institutions  of 
this  state  have  been  mismanaged  at  the  hands 
of  the  democratic  legislature. — Noblesville  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  12. 


— This  is  about  the  time  when  all  the  In- 
dianians  employed  in  the  government  depart¬ 
ments  at  Washington  come  home  for  a  vaca¬ 
tion.  The  Indianapolis  contingent  has  begun 
to  arrive.  Gus  Shaw,  who  is  influential  with 
railroad  men,  has  been  here  several  weeks  get¬ 
ting  the  “boys”  into  line  The  first  of  next 
week  all  the  Indianapolis  republicans  who 
have  positions  at  the  capitol  are  expected 
here. — Indianapolis  News,  October  17. 

— Here  in  Georgia  the  federal  district  attor¬ 
ney  for  the  northern  district  is  a  candidate  for 
congress  and  actively  canvassing.  The  collec¬ 
tor  of  internal  revenue  for  the  state  is  a  can¬ 
didate  for  congress  in  the  fourth  district,  and 
the  postmaster  of  Rome  in  the  seventh. — New 
York  Times,  Oct.  23. 

— Congressman  Bowden  jumped  into  the 
town  this  morning  from  Washington,  where 
he  has  been  hard  at  work  to  seat  Langston.  He 
was  suirounded  with  politicians  at  the  custom  house 
this  morning.  Many  of  his  henchmen  were 
after  money  to  use  at  to  night’s  precinct  meet¬ 
ings,  but  not  one  cent  was  given  up  to-day. — 
Richmond  Times,  Sept.  25. 

— There  was  a  throng  of  politicians  at  the 
Tremont  House  last  night.  It  was  the  night 
before  the  republican  convention,  and  the 
boomers  were  at  it  for  all  they  were  worth. 
There  were  a  great  many  old  war  horses  on  the 
ground,  and  they  lookod  as  happy  as  could  be. 
They  were  in  their  element.  Among  these  was 
Collector  Alanson  W.  Beard  of  the  port  of 
Boston.  Then  there  were  Internal  Revenue 
Collector  Frank  E.  Orcutt  of  Melrose,  Post¬ 
master  Odell  of  Beverly,  Postmaster  W.  W. 
Adams  of  Quincy,  Major  Cook,  auditor  at  the 
custom  house ;  Assistant  Secretary  Pilgrim, 
an  inspector  at  the  custom  house,  detailed  for 
duty  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Beard. — Boston  Post, 
Sept.  17, 

— When  the  delegates  were  finally  seated, 
Mr.  Towner,  his  brother  and  the  rest  of  his 
party  sat  alone  on  two  long  wooden  benches. 
Near  by  sat  Mr.  Fish  between  Prof.  George  C. 
Smith,  of  the  Drew  Female  College,  and  Under 
Sheriff  J.  AV.  Hazen.  Mr.  Fish’s  success  in 
placing  his  friends  was  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  there  were  not  five  square  feet  of  floor  in 
the  room  that  were  not  trodden  by  the  feet  of 
office  holders.  There  was  Ilemy  Mahlie,  an  ap 
praiser  of  land  for  the  new  acqueduct;  Oeorge  Hine, 
the  supenisor  of  Brewsters;  County  Clerk  Weeks,  Wil¬ 
lard  F.  Agor,  the  postmaster  of  Mahopac  Falls; 
John  Bennett,  the  coroner  and  postmaster  of  Kent; 
Abram  J.- Miller,  the  district  attorney;  Dam  In¬ 
spector  Yale,  Deputy  Shcrif  Day,  Tax  Clerk  and 
Constable  Shove,  Justice  of  the  Peace  Barnes,  As¬ 
sessor  Baxter,  besides  a  cloud  of  highway  commis¬ 
sioners  and  an  army  of  smaller  office-holders. — New 
York  Sun,  Oct.  7. 

— W.  H.  Collier,  a  reputable  colored  man, 
chairman  of  the  republican  executive  com¬ 
mittee  of  Marion  county,  says  that  George  I. 
Cunningham,  United  Slates  marshal,  attempted  to 
bribe  him  by  offering  him  a  position  in  the  Charles¬ 
ton  custom  house  if  he  would  desert  Brayton. 
Collier  declined.  He  was  afterward  beset  by 
various  emissaries,  and  finally,  just  before  the 
convention  met,  Thomas  Miller,  who  is  con¬ 
testing  Congressman  Elliott’s  seat,  urged  him 
to  drop  Brayton,  offering  him  a  government 
job  either  at  Washington  or  Charleston,  to¬ 
gether  with  $300  in  money.  Collier  says  that 
the  delegates  were  bought  like  cattle.  He  de¬ 
clares  that  if  his  statements  are  questioned  he 
will  bring  forward  still  more  damaging  facts 
and  will  substantiate  them  by  witnesses. 

He  says  that  one  of  Webster's  employes  in  the  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  service  told  him  that  he  was  obliged 
to  vote  for  Webster  in  order  to  keep  his  position. — 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Sept. 


NOTES. 

The  Baltimore  Sun,  of  October  22,  prints 
the  address  of  Mr.  John  Hemsley  Johnson  be¬ 
fore  the  tax- payers’  association,  on  “The  Merit 
System  of  Appointing  City  Officials.” 


The  Civil  Seiwice  Record,  for  October,  has  the 
speeches  in  full  made  at  the  dinner  given  by  the 
various  associations  in  Massachusetts  upon  the 
occasion  of  the  meeting  of  the  National 
League.  They  read  as  well  as  they  sounded. 


The  Civil  Service  Record,  for  September, 
prints  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  statement  before  the 
congressional  committee  investigating  the 
civil  service.  It  also  publishes  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  Congressman  Grosvenor  before  the 
committee  and  his  statement  and  final  dis¬ 
comfiture  by  Mr.  Roosevelt.  The  whole  ar¬ 
ticle  is  of  great  interest  and  value. 

The  October  Civil  Service  Reformer  contains 
a  very  clever  editorial  on  the  significance  of  a 
so-called  request  for  voluntary  subscriptions 
recently  received  by  the  employes  of  the  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  service  in  Baltimore.  The 
money  raised  was  to  be  exclusively  used  for 
the  benefit  of  the  canvass  of  the  Hon.  Sidney 
E.  Mudd  in  the  fifth  congressional  district, 
stated  Senator  Coffin  who  “  held  up”  the  em¬ 
ployes.  They  knew  that  Senator  Coffin  was 
the  personal  and  political  friend  of  the  col¬ 
lector,  and  that  Mudd,  who  seeks  re-election, 
had  largely  contributed  to  the  collector’s  ap¬ 
pointment,  and,  as  Mr.  Quay  would  say,  under 
all  the  circumstances  Senator  Coffin’s  request 
could  hardly  be  disregarded. 


THIRD  REPORT  OF  THE  INVES¬ 
TIGATING  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
NATIONAL  CIVIL  SERVICE 
REFORM  LEAGUE. 

Presidential  Postmasters. 

To  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Civil 

Service  Reform  League : 

Your  special  committee,  appointed  to  in¬ 
quire  into  the  condition  of  the  federal  service 
and  the  operation  of  the  reform  law,  has  com¬ 
pleted  its  investigation  of  removals  and  res¬ 
ignations  of  presidential  postmasters  during 
the  first  year  of  the  present  administration. 

It  gave  us  satisfaction  to  note  in  our  last 
report  the  improved  condition  of  the  patent 
office  and  the  adherence  to  civil  service  prin¬ 
ciples  in  its  management.  AVe  are  not  able  to 
discover  the  same  adherence  to  business  meth¬ 
ods  in  respect  to  the  changes  made  among 
presidential  postmasters.  In  investigating 
these  changes,  we  have  attempted  to  ascer¬ 
tain  : 

1.  Their  number. 

2.  The  motive,  whether  made  for  political 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


163 


reasons  or  to  promote  the  efficiency  of  the 
service. 

Our  first  effort  was  to  ascertain  what 
changes  had  been  made.  For  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  official  information,  our  chairman 
opened  a  correspondence  with  the  officers  of 
the  post-office  department,  which  is  fully  set 
forth  in  the  following  letter  addressed  by  him 
to  the  President  on  March  27,  1890,  and  in 
the  letters  therein  referred  to  and  annexed  to 
this  report : 

Washington,  D. C.,  March  17,  1890. 
Hon:  Benjamin  Harrison,  President  of  the  United 

States : 

Dear  Sir— On  February  20, 1  wrote  to  Mr.  J.  Lowrie 
Bell,  general  superintendent  of  the  railway  mail  serv¬ 
ice,  asking  him  howl  could  secure  copies  of  the  daily 
bulletin  of  the  orders  affecting  the  postal  service, 
and  obtain  access  to  past  flies  of  this  daily  bulletin. 
On  February  21,  he  answered  that  it  could  only  be 
furnished  for  ofllcial  purposes;  that  the  file  was 
kept  at  his  office  ;  and  that,  if  I  would  call  and  show 
why  I  should  examine  it,  I  would,  if  proper,  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  do  so.  On  February  22,  I  answered,  say¬ 
ing  that  a  special  committee  was  recently  appointed 
by  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League  to  in¬ 
quire  into  the  present  condition  of  the  civil  service 
with  reference  to  this  reform,  and  that  I  was  placed 
in  charge  of  this  work  in  Washington,  that  a  list  of 
appointments  and  removals  of  postmasters  was  nec¬ 
essary,  and  asking  whether  I  might  be  allowed  to 
look  over  these  past  flies  and  take  copies  of  such 
portions  as  might  seem  necessary,  or  whether  such 
inspection  would  be  inadmissible.  On  March  1,  I 
received  an  answer  from  Postmaster-General  Wana- 
maker,  that  the  department  was  governed  by  a  well- 
established  precedent,  which  denied  to  the  public 
the  privilege  of  inspecting  papers  in  appointment 
cases  for  many  sound  reasons,  in  furtherance  of 
which  such  papers  had  invariably  been  deemed 
privileged  and  confidential  with  the  department.  It 
will  be  observed  that  I  asked  nothing  more  than  to 
inspect  past  files  of  the  daily  bulletin  in  the  office 
of  the  general  superintendent  of  the  railway  mail 
service,  and  that  I  am  told  that  such  papers  have 
invariably  been  deemed  privileged  and  coufidential. 

Thinking  there  must  be  some  misapprehension  on 
the  part  of  the  postmaster-general,  I  wrote  him  on 
March  6  that  the  files  I  desired  to  look  over  were  the 
flies  of  the  daily  bulletin  containing  lists  of  appoint¬ 
ments  and  men  removed,  and  not  any  other  files, 
and  that  I  understood  these  were  given  to  the  public 
press,  and  did  not  see  how  they  could  be  deemed 
confidential.  I  stated  that  all  I  desired  to  see  was  a 
record  of  the  removals  and  appointments,  and  not  of 
any  other  files  or  papers  relating  in  any  other  man¬ 
ner  to  such  removals  and  appointments.  To  this  I 
received  an  answer  from  the  postmaster-general, 
dated  March  11,  politely  requesting  me  to  call  upon 
him  at  my  earliest  convenience.  On  the  afternoon 
of  March  14  I  accordingly  called  upon  the  postmas¬ 
ter  general,  but  he  declined  to  permit  an  inspection 
of  these  files  of  the  daily  bulletin,  telling  me  I  had 
no  business  to  see  them. 

On  April  26, 1889,  Mr.  William  Potts,  secretary  of 
the  league,  asked  Mr.  Wanamaker  for  information  as 
to  the  names  of  postmasters  who  have  died,  resigned, 
or  been  removed  since  the  incoming  of  the  present 
administration,  and  the  names  of  those  who  have 
been  appointed  during  the  same  period,  and  also 
their  offices.  Mr.  Wanamaker  replied  May  10  that 
the  information  asked  was  furnished  daily  through 
the  press  in  announcing  the  appointments  made, 
and  that  the  changes  were  furni.shed  in  manifold  to 
the  representatives  of  the  pre.ss,  embracing  the  name 
of  the  oflBce  and  the  former  official,  the  cause  of  the 
change,  whether  from  resignation,  death,  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  service,  or  removal,  and  the  name  of  the 
new  appointee.  Mr.  Wanamaker  said  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  working  force  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  to  furnish  the  special  information  sought,  and 
that  it  would  be  a  violation  of  the  regulations  to  ad¬ 
mit  outsiders  to  perform  any  work  in  connection 
with  the  official  and  legal  papers  of  the  department. 


On  June  18, 1889,  Mr.  J.  Hemsley  Johnson,  the  edi¬ 
tor  of  the  Civil  Service  ^Reformer,  a  newspaper  pub¬ 
lished  in  Baltimore,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  postmaster- 
general  asking  for  the  total  number  of  removals  in 
the  railway  mail  service  between  March  4  and  June 
1,  1889.  Mr.  Wanamaker  answered  that  there  was  a 
daily  statement  given  to  the  public  pre.ss  of  all  the 
changes  made,  and  added  the  following:  “As  we 
understand  it,  your  paper  has  thus  far  given  scarcely 
anything  but  misrepresentations  by  way  of  alleged 
facts  to  the  people  in  discussing  this  question.  We 
are  very  much  gratified  to  see  this  change  in  your 
disposition,  and  a  desire  to  deal  frankly  and  fairly, 
and  to  come  to  first  sources  to  gain  official  facts  be¬ 
fore  taking  up  official  discussion.  Therefore,  if  you 
are  ready  to  begin  the  discussion  on  the  basis  of  truth 
and  candor,  and  willing  to  correct  the  false  state 
ments  heretofore  made  in  your  journal,  and  to  say 
frankly  to  the  public  that  said  previous  information 
was  wrong,  and  that  you  henceforth  intend  to  dis¬ 
cuss  matters  connected  with  the  postal  service  intel¬ 
ligently  and  fairly,  on  actual  official  data,  we  should 
be  glad  to  furnish  you  with  any  information  at  our 
command.” 

I  enclose  copies  of  this  correspondence  for  your 
inspection. 

Without  considering  now  whether  the  record  of 
removals  and  appointments  is  not  so  far  a  public 
record  as  to  entitle  any  citizen  to  its  inspection  at 
such  reasonable  hours  as  may  be  consistent  with 
the  business  of  the  department,  permit  me  to  say 
that  the  refusals  to  allow  it  ought  to  be  more  con¬ 
sistent.  Mr.  Wanamaker  refuses  to  allow  me  to 
look  over  the  files  of  appointments  and  removals  be¬ 
cause  such  papers  have  invariably  been  deemed 
privileged  and  confidential,  and  yet  he  tells  Mr. 
Potts  and  the  editor  of  the  Reformer  that  they  are 
furnished  daily  to  the  public  press.  He  says  to  Mr. 
Potts  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  force  of  the 
office  to  furnish  the  special  information,  and  a  vio¬ 
lation  of  the  regulations  to  admit  outsiders  to  obtain 
it;  and  yet  he  says  to  the  editor  of  the  Ref ormer  Chat, 
if  the  latter  will  retract  certain  unspecified  state¬ 
ments  made  iii  that  journal,- and  say  that  the  Re¬ 
former  intends  to  discuss  matters  connected  with  the 
postal  service  on  actual  official  data,  he  will  be  glad 
to  furnish  that  paper  with  any  information  at  his  com¬ 
mand. 

I  think  you  will  see  that  these  statements  are  not 
consistent,  and  before  publishing  this  correspond¬ 
ence  I  respectfully  submit  it  for  such  consideration 
as  it  may  seem  to  you  to  deserve. 

Very  respectfully, 

Wii.  Dudley  Foulke. 

Executive  Mansion,  l 
Washington,  March  19,  1890.  j 
Ho71.  Wm.  D.  Foulke,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

My  Dear  Mr.Foulke— The  President  directs 
me  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter 
of  the  17th  inst.,  with  the  accompanying  copies 
of  correspondence.  Very  truly  yours, 

E.  W.  Halford,  Private  Secretary. 

Your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the 
lists  of  postmasters  removed  and  appointed 
ought  to  be  a  public  record, — that  any  person 
dealing  with  the  department  should  have  the 
right  to  know  who  is  the  lawfully  commis¬ 
sioned  officer,  when  he  was  appointed,  and 
when  his  term  would  expire,  and  ought  not  to 
be  required  to  establish  a  special  interest  be¬ 
fore  being  permitted  to  inspect  this  list,  any 
more  than  if  it  were  the  record  of  a  court  of 
justice  or  of  a  legislative  body.  If  the  post¬ 
master-general  has^the  discreti^nar^yri^ht  to 
refuse  such  inspl^ion,  '^le'^exercise  of  this 
right  can  not  fail  to  incur  the  distrust  of  those 
who  believe  that  the  public  service  should  be 
administered  with  such  publicity  as  not  to 
shrink  from  examination. 

The  past  numbers  of  the  daily  bulletin  is¬ 
sued  to  the  press  had  become  scattered  and 


lost  before  your  committee  was  appointed  ;  and 
it  is  impossible  thus  to  obtain  a  complete  offi¬ 
cial  list  of  the  changes  made,  especially  in  re¬ 
lation  to  fourth-class  post-offices.  The  results 
of  our  inquiries  will  perhaps  show  why  the 
postmaster-general  considered  it  necessary  to 
refuse  acce.ss  to  this  information.  The  mere 
number  of  such  removals  (which  the  depart¬ 
ment  offered  to  furnish)  would  of  itself  throw 
no  light  upon  the  motives  for  which  they  were 
made ;  and  without  the  names  of  the  offices,  of 
the  men  removed,  and  of  the  new  appointees, 
it  would  be  manifestly  impossible  for  us  to  ob¬ 
tain  information  of  value.  We  have,  how¬ 
ever,  been  able  to  obtain  this  information  so 
far  as  the  changes  in  presidential  post-offices 
are  concerned,  in  other  ways ;  and,  if  it  is  not 
derived  wholly  from  the  postmaster-general’s 
own  list,  it  is  because  he  declined  to  furnish 
it. 

A  partial  enumeration  of  the  changes  in 
presidential  offices,  those  made  between  March 
4  and  July  1,  1889,  had  been  already  given  in 
the  report  of  the  postmaster-general  for  1889. 
It  is  as  follows  (see  p.  19): 


By  deaths .  24 

By  resignations .  176 

By  expirations .  .  105 

By  offices  becoming  presidential . 119 

By  removals  for  various  reasons .  136 

Total .  560 


And  the  report  says  of  these  removals,  “  55 
were  removed  upon  inspectors’  and  other  offi¬ 
cial  reports,  23  others  had  served  over  four 
years,  22  others  had  an  average  service  of 
nearly  four  years,  and  the  remaining  36  were 
removed  to  secure  better  service.”  This  re¬ 
port  reveals  a  curious  system  resorted  to  in  the 
post-office  department  to  explain  removals. 
In  the  first  place,  changes  made  by  resigna¬ 
tions  and  by  expirations  of  terms  are  excluded 
before  these  removals  are  counted.  Then  we 
are  told  that  among  the  men  removed  23  had 
served  over  four  years  (although  the  term  for 
which  they  were  commissioned  had  not  ex¬ 
pired),  and  “22  others  had  an  average  service 
of  nearly  four  years.”  This  is  certainly  a  pe¬ 
culiar  reason  for  the  removal  of  an  efficient 
postmaster  before  the  expiration  of  his  term. 

If  A,  B,  C  and  D  are  four  unexceptionable 
postmasters,  and  A  has  been  in  office  two 
years,  and  B,  C  and  D  have  been  in  three 
years  and  eleven  months,  this  will  give  an 
average  term  of  “nearly  four  years”;  but  it 
is  a  rather  poor  reason  for  the  removal  of 
even.  B,  C  and  D,  to  say  nothing  of  A,  who 
has  served  only  two  years,  and  whose  average 
is  thus  extended  by  this  involuntary  com¬ 
panionship.  There  is  no  claim  that  these  men 
are  removed  for  improper  conduct,  nor  even 
to  secure  a  better  service  ;  for  those  classes  are 
specially  mentioned.  According  to  ihe  post¬ 
master-general’s  report,  each  of  these  removals 
appears  to  be  without  other  reason  than  the 
iniquity  of  serving  an  average  term  with 
some  other  unknown  person  of  “nearly  four 
years.” 

But  the  statements  in  this  report  go  further; 
“55  were  removed  upon  inspectors’  and  other 
official  reports ;  while  the  remaining  36  were 


164 


THE  CI\1L  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


removed  to  secure  a  better  service.”  It  thus 
appears  th^it  as  to  this  remainder  there  were 
no  official  reports  in  reference  to  the  good  of 
the  service;  and’the  information  upon  this 
point  must  have  come  from  unofficial  sources. 
We  shall  examine  hereafter  somewhat  in  de¬ 
tail  the  character  of  such  information  and 
the  way  in  which  these  removals  were  made. 

The  nominations  to  presidential  post-offices 
are  sent  by  the  President  to  the  senate,  and 
appear  scattered  through  the  records  of  con¬ 
gress.  An  examination  of  these  records  has 
enabled  us  to  ascertain  the  changes  in  these 
offices  with  substantial  accuracy.  The  changes 
in  presidential  offices  made  during  the  first 
year,  as  given  by  Mr.  Clarkson,  first  assistant 
postmaster-general,  are  as  follows  : 

1.  On  deaths .  48 

2.  On  resignations . . 

3.  On  expirations . 

4.  On  offices  becoming  presidential .  -^7 

5.  Removals : 

A.  On  inspectors’  and  other  government 

officials’  reports .  298 

B.  Upon  expiration  of  four  years’  ser¬ 

vice  and  second  commission  not  yet 
expired . 201 

C.  Upon  undoubted  evidences  of  mis¬ 
management,  without  reports .  114  613 

Total .  1,783 

The  entire  number  of  presidential^postmast- 
ers,  according  to  the  report  of  the  postmaster- 
general  on  July  1,  1889,  was  2,6G2  (see  p.  12.) 
Two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  offices  became 
presidential  between  March  4, 1889,  and  March 
4,  1890,  according  to  Mr.  Clarkson’s  statement 
above.  Of  these,  119  had  become  presidential 
on  July  1,  1889,  according  to  the  postmaster- 
general’s  report  above  referred  to.  One 
hundred  and  eight  offices  therefore  became 
presidential  after  July  1,  1889,  and  before 
March  4,  1890,  making  the  total  number  of 
presidential  offices  on  March  4,  1890,  2,270.  It 
is  thus  shown  that  over  64  per  cent,  of  these  offi¬ 
cers  were  changed  during  the  first  year  of  the  present 
administration.  The  statement  made  by  the 
post-office  department,  however,  indicates  that 
only  613  of  such  changes,  or  about  23  percent., 
have  been  made  by  the  removal  of  the  incum¬ 
bents,  and  that  the  remaining  changes  have 
been  upon  deaths,  resignations,  expirations  of 
terms,  and  upon  the  respective  offices  becom¬ 
ing  presidential.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
number  of  changes  owing  to  the  death  of  the 
incumbent  is  only  48.  The  changes  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  offices  becoming  presidential  are 
in  their  nature  very  similar  to  removals,  since 
there  would  appear  to  be  no  better  reason  why 
an  efficient  fourth-class  postmaster  should  be 
displaced  when  the  business  of  his  office  increas¬ 
es  so  as  to  make  it  presidential,  than  why  the 
same  change  should  be  made  if  the  office  had 
always  been  presidential.  If  such  change  is 
made  for  political  *  reasons  merely,  it  is 
equally  a  violation  of  the  promise  that  “fidel¬ 
ity  and  efficiency”  should  be  “  the  only  sure 
tenure  of  office.” 

We  determined,  however,  in  view  of  the 
graver  evils  resulting  from  changes  made  dur¬ 
ing  the  incumbents’  four  years’  term  to  con¬ 
fine  our  attention  to  the  more  important  cases 
of  resignations  and  removals,  and  to  ascer¬ 
tain, — 


1.  Whether  the  alleged  resignations  were 
voluntary  or  were  made  under  pressure  for 
political  reasons;  and 

2.  Whether  the  removals  were,  as  alleged  in 
the  above  statements  of  the  postmaster-general 
and  first  assistant  postmaster-general,  made 
upon  official  reports  and  upon  other  undoubted 
evidences  of  mismanagement  and  “  for  the 
good  of  the  service,”  or  whether  these  terms 
were  used  as  a  cloak  to  cover  removals  made 
for  political  reasons. 

Your  committee,  therefore,  addressed  to 
each  postmaster  removed  or  resigned,  as  well 
as  to  his  successor,  a  communication  calling 
for  the  facts  regarding  the  change.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  was  addressed  to  the  postmaster  re¬ 
moved  or  resigned : 

Dear  Sir — We  understand  that  you  were  displaced 

rom  the  office  of - on  the - day  of - . 

Would  you  bo  willing  to  state  to  this  committee  the 
circumstances  of  this  change? 

Isf.  Were  any  causes  assigned  for  it?  if  so,  wha^ 
were  they,  and  by  whom  assigned?  If  you  resignedf 
was  your  resignation  requested  or  suggested?  if  so, 
by  whom?  If  in  writing,  will  you  kindly  inclose  a 
copy  ? 

2d.  By  whom  were  you  succeeded  ? 

3d.  To  what  political  party  do  you  belong?  To 
what  party  does  your  successor  belong? 

4th.  What  political  services  did  you  render  while 
in  office?  What  position,  if  any,  did  you  hold  in 
your  party  organization?  Were  you  connected  with 
any  newspaper?  if  so,  give  its  name. 

5th.  What  political  services,  if  any,  did  your  suc¬ 
cessor  render  in  the  last  campaign  or  previously’ 
What  position,  if  any,  did  he  hold  in  the  party  or. 
ganization  to  which  he  belonged  ?  Was  he  connect’ 
ed  with  any  newspaper?  if  so,  give  the  name  of  such 
paper. 

6th.  Do  you  know  upon  whose  recommendation  or 
influence,  if  any,  you  were  displaced  or  your  succes¬ 
sor  appointed? 

7th.  Give  any  facts  known  to  you  regarding  the 
motive  or  reasons  for  your  displacement  and  his  ap¬ 
pointment. 

8th.  When  did  your  term  of  office  expire? 

9th.  Please  state  as  specifically  as  possible  any  facts 
you  know  regarding  the  efficiency  of  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  office  before  and  since  your  removal. 

10th.  Who  was  your  predecessor,  and  how  long 
had  he  held  office? 

11th.  When  were  you  appointed? 

When  the  answer  to  such  communication 
was  received,  we  embodied  the  substance  of 
such  answer  in  a  letter  to  the  new  appointee, 
with  the  request  that  if  in  any  respect  the  in¬ 
formation  was  incorrect,  or  he  desired  to  add 
any  other  facts  in  reference  to  the  change,  he 
would  communicate  the  same  to  your  commit¬ 
tee.  In  all  cases  where  the  postmaster  re¬ 
moved  or  resigned  did  not  answer  our  inquir¬ 
ies,  the  appointee  was  addressed  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  letter : 

Dear  Sir— We  understand  you  were  appointed  to 
the  office  of  on  the  day  of  ,  in  the 
place  of 

Previous  to  your  appointment  had  you  any  ex¬ 
perience  in  the  duties  of  the  office?  If  so,  what  was 
it? 

What  political  claims,  if  any,  had  you  upon  the 
office? 

Did  you  take  part  in  the  last  campaign  ?  What  po 
sltlon  did  you  hold  in  the  party  organization,  if  any? 
Are  you  a  member  of  the  republiean  party?  Were 
you  connected  with  any  newspaper  (if  so,  what  was 
it  ?  and  in  what  capacity  ? ) 

Upon  whose  recommendation  or  Influence  was  the 
appointment  made?  What  were  the  circumstances 
which  led  to  your  appointment? 


When  did  your  predecessor’s  term  of  office  ter¬ 
minate? 

In  thus  getting  information  from  both 
sides,  and  giving  both  postmasters  a  chance 
to  be  heard,  we  believed  that  we  would  arrive 
at  the  truth  as  nearly  as  it  was  possible  to  do 
so  by  written  correspondence.  The  answers  to 
these  communications  were  filed,  tabulated 
and  classified ;  and  from  these  answers  we  are 
enabled  to  report,  it  is  believed,  with  substan¬ 
tial  accuracy  in  regard  to  the  system  pursued. 
We  made  these  inquiries  in  927  cases,  574 
being  removals  and  353  resignations.  We 
have  received  answers  in  558  cases  (a  little 
more  than  60  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number 
concerning  which  inquiry  was  made),  giving 
more  or  less  fully  the  information  asked  for. 
In  321  of  these  cases  the  answers  came  from 
the  postmasters  removed  or  resigned,  in  90 
cases  from  the  successors  only,  and  in  147 
cases  from  both.  Shortly  after  we  commenced 
addressing  inquiries  to  the  new  appointees. 
First  Assistant  Postmaster-General  Clarkson, 
in  an  interview  sent  through  the  associated 
press  to  all  the  leading  papers  in  the  country, 
said : 

We  are  receiving  letters  from  newly  appointed 
postmasters  who  have  been  addressed  in  this  way. 
The  inquiries  sent  out,  in  every  instance  that  I  have 
seen,  show  that  the  case  has  been  pre  judged  and 
the  change  made  assumed  to  be  wrong.  It  is  evi¬ 
dently  an  effort  to  get  statements  from  removed  and 
disappointed  officials  for  political  use,  and  some  of 
the  letters  show  an  intention  to  try  to  induce  the 
new  postmaster  to  make  statements  of  defence  where 
no  defence  is  needed.  The  postmasters  seem  to  re¬ 
alize  that  they  have  reports  to  make  only  to  their  su¬ 
perior  officers.  No  political  capital  can  be  made  out 
of  these  changes.  The  President  has  made  no  re¬ 
movals  except  for  cause— for  delinquency  in  official 
duties,  inefficiency  of  service,  or  violation  of  law. 
He  has  refused  to  make  any  changes  for  partisan  rea¬ 
sons.  Changes  made  for  cause  have  been  on  the  re¬ 
ports  of  inspectors,  showing  a  demand  for  the  change 
in  the  interest  of  the  public  seivice. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  if  the  first 
assistant  postmaster-general  had  desired  to 
convey  to  these  appointees  an  intimation  that 
they  were  not  to  answer  these  inquiries,  or,  if 
they  did  answer,  what  the  tenor  of  the  answer 
should  be,  he  could  not  well  have  used  words 
more  aptly  chosen  for  the  purpose. 

RESIGNATIONS. 

We  received  answers  in  143  cases  to  our 
inquiries  as  to  resignations.  In  95  of  these 
it  appeared  that  such  resignations  were  volun¬ 
tary,  and  in  48  cases  that  they  were  not  vol¬ 
untary,  but  were  requested  by  the  congress¬ 
man  of  the  district  or  by  other  influential 
parties,  who  were  believed  to  have  the  dis¬ 
posal  of  the  office  in  their  hands.  In  some 
cases  inducements  were  offered  in  the  shape  of 
a  postponement  of  the  time  for  the  change  or 
an  offer  by  the  proposed  successor  to  pay  a 
good  price  for  the  fixtures  of  the  office  when 
the  appointment  should  be  made;  and  some¬ 
times  the  resignation  was  procured  by  threats 
of  immediate  removal.  Among  the  instances 
of  such  resignations,  we  would  call  attention 
to  the  following  letters  from  J.  P.  Dolliver, 
M.  C.,  to  Patrick  Cane,  postmaster  at  Fort 
Dodge,  la.,  written  ten  days  after  the  inau¬ 
guration  of  President  Harrison : 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


1 05 


House  of  Representatives,  United  States, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  March  M,  188'.). 

Mr.  P.  Cain,  Fort  Dodge,  la.: 

Dear  Sir— Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  forward 
to  me,  to  be  filed  in  the  department,  your  resigna¬ 
tion  as  postmaster  at  Fort  Dodge,  to  take  effect  on 
the  appointment  of  your  successor  ? 

Very  truly,  J.  P.  Doluver. 

P.  S.— If  this  is  done,  your  successor  will  not  be 
named  till  July  1.  J.  P.  D. 

House  OF  Representatives  United  States, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  April  4,1889. 
Mr.  P.  Cain,  Fort  Dodge,  loua : 

Dear  Sir— Your  letter  enclosing  your  resignation 
as  postmaster  at  Fort  Dodge,  to  take  effect  July  1,  is 
received.  I  thank  you  for  the  promptness  and  will¬ 
ingness  with  which  you  have  decided  to  lay  down 
the  cares  of  an  office  on  the  change  of  administra¬ 
tion. 

Hoping  you  may  be  as  successful  in  your  future 
political  moves  as  you  have  been  in  the  pa.st, 

I  am  yours  very  truly,  J.  P.  Dolliver. 

The  following  letter  from  M.  S.  Brewer, 
M.  C.,  to  Charles  Cowan,  postmaster  at  Ovid, 
Mich.,  speaks  for  itself; 

House  of  Represent.atives  of  the  United  States, 
Pontiac,  .\pril  18,  1889. 
Charles  Cowan,  Esq.,  Ovid,  Michigan: 

My  Dear  Sir— Your  letter  of  the  17th  duly  re¬ 
ceived,  and  contents  noted.  My  dear  fellow,  you 
last  fall  were  a  very  “offensive  partisan;”  in  fact, 
it  was  the  worst  case  of  that  fatal  malady  that  I  had 
knowledge  of  in  this  district.  I  feel  it  my  duty  to 
have  a  change  made  in  postmaster  at  your  place  as 
soon  as  convenient.  There  will  be  many  cases  in 
presidential  offices  where  I  shall  feel  perfectly  willing 
to  let  the  applicants  hold  their  time  out;  but  in  your 
case  you  seemed  to  stake  your  political  or  rather 
your  official  life  on  the  result  of  the  election,  and  the 
tide  of  fortune  moved  against  you.  I  have  no  per¬ 
sonal  or  revengeful  feeling  in  the  matter,  but  deem 
it  my  duty  to  do  what  I  can  to  make  the  change 
suggested.  I  am  in  no  great  hurry  about  the  matter, 
and  do  not  wish  to  oppress  you  in  any  way.  Permit 
me  to  suggest  that,  if  you  will  place  your  resignation 
in  my  hands  to  takeeffectat  the  close  of  the  present 
quarter,  the  30th  of  June,  I  will  arrange  it  that  you 
can  hold  on  till  then.  I  simply  make  this  suggestion 
for  your  consideration.  I  shall  start  for  Washington 
to-morrow  night,  and  would  be  glad  to  know  about 
the  matter  before  leaving. 

I  am  truly  yours,  M.  S.  Brewer. 

P.  S.— This  will  be  kept  confidential,  should  you 
wish  it. 


(The  italics  in  all  the  letters  in  this  report 
are  ours.)  The  postmaster  resigned. 

The  following  is  the  correspondence  between 
George  W.  Andrews,  former  postmaster  at 
Murphysboro,  Ill.,  and  George  W.  Smith, 
M.C.; 

1922  H  Street,  N.  W., 
Washington,  D.  C.,  May  20, 1889. 
Hon.  George  W.  Andrews,  Murphysboro,  111.: 

Friend  Andrews — So  far,  I  believe,  your  conduct 
and  mine  has  been  in  keeping  wiHi  the  friendly  re¬ 
lations  existing  between  us.  Circumstances  now  are 
such  that  I  am  compelled  to  act  a  little  earlier  than 
anticipated  in  reference  to  the  post-office  at  Mur- 
physboro.  Your  conduct  toward  me  has  been  man 
ly,  gentlemanly,  and  honorable.  The  favor  will  not 
be  forgotten.  By  your  voluntary  resignation*  placed 
confidentially  in  my  hands,  you  placed  me  in  a  po¬ 
sition  to  favor  a  political  opponent  and  a  personal 
friend.  I  have  carefully  guarded  your  future  as  I 
would  wish  you  to  guard  mine.  Matters  have  arisen, 
personal  to  myself,  which  absolutely  demand  imme 
diate  action  on  my  part.  Those  matters  I  can  not 
make  public.  I  desire  to  have  the  appointment  of  a 
postmaster  at  Murphysboro  at  once.  In  the  nature 
of  things,  you  know  it  will  be  several  days  after  an 
appointment  is  made  before  the  office  could  possibly 
change  hands.  On  receipt  of  this  wire  me  at  my  ex 


pense  O.  K.,  and  I  will  at  once  settle  the  matter.  Do 
not  ask  the  reasons  for  such  a  request,  as  you  can  as 
a  politician  readily  account  for  it  in  various  ways. 
Your  record  will  be  clear.  Treat  this  communica¬ 
tion  in  the  same  manner  you  would  wish  such  a  one 
from  yourself  to  me  treated.  Wire  immediately  on 
receipt  of  this.  On  receipt  of  such  dispatch  I  will 
understand  that  your  resignation  already  sent  me, 
which  by  its  terms  was  to  take  effect  July  30,  is,  by 
your  con.seui,  to  lake  effect  immediately. 

It  is  raining  very  hard  here.  In  fact,  it  rains  about 
one-half  the  time.  With  kindest  rfgards,  believe 
me,  very  truly.  Your  friend, 

George  W.  Smith. 

Copy  of  telegram. 

May  23,  1889. 

To  G.  W.  S.MITH, 

1922  H  Street,  N.  W., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

You  have  my  permission  to  0.  K.  it,  if  desired. 

C.  W.  Andrews. 

J.  P.  Gaspar,  postmaster  at  Kingsley,  Iowa, 
resigned  on  January  30,1890.  The  circum¬ 
stances  leading  to  his  resignation  are  clearly 
shown  iu  the  correspondence  between  him  and 
I.  S.  Strnble,  M.  C.,  of  which  he  has  sent  ns 
the  following  copy ; 

Le  Mars,  Ia.,  Aug.  26, 1889. 
Peter  Gaspar,  Esq.,  Kingsley,  la.: 

Dear  Sir— Within  the  last  eight  or  ten  days  such 
movements  have  been  made  in  relation  to  the  Kings¬ 
ley  post  office  as  convinces  me  that  it  will  be  wise 
for  you  to  look  the  inevitable  in  the  face  and  pre¬ 
pare  for  a  change.  If  you  see  proper  to  tender  your 
resignation  quietly,  I  will  forward  the  same  without 
recommendation,  thus  leaving  you  to  be  the  appar¬ 
ent  mover  iu  the  case,  and  willingly  surrender  the 
office  yo^(.  have  so  acceptably  filled  during  your  term. 

One  other  potent  feature  in  the  case  is  the  fact,  ns 
I  am  advised,  that  the  parlies  in  whose  store  the 
office  has  been  and  is  now  kept,  are  defendants  in 
a  case  brought  by  one  of  the  highest  authorities  in 
the  state  to  enjoin  them  from  selling  liquors  unlaw¬ 
fully.  This,  as  you  see,  gives  me  good  ground  to 
recommend  your  removal.  I  prefer,  however,  that 
you  should  resign,  if  you  desire  to  do  so,  rather  than 
to  recommend  your  removal.  Let  me  hear  from  you 
by  return  mail,  and  believe  me. 

Yours  very  truly, 

I.  S.  Struble. 

Of  this  Mr.  Gaspar  writes  ns; 

My  reply  to  Struble  was,  ia  substance,  that  I 
would  like  to  know  the  cause  of  my  proposed  re 
moval  (in  justice  to  myself),  and  would  rest  the  case 
(on  my  part)  with  the  republican  patrons  of  this 
office. 

Here  is  Mr.  Struble’s  second  letter  ; 

Le  Mars,  Ia.,  Aug.  31, 1889. 

P.  Gaspar,  Esq.  : 

Dear  Sir— Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  28lh  inst 
will  say  that  as  yet  I  am  not  prepared  to  advise  you 
upon  what  ground  your  removal  may  be  recom¬ 
mended.  It  has  not  been  decided  to  recommend 
but  action  in  that  direction  is  quite  probable  at  au 
early  date. 

Am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  better 
all  round,  and  just  -as  well  for  you  upou  any  sub¬ 
stantial  point,  if  you  tender  your  resignation  rather 
than  have  charges  preferred  against  you,  as  I  am  in¬ 
formed  there  will  be  soon.  Yours  truly, 

I.  S.  Struble. 

Copy  of  letter  written  to  one  John  Me¬ 
in  tosli  ; 

Le  Mars,  Ia.,  August  30, 1889. 
Joh7i  McIntosh,  Esq.,  Kingsley,  la  : 

Dear  Sir— I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  of  the  28th  inst., 
replying  to  which  I  will  say  that  it  only  adds  to  my 
embarrassment,  already  sufficient  by  reason  of  hav¬ 
ing  to  choose  between  republican  applicants  for  post- 
office,  to  be  informed  that  some  of  my  republican 
friends  in  and  about  Kingsley  are  desirous  of  having 
the  present  postmaster  retained,  and  especially  if 
such  friends  will  allow  themselves  to  become  to  any 
considerable  extent  concerned  in  the  matter.  The 


line  on  which  I  have  acted  is  this— to  make  no  move 
myself  with  a  view  to  having  democratic  post  office 
incumbents  displaced  by  republicans  until  such  time 
as  the  republican  patrons  of  the  office  should  them¬ 
selves  lead  off  in  attempts  to  have  a  removal  and  a 
new  appointment,  or  four  years  from  appointment 
had  expired.  This  has  been  my  position  in  relation 
to  the  Kingsley  office ;  and  I  have  kept  quiet  about 
it  until  a  number  of  republicans  became  active  in 
the  matter,  and  evinced  a  strong  desire  that  a  change 
might  occur. 

My  opinion,  after  some  experience  about  these 
post-office  matters,  is  that,  when  republican  patrons 
to  any  considerable  extent  begin  to  act  relative  to  a 
change,  the  sooner  thereafter  the  ease  can  be  dis¬ 
posed  of,  on  a  basis  of  the  expression  of  the  republi¬ 
can  patrons,  the  better  for  the  party  and  community; 
and  so  I  feel  now  in  relation  to  the  Kingsley  case. 
The  sooner  a  new  man  is  appointed  there,  the  sooner 
the  community  will  recover  from  the  agitation  and 
possible  excitement  in  relation  to  the  appointment 
of  the  most  important  official  of  the  town.  I  wish 
the  republican  patrons  of  the  Kingsley  post-office, 
however  they  may  appreciate  Mr.  Gaspar,  might 
take  a  .sensible  view  of  the  situation,  and  come  as 
near  as  possible  uniting  in  the  thought  of  au  early 
disposition  of  the  case  in  the  interest  of  the  party 
and  the  peace  of  the  community  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  It  is  my  understanding  that  substantial 
charges  will  be  preferred  against  Mr.  Gaspar,  and, 
if  such  shall  be  sent  to  me,  I  will,  according  to  my 
uniform  custom  in  such  cases,  consider  them,  and 
make  snch  indorsement  thereon  as  may  at  the  time 
seem  right.  If  no  formal  charges  are  preferred,  I  shall, 
within  a  comparatively  short  time,  decide  between  the  ap¬ 
plicants,  and  recommend  the  one  who,  in  my  opinion,  has 
the  greatest  weight  of  republican  sentiment  in  his  support, 
not  being  governed  by  number  merely.  This  is  my 
feeling  now,  supported,  as  it  is,  by  the  strong  belief, 
based,  as  I  have  indicated,  on  some  experience,  that 
the  most  satisfactory  way  out  of  a  post-office  contro¬ 
versy  is  as  early  a  decision  in  the  case  as  can  intelli¬ 
gently  be  reached  upon  consultation  with  the  repub¬ 
lican  patrons.  Shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from  you  on 
this  or  any  other  subject  at  any  time  or  to  meet  you 
personally.  Yours  truly,  1.  S.  Struble. 

James  S.  Catherwood,  former  postmaster  at 
Hoopeston,  Ill.,  writes  that  “  Joseph  G.  Can¬ 
non  (M.  C. )  was  here  looking  for  a  cause  to 
remove  me.  I  tendered  my  resignation  on 
condition  that  they  would  buy  the  fixtures.” 
Charles  W.  Warner,  the  new  appointee,  writes ; 
“Catherwood,  knowing  he  had  only  six  months 
to  serve,  was  anxious  to  sell  his  outfit  to  some 
responsible  republican  successor.  Mr.  Can¬ 
non  (M,  C.)  called  an  election.  There  were 
six  candidates.  I  received  one  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  out  of  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
one  votes.  Catherwood  thereupon  resigned, 
and  I  was  appointed.” 

Another  method  is  shown  by  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Frank  C.  Morse,  the  postmaster  appointed 
by  the  present  administration  at  Colfax, Wash. 
He  says ; 

The  history  of  the  matter  is  this;  Mr.  Berry  was 
sheriff  of  the  county  and  a  candidate  for  re-election. 
Being  defeated  at  the  polls,  he  circulated  a  petition 
asking  his  appointment  as  postmaster.  Five  days 
before  his  term  of  office  expired,  Mr.  Berry  started  to 
Washington  with  his  petition,  taking  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  La  Rue  (the  former  postmaster)  with  him. 
How  he  obtained  this  resignation  I  do  not  know ; 
but  I  was  afterwards  shown  a  copy  of  a  contract 
made  between  Mr.  Berry  and  Mr.  La  Rue,  in  which 
Mr.  Berry  agreed  to  pay  Mr.  La  Rue  81,000  for  the  of¬ 
fice  fixtures  incase  Mr.  Berry  should  be  appointed 
pastmasler,  and  I  have  always  believed  this  pro. 
cured  the  resignation.  All  this  occurred  before  I 
had  taken  any  steps  toward  securing  the  appoint¬ 
ment.  In  fact,  I  knew  nothing  of  Mr.  La  Rue’s  in¬ 
tended  resignation  ;  nor  did  I  know  that  Mr.  Berry 


166 


THE  CIVIL  8ERVICK  CHROXICLE. 


had  started  for  Washington  until  he  was  gone  some 
four  days,  the  whole  matter  being  kept  as  secret  as 
possible.  As  soon  as  it  was  learned  that  Mr.  La  Rue 
had  resigned,  Mr.  Fullerton  and  others  of  my  friends 
circulated  a  potiiion  asking  for  my  appointment. 
Mr.  Fullerton  procured  a  second  resignation  from 
Mr.  La  Rue;  and  my  petition,  Mr.  La  Rue’s  resigna¬ 
tion,  and  a  copy  of  the  contract  above  mentioned, 
were  sent  to  Mr.  Allen  [John  B.  Allen,  then  M.  C.], 
and  my  appointment  as  postmaster  followed  in  due 
course  of  time. 

W.  N.  Hensley,  formerly  postmaster  at  Co¬ 
lumbus,  Neb.,  and  now  county  judge  of  Platt 
county,  informs  us  that  he  was  told  on  various 
occasions  by  the  leaders  of  the  republican 
party  that  he  would  be  removed  first  in  May, 
1889,and  again  in  July,  and  finally  by  the  confi¬ 
dential  political  advisers  of  Mr.  Dorsey  (the 
republican  congressman  of  the  district),  that 
his  removal  would  be  ordered  about  tlie  first 
of  September,  and  that  charges  would  be  pre¬ 
ferred  against  him.  He  says  that,  upon  re¬ 
quest,  he  was  permitted  to  see  such  charges, 
and  found  same  to  be  that  be  was  appointed 
to  the  office  for  political  services  rendered  his 
party,  and  for  no  other  reason.  These  charges 
were  signed  by  the  man  who  became  his  suc¬ 
cessor  and  a  few  others.  He  says,  “I  was  led 
to  believe  that  my  removal  was  only  a  question 
of  a  very  short  time,  unless  I  resigned.” 

The  statement  made  by  Carl  Kramer,  the 
present  postmaster,  is :  “  Mr.  Hensley  re¬ 
signed  because  he  knew  he  could  get  a  better 
price  for  his  fixtures  then  than  at  the  end  of  his  term, 
and  mainly  because  he  wanted  to  enter  at 
once  the  race  for  county  judge.”  Mr.  Kramer 
does  not  deny  or  qualify  the  statement  as  to 

the  charges  made  by  him  for  his  predecessor’s 
removal. 

Mr.  W.  T.  McGinness,  postmaster  at  Min- 
den.  Neb.,  says:  “Why  I  resigned  was  be¬ 
cause  W.  D.  Hart  (my  successor),  had  every¬ 
thing  his  own  way.  It  was  ‘  take  so  much, 
and  resign  at  once,  or  I  will  not  take  your  out¬ 
fit.’  I  was  too  poor  a  man  not  to  accept.”  A 
letter  of  inquiry  from  the  committee  to  Mr. 
Hart  failed  to  elicit  an  answer. 

From  such  instances  as  the  above,  the  con¬ 
clusion  is  obvious  that  many  of  these  so-called 
resignations  were  not  such  in  fact,  but  that 
the  changes  thus  made  were,  in  spirit  and 
essence,  removals  for  political  purposes. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Wm.  D.  Foulke,  Chairman. 

Chas  J.  Bonaparte. 

Richard  H.  Dana. 

Wayne  MacVeagh. 

Sherman  S.  Roger.s. 


GEO.  WM.  CURTIS  TO  THE  LEAGUE* 


I  salute  the  city  in  which  we  are  assembled. 
Founded  upon  Puritan  principles  by  Puritan  cour¬ 
age,  foremost  in  the  great  controversy  of  the  colonies 
with  the  crown  and  of  the  Union  with  slavery,  from 
the  Arbella  to  the  tea-ships,  from  John  Winthrop  to 
John  Albion  Andrew,  from  Sir  Henry  Vane  to  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson,  her  voice  has  been  the  voice  of  pro¬ 
gressive  liberty  and  her  history  the  story  of  advanc¬ 
ing  civilization.  No  good  American  cause  but  Bos¬ 
ton  has  been  its  champion.  Here  James  Otis  thun¬ 
dered  against  the  writs  of  assistance  and  Samuel  Ad¬ 
ams  defied  the  king.  Through  the.se  streets  Joseph 
Warren  hkstened  to  Bunker  Hill,  and  from  yonder 
common  marched  the  first  Union  regiment  of  the 
civil  war.  Here  Adam.s  and  Quincy  pleaded,  and 

*The  address  of  the  president  at  the  annual  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League,  Bos¬ 
ton,  October  1, 1890. 


Channing  taught,  and  Garrison  demanded  immedi¬ 
ate  emancipation.  Here,  as  the  mighty  debate  that 
shook  the  Union  deepened,  Sumner  besouglit  Web¬ 
ster  to  heed  the  cliangiug  aspects  of  the  time  and  add 
to  his  great  title.  Defender  of  the  Constitution,  the 
greater  name.  Defender  of  Humanity.  Here,  when 
Webster  declined  the  call,  his  party  fell,  the  party 
which  liad  been  the  organized  political  force  of  the 
conscience  and  intelligence  of  New  England.  To  tlie 
moral  firmness  and  practical  wisdom  of  tlie  lineal 
successors  of  the  revolutionary  whigs,  the  conscience 
whigs  of  Boston  and  Massachusetts,  the  beneficent 
national  results  of  the  last  half  of  the  closing  century 
in  this  country  are  largely  due. 

Boston,  therefore,  as  the  American  nursery  of  po¬ 
litical  reform  and  of  the  fundamental  American 
principle  that  good  morals  and  good  politics  are  in¬ 
separable,  has  seen  all  the  vicissitudes  of  early  re¬ 
form  and  of  uncompromising  reformers.  Here  tliey 
liave  pas.sed  through  all  the  maladies  incident  to  in¬ 
fancy  in  reforms  as  in  manhood.  They  have  taken 
all  the  degrees  of  obloquy,  ridicule,  wrath,  scorn, 
persecution  and  .social  ostracism.  But  reforms  and 
reformers  have  survived.  Hostility  has  changed  to 
homage,  ridicule  has  become  respect,  anger  is  admi¬ 
ration  now,  and  tlie  hatred  of  an  hour  is  transfigured 
into  endless  gratitude. 

Indeed  some  of  our  fellow-citizens  are  of  opinion 
that  reform  in  this  country  has  done  its  work  so 
thoroughly  that  nothing  remains  to  do— that  we  are 
.so  great,  free,  intelligent  and  prosperous  a  people 
that  it  is  absolutely  Pharisaic  and  unpatriotic  to  try 
to  point  out  specks  upon  the  sun,  and  that  for  every 
little  American  infelicity  we  ought  to  be  consoled  by 
the  misery  of  foreigners,  the  military  rigors  of  Ger¬ 
many,  or  the  Siberian  terrors  of  Russia.  There 
is  an  amusing  readiness  to  suspect  in  all  criticism 
of  ourselves  a  lurking  preference  of  other  lands, 
which  is  much  like  supposing  that  a  demand  for 
clean  streets  in  Boston  implies  a  secret  belief  that 
the  streets  of  New  York  are  cleaner. 

Undoubtedly  we  are  a  very  great,  a  very  free,  a  very 
intelligent  and  avery  prosperous  nation.  Our  friends, 
the  other  great  nations  over  the  sea,  declare  that  we 
are  always  boisterously  .saying  so;  that  we  are  per¬ 
petually  and  offensively  crowing  our  Yankee-doodle- 
doo,  and  are  unnecessarily  fond  of  playing  Jack 
Horner,  putting  in  our  thumb  and  pulling  out  our 
plumb  and  vociferating  that  we  are  a  very  great  and 
good  boy.  Undoubtedly  our  critics  state  the  case 
fairly.  We  are  constantly  proclaiming  that  unde¬ 
niable  truth,  and  the  best  book  that  was  ever  written 
about  us,  Mr.  Bryce’s  American  Commonwealth, 
says  distinctly  in  the  very  ear  of  our  elder  brother 
Bull,  “He  is  a  very  remar’-able  boy.’’  Our  older 
European  friends  who  complain  that  we  are  vain¬ 
glorious  forget  that  they,  too,  celebrate  their  own  su¬ 
periority.  The  Frenchman  who  does  not  proclaim 
the  glory  of  France,  the  Briton  who  does  not  loudly 
sing  that  Brittania  rules  the  waves  and  much  of  the 
shore,  is  not  a  typical  Frenchman  or  Englishman.. 
Thackeray  says  in  one  of  his  early  papers,  medi¬ 
tating  in  Paris  upon  an  impressive  historical  picture 
commemorating  an  act  of  French  heroism,  which 
never  occurred,  “  Thus  the  great  truth  is  handed 
down  from  father  to  son,  that  a  Briton,  a  French¬ 
man,  an  Ashantee,  a  Hohenzollernsigmariugenite  is 
superior  to  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  by  this  truth 
the  dullards  of  the  respective  nations  swear,  and  by 
it  statesmen  govern.” 

GOOD  AMERICANS  AND  BAD. 

Undoubtedly  we  are  a  great,  intelligent,  and  pros¬ 
perous  nation,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  there  are 
not  immense  abuses  in  our  political  methods,  dan¬ 
gerous  tendencies  in  our  public  life,  and  charlatans, 
demagogues  and  rogues  among  our  public  men. 
Those  who  acknowledge  it,  who  propose  to  reform 
dangerous  tendencies,  and  who  pitilessly  expose 
rogues  of  every  degree,  are  not  bad  Americans,  but 
good  Americans ;  they  are  not  pessimists,  but  patriots. 
Because  we  are  the  youngest  born  and  best  beloved, 
the  very  Benjamin  of  Liberty ;  because  we  have 
done  much  shall  we  scornfully  deny  that  there  is 
anything  more  to  do?  Mr.  Choate  tells  a  story  of  a 
good  old  federalist— perhaps  he  mentions  another 
party  name— who  was  reproached  for  refusing  to 
support,  let  us  say,  the  Alien  and  Sedition  bill 


“  What!  ”  remonstrated  his  friends,  “have  you  de¬ 
serted,  have  you  apostatized,  have  you  lost  your 
pride  and  abandoned  your  principles,  are  you  no 
longer  a  federalist?”  “Abandoned  my  principles,” 
heanswereil,  “  I  am  a  better  federalist  than  ever,  but 
I  don’t  see  why,  because  I  am  a  true-blue  federalist, 

I  should  be  a  darned  fool  all  the  time.”  We  are 
justly  proud  that  we  are  .Vmericans,  but  one  chief 
source  of  our  pride  ought  to  be  the  fact  that  we  see 
our  faults  clearly,  speak  of  them  plainly  and  ur¬ 
gently  appeal  to  each  other  to  reform  them,  in  per¬ 
fect  confidence  that  the  sons  will  not  shame  the 
fathers  by  dread  of  heroic  self-correction. 

Justly  prond  of  our  country  we  may  be,  but  no 
sensible  American  is  proud  of  a  disposition  in  con¬ 
gress  to  make  merchandise  of  patriotism,  or  to  offer 
under  any  pretense  to  buy  with  money  the  votes  of 
large  classes  of  citizens,  or  to  tolerate  without  rebuke 
conduct  intolerable  among  genclemen  and  honor¬ 
able  men.  No  patriotic  American  is  proud  of  the 
control  of  a  state  by  lottery  gamblers,  nor  of  the  ter¬ 
rorized  suppression  of  voters  nor  of  their  coercion  by 
employers.  No  self-respecting  American  is  proud  of 
elections  in  doubtful  states  carried  by  “  soap  ”  or  by 
buying  mules  or  by  marshalling  voters  in  blocks  of 
five,  nor  of  national  legislation  palpably  in  the  in¬ 
terest  of  owners  of  commodities  and  of  classes  of 
citizens.  He  is  not  proud  when,  seeing  in  the  great 
cities  of  other  countries  municipal  order,  cleanli¬ 
ness  and  economy,  he  sees  the  local  government  of 
of  the  greatest  city  in  his  own  country  under  the 
control  of  its  ignorance,  venality  and  vice,  and  not  of 
its  intelligence,  industry  and  public  spirit;  nor  is 
his  American  pride  consoled  by  the  remark  that  the 
city  has  just  such  a  government  as  it  chooses  and  de¬ 
serves.  He  is  not  proud  when  he  sees  reputable  and 
upright  Americans,  from  some  fancied  political  ne¬ 
cessity,  acquiescing  in  the  parly  leadership  of  those 
who  have  no  answer  for  the  most  damaging  and 
detailed  personal  accusations  of  a  kind  and 
under  circumstances  unprecedented  in  our  his¬ 
tory.  He  is  not  proud  when  he  sees  a  de¬ 
grading  and  demoralizing  system  of  appoint¬ 
ments  and  removals  in  the  public  service  such  as 
might  be  supposed  to  prevail  in  Costa  Rica  or  Hon¬ 
duras,  in  Turkey  or  the  Asian  provinces  of  Russia, 
extolled  as  especially  American.  He  is  not  proud 
when  a  senator  of  the  United  States  says  in  his  place 
upon  occasion  of  the  impeachment  of  a  high  public 
officer,  that  he  has  heard  the  taunt  from  foreigners 
that  the  only  product  of  our  institutions  in  which 
we  surpass  all  other  nations  beyond  question  is  our 
corruption.  Nor  is  he  proud  when  he  is  told  that 
in  a  republic  his  only  choice  of  action  is  symbolized 
by  Thaddeus  Stevens’s  reported  question  in  a  con¬ 
tested  election  case  in  the  house,  “  Well,  then, 
which  is  oitr  damned  rascal?”  Every  American,  I 
repeat,  is  justly  proud  of  being  an  American,  but  he 
is  not  proud  of  such  things  as  these.  What  he  is 
justly  proud  of  is  the  American  willingness  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  such  abuses  when  they  exist  and  the 
American  determination  to  correct  them. 

I  am  not  saying  that  other  times  were  better  than 
ours.  Public  abuses  and  par- y  spirit  and  patriotic 
despondency  are  as  old  as  political  society.  Eighty 
years  ago  William  Wirt  .said  he  sought  in  vain  for  a 
man  fit  for  the  presidency  or  for  great  responsibility. 
Chancellor  Livingston  died  in  1813,  but  not  until  he 
had  said  that  more  talent  and  learning  were  de¬ 
manded  in  congress.  I  doubt  if  any  member  of  con¬ 
gress  now  is  of  the  chancellor’s  opinion,  and  if  we 
should  venture  to  regret  the  national  shame  and  dis¬ 
grace  of  certain  scenes  in  the  capitol,  there  would  be 
a  prompt  chorus  to  reply  that  congress  is  as  good  as  it 
ever  was.  Perhaps  it  is,  but  I  never  heard  that  it  was 
any  consolation  to  a  drowning  man  to  be  told  that 
one  of  his  ancestors  was  hung.  If  an  observer  were 
disposed  to  wish  that  some  things  were  different  in 
congress,  he  might  not  feel  that  he  was  answered 
satisfactorily  by  being  told  that  Chancellor  Liv¬ 
ingston  wished  the  same  thing  eighty  years  ago.  I 
am  not  now  extolling  the  earlier  day  nor  praising 
the  superior  virtue  of  our  fathers.  But  it  is  not  a 
noble  people  which  excuses  its  own  faults  by  expos¬ 
ing  its  fathers’  shame.  Happily  time  idealizes  the 
past  as  distance  softens  the  sharp  outlines  of  reced- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


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ing  mountains,  and  it  is  always  well  to  measure  our¬ 
selves,  if  not  with  our  actual  historic  ancestors,  then 
with  what  our  filial  and  patriotic  reverence  believes 
them  to  have  been.  The  heroes  who  traced  their  de¬ 
scent  from  gods  were  spurred  by  a  divine  emulation. 
It  will  do  us  in  New  York  no  harm  when  we  come  to 
nominate  a  governor  to  remember  that  John  Jay  and 
DeWitt  Clinton  have  been  governors  of  New  York, 
nor  are  we  Americans  less  likely  to  select  a  fitting 
man  for  the  Presidency,  if  we  recall  that  Washington 
and  the  .\damses,  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Abraham 
Lincoln  have  been  our  Presidents. 

CORRUPTION  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD. 

Again,  because  I  mention  things  which  are  dis¬ 
graceful  and  dangerous  in  our  own  country,  I  am 
not  saying  that  other  countries  are  more  illustrative 
of  a  higher  public  welfare  and  private  happiness 
than  ours.  For  my.self,  I  have  seen  Naples,  but  I 
prefer  New  York.  I  know  no  place  in  which  I 
would  rather  live  than  thoplacc  in  which  I  do  live. 
But  I  do  not  therefore  think  Tammany  Hall  the  gate 
of  heaven.  When  we  acknowledge  and  decry  an 
evil  tendency  in  our  time  and  among  ourselves,  we 
do  not  deny  its  existence  elsewhere  at  other  times. 
In  this  country  we  are  largely  men  of  English  stock. 
Our  political  traditions,  usages  and  spirit  are  mainly 
English.  Now  every  man  in  any  land  who  speaks  the 
English  tongue  and  is  sprung  of  English  blood,  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  honestly  proud  of  his  great  lineage  of 
constitutional  liberty  and  if  be  be  worthy  of  it  he  does 
not  deplore  his  political  origin.  But  enriched  by  other 
blood  and  under  other  friendly  conditions  we  have 
grafted  the  Englisli  stock,  as  we  believe,  with  a 
fresher  life,  until  on  the  American  continent  it 
spread  into  a  wider  sweep  of  hospitable  shade  and 
towers  more  loftily  toward  an  equal  heaven.  Y'et 
there  is  an  American  puerility  which  scoffs  at  the 
healthy  and  vigorous  American  exposure  and  rebuke 
of  American  evils  and  dangers,  as  due  to  overween¬ 
ing  admiration  and  envy  of  what  our  fathers  truly 
and  fondly  called  the  mother-country.  But  I  con¬ 
fess  that  it  strikes  me  differently. 

There  are  just  reasons  for  American  admiration  of 
England,  but  superior  political  virtue  is  not  one  of 
them.  Lord  Chatham  paid  a  famous  tribute  to  the 
continental  congress,  and  the  most  upright  modern 
statesman  of  France,  Guizot,  agreed  with  him  that  no 
nation  had  ever  such  a  group  of  able  and  high- 
minded  public  men  to  guide  its  first  steps  as  the 
people  of  the  American  republic.  The  force  of  that 
impulse  has  not  yet  expired.  It  is  the  spirit  of  those 
men,  not  of  their  British  opponents,  which  stimu¬ 
lates  the  American  protest  against  political  corrup¬ 
tion.  When  I  hear  of  buying  and  selling  votes,  of 
the  recklessness  of  party  spirit,  of  jobs  and  bribery, 
of  the  prostitution  and  degradation  of  the  public 
service,  of  political  corruption  and  charlatanry,  I  do 
not  recall  the  men  of  the  continental  congress  and 
the  constitutional  convention,  but  I  remember  Wal¬ 
pole  and  Newcastle,  and  George  the  Third’s  agents 
turning  parliament  into  a  market,  and  Edmund 
Burke’s  denunciations  of  the  rotten  boroughs  and 
his  trumpet-call  for  reform,  and  the  more  recent  and 
amusing  melodrama  of  Lord  Jingo  BeaconsHeld,  and 
to  my  English  critic  who  assures  me  of  his  poignant 
grief  at  seeing  in  my  country  what  I  also  behold,  I 
can  only  reply,  “So  English  you  know.”  And  to  the 
shallow,  swaggering  American  who  decries  the  pro¬ 
test  as  a  feeble  imitation  of  British  fashion,  I  say, 
read  the  history  of  your  own  country  and  try  to  un¬ 
derstand  American  manhood! 

WHO  ARE  THE  PESSIMISTS? 

But  then  I  must  honestly  add  that  grappling  vigor¬ 
ously  with  domestic  abuses  of  every  kind  and  effect¬ 
ively  correcting  them,  is,  also,  "  so  English,  you 
know,”  and  in  nothing  more  than  In  this  disposition 
do  we  Americans  illustrate  the  tradition  of  our  race 
and  prove  our  descent  from  the  champion  of  consti¬ 
tutional  liberty.  Whether  other  times  and  countries 
were  better  or  worse  than  ours,  our  pride  in  America 
would  be  a  paltry  emotion  if  it  did  not  lift  us  to 
scorn  such  things  os  I  have  mentioned  and  highly  to 
resolve  that  in  our  time  and  in  our  country  they  shall 
cease  to  be.  Like  the  cruel  abuse  of  prisoners  and 
the  insane,  like  the  noisome  filth  of  cities  and  the 
unpitied  wretchedness  of  poverty,  if  they  were  to  be 


expected  in  the  eighteenth  century,  they  are  dis 
graceful  in  the  nineteenth.  If  they  were  good 
enough  for  Europe  and  the  colonies,  they  are  too 
bad  for  America  and  the  United  States.  If  they  were 
good  enough  for  our  fathers,  they  are  not  good 
enough  for  their  sons. 

No  .American,  it  seems  to  me,  is  so  unworthy  the 
name  as  he  who  attempts  to  extenuate  or  defend  any 
national  abuse,  who  denies  or  tries  to  hide  it,  or  who 
derides  as  pessimists  and  Pharisees  those  who  indig¬ 
nantly  disown  it  and  raise  the  cry  of  reform.  If  a 
man  proposes  the  redress  of  any  public  wrong  he  is 
asked  severely  whether  he  considers  himself  so  much 
wiser  and  better  than  other  men  that  he  must  dis¬ 
turb  the  existing  order  and  pose  as  a  saint?  If  he 
denounces  an  evil,  he  is  exhorted  to  beware  of  spirit¬ 
ual  pride.  If  he  points  out  a  dangerous  public  tend¬ 
ency  or  censures  the  action  of  a  party,  he  is  advised 
to  cultivate  good  humor,  to  look  on  the  bright  side, 
to  remember  that  the  world  is  a  very  good  world,  at 
least  the  best  going,  and  very  much  better  than  it 
was  a  hundred  years  ago. 

Undoubtedly  it  is,  but  would  it  have  been  better  if 
everybody  had  then  insisted  that  it  was  the  best  of 
all  possible  worlds,  and  that  we  must  not  despond  if 
sometimes  a  cloud  gathered  in  the  sky,  or  a  Benedict 
Arnold  appeared  in  the  patriot  army,  or  even  a  Judas 
Iscariot  among  the  chosen  twelve?  Christ,  I  think, 
did  not  doubt  the  beloved  disciple  nor  the  coming  of 
his  kingdom,  although  he  knew  and  said  that  the  be¬ 
trayer  sat  with  him  at  table.  I  believe  we  do  not 
read  that  Washington  either  thought  it  wiser  that 
Arnold’s  treachery  should  be  denied  or  belittled,  or 
that  he  or  any  other  patriot  despaired,  although  the 
treason  was  so  grave.  Julius  Caesar,  or  Marlborough, 
or  Frederick,  would  hardly  be  called  great  generals 
if  they  had  rebuked  the  .soldier  who  reported  that 
their  lines  were  beginning  to  break.  When  the  sea 
is  pouring  into  the  ship  through  an  open  seam  ev¬ 
erybody  is  aware  of  it.  But  it  is  then  too  late.  It  is 
the  watch  who  reports  the  first  starting  of  the  seam 
who  saves  the  ship. 

It  is  an  ill  sign  when  honorable  public  men  find  in 
exposure  and  denunciation  of  public  abuses  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  Pharisaic  disposition  and  a  tendency  in 
the  critic  to  think  himself  holier  than  other  men. 
Was  Martin  Luther,  cheerfully  defending  his  faith 
against  the  princes  of  Christendom,  a  Pharisee?  Were 
the  English  Puritans,  iconoclasts  in  church  and  state 
but  saviors  of  liberty,  pessimists?  Were  Patrick 
Henry  demanding  liberty  or  death,  and  Wendell 
Phillips  in  thenightof  slavery  murmuring  the  music 
of  the  morning,  birds  of  ill  omen?  Was  Abraham 
Lincoln  saying  of  the  American  Union,  a  house  di¬ 
vided  against  itself  can  not  stand,  assuming  to  bo 
holier  than  other  Americans?  To  win  a  cheap  cheer 
1  have  known  even  intelligent  men  to  sneer  at  the 
scholar  in  politics.  But  in  a  republic  founded  upon 
the  common  school  such  a  sneer  seems  to  me  to  show 
a  momentary  loss  of  common  sense.  It  implies  that 
the  political  opinions  of  educated  men  are  unimpor¬ 
tant  and  that  ignorance  is  a  safer  counsellor  of  the 
republic.  If  the  gentleman  who  in  this  very  hall  last 
stooped  to  that  sneer  had  asked  himself  what  would 
have  been  the  fortune  of  this  state  and  this  country 
without  its  educated  leadership  from  Samuel  Adams 
to  Charles  Sumner,  both  sons  of  Massachusetts,  both 
scholars  in  politics  from  Harvard  College,  he  might 
have  spared  his  country,  his  party,  and  himself,  the 
essential  recreancy  to  America  and  to  manhood 
which  lies  in  a  sneer  at  education.  To  the  cant 
about  the  Pharasaism  of  reform  there  is  one  short 
and  final  answer.  The  man  who  tells  the  truth  is  a 
holier  man  than  the  liar.  The  man  who  does  not 
steal  is  a  better  man  than  the  thief.  The  senator 
from  Massachusets  declaring  that  politics  are  moral 
principles  applied  to  public  affairs,  is  a  truer  patriot 
and  a  nobler  American  than  the  senator  from  Kan¬ 
sas  declaring  that  the  decalogue  and  the  golden  rule 
have  no  place  in  a  political  campaign. 

CORRUPTION  IN  BOTH  THE  PARTIES. 

Our  plea  for  civil  service  reform  rests  upon  the  act¬ 
ual  situation.  Other  public  questions  than  that  of 
political  corruption  engage  the  public  mind,  but  none 
takes  precedence  of  it  in  importance.  We  say  of  it 
what  Dunning  said  of  the  power  of  the  Crown,  it  has 


1<)7 


increased,  is  increasing,  and  ought  to  be  diminished. 
Under  our  government  reform  can  be  accomplished 
only  by  party  administration.  Yet  the  chief  obstruc¬ 
tion  is  ihe  fact  that  the  evil  is  common  to  both  par¬ 
ties.  No  intelligent  man  would  seriously  allege, 
whatever  partisan  orators  and  newspapers  may  as. 
sume,  that  buying  votes  or  prostituting  the  whole 
power  of  the  public  patronage  in  every  form  of  ap¬ 
pointment  and  removal,  of  salaries,  of  contracts,  of 
judicial  references,  of  lucrative  opportunities,  are 
practices  confined  to  one  party,  or  that  what  is 
known  as  the  machine  of  one  party  is  better  than 
that  of  the  other.  The  old  democratic  Plaquemine 
frauds  in  Louisiana  were  like  the  old  whig  pipe-lay¬ 
ing  frauds  in  New  A'ork.  The  modern  republican 
“soap  ”  and  “  fat-frying,”  and  the  money  raised  fOr 
secret  campaign  funds  of  which  no  account  is  ever 
rendered,  belong  to  the  same  system  of  corruption 
as  the  modern  democratic  mule  buyings  and  money 
barrels,  and  'rammany  sales  of  judicial  nominations. 
These  things  are  not  distinctively  republican  or  dem¬ 
ocratic.  They  are  the  common  crimes  of  parties,  the 
common  disgrace  of  the  national  name,  the  common 
danger  of  American  institutions,  the  common  re¬ 
proach  of  American  citizenship,  and  it  is  the  com. 
moil  duty  of  that  citizenship  to  arrest  and  correct 
them.  Reform  of  the  civil  service  is  one  of  the  plain¬ 
est,  most  direct,  and  most  effective  methods  of  cor¬ 
rection  because  it  reaches  the  great  fundamental 
corruption  fund,  the  enormous  wages  of  public  em¬ 
ployes  and  the  vast  opportunities  of  public  contracts, 
because  it  disbands  the  organized  office-holders,  the 
political  janizaries  of  the  republic,  all  constituting  a 
system  of  coercion  and  bribery  universally  practiced, 
with  the  authority  of  long  tradition  an<l  of  national 
acquiescence. 

The  government  itself  in  this  way  sanctions  cor¬ 
ruption.  It  leads  the  w'ay  in  public  demoralization 
and  on  the  greatest  scale  tempts  to  the  commission  of 
crimes  which  its  own  laws  punish.  By  treating  the 
emoluments  of  public  employment  as  rew’ards  for  the 
discharge  of  the  common  duties  of  citizens,  the 
party  of  administration,  whatever  it  may  be,  cor¬ 
rupts  the  motives  of  political  action,  promotes  cheat¬ 
ing  and  violence  at  the  polls,  and  resorts  to  an  in. 
sidious  form  of  the  bribery  which  the  laws  condemn. 
If  a  man  may  properly  sell  his  vote  for  five  hundred 
dollars  in  the  guise  of  a  public  oflice,  or  fifty  thou¬ 
sand  dollars  in  the  form  of  a  job,  he  may  as  properly 
sell  it  for  five  dollars  in  cash.  When  a  party  prac¬ 
tically  promises  a  general  sack  of  the  public  salary 
fund  in  the  event  of  its  success,  it  appeals  to  the  most 
venal  motives,  and  invites  votes  not  by  faith  in  its 
purpo.se  to  advance  the  public  welfare,  but  by  hope 
of  individual  pecuniary  gain.  Partisan  prostitution 
of  the  public  service  is  radical  treachery  to  popular 
government,  because  it  makes  private  interest  and 
not  public  welfare  the  motive  of  political  action.  If, 
as  shrewd  observers  hold,  the  most  obvious  change 
in  American  character  within  the  century  is  the  de¬ 
cline  of  public  spirit,  one  of  its  most  fruitful  causes 
is  the  spoils  system,  and  to  the  same  source— the  ex¬ 
pectation  of  reward  for  the  discharge  of  the  public 
duty  which  rests  upon  every  citizen— may  be  traced 
the  distorted  and  demoralized  public  sentiment 
which  largely  prevails  in  regard  to  military  pensions 
and  reckless  public  expenditure.  To  argue  that  the 
common  duty  of  American  citizenship  in  peace  or 
war  will  not  be  discharged  without  bribery  of  place 
or  money  is  to  acknowledge  that  honest  and  efficient 
government  is  not  in  itself  the  highest  and  only  le¬ 
gitimate  reward,  and  to  admit  that  corruption  has 
already  done  its  fatal  work.  There  can  be  no  more 
hopeless  pessimism  than  this,  and  no  greater  treach¬ 
ery  to  the  fundamental  American  principle.  When 
government  itself  puts  a  price  upon  public  spirit  it 
degrades  and  demoralizes  the  national  character  and 
every  relation  of  life,  inviting  the  people  to  measure 
all  action  by  the  standard  of  money.  But  when  the 
government  which  does  this  is  itself  the  people,  it  is 
plain  that  they  can  confront  no  greater  peril  nor  con¬ 
sider  any  question  more  momentous. 

THE  PERFORMANCE  OF  THE  ADMINISTRATION. 

In  the  interest  of  reform  it  is  the  annual  duty  of 
the  Iieague  to  test  the  performance  of  the  adminis¬ 
tration  by  the  principles  of  reform,  and  I  can  best 


168 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


discharge  this  duty  this  year  by  considering  a  «ines- 
lioii  which  is  fretiuently  and  strongly  urged  upon  iny 
attention.  Itist4us:  Is  the  conviction  of  the  neces 
sity  of  reform  so  general,  is  public  opinion  upon  the 
subject  so  ripe,  that  the  friends  of  reform  may  wisely 
abandon  a  separate  movemeut  and  merge  their  ac¬ 
tion  in  that  of  .some  existing  party?  In  other  words, 
is  there  already  a  political  party  whicli  is  actually  a 
party  of  reform  ?  If  there  be  such  a  party,  I  invoke 
the  inquisitive  shade  of  Flanagan  and  ask  what  are 
we  here  for?  As  reformers  the  League  is  composed 
of  protectionists,  advocates  of  a  revenue  tariff,  pro¬ 
hibitionists  and  independents,  republicans,  demo¬ 
crats  and  mugwumps.  In  answering  the  question, 
therefore,  I  shall  bear  this  fact  in  mind,  however 
plainly  I  may  speak. 

The  republican  party  has  unquestionably  declared 
itself  in  the  strongest  manner  to  be  a  party  of  civil 
service  eform.  At  the  same  time  and  with  equal 
force  it  announced  that  it  was  a  party  of  protection, 
and  it  also  demanded  effective  legislation  to  secure 
the  integrity  and  purity  of  elections.  These  were  the 
three  cardinal  declarations  of  the  platform,  and  one 
of  them  was  especially  addressed  to  civil  service  re¬ 
formers.  Has  the  course  of  events  during  the  year 
and  since  our  last  meeting  justified  the  assertion  of 
eminent  republicans  that  all  honest  and  practical 
reformers  ought  to  adhere  to  a  party  which  has 
proved  its  fidelity  to  reform?  If  it  has  done  .so  there 
can  be  but  one  answer.  But  has  it  done  so  ? 

In  accordance  with  its  declaration  of  protection  the 
republican  congress  rapidly  matured  a  tariff  at 
which,  as  many  republicans  think,  even  Henry  Clay 
would  have  blushed,  and  in  its  eagerness  to  fulfill 
its  pledge,  hardly  stopping  for  debate,  it  passed  the 
tariff  bill  in  the  house,  and  the  delay  in  the  senate 
led  to  protests  and  complications  which  seemed  to 
threaten  a  serious  breach  in  the  party.  The  party 
platform  alsodemadded  a  free  vote  and  a  fair  count, 
and  to  secure  them  the  party  leaders  prepared  a  bill 
which  with  the  same  ardor  was  swept  through  the 
house,  and  again  irritated  party  journals  chafed  at 
the  slow  senate,  and,  like  the  galleries  of  tiie  French 
convention  of  ’9.'?,  imperatively  demanded  the  pass¬ 
age  of  the  bill.  With  all  this  zeal  and  eager  haste  not 
to  break  its  pledged  faith  with  the  country  and  to 
carry  out  the  promised  policy  of  protection  and  of 
free  elections,  we  might  naturally  expect  the  party 
to  have  shown  e<iual  zeal  in  fulfilling  its  other  great 
promise  of  civil  service  reform.  A  revised  tariff,  an 
election  bill  and  civil  service  reform  were  the  three 
great  party  promises.  They  were  the  three  distinct 
pledges,  as  I  think  every  honest  republican  will 
agree,  upon  which  the  party  appealed  to  the  coun¬ 
try.  If,  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  it  had  said  one  war  at  a 
time  and  this  time  the  war  is  for  protection,  there 
could  have  been  no  question  or  misunderstanding. 
But  it  did  not  say  so.  While,  however,  it  was  con¬ 
tent  with  merely  making  the  promises  of  a  protective 
tariff  and  an  election  law,  it  did  not  pledge  itself  to 
keep  them.  But  the  promise  of  civil  service  reform 
it  expressly  proclaimed  that  it  would  not  fail  to 
keep. 

THE  BREADTH  OF  THE  PROMISES. 

What  was  this  promise?  Was  it  only  to  enforce  a 
law  already  on  the  statute  book  which  is  confessedly 
but  a  tentative  beginning  of  reform?  It  was  very 
much  more.  The  platform  affirmed  that  reform 
ought  to  be  completed  by  extension  to  all  grades  of 
the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable,  that  the  spirit 
and  purpo.se  of  reform  should  be  observed  to  all 
executive  appointments,  and  that  all  laws  at  vari¬ 
ance  with  existing  reform  legislation  should  be  re¬ 
pealed.  This  was  the  promise.  The  candidate  ac¬ 
cepted  it  and  reiterated  the  pledge.  Upon  this  com¬ 
prehensive  and  unequivocal  declaration  and  upon 
that  for  protection  and  for  an  election  law  the  party 
went  to  the  country.  The  country  at  the  election 
adopted  the  platform  as  the  policy  of  the  adminis¬ 
tration.  It  authorized  a  revision  of  the  tariff,  the 
enactment  of  an  election  law,  the  extension  of  the 
reformed  system  to  every  grade  of  the  public  service 
to  which  it  is  applicable,  appointments  and  remov¬ 
als  according  to  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform, 
and  repeal  all  laws  at  variance  with  reform  legisla. 
tion.  It  is  now  a  year  and  seven  months  since  the 


party  with  this  authorization  came  into  complete 
control  of  every  branch  of  the  government,  and  we 
have  the  highest  assurance  that  every  promise  has 
been  fulfilled  and  every  pledge  redeemed. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  Mr.  McKinley,  the  distin¬ 
guished  leader  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  said 
in  Ohio,  “  I  do  not  recall  any  legislative  body  which 
has  so  thoroughly  kept  the  pledges  of  the  party  elect¬ 
ing  it  as  the  present  majority  in  the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives.”  In  commenting  the  next  day  with 
admiration  upon  the  speech,  the  New  York  Tribune 
said,  “The  House, at  least,  has  thoroughly  kept  the 
pledges  of  the  republican  party.”  On  the  4th  of 
September,  at  Portland,  in  Maine,  the  speaker  of  the  j 
house  declared  amid  the  enthusiastic  acclamation  of  i 
his  audience.  “  We  have  achieved  all  that  the  party 
promised  and  more.  Most  platforms  are  but  glitter¬ 
ing  generalities  good  enough  for  the  campaign,  but 
our  last  platform  has  been  treated  by  the  house  of 
representatives  like  a  deed  of  trust.”  The  speaker 
and  the  leader  did  not  mean  that  the  house  alone  ; 
has  been  faithful,  because  that  would  imply  the  rec-  i 
reancy  of  the  executive  and  the  senate  and  im-  \ 
peach  the  good  faith  of  the  party  before  the  country.  | 
The  evident  intention  is  to  claim  proudly  that  the  i 
party  has  thoroughly  redeemed,  or  is  in  course  of  re-  1 
deeming,  its  pledges;  that  a  revi.sed  tariff  bill  has! 
been  practically  passed  ;  that  a  national  election  law 
is  in  progress;  that  congress  is  extending  the  re¬ 
formed  system  wherever  it  is  applicable;  that  ap¬ 
pointments  and  removals  have  been  made  according 
to  the  principles  of  reform,  and  that  all  laws  at  vari¬ 
ance  with  them  arc  in  course  of  repeal.  Lest  us  test 
the  accuracy  of  this  unqualified  assertion  by  the  j 
facts  in  regard  to  the  pledge  of  reform  in  the  civil 
service. 

WHAT  ARE  THE  FACTS?  j 

To  how  many  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  } 
applicable  has  the  reform  system  been  extended? 
Not  one.  How  far  has  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  re¬ 
form  been  observed  in  all  executive  appointments  ? 
There  are  about  3,600  postmasters  appointed  by  the 
President.  All  of  them  but  four  hundred  have  been 
changed.  There  are  more  than  60,000  fourth  class  | 
postmasters  appointed  by  the  postmaster  general,  j 
Almost  half  of  the  whole  number  and  much  the  j 
larger  part  of  those  in  desirable  offices  have  been 
changed  within  the  nineteen  months  of  the  admin¬ 
istration,  the  largest  record  of  changes,  I  believe, 
ever  made  within  the  same  time.  It  was  promised 
that  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should  be  ob¬ 
served.  That  spirit  and  purpose  demand  the  reten¬ 
tion  of  public  officers  of  the  highest  efficiency  in 
places  which  are  not  political.  How  many  such  offi¬ 
cers  like  Mr.  Pearson,  late  postmaster  of  New  York, 
and  Mr.  Saltonstall,  late  collector  of  Boston,  have 
been  retained?  In  place  of  such  officers,  how  many 
successors  have  been  appointed  primarily  for  fitness 
and  not  for  politics?  Every  community  can  answer.  i 
The  platform  declared  that  all  laws  at  variance  with 
the  object  of  reform  legislation  should  be  repealed. 
The  power  to  repeal  was  given  by  the  election.  Chief 
among  these  laws  and  chiefly  intended  by  those 
who  drew  the  declaration  were  the  laws  which  pre-  ; 
scribe  official  terms  of  four  years,  one  of  the  earliest 
and  greatest  victories  of  the  spoils  system.  This  dec¬ 
laration  in  favor  of  the  repeat  was  drawn  six  years 
ago.  It  has  been  solemnly  published  in  the  same 
words  by  two  successive  conventions.  During  the 
six  years  how  many  of  these  laws  have  been  re¬ 
pealed?  How  many  party  conventions  or  party 
journals  have  demanded  their  repeal?  How  many 
republican  members  of  congress  have  proposed  to 
repeal  them  or  any  other  laws  which  facilitate  cor¬ 
ruption  by  patronage?  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  not 
one. 

The  party  administration  declared  that  all  these 
things  were  to  be  done,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers 
to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  offi¬ 
cial  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effectually 
avoided.  Is  it  to  avoid  those  dangers  that  the  post- 
office  department  has  been  administered  in  a  more 
partisan  spirit  than  ever  before ;  that  the  postmaster- 
general  has  declared  that  he  should  not  think  of 
appointing  a  democrat  if  he  could  find  a  fit  republi¬ 
can  ;  that  the  assistant  postmaster-general  laughed 


to  scorn  one  of  the  chief  party  pledges  under  which 
he  became  a  public  officer,  and  was  enthusiastically 
congratulated  upon  his  contempt  of  the  pledge  by 
an  organized  association  of  members  of  the  party, 
and  that  the  whole  postal  service  of  the  country  has 
been  reconstructed  for  party  purposes?  Senator  His- 
cock,  of  New  York,  to  spur  the  senate  to  action 
upon  the  tariff,  said  that  not  to  pass  the  tariff  bill 
would  be  not  only  a  violation  of  the  most  solemn 
party  pledges,  but  it  would  be  perfidy  to  a  direct 
trust  imposed  upon  congress  by  the  voters  in  1888. 
How  was  this  trust  impo.sed  but  by  the  result  of  the 
election?  And  how  does  the  election  impose  the 
fulfillment  of  one  promise  and  not  another?  How 
is  the  declaration  in  favor  of  civil  .service  reform  a 
less  solemn  pledge  of  the  party,  ora  less  direct  trust 
imposed  by  the  election  upon  congress,  and  how  is 
it  less  perfidy  for  the  President,  the  house  and  the 
postmaster-general  and  his  assistant,  deliberately  to 
violate  one  solemn  pled^  of  the  platform  than  for 
the  senate  to  disregard  another? 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  NOT  THE  PARTY  OF  REFORM. 

Why  should  not  reasonable  and  intelligent  men 
tell  the  truth  frankly  ?  The  year  has  demonstrated 
incontestably  that  while  the  republican  party,  abso¬ 
lutely  dominant  in  the  administration,  is  a 
party  of  protection,  it  is  not  a  party  of  civil 
service  reform.  Its  careful  and  elaborate  tariff 
declarations  were  sincere.  They  were  intended  to 
be  the  substance  of  the  platform,  because  the  repub  - 
lican  leaders  thought  that  Mr.  Cleveland  had  thrown 
away  the  chance  of  the  democratic  party  by  his  mes 
sage  of  1887,  and  they  were  sure  that  upon  the  issue 
of  protection  they  could  carry  the  country.  But  the 
republican  platform  declaration  of  1884  upon  civil 
service  reform  was  reiterated  in  the  same  words  in 
1888,  not  as  a  cardinal  article  of  party  faith 
like  the  non-extension  of  slavery  in  1860,  or  the 
unconditional  prosecution  of  the  war  in  1864, 
or  the  measares  of  reconstruction  in  1868  and 
1872,  but  both  as  a  t:ibe  and  a  lure  for  inde¬ 
pendent  voters.  No  sincere  republican,  I  think ^ 
would  say  that  the  party  and  the  platform  in  1888 
meant  civil  service  reform  in  the  same  .sense  that 
they  meant  protection,  or  that  they  had  meant  the 
restriction  of  slavery  in  1860.  The  political  devasta¬ 
tion  of  the  post-office  and  other  offices,  which  has 
been  accomplished  within  nineteen  months  would 
have  been  as  impossible  under  a  reform  administra¬ 
tion  as  the  reduction  of  the  tariff  to  a  revenue  basis 
under  a  protection  administration.  It  is  undeniable 
that  in  pa.ssing  a  tariff  bill  the  republican  party  has 
kept  its  promise.  It  is  equally  undeniable  that  in 
the  general  partisan  pillage  of  the  civil  .service,  the 
republican  party  has  broken  its  promise. 

CREDIT  FOR  WHAT  HAS  BEEN  DONE. 

This  is  not  to  say  that  nothing  has  been  done,  nor 
that  the  reform  law  has  been  either  grossly  violated 
or  generally  disregarded.  It  is  only  saying  that  the 
party  can  not  honestly  claim  the  confidence  of  civil 
service  reformers.  The  law  indeed,  might  have  been 
repealed,  as  republican  representatives  in  congress 
and  republican  journals  have  desired.  But  it  is  stili 
a  law.  The  commission  might  have  been  paralyzed, 
but  it  remains  efficient  and  alert.  Mr.  Commis¬ 
sioner  Roosevelt,  whose  fidelity  and  zeal  can  not  be 
questioned,  assures  us  that  ninety-two  per  cent,  of 
employes  who  were  appointed  in  the  classified  serv¬ 
ice  under  the  late  democratic  administration  still 
hold  their  places,  and  that  the  law  has  been  fairly 
enforced.  Congress,  also,  after  some  republican  op¬ 
position,  has  granted  the  commission  five  additional 
clerks,  with  salaries  amounting  to  86,600.  The 
prompt  protest  of  the  League  and  of  the  friends  of 
reform  prevented  the  nullification  of  the  rules  by 
congress  in  the  appointment  of  additional  medical 
pension  examiners,  and  some  postmasters,  upon  ur¬ 
gent  local  requests,  have  been  retained.  McKinley, 
also,  in  the  house,  when  arguing  for  the  appropria¬ 
tion  for  the  five  clerks,  declared  that  if  his  party  is 
pledged  to  one  thing  more  than  another,  it  is  to  the 
civil  service  reform  law,  which,  he  added,  “  Is  sus¬ 
tained  by  the  best  sentiment  of  the  country,  repub¬ 
licans  and  democrats  alike.”  He  was  seconded  by 
Mr.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  who  stated  with  force  and  lu¬ 
cidity  the  principles  of  reform.  The  New  York  Tri- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


169 


K 

% 


bune,  also  the  Philadelphia  Press,  Telegraph,  Ledger 
a,nd  American,  the  Chicago  7nier- Ocea/i,  the  Boston 
Journal  and  Worcester  Spy,  and  other  leading  repub¬ 
lican  organs,  vigorously  advocated  reform. 

These  are  all  very  agreeable  and  very  significant 
facts,  for  they  show  the  steady  rise  of  public  opinion. 
But  what  I  have  stated  is  the  total  fulfillment  dur¬ 
ing  the  year  of  the  great  promise  of  reform.  There 
has  been  no  increase  of  appropriation  except  for  the 
five  clerks,  and  congress  has  not  yet  acted  upon  any 
other  of  the  recommendations  made  in  the  last  re¬ 
port  of  the  commission.  There  has  been  no  pretence 
that  the  service  has  not  been  treated  as  spoils ;  there 
has  been  no  repeal  of  the  four  years’  laws  or  attempt 
to  repeal  them ;  there  has  been  no  enlargement  of 
the  classified  service  by  executive  or  legislative  ac¬ 
tion  since  the  30th  of  June,  1889.  The  number  of 
persons  embraced  in  the  elassified  service  is  larger, 
perhaps,  by  three  thousand  than  it  was  a  year  ago, 
but  this  is  due  wholly  to  the  growth  of  the  service 
previously  classified,  which  now  includes  probably 
about  32,000  places.  If  this  were  the  manner  in 
which  the  republican  promise  of  tariff  revision  and 
of  an  election  law  had  been  fulfilled,  would  the 
speaker  of  the  house  and  the  leader  of  its  majority 
have  celebrated  with  so  joyful  a  hallelujah  the 
thorough  fulfillment  of  every  party  pledge  and  the 
sacred  observance  of  the  party  promises  ?  If  private 
trustees  had  so  executed  a  deed  of  trust  would  they 
have  been  proudly  eager  to  call  public  attention  to 
their  performance  ? 

The  leader  of  the  house  and  the  republican  jour¬ 
nals  which  advocate  reform  in  the  abstract  would 
hardly  admit  that  the  reform  declarations  of  Mr. 
Cleveland  and  his  secretary  of  the  treasnry,  Mr 
Fairchild,  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Pearson,  the  fair 
enforcement  of  the  reform  law,  and  many  other  ex¬ 
cellent  acts  of  the  late  administration,  with  the 
strong  support  of  many  friendly  papers,  proved  the 
democratic  party  to  be  a  party  of  reform.  They 
would  be  wholly  justified.  No  intelligent  man 
would  venture  such  an  assertion  and  certainly  such 
facts  do  not  prove  it.  But  they  prove  it  quite  as 
much  as  some  excellent  appointments  of  President 
Harrison,  and  the  fair  enforcement  of  the  reform 
law,  and  the  frank  declarations  of  Mr.  McKinley, 
and  Mr.  Lodge,  and  the  admirable  articles  of  cer¬ 
tain  newspapers,  prove  the  republican  to  be  a  party 
of  reform.  Of  what  avail,  as  such  proof,  are  the  words 
of  Mr.  McKinley  against  the  contemptuous  words 
and  despoiling  deeds  of  Mr.  Clarkson  ?  But  is  Mr. 
Clarkson  denounced  and  repudiated  by  the  repub¬ 
lican  press,  by  republican  conventions,  by  republican 
orators?  Mr.  Butter  worth  in  the  house  doubts  for 
one  brilliant  moment  the  wisdom  of  certain  details 
of  the  tariff  bill ;  Mr.  Plumb,  in  the  senate  prefers  a 
lower  tax  on  crockery ;  Mr.  Halstead  in  the  press 
doubts  the  timeliness  and  expediency  of  the  election 
bill ;  Mr.  Blaine  himself  is  unable  to  see  in  the  tariff 
bill  visions  of  greedy  foreign  markets  opening  to 
the  American  farmer— and  instantly  the  party  heav¬ 
ens  darken,  in  newspaper  ofiices  thunder  of  warn- 
inggrowls  and  the  lightning  of  denunciation  flashes, 
the  lurid  air  resounds  with  the  explosion  of  dreadful 
epithets,  “  renegade,”  “  apostate,”  “traitor,”  “as¬ 
sistant  democrat.”  The  whole  party  is  in  an  up¬ 
roar  :  the  hesitating  heretics  are  warned  to  remem¬ 
ber  the  solemn  promises  of  the  platform,  the  awful 


mandate  of  the  country,  and  to  pause  shuddering 
but  repentant  upon  the  brink— which,  when  the 
vote  is  taken,  they  wisely  do. 

'  IS  CLARKSON  THE  REPRESENTATIVE  OF  HIS  PARTY? 

But  if  one  platform  pledge  be  so  vital  and  its  least 
neglect  or  infringement  so  fatal,  why  not  another? 
'  If  Mr.  Plumb  be  condemned  as  a  deputy  democrat, 
'  and  Mr.  Halstead  branded  as  an  apostate,  and  even 
Mr.  Blaine  rock  in  the  doldrums  of  party  doubt,  not 
because  of  rejection  or  scorn  of  any  party  pledge,  but 
merely  because  of  difference  of  view  as  to  the  degree 
or  method  of  applying  an  accepted  party  principle, 
why  should  Mr.  Clarkson  be  feasted  and  cheered  by 
fellow  republicans  after  contemptuously  rejecting  a 
professed  party  principle,  ruthlessly  violating  a  party 
pledge,  and  at  every  cross-roads  in  the  Union  gaily 
posting  his  party  as  a  liar  ?  The  reason  is  not  that 
Mr.  McKinley  and  Mr.  Lodge  and  the  party  papers 


which  I  mentioned  are  playing  false,  but  simply  that 
they  are  playing.  Republican  organs  called  the  re¬ 
publican  tariff  dissenters  and  republicans  who  would 
defer  the  passage  of  the  election  bill  Benedict  Ar¬ 
nolds,  because  the  party  is  aggressively  a  party  of 
high  protection  and  of  a  national  election  law.  But 
they  do  not  call  Mr.  Clarkson  Judas  Iscariot  because 
the  party  leaders  generally,  and  their  captains  of 
hundreds  and  lieutenants  of  fifties,  scorn  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform,  and  heartily  approve  and  applaud  Mr. 
Clarkson’s  course. 

I  said,  three  years  ago,  that,  however  worthy  of  re¬ 
spect  and  confidence  for  many  reasons  the  demo¬ 
cratic  administration  might  be,  this  League  did  not 
regard  it  “  as  in  any  strict  sense  of  the  words  a  civil 
service  reform  administration.”  So  I  say  now  of  its 
successor.  It  would  be  a  great  misfortune  for  the 
cause  of  reform  if  it  were  supposed  that  the  League 
held  certain  excellent  executive  appointments,  and 
the  unqualified  declarations  of  the  leader  of  the 
house,  and  the  strong  expressions  of  some  leading 
republican  journals,  and  the  retention  of  ninety-two 
per  cent,  of  the  employes  in  the  classified  service, 
which  was  equally  true  of  the  last  administration, 
gratifying  and  encouraging  as  such  signs  undoubted¬ 
ly  are,  to  be  a  fulfillment  of  the  republican  pledge  to 
observe  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  in  all  exec¬ 
utive  appointments,  and  to  correct  the  dangerous 
evils  of  patronage.  If  it  be  said  that  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  reform  is  a  phrase  of  doubtful  meaning, 
it  is  certainly  a  phrase  no  more  doubtful  than  the 
American  spirit  and  the  spirit  of  liberty.  However 
doubtful  it  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  it  does  not 
mean  a  practical  clean  sweep  of  the  service,  except 
that  part  included  within  the  law.  I  ask  any  candid 
republican  how  many  republican  conventions  this 
year,  except  in  Massachusetts,  have  even  remem¬ 
bered  to  mention  reform,  or  how  soon  reform  is 
likely  to  be  achieved  by  the  party  at  its  present  rate 
of  progress?  I  ask  him  whether  that  party  would 
ever  have  stayed  the  territorial  devastation  of  slavery, 
have  aroused  the  glorious  enthusiasm  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  people,  or  have  consumed  our  national  sin  in 
the  fervid  glow  of  patriotism,  if  it  had  been  no  more 
the  party  of  liberty  than  it  is  of  civil  service  reform  ? 
At  the  close  of  the  war  for  the  Union,  when  the  con¬ 
stitutional  amendment  abolishing  slavery  was  adopt¬ 
ed,  Mr.  Garrison,  president  of  the  American  anti¬ 
slavery  society,  declared  that  its  object  was  accom¬ 
plished,  and  proposed  that  the  society  be  dissolved. 
When  the  republican  party  is  in  the  act  of  making 
its  pledge  of  civil  service  reform,  like  its  pledges  of 
protection  and  of  an  election  law,  an  actual  per 
formance,  if  I  am  then  still  president  of  the  League, 
I  shall  gladly  entertain  a  motion  for  its  dissolution. 

HOPE  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

But  if  I  admit  that  the  country  is  divided  practi¬ 
cally  into  two  parties  and  that  reform  is  not  the 
present  serious  purpose  of  either  of  them,  do  I 
not  concede  a  general  and  hopeless  public  indiffer¬ 
ence  upon  the  subject  ?  I  answer  that  I  concede  only 
what  is  true  of  every  reform  at  the  beginning.  “  The 
first  thing,”  said  Alexander  Hamilton,  “  in  all  great 
operations  of  such  a  government  as  ours  is  to  secure 
the  opinion  of  the  people.”  Reformers  make  opin¬ 
ion,  and  opinion  makes  parties.  First  the  abolition¬ 
ists,  then  the  republicans.  Seven  years  ago  the  re 
form  law  was  passed  in  a  spasm  of  congressional 
terror  from  the  reverse  of  the  election.  It  did  not 
represent  mature  public  conviction,  but  it  did  show 
congressional  consciousness  of  the  drift  of  public 
opinion.  This  year  the  whole  weight  and  character 
of  the  house  refused  to  repeal  the  law,  while  its 
leader  affirmed  that  the  best  sentiment  of  the  coun¬ 
try  demanded  reform.  The  house  and  the  leader, 
indeed,  were  content  with  the  affirmation  and  did 
not  try  to  satisfy  the  demand.  But  so  far  opinion 
has  ripened.  The  reformer  who  would  despond  be¬ 
cause  no  party  has  yet  adopted  reform,  would  de¬ 
spair  of  day  because  the  sun  does  not  rise  at  dawn. 

The  opinions  of  thoughtful  men,  the  convictions 
of  the  fireside  and  of  the  private  citizens,  affect  very 
slowly  party  action.  The  American  feels  that  he  can 
act  effectively  only  with  a  party,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
chief  evils  of  the  spoils  system  that  reckless  abuse  of 
patronage,  the  most  lavish  and  acknowledged  cor¬ 


ruption,  have  made  party  despotism  so  absolute  that 
the  conscience  and  intelligence  of  the  conn  try  are 
largely  enslaved  by  unprincipled  ignorance  and  in¬ 
solent  cunning.  Even  public  men  are  shy  of  their 
own  consciences  lest  they  should  obstruct  their  own 
advancement.  Like  Lord  Melbourne  they  are  afraid 
that  “  this  damned  morality  will  ruin  everything.” 
Honest  and  patriotic  citizens  wince  at  the  methods 
by  which  often  candidates  are  nominated  and  hang 
their  heads  as  they  reluctantly  vote  for  them,  follow¬ 
ing  ignoble  leaders  and  strengthening  public  wrongs. 
Young  men  with  the  generous  political  ambition  of 
their  race  burning  to  reach  that  lofty  prize,  the  noble 
leadership  of  men,  find  to  their  dismay  that  the  hard 
condition  is  bowing  down  to  the  hat  of  Gesler  and 
losing  their  self-respect. 

Civil  service  reform  has  the  future  because  it 
means  crushing  this  machine,  overthrowing  this  tyr¬ 
anny,  recovering  political  independence,  and  eman¬ 
cipating  American  citizenship.  It  means  parties 
that  stand  for  conviction,  for  self-respect  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  service,  for  political  morality  and  honest  govern¬ 
ment.  It  is  not  yet  established  for  the  same  reason 
that  slavery  was  not  destroyed  at  once  when  its  enor¬ 
mity  was  perceived  and  acknowledged.  Like  politi¬ 
cal  corruption,  slavery  was  entrenched  in  tradition, 
interest,  ignorance,  prejudice,  possession,  and  only 
gradually  did  conviction  ripen  into  purpose  and  pri¬ 
vate  wish  tower  into  indomitable  public  will.  It  was 
a  dark  shadow  in  which  long  and  shamefully  the 
country  walked,  its  conscience  wounded,  its  name 
disgraced.  But  the  Union  emerged  in  the  clear  light 
of  liberty,  and  there  is  no  American  who  would  turn 
backward  to  the  evil  day.  The  same  conscience,  the 
same  intelligence  that  at  last  overthrew  slavery,  now 
proposes  with  the  same  undismayed  persistence  to 
stay  political  corruption,  and  every  sign  shows  that, 
like  our  brothers  of  the  last  generation,  we,  too,  are 
walking  toward  the  light. 


THE  RELATION  OF  CIVIL  SERVICE 
REFORM  TO  OTHER  REFORMS.* 


For  the  past  ten  years  our  government  has  been 
and  it  still  is  engaged  in  a  costly  but  indispensable 
work,  that  of  restoring  the  national  defences  by  sea 
and  land,  grown  dangerously  obsolete,  through  the 
progress  of  military  and  maritime  industries  since 
the  close  of  our  civil  war.  The  experience  of  this 
great  undertaking  has  slmwn  that  a  sufficient  and 
appropriate  plant  must  be  first  provided  to  afford  a 
reasonable  prospect  of  success  in  any  form  of  me¬ 
chanical  construction  on  a  large  scale.  To  build 
good  steamships  and  cast  good  guns  we  must  have 
suitable  shipyards  and  foundries:  attempts  to  obtain 
the  product  without  furnishing  proper  tools  in  the 
first  instance  have  invariably  resulted  in  disappoint¬ 
ment:  an  inadequate  plant  means  an  imperfect  out¬ 
put,  short-lived  at  best,  and  of  limited  and  uncertain 
efficiency  while  it  lasts.  That  we  should  seek  to 
make  something  first  and  to  get  the  means  of  mak¬ 
ing  it  afterwards  is  a  priori  illogical :  the  same  meth¬ 
od  has  been  proved  by  trial  at  once  wasteful  and  in¬ 
effective. 

It  is  the  function  of  civil  service  reform  to  provide 
for  all  other  reforms,  whether  legislative  or  adminis¬ 
trative,  in  our  polity,  the  necessary  plant  for  their 
work.  They  can  become  realities  only  through  the 
instrumentality  of  public  men  fit  to  mould  them  in 
a  shape  for  lasting  and  practical  utility,  and  our  pol¬ 
itics  for  a  generation’s  space  before  the  growth  of 
civil  service  reform  had  supplied  no  public  men  of 
this  type,  and  can  now  supply  only  here  and  there 
one  of  them,  a  fruitful  and  promising  but  as  yet  in¬ 
finitesimal  leaven  for  the  lump  in  which  it  is  hidden. 
To  suppose  that  the  politicians  who  make  up  the 
great  bulk  of  either  house  of  congress  will  or  can  deal 
worthily  with  the  problems  presented  by  our  tariff, 
our  eurrency,  our  pension  system— to  ask  that  they 
and  their  humbler  fellows  in  state  legi.slatures  and 
city  councils  should  furnish  remedies  or  even  palli¬ 
atives  for  public  evils  arising  from  the  liquor  traffic 
or  from  labor  disputes  is,  to  my  mind,  as  irrational 

A  paper  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Nation¬ 
al  Civil  Service  Reform  League  at  Boston,  October  2, 
1890,  by  Charles  J.  Bonaparte. 


170 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


as  to  expect  figs  from  thistles ;  to  try  to  get  such  work 
out  of  such  workmen  is  as  if  Secretary  Tracy  should 
order  another  Maine  built  on  the  same  stocks  and 
with  the  same  materials  that  might  furnish  forth  an 
old  seventy-four. 

This  incapacity  does  not,  however,  arise  from  the 
undoubted  fact  that  most  of  our  public  men  are  in¬ 
tellectually,  or  for  want  of  education,  incapable  of 
understanding  the  merits  or  appreciating  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  these  questions.  A  very  limited  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  our  legislative  bodies  leads  me  to  think 
that  these  treat  roost  satisfactorily  the  topics  about 
which  their  members  know  and  care  the  least,  sinee 
they  are  then  open  to  the  influence  of  volunteer  ex¬ 
perts.  When  there  is  neither  'money”  nor  “polities” 
in  a  proposed  measure,  the  average  American  politi¬ 
cian  is  a  very  fair  legislator,  provided  that  reputable 
citizens  will  take  the  trouble  to  tell  him  just  what  he 
should  do.  He  is  usually  timid  and  patient,  anxious 
(when  it  costs  him  nothing)  to  conciliate  public  opin¬ 
ion  and  accustomed  to  being  bored  :  he  repeats  so 
constantly  the  party  shibboleth  that  he  may  have 
half  persuaded  himself  he  believes  that,  but  beyond 
it  he  has  few  prejudices  and  no  opinions.  He  is 
therefore  a  good  subject  for  judicious  guidance,  and, 
since  he  considers  all  enthusiasm  as  factitious  and 
all  professions  as  insincere  as  he  knows  his  own  to 
be,  he  is  protected  from  the  contagion  of  a  visionary 
fanaticism.  But  in  measures  relating  to  the  questions 
I  have  mentioned  he  finds  always  either  “money”  or 
“politics”  or  both,  and  in  such  case  he  is  utterly  want 
ing:  wherever  there  may  be  some  one  able  and  wil¬ 
ling  to  buy  him,  his  sale  depends  only  upon  the 
amount  and  form  of  the  price  offered,  and  e.x  necessi¬ 
tate  rei  a  would-be  purchaser  is  found  as  soon  as  his 
public  action  begins  to  touch  the  pockets  of  wealthy 
or  influential  persons  or  classes,  long  accustomed  to 
control  legislation  by  systematic  corruption.  As  an 
illustration,  take  the  question  of  tariff  reform. 
Whether  the  tariff  should  be  based  upon  principles 
of  free  trade  or  of  protection— that  is  to  say,  whether 
its  aim  should  be  primarily  to  produce  the  greatest 
revenue  w’hile  imposing  the  least  burden  on  those 
taxed,  or  to  make  some  or  all  branches  of  productive 
industry  in  the  country  more  profitable  to  those  pur¬ 
suing  them— it  is  neither  my  province  nor  my  pur¬ 
pose  to  discuss.  Whichever  principles  we  adopt,  their 
application  in  modifying  our  present  laws  involves 
the  sacrifice  or  advancement  of  powerful  interests— 
powerful,  because  able  to  dispose  of  much  money  or 
many  votes.  A  change  in  the  laws  can  not  at  once 
meet  the  view  of  both  producers  and  consumers  of 
the  article  affected;  it  must  inevitably  injure  pe¬ 
cuniarily  one  class  or  the  other  as  individuals,  al. 
though,  of  course,  if  wisely  conceived,  it  may  benefit 
both  as  members  of  the  community.  And  although 
mere  consumers  make  up  usually  a  mass  too  amor- 
photis  and  unwieldy  to  be  conscious  of  its  interests 
or  able  to  defend  them,  inasmuch  as  the  finished 
product  of  one  industry  constitutes,  in  numberless 
instances  the  raw  material  of  another,  a  bitter  strife 
and  a  keen  competition  for  legislative  favor  be 
tween  different  groups  of  producers  must  attend  any 
attempt  to  change,  whether  in  one  direction  or  the 
other,  the  existing  provisions  of  our  revenue  laws, 
be  these,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  wise  or  unwise,  salu¬ 
tary  or  the  reverse.  The  task  demands  real  states¬ 
manship  and  of  no  mean  order;  a  veritable  Ser- 
bonlan  bog  of  intrique  and  bribery  will  be  created  if 
those  who  grapple  with  it  have  any  but  the  highest 
standard  of  morality  and  honor.  What,  then,  is 
their  standard?  It  has  been  within  a  few  months 
fairly  enough  defined  by  one  of  themselves. 

“The  purification  of  politics,”  says  a  senator  of 
the  United  States,  “is  an  iridescent  dream.  The 
decalogue  and  the  golden  rule  have  no  place  in  a  po¬ 
litical  campaign.  The  object  is  success.  To  defeat 
the  antagonist  and  expel  the  party  in  power  is  the 
purpose.  The  modern  cant  about  the  corruption  of 
politics  is  fatiguing  in  the  extreme.  It  proceeds 
from  the  tea-custard  and  syllabub  dilettanteism,  the 
frivolous  and  desultory  sentimentalism  of  epicenes.” 
There  is  certainly  nothing  obscure  or  equivocal 
about  this  language;  it  expresses  a  theory  of  ethics 
which  all  can  understand,  and  with  which  the  world 
is  unhappily  familiar.  Mutalis  mutandis  it  might  be 


echoed  and  is  acted  upon  by  every  unfaithful  ser¬ 
vant  or  trustee,  every  dishonest  trader,  every  ha¬ 
bitual  swindler,  every  common  thief.  All  of  these 
hold  practically  that  “  the  decalogue  and  the  golden 
rule  have  no  place  in  ”  their  trade,  all  consider  that 
for  them  “  the  object”  and  the  only  object  “  is  suc¬ 
cess,”  all  find  “  cant”  about  their  own  corruption 
“fatiguing  in  the  extreme,”  although  I  doubt  wheth¬ 
er  either  they  or  the  senator  object  to  this  because  it 
is  insipid  ;  it  “  fatigues  ”  them  because  they  know  it 
is  true.  The  man  who  uttered  these  words  may  not 
be  a  wholly  normal  specimen  of  professional  poli¬ 
ticians  ;  comparatively  few  of  these  would  publicly 
admit  that  in  any  field  of  thought  or  action  they  had 
j ust  as  much  and  j  ust  as  little  conscience  as  a  brute  ; 
perhaps  the  majority  would  try  to  persuade  them¬ 
selves  that  they  had  more.  It  is  unusual  to  find  one 
to  whom  the  sentiments  natural  to  a  man  oi  integrity 
and  honor  have  become  so  unfamiliar  that  he  can 
not  even  see  the  practical  advantage  of  counterfeit¬ 
ing  them,  who  is  not  a  hypocrite  only  becau-se  his 
utter  want  of  sympathy  with  rectitude  prevents  his 
understanding  that  the  simulation  of  rectitude  may 
pay.  But  the  words,  themselves,  if  exceptionally 
candid,  none  the  less  describe  with  substantial  truth 
the  code  of  morals  recognized  more  or  less  con¬ 
sciously  by  our  politicians  and  logically  resulting 
from  the  conditions  of  their  business.  When  out  of 
office  “  to. ..expel  the  party  in  power  is  the  purpose” 
of  their  labors,  not  as  a  means,  be  it  remembered, 
but  as  an  end  ;  not  that  they  may  thus  gain  some¬ 
thing  great  for  the  country  or  for  humanity, 
but  that  each  one  of  them  may  gain  some¬ 
thing  little  for  himself.  “The  object  is  success, 
to  defeat  the  antagonist,”  but  only  that  the  victors 
may  seize  and  enjoy  his  place ;  the  u.se  they  will 
make  of  it  is  a  wholly  secondary  consideration,  or 
rather  this  is  not  considered  at  all ;  it  goes  without 
saying  that  they  will  use  power  when  they  have 
gained  it,  only  to  retain  their  hold  on  it  as  long  as 
possible  and  to  make  all  they  can  for  themselves 
out  of  it  meantime.  And  in  their  efforts  to  attain 
this  end.  efforts  as  purely  selfish  as  the  struggle  of  a 
carnivorous  animal  for  his  prey,  moral  restraints  are 
unknown,  and  the  promptings  of  patriotism,  of 
charity,  of  self-respect,  have  no  place.  Any  regard 
for  the  decalogue  or  the  golden  rule  seems  to  them 
“  dilettanteism  ”  and  “  sentimentalism  ;  ”  for  “  prac¬ 
tical  ”  men  these  are 

“  Words,  mere  words.” 

In  plain  English,  then,  the  profession  of  politics,  as 
understood  by  a  spoilsman,  is  an  essentially  im¬ 
moral  profession,  like  the  profession  of  a  gambler  or 
a  confidence  man.  An  honest  man  may  enter  it, 
but  he  must,  sooner  or  later,  cease  either  to  be  honest 
or  to  be  a  politician. 

It  is  surely  needless  to  speculate  how  those  to 
whom  one  or  another  change  in  the  tariff  may  mean 
wealth  or  ruin  will  treat  men  such  as  these.  The 
saying  is  not  of  yesterday  : 

“  In  quorum  manibus  iniquitales  sunt  dextera  corum 
repleta  est  muneribus.  ’  ’ 

It  will  be  more  to  the  purpose  if  I  point  out  that  the 
character  of  our  public  men  and  the  inducements 
wherewith  alone  they  can  be  approached  with  rea¬ 
sonable  hope  of  success  by  those  seeking  favors  at 
their  hands,  explain  the  curious  phenomenon,  so 
often  noted  and  lamented  by  tariff  reformers,  that 
they  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  proportion  in  dealing 
with  our  industries,  and  often  sacrifice  one  of  them 
to  advance  the  interests  of  another,  although  the 
latter  may  be  utterly  insignificant,  both  in  amount 
of  capital  and  in  number  of  laborers  employed,  when 
compared  with  the  former.  Supposing  legislative 
action  inspired  by  a  thought  of  the  public  good,  such 
a  course  is,  on  any  conceivable  theory  of  political 
economy,  inexplicable,  but  supposing  such  action  to 
be  inspired  simply  by  some  form  of  bribery,  director 
indirect,  is  intelligible  enough.  Two  or  three  men 
can  corrupt  more  promptly  and  secretly,  and  with 
less  risk  of  subsequent  indiscretion  and  consequently 
more  effectively  and  safely,  than  a  score  or  a  hun¬ 
dred  can.  A  single  capitalist,  having  nobody  else  to 
inform  or  consult  as  to  his  course,  and  able  to  tell 
with  almost  mathematical  accuracy  what  profits  will 
accrue  to  him  from  a  given  law  when  made,  and  how 


much  he  can  therefore  afford  to  Invest  in  the  requi¬ 
site  law  making  machinery,  will  have  great  advant¬ 
ages  in  his  competition  with  a  multitude  of  manu¬ 
facturers  scattered  throughout  the  country  and  un¬ 
accustomed  to  act  in  concert,  of  whom  each  will 
usually  seek  to  throw  on  others  the  burden  of  de¬ 
fending  their  common  interest,  and  among  whom 
there  is  danger,  proportioned  to  their  number,  of 
finding  some  “  epicene  ”  too  much  affected  by  “  tea- 
custard  and  syllabub"  views  of  ethics  to  perceive 
the  necessity  of  indulgence  or  even  of  discreet 
silence  regarding  the  peculiar  methods  of  modern 
American  statesmanship. 

I  have  used  the  tariff  as  an  apt  illustration,  but 
what  I  have  said  applies  with  equal  truth  to  our 
pension  system  or  our  currency,  or  any  other  subject 
of  national  concern  in  which  there  is  room  for  gain 
or  loss  to  individual  interests.  Conflicting  theories 
about  bimetallism  or  a  single  standard  do  not  im¬ 
pede  a  rational  solution  for  the  silver  question  ;  the 
wealth  and  influence  of  our  “  silver  kings  ”  do ;  we 
should  hear  little  enough  about  “  dependent  pen¬ 
sions”  or  “service  pensions”  if  the  would-be  pen¬ 
sioners  were  few  in  numbers  or  had  no  votes.  For 
I  need  hardly  say  that  whether  a  man  is  bribed  to 
vote  against  what  in  his  best  judgment  he  believes 
to  be  the  public  interest  by  so  much  cash  in  his  ovvn 
pocJcet  or  by  the  payment  or  promise  or  hope  of  cash 
for  the  party  treasury,  or  by  the  expectancy  of 
thus  getting  offices  or  votes  or  help  of  any  kind  for 
himself  or  others,  makes  no  manner  of  difference  as 
to  the  moral  question.  A  politicion  may  as  well, 
so  far  as  his  self-respect  or  his  public  utility  is  affect¬ 
ed,  be  owned  by  a  rich  man  or  a  rich  corporation  as 
by  the  Farmers’  Alliance  or  the  Knights  of  Labor  or 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ;  he  is  a  bale  of  the 
same  goods,  whatever  may  be  his  trade-mark. 

To  nd  our  country  thoroughly  and  once  for  all  of 
these  dangerious  and  noxious  counterfeits  of  states¬ 
men,  and  thus  make  room  for  the  genuine  article, 
which  we  produced  in  good  measure  a  hundred 
years  ago,  we  have  only  to  do  away  with  the  inci¬ 
dents  of  public  life  which  have  arisen  within  those 
hundred  years  and  made  it  no  fit  career  for  honor¬ 
able  men.  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Adams, 
Patrick  Henry  and  Alexander  Hamilton  grew  up 
from  another  political  soil  from  that  which  nour¬ 
ished  the  senator  I  have  quoted  ;  if  we  would  have 
again  among  our  rulers  “epicenes”  and  “dilet¬ 
tanti”  such  as  these  we  must  “  thoroughly  purge  ” 
our  meadows  of  that  which  has  choked  out  the  good 
wheat  and  give  them  over  to  lares  and  cockle.  We 
must  do  away  with  the  swinish  scuffie  for  support  at 
the  taxpayers’  cost  which  has  become  all  that  “  poll 
tics”  mean  to  the  mass  of  our  public  men,  and 
make  a  political  campaign  once  more  something  in 
which  the  decalogue  and  the  golden  rule  have  a 
place.  When  we  have  done  this— in  other  words, 
when  we  have  practically  applied  the  essential 
principles  of  civil  service  reform  throughout  our  fed¬ 
eral,  stateand  municipal  governments,  we  shall  have 
again,  as  we  had  once,  under  the  same  conditions, 
men  in  public  life  able  to  consider  in  proposed 
changes  of  law  more  than  the  hopes  they  may 
arouse  of  personal  or  party  gain.  And  when  we  have 
thus  deserved  such  rulers  and,  by  deserving  them, 
obtained  them,  we  may  hope  for  those  reforms 
which  only  their  rule  can  give  us.  To  ask  that  civil 
service  reform  wait  while  we  reform  the  tariff  or  the 
currency,  or  anything  else,  is  to  ask  that  a  surgeon 
cut  out  the  tumor  first  and  sharpen  his  knife  after¬ 
wards,  that  a  shipwright  wait  for  his  dockvard  and 
meantime  build  his  ship. 


ALL  OTHER  REFORMS  SHOULD  BE 
SUBORDINATED  TO  CIVIL  SERV¬ 
ICE  REFORM.* 


Our  civil  government,  slate  and  national,  has  de¬ 
veloped  into  a  huge  boss  system.  The  country  is 
districted  for  boss  purposes.  The  district  of  a  boss  is 
limited  only  by  his  limitations  as  a  manipulator- 
With  Quay  and  Gorman  the  district  is  a  state ;  with 
the  late  John  J.  O’Brien,  it  w'as  a  single  assembly 
district  of  New  York ;  with  Collector  Nathan,  it  is  the 
twenty-third  ward  of  Brooklyn.  No  one  will  do  vio¬ 
lence  to  credulity  by  pretending  that  the  bosses  have 
any  genuine  political  principles.  A  year  ago,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  League,  it  was  said  that  “  to  promise 
or  confer  public  office  as  a  bait  or  reward  for  person¬ 
al  or  party  service  is  always  and  everywhere  immor¬ 
al;  it  is  a  breach  of  trust  and  a  form  of  bribery.” 
The  truth  of  that  statement  can  never  be  shaken. 


<'A  paper  read  by  Lucius  B.  Swift  before  the  Na¬ 
tional  Civil  Service  Reform  League  in  Boston,  Octo¬ 
ber  2,  1890. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


171 


1 

i 


t 


Yet  it  Is  by  that  immorality  and  by  that  bribery 
that  the  bosses  thrive  and  increase  in  power  and 
rule  this  nation.  It  is  not  necessary  before  this 
audience  to  show  that  their  heel-marks  cover  the 
country,  I  only  say  that,  well  as  we  know  them,  we 
do  not  grasp  the  magnitude  of  a  system  whose  out 
croppings  extend  from  the  appointment  of  Meade  as 
police  justice  in  New  York  City,  to  Clarkson  manip¬ 
ulating  his  30,000  postmasters  a  year ;  and  whose  field 
reaches  from  the  dog  catcher  to  the  governor,  and 
from  the  elevator-boy  to  the  President.  If  an  execu¬ 
tive  or  legislative  office-holder  is  not  a  boss  or  the 
agent  of  a  bo.ss,  he  is  a  rare  exception.  In  general 
there  is  spread  over  the  country  a  tough  network  of 
township,  city,  county, state  and  national  office-hold¬ 
ers,  standing  to  each  other  as  principal  or  agent, 
master  or  man,  boss  or  worker.  Along  with  such 
civil  government  as  we  have,  goes  this  vast  exploita¬ 
tion  of  the  offices  for  spoil.  These  are  the  ins,  ready 
to  catch  at  any  issue,  and  say  or  do  anything  that 
will  leave  them  masters  of  the  offices.  And,  as  has 
been  stated  many  times,  man  for  man  and  side  by 
side  with  these  are  the  outs,  ready  to  catch  at  any  is¬ 
sue  and  say  or  do  anything  that  will  in  turn  make 
them  masters  of  the  offices.  The  bribery  is  plain  and 
simple,  from  the  township  trustee  of  the  township 
embracing  Indianapolis,  paying  with  clerkships  the 
small  party  hustlers  who  assisted  him  to  election,  to 
the  resident  paying  with  marshalships  and  post-of¬ 
fices  the  men  who  voted  for  him  in  the  nominating 
convention. 

Our  65,000,000  of  people  have  seen  this  going  on  at 
their  very  doors,  until  even  the  ehildren  knew  with¬ 
out  being  told  that  if  Smith  succeeds,  Jones,  who  has 
worked  day  and  night  for  Smith’s  nomination  and 
election,  will  get  from  Smith  a  clerkship.  They 
know  that  this  is  to  be  Jones’s  pay  and  that  he  works 
for  this  contingent  fee.  At  every  four  corners  in  our 
forty-two  stales  the  people  for  two  generations  have 
'  seen  such  bribes  paid  with  state  and  federal  offices. 

I  have  said  that  we  do  not  grasp  the  magnitude  of 
the  boss  system ;  neither  is  it  necessary  for  me  to  ex¬ 
plain  to  you  its  strength  ;  and  yet,  we  do  not  realize 
its  strength.  In  the  twenty-odd  years’  struggle  to  up 
root  this  system,  some  progress  has  been  made.  Nev¬ 
ertheless,  it  remains  generally  true  that  to  retain  or 
get  the  offices  is  the  present  object  of  our  parties,  in 
every  field  of  operation;  and  the  desire  for  this  ob¬ 
ject  is,  with  spasmodic  exceptions,  the  regulator  of 
American  legislation,  of  American  executive  govern¬ 
ment,  of  the  formulated  opinions  of  American  par¬ 
ties  and  public  men,  and  of  the  exercise  of  political 
power.  This  is  its  strength. 

HOW  THE  PEOPLE  ARE  FOOLED. 

The  bosses  know,  first,  that  they  live  by  the  offices, 
and  second,  that  if  the  people  once  realize  the  evils 
of  patronage  they  will  lake  away  the  offices.  The 
skill  of  the  machine  is  therefore  directed  to  diverting 
the  attention  of  the  people  from  this  division  and  en¬ 
joyment  of  spoils.  To  this  end,  i.ssues  true  or  false 
are  urged  forward.  For  many  years  southern  out¬ 
rages,  an  issue  which  never  did  and  never  was  in¬ 
tended  to  lead  to  any  practicable  measure,  blinded 
the  majority  and  enabled  the  republican  machine  to 
keep  the  offices.  In  Pennsylvania,  to-day.  Quay 
raises  jeopardized  protection  like  a  wall  close  to 
the  eyes  of  republicans  to  blind  them  to  the  crim¬ 
inal  evil  of  himself  as  a  man  and  of  his  literally  feu¬ 
dal  rulership  of  his  state.  For  years  the  people  of  the 
state  of  Maryland,  in  a  manner  disgraceful  to  them¬ 
selves,  have  permitted  Gorman  to  keep  his  heel  on 
their  necks,  solely  by  his  control  of  the  offices;  and 
in  every  campaign  when  they  might  have  over 
thrown  him,  he  has  blinded  them  by  the  cry  that 
such  a  result  would  lead  to  national  party  disaster. 

When  a  machine  has  fixed  upon  an  issue  as  one 
which  will  enable  it  to  succeed,  it  does  not  permit 
dissent.  Mr.  Randall  is  a  notable  instance.  But  to 
most  party  bosses  an  issue  has  only  its  expedient 
side,  and  when  taken  up  by  their  party  machine  it 
never  staggers  those  who  may  have  been  for  years  on 


the  opposite  side. 

Some  years  ago  Senator  Voorhees  made  many 
speeches  to  show  that  the  record  of  his  party  was 
misrepresented  upon  the  tariff  quest  ion — that  it  was 
and  had  been  protection.  Now  Mr.  Voorhees  makes 


speeches  proposing  to  hang  the  men  who  are  profit¬ 
ing  by  protection.  Again,  Senator  Gorman,  the  over- 
lord  of  overlords,  two  years  ago  was  a  protectionist. 
To-day  he  is  a  tariff  reformer.  No  one  will  ask  us  to 
believe  that  the  merits  of  the  tariff  question  had  any¬ 
thing  to  do  with  this  change  of  heart.  Mr.  Gormon 
read  in  the  signs  of  the  times  that  his  party  machine 
was  against  him,  and  that  he  must  bring  about  this 
change  if  he  would  continue  as  the  absolute  party 
controller  of  offices  in  Maryland. 

Thus,  occasionally  adjusting  themselves  to  what 
they  consider  a  minor  demand,  the  bosses  remain 
the  controllers  of  the  govermental  spirit  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  they  guide  it  skilfully  away  from  acts  which 
would  undermine  the  only  foundation  upon  which 
they  stand  or  can  stand— the  use  of  the  offices  as 
spoil.  If  they  think  justice  will  hurt  their  party 
chances,  they  stop  the  course  of  justice.  For  in¬ 
stance,  the  guilt  of  Mahone’s  campaign  fund  clerks 
is  clear  and  the  evidence  is  ready.  But  they  are  not 
punished  because  the  party  bosses  have  the  notion 
(a  mistaken  notion,  to  be  sure),  that  punishment 
would  weaken  election  chances.  The  eleventh  hour 
indictment  just  decided  upon  proves  my  argument. 

THE  STEERING  PROCESS. 

They  can  not  control  the  rise  of  discussion,  but 
their  skill,  to  a  degree  often  consummate,  is  dis¬ 
played  in  a  steering  process  that  permits  a  discussion 
to  come  to  a  beneficent  end,  or  anchors  it  or  wrecks 
it,  according  as  it  is  necessary  to  avoid  defeat  at  the 
polls,  with  the  consequent  loss  of  the  offices.  In  our 
legislatures,  if  good  legislation  will  help  them,  they 
pander  that  much  to  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  peo¬ 
ple.  Any  legislation  which  endangers  them  is 
blocked  at  any  stage  they  desire.  We  have  a  late 
illustration.  The  bill  to  regulate  elections  was  on 
the  highroad  to  final  passage.  Ata  word  from  Quay, 
professed  principles  went  to  the  winds  and  the  bill 
was  meekly  laid  aside. 

While  the  bosses  control  the  switches  and  brakes 
of  the  legislative  road,  it  is  useless  to  hope  for  legis¬ 
lation  based  upon  business  and  patriotic  principles. 
This  is  shown  by  the  recent  course  and  present  con 
dition  of  the  tariff  question.  The  prominent  idea 
and  discussion  connected  with  the  early  adminis¬ 
tration  of  President  Cleveland  was  in  relation  to  the 
civil  service.  The  antagonism  of  his  party  machine 
to  the  civil  .service  reform  views  and  acts  of  Mr. 
Cleveland  was  fully  expressed  in  the  Indianapolis 
Sentinel  in  November,  1886,  which  said:  “The  un- 
American  policy  he  has  pursued  in  dealing  with 
the  party  and  the  partisans  that  elected  him  to  office 
is  the  direct  cause  of  the  apathy  of  the  party  in  so 
many  sections  of  the  country.  He  has  done  all  he 
could  to  destroy  the  party  organiz  ition.  He  has 
chilled  the  honorable  ambition  of  young  men  and 
grievously  abused  the  old  leaders.  Mr.  Cleveland 
must  either  prove  himself  a  democrat  in  the  remain¬ 
ing  years  of  his  administration  or  prepare  to  meet 
emphatic  repudiation  by  his  party.’’ 

With  this  threatening  attitude  the  bosses  of  his 
party  confronted  Mr.  Cleveland  until  he  brought 
forward  the  tariff  issue,  upon  which  the  bulk  of 
them  seemed  willing  to  uni.te,  and  he  took  the  first 
step  by  a  message  to  congress  devoted  exclusively  to 
that  subject.  To  thus  state  this  great  change,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  say  that  defeat  was  expected  upon 
the  tariff  issue,  is  an  incongruity. 

The  second  step  to  divert  meddlesome  attention 
from  the  division  of  spoil  was  the  Mills  bill,  a  step 
guided  by  the  unseen  power  of  the  bosses.  The  in¬ 
tention  was  to  frame  a  bill  upon  which  they  could 
carry  the  country,  and  the  result  may  be  called  a 
measure  with  free  trade  leanings  for  republican 
communities  and  proteclive  leanings  for  democratic 
communities.  It  was  a  fortunate  thing  for  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform  that  this  attempt  to  shelve  it  was  pun¬ 
ished  by  defeat.  Any  other  result  would  have  left 
this  cause  discredited,  too  weak  even  for  the  con¬ 
tempt  of  the  bos.ses,  and  alive  only  in  the  half  dozen 
places  where  “  local  option  ’’  might  permit  the  law  to 
be  enforced. 

The  republican  machine,  in  its  turn,  has  elaborated 
a  tariff  bill  such,  and  no  other,  as  it  believes  will  help 
its  election  chances.  The  tables  are  turned.  We  have 


protection  for  republican  districts,  and  free  trade  for 
democratic  districts. 

If  it  were  not  so  serious,  all  this  would  be  laughable 
as  the  play  of  children  or  fools.  In  fact,  it  is  a  mock¬ 
ery  of  government.  It  is  but  stating  the  commonest 
principle  of  government  to  say  that  any  legislation 
touching  our  present  tariff  should  be  the  result  of  the 
unbiased  investigation  and  report  of  skilled  men. 
Yet  such  statement  only  emphasizes  the  chimerical 
quality  of  the  hope  of  such  legislation  under  the  boss 
system.  And  the  same  is  true  generally.  The  enact¬ 
ment  of  our  public  laws  is  advocated  with  the  halt¬ 
ing  advocacy  caused  by  the  skeleton  in  the  party 
closet— the  fear  of  losing  the  spoil  of  office.  Those 
interested  in  all  questions  which  relate  to  the  cur¬ 
rency,  to  taxation,  to  the  regulation  of  the  liquor 
traffic,  to  our  great  Indian  trust,  or  which  cluster 
around  the  cause  of  labor,  or  any  other  subject  aris¬ 
ing  with  a  progressive  people,  have  found,  and  will 
find  that  the  measure  of  relief  granted  is  gauged  by 
its  supposed  effect  upon  the  continued  power  of  the 
Quays  and  the  Gormans  over  the  spoil  of  office. 

THE  PREY  OF  THE  BOSSES. 

With  their  power  well  in  hand  as  they  have  had  it 
for  years,  the  bosses  prey  upon  all  they  help  or  can 
harm.  Formerly  the  Indianapolis  post-office  paid 
$1,200.  In  1888  the  pension  office  in  that  city  was 
called  upon  for  $600,  part  of  which  was  collected  in 
violation  of  law.  In  that  year  the  Indiana  republi¬ 
can  candidate  for  reporter  of  the  supreme  court  paid 
$2,250.  The  candidates  for  the  judgesh  ips  of  the  cou  rts 
sitting  at  Indianapolis  are  each  regularly  assessed 
$500  upon  a  salary  of  $2,500.  In  larger  cities  and 
offices  all  over  the  country  these  figures  are  many 
times  multiplied,  and  when  these  sums  are  again 
multiplied  by  the  number  of  state  and  national 
offices  which  still  pay  assessments,  the  lesult  shows 
a  startling  sum  of  money  to  be  devoted  to  the  per¬ 
petuation  of  the  buccaneering  power  which  extorts 
it.  Great  moneyed  interests  can  be  helped  or  hurt 
by  boss  legislation.  Jay  Gould  gave  his  check  for 
$50,000  to  the  late  John  J.  O’Brien  to  the  use  of  the 
O’Brien  machine,  and  Mr.  Wanamaker,  then  a  new 
recruit  to  the  machine,  suggested  that  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railway  should  help  the  campaign  of  1888 
with  $100,000. 

With  the  money  thus  gathered,  the  bosses  in  the 
struggle  for  the  offices  leave  their  mark  in  the  shape 
of  20,000  floaters  in  Indiana,  and  in  like  proportion 
in  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York  and  other 
states. 

Our  boss  system  of  officeholders,  with  its  para¬ 
mount  boss  and  a  graded  line  of  under-bosses,  has 
thus  become  a  quasi-feudal  system,  without  the  ro¬ 
mance  or  the  courtesy  or  the  honor  of  feudalism.  It 
is  the  footpad  in  armor.  It  uses  various  interests  for 
its  own  ends  and  lets  itself  for  hire  to  various  inter¬ 
ests.  Destroy  it  and  leave  every  reform  and  every 
interest  standing  alone,  and  spontaneous  discussion, 
followed  by  the  untrammeled  action  of  the  people, 
will  reward  every  agitation  with  that  result  to  which 
the  civilization  of  the  country  entitles  it. 

Therefore  I  say  that  the  destruction  of  the  spoils 
system  ought  to  regulate  individual  political  effort. 
Not  that  other  reforms  may  not  have  sympathy  and 
support.  But  in  every  case  there  comes  a  time  when 
the  roads  part.  Then  there  can  be  no  compromise, 
no  hesitation.  The  pursuit  of  these  bloodsuckers 
upon  all  our  civil  government  should  be  relentless. 
To  cease  this  attack  at  any  point  and  unite  with  this 
common  enemy  with  the  hope  of  benefiting  some 
other  object  is  to  strengthen  the  common  enemy  and 
fill  him  with  joy.  Such  deviation  prolongs  the  un¬ 
equal  struggle  on  our  hands  and  does  not  accomplish 
its  object. 

Our  cause  has  suffered  and  is  in  danger  of  suffering 
from  such  deviation  in  a  single  case  only;  but  thai 
is  a  case  of  such  magnitude  as  to  cause  concern  and 
call  for  protest.  I  refer  to  the  number  of  thinking 
and  distinguished  men  who  are  entirely  with  us  in 
opinion,  but  who  would  now  lay  aside  civil  service 
reform  on  behalf  of,  or  would  now  subordinate  it  to 
effort  for  a  modification  or  abolition  of,  the  tariff'. 
They  are  certainly  mistaken.  It  was  useless  that  they 
joined  their  clean-handed  effort  with  such  efforts  as 
the  use  of  the  offices  to  break  down  the  refractory 
protectionist  Congre.ssman  Randall,  and  with  the 
wholesale  subsidy  of  the  western  press,  and  with  the 
use  of  the  pension  bureau  asapolitical  machine,  and 
with  the  use  of  the  civil  service  as  a  trip-hammer  to 
help  one-half  of  the  people  strike  the  other.  The 
means  do  not  justify  the  end.  Civil  service  reform 
wars  against  such  weapons,  no  matter  in  what  hand 
or  cause. 

Deviation  from  it  now  but  helps  to  raise  up  more 
bosses  and  strengthen  the  boss  system.  The  con¬ 
gressman  from  the  Indianapolis  district  is  a  typical 
instance.  He  has  ability,  and  in  trying  circum¬ 
stances  he  has  displayed  the  highest  skill  in  un¬ 
scrupulous  manipulation  of  the  offices.  He  is  the 
enemy  of  the  merit  system.  His  issue  is  tariff  mod¬ 
ification.  To  follow  him  upon  that  issue  is  to  help 


172 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


liuild  up  a  man  who  might  become  to  Indiana  w'hat 
Platt  is  to  New  York,  Mahone  to  Virginia,  Quay  to 
Pennsylvania  and  Gorman  to  Maryland.  The  thought 
is  intolerable.  And  yet  I  submit  that  the  advocacy 
of  tariff  modification,  as  it  is  now  offered,  gives  no 
.satisfactory  reward  and  actually  helps  the  bosses  to 
obscure  civil  service  reform  and  extend  their  own 
rule.  And  the  poison  of  office— exploitation  for 
spoil— is  left  with  incieased  virulence  to  course  its 
way  through  every  hamlet,  town  and  ci  y  in  all  the 
stales  of  this  Union.  It  ruins  public  morals.  It  is 
the  destroyer  of  nations.  No  man  can  look  at  our 
national,  state  and  city  governments  and  deny  that 
it  is  the  crying  evil  of  our  time.  The  call  to  destroy 
it  rings  in  the  ears  of  every  man  who  loves  his  coun¬ 
try.  Our  faces  should  be  always  towards  it,  and  our 
hands  should  be  always  against  it. 


NOTES  OF  THE  DISCUSSION. 


[From  the  Boston  Journal  and  the  Bostjn  Post.] 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of  Mr.  Swift’s 
paper,  Mr.  R.  Francis  Wood,  of  Philadelphia,  moved 
that  Mr.  Bonaparte’s  and  Mr.  Swift’s  papers  be 
printed.  Mr.  Everett  P.  Wheeler,  of  New  York, 
moved  as  an  amendment  that  the  papers  be  printed 
separately,  and  Mr.  Wood  accepted  the  amendment. 
He  must  take  exceptions  to  some  of  Mr.  Swift’s  state¬ 
ments,  and  did  not  think  that  they  should  be  sent 
forth  entire  as  expressing  the  views  of  the  league, 
lie  must  take  exception  to  the  statements  made 
therein,  which  he  thought  was  in  error,  that  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland’s  tariff  message  was  put  forth  in  re¬ 
sponse  to  the  demands  of  the  party  bosses.  Secretary 
Fairchild  had  told  him,  the  speaker,  that  what  led 
to  the  writing  of  the  message,  and  the  equally  notice¬ 
able  report  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  vvhich  ac¬ 
companied  it,  was  their  absolute  conviction  of  the 
necessity  of  the  immediate  presentation  of  that  ques¬ 
tion  to  the  country.  Mr.  Wheeler  vigorously  de¬ 
nounced  the  use  of  money  in  elections,  and  in  the 
bribery  of  committees  and  legislators.  The  league 
should  aim  to  do  away  with  this  evil  as  heartily  as  it 
did  to  abolish  the  evil  of  party  patronage.  The 
league  should  not  confine  its  work  to  one  branch  of 
reform. 

Winslow  Warren,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  said  that  while 
he  agreed  with  much  that  Mr.  Bonaparte  and  Mr. 
Swift  had  said,  he  could  not  agree  with  it  all.  He 
could  not  agree  with  Mr.  Bonaparte  in  his  laudation 
of  the  political  methods  of  Hamilton  and  others  of 
the  old  leaders  in  comparison  with  those  of  the 
leaders  of  to-day.  Neither  could  he  agree  with  Mr. 
Swift  that  the  Mills  bill  or  the  McKinley  bill, 
abominable  as  he  thought  the  latter,  was  devised  for 
the  purpose  of  shelving,  or  meant  the  shelving,  of 
civil  service  reform.  We  should  be  averse  to  having 
all  the  views  expressed  in  those  papers  go  forth  as  an 
official  expression  of  the  views  of  the  league. 

Col.  Charles  R.  Codman,  of  Boston,  said  that  if  he 
had  understood  Mr.  Swift  aright  he  had  declared 
that  civil  service  reform  was  of  such  transcendent 
importance  that  the  members  of  the  league  must 
abandon  all  the  other  great  reforms  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Swift  interrupted  at  this  point  to  say  that  his 
position  had  evidently  been  misunderstood.  His 
position  was  that  when  civil  service  reformers  came 
to  a  point  where  the  road  parted  between  an  advo¬ 
cacy  of  civil  service  reform  and  any  other  reform, 
they  should  choose  the  former. 

Col.  Codman  resuming,  said  that  if  the  league 
should  take  the  position  that  civil  service  reform  was 
of  transcendent  importance,  the  only  consistent 
course  for  its  members  to  take  would  be  to  form  a 
third  political  party  and  be  civil  service  reformers, 
first,  last,  and  all  the  time,  as  the  prohibitionists 
were  prohibitionists  first,  last  and  all  the  time. 

Mr.  Wheeler  moved  that  the  whole  matter  of  print¬ 
ing  the  papers  be  referred  to  the  executive  commit¬ 
tee,  with  instructions  to  print,  and  authority  to  pre¬ 
pare  the  papers,  with  the  statement  that  the  league 
did  not  indorse  them. 

President  Curtis  thought  such  action  would  be  es¬ 
tablishing  a  most  unfortunate  precedent;  it  tvould 
look  as  though  the  league  were  putting  forth  a  dis¬ 
claimer.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  league,  in 
printing  his  own  annual  addresses  before  it  in  its 
proceedings,  deliberately  adopted  in  advance  all  the 
views  embodied  in  it.  If  he  did  think  so,  he  should 


certainly  feel  very  much  constrained  in  the  prepar¬ 
ation  of  those  addresses, 

Sherman  S.  Rogers,  Esq.,  of  Buffalo,  hoped  Mr. 
Wheeler’s  motion  would  not  prevail.  The  mere 
printing  of  the  papers  did  not  place  upon  them  the 
league’s  imprimatur.  He  was  not  quite  sure  how 
far  he  should  follow  Mr.  Swift,  but  he  thought  very 
far,  even  so  far  as  to  hold  that  civil  service  reform 
was  of  paramount  importance. 

Richard  H.  Dana,  Esq.,  moved  as  an  amendment 
that  the  papers  be  printed  so  that  the  members  of 
the  league  might  have  an  opportunity  to  consider 
the  opinions  of  the  authors  therein  so  ably  ex¬ 
pressed. 

Mr.  Bonaparte  said  that  he  should  feel  the  same 
embarrassment  as  the  president  if  his  oaper  were 
to  be  taken  as  an  official  expression  of  the  views  of 
the  league. 

Henry  J.  Richmond,  Esq.,  of  Buffalo,  supported 
Mr.  Dana’s  amendment. 

President  Curtis  interrupted  to  ask  why,  if  the 
president’s  address  were  not  to  be  prefaced  with  the 
statement  that  the  league  was  not  responsible  for  the 
view's  in  it,  the  paper  read  by  any  member  of  the 
League  should  be  so  prefaced 

Mr.  Richmond  replied  that  there  was  a  great  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  president  and  an  humble  pri¬ 
vate  in  the  ranks  like  himself.  He  suggested  that 
hereafter  the  annual  printed  proceedings  be  pref¬ 
aced  with  the  statement  that  the  league  must  not 
be  held  responsible  for  the  views  therein  contained. 
Mr.  Wheeler  and  Mr.  Dana  both  accepted  this 
amendment. 

Mr.  George  Fred  Williams,  of  Dedham,  said  he 
should  be  very  much  opposed  to  having  Mr.  Swift’s 
views,  or  some  of  them,  go  forth  to  the  world  as 
those  of  the  league  or  his  own.  Mr.  Swift’s  state¬ 
ment  in  regard  to  Mr.  Cleveland’s  object  in  putting 
forth  his  tariff  message  was  to  shelve  civil  service 
reform.  That,  he  understood,  was  merely  Mr.  Swift’s 
inference.  But  he,  the  speaker,  knew  it  was  wholly 
false. 

Mr.  Myers  moved  as  an  amendment  that  the  ad- 
dre.sses  be  printed  and  that  the  question  of  prefixing 
them  with  any  explanation  be  referred  to  the  execu¬ 
tive  committee,  with  full  power  to  deal  with  it  as 
they  deemed  fit.  This  amendment  was  accepted  by 
Messrs.  Wheeler  and  Dana,  but  was  lost. 

Mr.  Wheeler  said  the  printing  of  the  papers  with¬ 
out  some  such  explanation  as  indicated  would  cause 
grave  trouble  in  New  York. 

President  Curtis  said  that  certainly  no  man  in  his 
senses  would  accept  Mr.  Swift’s  statement  as  to  the 
origin  of  Mr.  Cleveland’s  tariff  message  as  being  the 
view  of  the  league. 

The  result  of  the  long  discussion  was  the  adoption 
of  the  following  motion :  That  the  executive  com¬ 
mittee  be  directed,  in  preparing  papers  for  publica¬ 
tion  hereafter,  to  prefix  a  note  or  statement  to  them 
to  the  general  effect  that  the  league  is  not  responsi¬ 
ble  for  the  views  therein  expressed. 


THE  RESOLUTIONS. 


[The  committee  on  resolutions  were  George  Wil¬ 
liam  Curtis,  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  Edward  Carey, 
Henry  H.  Sprague  and  Lucius  B.  Swift.] 

The  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League,  in  com¬ 
mon  with  all  citizens  who  desire  the  overthrow  of 
the  great  and  perilous  evil  known  as  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem,  congratulates  the  country  that  the  attempt  to 
nullify  the  reform  law  during  the  present  session  of 
congress  was  decisively  defeated  in  the  house  of  rep 
resentatives ;  that  the  law  was  defended  by  distin¬ 
guished  and  able  members  of  both  political  parties, 
and  that  the  leader  of  the  majority  of  the  house  de 
dared  thsit  his  party  was  pledged  to  nothing  more 
than  to  civil  service  reform,  which,  he  said  truly, 
was  sustained  by  the  best  opinion  of  both  parties,  re¬ 
publicans  and  democrats  alike. 

The  League  gladly  recognizes  the  fact  that  about 
thirty-two  thousand  places  in  the  public  service  are 
now  filled  upon  free  and  fair  competition  by  merit 
alone ;  while  Commissioner  Roosevelt  gives  public 
assurance  that  92  per  cent,  of  clerks  so  appointed 
under  the  late  administration  have  been  retained 
under  the  present  administration. 

The  League  records  with  satisfaction  the  wholesome 
precedents  of  the  action  of  the  attorney-general  of 
the  United  States  in  sustaining,  after  long  contro¬ 
versy,  the  civil  service  commission,  and  in  causing 
the  revocation  of  appointments  made  in  defiance  of 
the  reform  law  ;  and  the  indictment,  although  after 
long  delay,  by  the  grand  jury  of  the  district  of 
Columbia  of  the  president  and  treasurer  of  a  politi¬ 
cal  club  in  Washington  for  soliciting  political  con¬ 
tributions  from  government  emploves.  With  equal 
satisfaction,  the  league  recalls  the  success  of  the 
friends  of  reform  in  frustrating  an  attempt  in  con¬ 
gress  to  evade  the  reform  law  by  securing  the  ap¬ 


pointment  of  pension  examiners  without  the  pre¬ 
scribed  examination. 

The  league  regards  the  complete,  forcible  and  com¬ 
prehensive  explanation  and  defence  of  the  princi¬ 
ples,  operation  and  results  of  reform  which  was  made 
by  the  national  civil  service  commission  before  the 
committee  of  investigation  of  the  house  of  representa¬ 
tives,  as  a  great  and  timely  public  service,  for  which 
the  commission  is  entitled  to  public  gratitude.  It 
again  congratulates  ihe  country  upon  the  admirable 
choice  of  civil  service  commissioners  made  by  the 
present  administration;  a  selection  the  merit  of  which 
has  been  demonstrated  by  the  ability  and  efficiency 
with  which  they  have  performed  the  duties  of  their 
office ;  and  the  league  mentions  with  pleasure,  as  a 
sign  of  the  progress  of  public  opinion,  the  unquali¬ 
fied  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  reform  by  many  of 
the  leading  journals  of  both  national  parties  in  the 
country. 

Whilst  according  to  the  national  administration 
the  amplest  credit  for  whatever  advance  may  have 
been  made  in  the  practical  application  of  civil  service 
reform  to  the  conduct  of  public  business,  it  is  never¬ 
theless  our  duty  to  again  remind  the  country  of  the 
pledges  made  by  the  successful  party  at  the  last  pres¬ 
idential  election,  and  to  note  how  far  these  pledges 
have  been  kept. 

The  pledges  of  the  party  of  administration  were, 
first,  that  reform  of  the  civil  service,  already  au¬ 
spiciously  begun,  should  be  completed  by  further 
extension  of  the  reformed  system  to  all  grades  of  the 
service  to  which  it  is  applicable;  second,  that  the 
spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should  be  observed  in 
all  executive  appointments;  third,  that  all  laws  at 
variance  with  the  object  of  existing  reform  legisla¬ 
tion  should  be  repealed. 

These  pledges  have  been  disregarded ;  the  reformed 
system  has  not  been  extended ;  not  only  have  not  the 
spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  been  observed  in  all  ex¬ 
ecutive  appointments,  but  they  have  neen  often  and 
gravely  violated  ;  that  laws  at  variance  with  reform 
legislation  have  not  been  repealed,  nor  has  there 
been  any  proposition  for  their  repeal. 

Against  this  practical  contempt  of  pledges  the 
league  reeords  its  unqualified  protest. 

The  arbitrary  removal  of  postmasters  for  no  other 
cause  than  their  political  opinions  or  party  affilia¬ 
tions,  resulting  in  a  parti.san  devastation  of  an  im¬ 
portant  branch  of  the  public  service,  is  a  breach  of 
faith  with  the  country  and  a  grave  offense  against 
pure  politics  and  the  interests  of  an  efficient  public 
service. 

The  league  holds  that  the  important  duty  of  tak¬ 
ing  the  census  should  have  been  committed  to  offi¬ 
cers  selected  because  of  their  fitness,  and  with  no  re¬ 
gard  to  political  or  partisan  considerations,  and  it 
sees  in  the  general  dissatisfaction  throughout  the 
country  with  the  results  of  the  census  a  logical  con¬ 
sequence  of  disregard  of  these  principles. 

While  holding  that  the  power  of  removal  should 
be  vested  in  appointing  officers  subject  only  to  a 
sound  discretion,  the  league  also  holds  that  no  op¬ 
portunity  for  changing  the  public  service  which  is 
not  political,  for  partisan  reasons  should  be  permit¬ 
ted.  It  therefore  urges  all  friends  of  reform  to  press 
upon  public  attention  and  on  congress  the  repeal  of 
the  laws  pre.seribiug  fixed  terms  of  office,  which 
were  designed  to  facilitate  partisan  charges  without 
the  odium  of  express  and  positive  removal. 

Places  which  are  not  political  and  which  are  filled 
by  appointment  should  be  vacated,  except  by  death 
or  resignation,  only  by  the  deliberate  act  of  responsi¬ 
ble  appointing  officers,  after  fair  opportunity  of  ex¬ 
planation  or  denial  of  charges,  and,  in  order  that 
such  officers  may  be  held  strictly  to  their  responsi¬ 
bility,  the  widest  publicity  should  be  given  to  re¬ 
movals,  and  such  officers  should  be  required  by  law 
publicly  to  record  the  reason  for  removals  made  by 
their  authority. 

The  experience  of  Boston  and  Cambridge  has 
proved  the  entire  practicability  of  extending  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  selection  by  merit  to  the  labor  service  of  those 
cities,  and  in  view  of  the  renewal  of  our  coast  de¬ 
fenses  and  of  the  reconstruction  of  our  navy,  the 
league  recommends  the  application  of  the  same  sys¬ 
tem  to  the  selection  of  laborers  in  the  national 
navy  yards,  and  the  extension  of  the  examinations  to 
all  other  positions  in  the  navy  yards  to  which  they 
are  applicable,  and  it  renews  its  recommendation 
for  a  similar  extension  of  the  merit  system  to  the 
Indian  service. 

As  a  measure  of  relief  from  one  of  the  worst  and 
most  widely  diffused  abuses  of  the  spoils  system,  the 
league  approves  the  principles  and  object  of  the  bill 
introduced  in  congress  during  the  present  session 
to  regulate  the  appointment  of  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters,  by  causing  their  selection  to  be  made  upon 
business  principles  and  without  regard  to  political 
interests  and  opinions. 

The  league  reaffirms  its  unswerving  fidelity  to  the 
American  and  democratic  principle  of  the  equal 
right  of  every  citizen  to  seek  and  to  compete  on 
equal  terms  for  appointment  to  office  without  the 
necessity  of  asking  aid  from  party  friends  or  politi¬ 
cal  leaders 

The  practicability  and  benefit  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form  have  been  amply  and  conclusively  demonstra¬ 
ted,  and  as  the  nece.ssity  of  reform  was  never  more 
urgent,  the  league  declares  that,  in  the  interest  of 
honest  government,  of  the  freedom  and  purity  of  the 
ballot  and  of  the  overthrow  of  political  corruption, 
it  will  prosecute  with  unflagging  energy  its  appeal 
to  that  matured  opinion  of  the  American  people 
which  steadily  and  happily  reforms  every  abuse  that 
menaces  the  welfare  of  the  republic. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publieation  office.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisements  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  21. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  NOVEMBER,  1890. 


TERMS  :  ■{ 


50  cents  perannum. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


God  give  us  men  !  a  time  like  this  demands 
Strong  minds,  great  hearts,  true  faith  and  ready 
hands ; 

Men  whom  the  lust  of  office  can  not  kill : 

Men  whom  the  spoils  of  office  can  not  buy  ; 

Men  who  possess  opinion  and  a  will ; 

2  Men  who  have  honor,  men  who  will  not  lie  ; 

‘Men  who  can  stand  before  a  demagogue 

And  damn  his  treacherous  flatterings  without 
winking ; 

Tall  men,  sun-crowned,  who  live  above  the  fog, 

In  public  duty  and  private  thinking. 

The  election  in  Massachusetts  will  greatly 
strengthen  congress  in  the  matter  of  sincere  be¬ 
lievers  in  civil  service  reform,  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  its  new  members  from  that  state  having 
been  for  years  open  advocates  of  the  reform 
We  may  now  expect  aggressive  movement  and 
that  the  democratic  house  will  be  powerfully 
urged  to  pass  the  bill  regulating  the  appoint 
ment  of  fourth  class  post-masters,  and  to  re¬ 
peal  the  four  years’  tenure  act,  and  to  give  the 
civil  service  commission  liberal  financial  sup¬ 
port. 

The  result  of  the  recent  election  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania  is  the  most  magnificent  victory  that 
has  been  gained  since  the  beginning  of  the 
struggle  to  break  down  the  spoils  system. 
That  system  had  reached  its  final  develop¬ 
ment  in  that  state.  The  situation  of  affairs 
with  Quay  and  the  government  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  was  not  widely  different  from  the  situ¬ 
ation  after  Rome  had  conferred  the  tribuni- 
tion  power  upon  its  boss  for  the  time  being. 
This  was  to  a  great  extent  realized  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  and  Quay’s  inability  to  answer  to 
the  charge  of  embezzlement  merely  brought 
the  matter  to  a  focus.  The  reformers,  with  a 
boldness  that  can  not  be  too  highly  com¬ 
mended,  undertook  to  convince  the  people  of 
Pennsylvania  that  they  must  decide  whether 
they  would  rule  themselves  or  be  ruled  by 
one  man  because  he  controlled  the  federal 
and  state  patronage.  This  issue  was  never 
departed  from,  and  upon  it  the  reformers  ac¬ 
complished  the  almost  incredible  feat  of 
changing  80,000  majority  to  17,000  the  other 
way.  Surely  after  this  it  may  everywhere  be 
felt  that  in  a  righteous  cause  no  majority  is 
too  great  to  be  overcome.  After  Mahone  and 
Quay  one  wonders  where  the  administration 
will  next  use  the  patronage  to  carry  an  elec¬ 
tion.  To  have  rendered  the  least  help  to  the 
result  in  Pennsylvania  will  always  be  a  satis¬ 
faction.  The  names  of  the  great  leaders  in 
the  movement  will  always  be  held  in  grateful 
remembrance,  and  not  the  least  satisfactory 
part  of  the  result  is  the  high  grade  of  intelli¬ 
gence  shown  by  the  people  of  the  state  in 
grasping  and  mastering  the  situation. 


The  effort  to  redeem  New  York  from  Tam¬ 
many  failed  disastrously.  The  facts  of  the 
corrupting  influences  of  this  organization  were 
widely  spread,  and  there  appeared  to  be 
against  it  strong  and  irresistible  elements. 
But  there  were  too  many  like  Mr.  Astor  whose 
reply  to  a  request  for  help  was:  “  Regret,  am 
free  from  all  political  interests.”  The  only 
depressing  thing  about  such  a  failure  is 
that  the  burden  of  really  patriotic,  unsel¬ 
fish  citizens  becomes  greater.  These  have  to 
carry  a  weight  of  timid  and  selfish  people 
who  quickly  seize  upon  any  excuse  to  stop  a 
troublesome  and  disagreeable  contest.  But 
the  municipal  league  does  not  intend  to  quit 
the  good  war,  and  probably  in  spite  of  him¬ 
self  Mr.  Astor  and  his  kind  will  enjoy  in  the 
future  the  pleasant  results  of  their  work. 
Above  all  things  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  those 
patriotic  clergymen  who  believe  that  the 
decalogue  has  a  place  in  New  York  City 
government  will  not  be  dismayed,  but  will 
keep  on  helping. 

Mr.  Foulke  ought  to  be  a  shining  exam¬ 
ple  to  citizens  like  Mr.  Astor,  that  is,  on  the 
supposition  that  they  are  interested  enough  to 
know  what  Mr.  Foulke  is  doing.  He  is  a 
thoroughly  equipped  guard  for  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reformers  of  the  country.  He  stops  at 
Washington,  where  the  spoilsmen  are  thickest 
and  noisiest,  and  he  keeps  track  of  what  they 
are  doing  and  promptly  calls  attention  to 
them  when  they  are  operating  any  little 
schemes  for  the  division  of  spoil.  The  Civil 
Service  Reformer  for  November  has  a  report  of 
an  interview  he  had  with  Postmaster- General 
Wanamaker,  which  the  latter  must  find  un¬ 
pleasant  reading.  Mr.  Porter  has  recently 
found  Mr.  Foulke  a  tough  adversary  to  tackle 
regarding  his  political  census.  What  Mr. 
Foulke  has  done  as  chairman  of  the  commit¬ 
tee  to  investigate  the  operations  of  the  civil 
service  is  well  known  to  readers  of  this  paper. 


The  Indiana  Civil  Service  Refo’np  A.ssocia- 
tion  is  in  need  of  funds  for  the  distribution  of 
documents  and  for  carrying  on  a  correspond¬ 
ence  over  the  state.  There  has  long  been  the 
plan  of  preparing  an  especial  appeal  to  the 
clergy  of  the  state  to  lend  their  aid  in  the  effort 
against  the  spoils  system,  but  to  print  and 
mail  such  an  address  would  require  several 
hundred. dollars.  If  those  who  believe  in  the 
objects  of  the  Association,  would  assist  in  in¬ 
creasing  its  membership,  they  would  thereby 
materially  increase  its  power  of  usefulness. 
.As  an  instance,  the  other  day  six  people  in  New 
!  Albany  were  suggested  as  in  sympathy  with 


civil  service  reform.  At  the  first  request  three 
joined  the  state  association.  A  slight  individ¬ 
ual  effort  by  members  over  the  state  would  add 
hundreds  to  the  membership. 

CAUSES  OF  DEFEAT. 

Within  the  field  of  this  paper  there  were 
powerful  elements  which  contributed  to  the 
results  of  the  recent  elections.  The  course  of 
the  administration  made  the  reform  element 
indifferent  or  hostile.  This  was  the  only 
source  from  which  it  could  expect  strength 
outside  of  its  regular  partisans.  This  was  the 
most  effective  aid  to  President  Cleveland  when 
he  was  elected,  and  four  years  later  nearly  its 
whole  strength  was  given  with  enthusiasm  and 
success  to  President  Harrison.  The  outrage¬ 
ous  treatment  of  Postmaster  Pearson  followed, 
to  be  supplemented  later  by  the  turning  out 
of  Col.  Burt,  Mr.  Graves,  Collecter  Saltonstall 
and  others  of  the  same  stamp.  The  adminis¬ 
tration  turned  in  to  help  Mahone  put  Virginia 
under  his  heel.  A  reasonable  request  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  a  non-partisan  selection  of  census 
employes  was  refused  and  that  important  work 
was  put  into  the  hands  of  60,000  party 
hacks,  who  have  taken  a  census  which  has 
not  and  never  will  have  the  confidence  of 
the  country.  Headsman  Clarkson  was  al¬ 
lowed  and  encouraged  to  remove  postmas¬ 
ters  at  the  rate  of  thirty  thousand  a  year. 
The  Indian  service  has  been  disgrace¬ 
fully  used  as  spoil  and  the  Indian  Rights 
.Association,  which  has  a  better  knowledge 
of  the  needs  of  the  Indians  than  the  admin¬ 
istration  itself,  has  been  treated  by  the  admin¬ 
istration  with  insult  and  contempt.  Officers 
have  been  removed  upon  secret  charges  with¬ 
out  being  allowed  to  know  the  charges.  The 
boss  system  was  encouraged  on  every  hand. 
In  Indiana  it  was  Michener,  chairman  of  the 
state  republican  committee;  in  Texas  it  was 
men  like  the  negro  eollector  Cuney ;  in  New 
York  it  was  Tom  Platt.  The  crowning  dis¬ 
grace  was  Quay,  in  Pennsylvania,  controlling 
every  federal  office,  and  who  led  two  cabinet 
officers,  Wanamaker  and  Blaine,  by  the  nose 
into  the  state  to  make  speeches  for  him.  As¬ 
sessments  of  office-holders  went  unpunished 
and  unchecked.  The  MeFarlands,  the  Bag- 
bys  and  the  Ransdells,  though  wholly  un¬ 
worthy,  were  kept  in  the  service.  Office-hold¬ 
ers  were  encouraged  to  interfere  in  the  cam¬ 
paign.  Commissioner  Raum,  who  is  believed 
by  the  great  majority  of  the  people  to  have 
compromised  himself  with  pension  attorneys 
until  he  is  unfit  to  retain  his  office,  was  sent 
out,  in  apparent  willful  defiance  of  public 
opinion  to  make  campaign  speeches.  The 


174 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


increased  majority  of  Congressman  Cooper  is 
a  fitting  answer,  and  is  in  part  due  to  this 
very  thing.  Tlie  Indiana  district  attorney 
was  permitted  to  remain  in  office  after  he  liad 
publicly  declared  that  Dudley’s  proposed  plan 
for  taking  care  of  the  floaters  evinced  only  a 
patriotic  interest  in  the  elections.  If  the  ad¬ 
ministration  can  do  any  worse  it  has  two  years 
yet  in  which  to  do  it.  If  it  means  to  do  any 
better  it  has  no  time  to  lose. 


The  President  has  divided  spoil  as  it  was 
never  divided  before.  Never  before  has  so 
much  been  given  out  for  personal  or  party 
service  in  the  same  length  of  time.  Yet  the 
seekers  of  spoil  are  not  his  friends.  They  dis¬ 
like  him  and  they  hope  he  will  not  be  re¬ 
nominated.  The  chief  duty  of  the  President 
is  to  manage  the  civil  service,  and  always  ex¬ 
cepting  the  work  which  comes  within  the 
field  of  the  civil  service  commission,  it  must 
be  said  that  President  Harrison  has  been  so 
far  a  failure.  When  he  looks  at  his  feats  with 
Mahone  and  Quay  and  the  rest,  he  must  ad¬ 
mit  this  to  himself.  President  Cleveland  was 
a  very  similar  failure,  and  when  elections  in 
1886  indicated  to  him  the  tone  of  the  people, 
he  did  not  heed  it  but  got  farther  away  from 
the  whole  subject  of  civil  service  reform. 
Will  President  Harrison  do  likewise  or  will 
he  now  bring  himself  to  realize  that  his  one 
great  work  is  to  get  the  spoils  system  out  of  the 
civil  service.  If  he  would  give  his  next  two 
years  to  an  unrelenting  fight  against  the 
spoils  system,  he  would  at  least  go  out  of  office 
at  the  end  of  his  term  with  the  respect  of  the 
people. 


CLARIFIED  VIEWS.  j 

The  writer  has  been  turning  over  the  pages 
of  the  Civil  Service  Record  from  1886  to  1888, 
and  his  conclusion  is  that  no  where  has  civil 
service  reform  advanced  more  than  among 
civil  service  reformers.  Examine  the  report 
of  the  civil  service  commission  on  the  Phila¬ 
delphia  post-office,  where  upon  finding  that 
there  are  no  applicants  for  examination,  ex¬ 
cept  among  those  of  the  postmaster’s  own  poli¬ 
tics,  the  commission,  like  a  Greek  chorus,  help¬ 
lessly  says  :  “Partisan  prejudice,  created  by 
a  partisan  press  for  party  purposes,  keeps 
democrats  out  of  the  civil  service  examinations 
when  the  republican  party  is  in  power  and  keeps 
i-epublicans  out  when  the  democratic  party  is 
in  power,”  and  further,  “  When  the  law  shall 
have  been  accepted  in  good  faith  by  both  the  great 
political  parlies,  and  appointing  officers  shall  all,  by 
official  word  and  act,  declare  their  determination  to 
execute  it  faithfully,  there  will  be  no  longer  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  unpartisan  operation  of  examina¬ 
tions  for  the  classified  civil  service.” 

Such  helplessness  seems  to  day  absurd. 
Judged  by  the  inquiry  sent  out  by  Mr.  Cush¬ 
ing  for  Mr.  Wanamaker,  asking  : 

Why  should  not  both  parties  discard  all  their  in¬ 
sincere  professions  for  the  law,  and  have  the  patriot¬ 
ism  to  go  back  to  the  old  system  ? 

tbe,law  has  not  yet  been  accepted  in  “good 
f.aitb.”  Bpt  a  commission  with  Mr,  Roose¬ 


velt  and  Mr.  Thompson  on  it  does  not  have  to 
wait  for  a  change  of  heart  with  the  Wanna- 
makers  and  Clarksons.  A  request  through 
the  public  press  for  applicants  to  come  forward 
forward  for  examination  without  reference  to 
politics,  and  the  promise  of  fair  treatment 
brings  the  applicants  of  all  political  opin¬ 
ions.  When  the  southern  states  do  not  have 
the  quota  of  appointments  to  which  they  are 
entitled,  because  they  have  not  furnished 
enough  applicants  for  the  eligible  lists,  this 
difficulty  is  solved  in  the  same  downright 
and  simple  fashion.  Southern  editors  and 
congressmen  are  urged  to  use  their  influence 
to  induce  people  from  these  states  to  try  the 
examination.  The  request  is  successful. 

A  timid,  irresolute  commission  is  always  a 
contingency,  but  the  great  body  of  believers 
in  civil  service  reform  the  country  over,  will 
not  again  acquiesce  in  the  notion  that  the 
spirit  of  the  reform  law  can  not  be  secured 
until  the  politicians  are  converted,  and  that 
the  civil  service  commission  has  no  sphere  but 
to  record  what  they  see  and  hear,  and  be 
humbugged  and  bullied  by  politicians. 


Again,  examine  an  address  before  the  Mas 
sachusetts  reform  club  in  April,  1887,  by  Dr_ 
William  Everett,  a  sincere  friend  of  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform.  It  reads  to-day  like  some  of  those 
curious  whig  documents  before  the  war  on  the 
slave  question.  Dr.  Everett  spoke  for  a  large 
number  of  civil  service  reformers,  when  he 
said,  “We  must  stop  weighing  the  President 
in  a  perpetual  pair  of  scales,  and  weighing  him 
against  every  new  appointment  to  see  whether 
he  goes  up  or  down,  or  hangs  in  equilibrio, 
*  *  *  It  is  not  my  intention  to  de¬ 
fend  all  the  President’s  appointments.  * 

What  I  look  to  is  that,  while  some  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reformers  feel  disappointed,  and  are  an¬ 
swering  “  no  ”  to  my  question,  “  whether  the 
cause  has  received  all  the  co-operation  from 
Mr.  Cleveland  that  we  had  a  right  to  expect,” 
the  spoilsmen  all  over  the  country,  of  both 
parties,  feel  much  more  disappointed;  and 
they  are  grumbling  all  the  time  that  he  has 
done  so  much  for  us,  while  some  of  us  are 
whining,  shall  I  say,  because  he  has  done  so 
little.  *  Moreover,  there  is  no  doubt 

he  gives  his  own  personal  attention  to  ap¬ 
pointments  more  than  any  President  has  done 
for  years.  *  *  But  if  on  the  other  hand, 

you  do  trust  President  Cleveland,  you  must 
trust  him  entirely.  You  must  see  him  re¬ 
move  and  appoint  according  to  his  best  judg¬ 
ment,  without  threatening  to  withhold  your 
trust  if  the  next  removal  and  the  next  ap¬ 
pointment  do  not  suit  you.” 

Dr.  Everett,  in  his  recent  spirited  campaign 
in  Massachusetts,  did  not  follow  his  own  pre¬ 
scription,  and  it  is  well  for  the  progress  of 
civil  service  reform  that  the  fog  of  1887  has 
lifted  about  him.  Nor  was  any  such  advice  given 
by  those  who  believe  that  with  all  his  short¬ 
comings  President  Harrison  has  done  for  civil 
service  reform  more  than  did  his  predecessor 
in  this,  that  he  has  given  the  country  the  best 
civil  service  commission  it  has  ever  had,  which 


is  not  disputed,  and  that  for  the  first  time, 
through  the  influence  of  this  commission,  there 
have  been  comparatively  few  dismissals  trace¬ 
able  to  politics  from  the  competitive  service, 
and  many  applicants  of  all  politics  have  come 
for  examination  and  received  appointments  in 
it.  But  no  one,  because  of  this,  says  to-day 
that  therefore  we  must  trust  the  President 
“entirely.”  No  one  disputes  the  unpopularity 
of  the  present  executive  with  the  spoilsmen, 
nor  that  their  rumblings  and  grumblings  ex¬ 
ceed  those  of  the  civil  service  reformers.  The 
New  York  Times  of  November  21  contains  the 
following  in  its  report  of  a  meeting  of  a  repub¬ 
lican  county  committee  to  discipline  somebody 
for  the  paucity  of  patronage  : 

The  claim  has  been  made  repeatedly  that  too  many 
democrats  were  kept  in  office  at  the  custom  house, 
the  post-office,  and  elsewhere.  With  some  men  it 
has  been  the  popnlar  thing  to  “  growl  ”  at  Collector 
Erhardt  because  he  did  not  appoint  more  republi¬ 
cans  to.  office.  When  Mr.  Erhardt’s  friends  pointed 
out  that  the  civil  service  laws  were  in  the  way,  the 
hungry  hosts  only  grew  hungrier  still  and  cried 
louder  for  office  than  ever. 

But  nobody  is  found  to  repeat  Dr.  Everett’s 
sophistry  that  therefore  the  President  is  doing 
all  he  can  and  more  than  we  should  expect 
for  reform.  Again,  no  one  disputes  that  Pres¬ 
ident  Harrison  has  gone  into  the  matter  of 
giving  his  personal  consideration  to  appoint¬ 
ments  to  a  degree  greater  even  than  his  prede¬ 
cessor,  and  that  his  health  has  suffered,  but  no 
one  now  regards  that  as  any  palliative  for  using 
public  offices  to  pay  personal  or  party  debts. 

These  are  some  of  the  many  encouraging 
signs  of  the  chill  and  refreshing  breeze  that 
has,  in  the  last  four  years,  relieved  us  of  much 
cant  as  to  how  much  political  morality  is  due 
from  a  public  man;  and  it  is  well  to  acknowl¬ 
edge  our  debt  in  this  respect  to  Senator  Ingalls. 
The  shock  of  his  bold  declaration  that  the 
decalogue  has  no  place  in  politics  was  the  thing 
that  brought  home  to  many  honest  people  the 
fact  that  unconsciously  they  had  been  judging 
men  in  public  life  by  a  different  code  from 
that  applied  to  other  people  and  in  which  the 
decalogue  did  not  have  the  place  of  honor. 

One  thing  is  certain,  whoever  the  next  presi¬ 
dent,  he  will  not  be  judged  according  to  Dr. 
Everett’S  standard  of  1887.  He  will  not  be 
trusted  entirely.  Nor  will  he  be  judged  by 
what  he  finds  it  convenient  as  a  politician  to 
do  to  redeem  the  country  from  spoils  and 
bosses.  He  will  be  judged  by  what  he  ac¬ 
tually  does  for  civil  service  reform,  measured 
by  what  remains  to  be  done.  Civil  service  re¬ 
formers,  for  the  first  time,  in  fighting  Quay, 
learned  the  meaning  of  taking  the  public  en¬ 
tirely  into  their  confidence,  making  all  their 
protests  public  and  permitting  no  private  ex¬ 
planations  and  excuses  from  a  chief  executive 
who  may  secretly  have  sympathized  with 
them,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  unwilling 
to  brave  the  consequences  of  the  vengeance  of 
a  great  boss.  Whoever  the  next  president,  he 
must  expect  every  appointment  and  every  dis¬ 
missal  to  be  examined  by  the  facts  at  hand  in 
the  various  communities;  he  will  not,  un¬ 
criticised, “  remove  and  appoint  according  to 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


175 


his  best  Judgment.”  He  will  not  be  treated  as 
an  all-wise,  all-beneficent  dictator,  but  as  a 
president  subject,  from  the  very  fact  of  having 
been  successful  in  getting  elected,  to  many  en¬ 
tangling  alliances,  and  as,  therefore,  a  proper 
subject  for  vigilant  watchfulness.  If  he  hob¬ 
nobs  with  Quays  and  Gormans,  or  if  he  wears 
the  imperial  robes  while  they  parcel  out  the 
spoils  of  conquest,  the  wrath  of  his  fellow-citi¬ 
zens  will  fall  upon  him  in  the  same  increasing 
proportion  that  it  fell  upon  President  Harri¬ 
son’s  for  his  alliance  with  Quay,  over  what 
fell  upon  President  Cleveland  for  his  alliance 
with  Gorman. 

FOURTH  REPORT 
Of  the  Special  Committee  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League. 

REMOVALS  UPON  SECRET  CHARGES. 

To  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Civil 
Service  Reform  League : 

Your  special  committee  appointed  to  in¬ 
quire  into  the  condition  of  the  federal  service 
and  the  operation  of  the  reform  law,  would  re¬ 
spectfully  submit  the  following  report  as  to 
the  system  of  removals  of  presidential  post¬ 
masters  upon  secret  charges: 

Out  of  356  answers  received  to  our  questions 
whether  or  not  any  cause  for  removal  was  given 
to  the  man  removed,  it  appeared  that  in  only 
47  cases  was  such  cause  assigned,  in  10  cases 
the  matter  was  disputed,  and  in  299  cases  it 
appeared,  from  uneontradicted  statements,  that 
the  incumbent  was  removed  without  any  cause 
being  given  for  his  removal.  In  a  very  large 
number  of  cases  he  solicited  information  from 
the  post-office  department  as  to  the  charaeter 
of  the  charges;  but  this  information  was  al¬ 
most  invariably  refused.  If  he  ever  learned 
what  the  charges  were,  he  learned  it  by  private 
inquiry  from  other  sources,  generally  from 
heresay  and  rumor  merely.  In  many  instances 
the  new  appointee,  in  answer  to  our  inquiry  as 
to  the  causes  of  the  removal,  while  declining  i 
to  state  these  causes  himself,  refers  us  to  writ¬ 
ten  charges  on  file  in  the  department.  As  Mr. 
Wanamaker  tells  us  that  “  all  papers  in  ap¬ 
pointment  cases  have  invariably  been  deemed  j 
privileged  and  confidential  with  the  depart-  j 
ment,”  and  as  the  postmasters  themselves  are 
refused  access  to  the  charges  upon  which  they  | 
are  removed,  but  little  can  be  done  to  lift  the  ' 
veil  which  conceals  these  secret  accusations. 

The  following  instances  are  submitted. 

William  Wilson  writes  in  regard  to  his  re¬ 
moval  from  the  post-office  at  Chadron,  Neb.: 

I  immediately  wrote  President  Harrison  that  I  only 
asked  the  privilege  and  right  of  an  American  citi¬ 
zen— that  is,  to  defend  myself ;  that,  if  there  were 
any  charges  against  me,  I  would  like  to  have  an  op¬ 
portunity  to  answer  them.  In  reply  I  received  the 
following  (copy) : 

"Ur.  William  Wilson,  Chadron,  Neb.: 

“Dear  Sir — The  President  directs  me  to  acknowl¬ 
edge  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  and  to  inform  you 
that  it  has  been  referred  to  the  Hon.  Postmaster-Gen¬ 
eral,  to  whom  all  further  communications  upon  the 
subject  should  be  addressed. 

"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

“Elijah  W.  Halford,  Private  Secretary.” 


I  was  never  able  to  hear  from  the  Hon.  Postmaster- 
General  or  any  one  else. 

J  as.  A.  McKenna,  postmaster  at  Long  Island 
City,  N.  Y.,  was  removed  and  no  cause  stated. 
On  Sept.  6, 1889,  he  wrote  to  the  first  assistant 
postmaster-general  as  follows : 

United  States  Post-office.  I 

Long  Island  City, Queens  Co., State  of  New  York.  >- 
September  6, 1889.  J 
Hon.  J.  S.  Clarkson,  First  Assistant  Postmaster- General, 

Washington,  D.  C. : 

De.vr  Sir — In  the  New  York  Tribune  of  August  27 
there  is  quoted  an  interview  with  you.  in  which  you 
are  made  to  .say  that  “the  department  was  incon¬ 
stant  receipt  of  complaints  against  Postmaster  Mc¬ 
Kenna,  some  of  them  being  of  a  serious  character, 
and  clearly  proving  careless  management  of  the 
office. 

Inasmuch  as  the  President  has  seen  fit  to  remove 
me  from  my  position  as  postmaster  of  Long  Island 
City,  these  charges  will  be  a  serious  injury  and 
drawback  to  me  in  any  business  I  may  now  be 
obliged  to  take  up,  and,  as  I  am  not  conscious  of  any 
dereliction  of  duty,  I  respectfully  request  that  I  may 
be  allowed  toin.spect  the  charges  referred  to,  or  may 
be  allowed  to  have  a  copy  thereof,  in  order  that  I 
may  submit  an  answer  to  the  same,  not  hoping  for 
retention  in  office,  but  to  clear  my  future  from  a 
cloud  that  might  otherwise  restover  it.  I  have  never 
heard  of  any  charges  against  me,  except  sis  stated  in 
the  above  interview  ;  and  I  assume  it  is  not  the  in¬ 
tention  or  desire  of  the  President  to  have  me  leave 
my  office  under  unfounded  charges. 

Very  respectfully, 

Jas.  a.  McKenna, 
Postmaster  L.  1.  City. 

The  only  answer  he  ever  received  to  his 
communication  was  the  letter  of  which  the 
following  copy  was  sent  to  us: 

Post-office  Department.  1 

Office  of  the  I 

First  Assistant  Postmaster-General,  f 

Washington,  Sept.  7, 1889.  J 

Dear  Sir— In  the  absence  of  the  First  Asfsistant 
Postmaster-General,  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge 
your  letter  of  the  6th  inst.,  which  will  receive  his  at¬ 
tention  on  his  return,  in  about  a  week. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Coker  Clarkson,  Private  Secretary. 
Jas.  a.  McKenna,  E.sq.,  Postmaster,  Long  Island 

City,  N.  Y. 

Elijah  Ratnour,  former  postmaster,  of 

Weeping  Water,  Neb.,  wrote  to  the  assistant 
postmaster-general,  asking  the  cause  of  his 
removal,  of  which  he  had  not  been  informed. 
The  following  is  sent  to  us  by  him  as  a  copy 
of  the  answer  received  : 

Yours  of  Nov.  23, 1889,  received,  asking  the  cause  of 
your  removal.  When  your  successor  receives  his 
commission,  turn  the  office  over  to  him  without  fur¬ 
ther  notice.  Yours  truly, 

J.  S.  Clarkson,  First  Assistant  P.  G. 

Mr.  Butler,  his  successor,  informs  us  that 
the  causes  assigned  for  Mr.  Ratnour’s  removal 
“  are  on  file  with  the  President.” 

Jacob  Van  Riper  was  postmaster  at  Ruther¬ 
ford,  N.  J.  He  was  removed,  and  wrote  to  the 
President  asking  what  charges,  if  any,  had 
been  preferred  against  him.  The  receipt  of 
his  letter  was  acknowledged  by  the  President’s 
private  secretary  on  July  10,  1889,  and  he  was 
informed  that  it  had  been  referred  to  the  post¬ 
master-general.  He  obtained  no  further  in¬ 
formation  as  to  the  cause  of  his  removal. 

Henry  S.  Farnum  was  removed  from  the 
post-office  at  Uxbridge,  Mass.,  on  November 
20,  1889,  as  he  understood,  upon  the  report  of 
Inspector  Stoddard,  and  his  successor,  Crysis 
T.  Scott,  was  appointed  by  recommendation  of 
Congressman  Walker.  Judge  A.  A.  Putnam 


wrote  to  the  postmaster-general  as  follows: 
“  I  do  very  respectfully  request  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  that  Mr.  Farnum  be  permitted  to  know’ 
for  what  specific  cause  or  causes  his  removal 
from  office  was  recommended,  and,  to  the  end 
that  justice  be  done  him,  and  the  state  of  facts 
bearing  upon  the  matter  of  his  removal  be 
made  apparent  to  the  people  of  this  town,  he 
should  be  permitted  to  meet  whatever  charges 
may  have  been  made  impugning  his  integrity 
or  competency.”  No  information  was  fur¬ 
nished. 

D.  W.  Pratt,  postmaster  at  Farmington,  Me., 
removed  Dec.  18,  1889,  writes:  “I  wrote  the 
Postmaster-General  last  December,  asking  him 
what  law  I  had  violated.  He  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  my  letter,  but  has  never  an¬ 
swered  it.” 

Harry  C.  Evans  was  removed  as  postmaster 
at  Bloomfield,  la.,  and  when  Congressman 
Walter  J.  Hays  inquired  on  his  behalf  the 
reasons  for  the  removal,  an  answer  is  returned 
of  which  Mr.  Evans  sends  us  the  following 
copy : 

Post-offtce  Department, 

Office  of  the  First  Assistant  Postmaster-General, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  Feb.  3, 1890. 

My  Dear  Sir— In  response  to  your  letter  of  Janu¬ 
ary  30,  asking  to  be  advised  “wbat,  if  any,  charges 
were  made  against  H.  C.  Evans,  late  postmaster  at 
Bloomfield,  la.,  as  basis  of  his  removal,”  I  would  say 
that  the  change  was  made  on  statements  of  reliable 
people  in  Bloomfield  for  the  improvement  of  the  pos¬ 
tal  service.  It  seemed  a  pretty  clear  case;  and  I 
would  be  glad  to  send  you  the  statements,  except  that 
they  were  made  by  private  citizens  and  in  a  confidential 
manner.  The  fact  that  Mr.  A.  H.  Fortune,  previous 
postmaster  in  the  same  city,  was  removed  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  before  the  expiration  of  his  term,  no 
doubt  had  something  to  do  with  the  eagerness  of  the 
republicans  in  Bloomfield  to  replace  Mr.  Evans  with 
a  republican  postmaster.  I  know  personally  the  per¬ 
sons  making  the  complaints,  and  was  satisfied  of  the 
truth  of  their  statements ;  and  I  presume  it  was  large¬ 
ly  on  my  a.ssurance  as  to  the  sufficiency  of  these 
statements  that  the  almost  invariable  rule  adopted 
by  the  present  administration  of  sending  an  inspec¬ 
tor  to  verify  such  statements  was  not  followed  in  this 
case.  Very  truly  yours, 

J.  S.  Clarkson,  F.  A.  Postmaster- General. 

Hon.  Walter  I.  Hayes,  M.  C.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

A.  H.  W.  Carpenter,  postmaster  at  New  Bed¬ 
ford,  Mass.,  addressed  to  the  postmaster-gen¬ 
eral  the  following  letter: 

New  Bedford,  Mass.,  April  26, 1889. 

Sir— Having  learned  through  Mr  L.  Le  B.  Holmes 
that  I  have  been  removed  from  the  office  of  postmas¬ 
ter  upon  charges  of  incompetency  and  inefficiency, 
made  by  Pay  Director  Gilbeit  E.  Thornton,  United 
States  Navy,  and  indorsed  by  Hon.  Charles  8.  Ran¬ 
dall,  and  realizing  that  there  is  no  just  ground  for 
such  a  charge,  I  would  most  respectfully  ask  that  the 
post-office  department  make  a  thorough  investiga¬ 
tion  of  the  ca.se,  that  I  may  have  an  opportunity  to 
exonerate  myself.  Very  respectfully, 

A.  W.  Carpenter. 

Hon.  Jno.  Wanamaker,  P.  M.  G.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

But  he  failed  to  obtain  this  opportunity. 
He  writes  to  your  committee  as  follows  in  re¬ 
spect  to  his  knowledge  of  the  cause  of  his 
removal : 

One  day  Mr.  Gilbert  E.  Thornton,  pay  director  in 
the  navy,  called  at  the  post-office  and  demanded 
that  his  letters  should  be  given  to  him  as  soon  as  the 
mail  arrived  in  the  morning,  i.  e.,  that  the  mail 
should  be  gone  through  with,  and  his  letters  given 
to  him  before  the  other  patrons  of  the  office  were 
served.  Now  the  morning  mail  brings  to  this  office 


176 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


from  two  thousand  to  four  thousand  letters  daily, 
and  1  have  known  it  to  go  as  high  as  fifty-five  hun- 
.dred. 

There  are  usually 'from  fifty  to  sixty  people  in  the 
lobby  upon  the  arrival  of  the  morning  mail,  waiting 
for  their  letters  to  be  boxed.  I  told  Mr.  Thornton  I 
could  not  go  through  the  mail  and  select  his  letters 
before  serving  the  rest  of  the  patrons,  but  that  as 
soon  as  the  mail  reached  the  office  it  would  he  dis¬ 
tributed  as  quickly  as  it  was  possible  to  do  it,  and 
that  then  he  should  have  his  mail. 

Mr.  L.  LeB.  Holmes,  of  the  law  firm  of  Stetson 
&  Green,  of  this  city,  called  upon  the  postmaster- 
general,  who  told  him  I  was  removed  upon  charges 
of  Incompetency  preferred  by  an  officer  of  the  navy, 
indorsed  by  Charles  S.  Randall,  representative  in 
congress  from  this  district.  He  declined  to  let  Mr. 
Holmes  see  the  charges,  but  I  learned  afterwards 
that  the  charge  made  by  Mr.  Thornton  was  Ineffl* 
ciency  in  not  handling  his  mail  properly  when  he 
was  in  New  Bedford,  the  same  being  government 
business.  I  know  of  no  other  charges  that  were 
brought  against  me. 

Mr.  L.  Le  B.  Holmes  who  was  a  member  of  the  re¬ 
publican  city  committee  of  New  Bedford,  wrote  as 
follows  to  the  postmaster-general  in  rekpect  to  his  re¬ 
refusal  to  investigate  this  removal :  “  The  investi¬ 

gation  asked  for  would  have  fully  shown  all  that  I 
represented  to  you,  and  the  groundlessness  of  the 
charges  against  Mr.  Carpenter. 

Yet  the  investigation  requested  was  not  granted, 
obviously  because  the  department  did  not  regard  it 
important  to  ascertain  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the 
charges  upon  which  it  had  removed  Mr.  Carpenter. 

As  a  republican  who  has  witnessed  the  whole  trans. 
action,  I  ought  to  and  do  feel  humiliated.  It  is  a  rev¬ 
elation  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  administration  of  my 
own  party. 

Its  platform  and  the  letter  of  acceptance  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  distinctly  promised  that  should  not 
be  done  which  I  have  seen  done  here  with  my  own 
eyes.  Nor  is  that  even  fairly  stating  it.  Not  only 
has  an  honest  and  efficient  public  otficer  been  dis¬ 
missed  from  the  service  on  a  charge  of  incompetcncy 
but  he  has  been  turned  out  of  office  under  a  cloud, 
and  denied  even  the  opportunity  of  proving  the 
utter  falsity  of  such  a  charge. 

If  this  is  the  spirit  of  civil  service  reform,  civil 
service  reform  should  be  denounced  by  all  honest 
men.  The  old  way  of  removing  an  official  because 
he  was  not  of  our  party  was  more  honest  and  de¬ 
cent. 

A  letter  addressed  to  the  new  postmaster, 
and  answered  by  him,  failed  to  elicit  any 
other  or  different  statement  of  the  facts  con¬ 
cerning  this  removal. 

William  H.  Greenhow,  removed  from  the 
office  of  postmaster  at  Hornellsville,  N.  Y.,  ad¬ 
dressed  the  post-office  department  on  the  3d  of 
December,  1889,  asking  if  any  charges  had 
been  filed  against  his  management  of  the  office. 
He  received  the  following  answer: 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Dec.  0, 1889. 

Sir— Yours  of  the  3d  inst.  relative  to  charges  against 
the  management  of  the  post-office  at  Hornellsville, 
Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  and  requesting  a  copy  of 
same,  has  been  received  and  placed  upon  the  files  of 
this  office.  In  reply,  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  it  is 
not  the  custom  of  the  department  to  furnish  post 
masters  with  copies  of  charges  against  them,  except 
in  cases  provided  by  section  25,  page  727,  of  the  “Offi¬ 
cial  Postal  Guide”  for  1889. 

Very  respectfully,  J.  S.  Clarkson, 

F.  A.  Postmaster  General. 

[The  section  referred  to  is  found  among  “Sugges¬ 
tions  to  the  Public  on  Postal  Subjects,”  and  contains 
the  following:  “Copies  of  papers  on  the  files  of  the 
department  will  not  be  furnished  on  the  application 
of  individuals,  except  in  cases  where  a  suit  is  com 
menced  and  pending,  involving  the  substance  of  the 
paper  or  document  itself,  and  then  only  on  the  cer 
tificate  of  counsel  showing  that  such  papers  or 
documents  are  material  as  evidence  in  the  tiial  or 
preparation  for  trial  of  the  cause,  and  stating  wherein 
such  materiality  consists,  with  such  other  proof  of 
materiality  as  may  be  required  by  the  postmaster- 
general.”] 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  by  the  rules  of  the 
department,  as  interpreted  by  Mr.  Clarkson, 
no  copies  of  charges  can  be  furnished  to  the 
men  whose  removal  is  contemplated  or  per¬ 
haps  already  made. 

The  following  letter  is  from  the  postmaster- 
general  in  regard  to  the  cause  of  the  removal 
of  Mr.  Langham  as  postmaster  at  Hawley : 

Office  of  the  Postmastek-Genf.ual,  \ 
Washington,  D.  C.,  Feb.  1,  1890.  j 

Sir— In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  29th  ultimo,  I 
have  to  advise  you  that,  according  to  the  best  in¬ 
formation  received  at  the  department,  a  change  in 
the  office  of  postmaster  at  Hawley,  Pa.,  was  made  in 
the  interest  of  better  mail  service. 

Very  respectfully, 

John  Wanamaker,  Postmaster  General. 

Mr.  P.  j.  Langham,  Hawley,  Pa. 

James  DeLaney  was  removed  as  postmaster 
at  Orlando,  Fla.;  and  if  any  charges  were 
made  against  his  administration,  he  was  una¬ 
ble  to  find  out  what  they  were.  His  successor, 
Mr.  Ingram  Fletcher,  writes :  “  There  were 
charges  preferred  against  Mr.  DeLaney  by 
certain  republicans;  but  what  they  were  I 
know  not,  as  I  never  saw  them.  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Ferguson  and  I  believe  in  civil  service  re¬ 
form ;  and,  feeling  like  most  every  other  citi¬ 
zen,  that  Mr.  DeLaney  had  made  an  efficient 
officer,  we  asked  that  he  be  retained  until  his 
time  expired,  unless  he  had  violated  some 
postal  law.  Mr.  Ferguson  asked  to  see  the 
charges,  but  they  were  not  shown  to  him.” 

Mr.  H.  E.  Bundy  was  removed  from  the 
post-office  at  Oneonta,  N.  Y.,  no  notice  being 
given  to  him  of  any  charges  preferred,  and  he 
knew  of  none  until  his  removal  from  office. 

Mr.  George  E.  Bachelder,  the  post  office  in¬ 
spector,  who  had  inspected  his  office  only  a 
few  weeks  before  the  removal,  writes  to  him 
a  letter  of  which  he  sends  us  the  following 
copy : 

Post-Office  Department,  'i 
Office  of  Post-Office  Inspector,  J- 
Albany,  N.  Y.,.  June  2,  1889.  J 
Mr.  H.  E.  Bundy,  Oneonta,  N.  F. : 

Friend  Bundy— I  am  surprised  that  there  is  a 
change  in  postmaster  at  your  post-office.  Supposed 
you  would  stay  as  long  as  any  one  differing  from  the 
present  administration. 

You  have  my  best  wishes  for  success  In  whatever 
you  venture,  as  I  am  sure,  from  the  executive  ability 
shown  by  you  in  the  management  of  the  post-office, 
you  are  entitled  to  success  in  any  business  that  you 
undertake.  Yours  respectfully, 

George  E.  Bachelder,  P.  O.  I. 

The  tendency  of  political  intrigues  for  ap¬ 
pointments  and  removals  to  perpetuate  them¬ 
selves  can  not  be  better  illustrated  than  by  the 
case  of  the  post-office  at  Wyoming,  Ill.  In 
this  case  the  incumbent  was  removed,  and  no 
cause  assigned,  so  far  as  he  knew.  This  fact 
being  communicated  to  Augustus  G.  Ham¬ 
mond,  his  successor,  Mr.  Hammond  answers 
that  the  cause  was  the  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Thomas  secured  his  own  appointment,  being 
the  result  of  a  political  intrigue.  Now,  if 
this  proceeding  is  to  be  used  in  like  manner 
against  Mr.  Hammond  upon  the  next  change 
of  administration,  it  is  pretty  evident  that  the 
removals  upon  charges  and  counter-charges 
could  go  on  indefinitely,  and  this  quite  with¬ 
out  reference  to  the  fact  whether  the  officehad 
been  administered  efficiently  or  not. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Middleton,  former  postmaster  at 


West  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  slates  that  no  cause  was 
assigned  for  his  removal : 

My  successor  was  asked  to  make  a  charge,  but  an¬ 
swered,  no  charge  could  be  made  against  me,  as  I 
ran  the  office  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people. 

To  this  his  successor,  Julius  Klumpp,  an¬ 
swered  : 

I  did  not  use  my  influence  to  have  the  said  gentle¬ 
man  removed,  or  was  asked  to  prefer  charges,  or  that 
I  .said  no  charges  could  be  made,  as  he  ran  the  effice 
to  the  .satisfaction  of  the  people.  How  could  I  say 
such  a  thing?  Because  we  are  aware,  and  the  good 
book  says,  mankind  is  not  infallible,  consequently 
charges  could  always  be  made  if  required. 

Your  committee  can  not  too  strongly  ex¬ 
press  its  reprobation  of  the  continuance  of 
this  system  of  removals  upon  secret  charges 
by  unknown  accusers  without  opportunity  for 
defence,  explanation,  or  denial.  It  is  inqui¬ 
sitional  in  its  character,  and  totally  incon¬ 
sistent  with  republican  institutions  and  with 
our  present  civilization.  It  encourages  false¬ 
hood  and  slander,  which  are  thus  protected  by 
the  veil  of  official  secrecy,  and  the  confi.scation 
of  the  office  for  the  benefit  of  the  informer  com¬ 
pletes  the  injustice.  No  efficient  civil  service 
can  be  procured  until  such  a  system  is  utterly 
overthrown.  It  leads  to  the  appointment  of  the 
men  who  are  the  most  unfit  to  carry  on  the 
business  of  the  government,  the  slanderer  and 
maligner  receiving  the  place  as  a  reward  for 
his  evil  doings.  This  system  could  easily  be 
abolished  if  the  inspector  or  the  department, 
previous  to  the  removal,  should  be  required 
to  acquaint  the  officer  accused  with  the  nature 
of  the  charge  against  him  and  hear  what  he 
had  to  say.  If  such  a  vast  number  of  re¬ 
movals  were  not  made  for  purely  political 
reasons,  this  .would  not  be  by  any  means  an 
impossible  or  even  a  difficult  task.  It  is  only 
because  the  energies  of  the  department  and  of 
the  inspectors  are  exhausted  in  an  improper  and 
immoral  effort  to  turn  men  out  without  cause 
for  political  reasons  that  they  might  find  it 
difficult  to  give  the  necessary  time  to  an  in¬ 
vestigation  of  charges,  where  publicity  would 
be  some  guarantee  that  they  were  honestly 
made. 

It  would  be  just  as  absurd  to  expect  a  judge 
to  decide  a  case  properly  when  he  heard  nothing 
but  the  plaintiff’s  statement  as  to  expect  remov¬ 
als  to  be  properly  made  under  such  a  system  as 
this.  Your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that 
there  is  no  evil  in  the  spoils  system  as  in¬ 
herently  wicked  as  this,  whereby  both  the 
livelihood  and  reputation  of  innocent  men 
are  liable  to  be  overthrown  by  secret  and  false 
accusations. 

In  connection  with  these  removals  upon 
secret  charges,  it  may  be  well  to  recall  the  ex¬ 
pressions  made  by  Mr.  Harrison  in  the  senate 
upon  this  subject  in  his  speech  of  March  26, 
1886,  as  reported  in  the  Gongressionat,  Record, 
vol.  7,  No.  3,  page  2,790,  et  seq.  In  reference 
to  executive  nominations  then  pending  in  the 
senate,  he  said : 

Let  me  say  now  that,  if  the  prompt  and  just 
demand  which  was  made  in  many  cases  by 
the  incumbentsof  theseoffices,  when  they  were 
suspended  under  charges,  to  be  advised  of  the 
character  of  those  charges  and  to  have  an  op- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


177 


portuuity,  however  little  it  might  influence  the 
mind  of  the  executive,  to  place  on  file  their 
ample  refutation  of  the  slanders  and  lies  that 
had  crept  into  the  departments  against  them — 
if  that  dei*  and  had  been  allowed,  1  must  be¬ 
lieve  that  most  of  the  cases  that  are  held  up 
before  the  senate  would  have  been  withdrawn 
or  have  gone  through.  .  .  . 

In  many  of  these  cases  it  leaked  out  in  the 
community  where  the  officer  resided  that 
charges  had  been  filed  against  him.  Some 
base  fellows  had  been  used  for  that  unholy 
office,  and,  being  advised  that  charges  had 
been  sent,  the  appeal  was  made  to  heads  of  the 
different  departments,  and,  I  believe,  in  many 
cases  to  the  President  himself,  to  be  advised  of 
the  character  of  the  charges  made.  .  .  .  Here 
was  an  accusation,  a  hearing,  a  sentence  and 
an  execution  without  the  accused  being  ad¬ 
vised  of  the  character  of  the  charges  against 
him.  .  .  . 

What  is  it  these  people  ask?  An  honorable 
discharge  after  honorable  service.  That  is  all. 
They  ask  that  they  may  go  out  of  the  offices, 
to  the  duties  of  which  they  have  devoted  them¬ 
selves  with  conscientious  fidelity,  with  an  hon¬ 
orable  discharge.  .  .  . 

As  I  shall  show  presently,  democratic  news¬ 
papers  and  many  democratic  congressmen  do 
not  approve  of  the  policy  that  stimulates  and 
invites  charges  against  the  characters  of  men 
and  women  and  hides  these  charges  from  the 
light  of  day.  That  is  the  issue;  and,  great  as 
the  constitutional  questions  involved  here 
may  be,  it  is  practically  a  greater  question 
whether  tl is  government  in  its  civil  service 
shall  be  administered  as  in  the  Star  Chamber, 
where  accusations  may  be  lodged  and  heard 
and  decided  without  the  knowledge  of  the  man 
whose  interests  are  to  be  affected  and  whose 
character  is  to  be  blackened.  .  .  .Will  you 
unite  here  in  support  of  a  proposition  which 
denies  to  a  republican  removed  knowledge  of 
the  charges  filed  against  him  in  a  public  de¬ 
partment  of  this  government?  .  .  .  My  col¬ 
league  (Mr.  Voorhees)  arraigned  the  senate 
because,  he  said,  we  were  condemning  the 
attorney-general  unheard.  .  .  .  What  does  he 
think,  then,  of  these  trials  that  have  been  go¬ 
ing  on  from  day  to  day  in  the  secrecy  of  the 
postmaster-general’s  office,  with  closed  doors? 
These  charges,  by  the  thousand,  are  piled  upon 
his  table,  and  he  assorts  them  over,  and,  with¬ 
out  letting  the  persons  accused  know  or  have 
any  intimation  that  they  are  accused  at  all, 
he  deprives  them  of  office  and,  so  far  as  such 
judgment  can,  of  their  good  reputation.  .  .  . 

My  colleague  said  yesterday  that  the  first 
feeling  of  the  masses  was  for  fair  play.  .  .  . 
Does  he  think  this  is  fair  play?  In  every 
Anglo-Saxon  heart,  and  especially  in  the 
western  heart,  among  the  frontiersmen,  who 
always  believed  in  a  fair  fight,  there  is  that 
imbedded  sense  of  justice  and  fair  play  which 
resents  and  denounces  these  nnfair  methods. 

Mr.  Harrison  quotes  with  approval  the  fol¬ 
lowing  extract  from  the  Freeman,  an  inde 
pendent  paper  at  Indianapolis  : 

A  place  is  wanted  for  a  camp-follower.  Of 
course,  it  must  be  forthcoming.  But  Vilas 
has  said  that  no  one  will  be  removed  unless 
charges  be  preferred.  So  some  conviet  or  gut- 
ter-.snipe  is  hired  to  blacken  the  character  of 
the  man  who  is  unfortunate  enough  to  hold 
the  coveted  place.  When  he  is  bounced,  he 
tries  to  find  out  what  is  the  reason  for  it;  and 
he  is  told  that  he  can  not  be  allowed  to  see  the 
charges  or  to  be  faced  by  his  accuser.  He 
goes  out  under  a  cloud  of  suspicion.  We  say 
this  is  outrageous.  It  is  one  of  the  fundamen¬ 
tal  rules  of  Anglo-Saxon  liberty  that  every 
man  shall  be  entitled  to  a  fair  trial.  And 
this  swearing  away  the  character  of  American 
citizens  can  not  be  apologized  for  by  the  warm¬ 
est  friend  of  the  administration. 


Mr.  Harrison  then  refers  to  the  case  of  the 
postmaster  at  Shelby ville,  as  follows: 

Last  summer  he  was  suspended  from  office. 
It  was  understood  through  the  town  that  some 
charges  had  been  presented  against  him.  The 
men  who  made  them  did  not  disclose  them¬ 
selves,  and  he  could  gather  at  home  no  inti¬ 
mation  as  to  their  character.  Whether  they 
affected  his  personal  integrity,  whether  they 
charged  a  mal-administration  of  the  office,  or 
whether  he  was  simply  charged  with  being  a 
republican,  he  could  not  tell.  He  sat  down 
and  addressed  the  postmaster-general  a  letter, 
asking,  in  the  most  respectful  way,  to  be  ad¬ 
vised  of  the  character  of  the  charges  against 
him.  He  got  no  answer.  Need  I  add  that? 
Who  did  get  an  answer?  Failing  to  get  an 
answer  from  the  postmaster-general,  he  ad¬ 
dressed  me  this  letter  [here  Mr.  Harrison 
quotes  the  letter,  asking  for  a  copy  of  the 
charges  preferred  against  him,  and  says]:  Up¬ 
on  that  letter  I  wrote,  on  the  9th  day  of  July, 
1885,  this  indorsement:  “Respectfully  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  Honorable  Postmaster-General. 
I  hope  you  will  not  deny  the  request  of  Mr. 
Bone  to  be  advised  of  the  character  of  any 
charges  filed  against  him,  and  to  have  an  op¬ 
portunity  to  meet  them.  The  slip  he  encloses 
from  the  democratic  newspaper  shows  how 
good  an  ofiBcer  he  has  made;  and  his  good 
civil  record,  with  a  long,  gallant  service  in 
the  war  for  the  union,  entitles  him,  I  think,  to 
a  favorable  consideration  of  his  request,”  and 
adds  :  Not  only  this  soldier’s  appeal  to  know', 
but  my  appeal  in  his  behalf,  went  unanswered 
from  the  post-office,  and  remain  unanswered  to 
this  day.  I  want  to  know  if  there  is  a  demo¬ 
cratic  senator  here  who  approves  of  that  sort 
of  treatment  of  a  citizen.  I  w'ant  to  know  if 
there  is  one  who,  much  more,  approves  of  that 
sort  of  treatment  of  a  man  who  for  four  years 
fought  for  his  country  in  the  hour  of  its  press¬ 
ing  danger.  If  the  democratic  party  means  to 
unite  upon  this  issue  and  in  defense  of  these 
practices,  then  I  welcome  the  issue. 

Mr.  Harrison  then  cites  the  case  of  Isabelle 
Dela  Hunt,  somewhat  similar  in  character,  as 
well  as  a  number  of  others,  and  says : 

I  do  lift  up  a  hearty  prayer  that  we  may  never 
have  a  President  who  will  not  pursue  and  compel 
his  cabinet  officers  to  pursue  a  civil  service  policy 
pure  and  simple  upon  a  Just  basis,  allowing  men 
accused  to  be  heard,  and  deciding  against  them 
only  upon  competent  proof  and  fairly,  either 
have  that  kind  of  a  civil  service,  or,  for  God’s 
sake  let  us  have  that  other  frank  and  bold,  if 
brutal,  method  of  turning  men  and  women  out 
simply  for  political  opinion.  Let  us  have  one 
or  the  other.  They  will  not  mingle.  It  was 
the  conflict  of  these  currents — the  President 
on  one  side,  endeavoring  to  be  responsive  to 
his  self-imposed  pledges,  and  the  pressure  of 
his  party  on  the  other — that  has  driven  those 
who  were  at  the  heads  of  the  departments,  in 
the  attempt  to  preserve  and  maintain  the  Pres¬ 
ident’s  professions  and  at  the  same  time  to 
give  to  the  hungry  who  were  demanding  to  be 
fed, — it  was  an  attempt  to  reconcile  the  irre¬ 
concilable  that  has  brought  this  wretched 
condition  of  things  in  which  men  and  women 
are  condemned  without  a  hearing.  Let  us 
have  one  or  the  other,  pure  and  simple. 

It  seems  incredible  that  the  administration 
of  the  man  who  uttered  these  words  should 
perpetuate  this  system  of  removals  upon  secret 
charges.  Yet  such  is  the  fact. 

Your  committee  concur  most  heartily  with 
the  expressions  quoted  above.  They  furnish 
the  best  standard  of  criticism  possible  of  the 
system  of  removals  which  is  still  practiced  in 
the  post-office  department.  It  can  never  be 
unjust  to  the  President  to  judge  him  by  his 


own  standard  of  duty,  by  his  own  conceptions 
of  justice  and  fair  play.  The  fittest  condem¬ 
nation  of  his  own  acts  is  found  in  his  own 
words.  Nor  will  it  do  to  shift  the  responsibil¬ 
ity  from  the  chief  executive  to  the  heads  of 
these  departments.  Mr.  Harrison  has  told  us 
why  it  can  not  be  so  evaded  :  “  I  do  lift  up  a 
hearty  prayer  that  we  may  never  have  a  Pres¬ 
ident  who  will  not  either  pursue  or  compel  his 
cabinet  officers  to  pursue  a  civil  service  policy 
pure  and  simple,  .  .  .  or,”  etc.  It  is  not  the 
postmaster-general  and  his  first  assistant  who, 
in  the  last  analysis,  is  responsible.  It  is  the 
President,  who  appointed  Wanamaker  and 
Clarkson,  and  who  permitted  these  things  to 
be.  Respectfully  submitted, 

Wm.  Dudley  Foulke,  Chairman. 

Chas.  J.  Bonaparte. 

Richard  H.  Dana. 

Wayne  MacVeagh. 

Sherman  S.  Rogers. 

THE  CAUSE. 

The  President  will  do  well  to  heed  a 
staunch  republican  paper  like  the  Minneapolis 
Journal,  which  warns  him  thus  : 

“  The  President  appears  to  have  been  captured  by 
the  looting  element  from  the  time  he  got  comforta¬ 
bly  seated  in  the  white  house.  His  appointees  for 
postmaster-general  and  assistant-postmaster  were 
extremely  hostile  to  the  reform,  and  they  have  ig¬ 
nored  the  law  and  defled  it  ever  since  they  went 
into  office.  The  administration  has  made  a  com¬ 
plete  failure  of  itself  so  far  as  the  civil  service  reform 
pledges  are  concerned.  This  failure  is  to  be  deeply 
regretted.  Every  such  failure  hurts  the  republican 
party.  It  has  declared  for  civil  service  reform.  It 
must  place  an  administration  in  power  which  is 
brave  enough  to  execute  that  reform.” 

In  1888  the  people  of  the  United  States 
trusted  us  with  their  political  power.  Now, 
the  first  power  was  the  power  to  appoint  post¬ 
masters  and  all  the  various  officers  of  this 
great  government  of  ours ;  and  that  power, 
instead  of  being  a  strength  to  any  party,  is  a 
weakness  to  any  party,  and  upon  that  basis 
nearly  all  the  public  men  who  fall  in  public 
life  by  the  w'ayside  fall  by  the  exercise  of  pat¬ 
ronage.  I  say  to  you  now,  if  I  had  the  power 
I  would  not  allow  a  member  of  congress  to 
recommend  any  man  for  any  office  whatever. 
I  would  take  from  your  political  agents  all 
the  power  that  is  vested  in  them  by  custom — 
not  by  law;  I  would  take  from  them  all  that 
power,  and  I  would  not  even  allow  a  member 
of  congress  to  recommend  postmasters,  because 
it  is  an  element  of  weakness ;  it  weakens  the 
member  of  the  house  and  senate,  and  it  makes 
a  cause  of  constant  trouble  and  quarrel,  and 
I  think  the  time  will  soon  come,  and  the  re¬ 
publican  party  will  be  the  agent  in  that  great 
reform,  when  a  law  will  be  passed  separating 
entirely  the  appointing  power  from  the  law¬ 
making  power. — Senator  Sherman  at  Pittsburgh, 
October,  1S90, 

Mr.  Leonidas  F.  Houk,  of  Tennessee,  is  one 
of  the  most  aggressive  republican  opponents 
of  reform  in  the  civil  service,  and  in  the  de¬ 
bate  of  last  winter  upon  the  appropriation  for 
the  commission,  he  made  one  of  the  most  ve- 


178 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


hement  speeches  in  denunciation  of  the  re¬ 
formed  system.  He  held  in  substance  that  the 
entire  public  service  should  be  regarded  as  the 
lawful  plunder  of  the  victorious  party. 

Mr.  Houck’s  majority  two  years  ago  was 
more  than  13,000.  This  year  he  has  been  re¬ 
elected  by  about  5,000  majority,  and  in  re¬ 
sponse  to  the  question,  what  had  cause!  the 
republican  disaster,  he  said  that  it  was  not 
the  McKinley  bill,  which  was  “  an  element  of 
strength  instead  of  weakness,”  and  is  the  kind 
of  bill  which  the  republican  party  will  never 
abandon,  nor  was  it  the  force  bill,  nor  any¬ 
thing  that  congress  has  done,  but,  he  said,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  report,  the  defeat  ‘‘  is  princi¬ 
pally  attributable  to  the  matter  of  offices  and 
dissatisfaction  at  the  distribution  of  patron¬ 
age,  a  dissatisfaction  that  always  follows  a 
change  of  administration  from  one  party  to 
another.” 

Of  course  the  dissatisfaction  which  defeats 
an  administration  party  is  within  the  party, 
not  in  the  opposition  party.  Mr.  Honk  there¬ 
fore  holds  that  it  was  republican  disgust,  not 
the  repudiation  of  republican  policy  by  the 
country,  which  led  to  defeat.  His  remark 
implies  that  if  the  administration,  by  its  dis¬ 
tribution  of  spoils,  had  not  disgusted  republi¬ 
cans  so  that  they  angrily  voted  against  them¬ 
selves,  they  would  have  carried  the  election. 
In  other  words,  the  effort  to  strengthen  the 
party  by  spoils  has  overwhelmed  it  with  the 
greatest  dis.aster  in  its  annals.  There  could 
not  be  a  stronger  argument  for  civil  se.vice 
reform  than  this  statement  of  a  bitter  enemy. 
— Harper’s  Weekly,  Nov.  22. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

Allotments  thus  acquired,  mutually  engaged  such  as 
accepted  them  to  depend  them;  and  as  they  alt  sprang 
from  the  same  right  of  conquest,  no  part  could  subsist 
independent  of  the  whole;  wherefore  all  givers  as  well  as 
receivers  were  mutually  boimd  to  defend  each  other's 
possessions.  Every  receiver  of  lands,  or  feuda¬ 

tory,  was  therefore  bound  when  called  upon  by  his  bene¬ 
factor,  or  immediate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to  do  atl  in 
his  power  to  defend  him.  Such  benefactor  or  lord  was 
likewise  subordinate  to  and  under  the  command  of  his 
immediate  benefactor  and  superior;  and  so  upwards  to 
the  prince  or  general  himself;  and  the  several  lords  were 
also  reciprocally  bound,  in.  their  respective  gradations,  to 
protect  the  possessions  they  had  given.  Thus  the  feudal 
connection  was  established,  a  proper  military  subjection 
was  naturally  introduced  and  an  army  of  feudatories 
was  always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually  prepared  to  mus¬ 
ter.  .  .  — Blackstone. 

— A  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  first 
New  York  district,  which  includes  the  city  of 
Brooklyn,  has  always  been  known  to  exercise 
an  enormous  political  influence.  He  is  in  a 
position  to  hold  a  rod  of  iron  over  the  head  of 
every  liquor  dealer  or  cigar  manufacturer  or 
retailer  whom  he  may  for  any  reason  desire  to 
injure.  Through  this  influence  the  liquor 
dealers  especially  have  been  forced  to  contrib¬ 
ute  both  time  and  money  to  local  politics. 

No  w  they  are  being  forced  to  elect  William 
C.  Wallace  to  congress  in  the  third  district. 
Positive  proof  of  this  became  public  yesterday, 
together  with  a  letter  signed  by  Ernst  Nathan, 
the  United  States  internal  revenue  collector, 
copies  of  which  had  been  sent  to  every  liquor 
dealer  and  cigar  manufacturer  in  town.  Na¬ 
than  is  the  man  who  recently  showed  himself 


to  be  the  local  republican  “boss,”  and  in  that 
capacity  forced  the  renomination  of  Wallace 
for  congress  and  dictated  the  nomination  of 
every  other  candidate  on  the  republican  gen¬ 
eral  ticket. 

During  the  past  week  it  became  evident 
that  Mr.  William  J.  Coombs,  the  democratic 
candidate  for  congress  in  the  third  district, 
was  making  a  great  fight.  It  has  been  known 
for  several  days  that  Nathan  tried  to  get  up 
a  deal  by  which  votes  for  Courtney  should  be 
given  for  votes  for  Wallace.  This  was  re¬ 
fused,  the  democrats  claiming  that  they  could 
win  without  any  trading.  This  led  Nathan  to 
resort  to  the  influence  of  his  office,  and  he  had 
letters  like  the  following  printed  : 

Brooklyn,  Oct.  25. 1890. 

Dear  Sir— The  Hon.  William  C.  Wallace  having 
been  renominated  for  member  of  congress  for  the 
third  district,  comprising  the  seventh,  thirteenth, 
nineteenth,  twentieth,  twenty-first  and  twenty-third 
wards,  and  being  very  much  interested  in  his  re- 
election,  I  would  deem  it  a  personal  favor  if  you 
will  interest  yourself  among  your  friends  by  advo¬ 
cating  his  election.  Respectfully  yours, 

Ernst  Nathan. 

This  was  regarded  as  likely  to  be  thrown 
into  the  waste  basket,  so  two  days  later  Nathan 
had  the  following  official  stamp  placet!  in  the 
left-hand  corner  of  each  letter: 

“Ernst  Nathan,  Collector  Internal  Revenue. 
Oct.  27, 1890.  First  District,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.” 

Then  he  sent  these  “  orders  ” — for  that’s  the 
light  in  which  they  have  been  regarded  by 
those  who  received  them — to  the  liquor  deal¬ 
ers  and  cigarmakers.  One  man  who  received 
the  above  took  it  to  the  managers  of  Mr. 
Coombs’s  canvass  and  complained  about  being 
intimidated  in  such  a  manner. 

“This  is  nothing  but  intimidation,”  he  said, 
“  and  it  will  force  many  men  to  vote  for  Wal¬ 
lace.  This  fellow,  Nathan,  could  cause  us 
much  annoyance  by  hauling  us  up  on  every 
sligh  infraction  of  the  law.  His  deputies  gave 
an  example  of  what  could  be  done  recently 
when  they  extorted  bribes  from  liquor  dealers 
when  the  stamps  on  empty  beer  barrels  were 
found  to  have  been  torn  off.  There  are  many 
other  ways  in  which  Nathan  can  put  us  to 
trouble  and  expense,  and  this  circular  means 
that  he  will  do  it  if  we  vote  against  Wallace.” 

A  Times  reporter  saw  Collector  Nathan  yes¬ 
terday  and  obtained  from  him  a  confession 
that  the  above  letter  had  been  sent  out;  “but,” 
said  Nathan,  “I  sent  copies  only  to  my  per¬ 
sonal  friends.” 

“  Then  why  was  your  official  stamp  placed 
in  one  corner  two  days  after  th,j  letters  were 
printed  ?” 

“That  was  merely  to  identify  the  letter;  to 
show  where  it  came  from.  You  see,  some  of 
the  people  might  have  forgotten  me.” 

“  But  did  you  not  say  the  letters  were  sent 
only  to  personal  friends  and  were  intended  to 
be  from  Ernst  Nathan  and  not  from  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States  collector  of  internal  revenue?” 

“  Oh,  certainly,”  responded  Nathan  ;  “but, 
you  see,  people  may  have  forgotten  me.” 

“Have  you  not  many  personal  friends 
among  liquor  dealers  and  cigarmakers,  Mr. 
Nathan  ?” 

“  Yes.  I  am  a  manufacturer  of  cigars  my¬ 
self.” 

“  Well,  did  not  some  of  these  circulars  get 
to  at  least  a  few  of  those  personal  friends?” 

“  Perhaps  they  did,”  was  the  reply,  “  but  I 
don’t  know.” — Neio  York  Times,  Nov.  2. 

— Mr.  Samuel  Stratton,  who  is  president  of 
the  Union  of  State  Republican  Associations, 
announces  that  the  associations  each  have  a 
roster  which  shows  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  the  service  in  Washington.-  It  is  the 
intention  to  send  every  republican  voter  home 
for  election  day,  and  to  accept  subscriptions 
for  campaign  purposes.  The  clubs,  Mr.  Strat¬ 


ton  says,  are  picking  up  in  membership  very 
rapidly.  He  said  : 

“During  the  Cleveland  administration  they 
got  timid  and  left  us,  but  are  coming  back  in 
swarms  now.  At  present  the  Illinois,  Ohio, 
Kansas,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York  people  are  well  organized,  and  Con- 
nectient,  Maryland,  the  Carolinas,  Virginia, 
the  District  of  Columbia  and  Tennessee  are 
falling  into  line.  We  now  have  a  total  mem¬ 
bership  of  about  fourteen  hundred.  During 
the  Cleveland  administration  not  a  single  one 
of  these  clubs  kept  up  its  organization.  They 
were  afraid  to  take  an  active  part  in  politics, 
hut  recent  republican  successes,  and  especially 
Reed’s  boom,  have  entered  their  bones,  and 
they  now  want  to  crawl  under  the  canvas. 
The  mugwumps,  interlopers  and  half-breed 
fellows  are  bracing  up  and  declaring  them¬ 
selves.” — Boston  Post,  Sept.  16. 


— There  is  one  office-holder  in  Washington  B 
who  believes  thoroughly  in  the  spoils  system,  f 
His  name  is  Daniel  Grosvenor.  He  is  a  broth-  a 
er  of  the  Ohio  congressman  who  came  out  sec-  S 
ond-best  in  a  skirmish  with  Civil  Service  Com-  B 
missioner  Roosevelt  a  few  months  ago.  He  n 
held  office  in  the  treasury  department  under  * 
former  republican  administrations,  and  when  B 
President  Cleveland  came  in  he  was  allowed  9 
to  remain;  hut  about  three  years  ago  he  re-  *  ■ 
ceived  his  dismissal  for  a  breach  of  discipline,  » 
and  practiced  as  an  attorney  till  President 
Harrison  was  inaugurated,  when  he  soon  found 
his  way  back  to  his  old  place. 

Mr.  Grosvenor  is  one  of  the  most  notable 
members  of  the  Ohio  republican  association, 
and  made  a  flamboyant  speech  at  a  private 
meeting  the  other  evening,  the  gist  of  which 
has  leaked  into  the  local  prints.  When  asked 
by  your  correspondent  whether  he  had  been 
correctly  reported,  he  answered  : 

“I  have  not  seen  the  accounts,  and,  as  I  do 
not  crave  newspaper  notoriety,  I  have  certain¬ 
ly  not  authorized  any  of  them.” 

“  You  are  represented  as  finding  fault  with 
the  slow  way  in  which  the  money  has  come  in 
from  the  government  employes  for  campaign 
purposes.” 

“  Well,  I  did  say  that.  I  have  no  hesitancy 
in  stating  anywhere  that  I  am  far  from  satis¬ 
fied  with  the  rate  at  which  campaign  contri¬ 
butions  have  been  offered.  What  else  do  they 
accuse  me  of  ?  ” 

“You  are  quoted  as  urging  a  more  efficient 
method  of  collecting  money  from  the  clerks.” 

“  I  am,  eh?  Well,  I  did  say  something  of 
that  sort,  too.  I  remember  saying  that,  in  my 
opinion,  any  man  who  wouldn’t  put  up  his 
money  for  the  support  of  the  party  that  gives 
him  his  bread  and  butter  ought  to  be  turned 
out  of  his  place.  And  that  is  just  exactly 
what  I  do  think.” 

“  But  there  is  a  hint  given  of  some  plan  you 
have  devised  whereby  the  civil  service  law 
can  be  evaded.” 

“Yes,  I  proposed  such  a  plan,  and  there 
were  plenty  of  those  present  who  approved  it. 

But  some  of  them,  toward  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  got  frightened  and  went  back  on  the 
whole  thing.” 

“And  the  details  of  your  plan  were - ” 

“Ah,  my  friend,  I  am  not  giving  them  away 
to  the  enemy,”  and  Mr.  Grosvenor  chuckled. 
“No,  sir,  it  may  be  adopted  yet,  so  you 
needn’t  try  to  get  me  to  expose  it.'  I’ll  .simply 
say  that  it  is  a  very  good  one  and  ought  to 
have  been  taken  up.  '  Is  there  anything  else  ? 

No?  Good-day.” 

From  other  sources  it  is  learned  that  Gros- 
venor’s  plan  was  to  have  every  clerk  notified 
by  the  state  association  to  call  at  the  city  post- 
office  and  get  a  letter  which  he  would  find  ad¬ 
dressed  to  him  there.  The  letter  would  be,  of 
course,  the  dunning  circular  from  his  club.  It 
is  held  by  Grosvenor  that  the  post-office  is  not 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


179 


a  “  government  office  ”  in  the  sense  intended 
by  the  law  against  soliciting  political  sub¬ 
scriptions,  and  hence  that  no  prosecution  could 
follow  such  a  device.  The  question  at  once 
suggests  itself,  why  it  would  not  be  a  more  di¬ 
rect  and  easy  process  to  send  the  circular  to 
each  clerk  at  his  residence,  where  the  law 
could  not  reach  it?  The  answer  is,  that  in 
case  of  recent  changes  of  residence,  or  owing 
to  some  other  hindrance,  the  circulars  might 
go  astray.  If  a  clerk  is  notified  personally  at 
his  desk  by  an  officer  of  his  club  that  a  letter 
is  in  the  post-office  for  him,and  he  does  not  call 
for  it,  that  “spots”  him  at  once  as  “disloyal.” 
If  he  does  call  for  it  and  does  not  respond 
with  a  gift  of  cash,  he  goes  upon  the  black 
list  unless  he  can  give  a  satisfactory  explana¬ 
tion. 

Samuel  R.  Strattan,  the  “  high-cockalorum  ” 
of  the  state  republican  clubs  in  Washington, 
is  out  in  an  interview  this  morning  in  which 
he  says  of  the  clerks  who  are  going  home  to 
vote:  “  I  issued  at  least  100  certificates  to  day 
to  clerks  who  wished  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  half-fare  rates.  The  railroads  at  first 
wanted  to  limit  the  tickets  to  four  days  before 
and  four  days  after  the  election.  This,  how¬ 
ever,  would  not  have  allowed  the  clerks  to  go 
home  and  work  for  the  party  before  election 
day.  So  a  larger  limit  was  fixed.  Quite  a 
number  of  the  department  clerks  and  officials 
have  already  gone  home,  and  are  making 
speeches  for  the  party.  R.  2'heophilus,  assistant 
disbursing  officer  of  the  house,  who  is  a  Welshman, 
has  gone  to  talk  republicanism  to  the  Welsh  people 
in  Representative  Bayne’s  district.  C.  W.  Filer, 
chief  of  the  war  and  navy  division  in  the  pension 
office,  and  secretary  of  the  Connecticut  republican  as¬ 
sociation,  is  making  good  use  of  his  leave  by  helping 
the  republicans  in  his  state.  A  number  of  govern¬ 
ment  printing  office  employes  have  gone  home  to  talk 
and  vote.  I  shall  leave  on  Saturday,  and  am  already 
booked  for  speeches  in  Pennsylvania  towns.” 

Strattan  has  a  clerkship  at  the  capitol, 
and  is  on  the  pay-roll  of  congress. — Dispatch 
to  New  York  Evening  Post,  Oct.  23. 

— The  control  of  this  matter,  according  to 
the  Washington  Post,  is  under  the  direction  of 
Samuel  R.  Stratton,  president  of  the  “  union 
of  republican  state  associations.”  Mr.  Strat¬ 
ton  is  a  federal  office-holder  from  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.  He  is  described  in  an  interview  to  day 
as  being  enthusiastic  over  the  prospects  of  re¬ 
publican  success.  He  said  : 

“  The  outloole  is  good  so  far  as  we  people  In  Wash¬ 
ington  are  concerned,  and  remember  now  that  I 
speak  for  the  organizations  within  the  radius  of  our 
union  of  state  republican  associations.  There  was 
never  greater  activity  and  energy  put  forth  in  getting 
every  qualified  voter  home  for  the  November  elec¬ 
tion.” 

“Have  you  lists  prepared  from  your  own  state  of 
the  voters  employed  in  the  various  departments, 
and  are  the  state  organizations  similarly  provided  ?’’ 

“  Yes,  we  have  a  roster  showing  every  man, woman 
and  child  from  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  employed 
in  the  government  service.  To-night  this  roster 
will  be  overhauled,  and  the  faithful  will  be  checked 
with  a  blue  mark.  The  doubtful  men  and  pretenders, 
and  the  fellows  who  hide  behind  the  civil  service  will  be 
checked  in  red.  ’  ’ 

“  The  unfaithful  will  be  known  ?” 

Kvery  man.  He  will  be  marked.  I  ought  not 
to  give  this  away,  but  there  are  a  few  of  our  people 
who  have  lost  their  legal  residence  in  the  states,  who 
have  been  formed  into  a  sort  of  vigilance  committee 
to  keep  watch  on  the  stragglers  and  report  them 
after  election.” 

“Are  all  the  associations  on  the  alert  in  this  par¬ 
ticular?  ” 

“  So  far  as  I  know,  no  guilty  man  will  be  allowed 
to  escape,  and  the  appointing  power  of  the  government 
will  be  obliged  to  take  cognizance  of  this  report  after  the 
election  is  over." 

This,  in  other  words,  is  a  brutally  frank 


admission  that  government  employes  who  do 
not  contribute  both  their  time  and  money  to 
the  interests  of  the  republican  party  will  be 
reported  to  the  appointing  power  in  the  differ¬ 
ent  departments  with  a  view  to  securing  their 
dismissal.  The  “  bosses  ”  estimate  that  of  the 
employes  who  will  thus  be  dragooned  into 
going  borne,  600  belong  to  New  York,  200  to 
Massachusetts,  1,500  to  Maryland,  200  to  In¬ 
diana,  GOO  to  Pennsylvania,  30  to  Wisconsin, 
80  to  Ohio,  150  to  Illinois,  70  to  Connecticut, 
50  to  Micliigan,  80  to  North  Carolina,  30  to 
Iowa,  500  to  Virginia,  100  to  New  Hamp.shire, 
30  to  Delaware,  30  to  Rhode  Island,  and  30  to 
Kansa — Boston  Post,  Oct.  20. 

— When  Representative  Willard  Howland 
of  Chelsea,  was  conducting  a  campaign  for  the 
nomination  as  secretary  of  the  commonwealth 
on  the  republican  ticket,  one  of  his  newspaper 
organs  charged  that  the  custom  house  was 
backing  Colonel  William  M.  Olin,  and  beyond 
that  claimed  that  custom  house  influence  was 
attempting  to  control  the  policy  of  the  party 
in  the  state  as  in  years  past  under  republican 
administrations.  Officials  in  the  custom  house 
are  certainly  engaging  in  politics  this  year  as 
they  never  did  under  Collector  Saltonstall 
during  the  administration  of  President  Cleve¬ 
land.  Upon  the  stump  for  the  republican 
tickets  in  the  state  this  fall  have  been  heard 
Collector  Alanson  W.  Beard  and  Deputy  Col¬ 
lector  John  L.  Swift,  while  Inspector  of  Cus¬ 
toms  Edward  Fitzwilliams  has  given  a  large 
part  of  his  time  since  the  campaign  opened  to 
speaking  at  rallies  throughout  the  state.  Upon 
the  list  of  republican  speakers  displayed  at 
the  republican  state  committee  headquarters 
on  School  street,  there  also  appears  the  name  of 
Special  Agent  of  the  Treasury  Department 
Charles  H.  Litchman.  Naval  Officer  Frank 
D.  Currier,  of  New  Hampshire,  is  secretary  of 
the  republican  state  committee  of  that  state 
and  is  now  on  the  stump  there.  He  is  very 
little  at  the  naval  office  owing  to  the  press  of 
campaign  work.  Internal  Revenue  Collector 
Frank  E.  Orcutt  has  taken  a  lively  interest  in 
the  present  compaign,  with  Melrose  politics 
especially,  and  was  in  the  state  convention. 
Dr.  E.  G.  Frothingham,  of  Haverhill,  is  ex 
aminer  of  drugs  at  the  custom  house  and  also 
chairman  of  the  republican  city  committee  of 
Haverhill.  At  a  republican  rally  there  last 
week  he  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  is 
doing  very  active  work  in  the  politics  of  his 
city  and  state.  Two  other  active  politicians 
are  Messenger  Flanagan,  of  the  collector’s  de¬ 
partment,  and  Night  Inspector  J.  J.  McCarthy. 
Both  of  these  men  are  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  politics  of  their  localities,  and  the 
former  is  said  to  be  absent  from  his  post  a 
large  share  of  the  time.  “  Under  President 
Cleveland,”  said  a  custom  house  official  last 
night,  “not  a  federal  officer  in  Massachusetts 
went  on  the  stump.  More  than  that,  no  fed¬ 
eral  officers  took  any  part  in  politics,  except 
to  vote  as  they  thought  right,  and  no  influence 
was  brought  to  bear  to  cause  them  to  vote. 
To-day  every  United  States  official  in  the  state 
of  republican  proclivities  is  being  used  for  po¬ 
litical  purposes  to  the  neglect  of  official  duties. 
Under  Collector  Saltonstall  some  of  the  offi¬ 
cers  asked  permission  to  take  part  in  politics, 
but  he  declined  to  give  it.  He  circulated  the 
order  of  President  Cleveland  prohibiting  fed¬ 
eral  officials  from  taking  part  in  politics, 
through  all  the  divisions,  and  the  clerks  read 
it  and  indorsed  it  on  the  back  as  having  read 
it.  Consequently  the  printed  copies  of  the 
order  contained  the  signatures  of  all  the  men, 
so  that  they  could  not,  if  brought  to  task  for 
going  into  politics  other  than  to  vote,  plead 
that  they  did  not  know  about  the  order.  There 
was  never  any  cause  for  complaint  against 
anybody,  however,  on  the  score  of  violating 
Mr.  Cleveland’s  order.” — Boston  Post,  Nov.  S. 


— The  Republican  can  not  support  the  claims 
of  Joseph  G.  Cannon  this  year,  because  they  are 
adverse  to  the  best  interests  of  the  republican 
party  in  the  district.  Jir.  Cannon  is  the  candi¬ 
date  this  year,  not  by  the  free  and  untrammeled  voice 
of  the  republican  party  of  the  district,  but  by  the 
crafty  manipulation  of  a  well  organized  factional 
Cannon  machine,  which  has  controlled  the  nomina¬ 
ting  conventions  of  the  district  for  more  than  a  dozt  n 
years  past. 

This  factional  machine  is  fostered  by  a  per¬ 
petual  district  committee,  selected  biennially 
by  delegates  picked,  usually,  by  the  commit¬ 
teeman  himself  in  his  county  convention. 
Chas.  P.  Hitch,  whose  federal  office-holding 
under  the  influence  of  Mr.  Cannon  makes  him, 
except  for  voting  purposes,  a  non-resident  of 
the  district,  is  now,  and  has  for  the  past  ten 
years,  been  the  committeeman  from  Edgar 
county;  Postmaster  Weaver  re j)resents  Coles; 
ex-Postinaster  Wright,  Cliampaigii;  Post- 
office  Inspector  Dice,  Vermillion,  and  L.  L. 
Parker,  Douglas  county.  These  constitute  the 
present  committee.  Thus  this  committee  is, 
and  has  been,  selfishly  Cannonized  for  years. 
Republicans  who  do  not  favor  the  life-term 
policy  of  Mr.  Cannon  have  not  a  representa¬ 
tive  or  a  friend  in  this  committee.  Why  are 
non-officeholding  republicans  studiously  kept 
off'  the  congressional  committee?  Nor  is  this 
kind  of  selection  of  committeemen  confined  to 
the  congressional  committee.  It  runs  on 
through  to  the  smallest  committee.  Every¬ 
thing  is  Cannonized  in  the  fifteenth  district. 
Every  aspirant  for  any  office,  little  or  big,  is 
closely  scrutinized  by  machine  bosses,  and  un¬ 
less  he  willingly  subscribes  fealty  to  the  fac¬ 
tional  machine,  he  is  a  marked  subject  and  os¬ 
tracised  at  once  and  in  every  way. — Paris  [///.] 
Republican  on  Congressman  Cannon. 

— Jo.  Cannon  accounts  for  the  opposition  of 
some  half  dozen  republican  papers  in  his  dis¬ 
trict  by  declaring  that  the  editors  are  disap¬ 
pointed  aspirants  for  post-offices. — Rockford 
[111.]  Register,  Oct.  24. 

■ — The  Ohio  men  who  hold  office  in  Wash¬ 
ington  are  the  latest  sufferers  from  the  repub¬ 
lican  campaign  assessments.  Each  clerk  and 
government  employe  from  Ohio  received  to¬ 
day  a  notice  from  the  executive  commit¬ 
tee  of  the  republican  state  committee  that 
William  Mayse  had  been  authorized  to  re¬ 
ceive  subscriptions  from  Ohio  men,  and  that 
as  the  committee  was  in  need  of  money,  it 
was  expected  that  the  contributions  would 
be  liberal.  Mr.  Mayse,  who  is  a  note  broker 
of  Ninth  street,  is  treasurer  of  the  Ohio  state 
association. 

The  notice  informs  the  clerks  that  Mayse 
will  keep,  for  the  state  committee,  a  complete 
record  of  their  contributions,  a  copy  of  which 
will  be  furnished  to  the  association.  It  was, 
of  course,  unnecessary  to  tell  the  clerks  what 
use  would  be  made  of  this  record.  They  un¬ 
derstood  perfectly  well  that  it  is  a  threat  to 
punish  any  one  who  fails  to  appear  upon  it  as 
a  contributor. — Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
Oct.  20. 

— The  men  who  are  managing  William 
Kramer’s  campaign  for  sheriff  were  disturbed 
yesterday  by  a  well  authenticated  rumor  to 
the  effect  that  Nathan  [internal  revenue 
collector]  and  Nichols  were  preparing  to 
sell  out  their  man  in  the  wards  compris¬ 
ing  the  third  congressional  district  in  or¬ 
der  to  save  Wallace.  This  story  has  been 
circulated  among  democrats  for  several  days, 
but  it  was  not  until  yesterday  that  the  Kramer 
people  put  any  faith  in  it.  Then  they  started 
an  investigation,  which,  it  is  said,  opened 
their  eyes.  They  learne<l  of  several  instances 
of  trading  on  the  part  of  republicans,  and 
then  hurried  to  Nathan  with  their  proofs.  He 
denied  all  knowledge  of  such  a  thing,  and 


180 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


said  it  would  be  the  height  of  folly  to  knife 
the  only  German  on  the  republican  ticket. 
He  promised  to  investigate  the  matter  and  put 
a  stop  to  all  deals.  Kramer,  according  to  his 
managers,  is  not  going  to  sit  down  and  put  en¬ 
tire  faith  in  Nathan’s  promise. — New  York 
Times,  Oct.  29. 

— The  republicans  at  this  end  of  the  state 
have  been  crying  to  Blaine,  and  he  would  not 
hear  them.  A  special  messenger  was  sent  to 
Chicago  in  the  person  of  Revenue  Collector 
Warmcastle,  to  plead  with  the  secretary  of  state 
to  make  one  speech  in  Pittsburgh. — Pittsburgh 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Oct.  29. 

— Internal  Revenue  Commissioner  John  W. 
Mason  thought  he  would  assist  in  the  defeat 
of  Representative  Wm.  L.  Wilson,  of  West 
Virginia.  'Mr.  M.  F.  Hall  is  a  prominent  re¬ 
publican  in  Mr.  Wilson’s  district,  and  the  edi¬ 
tor  of  the  Phillippi  Republican.  Mr.  .J.  E. 
Hall  is  a  well-known  democrat  of  Phillippi, 
and  a  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Wilson.  Commis¬ 
sioner  Mason  thought  he  could  give  the  re¬ 
publican  editor  a  “pointer  or  two  ”  for  use 
agaiust  Wilson,  and  wrote  about  it  to  Mr. 
Hall.  Unfortunately,  however,  Mr.  Mason 
addressed  his  letter  to  Mr.  J.  E.  Hall,  instead 
of  Mr.  M.  F.  Hall,  and  now  his  little  scheme 
to  injure  Mr.  Wilson  in  the  second  district  is 
expose!. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  Oct.  29. 

— One  of  the  two  battle  grounds  in  the  state 
is  the  sixth,  or  what  is  known  locally  as  the 
Newark  district.  The  administration  pressure 
that  forced  Lehlbach  into  retirement  bred 
heart-burnings  and  disagreements  and  so  dis¬ 
affected  the  German  element  that  it  was  be¬ 
lieved  that  the  district  could  not  be  saved 
again  to  the  republicans.  They  gave  the  nom¬ 
ination  Mr.  Lehlbach  was  not  permitted  to  have 
to  Elias  M.  Condit.  The  Times  has  heretofore 
told  of  the  contest  between  Gen.  Sewell  and 
the  Essex  republicans  over  the  distribution  of 
the  federal  patronage.  One  of  the  bitterest  of 
recent  struggles  was  over  the  revenue  collect- 
orship.  The  Newark  republicans  wanted  a 
Newark  man  appointed  because  he  was  to 
succeed  a  Newark  man,  and  because  it  is  in 
Newark  that  most  of  the  revenue  of  the  dis¬ 
trict  is  collected.  Gen.  Sewell  induced  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  to  give  the  place  to  an  ex  sen- 
ator  from  the  Hunterdon  wilderness.  There 
was  another  breech  between  them  and  Sewell 
over  the  United  States  district  attorneyship, 
and  the  Newark  reput)licans  were  discomfited 
again.  Then  Judge  Fort  wanted  to  be  solic¬ 
itor  general,  and  he  failed  to  get  it.  Wayne 
Parker  wanted  two  or  three  things.  He  re¬ 
ceived  in  place  of  them  an  offer  of  something 
he  did  not  want. — New  Jersey  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  Oct.  6. 

— One  of  the  most  active  of  the  republican 
managers  in  the  work  of  raising  money  from 
government  clerks  and  employes  during  the 
campaign  just  closed,  was  the  notorious  W.  W. 
Dudley,  of  “  blocks  of  five  ”  fame.  His  latest 
effort  in  that  line  was  in  the  interest  of  repub¬ 
lican  candidates  here  and  there,  who  needed 
“boodle”  in  their  districts.  Dudley’s  plan  was 
simple  enough.  In  the  ca.se  of  a  South  Caro¬ 
lina  candidate,  for  example,  he  wrote  a  per¬ 
sonal  letter  to  the  clerks  from  that  state,  say¬ 
ing  that  he  had  himself  subscribed  $100  for 
use  in  Mr.  Blank’s  district,  and  calling  upon 
the  clerks  to  give  liberally  to  help  the  repub¬ 
licans  to  win.  Dudley  was  careful  to  send 
letters  to  the  house  addre.ssesof  the  clerks,  and 
so  keep  himself  just  outside  of  the  penalties  of 
the  civil  service  law,  which  forbids  any  im¬ 
portuning  of  clerks  for  political  contributions 
in  their  offices.  If  Dudley  really  contributed 
$100  to  the  campaign  fund  of  each  of  the  can¬ 
didates  for  whom  he  has  asked  money  from 
others,  he  will  have  a  snug  little  bill  of  ex¬ 


penses  for  the  republican  congressional  com¬ 
mittee  to  foot. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Netv 
York  Times,  Nm'.  4. 

— The  arrangement  now  is  for  President  Har¬ 
rison  to  leave  Washington  for  this  city  Sun¬ 
day  night.  He  will  arrive  here  Monday  night  j 
and  return  to  Washington  Tuesday  afternoon 
or  night.  Attorney-General  Miller  and  Pri¬ 
vate  Secretary  Halford  will  accompany  the 
President.  With  the  exception  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  Mr.  Miller  and  Mr.  Halford,  nearly  all 
the  Indianapolis  men  holding  government 
|)ositions  at  Washington  are  here  to  vote. 
Several  came  in  last  evening,  among  them  the  Presi- 
dends  barber. — Indianapolis  Netvs,  Nov.  1. 

— According  to  the  officers  of  the  various 
state  associations,  who  have  been  very  active  in 
the  work  of  driving  voters  home,  not  less  than 
5,000  government  employes  will  be  absent 
from  their  posts  next  Tuesday  for  the  purpose 
of  voting  in  their  respective  congressional  dis¬ 
tricts..  —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Netv  York 
Times,  Oct.  29. 

— Congressman  Sherman,  of  New  York,  se¬ 
cured  appointment  of  country  postmasters  by  the 
score,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  he  thereby 
provoked  lasting  enmities.  It  appears  to  have 
been  his  ambition  to  build  up  a  personal  ma¬ 
chine  as  an  annex  to  the  “  gang,”  and,  as  is 
usual  in  such  cases,  the  unworthy  received 
his  favor.  But  the  climax  came  a  year  ago. 
The  whole  county  of  Oneida  was  intensely  ex¬ 
cited  over  the  impending  struggle  for  the  dis¬ 
trict  attorneyship.  The  “  gang,”  which  is 
largely  reinforced  by  gamblers  and  other  law¬ 
breakers,  set  out  to  capture  the  office  of  public 
prosecutor.  Sherman  threw  his  whole  influence 
for  one  Van  Auken,  who  had  been  a  tool  of  the 
‘flang.”  By  means  of  his  postmasters  and  other 
official  retainers  he  was  enabled  to  control  the  county 
convention  and  nominate  Van  Auken.  The  bet¬ 
ter  element  of  the  party  fought  Van  Auken 
in  the  convention,  where  much  bad  blood  was 
displayed.  Their  candidate  was  .losiah  Perry, 
an  able  and  reputable  lawyer.  Then  followed 
one  of  the  most  exciting  contests  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  this  storm  center  of  state  politics.  The 
democrats  renominated  district  attorney  Thos. 
S.  Jones,  who  was  the  mortal  enemy  of  the 
“gang.”  The  result  was  that  Sherman’s  can¬ 
didate  was  snowed  under  by  2,300  plurality  in 
a  county  that  had  given  Harrison  1,932. — 
Rome\N.  K.!  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Oc¬ 
tober  IS. 

— When  the  new  ballot  law  left  the  hands  of 
of  the  governor,  the  employes  in  the  several 
state  departments  breathed  easy.  They  felt 
that  it  exempted  them  from  further  political 
assessment.  This  belief  was  strengthened 
when  it  was  learned  that  there  was  to  be  no 
contest  over  the  court  of  appeals  judgeship. 
When  the  1st  of  October  had  passed  and  no 
notification  had  been  given  of  any  assessment, 
the  clerks  and  others  felt  certain  that  they 
were  to  escape.  Then,  without  warning,  noti¬ 
fication  was  given  the  employes  in  nearly  all 
the  departments  that  an  assessment  of  2^4  per 
cent,  on  yearly  salaries  was  needed  imme¬ 
diately. 

The  order  was  reluctantly  obeyed,  but  there 
was  no  dodging  it,  and  portions  of  the  month’s 
salaries  were  assigned  over  to  Controller  Wem- 
ple  and  State  Treasurer  Danforth.  Clerks 
were  assessed  $30  to  $40,  and  orderlies  and 
messengers  $10  to  $15.  The  corruption  fund 
amounted  to  several  thousand  dollars. — Dis¬ 
patch  from  Albany  to  New  York  Times,  Oct.  17, 

. — Headquarters  of  the  Central  Repub¬ 
lican  Executive  Committee,  Dr.  M.  Ur- 
wiTZ,  Secretary,  Houston,  Tex.:  Fellow-Re¬ 
publicans — Our  patience  is  exhausted,  and 
we  can  not  any  longer  endure  the  shame,  dis¬ 
grace  and  humiliation  brought  upon  the  re¬ 


publicans  in  Texas  by  the  audacity,  arrogance, 
corruption  and  treacheiw  of  the  negro  leaders 
and  their  followers.  They  have  taken  fwcible 
possession  of  our  primaries  and  ruled  our  conven¬ 
tions  with  relentless  tyranny,  and  have  driven 
many  of  the  best  and  most  patriotic  white  re¬ 
publicans  out  of  the  party  ranks.  They  have 
demoralized  and  disorganized  the  republican 
party  of  our  state.  They  have  laughed  de¬ 
cency  to  scorn  and  branded  patriotism  with 
ignomy.  They  have  bartered  their  citizen¬ 
ship  away  in  open  market  and  have  sold  their 
votes  to  the  highest  bidder  at  every  election. 
Republicanism  in  Texas  has  become  a  stigma 
upon  American  citizenslii[),  a  reproach  to  our 
<;ivilization  and  a  curse  to  our  country. — Cir¬ 
cular  Referring  to  Collector  Cuney  [  Galvesionl,  St. 
Louis  Republic,  Sept.  l7. 

THE  REST  OF  THE  PLATFORMS. 

We  condemn  it  for  its  deliberate  abandon¬ 
ment  of  civil  service  reform,  for  its  use  of  cab¬ 
inet  and  other  official  positions  to  pay  finan¬ 
cial  campaign  debts. — Michigan  Slate  Demo¬ 
cratic  Platform,  September,  1890. 


We  again  pledge  the  republican  party  in 
this  state  to  the  fullest  sympathy  with  the  let¬ 
ter  and  spirit  of  every  reform  which  would  pre¬ 
vent  the  bestowal  of  public  offices  to  secure 
))olitical  support,  and  trust  that  the  principle 
of  the  civil  service  law  will  be  extended 
throughout  the  post-office  department,  and 
that  the  president,  under  the  authority  already 
given  him,  will  extend  it  wherever  practica¬ 
ble.  And  we  call  upon  our  representatives  in 
congress  to  support  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  by  such  appropriations  as  may  be  re¬ 
quired  for  its  greatest  efficiency. 

We  congratulate  the  administration  on  its 
national  civil  service  commission,  which  has 
executed  and  defended  the  civil  service  law 
with  courage  and  vigor.  The  very  successful 
application  of  the  principles  of  that  reform  to 
the  employment  of  laborers  in  the  city  of  Bos¬ 
ton  suggests  a  method  of  regulating  the  em¬ 
ployment  of  laborers  in  the  navy  yards  and 
other  public  establishments,  which  would  pre¬ 
vent  all  charges  of  suspicions  of  abuse,  and  we 
urge  the  consideration  of  this  upon  the  Presi¬ 
dent  and  congress. — Massachusetts  State  Republi¬ 
can  Platform,  Sept.,  1890. 


We  condemn  the  administration  for  its 
open  and  defiant  repudiation  of  the  letter  and 
the  spirit  of  the  civil  service  laws,  for  making 
wholesale  removals  and  appointments  for 
purely  partisan  purposes,  and  for  permitting 
ihe  active  interference  of  federal  officeholders 
in  Massachusetts  politics,  an  interference  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  course  of  the  hold¬ 
ers  of  the  same  offices  under  the  democratic 
administration. — Massachusetts  State  Democratic 
Platform,  Sept.,  1890. 

We  arraign  the  present  republican  ad¬ 
ministration,  not  only  for  its  gross  and  willful 
violation  of  its  pretensions  in  favor  of  civil 
service  reform  by  the  removal  of  competent 
and  faithful  officers  before  the  expiration  of 
their  terms,  but  for  the  appointment  to  office 
of  notoriously  incompetent,  disreputable  and 
corrupt  men,  and  for  its  reward  of  unscrupu¬ 
lous  partisans  because  of  their  corrupt  con¬ 
nection  with  the  elections  of  1888,  in  con¬ 
tributing  large  sums  of  money  to  poison 
tiie  ballot  and  debauch  electors. 

We  denounce  it  for  prostituting  the  census 
bureau  to  secure  partisan  information  ,  to 
the  neglect  of  a  correct  and  complete  cen¬ 
sus  in  all  sections  of  the  county. — Indiana 
Democratic  Congressional  Convention,  Terre  Haute, 
July  22. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


IVe  have  still  to  convince  them  [the  independent  voters]  that  democracy  means  something  more  than  mere  management  for  party  success 
and  a  partisan  distribution  of  benefits  after  success.  This  can  only  be  done  by  insisting  that  in  the  conduct  of  our  party  principles  touching  the 
public  welfare  shall  be  placed  above  spoils,  and  this  is  the  sentiment  of  the  masses  of  the  democratic  party  to-day. — Ex-President  Cleveland  to 
Young  Mens  Democratic  Club,  Canton,  Ohio,  December,  1890. 


VoL.  I,  No.  22. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  DECEMBER,  1890. 


TERMS : ^ 


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For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
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Published  monthly.  Publication  oflice,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions 
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THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

_  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

3 

An  organization  in  Washington  calling  itself 
the  Indiana  Republican  Club,  and  apparently 
headed  by  one  W.  W.  Curry,  met  December  0, 
and  resolved  that  the  exigencies  of  the  hour 
call  for  the  appointment  of  “tried  and  true 
republicans  in  place  of  democrats  holding  po¬ 
sitions  outside  of  civil  service  scope.”  The 
brazen  quality  of  this  resolution  is  almost  be¬ 
yond  comprehension.  About  everything  in 
Indiana  “outside  of  civil  service  scope”  has 
been  handed  over,  and  throughout  the  country 
post-offices  have  been  given  to  “  tried  and  true 
republicans”  at  the  rate  of  over  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  a  year,  and  other  offices  at  the  same  rate. 
The  Washington  special  sending  the  above 
resolution  to  the  Indianapolis  Jowmct/ of  De¬ 
cember  8,  also  says :  “  The  President  has  stood 
by  the  party  workers,  and  in  a  way  that  elicits 
the  endorsement  of  all  members  of  the  jiarty 
here  and  wherever  the  conditions  are  known.” 
And  yet,  upon  the  heels  of  this,  comes  the 
worst  defeat  the  republican  party  has  ever 
known. 


The  truth  is,  Washington  clubs  have  be¬ 
come  a  source  of  dislike  to  the  people.  They 
are  largely  made  up  of  office-holders,  some  of 
whom  are  forced  in  by  the  others  who  are  the 
most  offensive  type  of  politicians.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  there  is  a  crowd,  such  as  claim  agents, 
whose  business  somehow  goes  better  if  their 
party  is  in  office.  Almost  all  are  obscure  per¬ 
sons.  For  instance,  away  from  his  neighbor¬ 
hood  about  all  that  is  Known  of  W.W.  Curry 
is  that  he  is  from  somewhere  in  Indiana,  and 
that  he  was  one  of  those  who,  by  the  suffer¬ 
ance  of  President  Harrison,  were  engaged  in 
bleeding  government  employes  just  before  the 
late  election.  The  Indiana  Republican  Club 
has  but  one  conviction  upon  the  subject  of  its 
resolution,  and  that  is  that  receiving  a  living 
off  the  government  as  spoil  is  a  good  thing 
and  must  be  kept  up,  and  the  way  to  keep  it 
up  is  to  have  as  much  of  it  as  possible. 

This  is  all  there  is  of  it.  This  club  could 
not  change  two  hundred  votes  in  Indiana.  Its 
actions  in  campaigns  impress  the  people  as  an 
attempt  of  a  ring  of  office-holders  and  hangers 
on  to  control  the  state  from  Washington.  The 
appearance  here  of  the  Ransdell-McFarland 
crowd  from  Washington  before  the  late  elec¬ 
tion  affected  the  republican  party  adversely  a 
hundred-fold  more  than  it  did  favorably. 


These  are  not  the  times  for  office-holders  to  in¬ 
terfere  in  campaigns.  When  the  time  comes 
that  they  can  write  and  speak  and  give  money 
to  a  political  cause  without  affecting  their 
own  tenure,  they  will  do  it  from  a  belief  in 
principles,  and  it  will,  within  the  fair  limits 
of  discussion  and  within  the  efficient  perform¬ 
ance,  of  their  duties,  be  a  harmless  and  proper 
exercise  of  their  rights  as  citizens. 

The  system  upon  which  labor  is  obtained 
liy  this  city  is  wasteful  and  extravagant.  It  is 
a  system  of  personal  and  political  favoritism  ; 
and  any  public  work  of  any  kind  which  is 
done  by  the  rule  of  favoritism  is  done  at  a 
needless  expense.  It  is,  besides,  a  corruptor 
of  public  morals,  for  it  teaches  laborers  to 
rely,  not  upon  their  own  merits  as  workmen 
and  as  citizens,  but  upon  the  power  of  a  polit¬ 
ical  Ho.s8.  It  is  time  that  this  species  of  boss 
government  was  done  away  with.  The  Boston 
labor  system  accomplishes  this  by  providing 
registers  upon  which  laborers,  without  regard 
to  color,  politics,  religion,  or  political  or  per¬ 
sonal  influence,  may  get  their  names  in  the 
order  of  application  and  in  turn  may  get  em¬ 
ployment.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  crimi¬ 
nals  and  bad  citizens  can  not  get  their  names 
upon  these  registers. 

Chas.  E.  Vandever,  a  republican  of  Terre 
Haute,  was  appointed  by  President  Cleveland 
agent  of  the  Navajo  Indians.  There  is  the 
highest  authority  for  saying  that  his  record 
as  agent  was  excellent.  He  was  dismissed  not 
long  since  and  the  Indian  Rights  Association, 
much  disappointed  by  reason  of  its  great  sat¬ 
isfaction  with  Vandever’s  work,  tried  to  as¬ 
certain  the  cause.  The  department  of  the  in¬ 
terior  replied  that  “the  department  does  not 
feel  at  liberty  to  disclose  the  contents  of  pri¬ 
vate  files,  whatever  their  nature.”  It  is  not 
surprising  that  a  secretary  who  has  played  a 
trick  with  the  public  service  should  sneak  be¬ 
hind  the  shelter  that  the  evidence  of  his  trick 
is“  private  files.”  It  is  not  aside  the  mark  to 
say  that  Vandever  was  dismissed  because  some 
party  boss  wanted  his  place  for  a  henchman. 
This  proceeding  is  in  line  with  Secretary  No¬ 
ble’s  career. 

“Gene”  Higgins  appears  to  have  lost  some  of  that 
serenity  for  which  he  was  well  known  as  a  Demo¬ 
cratic  office-holder.  He  was  here  yesterday  on  a 
visit  of  some  sort,  and  at  a  well-known  saloon  he  fell 
in  with  another  ex-office  holder  named  Gallagher. 
An  animated  controversy  that  was  begun  in  the  sa¬ 
loon  was  continued  with  him  on  the  sidew'alk,  and 
finally  led  to  a  bout  between  Gallagher  and  Higgins, 
when  Gallagher  pressed  Higgins  hard  and  presently 
thumped  him  with  so  much  vigor  that  “  Gene’s  ” 
blood  besprinkled  the  sidewalk. 


Spectators  of  the  affray  say  that  Higgins  drew  a 
glittering  weapon  after  he  was  struck,  but  did  not 
get  a  chance  to  defend  himself  with  it,  and  that  a 
companion  named  Lathrop,  from  California,  when 
Higgins  was  knocked  down,  drew  a  preposterously 
large  “gun”  from  his  pocket,  to  the  dismay  of  the 
throng  that  was  studying  the  fighting  qualities  of 
Higgins  and  Gallagher.  The  controversy  is  under¬ 
stood  to  have  been  about  an  election  matter.— 
Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Dec.  3. 

This  is  the  henchman  whom  Senator  Gor¬ 
man  compelled  President  Cleveland  to  retain 
in  office  against  the  protest  of  respectable 
democrats,  though  the  President  knew  per¬ 
fectly  well  that  the  scandal  of  his  yielding  to 
such  compulsion  would  stain  his  whole  ad¬ 
ministration. 

In  the  same  manner  President  Harrison,  as 
a  resident  of  Indianapolis,  must  be  entirely 
familiar  with  the  history  of  McFarland,  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  government  printing  office,  an 
appointment  so  disgraceful  that  the  seasoned 
politicians  even  felt  squeamish.  It  is  in¬ 
stances  like  these  that  disclose  the  real  char¬ 
acter  of  a  government  by  feudal  chiefs.  Hig¬ 
gins  and  McFarland  are  obscure  men  of  un¬ 
savory  character.  Such  are  likely  to  slip 
into  public  place,  but  why  is  it  that  a  presi¬ 
dent  can  not,  or  does  not,  turn  them  into  the 
street  when  decent  people  demand  it?  They 
are  somebody’s  henchmen,  and  no  interference 
will  be  tolerated  with  the  lowliest  of  their 
hirelings. 

The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  December  8,  has 
a  special  from  its  Washington  correspondent 
containing  an  interview  with  a  man  who,  he 
says,  is  “ti  republican  representative  from  the 
west,  and  his  name  is  a  household  word 
throughout  a  broad  expanse  of  the  country.” 
The  representative  said : 

“Don’t  publish  my  name,  but  say  to  the  world  that 
in  politics  we  find  the  ba.sest  and  most  general  in¬ 
gratitude  to  be  encountered  anywhere.  I  can  respect 
the  person  who  stands  his  neighbor  up  in  the  dark  at 
night  and  robs  him;  he  gains  that  which  will  bring 
him  happiness.  I  can  have  patience  with  the  one  who 
kills  his  fellow;  he  has  an  excuse.  But  the  man  who 
accepts  of  his  friend's  assistance  in  a  campaign  and 
fails  to  appreciate  it,  or  the  civilian  who  gets  a  place 
at  the  hands  of  his  congressman  and  then  turns  his 
back  in  indifference  is  worse  than  the  thief  or  the 
murderer,  for  he  has  no  excuse  except  ingratitude. 
I  never  was  so  much  Impressed  as  in  the  recent  cam¬ 
paign  with  the  fact  that  only  those  who  stand  by 
their  friends  through  thick  and  thin  can  ever  suc¬ 
ceed.  It  is  this  ingratitude  that  upsets  confidence 
and  gives  defeat.  I  did  very  much  for  some  men  in 
ray  district  who  never  stirred  a  peg  in  the  recent  con¬ 
test,  and  on  the  other  hand  I  presume  there  are  some 
of  my  constituents  who  think  I  am  the  most  ungrate¬ 
ful  man  on  earth.  Public  men  have  to  keep  on  inti¬ 
mate  terms  with  those  who  make  them.  If  we  let  a 
little  indifference  arise  we  soon  become  separated. 
Men  who  are  elected  to  office  should  never  grow  to 
believe  they  are  better  than  their  party  or  the 
fellows  who  helped  them  when  they  were  in  need  of 


182 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


friends  most.  There  was  a  heap  of  ‘evening  up’  in 
the  recent  contest,  and  the  result  is  many  heartaches 
on  both  sides  of  the  issues.” 

The  debauching  influence  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  is  here  proved  in  a  most  startling  manner 
and  by  conclusive  evidence.  This  congress¬ 
man  who,  like  the  great  bulk  of  his  fellows, 
has  abandoned  his  constitutional  duties  or 
performs  them  but  perfunctorily,  and  has  be¬ 
come  a  divider  of  spoil,  gives  it  as  his  moral 
condition  that  he  has  respect  for  a  thief  or  a 
murderer,  but  that  worse  than  these  is  the 
man  who.  has  received  an  office  through  a 
usurpation  by  his  congressman  and  then  refuses 
to  work  for  the  latter’s  re-election — in  other 
words  who  refuses  the  feudal  service  which 
calls  upon  him  politically  '‘to  plow  the  lord’s 
land,  to  make  his  hedge,  or  carry  out  his 
dung.” 


THE  POLITICAL  CENSUS. 


‘‘Some  of  those  I  recommended  have  turned  out 
most  miserable  failures.  When  Mr.  Conger  was  first 
appointed  supervisor,  a  great  many  people  knowing 
him  and  me  to  be  intimate  friends  besieged  me  for 
recommendations  as  enumerators.  After  they  had 
received  their  appointments,  they  bothered  me  for 
instructions,  and  now  since  they  are  at  work  and 
have  found  out  they  won’t  get  their  money  before 
the  middle  of  July  at  the  earliest,  they  have  impor¬ 
tuned  me  to  loan  them  money.” 

Is  not  the  case  in  Indiana  typical  of  the 
operation  of  the  census  bureau  throughout  the 
country  ?  The  affirmative  is  the  truthful  an¬ 
swer  to  every  one  of  these  questions.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  a  census  taken  in  such  a  manner 
should  be  doubted  on  every  hand.  The  mis¬ 
chief  is  done  and  can  never  be  rectified.  The 
present  duty  is  to  see  to  it  that  those  who  with 
cool  insolence  in  the  face  of  protest  used  the 
census  bureau  as  a  political  machine  do  not 
soon  hear  the  last  of  it.  The  load  is  heavy, 
but  they  will  have  to  carry  it. 


were  starved,  and  according  to  General  How¬ 
ard  hostilities  were  begun  by  white  men. 
Doubtless  the  administration  is  proud  of  its 
military  maneuvers  and  of  its  attempt  to  seize 
Sitting  Bull  under  the  guise  of  a  parley, 
which  attempt  resulted  in  his  being  killed. 
Strange  things  sometimes  stir  up  pride.  Ilis 
killing  was  no  better  than  murder — not  on  the 
part  of  the  Indian  police  nor  of  the  troops — 
but  on  the  part  of  the  administration.  He 
was  not  a  marauding  and  murdering  Indian. 
He  was  trying  to  maintain  the  rights  of  his 
people,  and  he  did  it  in  the  same  spirit  in 
which  John  Hampden  refused  to  pay  taxes. 
His  death  may  cow  the  Indians  for  a  time, 
but  their  wrongs  will  remain,  and  will  cry 
out.  The  root  of  these  wrongs  is  in  the  boss 
system,  which  at  this  most  critical  time,  at  the 
most  critical  points  in  the  Indian  country, 
such  as  the  Pine  Kidge  and  the  Cheyenne 
River  agencies,  gives  us  new  and  inexperi¬ 
enced  agents  and  other  employes  who  know 
nothing  of  the  Indians  and  how  to  deal  with 
them.  President  Harrison  could  have  stopped 
this  long  ago,  but  he  apparently  proposes  to 
perpetuate  the  system  by  which,  and  by  which 
alone,  the  government  is  and  can  be  kept  a 
cheat  and  a  swindler  for  the  benefit  of  politi¬ 
cal  bosses  and  private  greed. 

The  Bloomington  branch  of  the  State  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  has  elected  Prof. 
J.  W.  Jenks,  of  Indiana  University,  president, 
and  C.  M.  Hubbard,  of  Indiana  University 
secretary.  It  is  the  intention  to  have  a  public 
address  again  this  year.  The  last  one  was 
given  by  Theodore  Roosevelt. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

Allotments  thus  acquired,  mutually  engaged  such  as 
accepted  them  to  defend  them;  and  as  they  all  sprang 
from  the  same  right  of  conquest,  no  part  could  subsist 
independent  of  the  whole;  wherefore  all  givers  as  well  as 
receivers  were  mutually  bound  to  defend  each  other’s  pos¬ 
sessions.  ***  Every  receiver  of  lands,  or  feudatory,  was 
therefore  bound,  when  called  upon  by  his  benefactor,  or 
immediate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  defend  him.  Such  benefactor  or  lord  was  likewise 
subordinate  to  and  under  the  command  of  his  immediate 
benefactor  and  superior ;  and  so  upwards  to  the  p)  ince 
or  general  himself;  and  the  several  lords  were  also  recip¬ 
rocally  bound,  in  their  respective  gradations,  to  protect 
the  possessions  they  had  given.  Thus  the  feudal  connec¬ 
tion  was  established,  a  proper  military  subjection  was 
naturally  inti  oduced  and  an  army  of  feudatories  luas 
always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually  prepared  to  muster. 
— Blackstone. 


— All  that  is  left  of  the  Kings  county  repub¬ 
lican  general  committee  met  last  night  in  the 
Athenaeum,  on  Atlantic  avenue,  Brooklyn,  and 
tried  to  ascertain  what  had  happened.  Frank¬ 
lin  Woodruff  presided  and  found  all  the  dis¬ 
credited  “bosses” — Israel  F.  Fischer,  David  A. 
Baldwin,  Naval  Officer  Willis  and  William  J. 
Buttling — in  front  of  him. 

As  soon  as  the  meeting  had  been  organized, 
Fischer,  who  has  been  running  the  navy  yard  pat¬ 
ronage  since  Harrison’s  election,  and  who  was 
mainly  responsible  for  “Billy”  Watson’s  nom¬ 
ination  in  the  twelfth  assembly  district,  sent 
up  a  cry  for  reorganization.  He  had  been 
talking  to  three  or  four  friends,  he  said,  and 
had  about  concluded  that  reform  was  neces¬ 
sary,  whereat  there  was  much  derisive  laugh¬ 
ter,  the  significance  of  which  Fischer  didn’t 


The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  December  8,  has 
an  editorial  headed  “  No  Partisanism  in  the 
Census,”  and  quoting  from  Census  Superintend¬ 
ent  Porter’s  late  article  in  the  North  American 
Review  to  the  same  end.  The  quotation  says^ 
“in  no  case  have  chiefs  or  experts  been  select¬ 
ed  because  of  their  political  faith.”  To  this 
the  Joitraal  adds :  “The  supervisors  were  se¬ 
lected  with  reference  to  their  fitness  for  the 
work,  some  of  them  being  democrats,  and  the 
enumerators  were  appointed  on  the  recommend¬ 
ation  of  the  supervisors.”  There  is  some  sat¬ 
isfaction  in  seeing  those  who  made  spoil  of  the 
census  bureau  smart  under  criticism,  and  it  is 
not  surprising  that  they  should  be  prone  to 
forget  the  facts.  Editorials  and  articles  in 
reviews  can  not  save  them.  It  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  to  go  out  of  Indiana  to  confound  both  Mr. 
Porter  and  the  Journal.  The  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  for  March  and  June,  1890,  covers 
the  ground.  In  recapitulation,  did  not  Mr. 
Porter  describe  himself  as  “  waist-deep  in  con¬ 
gressmen  ”  after  spoil?  Was  not  every  super¬ 
visor  in  Indiana  a  republican  party  worker? 
In  the  Terre  Haute  district  did  not  the  super¬ 
visor  refer  the  appointment  of  enumerators  to 
the  chairmen  of  the  several  county  committees 
of  his  district,  and  did  not  the  Indianapolis 
Journal  say : 

Mr.  Wilson  H.  Soale,  census  supervisor  for  the  Ter¬ 
re  Haute  district,  has  referred  the  appointment  of 
census  enumerators  to  the  chairmen  of  the  several 
county  committees  of  his  district,  and  these  in  turn 
are  referring  them  to  the  chairmen  of  the  different 
township  committees.  That  seems  a  queer  way  of 
getting  official  subordinates  to  perform  an  important 
executive  work. 

Who  is  Sid  Conger,  the  supervisor  of  the 
Indianapolis  district?  Is  he  not  a  poultry 
raiser  of  Flat  Rock,  a  smart  republican  poli¬ 
tician,  and  a  defeated  republican  candidate 
for  office?  Did  not  Conger  leave  the  choice  of 
enumerators  for  (his  city  to  Merrill  Moores, 
who  was  in  no  manner  connected  with  the  pub¬ 
lic  service,  but  who  was  a  member  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  county  committee  and  who  is  said  on 
good  authority  to  deal  in  slum  politics?  Did 
not  Moores  say  in  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  of 
June  19 :  » 


“A  CENTURY  OF  DISHONOR.” 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  little 
to  be  proud  of  in  their  dealings  with  the  Indi¬ 
ans,  and  (hey  have  much  that  will  forever  be 
a  disgrace.  We  can  boast  of  our  physical 
greatness  as  a  nation,  but  we  are  put  to  shame 
by  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees  from  Geor¬ 
gia.  We  have  succeeded  in  killing  Sit¬ 
ting  Bull,  against  whom  there  was  a  wide¬ 
spread  animosity  for  causing  the  death  of 
Custer;  yet  the  battle  which  led  to  Custer’s 
death  was  brought  on  by  a  plain  violation  of 
a  treaty  by  us.  In  its  course  with  the  Indians 
our  government  has  from  the  beginning  been 
a  swindler  and  a  promise-breaker.  Sitting 
Bull  knew  us;  he  rated  us  at  our  true  value 
and  declined  to  be  cajoled  or  swindled.  If  he 
and  his  men  had  lived  in  Canada  under  the 
honorable  treatment  of  the  Canadian  govern¬ 
ment  hostile  acts  would  never  have  proceeded 
from  them. 

Our  treatment  of  the  Indians  has  not  been 
without  protest  from  our  side.  The  American 
people  are  not  inhuman,  and  if  we  had  not 
been  ruled  by  bosses  the  wrong  would  long 
ago  have  been  righted.  Nor  have  efforts  been 
lacking.  President  Grant  called  in  philan¬ 
thropic  people  and  a  great  show  of  ju.stice  was 
made.  But  when  contractors  and  Indian 
agents  robbed.  Grant  refused  to  anger  his  party 
machine  by  removing  the  politicians  who  held 
the  oflfices  and  his  efforts  came  to  nothing. 
The  most  powerful,  systematic  and  beneficial 
attempt  to  help  the  Indians  that  has  been 
made  is  that  of  the  Indian  Rights  Association ; 
and  this  attempt  is  handicapped  and  its  noblest 
efforts  repeatedly  brought  to  nothing,  for  no 
reason  but  that  party  bosses  must  have  places  for 
henchmen.  The  most  infamous  practice  is  the 
latest  and  goes  by  the  name  of  “home  rule.” 
It  means,  for  instance,  “Dakota  loot  for  Dako¬ 
ta  looters.”  Under  this  rule  President  Harri¬ 
son’s  bosses  worked  until  under  inexperienced 
and  worthless  agents  the  griefs  of  the  Indians 
broke  out,  not  in  hostilities,but  in  their  form  of 
protest. 

According  to  General  Miles  the  Indians 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


183 


appear  to  appreciate  at  all.  He  went  on  to 
oiler  a  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  a  com¬ 
mittee  of  fifteen  to  consider  the  subject  of  a 
re-organization,  and  report  in  two  weeks. 

Then  Col.  John  Wesley  Jones,  the  same  who 
was  bought  off'  by  Congressman  Wallace’s 
backers  in  the  third  congressional  district, 
arose  with  a  mass  of  printed  resolutions  in  his 
hand.  These  documents  consisted  of  demands 
on  the  part  of  some  unknown  “independent 
citizens’  and  workingmen’s  reform”  for  a  whole 
lot  of  things.  Internecine  warfare  must  cease, 
said  the  resolutions,  and  there  must  be  a  re¬ 
enrollment  of  republicans  all  over  the  county. 
The  general  committee  must  be  reorganized, 
reduced  in  numbers,  and  its  members  must  be 
elected  for  one  year  only.  Col.  Jones  also  de¬ 
manded  that  no  one  be  compelled  to  acknowl¬ 
edge  a  ward  “boss,”  and  that  in  the  future  all 
dirty  linen  be  washed  in  private  and  not 
handed  over  to  the  reporters  for  their  inspec¬ 
tion.  These  were  about  all  the  reforms  Col. 
Jones  could  think  of. 

But  Hugo  Hirsch  thought  the  proposed 
committee  should  have  power  to  discipline  as 
well  as  to  re-organize,  and  he  made  a  long 
speech  denouncing  republicans  who  had  knifed 
their  candidates.  He  referred  to  young  Tim¬ 
othy  L.  Woodruff  who  had  supported  Mr. 
Boody  for  congress,  and  demanded  that  men 
like  him  be  expelled. 

Then  it  was  David  A.  Baldwin’s  turn.  He 
was  disgusted,  he  said.  He  had  been  a  wheel 
horse  for  thirty  years  and  didn’t  propose  to  do 
such  work  any  more. 

“  We  have  too  many  bosses,”  he  cried,  and 
the  crowd  yelled.  “  We  should  have  the  power 
to  discipline  and  bounce  traitors.” 

Mr.  Baldwin’s  expressed  opposition  to  doing 
any  more  wheel-horse  duty  led  Chairman 
Woodruff  to  ask  him  if  he  would  serve  on  this 
re-organization  committee,  and  Baldwin  said 
he  would  not. 

“  Perhape  you  would  like  to  drive,”  suggest¬ 
ed  some  one  in  a  loud  tone  ;  but  Baldwin  paid 
no  attention  to  him. 

William  H.N.  Cadmus  raised  a  cheer  when 
he  attacked  Mr.  Fischer’s  committee  of  fifteen 
as  a  close  corporation.  It  should  consist  of 
one  member  from  each  ward  and  town,  Mr. 
Cadmus  said,  thirty  in  a)l,  and  then  he  went 
on  to  show  how  Mr.  Fischer  and  his  assembly 
district  needed  re-organization.  His  complaint 
was  that  Mr.  Fischer  and  his  pals  in  a  ward 
that  gave  a  democratic  majority  had  forced 
Watson  on  the  district,  thereby  throwing 
away  one  republican  assemblyman  and  possi 
bly  a  United  States  senator.  The  crowd  hoot¬ 
ed  and  yelled  at  Fischer,  and  the  old  faction 
feeling  got  so  hot  that  several  gentlemen  in¬ 
duced  Cadmus  to  sit  down.  His  plea  for  a  big 
committee  had  to  be  taken  up,  however,  and 
it  was  made  part  of  the  original  motion. 

“Billy”  Buttling,  one  of  the  “boys”  from 
the  fifth  ward,  seized  this  opportunity  of  put¬ 
ting  in  a  word  for  a  straight  out  party  ma¬ 
chine  built  on  the  lines  of  the  democratic  one. 

“  What’s  the  the  use  of  re-organizing?”  he 
asked,  in  ungrammatical  but  very  forcible 
language.  ''You  will  see  the  same  old  faces  back 
here  another  year.  What  we  want  to  do  is  to  take 
care  of  the  ward  workers,  the  men  that  stand  by  us 
when  we  are  out  of  power.  Now,  in  'my  svard  there 
‘were  seventeen  navy  yard  employes  parading  around 
on  election  day  with  democratic  badges  on  their 
coats.  There  are  120  men  from  my  tvard  got  jobs 
in  the  yard,  and  only  thirty  of  them  are 'republicans. 
What  sort  of  way  is  that  to  carry  on  business  f  The 
boys  ain’t  got  no  show  at  all.  A  re-organization 
of  this  committee  won’t  help  them,  but  if  we 
would  give  some  of  those  who  knife  us  the 
the  grand  bounce  the  boys  would  like  it.”— 
New  York  Evening  Post,  Dec.  17. 


— The  closing  of  Delamater’s  bank,  with 
$100,000  of  state  money  and  $45,000  of  county 


money  and  $3,500  of  school  district  money 
among  its  liabilities,  comes  at  a  critical  mo¬ 
ment  for  the  republican  party  of  Pennsylvania. 
Among  the  causes  of  the  failure  the  Tribune’s 
special  from  Pittsburgh  mentions  the  heavy 
campaign  expenses  of  the  late  candidate  for 
governor  thus ; 

It  is  the  current  opinion  here  tliat  Senator  Dela¬ 
mater’s  recent  campaign  for  governor  had  not  a  little 
to  do  with  his  financial  reverses.  The  canvass  for 
the  nomination  lasted  six  months,  and  is  known  to 
have  cost  enormously,  while  alter  the  convention 
Mr.  Delamater’s  expenses  were  largely  increased. 
He  spent  much  money  upon  marching  clubs  and  in 
aid  of  all  manner  of  organizations,  charitable  and 
otherwise,  paid  a  liberal  sum  to  the  state  committee, 
and  frequently  answered  the  call  lor  funds  where 
they  were  most  needed  to  affect  the  election.  Some 
politicians  estimate  that  the  fight  cost  the  senator 
8150,000,  but  that  is  perhaps  850,000  too  high.— iVew 
York  Evening  Post,  Dec.  17. 

— A  prominent  republican  office-holder  stat¬ 
ed  here  last  night  that  since  he  has  held  a 
government  appointment,  the  period  not  cov¬ 
ering  twelve  months  yet,  he  has  paid  three 
contributions  for  political  purposes.  Not  only 
the  government  office-holders,  but  the  judges 
and  officers  of  the  minor  and  municipal  courts 
in  the  state,  whose  places  will  be  affected  by 
the  results  of  next  Tuesday’s  state  election,  are 
being  assessed,  or,  in  the  parlance  of  the  hour 
in  political  circles,  “asked  to  contribute”  to 
the  campaign  fund.  It  is  actually  asserted 
that  the  common  pleas  court  in  New  Haven, 
of  which  the  chairman  of  the  state  central 
committee  is  the  clerk,  has  been  apportioned 
$1,000  for  the  political  fund  that  is  to  be 
brought  into  service  between  now  and  election 
night.  The  common  pleas  courts  throughout 
the  state  are  presided  over  by  republican 
judges  and  officered  by  republican  workers. 
The  judges  of  most  of  the  municipal  courts, 
whose  successors  must  be  appointed  by  the  in¬ 
coming  legislature,  are  dependent  upon  poli¬ 
tics  for  their  retention  on  the  bench. — Hartford 
Dispatch  to  New  Yofrk  Times,  Oct.  28. 

— The  President’s  southern  campaign, opened 
by  the  notorious  Mizell,will  be  watched  with 
interest  here.  There  is  proof  that  it  is  to  be  a 
thorough  one.  The  place-holders  and  the 
place-hunters  are  to  be  organized  everywhere 
for  the  control  of  state  delegations  to  the  next 
national  convention.  The  President  is  to  be 
lauded  as  the  leader,  who  held  on  his  way  in 
spite  of  the  discouragements  of  a  disastrous 
defeat,  and  as  battling  more  strongly  than  any 
other  man  in  the  party  for  the  bill  designed  to 
bring  the  south  again  under  national  repub¬ 
lican  control.  Thatsortof  talk,  supplemented 
by  material  things  in  the  shape  of  fat  offices 
here  and  there,  will,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
President’s  friends,  soon  make  the  whole  re¬ 
publican  south  not  only  rise  up  and  call  him 
blessed,  but  wildly  demand  his  renomination 
at  the  hands  of  the  party  at  large. — New  York 
World,  December  15,  1890. 

— For  collector  of  the  port  of  Wilming¬ 
ton,  N.  C.,  the  President  nominated,  by  direc¬ 
tion  of  Congressman  Cheatham,  James  H. 
Young,  a  negro.  Young  resides  in  Kaleigh. 
He  attended  a  ward  meeting  there  just  befo're  the 
late  election,  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  county 
convention,  and  that  tody  made  him  secretary 
of  the  county  committee  and  delegate  to  the  repub¬ 
lican  state  convention.  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
he  went  over  to  Wilmington  and  registered 
and  voted  at  the  late  election.  Kunnell,  an¬ 
other  negro,  also  wants  the  office,  and  his  fac¬ 
tion,  armed  with  the  above  facts,  are  making 
it  lively  for  Young  on  the  ground  that  he 
ought  to  be  sent  to  prison— New  York  Times, 
December  IS. 

— Politicians  regard  the  trouble  as  but  a 
natural  outcome  of  the  rivalry  between  the 
Platt  and  anti-Platt  factions.  Col.  Erhardl 


[collector]  is  supposed  to  take  care  of  the  anti- 
Platt  people,  while  Lyon  [surveyor  of  the  port] 
is  expected,  on  a  modified  scale,  to  protect  the 
Platt  patriots,  in  which  policy  he  enjoys  the 
support  of  the  federal  administration.  Col. 
Erhardt’s  friends  express  the  most  exuberant 
admiration  for  his  policy  in  making  places  for 
republican  workers.  In  the  nineteen  months 
he  has  held  the  office  he  has  made  more  re¬ 
movals  than  Collectors  Hedden  and  Magone 
made  in  the  four  years  of  their  occupancy. 
In  the  unclassified  berths,  which  are  exempt 
from  civil  service  laws,  not  a  democrat,  his 
friends  proudly  boast,  draws  salary  to-day. — 
New  York  Times,  Dec.  17. 

— At  a  recent  election  a  candidate  failed  to 
pay  a  cent  of  his  assessment.  He  continually 
promised  to  pay  and  as  persistently  failed  to 
do  so.  Finally,  about  four  or  five  days  before 
election  the  delinquent  candidate  received  a 
communication  from  the  state  committee, 
which  informed  him  that  unless  his  assessment 
was  paid  at  once,  an  accident  would  happen 
which  would  be  of  peculiar  interest  to  him. 
The  accident,  it  was  intimated,  would  be  that 
in  some  of  the  counties  this  candidate’s  name 
would  not  appear  upon  the  ballots.  J'he  as- 
.sessment  was  paid  within  forty-eight  hours. — 
Indianapolis  News,  Oct.  3. 

— The  politicians  are  wondering  why  Quar- 
terman  Arthur  Boyle  of  the  navy  yard  is  not 
removed.  He  is  a  per  diem  man,  but  he  was 
away  for  two  days  last  week  electioneering  for 
Congressman  Wallace,  and  did  not  report  for 
duty  on  either  occasion.  He  did  not  answer 
the  roll-call  as  others  have  to  do. — New  York 
Times,  Oct.  5. 

— Senators  Quay  and  Cameron  conferred 
with  state  party  leaders  at  the  Continental 
Hotel  in  Philadelphia,  December  12.  They 
were  anxious  to  strengthen  the  lines  of  battle. 
The  internal  revenue  collector,  David  Martin,  was 
the  first  one  summoned,  and  the  three  had  a 
private  conference.  Three  others  were  sum¬ 
moned.  It  was  argued  that  nothing  should 
be  done  which  would  lead  to  the  belief  that 
bossism  was  still  rampant.  It  was  also  agreed 
that  the  houses  of  the  state  legislature  should 
be  allowed  to  choose  their  own  officers. — From 
Philadelphia  Dispatch  New  York  Times,  Dec.  13. 

— And  the  party  is  likewise  the  aforesaid  post¬ 
master,  at  the  present  writing.  He  has  the 
credit  of  wielding  a  tremendous  influence  in 
his  capacity  of  professor  general  of  local  poli¬ 
tics. — Richmond,  Ind.,  Sunday  Register  [iJep.]  on 
Richmond’s  Postmaster- Editor,  Nov  23. 

— From  away  up  in  the  Adirondack  region 
comes  a  New  York  republican  assemblyman 
who  says  of  the  election  that  “that  census  did 
the  business;  for  every  one  of  the  enumerators 
appointed  in  each  census  district,  ten  workers 
were  disappointed  and  resolved  to  get  even 
with  the  local  boss  who  had  control  of  the  appoint¬ 
ments,  wherever  the  census  officials  were  lo¬ 
cated  there  was  a  center  of  discord  and  a 
horde  of  disappointed  republicans.” — Spring- 
field  Republican,  Nov.  28. 

TAMMANY  HALL. 

A  Quasi-Feudalism  Without  the  Romance 
or  Courtesy  or  Honor  of  Feudalism. 

Tammany  Hall  has  begun  its  annual  levy 
of  campaign  assessments.  Within  a  week  ev¬ 
ery  police  captain  who  desires  to  avoid  con¬ 
flict  with  the  “powers  that  be”  will  have  sub¬ 
scribed  $25 ;  every  police  sergeant  and  rounds- 


184 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


man  $15,  and  every  police  patrolman  $10. 
Foremen  of  fire  department  companies  will 
have  paid  $25  each  if  they  desire  to  retain 
their  places,  assistant  foremen  $15  each,  and 
firemen  and  truckmen  $10  each.  The  clerks 
and  other  helpers  in  the  various  departments 
of  the  city  government  will  have  paid  various 
sums  from  $5  up,  according  to  the  amount  of 
their  annual  salaries.  Heads  of  departments 
will  not  be  exempt  from  the  levy.  It  is  said 
that  no  one  is  exempt  from  the  Tammany  cam¬ 
paign  levies  save  the  “Big  Four”  and  a  chosen 
few  of  the  district  leaders. — New  York  Evening 
Post,  Oct.  IS. 


Our  estimated  table  of  Tammany  “  assess¬ 
ments,”  as  enlarged  by  yesterday’s  filed  state¬ 
ments  of  candidates’  expenditures,  reads  as 


follows:  . 

Mayor .  8-1,000 

District  attorney .  4,000 

SheriflF .  4,000 

County  clerk .  5,000 

Comptroller .  2,500 

President  of  the  board  of  aldermen .  2,000 

Superior  court  judge .  10,000 

City  court  judge,  two  candidates .  8,000 

Coroner  (not  yet  filed) .  2,000 

Civil  justices,  two  candidates .  4,000 

Congressmen,  six  candidates .  6,000 

Assemblymen,  twenty-four  candidates .  7,500 

Aldermen,  twenty-four  candidates .  3,500 


Total . 862,500 


The  price  which  judge  McAdampaid  for  the 
superior  court  nomination  emphasizi:s  the  well- 
known  fact  that  Tammany  has  for  years  ob¬ 
tained  a  higher  price  for  its  judicial  nomina¬ 
tions  than  for  almost  any  other  within  its  con¬ 
trol.  The  long  term  and  the  high  salary  which 
pertain  to  the  more  important  judge.ships  are 
considered  sufficient  reason  for  this.  It  has 
happened  frequently  in  the  past  that  as  much 
as  $25,000  has  been  paid  for  a  superior  or  su¬ 
preme  court  nomination. — Nev)  York  Evening 
Post,  Nov.  14- 


The  importance  to  Bourke  Cockran  of  May¬ 
or  Grant’s  re-election  can  scarcely  be  overes¬ 
timated.  Nobody  except  himself  knows  how 
many  sources  of  income  he  has  because  of  his 
“  pull”  with  the  mayor,  but  everybody  knows 
they  are  numerous  and  valuable.  It  came  out 
during  the  investigation  of  the  bherifi'’s  office, 
for  example,  that  each  of  the  thirteen  deputy 
sheriffs  had  to  pay  $35  a  month  out  of  his  pay 
of  about  $3,000  a  year  to  Cockran  as  a  “  re¬ 
taining  fee”  for  Cockran’s  services  in  advising 
him  about  the  levying  of  blackmail.  Cock¬ 
ran’s  income  from  this  source  alone  was,  there¬ 
fore,  about  $6,000  a  year.  It  has  since  been 
shown  that  he  had  one  of  his  relatives  put  on 
the  pay  roll  in  the  register’s  office,  with  little 
to  do  and  a  salary  of  $1,300  a  year,  though  he 
had  been  in  this  country  only  two  months, 
and  never  had  been  naturalized.  These  two 
revelations  were  mere  accidental  glimpses  of 
the  almost  countless  streams  which  flow  in 
more  or  less  circuitous  channels  between  the 
city  treasury  and  the  pockets  of  the  custos. — 
New  York  Evening  Post,  Nov.  1. 


“I  am  not  surprised  that  a  man  like  Grant 
can  be  elected  mayor  of  New  York  when  there 
are  people  in  the  city  who  would  make  an  al¬ 
derman  of  ‘Jake’  Kunzenmann,”  said  a  resi¬ 
dent  of  the  fourteenth  assembly  district  to  a 
reporter  for  The  Evening  Post  last  evening. 
Kunzenmann  is  the  fellow  described  in  The 
Evening  Post  .some  days  ago  as  the  leader  of  the 
Voorhis  democracy  in  the  fourteenth,  whose 
influence  in  behalf  of  that  Tammany  auxiliary 
was  secured,  as  is  alleged,  by  giving  him  the 
privilege  of  naming  five  policemen,  whose  ap¬ 
pointment  was  to  be  secured  (so  he  said)  by 
Mr.  Voorhis,  the  police  commissioner.  Knn- 


zenmann  boasted  that  every  “  cop,”  which  is 
the  slang  name  for  a  policeman,  was  worth 
$100  or  $150  to  him. 

“  Kunzenmann,”  continued  the  fourteenth 
district  man,  “ran  for  alderman  as  an  inde¬ 
pendent  democrat,  and  was  elected.  Of  course 
the  decent  people  were  up  in  arms  against  him, 
and  every  eflbrt  was  made  to  prevent  his  elec¬ 
tion.  No  pains  were  spared  to  recall  to  the 
people’s  minds  that  he  was  one  of  the  worst 
men  this  city  had  ever  sent  to  Albany.  One 
document  that  was  liberally  distributed  was  a 
circular  showing  that  while  a  member  of  the 
assembly  he  had  accepted  bribes  from  both 
sides  in  the  gas  bill  controversy,  and  that  he 
had  afterwards  admitted  it.  This  circular  did 
not  seem  to  bother  Kunzenmann  at  all,  but  on 
the  contrary  seemed  to  please  him.  He  went 
so  far  as  to  have  1,500  copies  of  it  printed  and 
distributed  through  the  district.  I  asked  him 
why  he  had  done  that,  and  he  replied: 

‘“Why,  it  makes  me  solid  with  the  people. 
That’s  the  kind  of  a  man  they  like.’” — New 
York  Post,  Nov.  S. 


Mayor  Grant  this  morning,  in  fulfilment  of 
two  political  bargains,  appointed  I’atrick 
(commonly  called  “  Baddy”)  Divver,  a  rum- 
seller,  and  the  Tammany  leader  in  the  second 
assembly  district,  and  John  J.  Ryan,  an  un- 
deriaker  in  the  fourth  assembly  district,  po¬ 
lice  justices.  We  quote  irom  The  Evening 
Post’s  “New  Tammany  Pamphlet:” 

“Patrick  Divver,  commonly  called  ‘Paddy,’ 
is  the  Tammany  leader  in  the  second  assem¬ 
bly  district.  He  is  the  keeper  of  a  sailor’s 
boarding-house,  and  is  the  proprietor,  or  has 
interests  in,  several  liquor  saloons.  He  is  an 
ex-member  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  a  race¬ 
track  frequenter,  and  the  friend  and  confidant 
of  gamblers.  He  is  on  terms  of  intimacy  with 
‘Johnny’  Matthews  and  ‘Jake’  Shipsey,  two 
members  of  the  sporting  and  gambling  fra¬ 
ternity,  whose  particular  methods  of  gaining 
a  livelihood  are  not  unknown  to  the  frequent¬ 
ers  of  Paddy  Divver’s  and  other  rum  shops  on 
Park  Row,  where  they  are  generally  to  be 
found.” 

Up  to  within  a  few  months  of  the  late  elec 
tion  Divver  was  known  to  be  at  odds  with  the 
mayor,  presumably  because  the  mayor  would 
not  make  him  an  excise  commissioner,  and 
the  presumption  was  generally  accepted  to  be 
correct.  Divver  and  his  friends  were  threat¬ 
ening  all  kinds  of  vengeful  acts,  the  most  seri¬ 
ous  of  which  was  to  “bolt”  from  the  Tam 
many  organization  and  carry  the  whole 
Tammany  committee  in  the  second  assembly 
district  with  them.  That  alarmed  the  mayor 
and  the  other  members  of  the  “  big  four,”  and 
they  at  once  set  to  work  to  make  their  peace 
with  Divver.  Just  before  the  election  Divver 
“fell  into  line”  for  Grant,  and  it  was  rumored 
that  he  took  an  active  part  in  making  Tam¬ 
many’s  peace  with  the  gambling  fraternity,  in 
which  he  has  many  friends.  It  was  then  said 
that  Divver  had  been  promised  a  police  jus¬ 
ticeship.  This  story  was  denied  at  the  time, 
but  it  now  turns  out  to  have  been  true. 

After  making  the  appointments  this  morn¬ 
ing,  the  mayor  gave  out  the  usual  statement 
that  they  had  been  made  at  the  recommenda¬ 
tion  of  a  number  of  good  tax  payers.  Div¬ 
ver’s  appointment  was  said  to  have  been  recom¬ 
mended  by  fifty  citizens,  among  whom  re¬ 
corder  Smyth  and  J.  Edward  Simmons  were 
mentioned. — New  York  Evening  Post,  Dec.  17. 

Mayor  Grant  to-day  made  public  some  of  a 
large  number  of  written  indorsements,  which 
he  received,  of  the  candidacy  of  Patrick  Div¬ 
ver,  Tammany  rumseller,  for  the  police  jus¬ 
ticeship.  Here  are  some  of  them: 

J.  Edward  Simmons,  president  of  the  Fourth 
National  Bank— I  am  informed  that  Mr.  P. 
Divver  is  a  candidate  for  the  appointment  of 


police  justice.  I  have  known  Mr.  Divver  for 
many  years  and  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  com¬ 
mend  him  to  your  favorable  consideration.  I 
think  he  will  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office 
in  an  acceptable  and  efficient  manner. 

F.  B.  Thurber — I  take  pleasure  in  indorsing 
the  recommendation  of  Hon.  Patrick  Divver 
for  the  position  of  police  justice.  Mr.  Divver 
has  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  masses 
of  the  people,  and  possesses  their  confidence  in 
a  remarkable  degree.  This  is  not  a  position 
that  requires  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
general  law,  but  simply  a  knowledge  of  the 
laws  which  apply  to  the  administration  of  the 
police  department  and  the  administration  of 
criminal  justice.  I  believe  he  would  make  an 
excellent  police  justice. 

David  ^IcCIure — During  the  years  that  I 
have  known  Mr.  Divver  he  has  been  a  reputa¬ 
ble  gentleman,  and  has  merited  universal  re¬ 
spect. 

Recorder  Frederick  Smyth — I  have  known 
Mr.  Divver  personally  for  many  years  and  be¬ 
lieve  him  to  be  in  every  way  well  qualified  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  to  which  he 
desires  to  be  appointed.  My  long  experience 
as  a  judge  of  the  court  of  general  sessions  of 
this  city  convinces  me  of  the  propriety  of  plac¬ 
ing  men  in  the  office  of  police  justice  of  integ¬ 
rity,  good  common  sense,  and  who  are  familiar 
with  the  peculiar  population  of  which  the  city 
is  made  up. 

State  Senator  William  L.  Brown  (Tam.) — 
He  (Mr.  Divver)  has  a  kindly  heart,  a  quality 
much  needed  in  the  discharge  of  the  functions 
of  a  police  justice.  I  am  sure  his  appointment 
would  meet  with  general  approval  from  your 
friends,  of  whom  I  am  not  among  the  least  or 
unconcerned. 

Joseph  J.  O’ Donohue — There  is  nothing  that 
has  given  me  more  pleasure  during  my  entire 
business  life  than  to  recommend  as  one  of  the 
police  justices  Pat  Divver.  I  have  known  him 
personally  for  many  years,  and  could  not  say 
enough  for  him.  I  know  him  to  be  honest 
and,  in  my  opinion,  fully  capable  to  fill  the 
position. — New  York  Evening  Post,  Dec.  18. 

The  mayor's  choice  of  Divver  for  police  jus¬ 
tice  is  universally  condemned  by  the  press  of 
the  city.  The  Herald  says:  “He  is  (he  tough¬ 
est  kind  of  raw  material  to  make  a  police  jus¬ 
tice  of.  *  *  «  Tlie  interests  of  New  York 
be  hanged.  His  honor  has  all  he  can  do  to 
look  after  the  interests  of  Tammany.”  The 
Tribune  says:  “Here  is  a  vulgar,  illiterate  gin- 
mill  keeper,  by  his  very  profession  a  breeder 
of  vice  and  a  maker  of  criminals,  as  ignorant 
of  the  law  as  a  kangaroo,  whose  saloons  are 
the  hanging-out  places  of  gamblers  and  sharp¬ 
ers,  elevated  to  the  bench  of  that  court  where¬ 
in  all  the  virtue  and  charity  and  wisdom  of 
which  man  is  capable  would  often  be  severely 
tested.  Could  anything  be  more  shameful  or 
more  disgusting?”  The  World,  which  sup¬ 
ported  mayor  Grant  for  re-election,  says: 
“These  appointments  are  unfit  to  be  made. 
Divver  is  a  saloon  keeper,  a  politician  of  a 
small  and  unworthy  sort,  an  ex-alderman, and 
the  friend  and  associate  of  men  of  defective 
reputation.”  Even  the  Sun  does  not  venture 
to  commend  Divver’s  appointment,  which 
shows  that  it  must  be  a  shockingly  bad  one. — 
Neiv  York  Times,  Dec.  IS. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMISSION. 

The  seventh  report  of  the  federal  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission,  covering  the  year  from  July 
1,  1889,  has  appeared  under  date  of  November 
20.  It  effectively  devotes  a  large  share  of  space 
to  evasion  and  violation  of  the  law  under  the 
power  of  removal.  The  tables  of  changes  made 
in  certain  offices  do  not  permit  a  comparison  of 
removals  in  the  classified  service  between  cor- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


185 


i-esponding  years  under  Cleveland  and  Harri 
son,  as  has  been  claimed  in  some  quarters 
They  do,  however,  show  conclusively,  that  in 
the  departments  at  Washington  there  has  been, 
since  the  law  went  in  force,  but  little  disposi. 
tion  to  remove  those  who  obtained  places  un¬ 
der  it,  the  average  of  such  removals  being  in 
the  first  year  of  an  administration,  the  time  of 
the  greatest  temptation,  only  eight  per  cent. 
This  proves  that  a  man  who  has  obtained  hig 
place  in  open  competition  has  a  moral  power 
that  beats  back  the  hungriest  office-seekers. 

The  tables  fearlessly  place  the  spoils  system 
and  the  merit  system  side  by  side.  We  copy 
the  percentage 'of  removals  per  annum  under 
both  systems  in  thirteen  post-offices  during  the 

first  months  of  President  Harrison’s  adminis¬ 
tration  : 

Classified  Unclassified 

Service.  Service. 


Months. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Indianapolis,  Ind. .. 

12 

14 

75 

Denver,  Colo . 

12 

19 

50 

New  York,  N.  Y . 

12 

8 

... 

Jersey  Citv,  N.  J . 

12 

19 

48 

Chicago,  Ill . 

12 

7 

70 

Milwaukee,  Wis . 

10 

3 

48 

Philadelphia,  Pa . 

8 

11 

28 

Newark,  N.  J . 

9 

7 

68 

Syracuse,  N.  Y . 

7  . 

28 

90 

Albany,  N.  Y . 

8 

28 

90 

Pittsburgh,  Pa . 

5 

22 

90 

Kansas  City,  Mo . 

7 

8 

50 

New  Haven,  Conn.. 

5 

15 

50 

Of  these  figures  the  commission  pertinently 
says ; 

Taking  the  first  table  given  above  and  comparing 
the  percentages  of  removals  in  the  classified  service 
in  each  post-office  with  the  number  of  removals  made 
in  the  unclassified  and  excepted  places,  the  differ¬ 
ence  is  astonishing.  In  one  case  the  percentage 
ranges  from  3  to  28;  in  the  other,  from  46  to  over 
90;  and  the  average  is  about  seven  times  as  great 
among  those  employ  es  not  protected  by  the  law  as  it 
is  among  those  who  are  protected  by  the  law.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  advance  any  argument  which 
would  show  more  conclusively  the  good  effect  that 
the  law  has  in  preventing  in  the  classified  service 
clean  sweeps  and  removals  for  political  purposes. 
The  interests  of  the  public  service  demand  changes 
to  the  extent  of  only  10  or  15  per  cent,  among  those 
who  have  entered  through  the  examinations, 
whereas  50  or  80  per  cent,  of  those  who  have  not  thus 
entered  are  removed  during  the  year  succeeding  any 
change  of  administration.  The  conclusion  is  irresist¬ 
ible  either  that  where  the  law  does  not  apply  ap¬ 
pointing  officers  put  into  excepted  and  unclassified 
places  incompetent  persons,  or  else  that  their  sue" 
cessors  remove  from  these  places  men  who  are  com¬ 
petent,  arid  who  are  therefore  removed  for  reasons 
unconnected  with  the  good  of  the  service.  These 
figures  show  either  that,  outside  of  the  classified  ser. 
vice,  poorer  grades  of  appointments  are  made,  or  else 
that  there  are  large  numbers  of  removals  of  perfectly 
good  men  who  are  sacrificed  simply  for  party  or  per 
sonal  considerations.  Probably  both  of  these  con¬ 
clusions  would  be  just. 

It  may  be  added  that  this  comparison  holds 
good,  almost  without  an  exception,  throughout 
the  federal  service. 

The  report  shows  that  during  the  year  the 
commission  examined  22,956  persons,  of  whom 
13,811  passed.  There  were  appointed  during 
the  year,  from  the  eligible  lists,  5,415  persons, 
the  proportion  of  appointees  being  about  one 
to  two  and  a  half.  The  spoils  system  makes  a 
poor  show  next  to  these  figures.  President 


Harrison  could  give  only  one  out  of  thirty- 
five  the  office  of  collector  of  customs  of  this 
city.  Mr.  Blaine  said  there  were  more  than 
5,000  applications  for  200  consulships,  so  that 
if  all  the  places  were  filled  only  one  in  twenty- 
five  could  be  appointed.  Recently  there  were 
fifty  applicants  for  a  janitorship  in  the  court¬ 
house  of  this  county.  In  the  first  year  of 
President  Cleveland  and  of  President  Harrison 
there  were  more  than  100  applicants  for  each 
place  in  Washington  that  could  be  vacated  as 
spoil,  and  these  applicants,  in  droves,  trav¬ 
eled  hundreds  of  miles  to  Washington,  and 
at  their  own  expense  for  days  and  weeks 
ranged  from  the  dearest  down  to  the  cheap¬ 
est  board,  and  at  last  came  home  humil¬ 
iated  and  penniless.  The  number  of  appli¬ 
cants  for  each  bit  of  spoil  and  the  amount 
of  bitter  quarreling  over  it,  if  known  to  the 
public,  would  be  the  most  astonishing  and 
humiliating  fact  connected  with  our  civil 
government.  On  the  other  hand,  the  com¬ 
petitors  under  the  merit  system  go  to  a  con¬ 
venient  point  for  examination  and  then  return 
home.  If  an  appointment  follows,  the  ap¬ 
pointee  is  beholden  to  no  one,  and  he  may  en¬ 
ter  upon  his  duties  his  own  man.  If  he  gets 
no  appointment  he  has  not  humiliated  him¬ 
self. 

It  it  proper  to  close  these  remarks  by  ask¬ 
ing  Mr.  Wanamaker  what,  in  the  light  of  this 
report,  becomes  of  the  suggestion  of  his  present 
private  secretary  on  his  behalf  that  the  com¬ 
mission  had,  more  than  a  year  ago,  examined 
enough  persons  to  fill  appointments  for  ten 
years,  and  were  open  to  the  charge  of  simply 
providing  themselves  with  employment  by 
holding'further  examinations?  To  the  ordinary 
mind  it  would  seem  that  fairness  and  decency 
call  for  an  apology  from  Mr.  Wanamaker,  and 
a  confession  that  both  himself  and  his  secre¬ 
tary  were  wholly  ignorant  of  the  workings  of 
the  merit  system,  which  they  had  with  an  as¬ 
surance  bred  solely  in  conceit,  entered  into  a 
plot  to  discredit. 


EXTRACTS 

From  the  Reporc  of  the  Civil  Service  Com¬ 
mission  for  the  year  ending  July  i,  1889. 

* 

From  Julyl,  1889,  to  July  30,  1890,  3,751  applicants 
were  examined  for  the  departmental  service  at  Wash¬ 
ington,  of  whom  2,117  passed  and  1,634  failed  to  pass. 
For  the  customs  service  3,552  were  examined,  1,746 
passed  and  1.806  failed;  for  the'postal  service  11,190 
were  examined,  6,801  passed  and  4,389  failed  to  pass; 
for  the  railway  mail  service  4,463  were  examined, 
3,129  passed  and  1,334  failed  to  pass.  The  whole 
number  examined  for  the  four  branches  of  the  classi¬ 
fied  service  was  22,956,  of  whom  13,811  passed  ana 
9,145  failed  to  pass.  Compared  with  the  previous 
year  this  shows  an  increase  of  3,896  in  the  whole 
number  examined,  an  increase  of  1,833  in  the  whole 
number  who  passed,  aud  an  increase  of  2,063  in  the 
whole  number  who  failed  to  pass.  The  whole  num¬ 
ber  appointed  in  the  year  covered  by  this  report  is  as 
follows :  Departmental  service,  534  ;  custom  service, 
375:  postal  service,  3,106;  and  railway  mail  service. 
1,400;  total,  5,415;  an  increase  of  1,634  over  the  pre¬ 
vious  year. 

>.•«  Ji»  tic  <C 

When  President  Arthur  classified  the  departmental 
service  it  included,  as  above  stated,  some  6,000  per¬ 


sons.  In  his  time  378  persons  entered  the  service  by 
examination.  When  President  Cleveland  came  in  he 
therefore  found  over  5,600  employes  in  the  depart¬ 
ments  who  had  been  appointed  prior  to  the  classifi¬ 
cation  of  the  service,  and  less  than  400  who  had  en¬ 
tered  through  the  examinations.  Under  President 
Cleveland  the'classified  service  was  extended  so  as  to 
take  in  somewhat  less  than  2,000  additional  persons, 
and  1,109  entered  through  the  examinations.  De¬ 
ducting  those  who  had  been  removed,  there  were  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  administration  in  the 
classified  service  of  about  8,000  people  some  1,275  who 
had  entered  through  the  examinations,  somewhat 
less  than  2,000  who  had  been  included  in  the  classi¬ 
fied  service  during  the  administration  of  President 
Cleveland,  and  somewhat  less  than  5,000  of  those 
who  had  been  in  the  service  originally  when  it  was 
classified  by  President  Arthur.  Everyyear,  of  course, 
sees  a  greater  proportion  of  persons  in  the  service 
who  have  entered  through  the  examinations,  and 
every  year,  therefore,  sees  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
government  clerks  at  Washington  whose  appoint¬ 
ments  have  been  made  wholly  without  regard  to  po¬ 
litical  considerations. 

*■>*<■*!>  i;c  <1 

The  commission  takes  this  opportunity  to  reiterate, 
however,  its  belief  that  in  all  cases  where  a  removal 
is  made  the  appointing  officer  should  give  the  ac¬ 
cused  man  a  chance  to  be  heard  in  his  own  defense, 
and  should  be  required  to  file  in  writing  a  full  state¬ 
ment  of  his  reasons  for  making  the  removal,  such 
statement  to  be  made  public  if  the  accused  so  de¬ 
sires  it.  In  the  event  of  a  very  large  number  of  re¬ 
movals  being  made  in  an  office  this  fact  should  be 
considered  presumptive  evidence  that  they  weie 
made  for  political  reasons,  and  to  overcome  this  pre¬ 
sumption  the  officer  making  them  should  be  able  to 
give  specifically  and  in  detail  the  reasons  for  each 
j-emoval  made. 

The  commission  respectfully  points  out  the  need 
of  legislation  by  congress  which  will  give  it  com¬ 
plete  control  of  the  central  board  of  examiners,  and 
which  will  allow  the  payment  of  small  sums  to  the 
local  boards  and  their  appointment  from  within  or 
without  the  government  service.  There  should  be  a 
board  of  twenty  examiners  at  Washington,  selected 
under  the  rules  governing  the  classified  service  and 
under  the  control  of  the  commission.  These  exam¬ 
iners  would  be  able  to  mark  all  the  papers  in  every 
examination,  local  or  otherwise,  and  thus  secure  a 
perfectly  uniform  system  of  marking  and  prevent 
any  suspicion  of  carelessness  or  bad  faith  on  the  part 
of  the  local  boards. 

At  present  the  central  board  at  Washington  con¬ 
sists  nominally  of  ten  men  detailed  from  the  vari¬ 
ous  departments,  and  they  thus  owe  a  divided  alle¬ 
giance  to  the  commission  and  to  the  departments. 
Being  lent  to  the  commission,  they  are  lost  to  the 
sight  of  the  promoting  power,  and  are  often  passed 
over  in  promotions  in  consequence,  while  the  com¬ 
mission  itself  has,  of  course,  no  power  to  promote 
them.  This  works  an  injustice  to  the  examiners 
themselves,  and  often  makes  the  best  among  them 
unwilling  to  be  detailed  to  the  commission.  More¬ 
over  the  commission  is  obliged  to  depend  entirely 
upon  the  good  will  of  the  departments  forfurni.shing 
the  examiners.  The  departments  are,  of  course,  re¬ 
quired  to  do  so  by  law,  but  there  is  no  way  of  en¬ 
forcing  the  requisitions.  Thus,  during  the  last  fiscal 
year,  very  nearly  half  of  the  commission’s  work  has 
been  done  for  the  post-office  department,  yet,  until 
very  recently,  the  post-office  department  has  been 
represented  on  the  central  board  by  but  one  man, 
and  the  commission,  therefore,  had  to  take  up  the 
time  of  men  detailed  from  other  departments  to  do 
work  not  from  the  departments  from  which  they 
were  detailed,  but  for  the  post-office  department 
from  which  no  detailcould  be  obtained.  Finally  the 
commission  was  forced  to  notify  the  post-office  de¬ 
partment  that  it  would  be  impossible  any  longer  to 
mark  the  railway  mail  papers  unless  an  adequate 
force  was  detailed.  Ten  examiners  in  all  are  now 
detailed.  It  would  cause  no  increase  of  expenditure 
at  all  to  have  these  examiners  estimated  for  as  em¬ 
ployes  of  the  civil  service  commission  instead  of  as 
employes  of  the  different  departments  from  which 


186 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


they  come.  This  would  put  them  completely  under 
control  of  the  commission. 

This  transfer  could  be  made  at  once  in  the  appro¬ 
priation  bill,  and  it  would  c^iuse  no  increased  ex¬ 
pense  whatever.  But  there  should  also  be  ten  addi¬ 
tional  clerks  at  an  average  salary  of  SI, 400  or  81,600  to 
do  the  work  of  marking  papers  now  marked  by  the 
local  boards.  This  would  secure  a  much  greater 
uniformity  and  accuracy  in  marking  of  the  appli¬ 
cants  for  the  local  offices  than  can  be  obtained  at 
present.  A  sum  of  say  86,000  is  needed  in  order  that 
the  members  of  the  local  boards  may  be  paid  some¬ 
thing  for  their  services,  which  even  aside  from  mark¬ 
ing  papers  are  often  arduous  and  always  responsible, 
and  the  law  should  permit  these  members  to  be  ap¬ 
pointed  from  within  or  without  the  government 
service.  The  net  increase  of  appropriation  would  be 
only  some  821,04)0  by  this  arrangement,  with  the  re¬ 
sult  of  very  greatly  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the 
commission. 

>:«  s:s  >:« 

The  commission  has  fortunately  been  able  to  make 
an  experiment  of  its  theory  that  good  would  result 
from  putting  on  the  local  boards  men  unconnected 
with  the  offices  for  which  those  boards  conduct  ex¬ 
aminations.  and  therefore  free  from  all  possibility 
of  influence  on  the  part  of  the  local  appointing  offi¬ 
cer.  In  Indianapolis  and  Baltimore  the  commission 
found  citiifens  who  were  in  the  public  service  owing 
to  their  oonnection  with  the  federal  court  or  census 
bureau,  but  who  had  no  connection  with  the  local 
post-offices,  and  who  were  independent  gentlemen 
of  position  and  of  high  standing  in  the  community. 
Messrs.  Fishback  and  Butler,  of  Indianapolis,  and 
Mr.  Rose,  of  Baltimore,  consented  to  .serve  on  the 
postal  boards  in  their  respective  cities,  Mr.  Rose  at 
the  time  being  connected  with  the  census  bureau, 
and  Messrs.  Butler  and  Fishback,  with  the  United 
States  court.  The  presence  on  the  boards  of  these 
gentlemen  brought  about  excellent  results  in  con¬ 
vincing  outsiders  that  the  workings  of  the  boards 
were  absolutely  non-partisan,  and  beyond  all  sus¬ 
picion  of  improper  influence.  The  commission  al¬ 
ready  had  thorough  confidence  in  the  integrity  of 
both  the  Indianapolis  and  the  Baltimore  boards,  but 
recognizes  the  fact  that  every  means  should  be  taken 
to  insure  public  confidence  in  the  working  of  the 
system,  and  hailed  the  chance  of  putting  on  these 
boards  men  of  high  standing  in  their  respective  com¬ 
munities,  who  did  not  make  their  living  in  the  gov¬ 
ernment  service,  and  were  entirely  independent  of 
government  position.  The  result  has  been  most  sat¬ 
isfactory,  and  thanks  are  due  Messrs.  Fishback,  But¬ 
ler  and  Rose  for  their  disinterested  public  service. 

The  most  wholesome  efTect  has  been  produced  in 
many  offices  and  departments  by  the  prosecution  or 
removal  of  delinquents  in  accordance  with  sugges¬ 
tions  made  to  the  proper  departments  by  the  com¬ 
mission  after  the  investigation  of  cases  of  alleged 
misconduct.  In  o'.her  instances,  where  the  law  was 
being  disregarded  through  mere  ignorance,  all  that 
was  necessary  was  to  call  the  attention  of  the  ap¬ 
pointing  officer,  and  of  the  board  and  of  the  com¬ 
munity  as  well,  vividly  to  what  the  law  was,  and 
great  changes  for  the  better  ensued.  Thus,  the  com- 
mi.ssion  at  its  first  visit  to  the  Indianapolis  post-office 
after  the  change  of  administration,  was  forced  to  ex¬ 
press  dissatisfaction  with  some  features  of  the  ob¬ 
servance  of  the  law  in  that  office.  It  gives  the  com¬ 
mission  great  pleasure  to  say  that  at  present  the  In¬ 
dianapolis  post-office  is  one  in  which  the  law  is  being 
observed  most  rigidly  in  letter  and  spirit.  Any  can¬ 
didate  for  position  of  clerk  or  letter-carrier  in  that 
office,  whether  democrat  or  republican,  or  neither, 
is  examined,  marked,  certified,  and  appointed  abso¬ 
lutely  without  regard  to  his  political  belief,  and  is 
retained  as  long  as  by  good  conduct  he  merits  reten¬ 
tion,  and  of  this  the  commission  is  satisfied  by  careful 
personal  investigation.  As  is  generally  the  case  with 
an  office  where  the  civil-service  law  is  being  rigidly 
observed,  the  Indianapolis  post-office  is  also  remark¬ 
able  for  the  efficiency  and  integrity  with  which  the 
public  business  is  executed  therein. 

jjt  sjt  sjt  * 

The  commission’s  decision  to  make  public  the  eli¬ 


gible  lists  has  worked  admirably,  and  has  given  th® 
greatest  satisfaction.  After  an  examination,  the 
names  of  the  persons  examined  are  not  disclosed  un¬ 
til  the  markings  are  completed,  the  boards  and  indi¬ 
viduals  doing  the  marking  being  completely  igno¬ 
rant  of  whose  papers  they  are  examining.  This  is 
done  to  prevent  all  possibility  of  favoritism ;  but 
once  the  markings  are  completed,  the  papers  are 
open  to  inspection  by  any  proper  person,  and  the 
whole  proceedings  in  the  case  of  every  individual 
candidate  can  be  followed  out  from  beginning  to 
end.  It  is  thus  almost  impossible  for  any  fraud  to 
be  committed  without  imminent  and  immediate 
risk  of  detection.  There  are  occasionally  cases  of 
cheating,  or  attempt  at  cheating,  among  the  candi¬ 
dates  themselves  at  examination  time,  but  as  far  as 
is  known,  during  the  year  covered  by  this  report, 
there  has  not  been  a  single  accusation  of  fraud 
against  any  governmental  employe  connected  with 
the  civil  service  examinations  which  has  proved-  to 
have  the  slightest  foundation  in  fact. 

FIFTH  REPORT 

Of  the  Special  Committee  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League. 

POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  PRESIDENTIAL  POST- 
OFFICES. 

To  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Civil 
Service  Reform  League : 

Your  special  committee  appointed  to  in¬ 
quire  into  the  condition  of  the  federal  service 
and  the  operation  of  the  reform  law  would  re¬ 
spectfully  report  as  follows  in  regard  to  the 
political  character  of  the  changes  made  in 
presidential  post-offices : 

Our  questions  in  regard  to  the  politics  of 
the  postmasters  removed  and  those  appointed 
elicited  the  following  results:  Out  of  437 
answers  received  in  which  the  information  was 
given  upon  this  point,  it  appears  that  in  427 
cases  the  postmaster  removed  or  resigned  was 
a  democrat,  in  1  case  a  prohibitionist,  in  1  an 
independent,  and  in  2  cases,  the  incumbents 
being  women,  it  was  stated  that  they  belonged 
to  no  political  party.  There  were  3  resigna¬ 
tions  and  3  removals  of  republicans.  From 
513  answers  received  regarding  the  politics  of 
the  postmasters  appointed,  it  appeared  that 
510  were  republicans,!  was  a  Knight  of  Labor, 
1  an  independent,  and  1  a  democrat.  The 
democrat  was  Samuel  P.  Burris,  of  Talladega, 
Ala.,  of  whom  his  predecessor  writes  :  “  I  was 
removed  because  I  was  a  democrat,  and  not  in 
sympathy  with  the  administration.  It  was 
believed  that  my  successor,  being  a  protec¬ 
tionist,  was  in  sympathy  with  the  administra¬ 
tion  and  would  support  it.”  The  uniformity 
with  which  democrats  were  removed  and  re¬ 
publicans  appointed  shows  pretty  clearly  that 
political  motives  were  not  absent  in  the 
making  of  these  changes.  It  appeared  in 
some  cases  that  quite  full  inquiries  were  made 
as  to  the  political  faith  of  candidates  for  ap¬ 
pointment  before  their  commissions  were 
issued.  Thus,  C.  A.  Gildea  was  postmaster 
at  Bracketsville,  Tex.,  and  on  Sept.  16,  1889, 
he  resigned.  Not  long  afterward,  Robert  C. 
Ballantyne  was  appointed  ;  but  a  protest  was 
filed  against  this  appointment  on  the  ground 
that  Ballantyne  was  a  democrat.  An  in¬ 
spector  who  came  to  investigate  a  mail  robbery 
was  engaged  for  two  or  three  days  inquiring 
about  Ballantyne’s  politics,  questioning  a 


large  number  of  persons,  among  others  the  old 
postmaster.  Mr.  Gildea  denied  his  right  to 
make  these  inquiries.  The  inspector  told 
Gildea  that  it  was  reported  that  Ballantyne 
was  a  democrat,  and  that,  as  an  agent  would 
have  to  be  sent  out  to  investigate,  he  would 
attend  to  it  himself  and  save  the  expense. 
After  some  months’  delay,  Mr.  Ballantyne’s 
political  orthodoxy  was  vindicated,  and  he 
received  the  appointment.  The  employment 
of  post-office  inspectors  to  do  this  sort  of  polit¬ 
ical  work  at  government  expense  carries  with 
it  its  own  criticism.  These  facts  are  furnished 
by  the  concurring  statements  of  the  postmaster 
resigned  and  the  one  appointed. 

Out  of  423  answers  to  our  questions  regard¬ 
ing  the  political  services  rendered  by  the 
former  incumbent  of  the  office,  it  appeared 
that  in  '83  cases  such  services  were  rendered, 
16  cases  were  disputed,  and  in  324  cases  the 
answers  showed  that  no  political  services  had 
been  rendered  while  in  office.  We  are  in¬ 
clined  to  believe,  however,  that  the  proportion 
of  the  old  postmasters  who  did  political  work 
was  very  much  larger  than  would  appear  from 
these  figures. 

To  our  inquiries  as  to  the  political  services 
rendered  by  the  new  appointees  in  the  last 
campaign  and  elsewhere  we  received  496 
answers.  In  155  cases  it  was  stated  that  no 
services  were  rendered,  6  cases  were  disputed, 
while  in  335  cases,  a  little  over  63  per  cent., 
the  new  appointees  were  active  in  party  work. 
The  positions  held  in  the  party  organization 
were  as  follows:  officers  and  members  of  state, 
congressional,  county  and  township  commit¬ 
tees,  delegates  to  national,  state  and  congres¬ 
sional  conventions,  candidates  for  various 
offices,  officers  of  republican  clubs,  campaign 
speakers,  county  “leaders,”  distributers  of 
tickets,  etc.  Chairman  and  secretaries  of 
county  committees  and  delegates  to  congres¬ 
sional  conventions  are  quite  prominent. 

Some  of  thenevv  appointees  state  quite  fully 
the  political  services  rendered  by  them.  Thus, 
E.  B.  Fletcher,  the  new  appointee  at  Morris, 
Ill.,  writes : 

I  took  part  in  the  last  campaign,  as  I  have  in  every 
campaign,  since  the  first  election  of  U.  S.  Grant  for 
president  in  1868;  was  an  alternate  delegate  to  the 
last  national  convention  ;  was  vice-president  of  the 
state  republican  leag\ie ;  was  chairman  of  congres¬ 
sional  committee;  was  member  of  county  central 
committee;  was  private  secretary  to  lieutenant  gov¬ 
ernor.  I  am  now',  and  ever  have  been  since  casting 
my  first  vote  in  1868,  a  member  of  the  republican 
party.  I  am  now,  and  have  been  for  fifteen  years, 
connected  with  the  Morris  Herald,  a  wide-aw-ake, 
progressive  republican  newspaper,  as  one  of  its  pub¬ 
lishers  and  editors. 

Robert  J.  Rogers,  appointed  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent  at  Searcy,  Ark.,  states  ; 

I  am  chairman  of  the  county  republican  commit¬ 
tee,  and  have  been  for  fifteen  years,  and  have  repre¬ 
sented  the  county  in  nearly  every  state  convention  ; 
and  I  have  taken  part  in  every  campaign  from  Gen 
Grant  down  to  the  present.  I  owned  some  stock  in 
the  only  republican  paper  ever  published  in  this 
place.  The  reason  they  are  getting  up  a  howl  against 
me  is  because  I  am  a  republican. 

C.  C.  Bush,  the  appointee  at  Reading,  Cal., 
has  sent  to  your  committee,  neatly  bound  and 
in  book  form,  a  printed  copy  of  the  papers 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


187 


61ed  on  his  application.  After  the  preface 
and  table  of  contents  appears  the  original  pe¬ 
tition  from  the  patrons  of  the  office  and  others, 
stating,  among  other  things,  the  various  offices 
which  Mr.  Bush  had  held,  such  as  delegate 
from  California  to  the  national  convention  of 
1884,  alternate  elector,  and  an  active  worker 
in  the  campaign  of  1888.  It  is  signed  by  the 
judge  of  the  superior  court,  chairman  and  sec¬ 
retary  and  other  members  of  the  republican 
county  committee,  editor  of  the  republican 
Free  Press,  county  clerk,  under-sheriff,  sheriff, 
city  attorney,  marshal,  and  others,  and  is  sup¬ 
plemented  by  a  petition  of  democrats  that, 
when  a  change  of  political  complexion  of  post¬ 
master  at  Redding  is  made,  they  desire  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  C.  C.  Bush.  This  is  signed  by 
the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  democratic 
county  committee,  by  the  mayor,  city  treasurer 
and  others.  Then  follows  a  petition  signed  by 
all  of  the  republican  members  of  the  legisla¬ 
ture  of  California.  Then  follows  a  certificate 
by  republicans  of  Tahama  county  that  Judge 
Bush  was  an  active,  untiring  republican  worker 
in  the  campaign  of  1888,  and  rendered  efficient 
services.  Then  followed  letters  from  ex-Gov- 
ernor  Low,  General  W.  H.  Dimond,  chairman 
of  the  repifblican  state  central  committee,  Hon. 
A.  P.  Williams,  ex-Senator  George  A.  Knight, 
Hon.  M.  M.  Estee,  chairman  of  the  national 
republican  convention  of  1888,  Charles  F. 
Crocker,  delegate  to  the  republican  national 
conventions  of  1884  and  1888,  two  members  of 
the  republican  county  committee,  ex-govern- 
ors,  members  of  congress,  and  other  republi¬ 
can  politicians,  concluding  with  a  letter  from 
Hon.  J.  D.  De  Haven,  M.  C.,  from  the  first 
congressional  district.  This  is  believed  to  be 
a  fair  sample  of  “a  strong  petition ”  for  the 
appointment  of  postmaster. 

Adolph  Zadek,  postmaster  at  Corsicana,Tex., 
writes : 

I  held  every  position  from  precinct  chairman  to 
chairman  of  the  republican  state  executive  commit¬ 
tee  ;  was  a  delegate  at  large  from  this  state  in  1876  to 
the  national  republican  convention  held  at  Cincin¬ 
nati,  Ohio.  I  am  at  present  chairman  of  my  senatorial 
district.  I  published  in  this  city,  in  1872,  a  republi¬ 
can  newspaper,  was  proprietor  of  same,  and  spent  for 
that  honor  52,000  out  of  my  personal  means  and  for  the 
love  of  the  republican  party.  The  paper  was  called 
the  Progressive  Age.  I  was  an  applicant,  for  the  first 
time,  under  this  administration  for  the  consulate  at 
Hamburg.  You  can  find  my  papers  on  file  in  the 
state  department.  I  am  personally  known  to  the  Hon. 
Secretary  of  State.  Being  a  southern  republican,  I 
did  not  receive  the  appointment  I  thought  I  fully 
deserved  for  services  rendered  to  the  country  and  the 
party  that  saved  the  union.  Colonel  J.  C.  Degress, 
and  other  leading  republicans  of  this  state,  wishing 
to  see  me  recognized  by  this  administration,  request¬ 
ed  me  to  make  my  application  for  this  office.  So  I 
applied  for  same,  and  received  my  appointment.  .  . 

The  following  correspondence  shows  a  con¬ 
gressman’s  views  on  the  claims  of  “party  ser¬ 
vice  ” :  — 

The  Rising  Sun  Stove  Polish  P.lctory  and  Black 

Lead  Works. 

Elijah  A.  Morse,  Propr.  Abner  L.  Morse,  Agt. 

Albert  E.  Morse,  Supt. 

Canton,  Mass.,  March  2:1, 1889. 
Mr.  Wm.  Burius,  Plymouth,  Mass.: 

Dear  Sir— Enclosed  find  a  letter  accompanying  the 
petitions  of  Avery, Whiting  and  Harlow,  by  which  you 
will  see  I  paid  you  and  your  assistant  a  compliment. 


Your  petition  was  received  yesterday,  and  forwarded 
to  day.  Your  friends  waked  up  to  late  in  the  matter.  I 
doubt  very  much  if  the  President  would  appoint  you, 
or  any  other  democrat,  to  a  presidential  office  in  the 
face  of  the  clean  sweep  which  the  Cleveland  admin¬ 
istration  made  of  republicans.  From  all  I  can  learn, 
you  will  retire  from  the  office  with  the  good  wishes 
of  the  people  of  Plymouth.  Will  you  be  kind  enough 
to  show  this  to  your  assistant? 

Respectfully  yours, 

Elijah  A.  Morse. 

Address  Morse  Bros.,  Canton,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 

Canton,  Mass.,  March  18, 1889. 
Gen.  Benjamin  Harrison,  President  of  the  United  Slates; 

De.ar  Sir— The  commission  of  the  present  demo¬ 
cratic  postmaster  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  my  district, 
expires  the  last  day  of  -March.  I  hand  you  herewith 
three  petitions  sent  me  by  my  constituents  in  that 
place— one  for  the  appointment  of  Winslow  W.  Avery, 
one  for  the  appointment  of  Henry  0.  Whiting,  and 
one  for  the  appointment  of  Heiiry  Harlow.  These 
several  petitions  are  numerously  signed  by  the  busi¬ 
ness  men  and  first  citizens  of  Plymouth.  Should  you 
do  me  the  honor  to  desire  my  opinion  I  say  frankly 
it  is  difficult  to  decide  between  the  three  candidates. 
Either  of  them  is  well  indorsed,  and  all  are  well  qual¬ 
ified  for  the  position.  While  Mr.  Avery  has  the  largest 
number  of  signers  to  his  petition,  Mr.  Whiting  has  at 
least  an  equal  indorsement  from  the  business  men  of 
Plymouth:  and,  while  Mr.  Harlow  has  a  smajler  in¬ 
dorsement  than  either  of  the  other  two,  he  has  among 
his  indorsers  the  Plymouth  Cordage  Company,  which 
is  one  of  the , largest  establishments  and  manufac¬ 
tories  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  and,  of  course,  large 
patrons  of  the  mail. 

In  your  inaugural  address,  you  stated  that  hon¬ 
orable  party  service  would  not  be  a  bar  to  political 
preferment.  Mr.  Avery,  the  first  gentleman  named, 
is  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Old  Colony  Memorial,  an 
ably  edited  paper,  having  a  large  circulation  in 
Plymouth  county,  and  for  twenty-five  years  that  pa¬ 
per  has  been  a  stanch,  honorable  and  able  defender 
of  the  republican  party,  and  to  its  influence  is  due, 
in  a  measure,  the  large  republican  majority  given  in 
Plymouth  county  for  the  last  twenty-five  years.  So 
that,  if  I  am  asked  to  decide  between  these  three  can¬ 
didates  on  the  ground  of  honorable  and  patriotic 
party  service,  I  should  give  my  preference  to  Mr. 
Avery. 

I  learn  from  my  constituents  that  the  present  dem¬ 
ocratic  postmaster,  whose  term  is  now  expiring,  has 
faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office ;  and  his 
assistant— whom  I  hope  will  be  retained  by  his  suc¬ 
cessor— is  an  affable,  pleasant  and  courteous  gentle¬ 
man,  universally  popular  in  Plymouth. 

Elijah  A.  Morse. 

FOUR  years’  service. 

One  ground  for  the  removal  of  postmasters 
is  given  thus,  in  the  statement  furnished  by 
Mr.  Clarkson  :  “  Upon  expiration  of  four  years’ 
service,  and  second  commission  not  yet  ex¬ 
pired,”  and  he  states  there  were  201  removais 
on  this  account.  It  wiii  be  observed  that  in 
these  cases  the  commission  of  the  postmaster 
had  not  expired.  Such  cases  generaliy  occur 
where  the  appointment  was  made  in  the  first 
piace  to  a  fourth-class  office  which  became 
presidentiai  during  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Cieveland,  and  a  new  commission,  running  four 
years,  was  thereupon  issued  by  the  President. 
The  two  terms  of  service,  as  fourth-class  post¬ 
master  and  as  presidential  postmaster,  are  thus 
added  together  in  making  up  the  four  years. 
It  is  not  claimed  that  these  removals  are  made 
for  inefficiency  nor  for  the  betterment  of  the 
service,  but  upon  no  other  apparent  ground 
than  the  impropriety  of  permitting  a  postmas¬ 
ter  to  serve  more  than  four  years.  Instances 
of  such  removals  are  furnished  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  correspondence : 

Post-office  Department,  "j 

Office  of  First  Assistant  Postmaster-General,  > 
Washington,  D  C.,  Feb.  20, 1890.  J 

Dear  Sir— Your  letter  of  the  12th  inst.,  addressed  to 
the  President,  and  requesting  to  know  why  you  had 
been  displaced  as  postma.ster  at  Neodesha,  Kan.,  is 
received. 


In  reply,  I  beg  to  state  that  your  original  appoint¬ 
ment  was  dated  Dec.  4,  1885,  while  the  office  was 
fourth-class,  and  you  have  had  continuous  possession 
for  over  four  years.  Yours  truly, 

J.  S.  Clarkson,  First  Ass’t  P.  M.  Gen’l. 
L.  W.  Lee,  Esq.,  Neodesha.  Kan. 

John  C.  McCauley  was  appointed  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Searcy,  Ark.,  in  July,  1885.  In  July, 
1887,  the  office  became  presidential,  and  he 
was  confirmed  as  postmaster  for  four  years.  In 
answer  to  an  ipquiry  respecting  his  removal, 
the  postmaster-general  responds  as  follows : 

Post-office  Department,  ') 

Office  OF  Postmaster-General.  > 

Washington,  D.  C.  Sept.  11, 1889.  ) 
Mr.  Jno.  C.  McCauley,  Searcy,  Ark.: 

Dear  Sir— Answering  your  letter,  which  bears  no 
date,  I  beg  to  say  that  an  examination  of  the  records 
of  the  office  shows  that  you  were  appointed  originally 
on  the  9th  of  July,  1885,  and  therefore  you  have  held 
ihe  office  for  more  than  four  years  fixed  for  the  term. 
You  would  have  no  reason  to  complain  if  the  Presi¬ 
dent  were  to  make  a  new  appointment.  I  shall  lay 
the  case  before  him  at  an  early  date  for  his  action. 

Yours  truly, 

Jno.  Wanamaker,  Postmaster-General. 

The  following  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  post- 
master-general  is  sent  to  us  by  C.  T.  Marsh, 
the  removed  postmaster  at  Oregon,  Ill.  : 

Post-office  Department,  "I 

Office  of  Postmaster-General.  v 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Oct,  10, 1889.  ) 

Mr.  C.  T.  Marsh,  Oregon,  III.: 

Dear  Sir— I  have  to-day  the  honor  of  your  letter  of 
the 7th,  inquiring  as  to  the  appointment  of  postmas¬ 
ter  in  yonr  city,  and  beg  to  say  that  no  charges  of 
any  kind  were  made  against  you,  but  the  removal 
was  made  on  the  recommendation  of  the  member  of 
congress  representing  the  district  in  which  your  office 
is  located,  because  you  had  served  a  term  of  four 
years  and  upwards,  having  been  appointed  by  the 
removal  of  your  predecessor  when  congress  was  not 
in  session.  Yours  truly,  Jno.  Wanamaker, 

Postmaster-  General. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Johnson  had  been  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Manchester,  Mass.,  October  1,  1885. 
The  office  was  then  a  fourth-class  one.  Later 
it  became  a  presidential  one,  and  Mr.  Johnson 
was  re-appointed  January  16,  1888,  his  com¬ 
mission  expiring  January  16,  1892. 

The  position  of  the  administration  is  clearly 
expressed  in  the  following  letter  of  the  post¬ 
master  general : 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Sept.  18, 1889. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Johnson,  Postmaster,  Manchester,  Mass.; 

Dear  Sir— In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  17th,  I  beg 
to  say  that  it  is  held  fhat,  when  a  man  holds  an  office 
for  four  years,  which  is  the  usual  term  in  cities  and 
municipalities  under  the  federal  government,  he  en. 
joys  a  full  term.  Your  commission  dates  from  Octo 
her  1,  1885;  and  all  postmasters’  commissions  are  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  President,  who  is  taking  great 
pains  not  to  allow  the  removal  of  any  good  officer  un¬ 
til  he  has  had  four  years’  enjoyment  of  the  office. 

Yours  truly,  John  Wanamaker, 

Postmaster-General. 

The  following  letter  from  the  member  of 
congress  for  the  district  shows  that  he  con¬ 
siders  the  matter  simply  a  question  of  the 
length  of  the  term  and  politics,  and  not  of  fit¬ 
ness  for  the  place : 

Salem,  Mass.,  Sept.  18, 1889. 
Dear  Sir— Yours  of  the  17th  have  received,  also 
one  of  same  date  inclosing  yonr  commission,  which 
I  return  this  mail. 

Your  present  commission  appears  to  run  to  Janu¬ 
ary,  1892 ;  but  I  have  been  informed  that  you  will 
have  served  four  years  in  January  next,  and  it  is  my 
Impression  that  the  post  office  department  think  so 
too.  Yours  very  truly,  William  Cogswell. 
W.  J.  Johnson,  Postmaster,  Manchester,  Mass. 

The  term  of  Jno.  R.  Brunt,  postmaster  at 
Osage  Mission,  Kan.,  expired  Feb.  10,  1890. 
He  was  removed,  and  Ebenezer  B.  Park  ap¬ 
pointed  on  July  31,  1889.  Prior  to  his  removal. 


188 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


on  Nov.  23,  1888,  Congressman  Perkins  wrote 
to  him  thus:  “I  know  of  no  complaints 
made  against  your  efficiency  ;  and,  so  far  as  I 
know,  all  that  are  asking  for  the  privilege  of 
succeeding  you  admit  that  you  have  made  a 
faithful  and  efficient  officer,  and  they  seem  to 
take  pleasure  in  bearing  this  testimony  in  your 
behalf,  but  desire  to  succeed  you  as  repub¬ 
licans.”  Ilis  successor,  Mr.  Park,  writes  as 
to  the  causes  of  the  change:  “I  understand 
that  this  is  a  republican  administration  I 
was  appointed  because  I  was  the  choice  of  a 
large  majority  of  the  patrons  of  the  office,  and 
because  the  term  of  the  democratic  incumbent 
had  expired.”  (By  the  expiration  of  the 
term,  Mr.  Park  probably  means  that  Mr.  Brunt 
had  lield  the  office  more  than  four  years.) 

It  seems  evident  that  this  cause  for  removal, 
like  the  others,  is  designed  to  cover  a  removal 
made  for  political  reasons;  and  the  political 
motive  is  all  the  more  apparent  from  the  in¬ 
consistency  in  appointing  several  republicans 
who,  prior  to  the  last  administration,  had 
.served  four  or  even  eight  years. 

If  it  is  right,  as  we  believe  it  is,  to  re-appoint 
efficient  republicans  who  have  held  office  four 
years  or  more,  why  is  it  not  proper,  excepting 
from  political  motives  alone,  to  allow  efficient 
democrats  to  serve  out  the  terms  of  their  re¬ 
spective  commissions,  whether  they  had  been 
in  office  four  years  or  not? 

On  a  careful  inspection  of  the  answers  re¬ 
ceived,  stating  the  dates  of  the  expirations  of 
the  terms  of  the  incumbents  removed,  it  would 
appear  that  removals  have  been  made  on  an 
average  sixteen  and  one-half  months  before 
the  expirations  of  these  terms. 

APPOINTMENTS  DICTATED  BY  CONGRESSMEN. 

The  influence  of  Congressmen  in  dictating 
removals  and  appointments  is  very  clearly 
shown  in  a  letter  sent  by  the  chief  clerk  of  the 
post  office  department  to  Edward  Smith,  post¬ 
master  at  Carrollton,  Ill.,  which  is  as  follows: 

Post-Office  Department.  '> 

Office  of  the  Chief  Clerk,  ^ 
Washi.ngton,  D.  C  ,  Nov.  25,  1889.) 

Sir— In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  7th  inst.,  which 
has  been  referred  to  this  department  by  Rev.  J.  W. 
Scott,  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  a  change  of  post¬ 
masters  for  Carrollton  was  made  upon  the  recom¬ 
mendation  of  Senator  Cullom;  that  the  postmaster 
has  been  commissioned ;  and  that  recommendation 
of  this  character  is  in  accordance  with  the  long¬ 
standing  practice  of  the  department,  deemed  to  be 
the  best  ground  of  action.  Very  respectfully, 

W.  B.  Cooley,  Chief  Clerk. 

Mr.  Edward  S.mith,  Carrollton,  Ill. 

Ebenezer  M.  Lockwood  was  postmaster  at 
Burlington,  Kan.,  upon  the  incoming  of  the 
present  administration.  Harrison  Kelly,  mem¬ 
ber  of  congress  from  that  district,  on  July  10, 
1889,  wrote  to  Mr.  Lockwood  the  following 
letter : 

House  of  Representatives,  1 
Washington,  D.  C.,  July  10, 1889.  */ 
P.  M.  Lockwood,  Burlington,  Kan.: 

My  Dear  Sir— I  have  been  conferring  with  the  de¬ 
partment  n  reference  to  the  appointment  of  your 
successor.  Your  four  years  from  first  appointment 
expires  the  28th  of  this  mouth.  I  think  your  suc¬ 
cessor  will  be  appointed  at  that  time.  Courtesy  to 
you  suggests  that  you  have  an  opportunity  of  re¬ 
signing,  to  take  effect  August  1,  if  you  wish  to  do  so. 
Would  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  in  reference  to  the 
matter  at  an  early  date.  Kespectfully, 

Harrison  Kelly. 

Mr.  Lockwood,  however,  did  not  resign,  and 
was  removed.  Squire  M.  Lane  being  appointed 
in  his  place.  Immediately  upon  his  appoint¬ 
ment,  Mr.  Lane  appointed  the  daughter  of 
Congressman  Kelly  to  a  place  in  the  office,  and 
a  short  time  afterward  promoted  her  to  be  as¬ 
sistant  postmaster. 

In  many  cases  it  was  stated  that  the  new  ap¬ 
pointee  was  active  in  congressional  conven¬ 


tions  in  behalf  of  the  congressman  nominated 
at  such  conventions,  and  by  whom  he  was 
recommended  for  the  place. 

In  every  answer  received  from  the  slate  of 
Arkansas,  except  one,  the  change  is  attributed 
to  the  influence  of  the  Hon.  Powell  Clayton. 

Offensive  partisanship  seems  to  have  been 
employed  as  an  agency  of  removal  by  this  ad¬ 
ministration  in  much  the  same  way  as  by  the 
last.  The  following  special  dispatch  to  the 
Chicago  Daily  News,  of  March  19,  1889,  pub¬ 
lished  in  an  issue  of  March  20,  states  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Special  to  the  Chicago  Daily  News.  > 

Washington,  D.  C.,  March  19.— Representative  Pay- 
son,  of  Illinois,  made  a  test  case  before  the  postmas¬ 
ter  general  yesterday  ;  and  the  result  is  shown  in  the 
list  of  nominations  that  came  to  the  senate  to  day. 
Judge  Payson  said  to  the  postmaster-general:  “I 
want  Mark  A.  Reno,  postmaster  at  Pontiac,  removed. 
That  is  the  town  where  1  live.  I  have  no  charges  to 
make  against  his  official  or  personal  character  or  con¬ 
duct,  except  that  he  is  a  democrat,  and  an  offensive 
partisan.  He  did  all  he  could  to  defeat  the  republi¬ 
can  presidential  ticket  and  my  election  to  congress; 
and  I  desire  to  make  an  example  of  him.  I  submit 
his  case  first,  because  I  want  to  know  what  to  do  in 
other  cases;  and  I  want  to  have  the  department  de¬ 
cide  whether  offensive  partisanship  is  a  sufficient 
cause  ^r  removal.” 

Mr.  Eeno  informs  us  that  he  wrote  to  the 
department  to  ascertain  whethei  this  informa¬ 
tion  was  correct,  and  received  a  reply  that  it 
was. 

It  is  clear  to  your  committee  that  the  motive 
for  the  numerous  changes,  more  than  sixty- 
four  per  cent,  of  all  the  presidential  postmas¬ 
ters,  has  been  in  great  measure  political.  Mr. 
Clarkson,  in  an  interview  sent  through  the  As¬ 
sociated  Press  to  all  the  leading  newspapers  of 
the  country,  is  reported  as  saying  :  “  The  Pres¬ 
ident  has  made  no  removals  except  for  cause, 
for  delinquency,  inefficiency,  or  violation  of 
law.  He  has  refused  to  make  any  changes  for 
partisan  reasons.”  Our  inquiries  have  led  us 
to  the  conviction  that  this  declaration  can  not 
be  true;  and,  in  our  opinion,  it  would  have 
been  more  just  to  have  acknowledged  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  political  influences.  This  would 
have  involved  an  inconsistency  with  theprom- 
ises  of  the  last  republican  platform,  that  the 
“spirit  and  purpose  of  the  civil  service  law 
should  be  observed  in  all  executive  appoint¬ 
ments.”  But,  where  the  fact  is  as  clearly  es¬ 
tablished  as  it  is  in  this  case,  the  avowal  of 
such  inconsistency  would  have  been  far  better 
than  the  attempt  to  conceal  it  by  giving  rea¬ 
sons  for  the  changes,  which,  in  point  of  fact, 
are  not  the  real  ones. 

MR.  CLARKSON  AND  MR.  WANAMAKER. 

It  was  indeed  hardly  to  he  expected  “that 
the  spirit  of  civil  service  reform  ”  in  the  post- 
office  department  could  be  enforced  through 
such  instrumentalities  as  Mr.  Clarkson  and 
Mr.  Wanamaker.  Mr.  Clarkson  has  been 
openly  and  conspicuously  an  opponent  of  the 
reform.  At  Boston,  at  Pittsburgh,  and  else¬ 
where,  he  has  in  public  speeches  endeavored 
to  discredit  the  system  to  which  his  party 
pledged  itself.  His  appointment  as  first  assist- 
tant  postmaster-general,  gave  him,  we  believe, 
control  of  a  larger  amount  of  patronage  than 
that  of  any  other  officer  appointed  hy  the  Pres¬ 
ident. 

The  opposition  of  the  postmaster-general  to 
civil  service  reform  has  been  less  candid,  but 
it  has  been  no  less  intense.  There  are  circum¬ 
stances  which  have  occurred  since  he  has  been 
in  office,  clearly  showing  his  hostility  to  tho 
platform  of  his  own  party  in  regard  to  this  re¬ 


form.  Marshall  Cushing,  who  afterward  be¬ 
came  his  private  secretary,  undertook  on  his 
behalf  an  investigation  of  the  present  civil  ser¬ 
vice  system  by  addressing  letters  to  a  number 
of  gentlemen  interested  in  the  reform,  of  which 
the  following  is  one: 

Boston  Advertiser,  1 

Washington  Office,  D.  C.,  Oct.  23, 1889.  j 
Confidential. 

Dear  Sir— I  have  undertaken  some  investigations 
of  the  present  civil  service  sysiem /or  a  cabinet  officer, 
and  beg  to  ask  your  distinguished  assistance. 

Wliy  is  the  law  and  the  commission  subject  to  .so 
much  criticism  at  this  time?  W'hat  answer  do  the 
civil  service  reformers  make  to  the  objection  that  a 
civil  pension  list  is  the  logical  result  of  the  present 
system ;  to  the  objection  that,  having  certified 
enough  clerks  to  last  ten  years,  and  having  instituted 
yearly  re-examinations,  the  commissioners  are  open 
to  the' charge  of  mereiy  providing  themselves  with 
employment ;  to  the  objection  that  the  efficiency  of 
the  departments  will  be  seriously  interfered  with  in 
ten  or  fifteen  years  by  the  old  age  of  many  of  the 
clerks  who  can  not  be  removed?  -Why  should  not 
both  parties  discard  all  their  insincere  professions  for  the 
laio,  and  have  the  pafrioG'sm  to  go  back  to  the  old  system, 
under  which  it  was  inquired  simply  whether  the 
man  was  honest,  capable  and  faithful  to  the  consti¬ 
tution?  How  does  the  administration  of  President 
Harrison  please  the  civil  service  reformers  of  the 
west?  How  has  it  compared  in  that  respect  with 
President  Cleveland’s  administration  ? 

What  you  write  me,  if  I  am  honored  with  your 
confidence,  will  be  merely  for  the  eye  of  the  cabinet 
officer  referred  to,  and  will  not  be  printed.  With 
the  greatest  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

Marshall  Cushing. 

Hon.  William  Dudley  Foulke,  Richmond,  Ind. 

As  this  letter  was  unsolicited,  and  refers  to 
a  public  matter  only,  the  inquiries  being  made 
for  a  public  officer  and  for  public  purposes,  its 
contents  can  in  no  sense  be  regarded  as  confi¬ 
dential.  It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  first  in¬ 
stance  in  which  an  inquiry  instituted  on  be¬ 
half  of  a  cabinet  officer  is  based  upon  the  as¬ 
sumption  that  the  platform  of  the  party  upon 
which  he  came  into  power  was  insincere  and 
unpatriotic. 

The  feeling  of  the  postmaster-general  toward 
civil  service  reform  also  appears  in  the  state¬ 
ments  made  by  him  regarding  Commissioner 
Roosevelt  before  the  select  committee  of  the 
house  of  representatives  on  reform  in  the  civil 
service;  and  the  report  of  this  committee, 
which  fully  exonerated  Mr.  Roosevelt,  is  a  se¬ 
vere  commentary  upon  the  groundlessness  of 
the  postmaster-general’s  allegations. 

The  postmaster-general’s  attitude  toward  the 
reform  is  further  shown  by  his  statement  to 
Congressman  Rockwell,  of  Massachusetts,  who 
recommended  the  re-appointment  of  Gilbert  W. 
Farrington,  a  democrat,  as  postmaster  at  Mon- 
son.  Farrington  was  indorsed  by  the  mass  of 
the  citizens  and  business  men  of  that  place, 
without  regard  to  party,  and  his  petition  was 
then  the  only  one  on  file.  The  statement  made 
by  Mr.  Wanamaker,  and  taken  down  in  writing 
by  Mr.  Rockwell,  tvas  as  follows:  “The  post¬ 
master-general  declines  to  recommend  to  the 
President  the  appointment  of  a  democrat  un¬ 
less  it  is  clear  that  there  is  no  republican  to 
fill  the  place.”  It  is  not  hard  to  divine  the 
motive  for  removals  and  appointments  under 
such  an  administration  of  this  department. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

Wm.  D.  Foulke,  Chairman. 
Chas.  j.  Bonaparte. 

Richard  H.  Dana. 

Wayne  MacVeagh. 
Sherman  S.  Rogers. 


r 

s  V 

J  The  Civil  Service  Chronicle. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St,,  Indianapolis, 
lud.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana, 


VoL.  I,  No.  23.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JANUARY,  1891. 


With  the  next  number  the  Civil  Ser- 
^viCE  Chronicle  will  close  its  second  year. 
Its  publication  may  end  at  that  time,  al¬ 
though  it  was  intended  to  cover  at  least 
£  [  President  Harrison’s  term.  As  has  been 
^stated,  no  one  except  the  printer  is  paid 
j  anything  for  work  upon  the  paper.  It  can 
"  not,  however,  enter  into  financial  struggle 
or  uncertainty.  It  has  in  the  main  occu¬ 
pied  a  field  of  its  own  in  gathering  from 
widely  difierent  sources  facts  of  the  actual 
working  of  the  spoils  system  and  printing 
them  in  a  compact  form.  It  is  believed 
that  this  work  has  never  before  been  done 
by  any  publication.  As  a  weapon  against 
that  system,  nothing  else  compares  with 
it,  not  to  mention  the  historical  value  of 
such  a  collection.  This  work  ought  to  be 
done  upon  a  greater  scale,  but  the  expense 
has  been  in  the  way.  The  managers  have 
too  much  evidence  from  too  many  sources 
not  to  say  frankly  that  the  paper  is  abund¬ 
antly  appreciated.  Being,  however,  a  pub¬ 
lication  not  for  pecuniary  profit,  each 
friend  is  apt  to  think,  sometimes  in  the 
case  of  his  own  subscription,  that  all  other 
friends  are  supporting  it  and  that  it  will 
go  on  forever.  To  the  managers  the  work 
of  the  paper  has  been  a  labor  that  has 
brought  its  own  ample  reward.  In  case  of 
discontinuance  all  unexpired  subscriptions 
will  be  returned,  and  there  will  be  no  un¬ 
paid  bills. 


During  the  month  some  events  have 
happened  to  the  republicans  of^the  state. 
Louis  T.  Michener  has  removed  to  Wash¬ 
ington  and  entered  into  partnership  with 
Dudley,  who  has  been  giving  dinners  to 
“  attorneys,  statesmen  and  federal  officials  ” 
in  honor  of  his  new  partner.  This  makes 
it  very  difficult  to  believe  that  Michener 
has  not  approved  of  Dudley’s  ways,  which 
make  the  latter  one  of  the  greatest  scound¬ 
rels  out  of,  or  for  that  matter,  in  prison. 
Michener  sent  here  his  resignation  as 
chairman  of  the  republican  state  commit¬ 
tee  and  the  committee  met  January  6  to 
receive  it.  For  the  vacated  office,  the  Ad¬ 
ministration  struggled  in  the  old  fashioned 
ward  bummer  style.  William  T.  Steele, 
of  Marion,  Indiana,  now  governor  of  Okla¬ 
homa  territory,  came  and  acted  as  Admin¬ 
istration  Boss.  Warren  G.  Sayre,  of  Wa¬ 
bash,  now  a  member  of  some  Indian  com¬ 
mission,  also  came,  as  did  other  office-hold¬ 
ers.  Russell  B.  Harrison,  son  of  the  Pres¬ 


ident,  also  came.  Thus  organized  and  led, 
the  Administration  proceeded  to  turn  a 
hostile  majority  into  a  minority.  It  suc¬ 
ceeded  ;  just  how  does  not  appear.  That 
it  was  the  usual  deal  in  which  the  people 
are  to  be  the  paymaster  there  is  no  doubt. 
This  is  an  old  practice,  but  that  a  President 
should  so  far  forget  the  dignity  of  his  office 
as  to  allow  his  son  to  go  into  a  state  where 
he  is  not  a  voter  and  does  not  live,  and 
take  part  in  struggles  of  party  factions  and 
join  with  office-holders  appointed  by  his 
father,  to  influence  the  action  of  a  party 
committee  is  a  humiliation  to  the  whole 
people.  And  the  more  so  when  it  is  done 
with  reference,  as  in  this  case,  to  his  fath¬ 
er’s  renomination.  After  this  meeting, 
TJte  Indianapolis  Netvs  of  January  8  has 
the  following  relating  to  him: 

He  arrived  at  the  New  Denison  hotel  Monday  ev¬ 
ening  and  Tuesday  night  disappeared.  This  fore¬ 
noon  he  walked  into  the  hotel  again. 

“I  thought  you  had  gone,”  said  a  prominent  re¬ 
publican. 

”1  did  go  but  I  am  back.” 

“  Where  have  you  been  ?  ” 

“Oh,  I’ve  been  taking  a  quiet  little  run  out  over 
the  state,  doing  a  little  work.” 

The  friends  of  President  Harrison  believe  it  neces¬ 
sary  that  Indiana  be  kept  in  line. 


The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  a  republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  sys¬ 
tem,  already  established  by  law,  to  all  grades  of  the 
service  to  which  itis  applicable.— RepafthcanATattojiai 
Platform,  1888. 

Nearly  two  years  have  passed  since  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  was  inaugurated  after  elec¬ 
tion  on  that  platform,  and  yet  in  not  a 
single  instance  has  the  system  been  ex¬ 
tended.  In  the  meantime,  the  country  is 
being  filled  with  letter-carriers  in  all  small 
cities  and  every  one  is  the  spoil  of  some 
congressman  or  local  boss.  There  are 
dozens  of  offices  of  less  than  fifty  employes, 
to  which  the  system  is  in  every  sense  ap¬ 
plicable.  Every  friend  of  the  Indians  and 
all  who  are  best  able  to  say  what  the  Indi¬ 
ans  need  urge  the  extension  of  the  system 
to  that  service.  There  is  no  pretence  of 
argument  against  any  of  these  extensions; 
it  is  simply  not  done.  It  would  be  inter¬ 
esting  to  know  just  what  President  Harri¬ 
son  understands  by  his  position  in  the 
matter,  for  he  approved  the  platform  in 
writing.  Does  he  wish  it  understood  that 
he  joined  in  a  promise  which  he  did  not 
intend  to  keep?  If  not,  why  does  he  not 
keep  it? 


TERMS :  { 


50  cents  persnnnm. 
5  cents  [wr  copy. 


Under  all  political  skies  Maryland  is 
despoiled.  President  Harrison  made  Bill 
Johnson  postmaster  in  Baltimore,  and  he 
at  the  head  of  the  republican  ins  has  ever 
since  been  carrying  on  a  tremendous  war 
with  some  one  at  the  head  of  the  republi¬ 
can  outs.  The  result  of  this  and  other 
similar  transactions  is  that  the  republican 
party  in  Maryland  is  split  in  two,  the  fac¬ 
tions  being  made  up  of  the  cold  toes  and 
the  warm  toes.  Under  the  late  adminis¬ 
tration  Maryland  gave  great  promise  of 
becoming  a  republican  state.  The  effect 
upon  the  Baltimore  postoffice  as  a  business 
institution  has  been  disastrous  and  has 
made  Mr.  Wanamaker  protest.  The  Civil 
Service  Reformer  says :  “  In  addition,  and  of 
course,  in  explanation  of  this  inefficiency, 
it  is  stated  that  the  removals  of  the  force 
left  in  by  Postmaster  Brown  have  been 
very  numerous;  as  many,  it  appears,  as 
one  hundred  and  thirty  among  the  carriers 
alone.  Outside  of  the  classified  service 
there  has  been  a  clean  sweep.” 


Among  the  multitude  of  good  things  said  by  Mr. 
Depew  in  his  address  at  Pittsburg,  this  may  be  sing¬ 
led  out  as  meriting  a  second  reading:  “That  the 
fireman  can  become  a  locomotive  engineer,  the  lo¬ 
comotive  engineer  the  master  mechanic,  the  master 
mechanic  the  superintendent  of  motive  power,  the 
superintendent  of  motive  power  the  superintendent 
or  general  manager  of  the  railway,  and  possibly  its 
president,  is  the  law  of  our  American  development 
and  the  source  of  our  national  pre-eminence.”  Mr. 
Depew  rarely  fails  to  hit  the  nail  on  the  head.  In 
this  sentence  he  has  admirably  set  forth  a  principle 
that  bears  upon  every  department  of  our  complex 
life.  It  applies  with  equal  force  to  all  other  voca¬ 
tions  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  railway  man.— New 
York  Tribune,  Oct.  19, 1890. 

But  suppose  Mr.  Depew  should  inject 
into  the  above  the  stipulation  that  every 
railroad  should  only  employ  men  of  one 
political  complexion  and  that  “  for  the  good 
of  the  service”  there  should  be  a  clean 
sweep  every  four  years.  How  would  that 
look  ? 


The  address  of  the  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association,  of  Buffalo,  written  by  Mr. 
Sherman  S.  Rogers,  is  published  elsewhere 
and  ought  to  be  read  by  every  one.  It 
brings  into  strong  light  the  limitations  of 
our  Commercial  Club.  This  club  has 
drawn  a  bill  for  the  better  government  of 
this  city,  but,  although  the  spoils  system 
is  the  root  and  branch  of  bad  city  govern¬ 
ment,  the  club  has  evidently  not  even 
taken  the  trouble  to  post  itself  as  to  the 
meanslof  getting  rid  of  that  system.  Their 


190 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


bill  is  in  brief  a  concentration  of  patronage 
distributing  power.  The  fundamental 
evils  such  as  have  been  in  the  police,  the 
fire  and  street  departments  still  remain. 
City  after  city  is  destroying  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  in  its  government,  and  it  is  discourag¬ 
ing  that  a  club  made  up  of  the  leading  cit¬ 
izens  of  Indianapolis  should  seem  to  be 
unaware  of  the  only  distinctive  progress 
that  has  been  made  in  municipal  govern¬ 
ment. 


KICKING  AGAINST  THE  PRICKS. 

I. 

The  old  time  civil  service  reformer  who 
has  been  toughened  by  divers  jokes  and 
gibes  of  the“sniver’ service  order  is  appreci¬ 
ating  that  familiar  observation  that  he 
laughs  best  who  laughs  last.  For  many 
months  now  he  has  been  diverted  by  the 
wigglings  and  twistings  and  explanations 
and  apologies  of  the  spoilsmen,  big  and 
little.  There  have  been  two  years  of  see¬ 
ing  Wanamaker  cuffed  about,  his  evasions 
brought  to  light  in  the  most  heartless  man¬ 
ner  and  his  equivocations  exposed  so  of¬ 
ten  that  his  Sunday-school  will  surely  soon 
have  to  bring  him  to  account.  General 
Wade  Hampton,  Commissioner  Eoosevelt 
and  Mr.  Foulke  have  all  felt  obliged  to  ex 
pose  his  tergiversations  and  all  have  done 
their  work  with  much  neatness  and  dis¬ 
patch. 

II. 

This  political  census  just  finished  seems 
full  enough  of  humor  to  last  for  a  decade. 
Census  Supervisor  Sid  Conger,  of  this  dis¬ 
trict,  has  evidently  returned  to  the  solace 
of  fowl-raising  for  he  is  reported  thus  in 
the  Indianapolis  News  of  January  10: 

“  Sid  Conger,  of  Flat  Rock,  is  in  the  city. 
He  says  if  the  powers  forgive  him  he  will 
never  again  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
taking  of  a  census.” 

And  the  Civil  Service  Record,  always 
mild  and  persistent  and  serious,  button¬ 
holes  Porter  thus ; 

“Commissioner  of  Census  Porter  declared  before 
the  congressional  committee  on  civil  service  reform 
that  his  eliminations  for  clerks  were  superior  to  the 
civil  service  examinations.  We  asked  for  samples  of 
these  papers  to  compare  with  the  samples  furnished 
by  the  civil  service  commi.'-slons,  and  especially  to 
compare  with  the  examinations  for  census  clerks 
under  the  Massachusetts  commission,  and  were  told 
‘  that  it  is  impossible  to  furnish  you  with  these  docu¬ 
ments.’  Why  it  is  ‘  impossible  ’  we  are  not  told.  The 
examinations  were  held  months  ago,  and  if  new 
ones  should  be  held  again,  of  course  new  questions 
would  have  to  be  asked.” 

III. 

The  Eaum  family,  too,  have  been  an 
edifying  sight  since  they  were  inducted 
into  drawing  wages  from  the  public  treas¬ 
ury.  Commissioner  Eaum  started  in  with 
a  clever  little  scheme  to  beat  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  law,  which  was  promptly  exposed  and 
had  to  be  hustled  into  an  ignominious 


grave.  Later  the  commissioner  was  put 
on  the  rack  of  a  congressional  investiga¬ 
tion  and  had  every  appearance  of  having 
put  into  practice  that  vulgar  saw  that 
“  public  office  is  a  private  snap.”  Una¬ 
bashed,  however,  Mr.  Eaum  came  out  into 
Indiana  to  make  campaign  speeches  with 
a  happy  result  for  Congressman  Cooper 
who  had  been  looking  into  the  Eaum  way 
of  doing  business.  Since  the  election  the 
investigation  has  continued,  and  the  fol¬ 
lowing  from  the  staunch  and  true  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal  of  January  20  must  be 
authentic : 

Green  B.  Ranm,  jr.,  was  asked  by  Mr.  Cooper  the 
name  of  the  man  who  took  care  of  his  horses.  He 
replied  that  his  name  was  O'Donnell,  and  when 
asked  if  the  man  was  in  the  pension  office  said: 
“  That  is  none  of  your  business.” 

The  committee  admitted  the  questions,  and  Mr. 
Raum  stated  that  O’Donnell  w'as  messenger  at  the 
pension  office  at  $70  a  month.  He  had  been  ap¬ 
pointed  by  witness’s  father.  O’Donnell  did  his  duty 
and  attended  to  witness’s  two  riding  horses  after  of¬ 
fice  hours,  for  which  witness  paid  him.  He  refused 
to  tell  the  compensation,  saying  it  was  none  of  Mr. 
Cooper's  business. 

Young  Raum  appears  to  have  made 
Tweed’s  manner  of  meeting  the  public  his 
study;  all  this  must  make  the  President 
wince. 

IV. 


But  everything  pales  beside  the  spec¬ 
tacle  of  Ingalls  ashamed  of  his  old  role  of 
the  Kansas  Mephistopheles  and  tortured 
into  a  tea-custard  and  syllabub  dilettante- 
ism  on  the  top  of  the  frivolous  and  desul¬ 
tory  sentimentalism  of  an  epicene.  What 
he  said  last  May  and  how  he  squirmed 
over  it  by  January  must  go  side  by  side: 


The  purification  of  pol¬ 
itics  is  an  iridescent 
dream.  Government  is 
force.  Politics  is  a  battle 
for  supremacy.  Parlies 
are  the  armies.  The  dec¬ 
alogue  and  the  golden 
rule  have  no  place  in  a 
political  campaign.  The 
object  is  success.  To  de¬ 
feat  the  antagonist  and 
expel  the  party  in  power 
is  the  purpo.se.  In  war 
it  is  lawful  to  deceive  the 
adversary,  to  hire  Hes¬ 
sians,  to  purchase  mer- 
cenatie.s,  to  mutilate,  to 
kill,  to  destroy.  Tliecom- 
mnndfr  who  lost  a  battle 
through  the  activity  of  his 
vioral  nature  would  be  the 
derision  and  jest  of  history. 
This  modern  cant  about  the 
rorruption  of  politics  is 
fatiguing  in  the  extreme. 
It  proceeds  from  the  tea- 
cusiard  and  si/llahnb  dilet- 
tanteism,  the  frivolous  and 
desultory  sentimentalism  of 
epicenes. 


He  then  referred  to  the 
newspaper  interview 
with  him  several  months 
ago.  in  whicli  he  had  said 
that  the  golden  rule  and 
the  decal'^gue  had  no 
place  in  an  American 
campaign.  It  seemed 
superfluous  to  explain 
that  in  that  utterance  he 
was  not  inculcating  a 
doctrine,  but  descrioing 
a  condition.  His  state 
ment  was  a  statement  of 
fact;  not  an  announce 
ment  of  faith.  But  many 
leverend  and  eminent  di¬ 
vines:  many  disinterest¬ 
ed  editors;  many  ingen¬ 
ious  orators  perverted 
this  utterance  in  o  a  per¬ 
sonal  advocacy  of  impur¬ 
ity  in  politics.  He  did 
not  complain.  It  was.  as 
the  world  went.legitimaie 
political  warfare;  but  it 
was  an  illustration  of  the 
truth  ihat  thegolden  rule 
and  the  decalogue  ought 
to  have  a  place  in  politi¬ 
cal  campaigns.  ‘  If  the 
enemy  smite  thee  on  one 
cheek,  turn  the  other” 
was  a  good  precept  to  fol¬ 
low.  But  he  would  ob¬ 
serve  that  until  ihatpre 
cept  was  more  generally 
observed  than  it  had 
been,  or  was  likely  to  be, 
if  his  political  enemy 
smote  him  on  one  cheek, 
instead  of  turning  to  him 
the  other,  he  would  smite 
him  under  the  butt  end 
of  his  left  ear  if  he  could. 
[Laughter.]  If  that  be 
political  immoralitv,  he 
must  be  included  among 
the  unregenerate.— /ndf- 
anapolis  Journal,  Jan.  15. 


V- 

Of  course  we  must  have  our  joke  in  Indi¬ 
ana  and  Lawyer  Brush  does  not  stint  in 
quality.  The  best  of  it  is  that  the  whole 
story  is  authentic.  The  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  of  January  8,  tells  it  as  follows : 

The  only  unpleasant  incident  of  Tuesday’s  meet¬ 
ing  was  a  speech  by  Mr.  W.  T.  Brush,  of  Crawfords- 
ville,  in  which  he  took  it  upon  himself  to  say  that 
the  only  way  for  republicans  to  carry  Indiana  was  by 
the  free  use  of  money;  that  the  state  had  been  pre¬ 
viously  carried  by  this  means,  and  that  it  could  be 
done  again,  notwithstanding  the  Australian  ballot 
law.  There  is  no  law  to  prevent  Mr.  Brush  or  any 
other  man  from  making  a  fool  of  himself. 

Lawyer  Brush  did  not  appear  to  think 
the  Journal's  version  had  enough  touch 
and  go.  It  is,  perhaps,  in  a  rather  too  heavy 
manner  for  comic  writing,  but  the  Jour¬ 
nal  refused  to  print  Brush’s  version  and  it 
appeared  in  The  Indianapolis  News  of  Jan¬ 
uary  10  and  can  not  fail  as  an  explanation  to 
arouse  the  mirth  of  even  the  most  effemi¬ 
nate  civil  service  reformer : 

William  T.  Brush,  member  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  state  central  committee  from  the 
eighth  district,  is  very  much  put  out  over 
the  sensation  he  caused  by  his  speech  be¬ 
fore  the  republican  conference  at  Indian¬ 
apolis  last  Tuesday.  Ills  republican  friends, 
upon  reading  the  Sentinel’s  report  of  the 
affair,  were  very  much  disgusted,  but  his 
explanation  has  satisfied  them  that  he 
made  no  such  bad  break  as  that  paper 
claims.  To-day  Mr.  Brush  cheerfully  con¬ 
sented  to  an  intervieAV. 

“What  makes  me  the  maddest,”  said  he, 
“is  that  The  Indianapolis  Journal,  without 
investigation,  seemingly,  took  for  granted 
that  the  Sentinel's  report  was  correct  and 
proceeded  to  attack  me.  As  soon  as  I  saAV 
the  Sentinel's  account  I  immediately  wrote 
out  from  memory,  as  nearly  as  I  could,  the 
exact  words  that  I  said  in  that  speech.  I 
have  written  to  the  editor  of  the  Journal 
in  explanation,  asking  that  he  print  my 
version  of  the  sifeech,  but  no  reply  has 
come,  and  I  don’t  exjtect  any.  I  don’t 
think  the  Journal,  now  that  it  has  made  a 
fool  of  itself,  wants  to  do  me  justice.” 

Mr.  Brush  then  read  the  speech  as  he 
had  written  it  from  memory,  as  follows : 

Mr.  Chairman: 

III  Accordance  with  the  motion  passed  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  central  committee.  I  selected  and  sent 
to  the  secretary  the  names  of  five  republicans  from 
the  eighth  district  to  serve  on  this  committee  of  six¬ 
ty-five  to  prepare  and  submit  plans  and  specifications 
for  beating  the  democrats  in  1892.  I  don’t  see  any 
of  the  gentlemen  selected  here,  and  suppose  their 
absence  is  to  be  accounted  for  on  the  ground  that 
they  have  no  plans  to  submit  to  the  committee.  I 
do  not  myself  think  this  kind  of  a  meeting  amounts 
to  much.  It  partakes  too  much  of  the  nature  of  a 
post-mortem  into  the  causes  of  defeat.  We  have  al¬ 
ready  had  one  meeting  of  that  kind.  It  was  called 
to  formulate  plans  of  re-organization  for  the  next 
campaign,  and  not  for  the  display  of  oratory ;  but  so 
far,  while  the  districts  from  one  to  eight  have  been 
called,  and  responses  have  been  received  from  three 
or  four  gentlemen  from  each,  no  plan  for  future  ac¬ 
tion  has  been  suggested,  save  the  establishment  of  a 
cheap  newspaper  and  the  infusion  of  more  harmony 
into  the  party.  The  burden  of  the  speeches  so  far 
heard  seems  to  be  to  convince  us  that  some  accident 
befell  us  in  November,  and  that  we  were  not  really 
beaten  at  all.  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  into  the 
belief  that  it  was  an  accident,  or  that  the  lack  of  a 
cheap  newspaper  and  the  want  of  harmony  did  it. 
The  fact  is  there  are  more  democrats  than  republi¬ 
cans  in  Indiana,  and  a  larger  proportion  of  them 
voted  last  fall.  Any  ymll  of  the  state  made  within 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


191 


the  last  twenty  years  which  shows  it  to  be  anything 
but  democratic  is  wrong.  That  being  the  case,  any¬ 
body  can  see  that  we  have  either  to  convert  demo 
crats  to  our  faith  or  otherwise  induce  them  to  vote 
our  ticket.  Heretofore  when  the  right  kind  of  in¬ 
ducements  were  used  we  succeeded,  and  when  not 
we  got  left,  and  we  always  will.  The  means  of  con¬ 
version  and  the  inducements  held  out  in  the  last 
campaign,  it  seems,  were  not  sufficient.  The  demo¬ 
crats  attribute  their  late  victory  to  the  existence  of 
the  Australian  election  law,  and  perhaps  they  are 
right  about  that,  but  I  can’t  tell  whether  it  made 
more  democrats  or  lessened  the  number  of  republi¬ 
cans.  If  it  did  either  we  want  to  work  some  plan  to 
circumvent  the  system,  because  we  need  more  voters 
on  our  side,  and  we  will  have  to  get  them  or  get  left, 
in  spite  of  cheap  newspapers,  more  harmony  and 
everything  else.  The  plans  used  in  1880  and  1888  put 
us  through  in  fine  style,  and  the  eighth  district  sub 
mils  them  for  your  consideration,  if  you  can  recol¬ 
lect  what  they  were.  The  committee  is  to  select  a 
new  chairman  to-day.  and  I  am  in  favor  of  finding  a 
man  for  the  place  with  a  big  head  on  him  ;  one  who 
has  brains  enough  to  know  what  to  do,  when  to  do 
it,  and  who  has  the  nerve  to  do  it  when  the  time 
comes. 

“Now,  that  is  the  whole  thing.  I  never 
mentioned  the  words  ‘  Harrison,’ ‘hoodie’ 
or  ‘money,’  and  no  one  interrupted  me 
with  a  question,  or  with  a  remark  of  any 
kind.  The  people  who  were  there  will  tes¬ 
tify  to  this  fact ;  hut  I  don’t  believe  the 
Journal  had  a  reporter  there,  or  it  would 
never  have  followed  the  course  it  did. 

“The  speech  was  made,  not  in  a  serious 
vein,  but  to  be  laughed  at,  and  it  was  taken 
in  that  way  by  all  present.  All  the  dis¬ 
tricts  (before  the  eighth)  had  been  repre- 
.sented  by  long-winded  speakers  who  did 
nothing  but  whine  over  the  past.  I  wanted 
to  get  them  out  of  that  rut  and  put  a  little 
life  into  things.” 

^  Yl. 

^  As  IF  Brush’s  erratum  were  not  embar 
srassing  enough,  The  Delphi  Journal  joins 
in.  It  is  all  the  more  embarrassing  for  the 
President  and  Mr.  Wanamaker  because 
The  Delphi  Journal  is  a  subsidized  sheet. 
Its  editor  is  postmaster  and  not  only  advo¬ 
cates  buying  votes,  but  flouts  those  who 
reprehend  the  practice.  That  puts  the 
President  and  the  postmaster-general,  polit- 
[jcally  speaking,  in  a  hole,  for  how  can  they 
■  indorse  the  following: 

Mr.  William  T.  Brush,  of  Crawfordsville,  a  good 
lawyer,  a  stalwart  republican,  and  a  most  agreeable 
gentleman,  appears  to  have  thrown  the  staid  and 
tight-laced  Indianapolis  Journal  into  a  fit  of  hyster¬ 
ics.  According  to  the  Indianapolis  Journal,  which 
would  fain  appear  to  the  world  as  prim,"  stalely, 
saintly  and  virtuous  as  old  Aunt  Pheebe,  who  always 
sits  at  the  head  of  the  quilting  frame,  Mr.  Brush  has 
been  guilty  of  an  unpardonable  sin.  At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  leading  republicans  of  the  state,  who 
met  for  consultation,  the  Journal  alleges  that  Mr. 
Brush  made  the  statement  that  the  republicans 
could  not  carry  the  state  in  ’92  without  the  use  of 
money.  And  the  truly  good,  pious  party  organ,  tak¬ 
ing  this  as  a  text,  proceeds  to  denounce  Mr.  Brush 
as  “a  fool”  and  place  him  in  bad  ordor  generally. 
Nay,  more;  the  sanctified  expounder  of  republican 
principles  at  the  state  capital  cries  in  a  loud  voice 
and  would  have  the  world  know  that  Mr.  Brush  is 
the  only  bad  man  in  the  republican  party  in  Indiana 
who  has  ever  hinted  at  such  a  profane  idea,  and 
that  the  other  members  of'the  recent  conference  in¬ 
dignantly  repudiated  his  expressions  in  the  confer¬ 
ence.  The  Journal  then  goes  on  and  attributes  the 
victories  won  by  the  republicans  in  this  state  to  the 
“  resistless  tide  of  public  opinion,”  ‘‘boundless  en- 
h  usiasm  ”  and  the  Lord,  and  attempts  to  make  itself 


and  the  dear  people  believe  that  the  two-doliar  bill 
has  not  been  ‘‘in  it”  at  all.  All  of  which  has  a 
tendency  to  make  any  one  but  a  hypocrite  and  a 
Pharisaical  political  psalm  singer  very  tired. 

Worse  than  all,  their  editor  postmaster 
seems  to  gibe  at  the  President  and  Mr. 
Wanamaker  for  being  religious  men.  Of 
the  campaign  of  1888,  he  says: 

IVe  admit  that  there  was  much  “  boundless  enthu- 
siam,”  ‘‘overwhelming popular  uprising”  and  Lord 
business  in  the  last  campaign,  but  none  of  these 
touched  the  ”  floater  ” 

Calmly  and  serenely  he  sat  on  the  fence  and  asked 
for  ‘‘  turkey.” 

The  democrat  might  talk  to  him  about  free  trade 
and  the  republican  about  protection,  but  he  would 
quietly  whistle  a  little  ditty  and  then  ask, 
"  What’lyougive  ?  ”  And  then  it  was  simply  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  who  would  give  the  most.  The  republicans 
generally  got  the  best  of  it  for  the  simple  reason  that 
the  democratic  workers  insisted  on  putting  the  great¬ 
er  portion  of  the  boodle  intrusted  to  them  into  their 
own  pockets.  These  are  facts,  and  if  the  Indianap 
o\\%  Journal  is  not  acquainted  with  them  it  should 
come  out  in  the  country  and  consult  some  of  the 
workers  on  the  political  history  of  the  state.  The  re¬ 
publicans  were  driven  to  use  money  in  elections  in 
this  state.  The  ugly  business  was  forced  upon  them 
by  democrats.  They  would  have  been  a  lot  of  nood¬ 
les  to  have  done  anything  else  than  fight  the  devil 
with  his  own  fire. 

And  in  conclusion: 

If  the  Indianapolis  Journal  expects  to  ride  to  re¬ 
publican  victory  in  this  state  in  1892  by  dishing  out 
to  republican  workers  the  tepid  ‘‘  pap  ”  of  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform,  and  by  recklessly  abusing  such  stalwart, 
ever-vigilant  party  leaders  as  William  T.  Brush,  it 
will  be  worse  fooled  than  the  celebrated  character 
who  attempted  to  weather  the  fires  of  hades  by  en¬ 
casing  his  carcass  in  a  cotton  jacket. 

Ordinarily,  one  might  expect  to  see  an 
employe  dismissed  for  such  language,  as 
being  not  only  immoral,  but  showing  con¬ 
tempt  for  his  superior  officers;  but  when 
this  editor  wanted  about  a  year  ago  the 
Delphi  postoffice,  and  the  high  spoils  dis¬ 
tributors  seemed  cold,  he  proceeded  to 
warm  them  as  follows— and  got  his  office 
forthwith: 

If,  when  John  C.  New,  of  the  Journal,  asked  for  the 
London  consulship,  he  had  been  informed  that 
Cleveland’s  appointee  would  be  retained,  what  a 
blue  tinge  the  air  would  have  taken  on.  And  how 
Dan  Ransdell  and  W.  H.  II.  Miller  and  Porter  and 
Huston,  and  all  the  rest  of  them,  would  have  howled 
in  agony  if  civil  service  slop  had  been  doled  out  to 
them.  Under  these  circumstances  would  the  In¬ 
dianapolis  Jowrnnf  be  feeding  the  pampered,  weak- 
minded,  scrofulous  child  on  choice  bonbons?  No, 
indeed.  The  Indianapolis  Journal  would  have  been 
a  center  from  which  greased  lightning  would  have 
darted  in  all  directions.  The  Jownmi ought  to  know 
that  it  is  of  infinitely  more  importance  to  satisfy  the 
working  republicans  in  theoutcounties  on  this  point 
than  the  prominent  politicians  of  that  paper  and  in 
Indianapolis.  For  the  out  counties  give  the  repub¬ 
lican  majorities.  <■>;•>;■<■«'<<  ■;= 

We  can  see  that  President  Harrison  is  merely  ex¬ 
ecuting  the  law  as  it  now  is.  This  is  all  right.  But 
unless  the  present  congress  relieves  him  of  the  law 
by  wiping  it  out  of  existence  they  will  show  to  the 
country  that  they  lack  the  courage  of  their  convic¬ 
tions,  that  they  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  repub¬ 
lican  sentiment  of  the  country. 

Let  Congressman  Cheadle  go  ahead.  Lethim  force 
his  bill  to  a  vote.  We  want  to  see  the  names  of  the 
cowards  who  are  tarred  with  the  same  stick  that  has 
made  the  names  of  Roosevelt,  Curtis,  el  al..  odorifer¬ 
ous  to  a  purgative  extent. 


AN  OLD-TIME  MUGWUMP. 

It  seems  that  Attornej’-General  Miller 
was  formerly  guilty  of  the  crime  of  being 
a  mugwump.  In  1872,  being  then  a  lawyer 
in  Fort  Wayne,  he  made  a  speech  against 
the  administration  of  General  Grant  which 
was  very  greatly  to  his  credit.  This  was 
August  31,  1872,  and  the  speech  fills  six 
columns  of  The  Fort  Wayne  Sentinel  of  Sep¬ 
tember  2,  following.  Of  this  speech  which 
everyone  ought  to  read  and  which  displays 
throughout  a  high  standard  of  ability  to 
distinguish  public  evils  and  gives  in  every 
line  evidence  of  independent  thought  and 
action,  we  can  give  only  a  few  extracts. 
He  says  to  fugitives  from  the  effete  des¬ 
potisms  of  the  old  world : 

I  ask  you,  cilizens  of  America  by  adoption,  who 
have  fled  from  the  despotisms  and  family  distinc¬ 
tions  of  the  old  world,  whether  a  President  who  re¬ 
gards  his  high  office,  with  all  of  its  patronage  and 
power,  as  mere  family  property ;  and  a  vice-presi¬ 
dent,  who  commenced  his  political  life  as  a  know- 
nothing,  taking  an  oath  that  he  would  never  support 
or  countenance  the  election  of  a  foreign-born  citizen 
to  any  office,  are  according  to  your  idea  of  a  republi¬ 
can  government? 

And  to  Irishmen : 

I  ask  the  Irishmen  of  the  land  whose  ancestors 
have  for  centuries,  and  whose  fathers  and  brothers 
are  to-day  writhing  beneath  the  heel  of  a  carpet-bag 
government,  whether  they  are  in  favor  of  maintain¬ 
ing  such  governments  in  the  south?  I  ask  all  citi¬ 
zens  of  every  class  whether  you  are  in  favor  of  the 
suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  time  of 
profound  peace;  of  keeping  alive  forever  the  hates 
and  enmities  of  the  past ;  of  the  use  by  the  President 
of  his  whole  first  term  in  manipulating  and  pur¬ 
chasing  a  second  ?  «  <■  v 

Talk  of  civil  service  reform,  with  Tom  Murphy, 
through  his  tool,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  assisted  by  Leet 
and  Stocking  still  running  the  New  York  custom¬ 
house;  with  brother-in-law  Casey,  notoriously 
steeped  in  corruption,  still  holding  the  most  impor¬ 
tant  federal  office  in  New  Orleans,  and  with  brother- 
in-law  Cramer,  misrepresenting  the  American  name 
and  disgracing  the  American  people  and  the  Ameri¬ 
can  pulpit  at  Copenhagen ;  with  Butler,  the  worthy 
representative  of  his  notorious  uncle,  rioting  and 
reveling  as  consul-general  in  Egypt,  with  good  men 
and  true  being  daily  removed  from  office  for  daring 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  Grant’s  re-election,  with  as¬ 
sessments  being  dally  levied  on  all  government 
clerks  and  employes  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
the  administration  campaign  in  direct  violation  of 
these  pretended  regulations  ;•  *  «  *  with  the 

heads  of  the  departments  scattered  from  Maine  to 
Oregon,  using  all  the  influence,  patronage  and  money 
at  their  command  to  bolster  the  failing  fortunes  of 
their  chief. 

It  is  true  that  in  seeming  derogation  of  the 
foregoing  sentiments,  Mr.  Miller  is  now 
perhaps  the  most  influential  member  of  an 
administration  which  has  set  off  a  very 
large  share  of  patronage  “  as  mere  family 
property.”  And  if  the  President,  whom  he 
much  admires,  is  not  manipulating  for  a 
second  term  on  a  scale  never  known  before 
then  all  signs  fail.  And  it  must  be  admit¬ 
ted  that  for  many  years  Mr.  Miller  has  not 
been  heard  to  lift  up  his  voice  in  favor  of 
civil  service  reform,  although  Wanamaker, 
Clarkson,  Noble,  Nathan,  Willis,  AVar- 
mouth,  Johnson  and  others  under  his  very 
nose  revel  and  riot  in  spoil.  And  many 
“  good  men  and  true  ”  have  been  removed 


192 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


from  office  by  him.  Neither  does  he  pros¬ 
ecute  plain  cases  of  assessments  nor  en¬ 
courage  such  prosecutions,  although  the 
evidence  is  so  plain  that  if  pressed  the  cul¬ 
prits  would  likely  throw  themselves  upon 
the  mercy  of  the  court.  Canting  Phari¬ 
sees  may  urge  these  objections  to  Mr. 
Miller,  but  this  ought  not  to  detract  from 
a  just  and  large  admiration  of  him  as  a 
fearless  and  independent  young  man  in 
1872,  and  as  a  worthy  example. 

INDIAN  PROSPECTS. 

The  spoils  system  in  the  Indian  service 
goes  bravely  on.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
the  party  in  the  spoils  machine  who  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  the  reckless  order  io,  in  effect, 
kidnap  Sitting  Bull  should  be  kept  con¬ 
cealed.  And  solely  out  of  our  system  of 
spoiling  the  Indians  with  bogus  agreements, 
bogus  supplies  and  bogus  officers  came  the 
massacre  of  "Wounded  Knee  Creek,  in  which 
we  have  the  honor  of  having  killed  sixty- 
three  women  and  children.  It  turns  out, 
also,  according  to  Mr.  Welsh,  and  un¬ 
disputed  statements  from  all  quarters,  that 
the  administration  appointed  as  agent  at 
Pine  Ridge  a  man  named  Royer  because  he 
had  rendered  conspicuous  services  to  some 
boss  in  a  county  convention  in  South  Da¬ 
kota.  One  day  an  attempt  was  made  to  ar¬ 
rest  an  Indian  in  front  of  the  agency,  but 
he  drew  a  knife  and  got  away.  Royer  at 
once  took  a  bee-line  for  the  nearest  railroad 
station  and  telegraphed  for  troops,  and  did 
not  return  to  the  agency  until  the  troops 
had  gone  first  and  made  sure  of  his  own 
precious  safety.  President  Harrison  and 
Secretary  Noble  built  up  their  own  spoils 
machine  in  the  Indian  country  in  contempt 
of  the  advice  and  protests  of  those  who  had 
known  and  worked  for  the  Indians  many 
years.  The  fine-working  qualities  of  their 
machine  are  illustrated  by  the  fact  that 
that  when  trouble  came,  and  their  Indian 
agents  should  have  been  of  inestimable 
service,  as,  in  effect,  fathers  of  their  people, 
the  administration  had  to  put  out  a  whole 
grist  of  them,  and  appoint  in  their  places 
army  officers  of  honesty  and  capacity,  and 
experience  with  the  Indians.  Royer  went 
with  the  rest,  remarking  with  incomparable 
brass  that  his  removal  had  been  brought 
about  “by  political  influences,  jealousy,  and 
at  a  time  when  the  Dakota  delegation  in 
congress  was  at  home  looking  after  an 
election.”  Whether  any  permanent  im¬ 
provement  will,  under  this  administration, 
be  the  outcome  of  the  present  Indian 
troubles  seems  doubtful.  It  is  announced 
that  none  of  the  henchmen  who  posed  as 
agents  have  been  permanently  removed  ex¬ 
cept  the  abused  Royer.  This  means  that 
as  soon  as  it  seems  safe  for  them  to  again 
become  a  part  of  the  Indian  spoils  machine 
they  will  be  allowed  to  do  so.  The  instruc¬ 
tions  from  Washington  to  Captain  Pierce, 
the  new  agent  at  Pine  Ridge,  are  not  to 


clear  out  the  barnacles  he  may  find  in  the 
service  at  that  agency,  though  that  would 
be  the  only  way  to  carry  out  the  boasted 
rule  of  the  spoilsmen  that  the  man  who  is 
responsible  for  an  office  should  have  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  his  subordinates.  He  is 
ordered  to  look  over  his  subordinates  and 
make  report  to  Washington  as  to  such  as 
he  can  not  keep,  with  explicit  reasons  in 
detail  for  his  objections.  This  simply 
means  that  the  reasons  are  to  be  referred 
to  the  congressmen  who  own  these  hench¬ 
men,  and  who  will  either  bully  the  admin¬ 
istration  into  keeping  them,  or  will  foist 
upon  Captain  Pierce  another  crowd  of  the 
same  stripe.  The  bottom  of  all  this  is,  that 
President  Harrison  has  determined  to  take 
a  hand  in  securing  his  own  re-nomination, 
and  he  is  afraid  to  offend  congressmen.  He 
has  precedents  before  him  to  show  that  a 
re-nomination  by  a  party  machine,  bought 
with  patronage,  does  not  insure  re-election. 


Several  thousand  miners  have  sent  in  a 
petition  to  the  Indiana  state  legislature  to 
the  effect  that  the  great  hazard  connected 
with  their  work  renders  it  an  outrage  to 
appoint  as  mine  inspector  a  man  who  knows 
nothing  aboiit  mines  and  mining.  It  is 
stated  that  Governor  Hovey  appointed  for 
this  important  position  a  farmer  who  knew 
nothing  about  mining.  A  bill  has  been  in¬ 
troduced  to  have  the  state  inspector  of 
mines  appointed  by  the  state  geologist  in¬ 
stead  of  by  the  governor  and  that  there 
shall  be  a  pass  examination. 

Pass  examinations  were  discredited  years 
ago.  They  offer  no  protection  against  fa¬ 
voritism  and  are  no  bar  to  incompetency. 
Tammany  uses  them  in  New  York  for  its 
braves  and  finds  them  no  inconvenience. 
Unless  the  legislature  is  willing  to  let  all 
applicants  have  an  equal  chance  by  means 
of  competitive  examinations,  it  is  quite  as 
proper.to  let  Governor  Hovey  go  on  frank¬ 
ly  appointing  farmers  as  mine  inspectors 
who  may  draw  the  salary  of  $1,500  and  thus 
be  paid  for  political  work. 


Dr.  R.  FrenchStone,  one  of  the  pension 
examiners  at  this  point,  has  been  removed, 
and  Dr.  S.  A.  Elbert,  a  negro,  appointed. 
At  its  meeting,  .Tanuary  20,  the  Marion 
County  Medical  Society,  forty  members 
members  being  present,  unanimously  re¬ 
solved  : 

Whereas,  The  various  boards  of  examiners  for 
pensions  were  created  by  the  government  for  the 
purpose  of  fairly  adjusting  the  claims  of  wounded 
and  disabled  soldiers;  and, 

Whereas,  It  was  the  intention  of  the  law  that 
these  boards  should  be  composed  of  intelligent  and 
reputable  physicians  in  order  that  justice  might  be 
done  to  both  the  soldiers  and  the  government ;  there¬ 
fore. 

Resolved,  That  the  recent  action  of  the  president  of 
the  United  States  in  removing  from  the  board  of  pen¬ 
sion  examiners  of  Indianapolis  an  honorable  mem¬ 
ber  of  this  society  and  a  veteran  union  soldier,  in 
order  to  give  place  to  one  who  is  not,  and  who  never 
has  affiliated  with  the  profession,  and  who  does  not 
possess  the  necessary  qualifications  for  the  important 


trust  thus  committed  to  his  hands,  is  a  base  and  in¬ 
excusable  prostitution  of  the  office  of  pension  ex¬ 
aminer  to  partisan  purposes,  and  an  insult  to  every 
reputable  physician  in  this  city  and  state. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  is  instructed  to  for¬ 
ward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  and  to  the  daily  papers  of  this  city. 

Elsewhere  are  given  illustrations  of  the 
institution  known  as  the  primary  or  cau¬ 
cus.  It  is  not  lovely.  These  examples  are 
of  the  noisier  variety  and  their  sharp  prac¬ 
tice  is  coarser,  but  in  the  main  they  do  not 
misrepresent  the  spirit  which  governs  these 
meetings.  In  the  better  bred  neighbor¬ 
hoods  the  tricks  are  slicker.  For  instance, 
lately  we  heard  one  of  the  better  element 
complain  that  at  the  caucus  in  his  ward 
the  usual  allowance  of  five  minutes  for  dif¬ 
ference  in  watches  was  not  made,  and  when 
he  got  to  the  place  of  meeting  five  minutes 
late,  not  only  had  the  delegates  been 
chosen  but  every  one  who  had  taken  part 
in  the  choosing  had  vanished.  The  work¬ 
ers  never  tire  of  saying  that  those  who  ob¬ 
ject  to  their  delegates  and  candidates 
should  attend  the  primaries  and  choose 
better  ones,  well  knowing  that  if  this  were 
the  only  Avay  of  putting  them  down  they 
would  stay  up  a  long  while.  At  the  pri¬ 
maries  tiieyare  invincible,  but  at  the  polls 
they  are  becoming  more  and  more  help¬ 
less.  No  duty  of  contending  in  a  primary 
with  rough  and  ready  rounders  or  with 
smooth  tricksters  rests  upon  a  citizen.  So 
long  as  millions  a  year  are  to  be  fought 
over  as  siioil,  this  will  continue,  and  in  the 
meantime  it  is  the  duty  of  citizens  to  have 
no  bowels  of  compassion  for  parties  or  per¬ 
sons  at  the  j)olls. 

A  new  republican  club,  with  Roger  "Wol¬ 
cott  as  president,  has  been  organized  in 
Massachusetts.  It  is  composed  of  men 
whose  sincerity  and  patriotism  Avill  not  be 
questioned,  and  Avho  Avill  have  to  save  the 
republican  party,  if  it  is  saved  at  all,  from 
the  Dudleys,  Quays  and  Ingallses.  The 
club  demands,  among  other  things : 

That  this  club  authorizes  a  committee  of  the  mem 
mens,  to  be  selected  by  the  president,  to  urge  upon 
the  President  of  the  United  States  the  extension  of 
civil  service  reform,  and  increa.sed  appropriations  for 
that  purpose. 

"We  ipiderstand  that  a  representative 
of  this  club,  together  with  Congressman 
Lodge,  !Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  INIr.  Sherman 
S.  Rogers,  have  called  upon  the  President 
to  urge  him  to  extend  the  operations  of 
the  civil  service  laAV  and  were  courteously 
received. 

Theoc^re  Roosevelt  has  “An  Object 
Lesson  m  Civil  Service  Reform  ”  in  the 
February  AfhtJihc  Monthly. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  has  been 
regularly  sent  for  some  months  to  the  li¬ 
braries  of  about  four  hundred  colleges  over 
the  country.  In  some  instances  the  gift 
has  been  acknowledged.  It  is  requested 
that  the  trouble  be  taken  to  state  whether 
the  paper  has  been  received  and  is  on  file 
for  general  reading. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


193 


SMUG  MR.  WANAMAKER. 


[From  the  last  report  of  [Comments  by  the  civil 
the  postmaster  general.]  service  commission.] 

1.  I  hope  to  see  the  civil  1.  The  commission  has 
service  examinatiojis,  vi-  never  received  a  hint  that 
peciallv  with  reference  to  its  examinations  were  not 
the  railway  mail,  im-  proper. 

proved.  The  individual  com¬ 

missioners  have  repeat¬ 
edly  told  the  general  su¬ 
perintendent  of  the  rail¬ 
way  mail  service  that 
they  were  anxious  to  get 
any  advice  about  these 
examinations,  and  would 
atonceremedy  auydejecl. 

2.  A  year’s  experience  2.  The  commission  is 

confirms  me  in  the  judg-  strongly  of  the  opinion 
ment  formed  twelve  that  in  most  cases  this 
monthsago.  that  the  civil  force  can  be  best  supplied 
service  system,  as  applied  by  promotionoj menalirady 
to  the  rosters  of  the  post-  in  theposi  office  depart  ment, 
office  department,  is  sus-  whictt  contains  in  theneigh- 
ceptible  of  improvement,  borhood  of  17  000  classified 
The  examinations  for  the  employees.  The  commis- 
inspector  force  and  for  sion,  however,  is  confl- 
the  railway  mail  service  dent  that  it  can  supply  a 
ought  to  be  tuade  Hiorcdt/-  reasonable  number  of 
ficuU,  so  that  the  candi-  good  post-office  inspectors 
dates  for  places  will  bet-  from  its  open  examina- 
ter  stand  the  test  of  actual  tions,  and  is  surprised  to 
work.  learn  that  the  postmaster- 

general  does  not  regard 
these  examinations  as  ^at- 
isfactory.  They  are  of  the 
same  kind  as  those  that  were 
used  in  the  department 
itself  before  these  em 
ployes  were  classified, 
with  the  cxciption  that  from 
being  pass  examinations 
they  are  noiv  made  compet¬ 
itive.  Of  the  seventeen  men 
appointed  from  the  com¬ 
mission’s  list  to  these 
places  during  the  year 
and  a  half  that  has  just 
elapsed,  sfa-feea  are  now  in 
the  service.  Only  one  has 
resigned  or  been  di.'-miss- 
ed.  Any  system  that  pro¬ 
duces  such  results  can 
not  be  said  to  be  ineffect¬ 
ive  or  to  work  badly.  In 
any  event,  the  commis¬ 
sion  is  convinced  that  it 
will  be  most  iietrimental 
to  the  public  Interests  to 
go  back  to  the  old  method  of 
treating  the  appointments 
of  these  post- office  inspectors 
as  so  much  patronage. 
More  effort  has  been  made 
to  have  these  post-office 
inspectors  put  back  under 
the  patronage  system 
than  has  been  the  case  in 
regard  to  any  other 
branch  of  the  classified 
service.  Evi  ry  member  of 

3.  The  inspector  can  not  the  commission  has  been  up- 

be 'capable  unless  he  is  proached  by  influential  pol- 
full  of  resources  and  iticians.  asking  that  post- 
alertness.  office  inspectors  should  be 

excepted  from  examination; 
and  in  almost  every  instance 
where  the  reguest  has  been 
made  it  has  been  based  upon 
the  ground  that  the  post- 
office  inspectors  in  office 
when  the  service  was  classi¬ 
fied  had  been  appointed 
chiefly  for  political  reasons. 
One  of  the  commissioners 
has  himself  seen  a  letter  in 
which  a  very  prominent  po¬ 
litical  lender  was  urging 
this  change,  and  urging  the 
appointment  of  a  post  office 
inspector  in  his  district 
frankly  for  the  reason  that 
he  wished  to  know  about  the 
political  attitude  of  the  var¬ 
ious  local  postmasters.  An¬ 
other  of  the  commission¬ 
ers  was  frankly  told  by  a 
political  leader  of  great 
Importance  in  a  certain 
state,  that  he  wished  the 
inspectors  to  be  excepted 
from  examination,  be- 
'  cause  from  the  nature  of 

their  office  they  were  cal¬ 
culated  to  render  such 
very  important  political 
service ;  and  inasmuch  as 
the  previous  inspectors, 
then  in  office,  had  ren¬ 
dered  this  service  to  the 
ou  t-going  ad  mi  nistration , 
the  gentleman  referred  to 
desired  that  their  succes¬ 


sors  should  render  equal 
political  assistance  to  the 
in -coming  administra¬ 
tion. 

-t.  It  is  estimated  by  the  4.  The  records  show 
railway  mail  office  that  that,  of  the  1,525  eligibles 
the  proportion  of  railway  appointed  in  the  railway 
mail  eligibles  who  fail  to  mail  service  from  our  ex¬ 
fill  the  re(iuiremeuts  of  arainationsupto  June  30, 
that  exacting  employ-  1890,  about  145  have  re- 
ment  is  a  quarter  ora  fftirci  signed  or  been  removed. 
of  all  those  examined.  There  were  but  thiity  one 

removals;  and  doubtless 
many,  if  not  most,  of 
those  who  resigned  did  so 
of  their  own  free  will,  and 
should  not  by  rights  be 
included  at  all  in  these 
figures.  In  other  words, 
instead  of  one-third,  only 
one-eleventh  have  been  sepa¬ 
rated  from  the  service.  The 
others  (over  90  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  number)  are 
still  in  ;  and  the  commis¬ 
sion  had  assumed,  nottin- 
natu  rally,  that  they 
would  not  be  retained  if 
they  did  not  givesatisfac- 
tion,  inasmuch  as  the 
commi>sion  stands  ready 
at  any  time  to  fill  the 
places  of  any  dismissed, 
and  inasmuch  as  it  is  a 
cardinal  doctrine  of  the 
commission  that  any  gov¬ 
ernment  employe  should 
be  promptly  dismissed  if 
he  fails  to  do  satisfactory 
work. 

5.  The  railway  postal  5.  We  require  now  a  snr- 

clerk  can  not  be  efficient  geon’s  certificate  as  to  the 
unless  he  has  physical  applicant’s  good  health 
endurance.  and  strength.  Moreover, 

part  of  the  e.xamination 
is,  as  the  postmaster  gen¬ 
eral  doubtless  knows,  the 
six  months’  probationary 
test. 

6.  Nor  is  it  truth— and  6.  The  system  of  exam- 

It  will  not  stand  the  test  inations  and  tests  applied 
of  time— to  reiterate  over  after  appointment,  under 
and  over  again  that  the  which  the  postmaster 
railway  mail  service,  general  says  the  railway 
which  had  been  made  the  mail  service  had  become 
most  effective  body  of  the  most  effective  body  of 
civil  servants  in  the  civil  servants  in  the 
United  States  under  an  United  States,  has  been 
old  established  merit  sys-  preserved  intact,  without 
temof  its  own,  was  basely  an  iota  of  change  under 
prostituted  to  partisan  the  civil  service  rules; 
ends  when  this  adminis  and,  in  addition,  an  en- 
tration  of  the  post-office  trance  lest  has  been  pre¬ 
department  was  busying  scribed  in  the  form  of  an 
itself  with  putting  back  open,  competitive  exam- 
these  trusty  and  tried  inaiion,  which  takes  the 
men  in  the  places  of  per-  place  of  the  practice  in 
sons  whose  room  was  more  vogue  before  the  civil 
valuable  than  their  bungling  service  rules  were  applied 
assistance,  and  with  wait-  to  this  service— o/  allow 
ingfor  the  tardy  certificat  ion  ing  mt  mbers  of  congress  and 
of  eligibles.  others  to  nominate  to  the 

department  the  persons  to 
be  appointed. 

This  sentence  refers  to 
the  changes  made  imme¬ 
diately  after  the  present 
administration  took  of¬ 
fice,  between  March  4  and 
May  1,  1889,  the  latter  be¬ 
ing  the  date  on  which  the 
railway  mail  service  was 
classified.  According  to 
the  on  1  y  a  u thori  i  ies  acces- 
sible  to  the  commission, 
there  were  some  1,500  re¬ 
movals  or  over  during  these 
eight  weeks,  at  least  a  third 
and  perhaps  a  half  of  the 
employes  appointed  dur 
ing  the  preceding  four 
years  being  removed  at 
this  time.  All  of  those 
employes  had  been  ap¬ 
pointed  under  the  pat¬ 
ronage  system.  It  is  clear, 
then,  from  the  postmast¬ 
er-general’s  own  state¬ 
ment,  that  under  thepaf- 
ronage  system  of  making 
appointments,  a  very  large 
proportion— probably  a  half 
—of  those  appointed  are 
of  such  poor  quality  that 
even  after  several  years’ 
service  they  do  their  work 
in  a  manner  so  bungling 
as  to  render  their  pres¬ 
ence  in  the  department  a 
drawback,  notan  advan¬ 
tage.  Comparing  this  with 
the  results  achieved  dur¬ 
ing  the  last  year  and  a 
half  under  the  system  of 


open,  competitive  exam¬ 
inations,  the  enormous 
superiority  of  the  latter 
is  observable  at  a  glance 
from  the  postmaster-gen¬ 
eral’s  own  report. 

Under  the  law,  the  civil 
service  examiners  are  de¬ 
tailed  to  the  commission 
from  the  various  depart¬ 
ments.  The  post-office 
department  until  within 
the  last  two  months  has 
been  very  backward  in 
thus  detai  ling  examiners. 
Notan  examiner  was  de¬ 
tailed  to  the  commission 
from  the  railway  mail 
service  until  a  year  and  a 
quarter  after  this  service 
had  been  classified,  and 
only  then  when  the  com¬ 
mission,  after  repeated  re¬ 
quests  for  the  detail,  was 
obliged  to  notify  the  de¬ 
partment  that  it  would  no 
longer  be  able  to  do  the 
work  for  the  railway  mail 
service  unless  the  detail 
was  given  it.  Thus  for  a 
yearand  a  half  the  entire 
work  of  the  commission 
for  this  branch  of  the 
service  was  performed  by 
men  detailed  from  other 
departments  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  who  had  to  neg¬ 
lect  the  work  of  the  de¬ 
partments  from  which 
they  were  detailed  in 
order  to  perform  the  work 
of  examining,  marking, 
and  certifying  applicants 
for  positions  in  the  postal 
service. 


Let  me  briefly  mention  one  or  two  special 
causes  for  Thanksgiving: 

1.  Ciiil  Service  Reform.  I  see  progress  in 
this  direction,  and  I  will  tell  yon  why.  Yon 
know  that  when  the  present  administra¬ 
tion  came  into  office,  it  came  in  with  the 
most  distinct  pledges  that  the  civil  service 
Avas  to  be  non-partisan ;  it  was  to  be  more 
impartially  managed  than  ever  during  the 
previous  administration.  The  promise  was 
clear,  and  they  were  elected  and  put  in 
power  upon  that  understanding.  And  what 
has  been  the  result? 

The  great  post-office  department,  which 
is  so  closely  connected  with  the  life  of  the 
people ;  which  has  to  do  with  every  county, 
every  town,  every  village,  every  little  ham¬ 
let  in  the  land,  which  has  nothing  to  do 
with  politics,  for  it  makes  no  difference 
whether  the  postmaster  who  handles  your 
letters  is  democrat  or  republican,  Presby¬ 
terian,  Episcopalian,  Roman  Catholic,  or 
even  atheist,  so  that  he  does  his  work  in¬ 
telligently  and  honestly — this  great  depart¬ 
ment  is  the  field  above  all  others  where  re¬ 
form  Avas  most  needed.  The  service  re¬ 
quired  to  be  made  non-partisan,  and  the 
promise  Avas  given  that  it  should  be.  Well, 
Ave  all  knoAV  that  the  postmaster-general 
violated  his  promises  most  shamefully.  His 
first  assistant  postmaster — a  Mr.  Clark¬ 
son — has  boasted  that  he  has  remoA’ed 
thousands  and  thousands  of  postmasters 
for  partisan  reasons,  to  put  in  members  of 
his  OAvn  party,  and  not  to  improA’e  the 
service.  And  this  Avas  done  Avith  the  hope 
and  expectation  that  this  AA  Ould  benefit  the 
political  prospects  of  the  party  that  did  it. 
And  Avhat  have  the  people  said?  Why  all 
over  the  country,  and  right  in  the  very  sec¬ 
tion  AA’hich  claims  Mr.  Clarkson  as  one  of 


»- 


194 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


its  leading  men,  tlie  verdict  of  (lixajiiiroral 
has  come.  The  i)eoi)le  have  said,  “This 
won’t  do.  Step  down;  we  are  masters, and 
we  will  show  yon  what  we  think  of  men 
who  break  their  solemn  pledges  and  prom¬ 
ises.”  Will  anybody  tell  me  that  after  this 
popular  verdict,  any  party  will  dare  to 
think  that  they  can  strengthen  themselves 
by  prostituting  the  civil  service  to  partisan 
and  dishonoralde  vises?  Hence  1  seem  to 
see  that  out  of  this  evil  progress  has  come 
in  the  civil  service  idea. — From  the  TIimiL-x- 
girhifi  Sprmoii  of  Her.  Hull  IJarrlsou. 

The  spoils  system  is  a  system  of  lirntal 
iniipiity.  [Cries  of  “Hood!”  and  ap])lanse.] 

I  have  chosen  my  words  carefully,  simply 
to  tlescribe  it  with  scientific  accuracy. 
[Laughter  and  applause.]  With  yonr  jver- 
mission  I  will  give  one  or  two  instances  to 
bear  out  the  words  I  have  used,  although 
they  are  instances  that  I  have  (pioted  to 
certain  gentlemen  here  present  on  another 
occasion.  Of  the  two  instances,  1  shall 
take  one  happening  under  the  last  and  one 
under  the  present  administration.  One  of 
the  most  jvainfiil  things  in  connection  with 
my  duties  as  a  civil  service  reformer  is  be¬ 
ing  brought  in  contact  with  so  much  wrong 
that  I  am  powerless  to  right, to  remedy,  or 
to  attempt  to  remedy  in  anyway.  We  have 
a  very  wise  rule  forliidding  re-instatements 
of  pv'ople  in  the  government  service  who 
are  out  more  than  a  year;  for,  if  we  allow 
jveople  to  re-enter  after  a  greater  time  than 
that,  there  ivonld  be  ajvt  to  lie  in  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  each  administration  a  wholesale 
jmtting  in  of  men  dismissed  under  the  pre¬ 
ceding  administration.  It  is  a  rule  gener¬ 
ally  right,  though  of  course  in  individual 
cases  it  works  harshly. 

A  poor  woman  came  to  me  early  in  my 
service  as  commissioner,  to  ask  if  she  could 
not  be  re-instated.  She  had  been  turned 
out  some  two  or  three  years  before,  and  had 
been  a  clerk  in  the  government  office  at 
Washington.  She  was  a  widow,  with  two 
children.  A  certain  senator  had  need  of 
her  place.  It  was  at  the  time  not  in  the 
classified  service.  He  wanted  it  for  a 
henchman  of  his  own.  He  had  notified  the 
division  chief  of  the  department  that  he 
needed  that  place.  The  division  chief  sum¬ 
moned  the  lady,  and  told  her  that  he  was 
very  sorry  for  her,  but  she  had  to  go. 

I  wish  to  say  here  that  I  want  to  condemn 
the  system  rather  than  the  men  who  did 
wrong  under  it.  The  senator  who  made  the 
request  made  a  request  simply  for  a  vacan¬ 
cy,  and  did  not  knovv  anything  about  the 
hardship  of  the  case  or  the  person  who  had 
to  be  turned  out ;  and  the  division  chief  who 
had  to  do  the  turning  out  acted  under  com¬ 
pulsion  and  with  extreme  reluctance.  The 
Avoman  came  to  her  chief,  and  told  him  she 
was  absolutely  dependent  on  the  salary  she 
had — that  it  meant  bread  to  herself  and 
children  and  a  roof  to  cover  them ;  that 
she  had  been  in  the  service  some  thirteen 


or  fourteen  years,  and  had  entirely  lost  all 
connection  with  any  of  her  former  friends. 
There  was  no  jvlace  where  shv'  could  go, 
ami  no  niche  that  would  be  open  for  her. 

She  worked  very  much  on  the  sympathy 
of  the  division  chief,  who  said:  “Ho  you 
back.  I  will  keep  you  in.”  She  went,  and 
was  kei)t  about  six  weeks  more.  T>ut  down 
came  the  senator.  His  man  was  clamorous. 
The  senator  said  it  was  no.  use  talking,  he 
had  to  have  the  jdace,  that  the  thing  must 
be  done.  The  thing  was  done. 

The  Avoman  was  turned  out.  She  did 
manage  to  pick  up  a  little  Avork  here  and 
there — enough  to  keep  herself  and  her 
chiMren  insufficiently  fed  and  insufficient  ly 
clad.  She  manage<l  to  just  live. 

The  woman  came  to  me  and  told  me  her 
case.  I  told  her  hoAV  keenly  I  a])preciat(Hl 
the  Avrong  she  had  suffered,  but  that,  if  w(' 
established  a  i)recedent  in  this  case,  it 
Avould  entail  our  helping  hundreds  of  other 
cases  Avho  would  not  haA'e  been  worthy  of 
help.  The  Avoman  Avas  i)erfectly  reasonable 
in  thematter,  ami  saw  the  pfisition  in  Avhich 
Ave  were  placed.  She  said,  “(.)f  course,  I 
understand  hoAv  you  are  situated;  but  it  is 
a  little  hard  for  me  to  live  on  one  meal  a 

hay.” 

ysoAA',  1  fail  to  see  hoA\-  any  person  can  be 
brought  in  contact  AA'ith  instances  of  this 
kind  and  not  feel  that  the  spoils  system  is 
an  outrage  on  American  manhood;  and  no 
man  of  self-respect,  with  the  least  spark  of 
manhood  in  him,  can  su])])ort  such  a  system. 
— From  the  Address  of  Hou.  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt  Before  the  ('o)umercud  Club  hi  Boston, 
Dee.  ,20,  ISftO.  Briuted  in  Full  in  .lunnurij 
Civil  Service  Record. 


“Letllienian  who  is  too  frood  and  too  conceited  to 
belong  to  either  parly  go  to  tlie  primaries  and  see 
that  good  men  are  chosen.  Instead  of  staying  away 
and  then  kicking  against  tlie  candidates.” 

Party  Boss. 

I. 

If  a  gang  of  Avild  beasts  had  taken  jhis- 
sessionof  I’arnell  Hall  Saturday  night,  they 
could  not  haA'e  made  more  noise  than  the 
seventy-live  delegates  Avho  assembled  there 
to  nominate  tAA'O  democratic  candidates  for 
aldermen  in  the  tifth  district.  The  mer¬ 
cury  registered  something  near  ninety  de¬ 
grees.  In  the  hall,  thirty  by  forty  feet  in 
dimensions,  Avere  crowded  the  seA'enty-tive 
delegates  and  a  hundred  spectators  Avho 
AA'ere  present  to  see  that  there  Avas“fair 
play  betAveen  man  and  man,”  as  they  an¬ 
nounced.  There  is  a  saloon  beneath  this 
little  hall,  and  of  course  all  the  spectators 
and  delegates  had  looked  in  the  bottom  of 
a  glass  before  they  Avent  upstairs.  This 
prosperous  saloon-keeper  also  kept  cigars 
Avhich  he  sold  for  the  moderate  price  of  2L, 
cents  each. 

There  Avere  three  small  AA'indoAvs  in  the 
room,  through  Avhich  there  Avas  danger  of 
some  fresh  air  circulating,  but  seA’en  or 
eight  thoughtful  young  men,  Avho  Avere 
present  as  ornaments  only,  were  kind 


enough  to  stand  in  these  air  jiassages,  and 
thus  make  it  utterly  impossible  for  the  air 
to  get  in,  or  the  tobacco  (?)  smoke  to  get 
out. 

Tom  IMahoney  elboAved  his  Avay  through 
the  croAvd  and  mount, e<I  a  ])latform,  the  base 
of  AA'hicb  Avas  on  a  leA'el  Avith  the  heads  of 
the  delegates.  He  stroked  his  floAving  mus¬ 
tache  once,  and  then  announced  that  he 
Avas  ready  for  Imsiness.  In  a  twinkle  a 
half-dozen  persons  had  been  proposed  for 
chairman,  and  e\'ery  time  !Mr.  yiahoney 
AA'ould  attemjit  to  ask  foraA'ote  tlu' friends 
of  each  man  proposed  Avould  set  up  a  yelL 
that  Avould  drown  out  his  A'oice.  !\Ir.  :\Ia-,/ 
honey  cAmcluded  he  Avould  just  let  them  j 
yell,  and  folding  his  arms  he  posed  on  his] 
high  jierch  and  calmly  saiil :  “  1  am  at 

your  sei’A'ices,  gintlemen.”  j 

Pretty  soon  an  idea  struck  Pat  Kelley,^ 
of  the  twenty-tifth  Avard,  and  mountinghis 
chair  and  shaking  his  head  like  an  orator, 
reaching  a  climax  he  said:  “!Mr.  Cdieer- 
man,  in  the  intrust  of  harmony  1  nominate 
John  Rail  for  cheerman  of  theeou\  iution.” 
There  was  a  chorus  of  “yes’s”  and  a  chorus' 
of  “no’s,”  and  then  some  one  raised  the 
point  that  the  chairman  had  to  be  taken 
from  among  the  delegates.  Finally  (!has. 
Hauss,  the  nominee  for  council  in  the 
twenty-fourth  ward,  was  elected  Avith  a 
AA'hoO]). 

Julius  Iteinecke,  John  Iteardon,  John 
IllackAAell  and  Peter  Carson  Avere  jilaced 
in  nomination.  It  aaiis  decided  that  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  all  the  A'otes  cast  AA'Ould  nominate. 
The  balloting  aa  iis  carried  on  amid  confu¬ 
sion.  The  A'ote  on  the  first  ballot  AA  as  as 
folloAVS  :  Reinecke  20,  Reardon  27,  Black- 
AA-ell  22,  and  Carson  0.  There  Avas  little 
change  in  the  A'ote  until  the  eighth  ballot, 
AA'lien  BlackAA'ell  receiA'ed  41  A'otes  and  aa  iis 
nominated. 

There  Avas  a  great  uproar  for  a  fcAv 
minutes,  and  the  ballot  was  taken  for  the 
second  candidate.  As  Reinecke’s  friemls 
had  helped  to  nominate  BlackAA'ell,  it  AA  as 
supposeil  BlackAvell’s  supporters  AA  Ould  uoaa' 
come  to  Reinecke,  and  that  they  did.  On 
this  ballot  but  seventy-six  A'otes  AA'ere  cast, 
and  of  this  number  Reinecke  received 
thirty-nine,  Reardon  thirty-fiA'e  and  Carson 
two.  Reinecke  had  receiA'ed  the  majority 
of  all  the  A'otes  cast,  and  his  friends  im¬ 
mediately  set  up  a  gleeful  yell  that  stirred 
the  hot  blood  in  the  lighting  Celtic  sons  of 
the  tAA'enty  tifth  Avard.  Pat  Kelley  gaA'e  his 
head  an  infuriated  toss,  and  the  fun  began. 
The  friends  of  Reardon  pretended  that  he 
had  been  counted  out.  They  maintaine<l 
that  seventy-eight  A'otes  had  been  cast,  and 
that  jMr.  Reinecke  must  have  forty  to  nom¬ 
inate  him.  Mr,  Kelley,  AA'ith  a  voice  like  a 
fog  horn,  AA'as  heard  aboA’e  everybody  else. 

“AVe  AA'ill  haA'e  our  rights,  Air.  Cheer- 
man,”  said  he.  “  AVe  come  here  not  to  be 
bull-dozed,  but  to  receiA'e  fair  treatment  as 
betAA'een  man  and  man,  and  that  Ave  AA'ill 
have.  Air.  Cheerman.” 


I 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


195 


jT 

t;  Chairman  Gauss,  as  he  stood  on  his  ele¬ 
vated  perch,  was  the  picture  of  distress 
He  feared  personal  violence  if  he  declared 
Reinecke  the  nominee,  so  he  stood  there 
and  made  s])eeches.  He  must  have  made 
twenty-tive,  and  this  is  what  he  said  every 
time  :  “  Gentlemen,  I  have  announced  the 
vote  as  it  is  before  me.  If  you  can’t  agree 
it  is  no  fault  of  mine.”  His  twenty-sixth 
V  speech  was  a  little  more  elaborate.  He 
1  begged  for  mercy.  “You  ought  to  under- 
'  stand  my  position,”  said  he.  “It  was  un- 
^  fortunate  that  I  should  have  been  called  to 
X  preside  over  this  meeting.  I  liave  the  vote 
as  it  was  cast,  and  yet  if  I  announce  it  you 
^  will  come  over  into  my  ward  and  knife  me 
%  for  council.” 

•  Tlie  wrangling  was  kept  np  for  an  hour 
T  and  a  half,  and  then  Keinecke’s  followers 
,  withdrew  from  the  hall.  The  followers  of 

Reardon  remained  to  argue  with  ]Mr.  Ganss, 

*  and  would  probably  have  been  there  until 
daylight  had  not  Keardon  withdrawn  from 
the  race,  and  advised  them  to  su2)port  this 
nominee.  A  little  before  midnight  the 

t  lights  were  turned  out,  and  the  disappoint- 
^  ed  were  forced  to  seek  the  street  cars. 

There  appears  uudoubtable  evidence  of 
^  deep  treachery  in  the  party  ranks,  and  it 
^  is  not  surprising  to  find  Councilman  31  ar- 
key  as  the  supposed  conspirator.  To  ac- 
ji  comi)lish  his  purpose  he  appears  to  have 
turned  his  knife  upon  his  own  relatives,  or 
such  of  them  as  he  found  -were  not  of  his 
own  way  of  thinking.  It  was  given  out 
^  tliat  3Iarkey’s  relatives,  particularly  John 
Reardon,  candidate  for  alderman,  were  re¬ 
ceiving  all  the  support  that  3Iarkey  and 
■  tlie  corporations  could  give  him.  Every¬ 
body  turned  in  to  help  defeat  the  supposed 
corporation  candidates,  and  in  doing  this 
helped  on  3Iarkey’s  real  candidates.  John 
Blackwell,  the  nominee  for  alderman,  is 
understood  to  have  secured,  through  IMar- 
key,  a  position  as  engineer  at  the  Insane 
Hospital.  3Iichael  Toole,  a  relative  of 
31arkey’s,  who  didn’t  want  a  public  place, 
"  and  who,  tlirough  3Iarkey’s  influence,  se- 
cui’ed  a  position  as  spotter  on  the  street 
"  railway  lines,  voted  against  Reardon.  John 
'■  German,  a  twenty-third  ward  delegate,  says 
Rail — who  was  ostensibly  Reardon’s  friend 
■"  — advised  him  to  vote  against  Reardon. 

The  Indianapolis  Gas  Company’s  employes 
-  were  present  in  strength  doing  3Iarkey’s 
bidding — and  one  of  them,  by  the  way,  on 
3Iarkey’s  renomination,  presented  him 
with  a  cane. 

The  point  of  it  all  is  that  3Iarkey’s  sup¬ 
porters,  who  had  been  understood  all  along 
to  be  for  Reardon,  when  it  came  to  voting 
all  turned  to  the  other  fellows.  It  was  a 
cute  trick,  Imt  it  was  carried  too  far.  Mar- 
key’s  relatives  can  hardly  be  expected  to 
complain,  but  their  friends  and  a  legion  of 
democrats  are  in  open  rebellion.  An  inde¬ 
pendent  candidate  is  almost  a  certainty. 
Reardon  has  declared  himself  for  the 
whole  democratic  ticket,  but  the  solid  dem¬ 


ocrats  down  that  way  who  are  not  re¬ 
strained  hy  personal  relations  will  settle 
all  of  their  disaffection  hy  voting  against 
3Iarkey.  They  say  he  has  represented 
corporations  instead  of  the  people;  that 
he  hrought  corporation  agents  to  the  pri¬ 
maries  from  every  nook  and  corner.  Fred 
Hoffer,  grocer,  head  of  many  benevolent 
societies,  will  probably  1)e  the  independent 
democratic  nominee  for  council  against 
3Iarkey.  As  a  bit  of  good  politics  the  dem¬ 
ocrats  ho])e  the  repxiblicans  will  indorse 
the  independent.  3Ir.  Hohlt  is  also  Ijeing 
considere<l  as  a  possibility. — IniliniKtpolis 
Ar/r.s,  Septruihi’r 

II. 

Everything  was  “cut  and  dried”  for  the 
re-nomination  of  Thomas  3Iarkey  in  the 
twenty-third  ward,  and  it  was  practically 
useless  for  the  opposition  to  attempt  to 
change  the  prearranged  programme. 
IMarkey  had  the  party  machinery  at  his 
command,  being  liimself  ward  committee¬ 
man,  and  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  use  it 
to  good  advantage.  Yesterday  afternoon 
the  opposers  of  3Iarkey  saw  the  way  the 
fight  was  .going,  and  they  persuaded  all 
the  opposition  candidates  to  withdraw  but 
AY.  H.  Hohlt.  Air.  Hohlt  was  acce])table 
to  all  those  who  didn’t  want  to  see  Alarkey 
re-nominated,  and  his  friends  felt  confident 
that  he  would  be  nominatod. 

It  was  an  enormous  crowd  that  blocked 
the  street  in  front  of  the  engine  house  for 
half  an  hour  before  time  for  the  primary  i 
to  begin.  There  must  have  been  nearly 
500  men,  all  of  whom  claimed  to  he  demo¬ 
cratic  voters  in  the  twenty-third  ward. 
AVhen  the  meeting  was  called  to  order  by 
Robert  Keller,  one-  of  Alarkey’s  friends 
moved  that  Con.  Sullivan  (said  to  be  a  rel¬ 
ative  of  Alarkey’s)  be  made  permanent 
chairman.  The  supporters  of  Hohlt  named 
another  man,  but  the  Alarkey  crowd  set 
up  a  yell  that  was  deafening,  and,  while 
the  uproar  was  going  on,  Sullivan  was  de¬ 
clared  elected  chairman.  As  Sullivan ! 
mounted  the  chairman’s  table,  some  one  | 
called  out :  “  Look  out ;  he  knocked  out  J 

Kitrain.”  | 

As  soon  as  Sullivan  had  the  meeting  in 
hand  for  his  principal,  an  effort  was  made 
to  carry  out  a  scheme  of  the  Alarkey-Rear-  ^ 
don  crowd.  Y'oung  Albert  Lieber  offered 
a  resolution  which  provided  that  three 
gentlemen  (naming  them)  should  consti¬ 
tute  a  committee  to  select  delegates  to  the 
aldermanic  convention.  The  i)ersons 
named  were  at  once  recognized  as  support¬ 
ers  of  Reardon,  and  one  hundred  voices 
were  raised  in  chorus  against  the  presen¬ 
tation  of  such  a  resolution.  Air.  Lieber 
saw  he  could  not  get  the  resolution  through 
at  that  time,  and  he  announced  that  he 
would  withdraw  it  for  the  present. 

Chairman  Sullivan  then  announced  that 
nominations  for  councilman  were  in  order. 
August  Kuhn  nominated  Thomas  Alarkey, 
and  forthwith  some  relatives  of  Alarkey  in  I 


the  crowd  moved  that  the  nomination  be 
made  by  acclamation. 

“Xot  much  you  won’t,”  yelled  the  crowd. 

“Ao,  everybody’s  got  to  have  a  show,” 
said  Chairman  Sullivan,  as  he  called  for 
more  nominations. 

AVilliam  H.  Hohlt  was  then  placed  in 
nomination,  and  so  was  Rhilip  Wolf.  The 
latter  at  once  withdrew  and  reipiested  that 
his  friends  sujjport  Hohlt.  Another  effort 
was  made  to  have  Alarkey  declared  the 
nominee  by  acclamation,  but  the  ci'owd 
objected  so  strenuously  that  the  chairman 
didn’t  dare  to  carry  out  the  scheme  and 
entertain  a  resolution  of  that  kind. 

The  arrangements  for  going  through  the 
farce  of  voting  was  then  made.  Every¬ 
body  was  driven  out  of  the  engine  house, 
and  the  front  and  rear  doors  locked.  The 
tellers  were  then  stationed  at  a  side  door, 
where  they  received  the  votes  in  a  hat  as 
the  crowd  pushed  into  the  house  again.  Xo 
effort  was  made  to  prevent  non-residents 
from  voting,  and  there  were  char.ges  that 
Alarkey  had  many  supporters  there  from 
every  ward,  from  the  insane  hospital  to 
Irvin.srton. 

Alarkey  and  his  gang  had  planned  well. 
It  was  arranged  that  when  the  crowil 
should  be  turned  out  of  the  engine  house, 
the  Alarkey  gang  should  take  up  their  po¬ 
sitions  near  the  side  door  where  the  votes 
were  to  be  taken.  The  plan  was  carried 
out,  and  the  first  200  votes  taken  in  were 
nearly  all  for  Alarkey.  AVhen  the  Alarkey 
ringsters  thought  about  all  the  votes  for 
their  candidate  were  in,  some  one  of  them 
burst  open  the  front  door  to  the  engine 
house  and  the  crowd  surged  out  and  around 
to  the  little  side  door  where  the  ballots 
were  being  take.  There  was  hut  one  thing 
to  do,  and  that  was  to  close  the  ballot-l)ox 
(hats).  Alore  than  one  hundred  men  were 
still  in  line,  waiting  their  turn  to  vote,  and 
they  all  had  Hohlt  tickets  in  their  hands. 
They  protested  loudly,  and  demanded  that 
the  entire  vote  be  taken  over  again,  but 
the  protests  counted  for  nothing.  The 
tellers,  who  were,  of  course,  Alarkey  men, 
said  they  could  not  be  held  responsible  for 
the  doors  being  opened,  and  to  avoid  the 
confusion  they  went  up  stairs  to  a  private 
seance  to  count  the  vote. 

The  Hohlt  supporters,  disgusted,  went 
home,  and  then  it  was  Reardon’s  (Alarkey’s 
brother-in-law)  chance  to  have  his  sup¬ 
porters  chosen  as  delegates  to  the  alder- 
manic  convention.  The  Liel)er  resolution, 
which  had  been  hooted  down  once,  was 
adopted  with  a  whoop  and  a  hurrah.  The 
committee  of  three  retired,  one  of  them 
pulled  from  his  pocket  a  list  of  delegates 
Reardon  had  selected,  it  was  pronounced 
all  right,  and  the  report  was  made  to  the 
meeting,  which  was  now  composed  ex¬ 
clusively  of  Alarkey-Reardon  supporters. 
Of  course  no  one  objected  to  the  list  of  del¬ 
egates.  • 

There  was  a  little  wait,  and  then  the 


196 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


teller  came  down  the  stairway  smiling  and 
annonnced  that  Markey  liad  received  20!l 
votes  and  lIoliltl25.  There  was  some  ap¬ 
plause,  and  a  call  for  3Iarkey,  to  which  he 
replied  after  the  stereotyped  fasliion. — In- 
Xeirx,  Ani/utit  ,//,  JSS!). 

Ill. 

The  nastiness  of  gang  politics  was  faith¬ 
fully  pictured  in  the  twenty-second  ward 
last  night,  where  a  most  disgraceful  affair 
took  place.  A  dirty  struggle  to  elect  a 
gang  committeeman  has  disgusted  the  bet¬ 
ter  element  of  the  republican  jtarty  in  the 
ward.  The  .so-called  “convention”  was 
hehl  in  a  vacant  storeroom  in  the  Bristor 
Block  on  Virginia  avenue.  3Iike  Toomey, 
the  clerk  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  is  the 
authorized  agent  of  the  Tin  Horn  crowd  in 
that  ward,  and  it  was  known  that  he  would 
capture  the  convention  by  high-handed 
methods,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible  and 
necessary.  Early  in  the  evening  a  number 
of  business  men  and  good  citizens  who 
have  not  attended  a  primary  for  years  ar¬ 
rived,  and  it  was  sought  to  have  decency 
and  fair  i)lay.  But  they  did  not  know  the 
gang.  At  8  o’clock  one  of  Toomey’s  sub¬ 
alterns  carried  a  starch  box  into  the  room. 
Ostensibly  it  was  to  he  used  as  a  ballot- 
box,  but  the  subaltern  sat  with  his  arms 
about  the  box  and  no  one  could  get  near 
it.  V  hen  John  Howard,  the  old  commit¬ 
teeman,  called  the  meeting  to  ordei', 
Toomey  and  his  cohorts,  composed  in  {)art 
of  a  gang  of  potatoe  peddlers,  democrats, 
ward  heelers  and  sluggers,  arrived.  Mr. 
Howard  attempted  to  have  a  permanent 
chairman  elected. 

This  started  the  row.  Toomey  sprang 
on  a  chair,  and,  waving  a  dirty  piece  of  pa¬ 
per,  shouted  that  he  had  been  appointed 
temporary  committeeman  by  the  city  com¬ 
mittee,  and  he  at  once  assumed  to  be 
chairman  of  the  meeting.  Pandemojiium 
broke  loose  then.  John  A.  Porter  was 
nominated  for  committeeman  by  Howard 
and  Charles  Egger  was  nominated  by 
Toomey.  Porter’s  friends  insisted  that  no 
democrats  should  be  allowed  a  voice  in  the 
proceedings  and  should  be  asked  to  go  out. 
To  this  Toomey  objected. 

“How  can  you  tell  who  are  democrats,” 
he  shouted. 

“  M  e  knoAV  them,  and  know  who  has  them 
here,”  yelled  the  other  side.  “Let  the  i)o- 
lice  come  in  and  i)ut  them  out.” 

“Xo  policeman  can  take  any  one  out  of 
here,”  howled  the  Tin  Horn  crowd.  How¬ 
ard  climbed  on  a  tal)le  and  attempted  to 
speak,  but  he  Avas  jeered  and  hooted  at 
until  his  voice  could  not  be  heard.  Toomey 
clambered  up  beside  him  and  screamed 
his  orders  as  chairman,  and  he,  too,  Avas 
greeted  with  hisses  and  yells  of  derision. 
Once  or  tAvice  a  tight  was  imminent  and 
seA’eral  blows  were  passed  in  the  croAvd. 
HoAvard  called  for  the  ayes  and  noes  and 
declared  Porter  elected  committeeman. 
Porter  attempted  to  speak,  but  Avas  hissed 


j  doAA  n.  Toomey  Avaived  his  hat  to  command 
silence. 

j  “  Shut  up,”  yelled  some  one  in  the  croAvd. 

I  “I’ll  come  doAvn  there  and  climb  your 
I  collar,”  elegantly  remarke<l  Toomey. 
j  “  Climb  Avhose  collar?  ” 

I  “Yours;  you  knoAV  me,”  continued 
Toomey,  Avith  a  yell  like  a  Comanche  In- 
I  dian.  “  Hands  off,”  “  i)ut  ’em  out,”  “  knock 
j  ’im  off  the  table,”  hisses,  groans  and  oaths 
folloAved.  IIoAvard,  Porter  ajid  his  friends 
left  the  hall,  fairly  driven  out  by  the  gang. 
Toomey  then  organized  Avhat  he  called  the 
tAventy-second  Avard  conA'ention,  and  de¬ 
clared  Egger  the  committeeman.  Egger 
AA'as  boosted  on  a  table  (Avhich,l)y  the  Avay, 
was  a  poker  tables  and  Mr.  Egger  maile  a 
little  s])eech.  He  entertained  all  motions 
in  the  aflirmatiA-e.  The  negative  side  of  a 
(jnestion  was  not  thought  of,  ])articularly 
as  Mr.  Toomey  made  :ill  the  motions  and 
introduced  all  the  resolutions.  The  poker 
table  and  the  starch  box  Avere  moA'ed  up  to 
the  door,  and  as  the  gang  Avalked  out  a 
ticket  Avas  drojiped  in.  EA’eryone  A’ote<l 
that  Avante<l  to,  no  matter  Avhat  their  age 
or  politics,  and  Egger  Avas  declared  elected 
by  the  Tin  Horn  croAvd.  As  might  be  ex¬ 
pected,  a  Avide  split  among  tin*  republicans 
of  the  Avard  is  the  result.  The  gang’s  bull¬ 
dozing  methods  Avere  condemned  bt'  the 
better  element.  “M'e  can  not  expect  to 
beat  all  the  potato  peddlers  and  democrats 
in  this  end  of  toAvn,”  said  a  business  man. 
“This  affair  is  <lisgraceful,  and  Avill  result 
in  a  democrat’s  election.  We  are  tired  of 
Toomey  and  his  gang,  and  don’t  ])ropose  to 
submit  any  longer.”  “Xone  of  Porter’s 
friends  cast  a  A'ote,”  said  another.  “  Do 
you  suppose  Ave  Avould  A'ote  for  a  man  ])ut 
up  by  a  gang  like  that?” 

The  <piestion  as  to  aaIio  is  the  commit" 
teeman  elected — Porter  or  Egger — Avill 
probable  come  np  before  the  city  commit¬ 
tee.  That  organization  is  controlled  by  Tin 
Horns,  and  Egger  bloAA's  Avith  them.  The 
claim  that  he  had  been  appointed  tem¬ 
porary  committeeman  by  the  city  commit¬ 
tee  made  by  iMr.  Toomey,  is  (piestionable. 
i\Ir.  IIoAvard  Avas  the  old  committeeman, 
andAvould  hold  OA’er  until  his  successor  Avas 
elected,  and  the  city  committee  had  no 
right,  it  is  claimed,  to  declare  his  office  va¬ 
cant  and  appoint  another  in  his  stead.  “  He 
Avas  elected  by  the  peoi)le,”  said  one  of 
Howard’s  friends,  “and  the  committee 
could  not  remoA'e  him,  especially  as  iNfr. 
HoAvard  has  been  attending  to  his  duties. 
There  Avas  no  vacancy.  Howard  was  chair¬ 
man  of  the  coiiA-ention,  and  Porter  is  the 
legally  elected  committeeman.  Toomey 
Avas  an  interloper,  and  had  no  authority  to 
act  as  a  chairman.’’— Lid Ixnajtol is  Xewa, 

A  ugiist  1H90.  ’ 

IV. 


A  Donnybrook  fair  isn’t  a  circum¬ 
stance  to  the  riot  that  marked  the  demo¬ 
cratic  tirst  Avard  caucus  to-day,  and 
in  the  midst  of  it  Avas  the  Hon.  William  F. 


Sheehan,  leader  of  the  democrats  in  the 
assembly  and  Goa’.  Hill’s  right  boAver.  He 
Avas  supported  by  se\'eral  of  his  creations, 
among  them  a  dairy  ins])ector  and  a  sec¬ 
tion  superintendent  of  the  Erie  canal. 

( Jasman  Bradley  Avanted  a  renomination 
for  alderman,  and  Iceman  Sullivan  Avas  af¬ 
ter  the  same  office.  Sheehan  considers 
Bradley  a  juggler,  and  so  he  Avas  fqr  the 
iceman.  The  chairman  of  the  Avard  com¬ 
mittee,  Charles  iMcDonough,  is  a  Sullivan- 
ite,  and  during  the  saloon  hours,  Avhen 
honest  men  Avere  asleep,  last  night,  it  is 
said  that  Sheehan,  ^McDonough,  and  a  feAv 
others  put  up  the  “job,”  and  early  this 
morning  a  gang  of  SulliA^an’s  men  SAvarmed 
around  the  A'oting  place  and  took  entire 
possession  of  the  sideAvalk,  the  building, 
and  the  room  Avherein  the  ballot  boxes 
Avere  to  be  ])laced.  When  Bradley  and  his 
friends  arrived  they  could  not  get  Avithin 
a  gun-shot  of  the  polls.  Finally  a  feAV  of 
the  most  A'aliant  fought  their  Avay  into  the 
room  Avith  .lack  O’Connell  at  their  head. 

(  i’Connell  tried  to  talk,  but  he  Avas  “  tired 
out”  immediately.  Then  the  Bradley  croAvd 
picked  up  Tom  Shay  and  pushed  him 
through  the  transom  over  the  door.  Tom¬ 
my  just  touched  the  door  Avhen  he  Avas 
bounced  out.  (.)thers  Avent  in  and  Avere 
put  out  in  the  same  Avay.  “  Billy  Sheenan 
is  inside,”  shonted  a  man  AvhoAvas  clinging 
to  the  aAvning  irons  in  front  of  the  place. 
“Put  him  out,  he  has  no  right  there.”  In 
about  an  hour  Bradley  came  out  co\'ere<i 
Avith  perspiration.  He  had  been  ejected 
by  the  police.  He  Avas  excited,  and  said: 
“They  haA'e  robbed  us  of  the  organization.” 
He  then  began  distributing  his  tickets. 

“Hold  a  caucus  outside,  .Tohnny,”  said 
one  of  his  adherents.  “Let  us  organize 
here.” 

Mr.  Sheehan  came  out  later.  He,  too, 
Avas  very  Avarm  and  showed  the  effect  of 
the  effort  to  organize  Avith  the  struggling 
mass.  He  said:  “All there  is  to  it  is  that 
SulliA’an  had  the  Avard  committee  and 
Bradley  Avanted  to  get  the  organization. 
He  tried  to  make  an  independent  move¬ 
ment  and  AA'as  j)ut  out.”  Bradley  mounted 
a  Avagon  and  tried  to  make  a  speech.  The 
AA  agon  AA'as  pulled  aAvay,  but  it  AA'as  dragged 
back,  and  :\Ir.  Bradley  managed  to  keep 
his  balance  long  enough  to  say  that  the 
Irish  coercion  act  Avas  not  a  marker  on  the 
methods  taken  by  Sheehan  and  his  gang 
to  coerce  and  beat  him  out  of  a  nomination 
Avhich  he  Avas  justly  entitled  to,  and  that 
he  then  and  there  AA'ithdreAA'  from  the  cau¬ 
cus  and  Avas  a  candidate  of  the  people  re¬ 
gardless  of  the  gang  Avho  propose  to  rule 
or  ruin  the  democratic  party  in  the  first 
ward. — Bafalo  dispatch  to  Xeir  York  Times, 
October  14, 1890. 

V. 

A  caucus  of  the  democratic  electors  of 
the  second  Avard  Avas  held  in  the  liA'ery 
stable,  Xo.  1.38  Carroll  street,  j’ester- 
day  afternoon.  The  polls  opened  at  4  p.  m. 
and  the  A'oting  AA'as  done  by  register. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


197 


“  It  was  rather  a  tame  affair  this  year,” 
a  bystander  sententiously  remarked.  “  No¬ 
body  was  arrested,  and  the  stable  is  in  as 
good  repair  as  ever,  and  no  furniture  was 
destroj^ed  with  the  exception  of  a  stove.” 

“They  had  a  divil  of  a  time,”  said  one  of 
the  three  policemen  on  duty,  at  the  end  of 
the  count.  “  When  they  began  to  elect  a 
chairpian,  the  divil  was  to  pay  then,  and 
five  men  were  standing  on  that  little  table 
at  the  same  time.  We  had  to  send  for  the 
patrol  wagon  with  more  men,  and  we 
clubbed  the  room  out  twice,  before  we  got 
any  order.” 

Alderman  Frank  J.  Trautmanii  and.Tohu 
F.  Burke  were  the  rival  candidates  for  the 
aldermanic  nomination.  Alderman  Traut- 
mann’s  friends  got  there  first  and  crowded 
into  the  little  seven-by-nine  office  of  the 
livery  stable  and  left  no  room  for  Burke’s 
dilatory  backers.  Then  the  fun  began. 
Each  candidate  wanted  his  own  chairman, 
for  each  knew  that  that  meant  his  nom¬ 
ination.  Trautmann’s  friends  finally  se¬ 
cured  their  chairman  and  and  the  other 
party  threw  up  the  sponge.  The  caucus 
resulted  as  follows : 

For  alderman,  Frank  J.  Trautmanu,  108 
majority ;  for  supervisor,  Thomas  H.  Mun- 
sell ;  for  constable,  Wm.  Chandler.  About 
280  votes  were  cast. 

The  defeated  candidate,  Mr.  .John  F. 
Burke,  said  to  an  Express  reporter  last 
evening  after  the  smoke  of  the  battle  had 
cleared  away:  “The  men  attending  the 
caucus  fought  for  two  hours  like  human 
tigers.  The  caucus  should  have  been  or¬ 
ganized  at  four  o’clock,  but  it  was  impos¬ 
sible  to  elect  a  chairman  for  two  hours ; 
there  were  ten  policemen  present,  and  all 
took  a  hand  in  the  affair  and  clubbed  ev¬ 
erybody  into  line  for  Trautmann.  I  un¬ 
derstand  Police  Commissioner  Tllig  sent  for 
one  man — a  Seneca-street  saloon  keeper — 
and  told  him  that  unless  he  came  out  and 
worked  for  Trautmann  his  license  would 
be  revoked.  The  saloon  keeper  told  me  so. 
I  was  clubbed  and  my  hat  was  crushed  in 
the  melee.  I  never  before  witnessed  such 
a  struggle.  A  great  many  outsiders  voted, 
and  the  way  the  proceedings  were  conduct¬ 
ed  was  outrageous.  One  cause  of  the  trou¬ 
ble  was  that  a  fight  was  made  against 
William  F.  Sheehan’s  ward  ticket,  and  he 
was  knocked  out.  I  have  no  thought  of 
contesting  the  result  of  the  caucus.” — Buf¬ 
falo  Express,  October  10,  1891. 

VI. 

A  thirteenth-ward  democratic  caucns  is 
generally  a  sight  for  gods  and  men.  Yes¬ 
terday’s  was  no  exception.  Though  the  day 
passed  without  an  actual  display  of  fistic 
hostilities,  the  feeling  ran  none  less 
high.  There  was  a  merry  war  all  around. 
Three  candidates  were  in  the  field  for  the 
aldermanic  nomination.  They  were  ex- 
Alderman  Adams,  Willis  J.  Crane,  and 
Alderman  “  Tosh  ”  Summers.  And  the  last 
was  first  in  this  case.  Alderman  Summers 


scored  a  genuine  triumph  in  the  caucus, 
and  the  other  candidates  were  left  so  far  in 
the  rear  that  it  was  with  ditficulty  that  they 
realized  they  had  been  in  the  race. 

Queer  methods  prevailed  at  the  caucus. 
In  the  first  place,  Al<lerman  Summers  had 
the  ward  committee  so  well  “fixed”  that 
they  directed  that  the  caucus  should  be 
held  at  James  Welsh’s  saloon.  No.  1145 
Seneca  street.  This  was  manifestly  an  un¬ 
fair  place  to  hold  the  caucus,  as  it  was  clear 
over  to  one  end  of  the  ward,  and  well  nigh 
inaccessible  to  over  half  the  inhabitants  of 
the  ward.  One  member  of  the  committee, 
Henry  Clark,  refused  to  sign  the  call  for 
the  caucus  in  this  place.  Next,  the  hour  as 
set  by  the  committee  for  holding  the  caucus 
was  from  two  to  eight  o’clock.  Instead  of 
that  the  time  was  extended  until  nine 
o’clock.  And  finally,  it  was  asserted  on  all 
sides  that  everybody,  irrespective  of  party 
lines,  was  allowed  to  vote.  The  etiquette 
in  the  thirteenth  in  regard  to  this  little 
matter  does  not  seem  to  be  very  lofty. 

When  the  votes  were  about  to  be  counted^ 
and  all  the  candidates  were  collected  in  the 
room  with  the  caucns  committee.  Chairman 
Manning  broke  silence,  and  said :  “  Before 
we  open  the  ballot-boxes,  is  there  any  ob¬ 
jection  to  the  way  this  caucus  has  been 
held?  ” 

Engineer  Crane  and  Alderman  Summers 
said  they  were  satisfied.  Not  so  ex-Alder¬ 
man  Adams.  He  boldly  stated  that  the 
whole  thing  was  a  fraud  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  he  was  not  satisfied. 

“Do  you  charge  the  committee  with 
fraud?”  asked  one  of  its  members. 

“No,  I  don’t  say  that  the  committee  has 
acted  wrongfully,”  answered  ]Mr.  Adams, 
but  he  did  not  retract  his  assertion  that  the 
whole  thing  was  a  fraud,  neither  would  he 
promise  to  support  the  caucus  nominee. 

“  Well,  as  long  as  he  doesn’t  charge  the 
committee  with  fraud,  let’s  open  the  boxes,” 
said  the  chairman.  Forthwith  the  boxes 
were  opened  and  the  counting  began.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  the  list  748  men  had  voted,  but 
the  committee  announced  768  ballots,  of 
which  Alderman  Summers  had  received  443, 
Mr.  Crane  233,  and  William  Adams  94,  a 
total  of  770.  The  discrepancy  was  not  ac¬ 
counted  for,  and  besides  22  ballots  were 
thrown  out. 

The  vote  for  siipervisor  was  as  follows : 
Thomas  Fletcher  448,  Mr.  Weyand  180,  W. 
S.  AViles  139.  For  constable,  Arthur  Mullen 
received  278  votes  aiid  Robert  Hughes  481. 

As  soon  as  the  result  was  announced  ex- 
Alderman  Adams  left  the  room  in  high 
dudgeon.  To  an  Express  reporter  he  un¬ 
bosomed  himself  as  follows  :  “  The  whole 
thing  was  a  fraud,  from  first  to  last.  Look 
at  the  place  they  held  caucus.  None  of  my 
friends  could  get  over  here.  This  is  Sum¬ 
mers’s  stronghold.  He  lives  right  near 
here,  and  so,  too,  does  Crane.  It  is  eight 
miles  from  my  part  of  the  ward.  It  took 
me  over  an  hour  to  get  here,  so  you  can  see 


how  far  it  is.  Republicans  were  allowed  to 
vote  as  well  as  democrats.  And  look  at  the 
place  where  the  voting  was  done.  There 
were  lights  at  both  ends  of  the  block,  and 
that  was  all.  It  was  as  dark  as  a  pocket 
there,  and  no  one  could  tell  who  was  vot¬ 
ing.  Notice,  too,  how  the  ballots  came  out. 
The  whole  thing  was  run  in  Summers’s  in¬ 
terest.” 

AVhen  asked  whether  he  was  going  to  run 
as  an  independent  candidate,  Air.  Adams 
would  not  say  “  yes,”  though  it  was  evident 
that  he  thoiight  seriously  of  so  doing. 
Some  of  his  friends  assert  that  he  will  un¬ 
doubtedly  run. 

After  the  caucus  “  Tosh  ”  “  set  ’em  up  ”  to 
the  boys.  There  was  a  very  rum  crowd  col¬ 
lected  in  the  saloon,  and  they  must  have 
run  up  a  pretty  big  beer  bill  for  the  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  common  council.  AVith  his  210 
majority,  however,  he  cared  not  how  much 
beer  was  drunk. — Buffalo  Express,  October 
10,  1890. 

VII. 

They  say  experience  is  a  teacher,  but 
Brooklyn  republicans  don’t  seem  to  find  it 
so.  They  fought  last  year  over  the  control 
of  the  local  organization  and  were  snowed 
under  on  election  day.  Now  they  are  fight¬ 
ing  just  as  bitterly  as  before,  with  this  dif¬ 
ference — no  actual  bribery  has  been  dis¬ 
covered.  The  fight  is  along  the  same  lines, 
however,  AA^oodruff  against  Nathan  [inter¬ 
nal  revenue  collector],  and  a  great  amount 
of  bad  blood  has  been  created.  Franklin 
AA^oodruff  said  to  a  Ti)nes  reporter  the  other 
day: 

“Air.  George  B.  Forrester  can  have  the 
chairmanship  of  the  general  committee  if 
he  wants  it,  and  he  wants  it  bad.” 

“  AA^ould  you  take  it  again,  AIr.AA’'oodruff  ?” 

“Not  if  a  salary  was  tied  to  it,”  was  the 
reply.  “  I  didn’t  want  it  last  year,  but  the 
opposition  set  up  such  a  howl,  and  ‘Al’ 
Daggett  came  over  here  and  opened  head¬ 
quarters  and  began  to  shout  ‘Anything  to 
beat  old  AA^oodruff’  until  finally  I  had  to 
go  in  and  make  a  fight  or  go  out  of  office 
under  a  cloud.  I  fought,  but  I  wouldn’t  do 
it  again.  I’ve  had  enough  of  this  kind  of 
politics.”  Some  of  Air.  AA’'oodruff’s  old 
friends  and  allies  in  this  committee  fight 
do  not  agree  with  him  about  the  probable 
result  of  the  election  next  Tuesday  even¬ 
ing.  Clarence  A.  Barrow,  the  secretary  of 
the  general  committee,  and  always  a  con¬ 
sistent  AA^oodruff  man,  said  a  day  or  so  ago : 

“  I  don’t  think  Forrester  has  ‘  a  snap  ’  at 
all.  In  fact,  I  think  Nathan  vAll  control  the 
committee  and  the  organization  during  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  year.  I  think  he  will  run  it 
to  the  lowest  ebb  and  will  then  get  kicked 
out,  after  which  the  party  will  begin  to 
pick  up.” — New  York  Times,  January  11. 

AHII. 

A  last  effort  was  made  last  night  to  har¬ 
monize  the  AA'oodruff  and  anti-AVoodruff 
factions  in  the  Brooklyn  republican  ma¬ 
chine  and  to  agree  upon  a  candidate  to  be 


198 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


elected  chairman  of  the  Kings  county  re¬ 
publican  general  committee  on  Tuesday 
night.  The  Woodrulf  people  appointed 
Naval  Officer  Willis,  AVilliam  li.  Leaycraft, 
Israel  F.  Fischer,  Jacob  Brenner,  and  Major 
E.  H.  Hobbs  a  committee  to  confer  with  a 
committee  of  Nathan  adherents.  This  lat¬ 
ter  committee  consisted  of  David  A.  Bald¬ 
win,  'William  J.  Beattie,  John  K.  Smith, 
George  F.  Elliott,  and  Michael  J.  Dady. 

The  committees  met  in  the  old  party 
headquarters,  at  153  Lawrence  street,  went 
away  up  to  the  top  floor,  and  posted  guards 
and  sentinels  below.  Reporters  were  rigid¬ 
ly  excluded.  The  Woodruff  people  made  a 
demand  that  George  B.  Forrester  should 
be  nominated,  while  Baldwin  and  his  as¬ 
sociates  wanted  M'.  W.  Goodrich  selected. 

After  discussing  these  names  for  over 
three  hours  the  conferrees  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  they  could  never  agree, 
and  so  they  adjourned.  The  Nathan  men 
reported  to  a  caucus  then  in  session  in 
Everett  Hall  the  failure  to  agree  on  a 
compromise  candidate.  There  were  180 
members  of  the  general  committee  in  this 
caucus,  over  which  William  C.  Bryant  pre¬ 
sided.  After  considerable  discussion  Good¬ 
rich  was  named  for  the  offlce  of  chairman 
of  the  general  committee  as  the  candidate 
of  the  caucus,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote  he 
was  selected.  The  entire  Nathan  faction 
will  vote  for  him  on  Tuesday  night. 

In  the  meantime  the  Woodruff  commit¬ 
tee  reported  back  to  the  Woodruff’  caucus  in 
Waverly  Hall,  in  AVaverly  avenue,  and  this 
caucus  decided  to  support  Forrester  for 
chairman.  There  were  150  men  in  this 
caucus.  It  will  require  203  votes  to  elect 
on  Tuesday  night. — Neiv  York  Times,  Jan- 
vary  11. 

IX. 

The  republican  machine  in  Kings  county 
was  organized  for  1891  last  night,  and 
nal  Revenue  Collector  Ernst  Nathan  was  on- 
hand  to  boss  the  job.  He  succeeded,  too.  The 
Athenjeum,  on  Atlantic  avenue,  where  the 
general  committee  met,  was  packed  to  the 
doors,  and  Nathan’s  lieutenants  were  all 
over.  They  included  David  A.  Baldwin, 
George  F.  Elliott,  W.  H.  N.  Cadmus,  James 
C.  Fuller,  ex-Assemblyman  Taylor,  and  a 
number  of  others.  The  Woodruff  faction, 
which  wanted  to  elect  George  B.  Forrester 
president,  was  led  by  Naval  Officer  Willis, 
Port  Warden  Leaver  aft.  United  States  District 
Attorney  Johnson,  and  ‘‘Bob”  Sedgwick. 

Both  sides  were  extremely  confident,  and 
before  the  committee  met  some  heavy  bets 
were  made.  One  of  $100  to  $90  on  Forrester 
was  taken  six  times  over,  but  later  on  the 
odds  were  in  favor  of  W.  W.  Goodrich,  the 
Nathan  candidate.  The  fight  was  the  old 
one  of  Nathan  against  Woodruff,  and 
Nathan  won  it. 


ensuing  year.  Under  the  new  by-laws  this 
pre-payment  of  dues  became  the  most  im¬ 
portant  feature  of  the  evening,  for  the  pos¬ 
session  of  a  receipt  for  $10  was  the  creden¬ 
tial  that  each  member  had  to  have  before 
he  could  vote.  The  first  business  was  a 
call  for  resignations,  and  thirty-five  were 
received.  The  only  important  ones  were 
those  of  S.  V.  White,  Robert  J.  Tilney,  Col. 
John  W.  Jones  and  “Billy  ”  'Watson.  Elijah 
K.  Kennedy,  the  weak-kneed  Moses  of  the 
twenty-second  ward,  was  so  disgusted  at  his 
inability  to  get  control  of  the  general  com¬ 
mittee  that  he  refused  to  qualify  or  attend 
the  meeting  at  all,  but  he  did  not  produce 
his  much-advertised  resignation. 

It  was  9 : 30  o’clock  before  President 
Woodruff  announced  that  the  election  of  a 
president  was  in  order,  and  that  no  nomi¬ 
nating  speeches  would  be  made,  but  that 
each  delegate,  as  his  name  was  called 
should  announce  his  choice.  The  first  ward 
went  solidly  for  Forrester.  So  did  the  sec¬ 
ond,  but  Goodrich  got  9  out  of  the  10  votes 
in  the  third.  He  received  the  entire  vote 
of  the  fourth,  and  all  but  1  of  the  0  in  the 
fifth. 

The  first  sensation  came  when  Luther 
W.  Emerson  of  the  seventh  rose  to  vote. 
He  made  a  speech,  and  said ;  “  I  am  sick 
and  tired  of  this  factionalism;  sick  and 
tired  of  being  counted  as  a  sheep  or  a  goat  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  boss  that  claims  me.  We  had 
lots  of  fun  out  of  this  factional  fight,  but 
last  fall  20,000  republicans  failed  to  appre¬ 
ciate  the  fun  or  to  see  where  the  joke  came 
in.  Now  is  the  time,  when  the  democratic 
hulk  is  water-logged,  for  us  to  come  in  and 
sink  her.  I  can  not,  therefore,  vote  for 
either  of  the  factional  candidates  pre¬ 
sented,  but  cast  my  vote  for  Eugene  D. 
Berri.” 

This  produced  lots  of  applause,  and  one 
other  delegate  voted  for  Berri.  The  others 
went  on  with  the  fight.  There  was  loud 
hissing  and  cat-calling  when  “Mike”  Dady 
voted  for  Goodrich,  and  cheering  when 
.Tonas  M.  Farrington,  an  old  "Woodruff  man, 
deserted  to  the  Nathan  candidate.  When 
the  last  vote  was  polled  Goodrich  was  found 
to  have  received  212,  while  Forrester  had 
only  166.  This  announcement  was  received 
with  tumultuous  cheers  and  more  enthu¬ 
siasm  than  had  been  seen  in  the  committee 
before  for  over  two  years.  Finally  a  com¬ 
mittee  was  sent  after  ^Ir.  Goodrich. 

When  they  brought  him  in  iMr.  Woodruff 
made  a  little  speech,  urging  a  cessation  of 
strife  in  the  future.  He  thanked  every¬ 
body,  and  then  introduced  his  successor. 
Mr.  Goodrich  expressed  pleasure  that  there 
had  been  no  personal  aspersions  during  the 
canvass.  He  thought  that  no  jealousies 
would  remain  and  that  harmony  mnst  pre¬ 
vail. 


to  neither  of  the  factions.  Now  we  are  all 
disgusted,  and  we  must  cry  ‘quits.’” 

He  then  went  on  to  deny  that  he  had 
ever  voted  the  democratic  ticket  in  his  life, 
unless  the  Greeley  ticket  could  be  called  a  dem¬ 
ocratic  one.  A.S  for  the  charge  that  he  had 
sent  e.v-President  Cleveland  a  telegram  begin¬ 
ning  ‘'Hail  to  the  chief,"  Mr.  Goodrich  said 
that  his  friends  uiiderstood  it,  and  as  for  others 
he  didn’t  care  a,  cent.” 

Then  he  gave  Mr.  Forrester  a  chance  to 
speak,  and  the  defeated  candidate  pledged 
his  support  to  Mr.  Goodrich.  The  men  back 
of  Forrester  were  disgusted  by  this  time, 
and  they  made  no  protest  when  George  F. 
Elliott  had  the  following  slate  elected: 
'Vice-presidents,  John  R.  Smith,  J.  S.  Ogil- 
vie,  W.  H.  N.  Cadmus,  W.  S.  Ryan ;  secre¬ 
tary,  'Warren  S.  Treadwell;  treasurer,  Jas. 
W.  Birkett. — New  York  Times,  January  I4. 

X. 

Although  this  is  the  politicians’  off  sea¬ 
son,  they  have  plenty  of  things  about  local 
organizations  to  discuss.  This  week  will 
bring  with  it  two  primary  elections.  The 
republican  primary  will  be  held  Tuesday 
and  the  Tammany  primary  on  Friday.  As 
already  indicated  in  The  Times,  the  repub¬ 
lican  primaries  will  develop  into  contests 
in  some  of  the  districts ;  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  one  will  be  in  the  twentieth 
assembly,  where  there  is  a  stiff  opposition 
to  the  continued  leadership  of  Police  Jus¬ 
tice  Solon  B.  Smith.  This  fight  against 
Smith  is  mainly  interesting  because  it  indi¬ 
cates  that  republicans  not  only  in  the  twentieth 
district,  but  elsewhere  throughout  the  city,  are 
heartily  sick  of  the  Tammany  influerice  that  is 
exerted  within  their  party. 

Smith  has  so  often  been  accused  of  being 
friendly  to  Tammany  that  people  have 
come  to  believe  that  his  management  of 
the  twentieth  district  is  by  no  means  whol¬ 
ly  in  the  interest  of  the  republican  party. 
Another  thing  that  operates  against  Smith 
in  the  present  fight  is  that  he  is  anti-Platt, 
and  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  republican 
state  committee.  Platt  would  like  very 
much  to  have  him  off  the  state  com¬ 
mittee,  and,  of  course,  Platt’s  friends 
in  the  district  are  going  to  do  their 
utmost  to  beat  him.  William  A.  Gans,  who 
is  the  leader  of  the  opposition  to  him,  will 
have  an  opposition  ticket,  in  the  field,  but 
it  is  the  judgment  of  most  of  the  politicians 
who  are  watching  tins  fight  with  interest 
that  Smith  can  not  be  beaten  this  year  be¬ 
cause  he  has  the  machinery  of  the  district 
too  well  in  hand. — New  York  Times,  Jan.  11. 
XL 

The  republican  primaries  were  held  in 
all  the  assembly  districts  in  the  twenty- 
third  and  twenty-fourth  wards  yesterday. 
In  three  of  the  districts — the  fifth,  thir¬ 
teenth  and  twentieth — there  were  lively 
contests,  and  in  each  case  the  faction  already 
in  power  won  the  fight.  In  the  fifth  an  effort 
was  made  to  depose  Stephen  B.  French, 
and  in  the  twentieth  the  fight  was  against 


The  retiring  president,  Franklin  AVood- 
ruff,  called  the  meeting  to  order  as  soon  as 
the  members  had  paid  their  dues  for  the 


I  have  pledged  myself,”  said  Mr.  Good¬ 
rich,  “  to  be  the  chairman  of  no  faction,  but 
of  the  general  committee.  AV^e  have  made 
gross  mistakes,  but  they  have  been  confined 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


199 


Police  Justice  Solon  B.  Smith.  Both  Smith 
and  French  came  out  on  top.  In  the  thir¬ 
teenth  the  old  fight  between  the  Fred  S. 
Gibbs  and  the  Cowie-Sprague  factions  was 
fought  over  again,  and  Gibbs,  who  has  been 
ejected  from  the  republican  county  com¬ 
mittee,  won  after  a  sharp  struggle.  In  the 
sixteenth  district  Richard  Lush  succeeds 
Henry  Kropf  as  leader  as  a  result  of  Mr. 
Kropf’s  retirement.  The  total  result  of  the 
primaries  leaves  the  executive  committee 
of  the  republican  county  committee  prac¬ 
tically  as  it  has  been  for  the  past  year.  T. 
C.  Platt  is  in  control,  of  course,  and  he  is 
credited  with  gaining  one  man  more  in 
‘Richard  Lush  of  the  sixteenth. 

There  were  no  serious  encounters  in 
Gibbs’s  district,  but  uncomplimentary 
phrases  were  throwii  back  and  forth  very 
freely.  The  ticket  headed  by  Henry  L. 
Sprague  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  97 
in  favor  of  the  Gibbs  men.  At  first  it 
looked  as  though  the  result  would  be  very 
close,  but  in  the  evening  scouts  were  sent 
out  by  the  Gibbs  crowd  to  the  saloons  and 
street  corners  to  trap  such  republicans  as 
they  could  find,  and  a  long  line  ranged  up 
before  the  ballot-boxes.  The  contest  grew 
bitter  as  the  time  neared  for  closing  the 
polls,  and  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Gibbs 
adherents  to  substitute  their  voters  in  the 
line  called  forth  a  wordy  Avar,  but  a  large 
squad  of  police  kept  all  desire  for  fistic  en¬ 
counters  in  check. 

The  line  reached  down  stairs  from  the  re¬ 
publican  rooms  in  the  Grand  Opera  House 
to  the  sidewalk  when  the  polls  were  closed. 
The  total  vote  was  563,  of  Avhich  the  ticket 
headed  by  Gibbs’s  men  received  330  A'otes 
to  233  for  that  of  the  Cowie-Sprague  fac¬ 
tion.  An  incident  of  the  day  Avas  the 
marching  in  of  a  large  body  of  drivers  and 
conductors  on  the  Twenty-third  Street 
Cross-Town  railroad  under  the  guidance  of 
Mr.  CoAvie. 

The  statement  Avas  circulated  in  the  fifth 
district  that  Stephen  B.  French  had  re¬ 
tired,  and  that  the  struggle  for  the  leader¬ 
ship  AA'ould  be  among  four  contestants. 
They  were  named  as  Frank  J.  Carroll, 
“The”  Allen,  Audley  J.  Mooney,  and  Cor¬ 
nelius  Donovan,  who  waged  an  unsuccess¬ 
ful  fight  against  Col.  Fellows  for  congress 
last  fall.  But  at  3  o’clock,  Avhen  the  polls 
opened,  there  AA'ere  only  tAvo  tickets  in  the 
field.  Mlthin  the  twenty-four  hours  pre¬ 
ceding  there  had  been  an  amalgamation  of 
the  contending  forces,  and  the  fight  settled 
down  to  a  question  of  supremacy  between 
the  French-Dodd-Mooney  clan  on  the  one 
side  and  the  Donovan-Carroll  clique  on 
the  other. 

James  T.  Snedeker  was  chairman  of  the 
primary,  with  Edward  Kinley,  Henry 
Brockmeier,  and  Terence  Radford  as  en¬ 
rollment  clerks  and  inspectors.  Seated  in 
the  rear  of  the  hall  in  Avhich  the  primary 
Avas  held  Avas  ex-Police  Commissioner 
French,  surrounded  by  a  feAV  of  his  work¬ 


ers.  “All  I  want  is  a  vindication,”  he  said 
to  a  r/mes  reporter.  “I  have  been  maligned 
in  this  district  for  a  long  time  simply 
because  I  Avon’t  submit  to  dictation.  If  I 
am  re-elected  I  shall  see  that  the  district 
is  in  proper  hands  and  Avill  then  resign.” 

A  feature  of  the  struggle  Avas  the  hot  and 
furious  work  done  by  “  The  ”  Allen.  It  had 
been  expected  that  he  aa^ouM  hold  aloof  or 
at  least  lend  his  support  to  Donovan  and 
Carroll,  but  he  appeared  on  the  French 
side  and  watched  the  ballot-boxes  closely. 

The  first  skirmish  occurred  Avhen  a  Ger¬ 
man  attempted  to  A’ote  on  the  name  of 
Gerard.  He  was  challenged  by  George 
Cooper  on  behalf  of  the  Donovan-Carroll 
forces.  Ten  minutes  later  the  same  man 
appeared  and  said  his  name  was  Meyer. 
Again  he  was  challenged,  and  while  his  case 
Avas  being  argued  he  slipped  aAvay. 

A  would-be  voter  Avho  seemed  to  be  in 
the  last  stages  of  consumption  said  that 
his  name  Avas  George  Keegan,  and  that  he 
liA^ed  at  9  Varick  Place. 

“I  challenge  this  man!”  yelled  Allen, 
and  immediately  the  opposing  factions  as¬ 
sumed  the  attitude  of  battle. 

“On  AA'hat  ground?”  demanded  the  chair¬ 
man. 

“That  his  name  is  not  Keegan.” 

Then  the  real  Keegan  came  to  the  front 
and  the  French  adherents  demanded  the 
arrest  of  the  man.  The  consumptiA^e  said 
that  his  name  was  Haynes ;  that  he  had 
met  Carroll,  and  that  Carroll  had  asked 
him  as  a  favor  to  A^ote  on  the  name  of  Kee¬ 
gan.  He  didn’t  think  it  Avas  Avrong,  and 
had  agreed  to  do  so.  He  Avas  alloAved  to  go. 

An  Italian  attempted  to  vote  tAvice  on 
different  names,  but  he  Avas  caught  and 
hustled  out  of  the  polling  place. 

After  6  o’clock  the  battle  proper  occurred. 
Men  AA'ho  for  Aveeks  had  been  the  habitues 
of  the  lodging  houses  of  the  district  flocked 
in  and  attempted  to  \'ote,  but  the  chal¬ 
lengers  of  both  sides  Avere  Avary  and  exer¬ 
cised  their  functions.  Scores  of  men  came 
up  to  the  polling  tables  Avith  their  hats  off 
and  gaA'e  names  Avhich  Avere  not  on  the  en¬ 
rollment  list. 

Just  at  9  o’clock  there  Avere  loud  cries 
for  the  polls  to  close.  The  hall  Avas  dense¬ 
ly  packed,  but  Chairman  Snedeker  exer¬ 
cised  his  perogatiA’e  and,  guided  by  his 
Avatch,  closed  the  polls.  At  that  time  there 
Avere  at  least  fifty  men  in  line.  The  result 
Avas  announced  as  folloAvs :  French  ticket, 
279 ;  Donovan  ticket,  102 ;  scattering,  5. 

The  effort  to  put  an  end  to  Police  Justice 
Solon  B.  Smith’s  leadership  of  the  repub¬ 
licans  of  the  tAventieth  assembly  district 
Avas  not  successful.  ‘William  A.  Gans,  Avho 
headed  the  opposition  ticket,  made  a  stout 
fight,  but  he  was  outnumbered  three  to 
one.  He,  however,  made  Smith’s  friends 
work  to  save  him.  Mr.  Gans  and  his  fol¬ 
lowers  object  to  Judge  Smith’s  leadership  be¬ 
cause  the  district  has  been  making  so  poor  a 
showing  in  republican  affairs  latelij,  and  be¬ 


cause  there  is  a  strong  suspicion  that  Mr. 
Smith  is  a  very  good  Tammany  republican. 
Mr.  Smith  had  all  his  workers  at  the  polls, 
and  several  Avho  have  moved  out  of  the 
district  AA'ere  on  hand  to  use  arguments  in 
his  faA'or.  Henry  C.  Perley  and  City  Mar¬ 
shal  Goode  Avere  the  leaders  of  the  Smith 
contingent.  Curiously  enough,  the  main 
arguments  in  Smith’s  fa\'or  used  by  them 
Avas  that  if  he  Avas  defeated  as  leader  the 
chances  that  Mayor  Grant  AA'Ould  re-appoint 
him  as  a  police  justice  AA  Ould  be  diminished. 
They  Avent  on  the  theory  that  Grant  Avould 
re-appoint  him  if  he  Avas  re-elected  leader. 
Smith  succeeded  in  getting  169  A’otes  for 
his  ticket,  AA'hile  I\Ir.  Gans  got  61.  The  lat¬ 
ter  said  that  he  did  not  expect  to  Avin  un¬ 
der  the  circumstances,  but  he  thought  that 
he  had  made  a  start  in  the  right  direction. 
— Neiu  York  Times,  January  I4. 

■  XII. 

The  results  in  the  republican  primaries 
last  night  Avere  discouraging  to  the  anti- 
Tammany  republicans.  Wherever  a  district 
leader,  ivho  had  been  accused  of  secretly  aid¬ 
ing  or  favoring  Tammany  or  Tammany 
schemes,  sought  a  “vindication,”  he  got  it. 
Frederick  S.  Gibbs  triumphed  OA^er  James 
A.  Cowie  in  the  thirteenth,  and  as  soon  as 
the  result  of  the  A'ote  Avas  announced  gaA'e 
utterance  to  a  dramatic  speech  Avhich 
teemed  with  defiances  to  ex-Senator 
Thomas  C.  Platt.  Gibbs  is  not  “out  of  the 
AA'Oods  ”  yet,  though.  The  Cowie  people 
charge  that  the  primary  Avas  carried  by 
fraud,  and  Avill  contest  the  election  in  the 
county  committee.  The  Platt  people  still 
liaA'e  a  majority  in  the  committee. 

In  the  tAA'entieth  district  Solon  B.  Smith 
proA'ed  himself  entitled  to  a  re-appoint¬ 
ment  as  police  justice  by  IMayor  Grant  by 
defeating  his  opponent,  AVilliam  A.  Gans, 
by  a  A’ote  of  about  liA'e  to  one. 

Henry  C.Botty,  the  first  lieutenant  of  ex- 
Alderman  Thomas  RotliAvell  of  the  “  boodle 
board”  of  1884,  is  to  succeed  Jacob  AI.  Pat 
terson  in  the  leadership  of  the  tenth  dis¬ 
trict.  Botty  Avill  be  merely  the  nominal 
leader,  Rothwell  Avill  really  control  the  or¬ 
ganization. 

Stephen  B.  French  Avas  re-elected  in  the 
fifth  district.  He  played  a  A'ery  quiet  game. 
Yesterday  his  friends  announced  that  he 
was  Avilling  to  retire,  but  might  run  a  ticket 
in  the  primary.  AVhen  the  primary  Avas 
opened  it  Avas  found  that  there  Avas  a  full 
French  ticket  in  the  field,  and  that  it  was 
backed  up  by  the  Dodd  and  Allen  factions. 
The  opposition  ticket  Avas  supported  by 
Frank  Carroll  and  Cornelius  Donovan. — 
New  York  Evening  Post,  January  14. 

XIII. 

The  ring  “lei  itself  loose”  in  Hudson 
county  at  the  primaries  for  the  election  of  new 
members  of  the  county  democratic  committee 
Monday  night.  The  boxes  Avere  all  manned 
by  the  most  active  ai:d  oflensive  of  Davis’s 
gang  of  ballot-box  stutters.  At  one  ()f  the  i)re 
cincts  Davis  was  a  candiilate  himself  for  elec¬ 
tion.  He  had  the  a-ssurance  to  offer  John  A. 


200 


THE  CIA'IL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Whelan,  one  of  the  ballot-box  stuffers  now  on 
trial,  as  a  candidate  in  another  precinct. 
Whelan  was  beaten,  but  the  ticket  that  the 
heelers  forced  was  successful  everywhere  else. 

One  gang  of  repeaters  made  the  round  of 
the  second  district  polling  places  and  carried 
things  with  a  high  hand.  In  many  precincts 
the  polls  were  opened  in  advance  of  the  adver¬ 
tised  hour  to  let  the  heelers  get  their  ballots 
in  without  challenge,  and  closed  when  it  was 
seen  that  an  army  of  opposition  voters  had 
been  marshaled  outside  the  booth.  In  another 
precinct  the  heelers  were  divided  into  one  line, 
leaving  the  opposition  crowd  in  another  line. 
The  police  kept  the  opposition  crowd  from 
voting,  while  the  heelers  got  in  their  ballots, 
and  then  the  polls  were  suddenly  closed.  In 
the  seventh  district  ballots  were  voted  in 
bunches,  and  where  the  decent  democrats  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  carrying  the  polls  they  were  boldly 
counted  out. 

Yesterday  warrants  weie  issued  for  the  ar¬ 
rest  of  William  English,  John  Carroll,  Luke 
Conniff,  and  John  English,  of  the  ninth  pre¬ 
cinct  of  the  sixth  district  for  stuffing  the  box. 
There  will  be  no  end  of  |)rotests  when  the  ex 
ecutive  committee  meets;  but  there  is  small 
hope  of  the  results  of  the  fraudulent  practices 
being  set  aside. 

The  trial  of  the  indicted  election  officers 
who  officiated  at  the  polliiig  place  in  the  sec¬ 
ond  precinct  of  the  second  district  in  the  fall 
of  1889  was  continued  before  Judge  Lippin- 
cott  in  Jersey  City  yesterday.  The  evidence 
submitted  was  that  of  an  array  of  men  from 
whose  houses  voters  appeared  on  the  poll-books 
as  having  voted.  They  all  swore  that  no  per¬ 
sons  owning  the  names  on  the  poll  record  re¬ 
sided  in  the  buildings  assigned  to  them. 

State  Committeeman  James  C.  Young  testi¬ 
fied  that  he  had  found  a  young  man  named 
Waddick  in  a  liquor  saloon  on  election  day, 
and  that  Waddick  had  a  number  of  stamped 
and  wetted  “joker”  ballots  in  his  possession. 
He  was  giving  them  out  to  workers. — NewYork 
Times,  Nov.  26. 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

REFORM  ASSOCIATION  OF  BUF¬ 
FALO. 

To  the  Citizens  of  Buffalo: 

The  late  decisions  of  the  court  of  appeals  estab¬ 
lishing  the  validity  of  the  state  civil  service  stat¬ 
utes,  and  Mayor  Bishop’s  recent  extension  of  the 
competitive  system  to  a  large  additional  number  of 
city  offices  seem  to  warrant  our  calling  public  at¬ 
tention  to  the  law  and  your  duties  and  privileges 
thereunder.  This  we  desire  to  do  briefly  and  sim¬ 
ply. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  LAW  AND  RULES  SETTLED  BY 
THE  COURTS. 

First.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  constitutionality  of 
the  civil  service  act  and  the  legality  of  the  rules  and 
regulations  prescribed  by  the  mayor  for  its  enforce¬ 
ment  have  been  declared  in  the  most  explicit  man¬ 
ner  by  the  highest  court  in  the  state.  Hereafter, 
those  aldermen  who  have  for  years  been  in  rebel¬ 
lion  against  the  law  and  the  public  officials  who 
have  sympathized  with  them  and  more  or  less 
openly  endeavored  to  defeat  the  operation  of  the 
law  will  not  have  even  the  semblance  of  excuse  for 
like  conduct. 

ALDERMEN  AND  OTHER  OFFICIALS  WILL  TAKE  NOTICE. 

The  statute  (Laws  18S4,  section  8)  provides  touch¬ 
ing  such  rules  and  regulations  as  follows :  “It  shall 
he  the  duty  of  all  those  in  the  official  service  of  such 
city  to  conform  to  and  comply  with  any  regulations 
made  pursuant  to  this  act,  and  to  aid  and  facilitate  in 
all  reasonable  and  proper  ways  the  inforcement  of  all 
regulations,  and  the  holding  of  all  examinations  that 
may  be  required  pursuant  to  this  section." 

We  invite  the  attention  of  every  city  official  to 
this  mandate  of  the  law. 

NE.ARLV  ALL  CITY  PLACES  IN  COMPETITIVE  SCHEDULE. 

Second.  As  a  matter  of  fact  also,  the  competitive 
system  extends  to  nine-tenths  of  all  the  official 


services  of  the  city  outside  of  the  educational  de¬ 
partment. 

No  vacancies  in  any  one  of  those  places  can  be 
filled  except  by  fairly  competing  for  the  place  before 
the  examiners,  and  winning  it  upon  the  applicant’ s 
merit. 

There  are  nearly  eleven  hundred  of  these  places, 
the  compensation  ranging  from  $1,200  a  year  down 
to  $l..i0  a  day. 

In  the  water  department  seven  places  only  are 
excepted;  in  the  fire  department  six  places  only; 
in  the  police  department  six  places  only;  in  the 
health  department  only  one  place;  in  the  city  poor 
relief  department  but  one  place,  while  in  the  other 
departments,  except  those  of  the  comptroller  and 
treasurer,  most  of  the  places  are  in  the  competitive 
schedule  of  the  civil  service  regulations. 

In  short,  the  public  service  of  this  city  is  at  last 
practically  taken  by  law  out  of  the  spoils  system. 

A  MAYOR  AND  COMMISSION  WHO  AVILL  ENFORCE  THE 
LAAV. 

Third.  We  have  a  mayor  Avho  is  heartily  in  faA'or 
of  enforcing  the  law,  and  we  have  also  a  live  and 
earnest  civil  service  commission. 

FAIR  COMPETITION  AND  NOTHING  ELSE  AVILL  AVIN. 

Fourth.  As  a  necessary  consequence  it  folloAvs 
that  if  any  one  wants  one  of  these  city  places  he 
must  apply  for  it  under  the  civil  service  rules  and 
he  will  have  a  fair  chance  to  obtain  it. 

Heretofore  the  enemies  of  the  laAV  haA'e  induced 
many  people  to  believe  that  it  Avas  time  and  trouble 
thrown  away  to  apply,  under  these  rules,  for  a  place 
the  appointment  to  Avhich  was  to  be  made  by  an 
official  Avho  Avas  not  of  the  same  politics  Avith  the 
applicant. 

In  some  cities  there  may  have  been  foundation 
for  such  a  charge.  Many  federal  officials  undoubt¬ 
edly  have  been  glad  to  have  such  an  idea  dissem¬ 
inated.  It  was  an  easy  Avay  to  discredit  the  law 
and  to  cause  none  but  political  friends  to  apply  for 
places.  There  have  been  also  many  officials  in  our 
OAvn  City  Hall  who  were  more  than  ready  to  sneer 
at  the  laAV  and  to  decry  it  as  “  a  humbug.”  So  long 
as  the  validity  of  the  law  Avas  in  debate  they  Avere 
not  afraid  to  do  this. 

But  the  day  has  passed  for  this  sort  of  thing. 

The  opponents  of  civil  service  reform  have  been 
beaten  eA^eryAvhere. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  LAAV  “HAS  COME  TO  STAY.” 

FeAv  thoughtful  men  noAV  doubt  that  the  reform 
system  “  has  come  to  stay  ”  and  that  it  Avill  be  ex¬ 
tended  gradually  to  the  great  majority  of  subordi¬ 
nate  administrative  places  both  in  state  and  nation, 
except  such  as  are  filled  by  the  direct  vote  of  the 
people. 

Its  friends  do  not  pretend  that  its  methods  have 
reached  perfection.  On  the  contrary  they  Avelcome 
every  suggestion  for  improvement  in  those  methods. 

But  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  laAv  Avill  neA'er  be 
blotted  from  our  statute  books.  EA'ery  day  makes 
it  stronger.  EA'ery  day  makes  it  clearer  that  it  is 
necessary;  that  it  lies  at  the  foundation  of  ballot 
reform,  of  municipal  reform,  and  of  every  practical 
moA’emeut  tOAvards  a  purer  politics  and  a  true  gov¬ 
ernment  of  the  people  by  the  people. 

OFFICE  SEEKING  UNDER  THIS  LAAV  IS  HONORABLE. 

And  noAV,  nothing  is  Avanted  to  make  it  irresisti¬ 
ble  and  to  deA'elop  its  beneficence  to  the  full,  ex¬ 
cept  its  practical  use  by  the  people  without  distinction 
of  party. 

These  public  places  are  legitimate  objects  of  am¬ 
bition  for  capable  and  faithful  men .  They  are  open 
to  all ;  no  official  Avho  cares  for  his  oath  or  his  per¬ 
sonal  liberty  dares  lay  a  straiv  in  the  Avay  of  any 
applicant  because  of  bis  politics. 

Citizens  of  Buffalo,  Ave  earnestly  press  these  con¬ 
siderations  upon  your  attention. 

Especially  do  Ave  address  the  young  men,  many 
of  Avhom  are  seeking  places.  Why  should  they  not 
look  for  them  in  the  service  of  the  city  ?  The  odium 
that  under  the  spoils  system  is  incurred  by  “  office 
seeking”  can  not  attach  to  the  manly  strife  for  of¬ 
ficial  place  under  the  reform  laAV. 

Let  them  inform  themselves  then  as  to  vacancies 


^  In  such  places  as  they  aspire  to  fill,  and  present 
themselves  for  examination.  Let  them  dismiss 
from  their  minds  the  idea  that  political  connections 
or  influence  must  he  employed  by  them.  They 
need  not  be ;  they  can  not  be  so  employed.  Personal 
influence  is  of  no  use  here.  Much  more  than  places 
in  private  service  are  these  places  to  be  had  because 
of  personal  merit  only. 

Applicants  have  not  to  ask  for  them.  They  hsA'e 
no  political  Avork  to  do  for  them — neither  they  nor 
their  families  or  friends.  They  may  demand  these 
places  of  their  oAvn  right  if  they  shoAV  themselves 
on  a  fair  competition  to  be  the  best  men. 

And  Avhenthey  haA'e  obtained  places  the  practical 
fact  is  that  they  can  hold  them  just  as  long  as  they 
conduct  themselves  as  they  ought  and  discharge 
their  duties  faithfully. 

AVHEN  THE  BATTLE  IN  BUFFALO  AVILL  BE  AVON. 

When  it  is  once  made  plain  that  they  knoAV  and 
Avill  insist  upon  their  rights  under  the  civil  service 
reform  laAv  to  compete  for  these  places  as  they 
would  for  a  situation  on  a  railroad,  or  in  a  bank, 
or  with  an  insurance  company,  or  a  manufacturing 
company,  or  with  any  other  employer  who  needs 
service  of  similar  character  and  is  Avilling  to  pay 
for  it,  the  battle  of  ciA'il  service  reform  in  Buffalo 
will  he  won. 

APPEAL  TO  CITIZENS, 

To  all  citizens  we  say :  There  never  was  a  more 
democratic  system  than  that  which  the  civil  service 
laAV  and  rules  provide.  They  recognize  no  claim 
to  these  places  but  the  claims  of  manhood,  honesty 
and  ability.  There  was  nev'er  a  less  democratic  sys¬ 
tem  than  that  degrading  and  corrupting  one  which 
so  long  has  parceled  out  these  places  as  spoils, 

AVe  invite  you  then  not  only  to  believe  that  the 
civil  service  statutes  and  the  rules  and  regulations 
prescribed  by  the  mayor  are  laAV  and  must  be 
obeyed,  but  we  earnestly  request  you  to  avail  your¬ 
selves  of  their  benefits  and  to  co-operate  Avith  us  for 
their  entorcement.  Sherman  S.  Rogers, 

President. 
Eric  T.  Hedstrom, 

Jeaa'ett  M.  Richaiond, 
George  Sandrock, 

Jacob  L.  Schoellkopf, 
Vice-Presidents. 
Frederic  Almy, 

Secretary. 

Dr.  Chas.  S.  Butler.  John  H.  CoAving,  P.  A.  Cran¬ 
dall,  Dr.  T.  M.  CroAve,  Fred.  B.  Curtis,  William  F. 
Kip,  Joseph  N.  Lamed,  Frank  M.  Loomis,  the  Rev. 
Herbert  G.  Lord,  John  B.  Olmsted,  Dr.  Frank  H. 
Potter,  Henry  A.  Richmond,  Walter  J.  Shepard,  T. 
Guilford  Smith,  Henry  W.  Sprague,  Sheldon  T. 
Viele.  John  R.  Warner,  John  Al.  Welter,  Charles  B. 
AVheeler,  Ansley  Wilcox,  Frank  F.  AVilliams,'execu- 
tiA'e  committee. 

Buffalo,  December,  1890. 


CURRENT  NEWS. 

Tlie  report  of  Theodore  L.  De  Land,  ex¬ 
aminer  in  the  treasury  department,  and  a 
long-time  advocate  of  the  merit  system,  is 
a  document  of  some  ninety-two  pages.  It 
is  an  instructive  and  encouraging  state¬ 
ment  of  the  workings  of  the  competitive 
system,  and  contains  a  large  number  of 
specimen  examinations. 


Civil  Service  Reform,  Its  Later  Aspects, 
by  AVilliam  Dudley  Foulke,  is  Economic 
Tract  No.  XXXI,  and  printed  by  the  So¬ 
ciety  for  Political  Education,  330  Pearl 
street,  Xevv  York  City. 


The  annual  report  of  theXeAv  York  State 
Civil  Service  Commission  states  that  the 
appointment  of  assistant  physicians  in  the 
state  hospitals  Avill  hereafter  be  determin¬ 
ed  by  competitiA’e  examinations  instead  of 
pass  examinations  as  heretofore.  This  was 
urged  by  the  state  commission  in  lunacy, 
and  is  a  long  step  in  advance.  During  1890 
999  persons  were  examined;  in  competitive 
examinations  only  285 ;  of  these  62  received 
appointment ;  in  the  pass  examinations 
[which  are  subject  to  about  all  the  abuses 
of  the  purely  spoils  system]  714  w'ere  ex¬ 
amined  and  687  were  appointed. 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania  St.,  Indianapolis.  Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  will  be  received.  Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana, 


VoL.  I,  No.  24. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  FEBRUARY,  1891. 


TERMS : { 


50  cents  perannnm. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  able  to 
announce  that  its  financial  matters  have 
been  satisfactorily  arranged  for  the  coming 
year.  Its  managers  thoroughly  appreciate 
the  prompt  and  generous  manner  in  which 
its  interests  are  being  cared  for.  It  is 
desirable  that  the  circulation  should  be  in¬ 
creased  to  the  greatest  possible  extent 
especially  through  out  the  west  and  it  is 
hoped  that  every  friend  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form  will  lend  a  hand.  If  he  does  not  care 
for  the  paper  for  himself,  he  can  see  that 
some  library,  or  club  or  person  gets  it. 

Mr.  Foulke  is  about  to  enter  upon  his 
duties  as  president  of  Swarthmore  college. 
He  has  for  a  long  time  filled  a  large  place 
as  an  enemy  of  the  spoils  system  and 
those  who  keep  in  public  life  or  profit  in 
private  life  by  that  system  need  not  flatter 
themselves  that  they  have  heard  the  last  of 
him.  It  is  expressly  stipulated  that  the 
duties  of  his  new  position  shall  not  inter¬ 
fere  with  his  efforts  for  a  better  public 
service.  Mr.  Foukle  has  been  a  formid 
able  man  in  this  cause  and  in  no  respect 
more  so  than  in  his  last  work  at  Washing¬ 
ton.  The  value  and  the  singular  power  of 
his  position  there  can  not  be  over-estimat¬ 
ed.  Here  was  the  platform  upon  which 
the  Administration  had  been  chosen  and 
here  was  a  man  who  had  helped  to  choose 
it.  He  took  his  stand  where  he  could  see 
the  operations  of  the  government  and 
gathering  together  a  multitude  of  facts  to 
support  him  he  pointed  out  acts  and  said 
“This  is  not  as  you  agreed.  This  is  contrary 
to  the  platform  upon  which  you  were 
chosen,  and  it  is  also  intrinsically  wrong.” 
In  no  case  has  he  been  refuted  The  moral 
effect  of  such  a  work  as  has  been  done  by 
Mr,  Foulke  is  irresistible.  Noadministra¬ 
tion  can  withstand  its  silent  leavening 
process  among  the  people. 

Since  last  month,  a  new  movement 
against  the  spoilsmen  in  Indiana  has  at¬ 
tained  unexpected  prominence  and  has 
come  to  a  present  conclusion.  Elsewhere 
is  printed  Senate  Bill  Number  272,  intro¬ 
duced  by  Senator  Magee,  who  was  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland’s  minister  at  Stockholm.  A 
glance  at  the  bill  shows  that  it  had  but  a 
single  intention,  which  was  to  take  the 
eight  charitable  institutions  of  the  state 
out  of  politics.  The  matter  thus  narrowed 
to  a  single  issue,  concerning  which  the 


people  at  large  do  not  have  two  opinions, 
became  a  crucial  test  of  individual  human¬ 
ity  and  political  wisdom.  The  first  notice¬ 
able  feature  of  the  movement  was  the  enor 
mous  advance  of  public  opinion.  The  Ma¬ 
rion  County  Medical  Society,  without  a 
dissenting  voice,  indorsed  the  competitive 
feature  as  applied  to  that  profession.  The 
Social  Turn-Verein  of  Indianapolis,  at  a 
large  meeting,  after  a  full  expression  of 
opinion  indorsed  the  whole  bill  unani¬ 
mously.  The  Indianapolis  SerUind,  the 
leading  democratic  paper  of  the  state,  ear¬ 
nestly  advocated  the  adoption  of  the  meas¬ 
ure.  All  this  happened  within  a  few  days, 
and  there  is  no  manner  of  doubt  but  that 
in  a  short  time  the  public  opinion  of  the 
whole  state,  in  all  the  ways  in  which  that 
opinion  is  expressed,  would  have  have  been 
practically  unanimous  in  favor  of  this  bill. 
A  section  of  small  politicians  in  the  gen¬ 
eral  assembly  are  the  only  ones  who  have 
made  no  progress  and  who  have  not  recog¬ 
nized  the  signs  of  the  times.  Senator  Ma¬ 
gee  urged  the  bill  with  ability  and  great 
earnestness,  in  which  he  was  supported  by 
all  the  leading  and  the  best  men  of  the  sen¬ 
ate  irrespective  of  party.  When  the  vote 
was  taken  upon  the  passage  of  the  bill  it 


stood  as  follows : 

Yeas— 22. 

Nays— 26. 

Democrats. 

Democrats. 

Akin. 

Burke. 

Holland. 

Byrd. 

Howard. 

Chandler. 

Kennedy. 

Ellison. 

Kopelke. 

Ewing. 

Magee. 

Foley. 

Smith. 

Francis. 

Republicans. 

French. 

Fulk. 

Boyd. 

Griffith. 

Grimes. 

Carver. 

Hayden. 

Caster. 

Holcombe. 

Clemans. 

Hudson. 

Gilman. 

Jones. 

Gross. 

Keith. 

Hanley. 

Lynn. 

Harlan. 

McHugh. 

Hays. 

Morgan. 

Hobson. 

Moore. 

Hubbell. 

Shanks. 

Loveland. 

Sweeny. 

Mount. 

Thompson  [Marion]. 
Thompson  [Hunt’gt'n] 
Thompson  [Pulaski]. 

Shockney. 

Yaryan. 

Wiggs. 

Under  the  system  which  these  twenty- 
six  senators  say  shall  be  continued  these 
charitable  institutions  have  been  for  years 
and  on  a  large  scale  the  scenes  of  inhuman 
and  devilish  cruelty.  With  the  rarest  excep¬ 
tions  this  cruelty  is  due  to  the  system  of 
place-filling  controlled  by  party  and  per¬ 
sonal  favoritism.  And  to  this  system 
Senators  Burke  and  Sweeney  and  Hudson 
and  their  followers  turn  as  a  dog  turns  to 


his  vomit.  Doctor  Thompson  of  this  coun¬ 
ty  stands  with  them  against  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  his  county  medical  society.  He 
is  too  old  to  learn  anything  and  happily  he 
w'ill  soon  be  too  old  to  occupy  public  posi¬ 
tions  and  obstruct  progress.  When  the 
bill  establishing  the  board  of  state  chari¬ 
ties  was  under  consideration  two  years  ago 
Senator  Burke  opposed  it  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  opposed  to  anything  which  was 
not  partisan.  And  he  made  it  an  objection 
to  the  present  bill  that  the  board  of  state 
charities  had  appointed  as  secretary  a 
gentleman  from  Chicago  and  that  a  matron 
from  the  same  city  had  been  employed  in 
the  home  for  feeble-minded  youth.  He  is 
a  nice  man  for  a  law  maker.  Fellows  like 
Burke  have  made  Indiana  public  affairs  a 
bye  word  through  the  country.  Senator 
Thompson,  of  Pulaski,  has  a  twelve  year 
old  son  whom  he  has  jumped  about  from 
one  place  to  another  at  five  dollars  a  day. 
At  last  accounts  he  was  carrying  the  senate 
mail.  This  seems  a  small  price,  but  it  is 
evidently  enough  to  smother  in  this 
Thompson  feelings  of  pity  for  the  insane. 


Senators  Hudson  and  Foley,  of  this 
city,  voted  stolidly  against  the  bill.  They 
pose  as  the  representatives  of  working 
men,  and  the  former  is  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  labor.  They  do  not  rep¬ 
resent  workingmen.  When  by  their  votes 
they  say  to  the  people  of  this  state  that 
working  men  are  in  favor  of  continuing 
the  charitable  institutions  under  the  pres¬ 
ent  infamous  system,  they  insult  working¬ 
men  and  lie  to  the  people.  All  the  in¬ 
stincts  of  workingmen  are  for  the  better¬ 
ment  of  the  condition  of  those  whose  lot 
is  harder.  And  their  public  expressions 
are  in  the  same  direction.  We  call  the 
attention  of  these  two  bogus  representa¬ 
tives  of  labor  to  the  words  of  the  Labor 
Signal  in  another  column,  and  to  the  fol¬ 
lowing  resolution  adopted  at  the  annual 
session  of  the  Indiana  Federation  of  Trade 
and  Labor  Unions  at  Indianapolis,  Septem¬ 
ber  23,  1890 : 

Whereas  We  have  witnessed  the  evil  results  of 
partisan  control  of  state  institutions,  wherein  all 
public  interests  are  subordinated  to  the  interests  of 
party ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  State  Federation  of  Trade  and  La¬ 
bor  Unions,  that  we  demand  such  legislation  as 
place  all  state  Institutions  under  non-partisan  con¬ 
trol. 


202 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


If  the  twenty-six  democrats  who  voted 
in  the  negative  had  planned  to  put  their 
party  in  the  deepest  hole  with  the  narrow¬ 
est  mouth  they  could  count  the  result  as 
the  greatest  triumph  of  their  political  lives. 
The  multitude  who  compose  the  demo¬ 
cratic  party  are  not  in  favor  of  the  inhu¬ 
manity  to  which  these  petty  senators  have 
committed  them ;  but  their  party  organiz¬ 
ation  is  irrecoverably  bound  by  the  result, 
and  however  undeservedly,  the  multitude 
must  stand  silent  when  the  charge  is  made 
against  the  party.  There  is  absolutely  no 
escape;  the  republicans,  to  a  man,  with  a 
wisdom  which  comes  to  republicans  in  a 
crisis,  having  voted  on  the  right  side.  The 
gravity  of  the  situation  is  fully  shown  by 
the  following  editorial  from  the  Indianap¬ 
olis  SentiTid  of  February  21 : 

The  democratic  state  senate  on  Thursday 
dealt  the  democratic  party  of  Indiana  a  severe 
blow  when  it  defeated  Senator  Magee’s  bill  to 
regulate  the  selection  of  employes  of  the  be¬ 
nevolent  institutions.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of 
the  republicans  of  Indiana  to  do  the  demo¬ 
cratic  party  of  the  state  so  grievous  an  injury 
as  the  twenty-six  democratic  senators  inflicted 
upon  it  when  they  voted  dow-n  this  eminently 
just,  wise  an^  righteous  measure.  It  is  amaz¬ 
ing  that  men  who  profess  to  be  sagacious  pol¬ 
iticians,  who  are  familiar  with  the  recent  po¬ 
litical  history  of  the  state,  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  wrongs  which  have  been  perpetrated 
in  our  benevolent  institutions  under  shelter  of 
the  barbarous  and  infamous  system  of  “  pa¬ 
tronage,”  which  has  converted  them  into  asy¬ 
lums  for  cross-roads  bummers  and  ward  heel¬ 
ers,  who  know  how  much  odium  the  demo¬ 
cratic  party  has  had  to  carry,  much  of  it  un¬ 
justly,  because  of  the  abuses  growing  out  of 
the  existing  system — it  is  amazing,  we  say, 
that  men  priding  themselves  upon  their  sagac¬ 
ity  as  politicians  should,  when  the  opportu¬ 
nity  was  offered  them,  decline  to  relieve  their 
party  of  a  burden  so  oppressive. 

The  democratic  senators  who  voted  against 
Senatpr  Magee’s  excellent  bill  committed  an 
act  of  -political  folly  so  gross  as  to  be  almost 
criminal.  The  defeat  of  this  measure  will 
cost  the  democratic  party  thousands  of  votes 
at  future  elections.  No  party  can  hope  to 
hold  its  own  in  this  state  which  deliberately 
sets  itself  against  the  moral  sentiment  of  the 
people ;  which  plants  itself  across  the  pathway 
of  progress  and  reform ;  which  obstructs  meas¬ 
ures  in  whose  behalf  every  consideration  of 
humanity,  decency  and  common  justice  de¬ 
mands. 

We  say  to  the  twenty-six  democratic  sena¬ 
tors  who  voted  down  Senator  Magee’s  bill  that 
they  have  placed  the  democratic  party  in  a 
false  position  before  the  people ;  that  the  great 
democratic  masses  of  Indiana  do  not  approve 
their  action  and  will  not  sustain  them  in  it; 
that  the  representative  democratic  newspapers 
of  Indiana  will  not  apologize  for  it  or  defend 
it  in  any  way.  There  is,  in  point  of  fact,  no 
defense  to  be  made  for  it.  It  is  a  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  “peanut  politics”  in  its  most  cruel  and 
offensive  form.  That  sort  of  politics  is,  thank 
God,  pretty  well  played  out  in  Indiana,  and 
the  politicians  who  practice  it,  and  the  party 
which  tolerates  it,  will,  sooner  or  later — and 
more  likely  sooner  than  later — come  to  grief. 

We  have  no  doubt  that  many  of  the  demo¬ 
cratic  senators  who  voted  to  kill  the  Magee 
bill  did  so  thoughtlessly ;  because  of  some 
prejudice  against  civil  service  reform,  or  some 
exaggerated  idea  of  the  political  value  of  the 
patronage  of  the  benevolent  institutions.  But 


!  whatever  motive  acluated  them,  they  luive 
shouldered  an  unnecessary  burden  upon  the 
democratic  party.  Let  no  one  doubt  that  such 
a  measure  as  the  Magee  bill  will,  in  due  time, 
be  placed  upon  the  statute  books  of  Indiana. 
This  legislature  refuses  to  do  this  righteous 
thing,  but  the  next  legislature,  whatever  its 
political  complexion,  will  do  it.  Mark  the 
prediction.  The  people  of  Indiana,  without 
regard  to  party,  are  determined  that  the  in¬ 
sane,  the  idiotic  and  the  other  helpless  wards 
of  the  state  shall  not  continue  to  be  the  vic¬ 
tims  of  the  barbarism  which  is  now  practiced 
under  the  shelter  of  the  spoils  system  in  our 
public  institutions.  Democratic  senators  may 
not  realize  the  condition  of  public  sentiment 
on  this  question,  but  the  Sentinel  does,  and  as 
a  democratic  journal  which  believes  that  it 
serves  its  party  best  when  it  serves  its  state 
best,  it  warns  the  legislature  against  a  repeti¬ 
tion  of  such  serious  mistakes  as  the  senate 
made  when  it  defeated  the  Magee  bill. 

Indian  Commissioner  Morgan  appears 
to  have  been  sent  about  the  country  to 
make  speeches  of  general  apology  for  the 
management  of  the  Indians  by  the  Admin¬ 
istration.  General  Morgan  apparently 
lacks  the  moral  courage  to  stand  by  the 
facts.  The  sacrifice  he  thus  makes  to  of¬ 
ficialism  is  too  great. 

The  Indians  were  starved,  the  treaties 
were  not  kept  with  them,  they  were  put 
into  the  hands  of  politicians,  and  some  of 
the  leading  agents  were  so  incompetent 
that  President  Harrison  had  to  remove 
them.  No  man  has  had  as  much  to  do 
with  this  or  is  so  much  to  blame  for  it  as 
Secretary  Noble.  He  and  President  Har¬ 
rison  have  repeatedly  dismissed  without 
cause  experienced  employes.  They  have 
established  the  “  home  rule  ”  policy,  by 
which  the  places  in  the  Indian  service 
were  given  to  henchmen  of  congressmen 
in  the  vicinity  like  Royer.  Secretary  Noble 
has  treated  with  supercilious  contempt 
protests  of  people  much  more  competent 
to  judge  than  himself.  It  is  not  worth 
while  for  Commissioner  Morgan  to  gloss 
over  a  record  of  incompetency  and  cor¬ 
ruption  which  finally  led  to  the  loss  of  five 
hundred  lives,  men,  women  and  children, 
and  to  an  expense  of  two  millions. 

Upon  the  question  of  how  the  Indians 
have  been  treated,  such  witnesses  as  Bishop 
Hare  and  Herbert  Welsh  will  hardly  be 
discredited  even  by  the  statement  of  the 
President  in  his  somewhat  ungracious  let¬ 
ter  to  the  Cambridge  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association,  printed  elsewhere.  An  addi¬ 
tional  witness  also  appears  in  Mrs.  Cook, 
the  wife  of  the  Episcopal  missionary  to  the 
Yanktons.  Under  date  of  January  22  she 
writes  to  Commissioner  Morgan  from 
Greenwood,  South  Dakota : 

We  have  been  suffering  a  season  of  unusual  sick¬ 
ness,  a  mild  form  of  la  grippe  having  been  epidemic, 
aggravated  by  the  well-known  tendency  of  our  In¬ 
dians  to  pulmonary  troubles.  Men,  women,  and 
particularly  children,  are  lying  sick  everywhere. 
Though  such  is  the  state  of  things,  we  have  been  al¬ 
together  without  medical  attendance  for  the  past 
three  weeks,  except  such  as  has  been  rendered  un- 


profe.ssinna'ly  by  inis.«ionaries  and  others.  At  spe¬ 
cial  request  the  physician  from  Fort  Randall  was 
called  down  for  twenty-four  hours.  During  this 
time  the  medical  man  sent  here  by  the  department 
has  been  in  Pierre,  engaged  in  political  work.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  past  three  months  he  has  on  two  other  occa¬ 
sions  been  absent  for  a  week  at  a  time,  we  are  told, 
for  the  same  purpose.  Is  it  the  intention  of  the  de¬ 
partment  that  1800  persons  should  frequently  be  left 
for  longer  or  shorter  periods  without  the  services  of 
a  physician  who  has  been  sent  out  for  the  express 
purpose  of  caring  for  them  ?  If  the  services  of  any 
one  man  are  indispensable  to  the  successful  manage¬ 
ment  of  Dakota  politics,  it  would  seem  to  the  disin¬ 
terested  that  that  man  should  not  assume  the  duties 
of  physician  on  an  Indian  agency. 

In  the  recent  debate  upon  the  attempt 
to  strangle  the  civil  service  commission’. 
Congressmen  Cannon  and  Grosvenor  re¬ 
peatedly  whined  that  no  one  could  suggest 
any  improvement  upon  the  merit  system 
'  without  bringing  down  upon  himself  the 
charge  of  being  a  spoilsman.  Probably 
this  whining  was  partly  hypocritical  and 
partly  the  smart  which  came  from  the 
sound  drubbing  which  these  men  and  their 
tikes  have  received  of  late.  The  improve¬ 
ments  which  they  have  in  mind  are  such 
as  Wanamaker’s  move  in  rushing  into  the 
railway  mail  service,  a  horde  of  congress¬ 
men’s  henchmen  to  get  the  start  of  the 
civil  service  law.  Another  improvement 
to  the  mind  of  these  men  was  Raum’s  at¬ 
tempt  to  get  the  law  set  aside  in  order  that 
a  crowd  of  favorites  might  be  chosen  for 
the  pension  office.  Still  another  improve¬ 
ment  is  the  move  fathered  by  Senator 
Plumb  to  transfer  the  employes  of  the  cen¬ 
sus  bureau  into  the  other  departments  with¬ 
out  competition.  The  bulk  of  the  appoint¬ 
ments  in  the  census  department  was  the 
riffraff  of  political  heelers  and  bummers. 
Having  taken  a  census  which  will  always  be- 
discredited,  they  are  now  fit,  in  the  minds 
of  the  Grosvenors  and  the  Cannons,  for 
other  public  employment.  If  these  em¬ 
ployes  have  any  experience  that  is  worth 
anything  it  will  avail  them  in  open  com- 
petion.  To  put  them  in  as  proposed 
would  sap  the  foundations  of  the  civil 
service  law  and  that  is  what  these  congress¬ 
men  are  after.  As  long  as  they  come  for¬ 
ward  with  such  suggestions,  they  may  ex¬ 
pect  their  hypocrisy  and  malice  and  greed, 
to  be  denounced. 


LOCAL  FREEBOOTING. 

In  another  part  of  this  paper  are  gathered 
together  some  random  facts  to  illustrate  how 
spoils  ramify  in  a  fine  net  work  through  every 
branch  of  the  public  business  centering  in  In¬ 
dianapolis.  They  extend  only  over  the  last 
two  years.  Indianapolis  is  the  better  object 
lesson  because  it  is  not  a  great  city,  nor  is  it 
by  comparison  especially  corrupt.  If  a  mass 
of  such  facts  were  to  be  examined  by  a  bar¬ 
barian  his  impression  would  be  that  a  com¬ 
munity  where  they  exist  must  be  terrorized 
by  a  majority  steeped  in  corruption  and  hard¬ 
ened  to  evil.  But  the  truth  is  that  the  great 


m 


I 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


203 


T 


V 

’  majority  of  this  community  are  untouched  by 
^  corruption  or  sympathy  with  corruption. 

These  things  go  on  because  the  Better  Element 
^  is  inclined  to  be  lazy  and  is  in  fact  selfish 
I*  Sim  Coy  affords  an  exact  test  of  how  his  sort 
5  work  for  spoil  and  of  how  the  Better  Element 
work  to  protect  the  public  and  themselves. 
Coy  is  a  disreputable  and  mercenary  politican 
who  was  finally  convicted  and  imprisoned  for 
^  altering  tally  sheets  There  was  an  outbreak 
I  of  righteous  indignation  among  the  Better 
f  Element  and  for  a  little  time  they  forsook 
}  private  matters  and  became  citizens  in  the 
'  true  meaning  of  the  word  and  they  triumphed 
J  as  they  always  do  in  like  cases.  Then  they 
j  sat  down  apparently  exhausted.  But  Coy 
;  came  out  of  prison  and  resumed  his  business 
’  of  getting  spoil  out  of  the  public  as  if  there 
^  had  been  no  lapse.  His  work  has  been  patient 
'  and  unremitting  and  at  the  present  moment 
like  a  busy  bee  he  is  flitting  about  the  legisla- 
.  tnre  actively  in  pursuit  of  sweets;  and  the 
Better  Element  looks  on  tranquilly. 

When  the  Coy  element  fails,  it  is  never  dis- 
cou raged.  It  gathers  itself  up  for  a  fresh  as- 
’  sault  on  some  exposed  position.  When  it  fails 

•  and  has  to  face  the  jeers  that  always  go  along 
with  any  failure,  it  is  not  sensitive  ;  it  does 

,  not  bury  itself  and  refuse  again  to  expose 
itself.  It  shows  a  fine  imperturbability; 
but  the  Better  Element  can  not  stand  failure. 
Take  these  scandals,  one  by  one,  and  consider 
the  fact  that  an  intelligent  community  has 
learjied  no  lesson  in  the  two  years,  and  that 
every  cause  for  every  scandal  is  still  left  to 
produce  a  fresh  crop. 

In  the  fire  department  a  capable  man  was 
displaced  after  years  of  conscientious  service 
by  a  cabal  as  insignificant  as  it  was  malicious. 
Public  opinion  went  far  enough  to  see  him  re¬ 
stored  after  a  time  to  his  old  place.  But  in 
the  selection  of  his  subordinates  he  is  still  left 
to  be  hounded  by  the  Hicklins.  His  disposi¬ 
tion  is  to  have  a  department  of  the  highest  ef¬ 
ficiency,  but  no  one  supposes  for  a  moment 
that  his  time  and  strength  will  not  be  drawn 
upon  to  a  large  degree,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
public  service,  to  consider  political  and  per¬ 
sonal  favorites  for  positions.  It  is  asking  lit- 
,  tie  of  this  community  to  say  that  it  should 
force  Mr.  Webster  to  throw  the  vacant  places 
open  to  competition  ascertained  by  practical 
tests;  and  that  the  politics  of  the  applicants 
)  should  be  considered  no  more  than  their  reli- 

•  gion.  And  so  in  every  other  department  the 
spoilsmen  are  pursuing  their  business  unilag- 
gingly,  and  the  dilettante  citizens  observe  the 
process  curiously  and  helplessly. 

i  THE  END  OF  A  SPOILS  INVESTI¬ 
GATION. 

One  of  the  odious  features  of  a  government 
run  by  spoils  is  its  assassination  of  the  character 
,  of  the  men  ii  can  not  otherwise  dispose  of. 
It  clings  to  the  oriental  practice  of  stabbing 
its  victim  in  the  dark.  In  the  last  administra¬ 
tion,  Dr.  Sherer  at  the  head  of  the  sugar 
laboratory  of  the  appraiser’s  office  in  New 
York  was  a  shining  mark.  To  any  open 


attack  he  was  impregnable,  and  his  place 
could  not  be  got  for  a  henchman.  Therefore 
secret  charges  of  sugar  frauds  began  to  be 
whispered  about,  until  a  consent  to  an  investi¬ 
gation  was  obtained.  That  investigation  will 
always  be  a  disgrace  to  those  who  allowed  it. 
It  was  conducted  by  an  irresponsible  and  un¬ 
qualified  newspaper  reporter,  secretly  and 
with  no  opportunity  to  Dr.  Sherer  to  meet  the 
charges  or  the  accusers.  The-peculiar  base¬ 
ness  of  such  methods  is  that  few  honest  people 
take  the  trouble  and  the  time  necessary  to 
weigh  the  matter  and  very  soon  there  was  a 
wide  spread  impression  that  Dr.  Sherer’s  offi¬ 
cial  character  was  smirched.  He  was  removed 
on  the  adverse  report  of  this  reporter,  and, 
as  the  impression  was  conveyed,  because  his 
reading  of  the  polariscope  in  testingsugar  was 
lower  than  the  Boston  reading  and  must  be 
corrupt.  After  a  time  and  a  vigorous  protest 
he  was  reinstated  ;  but  the  lower  rating  con¬ 
tinued,  and  some  special  agents  made  an  in¬ 
vestigation  and  reported  that  they  knew  no¬ 
thing  about  the  rules  of  reading,  but  that  Dr. 
Sherer  was  lower  and  was  probably  wrong  and 
ought  to  be  removed.  He  was  removed,  but 
under  his  successor  the  polariscope  would  not 
read  high.  Finally  the  government  conclu<l- 
ed  to  tackle  the  polariscopes  of  New  York, 
Boston  and  Philadelphia,  and  Professor  Titt- 
man  of  the  coast  survey  was  set  to  work.  The 
result  is  the  complete  vindication  of  Dr. 
Sherer,  the  Boston  polariscope  deviating  forty- 
eight  one-hundreths ;  the  Philadelphia  fifty- 
one  one-hundredths  and  the  New  York  only 
fifteen  one-hundredths  from  the  true  standard. 

The  road  to  the  vindication  of  an  honest 
and  capable  man  has  been  long  and  trying. 

GROSVENOR-CANNON  MALICE. 

Another  outbreak  of  boyish  spite  against 
the  civil-service  law  has  taken  place  in  the 
House.  In  the  committee  of  the  whole,  where 
the  roll  is  not  called  Mr.  Qrosvenor,  doubtless 
smarting  under  the  recollection  of  the  poor 
figure  he  has  cut,  made  the  point  of  order  that 
no  appropriation  could  be  made  for  additional 
clerks  for  the  civil  service  commission  be¬ 
cause  it  would  change  existing  law.  This 
would  cut  the  commission  down  to  what  the 
original  civil  service  law  of  1883  gave  them, 
that  is,  a  secretary,  a  stenographer  and  a  mes¬ 
senger.  Payson  of  Illinois,  being  in  the  chair, 
sustained  the  point,  and  on  appeal  the  decision 
was  sustained  by  109  to  36.  This  action  was 
meant  to  cripple  the  commission,  and  if  not 
reversed  would  effectually  do  so.  A  three 
hours’  debate  followed,  in  which  Grosvenor 
and  Cannon  let  out  all  their  pent  up  malice. 
Against  them  were  Butterworth,  Greenhalge, 
Dockery,  Boatner,  Lodge,  McComas  and 
others.  One  of  Grosvenor’s  statements  will 
make  New  England  smile.  This  was  that  the 
republicans  have  “carried  the  banner  of  civil 
service  reform  to  the  extent”  that  they  have 
driven  John  F.  Andrew,  Sherman  Hoar, 
George  Fred  Williams,  and  other  young  men 
of  distinguished  New  England  families,  out  of 
the  party  “because,  among  other  reasons  they 


are  excluded  from  all  participation  in  the 
government.”  The  debate  covers  twenty-four 
pages  of  the  Record  of  February  14,  and  in  our 
limited  space  it  seems  that  an  extract  from 
the  speech  of  Mr.  Lodge  is,  on  the  whole,  the 
most  satisfactory  ; 

“Now,  I  have  listened  to  my  friend  from  Ohio 
[Mr.  Grosvenor]  with  a  great  deal  of  atten¬ 
tion.  I  was  anxious  to  find  out  exactly  what 
the  matter  was;  and  also  what  system  he  pro¬ 
posed  to  substitute  for  the  existing  system.  I 
think  I  have  found  out  what  the  matter  is. 
The  present  commission,  we  are  told,  is  too 
aggressive.  It  has  been  a  familiar  sport  in  this 
house  to  make  these  speeches  in  regard  to 
civil  service  reform,  and  to  'assail  the  com¬ 
mission  ;  but  it  has  never  been  part  of  the 
game  to  have  the  commission  or  any  one  of 
the  commissioners  answer  back  and  make 
defense  against  these  assaults. 

One  of  the  present  commissioners  did  that 
when  he  was  attacked  here.  I  think  he  was 
very  sensible  to  do  it;  but  it  was  inconsiderate 
of  the  feelings  of  the  gentlemen  engaged  in  the 
annual  practice  of  assailing  civil  service  re¬ 
form.  He  was  not  put  there,  according  to 
the  idea  of  the  gentlemen  who  attacked  him, 
to  resent  attack.  He  was  put  there  simply  to 
be  made  a  text  for  speeches  in  regard  to  the 
“humbug  of  eivil  service  reform,”  and  to 
receive  attacks  in  silence.  *  *  • 

Now,  I  will  just  quote  from  the  printed 
Record  to  show  some  of  the  difficulties  which 
the  gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Grosvenor]  has 
found  in  the  civil  service.  He  stated  in  his 
speech  last  year — 

I  will  vote  not  only  to  strike  out  this  appropriation, 
but  1  will  vote  to  repeal  the  whole  law. 

He  then  went  before  the  committee;  and  in 
his  testimony  of  August  23,  1890,  page  97,  he 
said  : 

I  do  not  want  to  repeal  the  civil  service  law;  and  I 
never  said  so. 

[Laughter.] 

In  his  testimony  at  the  same  time  he  said  : 

Rufus  P.  Putnam,  fraudulently  credited  to  Wash¬ 
ington  county,  Ohio,  never  lived  in  Washington 
county,  Ohio,  nor  In  my  congressional  district ;  nor 
in  Ohio,  so  far  as  I  know. 

Then  an  inconsiderate  person  goes  to  work 
and  digs  up  out  of  the  files  of  Commissioner 
Morgan’s  office  a  letter  from  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio,  dated  February  5,  1890,  which 
says  : 

Mr.  Rufus  P.  Putnam  is  a  legal  resident  of  my  dis¬ 
trict,  and  has  relatives  living  there  now. 

The  gentleman  from  Ohio  in  his  speech  said  : 

I  have  not  been  informed  of  one  applicant  who  has 
found  a  place  in  the  classified  service  from  my  dis¬ 
trict. 

And  in  his  testimony  on  August  23,  found 
on  page  98  of  the  report,  he  says . 

That  the  eight  men  [whose  names  were  furnished 
him  as  being  appointed  from  his  district]  all  live  in 
my  district  as  now  constituted. 

So,  I  say  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  was  dis¬ 
turbed  by  the  aggressions  of  the  civil  service 
commission. 

He  says  he  has  only  seen  one  of  them,  and 
has  not  seen  him  frequently.  But  on  one  occa- 
j  sion,  at  least,  it  was  by  his  own  invitation,  for 
'  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Roo.sevelt  the  following  letter. 
He  said  ; 


204 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


I  have  for  some  weeks  sought  an  opportunity  to 
appear  before  the  committee  to  refer  briefly  to  a 
statement  made  by  you  in  which  you  impugned  the 
character  of  the  statement  made  by  me  in  the  house 
of  representatives  in  regard  to  the  administration 
of  the  civil  service  law.  I  respectfully  request  that 
you  will  be  present. 

In  accordance  with  that  request,  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  was  present.  They  had  a  discussion 
which  went  on  for  a  little  while  and  then  Mr. 
Grosvenor  said,  as  appears  from  the  record  of 
the  testimony : 

A  congressman  making  a  speech  on  the  floor  of 
the  house  of  representatives  is  perhaps  in  a  little 
different  position  from  a  witness  testifying  under 
examination. 

[Laughter.] 

There  I  had  the  right  to  give  my  judgment  about 
this  matter  under  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  not  have  it  called  in  question  for  that 
reason.  «<  »  <■ 

I  must  go  up  to  the  house  now. 

[Laughter.] 

And,  Mr.  Chairman,  he  went  up  to  the  house 
and  left  Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  was  not  pleased 
with  the  interview,  as  he  said  there.  But  he 
returned  to  the  committee  after  Mr.  Roosevelt 
had  gone  to  North  Dakota,  and  was  two  thou¬ 
sand  miles  away,  and  then  said  : 

My  statement  iu  the  house  of  representatives  has 
been  shamefully  and  criminally  misrepresented  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  who  says  I  said  there  had  been  no 
clerical  appointments  in  my  district.  I  never  said 
any  such  thing,  and  he  knew  it. 

Here  is  what  Mr.  Roosevelt  did  say  : 

General  Grosvenor  says  he  does  not  know  of  one 
applicant  who  has  found  a  place  in  the  classified 
service  from  his  congressional  district. 

And  here  is  what  the  gentleman  from  Ohio 
actually  said  in  the  House : 

[Mr.  Grosvenor’s  speech  April  22— Record,  3897.] 

I  have  not  been  informed  of  one  (applicant)  who 
has  found  a  place  in  the  classified  service  from  my 
congressional  district.  ■s  *  *  So  far  as  I 

know  not  one  clerical  position  has  been  assigned  to 
my  congressional  district.” 

When  Mr.  Lodge  had  concluded.  Cannon 
let  Grosevenor  have  five  minutes  of  his  time, 
but  the  latter’s  remarks  are  not  printed  and 
are  withheld  for  revision.  Very  likely  they 
needed  it.  As  Grosvenor  sat  by  and  saw  Mr. 
Lodge  strew  by  the  way  the  Grosvenor  malice, 
the  Grosvenor  cowardice,  the  Grosvenor  hy¬ 
pocrisy,  the  Grosvenor  mendacity,  and  all  the  [ 
other  unhappy  qualities  which  make  up  the  j 
Grosvenor  character,  Grosvenor  himself  must 
have  passed  into  a  state  of  ungovernable  inco¬ 
herency  and  probably  his  ravings  would  not 
look  well  in  print.  At  the  end  of  the  debate, 
Mr.  Dingley,  of  Maine,  ofTered  an  amend¬ 
ment  that  the  commission  be  given  an  addi¬ 
tional  sum  of  i?36,400,  to  carry  out  the  law. 
No  point  of  order  would  lie  to  this,  and  after 
the  chair  had  twice  declared  it  lost,  tellers 
were  appointed  and  the  amendment  was 
adopted  by  95  to  76.  This  gives  the  commis¬ 
sion  some  $1,500  more  than  it  asked. 

Mr.  George  William  Curtis  will  address  the 
state  superintendents  of  common  schools  in 
Philadelphia  the  last  week  in  February,  on 
the  public  school  and  civil  service  reform'. 


The  Qivil  Service  Reformer  in  its  January  and 
February  numbers  prints  some  specimen  ap¬ 
plications  for  office  from  people  whose  unfit¬ 
ness  caused  them  to  fail  in  the  examinations. 
They  are  worth  examining. 

Several  cases  have  been  reported  where  the 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  not  regularly 
received  at  eolleges  and  libraries.  It  will  be  a 
favor  if  every  ease  is  at  once  made  known ; 
also,  the  Chronicle  repeats  its  request  of  last 
month  that  such  libraries  as  have  not  already 
done  so  will  acknowledge  the  donation  of  the 
paper  and  state  if  it  is  placed  on  file. 

If  there  is  any  reader  of  the  Chronicle 
who  does  not  read  the  other  two  civil  service 
reform  papers,  let  him  send  for  the  Civil 
Service  Reformer  for  February,  and  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  Census  Superintendent  Por¬ 
ter  thoroughly  routed  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  be¬ 
fore  the  civil  service  committee  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  January  29,  1891. 

The  Civil  Service  Record  prints  in  its  Feb¬ 
ruary  issue  an  editorial  based  on  the  recent 
speech  of  Congressman  Roswell  P.  Flower,  a 
democrat  from  New  York.  Mr.  Flower’s  con¬ 
gressional  experience  makes  him  an  authority, 
and  the  viciousness  of  the  present  system  of 
making  about  60,000  ix)st-offiees  a  part  of  a 
great  political  machine  has  never  been  more 
completely  exposed.  There  is  space  but  for 
a  single  quotation  : 

The  present  system  has  too  much  that  attribute  of 
monarchy  which  centers  in  the  power  of  one  man  the 
appointment  of  thonsands,  which  makes  official  po¬ 
sition  the  reward  for  partisan  intrigue,  engenders  a 
lack  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of  public  officials, 
and  consumes  too  much  of  the  time  of  executive 
and  legislative  officers  in  securing  appointments 
which  should  be  given  to  the  consideration  of  affairs 
of  state. 

But  there  are  two  results  which  arise  from  our 
system  which  seem  more  deplorable  than  those  1 
have  already  enumerated.  These  have  only  to  be 
stated  to  be  conceded.  The  present  system  of  federal 
appointments  exercises  an  undue  influence  on  elections, 
and  tends  to  subvert  and  render  impossible  the  true  ex¬ 
pressions  of  the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  in  those 
elections.  This  system  has  already  murdered  one 
President.  Is  there  a  member  of  the  house  who  does 
not  feel  in  his  congressional  district  the  influence  of 
the  post-office,  the  custoin-hou.se,  or  the  internal  rev¬ 
enue  bureau? 


The  seventh  report  of  the  Massachusetts 
Civil  Service  Commission  has  been  printed.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  nowhere  else  has 
the  law  been  uniformly  administered  with 
such  good  faith  and  intelligence,  and  the 
yearly  reports  are  indispensable  to  any  one 
who  desires  to  know  how  the  merit  system 
really  works. 

The  report  states  : 

"The  number  of  public  employes  in  the  first 
division  of  the  classified  service  is  about  4,700.  Of 
the  public  offices  in  the  first  division,  2,133  have 
been  appointed  under  civil  service  rules  since  1885; 
and,  with  the  lapse  of  time,  the  proportion  steadily 
increases.  Of  these  appointments,  only  a  very  small 
fraction  of  one  per  cent,  has  been  removed  for  cause. 

"In  the  labor  service  of  Boston  152  requisitions  were 
received  during  the  year,  and  2,029  men  were  certi¬ 
fied,  of  whom  1,550  were  required  to  be  under  fifty 


years  of  age.  This  shows  the  increasing  tendency  of 
the  departments  to  call  for  the  strongest  and  most 
able  bodied  men.  Of  those  certified,  874  were  em¬ 
ployed,  of  whom  90  were  veterans.  The  number  of 
certifications  compared  with  the  number  employed 
was  owing  to  the  declination  of  some  to  accept  em¬ 
ployment,  especially  upon  Basin  V  in  Ashland.  The 
comparatively  small  number  of  veterans  employed 
was  owing  to  the  age  limit  fixed  in  the  requisitions. 
Of  the  men  employed  under  certification,  only  one- 
half  of  one  percent,  were  discharged  for  cause.  There  have 
been  2  360  men  registered,  including  restorations  to 
the  list  during  the  year.  The  total  number  at  pre¬ 
sent  on  the  department  rolls  in  this  office  is  ,3466.” 


The  Pennsylvania  Civil  Service  Reform  As. 
sociation  has  introduced  a  civil  service  reform 
bill  into  both  houses  of  the  state  legislature. 
This  bill,  like  the  Massachusetts  law,  brings 
the  service  of  the  cities  and  of  the  state  under 
the  control  of  one  commission.  It  also,  like 
the  Massachusetts  law,  seems  to  include 
laborers. 

We  notice  that  the  law  is  to  apply  only  to 
“such  office  of  employment”  where  the  num¬ 
ber  of  “  officers,  clerks,  or  employes  amounts 
to  six  or  more.”  In  the  twenty-five  cities  of 
Massachusetts  there  are  several  offices  where 
the  law  is  applied  with  the  best  results,  and 
with  very  little  trouble  or  expense  where  there 
are  in  each  only  one,  two,  three,  or  more  em¬ 
ployes.  Taken  altogether,  the  total  number 
is  quite  large.  Indeed,  in  an  ordinary-sized 
city,  where  there  is  considerable  subdivision 
of  the  city  work  into  different  departments, 
there  may  not  be  a  single  department  besides 
the  police  and  fire  department,  which  has  as 
many  as  six  clerks  in  one  office.  The  object  of 
this  limitation  seems  to  be  to  save  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  small  examinations  ;  but  in  actual  prac¬ 
tice  this  difficulty  is  found  to  be  rather  imagi¬ 
nary  than  real. — Civil  Service  Record,  February, 
1891. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  : 

Sir — The  undersigned,  the  officers  of  the 
Cambridge  Civil  Service  Reform  Association, 
beg  leave,  in  the  name  of  the  association,  re¬ 
spectfully  to  request  you  to  extend  the  limits  of 
the  classified  civil  service  so  as  to  include  all 
persons  employed  iu  custom  houses  and  post- 
offices  where  there  number  is  not  less  than 
twenty-five  (as  recommended  in  the  sixth  re¬ 
port  of  the  civil  service  commission)  and  also 
the  clerical  force  at  navy  yards  and  arsenals. 

Further,  the  undersigned  believing  that  the 
recent  troubles  with  the  Indians  afford  con¬ 
vincing  evidence  that  a  change  in  the  manner 
of  appointment  of  the  officials  of  the  Indian 
bureau  is  imperatively  demanded,  respecifully 
urge  that  the  civil  service  rules  may  be  ex¬ 
tended,  with  proper  modifications,  to  include 
all  oSicers  employed  under  this  bureau. 

They  desire,  finally,  to  urge  that  the  rules 
be  extended,  with  due  regard  to  the  interest  of 
the  public,  to  all  departments  of  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice. 

rto-P/-fsid€nis— Charles  W.  Eliot,  Chauncey  Smith, 
James  Russell  Lowell,  Charles  Theodore  Russell. 

Executive  Commi^ee— Philip  Stanlev  Abbot,  James 
Barr  Ames,  William  F.  Bradbury,  Josiah  M.  Brooks, 
Sanford  H.  Dudley,  Edward  H  Hall,  William  O.  Hen- 
shaw,  William  R.  Howland,  Francis  V.  B.  Kern, 
George  V.  Leverett,  James  J.  Myers,  Albert  S.  Par- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


205 


sons,  Ezra  R.  Thayer,  Joseph  G.  Thorp,  Jr.,  Robert' 
N.  Toppan,  William  W.  Vaughan,  George  G.  Wright, 
Charles  F.  Wyman,  Morrill  Wyman,  Jr.,  Sec'y. 

Chari.es  Eliot  Norton,  President. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  31st  January,  1891. 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,'! 

February  4,  1891.  J 

Oentleiiien:  I  have  received  by  the  hands 
of  Senator  Hoar  the  communication  addressed 
to  me  by  you  as  officers  of  the  Cambridge 
Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  and  in  re¬ 
ply  beg  to  say  that  your  suggestions  will  have 
my  respectful  attention. 

Your  reference  to  the  recent  outbreak  among 
the  Sioux  as  affording  convincing  evidence  of 
the  necessity  of  a  change  in  the  manner  of 
appointing  the  officials  of  the  Indian  bureau, 
leads  me  to  say  that  I  have  not  found  in  a 
very  full  examination  of  all  the  facts  from  all 
sources  evidence  of  any  deterioration  in  the 
Indian  service.  On  the  other  hand,  the  board 
of  Indian  commissioners,  through  Merrill  E. 
Gates,  their  chairman,  have  as  the  result  of 
close  observation  declared  to  me  under  date 
of  January  10th  last,  “that  upon  the  whole 
the  Indian  service  is  now  in  better  condition 
than  ever  before.”  The  object  of  their  com¬ 
munication  was  to  urge  the  extension  of  civil 
service  rules  to  the  Indian  service,  but  they 
were  careful  to  recognize  that  the  argument 
was  not  to  be  found  in  any  special  or  recent 
incidents,  but  in  the  broader  fact  that  the 
work  among  the  Indians  is  educational  and 
philanthropic  and  should,  therefore,  be  sep¬ 
arated  from  party  politics. 

I  may  add  that  before  any  special  appeal 
had  been  made  to  me  from  any  source,  the 
subject  of  including  Indian  agency  clerks  and 
employes  in  the  classified  service  had  been  un¬ 
der  consideration. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Benjamin  Harrison. 

To  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  Esq  ,  and  others, 

Cambridge,  Mass. 


LOCAL  FREEBOOTING. 

The  rise  and  fall  of  the  democratic  gang  of  which 
Sim  Coy  was  for  years  the  leader  forms  an  interest 
ing  ehapter  in  the  history  of  Marion  county.  The 
beginning  of  the  end  came  when  the  tally-sheets 
were  forged  two  years  ago  last  November,  and  the  de¬ 
parture  of  John  E.  Sullivan  for  Canada  marked  the 
final  downfall  of  the  corruptionists.  The  formation 
of  this  corrupt  gang  of  democratic  politicians  dates 
back  several  years,  when  Sim  Coy  gathered  around 
him  a  few  unscrupulous  men,  some  of  them  possessed 
of  means,  who  were  anxious  to  be  able  to  control  the 
elections  in  this  county.  In  a  measure  successful  in 
managing  campaigns,  the  little  gang  began  to  grow, 
and  its  corrupt  influences  began  to  permeate  the  en¬ 
tire  democratic  part  of  the  county.  Emboldened  by 
their  success  in  carrying  elections  by  corrupt  meth¬ 
ods,  the  leaders  of  the  gang  in  1886  decided  to  take  a 
step  far  in  advance  of  any  they  had  before  dared  take 
— tochange  the  tally-sheets  so  as  to  elect  a  criminal 
judge  and  a  coroner,  and  officers  who  the  face  of  the 
returns  showed  had  been  elected  by  the  republicans. 
It  is  needless  to  repeat  the  story  of  that  infamous 
crime.  It  is  familiar  to  the  people,  not  only  of  Indi¬ 
ana,  but  of  other  states.  How  many  men  were  con- 
iieeted,  directly  and  remotely,  with  that  conspiracy 
will,  perhaps,  never  be  known,  but  there  was  evidence 
brought  out  in  court  that  a  great  many  were  in  some 
manner  connected  with  it.  All  the  evidence  showed 
that  John  E.  Sullivan  was  one  of  the  prominent  fig 
ures  in  the  conspiracy,  but  the  influence  which  he 


and  other  members  of  the  gang  wielded  prevented 
the  courts  from  ever  convicting  him. 

The  story  of  how  justi!e  struggled  to  get  a  hold 
upon  the  ring -leaders  in  the  conspiracy  is  interesting 
at  this  time.  The  effort  was  made  first  to  secure  in¬ 
dictment  by  the  county  grand  jury,  but  after  three 
mouths  of  failures  it  was  decided  to  call  upon  the 
United  States  grand  jury,  through  which  partial  jus- 
lice  at  least  was  finally  meted  out.  The  refusal  of  the 
county  grand  jury,  in  the  face  of  positive  evidence, 
to  return  indictments  against  the  forgers,  was  con¬ 
demned  by  every  honest  man  in  the  state.  That  re¬ 
fusal  showed  the  power  and  influences  Sullivan  and 
the  members  of  the  gang  exerted.  Sullivan,  as 
clerk,  controlled  the  drawing  of  the  grand  jury,  and 
he  sueceeded  in  securing  a  jury  composed  entirely 
of  democrats.  The  jury  was  of  his  own  selection,  and 
was  drawn  with  special  reference  to  preventing  any 
indictments  being  returned.  It  is  somewhat  remark¬ 
able  that  among  the  members  of  that  jury  who  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  public's  demand,  and  refused  to  in¬ 
dict  Sullivan  orauy  of  the  forgers,  were  J.  B.  Conaty 
and  James  Renihan,  two  of  Sullivan’s  official  bonds¬ 
men,  and  the  principal  losers  by  the  clerk’s  dis¬ 
honesty.  These  men  were  on  Sullivan's  bond  at  the 
time  they  were  serving  the  county  as  grand  jurors, 
sworn  to  do  their  duty,  and  when  that  is  recalled  it 
goes  a  long  way  toward  explaining  why  that  grand 
jury  constantly  ignored  Judge  Irviu’s  instructions  in 
regard  to  the  tally-sheet  forgeries.  “  Can  it  be  retri¬ 
bution  these  men  are  now  receiving?”  queried  a 
gentleman  yesterday  who  recalled  the  facts.  “  I  sus¬ 
pect  these  gentlemen  feel  that  it  is,”  continued  he. 
“I  judge  they  now  wish  they  had  followed  the  oft- 
repeated  instructions  of  Judge  Irvin,  and  indicted  all 
the  tally-sheet  forgers.  How  much  better  off  they 
would  be  if  they  had  done  their  duty?”  With  the 
conviction  of  Coy  and  Bernhamer  and  their  removal 
to  the  penitentiary,  the  gang  began  to  disintegrate. 
Sullivan  still  attempted  to  use  its  waning  power  to 
his  advantage,  but  there  could  be  no  concert  of  action 
like  when  the  little  boss  was  here.  With  the  depart¬ 
ure  of  Sullivan  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  county  has 
witnessed  the  last  of  the  acts  of  the  gang.  In  his  de¬ 
parture  Sullivan  has  involved  and  turned  against 
him  those  who  kept  him  from  going  behind  the 
prison  bars  two  years  ago,  and  it  seems  impossible 
that  the  remnants  of  the  gang  can  again  be  able  to 
muster  their  [orces.— Indianapolis  Journal. 

Jt  'At 

That  noble  patriot,  Simeon  Coy,  who  was  pardoned 
out  of  the  state’s  prison  because,  foresooth,  he  was 
too  poor  to  pay  the  fine  and  costs  assessed  against 
him,  has  evidently  struck  it  rich  somewhere  or 
somehow.  He  seems  to  have  plenty  of  money  that 
he  is  spending  freely  as  he  plays  his  great  role  as  a 
public  benefactor.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  a 
councilman’s  salary  is81.50a  year. 

Simeon,  it  will  be  remembered,  has  been  playing 
street  commissioner  down  in  ward  eighteen.  He 
proposes  to  have  fine  streets,  and  for  twelve  days  has 
had  three  teams  and  a  man  at  work.  He  has  already 
placed  three  car  loads  of  cracked  stone  on  Delaware, 
Alabama,  New  Jersey  and  South  streets.  Saturday 
he  placed  fifteen  loads  of  gravel  on  the  streets,  and 
thus  far  this  week  he  has  placed  twelve  loads,  mak¬ 
ing  twenty  seven  loads  of  gravel  spread  on  the 
streets.  One  of  the  teams  belongs  to  Lee  Fulmer  and 
two  to  Mr.  Myers. 

Emanuel  Green,  an  old  colored  man,  was  poking 
cracked  stone  about  South  street  this  morning  when 
a  News  reporter  happened  along.  ‘‘The  city  is  doing 
a  good  deal  of  work  here?”  suggested  the  reporter. 

"The  city  ain’t  doing  this.  Mr.  Coy  is  having  the 
work  done,”  was  the  answer. 

"But  the  city  pays  for  it  ?” 

“No,  indeed,  Mr.  Coy  pays  for  it  all.  He  hires 
the  teams,  pays  for  the  gravel,  bought  the  stone  and 
he  pays  me.  I  know  when  he  paid  me  Saturday  he 
gave  me  half  a  dollar  more  than  was  coming  to  me, 
and  he  had  a  great  big  roll  of  money,  fori  saw  it.” 

"How  much  will  this  work  cost,  do  you  suppose?” 

"There’s  a  man  down  there  says  it  will  cost  Mr, 
Coy  a  81,000,  but  that  ain’t  so.  The  three  teams  and 
me  cost  about  810  a  day.  We  have  been  at  work 
about  twelve  days,  and  there  is  lots  to  do  yet.” 

For  a  man  who  was  pardoned  because  he  wasn’t 


able  to  pay  his  fine.  Statesman  Coy  Is  under  very 
large  expense.  'The  three  car-loads  of  stone  will  cost 
about  835.  The  gravel  will  cost  sixty  cents  per  load, 
or  816.20.  It  will  require  at  least  twenty-five  days  to 
“  fix  things  ”  as  Simeon  wants  them  "  fixed.”  That 
is  8-150,  making  a  total  of  8301.20.  The  pay  of  a  coun¬ 
cilman  is  $150  a  year.  Thus  Mr.  Coy  is  spending 
more  than  two  years’  salary  on  the  publics  treets. 
This  is  only  one  “budget”  of  campaign  expenses. 
This  is  an  investment.  What  is  the  return ! 

The  stone  used  on  the  streets  by  Coy  is  broken  at 
the  work  house,  and  Emanuel  Green  said  Mr.  Coy 
had  purchased  the  stone  at  the  works.  Colonel 
Boone,  superintendent  of  the  work-house,  says  Coy 
bought  no  stone  out  there  ;  that  it  is  all  shipped  to 
the  street  commissioner.  Mr.  De  Ruiter  says  that  he 
has  .sold  no  stone  to  Coy,  and  that  Coy  is  getting 
neither  stone  nor  any  help  whatever  from  the  city. 
Green  says  that  one  day  the  city  wagon  and  Coy’s 
wagons  were  being  loaded  from  the  same  car,  and 
that  Coy  objected  because  there  was  no  more  stone 
than  he  needed  himself. 

If  Coy  could  not  pay  his  fine  and  costs  because  he 
was  too  poor,  how  does  it  happen  that  he  can  pay 
810  per  day  to  improve  the  public  streets  of  his  ward 
and  carry  around  a  big  roli  of  money  ?  Who  is  back¬ 
ing  him  and  furnishing  this  money?  What  return 
will  he  make  for  Ml— Indianapolis  News,  September, 
1889. 

3^  ^ 

street  Commissioner  De  Facto  Sim  Coy  was  hold¬ 
ing  down  a  chair  in  the  court-house  and  resting  a 
pair  of  prominent  feet  on  a  table  this  morning, 
when  a  News  reporter  accosted  him;  “Do  you 
propose  to  pay  for  that  stone  you  hauled  away  from 
the  city  yards?” 

"Pay  for  it  ?”  retorted  the  statesman  from  ward 
eighteenth.  "Well,  I  guess  I  won’t.  I  put  that  stone 
on  the  streets  for  the  benefit  of  the  tax  payers,  and  I 
don't  propose  to  pay  for  it  out  of  my  own  pocket  by 
a  jug  full.  I  will  settle  with  them  feilows  in  open 
council.” 

“How  do  you  propose  to  settle  with  them  ?” 

“Well,  you  will  see  how.  I  have  had  some  experi¬ 
ence  in  street  making,  and  I  know  if  I  had  had  the 
842,000  that  the  street  commissioner  claims  to  have 
spent  this  year  I  could  have  had  every  street  in 
Indianapolis  in  first-class  condition.” 

Here’s  a  state  of  things!  When  Coy’s  little  scheme 
was  discovered  he  elaimed  to  be  pajing  for  every¬ 
thing  and  flashed  up  plenty  of  money  to  do  it  with. 
Now  he  declares  the  stone  belonged  to  the  city,  he 
used  it  and  won’t  pay  for  it.  He  says  ho  “don’t 
think  De  Ruiter  knew  he  intended  taking  the  stone,” 
and  the  street  commissioner  has  demanded  pay  for 
the  material  used. 

“You  fellows  talk  about  twenty-seven  loads  of 
sand  and  gravel,”  said  Coy,  waving  a  chubby  hand 
in  the  air,  “why,  twenty-seven  loads  ain’t  a  patch¬ 
ing  to  what  I  used.  You  couldu’tget  ail  the  gravel 
in  this  room  that  I  put  on  the  streets.” 

“And  that  belonged  to  the  city,  too?” 

“Why,  of  course  it  did.” 

The  room  to  which  Coy  referred  was  the  sheriff’s 
office,  which  is  large  enough  to  hold  a  hundred  and 
fifty  loads  of  gravel,  and  still  the  street  commissioner 
did  not  know  that  Coy  was  carting  this  stuff  away  I 
Indianapolis  News,  September,  1889. 

Street  Commissioner  DeRuiter  was  interviewed  by 
tx.Toiimal  reporter  yesterday,  concerning  Sim  Coy’s 
alleged  appropriation  of  city  property  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  strengthening  his  councilmanie  canvass  in  the 
eighteenth  ward.  “I  heard  Monday  afternoon,” 
said  the  street  commissioner,  “that  Coy  had  takeh 
a  car-load  of  stone  belonging  to  the  city,  which  had 
been  broken  at  the  W'ork  house,  and  set  out  on  the 
tracks  to  be  hauled  down  to  the  yard.  I  immedi¬ 
ately  started  to  find  Coy,  went  to  his  town  residence, 
to  Joe  Wagner’s  and  other  places,  without  finding 
him,  and  finally  drove  out  to  his  road  house  east  of 
the  city.  He  was  not  there,  but  I  left  word  that  I 
wanted  to  see  him,  and  this  morning  he  came  to  my 
office.  I  told  him  what  I  had  heard,  and  he  said  it 
was  true,  that  he  had  taken  the  car  load  of  stone, 
and  that  he  proposed  to  take  any  of  the  city’s  prop¬ 
erty  that  he  chose  that  was  lying  around  loose. 


206 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


told  him  I  did  not  think  he  would,  and  suggested  to 
him  that  it  he  kept  on  he  would  get  himself  into  se¬ 
rious  trouble,  and  after  some  further  talk,  in  which 
we  both  got  pretty  thoroughly  heated,  he  went  out.” 

“  How  did  he  happen  to  get  the  car-load  of  stone 
referred  to?” 

“  He  took  it  as  any  one  else  would  have  taken  it 
without  authority.  The  car  was  set  out  on  the 
switch,  and  was,  I  suppose,  in  the  possession  of  the 
railroad  people.  We  were  notified  of  the  presence 
there  of  two  other  car-loads  of  stone,  which  we  got, 
but  had  no  notice  whatever  that  this  one  was  there, 
and  of  course  did  not  send  after  it.  I  have  notified 
Superintendent  Boone  not  to  deliver  any  more  stone 
at  the  railroad  without  notifying  me.” 

“  What  do  you  propose  to  do  about  the  city  mate¬ 
rial  already  taken  by  Coy  ?” 

‘‘I  propose  to  be  guided  by  the  advice  of  the  city 
attorney.  In  any  event,  I  will  ask  that  Coy  be  in¬ 
dicted  by  the  next  grand  jury,  and  if  there  is  any 
way  of  bringing  him  up  sooner,  I  will  take  advantage 
of  it.  I  do  not  consider  that  he  has  any  more  right 
to  carry  oft'  property  belonging  to  the  city  than  you 
have.  As  for  the  stories  that  he  did  it  with  my  con¬ 
sent,  express  or  implied,  they  are  simply  lies.  Set¬ 
ting  apart  my  republicanism,  and  my  desire  on  that 
account  to  see  Coy  beaten  in  his  race  for  council,  1 
would  be  a  fool  to  help  elect  a  man  whose  earliest 
vote  would  be  cast  for  my  removal.” — Indianapolis 
Journal,  September  2,  1889. 

<■  •:<  >;< 

“  We  have  been  examining  the  street  commission¬ 
er's  pay-rolls  and  find  on  every  one  of  them  the  name 
of  H.  S.  Post,  who  is  Mr.  De  Ruiter’s  father-in-law. 
He  is  credited  with  82  a  day  for  himself  and  a  one- 
horse  wagon.  According  to  the  pay-roll,  Mr.  Post 
has  not  been  idle  a  day ;  at  least  he  has  been  receiv¬ 
ing  his  82  per  day  right  along.  On  the  night  of  the 
first  Saturday  after  January  1,  Mr.  Post  went  to  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  and  was  there  for  ten  days.  During  the 
time  he  has  been  back  he  has  been  idle  a  number  of 
days,  yet  he  is  accredited  on  his  son-in-law's  pay¬ 
roll  with  working  all  the  time. 

”  There  are  two  one-horse  wagons  employed  by  the 
street  commissioner.  One  of  these  wagons  has  been 
standing  in  the  city  yard  until  the  tires  on  the  wheels 
are  thick  with  rust,  and  it  is  apparent  to  any  one 
that  the  wagon  has  not  been  used  for  a  long  time; 
yet  the  city  has  been  paying  for  it  just  the  same.  Mr. 
De  Ruiter  told  me  that  one  horse  and  wagon  is  owned 
by  George  Yanthes,  a  colored  man,  and  the  other 
horse  and  wagon  by  Mr.  Post,  his  father-in  law.  The 
records  in  the  assessor's  office  show  that  Yanthes 
pays  a  poll-tax  and  is  the  owner  of  a  83  watch.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  the  books,  he  owns  no  horse  and  wagon. 
I  sent  a  man  to  him  under  pretense  of  buying  a 
horse.  Y'anthes  said  he  owned  no  horse  or  wagon. 
Mr.  Post’s  name  does  not  appear  on  the  aasessor’s 
books  at  all,  and  he  does  not  even  pay  a  poll-tax.” 
—Indianapolis  News,  Febrtiary  26,  1899,  Interview  with 
Councilman  Martin  Murphy. 

*  * 

The  suburbs  of  Indianapolis  are  a  unitin  seeking 
legislation  that  wilt  enable  them  to  build  street-car 
lines  into  the  city.  Senate  bill  179  is  the  embodiment 
of  their  request.  It  has  passed  the  senate  and  is  re¬ 
posing  in  (he  hands  of  the  judiciary  committee.  The 
suburbs  see  great  prosperity  ahead  if  they  are  not 
walled  out.  At  present  they  can  not  construct  lines 
to  the  city  because  the  Citizens’  Company  will  not 
permit  them  to  enter  with  tracks  after  they  have 
brought  them  to  the  corporation  limit.  What  they 
demand  as  reasonable  is  that  if  the  Citizens’  Com¬ 
pany  jumps  in  ahead  and  pro  emptsa  street  to  pre¬ 
vent  suburban  companies  from  entering,  the  sub¬ 
urban  lines  by  paying  a  fair  rental  may  use  the  Citi¬ 
zens’  tracks,  or  that  the  suburban  companies,  in  a 
word,  be  enabled  to  deliver  passengers  into  the  city. 
The  Citizens’  Company  will  not  build  to  Greenwood 
nor  Broad  Ripple.  Its  West  Indianapolis,  Irvington 
and  Brightwood  lines  are,  without  an  exception, 
wholly  unsatisfactory.  Greenwood  has  8130,000  sub¬ 
scribed  for  a  suburban  line ;  Broad  Ripple  has  a  com¬ 
pany  signed  to  put  down  a  rapid  transit  line  so  soon 
as  this  legislation  is  enacted.  Shall  the  two  towns 
be  shut  out  of  Indianapolis?  This  is  virtually  the 
question  they  ask. 


Meantime  the  Citizens’  Company  is  fighting  the 
bill  with  tremendous  vigor.  Lobbyists  of  every  degree, 
from  Sim  Coy  up  to  ex-state  officers  and  congressmen, 
are  lobbying  for  the  company.  Sim  has  taken  up  a 
temporary  office  in  the  state  house,  and  is  often  in  tonsul- 
tation  with  Steele  and  other  representatives  of  the  com¬ 
pany.— Indianapolis  News,  February  n,  1891. 

<<  A* 

Mr.  C^  has  still  another  year  of  service  in  the 
Indianapolis  City  Council,  and  will  therefore  not 
sever  his  connections  with  Hoosier  politics  entirely 
until  he  has  done  all  the  good  that  can  possibly  be 
accomplished  at  the  Indiana  capital.  Thus  far  his 
stays  in  this  city  have  been  brief.  After  the  adjourn- 
mentofthe  Indiana  Legislature,  which  will  occur 
in  about  a  month,  he  says  he  will  be  here  “right 
along.”  He  will  then  be  ready  to  Introduce  to  the 
attention  of  the  Chicago  political  fine-workers  that 
peculiar  brand  of  politics  that  made  his  name  famous 
at  home,  and  which  is  produced  in  no  other  state  in 
the  Union. 

“I  carried  Indianapolis  for  Cleveland,  Gray  and 
the  rest  of  the  ticket  in  1884,”  he  modestly  sug¬ 
gested,  “and  it  was  the  first  lime  we  ever  showed  our 
full  strength.  Until  that  time  the  republicans  had 
defeated  us  because  of  their  superior  party  organiza¬ 
tion.  The  eighteenth  ward  was  always  republican 
by  more  than  two  hundred,  but  I  have  made  it 
democratic  by  nearly  that  figure.  I  reckon  there 
are  democrats  there  now  who  would  vote  for  me 
for  President  if  I  should  ask  it.” 

“To  what  do  you  ascribe  your  wonderful  political 
success?”  Mr  Coy  was  asked,  and  he  outlined  the 
following  code:  “I  never  had  a  quarrel  with  a  man 
in  my  life.  I  never  lost  my  temper  in  my  life.  Life 
is  loo  short  to  dispute  with  those  who  dispute  with 
you.  I  haven’t  the  time.  Then,  again,  I  don’t 
stand  on  the  street  corner  and  proclaim  my  policy. 
Secret  organization  is  the  only  road  to  political 
success.  The  day  for  brass-band  campaigns  is  past. 
We  have  the  Australian  voting  system  in  Indiana, 
minus,  of  course,  the  registration  clause.  The  reg¬ 
istration  clause  would  have  defeated  us,  and  it  will 
defeat  the  democrats  in  Illinois.  Laboring  men 
can’t  take  the  time  to  go  and  register.  At  the  last 
election  in  Chicago  I  find  that  only  four  voles  were 
registered  from  this  house.  That  shows  lack  of  or¬ 
ganization.  There  should  have  been  twenty-live,  at 
least. 

“  I  am  not  ready  to  say  what  I  will  or  will  not  do 
in  Chicago,”  said  he,  “  nor  do  I  care  to  be  quoted  as 
criticising  your  politics.  The  great  trouble  with  poli¬ 
ticians  that  I  hare  found  is  that  it  isn't  one  in  a  hundred 
who  knows  politics  rvhen  he  sees  it.  Down  in  Indiana  we 
have  the  advantage  of  a  political  education  not  to  be  ob¬ 
tained  anywhere  outside  of  that  state.  This  is  because  it 
has  always  been  a  hand  to-hand  fight.  First  one  party 
was  on  top,  then  the  other.  We  are  familiar  with  every 
subterfuge  known  to  modern  politics,  ll’is  take  a  back 
seat  for  nobody  .—Chicago  News,  February  9,  1891, 

*  =?  «- 

Some  days  ago  the  News  mentioned  the  fact  that 
the  South  Side  Foundry  Company  had  a  bill  of  850 
against  the  city  for  supplies  furnished.  Councilman 
Markey  is  a  large  stockholder  in  that  concern;  in 
fact,  “Markey’s  foundry”  is  a  common  name  for  the 
establishment. 

A  glance  over  the  city  books  reveals  the  fact  that 
the  foundry  has  been  selling  considerable  amounts 
of  goods  to  the  city,  and  Councilman  Markey  has 
been  voting  to  allow  the  payment  of  the  bills  from 
the  city  treasury .  On  May  24  and  28  his  foundry 
sold  the  city  819.20  worth  of  castings;  May  21,  89.60; 
on  April  25,  83.15.  The  bills,  however,  are  not  made 
out  in  Thomas  Markey’s  name,  but  in  the  name  of 
Peter  Zeirn,  treasurer  of  the  South  Side  Foundry 
Company. 

The  records  show  also  that  on  May  30  Council¬ 
man  William  Long  sold  the  city  three  yards  of  gravel 
for  80.— Didianapolis  News,  Aug.  3,  1889. 

}>  jIt 

Hospital  Trustee-Markey  has  gnawed  off  more  of  a 
political  cud  than  he  can  masticate.  He  has  tried  to 
keep  his  grip  on  all  that  he  has  held  to  and  embrace 
new  fields.  He  is  like  many  another  politician  who 
“did  well  from  a  precinct,  but  was  too  thin  to  spread 
over  a  state.”  The  two  or  three  scores  of  democrats 


down  In  Markey’s  ward  who  are  said  [to  have  been 
encouraged  to  hope  for  appointments  at  the  hospital, 
spend  their  time  in  devising  means  to  defeat 
Markey  for  re-election  to  council.  “We  got  him  the 
place  as  trustee  in  the  hope  that  he  would  give  up 
the  council  and  give  us  help  at  the  asylum,” 
•said  one  of  them,  “out  he  wants  to  hold  both  places. 
He  wants  to  get  his  father  into  the  capital  as  deputy  cus¬ 
todian— and,  by  the  way,  this  is  the  same  person  whom 
Markey,  a  democrat,  had  councilman  Pearson,  a  republi- 
can,  retain  two  years  as  janitor  at  Tomlinson  Hall. 
Some  of  us  were  promised  the  place  of  watchmen  at 
the  at  the  hospital,  but  Markey  appointed  Mike 
Kelley  (who  is  clever  with  a  pen,  which  Markey 
isn’t),  and  has  him  do  duty  as  assistant  secretary  of 
the  hospital  bo&Td.”— Indianapolis  News. 

>:»  Af  A' 

Dr.  Thomas  H.  Harrison,  late  president  of  the 
state  benevolent  boards,  has  issued  a  pamphlet  in 
defense  of  the  management  of  the  insane  hospital 
under  his  administration.  The  statements  it  con¬ 
tains  are  those  that  have  long  ago  been  urged  by  the 
ex-trustees  and  the  democratic  party,  and  arc  based 
altogether  upon  the  claim  that  the  Harrison  trustees 
have  been  vindicated  by  an  examination  of  the 
books  of  the  institution  by  their  successors.  In  the 
beginning  of  his  defense  the  doctor  states:  “The 
Ifospital  was  not  governed  by  civil  service.  It  teas  ab¬ 
solutely  a  partisan  management,  as  was  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  Wayne  township,  in  which  the  hospital  is 
located,  was  changed  from  a  republican  majority  to 
nearly  400  Democratic  within  a  period  of  six  years.— 
Indian-  polis  Journal,  June,  1889. 

At 

The  publication  in  the  News  last  evening  of  the 
business  dealings  between  Phil  Gapen,  treasurer  of 
the  insane  hospital  board,  and  John  E.  Sullivan, 
embezzler,  forger,  fugitive  from  justice,  and  high 
muck-a-muck  of  the  corruptest  gang  that  ever  ruled 
in  Marion  county,  has  caused  the  people  to  be  more 
clamorous  than  ever  to  have  the  books  opened. 

The  money  loaned  to  Sullivan  was  state  funds, 
and  if  Sullivan  has  paid  it  back  dollar  for  dollar  he 
has  been  “guilty”  of  something  that  his  most  inti¬ 
mate  friend  has  never  accused  him  with.  Complaint 
is  made,  too,  that  firms  having  claims  against  the 
hospital  for  supplies  furnished  have  had  to  wait  from 
month  to  month  for  their  pay,  and  there  are  some 
claims  of  ancient  date  still  unpaid.  Governor  Hovey 
believes  that  no  investigation  can  properly  be  made 
by  the  general  assembly,  but  the  work  must  be  done 
by  experts,  and  the  governor  might  have  added,  by 
experts  who  would  not  be  “  influenced,” 

The  report  of  the  trustees  for  the  year  ending  Oc¬ 
tober  31, 1888,  shows  that  food,  fruit  and  ice  cost  8110, 
000 ;  coal,  825,619.93 ;  wood,  81,682 ;  sweet  milk,  85,- 
724.70;  butter,  82,185,  making  the  milk  and  butter 
cost  88,009.70.  Last  year  potatoes  cost  810,000.  The 
total  expenditure  for  1888  amounts  to  the  modest  sum 
of  8260,000.  These  figures  alone  should  urge  every 
honest  man  with  a  desire  to  see  the  inside  of  “  them  ” 
books. 

State  Treasurer  Lemcke  says  that  at  difTerent  times 
he  has  loaned  Sullivan  small  sums  of  money,  but 
always  had  it  well  secured  and  got  it  back  within  a 
few  days.  Sullivan,  he  says,  was  a  most  persistent 
beggar,  but  he  had  been  warned  against  the  late 
county  clerk  and  at  last  shut  down  on  the  beggar, 
and  he  didn’t  get  his  sticky  fingers  into  the  state 
vaults. 

Since  December,  1883,  up  to  date,  Gapen  has  drawn 
from  the  state  treasurer,  as  treasurer  of  the  hospital 
board,  the  immense  sum  of  81,477,268.82.  If  Sullivan 
borrowed  nearly  814,000  in  so  short  a  time  as  four 
months,  how  much  did  he  borrow  from  this  immense 
fund  in  so  many  years? 

It  is  not  much  of  a  wonder  that  Gapen  and  his  friends 
do  not  appear  to  want  the  books  opened,  at  least 
they  are  not  making  any  frantic  efforts  to  have  the 
backs  of  the  books  torn  off  in  order  to  get  them  open. 

These  figures  show  the  amount  of  checks  placed  in 
the  Meridian  National  bank  by  Gapen,  from  August 
21  to  January  23,  inclusive.  Each  of  the  checks  was 
signed  by  John  E.  Sullivan,  made  payable  to  the  or¬ 
der  of  Philip  M.  Gapen.  They  were  on  Sullivan’s 
New  Y'ork  bank,  and  Gapen  asked  that  they  be 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


207 


placed  to  his  credit  on  his  account,  as  treasurer  of 
the  hospital  board. 


August  21 .  $1,000 

August  31 . 250 

September  18 .  1,000 

September  29 .  300 

December  18 .  2,000 

December  18 .  1,000 

Decemqer  20 .  800 

December  21 .  700 

January  21 .  4,700 

January  23 .  2,000 


Total . $13,750 


Thus,  in  the  very  short  time  of  about  three  months 
John  E.  Sullivan  had,  by  permission  of  Phillip  M. 
Gapen,  his  clutches  on  $13,750  of  the  state’s  funds, 
and  Sullivan’s  fingers  are  sticky  ones.  The  News 
showed  yesterday  that  unless  Gapen  can  hold  the 
bank  responsible  for  $3,043.€t>,  that  he  has  lost  that 
much  of  the  state’s  money  by  lending  it  to  Sullivan. 
Wonder  what  is  in  “them”  books  that  is  being 
guarded  so  zealously Indianapolis  News,  1889. 

*  * 

West  Market  Master  Wells  is  still  languishing  be¬ 
hind  iron  bars.  He  can  not  be  liberated  on  bait 
until  the  grand  jury  meets  next  Monday.  Now  that 
he  is  in  jail,  all  the  little  and  big  tin  horns  are  begin¬ 
ning  to  say,  "I  told  you  so.”  They  accuse  him  of  all 
sorts  of  misconduct,  and  blame  Councilman  “Bill” 
Davis  in  having  him  appointed.  Davis  and  Wells 
were  old  cronies.  One  of  Derk  De  Ruiter’s  deputies 
claims  that  there  was  a  big  kick  when  Wells  was  ap¬ 
pointed,  as  he  was  known  to  be  the  proprietor  of  a 
low  den  and  “oontz”  headquarters.  The  murder  of 
George  Thomas  was  the  result  of  a  fight  in  Well’s 
dive.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  city  clerk  to  see  that 
Wells  turned  in  the  money  when  he  made  the  af¬ 
fidavit  before  him.  Last  Saturday  night  Wells  took 
a ’possum  in  payment  of  stall  rent.  Does  the ’pos¬ 
sum  belong  to  the  city  1— Indianapolis  News,  1890. 

«  <■  « 

Noah  Rounds,  who  drives  one  of  Councilman 
Sweetland’s  teams,  walked  into  the  city  clerk’s  office 
and  asked  for  his  order.  Deputy  Bushong  informed 
him  that  the  warrants  would  not  be  ready  until  later 
in  the  day,  and  then  said  : 

“  Noah,  why  don’t  Sweetland  come  after  the  order 
himself?  ” 

“  ’Cause  he  told  me  to  come  and  get  it,  and  he 
wants  it  now.” 

John  Dunn  was  standing  by  and  iaughed  at  Rounds 
for  giving  the  snap  away  that  Sweetland  has  his 
team  in  the  city  service. 

“Oh,  he  knows  all  about  it,”  replied  Rounds. 

Deputy  Bushong,  in  relating  the  incident  this 
morning,  laughed  and  continued,  “  but  I  guess  Mr. 
Sweetland’s  team  don’t  work  for  the  city  now.  I  un¬ 
derstand  both  of  them  are  in  the  street  railroad  com¬ 
pany’s  service.” 

Let’s  see.  Is  it  lawful  for  a  member  of  the  city 
council  to  hire  to  the  city  his  team  and  assist  in 
allowing  his  own  claim  against  the  city Indianapo¬ 
lis  Nexus,  October  1, 1890. 

<{ 

The  history  of  that  peculiar  transaction  whereby 
the  republican  county  central  committee  was  to  be 
enriched  as  the  price  of  favorable  street  railway 
legislation  in  the  council,  is  coming  slowly  into  the 
light. 

The  councilmen  whose  names  were  used  in  con¬ 
nection  with  charges  to  which  Mayor  Denny  re¬ 
ferred  on  Monday  night,  are  restive  under  the  impu¬ 
tations  that  grow  out  of  Mr.  Darnell’s  disclosures. 
They  say  that  the  whole  truth  will  make  them  free, 
and  will  at  the  same  time  give  Mr  Darnell  some¬ 
thing  to  think  about.  One  of  them  makes  this  state¬ 
ment  : 

“  Mr.  C.  F.  Darnell  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to 
meet  certain  republicans  at  the  county  committee 
rooms  (republican),  on  a  matter  of  importance.  I 
went  there  and  found  Darnell,  Newt.  Harding,  Mr. 
Floyd,  Mr.  Fulmer  and  John  Clinton.  Mr.  Darnell 
said  that  it  rested  with  me  whether  we  should  carry 
the  county  or  lose  it;  that  if  I  would  change  my 
vote  and  vole  against  the  granting  of  the  MacNeal 
charter  that  Mr.  Shaffer  would  donate  $500  to  the 
county  committee  and  would  compel  every  man  in  his 
employ  to  vote  the  republican  ticket  on  election  day. 
1  have  never  regarded  this  as  more  than  one  of  Mr. 
Darnell’s  day  dreams,  and  did  not  think  Mr.  Shaffer 
made  any  such  impossible  proposition.  I  make  this 


statement  for  the  reason  that  Mr.  Darnell  has  seen 
fit  to  charge  the  mayor  and  certain  councilmen  with 
having  done  something  illegitimate  in  this  matter, 
when,  so  far  as  I  know,  he  is  the  only  one  who  advo¬ 
cated  or  proposed  anything  that  was  wrong.” 

It  appears  that  this  statement  is  the  key  that  un¬ 
locks  much  of  the  secret  business  which  swayed 
councilmen  in  their  street  car  legislation.  When 
Mr.  Darnell  let  drop  the  statement  that  the  Citizens’ 
Street  Car  Company  would  give  $.500  or  more  toward 
the  campaign  fund,  if  the  ordinance  granting  a  com 
petitive  franchise  to  the  MacNeal  Company  was  de¬ 
feated,  the  friends  of  the  MacNeal  ordinance  carried 
the  word  to  the  MacNeal  authorities.  These  nodoubt 
recognized  the  importance  of  action  and  prepared  to 
meet  it.  The  opportunity  was  not  to  be  lost.  A 
check  for  $500  was  made  out,  and  Councilman  Cum¬ 
mings,  who  was  a  friend  to  the  MacNeal  ordinance, 
was  entrusted  with  it.  He,  in  due  course  of  time, 
endorsed  it  over  to  the  chairman  of  the  county  re¬ 
publican  central  committee.  Either  by  chance,  or  by 
pre-arrangement,  it  was  carried  for  several  days  be¬ 
fore  it  was  presented  at  Fletcher’s  bank  for  payment. 
Payment  had  been  stopped  in  the  meantime,  but  the 
existence  of  the  check  had  become  known  to  the  se 
lect  few,  and  it  had  done  its  perfect  work.  It  had 
saved  the  day.  The  MacNeal  ordinance  was  passed 
The  supporter  of  that  company’s  ordinance  who  had 
been  appealed  to  so  tenderly  to  save  the  county 
ticket  by  voting  against  the  MacNeal  franchise,  was 
not  persuaded  to  do  so.  As  to  whether  the  Citizens’ 
Company  paid  $500  and  voted  its  men  “straight’’  will 
be  matter  for  further  inquiry.  Also  as  what  became 
of  the  canceled  MacNeal  check. —  Indianapolis  News. 

*:*  * 

A  correspondent  writes  the  News  that  Otto 
Williams,  while  drawing  pay  as  steward  at  the 
county  poor-house,  is  attending  school  in  this  city. 
Commissioner  Reveal  states  that  the  duties  of 
steward  are  such  that  young  Mr.  Williams  can  easily 
perform  them  and  still  have  plenty  of  time  to  pursue 
his  studies  at  the  Indiana  Medical  College.— Didfan- 
apolis  News,  1890. 

)’,t  s|t 

Chief  Webster  entered  the  fire  department  as  a 
substitute  in  March,  1860.  He  showed  adaptability 
for  the  business,  care  in  his  work,  energy,  obedience 
to  discipline  and  was  steadily  advanced  through 
the  various  branches  of  the  service  until  eight  years 
ago,  when  he  was  made  chief.  From  the  moment 
Webster  took  charge  the  efficiency  and  morals  of  the 
department  began  to  improve.  Discipline  was  main¬ 
tained,  new  methods  and  improvements  were 
adopted  as  soon  as  they  were  found  to  be  of  utility, 
and  the  members  were  given  to  understand  that 
their  retention  in  place  depended  wholly  upon  their 
merits  as  firemen.  For  years  this  high  degree  of 
efficiency  was  maintained  and  the  people  slept 
soundly  of  nights,  feeling  that  their  homes  and 
places  of  business  were  reasonably  safe  from  the 
ravages  of  fire. 

But  the  greedy  gang  which  has  controlled  the  re¬ 
publican  organization  in  this  city  for  years  was  dis¬ 
satisfied.  It  saw  in  the  fire  department  a  machine 
which,  if  put  on  apolitical  basis,  could  be  made  of 
great  service.  P.  C.  Trusler,  a  councilman  from  the 
twenty-first  ward,  was  selected  by  the  gang  to  re¬ 
construct  the  department  on  a  machine  basis.  He 
approached  Webster  cautiously  and,  as  chairman  of 
the  fire  committee,  demanded  the  removal  of  a  cer¬ 
tain  member  of  the  department.  The  man  whose 
head  was  asked  was  a  thoroughly  competent  man, 
against  whom  no  charge  had  been  made,  and  Chief 
Webster  refused  to  dismiss  him.  Trusler  vowed 
vengeance  on  Webster  and  threatened  him  with  dis¬ 
missal. 

For  a  time  Trusler’s  plans  failed  of  fruition.  He 
was  defeated  for  re-election  and  for  two  years  Web¬ 
ster  was  ieft  in  comparative  peace,  though  whenever 
his  name  was  mentioned  the  members  of  the  gang 
ground  their  teeth  and  indulged  in  expletives  more 
forcible  than  polite.  When  Trusler  returned  to  the 
council  plans  for  revenge  were  immediately  formu 
lated.  Trusler  told  Webster:  “lhave  come  back 
into  the  council  for  the  express  purpose  of  downing 
you,  and  I’m  going  to  do  it.”  Trusler  brought  even 
those  members  who  feltdisinclined  to  such  a  plan  to 
his  way  of  thinking,  urging  that  Webster  had  been 


appointed  as  a  republican  and  owed  his  first  alle¬ 
giance  to  that  party  rather  than  to  the  city.  But  a 
presidential  campaign  was  on,  votes  were  highly  im¬ 
portant  things  to  have,  and  the  cooler  heads  saw  that 
it  wouldn’t  do  to  remove  Webster  just  then.  So  a 
compromise  was  attempted.  The  chief  was  ap¬ 
proached  by  Trusler  and  informed  that  if  he  would 
drop  one  democrat  a  month  he  would  be  permitted 
to  retain  his  place.  Mr.  Webster  replied  that  his 
business  was  putting  out  fires,  not  democrats,  and 
that  he  didn’t  propose  to  discharge  competent  men 
because  of  their  politics.  He  was  then  told  that  he 
might  expect  to  be  discharged. 

After  the  interview  a  new  course  was  adopted— 
that  of  hampering  the  movements  of  the  chief.  The 
fire  committee  reported  adversely  on  every  sugges¬ 
tion  by  Chief  Webster  looking  to  an  improvement  of 
the  department,  subordinates  were  encouraged  to 
mutiny,  and  everything  possible  was  done  to  disor¬ 
ganize  the  force.  The  men  were  encouraged  to  make 
the  engine-houses  headquarters  for  the  distribution 
of  republican  documents,  and  every  obstacle  was 
thrown  in  Webster’s  way.  It  didn’t  matter  to  the 
members  of  the  gang  that  public  and  private  prop¬ 
erty  was  endangered.  That  didn’t  concern  them. 
They  had  none  to  lose.  If  the  whole  business  por¬ 
tion  of  the  town  was  destroyed  it  wouldn’t  injure 
them  a  cent.  Their  business  consisted  wholly  in  de¬ 
vising  schemes  to  get  their.hands  into  the  city  treas¬ 
ury. — Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

«  «  * 

A  Joaraai  editorial  makes  the  stunning  assertion 
that  of  “eighty  odd  members  of  the  fire  department 
thirty  are  democrats.”  The  editorial  concludes  with 
the  amusing  observation  “that  one  by  one  the 
campaign  falsehoods  of  the  democratic  organs  are 
exploded.”  Will  the  Journal  please  “explode  ”  by 
naming  the  thirty  democrats? 

There  are  only  nine  democrats  in  the  department. 
They  are  Tom  Quinn,  at  No  1  Engine  House:  John 
Fox,  at  No.  4;  Tom  Barrett  and  Fred  Clump,  at  No. 
6;  Tony  Voltz  and  Gus  Ernst,  at  No.  2  truck;  John 
King  and  William  Tobin,  on  the  tower,  and  Matt 
Rodgers,  at  headquarters.  While  these  nine  have 
been  classed  as  democrats,  some  of  them  vote  the 
republican  ticket  about  as  often  as  any  other. 

It  is  the  height  of  Trusler’s  ambition  to  see  every 
democrat  out  of  the  department  and  the  force  then 
used  as  a  political  nmchiiie.— Indianapolis  News,  1889. 

Ki 

The  election  returns  were  not  all  in  before  the  ma¬ 
chinery  was  put  into  motion  for  the  removal  of 
Webster.  On  the  8th  of  November,  a  caucus  was 
held  for  the  nomination  of  city  otficers  and  Trusler 
began  to  work  for  the  election  of  Dougherty  as  chief. 
Protests  against  a  change  were  filed  by  insurance 
men  and  property-owners,  but  they  were  given  no 
heed.  In  the  second  caucus  Trusler  promised  Joe 
Gasper  that  the  latter’s  brother  in-law,  Jim  Davis, 
should  be  given  a  fair  place,  and  that  councilman, 
who  had  hitherto  opposed  Webster’s  removal,  fell 
into  line.  On  the  12th  oi  November,  in  joint  session, 
the  councilmen  and  aldermen  chose  Frank  Dough¬ 
erty  chief  to  succeed  Webster,  the  vote  stand¬ 
ing:  For  Dougherty— Aldermen  Connett,  Reynolds, 
Smith,  Tousey  and  Wright ;  Councilmen  Cummings, 
Darnell,  Davis,  Dunn,  Elliott,  Finch,  Gasper,  Long 
McClelland,  Pearson,  Smith,  Swain,  Thalman,  Trus¬ 
ler  and  Wilson— 20,  For  Webster— Aldermen  Clark, 
Rgil  and  Reinecke  ;  Councilman  Burns,  Gaul,  Hick, 
lin,  Johnston,  Kelley,  Markey,  O’Connor  and  Park¬ 
inson— 11. 

Not  a  republican  there  had  the  nerve  to  stand  out 
against  the  demands  of  the  gang  and  demand  that 
the  fire  department  be  kept  efficient.  They  voted  as 
the  gang  told  them  to,  and  the  department  was  made 
an  adjnnct  to  the  republican  msLChine.— Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  1889. 

>:<  * 

The  Trusler  syndicate  still  has  its  fangs  fastened  in 
.the  fire  department  and  continues  to  make  and  un¬ 
make,  as  it  pleases.  Jack  Robinson,  who  was  select¬ 
ed  by  Dougherty  as  foreman  of  the  No.  3’s,  felt  into 
disfavor  with  the  Trusler  gang  and  through  its  influ¬ 
ence  has  been  made  driver  of  the  No.  3’s  reel.  Mr. 
Frank  Harvey  has  taken  his  place  as  captain  of  the 
3’8.  Mayor  Denny  showed  the  most  sickening  ser- 


CI\1L  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


208  THE 


vility  in  the  matter,  advising  Robinson  that  he  liad 
better  not  kick  against  Trtisler.  The  Trusler  gang 
wanted  to  get  Mr.  R.  H.  Brown  into  Robinson’s 
place,  but  did  not  succeed,  and  accordingly  Brown 
has  been  transferred  to  the  IS’s,  Louis  Rafert  to  the 
3’s,  vice  Huffman  to  the  lO's,  vice  Mountain  to  the 
4’s,  vice  John  Keating  to  headquarters  to  fill  the  va¬ 
cancy  caused  by  Harvey’s  removal.  —  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  May  1,1889. 

>;>  *  >> 

Instead  of  giving  heed  to  the  political  shysters  who 
are  now  clamoring  to  get  into  the  fire  department, 
some  attention  should  be  paid  to  those  already  on 
the  "sub”  list.  Men  like  Kiley  and  Loucks,  who 
have  served  long  and  faithfully  in  hope  of  promo 
tion,  are  deserving  of  recognition.  In  his  “subbing” 
Loucks  has  had  a  serious  time,  being  twice  injured. 
It  can  be  said  for  Dougherty  that  he  favors  these 
trained  “  subs,”  and  in  consequence  the  umbilical 
cord  between  himself  and  the  “Tin  Horns”  has  been 
badly  ruptured. — Indianapolis  News,  1889. 

* 

Among  the  changes  which  Chief  Dougherty  made 
for  betterment  of  the  fire  department  was  detailing 
“  Jack  ”  Robinson,  a  trained  and  valuable  fireman, 
as  foreman  of  the  No.  “3’s.”  Jfr.  Robinsonwnsa  Webster 
man  in  the  recent  trouble,  but  he  is  noted  for  his  fidelity 
to  duty.  His  selection  displeased  the  Truster  syndicate, 
and/or  two  weeks  and  more  there  has  been  constant  fric¬ 
tion  in  the  effort  to  displace  him  and  subsiitute  R.  H. 
Brown,  a  Trusler  man.  The  mayor  advised  Robinson 
to  retire,  “  promising  to  stand  by  him,”  and  ne  talked 
as  if  fearful  of  antagonizing  the  Trusler  syndicate  in 
any  way.  Robinson  objected  to  being  displaced  at 
the  dictation  of  the  syndicate,  but  eventually  he 
placed  himself  in  Dougherty’s  hands,  and  the  latter 
has  compromised  by  making  him  driver  of  the  “  3’s  ” 
reel.— Indianapolis  News,  May  2, 1890. 

*  * 

Engine  House  No.  13  has  been  used  during  the  city 
campaign  as  a  Trusler  headquarters.  For  some  time 
past  circulars  have  been  thrown  broadcast  in  the 
twenty-first  ward.  They  relate  how  “everybody 
knows  Mr.  Trusler  is  a  candidate  for  re-election  as 
councilman ;  how  for  two  years  he  has  looked  after 
their  interests;  how  he  has  endeavored  to  open  up 
new  territory  by  building  the  Willow  street  bridge, 
and  how  by  the  change  in  the  fire  department  (for 
which  he  has  no  apology  to  offer)  better  discipline 
has  been  obtained.” 

There  are  many  other  plaintive  wails  which  Mr. 
Trusler  makes  in  his  circular,  too  numerous  to  be 
mentioned,  as  Mr.  Trusler  received  many  wounds  to 
which  to  apply  circular  balm  while  he  was  a  coun¬ 
cilman.  Mr.  Tiusler  thought  explanation  a  great 
healer,  and  used  lots  of  it  in  his  circular  balm. 
When  he  wrote  his  circular  about  the  fire  depart¬ 
ment,  the  Bates  House  fire  had  not  occurred.  To  Mr. 
Trusler  undoubtedly  the  department  service  had 
been  bettered,  but  certainly  not  in  extinguishing 
fires,  as  was  shown  yesterday.  It  was  bettered  for 
him,  as  he  had  by  the  change  in  the  service  more 
men  to  work  for  his  re-election.  They  worked  and 
worked  well  to  that  end.  They  peddled  the  circu¬ 
lars  at  No.  13  which  related  what  a  good  councilman 
he  had  been.  Since  the  campaign  opened  Foreman 
Tallentire  has  not  attended  a  fire,  but  has  devoted 
his  entire  time  to  Trusler’s  re  election. 

When  the  alarm  sounded,  announcing  the  fire  at 
the  Bates  house,  members  of  the  department  at  No. 
13  were  out  electioneering.  One  of  them,  named 
Partie,  was  talking  to  J.  C.  Treeter,  brick  layer  and 
boiler-setter,  urging  him  to  vote  for  Trusler.  Only 
three  men  turned  out  with  that  chemical  engine, 
whose  services  were  worthless,  unless  while  the  fire 
was  in  embryo.  One  of  those  was  a  sub.  Verily,  the 
services  of  the  fire  department  have  been  bettered, 
so  far  as  Mr.  Trusler’s  interests  are  concerned.  When 
the  alarm  was  turned  in  Tallentire  was  seen  election¬ 
eering  for  Trusler.  He  was  dre-'Sed  in  citizen’s 
clothes;  and  was  in  the  company  of  Trusler;  Bar- 
rows,  the  inspector  of  that  ward,  and  Despo,  the  can 
didate  for  alderman  in  the  fourth  ward.  This  is 
something  that  Dougherty  permits,  but  would  never 
have  occurred  under  Webster. 

Another  incident  shows  Trusler’s  desperation.  A 
well-known  citizen  on  Hoyt  avenue  had  occasion  to 


fill  his  back  yard  with  dirt.  He  went  to  the  street 
gang  working  on  Virginia  avenue,  and  asked  them 
if  they  would  give  nim  a  load  of  the  street  scrapings. 
They  told  him  that  a  few  good  cigars  would  act  with 
a  magician’s  skill.  The  cigars  were  forthcoming,  but 
the  dirt  never  reached  its  destination.  The  citizen 
then  met  Rubens,  the  disabled  fireman,  who  is  doing 
yeoman  service  for  Trusler,  and  was  promised  a  load 
the  next  day.  The  next  day  a  fine  load  of  soil  rolled 
up  to  the  citizen’s  door,  but  it  never  came  from  the 
streets.  It  was  .soil  that  Trusler  had  probably  paid 
lor.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  October  7, 1889. 

*  *  * 

Councilman  Hickliii,  as  president  of  the  committee 
on  fire  department,  was  completely  knocked  out  last 
night.  Hicklin  had  prepared  a  list  of  statesmen  to  be 
appointed  firemen,  and  didn’t  consult  with  Messrs. 
Cooper  and  Olsen,  members  of  the  committee.  Last 
night  at  the  meeting  of  the  fire  board  Olsen  asked  to 
see  the  list. 

“Ah,  never  mind,”  said  Hicklin,  waving  the  list 
grandly,  “  we  will  just  put  it  through.” 

“Well,  we  won’t  put  it  through  until  we  know 
something  about  it,”  exclaimed  the  mild-mannered 
Cooper. 

“  Now,  ain't  this  thing  all  right - ?  ” 

“  Haven’t  we  got  our  chief  here  who  is  responsible 
for  the  men,  and  who  should  have  something  to  say?” 
interrupted  Olsen. 

“  Well,  yes,  but - ’’ 

“  1  move,”  said  Cooper,  “  that  the  chief  of  the  fire 
department  be  instructed  to  make  his  own  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  select  the  men  who  are  competent  fire¬ 
men  and  who  will  best  serve  the  city’s  interests.” 

“Those  are  my  sentiments  exactly,”  said  Olsen, 
“  and  1  am  with  you,  Mr.  Cooper.” 

The  result  was  that  Mr.  Hicklin’s  list  was  ignored. 
Chief  Webster  will  make  out  his  own  list  and  the 
council  will  approve  it.  Hicklin  was  very  anxious 
that  the  little  affair  of  last  night  be  kept  out  of  the 
papers,  and  the  Iridianapolis  News  has  it  that  he  in- 
informed  one  gentleman  by  telephone  this  morning 
that  no  meeting  had  been  held.  Mr.  Cooper  has  ad¬ 
vised  Chief  Webster  to  take  his  time  and  make  ap¬ 
pointments  that  will  be  creditable  to  his  judgment, 
if  not  satisfactory  to  the  bummers  who  want  to  make 
a  political  machine  out  of  the  fire  department.— Jn- 
dianapoUs  News,  January  30, 1891. 

SENATE  BILL  NO.  275. 

A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT  TO  REGULATE 
THE  E.MPLOYMENT  OF  OFFICERS 
AND  PERSONS  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF 
THE  STATE  IN  THE  BENEVOLENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 

Section  1.  Se  it  enacted  by  the  General  As¬ 
sembly  of  the  Stale  of  Indiana,  That  the  Board 
of  State  Charities  shall  prepare  rules  for  the 
selection  of  officers  and  persons  to  be  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  service  of  the  State  in  the  Hos¬ 
pital  for  the  Insane  at  Indianapolis,  the 
Northern  Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at 
Logansport,  the  Southern  Indiana  Hospital 
for  the  Insane  at  Evansville,  the  Eastern  Indi. 
ana  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Richmond,  the 
Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind,  the 
Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb,  the  Indiana  School  for  Feeble-Minded 
Youth,  and  the  Indiana  Soldiers’  and  Sailors’ 
Orphans’  Home.  Said  Board  of  State  Charities 
shall  supervise  the  administration  of  the 
rules  so  established. 

Sec.  2.  The  rules  mentioned  in  Section  1  of 
this  act  may  be  made  from  time  to  time  and 
they  shall  among  other  things  provide  : 

First.  For  the  classification  of  the  positions 
and  employments  to  be  filled. 

Second.  For  open  and  competitive  examina¬ 
tions  by  which  to  test  applicants  touching 


iheir  pracrical  fitness  to  discharge  the  dutiis 
of  the  positions  which  they  desire  to  fill. 

Third.  For  the  selection  of  officers  and  per¬ 
sons  for  positions  in  said  institutions  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  results  of  such  examina¬ 
tions. 

Fourth.  For  promotion  on  the  basis  of  merit 
ascertained  by  competition. 

Fifth.  For  a  period  of  probation  before  per¬ 
manent  appointment  or  employment. 

Sixth.  For  reports  to  be  given  in  writing  by 
the  appointing  power  to  said  Board  of  Stat  s 
Charities  of  the  persons  selected  for  appoint¬ 
ment  or  employment  among  those  examined;  (  f 
rejections  after  probation  ;  of  resignations,  sus¬ 
pensions,  and  removals,  and  the  dates  thereof; 
and  in  case  of  rejection  after  probation,  sus¬ 
pensions,  or  removal  of  the  cause  therefor. 

Seventh.  For  the  transfer  of  officers  or  em¬ 
ployes  from  any  of  said  institutions  to  po  u- 
tions  of  the  same  grade  in  any  other  of  said 
institutions. 

Eighth.  For  determining  the  moral  fitntss 
of  applicants  for  examination. 

Sec.  3.  The  Board  of  State  Charities  shall 
appoint  local  examining  boards  in  local¬ 
ities  where  examinations  are  to  be  held,  each 
consisting  of  three  persons,  not  more  than  ot  e 
of  whom  shall  be  in  the  employ  of  the  State, 
and  not  more  than  two  of  whom  shall  belong 
to  the  same  political  party.  The  Board  of 
State  Charities  may  appoint  one  member  of 
each  local  board  to  act  as  secretary  thereof. 
Said  boards  shall  *  0  composed  01  t:''rsons  of 
known  impar'iality  and  integrity.  Slid 
boards  shall  act  under  the  rules  provided  lor 
in  Section  1  of  this  act.  Members  of  said 
boards  sh  11  each  be  paid  five  dollars  for  each 
day  actu  illy  employed. 

Sec.  1.  The  secretary  of  the  Board  of 
State  Cl  arities  shall,  under  the  rules  of  said 
board,  have  supervision  of  all  examinations 
under  tl  is  act.  Every  examination  he’d  1  hall 
be  atten  led  in  person  by  the  secretary,  or,  in 
case  of  his  inability,  by  at  least  one  member 
of  the  Bo  rd  of  State  Charities.  If  the  I  oard 
of  State  C Parities  at  any  time  fail  to  appoint 
a  secretary,  the  Governor  shall  appi  int  a  sec¬ 
retary  of  sai  1  board. 

Sec.  5.  The  Board  of  State  Charities  shall 
grade  the  comp  titors  in  the  various  ex:  mina- 
lions  in  the  resp  ctive  classes  for  wlii'.'i  they 
are  examined,  ana  make  lists  of  the  same  ac¬ 
cordingly,  ranging  ''■•om  the  high  st  down¬ 
ward,  and  shall  re-:  riauge  such  lists  after 
each  examination.  No  name  shall  b  ?retained 
in  said  lists  longer  than  one  ye:  r  fn  m  the 
time  of  examination.  No  name  sh  ill  be  re¬ 
tained  in  said  lists  after  the  same  h  is  been 
certified  three  times  for  appointment. 

Sec.  6.  Within  three  months  iftei  this  act 
takes  effect  the  Board  of  State  Cl  aritb  s  shall, 
for  the  purpose  of  the  examii  ation  herein 
provided  for,  arrange  in  one  or  mor.  classes 
the  offices  and  places  of  employment  within 
the  scope  of  this  act.  And  at  the  en  I  of  said 
three  months  no  person  shall  be  appi  inted  or 
admitted  to  or  promoted  to  any  i  ffice  or  place 
so  classified  until  he  has  passed  an  e.xamina- 
tion  in  conformity  herewith.  The  superin- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


209 


tendents  of  said  institutions  respectively  and 
laborers  shall  not  be  classified  hereunder. 

Sec.  7.  Wherever  an  appointment  is  to  be 
made  in  said  classified  service,  the  appointing 
power  shall  give  notice  of  the  same  under  the 
rules  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities,  and 
thereupon  under  said  rules  the  highest  three 
names  from  the  corresponding  list  of  examined 
persons,  with  the  rating  of  each,  shall  be  cer¬ 
tified  to  said  appointing  power,  and  one  of  the 
three  persons  whose  names  are  thus  certified 
shall  receive  said  appointment.  In  any  and 
all  cases  where  a  person  is  appointed  of  lower 
rating  than  one  or  both  of  those  whose 
names  are  certified  with  his,  the  appointing 
power  shall,  under  said  rules,  report  in  writ¬ 
ing  in  each  case  the  reasons  for  not  appoint¬ 
ing  such  person  or  persons  of  higher  rating. 
Each  examined  person  shall  be  entitled  to 
three  consecutive  certifications  for  appoint¬ 
ment. 

Sec.  8.  No  question  in  any  examination 
under  the  aforesaid  rules  shall  relate  to  polit¬ 
ical  opinions,  and  no  appointment  or  dismissal 
shall  be  affected  by  political  reasons,  influ¬ 
ence  or  affiliations.  Examinations  shall  be 
practical  and  shall  relate  to  matters  which 
will  fairly  test  the  relative  fitness  of  the  appli¬ 
cants.  The  Board  of  State  Charities  shall 
openly  publish  in  all  notices  of  examinations 
to  be  held  that  the  competition  is  impartial  to 
all,  without  regard  to  political  opinions  or 
affiliation. 

Sec.  9.  No  recommendation  or  statement 
concerning  any  person  applying  for  office  or 
.  place  under  this  act,  except  as  to  the  character 
of  the  applicant,  shall  be  received  or  consid¬ 
ered  by  any  person  concerned  in  holding  any 
examination  or  making  any  appointment  nn- 
der  this  act ;  and  said  recommendations  or 
statements  as  to  character  shall  be  in  writing. 

Sec.  10.  The  Board  of  State  Charities  shall 
make  a  separate  classification  of  the  labor 
service  of  said  institutions,  and  shall  keep 
registers  of  deserving  applicants  for  places  in 
said  labor  service  and  shall  make  rules  for 
determining  what  applicants  are  entitled  to 
have  their  names  entered  upon  such  registers. 
Such  rules  shall  guard  against  political  or 
other  favoritism  in  securing  entry  of  names 
upon  said  registers,  but  for  meritorious  rea¬ 
sons,  such  as  having  families  to  support,  or 
where  special  qualifications  are  required,  they 
may  provide  for  preference  for  employment 
among  those  registered ;  otherwise  laborers 
shall  be  employed  in  the  order  in  which  they 
stand  on  the  respective  registers.  No  laborer 
shall  be  discharged  from  said  labor  service 
for  political  reasons  nor  except  for  cause  stated 
in  \rriting  under  the  rules  of  the  State  Board 
of  Charities.  A  registration  shall  be  good  for 
one  year. 

Sec.  11.  All  notices  and  reports  required 
herein,  all  recommendations  concerning  char¬ 
acter,  all  lists  of  persons  examined,  with  their 
respective  ratings,  all  records  of  examinations, 
all  examination  papers,  with  the  rating  given 
to  each  answer  marked  thereon,  and  all  rec¬ 
ords  of  every  kind  of  said  respective  institu¬ 


tions  and  of  said  Board  of  State  Charities 
shall  be  open  to  public  inspection. 

Sec.  12.  The  duties  herein  assigned  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities  are 
in  addition  to  such  other  duties  as  may  be 
assigned  to  him  by  said  board,  and  said  board 
may,  if  necessary,  appoint  a  clerk  to  said  sec¬ 
retary  at  a  compensation  to  be  fixed  by  said 
board.  All  expenses  necessary  to  carry  out 
this  act  shall  be  certified  as  the  Board  of  State 
Charities  shall  direct,  and  shall  be  paid  by  the 
Treasurer  of  State  upon  an  order  from  the 
Auditor  of  State. 

Sec.  13.  The  county  commissioners  of  any 
county  where  any  examination  under  this  act 
is  to  be  held,  shall  provide  a  suitable  place 
for  holding  the  same,  properly  furnished, 
heated  and  lighted,  and  shall  furnish  the  nec¬ 
essary  stationery  for  said  examination. 

Sec.  14.  The  Board  of  State  Charities  shall 
annually  prepare  and  print  a  report  of  all 
proceedings  and  expenses  under  this  act. 

Sec.  15.  The  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars 
is  hereby  annually  appropriated  out  of  any 
funds  not  otherwise  appropriated  for  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  all  expenses  made  necessary  by  this  act. 

Sec.  16.  Whoever  refuses  or  neglects  to 
comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  vio¬ 
lates  any  of  its  provisions,  or  knowingly 
makes  an  appointment  to  office,  or  selects  a 
person  for  employment  contrary  to  any  rules 
duly  established  according  to  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  not  less 
than  one  hundred  dollars  nor  more  than  one 
thousand  dollars  for  such  oflFense. 

the  MAGEE  BILE. 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Social  Turn 
Verein  at  its  meeting  February  14th  inst.: 

The  Social  Turn  Verein  of  Indianapolis  has  been 
informed  that  Senate  Bill  No.  275,  will  be  intro¬ 
duced  to  the  legislature.  This  bill  has  the  object  of 
the  employment  of  officers  and  persons  for  our  be 
nevolent  institutions  according  to  their  fitness  and 
merits  instead  of  their  party  faiths,  and, 

Whereas,  the  Social  Turn  Verein  is  heartily  in 
favor  of  taking  our  benevolent  institutions  out  of 
politics,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolted,  We  regard  this  as  a  timely  reform,  fully 
in  the  interest  of  our  unfortunates  under  the  care  of 
the  state,  as  well  as  for  the  public  good  in  general. 


THE  STATE  DEMOCRATIC  PRESS. 

—There  is  no  measure  before  the  legislature  which, 
from  a  strictly  partisan  point  of  view,  is  enti¬ 
tled  to  more  hearty  support  from  the  democrats 
than  the  Magee  bill  to  regulate  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  subordinate  employes  in  the  state  be¬ 
nevolent  institutions.  The  arguments  for  the  bill 
are  so  obvious  that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  re¬ 
capitulate  them.  The  bill  provides  for  the  exam¬ 
ination  of  all  applicants  for  positions  in  these  insti¬ 
tutions,  the  tests  to  be  applied  being  those  only  of 
character  and  capacity.  If  it  becomes  a  law,  it  will 
insure  the  selection  of  honest  and  capable  men  only 
for  positions  in  these  institutions,  and  will  put  a 
stop  forever  to  the  scandal  and  disgrace  of  the  r  use 
as  asylums  for  party  workers.  Every  practice  dem¬ 
ocratic  politician  in  the  state  knows  that  fo.  every 
vote  which  the  possession  of  the  “patronage”  of  these 
institutions  makes  for  the  party  it  loses  five  votes. 
For  every  person  who  is  pacified  with  an  appoint¬ 
ment  there  are  half  a  dozen  disappointed  and  dis¬ 
gruntled  applicants,  and  for  the  actions  of  every 
employe  the  parly  becomes  responsible,  and  is  fre¬ 


quently  obliged  to  bear  odium  which  does  not  b  e 
long  to  it.  The  attendant  in  the  eastern  hospital 
who  was  recently  convicted  of  manslaughter,  is  and 
always  has  been  a  republican,  yet  his  ofiense  is 
charged  to  the  account  of  the  democratic  party. 
Considerations  of  party  expediency,  not  to  speak  of 
the  higher  considerations  of  justice,  humanity  and 
Christianity,  demand  the  enactment  of  the  Magee 
bill,  which,  leaving  the  general  management  of  the 
benevolent  institutions  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
dominant  party,  will  take  the  subordinate  appoint¬ 
ments  out  of  politics,  thus  relieving  the  state  of  an 
acknowledged  and  serious  evil  and  the  democratic 
party  of  a  heavy  burden.  There  should  be  no  doubt 
of  the  passage  of  the  Magee  hiW.— Indianapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  February  19. 

—Senator  Magee  has  done  one  thing  for  which  The 
Signal  can  heartily  commend  him.  He  is  ably  cham¬ 
pioning  senate  bill  No.  275,  to  regulate  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  officers  and  persons  in  the  service  of  the 
state  in  the  benevolent  institutions.  The  bill  may 
not  be  perfect  in  all  its  parts,  but  any  law  which  will 
remove  the  state  benevolent  instutions  from  the  con¬ 
trol  of  political  bosses  is  a  move  in  the  right  direc¬ 
tion.  The  state  federation  of  labor  put  Itself  on  rec¬ 
ord  as  favoring  such  a  reform  at  its  last  annual  meet 
ing. — Labor  Signal,  February  20. 

—The  Linton  Call  says:  “The  present  legislature  may 
well  heed  the  timely  warning  and  place  themselves 
in  line  with  the  demand  for  this  needed  reform. 
The  control  of  these  institutions  is  the  source  of 
party  weakness,  and  the  sooner  the  democratic  party 
unloads  this  responsibility  the  better  it  will  be,  from 
a  party  stand-point.  The  people  yet  have  a  few  anti¬ 
quated  notions  that  parties  should  not  be  held  to¬ 
gether  for  the  spoils,  and  their  love  of  justice  will 
correct  these  growing  evils.  Party  fealty  will  not 
condone  a  wrong  or  excuse  those  in  control.”— /ndi- 
anapolis  News,  February  3. 

—The  Seymou  r  Demoerai  says :  “  The  control  of  all 
benevolent  institutions  should  be  non-partisan. 
Every  time  politics  is  found  in  contact  with  state 
charities  mischief  is  found.  Men  can  not  stifie  par¬ 
tisanship  once  it  is  aroused.  Wherever  party  intersts 
are  presumed  to  be  in  peril  partisans  will  instinct¬ 
ively  spring  to  their  defense.  There  ought  to  be  no 
party  interests  for  any  party  in  public  charities. 
Party  and  politics  should  be  wholly  eliminated  from 
them.”— Indianapolis  Journal,  February  2. 

—Speaking  of  the  bill  to  place  benevolent  institu¬ 
tions  under  non-partisan  management,  the  Coving¬ 
ton  J^riend  says:  “By  all  means  let  this  bill  be 
passed,  and  put  these  institutions  into  the  hands  of 
thoroughly  competent  officials,  and  stop  this  trading 
on  the  woes  and  misfortunes  of  the  poor  unfortu- 
na  tcs.  —Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  17. 

—The  Logansport  PAaros  says :  “  Senator  Magee’s 
bill  providing  for  the  non-partisan  management  of 
the  benevolent  Institutions  of  the  state  is  a  good  one. 
The  benevolent  boards  should  be  wholly  non-parti¬ 
san.  Men  of  unquestionable  fitness  should  be  placed 
in  control  of  these  institutions  and  they  should  be 
managed  as  a  man  of  affairs  manages  his  business. 
The  partisan  management  of  the  benevolent  institu¬ 
tions  is  a  detriment  rather  than  a  benefit  to  the  party 
in  power.”— Jndianapolis  Sentinel,  February  17. 

—During  the  past  years  thecitizens  of  Indiana,  with¬ 
out  regard  to  party  distinctions,  have  concluded  that 
the  officers  of  our  benevolent  institution,  together 
with  the  entire  management  and  administration, 
should  be  regulated  independently  of  all  party  con¬ 
nection,  and  purely  with  a  view  to  fitness  and  merit. 
The  masses,taught  by  the  innumerable  scandals,  de¬ 
mand  it  in  the  interests  of  the  general  welfare,  and 
even  discerning  party  chiefs  of  both  sides  unite  in 
the  same  demands  for  party  sake.  The  latter  are 
aware  that  the  “right"  of  distributing  patronage, 
weakens  the  party  Instead  of  giving  it  strength ;  that 
with  each  appointment  a  considerable  number  of 
“unnoticed”  candidates  became  dissatisfied  if  not 
rebellious,  while  the  fortunate  one,  who  takes  away 
the  prize,  recognizes  in  it  only  the  well-deserved  re¬ 
ward  for  party  service  (a  soft  warm  bed  and  the 
opportunity  of  making  money),  not  the  acceptance 


210 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


of  onerous  duties  and  responsibilities  which  he 
ordinarily  neglects  to  the  shame  and  disgrace  of 
his  party.  The  far-seeing  and  more  resolute  politi¬ 
cians  attribute  the  re-action,  which  so  often  appears 
in  the  general  elections  after  a  presidential  election, 
to  the  distribution  of  spoils,  which  never  ends 
without  a  veritable  dog-fight.  But  with  indisput¬ 
able  right  the  citizen  says,  in  relation  to  our  bene¬ 
volent  institutions,  that,  as  we  do  not  inquire  into 
the  political  faith  of  the  patient,  so  also  should  this 
faith  not  determine  the  choice  of  his  ofticers,  physi¬ 
cian,  nurse,  etc. 

From  such  reflections  as  these,  which  in  the  first 
instance  bears  with  it  the  general  welfare  and  in  the 
second  party  advantages,  senate  bill  No.  275  finds 
its  soarce— Indianapolis  Tdglicher  Telegraph  [dem.], 
February  16. 


Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Marion  County 
Medical  Society,  at  its  tneeting  February  10: 

The  Marion  County  Medical  Society  having  been 
informed  that  a  bill  has  been  presented  to  the  Indi¬ 
ana  state  legislature  having  for  its  object  the  placing 
of  the  state  charitable  institutions  upon  a  non-parti¬ 
san  basis,  and  making  the  positions  of  assistant  phy¬ 
sicians  competitive,  therefore 
Resolved,  That  the  Marion  County  Medical  Society 
heartily  indorses  the  principles  involved  in  this  bill. 


REFORM  IN  THE  BENEVOLENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 

The  editor  of  The  Sentinel  has  received  con¬ 
gratulations,  both  in  person  and  by  letter, 
from  many  leading  democrats  of  Indiana 
upon  the  article  published  in  last  Saturday’s 
issue  regarding  the  defeat  of  the  Magee  bill 
in  the  senate.  Among  the  letters  received  is 
one  from  a  prominent  democrat  of  Frankfort 
— a  man  who  has  always  been  active  in  the 
service  of  his  party,  spending  his  time  and 
money  freely  in  its  behalf.  This  letter  was 
not  intended  for  publication,  but  we  take  the 
liberty  of  printing  the  main  portions  of  it: 

1  want  to  take  you  by  both  hands  as  an  ex¬ 
pression  of  the  cordiality  with  which  I  in- 
<lorsed  your  editorial  expressions  in  to  day’s 
Sentinel,  especially  on  the  Magee  bill.  Your 
advice  to  the  legislature  has  been  timely,  and 
had  it  been  followed  would  have  saved  the 
democratic  party  the  chagrin  and  humilia¬ 
tion  of  future  explanations  and  apologies. 
Can’t  something  be  done  to  have  the  Magee 
bill  reconsidered  ?  For  the  good  of  the  party, 
for  the  good  of  the  state,  let  something  be 
done  next  week  by  the  legislature  to  save  it 
from  shame.  I  don’t  deal  in  flattery,  but  I 
mean  all  I  say  when  I  write  that  you  have 
proven  yourself  a  patriot,  and  therefore,  in 
the  broadest  sense,  a  good  democrat  by  your 
courageous  course  in  The  Sentinel.  I  may  not 
have  approved  of  all  your  editoral  sentiments, 
but  you  have  proven  my  ideal  of  what  a  file 
leader  in  the  democratic  party  should  be.  A 
good  many  members  of  the  legislature  act  as 
though  they  thought  the  people  did  not  read 
and  think.  In  this  they  deceive  themselves. 
This  is  a  progressive  age,  and  if  the  demo¬ 
cratic  party  expects  to  absorb  the  votes  of  the 
young  men  of  push,  it  must  in  action  as  well 
as  name  be  democratic.  The  curse  of  the 
party  has  always  been  its  political  barnacles. 
VV^e  must  cleanse  the  hull  of  our  gallant  old 
vessel  of  them,  else  we  surely  will  be  dis¬ 
tanced  in  the  race  for  popular  favor.  The 
actions  of  our  legislature  may  have  a  potent 
effect  on  the  national  campaign  of  ’92,  and  it 
is  exasperating  in  the  extreme  that  it  should 
thus  put  in  jeopardy  the  democratic  party  of 


the  whole  country.  Commending  you  again 
for  your  courage,  as  well  as  your  sound  judg¬ 
ment,  I  remain  yours  sincerely. 

Anotlier  Indiana  democrat  of  eminence — 
a  man  who  has  voted  the  democratic  ticket 
and  worked  for  the  democratic  party  more 
than  fifty  years — writes  the  Sentinel  lament¬ 
ing  the  defeat  of  the  Magee  bill.  He  de¬ 
clares  that  a  continuance  of  the  existing  sys¬ 
tem,  with  all  its  evils  and  abuses,  “ought  to 
be  enough  to  bring  down  the  vengeance  of 
God  upon  the  state  and  people,  who  suffer  it.” 
He  adds  that  if  this  legislature  “does  not  do 
something  in  the  line  of  the  Magee  bill  it 
must  not  claim  to  be  honest  in  its  professions 
of  reform.”  He  continues: 

“  Merely  pretending  to  do  a  great  reform 
work  by  cutting  down  the  salaries  of  public 
officers  will  not  satisfy  the  demands  of  hu¬ 
manity  and  Christian  charity.  The  Sentinel 
has  shown  its  willingness  to  do  a  good  work  in 
this  direction  heretofore,  and  I  hope  it  will 
not  quit  now.” 

Our  venerable  democratic  friend  need  have 
no  apprehensions  on  this  'score.  The  Sentinel 
is  not  a  quitter.  It  is  not  “  built  that  way.” 
One  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer,  and 
the  defeat  of  the  Magee  bill  is  merely  an  inci¬ 
dent  in  the  struggle  for  reform  in  the  benevo¬ 
lent  institutions.  We  believe,  as  we  have 
frequently  said,  that  these  institutions,  with 
one  exception,  are  to-day  as  well  managed  as 
it  is  possible  for  them  to  be  under  the  existing 
system.  Whatever  abuses  exist  in  them  are 
the  fault  of  the  system  and  not  of  the  men 
who  are  in  charge  of  the  institutions.  That 
system  will  have  to  go  sooner  or  later.  The 
reform  contemplated  by  the  Magee  bill  has 
been  postponed  ;  it  has  not  been  defeated.  It 
has  been  established  in  all  the  eastern  and 
middle  states  and  in  several  of  the  western 
states.  Two  years  hence  it  will  be  introduced 
in  Indiana,  and  by  the  democratic  party — the 
only  party  which  has  ever  given  the  people  of 
this  state  any  valuable  reform  in  legislation  or 
administration. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Februa¬ 
ry  24. 


VICTIMS  STILL  FOR  CRUELTY  AND 
CRIME. 


Victor  Hugo  says  that  America  in  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century  after  she  had  awakened  to 
her  condition  looked  upon  herself  and  said  : 
“What!  I  had  slaves!”  And  that  Europe 
would  awake  in  the  twentieth  century  and  ex¬ 
claim  :  “What!  I  had  kings!”  We  believe 
that  this  goodly  state  of  Indiana  will  reach 
the  condition  in  which  with  equal  disgust  and 
horror  she  will  look  at  herself  and  say  of  her 
helpless  insane  and  other  wards:  “What!  I 
once  turned  these  defenseless  beings  over  as 
the  spoils  of  politics,  the  victims  of  the  cruelty 
and  ignorance  of  political  heelers  and  ruf¬ 
fians!”  Indiana’s  good  name  was  again  de¬ 
tracted  from  yesterday  when  the  state  senate 
defeated  the  bill  to  remove  the  benevolent  in¬ 
stitutions  from  politics.  There  was  no  mis¬ 
taking  the  issue.  Senator  Magee  and  those 


who  voted  with  him  offered  the  incontestable 
demonstrations  of  business  principles,  com¬ 
mon  sense,  fair  play  and  every  consideration 
of  humanity  in  support  of  the  measure.  From 
these  grounds  the  opposition  fled,  and  took  its 
stand  squarely  in  the  mire  and  filth  of  spoils 
politics.  It  smeared  everything  in  reach  with 
the  exudations  of  appetite  as  a  snake  covers 
with  saliva  the  victim  of  its  fangs  before  it 
begins  to  gorge.  And  the  comparison  is  exact 
at  other  points.  The  seizure  of  a  public  trust 
is  as  clearly  an  outrageous  attack  as  a  snake’s 
is,  and  its  gluttonizing  for  the  appetite  of  a 
few  bummers  and  heelers  as  much  of  an  in¬ 
famy. 

The  care  of  the  state’s  wards  is  the  people’s 
concern.  They  pay  for  it.  The  objects  of  this 
care  are  the  unfortunate  and  afflicted  from 
households  all  over  the  state.  This  legisla¬ 
ture  began  by  denying  the  common  rights  of 
the  public  mails  to  the  most  helpless  class  of 
these  unfortunates;  absolutely  forbid  them 
from  communication  with  the  hearts  and 
homes  of  those  to  whom  nature  has  primarily 
tied  them  by  blood  and  affection.  They  are 
immured  in  asylums  beyond  the  reach  of  such 
appeal.  And  now  these  places  of  confinement 
are  denied  the  administration  of  business  fit¬ 
ness,  of  honest,  of  common  right  and  human¬ 
ity,  the  helpless  subjects  there  to  he  held  as  so 
much  spoils  to  be  “  worked  ”  for  the  benefit  of 
party  bummers,  though  it  may  mean  neglect, 
starvation,  cruelty,  murder.  Those  things 
have  been  done  in  the  past.  They  are  inher¬ 
ent  in  the  system.  They  are  liable  to  be  re¬ 
peated  in  the  future,  and  the  majority  of  the 
state  senate  of  Indiana,  deliberately  taking  its 
stand  in  the  blood  and  the  mire  of  this  infamy, 
declares  that  no  change  shall  be  made  that 
will  prevent  this.  O  shame!  O  cruelty  and 
infamy!  But  a  change  will  be  made!  The 
people  of  Indiana  will  not  forever  submit  to 
this  inhumanity.  They  will  remove  this  curse 
and  crime  and  stain,  and  visit  with  their 
righteous  indignation  and  pity  the  vile  cruel¬ 
ty  that  partisan  corruption  works  in  man. — 
Indianapolis  News,  February  20, 


The  Courier  regrets  to  see  that  the  Magee  bill, 
to  place  the  benevolent  institutions  of  the 
state  on  a  non  partisan  basis,  in  which  merit 
alone  will  win  a  position,  failed  to  pass  the 
senate  Thursday.  The  democratic  party  is  al¬ 
ways  the  sufferer  under  the  spoils  system.  We 
lost  the  presidential  election  ip  1888  because 
of  the  soreheads  who  failed  to  get  office  under 
Cleveland.  So  from  a  party  point  of  view 
alone,  the  patronage  of  the  benevolent  itfsti- 
tutions  of  the  state  ought  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
hands  of  politicians.  But  from  a  humane  point 
of  view  every  consideration  that  leads  to  sympa¬ 
thy  for  the  unfortunate  pleads  that  their  man¬ 
agement  be  entirely  eliminated  from  politics. 
The  Courier  is  certain  that  this  view  is  con¬ 
curred  in  by  nine-tenths  of  the  people  out¬ 
side  of  the  partisans  who  are  politicians  for 
revenue  only.— E’rmismWfi  Courier,  February  2S. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


I  am,  as  you  know,  opposed  to  removals  to  make  places  for  our  friends.— ^ftra/iam  Lincoln,  December  17,  1846. 

Voii.  I,  No.  25.  INDIANAPOLIS,  MARCH,  1891.  terms  :  ^  fcento“pS”“py” 


For  sale  at  Wylie’s  News  Store,  13  N.  Pennsylvania 
St.,  Indianapolis. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  73  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  subscrip¬ 
tions  and  advertisements  will  be  received. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  repeats  its  request 
that  all  libraries  that  have  not  already  done  so  will 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  paper,  it  having  been 
sent  for  the  last  six  months  to  over  four  hundred 
libraries. 


Harpers  Weekly  of  March  24  saj's : 

The  actual  service  of  the  last  two  years  to  reform 
is  really  summed  up  in  the  fidelity  of  the  commis¬ 
sion.  But  there  is  no  allegation  that  under  the 
Cleveland  administration  the  commission  was  not 
equally  faithful. 

In  justice  to  the  present  civil  service 
commission,  it  must  be  said  that  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  preceding  administration 
the  commission  was  not  only  unfaithful 
but  was  in  a  state  of  helpless  inefficiency. 
This  is  a  mild  statement  of  the  actual  situ¬ 
ation.  It  is  not  made  in  contradiction,  but 
to  supply  the  missing  allegation  which  the 
Weekly  or  any  one  else  can  now  support  by 
abundance  of  facts. 

The  President  has  removed  the  demo¬ 
cratic  district  attorney  in  Washington  who 
had  charge  of  not  prosecuting  Mahone’s 
blackmailers.  There  is  a  decided  appear¬ 
ance  that  he  thought  masterly  inactivity 
was  his  best  guaranty  of  continuance  in 
office.  Will  his  successor  break  the  spell  ? 
If  he  secures  conviction  followed  by  a  fine 
will  the  administration  then  dispense  with 
the  services  of  the  convicts  ? 

Of  the  2,899  presidential  post-offices  in 
existence  March  4,  1891,  changes  had  then 
been  made  in  all  but  290  since  March  4, 
1889.  Aside  from  a  small  proportion  caused 
by  death  or  other  legitimate  causes,  these 
changes  were  made  for  reasons  that  had 
no  reference  to  the  good  transaction  of  the 
public  business  or  to  the  public  welfare. 
The  acts  were  done  to  help  persons  or  to 
satisfy  the  demand  of  a  party  machine. 
They  were,  therefore,  without  qualification, 
corrupt  acts.  The  constitution  does  not 
contemplate  that  a  President  shall  reward 
his  friends  and  his  partisans  as  a  king  re¬ 
wards  his  courtiers  and  his  followers. 


The  civil  service  commission  after  all 
got  no  allowance  for  additional  clerks.  The 
senate  changed  the  house  appropriation  of 
a  lump  sum  to  specific  items,  which  made 
a  conference  committee  necessary,  and 


Cannon  was  put  upon  that  committee.  He 
overawed  Dawes,  Butterworth,  and  other 
civil  service  reform  republicans,  and  got 
the  conference  agreement  shaped  to  omit 
the  additional  allowance.  Long  ago  de¬ 
feated  and  repudiated  by  an  overwhelm¬ 
ingly  republican  community,  in  his  anger 
and  spite  he  thus  runs  amuck  among  mat¬ 
ters  of  good  administration  and  public 
welfare.  The  merit  system  is  marching 
irresistibly  on,  and  in  a  little  while  “Joe” 
Cannon  will  be  known  simply  as  one  of 
the  men  who  undertook  to  stop  its  progress 
and  was  brushed  aside.  The  Indianapolis 
Journal  reports  that  he  is  very  “  near  ”  to 
the  President,  and  that  the  latter  will  soon 
make  use  of  Cannon’s  services.  This  would 
certainly  appear  like  a  recompense  for  suc¬ 
cess  in  hampering  the  operations  of  the 
commission  and  in  breaking  republican 
promises. 

Royer  is  in  Washington  trying  to  get 
back  the  Pine  Ridge  agency,  and  is  tele¬ 
graphing  that  his  prospects  are  good.  If, 
under  the  circumstances,  his  prospects  are 
really  good  with  the  President,  it  is  useless 
to  attempt  to  add  any  facts  with -a  view  to 
prevent  the  re-instatement.  Voters, how¬ 
ever,  should  read  the  letter  of  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land,  in  another  column,  so  that  in  this,  as 
in  many  other  like  matters,  they  may  be 
informed. 

Mr.  George  William  Curtis  addressed 
the  meeting  of  the  department  of  superin¬ 
tendence  of  the  national  educational  asso¬ 
ciation  February  25,  upon  “  The  Public 
School  and  Civil  Service  Reform.”  A  res¬ 
olution  was  passed  commending  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  merit  system  to  the  public 
schools.  The  CivU  Service  Reformer  in  its 
current  issue  gives  an  idea  of  how  patron¬ 
age  taints  the  public  school  system  of  Bal¬ 
timore. 

Elsewhere  are  a  few  items  to  illustrate 
current  spoil.  The  time  concerned  is  only 
a  month  and  a  half,  and  the  range  is  wide. 
Ingalls  fitly  makes  his  exit  with  a  brazen 
and  brutal  spoils  act.  How  spoilsmen  know 
no  party  and  are  bound  together  for  mu¬ 
tual  interest  is  indicated  by  the  connection 
of  the  republican  assemblyman,  Hen¬ 
dricks,  with  Governor  Hill’s  man  Pierce, 
of  unsavory  Tweed  association.  The  fights 
about  the  post-office  troughs  in  several 
states  continue.  Vandervooft,  whose  scan¬ 


dalous  appointment  was  not  revoked  in 
the  face  of  his  disgraceful  record,  evidently 
feels  secure  with  the  President  and  the 
postmaster-general,  and  is  up  to  his  eyes 
in  private  snaps  of  divers  sorts. 

It  would  seem  that  a  casual  survey  would 
impress  any  one  that  the  spoils  question  is 
a  question  of  morals,  and  that  to  tolerate 
these  scenes  over  the  country  is  to  tolerate 
the  lowest  and  most  sordid  acts  in  public 
affairs. 


In  the  general  assembly,  just  adjourned, 
the  senate  appointed  nineteen  door-keep¬ 
ers,  although  the  law  allows  but  seven,  and 
although  there  are  but  seven  doors,  in¬ 
cluding  the  doors  to  the  cloak-rooms,  and 
from  these  into  the  senate  chamber,  which 
have  any  possible  communication  with  the 
senate  chamber.  These  door-keepers  were 
paid  five  dollars  a  day,  although  it  was 
urged  and  admitted  that  dozens  of  good 
men  could  be  had  for  two  dollars  and  a 
half.  “But,  no!”  say  our  buccaneering 
senators,  “  that  would  give  all  the  patron¬ 
age  to  Marion  county.  A  man  can  not  af¬ 
ford  to  come  to  Indianapolis  from  South 
Bend  or  Evansville  and  be  a  door-keeper 
for  less  than  five  dollars  a  day.”  And  for 
this  freely  expressed  reason  the  people 
who  do  not  care  where  a  door-keeper  lives 
pay  double  wages. 

The  spoils  system  in  our  insane  hos¬ 
pitals  goes  merrily  on.  A  patient  died  at 
the  central  hospital,  and  Dr.  Curtis,  an  as¬ 
sistant  physician,  furnished  the  relatives 
with  the  necessary  certificate  of  death,  for 
which  he  charged  and  pocketed  the  neat 
sum  of  ten  dollars.  This,  says  the  doctor, 
is  not  a  service  for  which  the  state  hired 
me.  True,  no  one  else  can  render  it,  for 
in  the  service  of  the  state,  I  alone,  as  the 
patient’s  doctor,  obtained  the  peculiar 
knowledge  that  enables  me  to  make  the 
certificate.  But  there  was  no  agreement 
that  I  was  to  put  this  knowledge  into  writ¬ 
ing.  What  political  or  personal  “  pull  ” 
enables  this  buccaneer  to  continue  to  live 
off  from  the  state  ? 

At  the  eastern  hospital,  recently,  a  pa¬ 
tient  suddenly  dies.  The  doctors  examine 
the  body  and  report  that  the  man’s  ribs 
broke  of  themselves.  Later,  three  attend- 
ants,  ignorantof  this  finding,  are  examined, 
and  carefully  state  that  another  patient 
kicked  the  dead  man.  The  three  attendants 


212 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


are  discharged  for  lying.  How  do  the  peo¬ 
ple  like  the  sneaking,  and  thieving,  and 
murderous  system  of  Hudson,  and  Foley, 
and  Old  Dr.  Thompson,  and  Thompson  of 
Pulaski,  and  Burke,  and  Sweeney,  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  twenty-six  senators  who 
voted  that  it  was  good  and  wholesome. 

During  the  month  the  general  assembly 
has  passed  a  new  charter  for  this  city.  A 
bitter  and  desperate  opposition  to  it  was 
made  under  the  leadership  of  Sim  Coy,  Jim 
Rice,  Sterling  R.  Holt,  and  Leon  0.  Bailey, 
the  last  named  being  at  the  same  time  city 
attorney  and  deputy  attorney-general  of 
the  state.  The  ground  of  opposition  is  in- 
tlicated  by  the  names  mentioned.  It  was 
feared  that  the  new  charter  might  make 
more  difficult  the  exploitation  of  city  af¬ 
fairs  for  personal  or  party  benefit.  It  was 
enough  for  this  opposition  that  there  ap¬ 
peared  the  least  cloud  of  uncertainty  in  the 
matter.  They  very  nearly  succeeded.  Dr. 
Thompson,  old  and  superannuated,  and 
those  two  counterfeit  representatives  of 
working  men,  these  being  the  three  sena¬ 
tors  from  this  county,  were  mere  puppets 
in  the  hands  of  Coy  and  his  co-workers. 
It  was  only  by  the  greatest  effort  that  the 
opposition  was  overcome,  and  yet  of  the 
125,000  people  concerned,  it  is  within  the 
facts  to  say  that  124,000  were  earnestly  in 
favor  of  the  enactment  of  the  measure. 


In  considering  the  new  city  charter  it 
must  be  remembered  that  under  the  old 
system  of  a  mayor  without  power  and  a 
council  and  board  of  aldermen  which  passed 
ordinances  and  superintended  their  execu¬ 
tion  by  boards  of  their  own  members,  city 
government  had  practically  broken  down. 
The  new  charter  is  a  vast  concentration  of 
power  in  the  mayor  and  under  him  in 
heads  of  different  departments  whom  he 
appoints  and  may  remove.  The  city  legis¬ 
lature  consists  of  twenty-one  councilmen 
acting  as  one  body.  Fifteen  of  these  are 
elected  by  wards  and  six  by  the  city  at 
large.  This  is  an  undoubted  improvement 
as  the  one  body  permits  of  prompt  action, 
and  the  choice  of  six  by  the  whole  city 
added  to  those  chosen  from  wards  apt  to 
choose  good  councilmen  will  give  the  city 
a  majority  made  up  of  honest  and  capable 
men,  if  the  voters  who  want  such  will  take 
the  trouble  to  elect  them.  Such  fellows  as 
Coy  only  get  into  the  council  by  going  to 
wards  largely  made  up  of  their  stripe  and 
where  the  city  as  a  whole  has  no  chance  to 
get  at  them.  The  council  has  large  legis¬ 
lative  powers,  the  most  important  of  which 
is  the  appropriation  of  money. 

As  a  foundation  which  makes  the  best 
city  government  possible,  the  charter  must 
appeal  to  every  one,  and  those  who  secured 
its  passage  may  feel  that  they  have  ren¬ 


dered  a  public  service.  There  is,  however, 
too  great  an  inclination  to  rest  upon  the 
assumption  that  the  best  city  government 
must  follow  the  enactment  of  this  law.  No 
greater  mistake  can  be  made.  The  charter 
may  become  a  two-edged  sword,  with  the 
sharp  edge  cutting  into  the  public  welfare. 
In  the  hands  of  faithful  and  competent 
officers,  the  best  hopes  will  be  realized. 
But  with  an  able,  shrewd,  partisan, and  un¬ 
principled  mayor,  backed  by  a  council  of 
his  kind,  or  with  a  respectable,  weak  mayor 
and  council  handled  by  outsiders  like  Coy, 
we  shall  have,  on  a  smaller  scale,  a  Tweed 
regime,  and  any  department  falling  into 
such  hands  will  just  so  far  be  the  worst 
kind  of  government.  Only  by  eternal  vig¬ 
ilance  will  good  results  be  obtained.  The 
charter  will  not  run  itself,  and  those  citi¬ 
zens  who  stand  back  and  let  others  criti¬ 
cise  public  affairs  will  have  to  lay  aside 
their  reserve  and  hold  themselves  in  readi¬ 
ness  to  denounce  the  first  appearance  of 
official  venality,  or,  sooner  or  later,  now 
this  department,  now  that,  will  be  con¬ 
trolled  by  political  buccaneers,  whose  small 
numbers  and  concentrated  powers  will  en¬ 
able  them  to  enjoy  to  the  full  the  political 
paradise  described  by  Coy  in  the  words, 
“The  fewer  men  you  have  in  this  politics, 
the  better.”  When  Governor  Hill,  of  New 
York,  appoints  Paddy  Divver  to  a  judge- 
ship  at  $8,000  a  year,  and  a  member  of  the 
Tweed  ring  insurance  commissioner  of  his 
state,  the  same  kind  of  a  man  with  the 
same  motives,  may,  as  mayor  of  this  city, 
give  us  a  similar  dose. 

There  is  a  tendency,  also,  to  over-esti¬ 
mate  what  has  been  done.  One  of  the 
principal  framers  and  advocates  of  the 
charter  remarked  in  an  interview  the  day 
after  its  passage :  “If  there  is  a  modern  im¬ 
provement  to  be  found  in  municipal  gov¬ 
ernment  in  this  country  which  we 
have  not  secured  it  must  have  been 
invented  within  the  last  three  months.” 
This  shows  a  provincial  limitation  of  view. 
Perhaps  the  greatest  reform  in  city  govern¬ 
ment  during  the  last  fifty  years  has  been 
in  the  system  of  employing  labor,  which 
has  been  followed  in  many  cities  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  for  several  years,  and  in  Boston 
still  longer.  Yet  our  charter  makes  no 
provision  for  it.  A  second  great  reform  in 
city  government  has  been  in  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  merit  system  to  the  police  and 
fire  departments  and  other  skilled  employ¬ 
ment  in  many  cities  of  New  York  and 
Massachusetts  for  seven  or  eight  years; 
and  in  some  of  them,  notably  in  Buffalo 
and  Boston,  the  perfection  of  the  system, 
the  thorough  working  out  of  its  methods, 
its  unqualified  success,  and  the  ease  with 
which  knowledge  of  it  and  its  workings 
might  have  been  obtained,  leave  the  framers 
of  this  charter  still  far  behind  the  times. 


Their  chief  action  in  this  direction  con¬ 
sisted  in  incorporating  the  silly  and  vicious 
expedient  that  appointments  in  the  police 
and  fire  divisions  “shall  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  equally  divided  politically.”  This 
city  is  not  concerned  in  the  politics  of  its 
firemen  and  policemen.  It  is  vitally  con¬ 
cerned  in  their  fitness,  and  the  best  way  to 
determine  that  fitness,  now  proved  beyond 
all  cavil  by  the  experience  of  many  cities, 
is  by  competition,  physical  and  otherwise, 
open  to  all. 

Some  good  lessons  may  even  now  be 
drawn  from  the  department  of  public  safe¬ 
ty  which  includes  the  police  and  fire  forces. 
This  department  is  managed  by  three  com¬ 
missioners  appointed  by  the  mayor,  and 
he  has  already  appointed  Sterling  R.  Holt 
and  Messrs.  Catterson  and  Sullivan.  They 
have  power  to  make  all  appointments  and 
removals.  Removals  may  be  “for  any  cause 
other  than  politics  ”  and  written  reasons 
must  be  entered  of  record  for  any  remov¬ 
als.  Section  97  seems  to  contemplate  a 
trial,  for  it  says,  “  On  conviction  of  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  said  fire  and  police  force  ”  of  a  num¬ 
ber  of  named  offenses,  he  may  be  punished 
in  various  ways, including  dismissal.  This 
is  at  best  an  unfortunate  arrangement. 
Having  unlimited  power  of  appointment, 
a  board  of  partisans  will  appoint  according 
to  the  “pull  ”  or  “  influence  ”of  personal  or 
party  considerations.  That  such  a  board 
will  retain  worthless  employes,  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  thousands  of  similar  boards  fully 
proves.  Over  against  this  maybe  fearless¬ 
ly  set  the  plan  of  appointment  by  the  su¬ 
perintendent  of  the  police  or  of  the  fire¬ 
men,  according  to  merit,  determined  by 
competition,  and  of  removal  by  him  with 
the  single  limitation  that  he  make  a  public 
written  record  of  his  reasons.  Under  this 
system  we  should  have  the  highest  disci¬ 
pline  and  efficiency. 

If  it  should  happen  that  the  commis¬ 
sioners  of  public  safety  should  consist  of 
one  strong  partisan  and  two  weak  men,  we 
shall  see  this  department  in  the  hands  of  a 
boss.  If,  in  all  the  city,  a  boss  had  been 
looked  for.  Sterling  R.  Holt,  the  president 
of  the  board,  would  have  filled  the  require¬ 
ment.  Of  the  other  two  members  of  the 
board,  enough  is  not  yet  known  to  say 
positively  how  they  would  act  if  Mr.  Holt 
assumed  the  functions  of  a  boss.  It  is  not 
yet  to  be  said  that  he  will.  The  board  in¬ 
tends  to  dismiss  every  man  in  the  fire  and 
police  forces,  or  rather  to  take  the  ground 
that  they  have  not  yet  been  appointed,  and 
will  make,  in  every  case,  a  new  appoint¬ 
ment  upon  application.  This  seems  an  un¬ 
called  for  act  of  cruelty.  Both  divisions 
contain  many  men  of  the  highest  efficiency, 
who  have  been  years  in  the  service.  The 
superintendents  of  both  divisions  have  had 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


213 


a  like  service,  and  each  could  inform  the 
board  in  five  minutes  of  the  comparatively 
small  number  of  men  unfit  for  appoint¬ 
ment.  Instead,  here  are  some  two  hun¬ 
dred  men,  nearly  every  one  with  a  family, 
put  upon  the  rack  for  no  cause  whatever, 
and  compelled  to  besiege  the  board  in  a 
most  humiliating  manner  to  keep  from 
being  deprived  of  employment  by  out¬ 
siders  who  have  greater  influence  but  no 
experience.  The  Indianapolis  News,  of 
March  11,  thus  describes  the  situation  : 

If  there  are  three  men  for  whom  life  is  rapidly 
losing'  its  charms,  who  are  growing  wan  and  hag¬ 
gard,  who  are  haunted  day  and  night,  button-holed 
and  pulled  into  corners,  \vho  a  thousand  times  a  day 
respond  to  “Say,  let  me  see  you  a  minit,’’  those  three 
men  are  the  commissioners  of  public  safety.  “If  I 
don’t  become  on  freezing  terms  with  truth  I  think  I 
deserve  to  be  congratulated,’’  moaned  Commissioner 
Catterson.  Persons  who  try  to  get  into  Sterling  R. 
Holt’s  olhcefind  there  such  a  crowd  of  would-be  po¬ 
licemen  and  firemen  around  the  door  that  admit¬ 
tance  is  next  to  impossible  at  times.  The  applicants 
will  not  budge  an  inch  for  fear  some  other  applicant 
would  gain  some  advantage.  One  of  Mr.  Holt’s 
agents  stood  out  in  the  hallway  for  an  hour.  lie  had 
$000  he  desired  to  pay  his  principal.  A  cannon  ball 
might  have  been  forced  through  the  crowd,  and  the 
agent  with  the  $000  was  not  a  cannon  ball.  Commis¬ 
sioner  Sullivan  locked  himself  up,  and  wouldn’t  let 
his  own  brother  see  him.  But  when  going  to  his 
meals  he  was  waylaid. 

“Now,  I  tell  you,’’  said  the  youngest  commission¬ 
er,  “I  would  like  to  see  you  get  something,  but  to 
tell  you  the  truth  I  ain’t  in  it.  Holt  and  Catterson 
make  all  the  appointments,  but  if  you  think  it  will 
do  you  any  good  you  can  tell  them  I  sent  you.” 

This  accounts  for  the  unusual  rush  after  the  other 
commissioners.  But  at  public  headquarters  the 
crowds  are  immense,  and  one  needn’t  be  surprised 
to  hear  of  Superintendent  Colbert  managing  the 
force  from  the  court-house  tower  by  telephone  if  this 
mad  rush  does  not  stop  soon.  In  one  hour  over  two 
hundred  called  at  the  superintendent’s  office  for  ap¬ 
plications.  Big  men  and  little  men,  young  men  and 
old  men,  some  drunk  and  some  sober,  ward  politi¬ 
cians,  heelers  and  boodlers,  all  came,  and  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  them  insisted  on  talking  with  the  superin¬ 
tendent.  It  was  a  sight  calculated  to  shake  one’s 
faith  in  the  city  charter.  One  man  said  he  was  too 
old  to  do  active  work,  and  he  wanted  to  act  on  the 
force.  Another  applied  for  a  place  in  either  depart¬ 
ment,  he  didn’t  care  whether  be  was  a  policeman  or 
a  fireman.  A  man  with  one  arm  wanted  tobejani- 
tor,  and  a  man  without  legs  asked  to  be  appointed 
turnkey.  A  colored  citizen  dragged  Superintendent 
Colbert  out  into  the  hall-way,  and  on  behalf  of  the 
colored  voters  of  the  city  demanded  for  himself  a 
policeman’s  job. 

“Why,  you  are  drunk,”  exclaimed  the  superin¬ 
tendent. 

“Well,  boss.  I’ll  be  sober  when  I  go  on  de  force,” 
was  the  reply. 

This  was  the  last  straw  that  broke  the  camel’s 
back.  Chief  of  Detectives  Splann  was  appointed 
sergeant-at-arms,  and  he  rushed  the  crowd  out  as 
hist  as  he  could  supply  them  with  blank  applica¬ 
tions.  At  G  o’clock  last  night  about  seven  hundred 
applications  had  been  filed,  and  to-day  they  arestill 
rolling  in.  The  most  persistent  are  the  cheap  poli¬ 
ticians,  who  want  places  for  “the  gang.”  They 
haven’t  any  idea  of  the  requirements  of  a  policeman 
or  a  fireman.  All  they  want  is  a  job  for  some  striker 
or  tough.  There  is  no  use  in  worrying  the  life  out  of 
the  commissioners.  Every  candidate  must  lile  an 
application,  and  this  application  is  the  basis  on 
which  the  commissioners  procure  their  information. 

It  must  be  apparent  that  the  opportuni. 
ties  for  yielding  to  temptation  in  the  man¬ 
agement  of  these  two  divisions  of  the  city 


government  are  wide.  The  only  preven¬ 
tion  is  public  opinion,  and  if  public  opinion 
goes  to  sleep  there  will,  sooner  or  later,  be 
no  prevention.  City  officers  must  be  given 
to  understand  at  the  start  that  the  people 
expect  them  to  be  guided  in  their  acts  by 
business  principles,  and  not  by  politics. 
This  understanding  can  only  be  brought 
about  by  constant  public  criticism.  There 
is  another  important  matter  for  public 
agitation.  Under  the  charter  the  different 
boards  could  introduce  the  merit  system 
and  the  Boston  labor-service  system.  The 
mayor  appoints  and  may  remove  the 
boards.  Will  he  require  these  systems  to 
be  introduced?  If  not,  what  will  the  can¬ 
didates  for  mayor  who  will  seek  the  office 
next  October  say  about  it? 


Editor  Ricretts,  of  the  Delphi  Journal,  left  for  his 
home  this  afternoon  Mr.  Ricketts  has  been  clerk  to 
the  house  committee  on  immigration  and  naturaliza¬ 
tion,  and  had  many  friends  here.— ITas/tinfif<on  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  March  4. 

The  Delphi  Journal  is  the  sheet  that  ac¬ 
cused  the  Indianapolis  Journal  some  weeks 
since  of  suffering  from  hysterics  because  it 
rebuked  Lawyer  Brush,  of  Crawfordsville, 
for  stating  that  Indiana  could  not  be  car¬ 
ried  in  1892  without  the  use  of  money. 
The  Delphi  Journal’s  views  will  bear  re¬ 
peating  : 

“  The  Journal  [Indianapolis]  then  goes 
on  and  attributes  the  victories  won  by  the 
republicans  in  this  state  to  the  ‘  resistless 
tide  of  public  opinion,’  ‘  boundless  enthusi¬ 
asm  and  the  Lord,’  and  attempts  to  make 
itself  and  the  dear  people  believe  that  the 
two-dollar  bill  has  not  been  ‘in  it’  at  all. 
All  of  which  has  a  tendency  to  make  any 
one  but  a  hypocrite  and  a  pharisaical  pol¬ 
itical  psalm  singer  very  tired.” 

This  seemed  to  the  Civil  Service  Chron¬ 
icle  at  the  time  an  impudent  gibe  at  the 
President  and  Mr.  Wanamaker  for  being 
religious  men.  And  it  seemed  gross  in¬ 
subordination  in  the  view  that  one  of  its 
owners  and  editors  was  postmaster.  And 
coming  from  a  subsidized  sheet,  it  seemed 
to  savor  of  treachery.  But  this  is  doubly 
bad,  now  that  it  comes  to  light  that  the 
other  owner,  Ricketts,  was  provided  for. 


GENERAL  CORSE. 

Tlie  President  has  removed  General  Corse 
as  postmaster  of  Boston  because  he  is  not  a 
republican.  That  he  is  a  patriot  in  every 
sense  of  the  word  no  American  will  deny.  That 
he  was  the  best  postm.aster  that  Boston  ever 
had,  and  was  wholly  non-partisan  in  the  man¬ 
agement  of  his  office,  the  President  and  the 
postmaster-general  freely  admit.  The  business 
men  of  Boston  were  a  unit  for  his  retention, 
and  six  Massachusetts  congressmen,  including 
both  senators,  urged  the  President  to  keep  him. 
But,  at  last,  the  stolid,  stupid  negative  came, 
based  upon  the  corrupt  reason  that  General 
Corse  was  not  a  republican.  Now,  the  reten¬ 
tion  of  a  single  officer,  even  in  every  way  so 
admirably  efficient  as  General  Corse,  cuts  but 


a  small  figure  for  or  against  the  progress  of 
civil  service  reform.  That  progress  is  made 
by  gathering  in  the  great  multitude  below  the 
rank  of  postmaster.  Nor  would  such  a  reten¬ 
tion  in  any  manner  clear  the  skirts  of  an  ad¬ 
ministration  engaged  in  removing  a  hundreil 
thousand  other  officers  for  spoils  purposes,  any 
more  than  one  swallow  makes  a  summer  in 
January.  But,  under  the  circumstances,  the 
removal  of  General  Corse  is  an  irritating, 
laughable,  humiliating  proof  of  the  contempti¬ 
bly  small  size  of  the  President’s  public  mind. 

Of  this  removal  Mr.  John  J.  Henry,  at  a 
dinner  of  the  Brookline  Republican  Club,  said 
in  disgust :  “  For  whom?  An  honest  man?  A 
businessman?  No!  But  a  republican !  ”  Of 
himself  the  new  postmaster  says,  in  the  Boston 
Post  of  March  2  :  “  I  know  nothing  about  the 
post-office  business,  and  I  shall  have  to  begin 
by  learning  my  trade.”  Of  General  Corse  he 
had  a  short  time  before  written  to  Senator 
Hoar:  “  If  the  interest  of  the  public  service 
is  to  decide,  Gen.  Corse  will  be  renominated.” 
TheMassachusettsCivil  Service  Reform  League 
composed  of  republicans  and  democrats,  has 
passed  a  resolution  of  censure,  wherein  they 
quote  from  the  President’s  letter  of  acceptance, 
“  that  in  appointments  to  every  grade  and  de¬ 
partment  fitness  and  not  party  service  should 
be  the  essential  and  discriminating  test,  and 
fidelity  and  efficiency  the  only  sure  tenure  of 
office.” 


ALL  OTHER  REFORMS  SHOULD  BE 

SUBORDINATED  TO  CIVIL  SERV¬ 
ICE  REFORMS. 

The  bosses  know,  first,  that  they  live  by  the  offices, 
and  second,  that  if  the  people  once  realize  the  evils 
of  patronage  they  will  take  away  the  offices.  The 
skill  of  the  machine  is  therefore  directed  to  diverting 
the  attention  of  the  people  from  this  division  and 
enjoyment  of  spoils.  To  this  end,  issues  true  or  false 
are  urged  forwaid.  For  many  years  southern  out¬ 
rages,  an  issue  which  never  did  and  never  was  in¬ 
tended  to  lead  to  any  practicable  measure,  blinded 
the  majority,  and  enabled  the  republican  machine 
to  keep  the  offices.  In  Pennsylvania,  to-day,  Quay 
raises  jeopardized  protection  like  a  wall  close  to  the 
eyes  of  republicans  to  blind  them  to  the  criminal 
evil  of  himself  as  a  man  and  of  his  literally  feudal 
rulership  of  his  state.  For  years  the  people  of  the 
state  of  Maryland,  in  a  manner  disgraceful  to  them¬ 
selves,  have  permitted  Gorman  to  keep  his  heel  on 
their  necks,  solely  by  his  control  of  the  oflices ;  and 
in  every  campaign  when  they  might  have  over¬ 
thrown  him,  he  has  blinded  them  by  the  cry  that 
such  a  result  would  lead  to  national  party  disaster. 
>:< 

Again,  Senator  Gorman,  the  overlord  of  overlords, 
two  years  ago  was  a  protectionist.  To-day  he  is  a 
tariff  reformer.  No  one  will  ask  us  to  believe  that 
the  merits  of  the  tariff  question  had  anything  to  do 
with  this  change  of  heart.  Mr.  Gorman  read  in  the 
signs  of  the  times  that  his  party  machine  was  against 
him,  and  that  he  must  bring  about  this  change  if  he 
would  continue  as  the  absolute  party  controller  of 
offices  in  Maryland. 

Our  boss  system  of  office-holders,  with  its  para¬ 
mount  boss  and  a  graded  line  of  under-bosses,  has 
thus  become  a  quasi-feudal  system,  without  the  ro¬ 
mance  or  the  courtesy  or  the  honor  of  feudalism.  It 
is  the  footpad  in  armor.  It  uses  various  interests  for 
its  own  ends  and  lets  itself  for  hire  to  various  inter¬ 
ests.  Destroy  it  and  leave  every  reform  and  every 
interest  standing  alone,  and  spontaneous  dl.scussion, 
(ollowed  by  the  untrammeled  action  of  the  people> 


214 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


will  reward  every  agitation  with  that  result  to  which 
the  civilization  of  the  country  entitles  it. 

Therefore,  I  say  that  the  destruction  of  the  spoils 
system  ought  to  regulate  individual  political  effort. 
Not  that  other  reforms  may  not  have  sympathy  and 
support.  But  in  every  case  there  comes  a  time  when 
the  roads  part.  Then  there  can  be  no  compromise, 
no  hesitation.  The  pursuit  of  these  bldodsuckers 
upon  all  our  civil  governments  should  be  relentless. 
To  cease  this  attack  at  any  point  and  unite  with  this 
common  enemy  with  the  hope  of  benefiting  some 
other  object  is  to  strengthen  the  common  enemy  and 
fill  him  with  joy.  Suph  deviation  prolongs  the  une¬ 
qual  struggle  on  our  hands  and  does  not  accomplish 
its  object.— From  a  paper  read  by  Lucius  B.  be 
Jore  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform.  League  in  Boston, 
October,  1890. 

Tlie  opinion  expressed  in  this  extract  is 
the  opinion  guiding  the  course  of  the  Civil 
Service  Chronicle,  and  the  career  of  Mr. 
Gorman  seems  always  to  afford  new  and 
diverting  illustrations  of  these  principles.  To 
keep  clearly  in  mind  what  Gorman,  as  a  boss, 
really  is,  it  is  well  to  quote  from  the  report  of 
an  address  adopted  at  a  great  public  meeting 
in  Baltimore,  September  30,  1887,  the  object 
of  which  was  his  overthrow: 

“Time  would  fail  to  tell  all  the  outrages  that  have 
been  committed  openly,  publicly,  and  systematically 
by  this  [Gorman’s]  association.  It  has  appointed  to 
public  office  thieves,  burglars,  express  robbers,  mur¬ 
derers,  and  men  stained  with  every  crime.  It  has 
burned  the  ballots  when  in  the  custody  of  the  clerk 
of  the  court,  and  the  perpetrators  of  the  act  have 
publicly  boasted  of  it.  Indeed,  every  one  connected 
with  that  act  has  been  rewarded  from  the  public 
treasury.  It  has  secured  places  in  the  government 
employ  for  the  two  most  notorious  election  thieves 
in  the  city.  It  has  garrisoned  a  ward  with  ruffians 
and  kept  them  in  the  city’s  pay.  Of  twenty-three 
city,  state  and  federal  employes  in  that  ward,  we 
have  found  nineteen  whose  names  appear  on  the 
criminal  records  of  the  city. 

But  it  has  been  curious  and  depressing  to 
note  how,  after  Gorman  became  a  tariff  re¬ 
former,  great  numbers  of  respectable  and 
intelligent  men  in  his  own  party  in  Maryland 
began  to  forget  how  dangerous  a  man  they 
had  not  long  before  considered  him.  There 
have  been  traces  even  of  a  pride  that  Gorman’s 
adroitness  as  a  politician  would  be  success¬ 
fully  used  in  his  new  roles.  In  the  midst  of  his 
growing  popularity  as  a  tariff  reformer  he 
gave  a  slight  shock  to  the  Better  Element  Dem¬ 
ocrats  of  his  state  by  going  down  to  New  York 
last  November  and  speaking  for  Grant  and 
Tammany  against  the  citizens’  movement.  But 
this,  too,  was  judiciously  forgotten  when  he 
used  all  his  astuteness  to  lead  his  party  in  the 
election  bill  fight  in  the  senate.  Then  he 
reached  the  top  wave  and  almost  won  a  “din¬ 
ner  ”  in  honor  of  his  efforts. 

The  movement  to  give  Senator  Gormau  a  big  ban¬ 
quet  in  recognition  of  his  work  in  the  elections  bill 
fight,  like  the  one  tendered  to  him  after  the  election 
of  Cleveland,  is  still  being  boomed  ’by  his  admirers. 
The  News,  one  of  the  two  democratic  papers  of  the 
city,  continues  its  interviews  with  citizens.  The  gen¬ 
eral  expression  is  that  when  the  banquet  is  held  the 
eight  republican  senators  who  voted  with  the  demo¬ 
crats  should  be  invited.  This  sentiment  is  echoed  by 
Capt.  John  Hall,  president  of  the  first  national  bank, 
who  said  to-day : 

“I  think  that  Senator  Gorman  ought  to  receive 
public  recognition,  but  I  also  think  that  the  invita¬ 
tions  to  any  banquet  tendered  to  him  ought  also  to 
include  every  democratic  and  every  republican  sen¬ 
ator  who  helped  him  to  achieve  his  glorious  vic¬ 


tory.’’— FaMimore  Ft, spa/c/i  to  New  York  Times,  Febru¬ 
ary  3. 

That  this  particular  animal  can  not  change 
his  spots  is  shown  by  the  following  from  the 
Civil  Serveice  Reformer  for  March  : 

A  singular  instance  of  the  .solidarity  of  spoilsmen 
was  seen  in  the  senate  during  the  debate  on  the  pro¬ 
posal  to  open  the  supervising  architect’s  office  to 
plunder,  when  Senator  Gorman  arose  to  defend  Mr. 
John  Wanamaker  from  the  attacks  of  Mr.  Roosevelt. 
It  would  require  the  tongue  of  John  Randolph,  of 
Roanoke,  to  fitly  describe  the  alliance  thus  first 
avowed,  though  Mr.  Gorman’s  success  in  providing 
for  his  friends  under  this  administration  has  hereto¬ 
fore  given  the  strongest  presumptive  proof  of  its  ex¬ 
istence.  The  combination  effected  by  Mr.  Gorman 
was  successful, and  the  draughtsmen’s  placeson  the 
new  public  buildings  will  hereafter  be  distributed 
among  the  retainers  of  Me.ssrs.  Gorman  and  Plumb. 


PERMANENCE  OF  ISSUES. 

The  ebb  and  flow  of  a  large  class  of  public 
questions  is  well  illustrated  by  Ex  Senator 
McDonald  who  says  in  an  interview  in  the 
Indianapolis  News  of  February  14  : 

“This  tariff  question,’’  continued  Senator  Mc¬ 
Donald,  “is  an  evidence  how  history  repeats  itself. 
The  first  political  speech  that  1  ever  made  was  at  my 
old  liome  in  Crawfordsville,  in  Indiana.  It  was 
forty-four  years  ago,  and  President  Polk  was  the  can¬ 
didate  upon  a  tariff-for-revenue  platform  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  as  that  of  the  democratic  party  dur¬ 
ing  the  last  presidential  campaign.  During  the 
Cleveland-Harrison  campaign  I  made  my  last  speech 
at  Crawfordsville,  and  the  chairman  introducing  me 
.said  that  he  did  not  believe  an  instance  could  be 
shown  in  our  history  of  a  man  making  two  speeches 
for  a  presidential  candidate  forty-four  years  apart 
and  advocating  substantially  the  same  issues.  The 
first  message  of  President  Polk  was  substantially  the 
same  as  the  tariff  reform  message  of  President  Cleve¬ 
land,  and  it  brought  about  the  enactment  of  the 
tariff  of  1846.’’ 

This  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the 
tendency  of  those  interested  in  tariff  reform 
to  regard  the  question  as  new  and  their  move¬ 
ment  as  original,  and  to  claim  for  it  para¬ 
mount  attention.  In  fact,  as  Mr.  McDonald 
shows,  they  are  but  traveling  the  road  trav¬ 
eled  in  1844  and  later,  and  which  was  then  well 
beaten.  Such  questions  as  taxation  and  cur¬ 
rency  always  have  been  and  always  will  be 
living  questions.  They  are  questions  which 
must  be  dealt  with  as  we  go  along,  just  as  the 
navy  must  be  supported  and  the  mails  must 
be  carried.  The  passage,  however,  of  a  cur¬ 
rency  bill  or  of  a  bill  raising  or  lowering  the 
tariff  does  not  mark  an  epoch  in  the  country’s 
history.  They  are  comparatively  but  tem¬ 
porary  matters.  Mr.  McDonald  is  now  doing 
over  again  the  work  he  did  in  1844.  If  he 
had  then  declared  that  the  abolition  of  slavery 
was  the  most  important  public  object  to  work 
for,  he  would  have  been  told  that  the  Ameri¬ 
can  people  were  opposed  to  it  and  that  the 
tariff  question  was  the  one  question  of  para¬ 
mount  importance.  Yet  how  small  the  .suc¬ 
cessful  efforts  which  secured  the  tarifl' act  of 
1846  now  seem.  The  spoils  system,  which  is 
now  such  a  curse  to  our  cities,  counties,  states 
and  the  nation,  once  broken  up  will  be  like 
slavery,  forever  broken  up.  Its  destruction 
will  mark  an  epoch  in  our  history.  It  is  the 
great  step  now  to  be  urged  upon  the  people. 


It  must  be  urged  in  season  and  out  of  season — 
and  especially  out  of  season.  No  other  ques¬ 
tion  must  be  allowed  to  supersede  it. 

If  the  republican  party  lives  only  to  se¬ 
cure  *  •*  *  employment  at  public  cost  for 
place  hunters,  it  will  die  because  it  ought  to 
die,  provided,  of  course,  that  there  is  some¬ 
thing  better  to  replace  it,  and  sooner  or  later 
this  will  be  forthcoming. 

But  will  this  something  be  the  democratic 
party?  Only  the  future  will  show,  but  there 
is  some  room  for  doubt.  Thanks  to  the 
methods  of  republican  politicians,  the  state 
senate  of  Indiana  is  now  democratic  by  more 
than  a  two-thirds  vote.  Thanks  to  the  con¬ 
duct  of  this  democr.itic  majority,  there  will  be 
little  cause  for  wonder  if  in  1892,  as  in  1888, 
the  electoral  vote  of  Indiana  is  cast  for  a  re¬ 
publican.  A  bill  was  recently  introduced  in 
that  body  to  take  the  eight  charitable  institu¬ 
tions  of  the  state  out  of  politics.  Of  these 
four  are  refuges  for  the  insane,  one  for  feeble¬ 
minded  youth,  one  for  the  blind,  one  for  the 
deaf  and  dumb,  and  one  for  orphans  of  sol¬ 
diers  and  sailors.  An  investigation,  set  on 
foot  and  in  great  measure  carried  on  by  the 
Civil  Service  Keform  Association  of  Indiana 
some  four  years  since,  brought  to  light  shame¬ 
ful  abuses  in  the  management  of  some  among 
these  institutions,  and  a  narrative  of  the  cruel 
and  revolting  outrages  perpetrated  on  their 
helpless  inmates  by  the  political  bummers  and 
workers  employed  among  their  officers  and  at¬ 
tendants,  excited  a  wide-spread  indignation 
through  the  state,  and  caused  some  temporary 
improvement  in  their  administration.  The 
bill  in  question  proposed  to  safeguard  the 
state’s  responsibility  for  similar  horrors  in 
future  by  committing  their  control  to  a  non¬ 
partisan  board  of  state  charities  and  recruit¬ 
ing  their  employes  on  the  merit  system.  Its 
author,  a  Mr.  Magee,  is  a  democrat,  and  was 
minister  to  Sweden  under  the  late  adminis¬ 
tration.  It  received  the  cordial  approval  of 
the  medical  profession,  of  various  public  bodies 
and  of  all  the  best  newspapers  of  the  state  re¬ 
gardless  of  party.  Yet  twenty-six  out  of  thir¬ 
ty-three  democratic  senators  voted  against  it 
on  avowedly  partisan  grounds,  and  it  was  de¬ 
feated  by  four  votes.  Within  a  few  days  a 
Connecticut  forger  has  gone  unwhipt  of  justice 
because  Governor  Hill,  of  New  York,  con¬ 
sidered  it  was,  in  his  own  words,  “good  demo¬ 
cratic  politics”  to  refuse  a  requisition  from 
the  de  facto  governor  of  that  state.  In  Indiana 
it  is  thought  “good  democratic  politics”  to 
turn  over  miserable  lunatics  and  deaf  mutes 
and  friendle.ss  children  of  both  sexes  as  prey 
for  hangers-on  of  the  local  machine,  many  of 
them  habitual  criminals,  whose  brutal  pas¬ 
sions  are  known  to  have  been  indulged  in  the 
past  with  an  utter  disregard  of  decency  or 
pity.  It  avails  nothing  to  say  that  respecta¬ 
ble  democrats  are  disgusted  with  all  this;  re¬ 
spectable  republicans  are  disgusted  with  Quay, 
and  Dudley,  and  Clarkson,  but  they  can  not 
thus  escape  the  disgrace  and  the  danger  of 
their  fellowship.  In  either  case  the  tree  will 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


215 


be  judged  by  its  fruits.  A  party  which  com¬ 
mits  power  to  such  men  as  Hill  and  the  Indi¬ 
ana  senators  must  suffer  and  suffer  rightfully 
for  its  abuse. — Oivil  Service  Reformer,  March, 

r.  1S91. 

I  — 

The  defeat  in  the  senate  of  Mr.  Magee’s 
bill  for  the  government  of  the  state  benevo¬ 
lent  institutions  was  as  crushing  as  it  was  un¬ 
expected.  The  intelligence  of  the  democratic 
party  throughout  the  state  was  arrayed  on  Mr. 
Magee’s  side,  and  only  the  party  bosses  and 
parasites  who  draw  sustenance  from  the  public 
treasury  opposed  it.  But  the  present  legisla¬ 
ture  is  thoroughly  bourbon;  it  is  literally 
covered  with  moss ;  it  is  as  impervious  to  re¬ 
form  ideas  as  a  duck’s  back  to  rain.  Many 
expressions  of  regret  at  the  failure  of  the 
Magee  bill  have  been  heard,  and  none  are 
given  more  forcibly  than  by  Hon.  I.  D.  G. 
Nelson,  of  Fort  Wayne,  who  writes  to  the  editor 
as  follows : 

I  have  read,  or  at  least  have  had  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  reading,  the  Labor  Signal  since  its 
establishment.  By  inheritance,  education  and 
instinct  I  have  always  been  a  democrat  and  a 
free-trader.  But  I  have,  also,  if  I  have  known 
myself,  been  a  friend  of  the  laborer.  Hence, 
I  became  a  subscriber  to  The  Signal,  and  inter¬ 
ested  in  its  success,  although  not  always  ap¬ 
proving  of  its  policy.  I  am  now  too  old  to 
read  much,  or  take  much  interest  in  the  cur¬ 
rent  politics  of  the  day.  But  I  do,  neverthe¬ 
less,  even  at  the  advanced  age  of  over  four 
score  years,  try  to  keep  posted  in  regard  to 
what  is  done  at  Washington  and  Indianapolis 
in  regard  to  legislation,  and  I  am  compelled 
to  say  that  I  have  never  witnessed  a  more  hu¬ 
miliating  act  of  my  party  than  the  voting  down 
of  the  Magee  bill,  that  was  so  eminently  cal¬ 
culated  to  vindicate  the  party,  if  not  in  the 
wrong,  or,  at  least,  to  show  that  we  are-  not 
opposed  to  the  civil  service  experiments  being 
tested  in  the  great  battle  of  reform  in  behalf 
of  our  common  humanity. — Labor  Signal,  Feb¬ 
ruary  27. 


The  Sentinel  is  right  in  rapping  the  demo¬ 
cratic  senators  over  the  knuckles  for  their  fail¬ 
ure  to  support  the  Magee  bill,  which  proposes 
to  apply  the  principle  of  non-partisan  ap¬ 
pointments  in  our  state  benevolent  institu¬ 
tions.  Humanity  demands  that  the  state’s 
wards  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  compe¬ 
tent  persons.  The  salaries  of  the  attendants  in 
the  several  benevolent  institutions  are  limit¬ 
ed,  and  it  is  impossible  to  get  the  proper  help  if 
it  feels  it  must  be  kicked  out  at  each  election. 
Nor  can  the  proper  discipline  be  maintained 
where  subordinates  feel  they  owe  their  posi¬ 
tion  to  a  political  boss,  and  not  on  good  be¬ 
havior.  The  state  is  more  interested  in  the 
efficiency  of  administration  of  our  state  insti¬ 
tutions  than  in  the  politics  of  the  subordinates. 
The  Magee  bill  is  right  in  principle,  and  must 
eventually  be  adopted.  The  democrats  would 
have  found  considerable  advantage  in  adopt¬ 
ing  it,  now  that  the  benevolent  institutions 
are  principally  in  the  hands  of  the  democrats. 
— Jeffersonmlle  News,  February,  1891. 

Shame  upon  aparty  that  desires  to  continue 
as  a  sewer  to  the  democratic  party  institu¬ 


tions  provided  for  the  helpless  orphans,  deaf 
and  dumb  and  insane  of  the  state. — Shelbyville 
Republican,  Februa^i-y,  1891. 


As  TO  the  efficiency,  fidelity,  and  non-part¬ 
isanship  of  General  Corse  as  postmaster,  every 
one  admits  that.  Ex-Mayor  Thomas  N.  Hart 
will  in  time  probably  become  an  efficient 
postmaster;  but  he  is  far  from  being  non-par¬ 
tisan,  and  his  appointment  was  made  in  pref¬ 
erence  to  that  of  General  Corse  on  party 
grounds  alone.  Of  all  the  republican  party 
candidates  likely  to  get  the  post-office,  perhaps 
Mr.  Hart  is  the  most  capable  and  business¬ 
like.  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion 
among  his  own  party  as  to  his  having  exhib¬ 
ited  any  remarkable  or  unusual  executive 
powers  while  mayor.  As  to  civil  service  re¬ 
form,  Mr.  Hart  has  always  declared  himself 
in  favor  of  the  reform;  and  he  has  never  re¬ 
fused  to  obey  the  civil  service  law.  In  the 
only  instance  where  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
prevent  an  invasion  of  the  law  by'those  under 
him  he  conspicuously  failed  to  do  anything, 
and  yet  at  the  same  time  he  kept  himself 
within  the  letter  of  the  law  and  rules.  As  far 
as  carrying  out  the  spirit  of  the  law  to  the  of¬ 
fices  to  which  the  law  does  not  apply,  it  is  no¬ 
torious  that  Mayor  Hart  appointed  a  street 
commissioner  who  would  take  in  Meehan,  the 
democratic  politician  and  former  street  com¬ 
missioner,  who  had  thrown  his  influence  over 
to  Hart.  There  were  other  appointments  to 
which  we  have  made  objection  from  time  to 
time,  as  having  all  the  appearances  of  con¬ 
summations  of  trades  and  little  or  none  of  be¬ 
ing  for  fitness  only.  Indeed,  Mayor  Hart  has 
admitted  their  badness,  and  pleaded  “pres¬ 
sure.”  There  are  one  hundred  and  thirty-six 
positions  in  the  Boston  post-office  exempted 
from  the  civil  service  rules. — Oivil  Service 
Record,  March,  1891. 

CURRENT  SPOIL. 

— A  disturbance  is  threatened  in  the  assembly.  It 
is  the  old  story,  a  quarrel  over  patronage.  The 
speaker  and  clerk  of  the  lower  house  are  allowed  by 
law  the  appointment  of  sixty  officers.  Contrary  to 
precedent,  when  theannouncementsofappointments 
were  read  from  the  desk  two  months  ago,  the  resi¬ 
dences  of  the  fortunate  officers  were  not  given.  A 
good  reason  existed  for  this,  as  developments  have 
shown.  It  was  the  deliberate  purpose  of  Speaker 
Sheehan  and  Clerk  DeFreest  to  prevent  the  assembly 
and  the  democratic  bosses  throughout  the  state  from 
knowing  that  the  debatable  county  of  Erie  and  the 
iron-bound  county  of  New  York,  the  extreme  coun¬ 
ties  in  the  state,  had  gobbled  not  only  the  best 
but  50  per  cent  of  the  appointments  in  the  gift  of  the 
assembly.  Erie  ought  to  have  been  satisfied  with  the 
selection  of  speaker,  but  the  speaker  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  privilege  of  making  personal  appointments, 
hut  reached  out  and  brought  to  Albany  eleven  of  his  con¬ 
stituents,  who  are  now  drawing  salary  from  the  state. 

New  York’s  share  in  the  distribution  of  spoils  is 
eleven  also.  Mayor  Ed.  Murphy,  Jr.,  of  Troy,  chair¬ 
man  of  the  state  committee,  has  corralled  five  of  his  heel¬ 
ers;  while  Boss  McLaughlin  made  a  demand  for  two 
places,  which  was  promptly  granted,  one  of  the  ap¬ 
pointees  emphasizing  his  feeling  of  security  from  in¬ 
terference  by  taking  a  two  weeks’  absence  without 
leave,  marked  by  a  protracted  drunk,  during  which 
the  clerk  of  the  assembly  has  had  to  shift  to  find  a 
man  to  do  the  work  assigned  to  McLaughlin’s  ap¬ 
pointee. 


The  charge  of  nepotism  has  been  raised  against 
Col.  George  P.  Webster,  of  the  twenty-third  New 
York  district,  who  obtained  the  appointment  of  his  son  as 
clerk  of  the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections  and  of 
his  nephew  as  stenographer.— Albany,  N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to 
the  New  York  Times,  March  8. 

—As  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  District  of 
Columbia,  Mr.  Ingalls  has  had  at  his  disposal  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  clerk  of  the  committee.  Last  night  Mr.  Ingalls 
removed  the  gentleman  who  has  filled  that  office  for 
several  years,  and  is  spoken  of  as  a  very  capable  and 
faithful  clerk,  and  appointed  in  his  place  the  sena¬ 
tor’s  son.  By  this  means  young  Mr.  Ingalls  will 
draw  the  salary  of  clerk  to  the  committee  from  now 
until  December,  as  his  father’s  retirement  leaves  the 
committee  without  any  chairman  to  make  another 
change  before  the  next  congre.ss  meets. — New  York 
Times,  March  f>. 

—Every  democrat  on  the  floor  of  the  assembly  has 
pursued  Sergeant-at-Arms  Harrigan  with  wolfish 
greed  to  demand  that  his  son  or  his  nephew  or  the 
son  or  nephew  of  his  friend  be  given  one  of  the  two- 
hundred-dollar  sinecures.  Harrigan  was  unable  to 
discriminate  between  them,  and  he  has  been  guilty 
of  the  folly  of  appointing  a  page  for  each.  There  are 
forty  democratic  assemblymen  and,  of  cour.se,  forty 
pages.— TVenfon,  N.  J.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times 
March  1. 

—The  state  legislature  is  torn  up  over  a  scandal 
which  throws  the  senatorial  struggle  into  the  back¬ 
ground.  Elgood  Bruner,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
assembly,  was  charged  to-day  by  the  San  Francisco 
Examiner  with  selling  police  positions  in  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  for  $400  each. 

Bruner  accused  the  correspondent  of  blackmail. 
He  attempted  to  show  that  he  knew  of  the  corre¬ 
spondent’s  scheme  to  entrap  him  into  recommend¬ 
ing  a  man  to  the  police  commissioners  for  money, 
and  that  he  accepted  the  offer  so  as  to  expose  the  cor¬ 
respondent.— Saeromewfo,  Cal.,  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  March  6. 

— The  administration,  and  especially  the  post-office 
department,  is  being  scandalized  in  this  city  and 
state  by  the  conduct  of  a  man  whom  ex-Postmaster 
General  Gresham  once  summarily  discharged  from 
the  postal  service,  and  who  has  done  more  to  corrupt 
the  politics  of  Nebraska  than  any  other  one  man. 
State  politicians  declare  that  his  pernicious  influence 
must  be  shaken  off,  or  the  powers  at  Washington 
must  take  the  .consequence.  Reference  is  made  to 
Paul  Vandervoort,  ex-commander  in  chief  of  the 
grand  army,  ex-railroad  lobbyist,  and  professional 
war  veteran . 

Upon  request  of  the  railway  officials  at  Omaha 
the  Nebraska  delegation  in  congress  a  year  or  two  ago  put 
Vandervoort  into  a  sinecure  in  the  Omalui post-office.  The 
title  of  the  po'sition  is  superintendent  of  local  mails. 
Since  the  appointment  of  postmaster  Clarkson  of 
Omaha  Vandervoort  is  said  to  have  done  absolutely 
nothing  in  the  line  of  official  duty.  It  is  asserted 
that  there  is  nothing  for  him  to  do;  that  he  is  draw¬ 
ing  $1,500  a  year  as  a  reward  for  past  services  to  the 
railroad  managers,  who  must  see  that  he  gets  a  living 
lest  he  make  damaging  disclosures. 

The  legislature  has  been  in  session  here  for  two 
months.  Most  of  that  time  Vandervoort  has  been 
lobbying  here  for  the  telephone  company  and  the 
telegraph  company,  to  ward  off  a  threatened  reduc¬ 
tion  of  tolls.  He  has  also  been  working  on  a  scheme 
to  increase  the  liquor  license,  so  that,  if  neces-sary, 
he  might  explain  to  the  postmaster  general  that  he 
had  been  really  working  for  prohibition  at  Lincoln. 
Vandervoort  has  been  incidentally  looking  after  the 
interests  of  the  railways  and  has  not  given  an  hour’s 
time  to  the  office  he  holds.  This  scandal  is  assuming 
such  proportions  that  the  postmaster  general  will  be 
unable  to  explain  the  case  away.  He  created  this 
soft  berth  for  Vandervoort  soon  after  taking  the 
post-office  portfolio,  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  Van¬ 
dervoort  was  dishonorably  dismissed  from  the  serv¬ 
ice,  and  for  that  reason  was  debarred  from  an  ap¬ 
pointment. 

During  the  administration  of  President  Arthur, 
and  when  Gen.  Gresham  was  postmaster-general, 
Vandervoori’s  defiant  neglect  of  duty  and  his  perni¬ 
cious  interference  in  local  and  state  politics  became 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

eight  iiuswers.  Briggs  sent  a  bid;  so  did  Bernard 


a  state-wide  scandal.  He  was  dismissed  from  tlie 
service  for  neglect  of  duty  and  insubordination.  He 
retaliated,  and  threatened  Gresham  with  the  thun¬ 
derbolts  of  the  grand  army,  and  subjected  him  to 
vindictive  abuse  in  the  columns  of  the  claim  agents’ 
paper,  the  National  Tribune,  for  which  Vandervoort 
had  also  played  capper  by  rea.son  of  his  temporary 
prominence  in  the  grand  army  organization.  Gresh¬ 
am  was  as  firm  as  a  rock,  and  would  not  recede. 

From  the  railway  mail  service  Vandervoort  fell 
back  upon  his  friends,  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  was  kept  upon  the  pay  roll  of  that  road  for  a 
year  or  two.  During  the  legislature  here  four  years 
ago  he  was  in  charge  of  the  most  venal  and  disrepu¬ 
table  railroad  lobby  that  has  ever  infested  this  city. 
The  investigation  into  the  conduct  of  the  Pacific 
railroads,  by  the  commission  of  which  Gov.  Pattison 
was  the  head,  brought  out  the  history  of  what  ishere 
called  “the  oil  rooms”  in  strong  relief.  This  testi. 
mony  showed  that  the  oil  rooms  were  places  where 
members  of  the  legislature  had  been  debauched 
with  drink  and  were  corruptly  manipulated  to  de¬ 
feat  or  carry  measures  as  the  railroad  managers  saw 
lit  to  decree.  It  was  also  brought  out  that  Vander¬ 
voort  maintained  room  15  in  a  prominent  hotel  in 
this  city  during  that  session  of  the  legislature ;  that 
every  night,  almost,  cases  of  beer  bottles,  wine,  and 
demijohns  of  whisky  were  carried  there  and  con¬ 
sumed  by  Vandevoort  and  his  special  friends,  and  it 
has  since  been  proved  beyond  question  that  the  rail¬ 
roads  paid  not  only  the  room  rent  but  also  the  bar 
bill  incurred  by  Vandervoort.— Lincola,  Neb.,  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  February  22. 

—The  first  important  change  in  the  treasury  de¬ 
partment  under  Secretary  Foster  was  made  to-day. 
Acting  Secretary  Nettleton  accepted  the  resignation  of 
Captain  John  G.  MacGregor,  the  chief  of  the  customs 
division  of  the  secretary's  office.  AssistantSecretary 
Spalding,  who  is  in  charge  of  customs  matters,  said 
in  reply  to  a  question  that  there  was  nothing  on  the 
face  of  the  resignation  whicli  showed  that  it  was  not 
voluntiiry.  He  refused  to  commit  himself,  however, 
to  the  statement  that  it  was  voluntary,  and  he  and 
General  Nettleton  smiled  significantly  when  the 
question  was  persisted  in.  General  Nettleton  said  that 
Captain  MacGregor  had  been  appointed  inspector  of 
immigration  at  S<>  per  day.  llis  salary  as  chie/  oj  the 
customs  division  was  $2,750  per  annum. 

General  Netileton  said  there  was  no  politics  in  the 
change,  and  if  there  had  been  Captain  MacGregor 
would  have  been  removed  from  the  service  alto¬ 
gether.  It  is  ratlier  significant,  however,  that  Cap¬ 
tain  MacGregor  is  one  of  the  few  democrats  left  in 
the  treasury  department,  and  that  he  should  be  the 
first  person  to  go  .so  soon  after  the  advent  of  Secre¬ 
tary  Foster,  who.se  skill  as  a  politician  is  well-known. 
Captain  MacGregor  was  in  the  customs  service  prior 
to  the  democratic  administration,  but  he  was  pro- 
moteil  to  the  position  he  has  just  resigned  by  Secre¬ 
tary  Manning  when  a  vacancy  occurred  there.— 
Wa.shington  Dis])atch  to  Boston  Post,  March  9. 

—Joy  is  going  to  reign  in  the  camp  of  the  faithful 
in  this  town.  News  has  come  that  the  great  men  in 
Washington  have  heeded  the  prayer  of  the  envoys 
who  journeyed  down  from  New  York  to  tell  them 
how  badly  good  republicans  needed  that  which  a 
democrat  was  in  a  fair  way  to  secure,  just  because  he 
underbid  the  righteous.  But,  mingled  with  the  re¬ 
joicings,  there  will  be  needless  wasting  of  breath. 
The  scramble  for  the  plums  will  be  too  lively  to  al¬ 
low  that. 

Two  weeks  ago  gloom  reigned  among  the  republi¬ 
can  workers.  A  terrible  thing  had  come  to  pass. 
The  bids  for  the  custom-house  cartage  contract  had 
been  forwarded  to  Washington.  Experts  had  spent 
ilays  in  figuring  out  the  schedules  and  Thomas  A. 
Briggs,  the  old  eontractor,  who  secured  the  job  under  a 
democratic  administration,  appeared  to  he  thelowest  bid¬ 
der.  Anywhere  from  $;)0,000  to  810,000  a  year  was 
what  the  contract  was  worth,  and  that  was  a  great 
deal  of  money  to  be  allowed  to  go  out  of  the  political 
family.  Now,  however,  the  treasury  department  has 
sent  out  a  ruling  that  the  cartage  need  not  be  let  by  con¬ 
tract,  and  the  harps  will  be  taken  down  from  the 
willows. 

Advertisements  for  bids  for  the  contract  brought 


Biglin  ;  so  did  six  others.  Of  all  of  them  Btghn  was 
the  ablest  professional  republican.  Briggs  was  the  low¬ 
est  bidder,'  and  then  Col.  Erhardt  sent  on  the  pro¬ 
posals  to  Washington.  B.  Biglin,  patriot,  was  under¬ 
stood  to  be  the  second  man  in  the  race. 

When  news  of  this gotout, there  was  a  precious  how¬ 
dy-do.  Statesmen  rushed  to  the  custom-house  to  see 
what  kind  of  arithmetic  was  practiced  there.  The 
republican  county  committee  was  in  a  state  of  mind. 
It  wanted  to  become  popular  with  the  truckmen’s 
association  for  one  thing,  and  the  contract  would 
have  been  a  help— a  great  help. 

There  was  just  one  hope  left,  and  that  lay  in  an 
appeal  to  the  powers  at  Washington.  Down  to  that 
city  traveled  a  delegation  full  of  persuasive  eloquence  and 
arguments  touching  the  proper  disposition  of  patronage 
where  it  would  “do  the  most  good.’’  Apparently  the 
party  succeeded  in  making  out  a  case;  at  least,  the 
contract  is  not  going  to  be  awarded  to  Mr.  Briggs. 

The  decision  of  the  attorney  general  and  the  treas¬ 
ury  department  is  just  what  tlie  pilgrims  to  Wash¬ 
ington  wanted.  They  went  there  to  get  a  change  in 
the  laethod  of  letting  out  the  contract,  and  they  got 
it.  From  now  on  they  have  merely  to  fight  among 
themselves  for  the  good  things  they  expect  to  se¬ 
cure.— Wew  York  Times,  March  S. 

—The  political  atmosphere  in  the  republican  camp 
is  just  now  pretty  close  and  murky.  A  fight  is  in 
progress  over  the  appointment  of  a  postmaster  never 
before  equaled  in  the  party.  The  office  is  the  only 
one  of  importance  in  this  part  of  the  state  held  by  a 
democrat. 

The  candidates  for  the  position  are  many,  but  the 
fight  has  narrowed  down  to  Joseph  A.  Ward,  one  of 
proprietors  of  the  Lockport  Journal,  and  John  A. 
Merritt,  ex  chairman  of  the  county  committee.  The 
friends  of  the  Journal,  which  paper  has  been  the  re¬ 
publican  organ  here  for  forty  years  and  always  sup¬ 
ported  the  ticket,  feel  that  the  administration  can  ill 
afford  to  ignore  their  demands.  Merritt  is  backed 
by  a  lot  of  politicians,  and  previously  wanted  the 
custom-house  at  the  Bridge.  It  is  understood  that 
Senator  Hiscock  promised  him  his  support  for  the 
post-office. 

A  large  number  of  politicians  have  gone  toWashing- 
ton  to-night.— Z-oetporf,  N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to  Netv  York 
Times,  February  22. 

—President  Harrison  has  waited  until  the  last  night 
of  the  session  to  make  a  nomination  that  will  dis¬ 
gust  every  decent  citizen  of  Pennsylvania  in  general 
and  of  Philadelphia  in  particular.  Late  this  after¬ 
noon  he  sent  to  the  senate  the  nomination  of  the  no¬ 
torious  William  R.  Leeds,  of  Philadelphia,  to  be  mar¬ 
shal  of  the  United  States  for  the  eastern  district  of 
Pennsylvania. 

As  sheriff  of  the  county,  a  few  years  ago,  and  as 
leader  of  the  ring  which  made  the  municipal  govern¬ 
ment  of  Philadelphia  a  by-word  and  a  reproach, 
Leeds  made  such  a  record  that  when  he  tried  to  be 
re-elected  his  own  party  defeated  him,  while  <  arry- 
ing  all  the  other  offices  by  very  large  majorities. 
Leeds  was  the  man  Senator  Quay  picked  out  for  post¬ 
master  of  Philadelphia,  but  his  record  was  so  bad 
that  even  Mr.  Wanamaker  could  not  then  indorse 
him.  All  the  decent  men  in  the  republican  party 
joined  in  sending  protest  after  protest  to  Washington, 
and  delegations  of  leading  citizens  visited  the  Presi¬ 
dent  and  laid  before  him  the  exposures  of  his  cor¬ 
ruption,  made  by  the  citizens’  committee,  which  un¬ 
dertook  to  save  Philadelphia  from  the  gang  which, 
under  Leeds’s  leadership,had  taken  her  by  the  throat. 

When  it  became  known,  a  few  weeks  ago,  thattiuay 
was  pushing  Leeds  for  the  marshalship,  there  was 
another  deluge  of  protests  from  the  respectable  citi¬ 
zens,  and  the  President  was  again  fully  informed  of 
the  character  of  Quay’s  candidate.  But  a  change  had 
come  over  the  President  and  the  postmaster-general, 
Mr.  Wanamaker,  who  could  not  stomach  Leeds  a 
few  months  ago,  now  indor.se  him  for  marshal,  and, 
in  spite  of  assurances  given  to  the  Philadelphians 
that  the  President  would  not  make  such  an  utterly 
indefensible  appointment,  the  nomination  has  been 
made.—  Washington  Dispatch  in  New  York  Times, 
March  .1. 

—The  appointment  of  A.  T.  Anderson  to  the  Cleve¬ 


land  postmastership  to-day  ends  a  bitter  party  fight,1 
but  will  only  make  local  dissatisfaction  with  thel 
Harrison  administration  more  extended,  permanent  j 
and  pronounced. 

Anderson  has  been  county  recorder  five  years,  and  has 
still  one  year  to  serve.  The  annual  fees  of  the  office 
amount  to  811,000.  He  has  had  a  large  share  of  public 
“pap,’’  and  for  him  to  secure  the  postmastership  be- 
shles  is  very  galling  to  old  party  workers  who  have 
done  far  more  than  he  for  the  party  and  received 
nothing  for  ii.— Cleveland  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
March  3. 

—There  have  been  some  racy  developments  to-day 
in  connection  with  the  senatorial  canvass.  The  in¬ 
formation  comes  from  reliable  sources  that  Hans- 
brough  w'as  compelled  to  make  written  pledges  of 
the  most  extraordinary  character  to  secure  his  elec 
tion. 

By  the  first  agreement  made  Alexander  McKenzie  is 
to  be  consulted  with  reference  to  the  distribution  of  the 
patronage  throughout  the  state  and  no  appointments  un¬ 
satisfactory  to  him  are  to  be  made.  Col.  Ball  and  one  or 
two  others,  trusted  leaders  in  Fargo,  are  to  control  the 
patronage  in  that  district,  with  McKenzie’s  consent.. 
This  power  is  to  be  used  for  the  upbuilding  of  the 
clement  which  started  the  war  on  Pierce,  and  is  now 
supposed  to  be  dominant  in  the  state.— Bismarck,  N. 
D.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  January  28. 

—Chief  of  police  H.  C.  Austin  and  police  captain 
Brant,  republicans,  both  of  whom  were  deposed  by 
the  democrats  when  the  later  took  hold  of  the  reins 
of  local  government  here  January  1,  will  not  remain 
long  out  in  the  cold,  as  comfortable  berths  have  been 
obtained  forthemby  ex  congressman  Kean,  the  republican 
dispenser  of  government  patronage  in  Union  county. 
He  has  got  both  officers  places  as  government  weigh¬ 
ers  of  the  mails  at  Jersey  City,  at  $3  per  day.  The 
retired  republican  city  clerk  Coleman  will  also  be 
taken  care  of,  as  the  sinking  fund  commissioners 
here  will,  it  is  said,  appoint  him  to  a  position  in  the 
controller’s  department. — Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  January  5. 

—In  the  opinion  of  the  best  posted  politicians  in 
Syracuse,  Gov.  Hill  has  begun  very  promptly  to  get 
on  good  terms  with  the  man  who  is  to  be  his  col¬ 
league  in  the  United  States  Senate  for  the  next  two 
years.  Nobody  but  Senator  Hiscock,  they  believe, 
could  have  induced  Mr.  Hendricks  to  give  his  sup¬ 
port  to  such  a  nomination  as  that  of  Pierce  for  insur¬ 
ance  superintendent.  It  is  perfectly  well  known  here 
that  Hiscock  is  extremely  anxious  to  secure  the  re* 
nomination  of  Hendricks,  who,  if  re-elected  next 
fall,  will  have  a  vote  for  Hiscock’s  successor  at  Wash¬ 
ington.  The  senator  has  made  a  thorough  search  of 
the  district,  and  has  found  no  man  so  available  as 
Hendricks 

Recent  events  in  political  history  here  have  been 
far  from  encouraging  to  Hiscock,  whose  anxiety  to 
be  his  own  successor  is  very  great.  Hendricks  is  the 
only  strong  man  the  Senator  can  feel  sure  of  controll¬ 
ing.  Ilis  friends,  indeed,  will  regard  themselves  as 
•  lost  if  Hendricks  fails  to  be  renominated.  Theoffi.ee 
of  superintendent  of  the  Onondaga  salt  springs  is  the  best 
bit  of  slate  patronage  here.  It  carries  with  it  a  lot  of  minor 
appointments,  such  as  inspectors  and  weighers,  which  are 
made  absolutely  by  the  supeiintendent,  untrammeled  by 
any  civil  service  restrictions.  This  patronage  can  be  made 
very  useful  in  securing  Mr.  Hendricks’  renomination  if 
il  can  only  be  put  into  friendly  hands.  The  anti-Cleve¬ 
land  democrats  have  long  been  greedy  for  the  supet- 
intendency,  and,  as  everybody  knows,  the  Hiscock- 
Hendricks-Smith-Cowie  faction  of  the  Republicans  is 
in  hearty  symp.athy  with  the  Hill  men.  These  peo¬ 
ple  have  given  evidence  enough  of  this  fact  in  the 
open  alliance  with  the  Hill  crowd  in  the  pending 
row  between  Mayor  Cowie  and  some  of  the  aider- 
men. 

Nobody  believes  that  Hendricks  voted  for  Pierce 
without  a  consideration,  or  that  HiscocK  let  him 
vote  that  way  without  an  object  of  interest  to  the 
senator.  Everybody  believes  that  Hendricks  has 
been  promised  the  office  of  salt  superintendent  for 
either  an  ont-and  out  Hiscock  republican  or  for  a 
Hill  democrat  satisfactory  to  him  who  will  live  up  to 
a  bargain  by  which  the  superintendent’s  heelers 
shall  aid  in  re-nominating  Hendricks.  With  Hen¬ 
dricks  in  the  state  senate  for  one  other  term  Hiscock 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


217 


would  be  certain  of  one  very  much  needed  vote 
wlien  he  asks  the  legislature  to  send  him  to  Wash¬ 
ington  for  another  six  years.  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
likely  to  have  a  hard  enough  row  to  hoe  as  His- 
cock’s  candidate  before  this  latest  disgraceful  deal. 
Ilis  vote  for  Pierce  to-day  will  go  a  good  way  toward 
olfsetting  any  benefit  he  may  get  out  of  the  patron¬ 
age  of  the  salt  superintendent’s  office.— Sj/racase  A’., 
r.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  February  11. 

-Congressman- elect  Henry  U.  Johnson  spent  .sev¬ 
eral  days  in  the  city  last  week,  with  headquarters  at 
the  Kirby,  where  he  kept  open  house.  His  visit  os¬ 
tensibly  was  for  the  purpose  of  finding  the  proper 
person  to  recommend  for  the  appointment. 

There  were  no  less  than  ten  applicants  for  the 
place,  viz. :  Major  John  F.  Wildman,  of  the  Muncie 
Times,  a  pioneer  Harrison  boomer,  and  a  stayer  for 
"little  Ben”  in  the  Chicago  convention;  Charles  F. 
W.  Neely,  of  the  Muncie  A'ews,  a  hustler  for  Johnson 
and  an  anti- Gregory  delegate  to  the  New  Castle  con¬ 
gressional  convention;  Robert  I.  Patterson,  better 
known  as  “corporal  Bob,”  campaign  poet  and  ex- 
postmaster,  who  served  the  last  two  years  of  his  term 
under  the  Cleveland  administration;  N.  N.  Spence,  I 
an  attorney  at  law;  Jerrc  Gerrard,  secretary  of  the 
county  central  committee;  James  L.  Streeter,  a  well- 
known  business  man;  S.  W.  Hufter,  an  insurance  and 
real  estate  agent;  J.  W.  Ream,  ex-chairman  of  the 
county  central  committee;  Mrs.Kate  Wilson, wife  of  S. 
A.  Wilson,  also  an  ex-chairman  of  the  county  central 
committee,  and  later  casliierof  the  Burson  banking 
company,  but  now  an  invalid;  the  Rev.  Jacob  W. 
Heath,  father  of  Col.  P.  S.  Heath,  the  well-known 
ami  talented-Washington  newspaper  correspondent; 
and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  the  Hon.  Frank 
Ellis,  mayor.— Jfttwete  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  Februaiy  2. 

—The  President  sent  to  the  senate  this  afternoon 
the  nomination  of  Captain  Frank  Ellis  to  be  post¬ 
master  at  Muncie.  In  this  he  followed  the  recom- 
meudation  of  Congressman-elect  Johnson  and  the 
wishes  of  a  majority  of  the  patrons  of  the  office. 
Mr.  Johnson  went  to  Muncie  a  fortnight  since,  and 
remained  three  days,  looking  over  the  field  and  in¬ 
vestigating  the  claims  of  the  various  aspirants,  of 
whom  there  were  more  than  a  dozen.  There  was  a 
spirited  contest  between  the  various  factions,  but  at 
the  last  moment. several  of  the  aspirants  reiiuesied 
Captain  Ellis  to  consent  to  the  use  of  his  name  as  a 
compromise  candidate.  This  he  finally  did,  re¬ 
luctantly,  for  he  had  never  applied  foran  appointive 
office.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journals 
February  5. 

—The  bitterest  political  contest  ever  witnessed  in 
this  county  came  to  an  abrupt  termination  this 
morning  by  the  announcement  of  the  appointment 
of  Mayor  Frank  Ellis  as  postmaster.  In  the  congres¬ 
sional  fight  last  spring,  Delaware  county  had  a  can¬ 
didate  in  the  Hon.  Ralph  Gregory.  The  delegates 
from  this  county  went  to  the  convention  instructed 
to  vote  for  him  as  long  as  there  was  a  chance  for  his 
nomination.  When  the  delegates  went  to  the  con¬ 
vention  at  New  Castle  it  soon  developed  that  there 
was  treachery  in  the  Delaware  delegation.  Later  de- 
veloi)ments  proved  that  there  was  a  bargain  and  sale 
of  some  of  the  delegates  who  were  promised  control 
of  the  political  appointments  in  the  county  in  the 
event  that  Henry  U.  Johnson  was  nominated.  The 
conspiracy  resulted  in  the  demoralization  of  -  the 
Delaware  county  delegation  and  the  election  of 
Johnson. 

Frank  Ellis,  who  was  yesterday  appointed  post¬ 
master,  defeated  Gregory  for  the  nomination.  The 
matter  created  bad  blood,  and  since  that  time  there 
has  been  merry  war  here. — Muncie  Dispatch  to  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Sentinel,  February  ti. 

—John  Blair  is  the  sole  survivor  of  Mr.  Cleveland’s 
appointments  among  the  Indian  agents.  There  are 
fifty-eight  of  these  places,  but  they  are  now  all  filled 
with  loyal  republicans  except  the  one  w'here  Mr. 
Blair  serves  and  two  which  are  in  the  care  of  army 
officers.  This  condition  of  affairs  is  not  so  very  dif¬ 
ferent  from  what  it  was  after  Mr.  Atkins  had  been 
Indian  commissioner  awhile  under  President  Cleve¬ 


land.  President  Harrison  found  three  men  in  the 
agencies  whom  President  Cleveland  found  there. 
The  showing  was  bad  enough  in  either  event,  and 
the  practical  workings  of  the  spoils  system  have 
shown  how  fatal  it  is  to  good  administration.  The 
men  whom  Mr.  Cleveland  appointed  were  beginning 
to  become  of  some  use  to  the  department  when  the 
political  wheel  took  another  turn  and  a  fresh  lot  of 
novices  came  into  the  service.  President  Harrison 
restored  to  the  service  three  Indian  agents  who  had 
been  displaced  by  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  there  are  now 
seven  of  the  fifty  eight,  including  the  two  army  of¬ 
ficers,  whose  experience  dates  back  of  the  4th  of 
March,  1889.  Indian  Commissioner  Morgan  has  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  appointments  except  to  make 
complaint  where  the  new  agents  were  conspicuously 
inefficient.  This  he  has  done  in  a  number  of  cases, 
and  President  Harri.son  has  removed  five  of  his  own 
appointees.  This  ratio  of  removals  is  a  commentary 
upon  the  character  of  the  appointments.— Boston 
Post,  March  14. 

—It  is  said  that  there  are  fifty-two  ex-representa¬ 
tives  and  ex  senators  in  the  city  who  expect  to  get 
appointments  at  one  time  in  the  office  of  Secretary 
Foster.  Thi.s  morning  there  were  over  a  dozen  rep¬ 
resentatives  seeking  official  influence  in  procuring 
places  for  themselves.  Many  men  elected  to  the 
congress  which  meets  next  December  are  already  on 
the  ground  prowling  around  the  departments  for 
appointments.  It  will  take  the  alliance  and  some  of 
the  democratic  members  a  month,  it  seems,  to  learn 
that  partisan  patronage  is  not  given  out  under  this 
administration  to  persons  who  are  plotting  to  break 
down  the  republican  party.— Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  March  5. 

—The  triple  loss  of  the  Galena,  the  Nina,  and  the 
Triana,  at  Gay  Head  and  Cuttyhunk,  may  prove  to 
be  not  only  a  national  1)111  a  political  disaster. 

The  Galena  was  about  the  only  ship  available  for 
repairs  at  Portsmouth.  She  was  worth  a  good  deal 
of  money  and  she  was  to  have  been  thoroughly  over¬ 
hauled  at  the  hands  of  those  persons  in  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire  whose  republicanism  is  stalwart 
enough  to  entitle  them  to  employment  under  Uncle 
Sam.  The  wreck  of  the  Galena,  will  take  bread  out 
of  the  mouths  of  these  employes  and,  of  course,  will 
make  them  irritable.  Unless  some  other  vessel  can 
be  found  upon  which  to  make  political  repairs,  the 
uselessness  of  a  navy  yard  at  Portsmouth  will  be  ap¬ 
parent,  and  a  powerful  political  magnet  will  be  de 
stroyed. 

At  Portsmouth,  the  bureau  of  construction  and  re¬ 
pair  was  to  spend  884,000  upon  her,  and  the  bureau 
of  steam  engineering  about  845,000  for  new  boilers 
and  other  machinery.  These  boilers  had  been  made  at 
the  New  York  navy  yard,  and  the  Galena  had  them 
onboard.  When  the  order  was  issued  sending  the 
Galena  around  to  the  Portsmouth  navy  yard  for  re¬ 
pairs,  it  was  stated  at  the  navy  department  that  she 
was  sent  there  because  the  New  York  yard  was  full 
of  work,  while  the  completion  of  the  repairs  on  the 
Lancaster  would  leave  the  Portsmouth  yard  with  no 
work  on  hand.  This  would  have  made  necessary  a 
reduction  in  force. 

The  Portsmouth  yard  is  not  supplied  with  the 
necessary  machinery  for  repairiiig  steel  vessels,  and, 
as  the  Galena  was  the  only  wooden  vessel  at  the  time 
awaiting  repairs,  she  was  sent  around  to  keep  the 
yard  force  in  operation.  Her  old  boilers  were  en¬ 
tirely  useless,  and  she  could  not  steam  around,  so 
she  was  taken  in  tow  by  the  little  357-ton  tug  Nina, 
and  carried  on  her  deck  the  new  boilers  that  were  to 
be  put  in  her  at  Portsmouth. 

It  looks  now  as  if  there  was  no  way  to  avert  the 
dreadful  discharge  of  workmen  at  Portsmouth,  un¬ 
less  the  wrecked  Galena  can  be  floated  up  there  and 
rebuilt,  for  there  is  only  one  other  wooden  vessel 
left  in  the  North  .Atlantic- theKearsarge— and  though 
she  is  cruising  around  the  West  Indies  in  pretty  fair 
condition,  she  can  be  called  in  by  cable  and  sent  up 
to  keep  the  Portsmouth  yardy  busy.-^  IPa.s/ujisiton 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  March  1C. 

—A  well-grounded  opinion  appears  to  have  arisen 
that  the  Galena  was  in  no  condition  to  put  to  sea, 
and  that  her  fate  is  what  might  have  been  expected. 


nothing  more  and  nothing  less.  Even  had  the  vessel 
been  sound  in  the  hull,  going  to  sea  In  March  with¬ 
out  boilers  or  engines,  loaded  with  a  full  battery 
and  with  ammunition  for  the  Lancaster,  and  all 
this  in  tow  of  a  single  tug  of  limited  strength,  strikes 
the  average  sea-going  man  as  extremely  foolhardy. 

Inquiry  at  the  navy  yard  fails  to  show  that  the 
Galena’s  repairs  were  absolutely  needed  at  this  time, 
and  even  if  they  were,  they  could  have  been  made 
at  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard  as  well  as  at  Portsmouth. 
In  the  former  yard  there  are  three  times  the  men  and 
facilities  of  the  Portsmouth  yard,  and  as  the  docks 
were  quite  empty  there  was  abundant  room  for  the 
repairs  to  go  on  uninterruptedly.  She  was  going  to 
Portsmouth,  say  the  officers  at  the  navy  yard,  to  get 
her  new  boilers.  Three  of  these  were  stored  on  her 
spar  deck  at  the  time  of  the  accident,  and  might 
have  been  fitted  here  as  easily  as  at  Portsmouth,  if 
not  more  easily.  The  Brooklyn  navy  yard  is  engaged 
at  present  in  shipping  a  lot  of  material  to  Philadel¬ 
phia  for  the  equipment  of  the  Newark,  and  the 
question  naturally  arises,  why  could  not  the  Ports¬ 
mouth  material  have  been  shipped  to  New  York? 

The  Portsmouth  navy  yard  is  not  at  Portsmouth, 
but  at  Kittery,  Me.,  a  small  town  just  below  Ports¬ 
mouth  and  across  the  river.  It  was  suggested  to  an 
officer  yesterday  that  possibly  Maine  workmen 
needed  employment  by  the  government  at  this  time; 
that  the  8100,000  expenditure  promi.scd  for  the  Ga¬ 
lena  was  a  rich  morsel  for  them,  and  that  this  offered 
a  reasonable  explanation  of  the  hazardous  attemi)t 
to  give  them  the  Galena.  The  proposition  was  not 
indorsed,  but  it  plainly  suggested  something  that 
naval  officers  have  thought  of  many  times  before. — 
New  York  Times,  March  17. 


Tour  reference  to  the  recent  outbreak  among  the 
Sioux  as  affording  convincing  evidence  of  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  a  change  in  the  manner  of  appointing  the  of¬ 
ficials  of  the  Indian  bureau,  leads  me  to  say  that  I 
have  not  found  in  a  very  full  examination  of  ail  the 
facts  from  all  sources  evidence  of  any  deteriora¬ 
tion  in  the  Indian  Hctyiec.— The  President  to  the  Cam¬ 
bridge  Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  February,  1891. 

Pine  Ridge  Agency,  S.  D.,  Mar.  4,  ’91. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Welsh  —  It  is  evident  that, 
sooner  or  later,  under  any  agent,  there  would 
have  been  trouble  at  this  agency.  Dissatisfac¬ 
tion  and  disappointments,  with  actual  hunger 
amounting  almost  to  starvation  with  some, 
added  to  strong  jealousy  of  the  progressive 
party  on  the  part  of  the  old  chiefs  and  heathen 
element,  had  prepared  the  people  for  the  ghost- 
dance  craze. 

Dr.  Royer  took  charge  when  the  people  were 
at  the  worst  as  regards  hunger.  Nearly  all 
supplies  were  exhausted.  Instead  of  three 
and  one-half  pounds  gross  per  day,  the  indi¬ 
vidual  ration  provided  by  treaty,  they  were 
getting  less  than  one  pound.  The  issue  got  as 
low  as  one  two-year  old  steer  to  sixty  persons 
for  eighteen  days,  instead  of  one  good  sized 
steer  to  thirty  persons  for  fourteen  days,  which 
had  been  the  practice,  though  itself  less  than 
the  treaty  gave. 

Flour,  sugar  and  coffee  were  exhausted.  The 
traders  supplied  them  sometimes;  whole  corn 
was  issued  in  place  of  them  sometimes.  In¬ 
dians  were  living  on  wild  turnips  and  buying 
food  if  they  could.  Several  instances  are 
given  (Miss  Goodale  gives  one)  in  which  In¬ 
dians  begged  for  the  corn  being  fed  to  the 
horses,  and  on  its  being  given  them  they 
parched  and  ate  it  eagerly.  They  said  fre¬ 
quently,  “our  Great  Father  had  better  kill  us 
outright,  than  in  this  slow  manner.”  There 
can  be  no  doubt  of  much  actual  suffering  from, 


218 


THE  CI\IL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


if  not  deaths  hastened  by,  hunger.  Yet  the 
people  do  not  appear  to  have  entertained  hos¬ 
tile  intentions  at  that  time  toward  the  govern¬ 
ment  or  the  whites,  and  I  meet  occasionally 
Indians  and  half-breeds  who  insist  that  hunger 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  trouble,  which 
came  after  the  troops  appeared  here. 

Major  Gallagher  had  made  several  inefl’ect- 
ual  efforts  to  stop  the  ghost-dance,  and  with 
his  police  had  been  defeated  in  the  attempt, 
arrousing  to  some  extent  the  hostility  of  the 
ghost-dancers  toward  the  police.  There  was 
still  no  sign  of  their  having  hostile  feelings 
toward  the  whites.  Had  that  been  the  case, 
they  had  abundant  opportunity  to  show  it 
against  whites  continually  passing  back  and 
forth.  Or  as  Dr.  Gillycuddy  said  :  “  If  they 
had  been  on  the  war-path,  they  would  have 
had  half  a  dozen  cow  boys  for  breakfast  each 
morning.” 

Things  had  gone  so  far,  however,  that  they 
were  in  a  very  critical  condition,  and  needed 
very  wise  and  careful  handling,  when  Dr. 
Royer  was  sent  as  agent.  He  knew  nothing 
about  Indians  or  about  handling  men  gener¬ 
ally.  He  came  witn  the  expectation  of  soon 
needing  to  call  for  troops,  which  he  did  at 
once  and  secretly  when  the  first  little  trouble 
arose  over  the  arrest  of  an  Indian  for  killing 
a  cow  which  did  not  belong  to  him.  He  fled 
with  his  family  to  Rushville  without  warning 
any  one  else,  and  meeting  one  of  the  agency 
traders  there,  tried  to  persuade  him  to  remove 
his  family  at  once,  as  he  said  the  Indians  were 
“on  the  war-path”  and  about  to  burn  the 
agency  and  kill  all  the  whites.  There  were  a 
large  number  of  Indians  in  Rushville  at  that 
very  time  (the  day  the  troops  reached  there) 
after  freight  for  the  agency.  He  returned 
with  about  1,000  soldiers  by  a  forced  night 
march,  constantly  cautioning  Gen.  Brooke,  in 
command,  to  keep  scouts  out  ahead  as  he  was 
sure  they  would  meet  one  or  more  parties  of 
“  hostiles”  in  ambush  before  they  got  to  the 
.agency.  Not  an  Indian  was  discovered,  nor 
were  there  any  Indians  in  or  near  the  agency 
when  they  arrived.  The  greatest  astonish¬ 
ment,  curiosity  and  indignation  prevailed 
among  all,  even  the  quietest  Indians,  when 
they  heard  that  soldiers  had  been  sent  to  their 
agency.  They  could  put  no  interpretation  on 
it  except  the  intention  was  to  disarm  and  dis¬ 
mount  them  all  as  had  sometimes  happened 
to  portions  of  their  people  before,  and  as  they 
had  been  frequently  told  by  some  would  some 
day  happen  to  them  all.  Especially  the  ghost- 
dancers  thought  this. 

When  General  Brooke  arrived  he  requested 
Dr.  Royer  to  send  his  police  out  and  ask  all 
the  Indians  to  come  in  that  he  might  have  a 
talk  and  understanding  with  them.  Royer, of 
his  own  accord,  instructed  the  police  to  tell 
the  people  that  only  those  who  had  taken  no  part 
in  the  ghost-dance  would  be  allowed  to  come 
in — the  rest  must  stay  away.  The  police  seem 
to  have  gone  beyond  Royer’s  instructions,  and 
told  them  also  that  this  separation  wiis  in  or¬ 
der  that  the  soldiers  might  disarm  the  ghost- 
dancers  and  take  all  their  horses.  The  coun¬ 


try  was  thus  left  in  possession  of  the  ghost- 
dancers — no  one  being  at  home  to  protect  the 
property  of  those  who  had  been  invited  and 
gone  to  the  agency.  The  ghost-dancers  were 
convinced  that  there  was  probably  no  way  out 
of  it  for  them  but  by  fighting.  The  Brules 
came  along  just  then  in  very  large  numbers, 
filled  with  the  same  alarm,  and  a  growing  hos¬ 
tility  toward  the  police  and  such  men  as 
American  Horse,  who  had  urged  the  agent  to 
send  for  soldiers,  sprung  up,  and  altogether 
they  concluded  to  take  refuge  in  the  Bad 
Lands. 

Louis  Shangreau  and  Little  Bat  volunteered 
to  go  and  persuade  the  ghost-dancers  along 
White  Clay  to  come  in.  General  Brooke  told 
them  to  get  honses  from  the  agent  and  go,  if 
they  were  not  afraid.  They  replied  that  there 
was  no  more  danger  then  than  there  ever  had 
been ;  that  the  Indians  had  no  hostile  intent* 
but  were  only  frightened.  They  went  to  Agent 
Royer  and  he  refused  the  horses,  saying  those 
Indians  were  all  “  hostile,”  and  were  going  to 
kill  everybody,  and  he  did  not  want  them  to  go 
and  try  to  bring  them  in.  They  went,  however, 
and  got  Little  Wound,  who  at  that  time  was 
there,  and  some  others,  to  come  in.  On  reach¬ 
ing  the  agency  they  found  the  gate  guarded 
by  police,  with  orders  from  the  agent  not  to 
let  any  Indian  pass.  Little  Wound  and  the 
rest  were  very  indignant,  and  “  ashamed,”  and 
went  back  saying,  they  would  not  go  in  now 
even  if  the  agent  gave  them  permission. 

The  first  blood  shed  in  the  late  Sioux  war  was 
by  ranchmen  on  the  Cheyenne,  who  killed  a 
Carlisle  boy  who,  with  several  other  Indians, 
had  gone  from  the  camp  in  the  bad  lands  to 
buy  tobacco,  sugar,  etc.,  at  a  store  near  by. 
They  were  fired  on  and  he  was  shot  before  they 
reached  Dailey’s  ranch.  Still  the  Indians  did 
not  even  attempt  to  avenge  this,  and  no  hostile 
act  was  committed  by  them  off  the  reservation 
and  no  depredations,  though  they  had  abund¬ 
ant  opportunity.  They  did  commit  very  ser¬ 
ious  depredations  on  the  property  of  those  In¬ 
dians  who  had  gone  into  the  agency,  and  for 
this  it  would  appear,  as  well  as  for  the  troubles 
which  then  began  to  multiply.  Dr.  Royer  more 
than  any  other  person  is  responsible,  and  that 
through  his  want  of  tact  and  his  cowardice. 

Had  he  called  the  supposed  “hostiles”  in 
and  left  the  “friendlies”  out  to  protect  their 
homes,  it  is  likely  the  trouble  would  have  been 
sooner  over  and  the  loss  of  life  and  property 
much  less. 

As  for  his  management  of  the  agency,  most 
of  those  here  speak  of  him  as  pleasant,  gentle¬ 
manly  in  bearing,  and  full  of  schemes  for  the 
betterment  of  the  Indians,  etc.,  but  very  ner¬ 
vous  and  cowardly.  He  brought  a  number  of 
new  employes  with  him  and  offended  quite 
generally  by  some  of  the  changes  made,  chiefly 
at  the  blacksmith  shop.  The  former  black¬ 
smith  being  a  good  man  and  good  smith  and 
the  new  man  unable  through  lameness  to  do 
the  work.  Meanwhile  Edgar  Firethunder,  a 
Carlisle  graduate,  who  from  six  or  more  years 
experience  as  apprentice  was  fully  competent 
to  take  charge  of  the  shop  and  did,  in  fact,  do 


about  all  the  work — the  blacksmith  not  being 
able  to  shoe  a  horse — had  his  wages  cut  down 
from  $30  to  $25  per  month,  and  the  white 
smith  got  $75.  Young  Frank  Conroy,  who 
had  learned  the  machinists  trade  at  and  near 
Carlisle,  had  earned  $3.25  per  day  at  the  east, 
and  came  with  highest  testimonials  from  his 
employers  at  York,  Pa.,  as  blacksmith,  etc., 
was  refused  employment  because  the  place 
was  to  be  filled  by  a  white  man. 

When  Miss  Goodale  recommended  a  teacher 
whom  she  knew  to  be  competent,  for  Royer’s 
endorsement,  he  replied  that  he  was  sorry  but 
he  intended  giving  that  place  to  a  woman 
whose  “husband  had  been  of  great  service  to 
him.”  She  asked  if  the  person  had  ever  taught 
or  was  well  qualified,  and  he  replied  she  had 
never  taught  but  was  intelligent,  and  he 
thought  she  could  fill  the  place  well  enough, 
and  repeated,  “  her  husband  has  been  of  great 
service  to  me  and  I  intend  she  shall  have  it.” 
She  got  it.  The  fact  as  near  as  I  can  get  at 
it  is  that  Royer  and  Gleason  were  both  politi¬ 
cal  strikers  for  Pettigrew  and  Moody.  They 
were  both  candidates  for  this  agency.  It  was 
finally  decided  that  Royer  should  have  the 
agency  and  Gleason  be  the  clerk.  After  a 
few  days’  instruction  under  the  then  clerk,  it 
was  evident  to  Mr,  Gleason  and  the  rest  that 
he  liad  not  the  ability  to  fill  the  clerk’s  place, 
and  he  took  the  place  of  farmer,  which  he  still 
holds,  though  with  hopes  of  getting  the  Rose¬ 
bud  agency  or  some  other,  as  agent. 

It  is  said  by  Dr.  McGillycuddy,  on  the  au- 
tliority  of  some  official  in  Washington,  that 
Royer’s  letters  and  dispatches  to  the  interior 
department  are  the  best  kind  of  evidence 
against  himself  as  to  fitness  for  his  place. 

*!*  «  «  ««  «»« 

I  expect  to  reach  Rosebud  Saturday,  the  7th. 
The  country  is  full  of  snow  and  it  is  now  very 
difficult  to  get  about  much.  Will  go  from 
there  to  see  Dr.  McChesney  and  thence  to 
Santee  and  Yankton  agencies. 

In  order  to  see  Gen.  Miles  and  the  leaders 
of  the  hostile  party,  with  some  important 
scout,  I  ought  to  go  to  Chicago  and  Camp 
Sheridan  near  there.  Please  write  me  on  re¬ 
ceipt  of  this  if  you  wish  me  to  do  so. 

I  shall  not  stay  long  at  Rosebud,  probably, 
and  think  you  better  address  me  care  Rev. 
Mr.  Wicks,  Hope  School,  Springfield,  S.  D. 

Cordially  yours,  Wm.  J.  Cleveland. 


At  the  examination  for  clerks  and  carriers 
for  the  Indianapolis  post-office  held  here  Feb¬ 
ruary  3,  of  the  nine  eligibles  for  clerkship 
four  were  from  the  city  and  five  were  from 
other  parts  of  the  state  as  follows :  Eck,  Leb¬ 
anon,  Anderson,  Zionsville,  and  Brightwood. 
This  is  the  competitive  system — open  to  all 
and  the  test  is  fitness  and  nothing  else.  Con¬ 
trast  this  with  the  scramble  and  pressure  for 
places  in  the  police  and  fire  departments  where 
a  thousand  applicants  besiege  the  office  of  one 
member  of  the  board  of  public  safety  upon 
whose  favor  they  believe  the  appointments  de¬ 
pend. 


The  Civil  service  chronicle. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  offic^  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St..  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  26.  INDIANAPOLIS,  APRIL,  1891.  terms 


In  the' death  of  Postmaster  Wallace,  the 
public  service  has  suffered  a  loss.  When  he 
first  became  postmaster,  there  was  a  serious 
misunderstanding  as  to  his  powers  and  duties. 
After  that  was  settled,  he  took  up  his  duties 
with  the  single  purpose  of  performing  them  in 
accordance  with  the  law  and  with  his  oath  of 
office.  His  execution  of  the  civil  service  law 
has  been  a  model  of  fairness  and  justice. 
Following  this  execution  his  office  reached  a 
degree  of  accuracy  and  capability  of  accom¬ 
plishing  work  far  beyond  what  had  ever  been 
known  in  this  city  before.  His  course  en¬ 
hanced  the  general  respect  in  which  he  was 
held. 

The  Fassett  report  says ; 

“  The  eflFect  of  the  law  is  generally  to  exclude  the 
absolutely  unfit.  More  than  this  can  not  be  said.  We 
always  come  back  to  the  elective  officers  and  the 
heads  of  the  departments.  If  the  people  err  in  their 
choice  of  elective  officers,  or  if  the  mayor  errs  in  the 
appointment  of  heads  of  departments,  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  laws  are  powerless  to  counteract  the  error.  They 
are  easily  circumvented,  and  wherever  a  motive  ex¬ 
ists  so  to  do,  they  are  disregarded  in  the  spirit  if  not 
In  the  letter.  In  New  York  City  the  offices  are  still, 
almost  without  exception,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest,  the  prizes  of  political  life  and  the  rewards  of 
party  service.  The  remedy  for  this,  however,  lies 
not  with  the  legislature,  but  with  the  people  them¬ 
selves.” 

There  is  no  excuse  for  such  powerful 
civil  service  reform  associations  as  those  of 
New  York  and  Brooklyn  permitting  such 
a  state  of  affairs  to  exist.  There  is  no  rea¬ 
son  why  the  civil  service  statutes  should 
not  be  enforced  in  New  York  as  thorough¬ 
ly  as  in  Indianapolis.  That  they  are  thor¬ 
oughly  enforced  in  this  city  is  due  to  the 
repeated  and  detailed  exposure  of  viola¬ 
tions.  Why  does  not  the  New  York  asso¬ 
ciation  grapple  with  Tammany  Hall  ?  A 
series  of  reports  showing  the  facts  con¬ 
nected  with  special  cases  would  in  two  or 
three  years  tire  out  even  Tammany  Hall. 

The  talk  of  the  young  men’s  republi¬ 
can  club,  of  Massachusetts,  has  an  exceed¬ 
ingly  refreshing  sound.  At  its  meeting 
Secretary  Tracy  found  a  congenial  audi¬ 
ence  to  hear  his  statement  of  the  greatest 
measure  of  reform  under  this  administra¬ 
tion.  In  putting  forward  its  president, 
Roger  Wolcott,  to  speak  its  sentiments, 
the  club  declared  itself  opposed  to  vague 
and  shadowy  generalities,  and  it  recog¬ 
nized  the  fact  that  public  progress  is  made 
by  bold  and  outspoken  honesty  in  relation 
to  public  affairs.  It  is  a  new  thing  for  a 
great  republican  club  to  declare  against 


Dudleyism  and  Quayism  and  to  recognize 
civil  service  reform  as  the  leading  issue. 

The  league  of  republican  clubs  in  ses¬ 
sion  in  Cincinnati  heard  a  speech  from  its 
retiring  president,  John  M.  Thurston,  in 
favor  of  civil  service  reform.  Then  it  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  ignore  this  former  republican 
doctrine  and  put  the  seal  of  its  condemna¬ 
tion  upon  it  by  unanimously  electing 
Headsman  Clarkson  as  its  president. 
Nothing  could  be  more  specific,  and  there 
is  no  opportunity  for  misunderstanding. 
President  Harrison’s  office-holders  from 
this  city.  District  Attorney  Chambers  and 
his  assistant,  Cockrum,  went  over  to  help 
in  this  convention  of  buccaneers,  and, 
meanwhile,  the  United  States  court  here 
stopped  business  and  waited  for  them. 


It  seems  by  the  Civil  Service  Reformer  that 
instead  of  a  “  dinner  ”  to  show  appreciation 
of  Gorman,  money  for  a  silver  service  is 
being  raised  and  that  the  thirty- five  hun¬ 
dred  dollars  necessary  are  coming  in  with 
painful  slowness.  This  is  the  most  en¬ 
couraging  sign  for  reform  in  Maryland 
apparent  in  many  a  day.  We  give  this 
tribute  with  the  more  pleasure  from  having 
held  the  private  opinion  that  Maryland 
totally  eclipsed  Indiana  in  total  political 
depravity;  that  it  was  more  boss  ridden,  had 
a  bigger  and  lower-down  band  of  political 
henchmen ;  and  a  Better  Element  even 
more  hide  bound  in  party  bigotry.  And 
yet  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  bulk  of  civil 
service  reformers  regard  Indiana  as  a  state 
given  over  to  spoils,  with  its  population  as 
a  class  entirely  indiflferent  to  any  other 
form  of  government. 

Of  the  death  of  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  the 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Crime  truth¬ 
fully  says : 

‘‘Our  president  counted  himself  a  debtor  to  every 
citizen  of  New  York.  This  he  did  because  he  re¬ 
spected  every  man  as  his  brother  committed  to  his 
care  by  the  common  Father.  He  met  his  death  in 
part  as  preacher,  educator,  author,  honest  taxpayer, 
and  voter.  Still  he  counted  himself  debtor  to  aid 
specially  the  magistrates  in  two  ways;  first,  encour¬ 
aging,  assisting,  and  constraining  them  to  execute 
existing  laws ;  second,  in  securing  better  laws. 

His  life  and  practice  were  a  steady  con¬ 
demnation  of  that  large  class  of  clergymen 
who  think  that  to  do  anything  or  say  any¬ 
thing  specific  for  political  improvement  is 
“  preaching  politics,”  and  therefore  unbe¬ 
coming. 


At  a  dinner  recently  given  by  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Reform  Club,  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh, 
speaking  of  the  Indian  service,  said  : 

Under  the  last  administration,  out  of  fifty-eight 
Indian  agents  fifty-three  were  removed  from  office 
during  the  four  years.  Under  this  administration, 
after  its  two  years  of  power,  but  one  Indian  agent 
appointed  by  President  Cleveland  remains.  There 
was.  virtually,  a  clean  sweep  among  the  minor  posi¬ 
tions  under  the  democratic  administration;  und^r 
the  republican  administration,  though  I  can  not 
speak  confidently  of  all,  of  many  places  the  same 
may  be  said.  Under  the  democratic  administration 
the  fact  that  Mississippi  and  Tennessee  supplied  the 
appointees  was  the  jest  of  the  Indian  country ;  under 
this  administration  by  the  ‘‘  Home  Rule”  policy  the 
senators  and  representatives  of  the  states  and  terri¬ 
tories  in  which  the  reservations  are  situated  control 
appointments.  Recently,  at  one  reservation  the 
agent,  physician  and  virtually  all  the  employes 
were  away  at  one  time  electioneering  for  the  senator 
who  had  given  them  their  places.  The  affairs  of  this 
agency  ha\e  been  in  a  deplorable  condition.  At 
this  point,  writes  a  reliable  correspondent,  from  per¬ 
sonal  observation,  “  the  boys’  school  is  a  disgrace  to 
the  service.” 

To  this,  Mr.  S.  B.  Capen,  answered  that 
“  President  Cleveland  was  determined  to 
make  improvements  but  he  was  betrayed 
by  his  subordinates.”  It  would  seem  that 
sometime  we  ought  to  hear  the  end  of 
such  excuses.  No  president  is  deceived  by 
his  subordinates.  President  Cleveland  had 
before  him  the  fullest  information  given 
by  Mr.  Welsh,  just  as  it  has  been  given  to 
President  Harrison.  The  way  to  help  on 
reform  is  to  face  the  facts  and  not  make 
excuses  where  there  is  no  excuse.  Mr. 
Moorfield  Storey  stated  the  whole  case 
when  he  said  in  the  closing  speech,  “  The 
men  who  handle  the  throttle  are  to  be  held 
responsible.” 

The  executive  committee  of  the  Nation¬ 
al  Civil  Service  Reform  League  have  passed 
resolutions  asking  the  civil  service  reform 
association  of  Maryland  to  investigate  and 
report  the  recent  charges  of  the  unwarrant¬ 
able  interference  of  federal  oflSce  holders  in 
the  primary  elections  of  the  republican  par¬ 
ty  lately  held  in  Baltimore. 

The  steady  persistence  of  the  Civil  Ser¬ 
vice  Record  has  at  last  goaded  Mr.  Porter, 
United  States  census  commissioner,  into 
furnishing  specimens  of  his  examination 
questions,  which  he  stated  to  be  superior 
to  the  civil  service  examinations.  These 
are  printed  in  the  April  number  of  the 
Record  side  by  side  with  those  used  by  the 
state  of  Massachusetts  for  census  clerks  for 
the  state  census.  Since  Mr.  Porter  simply 
tested  such  political  favorites  as  were  al- 


220 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


ready  designated  for  appointment,  his 
“  examination  ”  falls  within  a  class  which 
long  ago  was  proved  worthless. 


This  city  may,  in  time,  own  and  operate 
a  gas  fuel  plant,  a  water  plant,  a  light  plant, 
a  street  car  plant,  and  other  property  of 
great  general  necessity  and  importance. 
But  not  one  such  ownership  and  manage¬ 
ment  is  to  be  thought  of  for  a  moment 
while  places  in  the  city  service  are  filled 
by  the  mere  arbitrary  choice  of  appointing 
officers.  It  is  the  universal  experience 
that  such  choice  runs  along  the  lines  of 
personal  and  party  favoritism.  Every  new 
place  that  is  added  only  adds  to  the  power 
of  some  boss. 

Paul  Vandervoort,  ex-commander  of 
the  grand  army,  professional  office  holder 
and  political  hanger-on,  has  apparently 
left  the  republican  party  and  thus  writes 
about  it ; 

“I  saw  a  party,  born  amid  peril  in  the  nation’s 
hour  of  agony  and  baptized  with  the  red  blood  of 
heroes  who  perished  for  liberty,  go  back  on  the 
golden  words  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  said  :  ‘  We 
will  care  for  him  who  bore  the  burden  of  battle,  his 
widow  and  orphan.’  I  am  going  to  leave  a  party 
which  in  this  state  simply  represents  a  streak  of  rust 
exuding  from  the  iron  bands  of  5,000  miles  of  rail¬ 
way,  and  has  for  its  foundation  the  rotton,  ravenous, 
robbing,  blackmailing  band  of  cormorants  and  vul¬ 
tures  of  the  peniteutiary  ring.  I  am  going  to  join  a 
party  where  pious  frauds  like  John  Wanamaker  can 
not  buy  a  cabinet  office  with  the  largest  contribution 
to  the  campaign  fund.” 

Vandervoort  is  the  man  who  was  a  chief 
clerk  in  the  railway  mail  service  in  1883, 
and  who  was  then  dismissed  by  Postmaster- 
General  Gresham  for  having  been  absent 
from  his  post  265  out  of  310  working  days. 
Under  Postmaster  -  General  Wanamaker 
Vandervoort  was  appointed  superintendent 
of  mails  at  Omaha.  While  drawing  $1,500 
a  year  in  that  position  he  has  been  in 
Lincoln,  some  seventy  miles  away,  lobby¬ 
ing  in  the  legislature  for  various  corpora¬ 
tions.  Wanamaker  has  certainly  been 
liberal  with  him,  at  the  public  expense,  and 
must  now  be  pondering  upon  the  baseness 
of  ingratitude.  He  can  not  say  that  he  was 
not  informed.  He  was  fully  informed  at 
the  start,  and  that  he  should  keep  Vander¬ 
voort  in  face  of  the  facts  made  him  seem 
to  the  public  as  he  now  seems  to  Vander¬ 
voort,  a  “  pious  fraud.” 

A  New  York  correspondent  writes  ; 

I  wish  to  express  to  you  my  hearty  concurrence 
in  your  opinion  that  ‘‘all  other  reforms  should  be 
subordinated  to  civil  service  reform,”  and  my  sym¬ 
pathy  with  your  article  under  that  heading  in  the 
last  number  of  the  Chronicle.  The  politicians  will 
always  fight  with  or  for  the  machine ;  and  after  our 
experience  under  all  administrations,  republican 
and  democratic  alike,  we  may  as  well  give  up  hope 
of  real  aid  to  the  civil  service  reform  movement  from 
that  quarter.  But  the  citizen  and  voter  is  not  bound 
to  the  machine,  and,  in  proportion  to  his  intelli¬ 
gence,  is  more  or  less  free  from  party  shackles.  If, 
among  the  people,  we  can  induce  those  who  believe 
in  civil  service  reform  to  subordinate  all  others  to  it. 


our  victory  will  be  near,  and  I  hope  you  will  iterate 
that  opinion  in  each  issue  of  the  Chronicle. 

The  question  is  one  between  permanent 
issues  and  shifting  issues.  An  issue  like 
slavery  lasts  until  slavery  is  overthrown. 
In  the  scale  of  human  progress  and  good 
government  nothing  outweighs  it.  The 
spoils  system  is  its  twin.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  in  the  latter  case,  as  in  the 
former,  parties  watch  for  and  seize  upon 
shifting  or  temporary  issues,  like  taxation 
or  currency,  and  run  campaigns  upon 
them,  when  all  the  time  the  main  object  of 
their  struggle  is  to  get  hold  of  the  offices 
as  spoil.  We  have  examples  of  this  in 
the  silence  of  the  Cleveland  democrats  as 
to  what  will  be  done  with  the  offices  if  he 
is  elected  in  1892,  and  in  Mr.  Cleveland’s 
own  silence  upon  the  subject  of  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform,  although  he  writes  much  for 
the  public,  and  in  President  Harrison, 
who,  after  dividing  100,000  offices  among 
his  friends  in  two  years,  which  is  more 
booty  than  the  czar  of  Russia  divides  in 
ten  years,  is  now  traveling  over  the  coun¬ 
try  and  never  mentioning  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  federal  service,  although,  un¬ 
der  the  constitution,  this  is  his  greatest 
and  almost  his  only  duty.  Civil  service  re¬ 
formers  will  not  allow  this  question  to  be 
evaded  or  tabled  by  partisan  talk  that  some 
other  issue  is  the  great  issue. 


“EQUALLYDIVIDED  POLITICALLY.” 

The  board  of  public  safety,  composed  of 
three  commissioners,  and  having  control  of 
the  police  and  fire  divisions  of  the  city,  is 
busy  making  appointments  and  putting  in 
force  its  interpretation  of  the  silly  provision 
of  the  new  charter,  which  says  of  the  police 
and  fire  forces,  “  Provided,  That  said  forces  shall 
be,  as  nearly  as  possible,  equally  divided  po¬ 
litically.”  The  result  is  that  in  both  divisions 
experienced  and  efficient  men  have  been 
dropped  to  the  inevitable  detriment  of  the 
city  service,  with  the  accompanying  misfor¬ 
tune  to  them  of  being,  without  cause,  deprived 
of  an  opportunity  of  earning  support  for 
their  families.  Of  one  of  these  the  Indianap¬ 
olis  News,  of  April  17,  said  : 

The  board  of  public  safety  saw  fit  to  relieve  police 
officer  G.  W.  McCain  of  his  positton.  McCain  has 
been  a  member  of  the  force  for  years  and  has  made 
many  friends  among  business  men,  for  he  is  a  man 
of  irreproachable  character,  and  has  been  of  great 
value  in  his  work,  particularly  in  trying  to  make 
something  better  than  they  promised  out  of  the  news¬ 
boys  and  bootblacks  whom  he  had  to  look  after.  In 
every  respect  he  has  been  a  model  police  ofiBcer. 

That  “pulls”  and  “  influence  ”  are  having 
their  way  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  while  such 
men  as  McCain  are  dropped  “to  equalize  the 
force  between  parties,”  fifteen  new  republicans 
have  been  appointed.  Turning  to  the  fire  de¬ 
partment,  Commissioner  Holt  says: 

The  law  says  the  department  must  be  divided 
equally  as  to  politics.  There  are  no  ifs  about  it.  It 
is  obligatory.  When  this  board  took  charge  of  the 
fire  department  there  were  forty-eight  more  republi¬ 


cans  than  democrats,  and  we  set  about  to  make  them 
even.  We  dropped  out  six  republicans  and  put  in 
six  democrats.  But  still  there  were  thirty-six  more 
republicans  than  democrats,  and  that  is  the  shape  it 
is  in  now.  The  board  determined  that  it  would  not 
cripple  the  department  by  making  wholesale  remov¬ 
als.  The  finances  of  thecity  bothered  us  a  good  deal, 
and  we  had  several  meetings  on  the  subject,  and,  at 
last,  decided  that  we  had  better  strain  the  financial 
question  a  little,  rather  than  put  green  firemen  in  to 
endanger  the  property  and  lives  of  the  citizens.  We 
talked  with  business  men  and  property-owners,  and 
with  one  accord  they  agreed  to  our  plan— increase 
the  fire  department  by  putting  on  fourteen  demo¬ 
crats,  that  fourteen  experienced  firemen,  who  are 
republicans,  might  remain — and  this  we  have  done. 
There  are  yet  eleven  repnblicans  to  be  removed,  and 
this  will  be  done  as  soon  as  the  circumstances  will 
permit. 

This  is  a  fine  exhibition  of  municipal  gov¬ 
ernment.  Out  of  the  devotion  of  the  board  to 
what  it  has  picked  out  as  its  first  duty,  we 
are  paying  fourteen  green  democratic  firemen 
of  whom  apparently  we  have  not  the  least 
business  need.  If  the  board  can  leave  for  a 
moment  its  work  of  giving  places  in  the  fire 
and  police  divisions  to  republicans  and  demo¬ 
crats,  we  should  like  to  ask  it  what  “equally  ” 
means.  If  an  estate  is  to  be  divided  equally 
among  heirs  it  goes  in  equal  parts  to  all 
whether  they  are  two  or  twenty.  Now  by 
what  right  does  the  board  give  places  only  to 
republicans  and  democrats?  If  you  ask  Com¬ 
missioner  Holt  what  his  politics  are,  he  will 
say  he  is  a  democrat  and  belongs  to  the  demo¬ 
cratic  party.  Commissioner  Catterson  will 
answer  in  like  manner  that  he  is  a  republi¬ 
can.  But  to  this  question  Eli  Ritter  will 
say  “  I  am  a  prohibitionist  and  belong  to  the 
prohibition  party.”  Now  here  is  a  third  polit¬ 
ical  division  of  the  people,  to  say  nothing  of 
other  like  divisions;  and  it  is  such  a  division 
as  is  contemplated  by  statutes  when  speaking 
of  political  parties.  By  what  right  does  the 
board  ignore  the  prohibitionists?  By  what 
right  does  it  ignore  the  national  labor  party? 
Will  the  board  say  that,  politically,  men  are 
only  divided  into  republicans  and  democrats? 
The  supreme  court  would  not  say  so  and  the 
statutes  have  repeatedly  recognized  other  par¬ 
ties.  The  supreme  court  very  likely  would 
say  that  this  clause  of  the  law  is  impossible  of 
execution  and  unconstitutional  and  void.  It 
is  time  for  the  mayor  to  interfere  and  put  an 
end  to  this  humbug.  These  places  should  be 
thrown  open  to  competition  and  not  left  to  be 
filled  by  the  favoritism  of  any  board.  If  the 
mayor  will  investigate  the  manner  of  choos¬ 
ing  firemen  and  policemen,  say  in  Boston, 
Buffalo  and  Brooklyn,  and  will  prepare  a  set 
of  rules  providing  for  open  competition  and 
require  this  board  to  put  them  in  force,  he 
will  be  supported  by  the  people. 


STREET  CLEANING. 

The  hand  of  the  great  and  rich  city  of  New 
York  has  for  years  become  paralyzed  whenever 
raised  to  clean  the  filth  off  its  streets.  Finally, 
in  January  last.  Mayor  Grant  wrote  to  Morris 
K.  Jessup,  Thatcher  M.  Adams,  Charles  Chand¬ 
ler,  David  H.  King,  Jr.,  and  F.  V.  Green,  all 
prominent  citizens  of  the  city,  and  asked  them 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


221 


to  find  out  what  was  the  matter.  They  gave 
the  subject  the  greater  part  of  their  time  for 
eight  weeks,  and  made  a  report  covering  153 
printed  pages.  They  say  a  larg,>  increase  in 
the  working  force  of  the  street  cleaning  de¬ 
partment  is  necessary,  but  they  also  say,  “  We 
recommend  this  increase  provided  ihe  entire 
force  of  the  department  is  brought  within  the  control 
of  the  civil  service  regulations,  as  suggested  in  pre¬ 
vious  portions  of  this  report,  but  not  otherwise.^' 
After  setting  out  the  Boston  labor  system  in 
full,  the  committee  says :  “It  has  been  in  use 
in  Boston  several  years,  and  has  effectually 
abolished  the  patronage  abuse.” 

Speaking  of  the  present  method  of  hiring 
men  to  work  upon  the  streets,  the  committee 
says:  “  They  are  appointed  and  removed  prin¬ 
cipally  at  the  whim  of  persons  unconnected 
with  the  department,  making  requests  to  that 
effect.  They  are  selected  without  reference  to 
their  ability  to  do  the  given  work  for  which 
they  are  employed  and  are  liable  to  be  dis¬ 
charged  without  good  business  reasons  there¬ 
for.”  They  quote  from  a  banker  who  had 
watched  the  work  on  Fifth  avenue  daily  for 
seven  years,  and  who  said;  “I  don’t  hesitate 
to  say  that,  as  a  general  rule,  four  able  bodied 
men  could  in  the  same  time,  without  extra  ex¬ 
ertion,  accomplish  the  work  of  any  ten  men 
that  I  watched.” 

This  is  Indianapolis  over  again.  Ever  since 
anybody  can  remember  the  street  cleaning 
force  of  this  city  has  been  made  up  of  hang¬ 
ers-on  of  councilmen  and  other  politicians. 
No  one  can  be  found  who  will  say  that  this 
force  ever  pretended  to  do  a  day’s  work.  We 
spend  about  one  thousand  dollars  a  week  in 
this  department  and  have  nothing  but  filthy 
streets  to  show  for  it.  If  the  mayor  and  board 
of  public  works  want  to  render  this  city  a 
service,  let  them  see  that  able-bodied  men  are 
employed  upon  the  streets  and  that  when  there 
they  do  a  day’s  work  in  a  day.  The  only  way 
that  this  can  be  done  is  by  the  abolition  of 
favoritism  and  partyism  in  the  selection  and 
to  this  end  the  Boston  system  is  the  only 
means.  This  is  simply  a  system  of  registra¬ 
tion  on  the  plan  of  first  come  first  served, 
without  regard  to  politics  or  color.  The  re¬ 
quirements  are  siich  that  unworthy  men  can 
not  get  upon  the  registers.  In  taking  men 
from  the  registers  for  employment  those  who 
have  families  have  a  preference  and  in  a  few 
other  cases  there  is  a  preference.  Thus  a  few 
simple  rules  would  shut  scalawags  and  dead 
beats  out  of  the  city  employ  and  give  the  work 
to  honest  and  industrious  men. 

THE  MONTH’S  REFORM. 

Civil  service  reform  has  taken  a  great  leap 
forward  during  the  month.  The  President 
has  closed  a  very  wide  back  door  by  revoking 
the  rule  which  permitted  promotion  into  the 
classified  service  without  competition  after 
serving  two  years  in  the  unclassified  service. 

A  beginning  has  at  last  been  made  toward 
taking  the  Indian  service  away  from  the 
spoilsmen.  The  Indian  School  Service  and 
the  agency  physicians  have  been,  by  order  of 


the  President,  embraced  within  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  law.  The  list  includes  about  700  places, 
and  the  move  will  effectually  stop  the  quarter¬ 
ing  of  all  manner  of  broken  down  politicians 
upon  the  Indians  as  teachers  and  doctors.  It 
was  a  mistake  not  to  follow  out  the  first  in¬ 
tention  and  include  the  farmers.  There  is  no 
class  of  employes  where  severe  tests  would 
give  better  results,  and  in  no  case  have  the 
Indians  been  worse  swindled  than  in  the  men 
who  have  been  sent  to  them  as  “  farmers.” 
That  these  were  left  out  seems  to  be  due  to 
Secretary  Noble.  This  order  does  not  affect 
the  great  mischief  making  power  among  the 
Indians.  That  lies  in  the  agents  and  in  those 
officers  who  attend  to  the  pecuniary  affairs  of 
the  Indian.  So  long  as  these  are  men  holding 
by  a  precarious  tenure  and  in  the  mean  time  “on 
the  make,”  just  so  long  we  shall  hear  of  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars.  Nevertheless,  when  we 
add  the  new  regulations  for  the  navy  yard, 
mentioned  elsewhere,  the  whole  makes  a  very 
gratifying  month’s  progress. 


SECRETARY  TRACY  AND  THE 
NAVY  YARDS. 

The  thanks  of  the  country  are  due  to  Sec¬ 
retary  Tracy  for  having  inaugurated  a  reform 
of  such  great  importance  in  the  navy  yards 
that  it  almost  marks  an  epoch  in  the  reform 
movement.  The  navy  yards  have  been  for 
many  decades  the  most  vicious  development 
of  our  vicious  system  of  managing  the  fed¬ 
eral  service.  From  Norfolk  to  San  Francisco 
they  have  been  rendezvous  for  men  whom  the 
Sim  Coys  of  local  politics  want  to  quarter 
upon  the  government  to  pay  them  for  past  and 
future  services.  Secretary  Tracy  first  an¬ 
nounced  his  scheme  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Republican  Club  of  Massachusetts,  and  in 
every  line  of  his  announcement  he  displays  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  evil  and  a 
thorough  mastery  of  the  way  to  destroy  it. 
He  says : 

One  last  point  in  naval  affairs  remains  to  be  con¬ 
sidered,  the  question  of  the  employment  of  labor  at 
the  navy  yards.  For  fifty  years  this  has  been  the  one 
weak  spot  in  naval  administration.  Whatever  the 
party  in  control  of  the  government,  it  seems  hitherto 
to  have  been  powerless  to  exclude  political  influence 
in  the  employment  of  navy  yard  labor.  It  is  not 
enough,  apparently,  that  the  mechanics  and  work¬ 
men  in  the  government  shops  should  be  republicans 
or  democrats ;  they  must  wear  the  collar  of  the  ward 
bosses  who  run  the  local  political  machine.  The 
practice  is  a  source  of  demoralization  to  any  party 
that  attempts  to  use  it,  destructive  to  the  govern- 
.  ment  service,  and  debauching  to  local  and  national 
politics.  It  is  an  ulcer  on  the  naval  administrative 
system,  and  1  propose  to  cut  it  out.  My  attention 
has  been  directed  for  some  time  past  to  the  system 
adopted  here  in  the  city  of  Boston  for  the  selection 
of  laborers  enmloyed  upon  the  city  work.  I  have 
caused  an  exh^stlye  study  to  be  made  of  that  sys¬ 
tem  by  which  you  have  largely  succeeded  in  elimin¬ 
ating  politics  from 'municipal  labor,  and  I  believe 
that,  by  an  extension  and  modification  of  it,  the 
same  result  can  be  made  reasonably  certain  in  the 
government  navy  yards. 

The  details  of  the  system  which  I  propose  to  adopt 
are  now  being  prepared,  and  in  a  short  time  will  be 
in  full  operation.  Its  essential  features,  as  applied 
to  the  navy  yards,  are:.  First,  the  appointment,  at 
each  yard,  of  a  registration  board  to  register  all  ap¬ 


plicants  for  employment  in  the  department  of  un¬ 
skilled  labor,  to  be  selected  as  required  on  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  “first  come,  first  served,”  preference  only 
given  to  those  who  have  had  experience  in  the  class 
of  work  for  which  they  apply;  to  those  who  have 
served  in  the  army  or  navy ;  to  those  who  have  fam¬ 
ilies  to  support,  and  where  all  other  considerations 
are  equal,  to  those  possessing  superior  physical  qual¬ 
ifications.  Second,  the  registration  of  all  applicants 
for  positions  of  skilled  labor  who  can  give  evidence 
of  experience  at  their  trade,  to  be  certified  in  the 
order  of  their  application  under  the  same  rules  of 
preference,  and  their  employment  on  trial  for  a  pe¬ 
riod  of  probation  after  the  necessary  test  of  profi¬ 
ciency,  to  be  ultimately  graded  or  discharged  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  merits;  and  third,  the  selection  of  fore¬ 
men  upon  competitive  examination,  so  conducted 
as  to  bring  out  their  fitness  and  qualifications  for  the 
positions  they  seek,  open  to  all  comers  who  can  show 
the  requisite  experience.  The  boards  will  consist  of 
officers  of  the  navy  engaged  in  conducting  the  work 
of  the  yard. 

I  propose,  in  carrying  out  this  new  system,  so  to 
regulate  it  that  three  ends  shall  be  secured  :  First, 
free  and  open  eompetition ;  second  employment 
upon  grounds  of  merit,  to  be  determined  by  non-par¬ 
tisan  experts  engaged  in  and  responsible  for  the 
work,  and  third,  absolute  publicity  of  every  detail. 
And  having  begun  in  the  way  I  have  indicated,  I  do 
not  propose  to  stop  until  the  principle  of  efiiciency 
and  worth  is  the  only  test  of  navy  yard  employment. 

I  am  satisfied  that  such  a  system  will  be  in  the  inter¬ 
est,  not  only  of  the  work,  but  of  the  workingmen  ; 
that  it  can  be  carried  out  so  that  it  will  remove  not 
only  all  machine  politics  from  the  navy  yards,  but 
all  suspicion  of  machine  politics ;  that  the  economy 
and  efficiency  of  the  work  will  be  promoted,  while 
the  community  will  be  sure  that  a  navy  yard  in  its 
midst,  instead  of  being  a  focus  of  local  political  in¬ 
trigues,  is  the  place  of  employment  of  a  body  of  in¬ 
dependent  and  self-respecting  workingmen,  whose 
only  road  to  promotion  lies  in  good  work,  and  in 
whom  slackness,  indolence  or  bad  habits  will  surely 
lead  to  discharge.  [Cheers.] 

Whether  the  present  civil  service  law  is  the  best 
that  could  be  devised  to  improve  the  civil  service  of 
the  country,  I  do  not  know.  But  this  I  do  know  from 
personal  observation  in  my  own  department,  that 
the  persons  appointed  under  this  system  are  unques¬ 
tionably  more  efficient  as  a  whole  than  those  selected 
under  any  system  of  pure  patronage  ;  and  I  know 
further  that  no  republican  charged  with  the  respon¬ 
sibility  of  administering  one  of  the  great  executive 
departments  of  the  government  can  be  true  to  him¬ 
self,  to  the  faith  of  the  republican  party,  or  to  the 
people  of  this  great  nation,  whose  servant  he  is  if  he 
fails  to  employ  any  and  all  means  within  his  power 
to  elevate,  purify  and  render  more  efficient  the  civil 
service  of  the  country.  [Great  applause.] 

He  has  followed  this  talk  with  an  order 
vacating  the  positions  of  foreman  and  master 
mechanic  in  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard  and  ap¬ 
pointing  a  board  of  naval  officers  to  hold  a 
competitive  examination,  open  to  all  comers 
throughout  the  United  States,  for  candidates 
to  fill  the  vacancies.  Of  this,  the  exceptionally 
well  informed  Washington  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Post,  says : 

Capt.  F.  M.  Bunce  is  commandant  of  the  station  at 
New  London.  He  was  the  first  oflScer  put  in  com¬ 
mand  of  a  ship  in  the  new  navy— barring  the  Dolphin. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  second  board  appointed  to 
report  a  site  for  a  naval  station  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  his  whole  record  is  that  of  a  progressive,  thorough 
wide-awake  man. 

Chief-Engineer  David  Smith  ranks  very  high  in  the 
mechanical  and  scientific  branches  of  the  service. 
He  is  an  expert  on  metals  generally,  and  is  regarded 
as  the  first  authority  in  the  United  States  Navy  on 
the  subject  of  steel. 

Commander  Charles  O’Neill  is  the  present  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  gun-shops  at  the  navy-yard  here,  hav¬ 
ing  succeeded  Folger  when  the  latter  was  promoted 
to  be  chief  of  the  ordinance  bureau.  He  has  had  ex- 


222 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


actly  the  kind  of  experience  which  will  enable  him 
to  judge  of  the  men  employed  in  the  yards  elsewhere 
as  well  as  In  this  city,  and  the  state  of  mind  to  which 
the  political  heelers  here  have  reduced  him  by  their 
importunities  and  threats  has  made  him  an  enthu¬ 
siastic  reformer. 

Commander  F.  E.  Chadwick  is  in  command  of  the 
Yorktovm.  He  was  for  some  time  naval  attach^  of 
the  American  Legation  in  London.  During  that 
period  the  information  which  he  furnished  the 
bureau  of  naval  Intelligence  at  the  department  here 
gave  the  bureau  its  first  dignity,  and  is  thought  to 
have  done  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  estab¬ 
lish  its  success. 

Naval  Constructor  Francis  T.  Bowles,  now  in  charge 
of  the  construction  work  at  the  Norfolk  yard,  is  one 
of  the  ablest  and  brightest  young  officers  in  the  ser¬ 
vice.  He  has  been  in  hot  water  with  the  bosses  ever 
since  he  took  hold  at  Norfolk,  all  because  he  would 
not  submit  to  their  dictation,  but  he  is  a  hard  fighter, 
and  has  come  out  ahead,  as  the  secretary’s  present 
evidence  of  appreciation  shows.  Mr.  Bowles  is  a 
relative  of  the  late  Samuel  Bowles,  of  Springfield. 
He  was  graduated  at  the  head  of  his  class  at  Annap¬ 
olis,  and  took  high  honors  at  Greenwich,  Eng., 
whither  he  was  sent  by  the  government  to  complete 
his  education. 

Lieut.  William  B.  Caberton,  the  recorder  of  the  ex¬ 
amining  board,  has  been  for  four  years  past  a  mem- 
Der  of  the  steel  inspection  board.  He  is  likely  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  command  of  the  Miantonomoh  as  soon  as 
she  is  put  in  commission  again. 

When  we  compare  this  board  of  officers 
with  the  Mikes  and  the  J akes  and  the  Barneys 
who  have  for  generations  named  the  employes 
of  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard,  we  begin  to  get 
a  faint  glimmering  of  how  the  country  has 
been  robbed  and  swindled,  and  of  how  Brook¬ 
lyn  citizenship  has  been  degraded.  Other 
navy  yards  are  to  be  taken  in  order.  Secre¬ 
tary  Whitney  once  issued  a  fine  sounding  order 
with  regard  to  navy  yard  employment  and 
then  privately  sent  a  messenger  to  say  that  it 
might  be  disregarded.  Secretary  Tracy  will 
not  do  this,  and  having  the  authority  and 
knowing  the  way  to  overcome  this  abuse,  it  is 
proper  that  he  should  pursue  his  own  course. 
We  must  urge  him,  however,  in  the  light  of 
all  past  reform  experience,  not  to  go  out  of 
ofl&ce  leaving  the  continued  execution  of  this 
reform  to  the  discretion  of  his  successor.  To 
be  of  any  permanent  value  it  must  be  put  be¬ 
yond  the  reach  of  future  secretaries  with 
friends  to  reward,  and  this  can  only  be  done 
by  inducing  the  President  to  put  the  navy 
yards  under  the  civil  service  law.  No  change 
from  Secretary  Tracy’s  plan  will  be  necessary. 
The  boards  of  naval  officers  would  remain 
and  the  system  of  registering  laborers,  which 
is  the  Boston  system,  would  be  the  same. 
These,  with  open  competition,  constitute  the 
reform,  and  by  taking  measures  to  perpetuate 
it.  Secretary  Tracy  would  erect  an  enduring 
monument  to  his  great  service  to  the  country. 

ANECDOTES  OF  A  CHRONIC  OFFICE 
HOLDER. 

Chester  R.  Faulkner  was  a  member  of  the 
lower  house  of  the  late  general  assembly.  He 
attracted  attention  on  account  of  his  opposi¬ 
tion  to  appropriations  which  seemed  to  average 
people  necessary  to  the  ordinary  efficiency  of 
the  state  government.  For  instance,  to  the 
proposition  to  relieve  the  supreme  court  by 
additional  judges  or  by  a  new  court,  Faulk¬ 
ner  said : 


“  Let  them  judges  take  down  them  spring 
beds  and  go  to  work.”  This  referred  to  cer¬ 
tain  beds  which  the  out-of-town  judges  have 
in  their  chambers  at  the  capitol.  It  is  not  to 
be  inferred  that  rope  beds  and  feather  ticks 
were  to  be  substituted,  but  that  the  judges 
were  to  be  cut  off  from  all  chance  of  sleeping 
in  their  chambers.  When  the  question  of  sal¬ 
ary  for  the  state  librarian  came  up  it  was 
proposed  to  make  it  $1,500,  but  Faulkner 
stood  stubbornly  for  $1,000.  Such  Spartan 
virtue  led  wicked  and  envious  people  to  look 
into  Faulkner’s  past  to  see  what  meat  he  had 
fed  on  to  produce  such  a  development.  It 
seems  that  under  the  late  administration.  Sen¬ 
ator  Voorhees  kept  Faulkner  steadily  under 
government  pay.  His  first  position  was  that 
of  clerk  of  the  committee  on  additional  ap¬ 
propriations  to  the  library  of  congress  at  six 
dollars  a  day.  This  committee  had  one  bill 
referred  to  it  in  seven  years.  Then  he  became 
chief  of  the  records  division  of  the  pension 
office  at  $2,000  a  year.  While  in  this  position 
he  asked  the  superintendent  of  the  railway 
mail  service  to  transfer  a  clerk  so  that  he 
could  work  and  vote  in  Indiana  at  an  ap¬ 
proaching  election.  Being  refused,  he  wrote 
an  impertinent  letter  derogatory  of  the  admin¬ 
istration,  for  which  Secretary  Vilas  demanded 
his  resignation.  Faulkner  refused  to  resign 
until  he  had  seen  Congressman  Voorhees,  who 
appointed  him,  and  the  latter  forthwith  bullied 
Vilas  into  backing  down. 

It  is  claimed  that  Faulkner’s  sole  perform¬ 
ance  of  duty  in  this  last  position  consisted  in 
tapping  his  bell  three  times  at  noon  and  again 
at  night.  The  first  tap  was  for  the  clerks  to 
put  away  pens,  the  second,  to  rise,  and  the 
third,  to  march  out.  One  other  duty  per¬ 
formed,  however,  is  related  of  Faulkner.  His 
young  men  and  women  clerks  were  apt  to  con¬ 
verse  in  the  corridors  at  noon,  and  to  meet 
this  emergency  he  prepared  and  hung  up  a 
large  placard  having  upon  it  the  notice,  “No 
Lofeing  in  the  Corduroys.”  Harrison’s  ad¬ 
ministration  dispensed  with  his  services  and 
then  Voorhees  seems  to  have  quartered  him  up¬ 
on  the  senate  again,  as  until  some  months  ago 
he  was  on  the  congressional  pay-roll  as  folder 
in  the  senate  document  room. 

THE  INDIANAPOLIS  SYSTEM. 


pointment,  and  then  the  appointee  goes  through 
some  sort  of  a  medical  pass  examination. 
There  is  no  athletic  examination. 

Now  against  this  ridiculous  and  farcical 
“examination”  we  set  some  actual  examina¬ 
tion  tests  which  have  been  used  in  Boston  and 
Brooklyn  for  selecting  patrolmen.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  these  examinations  are  com¬ 


petitive.  The  board  can  not  make  a  public 
show  of  “examinations”  and  then  in  making 
appointments  secretly  give  rein  to  favoritism 
and  “  pulls.”  The  names  are  listed  accord¬ 
ing  to  success  in  the  competition,  and  the 
board  must  take  the  men  accordingly.  The 
information  afforded  by  these  examples  is 
commended  to  the  board  of  public  safety  and 
to  those  framers  of  the  charter  who  claimed 
that  if  there  was  a  modern  improvement  to  be 
found  in  municipal  government  in  this  coun¬ 
try  which  they  had  not  secured  “it  must  have 
been  discovered  within  the  last  three  months.” 


BROOKLYN. 

Examination  for  Patrolmen,  March  1, 1889. 
SCHEME  OF  MARKING. 

Marking.— Perfect,  100:  Required  Minimum. 

Physique . 30.  70  per  cent,  or  21 

Athletics . 20.  70  ‘‘  “  ll* 

Testimonials . 20.  70  “  “  14 

Experience  as  stated  by  candi 

date . 5. 

Penmanship,  spelling  and  dic¬ 
tation . 5.  50  “  23^ 

Arithmetic . 10.  50  “  “  5 

Intelligence . 10.  50  “  “5 

Required  minimum  generally,  70  per  cent. 

■^Tbis  minimum  is  reduced  to  some  extent  for 
candidates  receiving  80  per  cent.,  and  upwards,  in 
physique. 

LThe  experts  upon  the  physical  examination  were 
Dr.  Stewart  Church  and  Police  Surgeon  O’Connell, 
from  both  of  whom  a  certificate  was  required  in 
the  same  form  required,  as  above,  in  the  case  of 
park  policemen.] 


Athletic  Examination.  {Rating,  20  out  of  100.) 
[The  experts  were  Dr.  Wm.  G.  Anderson  and  Inspec¬ 
tor  McLaughlin  of  the  police  department,  from 
both  of  whom  a  certificate  in  the  following  form 
was  required,  a  rating  being  assigned  to  each  test 
and  a  general  average  being  given.] 

Name, 

Height, 

1.  Strength  of  biceps, 


2. 

f 

triceps. 

3. 

<( 

back. 

4. 

<< 

legs. 

5. 

(( 

right  hand. 

6. 

4( 

left  hand. 

7. 

(4 

chest, 

8. 

44 

back.  (Traction) 

The  system  by  which  the  board  of  public 
safety  gets  at  the  merits  of  applicants  for  po¬ 
lice  appointments  is  instructive.  The  men 
are  called  in  one  by  one  and  are  solemnly 
told  that  they  are  not  compelled  to  answer 
the  questions,  but  that  it  would  be  best  to  do 
so  ;  and  further,  that  any  false  answer  would 
cause  dismissal  if  found  out  after  appoint¬ 
ment.  Commissioner  Holt  has  prepared  the 
questions,  which  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Have  you  ever  had  any  trouble  with  anyone 
in  the  city? 

2.  Were  you  ever  arrested? 

3.  Do  you  drink  whisky? 

4.  Do  you  get  drunk  ? 

6.  Do  you  ever  do  anything  that  you  think  would 
be  unbecoming  to  a  policeman  ? 

This  test  is  followed  by  selection  for  ap- 


Total  .strength,  ' 

1.  Test  with  spirometer, 

2.  "  ladder, 

3.  “  vault  and  jump, 

4.  ‘‘  putting  shot, 

5.  “  one-eighth  mile  run. 

Rating  as  to  athletic  examination  by  Inspector  Mc¬ 
Laughlin, 

Rating  as  to  athletic  examination  by  Dr.  Ander¬ 
son, 

Dated,  Brooklyn,  1889. 

Signature  of  applicant,  ^ 

Address  of  applicant, 

Intelligenee.  {Rating,  10  out  of  100.) 

1.  What  do  you  unaerstand  to  be  the  reasons  for 
your  present  examination,  and  your  previous  phys¬ 
ical  examination  ? 

2.  State  the  difference  between  the  present  and 
the  former  mode  of  appointment  to  the  police  force 
of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  ? 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


223 


3.  If  you  discovered  persons  making  an  excavation 
on  property  located  on  your  beat,  as  a  policeman, 
what  would  you  do? 

4.  In  case  there  were  a  Are  in  a  building  located 
on  your  beat,  and  property,  such  as  furniture,  etc., 
were  brought  out  and  placed  upon  the  street,  what 
would  you,  as  a  policeman,  understand  to  be  your 
duty  as  to  such  property  ? 

5.  How  would  you  go  from  the  Wallabout  to  Qo- 
wanus? 

6.  What  is  the  name  given  to  the  water  supply  of 
Brooklyn,  and  why? 

7.  (a.)  Where  is  the  Brooklyn  Savings  Bank? 

(6.)  Where  is  the  Sprague  National  Bank? 

(c.)  Where  is  the  Dime  Savings  Bank  ? 

8.  What  is  the  object  of  the  Ambulance  Service  of 
this  city  ? 

9.  Give  the  route  of  the  Brooklyn  Elevated  Rail¬ 
road. 

10.  When  was  the  Brooklyn  Bridge  opened  to  the 
public? 

Arithmetic.  {Rating,  10  out  of  100.) 

Notice.— S/iow  each  operation  at  length,  with  all  the 
calculations.  The  Commission  will  not  accept  the  mere 
final  result. 

1.  Add  the  following  amounts:  Seven  hundred 
and  nineteen  dollars  and  sixty-seven  cents ;  Thirty- 
three  dollars  and  eighty-four  cents;  Eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  ninety  dollars  and  two  cents;  Three  hun¬ 
dred  dollars ;  Two  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents. 

2.  Add  the  following : 

42,993 

304 

6,789 

119,244 

4,633,297 

784,388 

2,666 


3.  From  eighty-seven  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty  dollars,  subtract  sixteen  thousand  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-eight  dollars  and  forty-nine  cents. 

4.  Multiply  236  by  84. 

5.  Multiply  29,823  by  798. 

6.  Divide  35,026  by  83. 

7.  Divide  946,368  by  496. 

8.  (a.)  How  many  pints  in  a  quart  ? 

(6.)  How  many  quarts  in  a  peck? 

(c.)  How  many  pecks  in  a  bushel  ? 

9.  (a.)  How  many  gallons  in  a  barrel  ? 

(6.)  How  many  square  feet  in  a  square  yard? 

10.  (a.)  Write  in  words  this  sum  of  money :  $362,- 
810.06, 

(6.)  Write  in  words  this  number:  40,699. 
BOSTON  POLICE. 

First  Subject. 

Copying  a  printed  statement. 

Second  Subiect. 

1.  State,  in  general  terms,  your  occupation  since  you 

became  of  age,  and  any  experience  you  may  pos¬ 
sess  which  will  be  of  use,  if  you  should  receive 
an  appointment  in  the  police  service. 

2.  If  you  have  ever  served  in  the  police  department 

In  any  capacity,  or  in  any  public  office,  state 
when,  where,  how  long,  whether  you  were  ever 
discharged  for  cause,  or  requested  to  resign ;  and 
whether,  while  in  office,  you  were  ever  com¬ 
plained  of  for  violation  of  the  rules  of  the  office, 
or  for  any  conduct  unbecoming  an  officer;  and, 
if  such  complaint  was  made,  what  action  was 
taken  thereon. 

3.  Have  you  ever  been  convicted  of  any  offence 

against  the  laws  of  this  or  any  other  state  or  na¬ 
tion? 

4.  Have  you  ever  been  a  dealer  in  intoxicating  li¬ 

quors,  or  a  bar- tender?  If  so,  when,  where  and 
for  how  long? 

5.  If  you  drink  distilled  or  fermented  liquors  of  any 

kind,  state  fully  and  definitely  what  your  habits 
are  in  such  use  of  them.  If  you  are  a  total  ab¬ 
stainer,  state  how  long  you  have  abstained. 

6.  Have  you  served  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the 
United  States,  either  in  time  of  peace  or  war; 


and,  if  so,  how  long  did  you  serve,  and  in  what 
capacity,  and  did  you  receive  an  honorable  dis¬ 
charge  therefrom? 

7.  If  you  have  ever  served  in  the  volunteer  militia, 

name  the  regiment  and  company,  and  state  how 
long  and  in  what  capacity  you  served,  and 
whether  you  have  been  honorably  discharged, 
been  dismissed,  have  resigned  or  been  asked  to 
resign. 

8.  Have  you  ever  had  the  handling  of  men,  either 

in  public  office  or  private  employment? 

Third  Subject. 

1.  Write  in  figures  the  following  numbers: 

One  hundred  eleven  thousand  three  hundred  six. 

Write  in  words  the  numbers  expressed  by  the  fol¬ 
lowing  figures:  49,852. 

2.  Add  the  following  column  of  figures: 

27,896 

35,427 

12,397 

75,556 

29,872 

12,387 

3.  An  army  of  10,000  men  lost  4,809  men  in  battle ;  i 

how  many  men  were  left?  Give  the  work  in  full. 

4.  How  much  will  72  barrels  of  flour  weigh  if  each 

barrel  weighs  196  pounds?  Give  the  work  in  full. 

5.  How  many  horses  worth  $125  apiece  must  be  given 

for  a  farm  worth  $11,000  ?  Give  the  work  in  full. 

6.  What  will  be  the  cost  of  32  pounds  of  coffee  at 
28)4  cents  a  pound  ?  Give  the  work  in  full. 

Fourth  Subject. 

1.  What  is  an  officer’s  duty  upon  discovering  a  de¬ 
fect  in  the  street  ? 

2.  When  the  body  of  a  person  supposed  to  have 
died  from  violence  is  found  in  the  street,  what  is 
the  officer’s  duty? 

3.  How  fast  can  a  vehicle  be  driven  around  the  cor¬ 
ner  of  a  street? 

4.  How  near  can  a  vehicle  approach  another  at  a 
street  crossing? 

5.  What  rate  of  speed  are  horse-cars  allowed  in  turn¬ 
ing  corners  ? 

6.  At  what  hour  may  itinerant  musicians  begin  to 
perform,  and  at  what  hour  must  they  cease? 

7.  What  is  an  officer’s  duty  when  he  sees  an  old 
thief  or  suspicious  person  enter  a  horse-car? 

8.  When  the  ringing  of  bells  disturbs  sick  people, 
how  can  they  be  stopped  ? 

9.  What  is  the  lawful  rate  of  speed  at  which  horses 
may  be  driven  in  the  public  streets? 

10.  Ill  what  way  may  coasting  be  allowed  in  the 
public  streets? 

11.  What,  if  any,  restrictions  are  there  against  people 
walking,  standing,  or  lying  on  the  grass  on  the 
Common  or  Public  Garden  ? 

12.  From  whom  should  an  officer  in  charge  of  a  de¬ 
tail  at  a  ward  caucus  receive  his  orders  ? 

13.  Who  has  the  power  to  license  theatrical  exhibi¬ 
tions  in  the  city  ? 

14.  How  may  the  police  examine  books  and  articles 
In  possession  of  a  collateral  loan  company? 

15.  Can  a  person  who  has  committed  a  misdemeanor, 
for  whose  arrest  a  warrant  has  been  issued,  be 
arrested  by  an  officer  who  has  not  the  warrant 
in  his  possession  ? 

16.  Have  constables  in  Boston  the  same  criminal 
power  as  police  officers? 

17.  Have  licensed  private  detectives  the  power  to 
make  arrests  ? 

18.  Have  police  officers  the  right  to  serve  a  bastardy 
warrant?  If  so,  when? 

19.  How  can  a  Boston  officer  legally  serve  a  warrant 
in  Boston  issued  by  a  court  in  Worcester  or 
Springfield  ? 

20.  Name  the  offenses  that  the  members  of  the  board 
of  police  can  make  arrests  for  personally  without 
a  warrant? 

21.  What  is  a  writ  of  “  habeas  corpus?” 

22.  What  is  the  meaning  of  “nol.  pros?” 

Physical  Examination. 

(Blank  to  be  filled  out  by  the  applicant.) 

I  [write  your  full  name] - ,  hereby  declare  that 

the  answers  to  the  following  inquiries  touching  my 

personal  and  family  health,  history,  habits  and  an- 

-tecedents,  are  true,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and 


belief,  and  that  I  am  the  person  described  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  record  of  examination : 

What  is  your  occupation  ? 

Do  you  use  tobacco?  If  so,  in  what  manner,  and 
how  much  do  you  use  in  a  week  ? 

Do  you  drink  intoxicating  liquors?  If  so,  how  fre¬ 
quently? 

Have  you  any  disease  now? 

What  diseases  have  you  had  during  the  last  seven 
years  ? 

Do  you  know  of  any  hereditary  disease  in  your 
family  ? 

If  your  parents,  brothers,  or  sisters,  or  any  of  them, 
are  dead,  of  what  disease  did  they  die? 

Have  you  ever  had  fits? 

Have  you  ever  had  any  fracture  or  dislocation  ? 
Have  you  ever  received  any  injury  to  the  head  or 
spine  ? 

Are  you  subject  to  piles? 

Have  you  been  vaccinated? 

Have  you  ever  had  rheumatism  ? 

Certificate  of  Examining  Surgeon. 

1.  Is  the  respiring  murmur  clear  and  distinct  over 
both  the  lungs? 

2.  Is  the  character  of  the  respiration  full,  easy  and 
regular  ? 

3.  Are  there  any  indications  of  disease  of  the  organs 
of  respiration  or  their  appendages? 

4.  Is  the  character  of  the  heart’s  action  uniform, 
free  and  steady? 

5.  Are  its  sounds  and  rhythm  regular  and  normal  ? 

6.  Are  there  any  indications  of  disease  of  this  organ 
or  of  the  blood  vessels  ? 

7.  Is  the  sight  good? 

8.  Is  the  applicant  color  blind  ? 

9.  Is  the  hearing  good  ? 

10.  Is  the  applicant  subject  to  cough,  expectoration, 
difficulty  of  breathing  or  palpitation  ? 

11.  Are  the  functions  of  the  brain  and  nervous  sys¬ 
tem  in  a  healthy  state? 

12.  Has  the  brain  or  spinal  cord  ever  been  diseased  ? 

13.  If  the  applicant  has  had  any  serious  illness  or  in¬ 
jury,  state  expressly  what  effect,  if  any,  is  per¬ 
ceptible  in  the  heart,  lungs,  kidneys  or  other  ab¬ 
dominal  organs,  or  the  skin,  eyes,  ears,  limbs,  etc. 

14.  Has  the  applicant  any  predisposition,  either  her¬ 
editary  or  acquired,  to  any  constitutional  dis¬ 
ease,  as  phthisis,  scrofula,  rheumatism? 

15.  Has  the  applicant  varicose  veins  or  hernia? 

16.  Does  the  applicant  display  any  evidence  of  hav¬ 
ing  or  having  had  syphilis? 

Note.— Syphilitic  taint  or  obesity  must  be  regarded 
as  a  good  cause  for  rejection . 

Remarks. 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  this  day  carefully  and 

thoroughly  examined  the  above  named -  and 

find  that  he  is -  sound  in  limb  and  body, - is 

able-bodied, - of  robust  constitution,  has - good 

eyesight  and  — -  good  hearing,  and,  in  my  opinion, 

is - physically  qualified  to  sustain  the  labors  and 

exposures,  and  perform  the  duties  of  a  policeman  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  and  that  the  above  is  a  truthful 
record  of  the  examination. 

- ,  City  Physician. 

- ,  188-. 

Athletic  Examination,  with  the  Weight  given  to 
EACH  Item. 


Age .  — 

Weight . — 

Height .  — 

Girth  of  waist .  — 

Depth  of  abdomen . — 

Girth  of  chest .  2 

Girth  of  chest,  full .  2 

Girth  9th  rib .  2 

Girth  91  h  rib,  full .  2 

Girth  of  thigh,  r .  i 

Girth  of  thigh,  1 .  i 

Girth  of  calf,  r .  i 

Girth  of  calf,  1 .  i 

Girth  of  upper  arm,  r .  2 

Girth  of  upper  arm,  1 .  2 

Girth  of  forearm,  r .  2 

Girth  of  forearm,  1 .  2 

Depth  of  chest .  2 


22 


224 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


Development. 


Capacity  of  lungs .  3 

Strength  of  lungs .  2 

Strength  of  back . —  4 

Strength  of  legs .  3 

Strength  of  upper  arm,  h.  p .  3 

Strength  of  forearm,  r.  1 .  5 

Traction  pull .  5 

Abdominal  muscles .  3 

Back  pull .  3 

Dumb-bell .  3 

Running  ^  mile .  2 

36 

Strength, - . 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  this - day  of - , 


188-,  carefully  and  thoroughly  examined  the  above- 
named  applicant,  and  that  the  above  is  a  truthful 
record  of  such  examination. 

- ,  Physical  Examiner. 

The  April  number  of  the  Civil  Service  Record 
contains  two  interesting  letters  regarding  the 
practical  effects  in  Wa.shington  of  the  merit 
system. 

In  the  current  number  of  Scribner’s  Maga¬ 
zine  Herbert  Welsh  has  an  article  on  the  In¬ 
dian  outbreak  in  Dakota  in  which  he  shows 
the  disastrous  results  of  using  the  Indian  trust 
for  political  purposes. 


PROGRESS. 

— There  crops  up,  once  in  a  while,  a  modern 
instance  which  plays  such  havoc  with  the  wise 
saws  of  the  spoilsmen  in  high  places  that  one 
can  scarcely  forbear  wondering  at  their  temer¬ 
ity  in  renewing  their  attacks  on  civil  service 
reform. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  of  a  whole  cab¬ 
inet  of  eight  members,  Postmaster-General 
John  Wanamaker  was  the  only  one  who,  at 
the  very  outset  of  the  present  administration, 
began  making  complaint  of  ths  obstacles 
which  the  merit  system  put  in  the  way  of  the 
selection  of  the  best  sort  of  subordinates  in 
the  executive  departments. 

It  was  he  whose  private  secretary  sent  out 
to  public  men  and  reformers  that  memorable 
circular  letter  inquiring  whether  the  sham  had 
not  better  cease,  and  all  hands  return  to  the 
good  old  custom  of  free  selection. 

It  was  he  who  raised  a  storm  over  the  fact 
that  President  Cleveland  had  set  a  date  for 
extending  the  civil  service  rules  to  the  rail¬ 
way  mail  service,  one  of  the  most  valuable 
strongholds  of  the  spoils  system,  and  who  de¬ 
clared,  through  his  understrappers  and  by  his 
own  lips,  that  that  was  not  the  way  to  get  the 
best  class  of  railway  mail  clerks,  and  that  he 
was  receiving  poor  material  under  it. 

In  the  light  of  all  these  recollections,  it  is 
interesting  to  observe  that,  when  the  postmas¬ 
ter-general  bestowed  the  gold  medal  and  the 
general  prize  he  had  offered  as  a  reward  for 
the  highest  proficiency  attained  in  this  branch 
of  his  service,  he  should  have  been  forced  to 
select  for  the  honor  Mr.  Charles  H.  Oler,  for¬ 
merly  of  Economy,  Ind. 

Mr.  Oler  was  by  calling  a  district  school¬ 
teacher  and  a  farm-hand.  When  the  farming 
season  was  at  its  height  he  worked  in  the  field 
and  took  his  hire  like  the  other  hands.  When 


the  season  ended  and  the  schools  were  opened 
he  mounted  the  pedagogue’s  desk.  He  had  no 
powerful  relatives  or  friends  to  help  him  to  a 
“fat  thing.”  He  had  no  time  for  or  interest 
in  political  work,  beyond  what  belongs  to 
every  good  citizen.  He  did  not  even  have  the 
benefit  of  the  aid  of  a  member  of  congress;  for 
the  representative  from  his  district.  General 
Thomas  M.  Browne,  has  been  physically  un¬ 
able  to  attend  to  his  duties  in  Washington  for 
the  last  two  years.  But  the  young  man  went 
before  the  civil  service  examiners  and  passed 
the  ordeal  on  his  own  merits.  His  rating  was 
91  per  cent.,  and  he  stood  twelfth  on  a  list  of 
eighty-four  eligibles  who  passed  in  the  same 
series  of  examinations.  There  was  not  an 
iota  of  political  influence  used  in  procuring 
his  appointment;  the  few  who  had  passed 
with  better  averages  than  he  were  taken  in 
their  order,  as  vacancies  occurred.  Finally, 
in  September,  1889,  his  turn  came.  When  he 
handed  in  his  papers,  he  found  no  more  promi¬ 
nent  citizens  to  certify  to  his  character  and 
personal  antecedents  than  a  fellow  teacher, 
employed  in  the  public  schools  of  Williams¬ 
burg,  and  a  notary  public  in  Economy. 

Mr.  Oler  stands  at  the  head  of  7,000  clerks 
with  no  second  near  him.  He  has  broken 
every  record  ever  known  in  the  department 
for  brilliant  work.  He  has  acquired  his  pro¬ 
ficiency,  like  his  office,  without  assistance 
from  anybody  or  anything  but  his  own  brain 
and  hands.  And  the  postmaster-general  who 
does  not  believe  the  merit  system  “  practical  ” 
and  is  quite  sure  he  could  do  better  by  ap¬ 
pointing  the  sons  and  nephews  and  cousins 
and  brothers  of  public  men, or  the  “  workers” 
at  caucuses  and  polls,  has  been  compelled  to 
give  this  unknown,  unaided  young  man  every 
prize  within  reach,  and  finally  to  promote  him 
to  a  first-class  berth  in  the  new  ocean  mail 
service.  What  a  commentary  on  the  abuse  of 
the  word  “  practical  ”  in  politics  ! —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening  Post,  March  27. 

— When  the  sundry  civil  appropriation  bill 
was  considered  by  the  senate  last  month  a  pro¬ 
vision  was  inserted  authorizing  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  architects,  draughtsmen,  and  civil 
engineers  in  the  office  of  the  supervising  arch¬ 
itect  of  the  treasury  department  without  regard 
to  the  civil  service  rules  and  regulations.  It 
was  asserted  that  the  supervising  architect 
could  not  get  such  men  as  he  wanted  through 
the  civil  service  commission,  and  the  provision 
was  agreed  to  by  both  houses. 

It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  entirely  sat¬ 
isfactory  to  the  supervising  architect,  for  since 
congress  adjourned  he  has  appointed  three 
draughtsmen  under  the  certification  of  the 
civil  service  commission,  and  the  latter  ex¬ 
pects  to  continue  holding  examinations  for 
such  places. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  Y<y>'k 
Times,  March  27. 

— A  good  many  persons  appear  to  have  the 
idea  that  in  some  way  more  republicans  than 
democrats  are  getting  into  the  classified  serv¬ 
ice  under  the  civil  service  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions.  The  civil  service  commission  has  no 
means  of  knowing  the  politics  of  the  persons 
who  pass  its  examinations,  but  it  has  recently 
received  a  letter  from  a  resident  of  a  southern 
state  which  throws  a  little  light  on  the  subject. 

The  writer  says  that  of  the  ten  clerks  last 
appointed  from  his  state  eight  are  democrats 


to  his  personal  knowledge.  One  little  fact  of  1 
this  sort  offsets  a  long  string  of  such  assertions  ij 
concerning  favoritism  in  the  appointment  of 
classified  clerks  as  have  been  made  by  the  op¬ 
ponents  of  the  merit  system. —  Washington  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  April  2. 

— Congressman  Randall  was  pleased  to  learn 
from  the  list  of  nominations  sent  to  the  senate 
that  his  recommendation  for  postmaster  at 
Sandwich  had  been  approved  by  the  President. 
He  obeyed  the  popular  voice  in  recommending  the 
reappointment  of  Postmaster  James  Shevlin,  the 
popular  democratic  veteran.  The  appointment  is 
a  violation  of  Postmaster-General  Wanama- 
ker’s  rule  to  put  none  but  republicans  on 
guard,  but  nine-tenths  of  the  patrons  of  the 
office  were  for  Mr.  Shevlin,  the  grand  army 
and  all  the  veterans  were  for  him,  and  the  re¬ 
publican  town  committee  endorsed  him. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Boston  Post,  Jan.  SO. 

— The  republicans  of  Newton  are  much 
elated  over  the  reappointment  of  Mr.  George 
H.  Morgan  as  postmaster.  Mr.  Morgan  was 
appointed  by  President  Cleveland  and  has 
managed  the  offiee  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  of 
its  patrons.  Owing  to  his  faithful  services  the  re¬ 
publicans  of  the  city  were  unanimous  for  his  reten¬ 
tion,  and  would  not  consider  any  other  candidate. 
R.  11.  Gardiner,  president  of  the  republican 
ward  and  city  committee,  and  Mr.  C.  Bowditch 
Coffin,  a  former  president,  worked  faithfully 
for  Mr.  Morgan’s  reappointment,  even  writing 
to  the  postmaster-general  that  it  would  be  for 
the  interest  of  the  republican  party  to  reap¬ 
point  Mr.  Morgan.  Mr.  Coffin  gives  much 
credit  to  ex-Congressman  Candler  for  the  re¬ 
appointment. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Boston 
Post,  April  9. 

CURRENT  SPOIL. 

— An  interesting  and  instructive  object  les¬ 
son  in  the  methods  employed  by  the  Tammany 
machine  to  equip  the  forces  of  the  park  police 
is  furnished  by  the  case  of  Thomas  Cole,  whose 
experiences  as  a  candidate  for  appointment 
were  brought  to  light  yesterday  for  the  first 
time.  Cole  is  a  poor  man,  earning  $2  a  day  as 
a  car  driver  on  the  Fourth  Avenue  Railroad. 
His  home  is  at  158  East  Eighty-Eighth  street. 
He  was  promised  a  position  as  a  park  police¬ 
man  if  he  would  pay  for  it.  This  he  did,  pay¬ 
ing  $300 — all  the  money  he  had  in  the  world 
— to  John  J.  Shelley,  a  foreman  on  the  park 
board,  living  at  176  East  Eighty-Eighth  street. 
Shelley’s  failure  to  secure  the  place  for  his 
victim  led  Cole  to  sue  him  for  the  recovery  of 
his  money,  and  the  initiatory  proceedings  in 
this  suit  were  begun  yesterday. 

Cole,  whose  appearance  indicates  that  he  is 
an  honest  man,  was  seen  by  a  Times  reporter 
yesterday,  and  told  the  followingstory :  “Early 
in  March,  1889,  while  driving  a  car  on  the 
Fourth  Avenue  Road,  I  met  John  Pursell  of 
130  East  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third 
street,  who  is  a  mounted  policeman  stationed 
in  Central  Park.  He  rode  with  me  frequent¬ 
ly,  and  we  became  more  or  less  confidential. 
One  day  he  told  me  that  if  I  had  any  money 
he  could  fix  things  so  that  I  could  get  on  the 
foree.  I  told  him  that  I  had  a  little  money 
and  would  consider  any  proposition  he  would 
make. 

“A  few  days  later — I  think  it  was  March  3 — 
I  met  Pursell  by  appointment  at  the  One  Hun¬ 
dred  and  Tenth  street  entrance  to  the  park, 
and  was  introduced  to  John  J.  Shelley,  who. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


225 


Piirsell  sai(l,  was  superintendent  of  the  park. 
‘He  can  put  you  on  the  force  for  the  price,’ 
said  Pursell.  I  then  asked  Shelley  what  his 
price  was  and  he  replied,  ‘Four  hundred  dol¬ 
lars.’  I  demurred,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
too  high,  and,  after  some  talk,  he  agreed  to 
give  me  an  appointment  for  $350,  of  which  I 
was  to  pay  $300  in  cash  and  $50  when  I  got 
the  place.  I  have  since  learned  that  Shelley 
is  not  park  superintendent,  but  merely  fore¬ 
man  of  a  gang  of  workmen  in  the  park.  He 
was  very  well  dressed  at  the  time,  and  this 
fact,  added  to  the  loss  of  my  job,  owing  to  the 
strike  on  the  Fourth  Avenue  Road,  and  the 
serious  illness  of  my  wife,  led  me  to  accept  his 
offer  without  suspicion.” 

The  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  this 
proposition  was  made  saw  the  unsuspecting 
Cole  at  Shelley’s  house,  in  East  Eighty-Eighth 
street,  money  in  hand.  He  asked  Shelley  to 
have  some  witnesses  present,  but  the  “super¬ 
intendent”  declined,  satisfying  Cole’s  anxie¬ 
ties  with  a  receipt,  of  which  the  following  is 
an  exact  copy  : 

Rec’d  from  Thomas  Cole  the  sum  of  300  dollars. 

JOHN  SHELLEY, 
per 

George  Roe. 

Cole  says  that  he  immediately  asked  Shelley 
who  George  Roe  was,  and  that  Shelly  replied  : 
“  He  is  the  man  who  acts  for  Harry  Hart  in 
this  transaction.  Hart  is  the  alderman  from 
this  district,  and  he  is  the  man  to  ‘fix’  this 
thing.  Hart  thinks  that  you  are  paying  me 
only  $200,  so  when  he  speaks  to  you  about  it, 
tell  him  that  $200  was  all  you  paid  me.”  This 
explanation  seems  to  have  satisfied  Cole,  and 
he  handed  the  $300  to  Shelley  without  further 
argument. 

That  very  afternoon  Shelley  indulged  in  a 
grand  drunk,  and  Cole,  who  chanced  to  meet 
him  in  this  condition,  observed  that  the  one 
and  two  dollar  bills  that  he  had  given  him 
were  the  bills  that  he  now  spent  with  so  lavish 
a  hand.  This  fact  served  to  arouse  his  suspi¬ 
cions,  and  they  have  been  aroused  ever  since. 
Cole  went  to  Pursell  the  next  day  and  con¬ 
fided  his  fears,  but  Pursell  persuaded  him  that 
they  were  groundless,  and  the  car  driver  con¬ 
tinued  to  hope  against  hope. 

The  records  of  the  civil  service  board  at 
Cooper  Union  show  that  in  November,  1889, 
Cole  successfully  passed  his  examination,  at¬ 
taining  an  average  of  83.70.  His  name  was 
placed  on  the  eligible  list  and  there  it  re¬ 
mained,  the  “  influence  ”  that  he  had  so  dearly 
purchased  having  failed  to  get  him  the  de¬ 
sired  appointment.  Day  after  day  Cole  called 
at  Alderman  Hart’s  cigar  store,  in  Leggett’s 
Hotel,  to  know  whether  the  alderman  had 
“  fixed  ”  matters,  but  his  calls  were  all  in  vain. 

Pursell,  the  go-between  policeman,  appears 
to  have  been  desirous  of  fleecing  Cole  on  his 
own  responsibility,  for  he  sent  for  the  car 
driver  one  day  and  announced,  “  on  the  quiet,” 
that  if  Cole  would  pay  him  $30  he  (Pursell) 
would  hurry  the  matter  up  with  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  board.  “I’ll  touch  those  people  in  Coop¬ 
er  Union,”  said  he  to  Cole,  “  for  I’m  very 
thick  with  Lee  Phillips,  the  secretary.”  But 
Cole  declined  the  bait.  His  wife  had  just  died, 


the  strike  was  on,  he  had  no  money,  and  he 
was  generally  discouraged. 

“  You’ll  have  to  go  to  Shelley,”  he  said, 
“  and  get  some  of  my  money  from  him.  I 
haven’t  another  cent.”  John  Callaghan,  a 
workman  in  the  park  department,  was  a  wit¬ 
ness  to  this  conversation,  which  took  place  at 
the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street  entrance  to 
the  park. 

“Having  given  up  hope  of  getting  either 
the  appointment  or  my  money,”  continued 
Cole,  “I  laid  off  a  week  recently  to  threaten 
Shelley.  I  called  on  him  nearly  every  day, 
threatening  to  sue  him  if  he  did  not  refund. 
At  first  he  said  he  had  no  money,  but  finally 
he  got  $225  from  his  wife  which  he  paid  back 
to  me.  He  still  owes  me  $75,  however,  and 
for  this  amount  I  have  determined  to  sue.” 

Henry  I.  Meinhard,  of  115  Broadway,  is 
Cole’s  attorney.  A  Times  reporter  called 
there  yesterday  and  inquired  if  Cole’s  story 
was  correct,  and  if  steps  had  been  taken  to 
sue.  Mr.  Meinhard  said  that  the  above  story 
was  just  as  Cole  had  told  it  to  him,  and  that 
he  had  written  to  Shelley  to  demand  a  return 
of  the  $75  to  his  client. 

John  J.  Shelley  was  found  at  his  home,  in 
East  Eighty-Eighth  street.  He  was  too  much 
intoxicated  to  understand  the  gravity  of  the 
charge  against  him,  but  he  admitted,  incohe¬ 
rently  but  emphatically,  that  it  was  true.  He 
said  that  Cole  gave  him  some  money,  but  that 
he  had  paid  it  all  back. 

The  conversation  that  passed  between  Shel¬ 
ley  and  Cole  led  the  car  driver  to  think  that 
Alderman  Hart  was  the  head  and  front  of  the 
whole  transaction,  and  that  Shelley  merely 
acted  as  his  agent.  Shelley,  in  fact,  so  stated 
to  Cole.  But  when  a  Times  reporter  confronted 
the  alderman  with  this  story  last  night.  Hart’s 
surprise  knew  no  bounds.  He  denied  vigor¬ 
ously  that  he  had  received  any  money  or  that 
he  was  aware  of  Shelley’s  having  received 
any.  “  Cole  came  to  me  several  times,”  he 
said,  “  to  know  if  I  could  help  him  get  a  place 
on  the  park  police  force,  and  Shelley  also 
asked  me  to  do  what  I  could  for  him.  Fur¬ 
ther  than  this  I  know  nothing  whatever  about 
the  man.  Candidly,  I  am  not  surprised  at 
Cole’s  deal  with  Shelley,  for  I  know  Shelley 
very  well,  but  if  he  drags  my  name  into  his 
transaction  I’ll  have  him  arrested.” 

The  irate  alderman  insisted  that  the  reporter 
should  accompany  him  to  Shelley’s  house, 
where  the  bogus  superintendent,  after  much 
shaking,  was  aroused  sufficiently  to  say  that 
he  had  kept  all  the  money  himself;  that  Hart 
had  gotten  none  of  it,  and  knew  nothing  about 
it. 

The  fact  remains,  however,  that  a  poor  man, 
earning  $2  a  day,  has  been  fleeced  by  a  re¬ 
sponsible  employe  of  the  park  department, 
who  admits  the  transaction.  This  sort  of 
thing  has  been,  hinted  at  several  times  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  appointment  of  policemen, 
and  here  are  the  facts  which  prove  that  it  is 
done.  Doubtless  there  are  many  men  on  and 
off  the  force  to-day  who  have  been  through 
the  same  experience,  with  more  or  less  satis¬ 


factory  results.  Cole’s  case  may  lead  to  the 
uncovering  of  others.  Shelley  probably  has 
backers ;  the  openness  and  fearlessness  of  his 
rascally  dealings  indicate  that  he  thought  he 
had  nothing  to  fear. — New  York  Times,  April  17. 

— A  lively  battle  was  fought  out  last  night 
in  Baltimore  between  the  supporters  of  the 
Harrison  administration  and  its  opponents  in 
the  republican  ranks.  Primary  meetings  were 
held  to  choose  delegates  to  district  conventions 
which  elect  delegates  to  the  state  convention, 
on  April  8.  The  state  convention  will  choose 
the  delegates  to  the  national  convention, 
which  will  nominate  Mr.  Harrison’s  successor. 
The  importance  of  the  contest  roused  all  the 
blood  of  the  republican  factions.  The  Har¬ 
rison  faction  was  led  by  Postmaster  Johnson 
and  other  federal  office-holders.  The  anti- 
Harrison  faction  was  made  up  mainly  of  those 
who  wanted  federal  places  and  failed  to  get 
them.  The  outs  controlled  the  election  officers, 
appointed  by  a  majority  of  the  judges  in  each 
precinct,  and  thought  they  had  “fixed  things.” 
The  ins,  however,  made  a  splendid  fight  and 
carried  eleven  of  the  twenty-two  wards,  and 
claimed  four  more. 

All  sorts  of  charges  of  ballot-box  stuffing 
were  banded  about  last  evening,  and  to  day 
the  police  and  the  municipal  courts  had  their 
hands  full  in  arresting  and  punishing  the 
brawlers.  Two  of  the  judges  were  arrested  in 
one  ward  on  a  charge  of  fighting.  Two  col¬ 
ored  men  were  fined  for  fighting  in  another, 
and  six  men  were  taken  into  custody  for  as¬ 
sault  and  disturbing  the  peace  in  still  another. 
One  of  Mr.  Harrison’s  United  States  marshals 
got  into  a  quarrel  in  another  ward  and  tore 
the  buttons  off  of  the  coat  and  vest  of  one  of 
the  judges.  One  of  the  judges  in  another 
ward  claimed,  at  the  opening  of  the  polls,  that 
there  were  200  ballots  already  in  the  box,  and 
the  judges,  in  another  ward,  refused  to  have 
the  box  opened  to  show  whether  it  was  stuffed 
or  not.  In  ward  two  a  big  colored  man  got 
into  a  fight  with  one  of  Postmaster  Johnson’s 
letter  carriers.  The  carrier  told  his  fellow  re¬ 
publican  “you  negroes  are  no  good.”  In  the 
fight  which  followed,  the  negro  bit  the  carrier 
on  the  cheek  and  mashed  his  nose. 

Civil  Service  Commissioner  Roosevelt  was 
in  the  city,  and,  with  Mr.  John  C.  Rose,  of  the 
local  civil  service  examining  board,  visited 
several  wards  in  the  eastern  section,  and  noted 
the  government  employes  who  were  actively 
engaged  in  the  contest. 

Mr.  D.  Pinkney  West  says  he  saw  these  gen¬ 
tlemen  at  the  polls  in  the  Fifth  ward,  where 
two  post-office  employes  and  one  custom-house 
employe, who  were  around  the  polls,  were  point¬ 
ed  out  as  displaying  offensive  partisanship. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Boston  Post,  March  SI. 

— The  removal  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  from 
the  civil  service  commission  is  among  the  pos¬ 
sibilities  of  the  near  future.  His  presence  at 
the  republican  primary  meetings  in  Baltimore, 
Monday  evening,  to  note  the  activity  of  the 
federal  officials  in  securing  Harrison  delegates, 
has  roused  a  perfect  tempest  among  the  repub¬ 
lican  politicians.  The  friends  of  the  adminis¬ 
tration  say  that  he  was  there  to  intimidate 
office  holders  and  prevent  their  doing  the  work 
they  wanted  to  in  the  President’s  behalf.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  went  to  New  York  to-day,  but  he  was 
at  the  quarters  of  the  civil  service  commission 
before  leaving,  and  alluded,  in  a  jocular  man¬ 
ner,  to  some  of  his  experiences  with  the  Balti¬ 
more  toughs.  His  presence  in  the  primaries 
was  noted,  and  he  received  some  cheers  from 
those  who  sympathized  with  him  and  a  good 
many  hoots  from  those  who  did  not.  His  ob¬ 
ject  in  visiting  the  primaries  was  to  observe 
the  conduct  of  federal  officials,  and,  under  the 
circumstances,  there  is  a  degree  of  force  in  the 
suggestion  that  he  was  aiding  the  enemies  of 
the  Harrison  administration  by  insisting  on 


226 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  observance  of  the  regulations  prohibiting 
offensive  partisanship  by  office  holders.  All 
the  office  holders  were  for  Harrison,  and  inter¬ 
ference  with  them,  or  “  intimidation,”  as  Mr, 
Roosevelt’s  enemies  call  it,  would  subtract  just 
so  much  from  the  administration  strength. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  is  entirely  disinterested  in  the 
matter,  and  merely  wishes  to  prevent  the  pros¬ 
titution  of  the  public  service,  but  his  efforts 
happen  to  strike  at  the  friends  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  just  as  they  did  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
Virginia  assessment  cases  when  the  President 
was  so  disgusted  because  Mr.  Roosevelt  could 
find  nobody  but  republicans  to  complain  of  for 
violating  the  civil  service  law. 

The  President  appears  to  favor  civil  service 
reform  when  it  works  the  right  way,  but  he 
does  not  believe  in  carrying  it  far  enough  to 
wound  one’s  friends.  It  would  not  be  surpris¬ 
ing  if  he  listened  with  considerable  sympathy 
to  the  angry  protests  of  his  supporters  in  Bal¬ 
timore. 

Ex-Congressman  Sydney  E.  Mudd,  who  was 
seated  by  Mr.  Reed’s  Congress,  but  was  beaten 
last  November  by  1,618  majority,  was  at  the 
White  House  yesterday,  and  used  some  pretty 
strong  language  regarding  Mr.  Roosevelt.  It 
is  currently  reported  that  he  demanded  his  re¬ 
moval,  and  that  the  President  promised  to 
give  the  matter  careful  consideration.  Mean¬ 
while,  Mr.  Roosevelt  will  go  right  on  as  though 
the  ax  were  not  suspended  above  his  official 
head.  He  will  make  a  report  on  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  civil  service  at  Baltimore,  and 
it  will  not  be  very  pleasant  reading  for  Mr. 
Harrison’s  friends. 

The  delegate  conventions  in  Baltimore  last 
night  were  almost  as  noisy  and  disgraceful  as 
the  primary  meeting  of  Monday.  There  were 
bolts  in  two  of  the  three  districts,  and  the 
foundation  was  laid  for  a  split  in  the  state 
convention. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Boston  Post, 
April  1. 

— The  manner  in  which  the  Indian  service 
has  been  used  as  party  spoils  by  Secretary 
Noble  can  be  shown  in  no  clearer  light  than 
by  the  presentation  of  the  record  of  William 
D.  Ryder  of  this  city,  whom  the  secretary,  on 
October  19,  1887,  appointed  to  be  chief  herder 
and  butcher  at  the  Mescalero  Agency  in  Ari¬ 
zona. 

This  appointment  is  the  only  position  of 
trust  that  “  Billy  ”  Ryder,  as  he  is  always 
known  here,  has  held.  Few  persons  who 
know  him  have  any  knowledge  of  his  source 
of  supplies.  Though  for  years  he  has  kept 
within  the  limits  of  the  law  in  his  personal 
conduct,  it  has  not  given  him  a  title  to  respect¬ 
ability  even  in  the  minds  of  those  charitable 
enough  to  overlook  the  fact  that  he  is  an  ex¬ 
convict,  whose  career  up  to  the  period  of  his 
enforced  regularity  of  habits  was  in  keeping 
w'ith  his  views  and  conduct  to-day.  Though 
he  has  been  active  in  politics,  and  enlisted  in 
a  variety  of  local  political  movements,  no  par¬ 
ty  manager  has  ever  had  the  hardihood  even 
to  suggest  placing  him  in  any  public  position 
here,  where  he  is  known. 

William  D.  Ryder  has  a  record  in  the  St. 
Louis  criminal  court.  At  various  times  a  to¬ 
tal  of  four  indictments,  charging  felonious  as¬ 
saults,  have  been  found  against  him  by  regu¬ 
larly  empaneled  grand  juries.  His  most  ag¬ 
gravated  offences  were  two  attacks  upon  John 
Smith.  The  men  fell  out  on  account  of  some 
bar-room  brawl.  On  October  1,  1874,  they 
met  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Southern  Hotel.  In 


the  fight  which  ensued  Ryder  used  a  dirk  knife 
seven  inches  long,  with  which  he  stabbed  his 
opponent  in  the  groin,  left  side  and  left  arm. 
Smith  emptied  his  revolver  at  Ryder  without 
effect.  The: r  second  meeting  was  on  February 
22,  1875,  on  Fourth  street.  Ryder  this  time 
slashed  open  Smith’s  clothing  with  a  knife. 
For  this  offence  a  warrant  charging  him  with 
assault  with  intent  to  kill  was  sworn  out.  The 
case  went  before  the  grand  jury  of  March,  1875, 
which  returned  against  Ryder  two  indictments, 
and  against  Smith  one.  The  record  of  the 
first  action  against  Ryder,  as  found  in  the 
office  of  the  clerk  of  the  criminal  court,  is  as 
follows : 

Case  No.  25— March  Term— St.  Louis  Criminal  Court 
—The  State  of  Missouri  v.  Gen.  William  D.  Ryder,  for 
assault  to  kill.  R.  S.  McDonald,  attorney  for  defend¬ 
ant. 

The  back  of  the  folder  giving  the  record 
of  the  court  proceedings  in  the  action  is  as 
follows : 

Recognizance  in  court— $1,500 — R.  S.  McDonald  as 
security— first  day — March  11, 1875. 

Continued  for  defendant  on  affidavit- May  13, 1875. 

Continued  for  defendant  because  of  absence  of 
witnesses— July  8,  1875. 

Recognizance  forfeited— capias  scire  facias  issued 
and  continued— September  15, 1875. 

Forfeiture  set  aside— recognizance  in  court— $1,500. 
R.  S.  McDonald  as  security— September  15, 1875. 

Waives  reading  of  indictment— pleads  not  guilty— 
September  16, 1875. 

Trial  proceeds— convicted  and  punishment  assessed 
at  two  years  in  penitentiary— September  18. 1875. 

Motion  for  new  trial  filed- September  18, 1875. 

Motion  continued  for  defendant— October  23,1875. 

Motion  taken  under  advisement— December!,  1875. 

Motion  overruled  and  sentenced  according  to  ver¬ 
dict  to  two  years  in  the  penitentiary — December  7, 
1875. 

Appeal  granted— December  7, 1875. 

Supersedeas  refused— execution  of  sentence  sus¬ 
pended  until  18th  day  of  December,  1875— December 
8.  1875. 

On  this  action  Ryder  was  imprisoned  in  the 
Missouri  penitentiary.  Good-behavior  allow¬ 
ance  secured  his  release  from  the  institution 
after  serving  eighteen  months  of  his  two-year 
term.  Upon  his  conviction  on  the  first  charge 
the  second  action  against  Ryder  in  connection 
with  his  troubles  with  Smith  was  continued 
generally,  and  his  indictment  is  No.  52,  March 
term,  1875.  The  case  against  Smith  was  also 
dismissed. 

The  record  also  shows  two  other  indictments 
for  assault  with  intent  to  kill  which  have  been 
found  against  him.  Both  of  these  were  for 
the  same  assault,  one  being  found  defective 
and  withdrawn  in  order  that  the  second  might 
be  properly  returned.  These  charge  that  on 
December  31,  1875,  “William  D.  Ryder  did 
make  a  felonious  assualt  upon  John  Brown, 
using  a  chair,  with  which  he  inflicted  on 
Brown’s  head  several  severe  wounds.”  These 
indictments  are  numbered  6  and  31  of  the  Jan¬ 
uary  term,  1876.  When  the  defendant  was 
committed  to  the  penitentiary  for  the  Smith 
assault,  action  No.  31  was  continued  generally. 

During  the  term  of  September,  1871,  Ryder 
was  charged  with  a  petit  violation  of  a  city 
ordinance.  Indictment  87,  of  that  term,  fails 
to  record  any  disposition  whatever  of  the  ac¬ 
tion. 


Ryder’s  character  as  a  government  officer 
was  not  changed.  In  a  little  over  two  months 
he  was  removed,  because,  as  is  stated  on  thet 
department  books  in  Washington,  he  was  aj 
turbulent  mischief-maker,  with  whom  nobody* 
at  the  agency  could  get  along.  This  was  the  J 
kind  of  a  man  sent  by  the  government  to  setP 
an  example  to  half-civilized  Indians.  The  ^ 
significance  of  the  case  consists  in  the  fact  that 
the  appointment  was  made  from  Noble’s  own 
city,  and  that  the  man’s  character  had  long 
been  notorious  there. — St.  Louis  Correspondence 
to  New  York  Evenina  Post,  Anril  IS. 


— It  is  understood  at  the  navy  department 
that  Secretary  Tracy  will  hold  Naval  Con¬ 
structor  Feaster  responsible  for  poor  workman¬ 
ship  on  the  Alert,  at  the  Mare  Island  Navy  ^ 
Yard.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that* 
the  naval  constructor  is  being  held  responsi-  T 
ble  for  the  work  of  incompetent  subordinates, 
who  owe  their  places  to  the  ward  bosses  of  “ 
San  Francisco  rather  than  to  their  qualifica¬ 
tions  as  workmen. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  ' 
New  York  Times,  April  7. 


— Henry  Ehlert,  prominent  in  local  political 
circles,  has  been  reported  mysteriously  missing, 
and  many  people  are  whistling  for  money  he 
owes  them,  ranging  in  sums  from  $10  to  $500, 
and  aggregating  several  thousands.  Inquiries 
for  him  have  developed  that  he  is  now,  or  was 
a  few  days  ago,  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  is 
the  central  figure  in  a  movement  to  have  Post¬ 
master  Harlow,  of  this  city,  removed  from  his 
position. 

Ehlert  is  a  sharp  politician,  has  long  been 
recognized  as  a  man  with  a  “pull,”  and 
for  a  long  time  has  held  positions,  generally  in 
the  United  States  marshal’s  office  or  similar 
places  where  detective  talent  was  required. 
About  six  weeks  ago  complaints  began  to  be 
made  against  Harlow,  and  they  continued  and 
assumed  quite  a  serious  character,  but  they 
were  disproved.  It  noxv  develops  that  Harlow's 
course  in  running  his  office  on  business  principles 
has  displeased  the  politicians,  and  a  regular  plot,  in¬ 
volving  well  known  politicians,  and  several  clei  ks  in 
the  post-office,  was  formed.  The  clerks  furnished  in¬ 
formation  from  inside  the  office,  and  Ehlert  did  the 
outside  work,  politicians  of  more  prominence  direct¬ 
ing  the  game,  but  remaining  in  the  background. — 
St.  Louis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  April  16. 


— “  Boss  ”  Filley  is  coming  to  be  a  political 
quantity  that  even  Harrison  must  consider. 
Missouri  people  fancy  they  see  a  purpose  man¬ 
ifest  to  send  him  to  Japan.  Filley  was  asked 
to  go  abroad  as  far  as  that  once  before,  but 
he  thrust  his  tongue  in  his  cheek  and  said : 
“No,  thank  you.” 

Now  he  is  occasionally  tickled.  To-day  Eu¬ 
gene  F.  Weigel  of  St.  Louis,  a  worker  in  Fil¬ 
ley ’s  political  vineyard,  was  appointed  a  special 
land  inspector  by  Secretary  Noble,  who  had 
some  time  ago  secured  for  him  a  place  under 
Census  Commissioner  Porter.  As  this  business 
had  stopped,  Mr.  Filley  has  sought  something 
more  for  him,  and  this  is  the  result. 

The  interest  to  Missourians  in  this  is  not  as 
to  whether  Weigel  is  a  fit  man  or  not.  It  is 
that  it  indicates  the  intention  of  the  President 
to  use  Filley  as  his  agent  to  capture  the  Mis¬ 
souri  delegation  for  Harrison  in  1892.  Noble 
must,  of  course,  be  let  in,  or  he  would  not  wil¬ 
lingly  let  Filley  get  any  patronage  Filley 
seems  to  have  forgotten  the  Schuarte  contest, 
and  willing  to  “  let  bygones  be  bygones.” — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  March 
20. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St..  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  27.  INDIANAPOLIS,  MAY,  1891.  terms  :<(  f cents Ver'copy"” 


The  annual  business  meeting  of  the  In¬ 
diana  Civil  Service  Reform  Association  will 
tbe  held  at  the  Denison  Hotel, Indianapolis, 
June  6,  1891,  at  two  o’clock  in  the  after¬ 
noon. 

There  are  some  people  quite  near  the 
^  President,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  saying 
to  him,  and  to  others,  that  those  in  Indiana 
who  have  for  some  years  been  earnestly 
working  to  advance  theadoption  of  the  merit 
system,  do  not  have  the  sympathy  of  the 
people.  They  say  in  effect  that  the  people 
want  the  offices  used  to  pay  for  personal  and 
party  service,  and  that  they  like  to  see  the 
recipients  of  the  offices  bend  every  energy 
to  help  the  fortunes  of  the  leaders  to  whom 
they  are  indebted ;  and  they  even  go  so 
far  as  to  say  that  it  would  be  a  popular 
thing  to  repeal  the  civil  service  law.  The 
demonstration  in  this  city  at  the  Roose¬ 
velt  dinner  was  a  crushing  blow  to  these 
assertions.  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  the  uncom¬ 
promising  and  outspoken  enemy  of  the 
use  of  public  office  in  any  manner  as  spoil. 
Indiana  has  some  strong  advocates  of  the 
merit  system,  but  none  in  any  manner 
more  so  than  he  is.  We  call  the  attention 
of  the  President  to  the  names  of  those? 
many  of  them  his  neighbors,  who  joined  in 
this  demonstration  of  approval  of  Mr.  Roos¬ 
evelt  and  of  the  cause  of  civil  service  reform. 

The  dinner  ought  a'so  to  silence  the 
quite  general  talk  that  the  state  of  Indiana 
in  the  matter  of  spoils  is  worse  than  the  rest 
of  the  country,  and  that  its  people  are  al¬ 
most  hopelessly  besotted.  In  order  to  dis 
pel  this  illusion,  not  only  in  the  mind  of 
the  President,  but  of  others  not  familiar 
with  Indiana,  we  mention  with  consider¬ 
able  particularity,  some  of  those  who  took 
pari: 

John  H.  Holliday,  editor  of  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  News;  Morris  Ross,  Hilton  U. 
Brown, Wm.  Fortune  and  Meredith  Nichol¬ 
son,  of  the  News  staff;  Samuel  E.  Morss, 
editor  of  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel;  Wm. 
A.  Woods,  judge  of  the  United  States  court; 
Byron  K.  Elliott,  judge  of  the  supreme 
court;  James  B.  Black,  chief  justice  of  the 
appellate  court;  Edgar  A.  Brown,  judge 
of  the  circuit  court;  W.  E.  Niblack,  ex¬ 
judge  of  the  supreme  court;  Livingston 
Howland,  ex-judge  of  the  circuit  court; 
Rufus  Magee,  President  Cleveland’s  minis¬ 
ter  to  Sweden ;  William  P.  Fishback,  mas¬ 


ter  in  chancery.  United  States  court;  No¬ 
ble  C.  Butler,  clerk  of  the  United  States 
courts;  John  L.  Griffiths,  supreme  court 
reporter;  Jacob  P.  Dunn,  state  librarian; 
George  T.  Porter,  son  of  the  present  min¬ 
ister  to  Italy;  John  R.  Wilson,  clerk  of 
Marion  county;  E.  B.  Martindale,  world’s 
fair  commissioner ;  Oliver  T.  Morton,  son 
of  Indiana’s  war  governor ;  J.  E.  McCul¬ 
lough,  member  of  the  general  assembly ; 
V.  T.  Mallott,  president  of  the  Indiana  na¬ 
tional  bank ;  H.  H.  Hanna,  president  of 
the  Atlas  engine  works;  C.  W.  Fairbanks, 
general  solicitor  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  and 
Dayton  railway  company ;  Otto  Gresham, 
son  of  Judge  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  Wm. 
Henderson,  a  life-long  democrat  and  a 
leading  citizen  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
Coy  tally-sheet  forgers,  John  A.  Butler, 
teller  of  the  Capital  National  Bank,  and  E. 
P.  Thompson,  acting  postmaster  at  Indian¬ 
apolis. 


The  Scholar  in  Politics  was  represented 
by  John  M.  Coulter,  president-elect  of  the 
State  University;  J.  J.  Mills,  president  of 
Earlham  College ;  A.  L.  Mason,  dean  of  the 
De  Pauw  University  law  school ;  T.  L.  Sew- 
all,  principal  of  the  Girls’  Classical  school, 
and  W.  W.  Grant,  principal  of  the  Indian¬ 
apolis  high  school. 

The  church  was  represented  by  Rev.  N. 
A.  Hyde,  Rev.  H.  A.  Cleveland,  Rev.  Jos¬ 
eph  A.  Milburn,  Rev.  George  E.  Swan, 
Rev.  R.  V  Hunter,  and  Rev.  Joseph  S* 
Jenckes. 

The  medical  profession  was  represented 
by  Doctors  E.  F.  Hodges,  W.  B.  Fletcher, 
J.  N.  Hurty,  J.  L.  Thompson,  Theodore  S. 
Potter,  W.  N.  Wishard  and  0.  S.  Runnells. 

The  legal  profession  was  represented  by 
John  T.  Dye,  William  A.  Ketcham,  Addi¬ 
son  C.  Harris,  John  Coburn,  Edward  Dan¬ 
iels,  Albert  Baker,  Alpheus  H.  Snow,  Har¬ 
ry  J.  Milligan,  Chester  Bradford,  Nathan 
Morris,  Alfred  F.  Potts,  J.  M.  Winters,  W. 
F.  Elliott,  M.G.  McLain,  W.  A.  Van  Buren, 
Charles  Martindale,  Frank  H.  Blackledge, 
Allan  W.  Hendricks,  Albert  J.  Beveridge, 
Evans  Woollen,  William  H.  Dye,  H.  D. 
Pierce  and  R.  B.  Oglesbee. 

There  were  also  Herman  Lieber  and 
William  Haueiscn,  representative  and  lead¬ 
ing  Germans;  Theodore  E.  Griffith,  1.  S. 
Gordon,  H.  W.  Bennett,  D.  C.  Griffith,  W. 
J.  Holliday,  wholesale  merchants;  John  C, 


Dean,  .George  Merritt  and  William  L. 
Elder,  manufacturers,  and  others  of  equal 
standing  in  the  community. 

Can  the  President  look  at  these  names 
in  connection  with  the  occasion  and  be  in 
doubt  as  to  their  significance  ?  Their  sig¬ 
nificance,  Mr.  President,  is  that  the  people 
like  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  they  like  the 
cause  he  represents.  They  like  him  be¬ 
cause  he  fights  a  manly  battle  against  the 
pirates  and  buccaneers  of  his  own  party. 
They  like  him  because  he  believes  in  keep¬ 
ing  promises,  and  they  like  him  because 
he  knows  how  to  strike  a  hard  and  telling 
blow  on  the  right  side  and  is  not  afraid  to 
do  it.  They  like  his  cause — the  cause  of 
civil  service  reform — because  it  means 
fair  play  and  economy  and  a  higher  tone 
of  public  morals,  and  because  it  means  the 
disappearance  of  the  Quays  and  the  Dud¬ 
leys  and  of  all  those  like  Mahone  and 
Headsman  Clarkson. 

The  soberness  and  pertinacity  with 
which  spoilsmen  urge  exploded  argu¬ 
ments  is  one  of  the  daily  amusements.  For 
some  time  now  we  have  been  hearing 
of  a  man  who  says  he  was  once  a  civil 
service  reformer,  but,  in  simple  ignorance 
of  the  way  the  world  is  passing  him,  has 
for  years  been  steadily  citing  Trollope,  as 
the  one  all-sufficient  argument  in  opposi¬ 
tion  to  the  merit  system.  Anthony  Trol¬ 
lope  was  opposed  to  the  merit  system  of 
his  own  country  because  he  had  made  a 
valuable  public  official,  and  yet  he  could 
never  have  got  into  the  service  by  an  ex¬ 
amination  ;  therefore  the  system  of  exami¬ 
nations  was  bad.  This  argument  is  a  shade 
less  foolish  than  Boss  Quay’s  and  Boss  Gor¬ 
man’s  dread  of  an  office  holding  aristocracy, 
and  it  is  about  as  easily  disposed  of.  Young 
Trollope,  who  had  been  zealously  sowing 
wild  oats,  was  put  by  favoritism  into  the 
public  service  because  that  was  the  least 
expensive  field  for  his  operations  for  his 
family  and  because  of  the  hope  that  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  public  office  might  sober 
him.  It  was  a  toss-up  whether  his  oppor¬ 
tunity  would  turn  him  into  an  officer  like 
young  Raum  or  reform  him.  Under  tuese 
circumstances,  Trollope  was  hardly  a  dis¬ 
interested  critic  of  a  system  which  de¬ 
stroyed  the  practice  of  giving  places  in  the 
English  service  to  the  younger  sons  of  the 
aristocracy  and  opened  them  to  compe¬ 
tition,  in  which  the  sons  of  working  men 


228 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


stood  an  equal  chance.  It  would  seem  that 
the  opinions  of  the  long  line  of  Eoglish 
statesmen  from  Macaulay  to  Gladstone, 
backed  by  the  entire  body  of  the  English 
people,  should  weigh  something. 

The  Chronicle  mentioned  last  month  the 
removal  of  McCain,  an  excellent  policeman 
with  years  of  efficient  service  and  a  good 
character  back  of  him,  to  make  roomfor  new 
republicans.  Since  then  the  board  has  had 
to  dismiss  one  of  the  new  republicans  for 
going  into  the  residence  of  a  prominent 
citizen  and  insulting  the  inmates.  The 
board  had  better  adopt  the  competitive 
system  and  avoid  the  constant  charge  of 
exercising  the  worst  kind  of  favoritism. 

The  tax  situation  here  is  becoming 
somewhat  strained  and  it  will  become 
more  so.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  this  city 
will  have  to  pay  higher  taxes,  and  no  one 
can  reasonably  complain  of  some  increase. 
But  the  temper  of  the  people  is  mistaken 
if  it  is  thought  that  for  every  dollar  of 
their  money  they  will  not  demand  value 
received.  The  memory  of  man  does  not 
run  to  the  contrary  when  the  city  has  not 
had  a  crowd  of  nominal  laborers  whiling 
away  the  time  upon  the  streets.  The 
street-cleaning  department  has  been  a 
place  where  the  street  commissioner’s 
relatives  and  friends  hired  out  their  one- 
horse  wagons,  and  the  henchmen  of  coun- 
cilmen  and  political  bosses  rendered  nom¬ 
inal  services  for  real  pay.  If  the  new  city 
government  is  worth  anything,  it  will  put 
an  end  to  this  species  of  piracy.  There  is 
only  one  final  and  effectual  method,  and 
that  is  the  Boston  labor  system,  which  ex¬ 
cludes  politics  from  the  choice  of  laborers. 
Street-cleaning  by  contract  is  a  temporary 
expedient  which,  like  a  stone-yard  for 
tramps,  the  Boys  will  constantly  clamor  to 
have  done  away  with.  It  may  here  be  re¬ 
marked  that  the  board  of  public  safety  is 
deliberately  wasting  money  in  its  unlawful 
division  of  the  places  in  the  fire  depart- 
rnent.  It  has  hired  fourteen  democrats 
without  the  slightest  pretense  that  the  city 
needed  the  men;  or  as  the  president,Sterling 
R.  Holt,  puts  it,  it  decided  to  “  increase 
the  fire  department  by  putting  on  fourteen 
democrats  that  fourteen  experienced  fire¬ 
men,  who  are  republicans,  might  remain.” 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  reason  why 
all  other  reforms  should  be  subordinated  to 
civil  service  reform  is  the  solidarity  of 
spoilsmen.  When  it  comes  to  any  attack 
to  prevent  their  plunder  of  the  public, 
they  know  no  party.  Some  instances  of 
this  are  given  in  another  part  of  this  paper. 
A  further  illustration  is  the  following  from 
the  April  Civil  Service  Reformer: 

Whatever  party  name  spoilsmen  may  find  it  advan¬ 
tageous  to  assume,  they  are  always  ready  to  come  to¬ 
gether  for  parcelling  out  offices  when  a  good  trade  is 


more  profitable  than  a  fight,  as  we  saw  in  the  recent 
debate  in  the  senate,  when  Mr.  Gorman  defended 
Mr.  Wanamaker  in  his  evasions  of  the  civil  service 
law,  and  united  with  his  republican  opponent,  Mr. 
Plumb,  in  looting  the  office  of  the  supervising  ar¬ 
chitect.  And  whatever  set  of  spoilsmen  happen  to 
be  in  power  in  any  given  state  will  always  resist  any 
measure  tending  toward  a  just  and  fair  expression 
of  the  people’s  will  at  the  elections.  Thus  we  find 
Mr.  Boutelle,  and  if  the  Bangor  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Times  is  to  be  believed.  Mr.  Blaine  and 
Mr.  Reed  also,  in  Maine,  in  1891,  like  Mr.  Gorman, 
in  Maryland,  in  1890,  vigorously  opposing  the  Aus¬ 
tralian  ballot  system.  Mr.  Boutelle  fought  the  law 
in  his  Bangor  IP/iij;.  because  it  would  injure  republi¬ 
can  supremacy,  just  as  Mr.  Gorman  denounced  it  as 
“  a  scheme  to  send  the  democratic  party  to  the  rear.” 
And  the  Maine  "  ring  influence,’'  quite  in  the  tone 
of  the  Gorman  orators  and  papers,  mutatis  mutandis, 
sought  to  influence  the  republican  majority  to  vote 
against  the  bill  by  pointing  out  that  the  democratic 
minority  was  going  to  vote  solidly  for  it. 

The  republicans  in  the  city  council 
joined  in  with  Sim  Coy  and  his  gang  and 
elected  a  Coy  democrat  president  of  the 
council,  under  the  new  charter,  over  the 
regular  democratic  candidate  who  is  suffi¬ 
ciently  vouched  for  by  saying  that  he  is  an 
anti-Coy  democrat.  The  republican  ma¬ 
chine  here  secured  the  pardon  of  Coy  out 
of  prison  on  the  ground  that  he  was  too 
poor  to  pay  his  fine,  and  he  at  once  put 
upon  the  market  notes  amounting  to  hun¬ 
dreds  of  dollars  secured  by  mortgage.  The 
Indianapolis  Journal  has  taken  to  eulogiz¬ 
ing  him  in  its  columns.  Why  did  not  the 
republicans  elect  Coy  president  of  the 
council  and  be  open  and  above-board  ?  To 
choose  one  of  his  naming  is  the  same  as 
choosing  him.  The  democratic  party  is 
doing  its  best  to  get  rid  of  Coy,  and  possi¬ 
bly  the  republican  party  is  going  to  take 
him  up.  The  majority  of  the  democrats 
are  trying  to  give  the  city  a  good  govern¬ 
ment,  and  if  they  do  not  succeed  it  will  be 
because  the  republicans  prevent  it  by  unit¬ 
ing  with  the  Coy  gang. 


The  Civil  Service  Commission  has  un¬ 
earthed  another  Raum  peccadillo.  This 
particular  Raum  is  the  son  of  the  pension 
commissioner  for  whom  his  father  created 
the  place  of  appointment  clerk  in  the  pen¬ 
sion  department,  and  who  is  charged  with 
having  sold  a  place  and  with  stealing  .$72. 
The  commission  called  the  case  to  the  at 
tention  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury  and  the  attorney 
general.  Young  Raum  was  found  so  guilty 
that  he  was  allowed  to  resign  with  thirty 
days’  pay.  Attorney- General*  Miller,  al¬ 
though  requested  by  the  commission  to 
give  an  opinion  whether  this  Raum’s 
offenses  were  punishable  by  law,  with  a 
zeal  akin  to  his  zeal  in  the  case  of  the  Ma- 
hone  blackmailers,  declined  to  do  so  un¬ 
less  requested  by  the  President.  He  has 
referred  the  papers  laid  before  him  by  the 
commission  to  the  government  prosecutor 
for  the  District  of  Columbia,  and,  judging 
again  by  the  Mahone-blackmail  standard. 


this  prosecutor  will  put  the  papers  where 
they  will  never  trouble  any  Raum. 

How  much  more  Raumism  can  the 
President  stand  ? 

The  various  labor  organizations  are  the 
stanchest  supporters  of  the  merit  system 
in  Buffalo.  The  Buffalo  Sunday  Truth, 
March  29,  contains  the  resolutions  of  Car¬ 
penters  Union,  No.  9,  over  the  recent  ap¬ 
pointment  by  the  civil  service  board  of  one 
of  their  members  to  a  place  in  the  city  fire 
department.  The  resolutions  say : 

Qualified  carpenters  will  find  their  aspirations  for 
po.sitions  on  the  various  city  offices  sooner  or  later 
realized  by  applying  through  the  medium  of  the 
civil  service  than  through  politics. 

Politics  has  a  nod  and  a  shake  for  the  workingman 
during  the  season  of  incubation,  but  the  delusion 
and  deception  leaves  the  seeker  after  political  offices 
in  a  weak  and  helpless  condition  after  he  has  spent 
his  time  for  empty  and  sterile  promises. 

It  is  not  so  with  the  civil  service:  it  is  slow  but 
quality  and  merit  win  without  loss  of  time  or 
money.  It  is  the  only  sure  way  that  the  working¬ 
man  can  obtain  a  position  on  any  of  the  city  depart¬ 
ments. 


MORE  QUAYISM. 

The  people  of  Pennsylvania  want  a  ballot 
reform  law  like  that  of  Indiana,  and  with  that 
view  a  bill  has  been  introduced  into  Quay’s 
legislature.  That  body  made  the  bill  over  un¬ 
til  if  passed  it  will  be  an  effective  agent  of 
ballot  thieves.  One  of  the  most  active  men  in 
thus  ruining  a  great  reform  measure  is  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison’s  collector  of  internal  revenue, 
Martin.  In  prder  that  the  make-up  of  this 
federal  office  holder  may  be  known,  a  good  deal 
of  space  is  given  elsewhere  to  an  accountof  him 
from  the  New  York  World,  which  was  published 
over  six  months  ago  and  has  never  been  de¬ 
nied.  Making  all  the  allowances  necessary  for 
a  somewhat  dramatic  style,  Martin  is,  under 
the  circumstances,  left  with  a  very  black  char¬ 
acter.  The  people  of  Pennsylvania  have  once 
shown  that  they  can  throw  Quayism,  even 
when  backed  by  the  Administration,  headed 
by  Wanamaker.  Apparently  they  will  have 
to  do  it  again,  and  throw  it  hard  enough  to 
break  its  bones.  What  it  is  to  be  in  the  grip 
of  Quay  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  apparently 
no  Philadelphia  paper  dares  to  tell  the  truth 
about  him  or  any  of  his  Men.  We  quote  from 
the  private  letter  of  a  correspondent  whose  in¬ 
formation  and  veracity  are  beyond  question  : 

I  ask  your  kind  attention  to  the  enclosed  clipping 
from  the  New  York  World  of  October  ^Oih,  which 
gives  what  I  believe,  in  the  main,  to  be  a  perfectly 
reliable  sketch  of  the  career  of  one  of  our  prominent 
and  most  influential  politicians,  David  Martin  ;  and 
also  the  circumstances  attending  his  appointment  to 
the  position  of  collector  of  internal  revenue.  The 
citizens’  municipal  association  was  about  to  protest 
against  David  Martin’s  appointment  to  his  present 
post,  when  the  news  came  that  his  appointment  was 
an  accomplished  fact.  I  regret  that  the  gentlemen 
who  had  this  matter  in  charge  were  deterred  from  at 
least  making  his  career  known  to  the  public.  David 
Martin  and  Charles  Porter  are  very  near  to  Mr.  Quay, 
and  have  been  instrumental  in  procuring  the  amend¬ 
ments  to  our  Baker  ballot  reform  bill,  now  pending 
in  the  senate,  which  changed  it  from  a  measure  in 
the  interest  of  an  honest  ballot  to  one  calculated  to 
aid  the  ballot  thieves.  That  a  man  of  Martin’s  record 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


229 


and  past  associations  could  have  come  to  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  political  influence  which  he  now  occupies  is 
a  sad  commentary  upon  the  moral  standards  of  Amer¬ 
ican  political  life;  hut  this  is  a  fact  which  we  have  to 
confront.  These  men  are  now  doing  all  in  their 
power  to  prevent  ballot  reform,  and  I  now  feel  con¬ 
vinced  that  so  long  as  they  remain  in  power  the  pol¬ 
itics  of  Pennsylvania  can  not  be  brought  into  a 
healthy  state.  The  condition  of  things  is  exasperat¬ 
ing  to  the  highest  degree.  A  number  of  our  news¬ 
papers  are  fighting  hard  to  push  the  bill  through, 
but  I  liave  never  known  any  of  them  to  expose  Mar¬ 
lin’s  career  or  attack  him  personaily  on  the  grounds 
of  his  public  record,  nor  do  they  attack  Quay. 

THE  ROOSEVELT  DINNER. 


A  surprising  anti  sure  indication  of  public 
feeling  in  Indiana  was  .shown  on  the  evening 
of  May  16.  Early  that  week  it  was  learned 
that  Theodore  Roosevelt  would  pass  through 
Indianapolis  on  the  16th,  and  the  suggestion 
that  he  be  given  some  indication  of  the  esteem 
in  which  both  himself  and  the  cause  which  he 
represents  are  held  was  responded  to,  not  only 
from  this  city,  but  from  all  parts  of  the  state, 
with  a  spontaneity  that  ought  to  settle  the  ques¬ 
tion  how  the  leading  men  of  Indiana  stand 
upon  the  matters  involved.  The  following 


joined  in  tendering 
at  the  Propylaeum. 
present : 

Noble  C.  Butler. 

Wm.  D.  Foulke. 

Lucius  B.  Swift. 

Oliver  T.  Morton. 

John  L.  Griffiths. 
William  Fortune. 
Alfred  F.  Potts. 

John  E.  Bradshaw. 

Geo.  T.  Porter. 

E.  F.  Hodges. 

John  A.  Butler. 

W.  P.  Fishback. 

A.  C.  Harris. 

W.  A.  Woods. 

E.  B.  Martindale. 

N.  A.  Hyde. 

Meredith  Nicholson. 
John  H.  Holliday. 

Otto  Gresham. 

M.  G.  McLain. 

Morris  Ross. 

Byron  K.  Elliott. 

John  T.  Dye. 

Evans  Woollen. 

Wm.  H.  Dye. 

W.  A.  Van  Buren. 

W.  F.  Elliott. 

Chas.  R.  Lane. 

Hewitt  Howland. 

I.  S.  Gordon. 

Albert  J.  Beveridge. 

W.  B.  Fletcher. 

Nathan  Morris. 

Chester  Bradford. 

Edgar  A.  Brown. 
William  C.  Bobbs. 
Claude  Griffith. 

John  M.  Coulter. 
William  L.  Elder. 
William  Henderson. 

W.  S.  Kirk. 

H.  J.  Kimble. 

J.  K.  Lily. 

J.  E.  McCullough. 
George  Merritt. 

J.  J.  Mills. 

William  L.  Meredith. 
Rufus  Magee. 

A.  H.  Snow. 

E.  P.  Thompson, 

John  R.  Wilson. 

J.  S. 


,  dinner  to  Mr.  Roosevelt 
Nearly  one  hundred  were 

Frank  H.  Blackledge. 

W.  E.  Niblaek. 

Harry  J.  Milligan. 

Arthur  B.  Grover. 

A.  L.  Mason. 

James  B.  Black. 

John  C.  Dean. 

W.  W.  Grant. 

Livingston  Howland. 
John  Coburn. 

W.  R.  Holloway. 

Charles  Martindale. 
Hilton  U.  Brown. 

J.  N.  Hurty. 

H.  A.  Cleveland. 

Edward  Daniels. 

Albert  Baker. 

Allan  W.  Hendricks. 

John  Lawrie. 

W.  B.  Roberts. 

Joseph  A.  Mllburn. 

Lee  Travers. 

J.  L.  Thompson. 

J.  M.  Winters. 

W.  H.  Griffith. 

H.  W.  Bennett. 

T.  E.  Griffith. 

C.  W.  Fairbanks. 

J.  K.  Sharpe,  Jr. 

D.  C.  Griffith. 

William  Haueisen. 
Herman  Lieber. 

Jacob  P.  Dunn. 

W.  H.  Hobbs. 

W.  J.  Holliday. 

James  W.  Hull. 

R.  V.  Hunter. 

Joseph  S.  Jenckes. 
William  A.  Ketcham. 

S.  E.  Morss. 

V.  T.  Malott. 

R.  B.  Ogleshee. 

Theodore  S.  Potter. 

H.  D.  Pierce. 

N.  S.  Rosenau. 

O.  S.  Runnels. 

T.  L.  Sewall. 

Geo.  E.  Swan. 

D.  B.  Shideler. 

M.  N.  Wishard. 

H.  H.  Hanna. 

Holliday. 


Among  the  regrets  were  the  following: 

[From  George  I.  Reed,  Kansas  City.] 

I  join  my  Indiana  friends  in  honoring  their 
guest,  the  distinguished  advocate  of  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform. 

[From  Rev.  E.  C.  Bogemann,  otSt.  Charles Borromeo’s, 
Bloomington.] 

I  regret  very  much  to  be  compelled  to  forego 
the  pleasure  of  honoring  one  of  the  foremost 
leaders  of  so  worthy  a  cause — civil  service  re¬ 
form. 

[From  D.  N.  Foster,  Fort  Wayne.] 

Mr.  Roosevelt  has  proven  a  signal  success 
in  the  very  difficult  position  he  fills,  and  I 
should  be  greatly  pleased  to  show  my  appreci¬ 
ation  of  the  manner  in  which  he  has  dis¬ 
charged  his  official  duties  by  my  presence 
with  you  at  the  coming  banquet. 

[From  George  B.  Cardwill,  New  Albany  ] 

It  goes  without  saying,  that  I  have  very 
great  admiration  for  Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  I  envy 
the  gentlemen  who  will  have  the  pleasure  of 
dining  with  him. 

[From  Charles  H.  Aldrich,  Chicago.] 

It  would  afford  me  deep  pleasure  to  unite 
with  you  and  your  associates  in  this  tribute  to 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  whose  splendid  services  to  the 
cause  of  civil  service  and  municipal  reform 
entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  every  "true 
American  citizen. 

[From  Calvin  Fletcher,  Spencer.] 

Mr.  Roosevelt  is  one  of  the  few  men  whom 
I  would  go  far  to  honor. 

[From  John  H.  Jacobs,  Fort  Wayne.] 

I  very  much  regret  that  the  condition  of  my 
health  is  such  as  to  prevent  the  acceptance  of 
the  invitation  you  so  kindly  send  me.  That 
the  dinner  may  be  a  very  enjoyable  one,  and 
that  it  may  greatly  encourage  all  the  par¬ 
ticipants  to  renewed  efforts  toward  the  con¬ 
summation  of  our  hopes  is  my  earnest  desire. 

[From  C.  R.  Boyer,  Williamsport.] 

I  am  in  receipt  of  an  invitation  to  join  in 
a  dinner  to  be  given  to  the  Hon.  Theodore 
Roosevelt  at  the  Propylaeum,  in  your  city,  on 
Saturday  evening.  My  advanced  years  make 
it  inexpedient  for  me  to  roost  from  home, 
while  the  night  train  does  not  stop  at  our 
place;  but  I  do  not  wish  to  be  remiss,  when 
measures  in  support  of  the  good  cause  are  in 
course  of  prosecution.  I  would  like,  there¬ 
fore,  to  tax  your  courtesy  to  put  the  enclosed 
five  dollars  where  it  will  do  the  most  good. 

[From  Henry  M.  Williams,  Ft.  Wayne.] 

I  shall  hope  for  the  success  of  the  entertain¬ 
ment  in  honor  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  a  most  valiant 
fighter  in  the  cause.  Please  use  this  draft  for 
five  dollars,  enclosed,  for  a  plate  for  some  one 
who  will  help  on  the  cause,  or  otherwise  as 
you  see  fit. 

THE  SPEECHES. 

Mr.  Noble  C.  Butler  presided,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  dinner  introduced  Mr.  Roosevelt 
as  follows : 

Gentlemen:  We  have  not  met  here  as 
members  of  the  republican  and  democratic 
parties  to  wrangle  over  the  political  issues 
which  divide  us.  If  there  is  any  one  thing 
on  which  the  two  parties  are  thoroughly 


agreed  it  is  on  the  importance  and  necessity 
of  reform  in  the  civil  service.  Any  wholly 
unprejudiced  person,  exempt  from  local  and 
temporary  prepossessions,  like  Macaulay’s  itin¬ 
erant  New  Zealander  or  Goldsmith’s  philo¬ 
sophic  Chinaman,  for  instance,  who  might 
naturally  seek  in  the  platforms  of  bur  parties 
for  a  disclosure  of  their  senliments  and  reject 
other  testimony  as  secondary  and  impertinent, 
would  find  in  them  the  most  ample  and  indis¬ 
putable  proof  of  my  statement.  An  examina¬ 
tion  of  their  platforms  for  the  last  decade  or 
two  shows  how  deeply  they  have  been  im¬ 
pressed.  They  have  actually  vied  with  one 
another  in  an  emphatic  condemnation  of  the 
practices  which  ought  to  be  reformed,  and 
they  have  repeatedly,  with  zeal  and  enthu¬ 
siasm,  pledged  themselves  to  the  particular 
reformation  of  them  which  has  been  slowly 
but  successfully  installed  in  the  governments 
of  some  of  our  cities  and  states,  and  in  the 
national  government.  It  is  true  that  some  of  our 
statesmen  of  one  party  or  the  other,  in  execu¬ 
tive  sessions  or  committee  of  the  whole,  have 
teased  the  civil  service  commission  of  the 
United  States  with  playful  threats  of  with¬ 
holding  the  appropriations  on  which  its  ex¬ 
istence  depends,  but  on  being  called  before  the 
country,  in  a  vote  of  the  yeas  and  nays,  they 
have  pulled  themselves  together  with  com¬ 
mendable  alacrity,  and  resolutely  voted  for  a 
continuance  of  the  appropriations;  and,  at 
the  very  next  state  or  national  convention  of 
their  party,  have  pointed  with  pri^e  at  the 
record  and  result  of  their  votes. 

As  all  of  us  here  belong  to  one  or  the  other 
of  the  two  parties,  and  our  confessions  of  faith 
are  in  their  platforms,  it  plainly  and  inevita¬ 
bly  follows  that  we  are  all  civil  service  re¬ 
formers.  Any  impeachment  of  that  syllogism 
must  be  at  the  expense  of  our  sincerity  or 
partisan  fealty.  A  denial  of  its  conclusion 
would  amount  to  a  charge  that  we  are  all 
hypocrites,  or  it  might  fasten  upon  us  the 
dreadful  stigma  of  being  “weak-kneed  or  “in¬ 
vertebrate,”  or  something  else  that  is  quite 
short  of  a  “good  democrat,”  or  a  “good  repub¬ 
lican,”  and  which  is  simply  too  horrible  to 
contemplate. 

If  my  argument  is  so  broad  that  it  takes  in 
the  whole  country,  and  by  so  doing  fails  to 
recognize  the  existence  of  any  difference  of 
opinion,  here  or  elsewhere,  it  may  require 
some  modification,  even  at  the  loss  of  a  beauti¬ 
ful  vision  of  political  harmony.  But  whether 
we  are  all  technically  civil  service  reformers  or 
not,  we  ought,  as  good  citizens,  to  sympathize 
with  purposes  which  have  as  their  end  the  se¬ 
lection  for  minor  posts  under  the  national, 
state  and  municipal  governments,  of  persons 
who  are  qualified  to  fill  them.  There  should 
be  no  difference  of  opinion  about  the  end  we 
seek,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  means. 
And,  so  far  as  the  means  are  concerned,  we 
are  trying  to  do  just  what  our  brethren  over 
the  way  are  doing  in  the  administration  of 
their  charities  and  corrections;  we  are  en¬ 
deavoring  to  substitute  a  scientific  method  for 
political  empiricism.  As  good  citizens  we  are 


230 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


( 


all  agreed  that  only  those  who  are  qualified 
for  official  position  should  hold  them,  but  we 
ought  further  to  agree  that  there  should  be 
some  precise  and  definite  method  for  ascer¬ 
taining  and  testing  the  qualifications  of  those 
who  seek  them. 

Among  those  whose  intentions  are  good  and 
unselfish  the  differences  concerning  methods 
will  disappear  with  the  progress  of  enlighten¬ 
ment,  although  they  may  be  given  up  slowly 
and  even  reluctantly.  The  wife  of  Martin 
Luther  looked  back  with  regret  upon  old  be¬ 
liefs  after  the  Keformation  had  made  them 
impossible  for  her;  and  on  the  verge  of  Ca¬ 
naan  the  Israelites  yearned  for  the  flesh-pots 
of  Egypt.  Men  may  yet  think  for  awhile  that 
the  old  way  is  the  best  simply  on  account  of 
its  age;  that  correct  views  of  the  tariff  are  a 
better  equipment  for  a  letter  carrier  than  a 
knowledge  of  reading  and  writing  or  the  geog¬ 
raphy  of  his  city  and  state;  or  that  an  Indi¬ 
anapolis  policeman  ought  to  be  examined  with 
reference  to  the  state  of  his  mind  concerning 
what  is  known  as  the  southern  question  in¬ 
stead  of  the  municipal  ordinances  which  he  is 
to  conserve  and  enforce.  But  these  are  no¬ 
tions  which  properly  belong  to  the  palaeozoic 
age  of  politics — they  are  survivals  of  it.  Not¬ 
withstanding  these  notions,  and  in  spite  of 
them,  the  spirit  of  civil  service  reform  is 
abroad  in  the  land,  and,  like  that  of  old  John 
Brown,  is  marching  on.  It  is  but  a  little  while 
since  it  invaded  the  Indian  service,  it  is  break¬ 
ing  into  the  navy  yards,  and  it  prevails  in  the 
Indianapolis  post-office.  And  it  is  not  done 
yet. 

We  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  the 
scholar  in  politics,  and  the  phrase  like  that  of 
the  Christian  statesman,  has  been  a  little 
soiled  with  misuse.  As  Doll  Tearsheet  says, 
they  are  all  most  excellent  good  words,  but  they 
have  been  ill  sorted.  At  times  I  have  my  doubts 
whether  scholarship  has  much  to  do  with  pol 
itics  or  much  influence  upon  it.  Neverthe¬ 
less  we  admire  and  respect  genuine  scholar¬ 
ship,  and  we  know  that  if  politics  does  not 
heed  what  scholarship  has  to  say  about  social, 
political  and  economic  truths,  it  will  be  so 
much  the  worse  for  politics.  But  there  is 
something  I  like  even  better  in  politics  than 
scholarship,  and  that  is  manliness.  And 
when  we  have  a  combination  of  the  two  qual¬ 
ities  in  any  man  or  set  of  men,  it  seems  to  me 
that  all  of  us,  who  wish  well  for  politics,  and 
for  the  country  whose  most  vital  interests  are 
described  by  that  term,  ought  to  grapple  him 
and  them  to  our  souls  with  hooks  of  steel. 

I  have  in  my  mind  some  men  of  that  sort 
in  both  hemispheres,  and  among  them,  easily 
the  first,  the  grand  old  man  of  England,  rises 
before  it.  And  it  should  be  a  cause  of  patri¬ 
otic  pride  that  we  have  men  of  that  sort  in 
our  own  country  and  the  number  of  them  is 
increasing;  that  we  have  men  who  discuss 
public  questions  in  the  reviews  as  well  as  on 
the  rostrum,  intelligently  and  instructively, 
with  fairness  and  candor;  who  have  written 
thoughtful  and  discriminating  biographies  of 
our  public  men;  whose  contributions  to  our 


historical  literature  are  worthy  of  a  place  by 
the  side  of  those  of  Francis  Parkman;  and 
who  take  with  them  into  the  primaries  and 
political  conventions  the  courage  of  their 
opinions  and  teaching,  and  actively  and  ef¬ 
fectively  maintain  them. 

It  is  my  privilege  to  know  at  least  one  of 
these  rare  men,  whose  “  Winning  of  the  West  ” 
has  not  ended  with  the  delightful  volumes 
which  bear  that  title.  He  is  not  one  of  those 
writers  who  are  content  to  sit  in  their  studies, 
or  their  sanctums,  and  survey  the  political 
arena  with  a  field  glass,  graciously  bestowing 
their  valuable  opinions  upon  the  actors  in  it 
at  long  range;  buj  he  has  gone  down  into  it 
and  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus — and  other 
places.  He  is  as  practical  a  politician  as  any, 
with  the  important  qualification  of  the  term 
which  is  given  it  by  the  fact  that  he  stands  for 
an  idea  and  not  for  spoils.  F'or  aught  I  know, 
and  I  speak  now  after  the  manner  of  the  unre¬ 
generate,  he  has  as  many  and  as  distinguished 
scalps  at  his  belt  as  any  warrior  of  Tammany 
or  member  of  the  Slick  Six,  for  he  does  not 
fight  as  one  who  beateth  the  air.  The  gentle¬ 
man  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking,  and  for 
whom  you  have  been  impatiently  waiting,  I 
now  have  the  honor  and  the  pleasure  of  intro¬ 
ducing  to  you  in  the  person  of  the  Hon.  The¬ 
odore  Roosevelt,  of  the  United  States  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission. 

MR.  ROOSEVELT 

began  by  a  discussion  of  the  merit  system  in 
the  federal  service  and  of  the  character  of  the 
examinations,  and  took  occasion  to  answer 
the  mountain-in-the-moon  critics.  After  pass¬ 
ing  around  specimen  examination  questions 
and  answers,  he  then  said  : 

“Hitherto  I  have  spoken  from  a  non-parti¬ 
san  stand-point;  now,  I  intend  to  say  a  few 
words  as  a  republican  in  a  response  to  a  recent 
attack  on  the  reform  system  by  one  who  also 
claims  to  be  a  republican.  Ex-assistant  Post¬ 
master-General  Clarkson,  in  a  recent  article  in 
the  North  American  Review,  has  obligingly  fur¬ 
nished  an  instance  of  that  species  of  attack 
on  the  law  which  consists  in  a  loose  diatribe, 
equally  compounded  of  rambling  declama¬ 
tion  and  misstatement,  and,  as  he  therein 
throws  down  the  gauntlet  to  the  civil  service 
commission,  it  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  take 
it  up. 

“Mr.  Clarkson  says  that  the  ‘civil  service 
commission  is  more  unfriendly  and  more  op¬ 
posed  to  the  republican  party  under  Harrison 
than  it  was  under  Cleveland.’  Being  inter¬ 
preted,  this  Bunsby-like  utterance  is  mer  ly 
Mr.  Clarkson’s  way  of  saying  that  the  com¬ 
mission  is  rigidly  enforcing  the  law.  Mr. 
Clarkson  is  laboring  under  a  confusion  of 
ideas.  He  mistakes  himself  and  those  who 
sympathize  with  his  views  for  the  republican 
party;  a  mistake  akin  to  that  chronicled  by 
.^op  in  his  little  fable  of  the  frog  and  the 
ox.  Now,  the  civil  service  commission  most 
undoubtedly  is  hostile  to  the  individuals  who 
share  the  theories  expressed  in  Mr.  Clarkson’s 
article;  the  commission  can  not  both  do  its 
duty  and  retain  their  good  will  any  more  than 


a  policeman  can  do  his  duty  and  retain  the  f 
good  will  of  the  law-breakers.  But  the  com¬ 
mission  is  not  hostile  to  the  republican  party. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  busily  engaged  in  keep¬ 
ing  one  of  the  promises  which  the  republican 
party  made  in  the  convention  of  1888,  a  prom¬ 
ise  which  Mr.  Clarkson  and  his  friends  now 
wish  to  break. 

“Mr.  Clarkson  might  just  as  well  say  that 
Secretary  Tracy  is  hostile  to  the  republican 
party  because  he  has  introduced  the  principle 
of  civil  service  reform  into  the  navy  yards,  or 
he  might  go  farther  yet  and  say  that  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  is  more  hostile  to  the  republi¬ 
cans  than  ex-President  Cleveland  was  because 
he  has  extended  the  classified  service  to  in¬ 
clude  the  Indian  department. 

“There  are  some  points  in  Mr.  Clarkson’s 
article  with  which  I  agree,  and  there  are  cer¬ 
tain  of  his  objects  with  which  I  sympathize. 
But  he  is  not  setting  to  work  in  the  right  way 
to  attain  these  objects.  He  is  against  mug- 
wumpery.  Very  good;  but  does  he  not  see 
that  to  have  a  responsible  republican  poli¬ 
tician  advocate  such  views  as  appear  in  his 
article  is  playing  right  into  the  mugmump’s 
hands,  and  is  justifying  his  existence?  More¬ 
over,  it  is  just  as  foolish  for  Mr.  Clarkson  to 
say  that  the  democratic  party  has  ‘purchased’ 
the  mugwump  newspapers,  as  it  would  be  to 
say  that  the  democratic  party  has  ‘  purchased  ’ 
Mr.  Clarkson  to  write  his  article,  which  is 
much  better  fitted  to  damage  the  republican 
party  than  any  conceivable  mugmump  edi¬ 
torial.  Mr.  Clarkson  says  he  wishes  to  get 
the  young  men  of  courage  and  conviction  to 
join  the  republican  party  ;  does  he  not  realize 
that  in  writing  such  (stuff)  he  is  doing  his 
best  to  keep  them  out  of  the  party?  Mr. 
Clarkson  believes  in  the  practical  politician. 

So  do  I;  but  when,  as  he  has  recently  done, 
Mr.  Clarkson  comes  into  Massachusetts  of  all 
places  in  the  world  to  advocate  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  and  an  inflated  currency,  he  is  acting  as 
if  he  were  an  unpractical  politician  of  the 
most  comic  variety.  He  is  doing  his  l)e.st  to 
help  the  democrats  keep  control  of  the  state. 
Nor,  be  it  remembered,  did  he  succeed,  in  spite 
of  the  patronage  at  his  command,  in  keeping 
lov/a  in  line. 

“  Much  of  Mr.  Clarkson’s  article  consists  of 
the  solemn  statement  of  truisms  which  nobody 
denies  and  of  assaults  upon  positions  which  no 
sane  being  holds;  much  of  the  remainder, 
whatever  relevance  it  may  have  to  some  not 
very  clearly  defined  idea  of  his  own,  certainly 
has  none  whatever  to  civil  service  reform. 
When  he  does  deal  with  this  subject  he  fails 
to  advance  one  new  fact  or  put  forward  a  sin¬ 
gle  theory  which  has  not  been  a  hundred 
times  refuted;  he  merely  parades  the  usual 
dreary  Falstaffian  army  of  exploded  and  fool¬ 
ish  untruths.  He  represents  civil  service  re¬ 
formers  as  maintaining  ‘that  office-holding 
does  not  concern  the  people.’  On  the  contrary, 
we  maintain  that  it  does  concern  the  people; 
whereas  Mr.  Clarkson  and  his  friends  insist 
that  itonly  concerns  the  oligarchy  of  political 
place-hunters.  He  apparently  thinks  that  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


231 


founders  of  the  government  believed  in  the 
spoils  system;  whereas  a  glance  at  any  good 
school  history  would  have  taught  him  that  it 
was  forty  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  con¬ 
stitution  before  this  brutal  and  degrading 
practice  was  openly  avowed  and  defended  in 
our  national  politics.  He  expresses  a  desire 
for  ‘practical’  examinations;  but  of  course,  if 
he  knows  anything  of  our  examinations  at  all, 
he  must  know  that  they  are  eminently  practi¬ 
cal  already,  and  admirably  fitted  to  test  the 
qualifications  of  the  candidates  ;  whereas, 
nothing  could  be  more  impractical  than  to 
examine  a  would-be  clerk  or  letter  carrier  as 
to  the  strength  of  his  political  backing,  or  the 
extent  of  his  influence  with  prominent  party 
leaders.  He  advocates  ‘pass’  examinations, 
which,  as  every  one  who  has  looked  into  the 
subject  knows,  are  simple  shams,  serving  no 
useful  purpose  whatever,  especially  if  con¬ 
ducted  by  the  heads  of  departments,  as  Mr. 
Clarkson  advises. 

“He  speaks  of  the  commission  as  ‘abso¬ 
lutely  unknown  to  the  constitution.’  What 
he  means  by  this  is  obscure — probably  he 
himself  is  not  quite  certain  about  it.  If  he  will 
read  through  the  constitution  he  will  find 
that  it  does  not  contain  a  catalogue  of  offices; 
and,  of  course,  it  no  more  mentions  the  civil 
service  commission  than  it  does  the  first  as- 
*  sistant  postmaster-general.  If  he  means  that 
the  law  providing  for  the  commission  is  un¬ 
constitutional,  why  does  he  not  test  the  matter 
in  the  court?  He  says  he  would  retain  faith¬ 
ful  public  servants,  but  he  knows  perfectly 
well  that  this  can  only  be  done  under  the  civil 
service  law  which  he  condemns,  and  that  he 
himself,  while  assistant  postmaster-general,  ad¬ 
ministered  and  was  obliged  to  administer  the 
patronage  of  the  fourth-class  offices— as  all  his 
predecessors  did  before  him — on  a  purely  spoils 
basis,  turning  out  the  faithful  and  unfaithful 
alike,  if  their  places  were  sought  by  influential 
politicians.  He  also  expresses  a  desire  that 
there  should  be  a  separation  of  the  appointing 
power  from  the  legislative  power.  This  is  ex¬ 
actly  what  the  civil  service  law  provides  and 
what  Mr.  Clarkson  and  his  friends  strenu¬ 
ously  oppose.  Surely  he  can  not  keep  a  serious 
face  and  deny  that  during  his  own  term  of 
office  he  treated  the  fourth-class  offices  as 
simply  theproperty  of  the  congressman,  good  or 
bad,  in  whose  district  they  were  situated.  If 
this  is  not  mingling  the  appointing  and  legisla¬ 
tive  power  nothing  (Jan  be.  Mr.  Clarkson  is  cer¬ 
tainly  not  happy  in  his  arguments.  Mr. 
Clarkson  loudly  proclaims  that  he  is  a 
straightout  republican.  He  says:  ‘  I  believe 
that  when  Benjamin  Harrison  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States,  on  a  platform 
of  republican  principles,  he  was  elected  to 
carry  out  those  principles.’  Exactly ;  and 
one  of  those  principles  was  the  continuation 
and  the  extension  of  the  reform  of  the  civil 
service,  begun  under  republican  auspices. 
President  Harrison’s  civil  service  commission 
is  actively  carrying  out  this  principle,  this 
pledge  of  the  party  platform,  while  Mr.  Clark¬ 
son  and  his  followers  are  striving — with  entire 


lack  of  success,  by  the  way — to  prevent  its 
being  done. 

“The  fact  that  the  majority  of  the  people 
want  one  president  elected  rather  than  another 
no  more  means  that  all  the  clerks  and  letter 
carriers  should  be  turned  out  than  having 
Grant  instead  of  McClellan  at  the  head  of  the 
army  of  the  Potomac  implied  the  dismissal  of 
all  the  privates  who  served  under  the  latter. 

“Finally  Mr.  Clarkson  makes  an  astound¬ 
ing  confession,  though  it  is  a  confession  which 
logically  follows  from  his  principles  and  prac 
tices.  He  says  that  he  and  his  friends  ‘be¬ 
lieve  in  republican  officers  under  a  republican 
administration.  *  *■  ■*'  If  this  conclusion 

is  not  true  *  *  *  all  political  parties  in 
America  ought  to  disband.’  In  other  words 
these  gentlemen,  who  so  loudly  vaunt  their 
republicanism,  in  reality  care  nothing  for  re¬ 
publicanism  at  all  save  in  so  far  as  it  means 
offices  for  themselves  and  their  friends.  They 
wish  the  republican  party  to  disband  unless 
they  are  to  be  paid  for  supporting  it.  This 
seems  a  harsh  way  of  putting  their  views,  but 
it  is  perfectly  just. 

“  There  is  a  certain  difference  between  being 
bribed  with  an  office  and  being  bribed  with 
money — exactly  as  there  is  a  difference  be¬ 
tween  the  savagery  of  an  Ashantee  and  the 
savagery  of  a  Hottentot — but  the  difference  is 
one  of  degree  only. 

“I  think  there  is  no  need  of  a  more  biting 
commentary  on  the  spoils  system  than  that 
furnished  by  Mr.  Clarkson  himself  when  he 
avows  such  a  doctrine  as  this.” 

MR.  Morton’s  remarks  : 

It  can  not  be  repeated  too  often  that  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  the  merit  system  to  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  of  this  country  is  much  more  than  a  mere 
administrative  reform.  Whether  a  letter  is 
expeditiously  carried,  cr  whether  the  civil 
service  generally  is  efficient,  is  a  matter  in¬ 
deed  of  large  convenience  and  even  of  impor¬ 
tance,  but  it  is  not  vital.  It  does  not  affect 
the  character  of  the  people,  nor  threaten  the 
stability  of  our  institutions.  The  evil  is  po¬ 
litical  aud  lies  much  deeper.  The  merit  sys¬ 
tem  substitutes  open  and  manly  competition 
for  beggary  and  sycophancy.  It  takes  a  man 
from  his  knees  and  bids  him  stand  erect.  It 
teaches  him  independence.  If  he  obtains  an 
appointment  at  an  examination,  or  a  promo¬ 
tion,  it  is  by  virtue  of  his  merit  aud  his  rec¬ 
ord,  and  not  because  he  has  done  some  shady 
political  work. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  spoils  system  is 
bribery  organized  upon  a  gigantic  scale.  I 
once  heard  a  candidate  upon  a  presidential 
ticket  promise  his  supporters,  in  the  event  of 
his  election,  at  least  one-half  the  offices  under 
the  government,  which,  I  protest,  is  the  great¬ 
est  bribe  ever  offered  to  the  voters  of  this 
country.  But  you  will  say  that  bribery  is 
multiform — that  this  is  only  one  of  a  set  of 
corrupt  influences  which  endanger  the  national 
life.  Unfortunately  this  is  true.  Jobbery  in 
federal  office  is  but  a  part  of  a  system  of  brib¬ 
ery  which  has  its  roots  deep  in  the  past,  and 
which  has  spread  like  a  destroying  vine  over 


the  whole  country.  The  senate  of  the  United 
States  is  fast  becoming  a  rich  man’s  club. 
Agents  of  corporations  swarm  the  national 
and  state  capitols.  Moneyed  combinations 
contribute  large  sums  to  debauch  elections, 
and  employers  coerce  the  votes  of  the  em¬ 
ployes.  Everywhere  the  special  interest  is 
arrayed  against  the  common  weal. 

To  many — to  me  at  any  rate — civil  service 
reform  means  much  more  than  a  technical 
and  verbal  definition  of  it  will  allow.  It  de. 
dares  war  against  this  whole  iniquity — against 
jobbery  in  all  office,  whether  federal,  state  or 
municipal — whether  legislative  or  adminis¬ 
trative.  It  stands  for  an  unfettered,  uncor¬ 
rupted  and  independent  public  opinion. 

But  all  things  can  not  be  done  at  once.  To 
take  200,000  offices  out  of  politics  is  a  good 
beginning  and  is  a  great  gain.  To  offer  office 
as  a  reward  is  a  most  insidious  form  of  bribery^ 
It  not  only  influences  the  man  who  obtains  it, 
but  it  affects  a  score  of  others  who  do  not. 
Many  of  these  men  who  will  work  to  obtain 
an  office  will  not  accept  money  in  lieu  thereof. 
They  have  not  reached  that  point  of  degrada¬ 
tion.  By  abolishing  the  patronage  system 
you  will  not  only  remove  the  temptation 
which  perverts  their  energies,  but  you  will 
also  strike  down  the  one  man  power.  A  sys¬ 
tem  which  gives  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States  control  of  200,000  offices  whose  income 
is  equal  to  that  of  200,000  farms  is  a  foe  to 
democratic  government.  It  belongs  to  a  dead 
and  bygone  age.  It  is  a  relic  of  feudalism,  of 
the  days  of  the  over-lord  and  of  king-craft. 
The  president  holding  this  power  is  an  un¬ 
crowned  king.  It  is  true  that  you  may  de¬ 
throne  him  at  the  end  of  four  years,  if  you 
can,  but  you  may  depend  upon  it  that  if  he  is  a 
spoilsman  he  will  wield  the  great  army  of  the 
civil  service  in  his  defense.  His  office-holders 
will  pack  the  primaries  and  convention,  and 
if  possible  secure  his  reuomination,  and  a 
part  of  the  eighty  millions  of  dollars  which 
are  paid  by  the  government  every  year  to  its 
employes  will,  in  the  presidential  year,  be 
diverted  to  Influencing  the  will  of  the  people. 

Now,  sir,  this  is  a  government  of,  by  and  for 
the  people,  and  they  have  the  right  to  pass 
judgment  upon  an  administration  free  from 
official  coercion.  The  president  of  the 
United  States  is  no  more  justified  in  using  the 
civil  service  as  a  personal  engine  than  he  is  in 
using  the  army  of  the  United  States,  which  is 
but  another  branch  of  the  executive  depart¬ 
ment.  There  is  no  difference  in  princi¬ 
ple.  The  spoils  system  is  an  anomaly,  a.  mon¬ 
strosity  and  an  anachronism.  It  belongs  to 
the  oriental  despotisms  of  the  old  world.  It 
has  no  proper  place  in  the  republics  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere. 

MR.  ROSS’s  REMARK.S  : 

Until  this  moment  I  had  been  confirmed  in 
the  truth  of  the  old  belief  that  to  assure  a 
well-ordered  affair  of  this  kind,  both  in  perfec¬ 
tion  of  detail  and  completeness  altogether, 
there  should  be  a  “  Butler  ”  at  the  head. 

At  this  point  I  had  made  a  mental  note  that 
there  was  to  be  “  laughter  ”  and  “applause,” 


232 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


and  then  on  the  waves  of  merriment,  I  should 

I 

ride  in  with  the  “  thoughts  that  breathe  ”  and 
the  “words  that  burn.”  I  had  also  made  a 
mental  note  that  in  case  the  laugh  did  not  come 
in — altliough  I  labored  very  hard  on  that  pun 
and  supposed  it  would  go  at  this  time  of  night 
— I  should  call  it  “  Balbec,”  as  Mark  Twain 
did  his  horse,  because  it  was  such  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  ruin,  and  on  the  debris  take  my  stand  and 
proceed  to  say  that  it  seemed  to  me  peculiarly 
fitting  that  these  friends  should  give  this  tes- 
tiuionial  of  their  personal  regard  to  this  guest, 
because  in  him,  springing  from  his  influence, 
has  been  realized  more  fully  than  ever  that 
cause  which  they  have  loved  so  long  and  so 
well.  It  is  because  Theodore  Roosevelt  has 
been  at  the  head  of  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission,  that  civil  service  reform  is  to-day  a 
fact,  as  it  never  has  been  before.  The  name 
“civil  service  reform”  is  one  that  I  have  never 
liked.  It  has  seemed  to  me  always  inadequate. 
At  best  it  is  the  name  of  a  proposition  or  a 
proposal.  There  should  be  instead  a  name 
that  defines  a  thing,  a  name  with  a  positive  in¬ 
stead  of  a  negative  meaning  to  it.  As  for  ex¬ 
ample,  the  “merit  system.”  And  I  believe 
that  those  who  have  this  cause  at  heart  can 
give  special  aid  to  it  by  beginning  to  speak  of 
it  as  the  “merit  system.” 

They  who  have  been  in  the  thick  of  the 
fight,  perhaps  do  not  realize  how  much  every 
little  aid  is  needed  to  strengthen  this  cause. 
Names  have  been  held  to  mean  too  little,  but 
back  of  the  man  whose  blood  is  up  and  who 
is  fighting  well  this  battle  is  a  large  host  of 
friends  who  yet  are  in  an  apologetic  stage. 
They  all  have  belief  in  this  cause,  yet  they 
stand  by  old  parties  and  approach  them  as  to 
this  subject  in  a  way  as  much  as  to  say,  “  this 
is  a  little  fad  of  mine,  a  little  weakness  in 
which  you  must  indulge  me.  I  am  a  good 
party  man — good  this,  that  and  the  other,  but 
I  have  this  little  idiosyncrasy  of  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform,  and  you  must  not  take  exception 
to  it.” 

There  is  that  apologetic  state  of  mind, 
whether  felt  or  fully  realized  or  not,  among  a 
great  mass  of  earnest  and  honest  friends  of  this 
cause.  Anything  that  would  aid  the  better 
requirements  of  their  conviction,  or  would 
tend  to  give  them  the  courage  of  their  opin¬ 
ions,  would  be  a  vast  help  to  the  cause.  And 
to  this  end,  though  it  might  not  appear  to 
some,  taking  pains  to  call  civil  service  re¬ 
form  the  merit  system  would  be  a  great  pos¬ 
itive  strength.  There  is  always  attached  to 
the  word  “reform”  an  assumption  of  supe¬ 
riority  that  not  infrequently  offends  good 
people,  and  to  drop  it,  and  in  its  stead  substi¬ 
tute  not  merely  a  proposal  but  the  fact  as  in 
the  “merit  system,”  would  add  greatly  to  gen¬ 
eral  effectiveness. 

*  *  *  Indiana  herself  is  going  to  give  ac¬ 
count  for  herself.  In  her  new  city  government 
the  j)rinciple  of  the  merit  system  is  already 
lodged;  the  principle  of  business  administra¬ 
tion,  and  its  results  are  to  be  far-reaching. 
In  the  state,  while  there  is  nothing  done  that 
can  be  called  a  harvest,  there  is  to  the  experi¬ 


enced  eye  well-tilled  and  carefully  planted 
fields  which  2)romise  surely  a  most  abundant 
harvest,  and  at  no  long  time  in  the  future 
Indiana  will  show  herself  in  deed  as  well  as 
in  sympathy  with  this  cause. 

Among  other  speakers  was  Mr.  Jacob  P. 
Dunn,  who  said :  “  Civil  service  reform 
will  win  because  it  is  right.”  Mr.W.  P.  Fish 
back  said:  “I  admire  Mr.  Roosevelt  for 
two  things,  his  sand  and  his  sense.”  Mr. 
Rufus  Magee  said  :  “  I  favor  civil  service 
reform  and  the  absence  and  divorce  of  the 
spoils  system  from  politics.  Merit  is  al¬ 
ways  entitled  to  recognition  regardless  of 
the  party  label  it  wears.  The  country  wants 
the  best  talent  to  be  had,  and  it  can  only 
be  secured  through  the  civil  service  law. 
During  my  eight  years’  service  in  the  gen 
eral  assembly  of  Indiana  two  things  give 
me  the  greatest  satisfaction — my  efforts  in 
behalf  of  the  new  charter  of  this  city  and 
my  attempt  to  secure  the  passage  of  the 
bill  introduced  by  me  to  put  the  benevo¬ 
lent  institutions  of  the  state  under  the 
merit  system.” 

In  speaking  of  the  dinner,  the  Indianap¬ 
olis  Sentinel  of  the  next  day  says  that  it 
“  closed  after  having  proved  one  ‘of  the 
most  brilliant  ever  held  in  this  city,  and 
one  at  which  the  wit  and  strong  points  of 
the  speakers  were  received  with  the  ut¬ 
most  appreciation  and  enthusiastic  ap¬ 
plause.” 

The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  May  18  says: 

The  banquet  to  Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt  on  Sat¬ 
urday  night  was  a  deserved  compliment  to  a  very 
bright  man  and  one  of  the  ablest  advocates  of  civil 
service  reform  in  the  country.  Mr.  Roosevelt  has 
won  distinction  in  other  ways,  but  at  present  he  is 
best  known  as  chairman  of  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion.  His  selection  for  that  position  was  a  happy 
thought  of  the  President’s,  and  has  been  fully  vindi¬ 
cated  by  the  faithfulness,  intelligence  and  impartial¬ 
ity  with  which  he  has  stood  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  civil  service  law.  He  is  a  lifelong  republican, 
and  has  proved  his  devotion  to  the  party  in  many 
ways.  He  is  doing  it  now  by  his  zealous  advocacy 
of  a  principle  which  was  embodied  in  the  platform 
on  which  President  Harrison  was  elected,  and  to  the 
support  of  which  the  party  is  fully  committed. 
There  are  still  opponents  of  civil  service  reform  to 
be  found  in  both  parties,  but  their  number  is  de. 
creasing,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  time  is  not  far  dis¬ 
tant  when  there  will  be  found  no  advocates  of  a  re. 
turn  to  the  spoils  system. 


ANNALS  OF  QUAYISM. 

Three  men  sat  in  the  Cabinet  room  in  the  White 
House  one  bright  morning  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1889.  One  was  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  second  was  Matthew  Stanley  Quay,  senator  from 
Pennsylvania  and  chairman  of  the  republican  na 
tional  committee.  The  third  was  James  McManes, 
the  sturdy  and  wealthy  Scotch-Irishman,  whose 
sterling  qualities  had  won  for  him  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  all  the  residents  of  the  Quaker  City. 

The  President  raised  his  eyes  inquiringly  to  Sena¬ 
tor  Quay.  Obviously  he  did  not  know  the  object  of 
the  consultation.  Neither  did  the  silent  senator. 
He  had  been  requested  by  his  companion  to  intro¬ 
duce  him  to  President  Harrison  and  had  fulfilled  his 
part.  In  turn  he  looked  towards  Mr.  McManes. 

Meanwhile  the  old  Scotsman’s  eyes  had  been  fas¬ 
tened  upon  the  impassive  countenance  of  Benjamin 


Harrison.  When  the  time  came  for  him  to  speak  he 
leaned  forward  in  his  chair  and  spoke  the  few  words 
which  he  deemed  it  his  solemn  duty  to  utter  with  all 
the  earnestness  at  his  command. 

“  I  have  come  here,  Mr.  President,’’  he  said,  slowly, 
“  to  protest  against  the  appointment  of  David  Mar 
tin  looneof  the  most  important  federal  offices  in  this 
country.  He  is  a  disreputable  rascal,  and  his  ap¬ 
pointment  as  collector  of  internal  revenue  would 
be  an  insult  to  every  re.spectable  citizen  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.” 

The  old  man  half  rose  from  his  chair  as  he  con¬ 
tinued.  His  language  took  on  the  tinge  of  the  rich 
North  Country  accent  of  his  youth  and  the  muscles 
of  his  fine  face  quivered  from  the  indignation  burn¬ 
ing  within  his  breast.  Hastily  he  sketched  Martin’s 
early  career.  He  denounced  him  as  a  ruflian  at  the 
polls  and  a  manipulator  of  ballot-boxes.  He  de¬ 
clared  that  he  was  a  dispenser  of  corruption  funds 
contributed  by  the  liquor  interests.  He  held  him 
up,  with  all  the  scorn  born  of  contempt,  as  a  willing 
tool  of  that  element  in  the  social  life  of  Philadelphia 
which  defies  law,  order  and  decency.  He  closed 
with  the  remark  that  no  President  could  afford  to 
appoint  such  a  man  to  a  position  of  honor  and  trust. 

When  he  had  done  the  President  moved  uneasily 
in  his  chair  and  then  glanced  appealingly  at  Senator 
Quay,  whose  astonishment,  though  apparent,  was 
not  sufficient  to  loose  his  silent  tongue.  The  silence 
was  broken  by  Benjamin  Harrison. 

”  They  say,”  he  observed  in  measured  tones,  "  that 
the  charges  against  Mr.  Martin  are  not  true.” 

This  was  more  than  the  honest  Scotsman  could 
bear.  With  all  the  fierce  impetuosity  of  Roderick 
Dhu  he  burst  forth  in  resentment  of  what  seemed  to 
him  a  reflection  upon  his  veracity. 

‘‘Mr.  President,”  he  cried,  “I  have  lived  long  in 
Philadelphia.  I  am  well  known  there.  You  can 
not  find  in  that  whole  city  a  single  responsible  per¬ 
son  who  will  say  that  I  ever  uttered  an  untruth. 
There  sits  Senator  Quay. ,  He  knows  me.  I  ask  you. 
Senator  Quay,  if  I  am  not  respected  in  Philadelphia 
as  a  man  of  my  word.” 

‘‘  Mr.  McMaues's  word  is  above  question,”  quietly 
observed  the  one  addre.ssed. 

‘‘Then,  Mr.  President,”  continued  Mr.  McManes, 
‘‘I  reiterate  all  I  have  said  concerning  David  Martin. 
Senator  Quay  informs  you  that  my  veracity  is  above 
question.  I  say  to  you  again,  sir,  that  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  David  Martin  would  be  a  disgrace  to  your 
administration  and  an  insult  to  every  honest  citizen 
of  Pennsylvania.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say.” 

Again  Benjamin  Harrison  turned  to  Matthew  S. 
Quay.  This  lime  he  secured  a  response. 

‘‘The  two  senators  from  Pennsylvania  desire  this 
appointment,  Mr.  President,”  was  all  he  said. 

Mr.  McManes  made  no  rejoinder.  He  bowed  to 
the  President  of  the  United  Stales  and  left  the  room. 

It  had  already  been  noised  about  in  this  city  that 
there  was  a  possibility  of  Martin’s  appointment. 
Great  was  the  excitement.  The  ward  heelers  and 
the  old  lime  disorderly  gangs  who  followed  Martin 
and  did  his  bidding  were  overjoj^ed.  So  the  ‘‘growl¬ 
er  ”  was  worked  deeply  in  the  slums  to  the  success 
of  ‘‘our  Dave.”  But  respectable  Philadelphia  was 
shocked.  The  Citizens’  Municipal  League,  which  is 
the  survival  of  the  old  Committee  of  One  Hundred, 
which  cleaned  out  the  thieves.and  rascals  connected 
with  the  city  government,  was  concerned,  but  could 
not  act  directly.  A  memorial  to  the  President  was 
drawn,  however,  and  signed  by  JoelJ.  Bailey,  the 
chairman  of  the  league,  and  by  other  leading  mem¬ 
bers.  The  statement  set  forth,  that  David  Martin 
was  a  wholly  unfit  person  to  be  placed  in  the  collec¬ 
tor’s  office,  and  that  the  appointment  of  one  of  the 
criminal  class  as  collector  of  revenue  was  an  insult 
to  respectability  and  decency.  The  President  was 
given  authorities  for  the  charges  made,  and  legal 
evidence  in  support  of  them  was  presented.  The 
Protestants  declared  that  they  had  no  candidate  for 
the  position.  All  they  asked  was  that  a  respectable 
man  be  appointed. 

The  me.sscnger  bearing  this  protest  was  on  his  way 
to  the  postoffice  when  he  read  on  a  bulletin  board 
the  statement  that  David  Martin  had  been  appointed 
collector  of  internal  revenue. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


233 


Now,  who  is  David  Martin? 

In  his  boyhood  he  lived  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  Philadelphia,  near  a  locality  known  as  “  Louse 
Harbor.”  He  was  a  slop  and  garbage  gatherer  and 
an  active  uiember  of  Taylor  Hose  Company  prior  to 
the  abolishment  of  the  volunteer  fire  department. 

Those  who  knew  Martin  at  that  time  say  he  was  a 
characteristic  tough.  Taylor  Hose  Company  was  a 
disorderly  organization  and  Martin  acquired  an  in¬ 
fluence  as  a  leader  early  in  life.  He  soon  became  a 
director  of  repeaters  in  the  old  nineteenth  ward. 
His  gang  of  immediate  followers  was  employed  by 
corrupt  and  disreptuable  politicians  to  intimidate 
voters  and  procure  the  nomination  of  men  who  were 
a  disgrace  to  the  republican  party.  At  general  elec¬ 
tions  Martin  directed  operations  and  drove  citizens 
from  the  polls  in  order  that  repeaters  might  vote. 
It  was  not  unusual  for  him  to  personally  assault  vo¬ 
ters  without  provocation. 

At  the  Gray  senatorial  election,  Martin  had  charge 
of  the  thug.s  and  repeaters  in  the  portion  of  the  dis¬ 
trict  where  it  was  afterwards  proven  that  gigantic 
frauds  were  perpetrated.  In  June  of  the  same  year 
he  took  the  ballot-box  of  the  fourth  division  nine¬ 
teenth  ward  to  the  station-honse  of  that  ward,  and 
there  the  return  was  changed  and  the  election  offi¬ 
cers’  names  were  forged.  As  he  could  not  read  or 
write  he  did  not  personally  forge  the  names,  but  he 
aided  and  abetted  the  criminal  act.  This  fact  was 
sworn  to  and  published  in  Philadelphia  newspapers 
at  the  time. 

At  the  election  for  the  adoption  of  the  new  consti¬ 
tution  of  Pennsylvania,  the  corrupt  office-holders  op¬ 
posed  the  change  because  a  portion  of  the  opportu¬ 
nities  for  comraiting  fraud  and  forgery  were  cut  off 
thereby.  Martin  was  employed  as  usual  and  had 
charge  of  the  repeaters  of  his  district.  He  was  one 
of  the  managers  that  made  up  the  false  returns, 
whereby  the  nineteenth  ward  was  to  give  6,000  ma¬ 
jority  against  the  new  constitution.  The  conspir¬ 
acy  to  perpetrate  the  fraud  was  cooked  in  a  room  on 
I  Cumberland  street.  The  returns  were  taken  by  a 
'Policeman  to  a  house  on  Trenton  avenue,  above 
[York  There  they  were  falsified  to  suit  the  purpose 
of  Martin  and  his  fellow  criminals  and  sent  to  the 
I  station-house. 

^The  news  from  the  state  indicated  that  the  new 
'*'cointitntion  had  received  an  overwhelming  major¬ 
ity.  Mayor  Stokely  refused  to  receive  the  false  re¬ 
turns,  and  used  the  language  published  in  the  pa¬ 
pers  at  the  time,  that  he  ‘‘would  not  be  put  in  a 
hole.”  The  nineteenth  ward  really  gave  about  three 
thousand  majority  in  favor  of  the  adoption. 

In  all  the  frauds  perpetrated  at  elections  during  the 
past  twenty  years  in  North  Philadelphia,  Martin  has 
been  one  of  the  prime  movers.  The  committee  of  one 
i  hundred  convicted  some  of  his  men,  and  Sent  them 
to  prison.  Martin  appeared  in  court  to  sympathize 
with  and  cheer  them. 

'  One  of  Martin’s  cronies  was  John  Ruhl.  The 
twain  got  up  a  prize  fight  in  the  nineteenth  ward, 
IJwhich  some  of  the  politicians  of  the  city  government 
'  attended.  During  the  fight  a  raid  was  made  by  the 
1  police.  Martin  and  Ruhl  were  taken  to  the  station- 
house.  The  former’s  influence  set  him  free  and  he 
returned  with  his  gang  to  the  scene  of  the  fight,  and 
dthe  subsequent  debauchery  is  still  a  theme  of  dis¬ 
cussion  in  the  neighborhood.  Ruhl  was  afterwards 
sent  to  the  Eastern  penitentiary  for  swindling.  Mar¬ 
tin  stood  by  him  until  he  was  taken. 

Among  the  repeaters  convicted  by  the  committee 
of  one  hundred  were  William  Manecly  and  William 
Guldey.  Their  sworn  statements  are  interesting. 
Here  they  are : 

‘‘William  Maneely  makes  affidavit  and  swears  he 
lived  in  the  seventeeth  ward  last  February  [1882], 
that  he  was  arrested  and  convicted  after  the  spring 
election  and  went  to  prison  for  six  months  for  re¬ 
peating  at  said  election.  He  said  that  he  was  then 
and  had  been  for  some  time  in  the  employ  of  parties 
of  the  nineteenth  and  thirty-first  wards  to  head  a 
gang  of  repeaters  whose  business  it  was  to  get  in  as 
many  fraudulent  votes  as  they  could,  by  voting  on 
other  people’s  names,  going  from  poll  to  poll  and 
putting  in  fraudulent  votes  in  any  way  we  could  get 
them  in.  That  last  February  he  was  so  employed  by 
Alex.  Crawford,  Porter  Rittenhouse,  503  Diamond 


street;  that  Rittenhouse  gave  him  a  due  bill  for 
work  done  on  election  day  as  aforesaid;  that  said 
Rittenhouse  signed  said  due  bill,  which  was  drawn 
on  David  Martin,  who  was  to  pay  the  same,  and  said 
Martin  is  the  man  who  has-  heretofore  paid  witness 
for  work  of  this  character  at  elections.  The  practice 
was  that  for  every  fraudulent  vote  we  put  in  we  got 
a  bluecheck  which  was  to  represent  $1,  and  after  the 
election,  or  as  soon  as  the  votes  were  in  we  could  go 
and  get  81  apiece  for  so  many  blue  checks  as  we  held; 
that  said  checks  were  cashed  by  Dave  Martin, 

‘‘  Witness  says  that  there  is  every  probability  that 
the  same  game  will  be  played  at  the  coming  election 
and  that  the  same  parties  wll  be  wanting  to  employ 
him  in  work  of  a  like  character,  or  in  some  new 
dodge  to  get  their  work  in,  and  he  says  he  is  willing 
to  give  this  committee  aid  and  assistance  in  expos¬ 
ing  such  business;  that  he  has  been  a  soldier  and 
wants  to  lead  a  straight  life,  and  that  he  will  do  a»l 
he  can  to  expose  the  fraud  at  the  coming  election. 

‘‘William  Maneely. 

“Philadelphia,  Sept.  13,  1882.” 

“  William  Guldey,  alias  Golden,  swears  that  he  re¬ 
sides  at  No.  1420  Frankford  road,  seventeenth  ward; 
says  that  he  was  tried  and  convicted,  together  with 
William  Maneely  for  fraud  on  the  ballot  at  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  February,  1882,  and  that  he  served  his  lime  in 
prison,  from  which  he  has  lately  been  relea.sed;  says 
that  Porter  Rittenhouse  employed  him  last  spring  to 
act  as  a  repeater,  and  he  agreed  that  witness  should 
be  paid  $2.50  for  each  and  every  fraudulent  vote 
that  he  put  in ;  that  on  election  day,  as  soon  as 
the  work  was  done,  witness  received  from  Ritten- 
houso  an  order  on  David  Martin  for  payment  for 
said  work  in  the  shape  of  the  following  order; 

“  ‘  Mr.  David  Martin,  please  pay  to  bearer  for  four 
votes.  (Signed)  P.  R.’ 

“And  witness  said  Rittenhouse  wrote  said  order  in 
his  presence,  and  that  he  has  never  received  any 
money  or  other  consideration  on  said  order ;  that  he 
presented  said  order  to  David  Martin,  who  .said  that 
Rittenhouse  should  have  paid  it,  and  he  (Martin)  re¬ 
fused  to  pay  it.  Witness  .says  his  understanding  was 
he  was  to  receive  from  Rittenhouse  the  names  of  per¬ 
sons  that  he  was  to  personate  or  repeat  on,  and  that 
on  election  day  Rittenhouse,  who  was  working  in 
his  own  division,  would  hand  witness  a  scrap  of  pa¬ 
per  containing  the  name  of  the  person  he  was  to 
personate  or  repeat  on,  and  then  witness  would  go 
to  the  poll  and  put  in  the  vole  accordingly,  and  that 
he  and  Maneely  each  cast  two  fraudulent  votes  in 
this  way,  and  under  the  agreement  were  entitled  to 
pay  for  the  same  at  the  rate  of  82.50  per  vote ;  that 
this  business  has  been  followed  by  witness  for  five  or 
six  years,  and  that  during  that  time  he  has  received 
payment  for  such  work  from  David  Martin;  that  he 
received  money  for  casting  fraudulent  votes  from 
David  Martin  at  the  spring  election  two  years  ago, 
1880;  that  he  received  money  from  A.  Albright  for 
like  work  about  five  years  ago ;  that  David  Martin 
has  paid  witness  on  several  occasions  for  this  kind 
of  work.” 

James  McManes  says  that  a  member  of  congress  in 
Pennsylvania  informed  him  that  Martin  approached 
a  city  member  of  congress  and  demanded  81,000  or 
he  would  incite  a  revolt  against  him  at  the  polls. 
The  member  gave  a  check  for  the  amount  and  it  was 
returned  from  the  bank  afterwards,  cancelled  and 
bearing  Martin’s  name  on  the  back. 

As  a  specimen  of  Martin’s  methods  the  story  of 
James  Rems,  of  Norris,  near  Third  street,  is  of  in¬ 
terest.  Rems,  who  is  a  respectable  shoemaker,  was 
engaged  in  putting  up  posters  for  a  candidate  objec¬ 
tionable  to  Martin.  The  latter  approached  and  told 
him  that  he  did  not  permit  any  one  to  place  adver 
tisements  of  other  candidates  than  his  own  in  the 
ward.  Rems  persisted  and  Martin  fell  upon  him  and 
brutally  beat  him.  A  bill  of  indictment  for  crim¬ 
inal  assault  was  found  by  the  grand  jury,  but  Mar¬ 
tin’s  “  pull  ”  sufficed  to  bury  the  case  in  the  district 
attorney’s  office. 

A  prominent  citizen  of  this  city  informed  the  cor¬ 
respondent  of  the  World  that  he  witnessed  one  of  the 
typical  as.saults  for  which  Martin  was  distinguished. 
At  an  election  a  group  of  men,  including  several 
butchers,  were  collected  near  the  corner  of  Amber 
and  Drear  streets.  Martin  was  out  with  a  gang  of 


toughs  at  his  heels  intimidating  voters.  One  of  the 
favorite  tricks  of  Martin  was  to  arm  heelers  with 
short,  sharp  awls,  so  that  they  might  prod  a  voter 
until  he  would  abandon  the  attempt  to  vote  his  baD 
lot.  Martin  approached  the  group  and  ascertained 
that  those  composing  it  were  going  to  vote  against 
his  candidate.  He  gave  a  signal,  and  one  of  the 
gang  pushed  a  young  liutcher  towards  Martin.  The 
latter  uttered  a  fearful  oath  and  struck  out  from  the 
shoulder.  The  man  rolled  in  the  gutter.  Then  the 
gang  of  thugs  rushel  on  the  remainder  and  forced 
some  of  them  through  a  fence,  which  was  demol¬ 
ished.  The  recalcitrant  voters  did  not  cast  their  bal¬ 
lots  that  day. 

John  M.  Carson,  the  well-known  correspondent  cf 
the  Public  Ledger  ul  Wa.shington,  wrote  an  article  for 
the  Morning  Post  concerning  Martin,  of  which  the 
following  is  an  extract,  describing  the  frauds  perpe¬ 
trated  at  an  election  of  common  councilmen  in  the 
nineteenth  ward : 

“John  B.  Curtis,  who  is  a  telegraph  operator  at  the 
nineteenth  ward  police  station,  tells  under  oath  the 
story  of  the  fourth  division.  ‘  I  am  an  operator  at 
the  eighteenth  district  station-house.  I  was  there  on 
the  night  of  the  election.  I  saw  David  Martin  bring 
the  ballot  box  of  the  fourth  division  there.  I  saw 
the  box  was  open  and  the  returns  lying  upon  the 
table;  they  (Lieut.  Crawford  and  Martin)  were  writ¬ 
ing  upon  the  returns.  Lieut.  Crawford  told  me  the 
box  contained  the  returns  of  the  fourth  division. 
He  said  the  change  was  made  to  beat  Theodore  Wal¬ 
ton,  as  it  would  look  bad  for  Fareira  to  run  behind. 
I  went  into  the  room  to  get  the  returns  to  telegraph 
to  the  central  station.  A  number  of  other  divisions 
were  fixed  up  in  the  same  way.  In  the  twenty-first 
division  the  original  papers  were  not  taken  into  ac¬ 
count.  Papers  were  manufactured  fixing  such  ma¬ 
jorities  as  were  required  by  the  ring,  and  the  names 
of  the  election  officers  were  forged  thereto.’  ” 

The  headquarters  of  Martin,  when  not  in  the  col¬ 
lector’s  office  of  the  custom-house,  are  in  a  building 
located  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  street  and  German¬ 
town  avenue.  It  is  four  stories  high  and  was  form¬ 
erly  used  as  a  carriage  manufactory  by  Boyer  Bros. 
Martin  thought  that  he  might  be  able  to  raise  money 
from  manufacturers  the  easier  by  calling  this  place 
the  “Home  of  the  Anti-Cobden  club.” 

The  nominal  membership  of  the  Anti-Cobden  Club 
is  very  large,  1,500  or  more.  In  addition  to  the 
“heelers”  and  repeaters  of  its  boss,  there  are  many 
respectable  mechanics  and  small  tradesmen  among 
the  members,  who  were  attracted  by  the  bait  of  po¬ 
litical  recognition  held  out  to  them.  The  commin¬ 
gling  of  the  good  and  the  bad  in  the  Anti-Cobden 
Club  has  made  that  club  unique  in  some  respects. 

On  the  second  floor  there  is  a  long  bar,  and  on  Sun¬ 
days  three  bartenders  are  busily  employed  dispens¬ 
ing  “  hard  stuff”  and  beer  to  the  gang.  In  a  private 
room  Martin  presides  in  an  autocratic  manner,  and 
here  he  perfects  his  plans  and  plots  to  carry  out  the 
mandates  of  Statesman  Quay.  Already  the  story 
comes  that  a  great  scheme  has  been  concocted  to 
bribe  a  heavy  contingent  of  democratic  voters  on  the 
4th  of  November.  Since,  by  virtue  of  the  indorse¬ 
ment  of  John  Wanamaker  and  the  two  senators,  and 
the  refusal  of  President  Harrison  to  heed  the  protest 
of  James  McManes  and  other  citizens  of  high  stand¬ 
ing,  Martin  became  collector,  he  has  abandoned  the 
executive  work  of  directing  repeaters  and  leading 
his  gang  of  toughs,  but  he  still  furnishes  the  brains 
for  the  guidance  of  his  henchmen.  They  will  be 
ready  for  business  on  election  day. 

Money  will  be  a  great  factor  in  the  Quay-Delamater 
canvass  on  November  4.  But  who,  after  reading  this 
plain,  straightforward  story  of  the  acts  of  David  Mar¬ 
tin  with  the  knowledge  that  one  of  the  best  federal 
offices  in  the  state  has  been  his  reward,  can  say  that 
fraud  will  not  be  a  greuter.— Philadelphia  Dispatch 
to  New  York  World,  October  20, 1890. 


SOLIDARITY  OF  SPOILSMEN. 

— Census  Superintendent  Porter  seems  to  be 
preparing  for  the  investigation  into  his  ad¬ 
ministration,  which,  it  is  taken  for  granted, 
will  be  ordered  by  the  house  of  representatives 


234 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


next  winter.  This,  at  least,  is  the  opinion  of 
some  of  the  republican  employes  of  the  census 
office,  who  are  grumbling  a  good  deal  over  the 
favors  shown  to  democrats.  They  assert  that 
democratic  representatives  find  it  easier  now  to  secure 
appointments  and  promotions  foi'  their  henchmen 
than  do  republican  congressmen. 

They  attribute  this  to  Mr.  Porter’s  desire  to 
have  friends  on  the  majority  side  of  the  next 
house,  who  will  have  a  proper  sense  of  favors 
received  when  they  get  ready  to  investigate 
the  census  office. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  April  4- 

— Congress  having  adjourned,  and  the  neces¬ 
sary  appropriations  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
large  number  of  employes  in  the  government 
printing  office  having  ceased  at  thesame  time, 
the  public  printer  has  found  it  necessary  to 
discharge  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  who 
have  found  employment  there.  It  is  assumed 
that  in  making  the  discharges  the  public 
printer  has  been  controlled  by  the  influences 
that  have  been  at  work  under  this  administra¬ 
tion,  and  has,  as  a  good  political  printer,  made 
the  discharges  according  to  some  carefully 
conceived  political  plan. 

But  whatever  it  was,  it  was  not  satisfactory 
to  a  number  of  politicians,  among  whom  are 
named  Attorney-General  Miller,  Private  Secre 
tary  Halford,  Marshal  Ransdell,  and  First 
Controller  Matthews.  The  Ohio  Republican 
Association,  of  which  Secretary  Foster  has 
been  elected  a  member,  is  noisy  in  expressing 
its  dissatisfaction  at  the  way  the  discharges 
have  been  made.  That  society  had  a  meeting 
last  week,  and  besides  electing  Mr.  Foster  and 
Solicitor-General  Taft  to  membership,  it  elect¬ 
ed  Sixth  Auditor  T.  B.  Coulter  as  president 
and  several  other  office-holders  to  other  offices 
in  the  society. 

Then  the  association  had  a  hot  time  over  a 
proposition  to  name  a  committee  of  five  to  in¬ 
vestigate  the  cause  of  the  dismissal  of  Ohio 
republicans  from  the  printing  office.  Mr.  T. 
A.  Child,  president  of  the  association,  and  also 
chief  clerk  of  the  census  office,  appointed  to 
act  with  him  in  finding  out  why  republicans 
from  Ohio  were  put  out,  while  Ohio  democrats 
were  kept  in,  Messrs.  Coulter,  Hart,  McGrew, 
and  Lowry,  all  government  employes,  who  are 
straightway  to  undertake  to  find  out  why  Ohio 
may  not  be  permitted  to  regulate  all  the  ap¬ 
pointments  and  discharges  in  the  service. 

Soon  Census  Superintendent  Porter,  having 
finished  up  the  work  which  he  is  now  crowd¬ 
ing  forward  with  increased  force,  will  find  it 
necessary  to  cut  down.  It  will  go  hard  with  the 
employes  from  other  states  if  Mr.  Childs  un¬ 
dertakes  to  do  his  duty  as  a  member  of  the 
Ohio  state  association.  It  will  be  a  nice  busi¬ 
ness  to  make  the  discharges  from  the  census 
office.  A  great  many  democrats  have  been  accom¬ 
modated  with  appointments  there,  as  Mr.  Cockrell  and 
Mr.  Gorman  and  others  on  the  tinder  side  could  tell 
if  they  were  called  upon  to  do  so.  While  Mr. 
Porter  desires  to  have  republican  friends,  he 
must  have  democratic  friends,  too,  and  in  order 
to  get  them  he  has  sometimes  intimated  to 
democrats  that  he  could  find  places  for  good 
people  if  they  would  recommend  them. 


Mr.  Childs  ought  to  have  a  list  of  the  proteges  of 
democratic  senators  and  membeis  of  the  house. — 
Washington  Dispatchto New  York  Times,  April  17. 

— There  was  a  very  sad  meeting  of  the  Busi¬ 
ness  Men’s  Republican  Association  held  last 
evening.  Their  president  resigned  because 
he  could  not  stand  the  strain  upon  his  nervous 
system  caused  by  the  constant  appeals  of  the 
boys  for  “places”  and  “plums.”  He  begged 
them  to  put  a  “practical  politician”  in  his 
place,  a  man  who  could  go  around  and  hunt 
up  the  “plums”  which  the  boys  want.  “I’m 
not  fit  for  it,”  he  said,  “  and  I  can’t  do  it  be¬ 
cause  it’s  repulsive  to  me.  I’d  rather  try  to 
dig  dollars  out  of  cobble-stones  than  ask  favors 
of  politicians.”  Then  one  of  the  boys  laid 
bare  the  facts  of  the  situation  by  saying: 

“  The  government  has  spent  $170,000,000  extry, 
and  there  ain’t  a  man  here  tvho  got  a  cent  of  it.  If 
the  democrats  spend  thousands  to  our  hundreds,  why, 
that’s  the  party  for  us  to  belong  to.  Our  president 
says  he’s  going  to  leave  us.  If  that’s  so,  and 
we  are  going  to  adjourn  sine  die,  let  somebody 
say  so  right  out,  so  that  we  can  look  for  shelter 
elsewhere.” — New  York  Evening  Post,  March  20. 

— For  several  years  more  or  less  earnest 
efforts  have  been  made  to  get  new  quarters  for 
the  government  printing  office.  The  present 
building  is  not  large  enough.  It  is  so  old 
and  rickety  as  to  be  in  an  almost  dangerous 
condition,  and  its  interior  arrangements  are 
such  as  constantly  to  menace  the  health  of  the 
employes. 

It  looked  last  year  as  if  there  would  really 
be  a  change  for  the  better  some  time,  for  con¬ 
gress  authorized  a  commission  to  select  a  site 
for  a  new  building.  This  commission  picked 
out  a  large  lot  of  ground  near  the  present 
printing  office,  and  steps  were  taken  to  secure 
it  for  the  government.  No  sooner,  however, 
had  the  selection  been  made  known  than  a 
great  hue  and  cry  against  the  site  was  raised 
by  certain  persons,  who  found  a  champion  in 
Senator  Gorman.  That  senator  was  so  persistent 
in  his  attack  upon  the  site  selected  that  he  succeeded 
hi  having  the  whole  matter  suspended  until  the  next 
congress  meets,  so  that  another  year  is  lost. 

Some  of  the  persons  interested  in  govern¬ 
ment  printing  office  affairs  think  they  have 
found  the  secret  of  the  opposition  to  the  site 
selected  by  the  commission.  They  have  dis¬ 
covered  that  ez-Senator  Mahone,  the  discredited  boss 
of  the  republican  party  in  Virginia,  is  the  owner  of 
a  one-half  interest  in  a  lot  of  gro-nnd  near  the  city 
limits,  at  North  Capitol  street,  in  about  the 
most  inaccessible  part  of  Washington.  This 
property  has  been  offered  to  the  government 
for  a  printing  office  site  for  $250,000,  and  its 
owners  have  been  making  very  earnest  efforts 
to  induce  the  commission  to  report  in  its  fa¬ 
vor.  If  they  can  kill  off  the  site  now  selected 
and  force  their  land  upon  the  government,  it 
will  put  $125,000  into  Mahone’s  pocket. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Aprils. 

— Supervising  Architect  R.  B.  Eastman,  of 
Brooklyn,  who  has  been  mixed  up  in  some  of 
the  scandals  growing  out  of  the  maladminis¬ 
tration  of  affairs  at  the  St.  Johnland  county 
farm,  is  said  to  be  slated  for  removal.  He 


owed  his  appointment,  about  five  years  ago,  to  a  deal 
between  the  democrats  and  republicans  in  the  Kings 
county  board  of  supervisors. — New  York  Times, 
May  11. 

— A  few  days  ago  John  E.  Brodsky,  tAejepu6- 
lican  assemblyman  from  the  eighth  district,  who 
was  elected  last  fall  by  the  aid  of  Tammany  votes, 
introduced  in  the  legislature  a  bill  whose  evi¬ 
dent  object  is  to  further  embarrass  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  public  affairs  in  the  annexed  dis¬ 
trict  by  Louis  J.  Heintz,  the  commissioner  of 
street  improvements,  who  was  elected  to  that 
office  over  the  Tammany  candidate  put  for¬ 
ward  by  Fire  Commissioner  Purroy.  Mr. 
Brodsky  says  he  introduced  the  bill  by  request,  but 
when  asked  by  ivhose  request,  he  answers  smilingly, 
^‘That’s  telling,”  and  he  tells  no  more. 

John  H.  V.  Ronner,  deputy-commissioner 
of  street  improvements  in  the  annexed  district, 
when  questioned  last  night  regarding  the  bill, 
said  it  was  one  of  the  bills  introduced  lately 
at  the  instigation  of  Tammany  Hall  to  annoy 
Mr.  Heintz,  and  to  oppose  which  Mr.  Heintz 
had  gone  to  Albany  last  week.  It  was  intro¬ 
duced  without  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Heintz. 
Its  purpose,  said  Mr.  Ronner,  was  apparent. 
Tammany  had  lost  in  the  annexed  district  the 
control  of  patronage  which  the  election  of  its 
candidate  for  commissi'^ner  of  street  improve¬ 
ments  would  have  given  it,  and  it  was  now 
determined  to  destroy  Mr.  Heintz’s  power  if 
possible,  and  to  lose  no  chance  of  casting  un¬ 
favorable  reflection  upon  him.  The  bill,  Mr. 
Ronner  continued,  was  entirely  uncalled  for 
It  was  and  would  continue  to  be  the  practice 
of  the  commissioner  to  award  contracts  to  the 
lowest  responsible  bidder.  “But,”  he  asked, 
“why  should  that  official  be  denied  a  discre¬ 
tion  which  other  heads  of  departments  pos¬ 
sessed,  the  exercise  of  which  is  often  necessary 
in  the  interests  of  the  city?” 

The  animus  of  the  bill  is  still  more  plainly 
seen  in  the  clause  which  would  give  the  Tam¬ 
many  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  the 
right  which  Mr.  Heintz  should  have,  to  desig¬ 
nate  the  paper  in  which  bids  should  be  adver¬ 
tised  for.  Some  people  who  are  well  acquainted 
with  municipal  politics  are  surprised  that 
Tammany  Hall  should  so  openly  reveal  its 
hand  in  attempting  to  steal  so  petty  a  bit  of 
patronage  as  the  advertising  of  contracts  to 
be  awarded  by  Mr.  Heintz  may  afford. — New 
York  Evening  Post,  March  24. 


“AN  EFFECTIVE  DELEGATE.” 

Marine  D.  Tackett,  of  Greensburgh,  Ind., 
was  to-day  appointed  a  special  agent  to  allot 
lands  in  severalty  to  the  Cheyenne  and  Arap¬ 
ahoe  Indians.  He  is  an  ex-Union  soldier,  who 
carries  an  armless  sleeve  as  evidence  of  his 
bravery  and  military  service.  He  teas  an  ef¬ 
fective  delegate  to  the  republican  convention  at  Chi¬ 
cago  in  1S88.  His  official  duties  will  be  per¬ 
formed  in  Arizona,  and  his  pay  will  be  $15  a 
day.  The  work  will  last  probably  two  or  three 
months. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  April  11. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St..  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

VoL.  I,  No.  28.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JUNE,  1891.-  terms  :  ^  fee* t9%er"opy.“' 


“  Fur  my  own  pari  I  could  heartily  tvish  that 
all  honest  men  would  enter  into  an  association 
for  the  support  of  one  another  against  the  en¬ 
deavors  of  those  whom  they  ought  to  look  upon 
as  their  common  enemies,  whedever  side  they 
<  may  belong  to.  Were  there  such  an  honest 
f  body  of  neutral  forces,  ive  shotdd  never  see  the 
worst  of  men  in  great  figures  of  life,  because 
they  are  useful  to  a  party;  nor  the  best  unre¬ 
garded,  because  they  are  above  practicing  those 
methods  which  ivould  be  grateful  to  their  fac¬ 
tion.  We  should  then  single  every  criminal 
out  of  the  herd  and  hunt  him  down,  however 
formidable  and  overgnnvn  he  might  appear. 
*  *  *  In  shortj  we  should  rwt  any 

longer  regard  our  fellmv-citizens  as  whigs  or 
lories,  bid  should  make  the  man  of  merit  our 
friend  and  the  villain  our  enemy."— Addison's 
Spectator. 


The  Boston  Advertiser  of  April  28,  says : 

A  paper  called  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  is 
published  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.  It  is  a  somewhat 
curious  circumstance  that  the  current  number  has 
copious  extracts  from  but  three  papers  in  the  United 
States,  and  each  of  these  is  notoriously  bitter  and 
unfair  in  its  opposition  to  the  republiean  party.  As 
these  exeerpts  fill  a  large  part  of  the  Chronicle  the 
claim  of  the  editors  to  any  real  independence  in  the 
cause  of  civil  service  reform  must  rest  entirely  on 
the  editorials,  which  appear  to  have  been  written  in 
an  impartial  vein. 

The  Chronicle  takes  the  facts  bearing 
upon  its  object  wherever  it  can  find  them. 
It  does  not  care  which  side  is  hurt.  A  few 
papers  have  of  late  years  learned  that  the 
true  way  to  improve  the  transaction  of  the 
public  business  is  to  carefully  investigate 
cases  of  the  use  of  public  offices  as  mere 
plunder  and  publish  the  facts.  There  is 
nothing  that  worries  a  boss  more  than  to 
bring  home  to  him  in  public  print  that  he 
appointed  a  lot  of  Jakes  and  Mikes  to  be 
weighers  and  gaugers  and  clerks  because 
they  hustled  and  tricked  for  him  at  a  cer¬ 
tain  primary.  There  is  nodoubta  remuner¬ 
ative  field  for  such  investigation,  even  in 
Boston,  and  if  the  Advertiser  will  make  it, 
and  will  tell  its  interesting  discoveries  to 
the  public,  it  shall  have  a  liberal  space  in 
this  paper. 


The  fire-alarm  telegraph  of  the  city  has 
a  superintendent  in  George  Halderman,  a 
republican,  who  had  an  assistant  named 
George  White,  and  a  sub-assistant  named 
Findling.  The  new  board  dismissed  White 
and  Findling,  and  their  combined  monthly 
salaries,  less  twenty  dollars,  were  given  to 
ex-alderman  James  Riley,  a  dernocrat,  who 


was  appointed  as  Halderman’s  assistant. 
Riley’s  friends  claimed  that  he  was  sooner 
or  later  to  have  Halderman’s  p'ace.  Now 
if  President  Holt’s  board  intended  to  seize 
this  place  as  party  spoil,  this  is  the  exact 
course  it  would  have  pursued.  So  far  as 
the  duties  of  his  position  are  concerned 
Riley  is  an  ignoramus,  and  it  is  ridiculous 
to  say  that  the  fire  service  is  benefited  by 
turning  out  a  trained  assistant  and  putting 
in  an  ignoramus  at  an  increased  salary. 
Halderman  thinks  he  sees  the  point  and 
refuses  to  accept  Riley  as  an  assistant,  or 
to  teach  him  the  business,  and  at  the  last 
accounts  Riley  was  sitting  around  the  fire 
headquarters  doing  nothing  and  drawing 
sixty  dollars  a  month.  Open  competition 
for  the  places  in  the  fire  department  would 
destroy  the  board’s  usefulness  in  humbug¬ 
ging  the  people  in  this  manner.  Why 
does  not  the  mayor  require  it  ? 


Mr.  Charles  B.  Willy,  of  Cincinnati, 
recently  delivered  an  address  before  the 
Unity  Church  Club  of  that  city  upon  the 
transaction  of  city  business  He  referred 
to  the  efforts  of  many  good  citizens  of 
Cincinnati  to  secure  the  passage  of  a  new 
charter  which  they  expected  would  remedy 
all  of  the  existing  evils.  Mr.  Wilby  has  a 
clear  sight  in  this  respect  and  boldly  takes 
the  ground  that  no  form  of  a  city  charter 
which  leaves  the  spoils  system  in  operation 
will  give  a  satisfactory  city  government. 
This  will  prove  true  of  the  City  of  Indian¬ 
apolis  under  its  new  charter. 

President  Harrison  has  promoted  the 
assistant  postmaster,  Mr.  E.  P.  Thompson, 
to  be  postmaster  of  this  city.  The  new 
postmaster  in  his  turn  has  filled  the  assist¬ 
ant’s  place  by  promoting  the  head  of  the 
money-order  department,  and  the  latter 
place  by  promoting  the  head  of  the  regis¬ 
try  department,  and  the  latter  place  by 
promoting  the  assistant  in  that  depart¬ 
ment,  and  the  latter  place  by  promoting  a 
clerk  from  the  classified  service,  whose 
place  is  filled  from  the  top  of  the  eligible 
list.  Truly,  merit  and  business  principles 
have  come  to  their  own,  and  the  President 
should  take  note  that  on  every  hand  there 
is  nothing  but  approbation  expressed.  So 
generally  is  it  understood  that  this  office  is 
given  over  to  the  merit  system  that  there 
was  no  “  pressure”  nor  even  an  applica¬ 
tion  for  one  of  these  vacancies. 


The  President  is  under  suspicion  of  mak¬ 
ing  terms  with  Quay  on  the  supposition  that 
Quay  can  control  the  Pennsylvania  delega¬ 
tion  in  the  presidential  nominating  con¬ 
vention.  This  is  a  very  humiliating  position 
for  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
occupy.  But  aside  from  the  immorality 
of  such  a  prostitution  of  a  public  trust, 
the  President  should  be  very  wary.  Quay 
in  most  respects  is  not  unlike  Gorman 
and  Voorhees  to  whose  vicious  tastes 
President  Cleveland  pretty  steadily  catered. 
Yet  ingratitude  comes  easy  to  them.  Here 
is  Senator  Voorhees; 

"  Where  do  you  expect  to  find  a  Presidential  can¬ 
didate,  senator?” 

“  He  ought  to  be  developed  here  in  the  West.  If 
we  must  go  East,  I  favor  Senator  Gorman,  a  man  of 
superb  sense  and  equipment.  If  Palmer  were 
younger  we  could  goto  Illinois.  Then  there  is  A. 
E.  Stevenson,  of  Illinois,  ex-congressman,  ex-assist¬ 
ant  postmaster-general,  whom,  were  he  better 
known,  would  be  of  avail.  Right  here  in  Indiana 
we  have  Gray,  a  man  of  availibility  and  aptitude.” 


Headsman  Clarkson  writes  from  Paris, 
France,  to  the  chairman  of  the  young 
men’s  republican  club  of  Des  Moines  offer¬ 
ing  some  suggestions  for  a  plan  of  cam¬ 
paign.  After  the  important  admission  that 
“  the  country  is  evenly  balanced  between 
political  parties  just  now,”  be  finally  says : 

We  should  utilize  also  the  friendship  of  republi¬ 
can  women  in  these  clubs.  Young  men  can  carry  on 
the  discussions  or  debates;  young  women  can  aid  in 
the  entertainments  with  songs  or  recitals. 

We  would  respectfully  urge  this  modifi¬ 
cation.  Instead  of  the  “songs  and  recitals,” 
let  the  young  women,  imitating  another 
time  of  the  work  of  the  guillotine,  come 
and  knit,  and  listen  to  stories  of  Clarkson’s 
guillotine.  Let  them  knit  on  in  dry-eyed 
mercilessness  as  they  hear  how  competent 
and  faithful  public  servants,  young  and 
old,  with  families  dependent  upon  them, 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  have  been 
driven  from  work  for  opinion’s  sake.  Let 
these  republican  maidens  learn  how  the 
Christian  President  of  a  great  country  has 
allowed  senators  to  farm  out  the  Indian 
service  to  henchmen  in  the  face  of  protests 
that  the  men  were  unfit.  Let  it  be  explained 
with  candor  what  manner  of  man  Quay  is, 
and  why  he  still  grows  fat  and  impudent 
on  the  patronage  of  his  state.  Let  it  be 
carefully  impressed  on  these  young  women 
that  the  modern  plan  in  this  country  of 
getting  a  re-nomination  and  re-election  to 
the  presidency  by  the  seizure  of  the  civil 
service  is  safe,  democratic,  and  patriotic. 


1, 


236 


THE  CIVIL  SEIIVICE  CHRONICLE. 


while  the  method  occasionally  tried  in 
France  and  elsewhere  of  retaining  power 
by  means  of  the  military  service  is  a  men¬ 
ace  to  liberty. 

The  board  of  naval  officers  designated 
by  Secretary  Tracy  have  held  examina¬ 
tions  for  the  places  of  foremen  and  master 
mechanics  in  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard. 
There  were  ninety  three  applicants,  and 
fifty-nine  appeared  for  examination.  The 
result  of  the  examination  was  that  with 
three  exceptions  the  present  incumbent 
stood  the  highest  on  the  list.  John 
O’Rourke,  as  master  boilermaker,  super¬ 
sedes  the  present  incumbent.  He  held 
the  place  under  the  Cleveland  administra¬ 
tion,  and  was  turned  out  by  a  partisan  1 
foreman  under  this  administration  to  make 
a  place  for  the  man  that  he  now,  by  virtue 
of  a  competitive  examination,  supplants. 
The  board  states  that, 

“  It  has  in  its  judgment  specified  the  can¬ 
didates ‘best  qualified’  for  the  positions,  it  is 
of  the  opinion  that  the  men  named  for  master 
shipwright,  master  joiner,  master  shipfitter, 
(outside  work),  master  boilermaker,  and 
master  sparmaker  do  not  reach  that  standard 
of  excellence  which  is  desirable  or  which  the 
best  interests  of  the  government  demand.  This 
unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs  may  be  largely 
due  to  the  want  of  a  more  general  knowledge 
on  the  part  of  the  public  as  to  the  require¬ 
ments  of  the  positions  or  to  the  inadequate 
rate  of  pay  for  some  of  the  more  important  ” 

A  part  of  the  examination  was  oral,  and 
a  part  written.  A  sample  of  the  technical 
questions  asked  candidates  for  the  position 
of  foreman  in  the  constructive  department 
is: 

Sketch  a  reverberatory  furnace. 

Describe  the  making  and  fitting  of  a  si)ar  hand. 

How  do  you  test  the  quality  of  a  bar  of  iron? 

Describe  the  tools  used  in  dressing  and  tempering. 

How  would  you  make  a  manacle  shackle  for  a 
large  ship? 

Describe  the  arrangement  of  what  you  consider  an 
efficient  smithy  for  general  work— angle  and  beam 
work. 

The  Civil  Service  Record  puts  it  well : 

These  are  not  hard  questions.  The  men 
who  can  not  write  intelligibly  and  correct 
answers  are  not  fit  to  be  intrusted  with  the 
work.  Many  applicants  came  forward,  and 
apparently  were  men  of  good  qualities.  The 
questions  cited  might  prove  difficult  to  the 
old-fashioned  style  of  navy-yard  striker,  who 
could  answer  the  following  with  perfect  readi¬ 
ness  : 

Do  you  know  your  congressmen? 

Do  you  know  him  well  enough  to  have  a  pull  on 
him? 

Describe  the  manner  of  stuffing  a  caucus. 

Should  a  ship  be  repaired  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
keep  her  at  sea  at  election  time? 

Is  a  ship  that  can  keep  atsea  atelection  time  really 
seaworthy? 

Commissioner  Roosevelt  is  a  member 
of  the  twenty-first  district  republicau  asso¬ 
ciation  of  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
association  threatened  to  pass  resolutions 
charging  evils  and  abuses  in  the  civil 
service  system  of  the  New  York  custom¬ 
house.  Thereupon  Mr.  Roosevelt  invited 
the  association  to  appoint  a  committee  to 


go  into  into  the  custom-house  to  investi¬ 
gate  the  enforcement  of  the  civil  service 
law  and  rules,  and  this  was  done,  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt  met  the  committee  in  the 
custom-house  and  proceeded  with  great 
.earnestness  to  teach  them  what  the  merit 
system  is  —  a  system  of  which  they  knew 
very  little.  He  started  out  as  follows  : 

“  1  wish  to  state  that  I  courted  this  investigation, 
because  I  wish  every  act  of  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  to  be  as  public  as  it  can  possibly  be  made.  We 
want  publicity.  We  fear  nobody  but  the  contempti¬ 
ble,  specious  slanderer,  who  makes  charges  without 
producing  the  slightest  scintilla  of  evidence  to 
substantiate  them.  I  also  wish  to  state  publicly  now 
that  no  member  of  this  committee  is  as  much  inter¬ 
ested  as  I  am  in  finding  out  if  this  local  civil  service 
board  or  any  member  of  it  has  done  anything 
crooked  or  displayed  any  favoritism  on  one  hand  or 
antagonism  on  the  other. 

Following  this  in  several  sessions  he 
took  the  investigating  committee  over  the 
old  and  familiar  objections  that  the  ex¬ 
aminations  are  not  practical ;  that  they 
were  unfair,  and  further  that  certain 
persons,  favorites  of  this  district  associa¬ 
tion,  could  not  pass,  or  having  passed 
failed  to  get  appointments,  and  so  on.  The 
commitee  labored  industriously  to  make 
good  the  theory  of  its  association,  but  if  it 
is  fair,  it  will  have  to  report  that  it  failed. 
The  charges  probably  originated  in  a 
blind  anger  because  ‘  the  boys  ’  found  diffi¬ 
culty  in  quartering  themselves  upon  the 
people,  and  they  hoped  to  put  the  merit 
system  to  rout.  The  prompt  opportunity 
given  them  to  make  their  charges  good, 
and  the  publicity  which  they  were  called 
upon  to  endure  in  trying  to  do  it  seriously 
embarrassed  them.  Their  failure  was 
only  equalled  by  their  astonishment  when 
they  were  told  by  Mr.  Roosevelt,  whom 
they  had  hoped  to  scare,  that  so  far 
as  he  was  concerned  politics  would  cut  no 
figure  in  the  competitive  system. 

The  student  of  the  tendencies  of  the 
times  has  reason  for  discouragement  in 
Indiana  on  one  point.  Let  him  look  over 
the  dispatches  stating  the  commencement 
subjects  of  the  high  schools  of  the  state 
and  if  they  are  an  indication,  as  they  are, 
there  is  a  serious  want  of  interest  in  all 
living  questions  connected  with  our  gov¬ 
ernment.  The  currency,  the  tariff,  immi¬ 
gration,  the  lives  and  works  of  promi¬ 
nent  men,  and  above  all,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  paper,  the  many  phases  of  the 
spoils  system  should  have  been  seen  on 
these  programmes.  Boys  and  girls  from 
fifteen  upwards  should  have  a  vivid  in¬ 
terest  in  these  and  similar  questions.  They 
should  be  entitled  to  the  utmost  freedom 
of  opinion  only  curtailed  by  the  require¬ 
ment  of  courtesy  of  expression,  and  they 
should  be  taught  that  candor  and  honesty, 
and  a  desire  for  all  the  facts  are  essentials 
for  every  man  or  woman  who  desires  in¬ 
tellectual  and  moral  growth.  What  is  the 
reason  that  all  such  questions  are  shunned  ? 


- 

We  think  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the 
answer  will  have  to  be  because  teachers 
fear  that  any  freedom  of  expression  will 
endanger  their  positions  because  of  the 
bigotry  and  savagery  of  party  spirit. 
There  is  just  now  in  this  city  an  enthusiasm 
among  the  school  children  for  the  Ameri 
can  flag,  and  it  floats  from  many  school- 
houses.  That  is  very  well,  but  if  we  are  to 
have  a  spirit  of  patriotism  inculated,  the  flag 
alone  is  not  enough.  The  young  and  the  old 
in  Indiana  and  elsewhere  must  permi. 
freedom  of  opinion  and  freedom  of  its  ex¬ 
pression.  Washington’s  words  on  the 
baneful  effects  of  the  spirit  of  party  might 
well  be  inscribed  on  every  flag: 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  public  councils 
and  enfeeble  the  public  administration.  It  agitates 
the  community  with  ill-founded  jealousies  ‘and 
false  alarms;  kindles  the  animosity  of  one  part 
against  another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties,  in  free  countries, 
are  useful  checks  upon  the  administration  of  the 
government,  and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of 
liberty.  This,  within  certain  limits,  is  probably 
true;  and  in  government  of  a  monarchial  cast, 
patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not  with 
favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party.  But  iii  those 
of  the  popular  character,  in  government  purely 
elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From 
their  natural  tendency  it  is  certain  there  will 
always  be  enough  of  that  spirit  for  every  salutary 
purpose.  And  there  being  constant  danger  of  excess 
the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public  opinion,  to 
mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire  not  to  be  quenched, 
it  demands  a  uniform  vigilence  to  prevent  its  burst¬ 
ing  into  a  flame,  lest  instead  of  warning,  it  should 
consume. 

Mr.  Gorman  seems  to  be  still  in  the  saddle. 
Senator  Voorhees  has  nominated  him  for  the 
presidency,  and  the  money  has  been  raised, 
the  silver  service  bought  and  presented 
amidst  the  wildest  enthusiasm  of  Mr.  Gor¬ 
man’s  clubs.  Mr.  Gorman  apparently  lis¬ 
tened  with  gravity  to  the  mayor’s  address  for 
which,  unfortunately,  there  is  space  only  for 
the  following  specimen : 

"  The  pleasing  duty  has  been  imposed  upon  me,” 
said  the  mayor,  “of  being  the  instrument  of  a  very 
large  number  of  your  fellow-citizens  to  present  to 
you  a  token  of  their  grateful  appreciation  of  the 
great  services  you  have  rendered  to  the  nation  and 
to  your  state.  In  doing  so,  I  feel,  sir,  that  I  am 
taking  an  humble  part  upon  an  occasion  which  will 
be,  and  which  is  worthy  of  being  historical. 

“Ill  the  tented  field,  in  the  forum,  in  the  senate, 
it  has  always  happened  that  when  the  essential 
rights  of  man  have  been  as.sailed  and  have  been  in 
peril,  providence  has  raised  up  a  champion  for  their 
defense  and  maintenance.” 

The  report  also  states  that  a  feature  of  the  testi¬ 
monial,  which  was  not  ready  to  be  presented  with 
the  service,  is  the  book  containing  the  names  of  the 
subscribers.  This  is  being  prepared  under  the  di¬ 
rect  supervision  of  Mr.  Douglas  H.  Thomas.  It  is 
estimated  that  the  book  will  cost  about  $500,  and  it 
will  be  a  high  model  of  the  book-binders’  art.  The 
names  will  be  inscribed  alphabetically  in  English 
illuminated  script  letters.  The  whole  silver  service 
will  be  illustrated  in  one  large  picture,  which  will 
probably  be  made  the  fronti.spiece.  Each  separate 
piece  will  also  be  illustrated.  The  whole  will  be 
bound  in  crimson  and  gold,  with  a  suitable  in¬ 
scription  on  the  outer  cover.  It  will  take  several 
months  to  finish  this  book,  and  on  its  completion 
it  will  be  presented  to  Senator  Gorman  without  cer¬ 
emony. 

The  Maryland  civil  service  reform  asso- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


237 


ciation  should  be  allowed  to  “edit”  this 
memorial  volume.  Surely  the  names  of 
Eugene  Higgins,  I.  Freeman  Raisin  and 
Wallace  Owings,  with  a  handsome  subscription 
from  each,  will  be  among  the  first.  A  bio¬ 
graphical  sketch  will  always  be  of  interest. 
Something  like  this : 

“lie  appointed  Eugene  Higgins  patronage  cleik 
of  the  treasury.  Higgins  altered  election  poll  and 
registration  books,  in  1879,  and  he  reversed  an  elec¬ 
tion  in  1875,  by  getting  possession  of  the  ballot  boxes 
after  the  polls  were  closed,  burning  ballots  of  one 
party  and  substituting  those  of  the  other.  He  is 
skilled  in  every  phase  of  political  manipulation. 
Gorman  kept  him  in  the  treasury  nearly  three  years, 
and  then  transferred  him  to  other  fields  of  useful¬ 
ness.  He  appointed  Morris  A.  Thomas,  Indian 
agent.  Thomas  was  a  dishonest  business  man,  a 
fraudulent  bankrupt,  a  ballot-box  stuffer,  and,  as 
an  election  judge,  had  received  illegal  votes.  But 
the.  plainest  proof  of  these  facts  by  eye  witnesses 
weighed  nothing  against  Congressman  Gorman's  in¬ 
dication  that  the  appointment  be  made,  and  Thomas 
is  now  employing  his  leisure  between  campaigns  as 
a  care  taker  of  Indians. 

I.  Freeman  Raisin  was  appointed  naval  officer. 
Raisin  was,  before  the  war,  an  officer  of  a  political 
club  of  Baltimore  “  th\igs  and  outlaws  ”  and  is  now 
a  leader  of  the  criminal  classes,  a  notorious  lobbyist, 
a  skilled  ballot-stuffer  and  ballot-burner.  At  one 
period  it  was  his  custom  to  send  for  any  one  who 
hail  a  measure  before  the  city  council,  and  notify 
him  of  the  price  at  which  it  could  get  through.  If 
paid,  it  went  through  ;  otherwise,  not.  One  man  was 
put  into  the  government  printing  office  when  under 
indictment  for  a  brutal  assault.  He  had  during  his 
career  been  indicted  four  times  and  arrested  nine 
times.  Another  was  put  into  the  Baltimore  custom¬ 
house  when  under  indictment,  for  which  he  may  be 
brought  to  trial  any  day,  for  fraudently  striking  22.3 
names  from  the  registration  list. 

Wallace  Owings  was  made  a  gauger.  In  1886  he 
was  in  court  as  a  prosecuting  witness  against  a  man 
charged  with  having  assaulted  him.  The  prisoner 
was  brought  in  and  stood  with  his  back  to  Owings, 
and  the  latter,  in  this  safe  position,  attempted  to 
murder  him  by  shooting;  the  wound  was  not  fatal. 
For  this  he  was  indicted,  but  never  tried.  George 
Trust  was  made  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  collector 
of  internal  revenue.  In  1879,  a  negro  named  Robin¬ 
son  had  just  come  to  Baltimore  with  his  wife  and 
child.  While  walking  along  the  street  a  man  asked 
him  his  politics.  Before  he  could  reply,  the 
questioner  shot  him  dead.  The  murderer  was  the 
present  clerk,  George  Trust.  He  had  never  seen  the 
man  before,  and  was  absolutely  without  provoca¬ 
tion.  An  indictment,  trial,  and  sentence  to  prison 
for  four  years  and  seven  months  followed ;  the 
defense  being  insanity,  produced  by  intemperate 
habits.  His  appointment  caused  a  storm,  which  he 
watched  awhile,  and  then,  in  a  mock-innocent 
letter,  in  which  he  alludes  to  his  murder  as  an 
‘  unfortunate  occurrence,’  resigned. 

And  by  all  means  let  the  simple  statement 
be  added  from  John  K.  Cowen’s  history  of 
the  Gorman  regime  in  Maryland,  that  “  murder, 
pure  and  simple,  is  recognized  as  a  political 
service  to  be  rewarded  in  state,  national  and 
municipal  affairs.” 

The  Civil  Service  Record,  with  the  June 
number,  completes  its  tenth  year.  It  states 
that — 

These  ten  years  cover  the  most  critical  and 
important  part  of  the  history  of  civil  service 
reform  ;  and,  in  order  to  give  a  complete  view 
of  its  history,  the  management  has  had  a  full 
index  prepared,  covering  the  whole  ten  vol¬ 
umes. 

The  work  has  been  done  by  Mr.  Evarts  B. 
Greene,  a  Harvard  graduate  of  1890,  and  now 
pursuing  a  post-graduate  course  at  Cambridge 


in  history  and  political  economy.  He  hashad 
some  suggestions  as  to  preparing  this  from 
Alliert  Biishnell  Hart,  Ph.  I).,  assistant  pro¬ 
fessor  in  history.  The  work  has  been  thor¬ 
oughly  done,  not  by  compiling  the  old  indices, 
but  by  going  over  every  number  of  the  Record 
afresh. 

This  index,  with  the  title  page,  will  be 
printed  with  the  July  number. 

Any  college  that  attempts  to  teach  his¬ 
tory  in  the  modern  spirit  can  find  nothing 
to  take  the  place  of  the  volume  covering 
these  years.  Any  person  who  wants  to 
keep  informed  of  the  current  and  ever 
changing  phases  of  spoils  politics  can  not 
afford  to  be  without  the  Civil  Service  Record, 
and  we  make  free  to  add  the  Civil  Service 
Reformer  and  the  Civil  Service  Chroni¬ 
cle;  and  yet  it  is  a  constant  experience  to 
meet  friends  of  the  merit  system  more 
than  ordinarily  enthusiastic  who  regret 
“  the  want  of  the  facts  put  in  a  plain 
way  ”  that  have  been  illustrated  in  all  of 
these  papers  more  than  a  hundred  times 
each  year. 

HARRISON’S  RENOMINATION. 

The  Indianapolis  News  of  June  22  has  per¬ 
formed  a  public  service  in  securing  an  inter¬ 
view  from  “a  well-known  resident  of  this 
city”  who  was  present  at  a  recent  meeting  held 
here  of  opponents  of  the  renomination  of 
President  Harrison.  The  interview,  most  of 
which  is  printed  elsewhere,  is  a  curious  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  hold  the  feudal  idea  has  upon  a 
large  class  of  politicians.  This  man  occupied 
a  column  of  the  News  and  is  evidently  a  rep¬ 
resentative  of  the  gathering  in  question.  He 
is  earnestly  opposed  to  the  renomination  of 
Harrison,  but  his  reasons  are  not  grounded 
upon  the  least  desire  to  elevate  the  tone  of 
public  affairs  or  to  improve  the  management 
of  public  business.  On  the  other  hand  his 
reasons  are  of  the  baser  sort.  The  sum  of  it 
is  that  the  right  workers  have  not  been  paid 
with  offices.  There  are  good  reasons  why 
President  Harrison  should  not  be  renominated 
but  these  opponents  evidently  do  not  care  to 
lay  hold  of  them  or  to  have  them  made  prom 
inent;  nor  would  they  care  to  see  any  other 
President  carry  out  the  principles  upon  which 
these  objections  are  founded. 

Just  grounds  for  opposition  to  the  renomi¬ 
nation  of  the  President  are  such  as  giving 
offices  largely  to  his  relatives,  which  is  com¬ 
paratively  a  minor  but  an  inexcusable  offense 
He  has  refused  to  dismiss  unworthy  public 
officers  like  Raum.  He  is  responsible  for  the 
failure  to  prosecute  the  Mahone  blackmailers 
to  conviction.  He  has  combined  with  Mahone 
and  Quay.  He  has  removed  officers  like 
Corse,  Pearson,  Graves  and  Burt  to  the  detri¬ 
ment  of  the  public  service  and  with  a  view  to 
helping  his  party  machine.  He  re-debauched 
the  Indian  service.  He  has  used  and  has  per¬ 
mitted  to  be  used  the  public  service  to  the  ex¬ 
tent  of  more  than  100,000  places  to  pay  per¬ 
sonal  or  parly  debts,  beginning  with  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  Wanamaker.  He  has  done 
some  things  in  the  way  of  permitting  the 


enforcement  of  the  civil  service  law  and  ex¬ 
tending  the  merit  system  which  ought  to  be 
put  into  the  other  side  of  the  scale,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  fact  that  he  has  rewarded  fellows 
like  Grosvenor  who  did  all  they  could  to 
break  down  the  law.  His  merits  do  not  meet 
what  the  country  had  a  right  to  expect.  It  is 
not  a  question  whether  he  has  done  as  well  as 
or  better  than  President  Cleveland.  Upon 
that  point  we  think  he  need  not  fear  compari¬ 
son.  But  the  standard  of  criticism  is  and 
ought  to  be  higher.  President  Harrison  is  to 
be  judged  by  what  his  party  and  himself 
promised  when  he  was  elected  and  by  what  he 
could  reasonably  have  accomplished.  These 
promises  have  been  as  a  whole  flagrantly  dis¬ 
regarded.  The  question  in  a  nut-shell  is 
whether  the  people  ought  to  be  asked  to  sanc¬ 
tion  by  re-election  the  acts  of  a  President  who 
has  confessedly  used  more  than  100,000  places 
in  the  public  service  with  salaries  attached 
which  are  paid  by  the  whole  people  and  with 
duties  to  be  performed  which  are  owed  to  the 
whole  people,  to  pay  for  personal  or  party  serv¬ 
ices,  or  in  other  words  to  feed  an  insatiable 
partisan  machine.  Is  not  this  exercise  of 
autocratic  power  so  unparalleled  in  the  govern¬ 
ments  of  the  world  and  so  stupendous  and 
dangerous  that  it  overshadows  and  dwarfs  all 

other  acts?  - 

RAUM. 

Ills  not  at  all  likely  that  Pension  Commissioner 
Raum  will  be  asked  to  resign,  or  that  he  will  tender 
his  resignation  voluntarily.  Enough  inquiry  has 
been  made  by  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  and  oth¬ 
ers  directly  interested  in  the  administration  of  the 
pension  office,  to  ascertain  that  Commissioner  Raum 
was  in  no  way  responsible  for  any  of  the  shortcom¬ 
ings  of  his  .son,  and  that  he  made  no  effort  whatever 
to  shield  him  when  he  was  finally  charged  with 
peculation  in  office.  No  one  has  found  anything  in 
the  official  work  of  Commissioner  Raum  to  include 
him  in  any  way  in  the  charges  which  have  been 
made  against  any  employe  of  the  pension  office.  It 
has  not  been  found  that  a  single  penny  has  been 
ever  turned  in  a  dishonest  direction  by  Commis¬ 
sioner  Raum,  or  that  anything  done  or  left  undone 
by  him  can  be  distorted  into  a  connection  with  the 
shortcoming  of  any  employe  of  the  bureau.  He  has 
been  diligent,  honest  and  capable.  The  highest  pos¬ 
sible  confidence  has  been  placed  in  Gen.  Raum’s 
integrity,  and  the  recent  vicious  and  ferocious  out¬ 
cry  made  against  the  eommissioner  is  regarded  in 
official  circles,  as  well  as  by  private  citizens  who 
have  been  watching  the  management  of  the  office 
from  the  outside,  as  due  directly  to  a  growing  preju¬ 
dice  in  democratic  and  mugwump  quarters  against 
pensions.  It  may  be  that  much  of  this  talk  comes 
from  the  fact  that  the,  pension  laws  have  been  liber¬ 
ally  construed  and  the  payments  for  pensions  largely 
increased,  but  no  one  has  yet  charged  General  Raum 
with  anything  done  which  was  dishonest.  Neither 
have  his  private  business  affairs  been  connected  by 
any  one,  in  point  of  fact,  with  any  of  his  official  con- 
nection.s.  Undoubtedly  the  same  fight  would  be 
continued  against  any  other  man  who  could  become 
commissioner  of  pensions,  and  it  has  been  concluded 
that  ffs  we  ate  entering  upon  a  period  of  general  as. 
sault  against  pension  business  it  can  be  resisted  as 
well  under  the  present  administration  of  the  office 
as  it  could  be  under  the  direction  of  any  other  man. 
In  other  words  the  attack  upon  General  Raum  is 
regarded  as  an  attack  upon  the  pension  system, 
since  investigation  has  convinced  the  President  that 
General  Raum  is  guilty  of  no  misconduct  in  his  offi¬ 
cial  position.— IFfls/iiMpfon  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  June  4. 

Such  a  dispatch  as  the  above  will  under  all 


238 


THE  CIVrL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  circumstances  be  taken  as  an  official 
statement.  It  means  that  the  President  has 
determined  to  pursue  the  plan  followed  by 
President  Grant  with  officials  ‘“underfire” 
and  that  the  attempt  is  to  be  made  to  direct 
attention  from  Kaum  by  the  bogus  alarm  of 
an  attack  on  the  j)ension  system.  It  is  well 
then  to  review  some  facts  connected  with  the 
Raum  family,  and  thus  determine  what  the 
President’s  idea  of  a  public  officer  is. 

Raum  created  a  new.  division  known  as 
the  appointment  division,  and  put  his  son 
Green  B.  Raum,  Jr.,  at  the  head  of  it,  with 
the  title  of  assistant  chief  clerk.  How'  the 
President  should  have  been  affected  by  this 
has  been  stated  by  Thomas  Jefferson.  “  The 
public  will  never  be  made  to  believe  that  the 
appointment  of  a  relative  is  made  on  the 
ground  of  merit  alone,  uninfluenced  by 
family  views;  nor  can  they  ever  see  with 
approbation  offices,  the  disposal  of  which 
they  entrust  to  their  Presidents  for  public 
purposes,  divided  out  as  family  property.” 
After  Raum  had  created  a  place  for  his  son, 
he  removed  from  the  room  a  woman  clerk 
who  had  been  making  some  fifteen  dollars  a 
month  in  notary  fees,  and  the  Journal  corres¬ 
pondent  showed  how  the  flow  of  fees  was 
turned  to  Raum,  Jr.  “  When  visitors  to  the 
office  have  inquired  for  a  notary  they  have 
usually  been  sent  to  him,  and  he  is  doing  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  business  that  the 
woman  did  formerly.”  Another  son,  after  his 
father  became  commissioner  of  pensions,  went 
into  partnership  in  the  pension  claim  busi¬ 
ness,  and  the  firm  circulars,  scattered  to  attract 
business,  stated  the  fact  that  one  partner  was 
the  son  of  the  commissioner  of  pensions.  The 
President  and  every  one  else  knows  that  this 
would  give  the  impression,  and  was  intended 
to  give  the  impression,  that  claims  presented 
by  John  Raum  would  have  ‘  advantages.’ 
The  most  powerful  claim  agent  in  Washington, 
employing  hundreds  of  clerks,  and  controlling 
the  most  widely  circulated  pension  paper, 
indorsed  a  note  for  the  commissioner  of  pen¬ 
sions  a  few  days  before  the  commissioner 
made  an  important  ruling  of  advantage  to 
this  attorney.  The  New  York  Times  justly 
said  of  the  President’s  responsibility : 

He  is  bound  to  see  that  the  %vork  of  the  pension 
bureau  is  trusted  only  to  clean  hands,  and  that  there 
shall  be  no  taint  of  suspicion  upon  the  integrity,  the 
purity,  the  fidelity  and  disinterestedness  of  the  of¬ 
ficials  in  charge  of  it.  He  knows  by  his  own  personal 
observation  what  any  one  can  readily  infer,  that  this 
work  demands  peculiarly  scrupulous  agents,  that  it 
is  liable  to  great  abuse,  that  abuses  have  in  the  past 
been  rank  in  the  bureau,  and  that  anything  short  of 
the  most  thorough  reform  is  an  outrage  upon  the 
soldiers  and  a  disgraceful  betrayal  of  trust. 

He  knows  especially  that  the  body  of  pension 
agents  and  attorneys  that  have  grown  up  about 
the  bureau,  and,  for  that  matter,  in  thd  bu¬ 
reau  itself,  are  as  greedy  and  corrupt  as 
any  body  of  men  in  the  country  except 
the  tariff  lobby.  He  knows  their  power,  their 
wealth,  their  elaborate  organization,  their  system 
skillfully  developed  by  years  of  experience  and 
study,  by  which  they  rob  the  .soldier- pensioners  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  tax  payers  on  the  other.  He 
knows  that  the  law  intended  that  their  services,  or 
those  of  any  intermediary  whatever,  should  be  unnec¬ 
essary,  and  that  it  was  meant  that  any  deserving 


claimant  for  a  pension  in  any  part  of  the  country 
should  get  all  theinformation  neces.sary  and  all  the 
aid  required  to  file  his  claim  and  get  it  proved  and 
promptly  and  regularly  paid  without  expense  to  him¬ 
self.  And  yet  it  has  come  about  that  this  is  practic¬ 
ally  impossible,  that  the  pensioners  are  obliged  to 
employ  outside  agents  at  their  own  cost,  and  that 
very  freciuently  these  agents  connive  at  fraud  on  the 
government,  while  in  other  cases  they  bleed  the 
veterans. 

Raum  has  been  under  investigation  on 
another  serious  charge,  and  upon  which  the 
report  of  the  committee  can  not  be  taken  as 
conclusive.  It  is  not  necessary  to  rely  upon 
any  disputed  facts.  Raum  was  mouths  ago  so 
enveloped  in  suspicious  acts  that  to  retain  him 
in  office  was  an  act  of  impropriety.  So  long 
ago  as  last  winter  it  was  shown  that  young 
Green  Raum  kept  two  horses  and  that  a  mes¬ 
senger  in  the  pension  office  cared  for  them. 
When  asked  on  the  witness  stand  what  com¬ 
pensation  he  gave  he  declined,  saying  it  was 
none  of  Mr.  Cooper’s  business,  and  according 
to  Congre.ssman  Cooper 

“The  evidence  disclosed  that  he  had  an  old 
soldier  removed  from  the  force  of  laborers  and 
secured  the  appointment  in  his  place  of  a  col¬ 
ored  man  who  was  the  keeper  of  a  gambling 
house,  under  indictment  at  the  time  of  his 
appointment  for  keeping  an  unlicensed  and 
disorderly  house.” 

Young  Raum  still  kept  his  place,  and  the 
other  day  was  allowed  to  resign  with  thirty 
days’  pay,  because  he  had  sold  an  office  and 
stolen  $7‘2.  It  is  stated  that  “a  regular  bu¬ 
reau  for  the  auctioning  off  of  appointments  has 
been  maintained  in  the  pension  office  for 
months.  People  would  be  appointed  to  place 
outside  the  civil  service  rules,  usually  paying 
$600  a  year,  provided  they  made  the  appoint¬ 
ment  profitable  to  Mr.  Raum’s  ring.  It  has 
been  no  uncommon  thing  of  late  to  see  adver¬ 
tisements  in  the  daily  papers  here  offering 
definite  sums  to  any  one  who  would  obtain 
places  for  tbe  advertisers — usually  the  sum  of 
$100  or  $200.  Outsiders  have  wondered  if 
such  advertisements  ever  produced  any  results. 
Young  Green  B.  Raum  might  shed  some  light 
on  the  subject.  It  is  said  that  the  investiga¬ 
tion  has  disclosed  that  he  and  his  confederates 
sold  original  appointments,  that  they  sold  pro¬ 
motions  to  those  in  the  office  and  that  they 
even  sold  the  privilege  of  selection  under  the 
civil  service  rules.  Selling  promotions  was 
comparatively  easy,  for  that  matter  was  largely 
under  control  of  the  thrifty  appointment  clerk, 
Raum,  One  of  young  Raum’s  confederates 
was  getting  $1,000  a  year  when  Raum  entered 
the  pension  bureau.  He  is  now  getting  $1,800 
and  two  of  his  sisters  have  been  promoted 
twice.  One  of  the  methods  pursued  was  hav¬ 
ing  clerks  who  had  entered  the  service  for  pay 
take  the  examinations  for  promotions  by 
proxy.” 

The  particular  case  requiring  Raum’s  resig¬ 
nation  with  thirty  days’  pay  was  the  case  of  a 
South  Carolinian  named  Smith  advertised 
to  pay  $*200  for  a  place  in  Washington  paying 
$50  a  month.  He  was  soon  approached  by  a 
negro  who  offered  to  obtain  it  for  him.  The 
negro,  who  was  formerly  a  servant  in  the 
Raum  family,  introduced  the  South  Caroli¬ 
nian  to  Green  B.  Raum,  Jr.,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  received  his  commission  and 
paid  the  negro  the  $200.  Later  on  the  new  clerk 
desired  promotion  into  the  classified  service, 
but  he  doubted  his  capacity  to  pa.ss  the 
civil  service  examinations..  Another  clerk, 
J.  L.  Johnson,  took  the  examination  under 
the  name  of  the  South  Carolinian  and  the  pro¬ 
motion  was  soon  accomplished  under  these 
fraudulent  papers. 


The  climax  to  this  career  of  the  Raum 
family  is  that  the  administration  evidently 
intends  that  young  Raum  shall  not  be  pun¬ 
ished.  Attorney  General  Miller  declined  the 
request  of  the  civil  service  commission  for  an 
opinion  whether  Raum’s  offenses  were  punish¬ 
able  by  law  unless  “  requested  ”  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent.  The  President  apparently  has  not 
“  requested  ”  the  opinion,  and  at  last  the  pub¬ 
lic  is  given  this  Jowmaf  dispatch. 


RECENT  MEETINGS  OF  ASSOCIA¬ 
TIONS. 

The  civil  service  reform  a.s.sociation,  of 
Buffalo,  held  its  annual  meeting  June  12.  It 
met  in  a  community  converted  to  the  merit 
system.  The  life  of  this  association  puts  to 
shame  the  helplessness  of  crowds  of  good  peo¬ 
ple  who  shake  their  heads  and  say,  “Things 
always  have  been  so,  and  always  will  be.” 
There  was  no  more  unpromising  ground  than 
Buffalo  when  this  association  began  its  work 
ten  years  ago.  It  knew  what  the  spoils  system 
was  and  it  proceeded  to  give  practical  effect  to 
its  conviction  that  there  was  a  remedy.  .4fter 
the  national  and  state  civil  service  laws  were 
passed  this  association  knew  when  those  laws 
were  being  enforced  and  when  they  were  being 
tricked,  and  it  did  not  hesitate  to  contend  with 
the  enemy  in  public  meetings,  in  the  public 
prints,  in  the  courts  and  elsewhere.  The  last¬ 
ing  and  final  triumph  came  in  repeated  deci¬ 
sions  of  the  court  of  appeals  of  New  York. 
At  last  completely  defeated,  the  city  govern¬ 
ment  of  Buffalo  took  up  the  civil  service  law 
and  outdid  itself  in  zeal  of  execution.  The 
committee  reported  to  the  meeting  that 
“  there  is  scarcely  an  office  in  the  city,  except 
those  which  are  exempt  by  statute  from  the 
civil  service  law,  to  which  ajspointment  is  not 
made  by  competitive  examination  only.”  As 
is  always  the  case,  the  only  ones  who  had  to  be 
defeated  were  the  machine  politicians  who 
made  a  living  out  of  politics.  The  people  of 
Buffalo  were  in  favor  of  the  merit  system  as 
soon  as  they  understood  it,  and  the  fight  with 
the  party  machines  accomplished  the  schooling 
process. 

Fifty-three  new  members  were  admitted. 
The  as.sociation  thanked  Secretary  Tracy  for 
his  proposed  application  of  the  merit  system 
to  the  navy-yards.  We  quote  two  resolutions: 

1.  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  association,  the 
caution  which  at  first  limited  the  operation  of  the 
]aw  for  the  reform  of  the  civil  service  to  federal  of¬ 
fices  having  not  less  than  fifty  employees,  is  no 
longer  justifiable.  The  reform  has  passed  the  season 
of  experiment,  and  stands  fully  approved  before  the 
people.  Its  success  justifies  and  demands  its  exten¬ 
sion  to  the  great  body  of  the  official  places  in  the 
gift  of  the  federal  government. 

2.  That  this  as.sociation  cordially  approves  and 
earnestly  urges  the  passage  of  the  bill  introduced  by 
Congressman  H.  C.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts,  for  the 
selection  of  fourth-class  postmasters  on  the  basis  of 
merit. 

The  civil  service  reform  association  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  held  its  tenth  annual  meeting  in 
Philadelphia  April  8.  The  report  of  the  ex¬ 
ecutive  committee  submitted  to  the  meeting 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


239 


shows  a  decided  disposition  in  the  association 
to  “tackle”  the  lion  in  the  den — the  head  of 
an  office  who  puts  himself  above  the  law. 
Controller  Thompson  of  Philadelphia,  having 
been  reported  to  have  taken  such  a  stand,  a 
committee  of  the  association  asked  him  about 
it,  hut  he  declined  to  state  his  intentions.  He 
then  began  dismissing  employes  without  cause, 
and  when  the  committee  again  addressed  him, 
he  declined  to  give  reasons  for  his  actions,  and 
denied  the  right  of  citizens  to  interrogate  him. 
This  is  a  fortunate  answer;  it  will  not  lessen 
the  pugnacity  of  the  association.  Similar 
remarks  in  Indiana  have  caused  the  re¬ 
marker  and  his  party  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

The  executive  committee  says  that  the 
merit  system  does  not  stir  the  mass  of  the 
community  as  did  slavery  and  seamen's 
rights.  It  should  he  remembered  that,  par¬ 
ticularly  in  the  case  of  slavery,  it  took  many 
years  to  rouse  the  conscience  of  the  people. 
It  may  take  a  higher  civilization  to  justly 
abhor  the  spoils  system,  but  the  time  is  not  far 
off  when,  if  the  civil  service  reformers  do  their 
duty,  the  appointment  of  a  political  freebooter 
like  Martin  to  be  a  public  officer  over  the 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  will  rouse  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  that  city  more  than  Garrison  ever 
roused  the  city  of  Boston  upon  the  subject  of 
slavery. 

The  committee  reported  a  more  faithful  ob¬ 
servance  of  the  federal  law,  and  as  we  remem¬ 
ber  the  late  Postma.ster  Harrity,  there  was 
room  for  it.  At  a  dinner  in  the  evening  Her¬ 
bert  Welsh  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he 
said  : 

During  the  past  democratic  administration,  out  of 
a  force  of  fifty-eight  Indian  agents,  fifty  three  were 
removed,  and  there  was  virtually  a  clean  sweep  of 
the  whole  Indian  service,  including  the  school 
force,  with  the  consequent  failure  of  Mr.  Cleveland’s 
earnest  desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Indian. 
Under  the  present  administration,  the  carnival  of 
spoils  in  the  Indian  service  has  been  as  riotous  as 
under  the  last,  and  owing  to  a  combination  of  cir¬ 
cumstances  far  more  calamitous,  for  a  serious  out¬ 
break  has  occurred  which,  it  is  true,  had  its  origin  in 
other  causes,  but  which  undoubfedly  was  precipi¬ 
tated  by  the  spoils  system. 


J  The-report  of  the  executive  committee  to 
the  Cambridge  Civil  Service  Keform  Associa¬ 
tion,  which  met  recently,  speaking  of  the  Civil 
Sei-vice  Record,  of  which  it  is  with  the  Boston 
Association  a  joint  publisher,  says: 

The  average  number  of  pages  during  the  year  has 
been  1054  8.nd  the  average  monthly  edition  4350. 

The  Record  is  sent  as  follows:— 

2621  copies  to  the  following  civil  service  reform 
associations : 


Boston . . 439 

Philadelphia . 350 

New  York . 333 

Bufl'alo,  N:  Y . 195 

Milwaukee,  Wis . 109 

Missouri . 220 

Brookline . 115 

Cambridge . 164 

Newton . 314 

Malden .  53 

Geneva,  N.  Y .  36 

New  Haven,  Ct . 40 

Lawrence,  Kansas .  12 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y . 250 


To  1117  young  men’s  Christian  association 
throughout  the  country,  these  being  distributed  in 
every  state  in  the  union  and  the  District  of  Col¬ 
umbia. 

A  monthly  average  of  170  copies  has  been  sent  to 
paying  individual  sub.scribers  in  Alabama,  Cali¬ 
fornia,  Connecticut,  Georgia,  Idaho,  Illinois,  In¬ 
diana,  Iowa,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Min¬ 
nesota,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Virginia  and  Utah 
Territory  and  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Eighty-nine  copies  to  sundry  persons,  libraries, 
societies,  etc  ,  in  Arkansas,  California,  Connecticut, 
Delaware,  Georgia,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky, 
Maine,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Missi.ssippi,  Mis¬ 
souri,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  North  f^arolina,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania, 
Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina,  Texas,  Virginia,  Wis¬ 
consin,  and  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Ninety-five  copies  to  newspapers  (exchange  list) 
in  Alabama,  California,  Connecticut,  Debt  ware, 
Georgia,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  Louisi¬ 
ana,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Missouri,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey, 
New  York,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island, 
South  Carolina,  Vermont,  Virginia,  Wisconsin  and 
the  District  of  Columbia. 

Ninety-eight  are  sent  to  the  leaders  of  the  reform 
movement  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  Maine,  Maryland, 
Mas.sachusetts,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  North  Caro¬ 
lina,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  Wisconsin. 

Copies  of  the  Record  are  also  sent  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  and  to  each  member  of  his 
cabinet. 


The  New  York  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso¬ 
ciation  held  its  annual  meeting  May  20,  The 
report  of  its  executive  committee  commends 
the  Brooklyn  civil  service  commission,  hut 
speaks  with  a  more  than  doubtful  tone  of  the 
state  commission,  and  the  New  York  city 
commission.  The  last  two  commissions  are 
Delphian,  and  under  them  the  law  shows 
those  curious  results  which  we  used  to  witness 
in  Indiana.  Why  does  not  the  New  York 
association  take  u|)  the  guantlet  thus  impu¬ 
dently  thrown  down  ?  Why  does  it  not  measure 
strength  with  Hill  and  the  commissions? 
There  could  be  but  one  result  to  such  a 
struggle,  and  that  would  be  a  victory  for  the 
association.  Such  a  movement  was  proposed 
at  the  meeting  but  it  seemed  to  be  discour¬ 
aged  by  the  chairman  of  the  executive  com¬ 
mittee,  Mr.  Everett  P.  Wheeler.  The  chair¬ 
man  of  the  new  committee  on  civil  service 
examinations,  Mr.  C.  W.  Watson,  is  a  good 
man  to  step  into  the  breach,  or  to  make  one 
and  then  step  into  it. 


The  Missouri  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa¬ 
tion  held  its  tenth  annual  meeting  at  St.  Louis 
May  28.  It  heard  a  report  of  its  executive 
committee  and  elected  officers.  The  late 
Judge  Breckenridge  was  formerly  president  of 
the  association. 

The  Indiana  Civil  Service  Reform  Associa¬ 
tion  held  a  meeting  in  this  city  .lune  6  for 
the  purpose  of  electing  officers.  William  D. 
Foulke,  of  Richmond,  was  .elected  president 
The  appointment  of  the  executive  committee 
has  not  yet  been  completed.  The  association 
has  several  times  doubled  its  membership  in 
the  last  two  years,  and  is  composed  of  severa 
hundred  influential  men  from  all  parts  of  the 


state.  It  has  no  annual  dues,  and  each  work 
undertaken  is  cared  for  hy  a  special  subscrip¬ 
tion.  It  is  time  that  a  large  number  of  people 
throughout  the  state  who  have  never  taken 
any  interest  or  made  any  sacrifices  in  the  war 
against  the  spoils  system  should  begin  to  do 
soth. 


THE  MINISTER  AS  A  CITIZEN. 

We  wish  some  earnest  enemy  of  the  spoils 
system  would  cause  to  be  printed  and  sent  to 
every  clergymen  of  every  denomination  in  In¬ 
diana  the  recent  address  of  of  Congressmen 
George  Fred  Williams,  of  Massachusetts  to 
the  clergy.  It  is  all  .so  apt  and  spirited  that 
it  is  hard  to  determine  what  to  take  and  what 
to  leave : 

• 

“What  is  it  which  deadens  the  priestly  function 
when  the  immoralities  of  public  life  are  exposed  to 
view?’’  Our  public  business  and  its  moral  stand¬ 
ards  and  methods  belong  to  every  citizen ;  nay, 
more,  as  they  take  the  stamp  of  public  approval  they 
pass  current  among  men  as  our  authorized  coin. 
Yet  while  public  men  are  striving  upward,  .seeking 
to  bring  more  honesty,  more  decency,  some  touch 
of  Godliness  into  the  affairs  of  the  republic,  it  can 
not  be  denied  that  to  the  pulpit  they  look,  generally 
in  vain,  for  protection  or  encouragement. 

It  is  true  there  have  been  notable  exceptions:  and 
ministers  of  this  faith  have  furnished  many  of  them; 
they  make  it  easy  for  me  now  to  thank  them  for 
their  work,  and  to  beg  that  it  be  honored  and  emu¬ 
lated. 

It  has  been  given  to  the  church  to  keep  the  spirit¬ 
ual  interests  of  men,  and  the  field  of  moral  instruc¬ 
tion  has  been  yielded  to  it  quite  as  fully  as  that  of 
religious  teaching.  I  ask  you  by  what  right  you 
abandon  the  great  field  of  public  morals;  why  are 
you  silent  in  the  face  of  public  wrongs  aud  scandals? 
Where  are  your  words  for  the  champions  of  -political 
honesty? 

What  wonder  that  the  power  of  the  church  wanes, 
i;'  it  stands  silent  and  listless  as  the  devil  takes  pos¬ 
session  of  the  public  business.  Let  me  suggest  that 
the  ministry  owes  it  intervention  in  the  moral  strug¬ 
gles  of  politics,  first  to  the  politician,  second  to  the 
cause  of  morality  itself,  and  third  to  his  country. 

Y’ou  owe  it  to  the  politician  who  is  making  any 
effort  to  hold  up  the  standards  of  political  honesty. 
He  needs  your  help  even  for  himself;  because  there 
is  no  calling  in  life  which  so  discourages  ideals  and 
makes  high  motives  so  dangerous  as  politics. 

Men  risk  their  reputations  when  they  enter  poli¬ 
tics  ;  therefore  men  with  reputations  are  apt  to  keep 
out  of  it.  I  fear  clergymen  avoid  it  less  because  it 
threatens  their  reputations  than  because  their  pul¬ 
pits  are  in  danger.  I  agree  that  there  is  common 
consent  among  the  political  sinners,  that  they 
should  not  be  referred  to  from  the  pulpit,  but  that 
consent  should  not  settle  your  duty. 

But  surely  the  church  has  jurisdiction,  sin  is  its 
peculiar  business,  aud  the  ministers  are  pure  men 
who  can  not  be  frightened  with  recriminations.  I 
ask  in  all  earnestness  “  if  public  wrong,  immorality, 
dishonesty  is  not  the  business  of  the  clergy,  whose 
business  is  it?” 

The  politician  is  the  thing  to  be  reformed  ;  he  will 
reform  as  public  opinion  demands,  and  you  are  re¬ 
sponsible  for  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  community. 
Indeed,  ministers  of  the  gospel  should  stand  in  the 
front  ranks  of  attack  upon  public  wrongs.  You  need 
not  mix  in  politics;  but  politics  is  not  wrong  and 
wrong  is  not  politics.  It  is  because  public  sins  are 
most  powerful  that  it  is  your  first  duty  to  attack 
them.  In  private  sin  men  shrink  and  are  ashamed, 
because  they  are  alone;  public  sin  becomes  bold 
and  defiant  because  many  are  joined  in  it.  The  of¬ 
fenders  stand  together,  they  defend  together ;  they 
may  be  enough  to  call  themselves  of  the  public; 
they  may  even  constitute  the  public  ;  they  may  .sit 
in  your  front  pews  aud  menace  you. 


t 


“  Larfjo  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were  allotted  by  the  conquering  generals  to  the  superior  officers  of  the  army,  and 
by  them  dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allotments  to  the  inferior  officers  and  most  deserving  soldiers.  *  *  *  The 
condition  <»f  holding  the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the  possessor  should  do  service  faithfully,  both  at  home  and  in  the  wars, 
to  him  by  whom  they  were  given,’’  and,  on  breach  of  this  condition,  “by  not  performing  the  stipulated  service,  or  by 
deserting  Ills  lord  in  battle,”  the  lands  reverted  to  the  lord. 


—  Editor  O.  E.  Mohler,  of  the  Fort  Wayne 
Gazette,  is  in  the  city.  The  Gazette  is  the  most 
outspoken  anti-Harrison  republican  organ  in 
the  state.  Mr.  Mohler  says  that  there  are  no 
Harrison  rej)ublicans  in  Allen  county  outside 
of  the  federal  office-holding  ring.  (Iresham 
would  get  99  per  cent,  of  the  republican  vote 
if  the  nomination  was  decided  by  popular 
ele’tiou — Indinnapolix  Sentinel,  June  3. 


“No  candidate  who  can  not  carry  his  stat® 
undivided  can  expect  to  be  nominated.  It  is 
an  established  fact  that  Harrison  can  never 
again  carry  our  whole  delegation.  If  the 
Bruce  Carrs  and  Sam  Kerchevals  and  other 
administration  imps  come  here  again  to  influ¬ 
ence  our  district  convention,  they  wilt  be  in¬ 
continently  kicked  out.  Hereafter,  if  the  first 
district  of  Indiana  prefers  Blaine,  or 
Gresham,  or  Alger,  or  anybody  else  to  Harri¬ 
son,  its  choice  must  be  respected. 

“  There  are  a  few — and  very  few — news¬ 
papers  in  this  state  that  care  much  for  Harri¬ 
son.  Some  of  them  have  post-offices  and  things  tied 
to  their  tails  to  hold  them  steady  in  the  harness ;  one 
has  a  consulship  at  Palermo,  the  headquarters  of 
the  Mafia.  The  'court  organ'  draws  $35,000  or 
$40,000  a  year  from  the  treasury,  and  therefore 
can  afford  to  ignore  the  anti-Harrison  meet¬ 
ing  of  last  Thursday.  But  the  independent 
republican  papers  that  have  no  favors  to  ask 
will  get  their  work  in,  you  bet.” — Evansville 
Journal,  June,  1S91. 


— The  following  Columbus  telegram  to  the 
Cincinnati  Post,  an  independent  newspaper 
with  republican  sympathies,  will  be  of  interest; 

“Supporters  of  the  national  administration, 
including  scores  of  the  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters  throughout  the  state,  have  received 
hints,  which,  although  coming  indirectly,  are 
none  the  less  regarded  as  authoritative,  to 
the  effect  that  the  civil  service  rules  pro¬ 
hibiting  their  active  participation  in  political 
preliminaries  will  not  be  rigidly  enforced  if 
they  are  delegates  to  the  convention. — Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel,  May  21. 

—No  political  conference  held  in  this  city  for  years 
has  attracted  so  much  attention  or  excited  the  same 
interest  as  the  ‘‘anti-Harrifion  movement”  recently 
inaugurated  in  this  city.  Since  it  adjourned  the 
men  who  composed  it  have  talked  comparatively 
little  :  but  tongues  are  wagging  everywhere  over  the 
affair.  There  has  been  more  talk  abroad  than  here 
in  Indiana,  where  the  President’s  friends  are  alert. 
The  Acres  called  upon  a  well-known  resident  of  this 
city,  who  was  present,  for  an  interview.  It  wiil  be 
seen  that  he  represents  the  hostile  element  that  bet 
lieves  Harrison  a  poor  politician,  and  unpopular  In 
his  contact  with  republicans  who  are  not  his  per- 
.sonal  friends. 

”  What  objection  is  urged  against  the  President?  ” 

“  Well,  I  will  name  a  few.  General  Harrison  was 
no  sooner  elected  than  he  seemed  to  feel  that  he 
elected  himself— and  that  he  was  under  obligations 
to  no  one,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Mr.  Wana- 
maker,  who  raised  8400,000  to  assist  in  footing  the 
bills.  Before  his  cabinet  was  formed  he  snubbed 


Mr.  Blaine,  who  offered  to  visit  this  city  to  consnl- 
abont  the  cabinet.  Before  he  had  been  President  a 
month  he  offended  every  member  of  the  national 
republican  committee. 

"  During  the  canvass  he  said  to  a  delegation  of  re¬ 
publicans  from  La  Fayette,  that  he  recognized  the 
fact  that  most  of  the  republicans  in  their  county  had 
another  convention  preference  ;  that  he  had  always 
believed  convention  preferences  should  be  free  in 
the  republican  party,  and  that  no  prejudice  should 
follow  any  republican  on  account  of  that  preference. 
As  party  men  we  will  judge  men  by  his  past  conven¬ 
tion  conduct.  Now,  did  he  follow  that  course? 
Not  much.  Where  is  a  republican  who  favored  the 
nomination  of  General  Gresham  at  Chicago  that  has 
received  an  appointment  at  his  hands?  ” 

“Were  not  Major  Calkins  and  General  Shackleford 
given  appointments?” 

“  I  am  glad  you  mentioned  those  men.  The  Presi. 
dent  always  apologizes  for  Calkins’s  appointment  as 
judge  of  the  district  court  of  Washington  territory 
by  saying  he  did  not  know  that  Major  Calkins  was  a 
resident  of  Washington  territoryuntil  he  received  an 
almost  unanimous  request  from  the  bar  of  that  terri 
tory  asking  for  Calkins'  appointment,  and  that  he 
could  do  nothing  else,  but  when  the  territory  was 
admitted  as  a  state  a  few  months  later,  and  it  be¬ 
came  necessary  to  make  a  new  appointment,  and 
when  the  appointment  would  have  been  of  some 
value,  the  President  refused  to  appoint  him.  If  it 
was  a  proper  appointment  in  the  first  instance  it 
was  infinitely  more  so  when  the  territory  became 
a  state.  The  little  judgeship  he  gave  General 
Shackleford  in  the  Indian  territory  is  too  insignifi¬ 
cant  to  mention.  These  are  the  only  Gresham  men 
who  have  received  recognition  from  the  President. 
He  seems  to  have  changed  his  mind  after  he  made 
that  little  speech  to  the  La  Fayette  delegation.  He  is 
known  to  have  interfered  and  prevented  his  cabinet 
and  even  bureau  officers  from  appointing  men  whom 
they  desired  to  appoint,  who  favored  General  Gresh¬ 
am  at  Chicago.  No,  sir;  the  President  has  shown 
himself  to  be  selfish  and  vindictive. 

"  The  republicans  of  the  Evansville  and  LaFayette 
districts  were  known  to  prefer  the  nomination  of 
General  Gresham  at  Chicago,  and  for  that  reason 
they  have  been  ignored,  and  neither  district  has 
received  recognition,  white  Mr.  Chcadte,  congressman 
from  the  latter  district,  was  snubbed  and  almost  insulted 
by  the  President  when  he  insisted  upon  being  allowed  to 
conti  ol  the  patronage  in  his  district.  While  President 
Harrison  was  a  member  of  the  senate  he  was  a 
stanch  advocate  of  what  is  known  as  senalorial 
etiquette,  viz. :  allowing  the  senators  to  name  all 
appointments  in  the  state  at  large,  as  well  as  in  dis¬ 
tricts  represented  by  democrats.  This  he  denied  to 
Mr.  Cheadle,  while  according  it  to  representatives  Steele, 
Owen  and  Brown. 

“  In  Illinois  he  denied  the  senators  and  representatives 
the  right  to  control  anything,  btd  made  many  important 
appointments  over  their  protest— &\\  because  the  repub¬ 
licans  of  that  state  were  for  Gresham  at  Chicago. 
The  President  did  not  recollect  that  Chicago  con¬ 
tributed  $94,000  to  aid  in  his  election,  and  that  much 
rf  that  amount  was  solicited  by  his  son  Russell  and 
his  law  partner,  the  present  attorney-general  of  the 
Uniud  States.  He  was  determined  to  get  even.  In 
Ohio  he  permitted  Senator  Sherman  to  control  all  the 
patronage  he  claimed. 

“The  gentlemen  who  attended  that  meeting  will 
call  another  at  no  distant  day,  and  will  not  apply  to 
any  one  for  permission  to  do  so.  They  are  the  slaves 
of  no  man,  or  clique  of  office  holders. 

“  We  do  not  underestimate  the  influenee  of  public 
patronage  in  the  hands  of  men  who  are  now  and  have 
been  using  the  same  since  March  4,  1890,  to  perpetuate 
themselves  in  poroer.  For  instance,  note  the  appoint¬ 


ment  of  Charley  Foster,  of  Ohio,  as  secretary  of  the 
treasury.  That  slate  is  red  hot  for  Blaine.  Charley 
Foster  was  given  the  most  poiverful  department  in  the 
government,  so  far  as  patronage,  is  concerned  to  enable 
him  to  capture  the  state  for  Harrison  in  the  next 
national  convention. 

“  What  was  the  character  of  Colonel  Conger’s 
speech  ? ” 

“Well,  some  portions  were  semi-confidential  and 
therefore  will  not  be  repeated;  bnt  it  related  to  the 
President’s  want  of  experience  as  a  political  leader, 
knowledge  and  judgment  of  politics  as  well  as  of 
men  ;  the  use  he  is  now  making  of  public  patronage 
to  perpetuate  himself  and  associates  in  power;  his 
efforts  to  give  one  faction  in  Ohio  an  advantage  over 
another.  He  thought  the  President  did  much  to 
bring  about  the  defeat  of  the  republicans  in  Ohio  at 
the  last  gubernatorial  election.  He  doubted 
seriously  whether  Harrison  could  carry  Ohio  if  re¬ 
nominated. 

“  General  McNulta  attributed  the  recent  and  pres¬ 
ent  demoralization  in  Illinois  politics  to  President 
Harrison’s  treatment  of  the  leading  republicans  of 
that  state,  including  its  senators  and  members  of 
congress.  He  has  ignored  their  wishes  and  appointed 
men  to  office  whom  no  one  wanted,  or  men  who  did 
little  or  nothing  for  the  party,  because  that  state 
and  its  newspaper  men  almost  unanimously  sup¬ 
ported  Gresham  at  Chicago.  He  firmly  believed 
that  should  Harrison  be  renominated  he  will  fail  to 
carry  Illinois.  The  recent  victory  for  the  democrats 
in  that  state  has  greatly  weakened  the  republican 
party  and  the  mass  of  the  party  is  so  indifferent  to 
Harrison  that  they  would  not  work  as  they  would 
for  another  candidate.  A  resolution  was  adopted  by 
a  rising  vote  declaring  that  all  present  were  opposed 
to  the  renomination  of  President  Harrison,  and 
moving  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  call 
another  meeting,  at  which  a  permanent  organization 
will  be  effected.  It  will  be  an  open  movement,  with 
nothing  to  conceal.  We  propose  to  see  whether  pub¬ 
lic  office  is  a  public  trust  ora  private  snap.”— Indi¬ 
anapolis  News,  June'22. 

— The  republican  state  central  comruitteeof 
Iowa  has  begun  to  assess  the  office-holders  in 
that  state  at  an  earlier  date  than  usual.  A 
circular  issued  by  Chairman  Mack  and  ad¬ 
dressed  to  a  railway  postal  clerk,  says;  “  Last 
fall  our  comm-ittee  called  upon  you  as  a 
republican  for  a  contribution  to  our  campaign 
fund.  As  our  books  show  you  either  responded 
only  in  part  or  not  at  alt  to  our  request. 
These  contributions  were  expected  to  ca^’ry  the 
party  through  the  whole  year.  Owing  to  the 
failure  of  our  friends  to  respond,  we  are  in 
need  of  some  funds  now  to  straighten  up 
some  matters  left  from  the  fall’s  work,  and  to 
do  some  very  necessary  work  before  our  state 
convention  meets.” — New  York  Evening  Post, 
May  25. 

— The  reconciliation  between  Mahone  and 
ex-Congressman  Langston,  whom  the  former 
has  fought  so  bitterly,  bas  caused  a  little  flut¬ 
ter  in  republican  circles.  This  reconciliation  is 
accepted  to  mean  that  Mahone  has  returned  to  poli¬ 
tics  and  is  harmonizing  the  working  factions  for  the 
Presidential  contest. 

Mahone  is  preparing  to  secure  a  delegation 
from  this  state  to  the  national  republican  con¬ 
vention  which  will  favor  his  candidate.  The 
reconciliation  between  Mahone  and  Langston 
was  no  doubt  effected  for  practical  purposes. 
The  chairman  of  the  republican  committee, 
who  votes  as  vigorously  as  he  fights,  has  made 
relentless  war  upon  the  colored  ex-congress¬ 
man,  and,  it  is  believed,  has  spent  money  lib¬ 


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The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition  did  homage,  “openly  and  humbly 
kneeling,  being  ungirt,  uiieovered  and  holding  up  his  hands,  both  together,  between  those  of  his  lord,  who  sate  before  him, 
and  there  professing  that  he  did  become  his  MAN  from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and  earthly  honor,  and  then  he  reeeived  a 
kiss  from  his  lord.”  Serviees  were  free  and  base.  Free  service  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve  under  tlie  lord  in  war. 
Base  service  was  to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  liedge  or  carry  out  his  dung. — [Blackstone. 


erally  to  defeat  hioi  in  his  congressional  fight 
in  the  fourth  district.  Langston  passed  through 
here  on  his  way  to  Petersburg  this  afternoon. 
Here  is  what  he  said  to  a  reporter  about  Ma- 
hone: 

“  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Mahone  would 
now  do  anything  to  advance  my  personal  or 
official  interests  which  he  and  my  friends 
might  deem  advisable  and  judicious  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  advancement  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  party,  the  general  interest  of  colored 
Americans,  and  the  highest  welfare  of  our 
citizens  generally.  In  Mr.  Mahoneys  integrity 
as  a  republican,  in  his  intelligence  as  a  Virginia 
gentlemen  of  high  character,  and  \n  his  sagacity  as 
an  American  statesman,  interested  in  both  sections  of 
our  country  and  our  common  welfare,  I  have  full 
confidence.” — Richmond  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  March  26. 

—The  Young  Republican  Club,  of  Philadelphia, 
celebrated  its  tenth  anniversary  last  night  with  a 
dinner.  Among  the  speakers  was  Collector  Cooper.  In 
the  course  of  his  remarks  he  said  : 

“The  recent  results  in  revolutionized  Rhode 
Island,  in  ever  doubtful  New  York,  in  gerryman¬ 
dered  Michigan,  and  even  in  "the  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  alliance,  all  go  to  show  a  bright  Presidential 
promise  which  has  not  been  shaken  by  the  declaration  of 
some  club  man  in  Boston,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten, 
that  the  chairman  of  the  republican  national  committee 
xuas  responsible  for  the  loss  of  Massachusetts.  It  was 
lost  last  fall,  partially,  upon  a  purely  personal  issue, 
as  was  Pennsylvania,  partially,  upon  a  like  issue  ; 
but  for  any  club  man,  however  obscure,  to  attribute 
the  loss  of  Massachusetts  to  the  republican  national 
chairman  at  a  time  when  he  exercised  no  control, 
whereas  the  state  was  carried  handsomely  for  Har¬ 
rison  in  1888  when  he  had  control,  passes  the  stand¬ 
ard  of  logic.” 

The  members  of  the  club  were  so  disorderly 
during  the  speeches  that  City  Solicitor  Warwick,  the 
last  speaker,  said  to  them  that  “  the  insolence,  not 
to  say  the  inebriety,”  of  some  of  the  disturbers 
might  be  pardoned  but  could  not  be  forgotten.— 
Philadelphia  Dispatch  to  the  iVete  York  Evening  Post, 
April  11. 

—United  States  Senator  Quay  arrived  in  the  city 
early  yesterday  afternoon  en  route  from  Washington 
to  his  home  in  Beaver.  Among  his  visitors  at  the 
Continental  Hotel  was  Congressman  Harmer,  whese 
district  comprises  Germantown.  He  called  on  the 
senator  in  the  interest  of  Mr.  Brooks.  Col.  Quay,  it 
is  understood,  in  his  conference  ^vith  President  Harrison 
on  Monday,  when  he  handed  in  Collector  Martin's  res¬ 
ignation,  not  only  discussed  the  question  in  connection 
with  the  appointment  of  a  successor,  but  also  pressed  the 
candidacy  of  Second  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury  Col. 
B.  Frank  Gilkesem,  of  Bucks  county ,  for  appointment  to 
the  bench  of  the  court  of  claims,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  retirement  of  Judge  Schofield. 

The  local  politicians  who  called  on  Senator  Quay 
at  the  hotel  yesterday  afternoon  and  last  evening, 
afterwards  expressed  themselves  satisfied  that  Brooks 
would  get  the  internal  revenue  collectorshlp  and 
Gilkeson  the  judgeship  of  the  court  of  claims.  One 
of  them,  an  up-town  leader,  said  ; 

"  There  Ims  been  a  great  deal  published  about  reported 
differences  between  Senator  Quay  and  President  Harri¬ 
son.  There  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  any  of  the  stories. 
Senator's  Quay's  interview  with  the  President  on  Mon¬ 
day  was  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  he  ever  had-'  ’  \.s 

"  Will  Col.  Gilke.sou  be  appointed  to  the  bench  of 
the  court  of  claims?” 

”  It  looks  that  way,”  said  the  politician  guardedly, 

“  And  Representative  Brooks  to  the  internal  rev¬ 
enue  collectorshlp?  ” 

“  It  looks  that  way ;  I  guess  it’s  about  settled  that 
Brooks  will  be  the  new  collector.’  ’ 


The  question  which  is  giving  some  slight  uneas¬ 
iness  to  the  minds  of  the  party  workers  closely  iden 
tified  with  the  revenue  oflice  at  the  present  time,  is 
whether  or  not  there  will  be  any  changes  in  the  sub¬ 
ordinate  places  in  the  department.  The  gaugersand 
deputies  are  all  at  sea  as  to  what  is  iu  store  for  them 
after  Collector  Martin  goes  out  on  the  1st  of  July, 
although  if  William  H.  Brooks  is  to  be  his  successor, 
it  is  not  believed  there  will  be  any  changes,  unless 
for  cause.  Mr.  Brooks  is  conservative,  and  he  is  be¬ 
sides  on  good  terms  with  some  of  the  party  leaders 
who  were  opposed  to  Mr.  Martin’s  appointment  to 
the  collectorship  originally,  notably  James  Mc- 
Manes.  The  latter,  who  has  never  had  much  to  do 
with  helping  elect  republican  tickets  since  the  pres¬ 
ent  collector  of  internal  revenue  was  put  into  office, 
it  is  said  may  feel  prompted  by  the  change  in  offi¬ 
cials  to  come  out  and  once  more  take  an  active  hand 
in  the  party  campaigns.— P/tt'iatfcfp/iio  Press,  June  9. 

—The  President  has  appointed  William  H.  Brooks, 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  be  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  the  first  district  of  Pennsylvania,  vice  David 
Martin,  resigned.  — lPds/iiJjpf'j?i  Dispatch,  June  18. 

— “Boss”  Quay  is  on  a  familiar  footing  again  at  the 
White  House.  If  the  President  shares  any  of  Mr- 
Roger  Wolcott’s  scruples  about  the  prominence  of 
Quay  in  the  party  management,  he  evidently  feels 
compelled  to  stifle  them  in  view  of  the  necessity  of 
getting  a  Harrison  delegation  from  Pennsylvania. 
Quay  had  quite  a  slate  of  federal  appointments  to 
present  to-day,  and  he  was  with  the  President  for  a 
long  time.  He  wants  his  creature.  Second  Comptroller 
Gilkeson,  made  a  judge  in  the  court  of  claims  in 
place  of  Judge  Schofield,  who  is  about  to  retire. 
This  will  leave  a  vacancy  in  the  second  comptroller’s 
office  which  Mr.  Quay  also  expects  to  fill.  He  was 
accompanied  to  the  White  House  by  collector 
Martin  of  Philadelphia,  who  handed  iu  his  resigna¬ 
tion.  Quay  had  a  candidate  for  this  place  also.  The 
resignation  was  only  made  known  to-day,  so  that 
Quay  was  easily  able  to  forestall  other  claimants. 

Speaking  of  general  politics,  he  laughs  at  the 
other  Pennsylvania  republicans  who  are  seeking  his 
place  in  the  senate,  and  intimates  that  he  has  little 
fear  of  them.  He  feels  that  with  the  federal  patron¬ 
age  at  his  back  he  can  snap  his  fingers  in  the  faces  of 
his  enemies  in  the  repubiican  party.  The  power  he 
wields  at  the  White  House  is  well  explained  by  a 
fellow  republican  who  remarked  today:  “If  the 
President  knows  which  side  his  bread  is  buttered 
on  he  won’t  turn  down  Senator  Quay.  If  he  does, 
he  won’t  get  one  of  the  sixty-two  delegates  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  in  the  next  national  convention.”— ifog/on 
Post,  .June  9. 

— Senator  Sherman  has  been  recently  morti¬ 
fied  by  one  of  the  appointments  made  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  iu  the  south.  Just  before  Mr. 
Harrison  started  on  his  “swing  around  ”  trip 
he  indorsed  on  the  back  of  an  application  for 
the  appointment  of  Emil  A.  Weber  to  be  post¬ 
master  at  Donaldsonvilb',  La.,  the  words, 
“Let  this  commission  be  made  out.”  Post¬ 
master  General  Wanamaker’s  assistant,  Mr. 
Whitfield,  of  Ohio,  had  the  appointment  made 
out,  and  Mr.  Weber  is  in  office  awaiting  the 
confirmation  of  the  senate.  # 

It  seems  that  the  appointment  was  made  by 
the  President  upon  the  request  of  Collector 
Warmoth,  to  meet  the  emergency  created  by 
the  transfer  of  the  Donaldsonville  postmaster 
to  the  office  of  melter  in  the  mint.  One  day 
recently  Mr.  Sherman  visited  Mr.  Whitfield, 
and  expressed  astonishment  that  Weber 
should  have  been  appointed  to  any  office  by 
the  administration. 

But  Mr.  Whitfield,  it  apjieared,  had  forgot¬ 
ten  the  history  of  Weber.  He  did  not  remem¬ 


ber  that  it  was  Weber  who  had  been  a  witness 
in  1877  in  the  Louisiana  election  controversy, 
and  that  he  had  been  brought  to  Washington 
to  testify  that  his  brother  had  received  a  letter 
from  Sherman  promising  that  he  should  be 
paid  $500  for  counting  certain  election  re¬ 
turns  in  a  certain  way,  and  after  he  had 
reached  Washington  his  chief  complaint  was 
that  he  had  received  $300  instead  of  $500. 
The  letter  referred  to  by  the  witness  had  been 
found  by  him  iu  a  trunk  belonging  to  his 
brother,  who  had  been  killed,  and  he  had  de¬ 
stroyed  it. 

Mr.  Sherman  had  a  very  poor  opinion  of 
his  truthfulness,  and  he  had  a  lively  remem¬ 
brance  of  the  annoyance  that  Weber’s  testi¬ 
mony  had  given  him  at  the  time  it  was 
brought  out.  What  Mr.  Warmolh’s  idea  was 
in  bringing  forward  thisdiscredited  politician 
is  not  yet  known,  but  it  is  known  that  Weber 
has  the  office,  and  it  is  assumed  that  when  the 
delegates  to  the  national  convention  come  to 
be  selected,  Sherman’s  annoyer,  Weber,  will 
be  somewhere  in  the  crowd,  prepared  to  shout 
for  Harrison  until  the  Blaine  men  are  ready 
to  take  possession  of  the  Louisiana  delegation 
along  with  all  the  other  delegations  that  have 
been  set  up  carefully  for  tbe  man  who  is  seek¬ 
ing  popularity  at  the  expense  of  his  secretary 
of  state. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  April  22. 

— The  appointment  of  an  inspector  in  charge 
of  mails,  to  succeed  E.  G.  Kathbone,  who  re¬ 
signed  to  accept  the  appointment  of  fourth  as¬ 
sistant  postmaster-general,  will  probably  go  to 
New  York.  Inspector'  Wheelei\  of  that  state,  has 
been  strongly  indorsed  by  Hon.  Thomas  C.  Piatt,  and 
Senator  Hiscock,  and  it  is  believed  he  will  be  ap¬ 
pointed  in  a  few  days. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  June  I4. 

—The  notorious  Frederick  S.  Gibbs,  by  following  his 
usual  methods,  managed  to  win  in  the  special  re¬ 
publican  primary  in  the  thirteenth  assembly  dis¬ 
trict  last  night.  The  total  number  of  votes  cast  was 
836,  and  of  these  the  Gibbs  ticket  obtained  468  and 
the  Cowie-Sprague  ticket  360,  'giving  the  Gibbs 
crowd  100  majority.  Charles  T.  Polhemus  an- 
nonnetd  that  the  Cowle  faction  would  make  another 
protest.  Gibbs  made  a  speech  inviting  the  Cowie 
people  to  join  with  him,  but  they  know  too  much 
about  him. 

It  was  the  hottest  fought  primary  ever  held  in  that 
hotbed  of  republican  dissension,  and  it  was  held  on 
the  hottest  night  of  the  year.  This  mid-June  pri¬ 
mary  was  made  necessary  by  the  same  old  row  be¬ 
tween  the  Gibbs  and  Cowie  Sprague  factions.  At 
the  last  regular  primary,  held  in  January,  Gibbs’ 
dishonest  tactics  carried  his  ticket  through,  but  the 
county  committee  rejected  his  delegation,  ordered  a  , 
purging  of  the  roll,  a  re-enrollment  and  a  new  pri. 
mary.  This  latter  was  held  yesterday  in  Grand  Op¬ 
era  House  Hall,  the  old  battle  ground.  The  special 
committee,  of  which  ex-Ttlderman  James  W.  Hawes 
is  chairman,  had  the  matter  in  charge.  The  polls 
and  the  wrangling  both  opened  at  3  o’clock  and 
closed  at  9  o’clock.  When  the  latter  hour  was 
reached  about  500  people  were  still  in  line  anxious 
to  deposit  their  ballots.  The  scene  at  the  close  was 
one  of  intense  excitement. 

Many  characteristic  incidents  occurred.  Thomas 
Larkin,  a  republican  of  a  dozen  years  standing  in 
the  district,  was  challenged  by  William  II.  Reed,  of 
the  Cowie  forces.  His  only  answer  was  to  reach  over 
and  pull  Mr.  Reed’s  nose. 

Mr.  Charles  T.  Polhemus,  a  Cowie  man,  was  mak- 


242 


thp:  civil  service  chronicle. 


Allolmeiits  thus  acquired,  mutually  eiigafred such  as  accepted  them  to  defend  them;  and  as  they  all  sprau;?  from  the  same 
right  of  conquest,  no  part  could  subsist  independent  of  the  whole;  wherefore  all  givers  as  well  as  receivers  were  mutually  hound 
to  defend  each  other’s  possessions.  *  *  *  Every  receiver  (►f  lands,  or  feudatory,  was  therefore  hound  when  called  upon  hy  his 
hcnefactor,  or  immediate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to*  do  all  in  his  power  to  defend  him.  Such  benefactor  or  lord  was  likewise  sub¬ 
ordinate  to  and  under  the  command  of  his  immediate  henefj»ctor  and  superior  ;  and  so  upwards  to  the  prince  or  general  himself; 
and  the  several  lords  were  also  reciprocally  hound,  in  their  respective  gradations,  to  protect  the  possessions  they  had  given.  Thus 
the  feudal  connection  was  established,  a  pro])er  military  subjection  was  naturally  introduced  and  an  army  of  feudatories  was 
always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually  prepared  to  muster. — [Blackstone. 


ing  an  objection  when  Chairman  Howes  said;  ‘‘Well, 
why  didn’t  you  have  the  primary  called  for  all  day? 
W’e  wanted  it  so.” 

‘‘It  wouldn't  have  made  any  difference,”  said  Mr. 
Polhemus,  ‘‘they  are  all  democrats  here.” 

Soon  after  this  a  Gibbs  man  threw  a  billet  of  wood 
at  Mr.  Polhemus.  It  struck  him  behind  the  ear,  but 
he  was  not  badly  injured. — Aew  Vo.  k  Times,  June  16. 

— The  republicans  of  the  thirteenth  assembly  dis¬ 
trict  who  support  James  A.  Cowie  will  attack  the 
faction  led  by  cx-Senator  Gibbs  at  to-night’s  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  republican  county  committee,  by  im¬ 
pugning  the  validity  of  the  nominal  Gibbs  triumph 
at  the  recent  primary  election  The  following  me¬ 
morial  will  be  submitted  on  behalf  of  the  Cowie 
men : 

We  charge  that  said  frauds  and  irregularities  con¬ 
sisted  in : 

(1).  Filling  the  lines  of  voters  approaching  the  polls  at 
said  primary  election  with  large  mimbersof  well-known 
democrats  in  a  ffiliation  with  democratic  organizations, 
who  presented  Gibbs  t  ickets,  and,  when  challenged,  openly 
and  flagrantly  swore  themselves  in,  and  were  permitted  to 
vote  as  republicans,  to  the  exclusion  of  at  least  a  hun¬ 
dred  well  known  republicans  who  were  kept  waiting  in, 
the  line  from  two  to  three  hours,  and  were  finally  ex¬ 
cluded  from  the  privilege  of  voting  by  reason  of  the  lapse 
of  time  and  closing  of  the  polls;  that  upwards  of  one 
hundred  republicans  desirous  of  voting  the  Henry 
L.  Sprague  ticket  were  thus  excluded  from  the  priv¬ 
ilege  of  exercising  their  rights  as  republicans. 

(2.)  That  large  numbers  of  persons  were  improp¬ 
erly  forced  into  the  lines  of  voters,  displacing  those 
already  in  line,  who  were  thereby  deprived  of  their 
rights  and  privileges  of  voting. 

(3.)  That  a  large  nuniber  of  improper  persons  were  in¬ 
jected  into  the  room  through  the  side  doors  and  windows 
of  rooms  adjoining  the  room  in  which  the  primary  was 
being  held,  and  were  shoved  into  the  line  and  im¬ 
properly  allowed  to  vote. 

(4.)  That  many  persons,  well-known  democrats, 
were  improperly  allowed  to  vote  by  the  committee 
against  the  challenge  and  protest  of  the  watchers 
representing  the  Henry  L.  Sprague  ticket,  by  the 
committee  claiming  that  they  must  accept  the  votes 
of  any  and  all  persons  who  would  take  the  re»iuired 
oath  as  republican  electors. 

(5)  That  out  of  upwards  of  eight  hundred  names  of 
non-residents,  democrats,  deceased  persons,  and  dummies, 
removed  from  the  roll  by  your  committee  as  a  prediminary 
step  to  said  primary,  nearly  two  thirds  of  said  parties' 
names  were  subsequently  allowed  to  be  re  enrolled  upon 
the  list  of  enrolled  republican  voters  for  the 
thirteenth  assembly  district:  and  that  a  request  that 
written  affidavits  should  be  reijuired  from  said 
persons,  signed  by  them  at  the  time  of  presentation 
of  their  ballots  for  voting,  in  order  to  subse<iuently 
identify  the  fraudulent  democratic  voters  who  were 
allowed  to  participate  in  said  primary,  was  deniedi 
and  your  committee  disclaimed  any  right  so  to  do, 
and  no  such  precaution  was  allowed  to  be  taken. 

(6)  That  the  side  doors  leading  out  of  Grand 
Opera-house  Hall  into  the  Gibbs  headquarters  were, 
against  the  protest  of  the  undersigned,  allowed  to 
be  opened  and  remained  open,  and  access  to  and 


from  said  side  rooms  to  be  had,  during  the  entire 
time  of  holding  said  primary  election. 

(7)  The  undersigned  respectfully  call  your  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  fact  that  the  object  of  sending  a  com¬ 
mittee  into  the  thirteenth  assembly  district,  to  cor¬ 
rect  the  vile  practices  and  flagrant  abuses  that  have 
disrupted  and  divided  the  organization  of  the 
republican  party,  has  entirely  failed  to  accomplish 
the  purpose  intended;  and  that  instead  of  healing 
the  existing  differences,  that  portion  of  thercpublican 
organization  whose  candidates  are  sustained  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  republican  electors  at  the  polls  on  election 
day  are  entirely  excluded  from  any  participation  in  the 
management  of  their  own  local  political  affairs  —New 
York  Evening  Post,  June  18. 

— Curious  things  developed  at  last  night’s 
meeting  of  the  republican  county  committee 
held  in  Grand  Opera  House  Hall.  To  all  in¬ 
tents  and  purposes  the  notorious  political  char¬ 
latan,  Frederick  S.  Gibbs,  was  taken  back  into 
full  fellowship  in  the  county  committee. 
Nominally,  Gibbs  has  no  standing  in  the  re¬ 
publican  party,  but  last  night  he  sat  with  his 
new  delegation  to  the  county  committee  when 
it  was  welcomed  back.— iV.  Y.  Times,  June  19^ 

— Neither  political  party  has  been  fortunate 
in  its  selection  of  subordinate  officers  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  The  new  postmas¬ 
ter,  a  man  named  Hathaway,  is  now  in  trouble 
I  in  his  turn.  He  is  charged  with  putting  a 
j  man  on  the  roll  to  do  nothing  at  $100  per 
month,  and  discharging  a  hard-working  man 
from  Wisconsin  to  make  room  for  him.  He 
explains  the  matter  i-'.  what  he  seems  to  think 
a  wholly  innocent  way,  but  the  explanation 
throws  a  rather  ghastly  light  on  the  way  the 
offices  are  dealt  out  in  the  two  houses  of  Con¬ 
gress.  He  says,  according  to  an  interview  in 
the  Sunday  Gazette : 

The  facts  are  these :  After  I  had  been  elected 
postmaster  of  the  House  a  number  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  came  to  me  and  said  that  Wiscoiisin  had  too 
many  men  in  the  post- office,  and  that  I  ought  to  make 
some  changes.  Representative  Quackenbush  of  New 
York  urged  the  appointment  of  Mr.  O’Brien.  I 
told  Mr.  Quackenbush  that  I  would  like  to 
oblige  him  and  that  I  would  see  what  I  could 
do  for  O’Brien.  Toward  the  latter  part  of 
March  I  informed  the  Wisconsin  man  that  I 
was  going  to  appoint  O’Brien,  and  as  there 
were  five  men  charged  to  the  state  of  Wiscon 
sin  I  would  have  to  let  one  of  them  go  and 
that  they  could  fix  the  matter  up  among  them¬ 
selves.  It  was  then  suggested  that  the  man  to 
go  should  receive  $200  in  Hew  of  the  vacation 
which  I  had  learned  the  men  are  entitled  to 
during  the  summer.— IKasAm^fon  Dispatch  to 
Boston  Post,  June 

— The  custom-house  at  Portland,  Maine,  is 
likely  to  receive  the  early  attention  of  the 
treasury  officials  in  their  efforts  to  keep  the 


force  within  the  scanty  appropriations,  and 
several  inspectors  and  examiners  are  likely  to 
receive  notice  that  their  services  are  no  longer 
required.  The  Portland  custom-house  is  one 
of  the  most  exfiensive  in  the  country  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  amount  of  business  done.  The 
remarkable  expenditures  at  the  Portland  custom¬ 
house  are  due  to  the  great  influence  which  the 
Maine  delegation  has  wielded  in  congress.  The 
surveyor  and  deputy,  the  assistant  appraiser 
and  one  of  the  deputy  collectors  might  well 
be  abolished,  and  treasury  agents  have  often 
recommended  it,  hut  the  friends  of  “Tom”  Reed 
or  of  Senators  Hale  and  Fry  have  never  cared  to 
be  legislated  out  of  office  in  that  way.  While  the 
salaries  of  other  custom-houses  are  fixed  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  in 
proportion  to  the  work  done,  the  Portland  offi¬ 
cials  have  intrenched  themselves  behind  the 
statute  requirements,  which  their  friends  in 
congress  have  been  shrewd  enough  to  work  in¬ 
to  the  appropriation  bills. —  Washington  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Boston  Post,  May  SO. 

— This  evening’s  Ntar  says:  “Mr.  S.  D.  Miller, 
the  son  of  the  attorney-genera),  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  the  position  lately  vacated  by  Mr. 
Tolman,  chief  of  the  division  of  requisitions 
and  accounts  of  the  war  department,  and  has 
been  designated  as  private  secretary  by  Secre¬ 
tary  Proctor,  to  fill  the  position  which  has  re¬ 
mained  vacant  since  Mr.  Partridge  was  ap¬ 
pointed  solicitor  of  the  state  department,  in 
June,  1890. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  April  27. 

—George  Vest,  son  of  United  States  Senator 
George  G.  Vest,  escaped  from  St.  Vincent’s 
Insane  Asylum,  and  the  police  were  called 
upon  to  find  him,  which  they  did  this  evening. 
The  notification  given  the  police  of  his  escape 
was  the  first  information  anybody  except  his 
relatives  had  that  the  young  man  had  been 
sent  to  an  asylum. 

Young  Vest  is  thirty  years  old,  and  has 
lived  a  life  that  has  caused  his  father  a  great 
deal  of  trouble.  He  has  been  dissipated  and 
reckless,  but  not  criminal,  in  financial  mat¬ 
ters.  During  the  Cleveland  administration  his 
farther  secured  him  a  position  in  the  diplomatic  ser¬ 
vice,  but  he  had  to  resign  it.  He  was  placed  in 
St.  Vincent’s  Asylum  about  three  weeks  ago, 
and  it  was  given  out  that  he  had  gone  to  his 
brother’s  ranch  in  Montana. 

Friday  evening  he  escaped  from  the  attend¬ 
ants,  scaled  the  walls,  and  came  to  the  city. 
He  roamed  about  for  three  day.s,  but  did  no 
damage  to  himself  or  anybody  else.  He  is 
not  insane  but  in  a  sad  condition  from  dissi¬ 
pation. — St.  Louis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
April  19.  ’ 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St..  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  wiil  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  29.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JULY,  1891.  terms  fcenW/c“pT' 


Elsewhere  is  reproduced  from  the  Bos¬ 
ton  Herald  an  article  on  physical  exami¬ 
nations  of  firemen  and  policemen,  as  con¬ 
ducted  in  Boston.  The  article  is  copied  in 
the  hope  that  our  new  city  government 
may  compare  this  business  method  of  test¬ 
ing  applicants  with  our  own  ridiculous 
practice. 

The  next  examination  of  those  desiring 
places  in  the  Indianapolis  post-office  will 
be  held  in  this  city  in  August.  The  terri¬ 
tory  from  which  applicants  may  come  is 
not  limited.  The  character  of  the  local 
examining  board  insures  impartial  treat¬ 
ment.  The  practice  here  is  to  take  the 
highest  on  the  list  for  a  vacancy.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  competitors  will  come  for¬ 
ward  without  thought  of  their  politics. 


The  tax  situation  in  this  city  is  more 
strained  than  ever,  and  it  is  not  likely  to 
“ease  up”  of  itself  as  the  months  go  by  and 
tax-paying  time  approaches  next  year. 
Those  who  hold  out  that,  by  reason  of  a 
lower  rate,  only  about  the  same  amount  of 
taxes  will  have  to  be  paid,  are  mistaken. 
Taxes  will  be  heavily  increased.  We  pay 
about  a  thousand  dollars  a  week  for  clean¬ 
ing  and  repairing  streets.  Political  man¬ 
agers  may  think  that  this  department  can 
be  run  as  spoil  and  that  the  people  will  be 
contented.  This  also  is  a  mistake.  So 
long  as  this  system  continues  the  people 
will  believe  that  they  pay  for  something 
they  do  not  get.  Higher  taxes  will  inten¬ 
sify  this  belief  and  will  deepen  the  feeling 
against  the  piratical  practice.  A  street¬ 
cleaning  department  run  on  the  spoils 
system  is  one  of  the  many  ways  in  which 
Tammany  Hall  plunders  New  York,  and 
furnishes  a  warning  to  all  cities.  Now  and 
then  a  street  commissioner  may  be  better 
than  the  average,  and  may  temporarily  se¬ 
cure  efficiency;  but  the  system  remains 
and  is  a  constant  menace  to  honest  govern¬ 
ment,  and,  as  a  rule,  it  amply  justifies  its 
bad  character  by  its  works.  There  is  only 
one  way  to  deal  with  this  higher-taxed  peo¬ 
ple.  Every  dollar  of  the  money  must  be 
expended  so  as  to  bring  its  full  value.  And 
it  will  not  be  sufficient  for  the  people  to  be 
told  that  it  is  bringing  its  full  value;  the 
expenditures  must  be  under  such  a  system 
that  they  can  see  it  for  themselves.  In  the 
street  department  the  only  such  system  is 
the  Boston  labor  system. 


The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  July  15, 
says  of  the  new  city  charter : 

"Section  45  provides  that  the  mayor  shall  call  to¬ 
gether  the  heads  of  the  departments  at  least  once  a 
month.  ‘  Records  shall  be  kept  of  such  meetings, 
and  rules  and  regulations  shall  be  adopted  thereat 
for  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  city  de¬ 
partments,  which  regulations  shall  prescribe  a  com¬ 
mon  and  systematic  method  of  ascertaining  the  com¬ 
parative  fitness  of  applicants  for  office,  position  and 
promotion,  and  of  selecting,  appointing  and  pro¬ 
moting  those  found  to  be  best  fitted,  without  regard 
to  political  opinions  or  services.’  This  places  the 
whole  city  government  on  a  civil  service  basis,  and 
prohibits  any  appointments  to  subordinate  positions 
to  be  made  except  after  an  examination  as  to  fitness, 
‘  without  regard  to  political  opinions  or  services.’  ’’ 

As  the  Journal  remarks,  the  board  of 
public  safety,  including  the  police  and  fire 
divisions,  is  excepted  from  the  above  pro¬ 
visions.  But  with  regard  to  the  balance  of 
the  city  service  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
new  city  government  can  escape  this  plain 
requirement  of  the  law.  This  includes 
the  labor  ^service,  and  we  heartily  com¬ 
mend  to  the  mayor  and  the  heads  of  the 
departments,  assembled  as  above  required, 
the  Boston  labor  system  as  being  “  a  com¬ 
mon  and  systematic  method  *  *  *  of 
selecting,  appointing  aud  promoting”  la¬ 
borers  in  the  city  service.  And  the  police 
and  fire  divisions,  at  the  will  of  the  mayor, 
can  be  put  under  the  merit  system.  He 
has  but  to  notify  the  board  of  public  safety 
to  do  it  or  make  way  for  those  who  will. 
Does  the  new  city  government  intend  to 
continue  the  rule  of  favoritism  in  appoint¬ 
ments? 

The  Chronicle  last  month  gave  the 
facts  of  the  curious  action  of  the  hoard  of 
public  safety  regarding  the  superinten¬ 
dency  of  the  fire  alarm  telegraph  system. 
It  dismissed  two  competent  assistants  of 
the  superintendent,  and  gave  nearly  their 
united  salaries  to  ex-Alderman  James 
Riley.  Then  Riley’s  friends  gave  out  that 
when  he  learned  the  business  he  was  to 
succeed  the  superintendent,  Holderman. 
The  board  is  reported  to  have  dis¬ 
claimed  any  purpose  of  relieving  Holder- 
man,  but  he  was  to  coach  Riley,  and  then 
they  were  to  alternate  in  the  superintend¬ 
ency  every  other  month,  a  queer  looking 
innovation.  Holderman  firmly  declined 
this  method  of  relief.  The  publicity  given 
to  the  matter  possibly  suggested  to  some¬ 
body  the  political  inexpediency  of  the 
arrangement,  for  Mr.  Riley  later  resigned, 
and  stated  to  a  reporter  of  the  Indianapolis 


News,  June  30th:  “I  accepted  this  place 
with  the  understanding  that  after  the  end 
of  my  first  month’s  service,  or  as  soon  as  I 
should  become  familiar  with  the  tele¬ 
graphic  circuits,  I  would  be  installed  as 
superintendent  of  that  service,  and  that  I 
would  be  assisted  to  reach  that  position  by 
Mr.  Holderman,  who  at  present  is  superin¬ 
tendent.”  This  explanation  differs  from 
the  one  given  out  by  the  board  of  public 
works  bub  it  squares  with  appearances. 


According  to  the  Delphi  Journal,  the 
democrats  of  Carroll  county  in  this  state 
are  outstripping  the  republicans  in  the 
competitive  examinations  for  the  federal 
service.  And  from  the  tone  of  the  Brook- 
ville  American  it  would  seem  that  the  dem¬ 
ocrats  are  showing  the  same  superiority 
in  Franklin  county.  This  not  only  goes  to 
show  that  the  law  is  impartially  adminis¬ 
tered,  but  it  is  a  staggering  blow  at  the 
time- honored  supposition  that  the  stupid¬ 
ity  and  ignorance  of  the  country  is  to  be 
found  among  the  democrats,  and  especially 
among  Indiana  democrats.  Of  these  two 
republican  papers,  perhaps  the  Delphi 
Journal  takes  it  most  to  heart.  It  says : 

“  Yet  this  is  the  situation  here  In  Delphi.  And  it 
is  galling.  It  is  an  outrage  on  the  republicans  who 
work  in  the  trenches,  and  would  it  be  remarkable  if 
it  led  to  disaster?  Politics  is  largely  a  personal  mat¬ 
ter,  and  the  politician  who  does  not  know  this  to  be 
true  knows  nothing.” 

The  times  are  getting  to  be  bad  for  “per¬ 
sonal  ”  politics.  With  our  new  ballot  law, 
vote  selling  at  from  five  to  fifty  dollars 
each,  and  boodle-handling,  with  from  fifty 
to  one  hundred  per  cent,  commission  stick¬ 
ing  to  the  pocket  of  the  handler,  seem  to 
be  pretty  effectually  dead  industries.  And, 
in  time,  the  whole  crowd  now  living  by 
“  personal  ”  buccaneering  upon  the  public 
will  find  their  streams  of  profit  dried  up, 
to  their  great  discomfort  but  to  the  abound¬ 
ing  augmentation  of  the  common  weal. 


The  Indianapolis  News  has  been  question¬ 
ing  negroes  here  as  to  the  feeling  of  their 
race  toward  President  Harrison.  Dr.  S.  A. 
Elbert  thought  that  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
colored  people  of  the  state  were  opposed 
to  Harrison,  and  said,  when  asked  if  three 
good  offices  given  to  colored  men  would 
not  change  the  sentiment,  “Well,  that 
might  have  some  effect,  but  the  feeling  is 
strong.”  Editor  E.  H.  Cooper,  of  the  Free- 


244 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


man  when  asked  the  ground  of  opposition 
said : 

“He  has  appointed  to  office  those  who  were  not  in¬ 
terested  in  his  candidacy  nor  the  party.  Any  policy 
that  follows  out  to  the  letter  the  civil  service  regu¬ 
lations  is  bound  to  bring  on  unpopularity.  The  civii 
service  law,  in  its  operation  here,  it  is  true,  has 
helped  the  colored  race,  as  there  are  more  colored 
people  in  the  post-office  than  heretofore.  Manj  of 
these  in  office  were  not  Harrison  republicans,  and 
while  the  law  makes  places  for  them,  at  the  same 
tinre  Harrison  does  nothing  for  representative  col¬ 
ored  men  who  were  actively  for  him  in  the  conven¬ 
tion  and  the  campaign.” 

Rev.  John  H.  Clay  said :  “  The  source 
of  disaffection  is  that  Harrison  has  disre¬ 
garded  the  colored  people  of  his  own  state, 
whe  are  deserving  of  representation.” 
Frank  B.  Allen,  of  the  Freeman,  said : 
“Indiana  negroes  have  not  been  treated 
justly.  No  positions  of  importance  have 
been  given  them,  at  least  no  positions  com¬ 
mensurate  with  the  importance  of  the  col¬ 
ored  vote  of  this  state.”  Rev.  G.  A.  Sissel, 
said:  “The  colored  voters  have  not  re¬ 
ceived  offices  in  any  sort  of  proportion  to 
their  services.”  Alfred  Banks,  said :  “The 
offices  received  have  been  no  credit  to  the 
race.”  Rev.  James  A.  Davis,  said:  “We 
of  the  west  have  received  really  noth¬ 
ing.” 

The  best  that  can  be  said  of  this  is  that 
these  colored  men  do  not  take  a  more 
sordid  view  of  citizenship,  have  no  keener 
feeling  that  “support”  ought  to  be  paid 
for  in  offices,  do  not  hold  stronger  views 
that  politics  are  merely  “personal”  mat¬ 
ters,  and  are  not  on  any  lower  plane 
than  the  white  critics  of  President  Har¬ 
rison,  whose  sayings  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  gave  last  month.  And  the  re¬ 
mark  may  be  repeated  that  there  are  pow¬ 
erful  and  manly  reasons  why  Harrison 
should  not  be  renominated,  but  the  fact 
that  certain  men  have  not  been  quartered 
upon  the  people  is  not  one  of  them. 

Some  time  ago  the  despatches  from 
Washington  stated  to  the  country  that 
Dan  Ransdell,  marshal  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  would  go  on  a  trip  to  Europe. 
Then  by  the  same  medium  it  was  told  that 
the  state  department  had  given  him  a  pass¬ 
port  ;  then  that  the  government  had  given 
him  a  circular  letter  commending  him  to 
all  United  States  officers  abroad ;  then  that 
he  had  sailed  and  would  leave  his  children 
to  be  educated  in  Europe.  Thus  the 
American  aristocracy  of  office-holders 
thrives  and  enjoys  itself.  Ransdell  had 
grown  rich  out  of  office-holding,  as  a  result 
of  machine  management,  before  President 
Harrison  gave  him  his  present  place  as  a 
reward  for  personal  service.  True  to  his 
political  ideas,  he  gave  one  place  in  the 
marshal’s  office  to  his  brother-in-law, 
Leonard,  whose  last  office  had  been  the 
collectorship  of  customs  at  Indianapolis. 
He  gave  another  place  to  his  brother,  Ed. 


Ransdell,  who  had  pleaded  guilty  in  the 
United  States  court  here  to  the  charge  of 
robbing  the  mails,  and  had  been  pardoned 
by  President  Hayes,  not  because  he  de¬ 
served  to  be  pardoned,  but  because  of  the 
political  influence  Dan  Ransdell  was  able 
to  bring  to  bear.  Doubtless  Leonard  and 
Ed.  Ransdell  will  take  a  trip  to  Europe 
later.  In  the  meantime,  the  re-elevation  of 
this  crowd  into  the  line  of  public  vision  is 
a  good  vote-maker  in  Indiana. 

The  death  of  Joseph  E.  McDonald  re¬ 
moves  a  respected  and  prominent  man 
from  Indiana.  He  was  not  a  great  man 
any  more  than  was  the  late  Mr.  Hendricks. 
As  public  men  both  busied  themselves  only 
with  current  public  business.  With  both, 
but  more  with  Mr.  Hendricks,  the  problem 
usually  was  what  treatment  of  a  present 
public  question  will  best  conduce  to  the 
present  success  of  the  party.  A  great  man 
not  only  treats  current  affairs  with  ability 
and  honesty,  but  he  looks  into  the  future 
and  recognizes  those  great  measures  which, 
when  adopted,  mark  an  epoch  in  his  coun¬ 
try’s  history.  To  bring  about  such  a 
change  is  his  great  work.  Thus  Cavour 
patiently  built  up  the  kingdom  of  Italy, 
and  Bismark  the  German  empire,  and 
Gladstone  works  for  Irish  home-rule. 
When  a  question  pertaining  to  the  rou¬ 
tine  of  all  governments  came  up,  like  rev¬ 
enue  or  coinage,  Mr.  McDonald  always  had 
decided  opinions  about  it;  Mr.  Hendricks 
less  so.  Neither  ever  recognized  the  great¬ 
ness  of  the  slavery  question.  In  1844  Mr. 
McDonald  advocated  tariff  reform,  which 
was  followed  by  the  tariff-reform  message 
of  President  Polk,  and  this  by  the  tariff 
reform  act  of  1846.  Then  and  afterwards, 
with  Mr.  Hendricks,  he  completely  failed 
to  comprehend  the  heroic  relief  his  coun¬ 
try  needed — the  abolition  of  slavery.  In 
1888,  the  tariff  pendulum  had  swung  back 
farther  than  ever,  and  both,  following  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  message,  which  was  very  like 
President  Polk’s,  were  advocating  a  tariff- 
reform  measure  similar  to  that  of  1846 
They  gave  Mr.  Cleveland  no  support  in 
what  he  attempted  to  do  against  the  spoils 
system.  Here  again  both  utterly  failed  to 
comprehend  the  great  measure  of  relief 
their  country  needed,  and  still  needs— the 
destruction  of  the  practice  of  using  public 
office  to  pay  personal  or  party  debts  which 
now  pervades  every  hamlet,  town  and  city 
throughout  the  United  States  wherever 
there  is  a  public  office,  great  or  small. 

Ex-Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray  is  men¬ 
tioned  as  a  presidential  candidate.  If  he 
lived  anywhere  but  in  the  necessary  state 
of  Indiana,  such  mention  might  not  be 
noticed.  Still,  in  his  kind  of  politics  he 
is  “  no  fool.”  He  was  formerly  a  repub¬ 
lican,  and  as  such  has  a  “  soldier  record.” 


For  some  inscrutable  reason  he  turned 
democrat  at  a  time  when  his  new  party 
had  no  opinions  or  principles  to  speak  of 
and  when  its  attitute  was  chiefly  denuncia¬ 
tory.  He  jostled  the  old  party  mortgagees, 
Hendricks,  McDonald  and  Voorhees,  very 
unpleasantly.  Sometimes  he  played  fan¬ 
tastic  tricks,  as  when  with  a  baker  he  de¬ 
feated  Mr.  McDonald  seeking  to  be  a  dele¬ 
gate  to  the  democratic  national  convention 
of  1888.  He  now  has  a  good  grip  on  his 
party  machine  in  Indiana,  and  will  control 
the  delegates.  The  boys  will  be  interested 
in  knowing  that  notwithstanding  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  well  known  attitude  and  prin¬ 
ciples  relating  to  the  civil  service,  declared 
on  so  many  occasions,  yet  at  a  jubilee  meet¬ 
ing  held  here  November  11,  1884,  a  few 
days  after  the  latter’s  election,  Mr.  Gray 
said,  according  to  the  Sentinel  of  the  next 
morning : 

"  One  of  the  peculiar  phases  of  the  campaign  just 
past,  and,  I  think,  the  most  peculiar  that  I  have  ever 
seen  in  any  canvass  I  have  ever  been  engaged  in,  is 
that  our  republican  friends  put  forth  an  argument 
to  the  people  that  if  the  democratic  party  obtained 
control  of  the  government,  it  would  turn  the  repub¬ 
lican  office-holders  out.  Of  course  we  will;  there  is 
no  doubt  about  it.  This  has  been  a  contest  between 
parties.  There  have  always  been  political  parlies  in 
this  country,  ever  since  the  formation  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  and  I  presume  there  always  will  be.  The  re¬ 
publican  party,  in  its  long  twenty-four  years’  lease 
of  power,  has  filled  the  offices  exclusively  with  re- 
publicaus.  That  was  right.  When  the  democratic 
party  obtains  control  of  the  government,  which  will 
be  on  the  fourth  of  March  next,  then  we  will  expect 
the  offices,  as  rapidly  as  can  be  done  with  safety  to 
the  proper  administration  of  governmental  affairs,  to 
be  filled  with  democrats." 


The  Indianapolis  Journal's  Washington 
correspondent  says  in  that  paper,  July  23: 
“Colonel  Dudley  has,  however,  repeatedly 
assured  his  friends  that  he  is  done  with 
politics,  and  that  he  only  desires  the  in¬ 
dorsement  of  his  political  activity  by  his 
election  as  a  delegate-at-large  from  Indiana 
to  the  next  convention.”  A  party  machine 
is  usually  slow  in  giving  one  of  its  mem¬ 
bers  the  cold  shoulder,  but  it  would  be  a 
bold  thing,  indeed,  for  the  Indiana  repub- 
can  machine  to  make  this  unpunished 
scoundrel  a  delegate-at-large. 


The  following  telegrams  explain  them¬ 
selves  : 

Washington,  June  20. 

Prof.  Francis  M.  Nipher: 

W’hat  are  your  politics  ? 

J.  Rusk,  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Prof.  Nipher  telegraphed  in  reply : 

Replying  to  your  telegram  as  requested,  I  respect¬ 
fully  state  that  I  am  not  a  politician,  and  do  not  in¬ 
tend  to  engage  in  politics. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  but  that  the 
information  was  sought  by  Secretary  Rusk 
with  a  view  of  giving  it  weight  in  deter¬ 
mining  his  choice  of  a  new  head  of  the 
weather  bureau.  It  will  come  to  be  one  of 
the  curiosities  of  our  political  history  that 
a  secretary’s  mind  could  be  so  constructed 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


245 


as  to  prompt  such  an  inquiry  in  relation  to 
the  duties  of  an  oflBce  which  can  not  be 
made  to  relate  to  politics  without  detri¬ 
ment  to  the  public  service.  There  have 
always  been  men  who  could  tell  more  of 
themselves  in  a  sentence  than  they  or  any 
one  else  could  in  a  volume.  Flannagan, 
of  Texas,  is  one;  Secretary  Rusk  is  an¬ 
other. 

By  inference  a  stigma  is  put  upon  the 
actual  appointee,  Professor  Mark  W.  Har¬ 
rington,  which  we  do  not  believe  is  justi¬ 
fied.  He  is  thoroughly  equipped  educa¬ 
tionally  and  scientifically.  He  will  have  to 
show,  however,  that  he  is  not  a  partisan 
tool  of  those  above  him.  He  will  have  to 
do  this,  not  in  a  mild  and  obscure  way,  but 
by  openly  running  his  department  on  the 
merit  system,  and  giving  out  that  appli¬ 
cants  of  all  shades  of  politics  will  stand  an 
equal  chance.  Nothing  short  of  this  will 
clear  the  public  mind  of  suspicion. 

The  present  boss  of  Tammany  Hall  is 
the  well-known  Croker,  while  the  boss  of 
the  Brooklyn  democracy  is  the  equally 
well-known  McLaughlin.  The  Brooklyn 
bridge  patronage  (composed  of  divers 
major  and  minor  public  trusts)  had  been 
distributed  by  Boss  McLaughlin,  but  un¬ 
der  the  rules  of  modern  buccaneering.  Boss 
Croker  got  it  away  from  him.  Now  Boss 
Croker  desires  to  have  Roswell  P.  Flower 
made  the  party  candidate  for  governor 
But  Boss  McLaughlin  says  that  unless  the 
captured  patronage  is  returned  to  him,  he 
will  prevent  Flower’s  nomination.  Thus 
the  matter  stands,  and  it- is  a  clear  and 
happy  illustration  of  how  enterprising  men 
may  may  come  to  dictate  officers  great  and 
small  to  4,000,000  of  people  and  also  may 
fall  out  in  the  process  and  lead  on  the  boys 
in  a  glorious  fight  of  faction  against  faction 
over  the  division  of  spoils  captured  from, 
a  cowardly  commonwealth. 

Ex-Headsman  Clarkson,  president  of 
the  national  league  of  republican  clubs,  has 
got  back  from  Europe,  and  had  a  dinner, 
at  ten  dollars  a  plate,  given  him  at  Manhat¬ 
tan  Beach,  New  York,  by  the  big  boss, 
Tom  Platt,  and  several  little  bosses  and 
some  office-holders.  United  States  Marshal 
John  W.  Jacobus,  Internal  Revenue  Col¬ 
lector  Kerwin,  Chief  Inspector  of  Immi¬ 
grants  John  E.  Milholland,  Assistant  Ap¬ 
praiser  Dennis  Burke,  Postmaster  Van 
Cott,  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Walker 
and  the  President’s  son,  Russell  B.  Harri¬ 
son.  Boss  Platt,  under  whose  command 
the  President  has  dealt  out  New  York 
spoil,  aptly  introduced  Clarkson  as  follows : 

“  We  have  met,  my  friends,  to  do  honor 
“  and  welcome  home  a  distinguished  Amer- 
“  ican  citizen,  one  whom  we  not  only  re- 
“  spect,  but  love;  we  love  him  for  the  heads 
“he  has  cut  off,  and  we  love  him  because 
“the  mugwump  hates  him.” 


Collector  Beard  at  Boston  explains 
that  the  reason  why  the  thirteen  employes 
dismissed  by  him  to  reduce  the  force  hap¬ 
pened  to  be  democrats,  was  because  he 
chose  from  those  appointed  by  Collector 
Saltonstall.  He  says  that  these  can  more 
easily  find  new  employment  than  those 
who  are  older  and  have  been  longer  in  one 
line  of  service.  Even  Massachusetts,  slow 
as  she  is  to  dispute  a  man’s  word,  will 
hardly  accept  this  explanation  without 
winking.  In  the  plain-spoken  west  it  will 
be  truthfully  put  down  as  the  explanation 
of  a  smart  republican  politician  who  was 
determined  to  serve  his  party  first,  and 
therefore  took  the  course  by  which  he 
could  hit  the  most  democrats.  And  it  will 
further  be  truthfully  said  that  in  so  doing 
Collector  Beard  squarely  violated  his  oath, 
which  requires  him  to  faithfully  perform 
the  duties  of  his  trust,  and  one  of  those  du¬ 
ties  is,  when  reducing  his  force,  to  dismiss, 
not  a  class  of  men  because  they  were  ap¬ 
pointed  at  a  particular  time,  but  the  men 
who  are  of  the  least  efficiency  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  service,  no  matter  when  they  were  ap¬ 
pointed. 

THE  FUNDAMENTAL  FALLACY. 

Referring  to  the  statement  of  the  anti- 
Quay  organization  of  Pennsylvania,  that 
the  fundamental  fallacy  of  the  Quay  theory 
of  politics  is  that  “  public  ofiices  are  spoils, 
the  lawful  property  of  the  politicians  who 
capture  them  and  by  whom  they  are  dis¬ 
pensed  in  turn  to  their  underlings  as  the 
prizes  of  war,”  some  tariff-reform  papers 
argue  that  the  protective  tariff  system  is 
the  real  fundamental  fallacy,  and  they  so 
advise  the  Pennsylvania  reformers.  The 
Quayism  of  Tammany  Hall  and  of  Gorman 
and  Raisin  run  neck  and  neck  with  the 
Quayism  of  Pennsylvania.  The  tariff-re¬ 
form  administration  of  President  Cleve¬ 
land  looted  more  than  100,000  federal 
offices,  as  has  the  present  protective  tar¬ 
iff  administration.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  thousands  of  Pennsylvania  re¬ 
publicans  want  to  keep  down  opposition 
to  Quayism  for  fear  that  protection  will  suf¬ 
fer,  just  as  thousands  of  Maryland  demo 
crats  in  1888  voted  to  support  Gorman  lest 
tariff  reform  should  suffer.  The  protec¬ 
tionist  office-holder  of  Pennsylvania  robbed 
the  public  treasury ;  so  did  the  tariff-reform 
ofidce-holder  of  Maryland.  The  spoil  of 
office  is  the  one  great  prize  which  parties 
fight  for  in  a  campaign.  With  absolute 
free  trade,  we  should  have  Quayism  as 
powerful,  as  insolent,  as  extended,  and  as 
thoroughly  gifted  with  the  nine  lives  of  a 
cat  as  now.  It  is  a  flourishing  relic  of 
monarchy  and  has  always  existed  where 
there  have  been  offices  to  be  given  out  to 
reward  allegiance;  and  this  has  been  true 
without  any  regard  to  trade  or  commerce 


or  legislation.  And  in  our  modern  strug¬ 
gle,  protective  republicans  of  Pennsylvania 
have  not  shrunk  from  their  duty,  but  on 
the  other  hand  have  given  valuable  lessons 
to  such  states  as  Maryland  and  New  York; 
and  this  is  written  in  the  individual  belief 
that  the  protective  principle  is  wrong. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

For  never  land  long  lease  of  empire  won, 

Whose  sons  sate  silent  when  base  deeds  were  done. 

—Lowell. 

What  is  the  matter  with  Pennsylvania  and 
with  the  newspapers  of  Philadelphia?  This 
is  the  exclamation  of  the  country,  which  can 
not  reconcile  the  present  condition  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  with  the  sterling  cl>aracter  her  peo¬ 
ple  have  borne  for  more  than  a  hundred  years. 
Has  that  character  become  debased?  Have 
the  people  become  so  generally  debauched  that 
they  can  not  raise  their  heads  above  the  flood 
of  public  corruption  and  crime  that  now  rolls 
over  them  ?  The  answer  to  these  questions 
will  depend  upon  the  way  in  which  these  peo¬ 
ple  deal  with  the  matters  now  before  them.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  enlarge  upon  Quayism.  No 
pirate  ever  ruled  his  ship  more  absolutely  than 
Quay  rules  the  party  machine  in  his  state. 
No  maurauding  feudal  chief  ever  had  his 
tribute-paying  neighbors  in  more  cowardly 
subjection  than  Quay  apparently  has  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  Pennsylvania  to-day.  He  was  branded 
a  gigantic  thief,  and  waited  many  months, 
seemingly  afraid  to  deny.  In  the  campaign 
which  followed  during  this  unmistakable  con¬ 
fession  of  guilt,  not  a  single  Philadelphia 
paper  dared  to  attack  him.  A  few  republi¬ 
cans,  the  usual  “coach-load,”  publicly  de¬ 
clined  to  wear  that  kind  of  a  collar,  and 
throughout  the  state  they  proclaimed  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  anti-bossism  and  honesty  in  public 
affairs.  They  turned  80,000  republican  ma¬ 
jority  into  a  minority  of  17,000,  and  won  the 
most  astonishing  victory  that  has  ever  been 
gained  by  any  set  of  men  in  the  war  against 
bossism.  After  this  trial  of  his  own  choosing, 
and  after  this  conviction  before  the  people  of 
his  state.  Quay  offered  his  denial.  Even  then 
the  country  would  have  permitted  him  to  join 
the  issue  if  he  had  called  the  evidence  which 
he  alone  could  call.  He  refused  to  call  Wayne 
MacVeagh  and  Senator  Cameron,  whose  word 
would  instantly  fix  his  guilt  or  innocence.  He 
still  remains  chairman  of  the  national  repub¬ 
lican  committee  and  boss  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  meantime  his  chief  henchman,  John 
Wanamaker,  is  affording  another  illustra¬ 
tion  of  Quayism.  A  successful  shopkeeper, 
he  undertook  the  work  of  collecting  a  cam¬ 
paign  fund  for  Quay,  and  did  collect  and  turn 
over,  by  common  report,  $400,000.  He  made 
an  improper  suggestion  that  one  of  the  great 
railroads  should  contribute  a  large  sum  to 
this  fund,  but  he  failed  to  get  the  money.  It 
is  more  than  probable  that  for  his  success  in 
raising  this  fund  he  was  made  postmaster- 
general.  A  great  robbery  of  public  money  has 
taken  place  in  Philadelphia,  and  this  in  inex¬ 
tricable  connection  with  the  Keystone  na- 


246 


k 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


tional  bank,  an  institution  originally  a  nurs¬ 
ling  of  Wanamaker’s,  and  which  has  failed. 
To  this  business  Mr.  Wanamaker  is  tied  by 
cords  from  which  a  due  respect  for  the  public 
imperatively  demands  that  he  loose  himself;  he 
has  not  so  far  done  so.  For  instance,  he  said 
he  never  owned  any  stock  in  the  bank,  but 
that  he  once  held  2,515  shares  given  him  by 
the  president,  Lucas,  upon  which  to  raise 
money  to  carry  on  a  deal  in  Reading  stock  in 
which,  at  his  suggestion,  he  and  Lucas  were 
jointly  engaged.  Lucas  died,  and  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  president.  Marsh,  in  December,  1890, 
told  Wanamaker  that  this  stock  was  fraudu¬ 
lently  issued.  The  latter  tells  what  followed 
later; 

“Granville  B.  Haines  and  Lawyer  Huey,  with 
Marsh,  came  to  Washington  and  saw  me  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  some  settlement  of  the  claim  I  had  against 
the  stock.  I  said  that  up  to  that  time  no  person  ex¬ 
cept  Marsh  had  called  the  legality  of  the  stock  into 
question.  Now  that  the  vice-president  of  the  bank 
and  Mrs.  Lucas’  lawyer  added  their  testimony,  I  felt 
obliged  to  say  that  they  must  either  settle  with  me 
or  I  could  not,  in  justice  to  myself,  allow  the  con¬ 
troller  of  the  currency  to  longer  remain  in  ignorance 
of  the  fact  that  it  was  claimed  that  there  had  been 
an  Illegal  issue  of  stock.’’ 

He  then  was  and  had  been  a  cabinet-officer. 
It  was  the  duty  of  the  administration  of  which 
he  is  a  member  to  watch  this  and  all  other 
national  banks.  He  knew  that  a  fraudulent 
issue  of  stock  rendered  a  bank  unfit  to  be 
trusted  in  any  particular.  Yet  for  months  he 
kept  from  Controller  Lacey  the  fact  that  such 
an  issue  was  charged  against  the  Keystone 
bank.  Morever,  he,  in  effect,  oflered  to  con¬ 
tinue  the  concealment  if  they  would  “settle” 
with  him.  At  last,  on  March  19,  1891,  Lacey 
found  it  out  from  Marsh  and  then  closed  the 
bank.  In  the  meantime,  depositors  had,  for 
months,  been  let  to  hand  their  money  over  to 
a  bank  that  was  not  worth  its  office  furniture. 
In  the  meantime,  also,  Wanamaker’s  firm, 
which  had  $400,000  on  deposit  in  November, 
drew  out  until  it  had  about  nothing  in  this 
bank  when  it  was  closed,  March  19. 

These  facts  are  taken  from  a  considerable 
list  of  the  same  kind  and  serve  for  illustra¬ 
tion.  The  city  councils  of  Philadelphia  ap¬ 
pointed  a  committee  “  to  make  a  thorough 
investigation.”  Quayism  again  gets  in  its 
work.  No  cross-examiner  appears.  What¬ 
ever  Wanamaker  and  the  other  actors  in  this 
financial  tragedy  care  to  tell,  they  tell.  In  the 
middle  of  the  play  thus  made  a  farce,  the 
Philadelphia  papers,  having  previous  to  the 
general  wreck  paid  forty  per  cent,  commission 
to  the  wreckers  for  public  advertising  without 
ever  calling  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the 
patent  rascality  of  the  transaction,  are  true  to 
Quayism  still.  The  Ledger  says  June  9,  1891 : 

“All  the  other  hints,  innuendoes,  insinuations, 
and  accusations  fade  away  in  the  same  manner  be¬ 
fore  the  clear  and  open  light  of  Mr.  Wanamaker’s 
testimony ;  they  dissolve  into  thin  air,  mere  baseless 
gossip  and  slander — and  ‘leave  not  a  rack  behind.’  ’’ 

With  public  opinion  thus  warped  and 
smothered  by  Quayism,  it  was  to  be  expected 
hat  individual  effort  would  again  be  disposed 
to  try  its  strength.  We  have  therefore  the  ad¬ 
dress  published  in  another  column.  This  is  the 


hardest  public  duty  a  citizen  has  to  do,  and  it 
is  especially  hard  where,  as  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  dry-rot  of  Quayism  has  penetrated  far  and 
wide  into  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men. 
In  the  long  run,  a  small  number  of  fearless 
men,  who  are  free  from  taint  of  haying  profit¬ 
ed  by  the  spoils  methods  of  many  decades  of 
bossism,  will  because  they  are  right,  impress 
the  right  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this 
great  state,  and  they  will  therefore  triumph. 

POLICEMEN  AND  FIREMEN. 

The  Competitive  Physical  Tests  Applied 
in  Boston. 

[From  the  Boston  Herald,  June  21, 1891.] 
Would  you,  kind  reader,  a  “peeler”  be? 
Would  you  become  a  fireman  bold?  Do  you 
desire  to  become  a  member  of  either  of  these 
great  protective  departments?  Then  you 
must  understand  at  the  very  outset  that  it  is  a 
rather  difficult  examination  which  the  civil 
service  commissioners  impose  upon  all  appli¬ 
cants.  This,  too,  before  they  can  even  be  en¬ 
tered  upon  the  lists  of  eligibles  from  which 
names  may  be  certified  for  appointment.  To 
get  upon  those  lists,  it  is  only  fair  to  assume, 
no  person  on  earth  but  yourself  can  or  will 
aid  you. 


The  fact  is  proverbial  that  “  the  policeman’s 
lot  is  not  a  happy  one.”  That  was  made 
known  by  the  “Pirates  of  Penzance”  years 
ago.  Yet  the  truth  remains  as  great  to-day  as 
it  was  then.  Still,  there  are  many  young  men 
who  seem  an:fious  for  appointment  to  the 
force  in  order  that  they  may  be  enabled  to 
share  its  sorrows  and  emoluments.  Concern¬ 
ing  the  life  of  a  policeman,  there  are  very 
many  interesting  things.  And  this  is  equally 
true  of  the  firemen’s  occupation. 

But  none  is  any  more  entertaining  than  the 
course  of  mental  and  physical  “sprouts” 
through  which  the  candidate  has  to  go  before 
he  can  become  part  of  either  department.  It 
is  in  these  anti-official  struggles  that  the  can¬ 
didate  is  often  left  by  the  wayside,  when  he 
must  succumb  to  the  inevitable  before  he  has 
even  caught  sight  of  the  “promised  land” 
of  the  blue  and  the  brass,  the  helmet  and  the 
baton,  or  the  right  to  run  with  the  machine, 
which  he  is  seeking  with  all  his  might. 

The  work  done  by  the  civil  service  commis- 


ers  may  be  unpopular  in  certain  directions 
and  among  certain  classes  of  the  community, 
who  either  do  not  or  will  not  understand  it, 
and  consider  it  in  a  spirit  of  fairness.  Their 
examinations  may  be  considered  by  some  citi¬ 
zens  to  be  tiresome  and  aggravating,  and  cov¬ 
ered  with  red  tape,  yet  it  is  plainly  apparent 
that  there  is  no  class  of  public  servants  who 
have  been  so  benefited  by  it  as  the  police  and 
firemen  of  this  city.  There  can  be  no  ques¬ 
tion  that  the  stringent  regulations  im- 
possed  by  the  civil  service  board  have  done  a 
great  deal  to  relieve  the  force  of  much  of  any 
odium  which  may  have  existed  in  former 
years. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Brown,  who  was  long  the  medical 
director  of  the  Boston  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Union  Gymnasium,  has  been  for  several 
years  in  charge  of*  the  official  physical  exam¬ 
ination  which,  under  the  auspices  of  the  hoard 
of  civil  service  commissioners,  are  made  of 
applicants  for  places  in  either  of  the  two  great 
departments  of  Boston’s  protective  service — 
the  fire  and  police.  He  holds  a  similar  posi¬ 
tion  in  connection  with  the  civil  service  ex¬ 
amining  board  of  New  York  City.  Although 
yet  quite  a  young  man — being  under  thirty — 
Dr.  Brown  has,  by  his  energy  and  ability,  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  securing  a  place  in  the  confidence  of 
the  city  fathers  in  both  these  great  cities, 
which  makes  his  future  certain. 

The  object  of  these  examinations  is,  of 
course,  easily  apparent,  being  to  secure  men 
of  exceptionally  fine  physique  to  be  the  guar¬ 
dians  of  Boston’s  streets  and  homes.  The 
men  selected  for  the  fire  and  police  depart¬ 
ments,  under  the  present  rules,  are  fine  fel¬ 
lows,  of  more  than  average  intelligence, 
sound  as  a  dollar,  and  of  remarkably  fine 
physique. 

A  visit  was  made  recently  by  the  writer  to 
the  gymnasium  in  police  station  16,  at  the 
Baek  Bay,  while  Dr.  Brown  was  conducting 
examinations. 

It  will  scarcely  be  a  difficult  matter  to  per¬ 
suade  any  one  that  physical  strength,  good  de¬ 
velopment  and  a  fair  amount  of  agility  are 
essential  for  good,  practical  police  and  fire¬ 
men.  It  is  not  only  necessary  that  a  police¬ 
man  should  have  good  hearing  and  eyesight, 
so  as  to  hear  and  see  a  thief,  but  also  that  he 
should  be  able  to  run  fast  enough  to  catch 
him,  and  should  be  strong  enough  to  hold  him 
after  he  has  caught  him.  He  should  be  able 
to  have  more  than  an  average  chance  in  a 
tussle ;  he  should  not  be  lacking  in  the  muscles 
necessary  to  make  a  good  horseman,  his  grip 
should  be  good,  he  should  be  able  to  climb 
out  on  a  roof  if  necessary,  and  he  should  have 
good  endurance  in  all  the  physical  work  re¬ 
quired  of  him. 

For  these  purposes  it  is  necessary  that  a 
policeman  should  have  a  fair  height,  which  is 
fixed  at  no  less  than  5  feet  8  inches  ;  that  his 
chest  should  be  in  proper  proportion  to  his 
stature;  that  his  girth  of  waist  should  be 
neither  too  large  nor  too  small  for  his  height; 
that  the  capacity  and  strength  of  his  lungs, 
the  strength  of  his  back,  legs,  upper  and  fore- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


247 


♦ 


I 


arms,  abdominal  muscles,  etc.,  should  all  be 
up  to  a  certain  standard.  It  is  obvious  that 
it  would  not  be  advisable  to  have  long,  thin 
men,  or  men  too  short  and  stout. 

**»*  -*»»* 

Having  run  the  intellectual  gauntlet  suc¬ 
cessfully,  the  candidate  was  punched,  thumped 
and  twisted  by  the  regular  examining  phy¬ 
sician,  made  to  give  his  family  history,  and 
name  the  causes  of  death  of  all  his  departed 
brothers,  and  his  “sisters,  and  his  cousins  and 
his  aunts,”  in  the  determined  search  for  any 
hereditary  taint. 

All  these  ordeals  has  the  young  man  gone 
through,  and  now  he  has  come  to  station 
16.  Here  we  see  him,  fairly  trembling  as 
his  eye  takes  in  the  curious  and  awful  in¬ 
struments  which  are  about  to  be  used  by  Ex¬ 
aminer  Brown,  in  finally  testing  his  fitness  for 
a  place. 

“  Now,  then,  young  man,”  said  Dr.  Brown, 
“take  off  your  coat  and  vest.”  This  the  can¬ 
didate  obeyed  with  considerable  apparent 
trepidation,  and  submitted  to  some  punching 
and  pounding,  and  looked  half  scared  while 
the  examiner  made  a  record  of  his  respiration 
and  temperature. 


Then  the  young  man  is  directed  to  try  his 
hand  at  climbing  a  rope,  sailor  fashion,  being 
first  kindly  admonished  by  the  examiner  not 
to  get  nervous,  but  to  take  time  and  do  his 
best. 

The  young  fellow  seized  the  thick  rope  and 
went  hand  over  hand  to  the  ceiling,  and  came 
down  again  with  the  same  movement,  occupy¬ 
ing  only  a  very  few  seconds  in  the  exercise. 

As  he  stepped  back  his  pulse  and  respira¬ 
tion  were  again  taken.  Then  he  was  con¬ 
ducted  to  a  long  ladder  suspended  horizon¬ 
tally  about  eight  feet  above  the  floor,  and 
told  to  jump  and  catch  a  round,  and  take 
himself  hand  over  hand  to  the  farther  end 


and  return,  which  he  did  nimbly.  Eespira- 
tion  was  again  noted. 

The  candidate  was  then  direeted  to  climb 
an  inclined  ladder,  going  up  on  the  under 
side,  round  by  round,  while  his  feet  hung  mo¬ 
tionless.  Respiration  taken,  and  carefully 
compared. 

The  idea  of  these  tests  is  to  judge  of  the 
wind  and  staying  powers  as  well  as  the  nerve 
of  the  applicant  for  an  appointment. 

The  young  man  was  then  required  to  run 
several  laps  around  the  gymnasium,  and  re¬ 
quired  to  lift  above  his  head,  first  with  the 
right  and  then  with  the  left  hand,  the  dumb¬ 
bells,  increasing  in  weight  until  he  put  up  75 
pounds. 

Then  came  the  test  for  strength  of  muscles 
of  the  abdpmen,  the  candidate  being  directed 
to  lie  upon  his  back  on  a  mattress,  insert  his 
feet  under  a  toepiece,  and  taking  a  heavy 
dumb-bell  in  his  hands,  the  bell  resting  above 
the  shoulders  and  under  the  head  (that  is,  at 
the  back  of  the  neck),  rise  to  a  sitting  posture. 

The  tests  consist  of  two  distinct  parts,  one 
for  development  and  the  other  for  strength. 
For  the  development  tests  the  men  are  meas¬ 
ured  for  their  height  by  standing  barefooted 
on  a  platform  so  arranged  that  an  electric  bell 
rings  only  when  their  heels  are  resting  firmly 
on  the  line  from  which  the  height  is  taken. 
They  are  then  weighed  without  clothing,  the 
minimum  required  weight  being,  in  the  fire 
department,  130  pounds  for  a  man  of  five  feet 
six  inches,  and  in  due  proportion  for  greater 
height.  Measures  are  then  taken  for  the  girth 
of  the  waist  and  of  the  chest,  first  empty  and 
then  inflated;  for  the  depth  of  the  chest  and 
of  the  abdomen,  and  for  the  girths  of  the  right 
and  left  thighs,  calves,  upper  arms  and  fore¬ 
arms.  The  candidate  also  receives  a  mark  for 
“muscular  condition.”  This  is  put  under  de¬ 
velopment,  but  depends  somewhat  on  the  gen¬ 
eral  proportion  and  strength,  and  also  on  the 
action  of  the  heart  and  lungs  and  the  look  of 
the  skin  and  muscles. 

The  tests  for  strength  are  all  recorded  under 
a  separate  head,  and  they  consist  in  blowing 
into  one  of  the  ordinary  receivers  to  measure 
the  cubical  capacity  of  the  lungs. 

The  young  man  having  shown  above  the 
average  physical  endurance  and  muscular 
power,  was  directed  to  disrobe.  The  candi¬ 
date  stripped  to  the  buff,  displaying  a  skin  in 
splendid  condition,  and  was  placed  in  the 
scales,  which  he  tipped  at  130  pounds,  and  was 
then  conducted  under  the  measuring  bar, 
where  his  height  recorded  just  a  little  above 
the  requirement.  The  candidate  was  close  to 
the  limit  of  the  requirements  in  both  weight 
and  height,  no  man  being  taken  in  the  fire  de¬ 
partment  who  weighs  less  than  130  pounds 
and  is  less  than  five  feet  six  inches  (sixty-six 
inches)  in  height. 

The  requirements  are  less  in  this  direction 
in  the  fire  department  than  on  the  police  force, 
men  in  the  latter  department  being  required 
to  weigh  at  least  140  pounds  and  measure  five 
feet  eight  inches.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  young  man  could  not  have  entered  the 


police  force,  being  not  only  too  light  but  also 
too  short.  The  idea  worked  upon  by  Dr. 
Brown  and  the  civil  service  commissioners  is 
that  a  policeman  should  have  good  legs  and 
good  wind,  so  as  to  come  in  a  good  second,  at 
least,  in  a  race  with  a  criminal ;  whereas  a 


Fig.  3. 


fireman  being  required  to  do  more  or  less 
climbing,  should  be  lighter,  with  a  well-de¬ 
veloped  chest  and  strong  arms.  A  good  grip 
is  another  essential  to  a  good  fireman. 

The  candidate  was  given  an  ingenious  ap¬ 
paratus,  composed  of  a  French  dynometer 
fitted  with  handles,  as  in  Fig.  1.  He  was  di¬ 
rected  to  pull  upon  these  handles,  with  the 
machine  resting  over  his  chest,  then  with  first 
the  left,  and  then  the  right  arm  extended. 
The  strength  of  the  pull  was  registered  in 
kilos,  by  a  hand  revolving  on  a  dial. 

Next  the  dynometer  was  removed  from  the 
handles  and  placed  in  the  candidate’s  hand, 
and  he  was  required  to  grip  it,  as  in  Fig.  2. 
With  the  right  hand  he  gripped  the  equiva¬ 
lent  of  65  pounds,  and  with  the  left  58  pounds. 

A  larger  dynometer,  upon  a  somewhat  dif¬ 
ferent  principle,  and  the  candidate  being  re¬ 
quired  to  stand  upon  a  raised  platform,  was 
made  to  lift  up  with  his  knees  straight.  This 
tested  the  muscles  of  the  back.  Next  he  was 
directed  to  lift  with  the  legs  at  liberty  and  the 
knees  bent,  to  test  the  strength  of  the  thighs. 

A  spirometer,  which  looked  like  a  steam 
gauge  with  a  rubber  hose  attached,  was  pro¬ 
duced,  and  the  n^  perspiring  candidate 
was  requested  to  blow  sharply  and  quickly 
into  it,  as  in  Fig  3.  This  was  done  to  test  the 
strength  of  the  expiratory  muscles.  After  this 
the  capacity  of  his  lungs  was  measured  by 
registering  the  pressure  he  put  upon  a  lung 
testing  machine  of  formidable  proportions, 
like  that  in  Fig.  4,  which  Mr.  Brown  called  a 
water  spirometer.  This  latter  machine  was, 
apparently,  regarded  by  the  young  man  with 
positive  dread,  as  he  saw  the  top  rise  in  re- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


248 


sponse  to  the  herculean  effort  of  his  lungs. 
As  the  top  rose,  and  the  hand  travelled  slowly 
around  the  dial,  his  eyes  stuck  out  with  as¬ 
tonishment.  He  looked  as  though  he  feared 
that  after  a  big  blow  she  would  burst.  An 
examination  of  the  lungs  and  heart  with  the 
proper  appliances  finished  the  information 
sought  concerning  the  applicant’s  internal 
economy. 

Then  came  an  exhaustive  series  of  measure 
ments,  all,  saving  the  height  already  men¬ 
tioned,  being  taken  by  centimeters.  The  tape 
measured  the  length  of  the  body,  while  sit¬ 
ting,  to  the  knee,  and  in  every  possible  direc¬ 
tion.  The  girth  of  the  head,  neck  and  chesty 
waist,  hips,  etc.,  were  taken,  and  then,  with  a 
curious  and  handy  device  like  a  pair  of  gigan¬ 
tic  dividers,  the  depth  of  chest  and  abdomen 
and  breadth  of  head,  shoulders,  etc. 

The  many  and  curious  measurements  were 
all  very  interesting,  for  it  must  be  understood 
that  Medical  Examiner  Brown’s  critical  ex¬ 
amination  of  applicants  is  based  upon  long 
experience,  and  is  reduced  to  an  average  in 
every  case.  Thus,  so  many  inches  in  stature, 
so  many  centimeters  girth,  breadth  of  chest, 
etc.,  so  many  pounds  grip,  and  so  many  pounds 
lung  power,  added  together  and  divided  by 
the  averaging  figures  gives  a  quotient  that 
represents  to  a  fraction  the  physical  condition 
of  the  man. 

In  this  respect,  at  least,  it  is  believed  that 
“figures  will  not  lie.”  A  man  may  be  a  veritable 
Hercules  to  all  outward  appearances,  and  yet 
upon  this  close  and  critical  examination  may 
fail  to  get  the  per  cent,  of  marking  that  is 
requisite  to  pass  him. 

A  man’s  mental  qualifications  and  physical 
average  are  put  together  to  fix  his  relative 
standing  among  the  eligibles.  The  young 
man’s  markings  are  all  written  down  in  a  big 
book,  and  they  are  all  curious  and  remarkably 
thorough. 

After  having  resumed  his  attire,  the  candi¬ 
date  was  submitted  to  a  rigid  cross-examina¬ 
tion,  that  went  into  a  more  minute  inquiry 
than  even  a  life  insurance  examiner,  or  a  cen¬ 
sus  enumerator  would.  He  was  required  to 
answer  all  the  following  questions :  Place  of 
residence,  name,  class,  department  to  enter, 
occupation,  where  born,  nationality  of  father 
and  mother,  and  of  his  father’s  father  and 
mother,  and  mother’s  father  and  mother,  occu¬ 
pation  of  father,  what  his  father  died  of, 
which  parent  he  most  resembles,  general 
health  and  hereditary  diseases.  Next  exam¬ 
iner  wanted  to  know  if  his  victim  had  ever 
been  subject  to  either  of  a  long  list  of  com¬ 
plaints. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  these  examinations 
of  candidates  accomplish  two  purposes.  They 
throw  out  all  those  who  are  not  up  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  minimum  standard,  and  they  grade  those 
who  have  passed  that  minimum  according  to 
their  relative  development  and  strength.  In 
order  to  get  a  standard  a  table  was  first  made 
out  by  Dr.  Brown.  This  table  was  prepared 
from  an  average  of  measurements  and  tests — 
not  of  a  few  great  athletes,  but  of  a  large  num¬ 


Fio.  4. 


ber  of  individuals  of  good  development  and 
strength.  If  an  average  of  65  of  this  stand¬ 
ard  is  not  reached  the  candidate  is  rejected 
altogether,  and  according  to  the  average  per¬ 
centage  in  all  the  tests  the  successful  candi¬ 
dates  are  graded.  The  tables  and  rules  for 
this  grading  are  so  arranged  that  good  gen¬ 
eral  development  and  strength  count  for  more 
than  special  strength  in  particular  sets  of 
muscles  alone. 

In  the  total  marking,  which  grades  the 
candidate  on  the  eligible  list,  the  physical 
tests  count  one-half  of  the  whole,  and  the 
mental  examinations  count  the  other  half. 
The  character  and  medical  examinations  do 
not  count  in  the  grading.  For  these  the  can¬ 
didate  either  passes  or  does  not  pass.  Those 
candidates  for  police,  for  instance,  whose  char¬ 
acter  is  proved  good,  whose  health,  eyesight 
and  hearing  are  up  to  the  required  tests,  who 
know  the  police  rules,  powers  and  duties  so 
well,  and  can  make  so  clear  a  statement  in 
writing,  and  show  such  penmanship,  and  can 
do  simple  arithmetic  so  well,  and  have  such 
a  degree  of  physical  development  and  strength 
as  to  stand  near  the  head  of  the  list,  are  cer¬ 
tainly  a  picked  lot  of  men.  If  they  stand  the 
probationary  trial  of  six  months  of  actual 
service  before  final  appointment,  it  may  be 
safely  said  that  those  selected  under  this  sys¬ 
tem  are  at  least  quite  as  well  adapted,  if,  in¬ 
deed,  they  are  not  much  better  equipped  for 
their  work  than  if  selected  because  of  their 
political  energies  exhibited  in  packing  cau¬ 
cuses  and  getting  voters  to  the  polls,  or  on  ac¬ 
count  of  some  secret  influence  or  “pull”  in 
city,  state  or  national  politics,  or  in  otherwise 
making  themselves  stiperserviceable  to  some 
party  “boss.” 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  description  of  the 
work  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  add  that  Dr. 
Brown  is  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  the  whole 
scheme  of  examination  in  development  and 
strength.  In  a  chat  with  him,  however  brief, 
one  would  be  impressed  with  his  thoroughness 


and  his  absolute  belief  in  the  value  of  th^ 
tests  to  the  community  at  large,  in  securing 
the  best  fitted  men  for  these  two  very  import¬ 
ant  departments  of  our  protective  service. 
“  As  a  result  of  these  examinations,”  said  he, 
“  I  find  I  have  to  reject  a  large  proportion  of 
those  who  have  succeeded  in  running  the 
gauntlet  of  the  preliminary  and  physical  ex¬ 
aminations.  I  test  the  men  who  come  before 
me  here  and  in  New  York  for  their  all-round 
fitness.  It  was  tried  in  Boston  before  any  other' 
city  in  the  country,  but  New  York  has  now! 
adopted  the  same  system,  and,  I  think  I  am 
justified  in  saying,  the  authorities  fully  appre¬ 
ciate  it  there,  as  they  certainly  do  in  this  city. 
In  Boston,  when  we  first  adopted  the  system, 
we  had,  practically,  no  data  to  go  by,  and  we 
picked  out  fifty  of  the  older  members  of  the 
police  force — men  who  were  regarded  as  the 
best  specimens — and  examined  them.  The 
tests  they  were  put  to  found  them  very  poor 
on  their  legs.  They  had  poor  wind  and  a  poor 
stride  when  running.  They  were  not  active. 
Of  course,  our  tests  have  been  changed  and 
improved  considerably  since  the  system  was 
first  put  into  operation,  for  since  that  time  we 
have  been  enabled  to  collect  a  large  amount 
of  valuable  data,  and  the  experience  which 
we  have  all  had  in  the  actual  application  of 
the  system  to  the  practical  needs  of  the  police 
and  fire  departments  has  been  of  very  great 
help  in  many  ways.  Our  averages  are  based 
upon  scientific  and  well-known  principles,  the 
system  being  a  modification  and  extension  of 
that  used  by  Dr.  Dudley  A.  Sargent,  of  Har¬ 
vard  University.  In  order  to  get  the  requisite 
percentage,  an  applicant  must  be  in  pretty 
good  physical  condition,  and  a  pretty  sound 
man.  We  take  the  symmetry,  development 
and  strength  of  a  man,  and  base  his  normal 
condition  upon  that.  It  would  be  a  good  thing 
if  the  men  had  to  go  through  this  examina¬ 
tion  every  few  years,  and  thus  be  forced  to 
keep  up  their  condition  to  a  proper  standard. 
The  life  of  a  policeman  is  such  a  change  from 


1 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


249 


I - 

I  ■ 

1  the  active  pursuits  he  has  previously  engaged 

I  in  that  it  has  a  tendency  to  make  him  too 

I  heavy,  and  to  a  certain  extent  the  life  of  a 

I  fireman  may  be  open  to  the  same  criticism.  I 

I  believe  that  the  men  should  be  required  to  ex- 

I  ercise  an  hour  a  day  and  be  paid  for  the  time. 

[  In  fact,  I  believe  there  should  be  a  gymnasium 

j  attached  to  every  police  station  and  engine 

I  house,  and  the  members  of  the  departments 

I  required  to  go  through  certain  stated  exercises 

as  part  of  their  oflficial  duties  daily.” 


■  AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

jjtoThe  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an 
oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  *  *  be¬ 
come  his  MAN  from  that  day  forth.  *  * 
Services  were  free  and  base.  *  *  Base 
“  service  was  to  *  *  carry  out  his  dung. 
— \^Blackatone. 

— Collector  of  the  Port  Cooper  rushed  to  the  de¬ 
fense  of  Senator  Quay  to-day  in  a  self  prepared 
half-column  interview.  He  says  the  address 
is  both  unwise  and  unjust^  that  it  leaves  a 
doubt  in  every  mind  if  the  real  purpose  is 
not  to  injure  rather  than  to  correct,  and,  if 
this  be  not  so,  he  wants  to  know  why  they 
should  call  into  review  the  acts  of  a  senator 
who  voted  right  on  the  elections  bill,  the  tar 
iff,  and  silver.  He  says  I  hat  some  of  the  sign¬ 
ers  aided  in  the  movement  that  forced  Dela- 
mater  on  Quay,  at  a  time  when  the  latter  was 
ready  to  take  up  Hastings.  On  the  whole  he 
thinks  it  is  a  movement  in  behalf  of  the  dem¬ 
ocrats.  Of  the  senator  he  says : 

“Senator  Quay  has  battled  with  many 
storms.  The  gentlemen  who  believe  him  to 
be  a  little  man  but  prove  the  narrowness  of 
their  own  surroundings.  He  is  one  of  the  par¬ 
ty’s  leaders — not  its  boss,  surely,  not  my  boss 
nor  yours — and  if  he  continues  active  in  poli¬ 
tics  he  will  doubtless,  as  in  the  past,  seek  the 
removal  of  all  serious  obstructions  to  republi¬ 
can  unity.” — Philadelphia  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  June  SO. 

|W£vei'y  receiver  of  lands,  or  feudatory, 
^^as  therefore  bound  when  called  upon  by 
.his  benefactor,  or  immediate  lord  of  his 
Jfend  or  fee,  to  doali  in  his  power  to  defend 

him. — [Blackstone. 

— The  Richmond  Palladium  says  that  “  the 
President  will  be  his  own  successor,”  and  that 
“  there  never  has  been  an  abler,  cleaner  or 
more  successful  administration  of  public  af¬ 
fairs  ”  than  he  has  given  the  country.  The 
Palladium  is  edited  by  Isaac  Jenkinson,  who 
also  edits  the  post-office  at  Richmond. 

— Collector  Cooper  of  Philadelphia  went  last 
week  to  Atlantic  City,  where  the  Pennsylvania 
editorial  association  was  visiting.  The  edi¬ 
tors  represent  more  than  100  county  news¬ 
papers,  nearly  all  of  them  republican.  Mr. 
Cooper  repen  ts  that  they  are  all  for  Harrison. 

— Amos  Smith  is  a  warm  Sherman  man,  and 
owes  his  position  as  collector  of  customs  to  the  sena¬ 
tor.  It  is  pretty  generally  known  that  a  few  days 
ago  he  called  upon  Foraker  at  Sherman’s  request, 
with  the  object  of  having  the  ex-governor  say 
yes  or  no  as  to  whether  he  would  oppose  Sher¬ 
man’s  re-election  or  be  a  candidate  himself. 

The  report  goes  that  Foraker  told  Smith 


that  his  mission  was  impertinent,  and  gave 
him  a  very  unsatisfactory  message  to  take 
back  to  Sherman. —  Cincinnati  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  July  21. 

“  Large  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were 
allotted  by  the  conquering  generals  to  the 
superior  ollicers  of  the  army.  *  *  The 
condition  of  liolding  the  lands  thus  given 
was  tliat  the  possessor  should  do  service 
faithfully,  both  at  home  and  in  the  wars,  to 
him  by  whom  they  were  given.” -[R/acA- 
stone. 

— One  of  the  most  disgraceful  appointments 
made  by  the  Harrison  administration  is  that 
of  Edwin  B.  Low  as  postmaster  in  this  village. 
It  was  opposed  almost  solidly  by  the  respecta¬ 
ble  republicans  of  Westport  on  the  ground 
that  Low’s  reputation  for  honesty  was  bad  and 
his  habits  so  intemperate  as  to  render  him  to¬ 
tally  unfit  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  posi¬ 
tion.  Despite  the  remonstrances  of  the  citi 
zens,  whose  knowledge  of  Low’s  character  is 
complete,  this  man  has  been  elevated  to  the 
chief  position  of  trust  in  the  community. 
Quite  naturally  the  people  are  full  of  indig¬ 
nation.  They  feel  that  their  rights  have  been 
trampled  upon  by  Postmaster-tleneral  Wana- 
maker  and  Congressman- elect  John  M.  Wever  of 
Plattsburg.  Denunciation  of  these  two  wor¬ 
thies  is  heard  on  every  side  in  Westport  and 
vicinity. 

Wever,  who  is  a  banker  of  Plattsburg  and 
politician  of  the  Hill  stripe,  is  charged  with  hav¬ 
ing  promised  the  office  to  Low  long  before  election, 
in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  the  opposition  to 
Low  was  widespread.  He  disregarded  entirely 
the  objections  offered,  and  even,  it  is  alleged, 
suppressed  the  remonstrances  and  the  peti¬ 
tions.  When  the  people  saw  that  Wever  was 
determined  to  put  Low  in  the  post-office,  they 
turned  their  attention  to  Mr.  Wanamaker  and 
Mr.  Whitfield,  the  assistant  postmaster-gen¬ 
eral.  Personal  appeals  were  made  to  both 
these  gentlemen  against  the  appointment  of 
Low.  Many  letters  were  written  them  in  sup¬ 
port  of  these  appeals.  Low’s  unfitness  for  the 
post  was  thoroughly  demonstrated.  Wana¬ 
maker  and  his  assistant  professed  to  be  much 
interested  in  the  case. —  Westport,  Essex  County, 
N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  June  SO. 

Tlius  the  feudal  connection  was  estab¬ 
lished,  *  *  and  ail  army  of  feudatories 
was  always  ready  enlisted  and  mutualiy 
prepared  to  muster.— [R/ac^s^onc. 

“The”  Allen,  gambler,  republican  political  heeler, 
and  keeper  of  places  of  resort  of  people  of  ques¬ 
tionable  character,  lies  hovering  between  life  and 
death  at  246  West  Forty-third  street.  He  was  a  quick 
fighter,  but  he  ran  across  an  Italian  who  was  quicker 
than  he  and  received  several  stab  wounds,  one  of 
which,  it  is  feared,  will  prove  fatal. 

At  about  11 :  30  o’clock  Thursday  night  Allen  and 
four  others  were  playing  cards  in  Allen’s  saloon  at 
Bleecker  street  and  South  Fifth  avenue.  The  game 
that  they  were  playing  is  called  “slaughter  in  the 
pan.” 

While  the  game  was  in  progress  John  Carrero,  an 
Italian,  came  in  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  take  a 
hand.  Allen  said  that  he  would  not  play  with  Carrero, 
and  the  Italian  left  the  saloon.  About  an  hour  later 
he  returned  armed  with  anice-pick  and  immediately 
made  a  rush  for  Allen.  Seizing  Allen  by  the  throat 
before  the  latter  could  recover  from  his  surprise,  the 
Italian  stabbed  him  again  and  again  until  he  fell 
bleeding  to  the  floor. 

Allen  is  fifty-three  years  of  age,  and  has  had  a  bad 
reputation  all  his  life.  While  he  descends  from  a 
respectable  family,  his  father  having  been  an  Epis¬ 
copalian  clergyman,  most  of  his  brothers  have  been 
either  criminals  or  associated  with  the  criminal 


classes.  Of  the  five  brothers  two  are  doing  time  in 
state  prisons  and  one  was  shot  in  Ohio. 

Wesley  Allen,  or  “Wes”  Allen,  as  he  is  known,  one 
of  “The”  Allen’s  brothers,  is  spoken  of  by  Inspector 
Byrnes  as  probably  the  most  notorious  criminal  in 
the  United  States.  He  is  described  as  “saucy  and 
treacherous,”  and  requires  to  be  watched  closely,  as 
he  will  use  a  pistol  if  an  opportunity  presents  itself. 
He  has  been  a  thief  for  many  years,  but  has  not 
spent  much  time  in  prison.  Martin  Allen,  another 
brother,  is  a  burglar,  and  was  sentenced  on  Novem¬ 
ber  1,  1883,  to  serve  ten  years  in  Sing  Sing  for  burg¬ 
lary.  Jesse  Allen,  a  third  brother,  was  shot  in  Ohio 
after  committing  a  burglary,  and  died.  John  Allen, 
a  fourth  brother,  is  the  only  reputable  man  in  the 
family.  He  is  a  jeweler  in  this  city. 

“The”  Allen  has  consorted  with  toughs  and  crim¬ 
inals  from  his  earliest  days,  which  were  spent  in  the 
eighth  ward.  During  the  war  he  kept  a  bar-room 
known  as  the  “  St.  Bernards,”  at  Prince  and  Mercer 
streets,  which  was  a  notorious  resort  for  bounty 
jumpers,  thieves,  and  loose  women.  Later  on  he 
opened  a  gambling  den  at  611  Broadway,  and  it  was 
here  he  killed  John  Molloy  by  shooting  him  with  a 
pistol  early  in  the  morning.  No  one  was  present  to 
witness  the  affair. 

Allen  always  combined  politics  with  his  business  so  as 
to  get  the  necessary  proketion  from  the  police  in  his  nefa¬ 
rious  business.  He  was  at  one  time  a  political  boss  of  a 
low  type— not  a  boss  in  the  sense  of  a  leader,  but  a  boss  of 
his  own  followers.  His  affiliations  were  usually  with  the 
republicans.  He  was  first  prominent  in  the  republican 
affairs  of  the  old  eighth  ward,  where  he  had  considerable 
control  of  the  colored  voters.  He  held  the  whip  over 
them  if  necessary,  but  when  free  handed  liberality 
suited  his  purpose  best  he  used  it.  Besides  his  con¬ 
trol  over  the  colored  voters  he  had  a  certain  "gang”  of  his 
own  henchmen,  who  were  useful  in  running  caucuses  or 
in  packing  primaries. 

Alien  knew  how  to  manage  these  things  well,  and  when 
he  was  at  the  height  of  his  power  an  eighth  ward  primary 
usually  went  his  way.  When  the  fifth  assembly  dis¬ 
trict  succeeded  the  eighth  ward  as  the  political  divi¬ 
sion,  Allen  was  still  something  of  a  power.  Of  late 
years  he  has  bobbed  up  occasionally  in  the  many 
district  fights  in  the  fifth.  Sometimes  he  was  with 
this  faction,  sometimes  with  the  other.  In  the  last 
fight,  in  which  ex-Police  Commissioner  Stephen  B. 
French  was  the  winner,  Allen  was  with  French. 
Years  ago  Allen  ran  for  alderman,  and  he  always 
claimed  that  he  was  elected  and  counted  out. 

When  John  I.  Davenport  was  appointed  chief  su¬ 
pervisor  of  elections  he  found  a  proper  tool  and  asso¬ 
ciate  in  “The”  Allen,  and  made  him  one  of  his  prin¬ 
cipal  heelers.  Part  of  Allen’s  duties  to  the  Grand  Old 
Party  was  to  ship  repeaters  from  New  York  and  Phila¬ 
delphia  to  Indiana  and  Ohio  at  election  time.  At  one 
time  Allen  joined  the  greenback  labor  party  in  this 
city,  and  Shupe  took  him  for  his  side  partner  and  got 
him  nominated  for  the  assembly.  Allen,  at  one  of 
the  meetings  of  the  county  committee  of  the  green- 
backers,  pushed  the  chairman  off  the  platform,  put 
in  his  own  man,  and  captured  the  meeting,  the  dele¬ 
gates  being  frightened  by  his  heelers. 

The  prosperity  of  Harry  Hill  in  his  Houston  street 
dive  aroused  “  The  ”  Allen’s  envy  and  he  started  an¬ 
other  similar  place  a  short  distance  away  in  Bleecker 
street  and  called  it  the  “Mabille.”  It  was  a  resort 
for  thieves  and  loose  women,  sports,  dissipated  clerks, 
and  strangers  who  wanted  to  “d^he  town.”  It  was 
even  below  the  low  standard  of  ffarry  Hill’s,  but  nev¬ 
ertheless,  after  Harry  Hill’s,  Billy  McQlory’s,  and  Tom 
Gould’s  places  had  been  closed  by  the  police,  “  The”  Al¬ 
len’s  "Mabille  ”  continued  to  flourish  for  some  time,  ow¬ 
ing  to  his  strong  pull  with  the  republican  machine.  He 
was  regarded  as  a  spy  and  go-between  between  the 
police  and  thieves,  and  was  a  great  pet  of  Commis¬ 
sioner  French’s.  Finally  the  “Mabille”  had  to  be 
closed,  too,  and  “The”  Allen  became  more  and  more 
of  a  republican  ward  worker.  His  influence  with  Mr. 
French  was  said  to  he  enoi-mous,  and  he  could  almost  al¬ 
ways  get  his  heelers  jobs  in  the  post  office,  custom-house, 
or  navy  yard. — New  York  Times,  Jxdy  11. 

“  By  not  performiiif?  tlie  stipulated  serv¬ 
ice,  or  by  deserting  liis  lord  in  battle,”  the 
lands  reverted  to  the  lord.— [R/acAstone. 


250 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— There  seems  to  be  no  reason  known  at  the 
treasury  department  for  the  removal  of  Ap¬ 
praiser  Stearns  except  that  he  is  a  democrat. 
Secretary  Foster  and  Assistant  Secretary 
Spaulding  are  out  of  town  to-day,  but  no  one 
about  the  department  pretends  to  know  any 
other  reason  than  the  political  one  for  the  dis¬ 
placement  of  the  wounded  democratic  veteran. 
Some  of  the  treasury  officials  were  reluctant  to 
make  the  change,  and  it  was  only  just  before 
the  President  started  for  Cape  May  that  he 
signed  the  papers  driving  from  the  public 
service  his  comrade  of  the  war  for  the  Union. 
General  Cogswell,  in  accordance  with  the  re¬ 
ports  already  published,  was  the  most  earnest 
advocate  for  a  change  in  favor  of  his  friend, 
Mr.  Dodge.  The  President,  if  asked  the  rea¬ 
sons  for  the  change,  would  probably  reply,  as 
he  did  to  the  correspondent  of  the  Post,  in  the 
case  of  the  displacement  of  postmaster  Pear¬ 
son  of  New  York,  that  he  “did  not  think  any 
statement  was  necessary." —  Washington  Dispatch 
to  Boston  Post,  July  6. 

— Sergeant-at-Arms  Adoniram  J.  Holmes, 
of  the  house  of  representatives,  is  an  Iowa  man, 
and  he  has  evidently  heard  the  cries  of  dis¬ 
tress  which  his  fellow-republicans  of  Iowa  are 
sending  up  because  of  the  outlook  for  next 
fall’s  election. 

His  first  contribution  to  the  cause  was  made 
to  day,  when  he  dismissed  Deputy  Sergeant-at- 
Arms  Thomas  Cavanaugh,  who  has  held  that  office 
since  the  republicans  took  control  of  the  house,  and 
against  whom  it  is  declared  no  charges  have  been 
made.  By  dismissing  Cavanaugh  after  all  the 
work  of  the  fifty-first  congress  has  been  done, 
Mr.  Holmes  makes  room  for  the  appointment 
of  an  Iowa  man,  who  will  have  nothing  to  do 
but  draw  his  salary  until  he  is  displaced  by 
a  democrat  next  December. 

Of  course,  the  new  deputy  can  be  depended 
upon  to  work  and  vote  for  the  republican 
ticket,  and  as  his  chief  duty  will  be  to  draw 
his  salary,  he  ought  to  be  willing  to  make 
liberal  contributions  to  the  party’s  campaign 
fund. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
June  SO. 

— When  Mr.  Blaine  was  called  to  the  most 
important  place  in  the  cabinet  he  wrote,  in 
reply  to  the  President’s  letter  tendering  the 
appointment  (which  letter  clearly  outlined  the 
President’s  views),  a  statement  that  distinctly  im¬ 
plied  in  the  clearest  terms  unquestioned  and  un¬ 
bending  fealty  to  the  head  of  the  administration, 
and  by  no  act,  word  or  intimation  has  Mr. 
Blaine  at  any  time  since  left  his  loyalty  open 
to  the  slightest  suspicion. — Frank  Leslie's 
Illustrated  Newspaper. 


PARTY  EXORCISM. 

— Quayism  tried  to  force  the  bankrupt  Delamater 
on  the  people  as  governor,  and  it  is  capable  of  dic¬ 
tating  the  election  of  such  a  treasurer  as  Bardsley  if 
political  exigencies  demanded.  The  latter-day  Re¬ 
publicanism  of  Pennsylvania  has  become  a  stench  in 
the  nostrils  of  honest  men.— Buffalo  Express  [iJep.]. 

—“The  movement  to  force  Mr.  Quay  off  the  na. 
tional  republican  committee,  and  to  depose  him 
from  the  leadership  of  the  party  in  Pennsylvania  is 
commendable.  It  should  receive  the  approval  of 
republicans  everywhere,”  says  the  Cincinnati  Times- 
Star  [Rep  ]. 

—Men  will  not  woik  intelligently  and  enthusiasti 
cally  under  the  direction  of  a  partisan  chiejtain  who 
has  forfeited  their  confidence  on  the  score  of  integrity, 
whose  agents  and  associates  are  corrupt  and  discredita. 
ble,  whose  purposes  are  usually  dishonorable,  and  who, 
whether  his  ends  be  good  or  bad,  is  reckless  and  unscru¬ 
pulous  as  to  the  means  which  he  employs  for  their  accom, 
plishment.  This  is  the  case  with  Mr.  Quay.  It  is  said 
that  the  President  has  entered  into  a  sort  of  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  with  the  Pennsylvania  boss- 


The  republican  masses  hope  and  believe  that  this 
story  is  false.  Such  a  league  would  discredit  Gen. 
Harrison,  deeply  offend  his  admirers,  and  fatally 
handicap  the  party  in  the  campaign.  The  republi¬ 
can  voters  of  the  country  demand  that  Senator  Quay 
step  down  from  the  chairmanship  of  the  national 
committee  before  the  lines  are  drawn  for  the  canvass 
of  1892.— S<.  Louis  Olobe- Democrat  [jR(p.],  July  14. 

— After  the  publication  of  the  Philadelphia  ad¬ 
dress,  the  Omaha  Bee  (rep.)  thinks  that  Quay  “ought 
by  this  time  to  be  convinced  of  his  entire  unavaila¬ 
bility  as  a  leader  of  tlie  Keystone  republicans.” 

—The  Advertiser,  which  was  one  of  the  first  to  pro¬ 
test  against  the  retention  of  Senator  Quay  in  an  im¬ 
portant  position  on  the  republican  executive  con^ 
mittee,  is  glad  to  notice  so  general  a  republican  con¬ 
demnation  of  the  Pennsylvania  boss  and  his  political 
methods.  There  is  much  in  the  Pennsylvania  idea 
of  political  warfare  which  citizens  of  both  par¬ 
ties  have  seen  fit  to  condemn,  and  Mr.  Quay’s  only 
reply  to  the  recent  signed  protest  against  his  reten 
tion  in  a  responsible  political  position  is  no  answe 
to  its  justice.  Even  if  it  be  true,  as  he  is  reported  to- 
have  charged,  that  the  signers  are  “  all  democrats  or 
mugwumps,”  that  fact  would  not  militate  against 
the  truth  of  their  indictment.  —  Boston  Advertiser 
[Rep.]. 

—There  is  a  strong  and  growing  conviction  among 
republicans  that  Mr.  Quay's  prominence  in  the  party- 
councils  is  hurtful  to  the  party.— Philadelphia  Press 
[Rep.]. 

—“Senator  Matthew  S.  Quay  of  Pennsylvania  can 
not  counteract  the  demand  that  heshali  resign  from 
the  chairmanship  of  the  republican  national  com¬ 
mittee  and  remove  his  big  thumb  from  the  republi 
can  party  in  Pennsylvania,  by  denouncing  his  critics 
as  mugwumps  and  free-traders.”— Afliany  Journal 
[Rep.]. 

—“It  is  time  for  plain  speaking  an  d  resolute  action . 
The  republican  party  in  Pennsylvania  needs  reform, 
and  it  can  not  take  the  very  first  step  toward  reform 
so  long  as  Mr.  Quay  retains  his  place  in  its  leadership 
and  councils.  It  is  the  height  of  folly  for  the  party  to 
run  amuck  against  the  public  conscience  by  refusing 
to  eliminate  the  leadership  which  has  brought  it 
into  discredit  and  defeat.— Bosto7i  Journal  [Rep.]. 

— Even  the  Boston  Traveller  (rep.),  speaks  out. 
“  The  pressure  is  increasing,”  it  says,  “and  it  really 
looks  as  if  Matthew  Stanley  Quay  had  better  retire 
from  the  chairmanship  of  the  republican  national 
committee  while  he  can  do  so  gracefully.” 


THE  ROUT  OF  SENATORS  PLUMB 
AND  GORMAN. 

Mr.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  of  the  national 
civil  service  commission,  is  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place.  His  alert  mind,  his  strong 
conviction,  his  accurate  knowledge  of  details, 
and  his  aggressive  temperament  instantly  chal¬ 
lenge  any  false  statement  or  sneering  assump¬ 
tion  against  reform  from  whatever  source  it 
may  proceed.  Senators  Plumb  and  Gorman 
have  had  occasion  recently  to  discover  that 
Mr.  Roosevelt  is  “an  ugly  customer”  to  deal 
with  upon  this  subject  except  with  facts  and 
arguments.  If  anybody  supposes,  said  Senator 
Plumb  in  his  place,  that  the  civil  service 
commisson  is  now  without  fear  or  favor,  he  is 
entirely  mistaken.  Favoritism  of  the  grossest 
kind  is  shown,  and  underhand  work  takes 
place  by  which  persons  are  picked  out  for 
selection  by  that  commission.  This,  says  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  is  a  charge  of  cheap  corruption.  It 
was  susceptible  of  immediate  proof  or  dis¬ 
proof.  If  true,  the  commissioners  were  guilty 
of  official  misconduct.  If  false  and  without 


foundation,  the  wanton  allegation  of  suchVl 
rumors,  or,  as  Mr.  Plumb  says,  “information^; 
which  seems  to  me  to  be  conclusive,”  is  savedM 
from  being  infamous  only  by  being  contempt-J 

The  commission  instantly  wrote  to  Senator® 
Plumb  asking  that  the  information  on  which® 
his  assertion  was  based  should  be  immediately® 
furnished  to  the  President  if  it  aflPected  the® 
commisssion,  and  to  the  commission  if  it  af-|, 
fected  any  of  their  subordinates.  They  prom-*, 
ised  prompt  and  thorough  investigation,  add-  K 
ing  that  all  their  books,  records,  and  papers  K 
were  open  to  any  responsible  person,  and  that  J 
the  career  of  every  appointee  could  be  traced  v 
in  detail  from  his  examination  to  his  appoint- ■ 
ment.  Nothing  could  be  more  frank,  honorable, 
and  explicit  than  the  offer  of  the  commission  ■ 
to  meet  the  charges  of  Senator  Plumb.  Three  ^  , 
months  and  more  have  passed,  but  neither  ^ 
Senator  Plumb  nor  Senator  Stewart,  who  had 
sustained  his  charge,  has  answered  the  letter  ' 
of  the  commission.  The  reason,  says  Mr.  ■ 
Roosevelt,  is  that^the  statement  did  not  con¬ 
tain  a  particle  of  truth,  a  fact  which  both 
senators  knew,  or  ought  to  have  known,  when  ■ 
they  made  it. 

Senator  Gorman  also  foolishly  exposed  him¬ 
self  to  the  same  unsparing  castigation.  He  A 
said,  in  an  interview,  to  show  the  absurdity  of  ■ 
reform,  that  a  letter  carrier  was  asked  “  the 
most  direct  route  from  Baltimore  to  China.” 

Mr.  Roosevelt  wrote  him  promptly,  saying 
that  if  such  a  question  was  asked  it  was 
against  the  explicit  orders  of  the  commission, 
which  had  in  its  office  a  complete  set  of  the 
examination  papers  of  every  letter-carrier 
since  the  examinations  began.  The  papers  I 
had  been  thoroughly  examined,  and  no  such  J 
question  appeared.  Would  Mr.  Gorman  | 
kindly  state  the  date  and  place  of  the  exami-  ^ 
nation,  or  would  he  send  a  person  to  search  ^ 
the  papers  for  the  question  which  he  alleged  4 
to  have  been  put  to  a  “  bright  young  man  in  f 
the  city  of  Baltimore?”  Mr.  Gorman  dis-  j 
creetly  did  not  respond.  After  a  few  weeks,  1 
therefore,  Mr.  Roosevelt  publicly  told  the  jc 
truth  in  saying  that  Senator  Gorman  had  told  j 
something  else  than  the  truth,  for  no  such  1 
question  was  asked  as  he  asserted  to  have  4 
been  asked.  To  this  challenge  Senator  Gor-  | 
man  made  no  other  reply  than  to  state  in  the  1 
senate  that  in  common  with  everybody  who  1 
had  criticised  the  inability  of  the  commission  4 
to  enforce  the  reform  law,  he  had  been  very  se¬ 
verely  criticised  by  the  president  of  the  com-  ^ 
mission — meaning  Mr.  Roosevelt,who  is  not  the  .1 
president — and  when  Senator  Blair  asked  him  # 
what  he  did  about  it,  Senator  Gorman  answered: 

“  I  did  about  it  what  I  do  in  the  case  of  all  in-  f 
terference  by  impudent  people  who  without  * 
warrant  ask  me  about  my  discharge  of  my  duty. 

I  took  no  notice  of  it.”  Evidently  Senator 
Gorman  had  stated  what  was  untrue,  and 
would  not  acknowledge  it.  The  conclusive 
evidence  of  its  untruth  was  offered  to  him, 
and  he  would  not  look  at  it.  His  conduct 
convicts  him  of  bearing  false  witness,  as  that  ' 
of  Mr.  Roosevelt  shows  the  perfect  readiness 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


251 


of  the  commission  to  answer  every  question, 
and  of  Mr.  Koosevelt  himself  to  expose  re¬ 
morselessly  the  ignominious  attempts  of  sena¬ 
tors  of  the  United  States  to  slander  other 
public  officers.  No  member  of  congress  who 
has  read  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  letter  describing 
the  complete  and  ludicrous  rout  of  Senators 
Plumb  and  Gorman,  and  Senator  Stewart  as 
their  reserve,  is  likely  to  attack  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice  commission  without  carefully  surveying 
the  ground. — Harpers’  Weekly,  July  18. 


!  Secretary  Tracy  deserves  credit  for  extend- 
!  ing  the  operations  of  the  merit  system  to  the 
1  navy-yards  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  and  Portsmouth, 
1  N.  H.  But  he  will  quickly  make  a  farce  of 
E  this  well  meant  experiment  unless  he  develops 
I  »  more  capacity  for  resisting  pressure  than  the 
newspapers  give  him  credit  for  in  a  case  that 
arose  at  Norfolk.  The  incumbent  of  a  post 
^  in  that  yard  was,  it  seems,  found  to  rate  lower 
at  the  examinations  than  another  candidate. 
But  the  incumbent,  like  most  of  them,  had  a 
pull.  This  he  exerted  so  vigorously  through 
the  agency  of  a  former  member  of  congress 
that  he  was  given  the  place,  and  the  man  at 
the  head  got  nothing.  This  will  never  do.  If 
the  secretary  yields  to  one  pull  he  will  be  sub¬ 
jected  to  hundreds  of  them,  and  his  new  policy 
will  be  “pulled”  to  pieces. — The  Civil  Service 
Reformer,  July,  1891. 


[Secretary  Tracy,  after  careful  considera¬ 
tion  of  the  objections,  has  since  upheld  the  ex¬ 
amination  and  appointed  the  man  selected  by 
i  the  the  competition.— Ed.  Chronicle.] 

K*  '  ' 

jr  Mr.  Chittenden  had  ample  personal  knowl- 
4  ,edge  of  official  life  and  the  civil  .service  in 
ij^  iWashington,  and  his  brief  but  stringent  re- 
marks  upon  them  are  of  great  value.  The  aw- 
V  ful  suffering  and  personal  ruin  due  tothespoils 
system  of  the  service  he  knew  well  by  observa- 
.%  tion.  “  No  men,”  he  says,  “  better  deserve  the 
attention  of  philanthropists  than  the  clerks  in 
'3  ^the  government  service ;  ”  and  his  words  out- 
t  weigh  the  gibes  of  a  thousand  mere  party  pol- 
A  iticians  when  he  says,  “  It  will  be  a  fortunate 
j  day  for  the  country  when  the  civil  servicesys- 
■J  tern  is  extended  to  all  the  government  offices 
4  except  the  cabinet  and  those  immediately  con- 
?  nected  with  congress.” — From  Harpers’  Weekly’s 
Notice  of  Chittenden’s  Recollections  of  President 
.T.-  Lincoln. 
v 

£  In  reply  to  Mr.  Clarkson’s  statement  in  the 
^  North  American  for  May  that  “no  boss  can  live 
^  more  than  a  year,”  the  Boston  Transcript  (May 
5)  cites  the  instance  of  Quay,  who  continues 
*  to  hold  his  place  in  spite  of  the  denunciations 
hurled  at  him  by  men  of  his  own  party.  Other 
instances  disproving  Mr.  Clarkson’s  statement 
will  no  doubt  occur  to  our  readers,  and  show 
to  them  how  absolutely  reckless  Mr.  Clarkson 
is  when  he  attemps  to  argue.  He  has  bo 
power  of  dealing  with  facts.  Vigorous  lan¬ 
guage  is  his  sole  forte  in  writing  and  speaking. 
As  an  instance  of  how  long  a  boss  may  reign, 
the  case  of  I.  Freeman  Raisin  of  Baltimore 
may  be  cited.  Before  the  war  he  wa?  an  offi¬ 
cer  of  a  Know-nothing  club  which  made  itself 


infamous  for  its  use  of  pistols  and  shoemakers’ 
awls  at  the  polls.  When  his  party  was  over¬ 
thrown,  it  might  be  supposed  that  Raisin 
would  disappear  from  politics;  but  no,  from 
that  day  to  this  he  has  been  a  power  in  Mary¬ 
land,  and  always  in  most  disgraceful  ways. 
His  life  and  methods  have  been  fully  exposed 
by  the  reformers  of  Baltimore.  Every  one 
knows  just  what  he  is ;  but  such  is  the  strength 
of  a  boss,  where  the  spoils  system  exists  in  per¬ 
fection,  that  neither  reformers  within  his  par¬ 
ty  nor  those  who  have  left  it  to  coalesce  with 
the  opposition  have  been  able  to  overthrow 
him,  Gorman  himself — who,  by  the  way,  has 
certainly  been  a  boss  more  than  a  year,  in 
spite  of  his  published  record — would  not  to¬ 
day  think  of  making  a  move  or  deal  in  Mary¬ 
land  without  taking  into  account  Raisin’s  hos¬ 
tility  or  friendship,  as  the  case  might  be. — 
Civil  Service  Record,  July,  1891. 


About  one  hundred  and  forty  members  of 
the  Massachusetts  reform  club  recently  gave  a 
dinner  to  express  their  respect  and  admiration 
for  General  Corse,  the  Boston  postmaster, 
whom  President'  Harrison  is  stated  to  have 
said  that  he  could  not  re-appoint  in  spite  of 
gallant  services  during  the  war  and  an  admir¬ 
able  record  as  postmaster,  because  the  post¬ 
master  had  failed  to  give  a  public  disapproval 
of  southern  outrages.  The  readers  of  the 
Chronicle  will  be  interested  in  what  General 
Corse  had  to  say  upon  this  occasion,  and  use 
is  made  of  the  report  of  the  Boston  Post  of 
May  8: 

General  Corse  was  greeted  with  great  enthu¬ 
siasm,  the  whole  company  rising  as  he  was 
presented.  He  said  it  was  with  some  embar¬ 
rassment  that  he  tried  to  find  words  to  express 
his  gratitude  for  this  reception.  It  was  a 
rather  sad  commentary  on  the  public  service 
that  a  man  should  be  commended  for  doing 
what  was  only  his  duty.  He  was  deeply  in 
sympathy  with  the  reform  club.  He  was  that 
much  of  a  partisan  that  he  went  on  the  line  of 
his  party  when  it  commended  itself  to  his 
opinion,  and  when  it  did  not  he  was  not  with 
it.  Probably  men  were  more  emancipated 
from  party  to-day  than  ever  before. 

When  he  took  the  Boston  post-office  he  found 
the  machine  a  very  crude  instrument.  He 
addressed  himself  to  the  details  of  the  busi¬ 
ness,  examining  the  offices  in  Baltimore  and 
several  others.  He  learned  it  from  top  to 
bottom.  The  post-office  system  of  the  country 
was  not  perfect.  No  private  business  could 
be  managed  like  this  without  going  into  bank¬ 
ruptcy.  There  were  five  or  ten  bureau  heads, 
all  at  loggerheads  with  each  other.  If  a  ^st- 
master  got  one  into  sympathy  with  the  im¬ 
provements  the  others  might  oppose  him  and 
his  efforts  went  for  naught.  The  post-office 
department  was  alien  to  the  post-office.  The 
heads  of  the  department  probably  thought  if 
the  offices  were  wiped  out  they  would  have  a 
very  good  time.  A  man  must  have  great  per¬ 
sistency  to  achieve  reforms  under  such  condi¬ 
tions. 

The  civil  service  law  had  been  a  constant 
bulwark  against  his  political  friends.  It  was 
a  singular  fact  that  the  best  friend  a  man 
had  would  unload  upon  him  the  most  worth¬ 
less  whelp  in  the  world  to  get  rid  of  him.  No 
doubt  through  the  agency  of  such  associa¬ 
tions  as  the  reform  club  civil  service  was  ad¬ 
vanced  very  materially.  It  was  a  delight  to 
him  that  the  navy  yard  and  the  Indian 


department  had  been  added  to  the  civil  ser¬ 
vice. 

.General  Corse  related  how,  not  long  before 
his  successor  was  appointed,  he  was  in  Wash¬ 
ington  to  see  the  postmaster-general.  He  found 
that  certain  politicians  could  gain  access  to 
him  at  all  hours,  while  he  who  was  on  depart¬ 
ment  business  had  to  wait  a  long  time  to  find 
out  when  he  could  see  him  next  day.  The 
postmaster-general  said  he  was  so  occupied 
with  affairs  of  stale  that  he  could  only  give 
him  a  few  minutes  of  time.  When  he  went 
into  the  office  he  saw  that  the  postmaster- 
general  was  occupied  with  a  colored  man 
from  a  southern  state  who  wanted  an  office. 
The  postmaster-general  was  talking  to  the 
negro,  saying  that  he  understood  he  had  been 
in  a  democratic  caucus. 

“No,  sah,  I  was  never  in  a  democratic  cau¬ 
cus,”  the  negro  replied. 

“  Well,  you  were  seen  in  a  democratic  con¬ 
vention  then,”  continued  the  postmaster, 

“No,  sah,  never  was  in  any  democratic  con¬ 
vention,”  reiterated  the  negro. 

“  Well,  then,  were  you  not  in  consultation 
with  democrats?”  pursued  the  postmaster. 

“  Never,  sah,  never,”  repeated  the  negro. 

General  Corse  commented  upon  this  state  of 
things,  and  said  he  advised  the  postmaster- 
general  to  turn  over  to  the  first  assistant  post¬ 
master  this  matter  of  investigating  the  char¬ 
acter  of  applicants  for  small  post-offices.  The 
department,  he  said,  was  like  a  run-down  rail¬ 
road.  Some  man  had  got  to  go  into  the  office 
of  the  postmaster-general  some  time  and 
sacrifice  years  in  building  up  a  new  and  im¬ 
proved  system,  for  which  his  successor  would 
get  the  credit.  The  great  idea  of  some  post¬ 
master-generals  was  to  reduce  postage,  annihi¬ 
late  a  lottery  or  annex  the  telegraph.  The 
best  step  to  be  taken  was  to  create  an  admin¬ 
istrative  head,  and  keep  him  there  for  ten 
years  at  a  salary  commensurate  with  the 
work. 

Unless  a  postmaster- general  was  in  sympa¬ 
thy  with  the  congressional  committees  on 
post-offices  and  postroads  he  was  entirely  help¬ 
less.  In  the  local  office  there  was  nothing 
which  the  ordinary  business  man  could  not 
accomplish.  It  was  purely  an  industry.  The 
postal  service  was  designed  merely  to  take  a 
letter  or  package  from  one  man  and  deliver  it 
to  another.  »  *  * 

He  went  on  to  show  that  the  deficiency  in 
the  post-office  department  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  $5,000,000  worth  of  work  was  done  for 
the  government  for  which  no  credit  was 
given,  and  that  newspapers  were  carried  for  a 
cent  a  pound  which  cost  five  cents  per  pound. 
In  the  recent  controversy  over  the  Boston 
office  it  was  his  desire  that  the  office  should 
not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  spoilsmen.  The 
man  who  succeeded  him  would  make  a  good 
postmaster,  and  the  office  would  not  fall  into 
the  hands  of  spoilsmen.  If  the  democratic 
party  succeeded  in  1892  he  hoped  a  good 
official  would  not  be  displaced. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CITIZENS  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

As  Pennsylvanians  and  as  republicans,  we,  the 
undersigned,  feel  constrained  to  address  our  fellow 
citizens  throughout  the  state  upon  the  present  polit¬ 
ical  situation— to  point  out  what  we  believe  to  be 
the  essential  causes  of  the  alarming  degredation  in 
public  affairs  from  which  we  now  suffer,  and  the 
necessary  steps  toward  improvement. 

The  republican  machine  in  this  state,  under  the 
leadership  of  Senator  Quay,  and  those  lieutenants 
whom  he  has  drawn  about  him,  is  corrupt,  and  in 
strong  contrast  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party. 
That  leadership  is  absolute  in  its  control,  as  it  is  un¬ 
scrupulous  in  its  methods,  and  disastrous  in  its  re¬ 
sults.  With  Senator  Quay’s  political  record  the  pub- 


252 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


lie  is  so  familiar  that  it  is  unnecessary  at  this  time 
to  give  a  detailed  history  of  those  more  remote  pub¬ 
lic  acts  through  which  its  notoriety  was  acquired, 
while  a  brief  reference  to  its  more  recent  events  is 
appropriate  in  order  to  depict  clearly  the  present  sit¬ 
uation. 

Mr.  Quay  Is  mainly  responsible  for  the  ovej  whelm¬ 
ing  disaster  which  befell  the  republican  party  in  this 
state  during  the  past  autumn,  whereby  an  accus¬ 
tomed  republican  majority  of  twenty  to  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  was  changed  to  a  democratic  majority  of  seven¬ 
teen  thousand.  The  single  issue  of  the  campaign,  as 
determined  by  Mr.  Quay  himself,  was  the  vindica¬ 
tion  of  his  own  personal  and  political  character. 
The  adoption  of  the  republican  platform  involved  a 
declaration  of  confidence  and  respect  for  the  junior 
senator,  and  in  the  election  of  the  republican  can. 
didate  the  acceptance  of  a  man  who  was  nominated 
at  the  dictation  of  Mr.  Quay.  The  state  rejected 
both  the  plank  and  the  candidate,  and  a  political 
revolution  ensued.  The  republican  party  was  de¬ 
feated  in  Pennsylvania,  its  most  conspicuous 
stronghold.  It  might  have  been  supposed  that  the 
leader  who  had  inflicted  such  a  wound  upon  his 
party,  and  to  whom  It  had  given  so  overwhelming  an 
evidence  of  a  lack  of  confidence  in  him,  would  have 
retired  from  public  prominence.  Mr.  Quay,  how¬ 
ever,  contented  himself  with  an  elaborate  defense 
of  his  record  before  the  United  States  Senate.  This 
was  both  untimely  and  Inconclusive ;  untimely, 
since  it  came  after  ali  possible  damage  that  could  re¬ 
sult  to  his  character  had  been  effected  by  his  silence 
under  the  grave  charges  repeatedly  made  against 
him  from  responsible  sources  through  the  long  crit¬ 
ical  period  preceding  the  election ;  inconclusive, 
since  he  failed  in  it  to  adopt  the  simple  and  the  only 
course  in  relation  to  the  treasury  scandal  that  could 
have  made  clear  his  innocence.  Had  Mr.  Quay  ac 
cepted  the  suggestion  that  lie  should  call  upon  Mr. 
MaeVeagh  and  the  other  gentlemen  who  were  said 
to  have  been  present  when  his  alleged  defalcation  in 
connection  with  the  treasury  was  covered  by  Mr. 
Cameron,  to  testify  in  his  favor,  he  would  have 
adopted  the  obvious  means  for  securing  vindication. 
But  this  he  did  not  do ;  and  failing  to  take  such  a 
course  his,  defense  falls  to  the  ground,  and  his  pre¬ 
vious  position  remains  unchanged.  Notwithstanding 
these  facts  he  still  retains  the  party  leadership,  and 
his  lieutenants,  either  acting  under  his  direct,  though 
hidden,  command,  or  only  in  strict  accord  with  the 
principles  of  his  school  of  politics,  by  the  attitude  they 
assumed  toward  the  ballot  reform  bill,  have  violated 
the  express  pledges  of  the  party,  have  openly  defied 
the  will  of  the  overwhelming  majority  of  their  con¬ 
stituents,  and  have  been  guilty  of  a  stupid  political 
blunder.  The  amendments  first  made  by  the  state 
senate  committee  to  the  Baker  ballot  bill  were  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  transform  the  very  spirit  of  that 
measure  from  one  in  the  interest  of  free  and  fair 
elections  to  one  designed  to  perpetuate  the  corrupt 
practices  under  which  the  state  had  so  long  suffered, 
and  by  which  these  leaders  have  so  long  retained 
their  power.  But  those  who  designed  and  favored 
these  amendments,  and  who  thereby  declared  them¬ 
selves  in  favor  of  a  fraudulent  ballot,  will  be  remem¬ 
bered  by  the  voters  of  this  state,  and  when  the  day 
for  a  consideration  of  the  qualifications  of  our  pub¬ 
lic  servants  shall  have  come,  the  names  of  those  who 
have  thus  defied  the  commands  of  their  constituents 
will  not  be  forgotten. 

For  the  defeat  of  the  bill  abolishing  the  local 
school  boards  in  Philadelphia,  which  was  designed 
to  free  our  public  schools  from  political  influence, 
and  from  a  divided  and  cumbersome  control,  are- 
publican  legislature  must  also  be  held  responsible. 
The  measure  had  the  approval  of  the  great  majority 
of  our  best  citizens  of  all  creeds,  and  of  both  parties, 
and  the  time  was  ripe  for  its  adoption. 

All  these  statements,  while  they  touch  the  root 
from  which  other  evils  have  grown,  find  a  fitting 
culmination  in  that  scandal  of  more  recent  expos¬ 
ure— the  robbery  of  the  city  and  state  treasury  by 
its  dishonest  guardian.  Not  only  must  the  citizens 
of  Philadelphia  suffer  a  tarnished  name,  a  direct 
loss  of  a  million  dollars  or  upwards,  while  thousands 
of  depositors  lose  their  earnings  through  the  failure 


of  banks  connected  with  this  defalcation,  but  those 
untold  and  untraceable  losses,  resulting  from  the 
shaken  confidence  in  the  community,  must  also  en¬ 
sue. 

There  is  a  fundamental  fallacy  in  the  theory  of 
politics  which  has  for  years  obtained  in  this  state,  and 
of  which  Mr.  Quay  has  been  the  leading  exponent. 
It  is  that  public  oflices  are  spoils,  the  lawful  property 
of  the  politicians  who  capture  them,  and  by  whom 
they  are  dispensed  in  turn  to  their  underlings  as  the 
prizes  of  war.  But  the  truth  is  that  these  oflices  are 
a  public  trust  which  should  be  held  in  stewardship 
by  the  politicians  for  the  people.  The  disaster  of  a 
looted  treasury  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  step 
from  this  fallacy  to  the  startling  and  bald  appropria¬ 
tion  of  public  funds  to  the  private  uses  of  public 
officers  is  a  long  one  in  appearance  only,  not  in  re¬ 
ality.  That  step  has  now  been  taken.  A  partial 
remedy  for  future  troubles  of  the  same  kind  lies  in 
the  party’s  acceptance  and  assertion  of  the  truth 
that  a  public  office  is  a  public  trust,  and  that  it  will 
not  support  in  power  men  who  deny  that  truth.  We 
are  soon  to  nominate  an  auditor-general  and  a  state 
and  city  treasurer.  In  making  these  nominations,  if 
the  elections  are  to  give  these  posts  to  republicans, 
we  must  see  to  it  that  the  men  chosen  are  both 
honest  and  of  such  firm  character  that  they  can  not 
be  twisted  to  dishonest  purposes. 

In  the  presence  of  these  facts,  can  the  republican 
voters  of  Pennsylvania  hesitate  as  to  their  duty,  or 
be  in  doubt  as  to  their  course?  The  moment  is  a  cri¬ 
sis  as  real  and  as  momentous  as  any  through  which 
the  state  has  ever  passed.  There  was  a  time  when 
Pennsylvania  rose  in  arms  to  victory  at  the  presence 
of  a  hostile  invader  upon  her  border,  but  the  danger 
was  less  than  to-day,  when  the  hands  of  the  public 
thief  are  upon  her  ballot-box,  and  have  been  through 
her  treasury.  The  poison  of  political  corruption  and 
dishonesty  have  alike  affected  those  who  have  pro¬ 
moted,  and  those  who  have  permitted  it.  It  has  pro¬ 
duced  a  paralysis,  running  through  moral  causes  to 
material  results.  Many  of  our  good  citizens  have 
been  blind  and  deaf  to  the  conditions  about  them, 
until  the  vicious  system  and  the  evil  principles  which 
have  been  tolerated  so  long  have  brought  forth  fruit 
after  their  kind.  But  when  loose  political  morals 
and  methods  have  culminated  in  appalling  defalca¬ 
tions  and  increased  tax  rate,  none  will  dare  dispute 
the  value  of  sound  principles  in  politics.  With  a 
great  financial  scandal,  the  black  bottom  of  which 
has  not  yet  been  sounded,  fastened  upon  Philadel¬ 
phia,  and  with  the  name  of  our  state  a  word  of  polit¬ 
ical  reproach  throughout  the  country,  we  are  con¬ 
vinced  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  change.  We  appeal 
to  the  patriotism,  to  the  sound  sense  of  republicans 
throughout  the  state,  or,  in  the  absence  of  sensibility 
to  higher  considerations,  to  that  fear  of  impending 
financial  and  political  danger  which  further  inaction 
will  bring,  to  so  consider  this  question,  and  so  to  ag¬ 
itate  it  as  to  secure  speedily  the  required  reform. 
Here,  in  reality,  is  a  chance  for  reform  within  the 
party  by  such  an  expression  of  popular  sentiment 
against  the  objectionable  men,  that  they  shall  fail  of 
renomination  to  their  respective  offices,  and  thus  the 
voter  be  saved  the  alternative  of  accepting  an  un¬ 
worthy  candidate,  or  voting  for  one  of  the  opposite 
party.  The  evils  which  we  now  suffer  will  be  over- 
com4,  if  each  man  shall  but  feel  a  personal  responsi¬ 
bility  for  their  removal,  and  will  make  those  individ 
ual  and  associated  efforts  which, if  wisely  planned  and 
faithfully  executed,  bring  victory.  The  objectiona¬ 
ble  public  records  of  the  men  who  have  inflicted 
those  evils  must  be  exposed.  There  must  be  a  more 
competent  and  worthy  leadership  than  that  of  Mr. 
Quay,  and  the  legislature  must  be  purged  of  those 
who  have  placed  themselves  on  record  as  the  ene¬ 
mies  of  ballot  reform.  The  demand  for  the  retire¬ 
ment  of  these  men  from  the  places  which  they  have 
disgraced,  must  be  unflinching.  The  political  meth¬ 
ods  which  they  have  adopted  must  be  discontinued, 
and  in  their  place  must  be  substituted  only  those 
consistent  with  sound  morals  and  with  the  practice 
of  honorable  men.  These  ideas  must  find  expression 
through  the  public  press,  and  by  the  private  letters 
of  constituents  to  their  representatives.  If  they  are 
not  insisted  upon  and  adopted,  the  republican  party 


in  Pennsylvania  is  doomed.  It  will  fall  rapidly  from 
decay  into  dissolution.  No  party  can  long  survive 
the  deliberate  abnegation  of  principle,  or  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  the  heresy  that  the  people  at  heart  have 
ceased  to  believe  in  right.  That  what  we  urge  is  not 
sentimentality,  but  politics  of  the  most  practical 
sort,  the  financial  losses  which  the  state  and  indi¬ 
viduals  are  now  enduring,  would  seem  to  have  clear¬ 
ly  proved. 

We  issue  our  appeal  at  a  time  when  these  events 
are  fresh  in  the  public  mind,  to  permit  that  full  con¬ 
sideration  and  agitation  of  the  subject  which  should 
precede  ultimate  action  at  the  primaries  or  the  polls. 
If  this  appeal  shall  excite  a  popular  response,  ways 
and  means  can  readily  be  devised  for  organized  ef¬ 
fort  at  a  later  date. 


Charles  Richardson. 
Rudolph  Blankenburg. 
Charles  W.  Henry. 
John  T.  Bailey  &  Co. 
Robert  R.  Corson. 

Alex.  E.  Outerbridge. 


J.  Rodman  Paul. 
Charles  E.  Pancoast. 
Geo.  Strawbridge,  M.  D. 
Hampton  L.  Carson. 
Joseph  DeF.  Junkin. 
Herbert  Welsh. 


Henry  Hartshorne,  M.  D.  Rev.  J.  K.  Murphy,  D.  D. 


Robert  Frazer. 

Edward  Y.  Hartshorne. 
Charles  M.  Lea. 

Rev.  W.  N.  McVickar.  D.  D. 


Henry  S.  Pancoast. 

Rev.  Joseph  May. 

Theodore  J.  Lewis. 

James  E.  Rhoads.  M.  D. 

George  Wharton  Pepper,  Reed  A.  Williams,  Jr 
Rev.  Alfred  J.  P.  McClure.  George  Burnham,  Jr. 
Henry  L.  Patterson.  Edward  1.  H.  Howell. 
William  B.  Montgomery.  George  W.  Blabon. 
William  J.  Dornan. 


Charles  B.  Krein. 
William  H.  Castle. 
William  P.  Datz. 
George  H.  Earle. 
George  Burnham. 
C.  M.  Clark. 
Joseph  S.  Clark. 


David  Scull. 

James  S.  Whitney. 
Edward  Longstreih. 
John  Story  Jeuks. 
John  H.  Converse. 
W.  C.  Allison. 
Thomas  J.  Martin. 
Charles  W.  Dulles, 


Charles  H.  Thomas,  M.  D.  James  Pe  ers. 


T.  Morris  Perot. 
Charles  Heber  Clark. 
Thomas  Miles. 

Robert  P.  McCullagh. 
Ferd.  J.  Dreer. 
Edward  H.  Williams. 
Owen  Jones. 

Rev.  Ezra  P.  Gould. 
Nathaniel  E.  Janney. 


Eben  F.  Barker. 

Reuben  Haines. 

Thomas  F.  Jones. 

Walter  Wood. 

Rev.  Sidnev  Corbett,  D.  D. 
Philip  J.  W'alsh. 

Edward  R.  Strawbridge. 
William  N.  Mencke. 
George  D.  Bromley. 
Benjamin  H.  Shoerhaker.  Robert  E  Hastings. 

Rev.  James  Lisk,  D.  D.  Edward  S.  Whelan. 

J.  Cheston  Morris,  M.  D.  Thomas  L.  Franklin. 
Rev.J.ElliottWright.D.D.  Rev.  W.  F.  Paddock,  D.  D. 

Rev.  W.  C.  French,  D.  D. 
Rev.  T.  E.  Brown,  D.  D. 


Rev.  8.  W.  Dana.  D.  D 
J.  Sellers  Bancroft. 


Rev.  WillisonB  French.  John  T.  Monroe. 


Edward  Lewis. 

Charles  Dissel. 

A.  J.  Hemphill. 

George  A.  Fletcher. 

B.  Frank  Clapp. 

George  L.  Mitchell. 
Charles  Hill. 

T.  Henry  Sweeting. 
Nathan  T.  Clapp. 

Evan  Morris. 

Rev.  C.  Miel,  D.  D. 
Lucius  H.  Warren. 
James  Chadw'ick. 
George  W.  Anderson. 
Emerson  Conrad. 

C.  D.  Ritchie. 

Rev.  M.  Hulburd,  D.  D. 
Francis  H.  Williams. 


Rev.  Charles  Wood. 

Rev.  S.  D. McConnell,  D.D. 
Enoch  Lewis. 

Samuel  S.  Thompson. 

G.  A.  Bisler. 

John  S.  Engart. 

E.  W.  Clark. 

John  Pitcairn. 

Howard  Comfort. 

Robert  E.  Atmore. 

Dr.  Owen  J.  Wister. 
Ebeneezer  Wood. 
Maximilian  Weiss. 

Harry  K.  Bisbing 
Alex.  E.  Outerbridge.  Jr. 
Rev.  J  T.  Beckley,  D.  D. 
William  F.  Dreer. 

Joseph  W.  Swain. 


Rev.  E.  K.  Young,  D.  D.  Rev.  William  Ely. 

Rev.  E.  T.  Bartlett,  D.  D.  Rev.  J.  R.  Miller,  D.  D. 
Rev  Benj.  Watson,  D.  D.  Lucian  Moss. 


Edwin  F.  Schively. 
A.  M.  Collins. 

Joseph  P.  Bolton. 
George  D.  Wetherill. 
Frank  S.  Pleasonton. 
J.  Henry  Tilge. 
Rufus  M.  Smith. 
Jesse  A.  Tilge. 

Peter  Moran. 

F.  O.  Horstmann. 
John  J.  Boyle. 
Walter  Horstmann. 
Graff,  Son  &  Co. 
Joseph  S.  Perot. 

John  V.  Hastings. 
John  Moss,  Jr. 

F.  DeB.  Richards. 
Henry  Brooks. 

R.  R.  Phillips. 

W.  E.  Bates. 

Edwin  F.  Partridge. 
Walter  Freeman. 


E.  B.  Tyson. 

James  H.  Snodgrass. 
Charles  F.  Yollmer. 
Nicholas  Lennig. 

Dr.  W.  A.  Reed. 
Charles  Henry  Hart. 
George  T.  Pearson. 
Lincoln  L.  Eyre. 

O.  M.  Jenks. 

William  Hazelton  3rd. 
Dr.  Chas.  W.  Gessler. 
Herbert  I.  Keen. 
Joseph  H.  Brazier. 

H.  O.  Hastings. 

Henry  G.  Thunder. 

R.  C.  Gaskill. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Hammond. 
George  C.  Harrison. 
Atwood  Smith. 

William  P.  Lewis. 
William  Harmar. 

Dr.  Walter  J.  Freeman. 


Dr.  William  G.  A.Bonwill  J.  A.  Schledt. 


William  M.  Gordon. 
Charles  H.  Ashburner. 
George  J.  Newton. 
John  8.  Dovey. 
William  H.  Bradbury. 
Robert  P.  Molten. 
Thomas  Bromley. 


H.  G.  Tinker. 

Joseph  Hartshorne. 
Dr.  William  Moss. 
William  11.  Bradbury. 
Samuel  Bradbury. 

H.  M.  Sill. 

George  W.  Allen. 


Joseph  Priestley  Button.  Rev.  C.  A.  Dickey,  D,  D, 
W,  D.  Frishmuth,  Jr. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office.  No.  23  N.  Meridian  St..  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  subscriptions  and  advertisments  will  be  received. 

Address  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


VoL.  I,  No.  30.  INDIANAPOLIS,  AUGUST,  189L  terms 


The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  a  republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system, 
already  established  by  law,  to  all  grades  of  the  ser¬ 
vice  to  which  it  is  applicable.— A’cpi/Wicaj»  National 
Plal/orm,  1888. 

When  President  Harrison  was  inaugu¬ 
rated,  the  reform  system  established  by 
law  had  been  extended  to  some  32,000  places 
in  the  federal  service.  In  two  years  and 
five  months  he  has  extended  it  to  cover 
some  700  additional  places. 

The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  ob. 
served  in  all  executive  appointments  *  ''  to  the 
end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institnlions  which  lurk 
in  the  power  of  official  patronge  may  be  wisely  and 
effectively  avoided.— Bepublican  Natto7ial  Platform, 
1888. 

Headsman  Clarkson  in  less  than  two 
years  removed  more  than  30,000  fourth- 
class  postmasters,  and  since  March  4,  1889, 
more  than  100,000  federal  place-holders 
have  been  displaced  by  partisans  of  the  ad 
ministration.  This  has  been  done  in  the 
wilful  and  wanton  exercise  of  “  the  power 
of  official  patronage.” 

Last  month,  with  the  good  authentica¬ 
tion  which  repeated  publication  without 
denial  in  leading  newspapers  seemed  to 
give  it,  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  pub¬ 
lished  what  purported  to  be  a  dispatch 
from  Secretary  Rusk  to  Professor  Nipher, 
asking  what  his  politics  were,  presumably 
with  reference  to  his  selection  as  head  of 
the  weather  bureau.  This  paper  has  since 
learned  from  authority  which  can  not  be 
questioned  that  Secretary  Rusk  sent  no 
such  dispatch.  There  is  no  doubt  as  to 
how  Professor  Mark  W.  Harrington,  who 
was  afterwards  appointed,  stands  as  to 
“  politics.”  In  an  interview  in  the  New 
York  Evening  Pbst  of  August  11,  given  be¬ 
low,  he  states  his  views  with  entire  frank¬ 
ness.  It  will  be  a  relief  for  the  country  to 
find  that  so  far  as  it  lies  with  the  head  of 
the  bureau  the  object  of  transferring  the 
weather  service  to  the  department  of  agri¬ 
culture  in  order  to  reduce  it  to  the  spoils 
basis  will,  if  there  was  such  an  object,  be 
defeated : 

When  asked  by  your  correspondent  whether  he  in¬ 
tended  to  put  his  force  under  civil  service  rules,  or  to 
use  his  influence  to  that  end.  he  answered  : 

“  The  Washington  ottice  is  already  under  the  rules, 
except  in  the  case  of  those  employes  especially  ex¬ 
empt  by  law,  and  a  few  others  Ailing  positions  cre¬ 
ated  by  the  act  transferring  the  bureau  from  the  war 
department  to  the  department  of  agriculture.  The 
employes  outside  of  Washington  are  not  in  the  clas¬ 
sified  service.  They  were  in  the  army  under  the  old 
regime,  and  did  not  need  the  protection  of  the  civil 


service  rules.  On  the  transfer  they  lost  their  mili¬ 
tary  standing  and  gained  none  in  the  civil  service. 
So  far,  however,  there  have  been  few  vacancies  to  fill, 
although  there  have  been  some  promotions  and  some 
changes  of  position.” 

"On  what  principle  do  you  propose  filling  vacan¬ 
cies?” 

“  I  can  not  fill  them  personally ;  I  have  no  appoint¬ 
ing  power.  My  authority  extends  no  further  than 
nominating.  Before  I  entered  the  public  service  I 
was  always  warmly  in  favor  of  the  merit  system. 
Since  taking  ottice  I  have  found  that  the  civil  service 
rules,  through  their  not  extending  far  enough,  make 
such  a  task  of  reorganization  as  I  was  faced  with  here 
exceedingly  difficult.” 

“  In  what  way  ?” 

“By  preventing  me  actually  from  nominating 
some  excellent  men  for  promotion.  The  highest 
salary  in  the  class!  fled  service  is  81 ,800.  Hence,  when 
a  man  deserves  to  be  raised  to  be  chief  of  division  at 
a  salary  of  $  ’,000,  and  his  superior  officer  would  be 
glad  to  recommend  him  for  such  an  increase  of  re¬ 
sponsibility  and  pay,  the  question  at  once  arises, 
will  the  extra  8200  a  year  compensate  for  the  risks 
attending  its  acceptance?  For  when  a  man  steps 
above  the  classified  service,  you  know,  just  as  when 
he  falls  below  it,  he  is  beyond  the  protection  of  the 
civil  service  rules,  and  must  take  the  chances  of 
war.” 

“You  would  prefer,  then,  increasing  the  scope  of 
operations  of  the  merit  system  in  your  bureau?  ’ 

“1  am  in  favor  of  the  extension  of  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem  over  practically  the  entire  service.  There  are  a 
few  positions,  of  course,  which  should  be  filled  by 
professional  experts,  who  have  already  so  high  a 
reputation  in  their  own  special  fields  that  a  proposal 
to  examine  them  would  be  an  impertinence.  Aside 
from  these,  however,  and  possibly  a  few  others 
whose  exemption  would  be  universally  recognized 
as  proper,  I  think  all  the  higher  positions  ought  to 
be  filled  by  promotions  from  lower  grades,  and  all 
admissions  to  the  service  made  through  competitive 
examination  thrown  open  to  everybody.  I  shall 
recommend  that  this  course  be  pursued,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  in  due  time  the  meteorological  serv¬ 
ice  of  the  government  will  be,  with  the  exception  I 
have  already  noted,  under  the  civil  service  rules.” 

Prof.  Harrington  declined  to  be  interviewed  con¬ 
cerning  Secretary  Rusk’s  probable  course  in  civil 
service  matters,  or  to  say  anything  which  could  in 
any  way  commit  his  chief,  even  by  implication.  He 
wished  it  distinctly  understood  that  for  the  views 
he  expressed  he  alone  was  responsible. 

From  a  gentleman  who  is  believed  to  speak  with 
authority  for  the  secretary,  however,  it  is  learned 
that  Prof.  Harrington  expressed  his  opinions  clearly 
and  in  full  before  accepting  office,  and  that  the  sec¬ 
retary  was  the  better  pleased  with  him  for  his  can¬ 
dor. 

At  the  recent  national  convention  of 
the  letter  carriers  h^ld  in  Detroit  the  fol¬ 
lowing  resolution  was  passed  : 

“Resolved,  That  the  letter  carriers  of  the  United 
States,  in  convention  assembled,  respectfully  ask  the 
Pre.sident  of  the  United  States  to  extend  the  civil 
service  to  all  free  delivery  cities  of  the  country.” 

Why  does  not  the  President  make  the 
extension?  The  carriers  want  it,  the  civil 
service  commission  is  ready  to  take  charge 
of  the  competition,  and  the  republican 
platform  emphatically  promised  it.  Why 


is  it  not  made  ?  Are  not  two  years  and  a 
half  sufficient  time  in  which  to  keep  a 
promise? 


At  a  national  convention  of  fire  superin¬ 
tendents  held  recently  at  Springfield,  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  the  president  with  the  decided 
approbation  of  the  convention  expressed 
himself  as  follows : 

“A  politician  has  no  right  in  a  fire  department. 
To  bring  politics  into  a  department  is  to  destroy  its 
usefulness.  A  man  worthy  to  be  a  fireman  must  be 
educated  in  his  business,  and  can’t  be  a  ward  heeler 
at  the  same  time.” 


At  the  recent  semi-annual  examination 
for  clerks  and  mail  carriers  for  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  post-office  there  were  five  appli¬ 
cants  for  clerkships  and  eleven  for  posi¬ 
tions  as  carriers.  Ex  Congressman  Gros- 
venor,  if  we  remember  rightly,  was  very 
solicitous  over  the  hundreds  of  young  men 
who  traveled  to  the  place  of  examination 
at  great  expense,  passed  a  successful  exam¬ 
ination,  and  then  sick  at  heart  waited  in 
vain  for  a  place.  This  objection  to  the  law 
can  hardly  be  thought  serious  in  the  face 
of  only  sixteen  applicants,  and  the  young 
men  of  the  state  may  properly  be  remind¬ 
ed  that  race,  color,  politics  or  religion 
shuts  no  one  out  from  a  chance  to  work  in 
the  Indianapolis  post-office ;  also  it  may  be 
said  that  it  is  better  for  the  post-office  to 
have  the  possibility  of  the  higher  excel¬ 
lence  of  a  larger  number  of  candidates  for 
competition. 


It  seems  that  Assistant  Secretary 
Crounze  and  Treasurer  Nebeker  each  de¬ 
sired  to  have  his  son  for  his  secretary. 
The  places  are  worth  |1,800  apiece  a  year 
and  are  excepted  from  the  civil  service 
classification.  They  have  the  further  ad¬ 
vantage  uf  being  “back  doors”  to  the  classi¬ 
fied  service  because  after  having  served  a 
certain  period  private  secretaries  are  ad¬ 
mitted  upon  a  “pass”  instead  of  a  competi¬ 
tive  examination.  It  is  stated  that  Secre¬ 
tary  Foster  objected  to  the  appointments 
and  then  Nebeker  and  Crounze  got 
together  and  fixed  up  the  trick  of  each 
appointing  the  other’s  son  for  the  place, 
but  Secretary  Foster  vetoed  that  likewise. 
Just  why  Secretary  Foster  drew  the  line 
on  Nebeker  and  Crounze  we  do  not  know. 
The  land  is  dotted  with  relatives  and 
friends  from  those  of  the  President  down 
who  have  received  the  gift  of  offices;  all 


254 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  same,  it  is  always  interesting  to  note 
any  squeamishnessin  this  direction.  Pro¬ 
viding  for  relatives  is  a  delicate  operation 
and  requires  a  good  deal  of  secrecy  and  at 
the  best  always  has  an  element  of  un¬ 
certainty  as  to  whether  the  public  will 
swallow  it  without  protest.  Such  an  er¬ 
ratum  as  Raum’s  son  lately  committed 
undoubtedly  requires  a  temporary  pander¬ 
ing  to  public  sentiment.  As  to  Nebeker 
and  Crounze  they  need  not  be  discouraged. 
The  familiar  plan  is  yet  open  to  them  of 
making  a  spoils’  appointment  upon  the 
understanding  of  a  division  of  the  salary. 
They  could  make  at  least  $900  apiece  a 
year  in  this  way. 

The  President  has  made  a  rule  that 
hereafter  promotions  in  the  departments  at 
Washington  shall  be  made  upon  competi¬ 
tive  examinations  under  the  control  of  the 
civil  service  commission.  These  examina¬ 
tions  will  now  amount  to  something,  and 
those  who  stand  highest  will  secure  the 
promotions.  Heretofore  there  has  been  a 
pretended  examination,  so  easy  that  all  in 
a  given  class  could  pass  and  then  favorite- 
ism  did  its  work  by  permitting  a  choice 
from  the  whole  list.  The  only  permanent 
control  of  examinations  in  which  the  coun¬ 
try  will  have  any  confidence  must  rest  in 
the  commission.  Secretary  Tracy  and 
Postmaster-General  Wanamaker,  if  they 
wish  to  secure  any  permanent  improve¬ 
ment,  will  have  to  take  steps  accordingly. 

Congressman  Warwick,  the  successor 
of  Mr.  McKinley  in  Ohio,  instituted  a 
competitive  examination  of  candidates  for 
appointment  to  West  Point.  Being  open 
to  all,  a  hundred  or  more  are  said  to  have 
competed.  Answering  an  inquiry  con¬ 
cerning  a  report  that  Congressman  War¬ 
wick  was  dealing  in  bad  faith  with  the  re¬ 
sults  of  the  competition, a  correspondent 
writes : 

“I  find  your  clipping  and  letter  on  my 
return  from  a  trip.  The  newspaper  ac¬ 
count  gives  the  facts  in  part,  though  there 
is  some  confusion.  It  has  been  the  custom 
of  Major  McKinley  to  order  competitive 
examinations  to  fill  vacancies  at  West 
Point  and  Annapolis.  Mr.  Warwick  fol¬ 
lowed  the  precedent,  and  made  up  his 
board  of  examiners,  both  educational  and 
physical.  Among  all  the  applicants  the 
son  of  Dr.  T.  Clark  Miller,  of  Massillon, 
was  facile  prince ps.  His  father  is  a  lead¬ 
ing  republican,  and  pressure  was  at  once 
brought  to  bear  upon  Mr.  Warwick  to 
have  him  appoint  some  one  else,  disregard¬ 
ing  the  recommendations  of  the  commit¬ 
tee  which  had  unanimously  endorsed 
young  Miller  for  the  place.  There  was  an 
applicant  from  Holmes  county,  whose 
name  now  escapes  me,  whose  father  was 
as  described  in  the  article  sent  me.  I  am 
not  able  to  state  that  he  was  lowest  on 
the  list ;  my  impression  being  that  he 
stood  well  up,  though  inferior  to  Miller 
both  in  mental  and  physical  making.  This 
man  received  the  votes  of  the  committee 


for  alternate.  Mr.  Warwick  never,  so  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  has  made  an 
appointment  for  the  place,  but  it  is  said 
that  he  contemplates  a  new  competitive 
examination.  There  was  considerable  of 
a  sensation  at  the  time  and  I  can  readily 
see  that  Mr.  Warwick  will  be  much  em¬ 
barrassed  by  the  attitude  he  assumes, 
whatever  it  may  be.  If  a  new  examina¬ 
tion  is  ordered  the  committee  and  the  suc¬ 
cessful  applicant  may  well  feel  aggrieved, 
the  one  by  being  stultified,  and  the  other 
by  being  disappointed.  If  Miller  is  ap¬ 
pointed  the  democratic  constituents  of  the 
gentleman  may  make  it  unpleasant  for 
him.  As  Holmes  county,  the  residence  of 
the  alternate,  gives  2,200  democratic  major¬ 
ity  Mr.  Warwick  is  in  a  manner  between 
the  devil  and  the  deep  sea.  What  I  have 
said  is  a  very  moderate  statement  of  the 
facts,  as  I  understand  them.  In  a  word, 
Mr.  Warwick  is  seeking  to  undo,  for  polit¬ 
ical  effect,  the  work  of  the  committee 
chosen  to  inquire  into  the  qualification  of 
applicants. 

“A  word  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
examination  was  conducted.  Every  young 
man  was  known  by  a  number  only,  and 
the  report  was  made  on  the  examination 
papers  by  the  number.  Mr.  Warwick  held 
sealed  envelopes  containing  the  names  of 
the  men,  and  until  these  were  opened  the 
committee  were  not  supposed  to  know  the 
name  or  pedigree  of  any  applicant.” 

James  Russell  Loivell  died  August  12 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  He  was 
a  distinguished  poet  and  man  of  letters, 
but  his  crowning  glory  was  that  he  was  be¬ 
sides  these  the  ideal  American  citizen.  It 
was  a  light  thing  for  Mr.  Lowell  to  be  so 
thoroughly  American  as  to  love  his  country 
and  to  feel  pride  in  her  greatness,  but 
never  to  have  shirked  the  disagreeable 
task  always  plucking  at  the  sleeve  of  the 
real  patriot  of  a  watchful  attention  to  her 
specific  dangers  is  proof  of  a  far  more  gen 
uine  Americanism.  Seeing  clearly  the 
menace  of  the  spoils  system,  he  spoke  his 
mind  freely  and  he  went  further  and  took 
up  the  burden  of  allying  himself  with  an 
association  organized  to  fight  it. 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  George  Jones,  the 
controlling  proprietor  of  the  New  York 
Times,  the  cloud  of  parasites  who  feed  on 
the  community  have  lost  a  relentless  en¬ 
emy.  In  the  course  of  its  attempt  to  con¬ 
dense  the  facts  showing  how  the  parasites 
work,  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  has 
found  the  Times  an  inexhaustible  source  of 
information ;  and  if  these  columns  have 
quoted  from  it  more  than  from  other 
•papers  it  is  because  the  Times  in  the  same 
proportion  strips  naked  the  public  evil 
which  more  than  any  other  eats  into 
American  public  morals. 

MR.  ROOSEVELT’S  REPORT  ON  THE 
BALTIMORE  PRIMARIES. 

When  Mr.  Cleveland’s  term  closed  Mary¬ 
land  was  almost  a  republican  state.  The 
struggle  had  been  between  Gormanism  in  con¬ 
trol  of  the  federal  and  state  patronage  on  one 


side  and  anti-Gormanism,  unsupported  by  any. 
spoil  whatever,  on  the  other.  Had  this  state 
of  the  issues  continued,  Maryland  would  to¬ 
day  have  been  as  doubtful  as  Pennsylvania, 
New  York,  Indiana  and  Iowa.  But  the  plum 
of  federal  patronage  was  given  by  President 
Harrison  to  the  republican  party  machine. 
As  always,  there  was  not  enough  to  go  around; 
those  who  did  not  get  any  began  to  fight  those 
who  did,  and  Maryland  has  become  as  safely 
democratic  as  Alabama.  Having  looted  the 
federal  offices  the  new  incumbents  in  the  post- 
office  and  in  the  marshal’s  office  performed 
their  duties  as  a  secondary  matter.  They  gave 
their  first  consideration  and  efforts  to  hand  to' 
hand  struggles  to  control  republican  primaries 
and  conventions.  The  classified  service  being 
involved  Mr.  Roosevelt  attended  their  pri-^ 
maries  held  last  March.  He  obtained  a  large 
amount  of  evidence  by  personal  observation, 
affidavits  and  oral  examination  of  witnesses." 
Congressman  Mudd,  true  to  a  congressman’s 
notion,  that  the  federal  service  has  no  duty  so 
important  as  the  manipulation  of  primaries, 
and  exasperated  that  an  official  should  pre¬ 
sume  to  take  down  the  facts  of  such  manipu¬ 
lation,  rushed  to  Washington  and  demanded 
Mr.  Roosevelt’s  removal.  In  the  face  of  this  de¬ 
mand  Mr.Roo.sevelt  embodied  his  evidence  into 
a  report  to  the  President  with  pertinent  com¬ 
ments.  This  report  has  just  been  given  to  the 
public,  but  only  extracts  of  it  have  so  far  ap¬ 
peared  in  print,  and  it  is  impossible  at  this 
writing  to  give  it  in  full.  It  evidently  strikes 
at  the  very  root  of  the  spoils  system.  It  shows 
among  other  things  “  a  federal  employe  at¬ 
tempting  to  drag  one  of  the  primary  judges 
out  of  a  window ;  another  federal  employe 
smashing  a  ballot-box  and  grabbing  two 
handfuls  of  the  tickets,  and  being  pitched  out 
of  a  window  for  his  over-zeal ;  another  trying 
to  stop  an  election  which  seemed  to  be  going 
against  the  interest  of  the  faction  to  which  he 
belonged  ;  still  others  ‘  fighting  fire  with  fire,’ 
and  frankly  confessing  their  willingness  to 
cheat  or  do  anything  else  to  carry  the  day  for 
their  side.” 


John  Reed,  an  employe  of  the  custom-house, 
frankly  testified  : 

I  don’t  say  I  would’t  cheat  in  the  primaries.  Who 
ever  gets  two  judges  wins. 

Q.  How  do  you  do  your  cheating?  A.  Well,  we 
do  our  cheating  honorably.  If  they  catch  us  at  it, 
it’s  all  right;  it’s  fair.  I  even  carried  the  box  home 
with  me  on  one  occasion.  *<•>;<  i  have  broken  up 
more  than  one  election. 

Q.  As  a  matter  of  fact.  In  your  ward,  it  is  the 
office-holders  who  do  and  always  have  taken  an  act¬ 
ive  part  in  the  primaries?  A.  Exactly  ;  they  are  the 
ones  that  ought  to. 

Q.  It  is  mainly  the  office-holders  who  run  the  pri¬ 
maries?  A.  Most  undoubtedly;  *  «  *  the  great 
majority  are  office-holders  or  people  who  want  office. 

Postmaster  Johnson,  having  made  a  clean 
sweep  in  the  unclassified  service,  and  having 
dismis.sed  fifty  per  cent,  in  the  classified  serv¬ 
ice,  thus  delivered  himself : 

Mr.  Johnson— There  are  men  that  have  told  me 
right  in  my  own  office,  “If  you  don’t  like  what  I  do 
I  will  go  out.’’  People  have  put  men  inhere  over 
whom  1  have  no  control  about  elections ;  they’re  in¬ 
dependent  of  me. 

Q.  You  mean  that  a  great  many  of  the  men  here, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


255 


although  nominally  appointed  by  you,  are  really 
put  ill  by  somebody  else  outside ;  that  is,  by  the  dif¬ 
ferent  ward  leaders  of  the  party?  A.  They  are  rec¬ 
ommended  by  outsiders  and  they  work  for  the  men 
who  put  them  in  here,  and  are  under  their  control. 

Q.  Is  that  so  generally  in  the  nou-classified  serv¬ 
ice?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  They  feel  responsible  to  the  men  who  put  them 
.  in,  to  the  politicians  and  ward  leaders  generally, 
and  not  responsible  to  you?  A.  Yes,  sir,  that  Is  it. 

Q.  The  amount  of  it  is  that  in  making  the  iion- 
clas-sified  appointments  you  have  to  parcel  them  out 
to  the  different  wards — the  different  ward  leaders 
nominate  men  for  the  positions?  A.  Ye.s,  sir;  there 
are  about  eighteen  hundred  applicants  and  about 
sl.xty  places. 

^  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  AND  PARTY 
I  DELEGATES. 


The  most  important  event  during  the  month 


in  connection  with  the  management  of  the 


^  federal  service  is  the  acceptance  of  the  resig- 
,  nationof  Collector  Erhardt  and  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  J.  Sloat  Fassett  to  succeed  him  in 
the  New  York  custom-house.  President  Har 
rison  said  to  Mr.  Erhardt: 

J  “I  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  your  letter  resign- 
-  ing  your  office  as  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York, 
t  and  advised  you  that  I  would,  at  a  later  date,  com- 
municate  with  you  again.  I  now  accept  your  resig- 
;  nation  to  take  effect  upon  the  appointment  and 
qualification  of  your  successor,  and  in  doing  so  1  beg 
to  say  that  I  have  held  you,  both  personally  and  as 
a  public  ofiScer,  in  the  highest  esteem  and  confi¬ 
dence.  and  had  no  other  thought  than  that  you 
would  continue  to  discharge  the  dutiesof  your  office 
until  the  expiration  of  its  term.” 

Collector  Erhardt  said  : 


* 


!. 


1 


“I  have  resigned  because  the  collector  has  been 
reduced  to  a  position  where  he  is  no  longer  an  inde¬ 
pendent  officer,  with  authority  commensurate  with 
his  responsibility.  I  have  given  bonds  for  8200,000. 
I  have  received  for  the  government,  during  the 
twenty  months  last  passed,  8322,697,135.40,  and  I  am 
all  the  time  personally  responsible  for  enoimous 
values  in  money  and  in  merchandise.  My  duties 
are  neces.sarily  performed  through  about  1,500  em¬ 
ployes.  lam  not  willing  to  continue  to  be  respon 
sible  for  their  conduct  unless  I  can  have  proper 
authority  over  them.  The  recent  policy  of  the 
treasury  department  has  been  to  control  the  details 
of  the  customs  administration  at  the  port  of  New 
York  from  Washington,  at  the  dictation  of  a  private 
Individual  having  no  official  responsibility.  The 
collector  is  practically  deprived  of  power  and  con¬ 
trol,  while  he  is  left  subject  to  all  responsibility. 
The  office  is  no  longer  independent,  but  I  am. 
Therefore,  we  have  separated.” 


'  Mr.  Erhardt  undoubtedly  stated  the  truth, 
and  the  country  will  believe  him.  It  will  also 
f  believe  that  the  “  private  individual  ”  is  Tom 
Platt.  That  he  stood  in  the  way  of  Plattism, 


the  New  York  Tribune  admits  as  follows : 

“  Mr.  Erhardt,  who  has  resigned  his  place  as  the 
collector  of  the  port  of  New  York  for  the  excellent 
and  uncompromising  reason  that  there  was  nothing 
else  for  him  to  do,  is  endeavoring  to  put  himself  in 
the  light  of  a  hero  and  a  martyr.  This  is  highly 
absurd  on  Mr.  Erhardt’s  part,  though  in  that  respect 
it  is  characteristic.  The  republican  party  honored 
him  with  an  office  of  great  trust  and  responsibility. 
It  supposed  him  to  be  a  republican,  a  believer  in  its 
policies,  anxious  for  its  success  in  administration. 
This  was  the  view  we  entertained  of  him,  and  the 
view  we  presented  to  our  readers.  But  Mr.  Erhardt 
has  employed  the  opportunities  and  powers  of  his 
office  to  create  party  discords,  to  hold  unworthy  dem¬ 
ocrats  in  the  offices  they  had  improperly  got  under 
the  Cleveland  administration,  and  to  obstruct  the 
policies  of  the  treasury  department.  When  he  first 
began  to  do  these  these  things,  we  gave  him  some 
good  advice  in  a  kindly  way,  and  he  ought  to  have 


taken  it.  But  he  preferred  to  keep  the  company  and 
to  heed  the  counsels  of  those  who  were  hostile  to  the 
policies  he  was  put  in  office  to  enforce,  and  he  soon 
caused  himself  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  odd  combi¬ 
nation  of  mugwump  Pharisee  and  Tammany  boss. 
The  result  is  that  he  has  “  resigned.” 

Mr.  Erhardt  has  thought  himself  called  upon  to 
give  out  another  and  a  different  notion  of  this  inci¬ 
dent.  “The  recent  policy  of  the  treasury  depart¬ 
ment,”  he  says,  “  has  been  to  control  the  details  of 
the  customs  administration  at  this  port  from  Wash¬ 
ington,  at  the  dictation  of  a  private  individual  hav¬ 
ing  no  official  responsibility.”  It  is  open  to  .suspi¬ 
cion  that  reference  is  here  made  to  the  Hon.  Thomas 
C.  Platt.  We  have  no  commission  to  speak  for  Mr. 
Platt,  but  if  he  has  been  doing  things  that  have  ren¬ 
dered  Mr.  Erhardt  uncomfortable  in  the  Tammany- 
Mugwump  policy  he  has  pursued,  we  are  sure  the 
republican  party  will  judge  hisoffense lightly.  What 
Mr.  Erhardt  calls  "  dictation  ”  we  should  describe  as 
a  “narrative  of  cold  facts.”  The  republicans  of 
New  York  have  no  desire  to  see  the  custom-house 
run  as  a  tender  to  Tammany  Hall  under  a  .sham  civil 
service  reform.  If  Mr.  Platt  has  told  this  to  Secre¬ 
tary  Foster,  he  has  told  the  honest  truth.  The  dem¬ 
ocratic  and  mugwump  papers  which  are  mourning 
Erhardt’s  departure  mourn  not  for  him  nor  for  the 
service,  but  solely  because  they  know  that  a  large 
quantity  of  democratic  rubbish  will  soon  be  swept 
from  the  custom-house,  as  it  should  have  been  swept 
long  ago. 

When  Mr.  Fassett  was  sworn  in  he  was  pre¬ 
sented  with  a  San  Domingo  cutlass,  in  bar¬ 
baric  origin  and  purpose  truly  emblematic  of 
the  spoils  system,  and  with  the  following  le¬ 
gend  : 

This  cutlass  is  an  instrument  of  torture  to  be  u.sed 
in  beheading  democrats.  Use  it  quickly  and  success 
is  assured  for  the  republican  party. 

Republican  directions :  Use  daily— morning,  noon 
and  night,  until  every  democratic  head  is  severed. 
Sure  cure  for  democratic  headache. 

Frank  Platt,  the  son  of  Platt,  comes  to  the 
surface  as  the  attorney  of  the  new  collector 
and  performs  his  duties  in  the  sprightly  man¬ 
ner  of  a  man  who  has  secured  a  very  fat  job. 
For  this  he  is  clearly  indebted  to  his  father 
rather  than  to  his  legal  attainments.  The 
evidence  is  too  overwhelming  to  admit  of  the 
least  dispute,  that  Tom  Platt,  a  private  citizen, 
without  the  least  authority  or  right  to  inter¬ 
fere  with  the  management  of  the  federal  serv¬ 
ice,  forced  Collector  Erhardt  out  of  his  place 
because  the  latter  would  not  let  Platt  have 
places  in  the  public  service  to  give  to  a  gang 
of  followers  under  his  control.  It  is  a  perfect 
instance  of  bossism  triumphant,  such  as  the 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  has  steadily  main¬ 
tained  was  the  ruling  spirit  of  American,  na¬ 
tional,  state  and  municipal  public  aflfairs  and 
the  greatest  evil  connected  with  our  civil  gov¬ 
ernment.  President  Harrison  did  not,  as  he 
might  have  done,  prevent  this  triumph ;  he 
alone  made  it  possible. 

Again  the  evidence  is  so  conclusive  as  to 
permit  no  denial,  that  the  expected  and  un-,» 
derstood  payment  the  President  is  to  receive  is 
favorable  delegates  at  the  next  party  conven¬ 
tion.  He  sold  executive  power  vested  in  him 
by  the  constitution. 

POINTS  OF  VIEW. 


President  Harrison  has  given  us  the  best  commis¬ 
sion  we  have  had.  But.  on  the  other  hand,  he  has 
given  to  the  lukewarm  friends  or  decided  opponents 
of  the  reform,  like  Wanamaker  and  Clarkson,  posi¬ 
tions  so  important  tliat  they  have  been  able  to  do 


more  in  certain  directions  to  retard  and  injure  the 
reform  than  the  commission  has  done  to  improve 
and  extend  it.  For  while,  except  for  details  of  man¬ 
agement,  the  commission  has  merely  advisory 
power,  and  must  receive  the  sanction  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent  for  what  it  may  propose  to  have  done,  these 
men  are  autocratic  in  their  department,  and  can  re¬ 
move  or  appoint  as  they  please  thousands  of  our 
public  servants,  an  extent  of  arbitrary  power  far 
more  in  keeping  with  the  despotism  of  Russia  than 
the  democracy  of  America.  The  recommendation  of 
the  commission  to  extend  the  reform  to  the  census 
bureau  the  President  has  disregarded.  Its  efforts  to 
punish  offenders  guilty  of  bribery  or  of  levying  po¬ 
litical  assessments  have  been  of  little  avail,  because 
they  have  not  received  the  aid  they  had  a  right  to 
expect;  and  consequently  the  offenders  still  go  un¬ 
punished.  The  order  forbidding  office-holders  to 
take  part  in  political  meetings  has  been  openly  and 
constantly  violated  without  rebuke.— Henry 
Tjwibert  on  the  Present  Status  of  Civil  Service  Reform, 
Civil  Service  Record,  July,  1891. 

While  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  de¬ 
sires  to  put  on  record  an  emphatic  protest 
against  Mr.  Lambert’s  inference  that  Wana¬ 
maker  and  Clarkson  have  been  able  to  retard 
and  injure  the  reform  more  than  the  civil 
service  commission  to  improve  and  extend  it, 
the  facts  themselves  are  a  fair  indictment  of 
this  administration,  and,  niutalis  mutandis^  we 
think  Mr.  Lambert  should  have  added,  of  the 
preceding  administration.  Change  Wana¬ 
maker  and  Clarkson  to  Vilas  and  Stevenson 
and  their  acts  are  identical.  Brazen  brutal¬ 
ity  in  the  one  pair  may  be  substituted  for 
hypocritical  brutality  in  the  other.  Politi¬ 
cal  assessments  were  publicly  brought  to 
notice  in  the  preceding  administration  and 
were  treated  just  as  President  Harrison  is 
treating  them,  and  the  same  with  the  interfer¬ 
ence  of  federal  office-holders  in  primaries  and 
elections. 

In  both  administrations  a  few  bright  spots  of 
reform  have  brought  out  the  exceeding  black¬ 
ness  and  extent  of  the  spoils  horizon.  It  is  not  a 
fair  standard  of  comparison  with  one  admin¬ 
istration  to  infer  that  the  bright  spots  illumine 
the  entire  black  sky  and  for  the  other  that  the 
black  sky  neutralizes  the  bright  spots. 

Mr.  Lambert’s  point  of  view  is  that  of  the 
wide  extent  of  spoil  under  the  present  admin¬ 
istration.  The  following  quotation,  from  the 
Boston  correspondence  of  the  New  York  Times, 
July  13,  illustrates  a  point  of  view  based  on 
the  power  of  the  reform  spots : 

“  Nobody  will  seriously  question  Mr.  Cleveland’s 
.sincerity  of  purpose  to  eliminate  hurtful  partisanship 
from  the  business  of  office-holding.  He  stood  out 
against  the  whole  democratic  party  on  this  point,  and 
he  is  deserving  of  credit  for  his  firmness.  Not  only 
that ;  he  won  his  party  largely  to  his  side,  and  es¬ 
tablished  a  precedent  which  his  successors  must  fol¬ 
low,  to  a  limited  extent  at  least.  The  reform  ele¬ 
ments  which  broke  away  from  Blaine  in  1884  upon 
this  issue  encouraged  him  and  sustained  him.  But 
they  expected  too  niuch.  They  wanted  him,  in  one 
term,  to  revolutionize  public  sentiment  and  break 
down  a  system  which  had  become  firmly  rooted  by 
long  and  unbroken  usage.  Whenever  he  made  a 
mistake  they  set  up  a  howl  which  was  heard  through¬ 
out  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  The  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  government  with  all  their  multifarious 
branches  were  filled  with  men  of  one  political  faith, 
with  men  who  had  secured  their  positions  through 
political  activity  and  who  utilized  their  official  sta¬ 
tion  to  retard  the  progress  of  true  reform.  No  mat¬ 
ter  how  offensive  these  men  might  happen  to  be,  if 
one  of  them  was  disturbed  the  President  was  accused 


256 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


of  violating  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  civil  service 
law.” 

It  is  this  shifting  standard  that  injures 
the  influence  of  civil  service  reformers.  It 
never  fools  the  political  bosses  who  are  noth¬ 
ing  if  not  clear-minded. 

Again  in  the  last  month  it  has  been  a 
hundred  times  asserted  by  the  independent  j 
press  that  Quay,  Wanamaker,  Clarkson  and  j 
Dudley  “represent”  the  republican  party,  j 
They  undoubtedly  do  represent  the  controlling  | 
machine.  They  are  evil  men  but  it  is  doubt-  j 
ful  if  Gorman  is  not  a  more  consummate  evil-  j 
doer  than  all  of  them  together.  Yet  note  i 
how  the  standard  of  comparison  and  require-  j 
ment  changes  in  the  following  Washington  i 
dispatch  to  the  Boston  Post,  July  22:  1 

Senator  Gorman  has  been  asked  to  take  entire  i 
charge  of  the  democratic  campaign  in  Maryland  | 
with  a  view  to  saving  the  state  to  the  party  this  autumn. 
The  farmer's  alliance  movement  has  become  threat¬ 
ening,  and  the  regular  democrats  are  fearful  that  it 
will  defeat  their  state  ticket  and,  worse  still,  throw  | 
the  control  of  the  legislature  into  dangerous  hands. 
Senator  Oormaii  is  asked  to  take  charge,  not  to  secure  his 
own  re-electio7i,  which  is  certain  if  the  legislature  is 
democratic,  but  to  save  the  state  from  the  disgrace 
which  has  come  upon  Kansas  and  South  Carolina  by 
the  domination  of  the  alliance  element.  Senator 
Gorman  is  recognized  as  the  ablest  political  manager 
in  the  state,  and  all  elements  of  the  party  are  urging 
him  to  take  the  lead.  There  is  no  sign  of  the  old  inde¬ 
pendent  movement  against  the  senator  in  Baltimore,  but 
on  the  contrary  the  independent  democrats  are  willing  to 
subordinate  personal  interests. 

THE  MERIT  SYSTEM  AND  INDI¬ 
VIDUAL  MANHOOD. 

A  young  man  had  passed  a  civil  service  ex¬ 
amination  in  a  city  at  a  period  when  only 
democrats  got  in  through  the  competitive 
system  and  republicans  were  got  out  by  dis¬ 
missal  without  cause.  This  carrier,  with  the 
rest,  relied  upon  his  democracy  to  get  his 
place  and  to  keep  it.  The  civil  service  law 
had  been  a  temporary  and  unpleasant  formal¬ 
ity.  He  was  naturally  an  indifferent  and  dis¬ 
obliging  carrier  with  enough  of  insolence  in 
his  demeanor  to  exasperate  his  helpless  repub¬ 
lican  patron  but  not  enough  for  any  other 
purpose.  This  went  on  until  the  democratic 
defeat  in  1888.  Then  in  a  day  this  high 
stepping  young  fellow  became  weazen  and 
care-ridden.  He  was  suddenly  confronted 
with  the  old  hardship  of  political  proscription. 
The  withdrawal  of  the  wages  to  support  his 
family,  the  task  of  finding  other  work  made 
the  civil  service  law  loom  up  in  his  mind  as 
something  more  desirable  for  him  than  the 
sort  of  politics  that  consists  in  using  a  Tom 
Platt  cutlass.  But  he  was  obliged  to  remem¬ 
ber  that  the  law  had  been  no  bulwark  and 
the  time  seemed  at  hand  when  he  would  be 
manipulated  out  of  work  as  had  been  his 
predecessor.  Under  this  strain  he  succumbed 
as  most  men  do  when  the  means  of  supporting 
their  families  are  in  peril.  He  became  the 
most  painstaking  and  efficient  of  carriers  but 
with  a  hang-dog  servility  that  almost  ex¬ 
hausted  the  self-respect  of  his  former  suflering 
patron  through  sympathy.  After  a  period 
and  a  small  crisis  in  the  post-office,  it  was 


noised  about  that  the  law  was  to  be  enforced 
in  spirit  and  it  was  to  be  a  bulwark  of  safety 
to  the  efficient  and  honest  employe,  what¬ 
ever  his  politics.  No  student  of  human  na¬ 
ture  could  view  unmoved  the  moral  change 
in  the  old  carrier.  His  manhood  had  not 
been  restored ;  it  had  been  evolved.  He 
walks  about  to-day  in  all  confidence  that 
so  long  as  he  does  his  work  well  an<l  bears 
himself  with  courtesy  to  the  public,  his  means 
of  livelihood  are  in  no  peril  and  he  is  free  to 
hold  his  political  and  religious  opinions  It 
is  the  thousands  of  identical  cases  over  the 
country  that  make  the  strongest  argument  for 
the  warfare  on  the  spoils  system. 


THE  TOWNSHIP  TRUSTEE’S  OF¬ 
FICE. 

Trustee’s  Office,  '| 

Center  Township,  Marion  County,  ^ 

■  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  I8al.  ) 

Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

Dear  Sir— Shortly  after  I  took  chargeof  this  office, 
one  year  ago,  you  criticised  iu>'  appointment  ofdep- 
iilies  and  asserted  positively  that  the  county  would 
have  to  pay  dearly  for  my  actions,  inasmuch  as  my 
management  of  the  aid  given  to  the  poor  would 
largely  increase  the  expenses  of  the  county,  attribu¬ 
ting  this  supposed  increase  to  our  inexperience  and 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  applicants. 

Feeling  sure  that  whatever  I  might  say  at  that 
time  would  not  change  your  belief,  I  remained 
silent  until  the  present. 

My  answer  to  this  charge  will  be  found  in  the 
statements  following: 

Aid  given  by  my  predecessor  from  Aug.  1.  1889,  to 


Aug.  1,  1890 : 

Groceries . $  3,518  00 

Coal .  1,612  15 

Wood .  212  50 

Transportation .  679  75 

Burial  Costs .  1,614  75 


Total .  8  7,637  15 

Aid  given  by  me  from  Aug.  1,  1890,  to  Aug,  1,  1891 ; 

Groceries .  8  3,290  00 

Coal .  992  03 

Wood .  102  50 

Transportation .  565  35 

Burial  Costs .  1,730  30 

Clothing .  16  30 

Totel .  $  6,696  68 


Decrease .  8  940  47 

I  feel  confident  that  very  few,  if  any,  worthy  poor 
have  been  neglected  during  the  past  year.  You  akso 
asserted  that  my  appointments  were  made  solely  to 
pay  somebody  out  of  the  public  treasury,  for  having 
done  party  work,  or,  perhaps,  personal  work  for  my¬ 
self.  Let  me  say  very  emphatically  that  I  made  no 
promises  whatever  to  any  of  the  men  employed  at 
this  office,  or  their  friends  previous  to  my  election. 

Trusting  that  you  will  give  the  above  as  prominent 
a  position  in  your  valuable  paper  as  you  gave  the 
said  criticism,  I  am  yours  very  respectfully, 

Samuel  N.  Gold. 

The  criticism  referred  to  by  Mr.  Gold  is 
found  in  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  for 
August,  1890,  There  was  no  assertion  that 
there  would  be  any  increase  of  expenses,  or  that 
the  county  would  have  to  pay  dearly  for  Mr. 
Gold’s  actions,  A  comparison  of  expenses 
with  any  preceding  year  is  worth  nothing 
against  the  criticism  complained  of— that  Mr. 
Gold  had  dismissed  thoroughly  honest  and 
capable  employes,  whose  knowledge  of  the 
worthy  and  unworthy  applicants  for  relief 


from  the  public  treasury  was  in  every  sense' 
expert,  and  had  put  into  their  places  men  un¬ 
familiar  with  tbeir  exceedingly  important  du¬ 
ties.  It  is  no  answer  to  say  that  the  worthy 
poor  have  not  been  neglected.  That  is  only 
one  side  of  the  question.  Moreover,the8tate- 
ment  is  the  mere  opinion  of  a  man  who  de¬ 
prived  himself  of  the  means  of  knowing  the 
worthy  poor  and  of  baffling  the  consummate 
adroitness  of  the  thousands  of  unworthy  ap¬ 
plicants  for  support  from  the  public  treasury. 
The  Chronicle  said  : 

Township  Trustee  Gold,  whose  township  embraces 
the  city  of  Indianapolis,  has  removed  all  of  the  em" 
ployes  of  the  office  except  one,  a  woman,  and  has 
put  in  Frederick  Voght,  a  molder,  Charles  Mc- 
Creery,  an  advertising  agent,  Thomas  L.  Duffy,  a 
laborer,  and  Joseph  Keisburg,  whose  name  we  can 
not  find  in  the  directory. 

Mr.  Gold  will  never  make  anybody  believe 
that  he  could  substitute  these  employes  for 
such  men  as  Frank  Wright  and  Smith  King, 
whom  he  dismissed,  without  detriment  to  the 
public.  He  might  as  well  say  a  plowman 
could  command  an  ocean  steamer. 

It  is  only  when  in  public  office  and  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  business  of  that  office  that 
men  like  Mr.  Gold  maintain  that  equally  good 
results  can  be  obtained  with  inexperienced  as¬ 
sistants.  Mr.  Gold  does  not  follow  this  prin¬ 
ciple  in  his  private  business.  He  is  a  demo¬ 
crat,  but  he  keeps  in  his  employ  some  faithful 
and  efficient  men  who  are  republicans.  He 
does  not  turn  out  his  skilled  book-keeper  and 
put  into  his  place  Voght,  the  molder,  or  Mc- 
Creery,  the  advertising  agent. 

Having  deprived  himself  of  means  of  knowl¬ 
edge  within  his  office,  the  only  way  in  which 
Mr.  Gold  could  have  found  out  how  to  prop¬ 
erly  spend  the  public  money  was  by  applica¬ 
tion  to  the  charity  organization  society.  If 
that  organization  did  the  work  for  him,  then 
his  deputies  hold  sinecures;  if  they  searched 
the  records  and  hunted  old  information  them¬ 
selves,  then  Mr.  Gold’s  office  was  spending  its 
time  getting  and  wisely  applying  knowledge 
which  it  might  have  had,  and  skillfully  ap¬ 
plied  at  the  start  by  keeping  the  men  he  dis¬ 
missed. 

It  is  no  answer  to  the  charge  that  Mr.  Gold 
paid  personal  and  party  debts  out  of  the 
public  treasury  with  his  deputyships,  to  say 
that  he  made  no  promises  before  election. 
Why  did  he  not  keep  Frank  Wright  and 
Smith  King? 

Mr.  Gold  is  an  instance  of  the  respectable 
citizen  who  gets  an  office  and,  in  complacent 
ignorance,  supposes  he  can  violate  business 
principles  and  then  meet  criticism  by  point¬ 
ing  to  the  fact  that  the  cost  of  his  office  is  less 
than  under  his  predecessor.  When  our  in¬ 
sane  hospital  was  in  the  most  infamous  part 
of  its  career,  it  answered  criticism  by  point¬ 
ing  to  its  expenditures  which  showed  a  less 
cost  per  capita  for  maintenance  than  could  be 
shown  anywhere  else. 


Postmaster  General  Wanamaker  has  estab¬ 
lished  a  board  of  promotion  in  the  post-office 
department.  The  board  is  to  determine  a 
form  and  mode  of  examination  subject  to  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


257 


approval  of  the  postmaster  general.  The  ex¬ 
aminations  shall  be  competitive,  and  the 
competition  is  open  to  all  from  the  next  lower 
grade  in  the  same  bureau,  and  to  all  from  still 
lower  grades  who  obtain  special  permission. 
The  value  of  this  system  will,  like  the  system 
of  Secretary  Tracy’s,  depend  upon  its  perma¬ 
nence.  If  the  two  secretaries  go  out  of  office 
without  having  their  systems  brought  under 
the  civil  service  law  by  an  order  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  their  successors  in  office  are  very  likely 
to  say  that  while  they  believe  “in  civil  ser 
f.  vice,”  they  don’t  believe  in  just  this  kind,  and 
all  the  work  of  Messrs.  Tracy  and  Wanamaker 
,  will  go  by  the  board. 


EULOGY  OF  QUAY  AND  DUDLEY 
BY  THE  NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN 
COMMITTEE,  JULY  28,  1891. 

Resolved,  That  we  accept,  against  our  judgment 
and  with  much  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  and  exped- 
»  leiicy  of  It  for  the  party’s  interest,  the  action  of 
'  Senator  Quay  on  his  resignation  as  chairman  and 
member  of  the  national  committee.  In  submitting 
to  it,  with  so  much  reluctance  and  regret,  we  desire 
to  express  from  our  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  his 
pre-eminent  service  to  the  party,  the  deep  obligation 
under  which  he  has  placed  the  republican  party  and 
■  cause  of  good  government  and  patriotism  in  the 
United  States.  He  undertook  the  leadership  of  a 
doubtful  cause,  in  a  time  when  the  republican  party 
was  disheartened  and  the  democratic  party  confi¬ 
dent  in  the  power  of  supreme  control  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  and  the  nation,  and  when  the  odds  of  the  con¬ 
test  were  against  our  party,  and  by  his  matchless 
power,  his  unequaled  skill  in  resources,  his  genius 
to  command  victory,  won  for  his  party  an  unprece¬ 
dented  victory  in  the  face  of  expected  defeat.  We 
know,  as  no  one  else  can  know,  that  the  contest 
which  he  waged  was  one  of  as  much  honor  and  fair 
methods  as  it  was  of  invincible  power  and  triumph¬ 
ant  victory,  and  that  it  was  won  largely  by  the 
power  of  his  superior  generalship  and  his  unfailing 
strength  as  a  politicai  leader.  In  the  great  contest 
of  1888,  in  the  montbs  of  severe  effort,  and  during 
years  of  close  personal  association  with  him,  we 
have  learned  to  know  the  nobility  of  the  man,  and 
we  desire  in  this  conspicuous  manner  to  place  on 
public  record,  for  the  present  and  for  the  future,  as 
an  enduring  answer  to  the  partisan  as.saults  of  a  de¬ 
feated  enemy,  our  testimony  in%ppreciation  of  his 
public  service  and  his  personal  worth. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  are  left  by  General  Dud¬ 
ley’s  own  wish  no  other  course  than  to  consent  to 
his  retirement  from  the  committee,  we  feel  that  his 
action  deprives  the  committee  and  the  party  of  the 
invaluable  and  loyal  service  of  one  who  has  proved 
himself  one  of  t*he  ablest  and  most  faithful  public 
men  of  his  time.  In  every  field  of  honorable  contest 
and  patriotic  purpose,  as  a  soldier  winning  in  his 
boyhood  the  stars  of  a  general  in  the  union  army  ;  as 
a  public  official,  serving  with  equal  fidelity  his  coun¬ 
try  in  prominent  places;  in  the  political  field  with 
like  ambition  for  the  nation’.s  good,  he  has  proved 
himself  always  worthy  of  the  respect  and  admira¬ 
tion  of  his  countrymen.  In  his  whole  public  career 
in  his  unselfish  service,  and  with  his  generous  na¬ 
ture,  he  has  given  freely  his  time  and  labor,  never 
thinking  of  private  profit  or  personal  emolument. 
His  whole  life  is  a  proof  of  his  manliness  of  purpose 
and  his  patriotism  as  a  citizen.  Speaking  from  what 
we  know  of  his  rare  abilities  and  unusual  devotion 
to  parly  and  country,  we  would  express  this  evi¬ 
dence  of  what  we  know  the  republican  party  owes 
to  him  forhis  services  in  so  many  of  its  contests,  and 
especially  in  the  memorable  struggle  of  1888.  We 
part  from  him  officially  with  sincere  regret,  and  in 
doing  so  we  wish  to  put  in  the  records  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  this  expression  of  that  party’s  gratitude  and 
personal  friendship  in  which  we  know  he  is  so 
worthy  to  be  held. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  PRESS. 

— The  resignations  would  givegrealer  reason 
for  the  hope  that  republican  politics  are  to  be 
managed  by  different  methods  hereafter  were 
it  not  that  Gen.  James  S.  Clarkson  was  elected 
as  chairman  in  the  place  of  Senator  Quay, and 
that  Mr.  Clarkson  has  not  hesitated  to  avow 
his  belief  in  politics  by  the  machine  and  for 
the  machine. — Christian  Union. 

— Gen.  Clarkson  can  not  he  considered  as 
superior  to  Mr.  Quay  in  his  political  ideas. 
These  facts,  when  coupled  with  the  reasons 
which  compelled  the  resignation  of  Collector 
Erhardt  of  the  port  of  New  York,  do  not  af¬ 
ford  satisfaction  to  the  friends  of  civil  service 
reform  and  decent  politics. —  Cmgregationalisf 

— Each  of  the  two  parties  is  living  on  the 
same  familiar  diet — the  mistakes  of  the  other 
party.  The  republicans,  being  in  power,  do 
not  appear  to  much  ad  vantage  as  to  the  d  is 
posal  of  offices  and  the  carrying  out  of  the 
civil  service  reform,  and  their  choice  of  lead¬ 
ers  is  far  from  ideal. — National  Baptist. 

— We  are  glad  Quay  and  Dudley  have  re¬ 
tired.  We  are  glad  that  the  sentiment  of  the 
party  was  strong  enough  to  make  it  necessary 
for  them  to  retire;  we  only  regret  that  it 
seems  advisable  to  the  committee  to  cover  their 
withdrawal  with  such  fulsome  adulation. — In¬ 
dependent. 

— The  Pilot  of  Boston  says  of  Quay  and  Dud¬ 
ley  that  they  are  more  widely  than  favorably 
known  to  the  public  as  coadjutors  of  Post¬ 
master-General  Wanamaker  in  the  “frying-of- 
fat”  and  “blocks-of-five”  tactics,  whereby  the 
late  election  was  won.  Turning  to  Mr.  Clark¬ 
son,  it  says  that  he  is  a  spoilsman  who  makes 
no  hypocritical  pretense  of  “reform,”  and  be¬ 
lieves  that  the  parly  in  power  should  control 
the  distribution  of  offices. 


In  the  August  Forum  Edward  P.  Clark 
exposes  the  Jacksonian  plan  of  rotation  in 
office  as  an  interloper  in  our  political  system. 


Hon.  Dorman  B.  Eaton  has  a  paper  on 
“Civil  Service  Reform”  in  the  North  American 
for  June.  After  showing  the  present  status  of 
the  reform,  he  adds:  “It  is  no  wonder  that 
selhsh  politicians  and  bosses,  who  care  more 
for  patronage  than  for  principle,  are  hostile, 
angry,  and  alarmed.” 


Moorfield  Storey,  of  Boston,  at  the  Harvard 
commencement-dinner  said  : 

“There  are  men  who  are  fighting  the  bat¬ 
tles  of  the  country  in  various  fields,  and  who  are 
proving  their  fidelity  to  the  vei'itas  which  is 
stamped  upon  our  seal  by  many  an  act  of  cour¬ 
age  and  self-denial.  Meeting,  as  they  do, 
month  after  month,  abuse  and  misrepresenta¬ 
tion,  should  we  not  do  them  and  our  country 
service  if  once  a  year  we  sent  them  our  ‘God¬ 
speed’  in  language  that  could  not  mistaken? 
Would  not  a  ringing  cheer  from  this  Memorial 
Hall  encourage  the  fainting  reformer  as  the 
pipes  of  the  Highlanders  revived  the  despair¬ 
ing  garrison  of  Lucknow?  When  Theodore 
Roosevelt  is  fighting  wild  beasts  at  our  mod¬ 
ern  Ephesus,  will  it  not  inspire  even  him 
with  courage  to  know  that  the  graduates  of 
Harvard  of  every  political  faith  are  with  him 
in  his  battle,  and  are  sure  that  he  will  win?” 
[Tremendous  applause.] 

Ex-Secretary  of  State  Bayard  delivered  the 
annual  address  to  the  alumni  and  students  of 
the  law  department  of  Michigan  University. 


He  called  the  attention  of  his  audience  to  the 
wrongs  the  spoils  system  worked,  and  said,  re¬ 
ferring  to  appointees  to  public  office  under  the 
system : 

“These  men  hold  that  the  public  offices, 
which,  as  thenameimplies,  are  apportionments 
of  public  functions  and  duties  for  the  public  ad¬ 
vantage,  are  created  in  order  to  furnish  means 
of  support  and  emolument  to  the  individuals 
who  are  placed  in  them,  thus  losing  sight  al¬ 
together  of  the  mutual  relation  of  a  govern¬ 
ment  and  its  agents;  indeed,  subverting  that 
relation  and  making  that  the  servant  of  its  own 
employes  and  agents,  and  this  theory  logically 
and  practically  carried  to  its  conclusion  in¬ 
volves  nothing  less  than  the  revolution  and 
defeat  of  our  republican  system.  In  fact,  it 
reproduces  the  rule  of  the  pretorian  guard  of 
ancient  Rome.” 


THE  MERIT  SYSTEM  IN  THE  CIN¬ 
CINNATI  POST-OFFICE. 

‘  It  is  hard  to  overcome  the  prejudice  that 
has  existed  against  the  system  of  civil  service 
examinations,  and  promotions  on  a  basis  of 
merit,”  was  a  remark  made  by  Mr.  John  B. 
Staubach,on  the  day  his  term  as  cashier  of 
the  post  office  and  secretary  of  the  local  board 
of  civil  service  examiners  expired.  “The 
system  now  embraces  all  offices  employing 
more  than  fifty  men  and  of  course  embraces 
Cincinnati.  All  positions  here,  except  the 
heads  of  departments  and  places  where  the  in¬ 
cumbent  has  to  handle  a  great  deal  of  money, 
are  filled  by  examination.  During  my  three 
years’  experience  I  have  witnessed  a  good 
many  improvements  and  I  can  assure  you 
that  the  features  that  were  at  one  time  open 
to  criticism  have  been  largely  eradicated. 

“It  was  urged  once  somewhat  pertinently 
that  the  examinations  were  of  a  technical 
nature,  framed  for  school  boys  and  not  for 
men  of  experience  who  were  apt  to  be  some¬ 
what  ‘rusty’  in  geography  and  arithmetic. 
The  tendency  has  constanily  been  to  correct 
the  features  that  were  hohestly  criticised  and 
to  make  the  tests  as  practicable  as  possible.” 

“Postmaster  Zumstein  is  carrying  out  the 
law  in  the  right  spirit.  There  have  been  only 
four  or  five  removals  made  in  the  classes  to 
which  the  law  has  been  made  applicable,  and 
these  would  have  been  made,  I  think,  by  Mr. 
Riley,  had  he  remained.  The  men  removed 
were  incompetent.” — Cincinnati  Times-Btar, 
Aug.  11. 

The  Ohio  republican  convention,  J une,  1891, 
in  its  platform  said  : 

We  denounce  the  pre.sent  governor  of  Ohio  for 
having  converted  the  benevolent  institutions  into 
political  machinery,  making  political  merchandise 
of  the  sufferings  and  calamities  of  the  helpless  wards 
of  the  state. 


(4)  The  existing  republican  administration  prom¬ 
ised,  when  it  assumed  power,  to  give  lull  effect  to  re¬ 
forms  in  the  civil  service.  Offices  in  that  service 
have,  notwithstanding  such  pledge,  been  conferred 
for  political  reasons  to  as  great  an  extent  as  at  any 
former  period  in  the  history  of  the  country.  The 
civil  service  of  the  United  States,  considered  as  a 
whole,  is  to  day  a  partisan  organization,  doing active 
political  service  for  the  administration  by  which  itis 
employed. — Maryland  State  Democratic  Convention, 
July,  1891. 


IPL^TTZS^. 


The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  *  *  beicome  his  MAN  from  that  day  forth.  *  * 
Services  were  free  and  base.  *  *  llase  service  was  to  *  *  carry  out  his  dung:. — {Bkickstone. 


— “There  never  was  a  time  when  Mr.  Platt 
was  so  thoroughly  appreciated  or  so  highly  es¬ 
teemed  by  the  republican  party  as  he  is  to¬ 
day.  The  republican  party  without  Mr. 
Platt  would  be  like  the  play  of  ‘Hamlet’  with 
Hamlet  left  out.” — Gen.  John  N.  Knapp,  Chair¬ 
man  of  the  New  York  State  Republican  Committee. 

— “  Did  you  notice  the  slaj)  that  Col.  Er- 
hardt  made  at  you?  ”  asked  the  reporter. 

Mr.  Platt’s  eyes  twinkled  for  a  moment,  then 
he  smiled,  and,  after  looking  at  the  reporter 
for  a  moment,  said  :  “  I  .see  that  he  says  that 
the  affairs  at  the  custom-house  have  been  con¬ 
trolled  from  Washington  at  the  dictate  of 
some  private  individual  who  has  no  official 
responsibility,  if  that  is  what  you  mean?” 
Then  came  another  smile,  and  as  he  slipped  a 
paper-cutter  through  the  edge  of  an  official- 
looking  envelope  the  ex-senator  added  ;  “  But 
that  can  not  refer  to  me.  He  must  have  been 
thinking  of  some  other  fellow  when  he  wrote 
that.” 

“  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  Senator  Fas- 
sett’s  oppointment?”  asked  the  reporter. 

“No  better  ap|)ointment  could  have  been 
made,”  was  the  reply.  Senator  Fassett  is  pre¬ 
eminently  well  fitted  to  assume  the  responsi 
hilities  of  the  office,  and  his  appointment 
should  and  1  believe  will  please  every  good 
republican  in  the  state.  I  think  it  is  certain 
to  strengthen  the  party  throughout  the  state.” 

A  few  moments  after  Mr.  Platt  had  finished 
speaking  he  left  his  office  for  the  Pennsylva¬ 
nia  railroad  ferry  en  route  to  Washington. 
He  teas  going  on  private  business,  he  said. — Inter¬ 
view  in  New  York  Evening  Post,  .July  80. 

— “  The  office  and  its  business  are  absolutely 
strange  to  me.  I  have  everything  to  learn. 
I  would  say,  however,  that  I  have  a  very  dis¬ 
tinct  purpose  to  make  the  administration  of 
the  office  as  successful  as  my  present  igno¬ 
rance  of  it  and  the  consideration  of  its  patrons 
while  I  am  learning  will  })ermit.  Whatever 
ability  I  can  command  will  be  at  the  service 
of  the  government, and  that,  I  hope,  will  be  as¬ 
sisted  by  such  encouragement  as  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  it  may  seem  to  deserve.” — Intemiew 
v'ith  Collector  Fassett,  Washington  Dispatch  to  Neiv 
York  Times,  July  31. 

— Ex-Senator  Thomas  C.  Platt  arrived  here 
at  9:40  o’clock  last  evening.  This  morning 
Mr.  Platt  called  on  Secretary  Foster  and  later 
went  to  the  navy  department.  Talking  to  the 
Mail  and  Express  man,  Mr.  Platt  said  :  “I  am 
pleased  with  Mr.  Fassett’s  appointment,  but  I 
have  already  told  the  Mail  and  Express  all  I 
have  to  say  on  that  matter.  There  is  no  truth 
whatever  in  the  rumor  that  Appraiser  Coopi  r 
is  going  to  resign.  He  wasinmy  office  yesterday, 
and  we  had  a  long  talk  1  can  say  positively  that 
he  will  not  go.” —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Mail  and  Express,  Aug.  1. 

— At  12:30  Mr.  Fassett’s  dictation  of  letters 
was  interrupted  by  the  appearance  of  a  small 
but  significant  group  of  men.  These  were 
Frank  Platt,  son  of  Thomas  C.  Platt,  Vernon 
H.  Brown,  Garrett  A.  Hobart  of  New  Jersey, 
and  United  States  Commissioner  John  A. 
Shields.  Young  Mr.  Platt,  who  is  a  lawyer, 
produced  Mr.  Fassett’s  $200,000  bond  duly 
executed.  The  ink  was  scarcely  dry  upon  the 
signatures  of  the  sureties,  who  were  Vice- 


President  Levi  P.  Morton,  Jesse  Seligman, 
the  banker,  Vernon  H.  Brown,  agent  of  the 
Cunard  steamship  line,  and  Garrett  A.  Hobart, 
the  New  Jersey  republican  politician.  Each 
of  the  bondsmen  qualified  in  the  sum  of  $50,- 
000. 

Commissioner  Shields  was  then  called  on 
to  administer  the  oath  of  office  to  Mr.  Fassett. 
Col.  Erhardt,  who  was  also  present,  remarked 
jocularly  that  the  oath  would  not  be  valid 
unless  administered  by  Commissioner  Shields, 
who  had  so  long  performed  this  function  for 
the  collectors  of  this  port.  Mr.  Fassett  then 
dully  took  the  oath  of  office  in  the  pre.sence  of 
the  persons  named  and  Mr.  Sperry. 

The  ceremony  was  scarcely  over  when  a 
present  for  Collector  Fassett  arrived  from  one 
of  his  admirers.  It  was  a  West  Indian  cut¬ 
lass,  called  in  San  Domingo  a  machete.  Its 
giver  was  Nathaniel  McKay,  who  made  a 
speech  at  the  recent  convention  of  republican 
clubs  at  Syracuse.  Thehamlleof  the  cutlass 
was  tied  with  red,  white  and  blue  ribbons, 
while  its  blade  was  tlecorated  with  small 
American  flags  and  inscribed  all  over  with 
sentiments  like  this: 

‘‘  This  cutlass  is  an  instrument  of  torture  to 
be  used  in  beheading  democrats.  Use  it 
quickly  and  success  is  assured  for  the  repub¬ 
lican  party. 

Republican  directions:  Use  daily,  morn¬ 
ing,  noon  and  night,  until  every  democratic 
head  is  severed. 

Sure  cure  for  democratic  headache.” 

Mr.  Hobart,  Mr.  Brown,  and  Commissioner 
Shields  left  the  custom-house  soon  after  Mr. 
Fassett  had  taken  the  oath.  Frank  Platt 
lingered  behind.  At  half-past  one  o’clock  he 
and  Mr.  Fassett  came  from  the  collector’s 
inner  office  and  left  the  custom-house. 

Mr.  Fassett,  when  questioned  to-day,  de¬ 
clined  to  say  anything  on  the  subject  of  new 
appointments  in  the  custom-house. — New  York 
Evening  Post,  Aug.  12. 

— Among  the  callers  received  by  Mr.  P’as- 
sett  in  the  course  of  the  day  were  Bernard  Big- 
lin,^  George  Hilliard,  Senator  Saxton,  William 
Leaycraft,  ex-United  States  Marshal  Clinton 
McDougal  of  the  northern  district  of  the  state. 
Postmaster  Van  Cott,  Senator  Stewart,  Ap¬ 
praiser  Cooper,  Colonel  W’^illiam  L.  Brown 
and  John  Simpson.  Surveyor  Lyon  took  Mr. 
Fassett  out  to  luncheon.  The  surveyor’s  rela¬ 
tions  with  the  administration  are  much  pleas¬ 
anter  than  they  were  with  the  old  one.  If  Mr. 
Lyon  had  taken  Colonel  Erhardt  out  on  the 
same  hospitable  errand,  the  wiseacres  at  the 
custom  house  would  have  thought  that  Area 
diahad  come  back  to  earth  and  had  settled 
down  to  do  business  at  the  corner  of  William 
and  Wall  streets. 

Last  night  Collector  Fassett  was  the  guest  at 
a  dinner  at  the  Oriental  hotel.  Among  the 
others  present  w'ere  T.  C.  Platt,  Vice-President 
Morton,  Senator  Stewart  and  others. — New 
York  Times,  Aug.  14- 


['Rumors  that  have  for  some  time  been  afloat  In  re¬ 
lation  toa  possible  change  in  the  office  of  appraiser 
of  the  port  settled  yesterday  into  a  definite  report 
that  the  brother  of  "Barney”  Biglin  is  hooked  for  the 
place.  The  prospect  has  appalled  the  Union  League 
Club,  to  whose  urgency  in  connection  with  that  of 
the  merchants,  with  whom  for  many  years  he  was 
creditably  associated.  Mr.  Cooper  owed  hisappoint- 
ment.  While  ready  to  make  full  allowances  for  the 
exigencies  of  practical  politics,  the  stride  from  Mar- 
velle  W.  Cooper  ito  Barney  Biglin’s  brother  is  a 
longer  one  than  people  of  respectable  leanings  like 
to  contemplate. 

“Barney’s"  brother’s  name  is  Joseph  C.,  if  it  is  of 
any  interest  to  identify  him  more  closely  than  as  the 
brother  of  "Barney.”  He  is  now  in  charge  of  the 
ninth  division  in  the  appraiser’s  department.  The 
place  came  to  him,  of  course,  through  his  brother, 
whom  he  is  credited  with  having  served  in  it  more 
faithfully  than  he  has  served  the  government.  If 
stories  are  to  be  believed,  the  place  has  been  used  as  a  lever 
to  throw  in  Barney' sway  the  tpicking  btisiness  of  mer¬ 
chants  whose  goods  unhappily  fall  within  that  division.— 
New  York  Times,  May  5. 

The  exposure  In  yesterday’s  Times  ot  the  scheme 
to  hand  over  the  appraiser’s  department  to  the  Big- 
lins  raised  a  howl  of  protest  throughout  the  entire 
business  district.  Merchants  were  emphatic  in  de¬ 
claring  that  unless  the  administration  wishes  utterly 
to  discredit  itself  it  will  shake  itself  clear  of  this  al¬ 
liance. 

Apart  from  the  humiliation  of  bowing  to  the 
authority  of  such  a  man,  merchants  are  indignant 
when  they  think  that  the  appointment  would  com¬ 
pel  them  to  turn  over  all  their  trucking  from  the 
ptiblic  stores  to  the  Biglin  family  as  the  price  of  get¬ 
ting  an  examination  of  their  goods.  Already  this 
form  of  tyranny  has  become  offensive,  in  spite  of 
Mr.  Cooper's  efTorts  to  prevent  it.  With  the  Biglins 
in  full  control  it  would  be  intolerable. 

Some  curiosity  was  manifested  yesterday  to  see 
how  Platt  and  Elkins  would  take  this  business  up¬ 
rising.  No  one  cares  much  for  the  wishes  of  these 
schemers,  which  often  miscarry,  but  they  .ire  recog¬ 
nized  as  a  power  for  mischief  in  things  political. 
So  far  as  yesterday's  inquiries  developed  anything 
in  this  regard,  it  appeared  that  the  concern  of  these 
worthies  in  the  Biglin  scheme  is  not  of  the  kind  to 
keep  them  awake  nights. 

Platt  and  Elkins  control  the  syndicate  that  has 
worked  fora  Bowling  Green  site  for  a  new  custom¬ 
house.  It  was  to  their  interest  that  a  cheap  site  be 
acquired  for  the  ap^iraiser’s  warehouse  in  order  that 
the  saving  might  be  applied  to  the  Bowling  Green 
appropriation.  Biglin  was  useful  to  them  in  this 
work,  for  the  appraiser’s  site  is  to  go  to  the  govern¬ 
ment  for  $350,000  less  than  the  appropriation  for  it, 
provided  Lindley  carries  out  his  contract  to  deliver 
for  $500,000. 

It  is  for  his  service  in  securing  this  saving  that 
Biglin  is  promised  the  appraisership  for  his  brother. 
Of  course,  if  chb  syndicate  can  not  bring  enough  in¬ 
fluence  to  bear  at  Washington  to  carry  out  this  deal. 
Biglin  will  have  wa.sted  his  time.— JVeu;  York  Times, 
May  6.] 


— E.  C.  Lee  has  enjoyed  a  variety  of  expe¬ 
riences  lately.  For  some  time  he  has  held 
office  as  assistant  superintendent  of  the  cus¬ 
tom-house.  When  Joseph  Murray  resigned 
the  post  of  superintendent  a  couple  of  months 
ago  Mr.  Lee  took  up  his  duties.  He  had  de¬ 
voted  himself  to  them  but  a  few  days  when 
Collector  Erhardt  happening  not  to  leave  the 
custom-house  until  5:30  o’clock  one  afternoon, 
found  no  watchman  on  duty  at  the  entrance, 
and  therefoi-e  suspended  Mr.  Lee.  A  few  days 
later  the  assistant  superintendent  was  reinstated, 
but  when  the  orders  for  a  reduction  of  the 
force  were  sent  out  Lee’s  name  was  supposed 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


259 


to  be  included  in  the  list  of  those  to  go.  It 
was  not  there,  however,  and  he  continued  plac¬ 
idly  in  office. 

Yesterday  there  came  another  change  for 
Mr.  Lee.  By  a  telegram  from  the  treaswy  de¬ 
partment  he  was  appointed  janitor  of  the  eustom- 
home  at  a  salary  of  $1,000  a  year.  The  office  is 
made  for  the  man  in  this  case,  for  hitherto  the 
custom-house  has  got  along  without  a  janitor. 

Lee  has  a  powerful  “pull”  with  the  republican 
leaders,  and  in  these  days  of  promised  prosperity 
for  men  of  “influence”  after  Plaids  own  heart,  he  is 
not  likely  to  be  neglected.  He  has  had  the  hack¬ 
ing  of  Sheridan  Shook  and  Leader  Robert  A. 
Greacen  of  the  fifteenth  assembly  district, 
and  William  Brookfield,  chairman  of  the  re¬ 
publican  county  committee,  has  lent  him  a 
helping  hand. — New  York  Times,  Aug.  S. 

— At  the  convention  of  the  republican 
league,  held  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  Augusts, 
the  following  office-holders  were  on  the  com¬ 
mittee  on  resolutions:  Mahlon  Chance,  in¬ 
spector  of  immigration;  John  E.  Milholland, 
another  inspector;  Robert  P.  Porter,  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  census  ;  Charles  E.  Fitch,  col¬ 
lector  of  internal  revenue;  Henry  Hehing, 
collector  of  the  port  of  Genesee;  Edward  A. 
McAlpin,  postmaster  at  Sing  Sing,  and  Clar¬ 
ence  Smith,  son  of  Dr.  William  M.  Smith, 
health  officer  of  the  port,  one  of  Platt’s  par¬ 
ticular  cronies,  appeared  as  an  eleventh-hour 
candidate,  and  carried  off  the  first  vice¬ 
presidency. 

— About  two  weeks  ago  the  canvass  (for 
the  republican  caucuses  in  this  county)  be¬ 
gan  in  earnest,  e.x-Senator  Fassett  leading  one 
section  of  the  party  and  Postmaster  Flood  and 
his  brother,  ex  Congressman  Thomas  S.  Flood, 
the  other  contingent.  About  that  time  Gov¬ 
ernor  Hill’s  Albany  heelers  came  to  town  and 
took  an  active  part  against  Mr.  Fassett. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear  the  governor 
struck  hands  with  his  old  party  enemy,  Mr. 
Arnot,  and  the  triple  alliance  was  formed  and 
put  into  working  order.  Democratic  heelers 
from  all  parts  of  the  county  were  called  in. 
They  got  money  and  instructions  and  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  work  to  carry  the  caucuses  for  blood. 
The  strange  combination  was  a  puzzle  to  all 
good  citizens,  and  to  offset  it  republicans 
turned  out  en  masse  and  defeated  it.  At 
each  caucus  democrats  by  the  hundred  ap¬ 
peared  and  offered  their  ballots  and  swore 
them  in,  but  it  was  labor  in  vain,  for  Fassett 
had  an  overwhelming  majority. — Elmira,  New 
York,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  August  0. 

— AtHorseheads  to-day,  where  the  Chemung 
county  convention  was  held  to  name  delegates 
to  the  state  and  senatorial  conventions,  186 
delegates  were  expected  to  be  in  their  seats. 
Contests,  however,  are  made  in  108  cases  and 
these  were  divided  up  as  follows:  Fassett 
faction,  43;  Flood  faction,  65. 

The  widening  of  the  breach  to-day  means  a  direct 
fight  against  Thomas  C.  Platt’s  infltience. 

A  newspaper  of  Elmira  prints  an  open  let¬ 
ter  from  ex-Assemblyman  Van  Duzer,  in 
which  he  accuses  Collector  Fassett  of  trying 
to  defeat  him  in  1884  at  the  instance  of 
Thomas  C.  Platt,  and  of  swinging  over  from 
Evarts  to  Morton  at  Mr.  Platt’s  suggestion. 


after  promising  to  support  Evarts  for  United 
States  senator.  The  letter  claims  that  Mr. 
Fassett  is  trying  to  make  a  deal  with  the 
democrats  to  get  the  county. 

Mr.  Van  Duzer  said  to-day  :  “The  letter  is  in 
answer  to  an  open  letter  sent  to  me  in  which  Col¬ 
lector  Fassett  admits  that  he  defeated  the  renomina¬ 
tion  of  Congressman  Flood  because  Flood  declined 
to  let  him  name  the  postmaster.  Mr.  Flood  is 
now  determined  to  test  Fassett’s  power,  and  if 
he  attempts  to  rnn  the  convention  this  after¬ 
noon  we  will  withdraw  and  hold  one  of  our 
own.  We  are  averse  to  a  split  this  fall,  but 
we  do  not  propose  that  Collector  Fassett  shall 
run  the  place  for  Tom  Platt.” 

Postmaster  Flood  also  spoke  against  Mr.  Fassett, 
and  said  that  the  republicans  of  the  district  were 
trying  to  show  t!  e  people  of  the  state  that  they  could 
not  be  controlled  by  Mr.  Platt. — Elmira  Dispatch 
to  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  August  16. 

— The  expected  struggle  between  the  oppos¬ 
ing  factions  of  the  republican  party  in  Che¬ 
mung  came  to  a  close  at  Horseheads  this  after¬ 
noon. 

Collector  Fassett  was  early  on  the  ground  and 
opened  head<piarters  at  the  Platt  Hotise.  Congress¬ 
man  Flood,  accompaniea  by  Postmaster  Flood  of 
this  city  and  Gen.  Langdon,  appeared  early 
and  also  put  up  at  the  Platt  House.  *  * 

Postmaster  Henry  Flood  made  a  speech,  in  which 
he  denounced  the  other  side.  He  said  they  had  op- 
posed  him  for  years,  had  got  him  out  of  a  position  in 
his  regidar  practice  on  a  railroad,  and  were  now 
trying  to  oust  him  from  the  post-office.  He  charged 
them  with  holding  snap  caucuses  and  conventions, 
and  was  especially  severe  in  his  remarks  in 
reference  to  the  Advertiser.  He  denied  using 
money,  said  democrats  at  caucuses  referred  to 
Mr.  Platt  as  boss,  and  that  he  never  did  and 
never  would  wear  any  man’s  collar.  They 
had  threatened  and  bulldozed  him  and  used 
every  effort  to  drrve  him  from  the  republican 
party.  *  * 

Then  the  twenty-seven  regular  Flood  dele¬ 
gates  and  about  fifty  others  were  seated,  after 
which  the  following  delegates  were  elected: 
State  —  J.  D.  F.  Slee,  Jonas  S.  Vanduser, 
Henry  Flood,  George  McCann,  A.  B.  Fitch 
and  Benjamin  D.  Smith;  senatorial — C.  J. 
Langdon,  Thomas  S.  Flood,  Moses  Munson, 
John  O’Connor,  Julius  S.  Denton,  Ira  A.  Jones. 

In  the  meantime  the  regular  convention  was 
called  to  order  by  Abner  C.  Wright,  chairman 
of  the  republican  county  committee,  and  Mr. 
Fassett  was  made  chairman  amid  great  e7ithusia,sm. 
The  collector  made  a  speech,  dm'ing  which  he  re- 
vieived  the  history  of  the  factional  unpleasantness. 
He  referred  to  the  double  dealing  of  the  other  side, 
and  told  how  they  laid  connived  with  democrats  and 
slaughtered  their  party  candidates ;  and  how  some 
of  the  late  caucuses  were  run  by  democrats  in  the 
interest  of  the  Floods.  He  denied  each  and  every 
claim  of  the  others,  and  explained  everything 
to  the  utmost  satisfaction  of  all  present  in  the 
crowded  hall,  for  he  was  continually  inter- 
I  rupted  by  applause. — Elmira  Dispatch  to  New 
I  York  Times,  Atigust  16. 

— Collector  J.  Sloat  Fassett,  who  has  been 
doing  political  work  in  Chemung  county 
1  nearly  all  the  time  since  he  was  appointed  to 
his  present  office,  came  down  to  the  custom¬ 
house  this  morning  to  put  in  a  day’s  work  for 
the  United  States  government.  He  was  warmly 
greeted  by  a  crowd  of  place-seekers.  The  re¬ 
sult  of  his  day’s  labor  was  summed  up  at  two 
i>.  M.  in  the  announcement  that  he  was  going  to 
appoint  thirty  additional  laborers  for  work  at  the 
public  stores. 

There  will  be  no  changes  in  the  big  offices 
at  present,  he  said. — New  York  Evening  Post, 
August  17. 


— Granville  D.  Parsons,  ex-mayor  of  this 
city  and  at  present  a  member  of  the  excise 
board,  was  notified  yesterday  of  his  discharge 
from  the  United  States  Express  Company  by 
John  M.  Frazier,  general  superintendent. 

Mr.  Parsons  is  a  stanch  republican,  and  has  not 
in  every  instance  satisfied  the  wishes  of  Senator 
Fassett  and  Col.  A.  E.  Baxter,  republican 
leaders,  who  have  some  friends  who  have  not 
been  successful  in  securing  licenses.  At  this 
disregard  of  orders  Tom  Platt,  president  of  the 
company,  was  consulted,  and  he  deemed  it  advis¬ 
able,  by  political  discrimination,  to  dismiss  Mr. 
Parsons  from  his  position  as  cashier  and  head 
book-keeper  of  the  Elmira  office. 

Granville  Parsons  had  been  connected  with 
the  company  since  1857  in  several  trusted 
capacities,  anil  this  piece  of  political  jobbery 
is  a  deliberate  appliance  for  denying  an 
honorable  man,  gray  from  service,  the  means 
of  a  livelihood. — Elmira  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  May  17. 

— The  preliminary  skirmishing  to  the  repub¬ 
lican  campaign  this  fall  has  commenced  and 
the  fierce  contest  over  who  is  going  to  control 
matters  in  the  cataract  county  has  fairly  be¬ 
gun.  It  is  a  fight  of  the  Hiscock  supporters 
against  the  anti-Hiscock  faction.  The  leader 
of  the  latter  is  ex-Congressman  Richard  Crow¬ 
ley,  and  he  has  back  of  him  the  support  of 
the  party  organ,  the  Journal,  which  a  year  ago 
was  fighting  him 

Hiscock  made  a  big  blunder  when  he 
ignored  the  Journal’s  canvass  for  the  postmast¬ 
ership  here,  and  the  party  paper  is  bitterly 
antagonistic  to  his  interests.  The  first  point 
was  gained  by  the  anti-Hiscock  men  last  week 
by  the  election  of  John  T.  Davison  as  chair¬ 
man  of  the  republican  county  committee. 
Davison  was  one  of  the  aindidates  for  the  office 
eight  months  ago,  but  by  a  tnck  on  the  part  of  the 
Hiscock  Suspension  Bridge  custom-house,  ex-Col- 
lector  Benjamin  Flagler,  chief  lieutenant  of 
Collector  Low,  was  elected  to  the  place.  He 
was  forced  to  resign  and  Davison  had  a  large 
majority. 

The  Hiscock  men  who  hold  office  are  endeavor¬ 
ing  in  every  way  to  secure  control,  and  have  made 
places  in  the  custom-house  and  post-office  here  for 
friends  of  ex-  Congressman  Crou'ley,  in  the  hopes  of 
appeasing  him. —  Lockpoid,  New  York,  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  July  19.  [Hiscock  is  known 
as  Tom  Platt’s  ‘errand  boy.’] 

— Oswego,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  1. — The  republican 
county  convention  for  Seneca  county,  held  at 
Romulus  to-day,  was  one  of  the  most  exciting 
in  the  political  history  of  this  section,  result¬ 
ing  in  a  bolt  and  two  conventions.  Only  one 
convention  is  held  in  the  county,  there  being 
only  one  assembly  district,  to  elect  state,  judi¬ 
cial  and  senatorial  delegates.  The  fight  was  be¬ 
tween  the  Platt  and  Miller  men,  the  forces  of 
the  former  being,  led  by  J.  B.  H.  Mongin,  a 
partner  of  ex  Senator  W.  L.  Sweet,  and  the 
Miller  men  by  A.  M.  Patterson,  a  millionaire 
manufacturer  of  Waterloo.  The  forces  have 
been  getting  ready  for  the  fight  for  weeks  and 
began  gathering  at  Romulus  last  night,  com¬ 
ing  from  all  directions  in  hacks. 


260 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


The  convention  was  called  for  12  o’clock 
to-day.  At  that  hour  the  Miller  men  marched 
from  their  hotel  to  the  hall  only  to  find  the 
door  barred,  and  to  learn  that  the  Mongin 
men  had  entered  the  hall  by  a  side  door.  A 
sheriff’s  posse  of  forty  men  was  on  hand  to 
preserve  order.  They  were  inside,  and  seemed 
to  be  all  in  sympathy  with  the  Platt  forces, 
and  to  take  their  orders  from  them.  The 
Miller  men  tried  the  rear  door,  but  could  not 
get  in.  Then  they  brought  a  battering  ram 
to  play  on  the  front  door.  When  they  broke 
in  the  door  they  found  the  muzzle  of  a  deputy 
sheriff’s  revolver  leveled  at  them. 

“You  hit  that  door  again  and  I’ll  fire,” 
shouted  the  deputy. 

The  Patterson  men  desisted  and  started  to 
withdraw,  when  Col.  Manning,  a  Seneca  Falls 
lawyer,  jumped  on  a  box. 

“Don’t  go  away,  men,”  he  shouted.  “We’ll 
hold  the  convention  right  here  at  the  point  of 
the  pistol.” 

They  then  proceeded  to  elect  a  full  set  of 
delegates  to  the  state,  judicial  and  senatorial 
conventions,  but  without  the  formality  of 
credentials  or  roll-call. 

In  the  meantime,  windows  were  smashed 
with  stones,  and  somebody  threw  a  bottle  of 
vitriol,  which  struck  the  sash  and  broke,  dis¬ 
coloring  the  building.  They  then  withdrew. 

While  this  was  going  on  outside,  the  Mon¬ 
gin  men  were  holding  a  convention  inside. 
They  elected  as  delegates  to  the  state  conven¬ 
tion,  W.  L.  Sweet,  J.  B.  H.  Mongin,  P. 
Maguire,  G.  W.  Peterson  and  E.  L.  Andrews. 
Only  the  presence  of  the  deputies,  who  were 
armed  with  clubs  and  revolvers,  prevented  a 
first-class  riot.  The  Mongin  men  say  that 
when  the  doors  were  broken  in  the  county 
committee  was  in  session  and  the  convention 
had  not  been  called.  There  was  great  excite¬ 
ment,  and  to  night  the  two  factions  are  ready 
to  clash  wherever  they  meet. — Onwego  Duipatck 
to  New  York  Times,  August  2, 

— There  was  a  hot  republican  primary  in 
the  first  ward  of  this  city  at  noon  to-day,  in 
which  Platt  and  anti-klatt  tickets  were  voted. 
Over  five  hundred  persons  were  on  hand,  and 
a  posse  of  police,  under  the  marshal,  was  re 
quired  to  keep  them  in  order  and  prevent  acts 
of  violence. 

The  Platt  forces  were  led  by  B.  B.  Odell,  .Jr., 
republican  state  committeman,  and  the  oppo¬ 
sition  by  Joseph  M.  Dickey.  When  the  polls 
were  closed  not  far  from  one  hundred  persons 
remained  to  vote,  and  were  thus  disfranchised. 
The  vote  resulted  :  Platt,  219;  anti-Platt,  129. 

It  is  expected  that  the  fight  will  be  contin¬ 
ued  in  all  the  ward  primaries  in  the  city. 
Postmaster  W.  0.  Taggart,  and  all  the  leading 
politicians  of  the  city  rallied  to  the  support  of 
Odell  without  regard  to  their  residence  so  far 
as  wards  were  concerned. — Netvburg,  N.  Y.,  Dis- 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  August  16. 

— We  find  the  administration — which  should 
be  the  neutral  quantity,  the  reconciler  of  the 
factions — freezing  out  one  of  the  best  collec¬ 
tors  New  York  ever  had  at  the  bidding  of  a 
relentless  faction  leader  and  installing  in  his 
place  one  whose  most  apparent  claim  to  preferment 
has  been  his  unswerving  loyalty  to  that  leader.  It 
looks  as  if  President  Harrison  were  more  in¬ 
terested  in  restoring  to  Mr.  Platt  the  control  of  the 
party  machinery  in  New  York  than  in  electing  a 


republican  governor  or  a  republican  legisla¬ 
ture  next.  November. — Brooklyn  Times[Rep.^. 

— Mr.  Platt  declared  that  he  loved  Clark¬ 
son  for  the  heads  he  has  cutoff,  and  he  has 
got  a  collector  in  the  New  York  custom  house 
whom  he  expects  to  love  for  the  same  reason. 
Do  the  republicans  wish  the  country  to  under 
stan<l  that  the  civil  service  reform  pledges  in 
the  party  platform  and  the  President’s  letter 
of  acceptance  were  only  good  until  after  elec¬ 
tion — Pittsburg  Dispatch  [fiep.]. 

— The  system  by  which  ex-Senator  Platt  or 
any  other  individual  is  enabled  purely  for  po¬ 
litical  reasons  of  a  low  and  sordid  character 
to  turn  out  of  office  an  upright  and  capable 
public  servant  like  Mr.  Erhardt  is  wrong  in 
itself.  *  *  It  virtually  gives  notice  to  every  re 

publican  office  holder  in  New  York  that  he  nivst 
serve  Platt.  *  *  And  if  it  is  intended  to  help 

along  the  second  term  on  the  condition  that 
Platt  shall  set  the  New  York  machine  in  mo¬ 
tion  for  Harrison,  it  will  do  the  President  in 
the  long  run  more  harm  than  good. — Phila¬ 
delphia  Bulletin  [l?cp.]. 

Thus  the  feudal  connection  was  estab¬ 
lished,  *  *  and  an  army  of  feudsitories 
was  always  ready  enlisted  and  mutually 
prepared  to  muster. — [Blackstone. 

— The  Cedar  Rapids  Gazette,  July  23d,  prints 
the  make-up  of  the  recent  state  republican 
convention.  There  are  ninety-six  counties  in 
the  state  and  its  report  covers  eighty  two. 
There  were  more  than  sixty  office-holders  in 
the  convention.  The  following  names  are 
given  : 

J.  B.  Patterson,  Boone  county. 

Byron  McQuinn,  postmaster,  Benton  county. 

J.  E.  Pickering,  postmaster  at  Alta,  Buena  Vista 
county. 

J.  C.  Blair,  editor  aud  postmaster  at  Newell,  Buena 
Vista  county. 

S.  T.  Richards,  postmaster.  Clayton  county. 

Ed  Darling,  postmaster,  Crawford  county. 

W.  C.  Marsh,  postmaster  at  Aurelia,  Cherokee 
county. 

J.  B.  Hungerford,  editor  and  postmaster,  Carroll 
county. 

D.  C.  Cha.se,  Hamilton  county. 

C.  Kennedy,  railway  mail  clerk,  Harri.son  county. 

S.  M.  Child,  postmaster,  Harrison  county. 

J.  1),  Brown,  postmaster,  Harrison  county. 

G.  L.  Cruikshank,  postmaster  at  Addison,  Hum¬ 
boldt  county. 

L.  A.  Rossing,  postmaster  at  Bode,  Humboldt 
county. 

W.  S.  R.  Burnnette,  postmaster,  Jackson  county. 

A.  C.  Blair,  postmaster,  Jackson  county. 

J.  P.  Harrison,  postmaster  at  Lu  Verne,  Kossuth 
county. 

B.  8.  Chapman,  postmaster  at  Derby,  Lucas 
county. 

A.  W.  Swalm,  editor  and  postmaster  [82,600  per 
year],  Mahaska  county. 

I.  M.  Treynor,  postmaster  at  Council  Bluffs,  Potta¬ 
wattamie  county. 

C.  C.  Carpenter,  postmaster  at  Ft.  Dodge.  Webster 
county. 

F.  W.  Gunkle,  deputy  U.  S.  marshal,  Woodbury 
county. 

R.  L.  Tilton,  postmaster,  Wapello  county. 

Ole  Thompson,  postmaster,  Winneshiek  county. 

A.  J.Cratsenberg,  postmaster,  Winneshiek  county. 

W.  H.  Klemme,  postmaster,  Winneshiek  county. 

8.  C.  Farmer,  postmaster,  Wright  county, 

I  W.  H  Reiley,  postmaster,  Washington  comity. 

I  W.  P,  Hepburn, .  government  office-holder  at 
Washington,  on  committee  on  resolutions. 

I  — The  negotiations  pending  for  the  last  few 
weeks  for  the  sale  of  the  Logansport  Journal 
were  consummated  to-dav,  and  the  paper  is 
now  in  the  hands  of  a  stock  company,  com¬ 


posed  of  strictly  Harrisouites.  The  price 
paid  was  $16,000.  Among  the  stockholders 
are  ex-Judge  S.  H.  Chase,  ex-State  Senator 
A.  R.  Shrayer,  Postmaster  D.  W.  Tomlinson  and 
Ex-Representative  B.  F.  Campbell. — Dispatch^ 
from  Logansport  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  July  23 f 

— John  B.  Cockrtim,  assistant  United 
States  district  attorney,  addressed,  August  4, 
a  republican  club  upon  the  recently  nomin¬ 
ated  republican  candidates  for  the  city  offices. 

— “  No,  the  fact  that  a  meeting  was  to  be  held 
was  not  discovered  through  the  treachery  of 
any  member  of  the  anti-Harrison  forces. 
There  are  a  thousand  ways  in  which  such  in¬ 
formation  can  leak  out.  The  leaders  of  the 
movement  throughout  the  state  are  known 
and  spotted.  In  the  postmasters,  postal  agents, 
revenue  men  and  other  federal  employes  throughout 
the  slate,  the  administration  has  what  you  might 
term  an  anny  of  agents  and  detectives,  and  any 
suspicious  move  on  the  part  of  a  prerminent  anti-ad¬ 
ministration  man  is  promptly  reported  to  head¬ 
quarters  and  his  movements  are  watched,  and  the 
antidote  is  promptly  applied  for  any  mischief  that 
maybe  set  brewing.  In  general  terms  you  may 
set  it  down  that  the  president  is  nearly  as 
well  informed  as  to  what  is  going  on  in  the 
camp  of  his  enemies  as  his  enemies  themselves, 
and  when  the  time  comes  he  will  show  his 
hand.” — Indianapolis  Correspondence  Cincinnati 
Commercial  Gazette.  [Rep.] 

— About  two  hundred  Pennsylvanians,  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Pennsylvania  state  club,  and  all 
office-holders,  of  course,  sweltered  in  an  upper 
room  in  the  grand  army  building  to-night. 
Mr.  Quay  was  the  subject  of  a  highly-com- 
plimentary  resolution,  which  expressed  regret 
that  he  had  resigned  from  the  national  com¬ 
mittee,  and  the  Pennsylvania  state  committee 
was  requested  to  return  him  to  that  committee 
in  consideration  of  his  valuable  services  to  his 
party. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  Aug.  6. 

— Senator  Quay,  fresh  from  his  Beaver 
home,  arrived  at  the  Continental  hotel  this 
morning,  where  he  was  soon  joined  by  Collec¬ 
tor  Cooper.  The  ex  chairman  of  the  state 
committee  sat  down,  and  they  were  busy  for  fully 
an  hour  discussing  the  coming  republican  stale 
convention,  its  platform  and  candidates.  When 
the  matter  of  the  convention  had  been  fully 
discussed,  the  subject  of  the  succession  to 
Chairman  Andrews  was  taken  up. — Philadel¬ 
phia  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Aug.  12. 

— “If  I  receive  the  nomination,  I  feel  con¬ 
fident  of  an  election,  and  I  can  assure  you  that, 
as  in  the  past  so  in  the  future,  I  shall  know  how  to 
take  care  of  those  who  assist  me  towards  success." 

From  the  circular  letter  of  Herman  H.  Goesling, 
county  commissioner  of  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  seek¬ 
ing  to  become  treasurer  of  the  county. 

— “A  lady  is  a  cousin  of  a  prominent  oflficial 
in  the  census  office.  She  secured  a  clerkship 
through  this  relationship,  and  by  the  same 
means  secured  the  appointment  of  seven  or 
eight  more  clerks  at  good  salaries,  and  these 
clerks  are  now  retained  through  all  the  dis¬ 
missals  that  have  taken  place.  They  pay  the 
lady  who  got  them  the  place  a  large  portion  of 
the  salaries  they  receive  each  month.” — Wash¬ 
ington  Correspondent  St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press  [Rep.] 


The  Civil  service  chronicle. 

VoL.  I,  No.  31.  INDIANAPOLIS,  SEPTEMBER,  1891.  terms fcrn?eVeT?o“pT' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE,, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


'■When  one  thinks  of  the  kind  of  govern¬ 
ment  onr  forefathers  supposed  they  had 
established,  and  ivhen  one  thinks  of  tlie 
republic  so  many  valiant  soldiers  fought  to 
preserve,  what  a  travesty  it  seems  as  one 
reads  the  actual  state  of  affairs  disclosed 
by  this  report  (Mr.  Roosevelt’s) !  It  never 
before  was  so  clear  that  to  be  a  true 
patriot,  to  be  worthy  of  the  spirit  of  1776 
and  honor  those  who  died  for  their  country 
from  1861  to  1865,  one  must  be  a  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reformer,  and  do  all  he  can  to  abolish 
utterly  this  horrid  spoils  system.— C/n^AServ- 
ice  Record. 


Rev,  Henry  Lambert,  of  West  Newton, 
writes  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle: 

In  noticing  the  report  in  the  July  number 
of  the  Civil  Service  Record,  of  my  address 
before  the  Newton  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association,  you  remark : 

“  The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  desires 
to  put  on  record  an  emphatic  protest 
against  Mr.  Lambert’s  inference  that  Wan- 
amaker  and  Clarkson  have  been  able  to  re¬ 
tard  and  injure  the  reform  more  than  the 
civil  service  commission  to  improve  and 
extend  it.” 

Your  “emphatic  protest”  does  me  great 
injustice,  for  I  made  no  such  sweeping 
statement  as  you  attribute  to  me,  but  said 
,  distinctly  that  they  had  done  more  to  re¬ 
tard  and  injure  the  reform,  in  certain  direc¬ 
tions,  than  the  commission  iias  done  to  im¬ 
prove  and  extend  it,  a  very  different,  but 
entirely  true  statement,  in  which  Mr. 
Dana,  editor  of  the  Record,  agrees  with  me. 
I  trust,  therefore,  that  you  will  do  me  the 
justice  to  let  my  correction  appear  in  your 
next  number. 


The  Civil  Service  Commission,  Wash¬ 
ington,  D.  C.,  will  be  glad  to  receive  a  copy 
of  July,  1889,  of  the  Civil  Service  Chron¬ 
icle  to  complete  their  file. 


There  seems  to  be  all  over  the  coun¬ 
try,  not  only  an  active  participation  in  poli¬ 
tics  by  federal  office-holders  but  a  very 
general  domination  by  them  of  the  ma¬ 
chine.  The  Civil  Service  Chronicle 
asks  its  readers  to  assist  in  making  its 
record  as  complete  as  possible  by  forward¬ 
ing  particular  instances. 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  national 
league  of  civil  service  reform  associations, 
will  be  held  at  Buffalo,  September  29th  and 


30th.  The  first  public  meeting  will  be 
held  Tuesday  evening  at  Concert  Hall, 
when  George  William  Curtis  will  deliver 
an  address.  Meetings  will  follow  on 
Wednesday  at  the  lecture-room  of  the 
Buffalo  Library,  at  which,  in  the  forenoon, 
papers  will  be  read  as  follows: 

The  Secret  Executive  Sessions  of  the  Senate.— By  WTl- 
liam  D.  Foulke. 

Ths  Divorce  of  Municipal  Business  from  Politics.— By 
Moorfield  Storey. 

(Upon  a  topic  to  be  announced  hereafter.— By  Sher¬ 
man  S.  Rogers ) 

In  the  afternoon  general  business  will  be 
transacted,  including  the  hearing  of 
reports  and  the  election  of  officers. 
Wednesday  evening  the  Buffalo  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  will  give  a 
dinner  to  the  members  of  the  national 
league.  All  members  of  local  associations 
are  members  of  the  national  league. 
Buffalo  is  near  Indiana,  and  the  sacrifice 
to  go  to  this  meeting  would,  for  many 
Indiana  members,  be  a  small  one.  Their 
enjoyment  would  be  great,  and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  the  western  members  gen¬ 
erally. 

The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  a  republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system, 
already  established  by  law,  to  all  grades  of  the  serv¬ 
ice  to  which  it  is  applicable,— Rep uSfican  National 
Platform,  1888. 

When  President  Harrison  was  inaugu¬ 
rated,  the  reform  system  established  by 
law  had  been  extended  to  some  32,000 
places  in  the  federal  service.  In  two  years 
and  six  months  he  has  extended  it  to  cover 
some  700  additional  places,  and  has  made 
the  rules  cover  promotions  in  the  depart¬ 
ments  at  Washington.  To  have  made  the 
reform  system,  months  ago,  cover  many 
thousand  additional  places,  such  as  letter- 
carriers  in  free  delivery  cities,  pension 
agencies  and  so  on,  would  have  been  but 
ordinary  diligence  in  performance  of  the 
above  plain  contract. 

The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be 
observed  iii  all  executive  appointments  to 

the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions  which 
lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patronage  may  be  wisely 
aud  effectively  ayoided.- Republican  National  Plat¬ 
form,  1888. 

Headsman  Clarkson  in  less  than  two 
yeafs;.  removed  more  than  30,000  fourth- 
cla§S  postmasters,  and  since  March  4, 1889, 
more  than  100,000  federal  place-holders 
have  been  displaced  by  partisans  of  the 
administration.  This  has  been  done  in  the 


wilful  and  wanton  exercise  of  “the  power 
of  official  patronage.”  The  office  of  collec¬ 
tor  at  the  port  of  New  York  is  now  being 
tossed  from  henchman  to  henchman  to 
placate  Tom  Platt,  a  private  citizen,  in 
order  through  him  te  secure  delegates  at 
the  next  republican  national  convention. 
This  use  of  offices  is  not  different  in  kind 
or  unconstitutionality  from  the  use  of  the 
Chilian  civil  and  military  service  by  Bal- 
maceda  to  break  down  the  government  of 
his  country. 


The  evidence  taken  by  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
assisted  by  John  C.  Rose  and  Charles  J. 
Bonaparte,  at  Baltimore,  makes  a  remark¬ 
able  publication.  In  other  official  investi¬ 
gations,  where  it  would  hurt  the  other 
party,  scraps  of  evidence  have  been  intro¬ 
duced  showing  the  connection  between  the 
public  offices  and  primaries  and  conven¬ 
tions.  But  this  investigation  had  for  its 
one  object  the  discovery  of  how  far  and  in 
what  manner  do  the  federal  office-holders 
of  Baltimore  interfere  with  the  free  action 
of  the  people  attempting  to  perform  their 
political  duties.  Mr.  Roosevelt  went 
straight  to  this  object  without  regard  to 
who  was  hit  or  hurt,  and  he  has  put  on 
record  a  mass  of  evidence  which  is  a  mon¬ 
ument  of  shame  and  of  inestimable  value. 
The  country  can  now  see  the  spoilsmen  in 
black  and  white  in  their  own  words.  With 
equal  propriety  the  administration  might 
allow  the  crew  of  a  man-of-war  or  the 
troops  from  Fort  McHenry  to  be  assessed 
and  brawl  and  fight  at  primaries,  as  to  al¬ 
low  the  civilians  from  the  postmaster’s  and 
marshal’s  offices  to  do  it.  The  Civil  Service 
Record  for  September  publishes  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt’s  report  in  full,  and  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  will,  from  time  to  time,  pub¬ 
lish  the  most  important  parts  of  the  evi¬ 
dence  taken. 


We  hear  a  great  deal  in  these  days  about 
party  “  issues,”  and  many  excellent  people 
regret  that  civil  service  reform  has  never 
been  and  never  will  be  an  “  issue.”  These 
civil  service  reformers  still  cling  to  the 
idol  of  i)arty  or  a  party  leader,  and  they 
really  mean  that  Platt  and  Hill  and  Gor¬ 
man  and  Quay  and  their  gillies  dictate  the 
“issues”  of  their  respective  parties.  If  an 
issue  springs  from  a  condition  of  things 
that  Hoods  the  country  with  facts,  the 
spoils  system  is  at  this  moment  the  great 


262 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


issue  in  this  country  in  spite  of  scant 
mention  in  any  platform.  This  paper 
means  to  gather  the  facts  of  municipal, 
state  and  national  spoil  and  put  them  into 
condensed  shape  for  people  too  busy  to  get 
them  themselves.  There  is  not  a  month 
that  its  space  is  sufficient  to  print  one- 
twentieth  of  what  it  collects,  and  it  is  a 
conservative  estimate  that  it  is  not  able  to 
collect  one-twentieth  of  what  is  printed. 
Such  a  floodgate  of  spoil  touching  every 
phase  of  public  life  as  Tammany  opens, 
this  paper  has  to  pass  by.  If  gathered  into 
a  book  as  the  facts  appear  from  day  to  day 
in  the  New  York  papers,  it  would  form  the 
most  astounding  and  incomprehensible 
manifestation  of  this  century.  It  is  crimi¬ 
nal  ;  it  lays  a  vile  touch  upon  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  justice;  it  blackmails;  it  steals; 
it  corrupts  far  and  wide,  and  though  this 
is  known  by  the  best  men  of  both  parties 
in  New  York,  its  power  is  as  great  and  as  far 
reaching  as  it  ever  was.  So  far  as  any  sign 
shows  to-day,  Tammany  may  last  forever. 
Why,  indeed,'  should  Tammany  and  Tom 
Platt  make  an  “issue”  on  civil  service 
reform  when  their  power  and  life  are 
dependent  upon  spoil  ? 

The  postmaster-general  has  sent  a  circu¬ 
lar  letter  to  postmasters  at  county-seats, 
inviting  them  to  visit  each  postmaster  in 
their  respective  counties,  and  report  to 
to  him  before  October  15  upon  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  office.  In  view  of  the  high  re¬ 
gard  which  this  administration  has  for  ex- 
Headsman  Clarkson,  and  in  view  of  the 
many  reports  of  the  political  information 
obtained  by  the  census  takers,  it  was 
natural  for  many  people  to  suppose  that 
Mr.  Wanamaker  desired  before  October  15 
to  know  what  republican  postmasters  were 
not  sufficiently  active  and  where  it  would 
heal  breaches  to  remove  the  democrats 
who  here  and  there  have  hitherto  escaped 
the  knife.  The  Boston  Post,  August  19, 
states  that  the  leading  white  republicans 
of  Alabama  recently  met  at  Birmingham, 
and  appointed  a  committee  of  fifty  to 
“hunt  up  and  prefer  ‘charges’  against  every 
democratic  postmaster  in  the  state.”  Mr. 
Wanamaker  suggests  an  easy  channel  for 
these  “charges.”  The  suggestion  does  not 
appear  to  find  favor  from  republican 
sources.  The  Cedar  Rapids  Gazette  says : 

It  would  requipe  two  wo^s  steady  work  for  Po.st- 
master  Daniels  to  examine  the  offices  in  this  county, 
and  his  expenses  could  not  be  less  than  $40 ;  besides, 
he  would  have  to  pay  for  extra  help  at  his  own  office 
while  absent.  Then  again  we  do  not  think  the  aver¬ 
age  county-seat  postmaster,  who  is  usually  a  county- 
seat  politician,  would  care  to  make  an  unfavorable 
report  of  a  rural  postmaster,  who  is  usually  a  rural 
or  local  politician.  The  postmasters  will  generally 
notify  Mr.  Wanamaker  that  they  are  not  in  the  in¬ 
spection  business. 

Minor  post-offices  in  divisions  under  su¬ 
perintendents  who  do  not  hold  their  places 
by  favoritism  is  one  thing,  while  minor 


post-offices  in'divisions  by  counties  under  a 
county  political  boss  is  another. 

Congressman  Warwick,  the  successor  of 
Mr.  McKinley,  submitted  the  selection  of 
a  cadet  to  West  Point  to  a  competitive  ex¬ 
amination,  and  himself  selected  the  board 
before  whom  the  candidates  were  to  com¬ 
pete.  They  are  stated  to  have  been  pro¬ 
fessional  men  of  the  highest  standing  in 
the  four  counties.  The  sixteen-year-old 
successful  competitor  proved  to  be  the 
son  of  a  republican,  and  Congressman  War¬ 
wick  has  finally  rejected  him  and  appointed 
a  boy  who  was  a  candidate  and  rejected  by 
the  examining  board.  This  is  one  of  the 
little  silly  mean  things  a  grown  man  does 
who  barters  public  office  for  private  pelf. 


FROM  THE  SPEECH  OF  WILLIAM 

DUDLEY  FOULKE  BEFORE  THE 

SOCIAL  SCIENCE  CONGRESS  AT 

SARATOGA,  SEPTEMBER  3. 

The  principles  underlying  civil  service  re¬ 
form  are  as  clearly  demonstrable  as  any  in  polit¬ 
ical  economy.  They  start  from  the  same  axiom 
of  self-interest,  which,  while  not  the  sole  motive 
of  human  action,  are  still  apt  to  play  a 
preponderating  part.  Just  as  men  will 
buy  in  the  cheapest  market  and  sell  in 
the  dearest,  just  so  is  it  a  necessary  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  spoils  system  that  'men  in 
the  distribution  of  offices  will  pay  the  high¬ 
est  price  for  political  support  of  the  greatest 
political  value.  As  commercial  value  is 
measured  by  dollars,  so  political  value  is 
measured  by  votes,  either  in  the  caucus,  con¬ 
vention  or  popular  election.  *  *  *  In  the 

primative  stages  of  republican  government 
men  consider  more  the  quality  of  the  man  to 
be  appointed  than  in  its  later  and  more  im¬ 
personal  stages.  In  the  earlier  days  of  our 
government  we  acted  upon  the  theory  of  per¬ 
sonal  discretion  in  the  selection  of  office-hold¬ 
ers,  the  President  was  supposed  to  have  some 
knowledge  of  the  postmasters  and  collectors 
w'hose  names  were  submitted  to  the  senate,  and 
when  postmasters  and  collectors  were  few,  this 
theory  was  not  unreasonable.  In  the  earlier 
days  of  the  steam-engine  the  valve  was  turned 
on  by  the  personal  action  of  the  engineer;  but 
as  the  machinery  became  more  highly  devel¬ 
oped  and  complicated,  automatic  ac.liou  was 
found  to  be  necessary.  So  has  it  been  in  our 
government.  When  the  number  of  postmas¬ 
ters  increased  to  40,000,  personal  selection  be¬ 
came  no  longer  possible.  These  things  must 
now  be  done  by  system.  What  shall  the  system 
be? 

The  development  of  the  spoils  system  in 
American  politics  has  been  attributed  to  An¬ 
drew  Jackson,  to  Martin  Van  Buren,  to  Aaron 
Burr.  It  is  not  due  to  any  man.  If  Andrew 
Jackson,  Martin  Van  Buren  and  Aaron  Burr 
had  never  lived  it  would  still  have  been  en¬ 
grafted  at  some  time  or  other,  in  some  form  or 
other,  into  American  institutions,  in  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  some  other  definite  system  established 


by  law.  So  long  as  appointments  were  left  to 
the  personal  discretion  of  an  officer  selected 
by  universal  suffrage,  the  spoils  system  was  a 
necessary  result.  The  vote-value  of  the  man 
could  not  be  disregarded  when  he  sought  office 
from  those  whom  he  had  helped  to  power. 
But  just  so  surely  as  the  spoils  system  was  the 
product  of  natural  law,  just  so  certain  it  is  to¬ 
day  that  its  abolition  is  a  necessity  born  from 
the  evils  which  it  inflicts. 

No  one  will  deny  that  party  government  is 
a  necessary  phase  of  popular  government. 
Party  government  in  the  political  world  exer¬ 
cises  much  the  same  function  that  competition 
does  in  the  commercial  world  ;  that  war  does 
in  the  physical  world,  and  that  the  constant 
struggle  for  existence  (the  strong  preying 
upon  the  weak)  does  in  the  organic  world. 
It  is  a  part  of  the  great  development  of  na¬ 
ture  through  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
Where  all  men  vote,  the  strongest  conquer  at 
the  ballot-box  by  essentially  the  same  rules 
that  armies  conquer  in  war.  The  temptation 
is  powerful  to  use  all  means  lawful,  or  unlaw¬ 
ful,  according  to  the  decalogue  and  golden 
rule,  or  against  them,  to  defeat  the  enemy.  In 
earlier  times  and  among  the  lower  types  of 
humanity  the  love  of  booty  was  a  powerful 
motive  with  the  man  of  war.  The  right  to  de¬ 
spoil  his  enemy  was  never  questioned.  But  it 
has  gradually  dawned  upon  the  consciousness 
of  the  civilized  world  that  this  right  of  plun¬ 
der  not  only  inflicts  unnecessary  hardship 
upon  the  conquered,  but  that  it  is  the  greatest 
weakness  of  the  conquering  army.  How 
many  have  been  the  battles  lost  where  after 
the  first  onslaught  the  victorious  troops,  in¬ 
stead  of  securing  the  fruits  of  their  victory, 
devoted  themselves  to  plunder  and  have 
in  their  turn  been  overcome  and  despoiled! 
The  military  world  recognizes  to-day  that  the 
courage  of  the  soldier  must  be  sustained  by 
other  motives  than  by  the  hope  of  spoil,  and 
that  to  allow  an  army  to  devote  itself  to  plun¬ 
der  is  to  corrupt  and  ruin  it.  This  is  true 
none  the  less  in  politics  than  in  war.  In 
nearly  every  instance  patronage  is  a  source  of 
weakness  rather  than  strength.  The  number 
of  the  disappointed  is  always  greater  than  the 
number  of  the  successful.  Kven  the  man 
who  receives  the  coveted  plum  is  apt  to  prove 
ungrateful.  The  corrupting  influence  of 
plunder  is  such  that  the  honor  said  to  exist 
among  thieves  can  not  be  trusted.  President 
Arthur  had  the  patronage  yet  he  could  not 
secure  a  renomination.  President  Cleveland 
had  the  patronage,  yet  it  contributed  proba¬ 
bly  more  than  anything  else  to  his  defeat. 
President  Harrison  has  had  the  patronage,  yet 
the  success  of  the  republican  party  in  1888 
was  converted  in  1890  into  the  most  s,lisastrous 
defeat  in  its  history. 

The  analogy  between  the  spoils  of  war  and 
the  spoils  of  office  goes  further  in  the  division 
of  booty  among  chiefs  and  men.  The  share  of 
each  was  determined  not  by  what  he  took,  but 
by  the  relative  war  value  of  the  man.  The 
chief  was  to  have  one-fifth  or  one-tenth  of  the 
whole ;  then  came  the  greater  warriors,  while 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


263 


the  common  man  must  content  himself  with 
but  little.  So  in  politics,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
place  to  which  a  man  is  entitled  depends  upon 
his  political  value.  The  man  who  raises  or 
distributes  a  small  campaign  fund  gets  a  small 
place,  while  the  man  who  raises  his  hundreds 
of  thousands  may  even  hope  for  a  seat  in  the 
cabinet.  The  small  speaker  in  the  country 
district  may  aspire  to  a  country  post-oflBce, 
but  the  great  leader,  whom  all  men  flock  to 
hear,  may  perhaps  become  premier.  The 
question  which  after  all  determines  the  office 
to  be  given  and  the  man  to  have  it  is,  how 
many  votes  is  he  worth?  Now,  it  is  evident 
that  under  such  a  system  as  this  there  is  no 
relation  of  fitness  between  the  man  and  the 
duties  he  is  required  to  perform,  unless  those 
duties  are  political.  If  his  duty  is  to  guide 
the  policy  or  spread  the  principles  of  his  party 
and  win  votes  for  it,  of  course  the  best  politi¬ 
cian  will  be  the  best  man  for  the  place;  but  if 
the  duties  are  administrative  or  financial,  the 
man  whose  excellence  lies  in  neither  of  these 
fields  of  action  will  very  likely  be  a  bad  man 
for  the  place.  In  all  non-political  offices  we 
are  sure,  under  such  a  system,  not  to  get  the 
best  service,  but  a  rather  poor  service.  Skill 
in  managing  a  caucus  has  no  relation  to  skill 
in  adjusting  the  accounts  of  the  treasury  de¬ 
partment.  The  man  who  can  best  whoop  up 
the  boys  by  promises  of  patronage  is  not 
always  the  best  guardian  of  the  public  funds. 
Indeed,  the  particular  kind  of  politician  w’hose 
vote  value  is  the  most  easily  determined,  and 
the  results  of  whose  labors  are  the  most  palpa¬ 
ble,  is  generally  the  one  who  is  most  disquali¬ 
fied  for  responsible  office. 

The  influences  which  determine  the  conduct 
of  the  conscientious,  independent  voter  are 
not  so  immediately  traceable  to  the  particular 
action  of  any  one  man  as  are  the  votes  of  the 
venal  “floaters  ”  to  the  action  of  the  man  who 
divides  them  into  blocks  of  five,  or  who  raises 
the  money  to  corrupt  them.  The  venal  poli¬ 
tician  is,  upon  the  immediate  face  of  things, 
a  more  valuable  man  than  the  more  remote 
agent  who  convinces  the  intelligence.  Hence 
he  is  apt  to  secure  the  better  place,  unless  the 
fear  of  public  indignation  following  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  his  methods  makes  his  appointment 
impossible.  So  it  often  happens  that  a  few 
votes  in  the  convention  which  makes  the  nom¬ 
ination  are  more  important  than  a  vast  num¬ 
ber  of  votes  at  the  popular  election.  Hence 
we  find  that  the  support  of  delegates  is 
specially  sought  for  by  aspiring  candidates 
and  that  great  i>umbers  of  those  who  have 
thrown  their  influence  for  the  nominee  in  con¬ 
vention  are  to  be  found  among  the  successful 
aspirants  for  office. 

Another  thing  which  results  is  a  political 
hierarchy,  or  as  Mr.  Lucius  B.  Swift  more 
accurately  calls  it,  a  system  of  feudalism  in 
office-holding,  in  which  the  respective  rank 
and  power  of  the  men  are  often  quite  diflerent 
from  that  prescribed  by  the  constitution  and 
laws.  According  to  the  latter,  the  President 
.and  members  of  the  cabinet  make  the  appoint¬ 
ments  according  to  certain  statutes,  the  head 


of  a  department  or  bureau  is  authorized  to 
appoint  the  officers  who  serve  under  him,  and 
he  is  responsible  for  their  conduct,  dismissing 
^  them  if  they  turn  out  to  be  inefficient,  yet  in 
point  of  fact  we  find  that  appointments  are 
not  made  in  any  such  way.  A  member  of 
congress  or  political  boss  of  the  district  or 
city  is  really  the  appointing  power.  Some¬ 
times,  like  Senator  Quay,  he  holds  an  office, 
which  is  often  purely  legislative  and  involv¬ 
ing  no  such  duty  as  the  distribution  of  patron¬ 
age,  .and  sometimes,  like  Mr.  Platt  of  New 
York,  he  holds  no  office  .at  all. 

These  gentlemen,  the  greater  barons  of  pol¬ 
itics,  divide  their  possessions  among  the  lesser, 
the  county  chairmen  and  political  bosses,  and 
these  again  apportion  their  allotments  among 
the  leaders  in  townships  and  wards,  who  in 
their  turn  divide  their  little  holdings  among 
their  own  thralls  and  hustlers.  In  each  case 
fealty  is  due,  not  to  the  head  of  the  office  nor 
to  the  government  itself,  but  to  the  particular 
source  from  which  the  appointment  comes. 
The  result  is  that  the  men  appointed,  inas¬ 
much  as  they  do  not  owe  their  place  to  any 
qualifications  for  the  work  to  be  done,  and  do 
not  expect  to  retain  it  by  virtue  of  their  in¬ 
dustry  or  fidelity,  but  on  account  of  their  in¬ 
fluence  with  the  men  who  appointed  them, 
often  neglect  their  duties  and  devote  them¬ 
selves  to  political  work  quite  inconsistent  with 
those  duties.  This  system  has  all  the  vices 
and  lawlessness  of  feudalism,  and  those  addi¬ 
tional  weaknesses  which  spring  from  the  un¬ 
stable  and  uncertain  tenure  upon  which  these 
offices  are  held.  The  men  who  nominally 
make  the  appointments,  the  head  of  the  office 
or  department  does  not  dare  to  make  removals 
for  incompetency  lest  he  should  offend  the 
powerful  “influence”  which  stands  behind  an 
incompetent  man.  The  “  influence,”  on  the 
other  hand,  cares  little  for  the  manner  in 
which  his  vassal  performs  the  duties  of  the  of¬ 
fice,  so  long  as  the  personal  and  political  serv¬ 
ice  to  himself  is  satisfactory.  There  is  thus  a 
divided  responsibility,  the  duties  are  neglect¬ 
ed,  and  there  is  nowhere  any  power  to  apply 
the  remedy. 

FEUDALISM  REVIVED. 

The  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  the 
former  especially,  have  produced  a  political 
and  social  system  which  bears  some  resem¬ 
blance  to  the  Roman  relation  of  patron  and 
client,  and  a  greater  resemblance  to  the  feu¬ 
dalism  of  the  middle  ages.  It  is  a  spontane¬ 
ous  natural  growth,  and  bids  fair  in  future 
years  to  play  a  part  even  more  important  than 
it  exercises  at  present.  The  nucleus  is  an  as¬ 
sociation,  or  club,  chiefly  political,  partly 
social,  numbering  anywhere  from  50  to  5,000 
persons,  and  headed  by  a  leader,  an  alderman 
or  such  like,  who  dies,  or  is  deposed  now  and 
then,  in  which  case  the  succession  is  not 
hereditary,  but  determined  by  the  popular 
will,  informally  expressed.  ,  Each  of  these 
clubs  is  part  of  a  still  larger  body,  led  by  one 
man,  and  this  larger  body  is,  again,  part  of 
one  of  the  iwo  great  political  parties  and  sub¬ 


servient  to  the  state  boss  for  the  time  being. 
Boss  Platt  on  the  one  hand  and  Governor  Hill 
on  the  other  are  the  feudal  lords  now  at  the 
head  of  the  two  great  kingdoms  or  provinces, 
and  beneath  them  is  a  regular  gradation  of 
leaders  down  to  the  ward  “heeler”  who  haunts 
the  liquor  saloon  of  the  local  boss,  and  never 
does  an  honest  day’s  work — except  in  the  way 
of  politics. 

Of  course  the  chief  functions  of  these  feudal 
bodies  are  primaries,  caucuses,  state  conven¬ 
tions,  political  meetings  and  elections.  But 
scarcely  less  important  are  picnics  and  funer¬ 
als.  The  Post  commented  the  other  day  upon 
the  fact  that  two  political  clubs,  both  affiliated 
with  Tammany  Hall,  had  just  enjoyed  a  mar¬ 
itime  excursion — and  in  neither  case  was  any¬ 
body  murdered  or  even  maimed — to  such  a 
degree  of  discipline  has  Tammany  attained. 
On  Friday  last  two  more  sacred  politico- feudal 
rites  were  celebrated,  a  picnic  and  a  funeral, 
one  in  Brooklyn,  one  in  New  York.  The  pic¬ 
nic  occurred  in  Brooklyn,  and  was  attended 
by  fully  5,000  persons,  belonging  to  the  fourth 
senatorial  district,  it  being  the  annual  festival 
of  the  P.  H.  McCarren  Association.  The 
crowd  included  men,  women  and  children,  and 
they  were  entertained  from  4  p.  m.  till  the  next 
morning — all  at  the  expense  of  McCarren,  the 
local  feudatory,  to  whom  they  owe  allegiance. 
McCarren  stood  at  the  gate  of  the  pavilion 
where  the  picnic  was  held  and  shook  the  hand 
of  every  man,  woman  and  child  that  entered, 
and  kissed  all  the  babies.  Of  course  the  peo¬ 
ple  did  not  stream  in  miscellaneously — they 
marched  in  by  divisions,  each  division  consti¬ 
tuting  the  local  association  or  nucleus,  already 
mentioned.  Thus  we  have  the  “  P.  Donnelly 
Association,”  the  “John  Dunn  Association,” 
the  “Hugh  O’Brien  Association,**  the  “Michael 
J.  Devine  Association,”  .and  many  others. 

But  while  these  festivities  were  transacting 
at  Brooklyn  a  feudal  funeral  was  occurring  in 
New  York,  being  that  of  John  Stroubenmul- 
ler,  late  boss  of  “de  Ate,”  i.  e.,  the  8th  assem¬ 
bly  district.  The  chief  interest  of  this  occa¬ 
sion  arose  from  the  fact  that  prominence  at 
the  funeral  would  be  a  factor  in  the  selection 
of  a  new  boss.  Hence  a  spirited  rivalry 
among  the  leaders  in  the  size  of  their  “  floral 
tributes.”  Hence,  also,  a  contest  as  to  who 
should  head  the  procession.  The  New  York 
World  says  that  Barney  Rourke  sent  the  big¬ 
gest  “  floral  tribute.”  It  was  a  wreath  bearing 
the  following  inscription : 


He  w.as  our  friend. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Barney  Rourke. 


Another  aspirant,  F.  Wolf,  is  said  to  have 
remarked  when  the  wreath  was  borne  in,  “  I 
wonder  where  mine  is.  That  kid  must  be 
crawling.  Ah !  Here  he  comes.”  And  then 
to  the  bystanders,  “  Now  what  do  you  think 
of  that  for  a  fine  one?  Barney’s  might  be  a 
little  the  biggest,  but  mine  cost  the  most 
money  all  right  enough.” 

But,  on  the  whole,  it  is  conceded  that  Bar¬ 
ney  Rourke  profited  as  much  by  this  funeral 
as  McCarren,  of  Brooklyn,  did  by  his  picnic, 
“de  Ate”  h.as  done  homage  to  Rourke. — Bos¬ 
ton  Post. 


IPL^TTZS:^- 


»  * 


The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  *  *  become  his  ^lAN  from  that  day  lorth. 
Services  were  free  and  base.  *  *  Base  service  was  to  *  carry  out  his  dnnj;.— _ 


—It  was  not  long  after  Collector  Erhardt  had  been 
in  office  that  Platt  sent  in  a  list  of  about  twenty 
names  of  men  whom  he  wanted  appointed  to  office 
at  once.  Mr.  Erhardt  looked  it  over  and  asked  the 
messenger  where  it  came  from. 

“From  Mr.  Platt,”  is  said  to  have  been  the  mes¬ 
senger’s  answer.  Then  the  collector  is  reported  to 
have  said ; 

“It  is  about  time  that  Mr.  Platt  learned  that  I  am 
the  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York.” 

“What  answer  shall  I  take  back?”  asked  the  mes¬ 
senger. 

“Take  back  that  answer,"  said  the  collector,  refer¬ 
ring  to  what  he  had  previously  said. 

From  that  time  on  Platt  began  his  warfare  on  Mr. 
Erhardt.  He  failed  for  some  time  to  carry  his  point, 
but  when  Secretary  Foster  succeeded  Mr.  Windom, 
Platt’s  chances  improved,  and  now  the  republican 
party  in  this  state  is  politely  told  that  any  man  who 
can  not  do  the  bidding  of  T.  C.  Platt  must  get  out  of 
office,  no  matter  how  efficient  a  public  official  he 
may  be. — New  York  Times,  July  SO. 

— It  has  been  for  and  against  T.  C.  Platt,  for 
and  against  Senator  Hiscock,  and  for  and 
against  Warner  Miller.  Kepublican  voters  in 
this  county  are  largely  anti-Platt,  and  a  dis¬ 
tinctively  Platt  candidate  for  any  office  would 
receive  scant  consideration  at  their  hands. 
This  hostility  has  grown  up  because  of  Platt’s 
interference  with  and  control  of  appointments, 
some  of  which  have  been  most  unsatisfactory. 
The  selection  of  E.  E.  Robinson  as  postmaster 
at  Ithaca  and  the  removal  of  the  collector’s 
office  from  this  city  to  Waverly,  in  Tioga 
county,  one  of  Platt’s  henchmen  receiving  the 
commission,  produced  deep  feeling  which 
found  open  expression  of  decided  dissent.  The 
collection  district  is  Tompkins,  Tioga,  and 
Schuyler,  Tompkins  county  furnishing  greater 
revenue  than  the  other  two  combined,  and  the 
change  of  location  is  regarded  here  as  an  out¬ 
rage.  The  Ithaca  postmastership  is  a  mere 
sinecure,  the  official  being  a  telegraph  opera¬ 
tor  at  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  station, 
who  sometimes  appears  at  the  post-office  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  day.  As  regards  the  per¬ 
formance  of  any  duty  to  compensate  for  his 
large  salary,  he  might  as  well  be  a  resident  of 
Alaska.  His  appointment  was  secured  by  T. 
C.  Platt  and  John  W.  Dwight  of  Dryden,  in 
this  county,  in  defiance  of  an  earnest  protest 
sent  to  Washington  signed  by  many  republi¬ 
cans  of  the  highest  character  and  most  pro¬ 
nounced  political  views,  but  this  protest  was 
entirely  disregarded.  This  parceling  out  of 
offices  in  this  locality  has  produced  a  deep 
feeling  of  dissatisfaction,  which  probably  will 
appear  in  the  canvass. — Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  August  S9. 

— The  republican  county  convention  met  in 
Ithaca,  September  5.  Postmaster  E.  E.  Robin¬ 
son,  who  is  employed  by  the  United  States 
government  at  a  salary  of  $3,000  a  year  to 
keep  an  eye  on  the  post-office  when  not  en¬ 
gaged  in  his  regular  business,  despatching 
trains  on  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  at 
once  assumed  control  of  the  convention.  For 
some  reason,  probably  to  discourage  the  at¬ 
tendance  of  too  many  spectators,  tho.se  who 
had  charge  of  the  matter  had  furnished  only 


about  the  requisite  number  of  seats  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  delegates. 

The  postmaster  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  seats  intended  for  delegates 
were  occupied  by  spectators  and  requested 
that  they  should  be  vacated  to  make  room  for 
delegates  who  were  standing.  »  *  *  The 
postmaster  thought  the  debate  had  proceeeded  far 
enough,  and  producing  that  well-known  weapon 
used  in  debate — which  ex-farmer  Enz  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  introducing  into  republican 
county  conventions — he  moved  the  previous 
question,  which  was  promptly  carried  and 
Counselor  Baker  was  crushed  again,  and  with 
him  the  young  republican  orator  who  had  the 
temerity  to  say  something  about  the  question 
which  he  was  trying  to  debate. 

The  vote  on  the  postmaster’s  motion  re¬ 
vealed  the  strength  of  the  machine,  and  it  was 
apparent  that  Almy  would  receive  the  nomi¬ 
nation  for  county  judge,  which  he  did  on  the 
first  formal  ballot,  his  vote  being  (54,  or  ten 
more  than  the  number  required.  '*  *  *  Af¬ 
ter  which  the  postmaster  adjourned  his  con¬ 
vention. — Ithaca  {N.  Y.)  Democrat, September  10. 

— The  enrolled  republicans  of  Brooklyn 
and  the  Kings  county  towns  held  their  pri¬ 
maries  yesterday  for  the  election  of  delegates 
to  the  various  assembly  conventions  to-mor¬ 
row  night.  The  object  of  the  latter  is  the 
election  of  delegates  to  the  state  convention 
to  be  held  Sept.  9.  Every  effort  had  been 
made  to  bring  about  a  harmonious  feeling 
among  the  local  leaders  before  the  voting  be¬ 
gan  yesterday,  but  it  was  successful  only  in 
those  wards  where  a  fight  would  have  been  of 
no  consequence. 

Wherever  the  party  is  in  a  position  to  dis¬ 
tribute  anything  there  was  a  struggle  for  con¬ 
trol.  The  most  serious  fight  was  that  between 
State  Committeeman  Thomas  A.  MeWhinney 
and  Assemblyman  Joseph  Aspinall  in  the 
twenty-first  ward.  Aspinall  represented  Ernst 
Nathan,  whose  chief  desire  now  is  to  remove 
MeWhinney  and  replace  him  by  Charles  J. 
Dunwell. 

When  the  voters  began  to  arrive  they  found 
several  thousand  copies  of  a  circular  in  which 
“Boss”  Nathan  was  attacked  most  viciously  as 
a  man  who  stabbed  in  the  back  everj'  candi¬ 
date  whom  he  could  not  manage.  It  was 
pointed  out  that  he  had  given  Blaine  very  few 
votes  in  his  ward  in  1884  and  had  knifed  the 
assembly  candidate  the  following  year.  The 
circular  continued  : 

“The  anti-Nathan  ticket  stands  unpledged  to  any 
man.  This  is  not  a  fight  against  Charles  T.  Dunwell 
personally,  but  only  because  he  is  being  used  by  Mr. 
Nathan  to  advance  Nathan’s  ambition  to  become  a 
supreme  boss. 

“The  power  of  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Nathan 
over  those  having  official  business  with  his  office  is 
well-known  and  realized  by  every  dealer  in  spirits, 
tobacco  and  cigars,  and  he  appears  to  be  attempting 
to  press  them  into  his  service  for  his  own  political 
advancement  and  against  the  action  of  the  republi¬ 
can  association  of  the  ward.  He  is  spending  nearly 
every  evening  in  the  ward, superintending  the  canvass 
and  pressing  the  button,  and  subordinates  from  his 
office  are  exceedingly  active  there.  A  circular  has 
been  issued  to  the  Nathan  ring  containing  the  names 
of  many  gentlemen  who  will  vote  the  regular  ticket, 
and  to  swell  the  numbers  some  of  the  names  have 
been  repeated.  It  may  be  difficult  to  forecast  the 
result,  but  many  protest  against  this  attempted 
‘bossism,’  and  the  result  of  the  ‘button  pressing’ 


may  have  the  same  effect  as  it  had  upon  our  candi¬ 
date  for  congress  last  year.”— A’eii;  York  Times,  Sep¬ 
tember  2. 

— The  republican  primaries  in  Jefferson 
county  have  left  the  party  in  anything  but  a 
happy  and  united  condition.  The  expenditure 
of  about  'fiSjOOO  by  one  candidate  to  sectire  delegates 
to  a  district  convention  created  the  impression 
that  the  county  is  becoming  one  of  the  most 
corrupt  in  the  state. 

The  work  of  federal  office-holders  who  left  their 
official  duties  to  ivork  the  caucuses  has  awakened 
honest  people  to  a  sense  of  their  obligations  to 
the  state,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  charges 
will  be  jireferred  against  the  head  of  the  Cape 
Vincent  custom-house  and  some  of  his  subor¬ 
dinates. —  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  August  SO. 

— After  a  factional  fight,  the  most  exciting  in 
the  history  of  Onondaga  county  politics,  the 
Hiscock-Hendricks  faction  to-day  won  the 
first  battle  in  the  contest  to  retain  control  of 
the  state  senatorship  for  the  Onondaga 
and  Cortland  district.  They  captured  by  a 
substantial  majority  the  city  caucuses  which 
elected  delegates  to  the  senatorial  convention 
to  be  held  next  Saturday.  The  results  of  the 
caucuses  held  throughout  the  district  make  it 
certain  that  Assemblyman  Rufus  T.  Peck,  of 
Cortland,  will’be  nominated  for  state  senator. 

The  struggle  to  capture  the  senatorship  in 
the  interest  of  Senator  Hiscock  has  been,  ac¬ 
cording  to  republican  authority,  the  most  dis¬ 
graceful  ever  waged  in  the  district.  The 
leading  candidates  were  Assemblyman  How¬ 
ard  G.  White,  of  Onondaga,  and  Assemblyman 
Rufus  T.  Peck,  of  Cortland.  Peck  is  a  gillie 
of  Senator  Francis  Hendricks,  and  the  sena¬ 
tor  has  in  person  led  the  fight  for  him,  as¬ 
sisted  by  the  various  leaders  of  the  Hiscock 
faction,  with  the  United  States  Senator  him¬ 
self  as  director  general  of  the  campaign. 
Senator  Hiscock  himself  hurried  home  from 
his  trip  to  the  far  west  to  rally  his  forces  and 
fight  for  Peck’s  nomination. 

The  Cortland  county  caucuses  were  held 
last  week  and  sent  a  delegation,  practically 
salted  for  Peck,  to  the  senatorial  convention. 
This  result,  it  is  claimed  by  the  Standard  (re¬ 
publican),  was  accomplished  by  the  most  cor¬ 
rupt  and  disgraceful  methods  ever  put  into 
practice  in  the  district.  It  is  openly  charged 
that  votes  for  delegates  were  purcha.sed  out¬ 
right  by  the  most  lavish  use  of  money,  and 
that  no  less  than  $4,000  was  spent  to  corrupt 
the  voters  and  purchase  Peck  delegates. 

Having  carried  the  Cortland  caucuses  the 
Hiscock-Hendricks  faction  set  about  to  de¬ 
feat  the  will  of  the  republicans  of  Onondaga 
by  adopting  the  same  methods  which  had  pre¬ 
vailed  in  Cortland.  At  the  republican  c  in¬ 
cuses  held  in  the  town  of  De  Witt,  men  who 
had  received  favors  at  the  hands  of  Senator 
Hiscock  were  forced  into  the  fight.  The  sena¬ 
tor's  brother,  Charles  Hiscock,  who  holds  a  fat  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  United  States  revenue  office,  led  the  force. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


265 


Eugene  Bogardus  and  Q.  0.  Ferris,  both  of  whom 
have  sons  in  the  assayer’s  office  in  New  York  at  large 
salaries,  were  also  actively  fighting  for  the  Hiscock 
candidate.  The  sheriff's  office  also  took  a  hand  in 
the  fight,  and  the  sons  of  county  postmasters  tramped 
the  tmvn  to  help  the  Hiscock  men  carry  the  caucuses. 

Hiscock,  since  his  return  from  the  west,  lias 
made  frequent  visits  to  New  York  to  confer 
with  Platt,  and  Platt  emissaries  from  Oswego 
and  elsewhere  have  been  here  and  taken  a  hand 
in  the  senatorial  contest.  Peck  is  not  the  choice 
of  the  business  men  of  Cortland  .for  senator. 
He  carried  Cortland  for  the  assembly  last  year 
by  less  than  100  votes,  and  is  the  most  unpop¬ 
ular  man  in  the  district. — Syracuse  Dispatch  to 
the  New  York  Times,  September  4- 

— Mr.  Coykendall  is  with  Platt,  and  his  in¬ 
fluence  dominated  the  conventions  in  the  sec¬ 
ond  and  third  assembly  districts  and  that  of 
the  first  district  to  the  extent  of  bringing  about 
the  selection  of  ex-Member  of  Congress  James 
G.  Lindsley,  and  County  Judge  A.  T.  Clear- 
w.ater.  Charles  Davis,  one  of  the  first  district 
delegates,  is  a  friend  of  Sharpe,  and  Christopher 
O.  James,  another  delegate,  is  employed  in  the  Netu 
York  city  post  office.  It  is  believed  by  some  that 
Sharpe  is  with  Platt,  because  Platt  sanctioned  his 
appointment  in  the  appraiser’s  office  in  Nev’  York 
city  after  Senator  Hiscock  had  recommended  him  to 
the  President. — Kingston  {N.  Y.)  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  September  4- 

— The  republican  primary  elections,  at 
which  delegates  were  chosen  to  the  republi¬ 
can  state  convention,  were  held  in  all  the  as¬ 
sembly  districts  of  this  city  yesterday.  Fred¬ 
erick  Leffson,  president  of  a  German  organi¬ 
zation,  telegraphed  to  Collector  Fassett  that 
deputy  collector  Wilson  Berryman  was  work¬ 
ing  around  the  polls.  Berryman  was  at  his 
desk  when  the  collector  received  the  message, 
but  he  subsequently  asked  for  a  “  day  off,”  to 
be  charged  against  his  vacation,  and  Mr. 
Fassett  remembering  his  own  work  at  Horse- 
heads,  granted  it  to  him.  Mr.  Berryman 
went  back  to  the  seventeenth  district  polling 
place  and  looked  out  for  the  interest  of  the 
regulars. — New  York  Times,  September  J. 

— But  another  thing  that  the  primaries  have 
settled  is  that  a  complaint  is  to  be  made  to 
the  federal  authorities  in  regard  to  Internal 
Revenue  Collector  Nathan’s  pernicious  activity  in 
local  politics.  His  office  is  being  run  as  a  political 
machine.  Thesubordinates  have  been  working 
in  this  third  senatorial  fight  with  great  vigor, 
and  all  their  efforts  have  been  directed  to  in¬ 
ducing  republicans  to  vote  against  Senator 
Birkett.  It  is  said  that  a  list  of  over  one  hun¬ 
dred  men  who  have  been  importuned  by  these 
subordinates  of  the  collector  has  been  drawn 
up  and  will  be  sent  to  President  Harrison. 
One  of  Nathan’s  men  was  an  inspector  at  the 
recent  twenty-first  ward  primary,  and  he  was 
ordered  to  New  Jersey  by  the  department  on 
the  day  of  the  primary  and  kept  there  until 
just  before  it  opened-. 

Then  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  the  offi¬ 
cial  roll  book  in  his  pocket,  and  that  his 
absence  was  designed  to  prevent  the  opposition 


from  having  the  namts  of  thirty  five  recently 
elected  members  placed  on  the  roll,  thereby 
enabling  them  to  vote.  This  trick  was  ren¬ 
dered  worthless  by  the  granting  of  a  man¬ 
damus  hy  Judge  Osborne,  under  which  the 
votes  were  received.  But  it  is  an  example, 
and  a  very  fair  one,  of  the  way  an  important 
federal  office  is  being  used  to  advance  the  for¬ 
tunes  of  a  local  party  boss. — New  York  Times, 
September  G. 

—  The  Evening  Post’s  correspondent  met  Collector 
of  Internal  Revenue  Nathan  in  Power’s  Hotel  this 
morning  and  asked  him  whom  the  Kings  county 
delegation  would  support  for  governor.  “Our  first 
choice,”  he  replied,  “is  General  Stewart  L.  Wood¬ 
ford.” 

"And  who  next?  ” 

"Andrew  D.  White  " 

"How  does  your  delegation  feel  towards  Collector 
Fassett?  ” 

“Very  favorably.” 

“In  the  event  of  a  contest  between  ex-Minlster 
While  and  Senator  Fassett  whom  would  your  dele¬ 
gation  support?  ” 

"That  would  have  to  be  determined.  The  Kings 
county  delegation  will  work  in  harmony  with  the 
New  York  delegation.  We  shall  be  a  unit  in  the 
convention.”— RocAes/er  Dispatch  to  New  York  Even¬ 
ing  Post,  September  7. 

— It  has  been  reported  within  the  last  few  days  that 
Frederick  S.  Gibbs  is  to  be  the  regular  republican 
candidate  for  assemblyman  in  the  thirteenth  dis¬ 
trict  and  that  he  would  have  the  support  of  ex- 
Senator  Platt  and  the  republican  county  organiza¬ 
tions.  A  reporter  for  The  Evening  Post  learned  that 
such  is  not  the  case:  that  if  Gibbs  should  be  nomi¬ 
nated  by  his  alleged  "regular”  organization  in  the 
thirteenth,  the  county  leaders  will  not  recognize 
him  as  the  parly’s  candidate,  will  not  contribute  to 
his  support,  and,  in  all  likelihood,  will  .see  to  it  that 
the  Cowie  people  place  a  candidate  in  the  field 
against  him. 

Although  the  Gibbs  delegation  was  seated  in  the 
county  committee,  Gibbs  was  not  recognized  as  the 
regular  leader  of  the  district.  lie  had  a  number  of 
men  appointed  to  places  in  the  custom-house  during  Col. 
Erhardt's  regime,  but  has  had  none  since  Mr.  Fassett 
went  into  office.  It  is  stated  by  an  excellent  authority 
that  when  Collector  Fassett  begins  the  weeding  out  pro¬ 
cess  the  Oibbs  men  will  be  the  first  to  go;  that  no  democrat 
will  be  touched  until  after  the  Oibbs  people  have  gone. 
Oibbs  very  recently  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  place/or  one 
of  his  followers  in  the  custodian’s  department  in  the  post- 
office.  The  giving  of  that  place,  it  is  staled,  led  to  a  very 
warm  interview  between  ex-Senator  Platt  and  Postmaster 
Fan  Cott,  and  it  is  understood  that  the  appointee  will  be 
removed  as  soon  as  the  state  convention  is  over. — New 
York  Evening  Post,  September  7. 

—The  general  sentiment  seems  to  be  summed  up 
in  the  words  of  John  E.  Brodsky  to  your  correspond¬ 
ent:  "  We’ll  give  all  the  candidates  a  show  on  the 
first  ballot;  then  the  whole  business  will  go  for  Fas¬ 
sett.”  Brodsky  proclaimed  further,  with  a  chuckle, 
that  the  New  York  City  delegation  was  going  to  start 
off  in  the  convention  with  a  vote  for  “that  great  and 
good  man,  Andrew  D.  White  ” 

Thomas  C.  Platt  has  been  known  for  many  years 
as  a  grim  joker.  According  to  appearances  this 
morning  he  is  carrying  out  the  grimmest  joke  of  his 
life.  He  sits  in  his  parlor  in  Power’s  Hotel,  declar¬ 
ing  vehemently  to  all  visitors  that  he  is  for 
Andrew  D.  White,  first,  last,  and  all  the  lime, 
and  eulogizing  in  the  most  earnest  way  the 
ex-President  of  Cornell.  But  all  the  time  his 
lieutenants  are  down  stairs,  preparing  for  the 
nomination  of  his  chief  lieutenant,  Fas.sett.  This 
idea  appears  to  be  to  give  the  impression  that  he 
thinks  Mr.  White  is  the  best  man,  and  that  he  will 
not  desert  him  until  a  great  wave  of  enthusiasm  for 
Fassett  sweeps  away  all  other  candidates.  If  the 
wave  turns  up  on  schedule  time,  the  boss  will  proba¬ 
bly  shed  a  public  tear  for  the  Ithaca  statesman,  and 
declare  that  he  could  not  prevent  Fassett’s  nomina¬ 
tion. 


The  little  comedy  is  very  amusing  to  the  delegates 
who  are  here.  They  know  that  until  Platt  arrived 
yesterday  morning  there  was  a  general  doub:  as  to 
the  nominations,  and  that  within  ten  hours  after 
his  arrival  the  name  of  Fassett  was  on  everybody’s 
tongue.  Delegates  who  came  here  shouting  for  their 
local  candidate  grew  silent  and  all  at  once  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  Fassett  might  be  more  available. 
—Rochester  Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening  Post,  Sep¬ 
tember  8. 

“  No  officer  shoiiltl  be  required  or  per- 
niilted  lo  take  part  in  the  arrang^emeiit  of 
political  org'anizatioiis,  caucuses,  conven- 
1  ions,  or  election  caiupaigiis.  Their  right 
to  vote  and  to  express  their  views  on  pub¬ 
lic  questions,  either  orally  or  through  the 
pre.ss,  is  not  denied,  provided  it  does  not 
interfere  with  the  discharge  of  their 
official  duties.  No  assessment  for  political 
purposes  on  offices  or  subordinates  should 
be  allowed. — President  Hayes,  June  22,  1S77. 

— Big  and  little  federal  office  holders  have 
been  jostling  one  another  in  the  hotel  cor¬ 
ridors  ever  since  this  convention  began  to  pull 
itself  together.  The  two  most  conspicuous 
ornaments  of  this  office-holding  array  were,  of 
course,  Thomas  C.  Platt,  member  of  the  com¬ 
mission  for  the  location  of  a  government  dock 
in  Washington,  and  the  collector  of  the  port 
of'New  York,  Mr.  Fassett. 

Only  a  single  instance  is  known  where  the 
chief  of  a  department  gave  his  subordinates  to 
understand  that  it  would  be  better  policy  for 
them  to  remain  at  home  than  to  come  to 
Rochester.  Naval  Officer  Theodore  Willis 
is  understood  to  have  conveyed  some  such 
hint  to  his  men,  and  the  Brooklyn  men  in  his 
department  appear  to  have  generally  ob¬ 
served  it.  Some  of  the  more  important  place¬ 
holders  who  were  here  are  the  following: 
Thomas  C.  Platt. 

J.  Sloat  Fassett,  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York. 
Ernst  Nathan,  collector  of  Internal  revenue  for  the 
Brooklyn  district. 

John  W.  Jacobus,  marshal  of  the  southern  district  of 
New  York. 

John  E.  Milholland,  inspector  of  emigration  at  the 
port  of  New  York  and  press  agent  for  the  Platt 
aggregation. 

Denis  Shea,  deputy  collector  in  Mr.  Fassett’s  office. 
John  H.  Gunner,  of  New  York,  deputy  collector  in 
Mr.  Fasselt’s  office. 

John  Collins,  of  New  York,  deputy  collector  in  the 
collector’s  office. 

Gen.  Michael  Kerwin,  of  New  York,  collector  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue. 

Ferdinand  Eidman,  of  New  York,  collector  of  inter¬ 
nal  revenue. 

Robert  H.  Hunter,  collector  of  internal  revenue  for 
the  Poughkeepsie  district. 

Barney  Biglin,  baggage  contractor  at  Castle  Garden. 
Je.sse  Johnson,  district  attorney  for  the  Brooklyn  dis¬ 
trict. 

Col.  Archie  E.  Baxter,  of  Elmira,  marshal  for  the 
northern  district. 

Henry  Flood,  postmaster  of  Elmira,  and  contesting 
delegate  from  Mr.  Fassetl’s  own  town. 

Jonas  S.  Van  Duzer,  postmaster  of  Horseheads  and 
also  a  contestant  from  Mr.  Fassett’s  county. 
William  B.  Morgan,  collector  of  the  port  of  Buffalo. 
James  Low,  collector  of  customs  at  Suspension  Bridge. 
Charles  E.  Fitch,  ex  editor  of  the  Rochester  Democrat 
and  Chronicle  and  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  western  New  York. 

John  E.  Smith,  of  Morrisville,  Madison  county,  as¬ 
sistant  district  attorney,  with  headquarters  at 
Syracuse,  and  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  of 
state  senator  against  Titus  Sheard. 


266  THE  CIVLL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Mynders  E.  Van  Cliff,  of  Ilhaca,  commissioner  of  the 

circuit  court. 

James  Miller,  postma.ster  of  Utica. 

Gen.  Reynolds,  postmaster  of  Rochester. 

Carroll  E.  Smith,  postmaster  of  Syracuse  and  editor 

of  the  Syracuse  Journal. 

R.  M.  Ritchie,  postmaster  of  Saratoga  Springs. 

George  W.  Dunn  postmaster  of  Binghamton. 
Leonard  Groesheck,  of  Troy,  United  States  bank 

examiner. 

Amos  Roberts,  postmaster  of  Addison,  Steuben  Co. 
Horace  E.  Morse,  collector  of  customs  at  Cape  Vin¬ 
cent,  Jefferson  county. 

—Rochester  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Sept.  9. 

— Mr.  J.  Slee,  of  Elmira,  the  speaker  for  the 
anti-Fassett  Chemung  delegates,  was  given  the 
first  opportunity  to  speak. 

He  charged  that  the  republican  county  com¬ 
mittee  of  Chemung  was  in  the  hand  of  the 
contestants  opponents,  who  did  not  hesitate  to 
use  every  means,  lawful  and  unlawful,  to  run 
the  primaries  to  suit  their  selfish  ends.  He 
said  there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  that, 
barring  the  fact  that  pistols  and  knives  were 
not  used  by  the  Fassett  people,  their  methods 
were  the  most  disgraceful  ever  witnessed  in 
the  county.  Mr.  Fassett,  he  said,  repeatedly 
honored  by  the  people  of  Chemung,  had  be¬ 
trayed  the  confidence  of  his  constituents  and 
bulldozed  them  in  the  hope  of  making  them 
support  his  line  of  action.  There  was  a  feel¬ 
ing  in  Chemung  so  intense  against  this  sys¬ 
tem  of  party  rule,  that  unless  some  rebuke  was 
administered  at  this  committee’s  hands,  a  wrong 
would  be  done  to  the  republicans  of  the 
county  that  would  result  disastrously  to  the 
party  in  November. 

The  contestants,  he  claimed,  after  a  fair 
fight  secured  100  votes  out  of  186.  The  only 
convention  was  called  for  August  15.  On  Au¬ 
gust  14  the  county  committee,  made  up  of 
Fassett  men,  decided  to  admit  no  one  to  the 
convention  who  was  unprovided  with  a  ticket. 
Tickets  were  not  given  to  the  anti-Fassett 
men  until  fifteen  minutes  after  the  hour  for 
the  convention  to  open.  Under  the  circum¬ 
stances,  they  were  obliged  to  hold  a  conven¬ 
tion  of  their  own  and  elect  delegates. 

Col.  Archie  E.  Baxter ,  United  Stales  Marshal, 
representing  the  Fassett  crowd,  consumed 
twenty  minutes  in  replying  to  this  arraign¬ 
ment.  He  was  frequently  interrupted  by  the 
members  of  the  contesting  delegation,  and 
they  asked  him  some  awkward  questions.  He 
insisted  that  if  democratic  money  had  been 
kept  out  of  the  county,  Fassett  would  have 
won  in  every  town.  This  is  a  proposition 
that  makes  men  smile  who  know  the  facts. 
Dr.  Henry  Flood,  'postmaster  of  Elmira,  reinied 
the  charge. — Rochester  Dispatch  to  Ne^r  York 
Times,  September  9. 

—The  fact  is  that  the  business  of  the  convention  was 
cut  and  dried  for  it.  The  only  question  is,  how  long 
ago  Platt  wrote  out  the  slate.  The  best  informed 
politicians  say  that  he  arranged  for  the  business  of 
last  night  several  months  ago,  when  he  put  Fassett 
into  the  custom-house,  made  him  a  quasi  New  York 
city  man,  and  thereby  secured  the  133  votes  of  the 
New  York  city  delegation.  All  the  evidence  Is  in 
this  direction.  Without  New  York  city’s  solid  vote 
there  might  have  been  more  than  one  ballot  last 
night,  and  it  was  pretty  clear  that  if  a  struggle  for 
the  nomination  was  entered  into  by  even  a  second 
ballot,  Fa.s.sett  would  find  opposed  to  him  a  combi¬ 
nation  which  he  could  not  defeat.— J2oc/tfS/cr  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Post,  September  10. 


— The  news  of  the  appointment  of  Senator 
Hendricks  as  collector  was  no  surprise  at  the 
custom-house,  nor  did  it  cause  disappointment 
among  those  whose  tenure  of  office  was  ren¬ 
dered  secure  by  the  resignation  of  Col.  Er¬ 
hard  t.  Everybody  regarded  Hendricks  as 
Fassett’s  natural  successor.  Hendricks  is 
Hiscock’s  chief  local  lieutenant  in  Syracuse, 
and  Hiscock  is  Platt’s  right-hand  man.  There¬ 
fore,  it  was  thought  Hendricks  would  carry 
out  the  party  plans  arranged  by  Fassett,  that 
is,  a  clean  sweep  of  democrats,  and  the  run¬ 
ning  of  the  custom-house  on  the  Platt  spoils 
system. — New  York  Evening  Post,  September  17. 

PLATTISM  AT  LARGE. 

—Colonel  Webster  Flanagan,  who  put  the  famous 
question,  “  What  are  we  here  for,”  at  the  republican 
national  convention,  1880,  has  had  the  question  very 
satisfactorily  answered  for  him  by  President  Harri¬ 
son.  He  is  now  collector  of  customs  at  El  Paso, 
Texas.  Flanagan  has  the  reputation  of  being  a 
very  active  politician  of  the  sort  who  believe  that 
there  would  be  no  use  of  the  spoils  if  they  were  not 
for  the  victors,  and  that  there  would  be  few  victories 
without  the  spoils.  He  is  a  power  in  Texas  republi¬ 
can  politics,  and  his  appointment  is  looked  upon  as 
a  shrewd  move  by  Mr.  Harrison  to  obtain  a  firm  hold 
on  the  Texas  delegation  at  the  next  republican  na¬ 
tional  convention. 

Cunie,  the  colored  leader,  who  is  collector  at  Oalveston, 
was  not  a  personal  friend  of  the  President’s.  He  has 
always  been  an  admirer  of  Hr.  Blaine,  and  Flanagan  is 
said  to  be  the  only  man  in  the  state  who  can  dispute  his 
control  of  the  republican  political  machine.  While  it 
is  believed  that  Cunie  would  be  loyal  to  Harrison 
under  ordinary  circumstancee,  it  is  not  thought  that 
anything  would  prevent  his  supporting  Blaine  if  he 
is  in  the  field.  Flanagan,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not 
a  Blaine  man,  but  has  been  for  Sherman  and  is  now 
for  Harrison.  It  is  believed  by  friends  of  Mr.  Harri¬ 
son  that,  backed  by  the  administration,  he  could 
take  the  state  conventions  away  from  Cunie  if  the 
latter  turned  against  the  administration,  and  it  is 
said  that  this  consideration  entered  into  his  selec¬ 
tion  to  succeed  Collector  Chirk  at  El  Paso.— Boston 
Post,  September  5. 

CHARGES  WITHOUT  APPARENT 
FOUNDATION. 

Lucius  B.  Stoi/t,  Esq.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. : 

Dear  Sir  ;  I  received  your  letter  enclosing 
the  following  cutting  from  the  Brookinlle 
American  of  .July  25,  it  being  a  quotation  from 
the  Delphi  Journal: 

The  circumstances  surrounding  the  cases  of  the 
two  democrats  from  this  city  who  have  been  ap¬ 
pointed  under  this  so-called  civil  service  law  since 
the  Cleveland  administration  turned  up  its  toes  to 
the  daisies,  bear  some  very  suspicious  marks  of  favor¬ 
itism.  In  each  of  these  cases  a  civil  service  exami¬ 
nation  was  passed,  butit  was  amere  excuse,  for  “  the 
pull  ”  of  a  friend  did  the  rest.  Let  the  average  re¬ 
publican  worker  ask  for  a  place,  and  his  qualifica¬ 
tions  and  recommendations  are  consigned  to  the  im¬ 
penetrable  gloom  of  the  civil  service  lists.  But  the 
democrats  from  this  county  are  more  fortunate. 
The  examination  is  pas.sed,  and  ‘‘  a  friend  ”  who  has 
influence  at  court  steps  up  and  “fixes”  the  whole 
thing,  and  the  appointment  is  made.  And  this  dem¬ 
onstrates  that  this  civil  service  business  is  hypocrit¬ 
ical  and  fraudulent:  sort  of  a  family  affair,  a  chan¬ 
nel  by  which  particular  pets  and  favorites,  democrats 
who  have  a  “  pull,”  float  gracefully  into  the  prom¬ 
ised  land,  while  the  ordinary  republican  eats  grass 
in  the  fence  corner. 

The  article  asserts  that  under  the  present 
administration  there  have  been  two,  and  but 
two,  appointments  from  Delphi, Carroll  county, 


and  practically  states  that  the  civil  service  ex¬ 
aminations  under  which  these  candidates  were 
appointed  were  fraudulent.  This  last  state¬ 
ment  is  simply  and  purely  a  baseless  slander. 
During  the  time  of  my  service  as  commis¬ 
sioner,  that  is,  during  the  last  two  years  and 
a  half,  there  have  been,  as  far  as  our  records 
show,  but  two  appointments  from  Carroll 
county,  and  these,  I  presume,  are  the  two  ap¬ 
pointments  referred  to.  One  was  that  of  Clay 
M.  McClure,  who  was  appointed  as  a  junior 
draughtsman  in  the  supervising  architect’s  of¬ 
fice  of  the  treasury  department  on  March  19 
last.  The  other  was  that  of  Mrs.  Rachel  A. 
Crawford,  who  was  appointed  a  book-keeper  in 
the  treasury  department  on  July  1  last. 

Mrs.  Crawford  passed  the  difficult  book¬ 
keeper’s  examination  with  an  average  of  87 
per  cent.  At  the  time  of  her  appointment, 
she  was  the  highest  on  the  woman’s  register, 
and,  more  than  that,  her  average  was  higher 
than  that  of  any  other  person  on  the  same  reg¬ 
ister  for  the  last  four  years. 

Mr.  McClure  passed  the  much  more  difficult 
and  highly  technical  junior  draughtsman  ex¬ 
amination  with  what  is  for  that  examination 
the  good  average  of  75  per  cent.  At  the  time 
of  his  appointment  there  were  a  number  of 
men  on  the  draughtsman  register.  Every  one 
of  these  who  stood  above  him  was  appointed 
before  he  was,  with  one  exception,  the  excep¬ 
tion  being  that  of  a  man  who  was  already  in 
the  treasury  department  in  another  capacity, 
and  who  had  previously  been  in  the  supervis¬ 
ing  architect’s  office,  as  I  am  informed.  It  is 
presumed,  therefore,  that  for  some  reason  that 
office  did  not  wish  him  back. 

The  examination  papers  of  both  Mr.  Mc¬ 
Clure  and  Mrs.  Crawford  are  on  file  in  our 
office  and  can  be  examined  at  once  by  any  re¬ 
sponsible  person.  If  the  editor  of  the  Delphi 
Jotirnal  or  the  Brookville  American  or  any  one 
else  can  make  out  the  slightest  prima  facie 
case  of  fraud  in  either  the  examination  or 
the  marking  or  the  grading  or  the  certifica¬ 
tion  or  the  final  appointment  of  these  two  can¬ 
didates,  not  only  will  the  commission  imme¬ 
diately  investigate  the  matter,  but  will  also 
call  for  its  investigation  by  the  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  and  at  the  investigation  made  by 
the  commission  the  gentlemen  making  the 
charge  of  fraud  can  themselves  be  present, 
either  personally  or  by  representatives,  and 
can  examine  all  the  books  of  the  commission, 
as  well  as  the  two  candidates  themselves. 

To  advance  a  charge  of  fraud,  without  also 
showing  a  sound  basis  of  justification  for  it,  is 
to  commit  an  act  no  less  cowardly  than  infa¬ 
mous.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  article  in  the 
Delphi  Journal,  quoted  in  the  Brookville  Ameri¬ 
can,  is  itself  good  evidence  of  how  faithfully 
the  law  is  being  observed.  It  shows,  assuming 
that  its  statements  as  to  the  politics  of  the  two 
persons  appointed  are  true,  that  democrats 
have  precisely  as  good  a  chance  as  republi¬ 
cans  under  the  law,  and  that  no  amount  of 
“pull”  will  help  a  man  if  he  is  unable  to  win 
his  place  honestly  and  fairly  on  his  own  mer¬ 
its.  The  Delphi  Journal  has  unwittingly  paid 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


267 


a  compliment  of  the  highest  character  to  the 
law  and  its  administration,  and  as  a  strong 
republican  I  feel  particularly  pleased  at  the 
evidence  thus  unconsciously  given  to  the  effect 
that  in  the  administration  of  the  civil  service 
law  the  republican  party  is  keeping  the  pledge 
of  the  national  platform. 

Very  respectfully, 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


THE  BALTIMORE  INVESTIGATION. 


Noah  W.  Pierson  testified  as  follows : 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  State  your  full  name,  Mr.  Pier¬ 
son.  A.  Noah  W.  Pierson. 

Q.  What  is  your  position  in  the  post-office?  A.  I 
am  assistant  engineer. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  service?  A.  I 
have  been  here  about  a  year  and  two  months. 

Q.  Appointed  by  Postmaster  Johnson?  A.  Ap¬ 
pointed  by  the  custodian. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Johnson  as  custodian  of  the  office?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Mr.  Pierson,  understand  that  there  is  nothing 
affecting  you  at  all  in  any  question  we  put  to  you  ;  it 
doesn’t  affect  you  in  the  least  as  far  as  we  now  know; 
it  is  simply  a  matter  of  observation  of  the  law  in  cer¬ 
tain  particulars  by  others,  not  by  you.  Do  you  know 
anything  of  the  collection  or  contribution  of  any 
funds  for  political  purposes  at  this  time?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  collection  of 
8.5  apiece,  or  the  attempted  collection  of  85  apiece 
from  a  number  of  employes  of  the  post-office,  or 
of  the  postmasteras  custodian,  for  primary  purposes? 
A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  never  known  of  any  that  you  know 
anything  about?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Y’ou  don’t  know  of  anyone  having  paid  any 
sum  or  having  been  asked  to  pay  any  sum  for  po¬ 
litical  purposes  recently?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  And  specifically  with  reference  to  the  primaries 
on  Monday  next?  A.  No,  sir ;  I  don’t  know  anything 
about  it. 

Q.  You  know  nothing  about  it  at  all?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q  And  you  have  never  been  approached  by  any¬ 
one  who  asked  you  if  such  and  such  a  man  had  paid? 
A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  You  understand  that  neither 
Mr.  Roosevelt  nor  I  know  anything  about  this  mat¬ 
ter,  except  that  certain  reports  have  been  brought 
him,  and  he  asked  me  as  president  of  the  local  civil 
service  reform  association  to  comedown  here  and  a.s- 
sist  him  in  the  investigation  of  them.  Now,  has  any 
officer  in  this  building,  either  under  the  postmaster 
as  custodian  or  the  postmaster  as  postmaster  asked 
you  whether  anybody  else  had  contributed  to  the 
primaries? 

Witness.  These  primaries  coming? 

Mr.  Bonaparte.  Y’es,  sir. 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  having  inquired  of  you,  has  anybody  in 
the  service  inquired  of  you  whether  some  one  else 
had  contributed  in  any  way  to  any  fund  to  be  used 
in  this  republican  contest?  A.  No,  sir, 

Q.  Now  supposing  some  officer  here  has  reported 
that  you  had  told  him  that  other  officers  in  the 
building  had  contributed  to  this,  that  officer  has  not 
told  the  truth  then  ?  A.  No,  sir;  the  man  that  re¬ 
ported  that  didn’t  tell  the  truth. 

Q.  Have  you  collected  any  money  from  any  one 
else  yourself  for  these  primaries?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  told  any  one,  any  officer  in  the  build¬ 
ing  here,  that  you  had  collected  any  money?  A. 
No,  sir.  This  is  unexpected  to  me,  you  know,  gen¬ 
tlemen,  and  I  am  answering  right  off.  Of  course,  I 
haven’t  had  any  time  to  think,  you  know. 

•■i.  Of  course,  we  understand  that,  and  we  would 
like  you  to  think  pretty  carefully,  because  we  don’t 
want  to  do  anybody  any  injustice.  A.  No,  sir. 

tj.  Think  carefully  if  you  have  been  approached 
by  any  officer  employed  in  this  building  with  the 
inquiry  as  to  whether  anybody  else  had  contributed 


to  the  primaries,  or  to  anything  of  that  sort?  A. 
Not  to  my  knowledge ;  I  can’t  call  any  to  mind  just 
now. 

Q.  Has  anybody  connected  with  the  building,  or 
having  an  office  in  this  building,  asked  you  whether 
you  yourself  had  contributed  or  whether  you  had 
collected  contributions?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  And  you  are  quite  positive  you  have  never  told 
any  one  anything  from  which  they  could  understand 
that  you  were  collecting  contributions?  A.  Yes,  sir; 
I  am  positive  that  I  have  never  told  any  one  that  I 
was  collecting  contributions;  I  don’t  know  any¬ 
thing  about  it. 

Q.  And  that  you  never  told  any  one  connected 
with  the  service  in  any  way  that  anybody  else  con¬ 
nected  with  it  was  contributing?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  So  that  if  any  officer  in  this  building  has  made 
a  report  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  to  the  effect  that  certain 
other  officers  were  collecting  contributions  or  pro¬ 
moting  their  collections,  and  that  they  knew  some¬ 
thing  about  it,  that  officer  has  not  told  the  truth? 
A.  Well,  of  course,  I  don’t  want  to  say  that  he  didn’t 
tell  the  truth ;  he  might  be  mistaken. 

Q.  I  mean,  that  it  wasn’t  so?  A.  It  wasn’t  so  if  he 
made  a  report  of  it;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Are  you  a  republican  in  poli¬ 
tics?  A.  I  am  ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  actively  identified  with  the  republican 
party  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Identified  with  one  of  the  organizations  here 
in  the  city,  a  republican  organization  or  a  republi¬ 
can  club,  or  whatever  you  choose  to  call  them?  A. 
Yes,  sir;  1  belong  to  one  of  the  repulican  clubs. 

Q.  What  republican  club  are  you  a  member  of? 
A.  The  Active  Club,  they  call  it.  It  is  down  in  the 
First  ward  ?  it  is  a  ward  organization. 

Q.  Are  there  going  to  be  primary  elections  next 
Monday?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  there  going  to  be  a  contest  between  two  re¬ 
publican  factions?  A.  Well  it  looks  that  way,  sir. 

Q.  It  looks  that  way.  Do  you  take  an  active  part 
in  this  contest  or  not?  A.  Well, no;  I  don’t  think  it 
is  my  place  to  take  an  active  part. 

Q.  You  don’t  think  it  is  the  place  of  any  govern¬ 
ment  employe  to  take  an  active  parj:  is  that  your 
idea?  A.  No,  sir.  I  think  it  is  his  place  to  go  and 
vote  his  sentiments  and  then  go  away. 

Q.  But  you  don’t  think  it  is  the  place  of  any  gov¬ 
ernment  employe  to  stand  around  the  polls  and 
work  for  one  faction  or  the  other;  hold  tickets  and 
so  fourth?  A.  No,  sir.  I  don’t  think  there  is  any¬ 
thing  like  that  going  on  there. 

Q.  Precisely.  Do  you  know  if  the  post-office  em¬ 
ployes,  as  a  whole,  sympathize  with  one  or  the  other 
of  these  factions?  A.  I  don’t  know. 

Q.  Or  are  they  divided?  A.  Well,  from  rumors; 
that  is  all  I  can  go  by. 

Q.  Certainly.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  common 
notoriety.  What  do  you  hear?  A.  There  seems  to 
be  a  little  difference  of  opinion. 

Q.  Well,  are  there  two  factions  in  the  republican 
party  here  in  Baltimore  that  are  going  to  contest  in 
the  primaries  on  Monday  ?  A.  Not  that  1  know  of, 
sir. 

Q.  What  will  the  fight  be  on  ?  A.  The  fight  will 
be*  this  :  These  people  in  our  ward— I  only  take  my 
ward  for  instance— they  want  to  send  one  delegate 
to  the  convention,  and  the  men  that  I  favor  on,  they 
want  to  send  another,  that  is  the  sum  total. 

G.  But  what  are  the  difference  between  the  two 
factions;  is  one  of  the  factions  identified  with  Post¬ 
master  Johnson  ?  A.  Well,  not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Not  that  you  know  of?  A.  No,  sir;  I  don’t 
know  anything  about  that. 

<-.<><■  >;<  #  # 

AFTERNOON. 

Noah  W.  Pierson,  recalled. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  We  want  to  be  clear  in  order 
that  we  don’t  do  anybody  any  injustice  in  this  mat¬ 
ter.  Do  I  recollect  you  to  have  testified  this  morn¬ 
ing  that  you  didn’t  have  any  conversation  with  any¬ 
body  on  the  subject  of  the  payments  of  assessments 
of  employes  here?  I  don’t  mean  to  use  that  term  ;  I 
should  say  contribuiions  towards  the  expensesof  the 
primaries. 

Witness.  How  is  that? 


Q.  Didn’t  you  tell  us  this  morning  that  you  hadn’t 
had  any  conversation  with  anybody  on  the  subject 
of  the  payment  of  contributions  by  any  employe  of 
the  post-office?  A.  Y’es,  sir. 

Q.  That  you  didn’t  have  any  conversation  with 
John  F.  Thomas?  I  think  we  asked  you  that  partic¬ 
ularly?  A.  No,  sir;  you  didn’t  ask  me  that. 

Q.  Well,  I  will  ask  you  now.  Did  you  have  any 
conversation  with  Mr.  John  F.  Thomas,  the  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  registry  division  about  that? 

Witness.  What  do  yoai  mean? 

Mr.  Bonaparte.  About  certain  employes  of  the 
post-office  giving  money  for  the  expenses  of  the  pri¬ 
maries? 

A.  Well,  I  was  talking  to  Mr.  Thonas,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  told  me  that  Mr.  Hammond  had  told  him 
that  Ashton  had  given  me  85  for  the  primaries. 

Q.  That  Ashton  gave  you  85  for  the  primaries? 
Well,  now,  what  more  passed  between  Mr.  Thomas 
and  yourself?  A.  Mr.  Thomas  told  me  to  go  down 
and  see  Mr.  Ashton  and  ask  him  for  that  money  he 
promised  to  pay. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Mr.  Thomas  told  you  to  go 
down  and  see  Mr.  Ashton  and  ask  him  for  the 
money?  A.  That  was  after  we  had  the  conversation. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Did  you  go?  A.  I  went  down 
and  asked  Mr.  Ashton  if  he  had  ever  given  me  any 
money  for  the  primaries,  and  he  said,  no. 

^  ^  ^ 

James  Wilson,  colored,  testified  as  follows: 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  is  your  position  ?  A.  I 
am  a  laborer. 

Q.  Under  Postmaster  Johnson  as  custodian  of  the 
post-office  building?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  so  employed?  A.  I 
have  been  here  about  six  months. 

Q.  Were  you  appointed  by  Postmaster  Johnson  ? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Mr.  C.  B.  Johnson,  of  South  Beth¬ 
el  street?  A.  No,  sir ;  I  don’t  know  him. 

Q.  Or  Mr.  R.  H.  Harris,  of  314  South  Caroline  street? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  now  I  know  who  you  mean  by  C.  H. 
Johnson. 

Q.  Then  you  know  C.  H.  Johnson,  of  South  Bethel 
street,  and  R.  H.  Harris,  of  South  Caroline  street? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  both  of  these  gentlemen  take  a  more  or  less 
active  interest  in  local  politics?  A  Yes,  sir;  they 
have  in  the  last  primary. 

Q.  They  live  in  the  third  ward?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  There  are  going  to  be  primary  elections  next 
Monday,  are  there  not?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  there  going  to  be  a  contest  in  the  primaries? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  I  judge  so,  from  the  looks  of  things. 
There  is  one  polling  place. 

Q.  There  is  going  to  be  a  contest  in  the  primaries 
then  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Of  course  I  am  speaking  of  the  republican  par¬ 
ty  ;  you  are  a  republican  yourself,  are  you  ?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  Are  you  a  member  of  any  republican  organiza¬ 
tion  ?  A.  I  am  of  the  district  association,  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  in  the  third  ward  there  seems  likely  to  be 
a  contest?  A.  They  appear  to  seem  like  it ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Acting  under  that  committee?  A.  Yes,  sir.  It 
seems  like  the  colored  element  goes  with  Mr.  John¬ 
son. 

Q.  Well,  go  on.  A.  And  the  principal  part  of  the 
other  element, which  is  called  the  Henderson  faction , 
arc  taking  their  hands  off. 

Q.  There  are  two  factions  here?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  One  called  the  Johnson  faction?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  other  called  the  Henderson  faction? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  fight  on  Mohday  next  is  going  to  be  be¬ 
tween  these  two  factions?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  Johnson  faction  has  for  its  heads  Post¬ 
master  Johnson  and  Marshal  Airey?  A.  Y'es,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  does  the  fight  bid  fair  to  be  a  pretty  bitter 
one  next  Monday?  A.  It  seems  so. 

Q.  At  one  time  in  the  third  ward  it  looked  as  if 
the  colored  element  was  going  to  be  against  the 
Johnson  faction?  A.  Not  the  majority  of  them,  but 
a  portion  of  them. 

Q.  A  portion  of  them?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  But  now  that  has  been  gotten  right,  and  it  looks 


268 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


as  if  they  would  all  go  for  the  postmaster?  (i.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  At  one  time  were  these  two  men,  C.  H.  Johnson 
and  R.  II.  Harris,  going  to  go  on  the  ticket  opposed 
to  the  postmaster?  A.  I  don’t  know  whether  they 
were  going  to  go  on  the  ticket  or  not. 

(-1.  Hut  they  were  going  to  oppose  him?  A.  Yes, 
sir;  they  were  the  head  parties. 

Q.  Of  the  opposition  to  him?  A.  Yes,  sir;  among 
the  Colored? 

Q.  Well,  I  suppose  you  are-  friendly  to  Postmaster 
Johnson?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  you  went  to  Mr.  C.  H.  Johnson  and  Mr.  R. 
H  Harris  and  asked  them  to  come  up  here  and  see 
the  postmaster?  A.  I  asked  them  to  come  up  and 
sec  Dr.  Weaver. 

(i-  Did  you  take  them  up  here  yourself?  A.  They 
didn't  come  at  all. 

Q.  You  simply  asked  them  to  come  and  they 
didn’t  come?  A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  right. 

Q.  Did  they  see  Postmaster  Johnson  at  all  or  any¬ 
one  coon  cted  with  the  ottice  then?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Then  they  just  changed  of  their  o(vn  accord? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  through  me. 

il.  You  persuaded  them  to  change?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

(i  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Who  is  this  Dr.  Weaver  that 
you  asked  them  to  come  and  see?  A.  He  is  the  as¬ 
sistant  custodian. 

Q.  Of  this  building?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

t).  And  this  Mr.  Johnson  is  a  cousin  of  his,  this 
Mr.  C.  H.  Johnson  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

ti.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  And  Dr.  Weaver  is  a  colored 
man,  the  assistant  custodian  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  And  you  asked  him  to  come 
up  and  have  a  talk  with  his  cousin,  but  he  didn’t 
come.  A.  He  didn’t  come. 

()  Do  you  feel  pretty  sure  that  he  didn’t  see  any¬ 
body  connected  with  the  oflice  ?  A.  Pretty  sure,  sir; 
I  can  tell  you  the  reason  why;  these  gentlemen  are 
all  friends  of  mine. 

Q.  That  is  what  we  understand.  A.  Yes,  sir;  they 
are  all  friends  of  mine;  and,  well,  a  gentleman  by 
the  name  of  Jacob  H.  Seaton  is  in  our  ward,  a  col¬ 
ored  gentleman,  a  leader,  gentlemen,  he  is  down 
there,  and  him  and  I  got  to  talking  to  these  gentle¬ 
men,  and  he  showed  them  where  it  was  to  my  inter¬ 
est  to  fight  for  this  faction. 

ti  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  To  your  interest?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

().  The  leader  of  the  ward  showed  Messrs.  John¬ 
son  and  Harris  where  it  was  for  your  interest  that 
they  should  fight  for  this  faction?  A.  Yes,  sir;  that 
they  should  fight  for  this  faction. 

Q.  For  fear  it  would  jeopardize  your  position  here? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  certainly.  He  told  them  it  was  to  my 
interest  to  vote  this  way,  and  as  they  were  friends  of 
mine  they  said  they  were  willing  to  support  people 
that  had  supported  the  colored  people,  and  that  Mr. 
Johnson  done  that,  but  they  didn’t  say  they  were 
going  to  vote  that  way,  but  they  would  take  their 
hands  olT  for  my  benefit. 

t).  For  your  benefit?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  When  you  say  they  took  their 
hands  olf  you  mean  that  they  were  thinking  of  run¬ 
ning  as  delegates  on  the  other  side?  A.  I  know  they 
was  with  the  other  faction  at  the  last  primary  elec¬ 
tion. 

H.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  They  were  the  leaders  on  the 
Henderson  side,  and  it  being  shown  to  them  that  it 
would  be  to  your  interest  to  cease  their  opposition 
to  the  Johnson  faction  they  agreed  to  do  so?  A. 
Yes,  sir ;  they  agreed  to  do  so. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Were  you  present  when  Mr. 
Seaton  had  this  talk  with  them?  A.  We  had  a  ward 
meeting. 

Q.  .\ud  Mr.  Seaton  explained  the  matter?  A.  Yes, 
sir ;  Mr.  Seaton  explained  the  matter  in  the  meeting. 

(.1.  When  was  that  ward  meeting?  A.  That  was 
last  Monday  night. 

Q.  Can  you  recollect  in  general  terms  what  Seaton 
said  theu?  A.  No,  I  don’t  recollect  everything  he 
said,  but  he  explained  the  situation,  and  explained 
my  situation,  and  how  my  appointment  was  made, 
and  all. 

Q.  (Mr.  R'oscvelt.)  How  is  your  appohitmcnt 
made?  A.  Well,  my  appointment  was  made  through 


the  people  in  my  ward.  I  was  a  favorite  with  the 
people,  with  both  sides;  both  factions  favored  me. 

Q.  Both  the  Henderson  and  the  Johnson  people? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  Henderson  and  the  Johnson  leaders 
recommended  your  appointment?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  you  were  appointed  on  the  recommenda¬ 
tion  of  the  colored  republican  element  of  your  ward? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  the  colored  element  in  that  ward. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  You  are  pretty  sure  then  that 
this  explanation  of  Mr.  Seaton  to  these  friends  of 
yours,  Mr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Harris,  was  the  cause  of 
their  going  out  of  this  contest?  A.  Here’s  what  the 
gentlemen  said  to  me;  I  have  been  friendly  with  all 
of  them  ever  since  I  have  been  there  at  work,  and  I 
was  trying  to  persuade  these  gentlemen,  as  they  said 
they  were  favorite  to  me  and  wanted  me  to  have  the 
appointment,  both  sides  of  the  question,  and  ever 
since  I  liave  been  here  I  have  been  urging  them  to 
support  me,  because  I  didn’t  want  no  split  in  our 
ward. 

Q.  You  didn’t?  A.  No,  sir.  Until  last  fall  it 
seems  as  if  this  Mr.  Baumgartner  down  there,  the 
state  central  committee  man,  he  has  been  kicking 
down  there  for  quite  a  while.  Well,  he  goes  around 
and  get  a  lot  of  the  colored  young  men  down  there— 
lots  of  them  had  been  voting  the  democratic  ticket — 
and  he  calls  a  meeting,  and  at  this  meeting  he  in¬ 
vites  these  gentlemen,  this  Mr.  Harris  and  Mr.  John¬ 
son,  they  came  around  there  and  got  into  this  meet¬ 
ing  ;  they  heard  it  was  going  to  be  and  they  went 
there  and  captured  the  meeting,  and  they  made  the 
leading  people  in  it. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Was  this  a  Henderson  meeting? 
A.  Yes,  sir ;  well  Henderson  started  it. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  You  say  ever  since  you  have 
been  employed  here  you  have  been  urging  them  to 
support  you?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  there  was,  I  suppose,  some  money  collec¬ 
ted  for  the  primaries?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Had  this  Mr.  Seaton  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  collecting  it?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Had  either  of  these  other  two  anything  to  do 
with  it?  A.  Harris  and  Johnson?  No,  sir;  they 
had  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

Q.  Nothing  at  all?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Now  have  you  any  idea  who  did  contribu  te  to  the 
expenses  down  there?  A.  Well,  there  is  some  gent  e- 
men  who  was  office-holders. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt).  Certainly;  the  office- holder,-? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  we  had  a  meeting  to  ourselves,  you  un¬ 
derstand. 

Q.  The  office-holders  had  a  meeting  themselves  to 
contribute?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte).  Now,  were  Mr.  Harris  or  Mr. 
Johnson  present  at  that  meeting?  A  No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  this  confined  to  the  office  holders;  wasany- 
body  else  there  except  people  who  were  in  office? 
A.  That  was  all. 

Q.  About  how  many  of  you  were  there?  A.  There 
was  about  7  of  us. 

Q.  About  7  office-holders;  there  are  that  many  in 
this  ward?  A.  Oh,  my;  there  is  14. 

Q.  The  other  7  didn’t  come?  A.  No,  sir;  tli^y 
wasn’t  there;  I  think  they  sent  the  money. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  they  sent  it  to?  A.  Well,  we 
made  a  treasurer,  you  know,  amongst  ourselves;  in 
fact,  gave  it  to  one  gentleman  to  keep  the  money. 

Q.  All  of  these  people  who  attended  the  meeting 
gave  it  to  one  of  themselves,  one  of  their  own  num¬ 
ber?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  are  pretty  sure  they  didn’t  give  it  to  either 
Mr.  Harris  or  Mr.  Johnson?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Who  was  it  they  gave  it  to?  A.  A  gentleman 
by  the  name  of  Mr.  Martin. 

Q.  Is  he  a  colored  man  ?  A.  No,  sir ;  he  is  a  while 
man. 

Q  Is  he  employed  in  this  building?  A.  I  think 
he  is ;  yes,  sir. 

l).  In  whai  capaeitj  ?  A.  1  think  he  is  a  lellerear- 
1  Her ;  1  think  he  is. 

I  Q.  From  what  ward  ;  the  third  ward  ?  A.  Yes,  sir; 

I  the  third  ward. 

<4-  Mow,  you  are  pretty  cerlnin  that  neither  Mr. 
j  Harris  nor  Mr.  John-on  or  tlii.- old  gcuileuiiiu,  Mr. 


Seaton,  had  nothing  to  do  with  collecting  any 
money?  A.  Nothing  at  all ;  no,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  is  the  first  name  of  Mr. 
Martin?  A.  Henry  Martin,  I  think. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  He  is  a  letter  carrier  from  the 
third  ward?  A.  Y'es,  sir. 

Q.  Do  yon  recollect  when  this  meeting  was  held? 
A.  I  think  it  was  last  Saturday  a  week. 

<>>;!«!  >;•  <•>>■> 

Q.  And  when  you  had  agreed  among  yourselves 
what  you  ought  to  give  on  that  occasion,  you  gave  it 
to  one  of  your  own  number,  and  not  to  an  outsider? 
A.  Y'es,  sir,  one  of  our  own  number. 

Q.  You  are  pretty  sure  of  that?  A.  Y’es,  sir,  pretty 
sure. 

Q.  Now  you  are  pretty  certain  that  none  of  the 
office-holders  from  the  third  ward,  so  far  as  you 
know  of,  gave  85  apiece  to  any  outsider?  A.  No,  sir; 
I  am  pretty  sure  of  that. 

Q.  Was  $5  the  amount  they  were  each  to  give  ?  A. 
That  was  it ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  already  answered  it  two  or  three 
times,  but  I  will  ask  you  the  question  again;  you 
are  quite  sure  that  neither  Mr.  Harris  nor  Mr.  John¬ 
son  had  anything  to  do  with  getting  85  for  any¬ 
body?  A.  No,  sir;  I  don’t  believe  they  would  ac¬ 
cept  8100  if  it  were  oflered  to  them  by  any  one. 

Q.  This  money  that  you  raised  in  that  way,  it 
wasn’t  intended  to  buy  votes  with,  was  it?  A.  No, 
sir;  it  was  just  spread  in  the  ward  to  pay  ticket- 
holders. 

Q,  And  to  have  tickets  printed  and  so  forth.  I 
judge?  A.  Yes.  sir. 

Q.  And  for  what  other  expenses  was  it?  A.  That 
is  the  only  expenses;  printing  tickets  and  ticket- 
holders. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  are  the  ticket-holders? 
A.  They  get  8J  apiece. 

Q  Y’ou  pay  the  ticket-holders?  A.  Yes,  sir;  for 
working,  helping  to  poll  the  vole. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Was  either  of  these  men^ 
Johnson  or  Harris,  employed  as  a  ticket-holder,  do 
you  remember ;  are  they  going  to  be  employed  as 
ticket  holders?  A.  No,  sir,  they  are  not. 

Q.  Tiie  ticket- holders  you  have,  I  suppose,  will  be¬ 
long  to  your  faction  ?  A.  Seme  of  them  have  voted 
with  ihe  others  in  the  last  primary. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  But  they  will  vole  with  you 
now  ?  A .  Yes,  sir ;  they  come  of  their  own  consent- 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  And  this  money  which  you 
raised  was  raised  from  among  the  office-holders?  A. 
Yes.  sir. 

(1.  And  it  was  given  to  one  of  your  own  number, 
and  it  was  intended  to  be  used  in  the  regular  ex 
p  n-i-s  of  the  j. rimary?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

().  Now  we  want  to  get  this  pretty  straight,  so  that 
we  (  an  bring  it  back  on  the  person  who  is  guilty. 
You  didn’t  give  your  85  to  Mr.  Johnson  or  Mr.  Har. 
ris,  that  you  say  positively  ?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  did  give  it  to  Mr.  Henry  Martin?  A.  Yes, 
sir,  one  of  our  number. 

ti.  Now  you  say  there  was  a  man  connected  with 
the  elevator ;  what  is  his  name  ?  A.  His  name  is 
Mr.  Mitchell. 

Q.  You  don’t  know  his  first  name?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Is  he  a  white  man  or  a  colored 
man?  A.  He  is  a  while  man. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Did  you  see  him  pay  his 
money?  A.  No,  sir;  I  didn’tsee  him  pay  his;  he 
told  me  he  gave  it  to  this  Mr.  Martin. 

Q.  You  have  no  doubt  about  him  telling  you  the 
truth  about  that?  A.  Well,  he  showed  me  85  one 
night,  and  the  next  morning  he  told  me  he  gave  it 
to  Mr.  Martin.  You  see  we  didn’t  give  the  money 
the  first  lime  we  had  a  meeting. 

t).  You  didn’t?  A.  No,  sir;  that  was  afterwards. 
.Some  of  them  were  willing  togive  it  then  and  didn’t 
give  it.  Of  course  I  didn’t  have  mine  at  that  lime. 

(-1  Do  you  recollect  who  were  willing  to  give  it  at 
that  lime?  A.  I  don’t  think  any  one  gave  it,  but  we 
all  agreed  upon  it. 

i).  And  now  you  have  given  us  your  name  and 
Mr.  Mitchell’s,  the  elevator  man,  and  you  have  men¬ 
tioned  one  or  two  others.  You  mentioned  the  name 
of  Mr.  Glass?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  his  first  name?  A.  1  think  his  name 
was  Mr.  Harry  Glass. 

<i.  He  is  a  letter  carrier?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

().  Have  you  any  reason  to  know  he  gave  his 
money  to  Mr.  Martin,  or  gave  it  to  somebody  else? 

1  A.  He  told  me  ho  gave  il  to  Mr.  Mai  tin. 


The  Civil  service  chronicle. 


.  VoL.  I,  No.  32.  INDIANAPOLIS,  OCTOBER,  1891.  terms  :  ^  fcenu^er^opy"”’ 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 


I  The  genesis  of  the  mugwump  is  that  he 
first  becomes  better  than  his  party,  and 
next  better  than  his  country.  The  teach¬ 
ings  of  the  mugwumps  for  the  past  five  or 
six  years  have  been  for  the  purpose  and  to 
the  result  of  stifling  enthusiasm  and  en¬ 
couraging  indifference.  We  want  to  re¬ 
move  this  sort  of  dry  rot,  and  bring  repub¬ 
licanism  back  to  its  old-time  force  of  warm 
blood,  fearlessness  and  uncompromising 
courage,  and  to  educate  every  young  man 
in  the  land  that  next  to  being  an  American, 
the  greatest  badge  of  honor  he  can  wear  is 
membership  in  the  republican  party. — From 
Clarkson's  Letter  for  the  Dinner  of  Quay’s  Americus 
Club. 


At  the  meeting  held  at  the  opening  of 
the  recent  city  campaign  to  ratify  the  nom¬ 
ination  of  the  republican  candidate,  Mr. 
Herod,  he  being  present,  ex-Mayor  Gale 
Denny  expressed  his  heartfelt  gratification 
that  there  were  “  no  mugwumps  in  this 
campaign,”  There  were  none  on  that  side. 
The  republican  side  was  under  the  blatant 
control  of  the  hustlers  who  removed  Chief 
Webster  from  the  head  of  the  fire  depart¬ 
ment  in  1889  because  he  would  not  turn  out 
some  dozen  democrats,out  of  eighty-two  em¬ 
ployes,  to  make  room  for  republican  hench¬ 
men,  a  full  account  of  which  was  given  in 
the  Chronicle  for  April,  1889.  Joined 
with  these  were  the  tinhorn-Farwell  club 
crowd  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  a 
club  of  “  workers  ”  formed  mainly  to  work 
for  federal  spoil  then  being  distributed.  It 
first  called  itself  the  tinhorn  club,  but  it 
got  no  spoil,  and  being  unable  to  pay  its 
rent,  it-  moved  from  large  quarters  on  a 
fine  street  into  small  ones  on  a  back  street, 
when  it  changed  its  name  to  the  Farwell 
club,  in  honor  of  Senator  Farwell  as  “  the 
only  man  who  has  the  sand  to  oppose  civil 
service.”  Farwell  refused  the  honor,  and 
the  club  went  to  pieces,  its  effects  being 
sold  for  a  few  dollars.  This  aggregation  of 
boys  had  a  candidate  who  openly  declared 
himself  one  of  them.  Office-holder  Harry 
McFarland,  who  has  a  place  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  printing  office  to  pay  him  for  work 
among  the  worser  elements  in  1888,  came 
weeks  ago  from  Washington  and  took  up 
his  work.  Office  holder  A.  D.  Shaw,  who 
was  paid  with  an  office  for  work  among 


railroad  men  in  1888,  was  brought  here 
and  again  set  to  work.  In  the  middle  of 
the  campaign  Sim  Coy  left  the  democrats 
and  went  over  to  the  republican  machine. 


This  hungry  and  bawling  crowd  at 
once  caught  the  eye  of  the  independent 
voter,  and  he  instantly  comprehended  that 
rarely  could  so  many  vicious  elements  be 
balloted  under  foot  in  a  single  day,  and 
rarely  has  the  independent  done  his  work 
with  greater  relish.  He  had  also  to  justify 
him,  the  fact  that  in  the  main,  the  present 
administration  had  been  a  good  one  for 
the  city,  and  this  was  particularly  true  of 
the  board  of  public  works  and  the  control¬ 
ler.  Mayor  Sullivan,  whose  re-election 
was  sought,  had  been  elected  two  years 
previous  by  1,700  majority  admittedly  se¬ 
cured  by  independent  votes.  October  13, 
his  re-election  followed  by  2,700  majority. 
This  was  because  the  best  citizens  of  Indi¬ 
anapolis  refused  to  be  bound  by  party  ties. 
The  times  have  happily  changed  here. 
The  Indianapolis  Sentinel  is  not  the  old 
Sentinel.  It  is  a  strong,  fearless  paper,  that 
wants  good  government  and  pays  regard 
to  the  ties  of  honesty  as  well  as  the  ties  of 
party.  There  is  beyond  question,  a  very 
large  independent  vote  here.  For  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  this  fortunate  condition,  for 
any  community,  the  first  credit  must  be 
given  to  the  Indianapolis  News. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
League,  at  Buffalo,  September  29  and  30, 
was  in  many  respects  the  most  successful 
ever  held.  Buffalo  was  a  congenial  place,and 
her  civil  service  reformers  in  great  num¬ 
bers,  after  their  many  victories  securing  a 
complete  enforcement  of  both  federal  and 
state  laws,  held  their  heads  high.  Else¬ 
where  are  given  the  tenth  annual  address 
of  Mr,  Curtis  and  the  paper  by  Sherman 
S,  Rogers.  Mr.  Foulke’s  paper  opposing 
secret  sessions  of  the  senate  is  excellent, 
and  Moorfield  Storey’s  paper  on  the  sepa¬ 
ration  of  municipal  government  from  pol¬ 
itics,  is  a  real  contribution  to  the  cause  of 
reform. 

The  annual  meeting  closed  with  a  din¬ 
ner,  at  which  Sherman  S.  Rogers,  pre¬ 
sided,  and  the  speakers  were  George  Wil¬ 
liam  Curtis,  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  Lucius 
B,  Swift,  Edward  Cary,  William  D,  Foulke, 
Everett  P.  Wheeler,  Theodore  Bacon  and 
E.  C.  Sprague. 


For  want  of  space  The  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  has  to  omit,  this  month,  the 
papers  of  Mr,  Storey  and  Mr.  Foulke,  read 
at  the  league  meeting  at  Buffalo,  the  re¬ 
port  of  the  special  committee  on  the  cen¬ 
sus,  and  to  limit  the  current  facts  mainly 
to  the  assessment  circulars  and  to  the  ac¬ 
tivity  of  office-holders. 


Should  the  President  seize  upon  the 
military  and  naval  services  and  use  them 
as  he  does  the  civil  service  for  his  renom¬ 
ination,  he  would  have  a  corps  of  men  in 
uniform.  At  primaries,  at  conventions, 
at  the  business  of  hustling  voters,  running 
over  the  country,  laying  pipes  and  the 
thousand  other  odd  jobs,  they  would  be 
conspicuous  objects,  and  the  people  would 
be  greatly  interested  to  watch  them  at 
work.  Now  let  the  President  put  his  civil 
service  into  uniform.  Let  us  see  Col. 
Archie  Baxter  as  he  journeys  over  New 
York  state  with  Fassett,  in  uniform,  and 
Postmaster  Van  Cott  and  Collectors  Hen¬ 
dricks  and  Beard  and  a  host  of  others.  Of 
course,  such  as  these  should  be  distin¬ 
guished  by  certain  marks  and  extra  em¬ 
bellishments  as  officers.  It  is  probably 
a  moderate  estimate  to  say  that  the  Presi¬ 
dent  has  now  75,000  employes  paid  by  the 
whole  people  and  supposed  to  be  giving 
their  entire  energies  to  the  service  of 
those  who  pay  them,  as  busy  as  bees  in  his 
own  private  interest,  or  to  put  it  less  baldly 
but  what  really  amounts  to  the  same 
thing,  at  work  for  the  republican  machine. 

We  take  the  liberty  to  suggest  that  the 
color  of  the  new  uniform  for  the  civil 
service  should  be  red.  Red  has  recently 
been  adopted  as  the  official  color  of  letter 
boxes  for  the  excellent  reason  that  it  shows 
well  at  long  distances,  and  that  is  precisely 
what  we  want  of  the  civil  service  as  it  la¬ 
bors  for  bosses  big  and  little.  When  Col. 
Baxter  passes  through  the  little  towns  and 
speaks  at  the  car  door  for  Fassett,  if  he  is 
in  a  bright-red  uniform  he  shows  well 
down  the  street  as  a  federal  employe  off 
junketing.  So  with  these  different  post¬ 
masters  who  have  held  conventions,  their 
red  uniform  is  a  constant  reminder  that 
their  living  is  furnished  by  general  taxa¬ 
tion,  while  they  are  using  their  time  and 
official  position  to  carry  out  the  orders  of 
a  Quay  or  Platt  or  lieutenants  of  those 
worthies. 


270 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


QUAY. 

Quay  is  having  much  to  disturb  him  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  The  investigations  into  the  rotten¬ 
ness  of  the  recent  scandals  bid  fair  not  to  be 
stifled  after  all.  Governor  Pattison’s  procla¬ 
mation  for  an  extra  session  of  the  senate  has 
obliged  Quay  to  summon  his  henchmen, 
Marshal  Leeds,  Collector  Cooper,  Controller 
of  the  Treasury  Gilkeson,  Collector  Warm- 
castle,  Assistant  Postmaster  Hughes  and  others 
to  meet  the  situation. 

The  Public  Ledger  has  at  last  brought  its 
great  influence  for  reform: 

It  is  indispensibly  necessary  that  the  “spoils” 
system  shall  be  struck  by  a  crushing  defeat  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  It  is  for  the  voters  of  the  state  now  to, 
judge— now  that  the  issue  is  joined  as  to  the  deliv¬ 
erances  in  the  resolutions  of  both  conventions — 
which  party  and  which  nominees  are  most  likely  to 
strike  the  blow  that  will  defeat  and  stamp  oui  the 
system. 

The  North  American,  which  calls  itself  the 
oldest  daily  paper  in  America,  being  in  its  one 
hundred  and  seventh  year  and  the  stanchest 
of  republican  papers,  says  : 

“  Fidelity  to  party  is  played  out  as  a  battle  cry  to 
lead  the  hosts  of  republicans  across  fields  where  they 
may  be  unwilling  to  tread.”  « 

“  But  in  the  republican  party  itself  there  is  a  dis¬ 
content  more  dangerous  than  any  attack  from  out¬ 
side.  It  is  in  our  own  ranks  that  we  best  know  the 
burden  we  have  borne.  It  is  not  reasonable  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  it  has  been  borne  willingly,  and  to  day  no 
man’s  individual  excellence  is  enough  to  insure  him 
from  defeat  at  the  polls  if  it  is  the  belief  of  the  re¬ 
publicans  who  dislike  and  despise  the  demoraliza¬ 
tion  which  has  touched  the  public  service  that  the 
so-called  leaders  who  have  caused  it  may  be  over¬ 
thrown  by  the  revolt  of  the  ballot.” 

For  almost  the  first  time  the  men  who  have 
for  years  been  striving  to  break  down  the  boss 
system  in  Pennsylvania  now  find  papers  that 
will  print  the  facts  of  their  efforts.  The  re¬ 
publican  movement  against  the  leadership  of 
Quay  is  growing.  An  address  has  just  been 
issued,  signed  by  322  prominent  republicans, 
for  a  meeting  to  organize.  This  address  says ; 

“  The  object  of  those  who  have  signed  this  address 
is  to  secure  the  recognition  of  common  honesty  and 
the  establishment  of  sound  political  methods  in  the 
management  of  the  afTairs  of  this  commonwealth, 
and  to  restore  Pennsylvania  to  her  original  position 
of  honor  among  the  states  of  the  Union.  To  accom¬ 
plish  this  end,  and  as  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  pro¬ 
test,  an  organization  will  be  formed  to  break  the 
power  of  spoils  politics  in  this  state,  and  to  obtain  a 
fitting  representative  of  Pennsylvania’s  interests  in 
the  senate  of  the  United  States  upon  the  termination 
of  the  incumbency  of  Senator  M.  S.  Quay.  ’ 

While  Quay’s  enemies  are  rising  up  about 
him  and  party  shackles  have  so  loosened  that 
the  freedom  of  the  press  seems  to  be  at  hand, 
his  friend  and  ally,  William  H.  Kemble,  sud¬ 
denly  dies.  The  following  is  from  the  New 
York  Times; 

The  incident  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Kemble  that 
brought  him  notoriously  to  the  attention  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  state,  was  his  famous  letter  to  Titian  J. 
Coffey  of  Washington,  D.  C.  George  O.  Evans,  in  his 
capacity  as  fiscal  agent  of  Pennsylvania,  was  com- 
misssioned  to  collect  a  claim  from  the  government 
to  reimburse  Pennsylvania  forcertain  bounty  money 
that  had  been  allowed  to  the  state’s  account.  The 
famous  letter  from  Kemble  read: 

“  My  Dear  Titian:  This  will  introduce  to  you 
Mr.  George  O.  Evans,  who  has  a  claim  of  some  mag¬ 


nitude  against  the  government.  Treat  him  as  you 
would  me.  He  understands  addition,  division  and 
silence.” 

It  was  a  matter  of  some  years  before  this  remark¬ 
able  correspondence,  introducing  Evans  came  to 
light.  In  the  year  1878  Mr.  Kemble  was  convicted  in 
the  ccuirts  of  Dauphin  county,  Penn.,  at  Harrisburg, 
of  bribing  members  of  the  Legislature  to  vote  for  the 
famous  riot  bill,  which  would  have  taken  about 
$3,000,000  from  the  state  for  the  benefit  of  the  Penn¬ 
sylvania  Railroad  Company.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  obtain  a  pardon  for  him  before  the  case  came  to 
trial.  Finding  that  this  could  not  be  done,  Kemble 
fled  the  state.  After  he  had  been  sentenced  he  was 
promptly  pardoned.  Mr.  Quay  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  pardons  and  was  the  leading  spirit  that 
brought  about  Mr.  Kemble’s  pardon. 


TEN  YEARS  OF  REFORM. 

[An  address  by  George  William  Curtis  at  the  annual 

meeting  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform 

League,  at  Buffalo,  Sept.  29, 1891.1 

When  the  distinguished  president  of  the 
Buffalo  Association  invited  the  National 
League  to  hold  its  annual  meeting  in  this  city, 
we  were  sure,  in  accepting  the  invitation, 
not  only  of  a  generous  and  hospitable  wel¬ 
come,  but  we  knew  that  we  were  coming  to 
one  of  the  holy  cities  of  the  reform  faith.  In 
the  revolutionary  army  every  state  watched 
with  profound  interest  the  conduct  of  its  own 
soldiers,  and  those  states  to-day  still  cherish 
with  pride  and  gratitude  the  story  of  the  deeds 
of  the  New  York  line,  the  Massachusetts  line, 
the  Virginia  line,  all  of  them  uniting  in  the 
final  triumph  of  the  whole  American  line. 
So  in  our  contest  for  reform,  the  contest  for 
honest  government  by  the  people  and  not  by 
the  pensioned  politicians,  the  BuflTalo  line  has 
been  always  at  the  front,  and  to  the  convic¬ 
tion,  the  constancy  and  the  courage  of  that 
line,  some  of  the  noblest  victories  of  the  good 
cause  are  due.  It  is  especially  pleasant, 
therefore,  that  we  should  assemble  in  BufiPalo 
for  our  tenth  annual  meeting,  not  only -to  re¬ 
new  the  pledge  of  our  fidelity  to  reform,  but 
to  exchange  congratulations  upon  its  achieve¬ 
ments  and  progress. 

The  formation  of  the  League  was  not,  as 
sometimes  has  been  pleasantly  represented,  a 
whim  of  amiable  gentlemen  who  had  a  fancy 
for  new  fashions  in  politics,  for  spinning 
moonbeams  and  dipping  water  in  a  sieve. 
The  spirit  of  reform  is  the  instinct  of  order 
and  progress  and  as  old  as  government.  It  is 
the  creative  instinct  moving  upon  the  face  of 
the  waters.  When  the  republican  platform 
of  1884,  reaffirmed  in  1888,  spoke  of  the  dan¬ 
gers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the 
power  of  official  patronage,  it  did  not  an¬ 
nounce  a  new  discovery ;  it  merely  stated  a 
historical  fact.  In  the  famous  declaration  of 
1688,  which,  after  consultation  with  his  En¬ 
glish  advisers,  William  the  Third  issued  upon 
embarking  for  England,  he  mentioned  as  the 
sixth  among  the  thirteen  particulars  in  which 
the  laws  of  England  had  been  set  at  naught 
by  the  dethroned  dynasty,  the  interference 
with  elections  by  turning  out  of  all  employ¬ 
ment  such  as  refused  to  vote  as  they  were  re¬ 
quired;  and  in  the  declaration  of  rights 
drawn  by  Lord  Summers  with  which  the  crown 


of  England  was  offered  to  William  and  Mary, 
the  seventh  of  the  fourteen  grievances  men¬ 
tioned  was  the  same  violation  of  the  freedom 
of  elections  by  patronage.  So  early  and  so 
prominently  in  constitutional  history  was  the 
evil  of  patronage  denounced  as  a  great  public 
wrong  and  peril. 

A  century  later  the  evil  instead  of  declining 
had  grown  to  such  strength  that  when  the 
most  ignoble  of  British  ministers  sought  by 
the  corruption  of  patronage  to  restore  the  su¬ 
premacy  of  the  Crown,  Edmund  Burke  raised 
his  great  voice  in  protest.  Macaulay,  in  a 
famous  passage,  describes  the  excesses  and  the 
terror  of  this  abuse  in  England,  and  Webster 
draws  a  similar  picture  of  its  ravages  in  this 
country.  It  was  sixty  years  ago  that  he  said, 
in  arraigning  the  Jackson  administration, 
“As  far  as  I  know  there  is  no  civilized  coun¬ 
try  on  earth  in  which,  on  a  change  of  rulers, 
there  is  such  an  inquisition  for  spoils  as  we 
have  witnessed  in  this  free  republic.”  The 
evil  that  both  described  was  the  baldest  form 
of  political  corruption.  It  was  making  booty 
of  the  public  service,  and  Marcy,  who  de¬ 
fended  the  outrage,  justly  described  the  serv¬ 
ice  so  seized  as  spoils.  In  one  country  the 
public  patronage  was  a  bribery  fund  to  prop 
the  crown,  in  the  other,  to  help  a  party.  In 
both  it  was  organized  corruption. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  passionate  ar¬ 
dor  of  party  spirit  during  a  civil  war  which 
identified  support  of  a  party  with  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  the  government  should  have  strength¬ 
ened  the  tradition  that  extreme  partisanship 
is  the  rightful  condition  of  public  employ¬ 
ment,  nor  that  the  immense  increase  of 
such  employment  at  the  very  time  when 
this  conviction  was  strongest  should  have 
developed  at  once  and  flagrantly  the  evils 
of  an  exclusively  partisan  civil  service. 
The  exaltation  of  patriotic  feeling  during  the 
war  is  an  inspiring  recollection.  But  the  reac¬ 
tion  that  always  follows  such  exultation  was  not 
less  signal,  and  corruption  in  our  politics  was 
never  felt  to  be  so  general,  so  vast  and  pene¬ 
trating,  as  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
The  formation  of  the  League,  therefore,  did 
not  announce  the  discovery  of  a  new  abuse, 
but  the  conviction  of  an  old  once  was  at  once 
so  deeply  extended  and  so  threatening  as  to 
demand  constant  exposure  and  resolute  re¬ 
form.  The  story  of  the  progress  of  ten  years 
is  the  evidence  of  the  scope  of  that  conviction 
and  of  the  awakening  of  public  opinion.  There 
is  no  better  place  for  the  retrospect  than  this 
entrenched  reform  camp  of  Buffalo,  over 
which  the  flags  of  victory  fly,  and  in  which 
drums  are  beating  for  further  advances  and 
the  final  triumph. 

The  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League 
was  organized  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  on  the  11th 
of  August,  1881.  It  was  the  result  of  a  con¬ 
ference  among  members  of  civil  service  reform 
associations  that  had  spontaneously  arisen  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  for  the  purpose  of 
awakening  public  interest  in  the  question,  like 
the  clubs  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  among  our 
fathers,  and  the  anti-slavery  societies  among 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


271 


their  children.  The  first  act  of  the  League  was 
a  resolution  of  hearty  approval  of  the  bill  then 
pending  in  congress,  known  as  the  Pendleton 
bill.  Within  less  than  two  years  afterward 
the  civil  service  law  was  passed  in  congress 
by  a  vote  in  the  senate  of  38  yeas  to  5 
nays,  33  senators  being  absent,  and  in  the 
house  only  a  week  later,  by  a  vote  of  155 
yeas  to  47  nays,  87  members  not  voting.  In 
the  house  the  bill  was  put  upon  its  passage 
at  once,  the  speaker  permitting  only  thirty 
minutes  for  debate.  This  swift  enactment  of 
a  righteous  law  was  due,  undoubtedly,  to  the 
panic  of  the  party  of  administration,  a  panic 
which  saw  in  the  disastrous  result  of  the  re¬ 
cent  election  a  demand  of  the  country  for  hon¬ 
est  politics ;  and  it  was  due  also  to  the  exult¬ 
ing  belief  of  the  party  of  opposition  that  the 
law  would  essentially  weaken  the  dominant 
party  by  reducing  its  patronage.  The  sudden 
and  overwhelming  vote  was  that  of  a  congress 
which  probably  had  very  little  individual 
knowledge  or  conviction  upon  the  subject. 
But  the  instinct  in  regard  to  intelligent  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  was  undoubtedly  sure,  and  it  is  in¬ 
telligent  public  opinion  which  always  com¬ 
mands  the  future.  It  is  fear  of  the  same  right¬ 
eous  sentiment,  infinitely  stronger  than  it  was 
ten  years  ago,  which  to-day  prevents  the  re¬ 
peal  of  the  reform  law. 

The  passage  of  the  law  was  the  first  great 
victory  of  the  ten  years  of  the  reform  move¬ 
ment.  The  second  is  the  demonstration  of  the 
complete  practicability  of  reform  attested  by 
the  heads  of  the  largest  offices  of  administra¬ 
tion  in  the  country.  In  the  treasury  and 
navy  departments,  the  New  York  custom¬ 
house  and  post-office,  and  other  important 
custom-houses  and  post-offices,  without  the 
least  regard  to  the  wishes  or  the  wrath  of 
that  remarkable  class  of  our  fellow-citizens 
known  as  political  bosses,  it  is  conceded  by 
officers,  wholly  beyond  suspicion  of  party  in¬ 
dependence,  that  in  these  chief  branches  of 
the  public  service  reform  is  perfectly  practi¬ 
cable  and  the  reformed  system  a  great  public 
benefit.  And,  although  as  yet  those  offices 
are  by  no  means  thoroughly  reorganized 
^upon  reform  principles,  yet  a  quarter  of  the 
■whole  number  of  places  in  the  public  service 
to  which  the  reformed  methods  apply  are  now 
included  within  those  methods. 

^  I  say  reformed  methods  and  not  principles, 
because  the  principle  of  reform  is  applicable 
to  the  entire  public  service.  When  under 
their  oaths  to  discharge  the  duties  of  their 
offices  to  their  best  ability  and  with  the  divine 
aid,  the  President  nominates  and  the  senate 
confirms  a  member  of  the  cabinet  or  a  minis¬ 
ter  to  England,  tbe  collector  of  a  port  or  a 
postmaster,  both  the  President  and  the  senate 
are  morally  bound  to  select  the  fittest  agents 
for  those  high  public  trusts  without  regard  to 
personal  or  party  interests  and  with  reference 
solely  to  the  public  welfare.  For  the  public 
service  is  the  service  of  the  people.  Its 
offices  are  not  the  perquisites  of  the  chief 
magistrate  to  whom  the  people  commit  the 
appointment  of  persons  to  fill  them.  Nor  are 


they  the  property  of  the  constitutional  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  people  which  selects  that  magis¬ 
trate.  The  majority  which  selects  him  is 
simply  the  agency  by  which  the  whole  people 
act,  and  in  executing  the  trust  of  appointment 
to  office,  he  is  discharging  a  duty,  not  to  a 
majority  nor  to  a  party,  but  to  the  whole  peo¬ 
ple  ;  and  in  making  the  appointment  he  is 
morally  bound  to  consider  only  qualification 
for  the  service  and  not  agreement  with  the 
opinion  of  the  majority  upon  subjects  that  do 
not  affect  the  duties  of  the  office.  Undoubt¬ 
edly,  our  political  system  intends  the  action 
of  the  President  to  give  effeet  to  the  will  of 
the  majority  in  legislation.  He  officially  con¬ 
firms  the  policy  of  the  country  as  expressed  in 
the  election  and  declared  by  congress,  a  policy 
which  varies  with  varying  opinion.  But 
whatever  the  changing  policy,  the  actual  trans¬ 
action  of  the  public  business  under  that  policy 
is  unchangeable.  It  demands  only  capacity, 
honesty,  diligence,  subordination. 

This  is  the  principle  of  the  constitution 
which  nowhere  recognizes  party,  but  every¬ 
where  contemplates  the  general  welfare.  It  is 
the  reasonable  view  of  the  nature  of  popular 
government.  To  admit  the  practical  neces¬ 
sity  of  government  by  the  majority  is  not  to 
legitimate  despotism,  as  to  concede  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  government  at  all  is  not  to  justify  the 
caprice  of  a  tyrant.  The  majority,  like  the 
President,  in  the  discharge  of  its  function,  is 
the  subject  of  moral  obligation.  They  are 
both  bound  to  consult  the  general  welfare 
If,  for  instance,  a  majority  selects  a  President 
and  a  congress  to  promote  a  policy  of  protec¬ 
tion,  the  President  and  congress  must  show 
that  the  duties  of  postmaster  in  New  York 
necessarily  affect  the  execution  of  that  policy, 
in  order,  morally,  to  justify  the  removal  of  a 
perfectly  efficient  and  satisfactory  officer,  be¬ 
cause  of  his  views  of  that  policy.  If  the 
postmaster’s  official  duties  are  in  no  degree 
dependent  upon  his  political  views,  his  re¬ 
moval  is  as  gross  a  public  wrong  and  as  great 
a  violation  of  public  principle  and  policy  as 
Jackson’s  despotic  dismissal  of  his  cabinet 
because  the  wives  of  the  secretaries  would  not 
visit  a  woman  whom  Jackson  favored. 

Ten  years  ago  this  truth  was  very  indis¬ 
tinctly  perceived.  To-day  it  is  a  very  general 
conviction.  The  entire  practicability  of  re¬ 
form,  that  is  to  say,  the  practicability  of 
retaining,  with  the  greatest  benefit  to  the 
public  service  and  with  no  injury  whatever  to 
any  part  of  our  political  system,  public  officers 
of  proved  and  satisfactory  ability,  is  the 
second  great  achievement  of  reform  within 
ten  years. 

Another  happy  advantage  of  the  reform  in 
this  retrospect  has  been  the  character  and  ef¬ 
ficiency  of  the  national  civil  service  com¬ 
mission.  The  prosperity  of  the  reformed 
system  depended  almost  wholly  in  the  begin¬ 
ning  upon  the  sincerity,  the  special  knowl¬ 
edge  and  the  tenacity  of  those  to  whom  was 
entrusted  the  duty  of  putting  it  into  operation. 
To  farm  out  the  infant  to  an  enemy  would 
have  been  to  smother  it.  It  was  easy  for 


President  Arthur,  after  he  had  approved  the 
bill,  to  paralyze  reform  by  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  who  had  no  faith  in  the  law 
and  no  heart  in  its  proper  enforcement.  But 
he  honestly  placed  at  the  head  of  the  commis¬ 
sion  one  of  the  most  conspicuous,  intelligent, 
and  earnest  friends  of  reform,  who,  at  the  in¬ 
vitation  of  President  Hayes,  had  made  a  com¬ 
plete  study  upon  the  spot  of  the  English  sys¬ 
tem,  and  whose  report  is  the  most  important 
contribution  ever  made  to  the  literature  of  the 
subject;  who  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  the 
preparation  of  the  reform  law,  and  whose  large 
familiarity  with  the  question  especially 
qualified  him  to  organize  the  practical  opera¬ 
tion  of  the  law,  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton.  Cor¬ 
dially  sustained  by  President  Arthur  in  the 
novel  and  difficult  work,  Mr.  Eaton  and  his 
colleagues  laid  the  secure  foundations  upon 
which  their  successors  have  wrought  in  the 
same  spirit. 

President  Cleveland,  to  whose  personal  in¬ 
terest,  while  governor  of  New  York,  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  the  reform  law  in  this  state  was  chiefly 
due,  had  demonstrated  the  sincerity  of  his 
purpose  by  the  appointment  of  a  state  civil 
service  commission,  whose  personal  character 
and  ability  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  the 
cause  were  not  only  the  earnest  of  the  honest 
observance  of  the  law,  but  commended  the 
reason  and  the  essential  value  of  reform  to  the 
sound  judgment  of  the  state.  As  President, 
Mr.  Cleveland  enlarged  the  range  of  the  classi¬ 
fied  service,  revised  and  strengthened  the  rules 
of  the  commission  and  sustained  it  in  the  firm 
enforcement  of  the  law.  President  Harrison’s 
selection  of  civil  service  commissioners,  also, 
was  in  strict  conformity  to  the  spirit  of  the 
platform  upon  which  he  was  elected,  and  to 
his  own  professions  and  pledges  as  a  candi¬ 
date,  and  he  also  has  extended  somewhat  the 
classified  service. 

The  enforcement  of  the  law  through  the 
commission  by  the  three  Presidents  who  have 
served  since  its  passage,  has  been  honest  and 
honorable.  It  is  certain  that  neither  of  them 
has  struck  at  reform  by  entrusting  the  execu¬ 
tion  of  the  law  to  its  enemies.  They  have  not 
adopted,  indeed,  all  the  progressive  recom¬ 
mendations  of  the  commission,  but  political 
pressure  for  the  practical  betrayal  of  its  work, 
or  for  the  dismissal  of  any  actively  aggressive 
commissioner,  has  been  manfully  resisted  by 
them.  This  is  well  done,  for  I  can  imagine  a 
commissioner  of  so  high  a  faith,  so  alert  a 
mind,  so  aggressive  a  temperament,  a  public 
officer  so  impatient  of  humbug,  lies  and  hy¬ 
pocrisy,  and  with  so  shrewd  an  eye  to  see  and 
so  sharp  a  sting  to  avenge  even  senatorial  vio¬ 
lations  and  sneaking  cabinet  evasions  of  the 
law,  that  he  must  be  as  welcome  to  lofty 
official  delinquents  as  a  swarm  of  hornets  to  a 
crowd  of  Sunday-school  boys  on  a  high  fence 
stealing  peaches.  I  can  imagine  such  sena¬ 
torial  and  cabinet  delinquents  seeking  by  the 
basest  appeal  to  personal  interest  and  partisan 
servility  to  persuade  a  President  to  dismiss 
such  a  commissioner ;  and  such  a  commis. 
sioner  I  can  imagine  sometimes  in  great  doubt 


272 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


whether  he  should  long  retain  his  official  head 
but  never  in  the  least  doubt  that  he  should 
always  retain  both  his  personal  and  official 
honor.  Such  firm  and  self-respecting  public 
officers  dignify  office  and  restore  the  public 
service  to  universal  respect  and  confidence. 

I  am  speaking  only  of  the  fidelity  of  the 
three  Presidents  to  the  commission.  The 
League  has  pronounced  its  judgment  upon  the 
conduct  of  each  of  the  administrations  since 
the  passage  of  the  law,  in  regard  to  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform  in  general.  It  has  tested  them,  as 
was  its  duty,  by  the  principles  and  spirit  of 
reform  which  apply  to  the  entire  exercise  of 
the  appointing  power  and  to  every  branch  of 
the  government  and  which  have  been  especial¬ 
ly  approved  by  the  platform  of  the  present 
administration.  The  moral  obligation  of  re¬ 
form,  as  I  have  said,  is  not  limited  to  the  clas¬ 
sified  service.  If  its  principles  are  sound 
they  are  as  applicable  to  public  offices  em¬ 
ploying  forty-nine  clerks  as  to  those  em¬ 
ploying  fifty;  and  an  administration  which 
observes  the  letter  of  the  law  in  appointing  the 
fifty,  but  makes  spoils  of  the  forty-nine,  is  not 
a  civil  service  reform  administration,  as  a  man 
who  gets  drunk  occasionally,  is  not  a  temper¬ 
ate  man. 

It  was  doubtless  in  recognition  of  this  truth, 
and  to  seem  to  conform  to  the  highest  stand¬ 
ard,  that  the  platform  of  the  party  of  admin¬ 
istration  declared  that  “the  spirit  and  purpose 
of  reform  should  be  observed  in  all  executive 
appointments.”  It  did  not  say  that  reform 
should  apply  to  thirty  thousand  employes  only 
of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  em¬ 
ployes  of  the  government,  and  that  the  rest 
should  be  treated  as  spoils,  but  that  the  spirit 
of  reform,  whatever  the  method  of  appoint¬ 
ment,  should  be  observed  throughout  the  serv¬ 
ice.  When,  therefore,  the  assistant  postmas¬ 
ter-general  endeared  himself  to  the  chief  ad¬ 
ministration  agent  of  spoils  in  New  York,  by 
cutting  off  official  heads  as  fast  as  possible,  he 
violated  the  express  pledge  of  his  party  to  re¬ 
spect  the  spirit  of  reform  as  much  as  if,  being 
a  soldier  of  the  Union,  he  had  broken  the  or¬ 
ders  of  the  march  and  disgraced  his  flag;  and 
the  President,  by  tolerating  such  riot  of  con¬ 
tempt  for  his  own  professions  and  for  the 
promises  of  his  party,  made  all  such  promises 
contemptible,  and  forfeited  the  claim  of  his 
administration  to  be  considered  a  reform  ad¬ 
ministration.  Keeping  one  pledge  does  not 
condone  breaking  another.  A  party,  like  a 
man,  is  certainly  not  bound  to  make  a  prom¬ 
ise'.  But  if  it  promises  and  breaks  the  pledge, 
although  a  party  is  an  elusive  entity,  a  vote 
is  not,  and  punishment  is  possible. 

But  while  no  administration  can  be  fairly 
called  a  reform  administration  which,  like 
the  present  and  the  preceding  administrations, 
makes  spoils  of  the  great  multitude  of  offices 
not  included  within  the  law,  it  does  not  follow 
that  reform  does  not  advance  under  such 
administrations,  nor  that  the  three  Presidents 
of  whom  I  have  spoken  did  not  sustain  the 
civil  service  commission  in  enforcing  the 
law.  It  may  not  be  thought  high  praise  to 


say  that  an  executive  officer  enforces  the  law 
which  he  is  sworn  to  enforce,  but  there  are 
different  ways  of  enforcing  a  law.  In  the  dark 
ages  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  there  was  an 
officer  in  Boston,  who,  being  entrusted  with  a 
writ  of  arrest  for  a  fugitive  slave,  used  to  go 
into  the  quarter  of  the  city  where  the  colored 
people  congregated  and  announce  that  he 
believed  the  fugitive  to  be  there  and  that  he 
should  call  for  him  in  the  afternoon  and  ex¬ 
pect  to  have  him  delivered  up  at  ouce  without 
delay;  “and  it  is  surprising,”  he  said,  “  that 
after  such  ample  and  definite  notice  making 
everything  easy  for  those  who  were  criminally 
harboring  the  offender,  I  was  never  able  to 
find  a  single  fugitive.”  There  is  another 
method  of  enforcing  law  to  be  studied  in  the 
case  of  the  Sunday  liquor  law  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  The  farmer  remarked  of  the 
Canada  thistle  and  twitch  grass  in  his  fields 
that  the  more  he  pulled  them  up  the  more 
they  grew.  It  may  be  said  in  the  same  way 
that  the  more  the  Sunday  liquor  law  is  en¬ 
forced  in  the  present  way,  the  more  liquor  is 
sold  on  Sunday.  Iqdeed,  in  the  early  days  of 
civil  service  reform,  when  it  was  not  en¬ 
forced  by  law,  but  by  an  executive  order  of 
Presidents  Grant  and  Hayes,  I  knew  an  ap¬ 
pointing  officer  who  used  the  order  as  a  short 
and  easy  way  with  politicians  whom  he  did 
not  care  to  gratify,  and  so  secured  leisure  to 
distribute  his  patronage  more  satisfactorily. 
In  our  history  of  ten  years  it  is  a  very  great 
victory  of  reform  that  the  national  civil 
service  commission  has  been  an  honest  and 
efficient  ministry  of  the  law,  and  that  Presi¬ 
dents  Arthur,  Cleveland  and  Harrison  have 
honestly  supported  it. 

Still  another  victory  is  the  fact  that  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  party  assessments  on  the  civil  service 
and  the  kindred  evil  of  the  interference  of 
office-holders  in  elections  are  now  so  effect¬ 
ually  stigmatized  by  public  opinion  that  al¬ 
though  not  abandoned  they  have  become  dis¬ 
graceful.  The  effort  to  justify  the  levying  of 
blackmail  by  party  committees  of  congress  or 
of  local  districts,  and  to  defend  the  moral 
coercion  of  public  employes  by  irresponsible 
officers  of  the  government,  has  disappeared  in 
the  contemptuous  scorn  of  public  common 
sense.  Undoubtedly  the  practice  in  some  de¬ 
gree  still  continues,  as  the  late  disgraceful  let¬ 
ter  of  the  Ohio  republican  state  executive 
committee  shows,  but  only  as  sneak-thieving 
and  pocket-picking  continue  after  laws  are 
enacted  to  prevent  them.  The  supreme  court 
of  the  United  States  has  affirmed  the  constitu¬ 
tionality  of  the  laws  prohibiting  such  assess¬ 
ments,  and  since  the  publicity  given  to  the 
wide-spread  and  flagrant  extortions  of  the  no¬ 
torious  Hubbell  congressional  campaign  com¬ 
mittee  of  1882,  no  senator  or  representative  iu 
congress  who  is  sensitive  to  public  contempt 
would  authorize  the  signature  of  his  name  to 
circulars  demanding  of  post-office  clerks  at 
home  and  consular  officers  abroad,  and  even  of 
women  clerks  who  have  no  vote,  the  surrender 
of  two  per  cent,  and  four  per  cent,  of  their 
galaries  to  be  spent  in  buying  seven  more 


mules  or  in  dispatching  soap  to  Indiana  or  in 
marshaling  floaters  in  blocks  of  five. 

This  steady  change  of  public  opinion  in  re¬ 
gard  to  political  changes  in  the  non-political 
public  service  is  the  happiest  result  of  the  ten 
years’  agitation  of  reform.  It  is  indeed  only 
to  a  certain  degree  a  change  in  practice,  but 
the  change  of  opinion  greatly  facilitates  its 
practical  completion.  The  reform  rules  em¬ 
brace  only  about  a  quarter  of  the  places  in 
the  registry  of  the  service,  and  within  that 
range  the  reform  may  be  fairly  said  to  be  ef¬ 
fected.  But  beyond  that  range  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  is  still  liable  to  be  treated  as  spoils.  By 
the  express  direction  of  President  Hayes  and 
by  the  known  desire  of  President  Cleveland, 
the  immediate  control  of  caucuses  and  conven¬ 
tions  by  office-holders  was  greatly  diminished 
during  the  last  few  years.  But  in  the  state 
convention  of  the  administration  party  this 
year  in  New  York,  where  in  other  years  I 
have  seen  the  collector  of  the  port  of  New 
York,  in  person,  openly  directing  the  votes  of 
his  subordinates,  the  office-holding  force  again 
appeared,  and  the  chief  figure  in  the  conven¬ 
tion  of  the  party  whose  national  platform  de¬ 
mands  that  the  reform  shall  be  extended  to 
every  branch  of  the  service  and  its  spirit  ob¬ 
served  in  every  appointment,  was  that  chief 
state  agent  of  spoils,  who  gaily  proclaims  that 
public  officers  endear  themselves  to  him  not 
by  fidelity  or  efficiency,  but  by  violation  of 
their  party  pledges  and  by  making  the  public 
service  party  plunder.  The  comedy  of  the 
autumn  campaign  is  that  the  platform  of  a 
convention  directed  by  the  chief  administra¬ 
tion  spoilsman  in  the  state  reaffirms  the  affec¬ 
tion  of  the  party  for  “  thorough,  genuine 
civil  service  reform.  ” 

But  these  are  only  incidents  of  a  battle 
which  is  still  raging.  Here  and  there  the  line 
is  pushed  back  and  broken.  Here,  there  is 
an  advantage,  there,  a  reverse,  although  the 
general  advance  is  plain.  The  appointment 
of  the  late  collector  of  New  York  was  a  dis¬ 
tinct  violation  of  the  executive  pledge  that 
“the  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should  be 
observed  in  all  executive  appointments.”  But 
the  intimation  that  the  collector  contemplated 
a  course  which  no  law  forbids  and  which  in 
the  time  of  his  predecessor  Swartwout  was  held 
to  be  entirely  legitimate,  nevertheless  pro¬ 
voked  a  protest  which  was  not  limited  to 
party.  I  know  no  reason  in  his  character  or 
career  to  suppose  that  the  late  collector,  whose 
personal  good  name  even  amidst  the  rancor  of 
partisan  controversy  has  been  unsoiled,  would 
have  wantonly  blackened  it  by  prostituting  a 
public  trust  to  promote  a  personal  or  party  in¬ 
terest,  or  would  have  deliberately  sophisti¬ 
cated  himself  by  the  pretense  that  honest  and 
efficient  public  agents  might  be  summarily  re¬ 
moved  to  make  place  for  other  equally  honest 
and  efficient  agents,  not  because  the  public 
service  would  be  promoted  by  the  change,  but 
because  it  would  advance  the  political  interest 
of  the  officer  to  whose  official  act  the  collector 
owed  his  power  to  do  the  service.  But  the  sig¬ 
nificant  fact  is  that  the  mere  suggestion  was 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


273 


i 


1 


resented  by  the  public  sense  of  official  decency 
and  personal  honor.  Whatever  reaction  there 
may  be  at  any  point,  the  moral  progress  of  re 
form  is  signally  illustrated  by  the  undoubted 
fact  that  it  is  becoming  personally  discredit¬ 
able  to  a  public  officer  to  administer  his 
office  as  an  agency  of  spoils,  and  a  serious  in¬ 
jury  to  a  party  when  its  conspicuous  leaders 
are  no  longer  statesmen  but  bosses.  To  say 
that  this  is  not  the  universal  opinion  is  to  say 
nothing.  It  is  an  opinion  general  enough 
and  strong  enough  to  make  laws  and  regu¬ 
lations,  to  secure  their  faithful  execution, 
and  constantly  to  extend  the  range  of  their 
operation. 

This  revolution  in  public  opinion  is  the 
result  of  the  agitation  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form,  and  I  should  not  call  it  the  happiest 
result  if  it  were  not  a  revolution  which  had 
produced  practical  results.  In  a  rapid  glance 
we  have  seen  the  general  progress  in  such  re 
suits  during  the  ten  years  of  our  organization. 
But  the  annual  meeting  invites  a  retrospect  of 
the  year,  and  if  The  partisan  ravage  of  the 
civil  service  beyond  the  range  of  the  rules 
were  the  only  indication  of  the  situation,  it 
might  be  thought  a  year  of  little  promise. 
But  the  really  significant  facts  are  of  quite 
another  kind.  Let  me  recall  some  of  them, 
although  I  can  but  mention  them. 

The  good  work  of  the  year  began  in  Buf¬ 
falo.  Just  after  our  last  annual  meeting,  the 
court  of  appeals  decided  the  case  of  Kogers 
against  the  city  of  Buffalo  to  test  the  validity 
of  certain  appointments  made  in  total  disre¬ 
gard  of  the  civil  service  law  of  the  state.  The 
court  approved  the  constitutionality  of  the 
law,  forbade  payment  of  persons  illegally 
appointed,  and  declared  the  city  bound  by  the 
action  of  the  mayor  in  employing  and  paying 
persons  to  carry  out  the  law,  although  the 
council  had  refused  to  provide  for  the  pay¬ 
ment.  The  court,  in  announcing  its  opinion, 
expressed,  with  the  utmost  force  and  dignity, 
its  approval  of  the  principles  of  reform,  saying 
that  under  the  spoils  system  “  The  chief 
reason  for  an  appointment  was  the  political 
work  done  by  the  applicant  and  his  supposed 
power  to  do  more,  and  thus  an  appointment 
to  an  office  in  the  civil  list  was  regarded  as 
fit  and  proper  reward  for  purely  political  and 
partisan  service.  No  one  can  believe  that 
such  a  system  was  calculated  to  produce 
service  fit  for  the  only  purpose  for  which 
offices  are  created,  viz.,  the  discharge  of  duties 
necessary  to  be  performed  in  order  that  the 
public  business  may  be  properly  and  efficiently 
transacted.  The  continuous  and  systematic 
filling  of  all  the  offices  of  a  great  and  indus¬ 
trious  nation  by  such  means  became  con¬ 
clusive  proof  in  the  minds  of  many  intelligent 
and  influential  men  that  the  nation  itself  had 
not  in  such  matters  emerged  from  the  semi- 
barbarous  state,  and  that  it  had  failed  to 
obtain  the  full  benefits  arising  from  an  ad 
vanced  and  refined  civilization.”  The  Court 
added:  “The  fact  must  be  fully  recognized 
that  the  duties  connected  with  the  vast  ma¬ 
jority  of  offices  in  hoth  the  Federal  and  State 


governments  are  in  no  sense  political,  and 
that  a  proper  performance  of  those  duties 
would  give  no  one  the  least  idea  whether  the 
incumbent  of  the  office  were  a  member  of  one 
political  party  or  another.” 

The  reform  association  of  Buffalo  declares 
that  the  public  service  of  the  city  is  at  last 
practically  taken  by  law  out  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem,  and  no  intelligent  man  supposes  that  it  is 
any  less  vigorous,  honest,  efficient  and  satis¬ 
factory  for  that  reason,  or  doubts  that  the 
problem  of  city  government,  one  of  the  most 
difficult  and  important  with  which  we  have 
to  deal,  would  be  greatly  simplified  if  what 
the  association  says  of  Buffalo  could  be  said 
truly  of  every  other  city  in  the  country. 

The  year  has  given  us  also  in  the  city  of 
New  York  the  valuable  testimony  of  private 
citizens  in  the  recommendation  of  the  very 
able  committee  appointed  by  Mayor  Grant  to 
consider  the  most  efficient  and  most  econom¬ 
ical  system  for  the  conduct  of  the  street  clean¬ 
ing  department  in  that  city.  The  subject,  like 
every  subject  which  involves  the  honest  expen¬ 
diture  of  public  money  in  that  community,  is 
extremely  perplexing.  But  the  public  spirit 
of  the  eminent  citizens  who  served  as  a  com¬ 
mittee  led  them  to  a  careful  and  detailed  in¬ 
vestigation,  and  in  their  report  they  state  that 
the  efficiency  of  the  system  proposed  by  them 
will  depend  upon  bringing  the  whole  force  of 
the  department  within  the  control  of  the  civil 
service  regulations.  That  this  is  entirely  leas¬ 
able,  the  experience  of  Boston  in  its  public 
labor  department  has  demonstrated,  and  that 
the  result  in  New  York  would  be  of  the  high¬ 
est  advantage  and  most  satisfactory  to  all  good 
citizens,  is  unquestionable. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  year  the  na¬ 
tional  civil  service  commission  made  known 
the  fact  that  it  had  succeeded  in  adjusting  the 
quotas  of  appointments  under  the  rules  among 
the  several  states.  The  spoils  system  has  ob¬ 
tained  so  firm  a  hold  upon  the  public  mind 
that  in  parts  of  the  country,  especially  in  the 
southern  states,  there  was  a  total  disbelief  in 
the  honesty  of  the  reformed  system  which  was 
assumed  to  be  only  a  scheme  to  make  partisan 
appointments  more  universal  and  certain. 
But  a  perfectly  frank  conference  between  the 
commissioners  and  members  of  congress  and 
and  representatives  of  the  press  from  the 
southern  states  resulted  in  the  conviction 
upon  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  the 
press  and  the  people  that  the  law  was  a  reason¬ 
able  law  honestly  administered  by  the  com¬ 
mission  and,  consequently,  at  examinations  to 
fill  additional  places  in  the  departments  at 
Washington,  candidates  appeared  without  in¬ 
fluence  and  without  regard  to  party  sympathy  ; 
the  fair  proportion  among  the  states  was  es¬ 
tablished  ;  the  persons  appointed  were  in  gen¬ 
eral  natives  of  the  states  in  which  they  were 
examined,  and  “  in  the  overwhelming  majority 
of  cases,  these  native  born  southern  whites 
were  democrats.  ”  The  great  advantage 
gained  was  not  only  the  proper  adjustment  of 
the  quota,  but  the  practical  demonstration  to 
partisan  members  of  congress,  to  the  party 


press,  and  to  utterly  incredulous  party  adher¬ 
ents  in  the  states  that  the  civil  service  law  is 
not  only  just  in  itself,  but  is  honestly  enforced 
by  a  party  administration.  The  proof  that 
such  a  course  is  possible  is  undoubtedly  the 
most  valuable  lesson  in  national  politics  that 
the  communities  in  which  it  was  demonstrated 
have  ever  received,  and  Commissioner  Roose¬ 
velt,  in  his  interesting  account  of  this  demon¬ 
stration,  says,  with  a  satisfaction  that  every 
friend  of  reform  must  share,  “  In  the  depart¬ 
mental  service  at  Washington  we  have  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  putting  nearly  a  complete  stop  to  re¬ 
movals  for  political  purposes.  ” 

In  January  of  ihis  year  the  Cambridge  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  urged  upon  the 
President  the  extension  of  the  reformed  sys¬ 
tem  to  the  Indian  service.  The  same  request 
was  made  by  the  board  of  Indian  commission¬ 
ers,  of  which  Presdent  Gates,  of  Amherst  Col¬ 
lege,  is  chairman.  The  commissioners  stated 
that  they  desired  to  secure  permanence  in  the 
service  for  the  greater  part  of  the  officers  and 
employes.  Ii\  April  the  President  directed 
the  extension  of  the  rules  to  physicians  at  the 
Indian  agencies,  and  to  superintendents,  as¬ 
sistant  superintendents,  teachers  and  matrons, 
of  Indian  schools,  and  the  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions  prepared  by  the  commission  for  en¬ 
forcing  these  executive  directions  will  go  into 
efl'ect  on  the  first  of  October.  In  February 
the  national  association  of  public  school  su¬ 
perintendents  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  commended  the  principles  of  reform 
as  applicable  to  the  selection  of  teachers  in 
the  public  schools,  and  recommended  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  laws  requiring  from  all  candidates 
certificates  of  qualification  from  the  state  au¬ 
thorities.  In  the  state  of  New  York,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  superintendent  of  public 
instruction,  the  school  commissioners  through¬ 
out  the  state  have  adopted  a  system  of  uni¬ 
form  simultaneous  examinations  for  teachers 
upon  conditions  essentially  competitive.  Ev¬ 
ery  argument  for  the  selection  of  the  63,000 
postmasters  in  the  United  States  by  some  bet¬ 
ter  test  than  personal  partiality  and  political 
“  pulls  ”  is  irresistible  when  applied  to  the 
selection  of  the  350,000  public  school  teachers 
in  the  country.  We  boast  that  the  public 
schools  make  American  citizens.  But  the 
teacher  is  the  school,  and  if  it  be  wise  to  ascer¬ 
tain  the  qualification  of  a  street  cleaner,  or  a 
physician  at  an  Indian  agency,  or  custom 
house  clerk,  for  the  proper  discharge  of  his 
duty,  it  can  not  be  unwise  to  test  the  fitness  of 
public  school  teachers  and  to  appoint  only 
those  who  are  ascertained  to  be  fittest. 

The  usual  attempt  was  made  in  congress  by 
members  of  both  parties  to  starve  and  par¬ 
alyze  the  civil  service  commission.  But  it 
was  briskly  and  ably  resisted  also  by  members 
of  both  parties.  As  usual  the  weight  of 
ability  and  influence  and  character  was  with 
the  friends  of  reform  and  not  with  the  spoils¬ 
men.  In  the  house  the  attack  upon  the  law 
was  defeated,  and  the  moderate  increase  of 
appropriation  asked  by  the  commission  was 
granted.  But  a  difference  arose  between  the 


274 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


two  houses,  and  the  controversy  was  adjusted 
by  the  passage  of  the  old  appropriation.  The 
house  committee  on  the  civil  service  law  made 
an  investigation  of  its  workings  and  reported 
that  the  public  service  had  been  greatly  bene¬ 
fited  by  it  and  that  the  law  upon  the  whole 
had  been  well  executed.  The  conditional 
term  of  approval  was  doubtless  due  to  the 
fact  that  an  administration  of  another  party 
had  intervened  between  the  passage  of  the 
law  and  the  present  administration,  and  it 
would  have  been  politically  unwise  to  imply 
that  Messrs.  Vilas  and  Dickinson,  for  in¬ 
stance,  had  shown  the  same  zeal  for  honest 
reform  in  the  post-office  which  have  distin¬ 
guished  Messrs.  Wanamaker  and  Clarkson, 
although  an  impartial  observer  might  have 
decided  that  they  were  entitled  to  precisely 
the  same  praise.  The  committee  proposed  a 
bill  for  the  reorganization  of  the  commission 
making  the  regulations  still  more  stringent 
and  declaring  that  “  any  law  which  revives 
influence,  political  or  personal,  in  the  public 
service  of  the  country,  should  be  vehemently 
opposed,  and  that  no  system  other  than  that 
in  vogue  at  the  present  time  can  furnish  a 
safeguard  against  this  spirit  of  favoritism.” 
The  bill  which  was  reported  was  not  consid¬ 
ered,  and  if  it  should  be  said  that  it  would 
not  have  been  reported  had  it  been  supposed 
that  it  would  be  considered  or  could  be 
passed,  I  should  reply  that  the  members  who 
reported  it  were  honest  friends  of  reform,  and 
that  the  bill  itself  was  evidently  the  result  of 
knowledge  and  a  sincere  desire  to  remedy 
what  were  held  to  be  defects  in  the  existing  law. 

Eight  years’  experience  of  the  working  of  the 
law  has  demonstrated  the  necessity  of  reor¬ 
ganizing  the  methods  of  promotion  in  the  serv- 
vice  by  introducing  competition  as  contem¬ 
plated  by  the  law  and  established  for  a  time 
under  the  Grant  administration.  In  January, 
1887,  compulsory  competition,  with  the  cer¬ 
tification  of  the  whole  eligible  list,  was  intro¬ 
duced  in  certain  offices.  But  upon  the  recom¬ 
mendation  of  the  commission,  the  President 
has  recently  authorized  open  voluntary  com¬ 
petition  for  promotion  within  the  classified 
service,  under  such  regulations  as  the  com¬ 
mission  may  provide.  These  regulations  are 
now  under  consideration  and  will  be  applied 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  the  measure  may  be 
regarded  justly  as  the  most  important  step  yet 
taken  by  the  President  in  the  interest  of  re¬ 
form.  Meanwhile,  it  is  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  practical  wisdom  of  the  reformed  sys¬ 
tem  that  promotion  by  voluntary  competition 
has  been  lately  introduced  into  the  depart¬ 
ment  of  the  service  which  has  been  most  prosti¬ 
tuted  to  party  and  personal  influence,  the 
post-office. 

At  the  first  examination  the  postmaster- 
general  assured  the  clerks,  as  his  order  ex¬ 
pressly  provides,  that  hereafter  advancement 
would  depend  solely  upon  the  results  of  the 
examinations  and  the  official  records,  and  no 
longer  upon  personal  favor  or  party  influence. 
“God  works  in  a  mysterious  way  his  wonders 
to  perform,” 


Before  this  reform  was  instituted  in  the  post- 
office  department,  the  legislature  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  last  winter  requested  the  senators  and 
representatives  of  the  state  in  congress  to  urge 
legislation  which  would  secure  reform  in  the 
Charlestown  navy  yard  and  the  other  navy 
yards  of  the  United  States.  If,  however,  those 
senators  and  representatives  urged  such  legis¬ 
lation,  congress  was  obdurate.  But  in  April 
the  secretary  of  the  navy,  in  a  luminous,  cour¬ 
ageous  and  decisive  speech  at  Boston,  an¬ 
nounced  his  intention  to  exclude  politics  from 
the  labor  system  of  the  navy  yards.  He  said 
that  the  degradation  of  that  labor  into  party 
spoils  was  demoralizing  to  any  party  that  re¬ 
sorted  to  it,  destructive  to  the  government 
service,  and  debauching  to  national  and  local 
politics.  “  It  is  an  ulcer  on  the  naval  admin¬ 
istration  system,”  he  said,  “  and  I  propose  to 
cut  it  out.”  He  proceeded  to  state  clearly  his 
scheme,  for  which  he  said  the  rules  were  pre¬ 
paring  in  detail.  The  three  cardinal  points 
of  the  scheme  were  free  and  open  competition, 
employment  on  proved  merit  alone,  and  the 
absolute  publicity  of  every  detail.  This  was 
the  three-edged  blade  for  the  secretary’s  invig¬ 
orating  reform  surgery.  “  I  do  not  propose  to 
stop,”  he  said,  “until  the  principle  of  efficiency 
and  worth  is  the  only  test  of  navy  yard  em¬ 
ployment;  *  *  so  that  it  will  remove  not 
only  all  machine  politics  from  the  navy  yard, 
but  all  suspicion  of  machine  politics.”  This 
speech,  showing  the  secretary’s  clear  compre¬ 
hension  of  the  scope  and  method  of  reform, 
and  supported  by  his  character,  was  felt  at 
once  not  to  be  a  mere  flourish  of  political 
rhetoric.  The  secretary’s  rules  aflTecting  the 
higher  positions  were  applied  in  May,  and 
those  aflecting  labor  on  the  first  of  September, 
and  bis  action  is  by  far  the  most  important 
event  in  the  progress  of  reform  under  this  ad¬ 
ministration. 

“  It  is  an  ulcer  and  I  mean  to  cut  it  out,” 
said  the  secretary,  and  he  is  cutting  it  out. 
With  all  the  ardor  of  the  Irishman  we  may  cer¬ 
tainly  wish  him  “more  power  to  your  elbow,” 
until  the  cutting  is  complete.  The  only  re¬ 
gret  that  can  be  expressed  in  view  of  this  ad¬ 
mirable  act,  as  of  the  promotions  in  the  post- 
office  department,  is,  that  the  reform  in  the 
navy  yards  has  not  been  brought  under  the 
direction  of  the  national  commission  as  in 
other  branches  of  the  service.  While  Gen¬ 
eral  Tracy  is  secretary  of  the  navy  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  ulcer  of  the  spoils  will  not 
thrive  in  the  navy  yards.  But  when  he  re¬ 
tires  will  he  have  extirpated  its  roots?  His 
scheme  is  admirable  and  effective,  and  it  is 
based  upon  sound  principles  of  reform.  But 
it  is  only  his  official  regulation.  It  is 
not  yet  law  and  with  his  successor  the  devils 
whom  the  secretary  has  expelled  may  return. 
If  the  rules  of  the  civil  service  are  to  be  ap¬ 
plied,  as  they  certainly  should  be,  to  the  navy 
yards,  is  there  any  good  reason  why  they 
should  not  be  applied  as  in  all  other  depart¬ 
ments,  and  as  they  are  applied  in  the  clerical 
branch  of  the  navy  department  ?  It  is  a  reform 
too  important  to  be  left  to  the  changing  sym¬ 


pathies  of  successive  secretaries,  and  its  in¬ 
ception  and  execution  are  so  important  as  to 
entitle  Secretary  Tracy  to  the  gratitude  of 
the  country  while  they  write  his  name  high 
on  the  roll  of  practical  reformers. 

Upon  a  survey  even  so  general  as  this  of 
the  progress  of  civil  service  reform  within  the 
ten  years  of  the  existence  of  this  League,  it  is 
idle  to  deny  the  prodigious  advance  which  it 
has  made,  both  in  public  opinion  and  in  prac¬ 
tical  application.  The  evil  is  not  new  nor  is 
the  League  first  in  calling  public  attention  to 
it.  Escape  from  the  vicious  party  despotism 
of  the  old  council  of  appointment  in  this 
state  was  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1821.  Congress 
has  echoed  with  loud  debate  upon  the  subject, 
with  the  angry  altercations  of  party  chiefs, 
and  the  terrible  array  of  facts  which  is  the 
most  powerful  plea  of  every  political  reform. 
Investigations,  reports,  executive  orders  have 
followed  each  other.  But  they  have  been  the 
temporary  weapons  of  party  warfare  dropped 
when  they  had  served  their  purpose,  not  the 
persistent  pressure  of  increasing  conviction — 
hot  gusts  that  blew  off  green  fruit,  not  the 
change  of  temperature  that  ripens  the  harvest. 
The  League  has  represented  not  party  strategy 
to  carry  an  election,  but  public  conviction  to 
reform  an  acknowledged  evil  of  administra¬ 
tion. 

If  it  had  done  nothing  more  its  service 
would  be  great  in  having  forced  the  spoils 
system  to  its  defence.  The  political  pirates 
are  at  last  driven  to  show  the  black  flag  and 
defiantly  to  declare  that  at  every  election  the 
whole  public  service  in  every  detail,  with  all 
its  emoluments  and  opportunities,  shall  be 
made  the  prize  of  a  vast  struggle  of  greed  and 
intrigue,  of  bribery  and  dishonesty  of  every 
kind,  all  inflamed  to  fury  by  party  spirit. 
We  demand  that  all  public  business,  which  is 
not  political,  shall  be  kept  free  from  politics, 
and  shall  be  transacted  upon  the  simple  prin¬ 
ciples  which  are  approved  by  universal  pri¬ 
vate  experience.  The  masters  of  Tammany 
Hall,  with  the  dealers  in  mules,  soap  and 
blocks  of  floaters,  who  hold  that  in  politics 
fraud  is  not  fraudulent,  nor  dishonesty  dis¬ 
honest,  declare  that  everywhere,  except  in 
Sancho  Panza’s  Baralaria,  No  Man’s  Land, 
and  the  Isle  of  Fools,  the  public  service  is 
spoils  and  belongs  to  the  victors.  But  Wash¬ 
ington  warned  us  in  advance  against  these 
voices.  Webster  said  that  whoever  controlled 
a  man’s  means  of  living  controlled  his  will. 
Clay  said  that  Marcy’s  doctrine  would  end  in 
despotism.  Lincoln,  hounded  by  the  remorse¬ 
less  demand  for  spoils,  said  that  the  evil  would 
destroy  the  government.  Those  who  would  use 
the  patronage  of  public  employment  as  the 
vast  bribery  fund  of  a  party  are  on  one  side. 
Washington  and  Lincoln,  patriotism  and  good 
sense,  the  wisdom  of  age,  the  instinct  of  youth, 
are  on  the  other.  Let  all  good  men  choose 
their  part.  We  have  chosen  ours. 

Let  us  now  see  what  extensions  have  been 
made  of  the  classified  service. 

They  have  been  considerable.  The  entire 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


275 


i  official  service  has  increased  considerably, 
j  The  commissioners  in  their  first  report  (Feb¬ 
ruary,  1884)  estimated  it  at  about  110,000.  It 

I  is  supposed  now  to  be  about  120,000. 

The  classified  service,  as  stated  by  the  com¬ 
missioners  in  their  last  report,  November, 
1890,  contained  somewhat  over  30,000  em¬ 
ployes,  an  increase  since  February,  1884,  of 
about  16,000. 

A  large  portion  of  this  must  be  from  natural 
■  increment  within  the  departments,  districts 
1  and  offices  originally  classified,  but  a  consid- 
j  erable  part  can  be  otherwise  accounted  for. 

I  Mr. Cleveland,  in  March,  1888,  extended  the 
j  classification  within  the  post-offices  and  custom- 
1  houses  named  in  the  classified  service  (it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  not  all  the 
places  within  the  classified  offices  and  dis¬ 
tricts  were  originally  or  have  yet  been  brought 
into  the  classified  service),  adding  1,931  to  the 
number  of  officials  brought  under  the  civil 
service  rules. 

January  4,1889,  Mr.  Cleveland  also  directed 
the  railway  postal  service  to  be  classified 
under  the  civil  service  rules,  the  extension 
to  take  effect  March  15,  1889.  At  the  request 
of  the  commission,  which  had  not  time  to  pre¬ 
pare  eligible  lists.  President  Harrison  post¬ 
poned  the  extension  to  May  1st;  since  which 
time  we  have  had  the  classified  railway  postal 
service.  The  number  of  places  is  understood 
to  be  somewhat  over  4,000. 

April  13,  1891,  President  Harrison  made  a 
valuable  extension  of  the  rules  to  about  600 
persons  (the  number  at  the  present  time  is 
supposed  to  be  about  700)  in  the  Indian  ser¬ 
vice:  physicians,  school  superintendents, 
school  teachers  and  matrons.  This  extension 
to  the  classified  service  is  the  only  one  thus 
far  made  by  Mr.  Harrison.  It  is  not  believed, 
however,  that  this  is  because  he  is  not  in  sym¬ 
pathy  with  the  new  system  or  is  not  loyal  to 
his  own  personal  or  party  pledges  on  the 
subject. 

The  appointment  by  him  of  the  present  ex¬ 
cellent  commission  and  the  support  he  has 
accorded  their  vigorous  administration  of  the 
law;  his  annulling  in  April  last  the  rule 
which  allowed  promotions  or  transfers  from 
the  non-classified  to  the  classified  service  (a 
rule  which  furnished  a  “back-door  entrance,” 
without  the  ordeal  of  a  competitive  examin¬ 
ation),  and  the  extension  to  a  part  of  the  In¬ 
dian  service  just  mentioned,  have  been  of  the 
greatest  service  to  the  reform.  It  is  fair,  too, 
to  assume  (although  the  navy-yard  service 
has  not  been  brought  under  the  civil  service 
rules)  that  the  late  extension  of  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  the  reform  to  the  navy  yards,  with 
their  4,000  or  5,000  employes,  announced  by 
Secretary  Tracy,  has  been  with  the  full  con¬ 
currence  of  the  President. 

But  the  fact  remains  that  a  large  part  of 
the  postal  and  customs  service,  to  which  the 
rules  might  well  be  applied,  is  still  in  the 
thrall  and  bondage  of  the  spoils  system. 
Why  should  it  so  remain?  It  may  be  that 
when  Mr.  Harrison  came  to  the  Presidency 
he  found  an  inadequate  administration  of  the 


law  and  rules.  It  is  not  my  desire  to  debate 
this  question,  for  it  is  not  necessary  to  the 
purpose  of  this  paper.  Still  I  may  be  per¬ 
mitted,  perhaps,  to  state  my  personal  belief 
that  when  the  commission  was  reorganized,  so 
to  speak,  by  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Roose¬ 
velt  and  Gov.  Thompson,  the  entire  system 
was  in  an  unprosperous  condition,  and  that 
unless  new  life  and  more  vigorous  loyalty  in 
its  administration  had  been  put  into  it,  not 
only  would  not  extension  of  it  have  been  ad¬ 
visable,  but  it  would  have  fallen  soon  into 
serious  public  discredit.  No  law  is  worth 
much  that  is  not  properly  enforced. 

But  the  new  commission  has  saved  the  sys¬ 
tem  from  the  discredit  into  which  it  might 
have  fallen,  and  by  general  consent  it  is  and 
has  been  now  for  a  long  time  fairly  and 
thoroughly  administered. 

Then  why  has  it  not  been  extended  to  the 
rest  of  the  large  post-offices  and  custom-houses? 
The  commissioners,  in  their  report  for  1889, 
said: 

The  minimum  limit  for  the  number  of  employes 
in  the  classified  post-oflQees  should  be  fixed  at  twenty- 
five  instead  of  fifty.  This  would  add  uot  far  from 
thirty  to  the  forty-three  now  classified. 

This  recommendation  was  repeated  in  the 
commissioner’s  report  for  1890. 

Why  did  they  not  also  recommended  the  ex¬ 
tension  to  custom-houses  having  twenty-five 
employes  does  not  appear ;  but  it  is  believed 
that  the  limitation  of  the  post-offices  at  twenty- 
five,  rather  than  twenty  or  ten,  was  simply  be¬ 
cause,  with  the  meager  force  in  the  service  of 
the  commission,  it  was  not  deemed  practicable 
to  go  below  twenty-five.  Probably  for  a  sim¬ 
ilar  reason  the  recommendation  was  not  ex¬ 
tended  to  the  custom  houses. 

But  there  would  seem  to  be  no  reason  why 
all  the  custom-houses,  as  well  as  post-offices, 
having  even  ten  employes,  should  not  be 
brought  into  the  classified  service.  If  that 
would  be  too  extensive  an  addition  to  be  made 
at  once,  certainly  the  inclusion  of  those  hav¬ 
ing  twenty-five  officials  seems  entirely  practi¬ 
cable.  Why  should  it  not  be  made  ?  Why 
should  the  custom-house  in  Buffalo  be  under 
the  spoils  system,  and  the  post-office  under  the 
merit  system?  Competitive  examinations  for 
the  offices  on  the  ground  floor  ;  “  influence,  ” 
or  personal  and  party  service  for  the  offices  on 
the  second  !  How  are  the  people  to  be  con¬ 
vinced  that  the  system  of  patronage  and 
plunder  is  not  to  resume  complete  sway  so 
long  as  it  is  permitted  by  the  President  to  re¬ 
main  entrenched  in  at  least  fifty  of  the  princi¬ 
pal  post-offices  and  eighteen  of  the  great  cus¬ 
toms  districts,  not  to  speak  of  the  much 
greater  number  of  considerable  offices,  where 
there  are  from  ten  to  twenty-five  officials,  in 
all  of  which  the  old  system,  which  has  been 
denounced  by  Presidents  Harrison,  Cleveland 
and  Arthur  is  as  vigorous  and  vociferous  as 
ever  ? 

I  desire  to  speak  with  becoming  modesty 
upon  this  subject,  and  I  am  quite  aware  that 
the  President  may  .regard  the  persistent  de¬ 
mands  of  the  friends  of  civil  service  reform, 
in  the  midst  of  his  varied  and  engrossing  du¬ 


ties,  as  irksome.  I  believe,  however,  he  might 
well  enough  entertain  another  view  of  the 
subject  from  which  he  would  derive  a  pleasure 
that  is  not  often  within  the  reach  of  a  Presi¬ 
dent.  The  civil  service  reform,  after  some 
vicissitudes,  has  achieved  a  great  success. 
More  than  30,000  of  the  principal  subordinate 
places  in  the  federal  service  are  under  its  con¬ 
trol.  It  stands  to-day  well  accredited  before 
the  people  ;  but  the  condition  of  its  safety,  as 
well  as  of  its  final  success,  is  that  it  go  for 
ward.  Its  great  enemy  still  holds  much  of 
the  field  ;  but  a  single  strong  movement  will 
decide  the  contest.  If  the  President  were  to¬ 
morrow  to  issue  an  order  by  which  the  offices 
in  even  the  non-classified  customs  and  postal 
services  having  twenty-five  employes  were 
brought  under  the  civil  service  rules,  I  be¬ 
lieve  it  would  be  regarded  by  the  whole  coun¬ 
try  as  practically  decisive.  It  would  show 
not  only  that  there  is  to  be  no  step  backward, 
but  that  the  end  is  not  far  distant  when  this 
reform  which  underlies  every  other  reform  in 
American  politics  shall  be  completely  tri¬ 
umphant.  This  is  the  President’s  great  op¬ 
portunity.  If  he  avails  himself  of  it,  more 
than  anything  he  has  yet  done,  more,  proba¬ 
bly,  than  anything  else  he  may  yet  do,  it 
would  make  his  administration  illustrious. 


OUGHT  THE  CLASSIFIED  SERVICE 
TO  BE  INCREASED? 

[A  paper  read  by  Sherman  S.  Rogers  before  the 

National  Civil  Service  Reform  League  at  Buffalo, 

September  30.] 

I  wish  to  present  the  case  of  the  national 
civil  service  reform,  with  special  reference  to 
the  question  of  its  extension. 

Ought  the  classified  service  to  be  increased  ? 

What  I  have  to  say  will  not  be  new,  but  no 
apology  seems  to  be  needed  for  urging  the 
subject  on  public  attention,  for  either  thig 
reform  has  justified  itself  by  actual  trial,  or  it 
has  proved  a  practical  failure. 

It  can  not  any  longer  be  regarded  as  experi¬ 
mental.  If  it  has  failed,  it  would  seem  that 
the  act  “  to  regulate  and  improve  the  civil 
service  of  the  United  States”  should  be 
repealed,  and  the  country  be  permitted  to  re¬ 
turn  to  the  harmonious  and  logical  methods 
of  the  spoils  system. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  not  only  not 
failed,  but  upon  actual  trial  has  approved 
itself  by  a  real  and  substantial  public  benefit, 
and  that,  too,  notwithstanding  it  has  not 
always  had  fair  and  vigorous  enforcement,  the 
question  is  most  pertinent  whether  it  ought 
not  to  be  extended,  and  that,  too,  without 
further  delay. 

I  know  of  no  public  utterance  where  the 
proposition  which  in  this  brief  paper  is  sought 
to  be  maintained  is  better  stated  than  the  reso¬ 
lution  of  the  republican  party,  contained  in 
its  national  platforms  for  1884  and  1888,  to 
wit :  that 

The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system 
already  established  by  law  to  all  the  grades  of  the 
service  to  which  it  is  applicable. 


276 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


The  act  to  improve  and  regulate  the  civil 
service  of  the  United  States  was  approved  by 
President  Arthur,  January  16,  1883.  The 
first  commissioners  under  it  were  confirmed 
by  the  senate  on  May  1, 1883.  On  the  follow¬ 
ing  day  the  rules  for  carrying  the  law  into 
efiect  were  approved  and  promulgated,  and 
on  July  16,  1883,  the  act  became  essentially 
operative.  The  official  service  had  been 
classified  by  the  rules,  but  under  the  act  va¬ 
cancies  might  be  filled  according  to  the  old 
methods  until  July  16.  Since  that  time  all 
appointments  to  places  within  the  classified 
service  have  been  made  upon  competitive  ex¬ 
aminations,  pursuant  to  the  act  and  rules. 

As  appears  by  the  first  oflScial  report  of  the 
commissioners  to  the  President,  February  7, 
1884,  the  entire  official  civil  service  of  the 
United  States  embraced  about  110,000  persons, 
48,434  of  whom  were  postmasters  and  4,017 
persons  in  the  railway  postal  service.  The 
rest  were  distributed  among  the  various  de¬ 
partments  at  Washington  and  through  the 
customs,  internal  revenue,  postal,  diplomatic 
and  consular  service,  etc.  The  President,  in 
the  exercise  of  the  discretion  reposed  in  him 
under  the  act,  directed  that  there  should  be 
three  branches  of  the  service  classified  (not 
including  laborers  or  workmen  or  officers  re¬ 
quired  to  be  confirmed  by  the  senate,)  as  fol¬ 
lows: 

First— Those  classified  in  the  departments  at  Wash¬ 
ington,  to  be  designated  as  the  “classified  depart¬ 
mental  service.” 

Second— Those  classified  under  any  collector, 
naval  officer,  surveyor  or  appraiser,  in  any  customs 
district,  to  be  known  as  the  “classified  customs 
service.” 

Third— Those  classified  under  any  postmaster  at 
any  post-office,  including  that  at  Washington,  to  be 
designated  as  the  “classified  postal  service.” 

In  these  branches  of  the  classified  service 
there  were  included  at  the  outset  13,924,  per¬ 
sons,  of  whom  5,652  were  in  the  departments 
at  Washington,  2,573  in  the  customs  service 
and  5,699  in  the  postal  service,  and  there  re¬ 
mained,  and  still  remains,  in  the  President 
the  power  to  revise  and  modify  by  extension 
or  otherwise  this  classification. 

Thus  was  inaugurated  the  most  remarkable 
administrative  reform  in  our  national  history. 
Mr.  Arthur  had  the  unique  pleasure  of  say¬ 
ing  in  his  next  message  to  congress : 

Since  the  16th  of  July  last  no  person,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  has  been  appointed  to  the  federal  service  in 
the  classified  portions  thereof,  or  at  any  of  the  post- 
offices  and  customs  districts  above  named,  except 
those  certified  by  the  commission  to  be  most  compe¬ 
tent,  on  the  basis  of  the  examinations  held  in  con¬ 
formity  to  the  rules. 

A  much  more  extended  classification  of  the 
service  might  have  been  made  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent;  but  in  inaugurating  such  a  tremendous 
change  it  was  deemed  prudent,  as  the  civil 
service  commissioners  say  in  their  first  report, 
while  making  the  experiment  broadly  enough 
to  test  its  merits,  not  to  make  it  so  general  as 
to  involve  serious  inconvenience  in  case  of 
failure.  Besides,  as  the  commissioners  further 
say : 

There  was  need  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  great¬ 
est  opposition  from  patronage-mongers  and  partisans 
would  be  at  the  first  stages,  when  the  examiners 


would  be  the  most  inexperienced,  the  commission 
most  embarrassed  by  novel  questions  and  the  ill  in¬ 
formed  most  easily  misled. 

For  these  reasons,  probably.  President  Ar¬ 
thur  made  what  seemed  at  the  time  to  some 
too  limited  an  application  of  the  act  to  the 
customs  and  postal  services.  But  it  was  done 
with  the  approbation  of  the  commissioners 
and  others  of  the  best  friends  and  mosteflScient 
promoters  of  the  new  system;  and  in  view  of 
the  novelty  of  the  situation,  and  the  obstacles 
which  the  honest  and  efficient  execution  of 
the  law  has  since  met,  it  would  be  difficult 
now  to  refuse  one’s  assent  to  the  conclusion 
reached  by  the  President.  A  great  experi¬ 
ment  was  being  made.  It  seemed  well  not  to 
enlarge  its  proportions,  lest  by  its  own  weight 
it  should  break  down  at  the  outset. 

But  from  the  start,  notwithstanding  the 
difficulties  encountered,  the  new  system  vindi¬ 
cated  itself. 

Mr.  Arthur,  in  his  message  to  the  congress 
at  its  next  session,  said  of  it: 

I  am  persuaded  that  its  effects  have  thus  far 
proved  beneficial.  Its  practical  methods  appear  to 
be  adequate  for  the  ends  proposed,  and  there  has 
been  no  serious  difficulty  in  carrying  them  into 
effect. 

In  his  next  annual  message,  after  a  year  of 
additional  practice  under  the  new  law,  Mr. 
Arthur  said : 

On  the  20th  of  February  last,  I  transmitted  to  con¬ 
gress  the  first  annual  report  of  the  civil  service  com¬ 
mission,  together  with  communications  from  several 
of  the  heads  of  the  executive  departments  respect¬ 
ing  the  practical  workings  of  the  law  under  which 
the  commission  had  been  acting.  The  good  results 
therein  foreshadowed  have  been  more  than  realized. 
The  system  has  fully  answered  the  expectations  of 
its  friends  in  securing  competent  and  faithful  pub¬ 
lic  servants,  and  in  protecting  the  appointing  officers 
of  the  government  from  the  pressure  of  personal  im¬ 
portunity,  and  from  the  labor  of  examining  the 
claims  and  pretensions  of  rival  contestants  for  pub¬ 
lic  employment. 

President  Cleveland  said  in  his  message  to 
congress,  December,  1886  : 

The  continued  operation  of  the  law  relating  to  our 
civil  service  has  added  the  most  convincing  proofs 
of  its  necessity  and  usefulness.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of 
note  that  every  public  officer  who  has  a  just  idea  of 
his  duty  to  the  public  testifies  to  the  value  of  this  re¬ 
form.  Its  stanchest  friends  are  those  who  under¬ 
stand  it  best,  and  its  warmest  supporters  are  those 
who  are  restrained  and  protected  by  its  require¬ 
ments. 

The  limits  necessarily  assigned  to  this  paper 
do  not  permit  extracts  so  copious  as  I  could 
wish  to  make  from  official  utterances  on  this 
subject,  especially  from  the  various  cabinet  of¬ 
ficers;  but  I  ought  not  to  omit  the  following 
from  the  annual  report  of  Mr.  Windom,  late 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  in  December,  1889. 
He  said  : 

The  beneficial  influences  of  the  civil  service  law 
in  its  practical  workings  are  clearly  apparent.  Hav¬ 
ing  been  at  the  head  of  the  department  both  before 
and  after  its  adoption,  I  am  able  to  judge  by  com¬ 
parison  of  the  two  systems,  and  have  no  hesitation 
in  pronouncing  the  present  condition  of  affairs  as 
preferable  in  all  respects.  Under  the  old  plan  ap¬ 
pointments  were  usually  made  to  please  some  one 
under  political  or  other  obligations  to  the  appointee, 
and  the  question  of  fitness  was  not  always  a  con¬ 
trolling  one.  The  temptations  to  make  removals 
only  to  provide  places  for  others  was  always  present, 
and  constantly  being  urged  by  strong  influences,  and 
these  results  and  the  feverish  condition  of  depart¬ 


mental  life  did  much  to  obstruct  and  disturb  the 
even  current  of  routine  work.  Under  the  instru¬ 
mentalities  which  are  now  used  to  secure  .selections 
for  clerical  places,  the  department  has  some  a.s.sur- 
ance  of  manly  capacity,  and  also  moral  worth,  as  the 
character  of  the  candidates  is  ascertained  before  ex¬ 
amination.  The  manifold  duties  of  the  department 
require  the  closest  application  on  the  part  of  the  sec¬ 
retary  and  his  assistants,  and  the  freedom  from  im¬ 
portunity  now  enjoyed  for  appointments  to  places 
that  are  within  the  classified  service  and  the  saving 
of  valuable  time  heretofore  devoted  to  the  distribu¬ 
tion  of  minor  patronage,  are  of  very  great  advantage 
and  enable  those  officers  to  dev'ote  more  thought  to 
the  important  questions  of  administration  constantly 
arising.  The  clerks  received  from  the  civil  service 
commission  usually  adapt  themselves  readily  to  the 
duties  they  are  called  upon  to  perform  and  rank 
among  the  most  efficient  in  the  department. 

It  may  be  that  some  utterance  by  some 
member  of  the  cabinets  of  the  last  three 
Presidents,  hostile  to  the  law  or  skeptical  of 
its  benefit,  may  have  escaped  my  search;  but 
I  think  it  safe  to  say  that  no  such  expression 
can  be  found,  and  that  it  may  be  stated 
broadly  that  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
those  officials  has  been  favorable  to  the  new 
system.  A  very  remarkable  example  of  this 
is  contained  in  the  late  address  of  the  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  navy  at  the  Boston  dinner,  in 
which  he  announced  the  speedy  application 
of  the  merit  system  to  the  navy  yards.  To 
this  concensus  on  the  part  of  heads  of  depart¬ 
ments  might  be  added  a  vast  number  of  inter¬ 
esting  and  convincing  statements,  reports,  etc., 
from  other  executive  officials,  both  national 
and  state,  members  of  congress,  the  great 
public  journals  and  leaders  of  thought  in  the 
country,  all  in  the  same  direction  and  to  the 
same  effect.  Gradually  the  people  have  come 
to  understand  the  true  character  of  the  new 
system.  The  vigorous  administration  of  the 
law  by  the  present  admirable  commission,  too, 
has  been  its  most  effective  support,  and  it 
may  be  said,  I  think,  at  this  time,  without 
hesitation  or  assumption,  that  the  reform  has 
passed  the  experimental  stage  and  is  now  an 
assured  success. 

A  brief  statement  of  the  limitations  in  the 
customs  and  postal  classified  service,  and  of 
the  extensions  and  modifications  since  made 
in  the  classification  ought  now  to  be  made. 

The  classified  customs  service  on  July  16, 
1883,  embraced  only  such  districts  as  had  as 
many  as  fifty  officials.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  classified  postal  service. 

The  customs  districts  were  as  follows:  New 
Aork,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  San  Francisco, 
Baltimore,  New  Orleans,  Chicago,  Burling¬ 
ton,  Vt.,  Portland,  Me.,  Detroit  and  Port 
Huron. 

The  Portland  district  was  one  exception  to 
the  general  rule,  for  its  officials  only  num¬ 
bered  twenty-seven.  I  can  not  imagine  why 
the  exception  was  made,  unless  it  was  that 
some  wise  statesman  from  Maine,  who  de¬ 
sired  to  be  rid  of  the  pestering  annoyance  of 
the  seekers  for  place  in  the  Portland  customs 
house  quietly  induced  President  Arthur  to 
lengthen  his  life  and  that  of  the  collector  by 
including  the  Portland  customs  house  in  the 
classified  service. 

The  classified  post-offices  were  twenty-two  in 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


277 


number.  The  number  at  the  present  time  is 
fifty. 

Whether  the  number  of  classified  customs 
districts  has  been  increased  I  am  unable  to 
state;  but,  by  the  prompt  courtesy  of  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  in  reply  to  an  ap¬ 
plication  lately  made  through  the  civil 
service  commission,  I*  learn  that  there  are 
eighteen  customs  districts  having  as  many  as 
twenty  and  not  more  than  fifty  employes;  as 
follows:  Portland,  Me.,  27  employes ;  Cape 
Vincent,  N.  Y.,  20;  Oswego,  25;  Suspension 
Bridge,  17;  Brownsville,  Tex.,  26;  El  Paso, 
Tex.,  24;  Galveston,  26;  Cleveland,  20,  Port¬ 
land,  Oregon,  25;  Buffalo,  42;  Ogdensburg,  20; 
Plattsburg,  28;  Key  West,  37;  Corpus  Christi, 
Tex.,  23;  Eagle  Pass,  Tex.,  20;  Cincinnati,  23; 
St.  Louis,  31;  Port  Townsend,  Washing¬ 
ton,  42. 

I  am  unfortunately  not  able  to  give  similar 
information  touching  the  number  of  post-oflSces 
having  as  many  as  twenty  and  less  than  fifty 
employes,  although  a  like  application  was 
made  to  the  postmaster-general,  as  will  appear 
by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  lately 
received  by  me  from  the  acting  first  assistant 
postmaster-general.  It  is  as  follows : 

Your  letter  of  the  15th  instant,  from  Narragansett 
Pier,  R.  I.,  addressed  to  the  United  States  Civil  Ser¬ 
vice  Commission,  requesting  information  in  relation 
to  post-offices  whereat  twenty  or  more  employes  have 
been  authorized,  has  been  referred  to  this  office. 

On  your  stating  the  use  you  desire  to  make  of  the 
information  in  regard  to  the  postal  employes, 
further  consideration  will  be  given  to  your  request. 
Very  respectfully,  E.  C.  Fowler, 

Acting  First  Assistant  Postmaster  General. 

It  is  probable,  however,  with  the  great  in¬ 
crease  of  population  and  business  and  the 
extension  of  the  letter  carrier  system,  that 
there  are  a  large  number  of  post-offices  (prob¬ 
ably  between  fifty  and  sixty)  having  more 
than  twenty  and  less  than  fifty  employees. 


THE  BALTIMORE  INVESTIGATION. 

{ContinuedJl 

W.  A.  Mitchell  testified  as  fellows: 

Q.  What  Is  your  name?  A.  William  A.  Mitchell. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  What  position  do  you  occupy 
in  this  building?  A.  I  am  the  elevator  man,  sir. 

<< 

Q.  Now  do  you  remember  attending  a  meeting 
*  *  *  ?  Perhaps!  may  recall  to  your  mind  that 
there  was  also  present  a  man  named  Martin,  a  Mr. 
Henry  Martin,  and  a  Mr.  Harry  Glass.  I  believe 
they  are  both  letter  carriers.  A.  Yes,  sir;  and  Mr. 
Reed  was  there  too. 

Q.  What  IS  his  first  name?  A.  Robert  Reed;  he  is 
foreign  clerk;  assistant  foreign  clerk. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Employed  here  in  the  post- 
office?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  This  man  Robert  Reed;  he 
was  also  present,  you  say,  your  follow  clerk?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  Now,  at  the  meeting,  first  of  all,  did  you  meet 
together  by  appointment,  or  did  you  happen  there 
together  accidentally?  A.  We  all  came  there  by  ap¬ 
pointment. 

tj.  <!  if  <<  *  *  <■ 

Q.  *  *  Now,  will  you  tell  us,  as  uear  as  you  can 
remember,  what  happened  at  that  meeting,  at  that 
gathering?  A.  Well  [pause]. 

Q.  Was  anything  done  about  the  primaries,  in  the 
first  place,  so  as  to  attract  your  attention?  A.  Well, 
we  met  there  in  regards  to  little  financial  affairs. 

Q.  Did  you  agree  to  pay  anybody  money  ?  A. 


No,  sir,  we  didn’t  agree  to  pay  anybody  any  money 
at  all. 

Q  There  was  nothing  said,  I  suppose,  there 
about  buying  any  votes  for  the  primaries,  was  there  ? 
A.  Not  that  I  know  of.  I  will  tell  you  my  opin¬ 
ion  ;  when  you  can  buy  a  man’s  vote,  he  ain’t  worth 
having  a  vote. 

Q.  Of  course  we  all  know  that  there  has  to  be 
some  money  raised  for  primaries  for  legitimate  ex¬ 
penses.  A.  1  will  tell  you,  gentlemen,  this  is  the  first 
political  job  I  ever  held,  and  I  am  green  about  it; 
I  am  as  green  as  that  door.  1  was  in  the  candy  busi 
ness  about  twenty  years  before  I  got  this  job— in  the 
confectionery  business. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  How  did  you  come  to  get 
your  present  position  ?  Who  was  it  recommended 
you,  backed  you?  A.  James  W.  Bates,  the  elevator 
man  on  President  street. 

Q.  Is  he  a  republican  ?  A.  Yes,  sir;  old  Mr. 
James  Bates.  His  son  married  my  sister,  and  I  have 
a  brother  a  conductor  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad, 
and  these  two  spoke  for  me,  and  that  is  how  I  got 
the  place. 

lit  >;«  . 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  You  say  you  paid  $5  to  Mr. 
Martin,  a  letter  carrier?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  time  was  it  that  you  paid  that?  A.  I 
think  it  was  the  20th  or  21st  of  the  month. 

Q.  Was  that  when  you  drew  your  money  you 
mean  ?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  all  the  gentlemen  there  that  night  who 
were  office-holders  agreed  to  pay  $5 ;  is  that  the 
idea?  A. Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  did  you  come  to  that  agreement,  or  those 
that  agreed  to  pay  that  much,  how  did  they  come  to 
that  understanding,  do  you  recollect;  it  was  to  be  for 
perfectly  legitimate  purposes,  of  course?  A.  Well,  1 
don’t  know.  When  we  met  there,  one  of  the  gentle¬ 
men— of  course,  we  all  knew  what  we  went  there 
for - 

Q.  You  knew  what  you  went  there  for?  Yes,  sir; 
we  had  seen  one  another  on  the  street  and  had  been 
talking. 

Q.  What  was  it  you  met  there  for?  A.  To  have  a 
little  money;  to  give  a  little  money  free  gratis. 

Q.  For  the  primaries  that  are  to  take  place  next 
Monday?  A.  I  don’t  know  what  they  are  going  to 
do  with  the  money,  but  I  have  an  idea  that  they 
were  going  to  use  it  for  the  primaries;  I  don’t  know; 
1  have  only  an  idea,  but  it  was  given  free  gratis;  it 
wasn’t  an  assessment  or  anything  like  that. 

Q.  It  was  given  perfectly  free?  A.  Yes,  sir;  yes, 
sir. 

Q.  You  gentlemen  who  are  connected  with  the 
post  office  here,  who  are  office-holders,  freely  gave 
this  money  to  Mr.  Martin?  A.  Yes,  sir;  just  like  we 
would  give  it  to  anybody  else. 

Q.  Precisely,  and  you  agreed  on  $5  as  the  rightsum, 
sum, or  how  was  ihat  fixed?  A.  Yes,  sir;  we  agreed 
on  S5. 

Q.  Was  there  any  discussion  about  that  there? 

Witness.  About  the  85? 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  No,  about  settling  it;  whether  the 
sum  should  be  85  or  was  that  the  sum  all  the  em¬ 
ployes  were  paying?  A.  That  I  couldn’t  say;  we 
didn’t  have  any  discussion  about  it  that  I  remem. 
ber  of. 

Q.  How  did  you  happen  to  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  85  would  be  the  right  sum  to  give?  A.  Well,  I 
don’t  know  how  that  was. 

Q.  Was  Mr,  Martin  the  treasurer,  or  how  did  he 
happen  to  receive  the  money?  A.  No,  sir;  we  just— 
we  didn’t  exactly  appoint  him,  but  some  one  said,  I 
don’t  know  who  it  was,  but  somebody  says,  “Well 
who  shall  it  be?  ’’  and  somebody  says,  “  Mr.  Martin  ; 
he  wiil  take  it,”  and  he  said,  “Yes,  sir;  I  will  take 
it.” 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  how  that  started ;  who  it  was 
that  started  the  talk  about  giving  the  money  ?  A. 
No,  sir ;  I  do  not. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  there  lor  the  purpose  of  settling 
about  contributing  for  the  legitimate  campaign  ex¬ 
penses;  wasn’t  that  what  you  said?  A.  Let’s  see— 
we  met  there  for  the  purpose  of  donating  some 
money. 

Q.  Donating  some  money  with  the  view  to  the - ? 

A.  (Interposing)  To  the  primaries ;  yes,  sir. 


Q.  And  had  there  been  a  formal  call  for  the  meet¬ 
ing?  A.  No  more  than  we  would  meet  one  another 
and  say :  “  You  know  there’s  going  to  be  a  meeting; 
you  are  coming  down  to  the  meeting  to-morrow 
night,”  or  something  like  that. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  there  every  Saturday,  or  was  this 
a  specially  called  meeting?  A.  I  couldn’t  say 
whether  it  was  a  specially  called  meeting  or  not. 

Q.  Was  it  a  specially  called  meeting  of  the  whole 
club,  or  only  just  of  the  officers?  A.  Just  of  the 
officers. 

Q.  Just  a  special  meeting  of  you  gentlemen  who 
are  in  office  here?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

If  If  i;<  If  If  >;<  <• 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  But  that  little  meeting  held  in 
the  room  was  a  meeting,  merely,  of  office-holders 
called  there  to  contribute  and  settle  about  contribu¬ 
tions  for  the  primaries?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

at  >:»  j*.*  »;<  >ii  ijt  a* 

George  W.  Sears  testified  as  follows: 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte).  How  long  have  you  been  let¬ 
ter-carrier?  A.  I  was  appointed  on  the  18th  of  Au¬ 
gust. 

Q.  Of  last  August?  A.  No,  sir;  August,  1889. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Through  our  civil  service  ex¬ 
amination?  A.  Yes,  sir,  Postmaster  Brown  ap¬ 
pointed  me ;  that  is,  he  reappointed  me ;  he  turned 
me  out  and  reappointed  me. 

Q.  When  were  you  originally  appointed?  A.  I 
was  appointed  under  Colonel  Adreon  ;  I  think  it  was 
in  August ;  then  I  was  appointed  and  staid  in  under 
Postmaster  Veazy  and  Postmaster  Brown,  and  he— I 
really  actually  forget  the  date— but  I  worked  on  that 
district  for  sixteen  years,  and  then  it  was  found  out 
that  I  was  inefficient,  and  I  was  dismissed  to  improve 
the  efficiency  of  the  service. 

Q.  And  you  were  reinstated?  A.  Yes,  sir;  so  I 
took  an  examination  last  February  a  year  and  passed, 
I  believe  87,  and  they  appointed  four  or  five  of  us  old 
carriers  that  he  dismissed  ;  he  appointed  us  from  the 
examination,  and  I  had  to  take  a  substitute  again  and 
start  at  the  bottom  of  the  list. 

Q.  Although  you  were  dismissed  to  improve  the 
efficiency  of  the  force  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  But  that  was  not  a  bar  to  your  appointment  by 
the  same  postmaster?  A.  No,  sir;  I  don’t  think  so. 
I  had  a  letter  here.  After  my  dismissal  I  got  a  letter 
from  the  postmaster-general  when  I  asked  for  the 
charges  made  against  me,  and  he  told  me  I  was  dis¬ 
charged  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  service,  al¬ 
though  at  the  same  time  the  carrier  that  was  put 
there  that  succeeded  me— there  was  tsvo  of  them  that 
worked  it  for  awhile— and  there  was  a  letter  addressed 
to  Mrs.  H.  G.  Stewart,  southwest  eorner  of  Hoffman 
and  McCulloh  streets,  and  this  carrier  left  the  letter 
at  Mrs.  Stewart’s,  southeast  corner  of  McCulloh  and 
Preston  streets. 

Q.  And  it  was  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  the 
service  that  the  substitution  of  him,  after  your  dis¬ 
missal,  was  made?  A.  Yes,  sir.  So  the  party  who 
got  the  letters  gave  them  to  me  and  wanted  me  to 
send  them  to  Washington.  1  told  him  it  wouldn’t 
do  me  much  good,  and  the  postmaster  went  to  work 
and  put  these  in  an  official  envelope  and  put  an  im¬ 
mediate  stamp  on  it  and  sent  it  up  by  another  car¬ 
rier,  and  wrote  a  note  to  the  party  explaining  it,  and 
signed  it  “Frank[Brown,  Postmaster.” 

Of  Ofi 

Q.  And  at  the  approaching  primaries  there  is  a 
fight  on,  on  Monday?  A.  There  is  a  division. 

Q.  Between  the  Henderson  and  Johnson  factions? 
A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  about  it. 

Q.  Of  course  the  post-office  employes  are  all  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  suecess  of  the  Johnson  element?  A. 
Yes,  sir;  certainly. 

it  On  >;*  at  i/t 

John  L.  Shields  testified  as  follows: 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  is  your  position?  A.  I 
am  a  letter  carrier. 

«  <s  <> 

Q.  Now,  we  will  not  detain  you  much  longer.  Do 

you  know  of  any  contributions  of  money  towards 
the  expenses  of  the  approaching  primaries  being 
made  among  the  officials  here?  A.  No,  sir;  I  do 
not. 

<c  <1  >5t 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Have  you  yourself  contrib¬ 

uted  anything?  A.  I  have  sir. 


278 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Q.  Who  was  it  that  asked  you  for  your  contribu¬ 
tion?  A.  The  executive  of  the  ward,  Mr.  James  H. 
Marriott:  he  is  not  in  the  department  at  all. 

*.1  at  m 

Q.  It  was  85, 1  suppose?  A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  what 
I  gave. 

*>,■<<<«<■  « 

Q.  Has  there  been  anyjneeting  or  gathering  of  the 
employes  of  your  ward  to  consider  the  question  of 
how  much  they  should  give,  or  whether  they  should 
give  anything?  A.  I  believe  there  was. 

Q.  Where  did  that  take  place?  A.  It  took  place 
on  Carrolton  avenue. 

Q.  At  either  of  these  clubs  that  you  have  men¬ 
tioned?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  At  a  private  house?  A.  Yes,  sir;  at  a  private 
house. 

Q.  At  a  private  house  of  one  of  the  employes?  A. 
Indeed,  I  couldn’t  tell  you  whether  he  is  or  not. 

Q.  Were  you  present  at  the  meeting?  A.  I  was; 
yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  was  there  any  discussion  then  as  to  how 
much  that  each  should  give,  or  how  much  they  should 
give,  or  anything  of  that  sort?  A.  I  believe  there 
was  something  said  in  regards  to  what  they  would 
give,  and  it  seems  to  run  in  my  mind  that  there  was 
some  talk  about  it. 

Q.  It  was  made  up  of  these  employes  of  this  office 
who  came  from  the  fourteenth  ward,  wasn’t  it?  A. 
There  were  a  number  of  them,  I  believe,  who  were 
employes,  that  is,  of  this  office,  and  some  of  them 
.  hat  were  not. 

Q.  Were  there  some  there  from  any  other  public 
office;  some  from  the  custom-house?  A.  Well,  yes, 
sir;  I  believe  there  was. 

<•*>;<  <•  s>  *  # 

Q  You  say  at  this  meeting  it  was  agreed  or  talked 
over  as  to  how  much  money  should  be  given.  Now, 
was  there  anything  said  about  who  it  should  be  paid 
to?  A.  It  was  paid  to  Mr.  Marriott. 

Q.  And  that  was  the  understanding?  A.  Yes,  sir; 
that  was  the  understanding. 

Q.  And  that  was  what  you  did?  A.  Y’^es,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  You  say  that  they  were  mainly 
office-holders  at  that  meeting?  A.  I  believe  a  great 
number  of  them  were. 

Q.  Were  there  any  outsiders,  non-office-holders, 
except  Mr.  Marriott?  A.  Y'es,  sir;  Mr.  Marriott 
wasn’t  an  office-holder. 

Q.  But  were  they  all  office- holders  or  active  re¬ 
publican  workers  in  that  district?  A.  Y'es,  sir,  I 
think  they  were. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  there  by  invitation  ?  A.  Yes,  sir 
we  had  notes  to  meet  there. 

Q.  Who  sent  these  notes?  A.  Mr.  Marriott;  they 
were  signed  by  Mr.  Marriott,  and  I  supposed  he  sent 
them. 

^  jji 

John  W.  Boulden  testified  as  follows  ; 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Were  you  present  at  a  meet¬ 
ing  held  somewhere  on  Carrolton  avenue,  some  time 
about  Monday  or  Tuesday  last,  at  which  there  was 
a  discussion  regarding  the  amount  of  contributions 
that  different  persons  were  to  make  toward  the  ex¬ 
penses  of  the  primaries?  A.  I  was  at  a  meeting;  I 
was  notified  to  come  to  a  meeting,  but  it  was  merely 
they  wanted  a  little  money,  I  believe,  towards 
ticket-holders,  or  something  of  that  kind,  but  I  don’t 
know  that  there  was  anybody  in  particular  asked  to 
contribute  at  all,  any  office-holder  or  anything  of 
that  kind. 

Q.  Well,  these  ticket-holders  were  at  the  approach¬ 
ing  primaries?  A.  I  presume  that  is  what  it  is. 

Q.  Who  presided  at  that  meeting?  A.  The  execu¬ 
tive  of  the  ward  was  there. 

Q.  Was  he  a  gentleman  named  Marriott?  A.  That’s 
his  name;  yes,  sir;  I  presume  it  was  Marriott ;  he  was 
the  one,  I  think,  that  is  executive. 

Q.  Now,  did  he  receive  any  money  on  that  occa¬ 
sion,  do  you  know?  A.  There  was  some  money  paid 
there,  and  I  think  it  went  to  him;  I  am  not  sure;  I 
came  there  a  little  late  for  the  meeting. 

Q.  To  whom  did  you  pay  your  subscription?  A.  I 
just  laid  it  down  on  a  stand  that  was  there;  the  par¬ 
ties  were  in  there,  and  I  laid  it  down  on  the  stand 
there. 


Q.  It  disappeared,  I  suppose?  A.  Y’es,  sir. 

<1  *  <1  Hit  ^ 

Q.  Now,  what  sort  of  a  man  is  this  Mr.  Hammond; 
I  mean  is  he  a  respectable  and  truthful  sort  of  a  man? 
A.  I  have  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  very  truth¬ 
ful  man  as  far  as  I  know. 

Q.  Do  you  know  which  side  he  takes  in  this  con¬ 
test;  which  side  he  is  on?  A.  I  do  not,  sir. 

Q.  He  is  not  a  sort  of  man,  you  don't  think,  that 
would  really  be  on  one  side  and  profess  to  be  on  the 
other,  is  he,  from  the  little  that  yon  know  of  him? 
A.  Welt,  politics  is  pretty  tricky  and  I  couldn’t  say. 
I  have  played  politics  in  the  ward  long  before  the 
civil  service,  and  I  know  things  are  pretty  tricky; 
they  were  pretty  tricky  then,  but  they  have  got  to  be 
a  little  better;  they  are  not  quite  so  much  so  now. 

Q.  And  as  far  as  you  were  concerned  you  put  your 
contribution  on  the  desk,  and  where  it  went,  you  are 
not  able  to  say  from  your  present  knowledge?  A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Why  did  you  happen  to  put 
down  $5  exactly?  A.  I  didn’t  suppose  we  had  to 
put  down  that  exactly,  because  there  was  no  assess¬ 
ment  at  all. 

Q.  Why  did  everyone  put  down  that  sum?  A. 
That  I  don’t  know  ;  I  seen  that  was  what  they  were 
giving,  and  I  gave  85  too. 

Q.  Who  wrote  to  you  to  come  to  that  meeting? 
A.  It  was  my  ward  executive. 

Q.  This  man  Marriott?  A.  Mr.  Marriott,  yes,  sir. 

James  L.  Webber  testified  as  follows : 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Y’ou  are  a  letter  carrier?  A. 
Y'es,  sir;  I  was  appointed  1st  of  May,  1890. 

^  il!f  *!i 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  What  ward  do  you  come 
from?  A.  The  Seventh  ward. 

Q.  How  much,  if  anything,  have  you  contributed 
to  the  expenses  of  this  primary  election,  this  ap¬ 
proaching  primary?  A.  Nothing;  I  am  going  to 
contribute. 

Q.  You  have  not  as  yet?  A.  I  am  going  to  con¬ 
tribute. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Y'ou  have  not  contributed? 
A.  I  have  contributed  partly,  and  I  am  going  to 
contribute  some  more. 

Q.  Five  dollars  is  the  total  amount  you  were  to 
contribute,  isn’t  it?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  much  have  you  contributed?  A.  I  have 
contributed  the  whole  amount. 

Q.  And  are  you  going  to  contribute  more  than 
that?  A.  Yes,  sir;  some  more.  I  am  going  to  use 
my  own  discretion  about  that. 

«  « 

Q.  What  was  the  purpose  for  which  this  was  to  be 
used?  A.  I  suppose  to  give  the  boys  a  good  time  for 
this  work  they  do,  so  they  might  enjoy  themselves. 
On  Thursday  night  we  had  beer  and  a  supper  over 
there  to  treat  the  workers. 

Q.  And  you  did  tell  this  Mr.  Loane?  A.  I  think 
that  is  the  only  one;  of  course  he  is  a  fellow  em¬ 
ploye,  at  least  he  was.  He  resigned  the  other  day  ; 
he  got  a  better  position. 

Q.  Does  he  belong  to  your  faction  or  to  the  other 
side?  A.  I  am  a  republican.  I  don’t  believe  in 
either  faction.  I  contribute  to  both  clubs,  Mr. 
Stone’s  club  and  to  Mr.  Johnson’s  club.  I  don’t  be¬ 
lieve  in  faction  fights  at  all. 

Louis  E.  Gladfelter  testified  as  follows : 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Are  you  a  clerk  in  the  office 
here?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  To  whom  was  it  that  you  paid  85  ?  A.  I  paid  85 
very  willingly,  voluntarily,  to  a  gentleman  in  the 
Seventh  ward. 

Q.  And  to  be  used  for  legitimate  expenses  ?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Not  to  be  used  for  bribery,  or  anything  like 
that?  A.  No,  sir;  not  at  all. 

Q.  But  for  perfectly  legitimate  expenses  ?  A.  Y'es, 
sir. 

Q.  This  gentlaman ;  what  was  his  name?  A.  Mr. 
Bell. 

Q.  What  was  his  first  name?  A.  That  I  couldn’t 
tell  you ;  he  is  an  office-holder  here.  He  is  a  dis¬ 
patcher  in  the  mailing  division  here,  formerly  night 


superintendent.  John  Bell,  I  think  it  was,  I  am  not 
sure.  I  will  not  be  positive  about  the  name. 

Q.  How  did  you  happen  to  bring  it  to  him ;  was 
he  the  man  that  was  receiving  contributions?  A. 
Not  to  my  knowledge ;  no,  sir.  In  fact  I  know  of  no 
one  who  was  receiving  them. 

Q.  Was  this  just  simply  voluntarily  paid?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Who  else  do  you  know  that  paid  to  Bell?  A. 
Not  a  soul,  to  my  knowledge. 

Q.  When  did  you  pay  it  to  Bell  ?  A.  I  paid  it  to 
Bell  about  two  weeks  ago,  to  the  best  of  my  knowl¬ 
edge. 

Q.  Did  you  pay  him  on  the  streets?  A.  No,  sir; 
I  paid  him  down  stairs. 

Q.  What  time  was  it  that  you  handed  it  to  him? 
A.  Well,  it  was  in  the  area  way ;  not  in  the  area  way, 
one  of  the  aisles  of  the  building,  going  toward  the 
clerk’s  room  ;  right  before  going  on  my  time  of  duty. 

Q.  Did  he  speak  to  you  about  it?  A.  No,  sir; 
nobody  in  the  office  or  any  other  outsider  did.  I 
mentioned  the  fact  to  him  and  I  just  voluntarily 
contributed  85  towards  defraying  the  expenses,  such 
as  paying  for  tickets. 

Q.  Why  did  you  happen  to  take  85  as  the  sum  to 
give  7  Is  that  the  general  sum  that  they  are  all  giv¬ 
ing?  A.  Not  to  my  knowledge.  Why  I  gave  the  85, 
because  I  could  spare  five  very  well ;  in  fact,  if  I  had 
more  money  I  might  give  more ;  I  am  only  what  you 
call  a  salaried  clerk. 

Q.  What  is  your  salary  ?  A.  I  get  8700  a  year. 

Q.  I  think  85  is  all  you  possibly  could  be  expected 
to  give.  Did  you  give  any  last  year,  last  fall?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  much  did  you  give  last  fall !  A.  I  gave 
815. 

*  »J«  0  4* 


Mr.  Clarkson  said  not  long  ago  that  a 
boss  could  not  live  a  year.  He  should  come 
to  Maryland  and  watch  Mr.  Gorman’s  boss- 
ship.  After  many  years  of  petty  tyranny,  Mr. 
Gorman  still  controls  the  smallest  details  of 
office-peddling. 

Mr.  Daniel  M.  Murray,  an  estimable  law¬ 
yer  of  Howard  county,  is  the  last  victim.  Mr. 
Murray  wished  to  go  to  the  legislature,  and 
his  neighbors  wished  to  send  him  there;  and 
proved  it  by  carrying  the  primary  for  him  in 
spite  of  Mr.  Gorman’s  expressed  desire  to  have 
Mr.  Murray  stay  at  home.  Finding  that 
Mr.  Murray  was  likely  to  win  in  the  primary, 
Mr.  Gorman  in  person  ordered  him  to  with¬ 
draw.  Mr.  Murray  had  too  much  spirit  to 
obey,  but  Mr.  Gorman  enforced  his  order  upon 
a  slavish  convention,  which  refused  Mr.  Mur¬ 
ray  the  nomination  to  which  his  victory  in 
the  primaries  entitled  him.  People  in  Mary¬ 
land  somehow,  high-spirited  as  they  are  proud 
of  calling  themselves,  endure  boss-ship  not 
only  one  year,  but  many  years. —  Civil  Service 
Reformer,  August,  1891. 


One  has  to  go  back  ten  to  fifteen  years  to 
remember  a  time  when  political  activity 
among  oflSce-holders  in  New  York  was  as  great 
and  as  open  as  it  is  now.  *  *  *  Numbers 
of  custom-house  deputies  are  displaying  more 
zeal  in  working  to  make  Fassett  governor  than 
in  collecting  the  revenue  for  the  government. 
One  of  them  is  doing  good  service  in  the  state 
committee.  The  custom-house  has  become 
what  it  was  in  the  old  days,  a  center  of  politi¬ 
cal  activity. — Philadelphia  Ledger  {Rep.),  Sep~ 
temher  26. 


! 

I  The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  *  *  become  his  MAN  from  that  day  forth,  * 

Services  were  free  and  base.  *  *  Base  service  waste  *  *  carry  out  his  i\mig.—  [Blackstone. 


— Among  the  members  df  the  Republican 
State  Committee  are  Mr.  J.  W.  Wadsworth, 
representative-elect ;  Mr.  O.  Van  Colt,  post¬ 
master  of  New  York;  Mr.  F.  Hendricks,  collector 
of  the  port  of  New  York  ;  Mr.  John  A.  Quackcn' 
|bush,  representative-elect ;  Mr.  John  Collins, 
’  deputy  surveyor.  New  York,  and  Mr.  Frank  Bay- 
)■  mond,  deputy  collector  of  New  York. 


*  William  Brookfield,  Chairman. 

James  W.  Husted,  Chairman  Executive  Committee. 
t  James  W.  Wadsworth,  Treasurer, 
j  John  S.  Kenyon,  Secretary. 

I  Eeuben  L.  Fox,  Chief  Clerk. 

New  York,  Sept.  25,  1891. 

Dear  Sir:  The  Republican  State  Committee  re- 
1  speclfully  invites  from  you  such  contribution  as  you 
may  be  willing  to  make  toward  defraying  the  legiti¬ 
mate  and  necessary  expenses  of  the  important  cam¬ 
paign  now  in  progress  in  this  state. 

The  clear  and  explicit  platform  unanimously 
adopted  at  Rochester  and  the  worthy  and  unexcep¬ 
tionable  candidates  placed  in  nomination  fairly  rep¬ 
resent  all  that  is  sound  and  good  in  the  political  life 
of  our  state,  and,  it  may  be  confidently  assumed, 
meet  the  cordial  approval  of  the  700,000  republicans 
of  the  state  of  New  York. 

|i  When  the  beneficent  policy  established  by  the 
result  of  the  great  national  contest  of  1888  shall  be 
supplemented  by  the  restoration  to  power  of  the  re¬ 
publican  party  in  this  state,  and  by  the  triumph  of 
the  reforms  for  which  it  has  so  persistently  labored. 
Intelligent  and  patriotic  citizens  will  find  ample  re¬ 
ward  for  all  their  endeavors  in  that  behalf.  To  this 
end  a  united  and  harmonious  party  is  bending  its 
energies.  A  full  vote  will  insure  success;  and  we 
Invoke  such  material  aid  as  will  enable  this  com’ 
mittee  to  conduct  the  campaign  throughout  the  state 
.  in  a  manner  to  secure  the  attendance  at  the  polls  on 
the  3d  of  November  of  the  vast  body  of  republican 
electors. 

Checks  may  be  drawn  to  the  order  of  the  “Treas¬ 
urer  of  the  Republican  State  Committee  ”  and  trans¬ 
mitted  in  the  enclosed  envelope,  addressed  to  James 

*  W.  Wadsworth,  treasurer.  Fifth  Avenue  hotel.  New 

•  York.  Yery  truly  yours, 

J.  W.  Wadsworth,  Treasurer. 

P.  S. — We  venture  to  request  that  you  will  also 
write  us  your  views  of  the  political  situation  in  your 
locality  and  such  suggestions  as  you  may  be  pleased 
-  to  make  as  to  needed  measures  to  insure  success  in 
'  the  pending  campaign. 

I  ..  - 

■  To  the  Hon.  William  Brookfield,  Chairman  Republican 

State  Committee: 

Dear  Sir:  The  attachment  of  my  name  to  a  cir¬ 
cular  Inviting  voluntary  contributions  for  campaign 
purposes  may  be  considered  a  violation  of  the  law 
by  me,  as  I  am  a  congressman-elect  from  New  York 
state.  I,  therefore,  can  not  consent  to  it,  and  as  this 
may  embarrass  the  committee,  I  resign  the  treasurer- 
ship.  J.  W.  Wadsworth 

New  York,  Oct.  5, 1891. 


[Section  11  of  the  act  of  Jan.  16,  1883,  “An  act  to 
regulate  and  improve  the  civil  service  of  the  United 
States,”  (chapter  27,  Statutes  at  Large,  volume  22, 
page  403,)  is  as  follows: 

“That  no  senator,  or  representative,  or  territorial 
delegate  of  the  congress,  or  senator,  representative  or 
delegate-elect,  or  any  oflicer  or  employe  of  either  of 
said  houses,  and  no  executive,  judicial,  military,  or 
naval  o^cer  of  the  United  States,  and  no  clerk  or 
employe  of  any  department,  branch,  or  bureau  of 
the  executive,  judicial,  or  military  or  naval  service 
of  the  United  States  shall  directly  or  indirectly,  solicit 
or  receive,  or  he  in  any  manner  concerned  in  solicit¬ 
ing  or  receiving  any  assessment,  subscription,  or  con¬ 
tribution  for  any  political  purpose  whatever,  from 


any  officer,  clerk  or  employe  of  the  United  States,  or 
any  department,  branch,  or  bureau  thereof,  or  from 
any  person  receiving  any  salary  or  compensation 
from  moneys  derived  from  the  treasury  of  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States.” 

Section  15  of  the  same  law  Says: 

"That  any  person  who  shall  be  guilty  of  violating 
any  provision  of  the  four  foregoing  sections  (includ¬ 
ing  the  eleventh,  just  quoted),  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  shall  on  conviction  thereof,  be 
punished  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  85,000,  or  by  im¬ 
prisonment  for  a  term  not  exceeding  three  years,  or 
by  such  fine  and  imprisonment  both,  in  the  discre¬ 
tion  of  the  court.”] 

— One  question  was  whether  Mr.  Wadsworth 
regarded  it  as  wrong  to  have  his  name  on  that 
circular,  “If  a  violation  of  the  law  is 
wrong,”  said  Mr.  Wadsworth,  with  a  smile, 
“it  was  wrong.  I  resigned  as  soon  as  I  dis¬ 
covered  the  mistake.” 

“But  were  not  all  of  the  circulars  sent  out 
by  the  time  your  resignation  was  handed  in?” 
he  was  asked. 

“  No.  Only  those  to  the  post-offices  had  been  sent 
out.” 

When  asked  if  bethought  that  any  further 
action  would  be  taken  in  the  matter,  he  said 
that  he  thought  not. — New  York  Times,  Oc¬ 
tober  8. 

—  Chairman  Husted  was  athisdesk yesterday 
afternoon,  and  he  had  numerous  callers.  Some 
came  in  response  to  the  circular,  and  either 
brought  ciish  or  pledged  themselves  to  make 
contributions.  Yesterday  W'as  payday  at  the 
custom-house.  One  custom-house  employe 
appeared  at  headquarters  and  gave  up  f25, 
saying  that  that  was  the  best  he  could  do 
at  present.  He  was  told  that  that  was  all 
right  and  to  do  the  best  he  could.  Gen. 
Husted  was  asked  last  night  if  it  were  true 
thrt  manyemployes  of  the  custom-house  had 
been  hurrying  up  to  the  headquarters  with 
their  money. 

“Have  they  ? ”  he  answered.  “  Let  them 
come.  We  are  glad  to  get  money  here.” 

Among  the  officials  who  called  at  the  head¬ 
quarters  yesterday  were  Deputy  Collector 
Gano,  Col.  Ira  Ayers,  special  treasury  agent, 
and  Major  Cronkite  of  the  public  stores.  It 
was  said  about  the  corridors  of  the  Fifth  Ave¬ 
nue  hotel  last  night  that  many  federal  em¬ 
ployes  had  stepped  up  to  Mr.  Platt’s  head¬ 
quarters  in  the  course  of  the  day  and  had 
settled  with  those  in  charge. 

Among  those  who  had  also  placed  their 
names  on  the  headquarters  register  were  Rev¬ 
enue  Collector  Kerwin,  Congressman  Julius 
Caesar  Burroughs,  of  Michigan,  who  is  sched¬ 
uled  to  do  some  campaign  talking  in  this 
state,  and  S.  P.  C.  Henriques,  United  States 
commercial  agent  at  Cardenas,  Cuba. — New 
Yoi'k  Times,  Oct.  2. 

— Many  of  those  holding  offices  received 
their  circulars  early  yesterday.  There  were 
many,  notably  among  the  more  prominent 
republicans  holding  offices  in  this  city,  who 
responded  almost  immediately.  They  knew 
what  to  expect,  if  they  didn’t.  They  hied 
them  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  where  the 
republican  headquarters  is  located,  and  seemed 
really  cheerful  over  the  prospect  of  turning 
over  a  portion  of  their  salary  for  the  purposes 
of  the  campaign. 

Among  those  who  came  down  handsomely 
were  Deputy  Collector  Charles  A.  Burr,  Assist¬ 
ant  Appraiser  Eugene  W.  Pratt,  Deputy  Sur¬ 
veyor  John  W.  Corning,  Special  Treasury  In¬ 
spector  Traitteur  and  Custom  Inspector  Henry 
Keeller,  II.  H,  Howe,  Captain  Benjamin  and 
a  lot  more.  Each  one  declined  to  state  what 


percentage  of  his  salary  he  had  been  compelled 
to  turn  over  to  the  committee.  Many  of  those 
who  have  not  yet  subscribed  would  like  to 
know  just  how  much  is  to  be  taken  from  them, 
because  as  many  of  them  are  clerks  on  com¬ 
paratively  small  salaries,  they  would  rather 
give  $3  than  $5. — New  York  Dispatch  to  Boston 
Post,  October  2. 

— Mr.  Platt’s  “  voluntary  contribution  ”  cir¬ 
cular,  which  practically  tells  employes  in  fed¬ 
eral  offices  to  step  up  and  settle  with  his  com¬ 
mittee  for  the  campaign  assessments,  has 
reached  the  post-office,  and  almost  every 
olerk  there,  no  matter  what  his  salary  may  be, 
has  received  one. — New  York  Times,  Oct.  7. 

— Much  credit  is  due  to  Postmaster  Van  Cott 
for  the  fine  campaign  meeting  in  Hardman  Hall  on 
Thursday  evening.  Mr.  Van  Colt  and  the  seventh 
district  were  on  deck  early  this  year;  they  organized 
a  Fasset  and  Vrooman  club  an  the  very  day  the 
nominations  were  made  at  Rochester,  and  they  pro¬ 
pose  to  remain  there  until  sunset  on  election  day  — 
New  York  Tribune  [rep  ],  September. 

— Few  complaints  have  been  made  about  Gen. 
Husted’s  management  of  the  campaign  till 
to-day,  when  it  became  generally  known  that 
John  McMackin,  the  former  labor  leader,  had 
been  placed  in  charge  of  a  bureau  at  headquarters. 
McMackin  received  a  custom-house  inspectorship  in 
return  for  services  to  the  Republican  National  Com¬ 
mittee  in  1888,  and  it  has  been  charged  that  he 
sold  out  the  labor  ticket  to  help  Harrison. — 
New  York  Evening  Post,  October  I4. 

— General  Cyrus  Bussey,  the  president  of 
the  New  York  state  republican  association 
has  appointed  the  following  named  as  a  cam¬ 
paign  committee.  *  General  Bussey  is  the  as¬ 
sistant  secretary  of  the  interior,  and  the  first 
two  names  on  his  campaign  committee  are 
those  of  A.  J.  Davidson,  the  deputy  commis¬ 
sioner  of  pensions  under  General  Raum,  and 
A.  X.  Parker,  deputy  attorney -general.  These 
high  officials  and  five  others  of  less  promi¬ 
nence  are  appointed  to  take  charge  of  politi¬ 
cal  campaign  work  in  getting  republican 
clerks,  who  live  in  New  York,  aroused  to  the 
importance  of  electing  the  Platt  ticket  for 
state  officers  and  perpetuating  ring  rule  in  the 
Empire  state. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Boston 
Post,  September  30. 

— In  the  meantime.  Collector  Fassett  has 
announced  that  the  battle  has  begun.  He 
left  for  his  home  in  Elmira  on  the  Northern 
Central  Road  this  afternoon.  He  was  accom¬ 
panied  by  Col.  Archie  E.  Baxter,  marshal  of  the 
northern  district. — New  York  Times,  September 
11. 

— Ogdensburo,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  29. — J.  Sloat 
Fassett,  republican  candidate  for  governor, 
journeyed  to-day  from  Watertown  to  Ogdens- 
burg.  A  meeting  of  3,000  persons  in  the  town 
hall  to-night  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Fassett, 
Mr.  Vrooman,  Archie  E.  Baxter  [United  States 
marshaf}. 

— Malone,  N.  Y.,  September  30. — Mr,  Fas¬ 
sett  and  his  party  left  Ogdensburg  this  morn¬ 
ing  and  arrived  here  at  noon.  Five-minute 
stops  were  made  at  Madrid,  Norwood,  Win- 


280 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


throp  and  North  Lawrence,  but  the  candi¬ 
date’s  speeches  were  little  more  than  “good¬ 
morning”  and  “good-bje”  to  thecrowds  which 
had  met  at  the  stations.  Mr.  Fassett  is  trying 
to  preserve  his  voice  and  avoids  speaking  in 
the  open  air  as  far  as  possible.  The  outdoor 
oratory  devolves  upon  Col.  Archie  E.  Baxter, 
of  Elmira  [United  States  marshal]  and  *  * 

— Lyons,  N.  Y.,  October  2. — Mr.  Fassett, 
Mr.  Vrooman  and  Colonel  Baxter  (United 
States  marshal),  arrived  here  this  morning. 

— Mr.  Fassett,  Mr.  Vrooman  and  Mr.  Bax¬ 
ter  (United  States  marshal),  will  begin  an¬ 
other  week  of  oratory  at  Oswego  to-night,  to 
morrow  afternoon  they  will  appear  in  Bing¬ 
hamton,  to-morrow  night  at  Owego,  Cortland 
Wednesday  afternoon,  Ithaca,  where  Andrew 
D.  White  will  preside,  Thursday ;  Saratoga 
Friday  afternoon,  Sandy  Hill  Friday  night, 
and  Troy  Saturday. — New  York  Times,  Oc¬ 
tober  12. 

— The  faction  fact  in  the  republican  party 
between  S.  D.  Coykendall  and  George  H, 
Sharpe  broke  out  in  the  Ulster  county  republi¬ 
can  convention  held  here  today.  The  strife 
came  on  the  organization  of  the  convention. 

William  M.  Hayes  said  the  postmaster  of 
Kingston,  who  openly  and  defiantly  opposed 
the  election  of  James  G.  Blaine,  and  the  col¬ 
lector  of  internal  revenue  had  taken  a  trip  through 
the  county  and  juggled  to  get  delegates  to  the  con¬ 
vention.  *  •  * 

The  result  was  a  Coykendall  victory. — [Coy¬ 
kendall  is. a  Platt  man.] — Kingston,  N.  Y.,  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  Oct.  11. 

— There  is  trouble  among  the  republicans  of 
Genesee  county  on  account  of  a  broken  slate 
at  the  county  convention,  which  met  at  Ba¬ 
tavia  to-day.  There  were  many  delegates 
present,  and  the  ticket  was  thought  to  be  in 
fine  shape  to  be  railroaded  through  without  a 
hitch.  *  * 

It  is  street  talk  that  the  convention  was  con¬ 
trolled  by  Postmaster  Tarbox,  and  it  is  every¬ 
where  declared  that  there  is  a  rupture  in  Gen¬ 
esee’s  republican  ranks  which  it  will  be  hard 
to  heal. — Rochester,  N.  Y.  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  September  29. 

— Several  hundred  delegates  to  the  Scranton 
convention  of  the  state  league  of  republican 
clubs  left  here  this  morning.  The  bitterness 
over  this  contest  is  intensified  by  the  fact  that  only  yes¬ 
terday  it  was  learned  that,  in  the  interest  of  Quay’s 
candidate,  who  is  Congressman-elect  Robinson,  250 
clubs  were  secretly  organized  in  western  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  by  federal  office  holders.  Their  delegates  left 
for  Scranton  last  night.  It  is  really  a  fight  between 
Quay  and  the  federal  office-holders  on  one  side  and 
Chris.  Magee  on  the  other  as  to  who  shall  rep¬ 
resent  the  party  in  this  state,  with  Dalzell’s 
ambition  to  succeed  Quay  in  the  senate  in  the 
background. — Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  September  2S. 

— The  way  that  federal  office-holders  organized 
gangs  of  heelers  for  the  Scranton  convention,  pre¬ 
sented  them  with  free  railroad  tickets  and 
beer  adlib.,  as  well  as  paying  their  hotel  bills, 
etc. — Pittsburgh  Post,  &ptember. 

— Senator  Quay  came  up  from  his  Atlantic 
City  retreat  to-day,  and  the  fact  of  his  coming 
was  known  only  to  a  few.  Gov.  Pattison’s  proc¬ 
lamation  called  him  to  the  city,  and  republican 


leaders  from  every  direction  visited  room  34 
at  the  Continental  as  part  of  that  political 
sympathy  that  invariably  brings  the  leaders 
together  when  the  senator  is  about  the  city. 
Chairman  Porter,  Congressman  Reyburn, 
Marshall  Leeds,  Collector  Cooper  and  ex  Col¬ 
lector  Martin  realized  early  that  the  situation 
was  something  more  than  serious.  Among 
Senator  Quay’s  callers  were  Gen.  Frank 
Reeder  of  Easton,  Controller  of  the  Treasury 
Gilkeson,  the  close  bosom  friend  who  runs 
Bucks  county;  Gen.  Hastings,  whose  concern 
in  the  result  is  shown  by  his  engagement  as  a 
speaker;  Hamilton  Disston,  Chairman  Porter, 
Collector  Warmcastle,  Senators  Crouse  and 
Thomas,  and  Chairman  Watres,  whom  the 
Senator  met  later  at  republican  headquarters. 

Collector  Cooper  had  the  largest  end  of  the  con¬ 
ference.  He  had  no  sooner  emerged  from  Mr. 
Quay’s  room  than  he  said:  “Gov.  Pattison’s 
action  is  clearly  partisan.  ”  That  declaration 
was  the  keynote  to  the  conference  of  the  after¬ 
noon. — Philadelphia  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
September  28. 

— Senator  Quay  summoned  Assistant  Post¬ 
master  Hughes  to  the  hotel  during  the  morn¬ 
ing  and  about  12:30  o’clock  that  official  and 
the  ex-national  chairman  met  in  the  state 
committee  rooms. — Philadelphia  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  October  6. 

— Ohio  having  expressed  a  desire  that  the 
republicans  who  are  in  office  should  contrib¬ 
ute  of  their  earnings  to  help  elect  McKinley, 
and  Secretary  Foster  having  advised  the  Ohio 
state  association  that  Ohio  men  should  do 
their  duty  by  “the  party  that  put  them  in  of¬ 
fice,”  the  Pennsylvania  republicans  are  now 
making  known  their  wants. 

Notwithstanding  that  Postmaster-General 
Wanamaker  opposed  that  thing,  a  list  of  post- 
office  department  employes  from  Pennsylvania 
was  furnished  to  the  state  committee,  and  one 
of  those  clerks  yesterday  received  the  follow¬ 
ing  lines : 

Headquarters  Republican  State  Committee,  1 
Continental  Hotel,  Sept.  25, 1891.  j 

My  Dear  Sir— The  importanee  of  the  present  cam¬ 
paign  should  not  be  underestimated.  This  contest 
Is  but  a  forerunner  of  1892.  A  democratic  victory,  or 
even  a  meager  republican  majority  now,  would  seri¬ 
ously  cripple  us  in  the  great  tariff  battle  soon  to  open. 
Only  a  few  weeks  are  left  for  active  work.  Novem¬ 
ber  3  being  election  day,  our  vast  organization  must 
be  gotten  into  line  for  its  best  effort  on  that  day.  We 
can  not  perfect  such  an  organization  as  is  necessary 
in  an  “  off  year  ”  like  the  present,  when  there  is  al¬ 
ways  more  or  less  difficulty  in  arousing  the  people 
and  getting  them  to  the  polls  unless  we  receive  finan¬ 
cial  help.  Knowing  your  activity  and  iiberality  in 
behalf  of  the  party,  we  invite  your  earliest  conveni¬ 
ent  subscription  to  the  state  committee,  and  we  es¬ 
pecially  request  that  it  be  made  as  liberal  as  possible. 

Yours  very  truly,  Louis  A.  Watres,  Chairman. 

An  officer  of  the  department  told  a  reporter 
who  asked  about  this  letter  that  Mr.  Wana¬ 
maker  had  requested  that  no  such  demands  be 
sent  to  clerks  in  his  department,  and  intimated 
that  the  postmaster-general  had  informed  Mr. 
Watres  that,  if  he  would  designate  the  snm  ex¬ 
pected  to  be  realized  by  “voluntary  contribu¬ 
tions”  from  his  Pennsylvania  clerks,  he  would 
send  a  check  for  the  amount.  Now,  the  ques¬ 
tion  is  asked  whether  Watres  has  not  obtained 
the  check,  and  is  also  trying  to  get  the  “vol¬ 
untary  contribution”  in  addition. —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  September  28. 

— The  fact  is  that  the  county-house  ring,  the 
court  ring,  the  government  building  ring  and 
the  city-hall  ring  got  together  before  that  con¬ 
vention  and  fixed  np  as  late.  *  *  Levi  Mea- 

cham,  Allen  T.  Brinsmade,  Bill  Gabriel,  Howard 
Burgess  and  Mark  Hanna  simply  ran  the  con¬ 
vention.  It  would  have  been  better  if  such  men  as 
Brinsmade  and  Gabriel,  holding  government  offices, 


had  attended  to  their  neglected  offices,  instead  of 
being  present  in  that  convention  to  steal  nomi¬ 
nations  for  ring  candidates. — Cleveland,  0., 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening  Post,  Septem¬ 
ber  29. 

STATE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


—William  M.  Hahn,  chairman . Mansfield. 

W.  S.  Matthews,  secretary . Columbus. 

George  W.  Sinks,  treasurer . Columbus. 

Asa  S.  Busbnel . Springfield. 

Julius  Whiting,  jr . Canton. 

Myran  1'.  Herrick . Cleveland. 

Harry  B.  Morehead . Cincinnati. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Lowes . Dayton. 

Edward  S.  Wilson . Ironton. 

George  Fields . Toledo. 

Clinton  D.  Firestone . Columbus. 

M.  R.  Patterson . Columbus. 


Headquarters 

Ohio  Republican  State  Executive  Committee, 

122  E.  State  st.  (Opposite  Government  Building), 
Columbus,  O.,  Aug.  29, 1891. 
- ,  Esq.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.: 

Dear  Sir— The  republican  executive  committee 
of  Ohio  Is  now  fully  organized  and  actively  at  work. 
Funds  are  required  for  this  work.  The  campaign  in 
Ohio  is  more  than  a  state  campaign;  it  is  national  in 
both  its  importance  and  effect.  The  election  of  the 
Hon.  William  McKinley,  jr.,  and  his  associates  on 
the  ticket  and  a  republican  general  assembly  this 
fall  in  Ohio,  assures  a  republican  success  in  the  cam¬ 
paign  of  1892. 

You  are  the  incumbent  of  place  made  possible  by  the 
success  of  the  party  in  the  past.  The  continued  success 
of  the  republican  party  is  of  great  interest  and  ad¬ 
vantage  to  the  whole  country,  and  you,  no  doubt, 
appreciate  it.  A  liberal  contribution  from  you  as  an 
individual,  will  largely  aid  this  committee  in  the  fur¬ 
therance  of  its  work.  In  the  ordinary  business 
affairs  of  life  promptness  of  payment  is  absolutely 
required.  Such  promptness  in  our  business  is 
equally  important.  We  will  be  pleased  to  hear  from 
you  at  once.  Yours  truly, 

W.  M.  Hahn,  Chairman, 

W.  S.  Matthews,  Secretary. 

— There  has  been  a  systematic  effort  to  im¬ 
press  upon  the  government  employes  that  they 
must  put  up  their  money  for  the  republican 
party.  Early  in  the  summer  Secretary  Foster 
gave  them  some  very  broad  hints  in  his  speech 
to  the  Ohio  republican  association,  and  they 
have  been  followed  since  by  men  with  sub¬ 
scription  books  and  begging  circulars,  at  first 
mild  in  tone  and  then  approaching  the  threat¬ 
ening.  The  last  circular  was  the  following 
notice  from  Mr.  McKinley’s  agent  to  come 
down  with  their  cash  : 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Oct.  7, 1891. 

My  Dear  Sir:  A  meeting  of  Ohio  republicans  who 
are  interested  in  the  success  of  our  ticket  this  year, 
will  be  held  at  the  office  of  McGrew  &  Small,  623  F 
street,  N.  W.,  on  Friday  evening  October  9.  Your 
presence  is  earnestly  requested. 

The  necessity  of  electing  Major  McKinley  by  a  de¬ 
cisive  majority  on  the  issue  joined  is  imperative. 
The  election  of  a  republican  legislature  is  of  still 
greater  importance.  So  the  Major  says  himself,  "Self- 
preservation  is  the  first  law  of  human  nature."  Don’t 
deceive  yourself  by  thinking  you  <tre  safe  in  any  event. 
Show  your  republicanism  and  fealty  to  the  party  by 
attending  this  conference.  Very  respectfully, 

James  E.  Lowrey. 

The  result  of  this  call  was  the  coming  to¬ 
gether  of  eleven  timid  Ohio  employes  of  the 
government,  who  brought  with  them  $25  in 
cash  with  which  to  placate  the  growing  anger 
of  the  tin  gods. 

Mr.  Lowery  is  now  in  a  very  bad  temper. 
He  says  that  there  are  7,000  Ohio  employes  of 
the  government  at  Washington,  drawing  pay 
aggregating  $500,000  per  year,  and  that  only 
thirty  of  them  have  contributed  to  the  cause 
of  tin  plate  and  protection.  The  contribu¬ 
tions,  he  declares,  amount  to  only  about  one- 
fifth  of  one  per  cent. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  Oct.  11. 


The  Civil  service  Chronicle. 


VoL.  I,  No.  33. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  NOVEMBER,  1891. 


rpi^T>  vfQ  .  J  50  cents  persnnnm. 
1  JiiKIilo  .  5  cents  per  copy. 


Pulished  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 

Indianapolis,  Ind.  ^ 

Two  NOTABLE  events  have  occurred  since 
the  last  issue  of  the  Chronicle.  In  one  of 
the  cases  against  the  Mahone  blackmailers, 
B  the  government  prosecuting  oflScer,  after  a 
year,  brought  to  argument  a  demurrer  to 
the  indictment.  The  district  court  at 
Washington  unanimously  overruled  the 
demurrer,  taking  the  ground  that  every 
kind  of  solicitation  of  money  in  a  govern¬ 
ment  building  for  political  purposes  is  un¬ 
lawful.  It  is  clear  that  the  courts  neither 
mean  to  legislate  nor  to  interpret  the  law 
with  a  view  to  helping  spoilsmen  out  of 
scrapes.  The  United  States  supreme  court 
in  the  Curtis  case,  the  New  York  court  of 
appeals  in  the  Buffalo  cases,  and  now  this 
district  court  have  in  strong  and  unmis¬ 
takable  terms  upheld  the  civil  service  laws 
in  their  true  spirit  and  object. 

The  other  event  is  the  dismissal  by  the 
postmaster-general  of  some  clerks  and  car¬ 
riers  in  the  Omaha  post-office.  It  seems 
that  President  Cleveland’s  postmaster  ap¬ 
pointed  a  number  of  these  without  any 
regard  to  the  civil  service  law,  and 
although  they  had  never  -been  on  the 
eligible  list.  When  President  Harrison’s 
postmaster  came  in  he  also  decided  that  he 
was  greater  than  the  law,  and  he  appointed 
persons  not  on  the  eligible  list.  The 
present  civil  service  commission,  neither 
being  asleep  norafraid,overhauledhim,and 
on  its  report  the  dismissals  are  ordered. 
The  present  postmaster  furnished  a  perfect 
instance  of  a  spoilsman’s  “brass,”  by  an 
I  effort  to  “save”  the  men.  It  seems  that  he 
I  may  have  to  refund  the  wages  thus  unlaw- 
[  fully  paid.  Of  course.  President  Harrison 
will  dismiss  him.  A  suit  should  also  be 
brought  against  the  old  postmaster  to  re¬ 
cover  the  illegal  payments  under  him. 

Mr.  John  M.  Butler,  of  this  city,  having 
been  to  New  York,  said  in  an  interview  in 
the  Indianapolis  Journal; 

There  are  a  few  extremely  good  fellows  over  there, 
most  too  good  to  live,  but  hardly  good  enough  to 
die,  who  are  howling  about  Platt,  but  they  are  not 
seriously  disturbing  Platt  or  the  party.  As  I  said  be¬ 
fore,  I  believe  the  signs  point  to  a  great  republican 
victory  in  New  York. 

Mr.  Butler  is  an  eminent  lawyer,  and  as 
such,  after  a  brief  consideration  of  the  fact 
that  the  federal  offices  pertaining  to  the 
state  of  New  York,  including  the  custom¬ 
house,  the  post-offices,  the  sub-treasury  and 


the  internal  revenue  collectorships,  were 
placed  under  the  control  of  Tom  Platt,  a 
private  citizen,  to  be  used  by  him  in  an  at¬ 
tempt  to  carry  the  recent  election,  he 
would  say  that  such  an  act  was  wholly  un¬ 
constitutional,  and  that  a  president  who 
turned  over  offices  to  be  so  used  was  guilty 
of  a  gross  violation  of  his  official  oath.  If 
he  pondered  the  subject  further,  and  from 
the  stand-point  of  a  citizen,  Mr.  Butler 
would  say  that  such  a  practice  by  a  presi¬ 
dent  was  unrepublican  in  every  sense,  and 
that  it  was  an  unlawful  exercise  of  impe¬ 
rialism  such  as  this  government  was 
formed  to  prevent.  Further,  Mr.  Butler, 
still  reflecting  as  a  citizen,  would  say  that 
this  practice  was  dangerous  to  public  order, 
and  that  at  any  time  some  able  manipu¬ 
lator  like  Quay  or  Gorman  in  the  presi¬ 
dential  chair  might  think  he  had  the  coun¬ 
try  by  the  throat,  and  might  try  the  recent 
experiment  of  Balmaceda  in  Chili,  and 
might  make  this  country  incur  an  outrage¬ 
ous  cost  of  lives  and  money  to  put  him 
down. 

But  as  a  republican,  Mr.  Butler  is  in¬ 
stantly  purblind  and  strabismic.  He  does 
not  examine  and  judge  the  acts  of  his  own 
party.  Dorseyism  and  Dudleyism  in  In¬ 
diana  apparently  have  never  crossed  his 
view.  The  stupendous  violation  of  the 
promise  of  the  republican  platform,  of 
which  Plattism  is  one  glaring  instance,  ap¬ 
parently  is  unseen  by  him.  To  say  that  he 
knows  of  these  things,  and  is  not  goaded 
by  his  conscience  into  a  protest  which 
could  but  be  powerful,  would  be  to  say 
that  he  is  grossly  recreant  to  his  duties  as  a 
citizen.  His  position  is  that  of  a  man  of 
wide  influence,  whose  judgment  ought  to 
be  sound,  but  who  can  always  be  depended 
upon  at  critical  moments  to  say  that  Platt¬ 
ism  is  harmless  and  to  give  color  of  re¬ 
spectability  to  any  republican  machine, 
however  vicious.  It  is  a  good  thing  for 
the  country  that  it  has  a  large  and  increas¬ 
ing  number  of  men  who  are  “hardly  good 
enough  to  die.”  They  will  live  on,  and  will, 
in  time,  destroy  Plattism,  which  is  but 
another  name  for  our  buccaneering  spoils 
system.  And  Mr.  Butler  and  many  other  re¬ 
spectable  citizens  like  him,  will  be  ashamed 
that  it  was  done,  not  only  without  them, 
but  in  spite  of  them. 

Unhappy  Headsman  Clarkson  can  only 
expect  jeers  as  he  stands  among  his  40,000 1 


decapitated  postmasters  and  sees  his  state 
of  Iowa,  which  has  had  his  peculiar  care  in 
abundance,  gradually  placing  itself  in  the 
democratic  column.  In  Pennsylvania> 
when  Quay  had  the  support  and  sympathy 
of  the  administration  last  year,  he  was 
defeated  ;  this  year  he  lost  that,  but  he  has 
been  successful.  He  has  his  heel  again  on 
the  necks  of  the  people  of  his  state.  Every 
good  citizen  may  rejoice  at  the  defeat  of 
either  party  in  New  York,  Taking  the 
elections  together,  the  result  of  the  na¬ 
tional  election  next  year  is  extremely 
doubtful.  This  will  make  it  impossible  to 
ignore  the  subject  of  civil  service  reform, 
which  both  party  machines  would  like  to 
do.  Every  vote  will  be  needed.  Those 
members  of  both  parties  who  have  been 
trying  to  bring  it  about  that  the  tariff  shall 
be  the  only  “  issue,”  while  the  real  prize  to 
be  fought  for  is  the  hundreds  of  millions  of 
spoil  in  federal  salaries,  will  have  to 
abandon  their  ground.  The  chief  business 
of  the  president  of  the  United  States  is  the 
management  of  the  civil  service.  How  he 
is  likely  to  do  that  is  the  chief  question  to 
be  determined  in  voting  for  a  presidential 
candidate.  The  president’s  use  of  the  fed¬ 
eral  service  as  spoil  to  divide  among  his 
relatives  and  personal  and  party  friends  is 
going  to  be  broken  up.  Happily  the  op¬ 
ponents  of  this  relic  of  absolutism,  so  det¬ 
rimental  to  public  morals,  will  be  needed 
next  year  by  both  parties  in  several  close 
states.  Neither  party  can  afford  to  alienate 
its  share  of  this  element. 


“The  reform  of  the  civil  service  auspiciously  be¬ 
gun  under  a  republican  administration  should  be 
completed  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  sys¬ 
tem,  already  established  by  law,  to  all  the  grades 
of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit 
and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed  in  all 
executive  appointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance 
with  the  object  of  existing  reform  legislation  should 
be  repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  in¬ 
stitutions,  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patron¬ 
age  may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided.— 
can  National  Platform,  1888. 

The  more  this  promise  is  examined,  the 
more  magnificent  it  seems.  It  could  not 
have  been  made  stronger  if  written  by  the 
civil  service  reformers  themselves.  Indeed, 
it  was  written  by  George  William  Curtis. 
Having  been  inserted  into  the  republican 
platform  of  1888,  after  a  steady  four  years 
insistence  against  a  democratic  adminis¬ 
tration  that  similar  ante-election  promises 
ought  to  be  kept,  there  was  a  double  rea¬ 
son  for  supposing  it  was  put  there  to  be 


282 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


carried  out.  President  Harrison  publicly 
made  this  promise  his  own.  He  has  in 
fulfillment  placed  about  seven  hundred 
places  in  the  Indian  service  under  the 
reform  system  along  with  the  thirty-two 
thousand  already  there.  On  the  other  hand 
he  has  supplanted  more  than  100,000  federal 
employes  with  his  relatives  or  with  his 
personal  or  party  friends  and  all  for  per¬ 
sonal  or  partisan  reasons.  He  has  turned 
out  such  men  as  Pearson,  Burt,  Graves, 
Saltonstall  and  Corse,  whose  sole  object  was 
to  render  faithful  service.  He  appoints 
such  men  as  Flanagan,  of  Texa^i.  He 
neglects  to  require  the  Mahone  black¬ 
mailers  to  be  brought  to  trial.  He  ignores 
the  most  flagrant  violations  of  law  in 
Baltimore.  He  turned  the  federal  service 
in  Virginia  over  to  Mahone,  in  Pennsyl 
vania  to  Quay,  in  New  York  to  Platt,  to 
be  used  in  attempts  to  carry  elections. 
The  time  is  approaching  when  the  account 
must  be  taken,  and  these  are  examples  of 
facts  which  must  be  put  into  the  scales  on 
the  good  or  bad  side  respective! j'.  Civil 
service  reformers  have  long  memories. 

Among  the  publications  of  the  month, 
Mr.  Herbert  Welsh  has  an  article  in  the 
current  Forum  on  “  The  Degredation  of 
Politics  in  Pennsylvania,”  which  is  a  state¬ 
ment  of  facts  full  of  humiliation  to  that 
state. 

The  executive  committee  of  the  Nation¬ 
al  Civil  Service  Reform  League, some  time 
ago  put  out  a  circular  letter  containing  a 
brief  statement  of  the  present  status  of  the 
merit  system  in  the  federal  service.  The 
salaries  of  the  entire  service  amount  to 
over  one  hundred  millions  a  year,  of  which 
about  forty  millions  are  attached  to  places 
in  the  classified  service. 

Speaking  of  the  merit  system,  the  letter 
says: 

"It  is  objected  that  this  system  is  English  snd 
aristocratic.  The  system  prevailing  in  England  at  the 
time  of  the  American  Revolution  was  the  patronage 
system.  Under  that  old  system  the  chief  offices  were 
controlled  by  the  great  aristocratic  families.  The 
reform  which  was  begun  about  1854,  was  a  move¬ 
ment  on  behnlf  of  the  common  people  of  England, 
and  was  resisted  by  those  families  who  had  up  to 
that  time  the  monopoly  of  the  offices.  The  present 
reformed  system  is  most  popular  among  the  masses 
of  the  English  people,  who  now  have  a  fair  oppor. 
tunity  of  getting  the  offices  under  conditions  that 
make  them  subservient  to  no  man  for  his  gift  or  in¬ 
fluence.  Under  the  reformed  civil  service,  sons  of 
poor  men,  without  social  or  political  influence,  have 
an  equal  opportunity  with  the  rich  and  prominent  of 
getting  appointments,  and  depend  solely  on  their 
own  character  and  ability.” 

The  object  of  the  letter  is  to  call  public 
attention  to  the  need  of  an  additional  ap 
propriation  for  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion.  The  commission  needs  a  force  of 
clerks  of  its  own  instead  of  clerks  detailed 
to  it  from  the  departments,  and  it  needs 
more  clerks  to  enable  it  to  mark  all  exam¬ 
ination  papers  in  Washington,  a  plan 


which  would  manifestly  secure  uniformity 
and,  in  places  less  fortunate  than  Indianap¬ 
olis  in  local  boards,  fairness. 


Private-Secretary  Halford,  when  ed¬ 
itor,  but  not  manager,  of  the  Indianapolis 
Journal,  is  said  to  have  replied  to  the  ques¬ 
tion  why  the  Journal  persisted  in  a  certain 
palpably  wrong  course,  “  For  the  reason,  I 
suppose,  that  only  a  mule  refuses  to  change 
his  mind.”  It  is  not  certain  that  even  this 
excuse  can  be  given  for  the  course  of  the 
administration  towards  Chili.  Balmaceda 
was  a  president  who  tried,  by  using  the 
public  service,  to  perpetuate  himself  as  a 
boss.  His  murder  of  citizens  has  no  par¬ 
allel  except  in  the  Turkish  bow-string.  His 
removal  of  the  judges  was  about  as  if  Pres¬ 
ident  Harrison  should  remove  the  judges 
of  the  United  States  courts.  Such  acts  at 
once  fixed  Balmaceda’s  standing  through¬ 
out  the  world  as  a  violent  usurper,  bent 
upon  breaking  down  the  liberties  of  the 
Chilians.  There  was  not  a  shadow  of  ex¬ 
cuse  for  sympathy  with  him  on  the  part  of 
our  government.  We  should  have  meted 
to  him,  as  a  dc  facto  power,  the  strictest  let¬ 
ter  of  international  law,  and  our  one  wish 
should  have  been  that  the  Chilians  might 
succeed  in  putting  this  murderous  boss 
under  their  feet.  In  fact,  our  government 
sympathized  with  Balmaceda.  It  assumed 
an  attitude  of  hardened  indiflerence  re 
garding  the  people  of  Chili,  and  treated  it 
as  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  dictator 
was  to  succeed.  Its  protection  of  the  per¬ 
sons  executing  Balmaceda’s  order  to  cut 
the  cable  yet  waits  an  explanation  to  bring 
it  within  the  rules  of  neutrality.  When 
the  dictator  was  overthrown  and  the  blun¬ 
der  of  our  government  became  a  glaring 
and  humiliating  fact,  it  might  have  made 
a  frank  acknowledgement  by  recalling 
its  reckless  minister.  But  seemingly  on 
the  principle  that  only  the  mule  refuses  to 
change  its  mind,  it  still  keeps  him  in  a 
place  where  the  only  effectual  thing  he 
does  is  to  exasperate  the  people  with  whom 
we  ought  to  be  friends.  An  attack  follows 
upon  our  sailors  who  are  wholly  innocent. 
This  would  occur  in  any  city  in  the  United 
States  under  the  same  circumstances.  We 
are  sending  ships  to  Chili  and  are  talking 
about  her  “  insolence.”  Whatever  the  law 
requires  for  the  attack  upon  our  blameless 
sailors,  that  Chili  must  render.  But  that 
does  not  alter  the  fact  that  the  people  of 
this  country  are  glad  that  the  people  of 
Chili  overthrew  their  dictator,  nor  the  fact 
that  our  government  managed  to  throw  its 
influence  and  sympathy  in  favor  of  a  boss 
attempting  to  carry  bossism  to  its  legitimate 
end,  nor  the  fact  that  Minister  Eagan’s 
office  was  given  to  him,  not  for  his  fitness, 
out  of  spoil  allotted  to  him  for  partisan 
ervice. 


THE  DUTY  NEXT  YEAR. 

A  subscriber  writes  from  Providence,  Rhode 
Island  : 

Enclosed  And  postal  note  for  sub.scription  for  one 
year.  I  send  it  gladly  in  view  of  the  good  fight  you 
are  making,  but  I  never  read  the  Chronicle  without 
a  feeling,  almost  bitter,  that  your  influence  should 
have  been  used  in  behalf  of  Harrison  instead  of 
Cleveland  two  years  ago.  I  believe  the  treachery  of 
the  Hill  democrats  would  not  have  defeated  Cleve¬ 
land  had  the  reformers  and  independents  in  New 
Yoik  solidly  supported  Cleveland. 

No  doubt  the  course  of  Cleveland  in  regard  to  the 
civil  service,  especially  in  Maryland  and  Indiana, 
was  obnoxious  to  the  refo  mers  in  those  states,  but 
what  have  the  latter  gained  by  the  change?  You 
know  as  well  as  anybody.  Look  at  the  open  and  uni 
disguised  activity  of  federal  officials  in  party  politics, 
caucuses,  conventions  and  campaigns  over  the  whole 
country;  the  assessment  circulars  sent  to  federa- 
employes  by  republican  state  committees  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio;  the  power  of  Quay_ 
Platt,  Clarkson,  Belden  with  the  President;  the  fail¬ 
ure  to  extend  the  provisions  of  the  civil  service  law ; 
the  complete  looting  of  the  federal  civil  service;  the 
failure  to  punish  violators  of  the  law  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland  ;  the  deliberate  violation  by  the  President 
of  his  letter  of  acceptance,  and  of  the  pledges  of  the 
convention  which  nominated  him.  •■■■  -  All  of 
which  would  have  been  prevented  had  Cleveland 
been  elected,  and  you  have  a  record  calculated  to 
make  a  man  feel  bitter.  The  mischief  has  been  done 
and  republican  defeat  next  year  will  not  undo  it. 
The  reformers  trusted  in  the  promises  of  a  bigoted, 
narrowminded,  petty  Indiana  politician  and  a  cor¬ 
rupt  and  rotten  party,  turned  over  to  Quay,  Dud¬ 
ley,  Platt,  Belden  and  the  like,  and  they  have  their 
reward. 

With  the  correction  of  the  inference  that 
this  paper  took  part  in  the  campaign  of  1888 
(it  was  not  in  existence),  and  adding  also  the 
fact  continually  forgotten  that  the  reason  of 
more  weight  than  all  others  with  those  re¬ 
ferred  to  by  our  correspondent  for  supporting 
Harrison,  was  to  avoid  a  ratification  of  the 
acts  of  the  late  administration,  we  wish  to  ex¬ 
amine  whether  it  is  true  to  say,  regarding  the 
action  of  any  who  may  have  supported  Mr. 
Harrison  on  account  of  his  pledges  and  the 
pledges  of  the  republican  party,  because  both 
the  President  and  his  party  have  since 
violated  those  pledges,  that  “the  mischief  has 
been  done  and  republican  defeat  next  year 
will  not  undo  it.”  We  claim  that  the  end  of 
the  spoils  system  is  nearer  at  hand,  and  that 
the  merit  system  is  stronger  among  the  people 
at  large  than  ever  before,  and  that  this  ad¬ 
vance  is  the  “reward”  of  the  reformers  who 
believed  in  taking  Mr.  Harrison  and  his  party 
at  their  word  ;  that  equally  it  is  true  that  the 
republican  President  and  the  republican  party 
have  been  seriously  discredited  by  their  broken 
pledges,  and  their  “reward  ”  has  come  in  the 
shape  of  several  defeats  already  and  a  rather 
gloomy  looking  future. 

Every  one  has  a  right  to  assume  that  the 
promises  of  a  platform  and  of  a  candidate 
will  be  kept  until  by  actual  performance  they 
are  violated  and  then  he  has  no  right  to  apol¬ 
ogize  for  the  violation.  No  personal  devo¬ 
tion  to  a  president,  no  affection  for  a  party, 
should  stay  the  exposure  of  the  facts,  nor  the 
unbiased  comment  on  those  facts.  If  a  party 
or  a  president  has  played  a  confidence  game 
to  win  votes,  or  has  shown  pusillanimity  in 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


283 


meeting  the  worsen  elements  of  the  party  and 
failed  to  keep  the  pledges  made  to  win  the 
better  elements,  let  all  the  world  know  these 
facts  and  it  is  not  civil  service  reform  nor  its 
advocates  who  will  suffer.  But  the  fatal  mis¬ 
take  is  to  ignore,  to  excuse,  to  change  the 
point  of  view,  and  to  feel  because  one  accepted 
in  good  faith  the  solemn  pledges  of  a  party  or 
a  man  he  has  got  to  “  stick  ”  to  both. 

If  the  men  who  voted  and  worked  for  Mr. 
Harrison  had  blinked  his  short-comings  and 
sighed  over  the  “pressure”  brought  to  bear 
upon  him,  had  expatiated  on  how  he  was  con¬ 
stantly  “deceived”  by  his  friends,  and  finally 
had  maintained  that  he  must  not,  as  a  working 
President,  fall  between  two  stools,  but  could  do 
his  sworn  duty  only  as  he  could  carry  his 
party  along  with  him,  civil  service  reform 
and  reformers  would  indeed  be  now  discred¬ 
ited. 

Such  a  position  has  been  for  years  the 
great  blunder  in  fighting  the  spoils  system. 
Timid  reformers  in  1884  said  the  candidate 
could  not  withstand  his  party  and  a  party  so 
hungry  and  thirsty  for  spoils  must  be  longer 
excluded  from  power;  later  the  reform  ranks 
were  too  full  of  apologists,  who  seemed  to 
labor  night  and  day  to  show  that  the  Presi¬ 
dent  really  had  not  promised  much,  and  that 
while  things  could  not  be  explained  in  a 
couple  of  states  the  fault,  if  fault  there  was, 
was  in  the  inability  of  the  sufferers  to  get 
their  troubles  to  the  presidential  ear.  Every 
spoils  act  of  President  Cleveland  and  his 
party  when  explained  to  the  people  without 
malice  and  without  excuse  helped  the  reform 
and  only  injured  him  and  his  party,  and  it 
was  only  when  so  large  a  number  of  civil  serv- 
i  ice  reformers  could  not  withstand  the  tempta- 
tation  to  explain  away  what  seemed  entirely 
plain  to  practical  spoils  politicians,  that  the 
||.  cause  was  weakened.  So  far  as  we  know  the 
'■personal  and  political  friends,  and  he  has  a 
,,^od  many,  of  President  Harrison,  among 
Kih’e  civil  service  reformers  who  supported  himi 
I  have  never  sought  to  excuse  him  or  his  acts. 
They  have  regretted  the  fact  that  he  should 
seize  the  civil  service  as  spoil  to  perpetuate 
party,  or  personal  ascendency,  but  they  have 
never  sought  to  shield  him  from  the  moral 
consequences  of  his  acts. 

But  comparisons  are  profitless,  except  as 
they  bear  upon  the  practical  question  of  what 
a  man  is  to  do  next  year,  if  he  believes  that 
the  spoils  evil  is  now  the  greatest  evil  to  be 
crushed,  and  he  desires  the  most  of  all  to  bruise 
the  head  of  the  serpent  in  the  way  to  wound 
him  most  sorely.  Suppose  Mr.  Cleveland  is 
thedemocratic  candidate,  as  now  seems  likely, 
and  he  and  his  party  declare  themselves  in 
favor  of  the  present  law,  say  that  it  shall  be 
enforced  in  letter  and  in  spirit,  and  that  its 
provisions  shall  be  materially  extended;  and 
the  republican  candidate  and  platform  try  to 
ignore  the  question,  or  are  less  explicit  and 
vigorous  than  in  the  platforms  of  1884  and 
1888;  the  wise  civil  service  reformer  does  not 
dwell  on  the  errors  of  the  late  administration 
and  say  because  that  aiiministratiou  failed 


once,  he  will  continue  to  be  timid  and  sus¬ 
picious.  Instead,  he  acts  upon  the  suppo¬ 
sition  that  Mr.  Cleveland  and  his  party  have 
profited  by  experience,  and  that  they  will 
probably  avoid  the  mistakes  they  made  before. 
It  is  a  very  dull  man  who  learns  nothing  by 
experience,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  is  not  dull. 

Ou  the  supposition  that  the  pledges  of  both 
candidates  and  both  platforms  are  satisfactory, 
he  certainly  will  not  lose  the  opportunity  to 
nail  the  present  “ chicken  hawk  to  the  barn¬ 
door,”  as  a  warning  and  a  lesson.  And  if  the 
democratic  party  should  succeed  and  if  its  ad¬ 
ministration  should  break  its  promises  as  the 
republican  administration  has  done,  neverthe¬ 
less  civil  service  reform  would  have  been  ad¬ 
vanced  over  what  it  would  be  to  ratify  or 
condone  the  division  of  over  100,000  federal 
places  and  salaries,  amounting  to  hundreds 
of  millions,  as  spoil. 

THE  DIVORCE  OF  MUNICIPAL  BUSI¬ 
NESS  FROM  POLITICS. 

[A  paper  read  by  Moorfleld  Storey  before  the  Nation¬ 
al  Civil  Service  Reform  League,  at  Buffalo,  September 
30.] 

Every  American  is  brought  up  to  believe  two 
things;  First,  that  we  are  par  excellence  a  business 
people  pre-eminently  endowed  with  what  we  are 
pleased  to  call  “  sound  business  sense,"  and,  second^ 
that  we  Invented  and  understand  better  than  any 
other  nation  the  art  of  self  government.  These 
are  fundamental  articles  in  our  national  creed,  com¬ 
fortable  household  beliefs  that  are  handed  down 
from  father  to  son  and  we  cling  to  them  with  un¬ 
questioning  faith.  Yet  how  shall  we  reconcile  them 
with  the  fact  that  our  large  cities  are  without  excep¬ 
tion  badly  governed,  and  in  many  instances  dis¬ 
gracefully  governed?  When  we  ate  applying  the 
principle  of  self  government  most  directly,  where 
the  people  are  nearest  to  their  agents  and  feel  their 
neglect  or  mismanagement  most  keenly,  our  "  sound 
business  sense  ”  deserts  ns  and  we  fail  lamentably. 

What  are  the  causes  of  this  failure?  How  can  we 
secure  g  od  municipal  government?  No  more  im¬ 
portant  questions  confront  the  American  people 
to-day,  and  they  must  be  answered. 

These  questions  concern  not  merely  the  dwellers 
in  th  cities  who  suffer  the  immediate  effects  of  bad 
government,  but  every  citizen  of  this  country,  for  a 
city  which  is  governed  by  corrupt  men  is  a  plague 
spot  that  Infects  the  whole  body  politic.  Baltimore 
dominates  the  state  of  Maryland  ;  New  Orleans  exer. 
cises  a  baleful  influence  over  Louisiana.  Nor  is  the 
evil  stayed  by  state  lines;  a  corrupt  city  govern¬ 
ment  may  poison  the  politics  of  the  whole  country. 
Tammany  Hall  rules  the  city  of  New  York.  It  claims 
the  power  to  elect  and  defeat  Presidents,  and  so  to 
shape  the  policy  of  the  country.  The  candidate  who 
refused  to  promise  all  that  its  leaders  demand  of 
office  or  public  plunder  may  well  owe  his  defeat  to 
their  opposition  or  their  treachery,  and  so  the  result 
of  a  close  election  may  be  determined  by  men  who 
care  nothing  for  the  questions  at  issue,  nothing  for 
the  vast  interests  at  stake,  nothing  for  the  welfare  of 
the  country,  but  who  are  mere  political  mercenaries 
ready  to  fight  for  the  party  which  offers  the  highest 
wages,  and  unlike  the  free  companions  of  the  middle 
ages,  ever  willing  to  desert  their  standard  in  the 
midst  of  a  battle,  if  desertion  seems  likely  to  be 
profitable.  It  is  mortifying  to  think  how  many 
months  and  years  of  honest  and  earnest  effort  to  edu¬ 
cate  the  people  upon  such  vital  Issues  as  tariff  reform 
and  financial  honesty  may  be  brought  to  naught  by 
a  miserable  bargain  made  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
It  is  humiliating  to  reflect  that  the  national  conven. 
tionsof  great  parties  may  be  governed  in  their  choice 
of  a  candidate  for  the  highest  office  in  this  coun¬ 
try  by  the  supposed  necessity  of  conciliating  men 
like  Tweed  and  John  Kelly.  Indeed,  the  very  exist, 
ence  of  republican  government  may  almost  be  said 


to  be  at  stake.  If  the  people  of  a  single  city,  whose 
associations,  traditions,  education  and  interests  are 
more  nearly  identical  than  those  of  widely  separated 
communities  can  ever  be,  are  unable  to  manage 
their  common  business  with  reasonable  honesty  and 
success,  what  hope  is  there  lhai  the  experiment  will 
continue  to  succeed  on  an  enormously  greater  scale 
with  communities  as  widely  separated  as  Maine  and 
California? 

QUESTIONS  or  PUKE  BUSINESS. 

The  oflicials  who  administer  the  government 
of  a  city  deal  with  pure  business  questions.  It  is 
their  duty  to  see  that  the  air  which  we  breathe  is 
unpolluted,  that  the  water  which  we  drink  is  pure 
that  our  sewers  do  not  fill  our  houses  with  poison 
that  the  streets  upon  which  we  walk  are  well  paved 
and  clean,  that  their  use  is  properly  regulated  so  as 
to  preserve  the  respective  rights  of  pedestrians  and 
those  who  ride  in  public  or  private  conveyances,  that 
our  lives  and  properly  are  protected  by  efficient 
police,  that  fires  are  prevented  and  extinguished, 
that  the  new  uses  of  electricity  for  light,  power,  and 
the  transmission  of  intelligence  are  carefully  guard¬ 
ed  so  as  to  give  the  public  the  service  which  it 
needs  without  undue  risk  to  the  citizen;  that  our 
schools  are  well  conducted:  that  the  spread  of  infec¬ 
tious  diseases  is  checked;  that  we  are  not  injured  by 
unwholesome  food  and  drink;  that  our  feet  are  not 
obstructed  by  snow  on  the  sidewalks,  nor  our  heads 
crushed  by  ice  from  the  roofs.  From  birth  to  death 
at  home,  at  school,  in  the  street,  in  the  theater,  in 
church,  eating,  drinking,  breathing,  sleeping,  walk¬ 
ing,  sick  or  well,  at  every  moment  of  our  lives,  our 
health,  our  safety,  and  our  property  depend  very 
largely  on  the  excellence  of  our  city  government- 
Not  merely  the  necessaries,  but  the  luxuries  of  life, 
libraries,  art  museums,  park.',  music,  architecture, 
painting  and  sculpture,  are  within  the  sphere  of 
municipal  government.  If  that  government  is  inef¬ 
ficient  and  corrupt,  we  feel  it  at  every  turn  in  our 
daily  life;  if  it  is  tfficient  and  honest,  all  our  lives 
are  made  easier.  If  we  give  the  subject  a  moment’s 
thought,  we  can  not  but  see  how  large  a  part  of  the 
business  which  concerns  us  all  most  nearly  is  en. 
trusted  to  our  municipal  governments. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  things  which 
makes  it  impossible  to  govern  a  city  well.  If  we 
cross  the  ocean  and  examine  what  some  of  us  like  to 
call  “  the  effete  monarchies  of  the  old  world,”  we 
shall  find  that  the  business  of  ruling  a  city  is  well 
understood.  The  streets  of  London  and  Paris,  and 
even  Liverpool,  seem  surprisingly  clean  to  any  one 
who  is  familiar  with  the  streets  of  an  American  city. 
The  sewers  of  Paris  are  models,  and  the  efficiency  of 
the  French  police  is  proverbial.  The  disastrous  con¬ 
flagrations  which  so  cons  antly  lay  waste  large  sec 
tlons  of  our  cities  and  towns,  are  almost  unknown  on 
the  continent  of  Europe.  Illustrations  might  be 
multiplied,  but  Glasgow  and  Birmingham  deserve 
more  than  a  passing  mention,  for  they  are  conspicu¬ 
ous  examples  of  the  successful  application  to  munic¬ 
ipal  affairs  of  that  “sound  business  sense”  upon 
which  we  so  unreasonably  plume  ourselves. 

GLASGOW’S  MODEL  GOVERNMENT. 

In  Glasgow  we  have  a  city  which  in  1888  had  about 
560,000  people,  in  an  area  of  some  6,100  acres,  so  that 
it  may  well  be  compared  with  several  of  our  Ameri¬ 
can  citi  s.  The  population  is  extremely  dense  and 
dwells  largely  in  tenement  houses,  so  that  the  con¬ 
ditions  are  extremely  unfavorable  to  cleanliness 
and  health,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  character  of 
the  population  which  makes  it  especially  ea>y  to 
govern.  It  is  possible  in  this  paper  to  give  only  the 
briefest  summary  of  the  work  which  the  city  govern¬ 
ment  does,  and  does  well. 

The  public  health  is  secured  by  a  large  force  of 
trained  inspectors,  some  of  whom  seek  for  cases  of 
infectious  disease;  others  search  for  nuisances,  such 
as  defective  drains  and  tin  wholesome  accumulations; 
others  who  are  women  go  from  house  to  house  among 
poor  families  and  make  suggestions  as  to  house¬ 
keeping  methods,  and  others  still  are  nigh  inspectors 
who  visit  lodging  houses  to  see  that  the  laws  against 
overcrowding  are  respected.  Their  labors  to  prevent 
disease  are  supplemented  by  admirable  hospitals,  of 
which  the  latest  is  a  model.  There  is  a  sanitary 


284 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


wash-house,  where  infected  articles  are  cleansed  and 
from  which  disinfecting  operations  are  directed  at 
the  houses  where  cases  of  disease  have  occurred. 
Nor  should  we  overlook  the  house  where  families 
are  received  while  their  houses  are  being  disinfected. 
The  results  of  this  system  are  excellent. 

The  street  cleaning  department  sweeps  181  miles  of 
streets  nightly;  cleans  11, 000  private  courts  and  passage 
ways  at  least  once  a  day;  waters  the  streets;  removes 
refuse  of  every  kind  at  least  once  a  week;  burns 
what  can  not  be  used  for  fertilizing  purposes;  sells 
what  can  be  so  used,  and  does  all  this  work  at  a  net 
expense  to  the  citizen  of  85  cents  a  head,  the  total 
cost,  including  interest  on  the  city’s  outlay  of  1600,- 
000  for  plant,  being  $370,000,  which  was  reduced  by 
sales  of  manure  and  the  tax  levied  on  the  owners  of 
private  courts  to  $190,000. 

The  city  has  dealt  with  its  worst  and  most  crowded 
neighborhoods,  where  in  some  places  the  population 
was  1,000  to  an  acre,  by  buying  the  property,  opening 
wide  streets,  laying  out  parks  and  squares,  and  sell¬ 
ing  the  land  left  after  the  improvements.  This  work 
has  been  done  on  a  large  scale  at  a  very  reasonable 
cost,  and  with  great  benefit  to  the  moral  and  phys¬ 
ical  health,  as  well  as  to  the  appearance  of  the  city. 

Not  only  have  old  tenement  houses  oeen  demol¬ 
ished,  but  new  ones  have  been  built,  and  the  city 
owns  and  conducts  not  less  than  seven  lodging- 
houses,  furnishing  some  2,000  beds,  and  accommo¬ 
dating  annually  nearly  700,000  lodgers  at  a  charge 
per  night  of  from  six  to  nine  cents,  according  as  the 
lodger  prefers  one  sheet  or  two.  For  this  each  lodger 
has  a  separate  apartment,  a  woven  wire  mattress,  the 
use  of  a  large  sitting-room,  a  locker  for  provisions, 
and  a  chance  to  cook  his  food  on  the  kitchen  range, 
while  everything  is  beautifully  neat. 

This  experiment  not  only  has  raised  the  whole 
standard  of  lodging  accommodations,  but  pays  a  net 
income  of  four  or  five  per  cent,  on  the  investment  of 
some  $500,000,  after  making  a  proper  annual  charge 
for  deterioration. 

Another  department  deserves  mention.  Some 
$600,000  has  been  spent  in  the  erection  of  five  public 
baths,  in  each  of  which  are  large  swimming  baths 
for  men  and  women,  in  charge  of  competent  swim¬ 
ming  masters,  and  kept  open  with  water  at  a  uni¬ 
form  temperature  throughout  the  year.  To  these  are 
added  private  bath  houses  and  wash  houses,  where 
a  woman  for  two  pence  an  hour  can  have  the  use  of 
the  most  improved  washing,  drying,  and  mangling 
apparatus  operated  by  steam,  and  at  the  end  of  her 
hour  go  home  with  her  clothes  washed,  dried,  and 
ironed.  This  system  takes  from  the  houses  of  the 
poor  a  prolific  source  of  discomfort  and  domestic 
difficulties,  for  washing  done  by  the  wife  in  the  fam¬ 
ily  living  rooms  is  a  process  which  exhausts  her 
strength  and  tries  her  temper,  while  it  is  exasperat¬ 
ing  to  the  husband  and  everyone  who  is  compelled 
to  eat  or  stay  for  any  purpose  in  an  atmosphere  of 
steam  and  sloppiness. 

The  gas  problem  is  also  dealt  with  on  business 
principles.  The  city  owns  the  works,  and  between 
1869  and  1870  so  conducted  them  as  to  increase  the 
consumption  of  gas  140  per  cent.,  while  the  increase 
in  population  has  been  only  twenty  per  cent.;  and 
to  reduce  the  price  from  $1.14  to  sixty-six  cents  per 
thousand  feet.  The  leakage  has  been  reduced  by 
one-half.  Not  only  the  street  but  private  courts  and 
passages  and  even  the  common  stair  cases  in  tene¬ 
ment  houses  are  lighted  at  the  public  expense,  with 
very  marked  results  in  diminishing  crime  and  in¬ 
creasing  the  comfort  and  security  of  the  people.  The 
city  lets  gas  stoves  to  citizens  at  a  moderate  price, 
which  the  poor  who  live  in  tenements  find  very  con¬ 
venient;  and  all  this  is  done  so  economically  that 
the  city  can  operate  the  works,  construct  new  ones, 
pay  interest  on  its  debt,  charge  off  large  sums  for  de¬ 
preciation,  and  accumulate  a  sinking  fund  which  in 
fifteen  years  has  paid  nearly  $3,000,000  towards  the 
cost  of  the  investment. 

The  street  railway  question,  which  has  embarrassed 
us  so  much  in  America,  has  been  settled  on  a  busi¬ 
ness  basis.  The  city  has  built  and  owns  the  railways 
and  lets  them  to  a  company.  The  lease  made  In 
1872  expires  in  1894,  and  the  company  pays  as 
rental  and  interest  on  the  city’s  investment,  a 


yearly  sum  for  a  sinking  fund  sufficient  to  pay  the 
principal  before  the  expiration  of  the  lease;  a  sum 
for  repairs  and  renewals  equal  to  four  per  cent,  on 
the  cost  of  the  road,  out  of  which  it  is  kept  in  re¬ 
pair;  and  in  addition  a  rental  of  $750  a  mile.  The 
fares  are  fixed  at  a  penny  a  mile  and  a  penny  for 
certain  routes  which  in  some  cases  are  more  than  a 
mile  long,  and  on  which  cars  are  run  in  the  morning 
and  at  night  for  workingmen  at  half  price.  The 
original  lessees  sold  this  lease  for  $750,000,  and  yet 
the  purchasing  corporation  after  some  hard  years 
began  to  pay  dividends  which  since  1880  have  been 
from  nine  to  eleven  per  cent,  a  year.  After  1894  the 
city  will  own  the  tramways  in  perfect  order,  and 
their  cost  will  have  been  paid,  some  $1,700,000,  s® 
that  hereafter  they  will  be  a  source  of  large  revenue 
to  the  city. 

Equal  intelligence  has  been  shown  in  providing 
the  city  with  the  water  of  Lock  Katrine,  and  the 
works  have  been  so  managed  as  to  pay  for  their  main¬ 
tenance  and  partly  for  their  cost,  which  will  in 
course  of  years  be  provided  for,  while  the  rates  have 
been  reduced.  The  pressure  is  such  that  the  expen¬ 
ses  of  the  fire  department  have  been  so  much  re¬ 
duced  that  the  saving  in  this  item  alone  more  than 
equals  the  interest  on  the  entire  cost  of  the  water¬ 
works. 

WATCH  THK  CORPOKATIONS. 

This  is  a  brief  resume  which  shows  what  can  be 
done  by  the  intelligent  application  of  business  prin. 
ciples  to  the  conduct  of  municipal  affairs.  The  suc¬ 
cess  of  this  experiment  is  peculiarly  interesting  to 
us.  One  of  the  greatest  dangers  which  beset  our 
system  arises  from  the  existence  in  our  cities  and 
states  of  large  aggregations  of  capital,  whose  owners 
have  interests  at  variance  with  those  of  the  general 
public.  A  street  railway  monopoly  or  a  great  gas  or 
water  company  is  naturaly  anxious  to  make  as  much 
money  as  possible  and  to  secure  whatever  privileges 
will  aid  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  object.  The 
public,  on  the  other  hand,  which  gives  such  a  corpo¬ 
ration  its  franchises,  which  permits  it  to  use  the 
streets  and  grants  its  various  rights,  is  anxious  in 
return  to  get  the  best  possible  accommodation  at 
the  lowest  possible  price.  The  attempts  of  the  cor¬ 
poration  to  secure  new  privileges  and  the  use  of 
those  already  granted  should  be  carefully  watched 
in  the  public  interest,  so  that  the  fulfillment  of  the 
obligations  may  be  secured.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  always  demagogues  or  honest  fanatics  or 
venal  politicians  who  suggest  unreasonable  de¬ 
mands  on  the  corporation,  which  the  persons  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  latter  consider  attacks  upon  their  vested 
rights.  There  is  inevitably  a  conflict  of  interest,  and 
out  of  this  grows  the  danger  that  the  corporations 
will  feel  themselves  obliged  to  gain  their  ends  de¬ 
fensive  or  offensive  by  corruption,  and  that  dishon¬ 
est  men  will  seek  municipal  office  in  order  to  be 
corrupted.  When  legislation  is  for  sale,  no  man  and 
no  private  or  public  right  is  safe,  and  it  is  important 
therefore  to  have  as  few  great  corporations  which 
may  be  tempted  to  corrupt  as  possible. 

Take  another  example.  Birmingham  is  a  city  a 
little  larger  than  Boston.  Here  we  find  liberal  parks, 
but  to  those  we  are  not  unused  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic ;  swimming  baths  “which  offer  larger  swim¬ 
ming  facilities  than  the  people  of  New  York  City  ever 
possessed  within  doors  in  public  or  private  baths 
along  shore  or  in  town”  (to  quote  from  Mr.  Ralph  in 
Harper's  Magazine)  and  every  convenience  for  bath¬ 
ing  is  afforded  at  the  most  moderate  cost.  Here  also 
are  libraries,  an  art  gallery  and  museum,  enriched, 
it  is  true,  by  donations  from  private  citizens  but  sup¬ 
ported  at  the  public  expense.  Here  again  the  gas 
works  belong  to  the  city,  and  while  charging  reduced 
rates  to  the  consumer,  who  now  pays  about  sixty 
cents  a  thousand  feet,  they  yield  a  handsome  profit 
for  the  city  on  their  large  cost. 

Birmingham  also,  like  Glasgow,  has  bought  up  bad 
neighborhoods  and  laid  them  out  again  at  large  orig. 
inal  cost,  but  so  that  the  enterprise  will  prove  pecu¬ 
niarily  very  profitable,  while  its  main  objects,  the 
prevention  of  disease  and  the  discouragement  of 
crime,  have  been  accomplished  and  the  death  rate 
of  the  city  has  been  reduced  more  than  one-half. 

The  difficulties  of  draining  a  large  inland  city  have 


been  grappled  with  and  overcome.  The  little  river 
into  which  it  naturally  drained  was  wholly  insuffi¬ 
cient  for  a  large  population,  and  in  consequence  a 
new  systeffii  was  necessary.  The  city  accordingly  ac¬ 
quired  a  farm  of  1,200  acres,  into  and  through  which 
all  sewage  is  conducted  by  a  conduit  and  system  of 
filtration.  In  this  way  the  sewage  is  purified  and 
the  farm  fertilized,  so  that  its  products  are  sold  for 
nearly  $125,000  a  year,  a  little  less  than  half  the  cost 
of  operating  the  system.  All  household  waste  is  re¬ 
moved  and  treated  so  that  what  is  useful  is  sold  and 
the  rest  is  burned  or  made  by  melting  into  paving 
material. 

Here  again  street  railways  are  owned  by  the  city 
and  rented  at  a  profit;  and  the  finances  of  the  city 
are  so  administered  that  the  burden  of  taxation  is 
not  severe,  while  the  debts  incurred  in  carrying  out 
its  great  improvements  are  in  a  fair  way  of  being 
paid. 

Each  of  these  cities  are  governed  by  a  council  con¬ 
sisting  of  a  large  number  of  members  who  serve 
without  pay,  and  as  the  best  citizens  are  elected  to 
these  offices  it  is  considered  an  honor  to  serve  the 
city.  These  cities  succeed  in  getting  able  and  honest 
men  to  manage  their  business,  and  in  consequence 
it  is  managed  well. 

NEW  YORK  ONE  OF  THE  WORST. 

What  do  we  do?  Let  us  take  for  example  the  city 
of  New  York,  the  largest  and  richest  city  that  we 
have,  the  center  of  our  business  intelligence  and  ac¬ 
tivity.  What  is  true  of  New  York  is  approximately 
true  of  our  other  cities,  though  misgovernment  is 
more  effectively  organized  there  than  in  any 
other  city  except  perhaps  Baltimore.  New  York  is 
governed  by  the  political  organization  which  from 
the  .name  of  its  headquarters  is  called  Tammany 
Hall,  and  this  in  turn  is  controlled  by  its  executive 
committee.  This  organization  is  not  interested  in 
the  great  questions  of  national  politics,  the  tariff,  the 
finances,  or  any  foreign  or  domestic  question  of  na¬ 
tional  interest.  It  calls  itself  democratic,  but  in  re¬ 
cent  years  its  power  has  been  more  often  used  to  de¬ 
feat  than  to  elect  the  democratic  candidate  for  Pres¬ 
ident.  It  is  really,  to  use  a  slang  phrase  of  its  own 
invention,  a  “combine”  of  men  who  wish  to  live  on 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  who  consider  it  no  sin  to 
labor  in  their  vocation.  Their  purpose  is  simply  to 
get  as  large  a  sum  out  of  the  city  treasury  as  they 
can,  and  their  success  has  been  phenomenal.  The 
New  York  Evening  Post  has  done  a  great  public  serv¬ 
ice  by  publishing  the  records  of  the  twenty-eight 
men  who  compose  the  executive  committee  of  Tam- 
many.  Its  summary  shows  that  they  are  all  profes¬ 
sional  politicians,  and  that  among  them  are  one  con¬ 
victed  of  murder,  three  men  who  have  been  indicted 
for  murder,  felonious  assault  and  bribery  respectively; 
four  professional  gamblers,  five  ex  keepers  of  gam¬ 
bling  houses,  nine  who  either  now  or  formerly  sold 
liquor,  three  whose  fathers  did,  three  former  pugi¬ 
lists,  four  former  rowdies,  and  six  members  of  the 
famous  Tweed  gang.  Seventeen  of  these  hold  office 
seven  formerly  did,  and  two  are  favored  contractors. 
From  a  corrupt  tree  must  come  corrupt  fruit.  Is  it 
strange  that  the  government  of  New  York  is  bad? 
Is  it  not  strange,  is  it  not  disgraceful,  that  such  men 
should  be  suffered  to  govern  the  metropolis  of  our 
country,  and  through  the  bargains  by  which  they 
sell  the  votes  of  their  followers  and  buy  city  offices 
to  very  largely  affect  the  government  under  which 
we  all  live? 

Every  city  government  is  not  as  bad  as  that  of  New 
York,  but  everywhere,  with  the  rare  exception,  in¬ 
ferior  men  are  elected  to  municipal  office,  and  any 
man,  however  little  his  education  or  his  previous 
training  may  have  fitted  him  for  the  work,  is 
considered  competent  to  deal  with  the  complicated 
problems  of  municipal  government.  A  succession 
of  men  more  or  less  incompetent  follow  each  other 
at  brief  intervals  over  the  stage,  and  as  a  result,  there 
is  no  consistent  economical  administration  of  a  city’s 
business.  In  Boston,  as  a  gentleman  who  has  re¬ 
cently  been  studying  the  operation  of  the  various 
departments  said,  “the  methods  are  such  that  no 
business  house  could  adopt  them  and  keep  out  of 
bankruptcy  six  months.” 

We  are  badly  governed  because  we  choose  incom- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


285 


petent,  dishonest  or  at  best  inexperienced  men  to 
govern  us.  We  all  admit  the  fact.  We  all  lament  it. 
What  is  the  remedy  ?  Is  it  possible  that  a  great  busi¬ 
ness  people  like  ourselves  is  powerless  to  change  this 
state  of  things?  Must  we  look  forward  to  an  indefi¬ 
nite  future  of  tame  submission  to  saloon-keepers  and 
actual  or  probable  convicts?  Is  there  no  chance  of 
a  new  anti-slavery  movement  in  which  we,  the 
slaves,  shall  rise  against  such  masters? 

No  one  can  answer  these  questions  without  first 
clearly  apprehending  the  causes  which  have  brought 
us  to  our  low  estate,  nor  are  these  diflScult  to  dis" 
cover. 

In'^he  first  place  the  average  American  takes  very 
little  interest  in  the  government  of  his  city.  He  will 
work  hard  and  contribute  freely  of  his  time  and 
money  in  a  presidential  campaign,  or  in  the  efibrt  to 
elect  a  governor  or  congressman,  though  these  offices 
have  less  power  over  his  daily  life  than  the  aiderman 
who  represents  his  ward.  If  elected  a  member  of  a 
club,  committee,  or  a  parish  committee,  or  the  build¬ 
ing  committee  of  some  charitable  institution,  he  will 
give  the  most  conscientious  attention  to  his  duties. 
He  will  work  hard  as  the  director  of  a  business  cor¬ 
poration  in  which  his  pecuniary  interests  are  trifling 
as  compared  with  his  stake  of  family  health  and 
comfort  and  security  in  the  municipal  corporation  of 
which  he  is  a  member.  He  will  take  hours  and  per¬ 
haps  days  from  his  business  in  order  to  select  the 
hangings,  or  carpets,  or  furniture  for  his  own  house, 
which  are  mere  matters  of  taste,  but  he  will  not  often 
give  an  hour  in  the  course  of  a  year  to  the  intelligent 
consideration  of  his  city’s  business.  He  will  grumble 
at  dust,  swear  at  bad  water  or  foul  smells,  vote  for 
his  party  candidate  if  he  can  do  so  without  too  much 
inconvenience,  complain  of  his  taxes,  and  think  that 
he  has  done  his  full  duty.  Every  follower  of  Tam¬ 
many  voted  for  their  chief  on  election  day ;  30,000 
excellent  citizens  neglected  to  vote  against  him  and 
Mr.  Astor  said  that  he  had  no  political  interest  in 
New  York. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  APATHY. 

We  must  go  deeper,  however.  What  are  the  causes 
of  this  indifference?  Can  we  hope  to  overcome  it  or 
must  it  be  dealt  with  as  a  constant  factor  in  our 
problem?  It  arises  partly  from  the  fact  that  munic¬ 
ipal  politics  seem  petty  as  compared  with  national 
politics,  partly  from  the  fact  that  they  have  been  so 
many  years  in  bad  hands  that  a  certain  stigma  in 
the  minds  of  many  persons  is  attached  to  men  who 
are  active  in  them,  partly  from  the  discouragement 
caused  by  repeated  failures  to  dislodge  bad  men  and 
the  feeling  that  it  is  idle  for  a  few  disorganized  citi¬ 
zens  to  contest  the  field  with  the  well  disciplined 
army  which  obey  the  “bosses,”  and  in  some  cases 
from  sheer  laziness.  It  is  not  that  Americans  do  not 
know  what  good  government  is  or  that  they  do  not 
want  it.  It  is  not  that  they  are  content  with  their 
rulers,  but  they  find  it  easier  to  pay  a  little  more  in 
taxes,  to  swallow  a  little  dust,  to  breathe  a  little 
foul  air,  and  to  treat  disease  as  inevitable,  than  to 
spend  in  working  for  the  public  time  and  money  for 
which  no  one  thanks  them,  and  which  are  taken 
from  lucrative  business  or  from  rest  and  recreation- 

Another  cause  which  blinds  the  eye  of  the  citizen 
and  paralyzes  his  energy  is  the  idea  which  politi¬ 
cians  so  carefully  cherish  that  political  parties 
should  carry  their  contests  into  municipal  elections, 
that  if  a  man  in  favor  of  tariff  reform  he  must 
vote  for  the  Tammany  candidate  for  mayor,  or  if  he 
favors  the  McKinley  bill  that  he  can  not  safely  sup. 
port  a  candidate  for  mayor  who  is  selected  from 
the  democratic  party.  The  superstition  goes  so  far 
that  men  who  joined  the  republican  party  in  1856 
because  they  were  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slav¬ 
ery  into  the  territories  and  who  supported  it  because 
they  believed  in  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the 
restoration  of  the  Union,  feel  bound  twenty-five 
years  after  all  these  objects  are  accomplished  to  vote 
for  a  republican  candidate  for  sheriff’  whom  they 
know  to  be  entirely  unfit  for  the  office.  If  their 
arguments  were  extended  in  plain  English  it  would 
astonish  them.  “  I  believed  in  the  restoration  of  the 
Union  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  twenty-five 
years  ago,  and  therefore,  I  vote  for  a  man  now  who 
had  nothing  to  do  with  either  and  whose  business  it 
is  to  keep  our  streets  clean  simply  because  he  calls 


himself  a  republican,  though  I  know  that  he  is  in¬ 
competent.  In  short,  I  am  still  so  busy  restoring  the 
Union  and  freeing  the  slaves,  that  I  have  no  time  to 
think  of  clean  streets  or  pure  water.” 

A  third  cause  of  our  trouble  may  perhaps  best  be 
illustrated  by  a  comparison.  A  manufacturing  cor¬ 
poration,  whose  stock  holders  include  republicans, 
democrats,  prohibitionists  and  mugwumps,  desire  a 
president.  Those  who  are  interested  choose  some 
man  of  acknowledged  ability,  and  without  asking 
what  his  political  opinions  are  say  to  him:  “Become 
our  president  and  we  will  pay  you  adequate  salary; 
we  will  give  you  the  assistance  of  the  best  directors  that 
we  can  select  from  our  own  members;  you  shall  have 
power  to  manage  our  business  as  you  think  best, 
subject  to  their  advice,  and  if  you  succeed  you  shall 
keep  the  place  as  long  as  you  like.  ”  The  ci  ty  seeking 
a  mayor  says  to  the  same  man:  “Do  you  wish  to  be¬ 
come  our  mayor?  You  must  first  agree  to  pay  a  large 
sum  to  the  campaign  fund  for  expenses;  you  must 
then  satisfy  the  heads  of  certain  factions  that  they 
and  their  followers  have  something  to  gain  by  your 
election,  as  they  are  practical  men  who  are  not  to  be 
satisfied  with  vague  expressions  of  good  will  and 
will  want  something  very  definite.  You  must  then 
take  the  chances  of  a  campaign  in  which  all  your 
sins  and  many  which  you  have  never  committed 
will  be  marshaled  against  you  in  the  daily  papers, 
and  you  will  be  exposed  to  every  kind  of  misrepre- 
.sentation.  If  you  are  elected,  we  shall  give  you  very 
small  pay  and  a  board  of  directors  who  will  be 
incompetent  to  help  you  and  entirely  competent  to 
embarrass  and  perplex  you  at  every  turn.  You  will  re¬ 
ceive plenty  of  criticism  from  every  corrupt  politician 
whose  demands  you  either  can  not  or  will  not  gratify, 
but  little  or  no  encouragement  or  support  from  good 
citizens  who  are  too  busy  with  their  own  affairs,  or 
too  modest  to  give  you  much  attention  or  assistance 
or  even  applause,  and  who  treat  your  good  works  as 
a  matter  of  course,  while  they  are  swift  to  visit  on 
you  not  only  your  own  sins,  but  the  shortcomings  of 
every  city  official;  and  when  your  term  is  over  and 
you  are  beginning  to  learn  the  duties  of  your  office, 
we  wiil  remove  you  in  order  to  put  some  other  un¬ 
fortunate  victim  in  your  place.”  Is  it  surprising  that 
the  private  corporation  gets  its  president,  and  the 
city  is  obliged  to  look  elsewhere  for  its  mayor? 

MUNICIPAL  PROBLEMS  AND  POLITICS. 

There  are  three  motives  which  may  induce  good 
men  to  take  public  office:  The  desire  for  money, 
the  desire  for  honor,  and  public  spirit,  or  the  sense 
of  duty.  We  appeal  to  neither.  Our  salaries  are 
inadequate  even  if  we  could  promise  a  tenure  of 
office  during  good  behavior.  Municipal  office  has 
ceased  to  be  regarded  as  especially  honorable,  and 
however  keen  may  be  his  sense  of  duty,  it  is  difficult 
to  persuade  a  public  spirited  citizen  that  he  ought 
to  seek  municipai  office  and  engineer  his  own  cam¬ 
paign.  Until  the  people  whose  business  is  to  be 
done  are  sufficiently  Interested  in  having  it  done 
well  to  select  good  officers,  elect  them,  and  keep 
them  in  office  by  proper  support,  our  citizens  will 
continue  to  be  governed  by  incompetent  men  and 
persons  who  make  office  profitable  in  illegitimate 
ways. 

There  is  another  thing  which  can  not  be  neglected 
in  enumerating  the  causes  which  contribute  to  mis¬ 
rule  in  our  cities.  They  contain  a  large  number  of 
ignorant  voters,  mainly  of  foreign  birth  or  descent, 
many  of  whom  know  nothing  of  our  government  or 
even  of  our  language,  and  who  are  easily  led  by  a 
few  men  whose  influence  is  for  sale  and  whose  prej¬ 
udices  are  easily  inflamed.  These  men  are  ignorant, 
not  wicked.  They  can  be  influenced  for  good  as 
well  as  for  bad.  They  do  not  want  bad  water,  bad 
air,  and  squalid  abodes.  They  do  not  wish  to  see 
their  families  die  of  infectious  disorders,  and  if  they 
could  be  made  to  understand  the  facts  they  would 
be  ready  to  vote  for  everything  which  will  improve 
their  condition.  Their  numbers  make  them  an 
element  in  the  situation  which  must  be  considered 
and  dealt  with.  How  are  these  causes  to  be  dealt 
with?  How  shall  we  reform  our  system  so  that  the 
business  of  our  cities  may  be  done  by  competent 
men?  These  are  the  questions. 

In  the  first  place  municipal  business  must  be  en¬ 


tirely  divorced  from  national  politics,  and  if  party  or¬ 
ganizations  are  necessary  to  secure  the  elections  of 
good  mayors  and  aldermen,  they  must  be  organiza¬ 
tions  absolutely  distinct  from  the  national  parties 
and  made  up  on  different  lines.  When  the  president 
of  a  railroad  or  a  bank,  or  the  treasurer  of  a  manufac¬ 
turing  corporation  is  to  be  elected,  the  stockholders 
do  not  divide  themselves  into  two  hostile  camps  ac¬ 
cording  to  their  views  upon  the  tariff  or  the  fisheries 
or  iheir  opinions  upon  the  questions  of  twenty-five 
years  ago  and  struggle  for  victory  over  each  other. 
They  recognize  the  fact  that  their  interests  in  the  cor¬ 
poration  are  identical,  and  they  co-operate  to  find 
some  man  whose  ability  and  experience  fit  him  to  su¬ 
perintend  the  corporation’s  business.  If  differences 
arise  among  them  they  are  differences  of  opinion  as 
to  the  comparative  fitness  of  different  candidates, 
but  no  one  denies  that  the  fittest  man  should  be  se¬ 
lected.  There  is  a  close  parallel  between  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  a  great  railroad  corporation  and  the  business 
of  a  great  city.  Both  require  great  administrative 
and  financial  ability ;  skill  in  the  selection  of  men, 
power  of  organization,  and  force  of  will.  The  ability 
to  organize  a  force  which  will  run  trains  for  freight 
and  passengers  economically  and  efficiently  is  not  in 
kind  different  from  the  ability  to  organize  a  force 
which  will  clean  or  pave  streets  regularly  and  well. 
The  ability  to  secure  the  best  results  from  a  given 
expenditure  of  money  in  well-built  railroads  and 
strong  bridges  is  of  the  .same  character  as  the  ability 
to  get  like  results  from  a  similar  expenditure  in  well 
constructed  sewers  or  water-works.  The  men  who 
can  deal  successfully  with  rival  companies  compet¬ 
ing  for  his  business  can  meet  with  equal  success  the 
demands  of  street  railway  companies  or  gas  compa¬ 
nies  competing  with  each  other  to  obtain  franchises 
from  the  city.  The  same  financial  skill  which  pre¬ 
serves  the  proper  ratio  between  the  income  and  ex¬ 
penses  of  a  business  corporation  will  find  ample 
opportunity  to  display  itself  in  dealing  with  the 
finances  of  a  municipal  corporation. 

Railroading,  as  it  is  beginning  to  be  called,  is  a 
profession  which  offers  to  those  who  adopt  it 
a  definite  career.  The  opportunities  are  great, 
but  he  who  would  seize  them  must  fit  himself 
for  the  work  by  special  training.  The  Penn¬ 
sylvania  company  has  its  own  college  at  Altoona, 
where  young  men  can  learn  the  business  of 
managing  a  railroad.  The  graduates  of  this  college 
begin  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  and  gradually  climb 
up.  The  man  who  wishes  to  superintend  a  woolen 
mill  or  a  paper  mill  begins  as  a  hand,  in  his  father’s 
mill  perhaps.  In  every  private  business  men  recog¬ 
nize  the  necessity  of  learning  how  the  work  should 
be  done  before  they  begin  to  do  it.  This  is  equally 
true  of  the  business  which  is  done  for  a  city,  but 
here  we  act  as  if  no  training  were  necessary.  Why 
should  not  our  cities  offer  young  men  who  will 
learn  how  to  do  their  business  as  honorable  and 
certain  a  career  as  cotton  mills  and  railroads  offer? 
Should  we  not  all  rejoice  if  our  municipal  business 
was  in  the  hands  of  men  trained  to  do  it  well,  and 
have  we  not  energy  and  sense  enough  to  secure  so 
desirable  a  result?  Let  us  simply  as  members  of  a 
great  business  corporation  apply  the  same  rules  to 
the  selection  of  our  president  and  directors  that  are 
followed  by  stock-holders  in  smaller  business  corpo¬ 
rations.  Instead  of  letting  a  number  of  politicians 
associated  with  the  national  parties  meet  and  nomi¬ 
nate  some  of  themselves  as  candidates  for  the  offices 
of  the  city,  why  should  we  not  have  an  entirely  new 
departure?  Why  should  not  the  business  men  of  the 
city,  irrespective  of  their  political  or  religious 
opinions,  form  a  municipal  party  for  the  simple  pur¬ 
pose  of  electing  competent  municipal  officers  and 
keeping  them  in  office  as  long  as  they  do  their  work 
well?  It  would  be  easy  to  draw  a  platform  for  such 
a  party  upon  which  the  whole  city  could  stand. 
Here  is  a  specimen  plank:  “Resolved,  that  we  are  in 
favor  of  having  the  streets  properly  paved  and  regu¬ 
larly  swept.”  The  party  standing  for  this  and  this 
alone  with  an  organization  in  each  precinct  would 
soon  number  every  one  who  wished  to  have  the 
city’s  business  done  on  business  principles,  and 
against  such  a  party  the  petty  politicians  who  live 
by  plundering  the  city  would  be  powerless.  The 
committee  of  fifty  in  Philadelphia  has  shown  what 


286 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


nan  be  done  by  a  small  organization  of  citizens  aim¬ 
ing  only  at  the  public  good.  Once  break  down  the 
superstition  that  national  politics  have  something  to 
do  with  city  business,  and  it  wilt  be  comparatively 
easy  to  nniteall  citiz  nis  who  wantclean  streets,  good 
water,  pure  air,  good  drainage  and  everything  else 
that  gi)od  government  means,  in  a  municipal  party 
which  will  be  powerful  enough  to  insure  good  gov¬ 
ernment. 

INTERVAI.S  BETWEEN  EBECTIONS. 

To  make  the  distinction  between  national  politics 
and  municipal  business  complete,  the  municipaj 
election  should  be  held  say  in  May.  and  themuuicii)a 
year  should  begin  July  1.  The  greater  interval  be¬ 
tween  the  elections  the  more  difficult  it  becomes  to 
sell  a  congressman  for  a  sheriff’  or  a  mayor  for  a 
president.  And  in  this  connection  let  me  say  tha 
the  plan  so  efficiently  supported  in  Buffalo  of  sepa¬ 
rating  municipal  from  the  other  elections  by  a  whole 
year  meets  my  cordial  approval.  The  more  com 
pletely  municipal  business  can  be  divorced  from 
national  politics,  the  better  for  us  all. 

E.vperieuce  has  shown  that  the  apathy  which 
makes  St)  many  citizens  neglect  their  duties  can  be 
overcome  at  intervals.  The  people  are  capable  of  a 
great  uprising  such  as  drove  the  Tweed  ring  into 
exile  or  pri.son,  whenever  things  have  re  iched  such 
a  pass  as  to  become  unbearable,  but  where  elections 
are  frequent  men  become  negligent,  both  l)ecause 
they  weary  of  the  efforts  neces.sary  to  victory  in  a 
polliical  campaign,  and  because  they  console  them¬ 
selves  with  the  reflection  that  if  the  election  goes 
wrong  it  will  be  ea-^y  to  correct  the  mischief  next 
year.  This  tendency  can  in  part  be  met  by  making 
the  elections  less  frequent,  thus  giving  municipal 
officers  longer  terms  'and  making  it  easier  t  >  bring 
out  the  voters  who  may  be  willing  once  in  three  or 
four  years  to  make  a  vigorous  effort  rather  than  be 
misgoverned  for  so  long  a  period. 

The  next  step  is  to  make  positions  in  ihe  city  etn 
ploy  attractive  to  such  men  as  we  ueed,  men  of 
ability  and  character.  To  fill  the  higher  offices  in  a 
city  government  requires  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
hard  work,  and  we  can  not  organize  our  government 
upon  the  theory  tha'  a  considerable  number  of  the 
most  capable  citizens  will  sacrifl-  e  themselves  for  the 
benefit  of  the  rest.  In  the  long  run  we  must  pay  for 
good  work  if  we  expect  to  get  it.  We  can  note  )mpete 
with  private  employers  unless  we  are  all  willing  to 
pay  as  much  The  work  of  governing  a  city  is  not 
es  jecially  agreeable,  and  the  city  can  well  afford  to 
pay  for  the  best  talent  thtt  can  be  had.  barge  sal¬ 
aries  are  not  so  expensive  as  large  stealings  and  poor 
work.  The  men  who  now  pretend  to  serve  our  cities 
without  compensation  are  often  better  paid  tliati  the 
men  who  receive  the  largest  salaries  that  private  cor¬ 
porations  offer.  The  sound  l)usiuess  rule  is  to  pay 
good  wages  for  good  work,  and  to  expe  t  nothing  for 
nothing  If  we  have  not  time  to  govern  ourselves, 
we  must  pav  some  one  else  to  do  the  work. 

Money  alone  will  not  get  such  men  as  we  need 
There  must  be  some  assurance  of  permanence,  some 
hope  of  promotion.  We  must  offer  a  career,  if  we 
wouhl  tempt  into  o>ir  service  the  able  young  men 
who  every  year  are  choosing  their  professions.  No 
man  who  can  do  anything  else  will  accept  employ¬ 
ment  wnere  good  service  does  not  help  him  and 
where  he  is  liable  to  be  turned  out  at  a  moment's 
notice.  If  sound  busintss  principles  ctuild  be 
adopted,  a  successful  city  officer  would  be  called 
from  one  city  to  another  as  an  able  railway  snperin. 
tendent  is  called  to  continuxlly  better  positions,  arrd 
the  profession  of  municipal  administiation  wou'd 
be  extremely  attractive.  Is  it  impossible  in  America 
to  create  such  a  profession?  Are  we  forevi  r  bonnd 
to  our  present  nnbusiness-like  method  of  selecting 
our  officers  at  random  and  turning  them  outassoon 
as  they  begin  to  know  their  business? 

GOOD  MONEY  FOR  GOOD  WORK. 

With  citizens  organized  toinsnre  good  municipal 
government,  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  by 
proper  effort  to  reach  and  influence  the  mass  of 
ignorant  voters,  who  now  help  the  vicious  bosses  to 
govern  our  cities,  but  it  is  the  part  of  prudence  not 
to  lake  too  many  chances  agaii  st  ourselves.  We  are 
struggling  with  ii  great  many  complicati  d  (luesiions. 


which  it  takes  intelligence  to  understand.  They  are 
to  be  settled  by  gradually  educating  the  people. 
Public  opinion  is  the  ultimate  force  in  this  country, 
if  not  indeed  everywhere,  but  it  takes  time  and 
effort  to  create  and  direct  it.  A  colony  of  Italians, 
Scandinavians,  Germans,  or  Irish,  preserving  their 
national  languages  and  their  natronal  ideas,  and 
living  ns  foreigners  among  us  are  very  difficult  to 
reach,  but  their  voles  count  just  as  much  as  the 
votes  of  the  most  highly  educated  men  among  us. 
We  must  make  our  naturalization  laws  more  strin¬ 
gent.  It  is  not  consistent  with  business  ptinciple.^  to 
admit  men  as  equal  partners  in  a  prosperous  firm, 
who  bring  neither  experience  nor  capital,  w  ho  know 
nothing  of  the  business,  and  do  not  even  .speak  the 
same  language  with  the  other  partners.  We  cer¬ 
tainly  may  insist  that  a  man  shall  not  vote  here 
until  he  has  been  here  long  enough  to  understand 
our  institutions  and  speak  our  language,  and  as  we 
must  have  an  arbitrary  rule,  it  would  seem  safe  to 
require  fifteen  or  twenty  years'  residence  This  may 
opeiate  severely  in  a  few  cases,  but  the  country  will 
not  suffer,  and  its  interest  demands  that  we  should 
organize  and  educate  the  citizens  that  we  now  have 
until  they  are  better  able  to  govern  themselves 
before  we  undertake  to  admit  many  more  voters 
with  the  traditions,  ideas,  and  interests  of  foreign¬ 
ers. 

The  tendency  in  this  country  is  to  concentrate 
municipal  authority  in  a  few  hands.  In  Glasgow 
and  Birmingham  the  best  results  are  achieved  by 
enlisting  a  large  number  of  able  citizens  and  divid 
ing  the  work  among  them,  some  taking  charge  of 
sewers,  others  of  lights,  others  of  water,  etc.  It 
makes  little  difference  which  system  prevails  if  only 
good  men  are  inf' need  to  do  the  work  Make  it  in 
popula'  estimation  as  great  a  tribute  to  a  man's  busi¬ 
ness  ability  to  make  him  an  alderman  as  it  is  to 
make  him  a  director  of  a  bank  or  railroad  and  men 
will  be  glad  to  take  positions  in  the  city  government. 
Make  it,  as  it  is  to-day,  rather  a  questionable  dis¬ 
tinction  to  be  promin-  nt  in  city  politics,  and  except 
the  few  whose  public  spirit  leads  them  to  do  a  disa¬ 
greeable  public  duty  or  whose  ambition  makes  them 
take  mu  icipal  office  as  the  first  step  in  public  life, 
the  men  who  hold  city  office  will  do  neither  their 
city  nor  ihem.selves  any  credit.  If  your  city  officers 
are  bad  men  we  can  not  have  too  few  aldermen  or 
councilnjen  who  intrigue  for  patronage  or  consider 
only  what  their  votes  or  influence  in  the  city  legisla¬ 
ture  can  be  made  to  yield,  the  fewer  we  have  the  bet¬ 
ter. 

Once  persuade  the  people  that  the  government  of 
a  city  is  a  mere  matter  of  business  and  induce  them 
to  treat  it  as  such,  and  municipal  reform  is  assured. 

The  experiment  is  worth  trying.  Let  even  twenty 
of  the  men  in  any  city  who  are  its  business  leaders 
meet  and  really  consider  what  stei>a  should  be  taken 
to  secure  economical  municipal  government.  Let 
them  agree  to  give,  say,  two  hours  a  week  each  to  the 
work.  Let  them  take  measures  to  organize  their  fel- 
low-citizes  of  all  classes  in  support  of  their  move 
raeut,  and  let  them  show  the  same  intelligence  and 
energy  that  they  exhibit  in  dealing  with  the  affairs 
of  business  corporations  in  which  th  y  are  directors. 
Let  them  select  their  candidates  and  agree  to  pay 
them  what  their  time  is  fairly  worth,  to  stand  by 
them,  and  to  keep  them  in  office  as  long  ns  they  do 
their  work  well  Can  anyone  doubt  that  such  in¬ 
telligent  and  organized  effort  would  succeed?  If 
there  are  difificjlties,  cannot  such  men  find  means 
to  overcome  them?  Whoever  answers  these  ques¬ 
tions  in  the  negative  must  admit  that  republican  in¬ 
stitutions  area  failure  when  aiiplied  to  municipal 
government,  or,  at  least,  that  we  must  submit  to 
years  more  of  inefficiency,  corruption,  plunder,  and 
disgrace  before  that  public  spirit  is  developed  which 
is  necessary  to  their  success. 

If  some  humorous  derider  of  civil  service  reform 
principles  wished  to  perpetrate  a  huge  joke  on  all  the 
protestations  in  the  republican  platform  in  favor  of 
the  reform,  he  could  hardly  do  better  than  hunt  up 
the  once  famous  Flanagan,  of  Texas,  who  asked  at 
the  retiublican  national  convention,  “What  are  we 
here  for,  if  not  for  the  offices?”  and  reward  the  said 
Flanagan  with  some  h'gh  office.  Strangely  enough, 
President  Harrison,  whom  no  cne  accuses  of  being  a 
humorisi.  has.  in  solemn  earnest,  appointed  this 
same  Flanagan  C'dlector  of  customs  at  El  Paso,  Tex. 
—  Civil  Sffvicf  RerorC. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
LEAGUE  PASSED  AT  BUFFALO, 
SEPTEMBER  30,  1891. 


The  National  Givil  Service  League  congratulates 
the  country  upon  the  significant  progress  of  reform 
during  the  last  year.  The  extension  of  the  reformed 
system  to  a  part  of  the  Indian  service  and  its  intro¬ 
duction  into  the  navy  yards;  the  executive  revoca¬ 
tion  of  the  system  of  compulsory  competition  for  pro' 
motion,  and  the  executive  order  authorizing  open 
com  potion  with  the  actual  adoption  of  such  a  system 
in  the  post-office  department;  the  increa.se  in  the 
number  of  applicants  for  examination  from  all  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country,  which  has  made  it  possible  to 
equalize  the  quotas  of  appointments  among  the 
states,  showing  a  general  confidence  hitherto  un¬ 
known  in  Ihe  honest  non-partisan  observance  of  the 
law;  the  indictment  of  members  of  both  political 
parties  for  attempting  to  levy  political  a.'-sessments 
uptm  public  employes,  and  the  defeat  by  the  friends 
of  rcfoim  in  congress  of  the  efforts  to  embarass  the 
commission  and  paralyze  the  operation  of  the  law ; 
the  admirable  statement  and  approval  of  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  reform  by  the  court  of  appeals  in  New  York 
in  declaring  the  constitutionality  of  the  reform  law 
and  confirming  itsapplicability  to  municipal  admin¬ 
istration  in  Buffalo,  all  attest  the  steady  practical 
progress  of  reform  and  the  happy  advance  of  the 
public  sentiment  upon  which  all  effective  reform  de¬ 
pends. 

The  League  declares  its  high  appreciation  of  the 
great  and  patriotic  service  rendered  to  the  country 
and  to  the  interests  of  reform  by  the  secretary  of  the 
navy  in  his  prompt,  comprehensive  and  thorough 
application  of  sound  principles  administration  in 
the  selection  both  of  skilled  and  un.skilled  employes 
in  the  national  navy  yards,  which  have  been  hith¬ 
erto  scenes  of  the  worse  excesses  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem.  The  League  trusts  that  this  great  measure  of 
reform  will  be  secured  permanently  by  an  executive 
order  which  alone  can  make  it  a  part  of  the  general 
system  under  the  law  administered  by  the  national 
civil  service  commi.ssion. 

The  League  regards  the  recent  displacement  for 
political  reasons  of  the  collector  of  New  York,  an 
officer  of  acknowledged  integrity,  ability  and  effi¬ 
ciency  by  compelling  his  resignation,  as  a  flagrant 
violation  of  the  platform  promises  and  executive 
pledges  of  the  party  of  administration  to  re-pect  not 
only  the  letter  of  the  law  but  the  spirit  of  reform. 
The  League  holds  the  declaration  that  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  reform  should  be  observed  in  all  execu¬ 
tive  appointments,  and  the  pledge  that  fitness  and 
not  party  service  should  be  the  essential  test  in  ap¬ 
pointment,  if  they  mean  anything,  to  mean  that 
diligent,  honest  and  capable  officers  whose  duties 
are  in  no  sense  political  shall  not  be  forced  for  po 
litical  reasons  to  resign.  Against  this  violation  of 
solemn  public  pledges  by  the  highest  officers  of  the 
government  the  League,  in  the  name  of  all  honorable 
citizens,  unqualifiedly  protests. 

The  League  condemns  the  failure  to  prosecute  ef¬ 
fectively  the  persons  Indicted  for  levying  political 
contributions  in  violation  of  law,  a  failnre  which 
can  not  but  encourage  similar  violations,  beeause  it 
will  be  held  to  indicate  a  willingness  on  the  part  of 
the  administration  to  respectively  connive  at  such 
offences. 

The  recent  letters  signed  by  the  officers  of  the  re¬ 
publican  state  executive  committee  in  Ohio,  and 
the  republican  state  committee  in  Pennsylvania, 
levying  a  political  tax  upon  public  employes  under 
terror  of  removal,  plainly  violates  the  spirit,  if  not 
the  letter  of  the  civil  .service  act  of  1883,  which  was 
designed  to  protect  public  employes  against  parti¬ 
san  extortion  and  illnstrate  the  evil  effeels  of  the 
failure  which  we  condemn.  Any  party  which  is 
not  supported  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  its 
members,  and  which  resoits  to  practical  blackmail¬ 
ing  to  ob'ain  money  for  election  expenses,  strikes  a 
fatal  blow  at  the  party  system  by  confessing  that  it 
depends  for  success,  not  upon  the  convietion  and 
coifidcncc  of  those  who  compose  it,  but  upon  the 
fear  of  those  whose  livelihood  it  controls.  We  pro¬ 
test  against  these  acts  as  strengthening  an  abuse 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


287 


which  tends  to  destroy  the  legitimate  function  of 
party  and  the  self-respect  of  public  officers,  which 
brings  the  American  name  and  government  in  con¬ 
tempt,  and,  in  this  instance,  which  disgraces,  also; 
the  name  of  a  party  which  is  pledged  to  respect  not 
only  the  letter  of  the  law,  but  the  spirit  of  reform. 

The  League  reiterates  its  conviction  that  the  power 
of  removal  should  be  vested  in  appointing  officers, 
subject  only  to  a  sound  discretion.  But  it  holds  as 
strongly  that  to  secure  that  discretion  from  danger¬ 
ous  temptation  every  motive  for  its  unjust  exercise 
should  be  removed.  The  League,  therefore,  renews 
its  recommendations  as  necessary  conditions  of  re¬ 
form  that  the  laws  prescribing  fixed  terms  of  office 
which  were  intended  to  prevent  the  odium  of  arbi. 
trary  removal  should  be  repealed ;  that  the  widest 
publicity  should  be  given  to  remov.ils,  and  that  pub 
lie  officers  should  be  required  by  law  publicly  to 
record  the  reasons  of  removals  made  by  their  au¬ 
thority. 

The  interference  of  office-holders  in  elections  is 
one  of  the  oldest  evils  of  free  constitutional  govern¬ 
ment.  The  dispensers  of  official  patronage  hold  a 
power  over  primary  political  action  which  is  not 
shared  by  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  which  has  been 
always  grossly  perverted  to  secure  control  of  party 
caucuses  and  conventions.  The  attendance  of  office¬ 
holders  at  recent  political  conventions  is  a  sign  of 
neglect  by  the  administration  of  one  of  the  ancient 
safeguards  of  constitutional  liberty. 

The  League  returns  the  thanks  of  all  good  citizens 
to  the  United  States  civil  Service  Commissioner,  ex¬ 
posing  to  public  notice  and  condemnation  the  scan¬ 
dalous  abuses  arising  from  active  participation  by 
federal  office  leaders  in  primaries  of  the  republican 
party  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  It  sees  in  the 
evils  the  natural  results  of  choosing  for  offices  whose 
incumbents  are  to  enforce  the  civil  service  laws,  pro¬ 
fessional  politicians,  indifferent  or  hostile  to  that 
law.  It  considers  the  prompt  dismissal  of  every 
official  shown  to  have  violated  the  law  an  impera¬ 
tive  requirement  of  the  President’s  oath  of  office. 

B  CORRESPONDENCE. 

The  Point  of  View  of  a  Crawfordsv  lie 
Reader  of  the  Chronicle. 

Lft*  Enclosed  I  send  you  50  cents  for  one  year’s 
fsiibscription  to  the  Chroniclk.  It  is  tlie 
most  welcome  paper  that  conies  to  my  house 

(and  is  generally  read  first,  and  from  beginning 
to  end  without  stop  unless  called  from  it  by 
some  interruption. 

“I  feel  particularly  itnlignant  with  Harrison. 
We  had  a  right  to  expect  as  decisive  action  on 
his  part  in  favor  of  the  civil  service  generally, 
as  Secretary  Tracy  has  shown  in  the  naval 
service.  He  has  not  done  as  well  as  Cleveland 
in  spite  of  the  platform  on  which  he  was 
elected,  and  his  own  speeches  in  favor  of  it. 
He  is  booked  for  defeat,  so  far  as  my  vole 
goes,  if  he  is  renominated.” 

PLATTISM. 

— The  directory  of  the  republican  campaign 
subscribers  in  the  possession  of  the  party 
leaders  must  be  a  very  poor  one,  for  Chair¬ 
man  Wagner’s  appeals  for  money  have  been 
received  by  hundreds  of  democrats.  Here  is 
a  sample  of  the  call  for  funds  now  being  sent 
out : 

Headquarters  Kings  County  Republican  1 
Campaign  Committee.  I 

Room  10.  Arbuckle  Buiding,  f 

Brooklyn,  Sept.  22,  1891.  J 
My  Dear  Sir:  The  campaign  committee  is  ready 
to  receive  voluntary  subscriptions  from  all  citizens 
having  the  success  of  the  republican  party  at  heart. 
The  conduct  of  the  campaign  requires  large  expend¬ 
itures  of  money  for  legitimate  purposes,  and  under 


the  laws  we  have  no  right  to  assess  any  person.  I 
would  be  glad  to  have  you  call  at  the  headquarters 
and  to  give  you  any  explanation  required  and  re¬ 
ceive  any  advice  you  may  choose  to  ofTer.  A  ready 
res.'onse  is  earnestly  requested.  Yours  truly, 

Arnold  H.  Wagner,  Chairman. 

One  of  Nathan’s  subordinates  in  the  internal 
revenue  office  was  shown  this  section  about  not  as¬ 
sessing  any  one,  but  he  merely  laughed  and  shrugged 
his  shoulders. — New  York  Times,  October  23. 

— .Judge  Ijowery,  of  Ohio,  calculated  that 
the  700  Ohio  persons  in  office  in  Washington, 
with  aggregated  salaries  of  $500,000,  would 
give  at  least  $25,000  to  help  McKinley  and 
protection.  They  have,  it  is  understood, 
“paid  up”  only  $1,000.  The  result  of  his  ap¬ 
peal  is  said  to  be  “disgusting,”  only  fifty  clerks 
having  subscribed.  The  subscriptions  are  very 
small,  indeed.  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
clerks  from  any  other  state  in  the  union  are 
as  niggardly  as  those  from  Ohio.  Why,  they 
won’t  give  anything.” 

“I  suppose  it  is,”  the  judge  answered,  when 
asked  if  this  indifference  could  be  attributed 
to  confidence  in  their  ability  to  hold  their 
\)\aces, but  I  think  some  of  them  will  learn  they 
are  mistaken.  Probably  25  per  cent,  of  those  in 
office  are  democrats.  They  are  active,  and  some  of 
them  have  already  made  applications  for  leave. 
Everything  I  have  written  has  been  published  here 
by  some  kicker,  who  runs  immediately  to  the  press. 
There  seems  to  be  an  entire  lack  of  party  spirit 
among  them.” —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  October  19. 

Room  48,  Washington  Lman  and  Trust  ■) 

Company  Building,  Corner  of  Ninth  and  F  >- 

Streets,  N.  W.,  Washington,  Oct.  15,  1891.  I 

—In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  pending  political 
contest  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  the  nece.ssity 
for  every  republican  from  that  state,  resident  at  the 
national  capital,  to  do  his  whole  duty  under  the  de¬ 
mands  of  the  hour,  I  am  prompted,  under  authority 
from  the  state  committee,  to  Invite  you  to  call  at 
Room  48,  Washington  Loan  and  Trust  Company 
Building,  corner  of  Ninth  and  F  streets,  at  your  ear¬ 
liest  convenience,  between  the  hours  of  8:80  a.  m. 
and  6  p.  M.  This  is  for  the  purpose  of  consulting 
with  you  in  regard  to  the  best  way  for  conquering 
the  enemy  in  this  fight.  Please  bring  this  note  with 
you.  Respectfully,  Ac.,  .-V.  M.  Clapp, 

Agent  of  New  York  State  Republican  Committee. 

The  lady  who  rejeived  this  note  will  not 
present  it  to  Dairymaid  Clapp,  but  will  keep  it 
to  exhibit,  by  and  by,  if  occasion  should  arise, 
to  account  for  any  injustice  that  may  be  exer¬ 
cised  toward  her  in  the  way  of  punishment. 
The  civil  service  commission  can  find  a  great 
many  of  these  letters  in  the  department.  It  is 
understood  that  a  list  of  every  employe  from 
New  York  was  furnished  to  Dairymaid  Clipp. 
—  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Octo¬ 
ber  21. 

—  As  regards  the  duty  of  the  United  States 
district  attorney  to  prosecute  Mr.  Van  Cott  or 
Mr.  Hendricks,  collector  of  the  port,  Mr.  Platt, 
son  of  ex-Senator  Platt  [Tom  Platt],  in  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  his  chief,  Mr.  Mitchell,  said  that  the 
district  attorney’s  office  did  not  undertake 
prosecutions  of  its  own  motion,  but  only  on 
complaints  filed. — New  York  Evening  Post,  Oc¬ 
tober  14- 

— Among  the  federal  office-holders  who 
were  seen  about  Mr.  Platt’s  preserves  yesterday, 
were  Gen.  Dennis  Burke,  Deputy  Collector 
Burr, Special  Agent  Pryor,  Marcus  .A.  Hanlon, 


treasury  inspector,  and  Chief  Clerk  Rose  o 
the  appraiser’s  office. — New  York  Times,  Oc¬ 
tober  3. 

— Platt  appeared  to  be  in  a  disturbed  frame 
of  mind  last  night.  It  has  been  his  habit  to 
keep  very  much  in  the  background  at  head¬ 
quarters.  Last  night,  however,  he  stood  in 
the  main  corridors  of  the  hotel,  laying  the 
law  down  to  his  lieutenants.  Bernard  Biglin, 
William  H.  Bvllamy,  and  Internal  Revenue  Col¬ 
lector  Eidman  were  the  center  of  a  group  of  pol¬ 
iticians  which  Platt  addressed  with  emphasis. 
— Neiv  York  Times,  October  15. 

— Mr.  Platt’s  headquarters  in  the  Fifth  Ave¬ 
nue  hotel  had  a  good  many  visitors  yesterday, 
including  Collector  Hendricks,  Deputy  Collectcrr 
Biyor.  —New  York  Times,  October  16. 

— Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  14  — Mr.  Fassett’s 
speech  was  received  with  great  ajiplaiise. 
John  W.  V’^rooman  made  a  short,  witty  speech, 
and  Col.  Baxter  [United  States  marshal]  wound 
up  the  rally  in  the  opera  house. 

— At  the  Lyceum  opera  bouse, Thirty  fourih 
street  and  Third  avenue,  James  M.  Turner  pre¬ 
sided  over  a  meeting.  **  Pending  the  arrival 
of  Mr.  Fassett,  Col  .1.  E.  Bailer  [United  States 
marshal]  made  a  rally-round  the-flagspeech  to 
a  supposed  audience  of  grand  army  men.  Col. 
Baxter  jiaid  a  glowing  eulogy  to  Roger  Byron 
Towner,  the  Brooklyn  man  who  published  a 
falsehood  about  Mr.  Flower  and  the  union 
soldiers  a  few  weeks  ago.  C'ol.  Baxter  said 
that  he  would  not  take  Mr,  Flower’s  word  or 
oath  about  the  matter,  and  that  he  considered 
Towner  a  patriot  and  one  of  the  noblest  men 
that  ever  lived, —  Times,  Oct.  21. 

— Headed  by  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Ernst 
Nathan,  a  machine  has  been  built  up.  *  • 

Now  Nathan  is  absolutely  bossing  the  pres¬ 
ent  fight.  He  says  the  party  has  been  har¬ 
monized.  Yes,  with  a  cl  ub.  The  opposing  fac¬ 
tion  has  been  beaten  down  and  out  by  Nathan. 
*  *  They  saw  how  he  observed  the  spirit  of 

the  civil  sendee  law  by  going  to  the  stale  convention 
that  nominated  Mr.  Eassett  and  by  forcing  his  offi¬ 
cial  subordinates  to  go.  Every  enrolled  republican 
in  the  twenty  first  and  twenty-third  wards  knows 
that  the  employes  in  the  internal  revenue  collector’s 
office  are  used  there  at  the  primaries,  and  that  one 
of  them  was  sent  out  of  town  with  the  roll 
book  of  the  twenty-first  ward  recently,  so  that 
the  opposing  faction  could  not  have  the  namis 
of  thirty-five  new  members  placed  on  it  in 
time  to  have  them  vote  at  the  primary.  —  Neiv 
Yoik  Times,  September  27. 

— The  conference  began  when  Collector  Nathan 
told  Mr.  Ziegler  that  the  people  wanted  to 
make  him  mayor  and  that  the  republican  or¬ 
ganization  stood  ready  to  nominate  him.  *  * 

A  politician  who  .stands  very  close  to  Nathan  and 
his  fellow-leaders  saw  Mr.  Ziegler  after  the 
conference  and  asked  him  point  blank  if  he 
would  be  guided  by  the  organization  in  making  ap¬ 
pointments  and  dispensing  patronage.  Mr.  Ziegler 
looked  at  him  in  surprise  and  said  :  “That  is 
a  matter  that  I  had  not  supposed  I  would  be 
asked  to  consider.” — New  York  Times,  Septem¬ 
ber  30. 

— Brooklyn  republicans  were  rather  blue 
yesterday  over  the  prospect  of  electing  any  of 
their  candidates.  They  had  anticipated  a 
lively,  genuine  campaign  on  the  issues  laid 
down  by  William  Ziegler,  but  they  could  not 
but  admit  that  the  wisdom  displayed  by  the 
democrats  in  nominating  such  a  man  as  David 
A.  Boody,  aided  as  they  were  by  the  Nathan  policy 
of  putting  forward  such  a  man  as  Henry  A. 
Meyer,  had  almost  eliminated  these  issues 
from  the  cfimpaign.  No  one  pretended  yester¬ 
day  that  Mr.  Meyer  could  go  on  the  stump 
and  force  thos**  issues,  and  every  one  concluded 
that  “  Boss”  Nathan  had  simoly  sold  out  his  party. 
— New  York  Times,  October  13. 


288 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


— The  Notorious  Gibbs,  whom  Platt  will 
need  in  this  campaign,  was  restored  to  full 
leadership  by  the  republican  organization  in 
the  thirteenth  assembly  district  last  night. 
Gibbs  was  expelled  from  the  county  commit¬ 
tee  a  year  ago  on  the  ground  that  his  action 
with  Hamilton  Fish  and  others  in  the  legisla¬ 
ture  of  1890  had  made  him  a  traitor  to  his 
party.  Afterward,  the  state  committee,  at  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Platt,  read  him  out  of  the 
party. — New  York  Times,  September  2^. 

— As  Mr.  Platt  surveys  the  results  of  his 
“  harmony  ”  policy  in  the  legislative  districts 
he  will  not  find  much  to  comfort  him.  He 
took  the  “  Wicked  Gibbs”  back  into  favor  in 
the  thirteenth  assembly  district  in  this  city, 
using  the  federal  patronage  to  crush  out  all  opposi¬ 
tion  to  him,  and  the  results  are  the  defeat  of 
Gibbs  for  the  assembly  and  of  Stewart  for  the 
senate.  Probably  no  one  act  of  Platt’s  did 
more  to  alienate  independent  voters  in  this 
city  from  Fassett  than  his  championship  of 
Gibbs.  It  gave  the  lie  to  all  his  professions 
of  zeal  for  good  government  as  opposed  to  the 
bad  government  of  Tammany  Hall,  for  Tam¬ 
many  has  never  produced  a  worse  public  serv¬ 
ant  than  Gibbs. — New  York  Evening  Post,  Nov.  4’ 

— There  will  be  some  post-mortem  politics  at 
the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Kings  County  Pe- 
publican  General  Committee  this  evening, in  the 
Criterion  Theatre,  Brooklyn.  The  machine 
which  has  run  the  party  into  such  straits  when 
nearly  half  the  votersof  the  city  are  republicans, 
is  not  likely  to  mend  its  ways.  Ernst  Nathan,  the 
dominating  spirit  in  the  party  management,  who 
is  hand-in-glove  with  the  democratic  regime  while 
holding  an  important  federal  office,  sententiously 
says  that  the  victory  was  lost  because  there 
were  not  votes  enough,  and  then  proceeds  to 
plan  how  to  make  the  party  smaller  by  rigidly 
disciplining  those  who  failed  to  support  the 
unfit  candidates  nominated  by  his  influence. 
Mr.  Nathan,  who  has  been  dubbed  the  Me- 
phistopheles  of  Brooklyn,  does  not  openly 
present  himself  in  the  party  councils,  save  at 
great  campaign  meetings,  for  he  is  usually  in 
the  background  pulling  wires.  But  occasion¬ 
ally  he  makes  his  way  into  the  gallery  of  the 
meeting-place  of  the  general  committee  and 
watches  the  proceedings. — New  York  Evening 
Post,  November  10. 

—  The  meeting  of  the  Nathan  Machine,  which 
seems  to  govern  the  republican  party  in 
Brooklyn,  last  evening  was  as  lively  as  was 
predicted  in  The  Evening  Post  of  yesterday. 
The  arbitrary  action  of  the  chairman,  William 
W.  Goodrich,  in  declaring  the  meeting  ad¬ 
journed  in  face  of  the  fact  that  a  clear  major¬ 
ity  of  the  members  voted  against  the  resolution 
to  adjourn,  was  denounced  in  no  measured 
terms  by  groups  of  the  members  who  lingered 
for  an  hour  in  front  of  the  Criterion  Theater, 
where  the  meeting  was  held,  after  it  was  over. 

“  This  is  the  greatest  outrage  ever  perpe¬ 
trated  upon  a  meeting  assembled  for  free 
speech,”  declared  one  member,  and  he  said  he 
told  Mr.  Goodrich  so  when  he  left  the  hall. 

“More  arbitrary  action  I  never  saw,”  said 
another.  “In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Goodrich 
applied  gag-law  to  Mr.  Stubbert,  and  prevent¬ 
ed  him  from  expressing  his  views,  and  then, 
when  other  members  wanted  to  speak,  he  de¬ 
clared  carried  a  motion  to  adjourn,  when  less 
than  one-fourth  of  those  present  voted  for  it. 
In  fact,  the  members  of  the  committee  sup¬ 
posed  the  motion  lost  until  they  saw  Mr. 
Goodrich  putting  on  his  overcoat  to  go  away.” 
New  York  Evening  Post,  November  11. 


— It  was  highly  appropriate  that  the  highest 
oflScial  (Collector  Beard)  in  the  federal  serv¬ 
ice  in  this  part  of  the  country  should  preside 
at  the  club  meeting  with  which  the  repub¬ 
lican  campaign  was  opened,  Saturday  after¬ 
noon. — Boston  Post,  September  21. 


WANTON  REMOVALS. 

— The  news  of  the  removal  of  Appraiser 
Stearns,  which  was  published  yesterday,  cre¬ 
ated  a  great  deal  of  comment  at  the  custom¬ 
house. 

Neither  Collector  Beard  nor  Appraiser 
Stearns  had  been  notified  of  the  change.  The 
first  Mr.  Beard  knew  of  the  appointment,  or 
that  it  was  contemplated,  was  when  he  read 
the  papers  containing  the  dispatch,  and  he 
did  not  seem  in  ecstacies  over  it. 

It  is  said  that  the  removal  of  Appraiser  Stearns 
and  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Dodge  was  brought 
aboxit  by  Congressman  Cogswell,  who  has  felt  that 
it  was  not  well  to  have  a  democrat  in  the 
place,  while  there  were  so  many  republicans 
anxious  to  get  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  government. 

One  of  the  great  objections  to  Mr.  Stearns 
was  that  he  stood  between  his  subordinates 
and  those  republicans  who  wanted  their  places 
and  thus  prevented  political  workers  from  se¬ 
curing  what  they  deemed  their  just  rewards. 

Mr.  Stearns,  when  seen  yesterday  regarding 
his  removal,  seemed  in  no  way  disturbed. 
“  While  I  have  been  in  the  position  of  ap¬ 
praiser,”  said  he,  “I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty 
faithfully  and  well,  and  if  I  have  been  re¬ 
moved,  I  shall  lay  down  the  cares  of  ofllce 
with  a  sense  of  having  done  my  best  while 
here.  Really,  at  the  present  time  I  can  say 
nothing  about  the  matter,  because  I  know 
nothing  about  it.  I  heard  shortly  after  the 
change  of  administration  that  there  was  some 
attempt  made  to  have  me  removed  from  office, 
but  I  have  heard  nothing  at  all  in  regard  to 
the  matter  now  for  several  months.  If  I  am 
removed,  it  is  entirely  without  any  notifica¬ 
tion  up  to  the  present  time.” 

Collector  Beard  said  Mr.  Stearns  had  proved 
an  unusually  competent  official.  “  He  has  a 
remarkable  knowledge  of  the  details  of  his 
department  and  is  an  excellent  executive.  I 
am  sorry  if  the  report  of  his  removal  is  true, 
for  I  think  very  highly  of  Mr.  Stearns  and 
thought  the  department  was  very  well  satisfied 
with  him  as  appraiser.  He  has  made  a  splen¬ 
did  record,  and  may  be  well  proud  of  it,  and 
if  he  is  to  go  I  am  sorry,  though  I  think  Mr. 
Dodge  may  fill  the  office  well. 

“Mr.  Stearns  has  been  connected  for  eigb  teen 
years  with  the  custom-house.  He  was  ap¬ 
pointed  a  measurer  in  1872;  in  1874  he  was 
appointed  a  liquidating  clerk  in  the  ware¬ 
house  department,  where  he  remained  until 
Jan.  27,  1886,  when  he  was  appointed  ap¬ 
praiser  by  President  Cleveland,  to  fill  a  va¬ 
cancy  caused  by  the  death  of  the  then  ap¬ 
praiser.  He  has  filled  the  office  of  appraiser 
ever  since. 

He  has  made  very  few  changes  in  his  department, 
not  allowing  politics  to  enter  into  it  at  all.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  pressure  brought  to  bear  by  party 
men  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Stearns  un¬ 
der  Mr.  Cleveland  to  “  clean  out"  the  republicans  in 
the  office  and  put  in  democrats,  but  he  resisted  it  and 
retained  all  the  exam  iners  he  found  in  office  tvhen  he 
went  in.  All  the  changes  made  were  of  open¬ 
ers,  packers  and  porters,  and  most  of  these 
were  to  fill  vacancies  caused  by  death  or  resig¬ 
nation.  A  few  removals  were  made  to  get  rid 
of  incompetent  persons  or  those  whose  useful¬ 
ness  had  long  been  a  thing  of  the  past. 

Mr.  Dodge  is  a  resident  of  the  town  of  Ham¬ 
ilton  in  Essex  county.  He  is  a  distant  relative 
of  “Gail  Hamilton”  Dodge  who  in  turn  is  a  cousin 


of  Secretary  James  G.  Blaine  of  the  department 
of  state. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  appointed  a  clerk  in 
the  naval  office  in  1873  and  remained  there 
until  1885,  when  he  was  removed.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  appointments  of  President 
Harrison  in  1889,  having  been  named  for  the 
office  of  assistant  appraiser,  which  position  he 
is  now  holding. — Boston  Post,  July  4- 

— “Only  last  week,  the  postmistress  of  Olney- 
ville,  R.  I.,  who  had  been  in  the  office  for 
twenty  years — who  was  appointed  postmistress 
by  Cleveland — who  had  given  entire  satisfac¬ 
tion,  and  who  had  recently  been  especially 
praised  in  the  official  report,  was  removed  to 
make  way  for  an  active  republican  who  had 
no  experience  whatever  in  the  department.” 
— Private  letter  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  Oct. 
15th. 

RECENT  PARTY  PLATFORMS  ON 
THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

The  Ohio  democratic  convention,  July,  1891, 
was  entirely  silent  on  every  phase  of  a  reform 
of  the  civil  service. 

17.  We  denounce  the  corrupt  and  shame¬ 
less  domination  of  Senator  Matthew  S.  Quay 
in  the  politics  of  the  state,  and  arraign  and 
condemn  the  republican  party  for  its  servile 
acquiescence  in  the  leadership  of  a  man  who 
has  utterly  failed  to  defend  himself  from  grave 
charges  against  his  oflficial  conduct  and  polit¬ 
ical  record. — Pennsylvania  Democratic  State  Plat¬ 
form,  September  3. 

Thirteenth  —  We  re-affirm  the  republican 
party’s  favor  to  thorough  genuine  reform  in 
the  civil  service,  and  commend  the  national 
administration  for  giving  effect  thereto  under 
existing  law.  And  the  flagrant  and  persistent 
abuses  in  the  state  civil  service  by  the  demo¬ 
cratic  administration  are  held  up  to  condemna¬ 
tion. — New  York  Republican  State  Platform,  Sep¬ 
tember  10. 

“We  believe  that  public  office  is  a  public 
trust,  and  that  appointments  should  be 
made  for  fitness,  capacity  and  integrity,  and 
in  the  spirit  of  civil  service  reform.  The  re¬ 
publican  administration  has  shown  the  hy¬ 
pocrisy  of  its  pretentions  in  favor  of  this  re¬ 
form  by  destroying  the  efficiency  of  the  census 
bureau  for  the  sake  of  furnishing  political 
spoils,  by  neglecting  to  bring  prosecutions  for 
the  punishment  of  violations  of  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  law,  by  ignoring  the  recommendations  of 
the  civil-service  commission  for  the  dismissal 
of  officials  who  have  openly  defied  the  law,  by 
reviving  the  active  participation  of  office¬ 
holders  in  partisan  politics,  and  the  assess¬ 
ment  of  government  employes  for  partisan 
purposes. — Massachusetts  JState  Democratic  Plat¬ 
form,  September  29. 

First — The  further  extension  of  civil  service 
rules  to  those  in  the  Indian  service. 

Second — The  application  of  the  principles, 
if  not  the  rule.s,  of  the  civil  service  to  the  ap¬ 
pointment  and  tenure  of  Indian  agents. — 
Indian  Rights  Conference  at  Lake  Mohawk, 
October  9. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


VoL.  I,  No.  34.  INDIANAPOLIS,  DECEMBER,  1891.  terms  fcrnW^opT' 


Pulished  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 

The  report  of  the  census  has  crowded 
out  much  other  material  this  month.  The 
report,  although  widely  noticed  by  the 
press,  is  reprinted  entire  that  it  may  be  at 
hand  to  readers  of  the  Chronicle  for 
future  reference. 

The  eighth  report  of  the  civil  service 
commission  has  been  printed.  It  shows  in 
what  directions  there  has  been  in  the  past 
year  improvement  in  making  the  merit 
system  effectual,  and  with  directness  and 
candor  the  commission  also  states  what  is 
yet  unsatisfactory  and  what  remains  to  be 
done. 

The  correspondence  between  the  civil 
service  reform  association  of  New  York, 
and  the  treasury  and  post-office  depart¬ 
ments,  regarding  the  circular  sent  out  by 
the  state  republican  committee  to  federal 
employes,  asking  for  contributions,  has 
been  published  by  the  New  York  associa¬ 
tion.  The  departments  claimed  for  Col¬ 
lector  Hendricks  and  Postmaster  Van 
Cott  that  the  circular  was  sent  out  without 
their  knowledge,  and  that  Mr.  Van  Cott 
has  (since  the  election)  sent  in  his  resigna¬ 
tion  to  the  state  committee.  It  was  not  to 
be  supposed  that  Secretary  Foster  or  Post¬ 
master  General  Wanamaker  would  do 
otherwise  than  try  to  shield  these  officers, 
but  by  the  side  of  the  letter  of  Mr.  Curtis 
they  make  a  sorry  appearance ;  it  is  to  be 
noted,  however,  that  the  offenders  and  their 
superiors  are  subdued  and  apologetic,  and 
not  as  in  former  daysimpudent  and  defiant. 

The  Pennsylvania  civil  service  reform 
association  also  prints  a  correspondence 
regarding  political  assessments  of  the  city 
employes  before  the  recent  election  in 
Pennsylvania. 

The  following  is  the  President’s  message 
relating  to  the  civil  service  : 

The  report  of  the  civil  service  commission  should 
receive  the  careful  attention  of  the  opponents,  as 
well  as  the  friends,  of  this  reform.  The  commission 
invites  a  personal  inspection  by  senators  and  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  its  records  and  methods;  and  every 
fair  critic  will  feel  that  such  an  examination  should 
precede  a  judgment  of  condemnation,  either  of  the 
system  or  its  administration.  It  is  not  claimed  that 
either  is  perfect,  hut  I  believe  that  the  law  is  being 
executed  with  impartiality  and  that  the  system  is 
incomparably  better  and  fairer  than  that  of  appoint¬ 
ments  upon  favor.  I  have  during  the  year  extended 


the  classified  .service  to  include  superintendents, 
teachers,  matrons  and  physicians  in  the  Indian 
service.  This  branch  of  the  service  is  largely  related 
to  educational  and  philanthropic  work  and  will 
obviously  be  the  better  for  the  change.  The  heads 
of  the  several  executive  departments  have  been  di¬ 
rected  to  establish  at  once  an  efficiency  record  as  the 
basis  of  a  comparative  rating  of  the  clerks  within 
the  classified  service,  with  a  view  to  placing  promo¬ 
tions  therein  upon  the  basis  of  merit.  I  am  confident 
that  such  a  record,  fairly  kept  and  open  to  the  in¬ 
spection  of  those  interested,  will  powerfully  stimu¬ 
late  the  work  of  the  departments  and  will  be 
accepted  by  all  as  placing  the  troublesome  matter  of 
promotions  upon  a  just  basis. 

I  recommend  that  the  appropriations  for  the  civil 
service  commission  be  made  adequate  to  the  in¬ 
creased  work  of  the  next  fiscal  year. 

The  President’s  mind  is  apparently 
cleared  of  all  doubt.  The  question  at  once 
arises,  how  can  the  President,  believing 
that  the  merit  system  “  is  incomparably 
better  and  fairer  than  that  of  appointments 
upon  favor,”  seem  to  think  he  has  done 
his  duty  by  taking  a  paltry  seven  hundred 
places  in  the  Indian  service  out  of  the 
reach  of  favoritism,  and  leaving  many 
thousand  places  to  which  this  incompar¬ 
able  system  could  be  applied,  to  be  distrib¬ 
uted  as  spoil  ?  The  President  can  not  give 
a  reason  why  he  does  not  extend  the  sys¬ 
tem  to  all  letter-carriers  in  free-delivery 
cities,  to  all  post-offices  and  custom-houses, 
of  ten  employes,  to  the  internal  revenue 
service,  to  the  weather  bureau,  to  the  pen¬ 
sion  agencies,  to  all  government  laborers, 
and  to  other  classes  of  employes. 

In  the  appointment  of  Steve  Elkins  to 
be  secretary  of  war,  the  President  has 
given  the  country  another  instance  of  how 
much  he  will  dare  and  do  when  he  wants 
to  make  the  offices  “count.”  It  took  a  bold 
man,  under  the  circumstances,  to  make 
Wanamaker  a  cabinet  officer,  but  to  “back” 
with  the  whole  power  of  federal  patronage 
such  thoroughly  discredited  political  ad¬ 
venturers  as  Mahone  two  years  ago.  Quay 
last  year,  and  Platt  this  year,  seems  the  ex¬ 
treme  of  foolhardiness.  Yet,  to  borrow  from 
the  gamesters,  in  the  elevation  of  Elkins  the 
President  sees  all  of  his  other  moves,  and 
goes  them  at  least  one  better.  Elkins  has 
never  been  convicted  of  anything  in  court, 
He  combines  characteristics  of  Dudley, 
Quay,  Platt  and  Sim  Coy.  He  is  simply  a 
schemer.  His  elevation  to  the  head  of  the 
war  department  is  beyond  measure  repul¬ 
sive  to  the  American  people. 

If  the  election  of  Mr.  Crisp  tends  to  give 
elements  of  the  democratic  party,  led  by 


Hill  and  Gorman,  an  advantage  over  the 
elements  led  by  Mr.  Cleveland,  it  is  to  be 
regretted.  The  Hill  and  Gorman  section 
has  and  lives  by  but  one  principle  and  one 
practice,  the  spoil  of  office  and  of  public 
contracts.  For  the  party  to  turn  back  to 
such  leadership  is  to  return  from  compara¬ 
tive  civilization  to  barbarism. 


The  signs  relating  to  the  management 
of  the  city  service  are  not  re-assuring.  In 
spite  of  talk  of  “a  business  administra¬ 
tion,”  the  god  of  spoil  seems  to  be  quietly 
getting  the  upper  hand.  One  is  impressed 
with  the  number  of  ward  heelers  who 
have  got  into  the  service,  men  who  always 
have  to  be  provided  for,  now  in  one  office, 
now  in  another.  There  are  too  many  trials  of 
employes  for  drunkenness,  or  sleeping  on 
duty,  or  other  serious  offence.  The  insur¬ 
ance  people  have  taken  the  alarm  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  results  of  favoritism  in  the 
fire  department.  The  engineering  depart¬ 
ment  is  apparently  getting  ready  t©  do  a 
good  thing  for  the  boys.  All  this  proves 
again  what  has  been  proved  millions  of 
times  that  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of 
favoritism  should  be  cut  off  to  the  utmost 
extent.  To  this  end  all  but  the  highest  ap¬ 
pointments  should  be  thrown  open  to  free 
competition,  except  laborers  who  should 
be  employed  upon  the  system  now  in  use 
in  the  navy  yards. 

TAMMANY  AND  THE  CHILDREN. 

A  fresh  field  of  corruption  inflicted  by 
Tammany  upon  the  subjected  and  paralyzed 
city  of  New  York  is  being  brought  to  light  in 
recent  issues  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post. 
Mr.  Wilmer,  a  school  inspector  of  the  fifth 
district  of  the  city,  thought  it  in  the  line  of 
his  duty  to  rid  the  school-houses  in  the  dis¬ 
trict  of  the  saloons  and  houses  of  ill-fame 
that  hemmed  them  in.  The  law  reads:  “A 
license  will  not  be  issued  for  a  new  place  ad¬ 
joining  a  place  already  licensed,  or  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  a  school-house.”  First 
he  tried  to  get  Tammany’s  Excise  Board  to 
define  “  immediate  vicinity,”  and  he  failed. 
Then  he  asked  the  police  department  for  a  list 
of  the  saloons  and  houses  of  ill-repute  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  the  school-houses  of  the 
fifth  district.  One  report  was: 

"Within  200  yards  of  grammar  school  No.  10,  at  No. 
180  Wooster  street,  twenty-three  bar  rooms;  within  the 
same  distance  of  grammar  school  No.  47,  at  No.  .36  East 
Twelfth  street,  fifteen  bar-rooms.  Reported  houses  of  ill- 
fame,  five." 

Another  report  was:  "Qrammar  school  No.  40, at 


290 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


No.  225  East  Twenty-third  street,  bar-rooms  ten;  Pri¬ 
mary  school  No.  4,  at  No.  413  East  Sixteenth  street,  bar¬ 
rooms,  eighteen ;  Primary  school  No.  23,  a-t  No.  322  East 
Twentieth  street,  bar-rooms,  eleven;  Primary  school  No. 
29,  at  No.  433  East  Nineteenth  street,  bar-rooms,  thir¬ 
teen." 

Then  Mr.  Wilmer  wrote  the  police  depart¬ 
ment  for  the  number  of  saloons  and  houses  of 
ill-fame,  their  owners  and  licenses,  but  this 
request  was  ignored.  Finally  Tammany’s 
Mayor  Grant,  in  making  the  appointments  for 
school  inspectors,  omitted  the  name  of  the 
troublesome  and  pernicious  Mr.  Wilmer. 
Fortunately  the  Post  is  doing  what  Tammany 
most  dreads,  and  that  is  it  day  by  day  prints 
the  facts  and  gives  a  plat  of  the  school 
buildings  and  the  surrounding  saloons  in  the 
different  districts.  As  the  New  York  Tribune 
says : 

Tens  of  thousands  of  children  are  daily  forced  into 
contact  with  the  vilest  groggeries  and  the  creatures 
that  haunt  them.  They  have  no  means  of  escaping 
the  contamination.  Saloons  on  both  sides  of  the 
school-house,  saloons  on  the  nearest  corners,  saloons 
across  the  street  press  demoralizing  sights  upon  their 
eyes  and  demoralizing  sounds  into  their  ears.  Fa¬ 
miliarity  with  vice  and  degradation  is  inevitable, 
and  it  is  a  short  and  almosi  certain  step  from  famili¬ 
arity  to  companionship.  The  poison  of  such  an 
atmosphere  is  absorbed  into  body  and  soul.  What 
chance  has  a  child  against  it  ?  Citizens  are  onerously 
taxed  that  their  children  may  laboriously  learn  a  few 
things  out  of  books  and  draw  in  moral  infection  with 
every  breath.  This  horrible  state  of  affairs  exists 
because  Tammany  can  not  exist  without  it.  The 
mayor  and  his  advisers  know  the  fact  and  the  reason 
perfectly.  Commissioner  Koch,  whose  character  was 
clearly  revealed  when  he  went  into  court  to  plead 
to  an  indictment,  and  Commissioner  Fitzpatrick, 
who  escaped  with  him  at  the  same  time  on  a  techni¬ 
cality,  are  doing  the  work  they  were  appointed  to  do 
in  the  way  in  which  they  are  instructed  to  do  it. 
Commissioner  Meakim  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of 
being  obnoxious  to  his  colleagues  and  in  some 
danger  of  losing  his  place.  But  the  majority  of  two 
is  sufficient.  And  there  is  no  popular  agitation. 
Tammany  goes  unrebuked,  re  elects  its  candidates, 
tightens  its  grip,  expands  its  ambitions,  and  illus¬ 
trates  its  depravity  by  an  occasional  cheap  pretense 
of  virtue,  while  sedulously  implanting  the  seeds  of 
vice  in  the  rising  generation.  The  harvest  will  be 
gathered  in  due  time ;  and  what  a  harvest  it  will  be ! 

What  the  grip  of  Tammany  is,  the  random 
facts  from  time  to  time  quoted  in  the  Civil 
Service  Chronicle  show.  It  has  been  fur¬ 
ther  shown  that  Tammany  does  not  belong 
alone  to  the  democratic  party,  but  that  the 
dominating  part  of  the  republican  machine  of 
New  York  trades  its  candidates  and  principles 
with  Tammany,  according  as  it  can  obtain  a 
little  of  the  vast  spoil.  The  responsibility  for 
the  continued  existence  of  this  monstrous  en¬ 
gine  of  degradation  is  fixed  in  part  upon  the 
selfish  greed  and  love  of  ease  of  the  citizens  of 
New  York,  but  it  is  fixed  beside  upon  New 
York  democrats,  whose  zeal  for  reform  is  na¬ 
tional,  and  upon  such  an  organization  as  the 
republican  Union  League  Club;  for  these 
all  go  their  separate  party  ways,  and  furnish 
the  money  for  these  republican  and  democrat¬ 
ic  creatures  of  Tammany  to  trade  and  betray 
for  spoil.  And  it  is  under  their  party  banners, 
with  bogus  war  cries  and  by  means  of  their 
respectable  cloaks  to  hide  under,  that  these 
mercenaries  can  glut  themselves  with  the 
spoil  of  New  York  City.  And  again  we  beg 
to  agk  any  citizen  of  New  York,  What  is  any 


man,  whether  Grover  Cleveland  or  Benjamin 
Harrison,  or  James  G.  Blaine;  what  is  any 
“issue”  of  the  tariff  or  currency  compared 
with  the  destruction  of  a  monster  like  Tam¬ 
many,  simply  by  the  withdrawal  of  its  spoil. 
Ballot  reform  will  weaken  it,  but  depriva¬ 
tion  of  spoil  will  kill  it. 

ELKINS. 

In  securing  Elkins’s  appointment  it  is  not 
at  all  probable  that  Mr.  Blaine  took  the 
trouble  to  remind  the  President  of  the  star 
route  scandals,  of  the  Maxwell  land  grantsteal, 
or  of  the  gigantic  claim  against  Brazil  that 
Blaine  and  Elkins  endeavored  to  enforce. 
Elkins’s  part  in  the  notorious  Jewett  claim  is 
easily  ascertainable  if  reasons  were  to  be 
sought  for  questioning  the  propriety  of  put¬ 
ting  him  in  any  office.  This  was  a  claim  to 
which  the  attention  of  Secretary  Bayard  was 
directed  during  the  administration  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland.  It  came  to  his  knowledge  as 
a  part  of  the  business  of  the  state  department 
left  unfinished  by  Mr.  Blaine. 

James  C.  Jewett,  of  New  York  City,  claimed 
to  have  discovered  deposits  of  guano  in  the 
Island  of  Fernando  de  Norhonha,  within  the 
dominions  of  the  empire  of  Brazil.  Jewett 
obtained  a  permit  from  Brazil  to  remove 
portions  of  these  deposits  for  experiment,  with 
a  conditioned  promise  of  a  contract  under 
which  he  should  receive  a  certain  per¬ 
centage.  He  fitted  out  two  small  vessels 
for  purposes  of  exploration,  but  his  agreement 
with  the  Brazilian  minister  of  agriculture  ex¬ 
cited  so  much  hostility  in  Brazil  that  the 
minister  was  forced  to  resign,  and  his  suc¬ 
cessor  canceled  all  the  agreements  with  Jewett 
and  officially  informed  the  United  States  of 
his  action. 

Jewett’s  actual  losses,  according  to  his  own 
figures,  were  .^27,330.  He  presented  to  the 
state  department  a  claim  against  Brazil  for 
more  than  $50,000,000.  The  claim  was,  of 
course,  a  gross  exaggeration  of  any  possible 
right  of  recovery  of  such  damages.  Secretary 
Evarts  twice  rejected  his  claim.  When  Sec¬ 
retary  Blaine  came  in  he  reopened  the  case. 
Jewett  retained  Mr.  Stephen  B.  Elkins  as  his 
attorney.  On  August  8,  1881,  Mr.  Blaine,  in 
a  dispatch  to  Minister  Osborne,  in  Brazil,  re¬ 
versed  the  instructions  of  his  predecessor  and 
wrote  to  Mr.  Jewett  stating  that  he  had  taken 
this  course  “  at  the  request  of  Stephen  B.  El¬ 
kins,  Esq.,  your  attorney.”  To  Minister  Os¬ 
borne  Mr.  Blaine  said  emphatically,  speaking 
of  the  rescinding  of  the  Jewett  contract  and 
the  claim  for  $50,000,000  damages,  “  I  am  not 
sufficiently  informed  as  to  the  law  of  Brazil  to 
know  how  far  its  formal  requirements  as  to 
the  mere  question  of  right  and  title  would 
nullify  this  action  by  its  government,  but  I 
do  know  that  in  justice  and  in  equity  a  re¬ 
sponsibility  has  been  incurred  which  can  not 
be  escaped.” 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Blaine 
in  behalf  of  “Stephen  B.  Elkins,  Esq.,  your 
attorney,”  this  preposterous  claim  slept  during 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen’s  administration,  and  Mr. 


Bayard,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the 
facts,  declared:  “Such  a  claim,  so  stated, 
shocks  the  moral  sense  and  can  not  be  held  to 
be  within  the  domain  of  reason  or  justice.  It 
would  be  an  act  of  international  unfriendli¬ 
ness  for  the  United  States  to  lend  themselves 
in  any  way  or  to  any  degree  in  urging,  much 
less  enforcing,  such  a  demand  upon  a  country 
with  whom  we  are,  or  design  to  remain,  on 
terms  of  amity.  I,  therefore,  return  the  pro¬ 
test  as  inclosed  by  you  and  decline  to  transmit 
it  to  the  United  States  minister  at  Brazil  or 
to  instruct  him  to  present  it  officially  or  oth¬ 
erwise.” 

This  ended  the  business,  unless,  perchance, 
it  has  been  reopened  since  Mr.  Blaine  began 
business  “at  the  old  stand”  for  the  benefit  of 
“Stephen  B. Elkins,  Esq., your  attorney.”  The 
confirmation  of  Mr.  Elkins  as  secretary  of 
war  may  give  him  opportunity  to  throw  the  case 
into  the  hands  of  a  lively  man,  and  with  the 
recovery  of  the  $50,000,000  from  the  republic 
of  Brazil  he  ought  to  feel  fully  repaid  for  his 
rebuke  at  the  hands  of  so  “unpatriotic”  a 
secretary  as  Mr.  Bayard. —  Washington  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  December  17. 

— The  critics  who  represent  Stephen  B.  El¬ 
kins  as  having  forced  himself  into  the  cabinet 
of  President  Harrison  are  as  far  astray  now 
as  the  prophets  who  were  swearing  six  weeks 
ago  that  this  nomination  would  never  go  to 
the  senate. 

The  choice  was  unquestionably  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  own.  It  was  made  with  full  realization 
of  the  adverse  comment  it  would  call  forth- 
To  those  who  are  in  the  inner  White  House 
circle,  it  has  been  evident  for  a  long  while 
that  President  Harrison  was  spending  a  good 
deal  of  time  looking  into  the  public  and  pri¬ 
vate  record  of  Mr.  Elkins,  and  this  has  satis¬ 
fied  many  of  them  that  the  man  of  many 
homes  and  many  enterprises  was  booked  for 
something  worth  having. 

This  choice  was  impelled  by  two  motives 
— gratitude  and  hope.  Mr.  Elkins  has  in 
more  than  a  few  ways  done  favors  for  the 
President  personally,  and  for  his  son  Russell, 
which  could  not  be  ignored.  Just  how  to 
show  the  proper  appreciation  of  this  was  a 
question.  Elkins  was  rich  and  on  the  inside 
of  many  big  schemes,  while  the  President  was 
poor  and  had  nothing  in  prospect;  so  recog¬ 
nition  in  a  financial  way  was  out  of  the  ques¬ 
tion.  Elkins  was  not  the  sort  of  a  man  for 
one  of  the  greater  diplomatic  posts,  and  the 
lesser  ones  he  would  not  have  accepted  at  any 
price.  All  that  seemed  open  to  him,  there¬ 
fore,  was  a  place  at  Washington,  in  which  his 
restless  activity  of  mind  and  body  could  be 
turned  to  some  account. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  President  understood 
that  Elkins  was  by  nature  a  manager,  and  the 
lack  of  enough  material  of  that  sort  in  the 
cabinet,  on  the  eve  of  a  national  election,  had 
been  brought  in  various  ways  strongly  to  the 
notice  of  all  who  were  interested  in  the  Pres¬ 
ident’s  renomination.  Blaine,  Tracy,  and  Fos¬ 
ter  were  useful  men  in  their  several  places 
politically ;  Rusk  contribute^  ^  certain  posi- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


291 


tive  element  supposed  to  be  attractive  to  the 
farmers  of  the  northwest;  but  Wanamaker 
was  engulfed  in  a  sea  of  public  contempt! 
Miller  was  a  negative  force,  and  Noble  had  as 
many  whims  as  a  woman,  coupled  with  man¬ 
ners  which  antagonized  nearly  everybody 
who  met  him  on  an  equal  footing.  It  was  as 
a  political  adjutant  that  Elkins  was  given  the 
preference  over  Cheney  and  Estee  and  all  the 
other  equally  good  republicans  talked  of  for 
the  place. 

The  friends  who  are  now  approving  the 
President’s  selection  of  a  secretary  are  sud¬ 
denly  confronted  with  a  rather  menacing 
array  of  reminiscences,  some  of  which  they 
find  it  hard  to  explain  away.  They  discover 
that  there  still  lingers  in  the  memory  of  many 
people  the  letter  written  by  the  malodorous 
Dorsey  to  Representative  Springer  in  the 
spring  of  1884,  concerning  witnesses  who 
might  be  brought  before  the  house  committee 
investigating  the  star  route  scandals,  in  which 
these  words  occurred : 

“S.  B.  Elkins,  United  Bank  building.  New 
York,  has  probably  a  larger  knowledge  than 
any  other  person  of  all  the  star-route  matters 
and  the  moneys  paid.  George  E.  Spencer  de¬ 
manded  of  the  late  J.  W.  Bosler  and  myself 
$12,000  to  pay  Mr.  Elkins  for  the  purpose  of 
avoiding  indictment  and  prosecution,  and  I 
replied  that  I  would  not  pay  a  penny  and 
never  did.” 

They  are  reminded,  also,  of  the  McMains 
charges  of  the  same  year,  overhauling  Mr. 
Elkins  and  some  other  persons  for  their  con¬ 
duct  with  reference  to  the  Maxwell,  Mora 
and  Una  del  Gato  grants,  together  with  other 
valuable  tracts  of  land  in  New  Mexico. — 
^Washington  Dispatch  to  the  New  York  Evening 
‘Post,  December  18. 


John  McCoy  and  his  home  rule  club  in 
the  fifteenth  assembly  district  have  again 
broken  away  from  Tammany  Hall. 

McCoy  is  now  in  revolt  against  William 
J.  Dalton’s  leadership.  Dalton  is  the  deputy 
street  cleaning  commissioner,  a  follower  of  ex- 
Senator  George  W.  Plunkett.  He  was  im¬ 
ported  from  the  seventeenth  district  (Plunk¬ 
ett’s  own)  to  take  charge  of  the  fifteenth. 
McCoy’s  chief  ground  of  complaint  is  that 
Dalton  imported  a  brother-in-law  from  another  dis¬ 
trict,  and,  after  he  had  resided  in  the  fifteenth  for 
three  weeks,  had  him  appointed  to  the  police  force. 
After  his  appointment,  Dalton’s  brother-in- 
law,  whose  name  is  Halligan,  moved  out  of 
the  fifteenth  back  into  his  old  district. — New 
York  Evening  Post,  July  21. 


SIXTH  REPORT 

Of  the  Special  Committee  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League, 


APPOINTED  TO  INQUIRE  INTO  THE  CONDITION 
OF  THE  FEDERAL  CIVIL  SERVICE  AND 
OPERATION  OF  THE  REFORM  LAW. 


To  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Civil  Service 
Reform  League : 

In  the  l«ist  republican  platform,  it  was  declared 
‘  The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 


pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system, 
already  established  by  law,  to  all  grades  of  the  serv¬ 
ice  to  which  it  is  applicable.”  This  declaration 
was  embodied  in  the  platform  as  a  specific  pledge ; 
and  the  construction  of  this  written  agreement,  made 
with  the  voters  of  the  country, is  not  dlfBcult.  The  law 
provides  (Civil  Service  Act,  sections  1  and  2)  that  the 
President  shall  appoint  three  commissioners  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  aid  him  in  preparing  suitable 
rules,  providing  for  open  competitive  practical  ex¬ 
aminations,  all  places  classified  by  the  rules  to  be 
filled  by  selections  from  those  graded  highest,  with 
a  period  of  probation  before  appointment.  These 
rules  are  entirely  under  the  control  of  the  President 
and  the  commissioners  appointed  by  him,  and  it  is 
within  his  power  under  this  act  to  extend  them  to 
any  grades  of  the  service  to  which  they  are  applica¬ 
ble.  The  promise  of  the  republican  platform,  there¬ 
fore,  was  not  that  new  laws  should  be  enacted,  but 
that  the  system  should  be  extended  by  the  President. 
Nor,  within  certain  limits,  could  there  be  any  ques¬ 
tion  as  to  the  offices  to  which  the  civil  service  system 
was  applicable.  The  object  of  the  system  was  to  take 
subordinate  administrative  places  out  of  the  field  of 
political  controversy  and  to  make  appointments 
to  these  places  depend  upon  the  fitness  of  the  ap¬ 
pointee,  as  proved  by  competitive  examination  and 
probation,  and  not  upon  patronage  and  political 
favor.  It  was  applicable,  then,  to  non-political  ad¬ 
ministrative  offices. 

If  there  was  any  branch  of  the  service  which  should 
have  been  kept  free  from  party  controversy,  it  was 
the  census  bureau.  It  was  the  plain  duty  of  those 
in  charge  of  this  bureau  to  give  to  the  people  the 
exact  facts  as  to  all  matters  inquired  of,  uuwarped  by 
political  bias. 

In  every  decade  the  government  spends  millions 
of  dollars  upon  this  census,  and  the  importance  of 
accuracy  and  thoroughness  in  the  work  can  not  be 
overestimated.  The  census  is  at  once  a  record  of  our 
progress  as  a  people,  a  picture  of  our  condition  in 
each  successive  ten  years  of  our  national  history,  and 
the  basis  of  instructive  comparisons  with  the  condi¬ 
tion  and  progress  of  other  nations.  The  representa¬ 
tion  of  the  several  states  in  the  popular  branch  of 
congress  rests  upon  its  statistics  of  population.  No 
one  will  dispute  that  unfairness,  incapacity,  or 
blundering  in  the  census  is  a  grave  public  misfor¬ 
tune,  and  that  the  officers  charged  with  a  work  of 
such  importance  should  use  every  precaution  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  belief  that  their  work  is  partial  or  Incom. 
plete. 

The  census  ought  to  be  as  free  from  partisan  color  as 
the  judiciary.  Otherwise,  no  one  can  rely  upon  the  ac 
curacy  of  its  conclusions.  To  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  people,  it  ought  to  be  not  merely  fair  and  just, 
but  it  should  be  removed  from  the  appearance  of 
corrupt  or  partisan  influence.  The  good  sense  of  our 
ancestors  made  it  an  illegal  act  for  a  trustee  to  put 
himself  in  a  position  where  he  could  make  a  profit 
out  of  the  trust  funds  in  his  control,  even  though 
actual  fraud  could  not  be  shown.  An  evident  anal¬ 
ogy  makes  it  an  improper  act  for  one  political  party 
so  to  monopolize  the  taking  of  the  census  as  to  be 
iu  a  position  to  profit  from  the  result.  If  an  admin¬ 
istration  has  a  free  choice  between  a  non-political 
and  a  political  agency  for  taking  this  enumeration 
and  chooses  the  latter,  composed  of  officials  of  its 
own  political  faith,  the  presumption  is  against  the 
fairness  of  a  census  so  taken.  The  results  of  such  a 
census  will  be  apt  to  reflect  something  of  the  bias  of 
those  who  take  it.  And,  even  if  it  were  fair,  many 
would  not  believe  it  to  be  fair.  Suspicion  is  cast  on 
such  a  census  in  advance  of  enumeration  ;  and,  if  at 
the  close  of  the  work  many  inaccuracies  are  shown, 
resulting  in  some  cases  in  the  advantage  to  the  party 
by  whom  it  is  taken,  the  work  is  sure  to  be  discred. 
ited. 

It  had  already  been  demonstrated,  by  actual  ex. 
perience,  that  the  patronage  system  as  applied  to 
this  branch  of  the  service  was  liable  to  grave  abuses, 
and  frequently  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  in¬ 
competent  officials,  and  that  the  reform  system  was 
well  adapted  to  a  bureau  of  this  kind.  This  is  man¬ 
ifest  from  the  previous  experience  of  the  census 
bureau  itself,  as  well  as  from  an  examination  of  the 
methods  pursued  in  the  taking  of  statistics  in  the  state 


of  Massachusetts,  and  from  a  comparison  between 
the  patronage  and  merit  systems  in  the  taking  of 
the  census  in  England  and  Scotland. 

The  defective  results  in  the  census  of  1870  were 
directly  traceable  to  the  patronage  system.  Francis 
A.  Walker,  under  whose  supervision  this  census,  as 
well  as  that  of  1880,  was  taken,  says  in  a  publication 
of  the  American  Statistical  Association  (December, 
1890) :  ■■  The  local  supervision  of  the  census  in  the 
southern  states  was,  by  the  defeat  of  General  Gar¬ 
field’s  bill,  thrown  back  into  the  hands  of  the 
marshals  of  the  United  States  courts.  *  ^  The 
whole  battle  against  the  Garfield  bill  had  been  fought 
on  the  question  of  patronage.  It  was  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  retaining  this  large  body  of  more  or  less 
lucrative  appointments  in  the  hands  of  the  dominant 
party  that  the  United  States  marshals  rallied  at 
Washington  during  the  winter  of '69  and ’70  to  de¬ 
feat  the  house  measure.  They  wanted  to  use  these 
thousands  of  offices  as  a  means  of  strengthening 
their  hands  in  their  respective  districts,  to  fight  the 
Ku-Klux  and  the  illicit  distillers,  to  build  up  the  re¬ 
publican  party  and  consolidate  the  negro  vote,  and> 
in  general,  this  was  precisely  the  use  to  which  these 
offices  were  put.  The  result  was  an  enumera¬ 

tion  which  we  know  now,  from  indisputable  evi¬ 
dence,  to  have  been  in  many  parts  of  several  southern 
states  inadequate,  partial  and  inaccurate,  often  in  a 
shameful  degree.” 

And  not  only  are  the  disastrous  results  of  pat¬ 
ronage  appointments  shown  by  the  census  of 
1870,  but  the  improvement  produced  by  the 
elimimination  of  partisanship  from  the  census  is 
shown  in  the  comparatively  satisfactory  results  and 
general  confidence  in  the  census  of  1880. 

In  respect  to  this  census  it  is  true  that  no  competi¬ 
tive  system  was  adopted.  This  was  before  the  passage 
of  the  civil  service  law,  and  before  the  introduction 
of  these  methods  into  our  federal  service;  but  the 
essential  element  of  the  civil  service  system— name, 
ly,  the  exclusion  of  political  consideration  in  ap¬ 
pointments— was  largely  observed.  Mr.  Walker  tells 
us  in  the  same  article,  “supervisors  were  appointed 
from  either  party  with  the  utmost  impartiality,  and 
as  they  were  themselves  selected  without  regard  to 
partisan  services,  they  were  instructed  that  it  would 
be  considered  an  offence  and  abuse  of  trust  if.  In 
their  own  appointment  of  enumerators,  they  allowed 
partisan  motives  to  appear.” 

The  following  extract  from  the  letter  from  the 
chief  of  the  bureau  of  statistics  to  the  civil  service 
commissioners  of  Massachusetts,  dated  Nov.  27, 1885, 
shows  the  success  that  attended  the  application  of 
civil  service  methods  to  the  taking  of  the  decennial 
census  in  that  stale; 

“  I  am  very  happy  to  inform  you  that,  as  a  whole, 
the  force  supplied  by  you  is  very  much  superior  to 
the  one  we  should  have  been  likely  to  have  secured 
through  the  old  method  of  personal  application  and 
the  indorsement  of  friends.  *  In  intelligence, 
in  capacity,  in  attainment,  and  in  attendance  upon 
work,  our  present  force  reflects  the  greatest  credit 
upon  the  civil  service  system. 

“  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
“  Cakkoll  D.  Wright.” 

In  England,  after  nearly  all  the  places  in  the  civil 
service  had  been  Included  in  the  rules  prescribing 
competitive  examination,  the  positions  in  the  census 
bureau  were  left  out  and  remained  a  part  of  the  gov* 
ernment  patronage.  The  results  of  this  ommlssion, 
as  shown  in  several  investigations,  were  deplorable. 
The  report  concerning  the  civil  service  in  Great 
Britain,  communicated  to  the  two  houses  of  congress 
at  the  beginning  of  the  session  of  the  40th  congress 
(pages  155  and  156),  says,  concerning  an  official  in¬ 
quiry  made  in  England  in  regard  to  the  census  of 
1871 :  “  The  head  of  the  office  gives  a  sad  account  of 
the  motley  imbeciles  put  upon  him  by  the  members 
of  Parliament  taking  the  census.  ‘They  were  a 
heterogeneous  mass,  from  fourteen  to  sixty  years  of 
age,  who  had  tried  many  occupations  and  failed  in 
all.’  When  the  registrar  was  ordered  to  take  the 
census  in  1871,  he  says  he  supposed  he  was  to  be  al¬ 
lowed  better  clerks,  obtained  through  open  compe¬ 
tition  under  the  order  of  1870,  but  he  was  deprived 
of  them. 

“‘The  lords  of  the  treasury  decided  against  me, 


292 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


and  their  lordships  took  to  themselves  the  patronage 
and  divided  it  among  members.  Their  lordships 
acting  on  the  old  system,  and  following  the  recom¬ 
mendation  of  influential  adherents,  nominated  no 
fewer  than  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  census 
clerks.’  He  found  that  inquiry  into  their  character 
and  history  ‘  was  productive  of  pain  and  confusion,’ 
and  he  gave  it  up.  But  he  forced  this  miscellaneous 
herd  of  offloiai  favorites  into  a  pass  examination  be¬ 
fore  the  commission  which  rejected  fifty-seven  per  cent, 
of  them,  and  with  the  residue,  the  registrar  succeeded 
in  taking  the  census  of  1871,  and  wonders  that  he 
could  do  it.  He  says,  ‘  Nothing  could  be  worse  than 
the  system  of  nomination  of  clerks  by  the  treasury.’  ” 

The  report  of  the  “committee  appointed  by  the 
treasury  to  inquire  into  certain  questions  connected 
with  the  taking  of  the  census,"  made  on  the  23d  of 
May,  1890,  together  with  the  evidence  upon  which 
this  report  is  based,  also  demonstrates  the  superiority 
of  the  merit  system. 

In  Scotland  the  competitive  examinations  were 
adopted  in  the  census  of  1881.  The  result  is  shown 
in  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Stair  Agnew,  the  registrar- 
general  (see  pp.  83  and  84),  who  thus  describes  the 
manner  in  which  the  clerks  in  this  office  were  sup¬ 
plied  : 

“A.  1922.  It  was  arranged  that  all  the  names  that 
were  sent  to  me  as  applicants  should,  after  inquiry 
by  myself  as  to  their  general  fitness,  be  sent  up  to  the 
civil  service  commissioners,  who  held  a  competitive 
examination,  and  selected  those  at  the  top  of  the 
list.  I  should  state  that  the  patronage  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  treasury  at  that  time,  but  it  was  ar¬ 
ranged  by  myself  with  the  secretary  of  the  treasury 
that  I  should  directly  send  up  the  names  to  the  civil 
service  commissioners. 

“Q.  1923.  But,  in  the  first  place,  was  any  person 
at  liberty  to  send  in  his  name,  or  were  the  persons 
whose  names  you  received  nominated  by  the  treas¬ 
ury  ? 

“A.  Any  person  was  at  liberty  to  send  in  his 
name,  either  to  myself  or  to  the  treasury. 

“Q.  1927.  In  fact.  It  was  an  open  advertisement? 

“A.  Yes. 

“Q.  1932.  Did  they  give  you  satisfaction? 

“A.  Yes, 

“Q.  1938.  They  did  their  work  intelligently? 

“A.  Very  much  so. 

“Q.  1942.  And  you  propose  to  follow  the  same 
principle  in  the  coming  census? 

“A.  I  should  be  quite  satisfied  to  do  so.” 

In  England,  on  the  other  hand,  the  clerks  em¬ 
ployed  were  nominated  by  the  treasury  patronage, 
and  underwent  “  a  rough  examination  by  the  civil 
service  commissioners;’’  but  the  results  seem  to 
have  been  lamentable.  Dr.  Ogle,  the  superintend¬ 
ent  of  statistics,  in  England,  thus  testifies  (p.  11) : 

“A.  238.  The  clerks  who  have  been  sent  by  the 
treasury  to  the  census  office  hitherto  have  contained 
a  number  of  gentlemen  who  have  fallen  out  of  their 
occupations,  and  are  anxious  to  get  something  to  do; 
and,  as  a  rule,  a  very  large  proportion  of  them  have 
turned  out  to  be  absolutely  unfit  for  any  work  at  all, 
certainly  for  any  work  that  requires  either  honesty  or 
intelligence.  A  very  great  deal  is  work  which  prac¬ 
tically  can  not  be  checked.  Anything  that  we  could 
check,  anything  that  was  checked,  we  found  was 
oftentimes  done  so  badly  that  it  was  hardly  worth 
having  had  done  at  all ;  and  the  inference  is  that  the 
unchecked  work  must  have  been  very  imperfectly 
done. 

“Q.  248.  You  get  them  now  from  the  patronage 
secretary  of  the  treasury  ? 

“A.  That  is  how  we  have  had  them  hitherto.  At 
each  census  there  has  been  a  protest  against  this 
mode  of  appointment,  owing  to  the  experience  of 
the  past  one. 

“Q.  249.  Would  any  rough  kind  of  examination  by 
the  civil  service  commissioners  help  you  ? 

“A.  There  was  one,  but  it  was  quite  ineffectual. 

“A.  261.  I  am  afraid  myself  that  no  mere  pass  ex¬ 
amination  will  meet  the  difficulty.’’ 

It  is  true  that  good  men  are  occasionally  obtained, 
and  fairly  good  work  done  under  the  patronage  sys¬ 
tem.  Thus  in  Ireland,  where  the  system  is  a  mixed 
one,  the  clerks  being  the  copyists  of  the  civil  service, 
and  the  temporary  clerks  appointed  by  the  lord-lieu¬ 


tenant,  and  submitted  to  an  examination  by  the  civil 
service  commission,  the  apparently  suitable  persons 
being  selected  first,  and  the  poorer  men  gradually 
weeded  out  by  examination  of  the  registrar  general. 
Dr.  Grimshaw  declares : 

“A.  564.  I  think  the  thing  was  fairly  done  on  the 
whole.  We  certainly  got  a  very  fair  set  of  men. 
Very  few  of  these  men  misconducted  themselves 
during  the  course  of  the  work.’’ 

The  committee  report  (p.  viii)  that  they  trust  It 
maybe  found  feasible  to  introduce  a  system  of  trans¬ 
fer  from  other  branches  of  the  civil  service.  And,  if 
this  should  not  be  the  case,  they  would  regard  with 
satisfaction  the  adoption  of  a  method  of  appointing 
the  requisite  assistance,  by  open  competition,  at  an 
examination  to  be  conducted  by  the  civil  service 
commissioners.  Open  competition  was  accordingly 
held  in  London,  in  February,  1891,  for  filling  tempo¬ 
rary  clerkships  in  the  census  office,  the  examination 
being  on  the  following  subjects : 

1st.  Handwriting. 

2d.  Orthography. 

3d.  Copying  manuscript. 

4th.  Copying  figures  and  tabular  statements. 

.5th.  Arithmetic. 

6th.  (Optional)  Geography, 

Candidates  were  notified  that  the  employment  was 
purely  temporary ;  that  every  person  employed 
would  be  liable  to  dismissal  at  any  time  at  the  dis¬ 
cretion  of  the  registrar-general ;  that,  on  the  cessa¬ 
tion  of  service,  no  claim  for  further  employment 
would  be  entertained ;  that  no  pension  or  gratuity 
would  be  given  on  retirement  or  dismissal ;  and 
that  the  successful  candidates  must  be  prepared  to 
commence  their  services  when  required. 

It  thus  appears  that  experience  in  England  as  well 
as  in  our  own  country  has  demonstrated  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  appointing  men  to  this  bureau  under  the 
competitive  examinations  conducted  by  the  civil 
service  commission. 

If,  then,  the  promise  of  the  republican  platform 
had  any  significance  at  all,  it  meant  that  the  Presi¬ 
dent  would  extend  this  competitive  system  to  the 
clerks  of  the  census  bureau,  when  that  bureau 
should  be  established.  Mr.  Harrison,  in  concurring 
with  and  adopting  the  platform,  distinctly  made  this 
promise  his  own,  and  emphasized  it  by  the  declara¬ 
tion  that,  “in  appointments  to  every  grade  and  de¬ 
partment,  fitness,  and  not  party  service,  should  be 
the  essential  and  discriminating  test,”  and  in  the 
statement  that  “further  extensions  of  the  classified 
list  were  necessary  and  desirable.” 

The  act  of  March  1,  1889,  providing  for  the  taking 
of  the  census,  gives  the  secretary  of  the  interior  the 
power  to  appoint  the  clerks  of  the  census  bureau, 
and  provides  that  all  examinations  for  appointment 
and  promotion  shall  be  in  his  discretion  and  under 
his  direction.  The  secretary  is  himself  an  appointee 
of  the  President,  and  subject  to  his  control.  It 
would  have  been  easy  for  the  President,  if  desirous 
of  extending  the  reform  system,  tohave  had  appoint¬ 
ments  in  this  bureau  made  wiihont  regard  to  politi¬ 
cal  considerations.  This  might  have  been  done  by 
the  appointment  of  clerks  in  the  bureau  through 
competitive  examinations  under  the  control  of  the 
civil  service  commission.  Such  a  course  would,  in 
the  hands  of  the  present  commissioners,  have 
given  an  absolute  guarantee  of  the  fairness  and 
non-partisan  character  of  the  appointments. 
If  the  president  and  secretary  are  unwilling  to 
do  this,  they  could  have  instituted  competitive 
examinations  for  this  bureau  alone,  publicly  an¬ 
nouncing  that  the  places  were  open  to  all  and  that 
political  influence  would  not  be  regarded  in  making 
appointments.  The  President  was  indeed  solicited 
by  the  civil  service  commissioners  to  cause  a  sys¬ 
tem  of  competitive  examinations  to  be  adopted 
for  the  clerks  in  this  office;  but  he  declined  to  have 
this  done,  and,  in  the  words  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  census  (see  report  of  November  6, 1889,  page 
4),  the  examinations  required  by  the  rules  were  not 
competitive,  but  merely  tested  the  qualifications  of 
such  candidates  only  as  might  be  designated  for  ex¬ 
amination  by  the  superintendent  of  census.  It 
thus  appears  that  the  superintendent  was  permitted 
to  retain  in  his  own  hands  the  power  of  making 


nominations  without  which  admission  to  the  census 
bureau  was  impossible. 

The  well  known  opinions  of  Mr.  Porter,  who  was 
selected  by  the  President  to  administer  this  office, 
made  it  certain  that  these  appointments  would  be¬ 
come  in  great  measure  matters  of  political  patron¬ 
age. 

Mr.  Porter’s  opposition  of  civil  service  reform 
methods  clearly  appears  in  his  testimony  before  the 
house  committee  on  reform  of  the  civil  service,  Sep¬ 
tember  9,  1890.  He  said  (p.  125),  that  civil  service 
methods  were  “creating  a  system  of  barnacleism.” 
Again:  “There  was  some  effort  (p.  112),  to  have  the 
census  brought  under  the  control  of  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  commission.  The  main  objection  I  urged  at  the 
time  was  on  account  of  the  temporary  employment.” 
Mr.  Porter  further  stated  that  in  the  census  bureau 
appointees  were,  as  a  rule,  recommended  by  repub¬ 
licans  (p.  124). 

The  act  of  March  1,  1889  (Sec.  4),  provides  that  the 
secretary  of  the  interior  shall,  upon  the  recommen¬ 
dation  of  the  superintendent  of  the  census,  designate 
the  number  of  supervisors,  who  are  to  be  appointed 
by  the  President  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
senate,  and  directs  that  “each  supervisor  shall  des¬ 
ignate  to  the  superintendent  suitable  persons,  and 
with  the  consent  of  the  superintendent  shall  employ 
such  persons  as  enumerators  within  his  district,  one 
for  each  subdivision,  who  shall  be  selected  solely  with 
reference  to  fitness  and  without  reference  to  their  political 
party  affiliations.”  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  act 
itself  endeavors  to  Incorporate  the  principle  under¬ 
lying  civil  service  reform,  which  is  that  in  these  sub¬ 
ordinate,  non-political  offices  appointments  shall  go 
by  merit,  and  not  by  political  favor.  If  this  provis¬ 
ion  had  been  fully  enforced,  complaints  of  the  part¬ 
isan  character  of  the  census  could  not  justly  be  made; 
but,  unfortunately,  the  supervisors  were  themselves 
largely  appointed  upon  political  considerations,  and 
the  result  was  that  the  appointments  of  enumerators 
was  in  many  localities  a  matter  of  political  pat¬ 
ronage.  Republican  members  of  congress  nominat¬ 
ed  great  numbers.  Sometimes  the  recommendation 
of  democratic  members  or  other  influential  politi¬ 
cians  procured  the  appointment  of  a  few,  the  object 
being  apparently  to  add  to  the  political  strength  of 
the  office.  The  great  mass  of  officials,  clerks,  super¬ 
visors  and  enumerators  came  from  the  republican 
party.  Whatever  the  motive  was,  such  a  line  of  con¬ 
duct  was  sure  to  discredit  the  result.  Even  had  it 
been  true  that  it  was  not  possible  to  select  the 
enumerators  under  civil  service  reform  methods,  it 
was  certainly  possible  to  select  both  clerks  and 
supervisors  without  reference  to  political  considera* 
tions;  and  the  appointment  of  supervisors  in  this 
way  would  to  a  large  extent  insure  the  selection  of 
non-partisan  enumerators,  as  the  law  required.  A 
careful  inquiry  made  by  your  committee  as  to  the 
character  of  the  enumerators  appointed  shows  that, 
while  in  some  places  political  considerations  had  no 
weight  and  the  work  was,  on  the  whole,  well  per¬ 
formed,  yet  the  supervisors  were  influenced  in  many 
other  cases  by  partisan  considerations.  Men  were 
often  chosen  without  reference  to  their  fitness  on  ac¬ 
count  of  their  political  services ;  and  in  such  cases 
the  work  was  often  badly  done,  and  in  many  in¬ 
stances  thoroughly  discredited. 

As  far  as  can  be  learned,  the  census  was  fairly 
well  taken  in  Massachusetts.  It  was  under  the 
charge  of  a  man  who  superintended  the  state  census 
of  1885.  Appointments  were  not  made  there  for  po¬ 
litical  reasons.  The  same  is  true  of  the  first  district 
of  Maryland,  where  the  supervisor  was  a  well-known 
statistical  expert. 

The  report  furnished  us  by  the  secretary  of  the 
civil  service  association  at  Bangor,  Maine,  in¬ 
forms  us  that  in  that  city  the  census  seems  to 
have  been  conducted  In  an  impartial  manner,  and 
the  men  employed  appear  to  have  been  selected  for 
their  efficiency. 

The  secretary  of  the  civil  service  reform  association 
of  Newburg,  N.  Y.,  also  reports  that  in  that  place 
the  enumerators  were  apparently  competent,  and  the 
result  satisfactory,  so  far  as  known.  The  same  report 
comes  from  the  mayors  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  Peoria, 
Ill.;  and  in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  while  the  result  is  un- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


293 


I  satisfactory,  this  is  not  attributed  to  the  enumera¬ 
tors,  hut  to  other  local  conditions. 

From  the  secretary  of  the  civil  service  reform  asso¬ 
ciation  at  Madison,  Wis.,  your  committee  learned 
that  the  character  of  those  employed  in  the  enumera¬ 
tion  was  extremely  various,  some  competent  and 
some  quite  the  reverse.  One  of  the  enumerators  was 
so  illiterate  as  to  be  unable  to  spell  the  most  ordi¬ 
nary  words  and  names,  such  as  "Samuel,”  "Can¬ 
ada,”  “lawyer,”  etc.  Others  are  supposed  to 
have  been  appointed  solely  as  matters  of  pat¬ 
ronage,  their  appointments  being  controlled  by 
the  republican  member  of  congress  and  the  post¬ 
master  of  Madison.  The  result  of  the  census  was 
most  disappointing  to  the  citizens,  and  the  accuracy 
of  the  count  is  seriously  questioned  by  men  of  both 
parties.  The  increase  of  population  in  ten  years,  as 

t shown  by  the  federal  census,  was  30  9-lOC  per  cent. 
Comparing  the  vote  cast  for  governor  in  1880,  the 
presidential  year,  with  that  cast  for  governor  in  1890, 
a  non  presidential  year,  there  is  an  increase  of  57 
45-100  per  cent.  Democrats  speak  of  it  as  a  significant 
fact  that  Mr.  Lafollette  (the  republican  member  of 
congress)  boasted  that  he  had  the  name  of  every 
voter  in  the  district. 

The  secretary  of  the  civil  service  reform  associa¬ 
tion  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  says  of  the  enumerators: 
“  They  are  the  men  who  are  ready  for  odd  jobs,  given 
in  the  way  party  jobs  usually  are.  I  do  not  believe 
that  a  high  degree  of  confidence  is  felt  in  the  accur¬ 
acy  of  the  count  from  such  information  as  I  can 
gather.  So  far  as  the  statistics  of  industries  and 
general  business  are  concerned,  I  am  strongly  of  the 
belief  that  very  little  confidence  is  felt  in  their  accu. 
racy.” 

The  civil  service  reform  association  of  Buffalo  send 
us  the  following: 

“  The  census  in  Buffalo  was  not  satisfactory  to  any 
of  our  citizens.  The  announcement  of  the  result 
was  much  delayed,  and  was  given  out  in  a  fragmen¬ 
tary  and  uncertain  manner,  necessitating  several 
j  successive  changes  in  figures.  It  was  evident  that  in 
some  of  the  enumeration  districts  the  work  was  not 
done  promptly  and  correctly,  and  these  delayed  the 
whole  enumeration.  The  newspapers  without  regard 
Ik  to  party  condemned  it.  The  mayor  and  the  mer- 
Iljchants’ exchange  formally  expressed  their  dissatis- 
'  I# faction,  and  asked  for  a  recount.  * 

“  The  population  of  the  city  was  first  announced 
.  as  about  252,000,  then,  after  a  special  agent  had  been 
B  here,  as  about  257,000,  and  recently  this  has  been 
changed  to  about  255,500. 

“  We  are  not  prepared  to  say  that  the  defects  in  the 
local  census  are  wholly  due  to  the  incompetency  of 
the  enumerators.  Indeed,  some  other  contributing 
causes  were  apparent.  Yet  there  is  a  general  im¬ 
pression  that,  as  a  whole,  the  work  of  the  enumer¬ 
ators  was  not  well  done,  and  as  a  body  they  were 
not  equal  to  their  task. 

“The  enumerators  were  nominally  appointed  by 
the  local  supervisor  of  the  census,  but  actually  they 
were  forced  upon  him  by  the  usual  methods  which 
control  such  appointments  where  they  are  not  other¬ 
wise  regulated  by  law.  Personal  considerations  and 
partisan  pressure  undoubtedly  dictated  many  of  the 
appointments,  and  combined  with  other  influences 
in  bringing  about  others.  It  would  not  be  fair  to  say 
that  the  fitness  of  the  applicants  was  disregarded; 
but  it  was  not  the  sole  consideration.  We  have  no 
hesitancy  in  asserting  that  the  census  in  Buffalo 
would  have  been  better  taken  If  the  enumerators 
had  been  selected  on  the  basis  of  merit  and  fitness 
for  their  work,  ascertained  by  suitable  inquiries  into 
these  qualifications  without  regard  to  any  other. 

“We  append,  without  further  comment,  a  copy  of 
a  circular  letter  signed  by  the  local  supervisor  of 
the  census,  which  has  been  published  In  the  news¬ 
papers.  This  was  sent  to  some,  and  probably  all,  the 
enumerators.  It  has  been  stated  that  this  letter  was 
merely  a  personal  communication  from  Mr.  Doug 
lass,  not  official,  and  that  at  the  time  he  had  no  con¬ 
trol  over  the  enumerators,  and  did  not  in  any  way 
attempt  to  coerce  them,  and  that  he  explained  his 
position  personally  to  some  of  them.  We  give  you 
this  explanation  with  the  letter: 


“  ‘Office  of  Supervisor  of  Census  for  the 
llTH  District  of  New  York. 

Oct.  28,  1890. 

“  ‘To - ,  Esq.,  Census  Enumerator, 

Post-office - ,  County  of - . 

“  ‘My  Dear  Sir— Aa  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  a  republican  member  of  congress  be  elected  in 
this  district,  I  shall  feel  personally  obliged  if,  on  the 
day  of  the  election,  you  will  work  specially  for  Ben¬ 
jamin  H.  Williams,  the  republican  candidate. 

“  ‘Very  truly  yours,  Sil.\s  J.  Douglass.’  ” 

Mr.  C.  R.  Lane,  formerly  secretary  of  your  invest!, 
gating  committee,  informs  us  as  follows,  in  regard  to 
the  enumeration  in  Indianapolis: 

“  First.  The  enumeration  was  conducted  by  parti¬ 
san  enumerators.  *  Theappointees,  asa  rule, 

have  been  of  fair  character,  but  there  are  notable 
exceptions.  One,  a  negro  lawyer  by  profession,  a 
disreputable  man  by  nature  and  training,  and  an 
acknowledged  gambler,  was  appointed  on  a  promise 
just  before  the  spring  election,  in  order  to  hold  his 
vote ;  and  he  was  heard  to  boast  that  the  appointing 
power  did  not  dare  to  leave  him  off  the  list.  He  is  a 
man  whom  respectable  men  would  not  admit  to  their 
houses  except  under  protest.  All  appointments  were 
delegated  to  a  member  of  the  local  republican  coun¬ 
ty  central  committee,  for  this  county  and  Wayne 
county,  to  my  positive  knowledge.  *  *  The  recom¬ 

mendations  of  this  committee-man  were  followed 
almost  without  exception.  It  is  perhaps  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  committee-man  found  himself  in¬ 
volved  in  infinite  annoyance,  and  was  heartily  sick 
of  his  job  before  it  was  completed.  He  found  him¬ 
self  laboring  with  no  reward  either  of  money,  com¬ 
fort,  prestige,  or  conscience. 

“  Third.  The  results  of  the  enumeration  are  satis¬ 
factory,  this  city  showing  a  heavy  rate  of  growth. 
Still,  the  satisfaction  was  obtained  only  after  a  vig¬ 
orous  onslaught  of  the  press  and  privately  by  the 
alleged  oversight  of  hundreds.  Private  enterprise 
was  stirred  up  to  assist  in  having  every  possible  name 
enrolled.  Every  complaint  was  investigated,  and 
the  name  added  to  the  list,  if  not  already  there.” 

Your  committee  have  received  from  Mr.  Merrill 
Moores,  the  member  of  the  republican  central  com¬ 
mittee  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  communication,  a 
letter  from  which  they  make  the  following  extracts: 

“  Mr.  Conger  was  appointed  supervisor  for  this  dis¬ 
trict.  His  home  is  at  Flat  Rock,  on  the  south  line  of 
Shelby  county,  a  good  many  miles  from  here.  He 
has  been  a  client  of  mine,  and  is  a  good  fellow.  One 
day  he  came  into  my  office  and  said  he  was  bothered 
with  a  lot  of  applications  for  appointment  as  enumer. 
ator,  and  that  he  had  called  upon  nearly  everybody 
he  knew  in  town  for  advice,  and  most  people  he  had 
talked  with  had  said,  ‘Go  to  Merrill  Moores;  he 
knows  more  of  these  fellows  than  anybody  else.’ 
He  wanted  my  advice  as  to  the  competency  of  the 
applicants  Of  course  I  gave  it  to  him.  <■  There 
were  five  democratsappointed,  and  I  think  they  were 
all  who  applied.  This  was,  perhaps,  because  demo¬ 
crats  thought  they  would  stand  no  chance ;  but  the 
fact  remains  that  there  were  no  more  applicants. 
The  number  of  applicants  was  less  than  the  number 
of  districts  in  the  city ;  and  it  was  necessary  to  hunt 
up  enumerators  who  were  known  to  be  competent, 
and  persuade  them  to  apply.  »  *  i  asked  one  or 
two  of  them  in  very  bad  districts  to  give  me  a  list  of  the 
voters  for  their  districts;  but  no  poll  was  ever  made, 
and  no  enumerator  was  asked  as  to  the  politics 
of  any  man  in  his  territory,  and  I  know,  as  a  fact, 
that  no  statement  of  any  sort  of  the  politics  of  any 
man  was  made  by  any  enumerator  to  any  of  our 
party.  I  paid  myself  for  the  list  of  voters,  and  obtained 
it  for  my  personal  use.”  * 

The  secretary  of  the  Geneva  (N.  Y.)  Civil  Service 
Reform  Association  Informs  us  regarding  the  enum¬ 
erators:  “They  were  all  republicans;  but,  from 
what  information  we  could  gather,  they  seem  to 
have  been  appointed,  not  with  the  view  to  benefit 
the  republican  party,  but  with  the  sole  view  of  en¬ 
hancing  the  political  fortune  of  the  member  from 
this  district,  Mr.  John  Raines.  Mr.  Raines’s  friends 
were  provided  for.  Any  one  that  opposed  him  was 
ignored.  Consequently,  there  is  a  very  bitter  feeling 
against  Mr.  Raines  in  his  own  party,  which  came 


very  near  defeating  him  when  he  was  up  for  re-elec¬ 
tion  last  November,  although  the  district  is  strongly 
republican.  *  It  was  known  that  the  enum¬ 

erator  received  instructions  to  make  a  list  of  voters, 
and  classify  them  as  to  party  connection.” 

A  copy  of  a  letter  from  Congressman  Raines  to  one 
of  the  enumerators  appointed  in  this  district  was 
.sent  to  your  committee.  It  is  as  follows : 

“  My  Dear  Sir— As  it  is  quite  likely  that  you  will 
in  a  few  days  be  appointed  enumerator  for  your  dis¬ 
trict,  I  write  you  this  in  the  strictest  confidence.  I 
would  like  very  much  that  you  should  take  the  trou¬ 
ble,  before  you  make  your  report  to  the  supervisor 
of  the  census,  and  after  you  have  taken  all  the  names 
in  your  district,  to  copy  in  a  small  book  the  name  and 
post  office  address  of  every  voter  on  the  list.  After  you 
have  done  so,  I  wish  you  to  send  the  book  to  me  at 
Canandaigua.  I  ask  you  to  do  this  as  a  personal 
favor,  and  to  make  no  mention  of  the  matter  to  any 
one.  What  I  want  is  a  full  list  of  all  the  voters  in  your 
enumeration  district.  Will  you  please  treat  this 
matter  as  strictly  confidential? 

“Very  truly  yours,  J.  Raines.” 

A  letter  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Raines  as  to  the  facts 
regarding  this  matter,  and  a  copy  of  the  letter  was 
enclosed.  He  called  upon  the  chairman  of  your 
committee,  and  stated  that  he  could  not  say  whether 
this  was  an  exact  copy  of  the  letter  sent,  but  that,  if 
it  were  so,  as  might  be  the  case,  he  had  sent  the  let¬ 
ter  in  ignorance  of  the  law,  which  required  enumer¬ 
ators  to  keep  secret  the  results  of  the  enumeration, 
and  that  the  census  bureau  was  not  responsible,  but 
only  the  individual  enumerator.  He  further  stated 
that  his  purpose  probably  was  to  get  this  list  for  the 
purpose  of  distributing  documents. 

From  the  chairman  of  the  civil  service  reform  as¬ 
sociation  of  Bloomington,  Monroe  county,  Ind.,  we 
learn  that  the  enumerators  were  selected  there,  by 
and  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  chairman  of 
the  republican  county  committee.  They  were  en¬ 
gaged  in  making  poll  lists  for  the  republican  party. 
Similar  statements  were  made  in  regard  to  other 
counties  and  states. 

In  connection  with  these  lists,  your  commit¬ 
tee  would  call  attention  to  section  8  of  the  act 
of  March  1,  1889,  which  requires  that  each  enum¬ 
erator  shall  subscribe  an  oath  that  he  will  not  dis¬ 
close  any  information  contained  in  the  schedules, 
lists,  or  statements,  to  any  person  oi-  persons  ex¬ 
cept  to  his  superior  officers;  and  section  13  pro¬ 
vides,  that,  if  he  shall,  without  the  authority  of  the 
superintendent  of  the  census,  communicate  to  any 
person  or  persons  not  authorized  to  receive  the  same 
any  information  gained  by  him  in  the  performance 
of  his  duty,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  upon  conviction  shall  be  fined  not  exceeding 
8500.  If  enumerators  were  allowed  to  remain  igno¬ 
rant  of  this  law,  the  superintendent  of  the  census 
deserves  the  greatest  censure ;  if  they  were  permit¬ 
ted  to  violate  it  wilfully,  he  is  an  accessory  to  the 
crime. 

Hon.  J.  D.  Alderson,  M.  C.,  of  West  Virginia,  writes 
that  the  supervisor  in  his  district  has  always  been 
a  prominent  and  active  republican,  was  the  nomi¬ 
nee  of  his  party  for  prosecuting  attorney,  and  beaten 
by  some  five  hundred  more  than  his  party’s  lack  of 
majority.  “  I  do  not  know  a  single  case  in  which  a 
a  democrat  was  appointed  by  him  as  enumerator. 
He  was  a  candidate  for  the  republican  nomination 
for  congress  in  1890,  but  was  defeated.  We  have  all 
understood  that  his  appointments  were  partisan, 
and  made  with  some  view  at  least  to  his  nomina¬ 
tion  to  congress;  but  there  were  too  many  pins  for 
the  holes,  and  he  was  not  nominated,  although 
many  of  his  appointees  were  delegates  to  the  con¬ 
vention  in  which  he  was  defeated.  In  my  own 
county  the  republican  executive  committee  held  a 
meeting,  and  voted  for  persons  to  be  recommended 
for  appointment  as  enumerators.  Mr.  Mann  ap¬ 
pointed  some  of  the  personsagreed  upon,  others  not ; 
but  his  appointee,  in  every  case,  was  a  republi 
can.” 

It  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  supervisors  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  were  nearly  always  republi¬ 
cans,  and  generally  republican  politicians. 

The  following  letter  from  Hon.  H.  Clay  Evans,  M.C,, 


294 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


states  what  seems  to  be  the  grounds  upon  which 
many  of  these  supervisors  were  appointed:  “Mr. 
Park  was  appointed  upon  my  recommendation,  and  it  is 
not  my  custom  to  recommend  either  political  or  physical 
eunuchs  for  appointment  to  office;  and  I  presume  he  has 
followed  a  like  rule  in  his  appointment.” 

Undoubtedly  the  worst  effects  of  the  patronage 
system  of  appointments  are  apparent  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  One  C.  H.  Murray,  a  republican  politi¬ 
cian,  was  made  supervisor  of  the  census  of  that  city. 
The  following  circular  letter  from  him,  which  has 
many  times  been  published  without  question  of  its 
authenticity,  shows  the  manner  in  which  enumera¬ 
tors  were  selected : 

“Dear  Sir — You  will  please  forward  to  this  office  a 
list  of  the  applicants  that  the  republican  organiza¬ 
tion  of  your  district  desires  to  have  named  as  census 
enumerators.  This  list  must  be  sent  here  on  or 
before  April  1.” 

Of  this  method  of  appointment,  President  Walker, 
of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  who 
was  superintendent  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  censuses, 
says,  “If  the  selection  of  the  enumerators  was  made 
upon  any  such  bases  as  is  implied  by  that,  the  census 
could  not  have  been  otherwise  than  bad.”  Such  a 
method  is  a  direct  violation  of  Section  5  of  the  act 
providing  for  the  present  census,  which  prescribes 
that  enumerators  “shall  be  selected  solely  with  reference 
to  fitness,  and  without  reference  to  their  political  party 
affiliations.”  Such  a  method  is  also  a  violation  of  the 
supervisor’s  oath  of  office.  The  manner  in  which 
the  appointments  were  made  pursuant  to  the  plan 
outlined  in  this  letter  appears  from  the  statement  to 
a  repre.sentative  of  this  committee  of  M.  A.  Greaves, 
who  was  personally  present  at  the  meeting  on  March 
28  at  2250  3d  avenue,  republican  headquarters.  All 
applications  had  been  filled  out  in  advance.  Mr. 
Frank  Raymond,  a  republican  leader  of  the  23d  as¬ 
sembly  district,  presided.  Taking  the  applications, 
he  seated  himself  at  a  table,  with  a  couple  of  patty 
workers  beside  him,  who  examined  the  repubiican 
roll  and  checked  off  the  names  as  the  appointments 
were  made.  The  process  was  simple :  Mr.  Raymond 
would  call  a  name,  the  man  called  would  go  to  the 
table,  and  Mr.  Raymond  would  ask  him,  “are  you 
upon  the  roll?”  His  answer  was  always  in  the  af¬ 
firmative.  The  next  question  was,  “What  district 
would  you  like?”  The  applicant  would  choose  a 
district,  which,  if  it  had  not  been  already  selected, 
would  be  assigned  to  him. 

It  is  evident  enough  that  among  men  thus  appoint¬ 
ed  there  must  have  been  a  considerable  number  who 
were  utterly  unfit  for  the  work.  And  it  is  not  sur¬ 
prising  that  among  t  ese  men  Police  Inspector 
Byrnes  should  recognize  well  known  criminals.  Mr. 
Byrnes  states :  “I  know  that  some  of  the  enumera¬ 
tors  in  this  city  were  thieves.  This  very  morning  one 
of  these  enumerators  came  here  to  call  upon  me.  He 
had  been  three  times  an  inmate  of  the  state  prison. 
He  was  appointed  upon  the  recommendation  of  a 
republican  judge.  This  thief’s  name  is  known  to  all 
the  city  detectives,  and  his  picture  occupies  a  prom¬ 
inent  place  in  the  rogue’s  gallery.  He  did  not  take 
the  oath  in  his  own  name,  and  his  dealings  with  the 
census  bureau  were  under  an  alias.”  The  danger  of 
employing  such  men  as  census  euumerators  is  very 
evident.  Private  houses  were  opened  to  them  with 
the  understanding  that  the  government  was  satisfied 
with  their  trustworthiness. 

And,  even  in  cases  where  the  enumerators 
attempted  to  do  their  duty,  obstacles  were  in¬ 
terposed,  at  the  supervisor’s  office,  which  often 
made  this  impossible.  For  instance,  Mr.  Alfred  B. 
Thieme,  an  enumerator  residing  at  37  Ludlow  street, 
states  that  he  could  not  get  a  sufficient  number  of 
blanks,  and  that  many  other  enumerators  were  in 
the  same  predicament.  His  district  was  a  tenement- 
house  district,  and  very  large;  and  it  was  diffi¬ 
cult  to  extract  from  the  people  the  necessary  infor¬ 
mation.  He  wrote  to  the  supervisor  asking  for  an 
extension  of  time  and  was  refused.  He  had  to  leave 
out  several  tenement  houses.  He  returned  three 
thousand  names.  Sheets  were  lost  in  the  supervisor’s 
office.  Mr.  Thieme  believes,  from  his  knowledge  of 
this  district,  that  there  were  four  thousand  people  in 
it.  He  knew  of  other  men  who  were  refused  an  ex. 


tension  of  time  under  the  same  circumstances,  and 
their  returns  also  were  incomplete. 

John  W.  Fulton,  another  enumerator,  states  that 
he  returned  all  the  people  in  his  district  that  were  in 
town,  but  that  in  block  after  block  the  houses  were 
mostly  closed,  and  hundreds  were  missed.  He  had 
no  time  to  hunt  up  representatives  of  the  absent 
familiei.  nor  was  he  inclined  to  do  so  at  two  cents  a 
name.  He  was  told  to  do  the  best  he  could  about  his 
schedule. 

Mr.  Samuel  C.  Sloan,  a  permanent  boarder  at  the 
Madison  square  hotel,  sends  us  an  affidavit  to  the 
effect  that  there  were  thirty  or  forty  permanent 
guests  in  this  house,  and  at  least  ten  domestics;  that 
the  census  enumerators  called  but  once,  and  took 
only  two  names,  those  of  the  proprietor  and  clerk; 
that  Mr.  Sloan  notified  Superintendent  Murray  forth¬ 
with,  but  that  his  complaint  was  never  noticed  and 
the  census  taker  never  appeared  again.  This  affidavit 
is  also  confirmed  by  an  affidavit  of  Charles  B.  Fisher, 
the  proprietor. 

The  probable  inaccuracy  of  the  census  taken  in  the 
city  of  New  Y'ork  first  became  apparent  from  an  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  vital  statistics  prepared  by  the 
health  department  of  that  city.  Very  few  per¬ 
sons  who  have  been  residents  of  the  metropolis 
during  the  last  ten  years  can  question  the  improved 
sanitary  condition  of  the  city.  The  direct  super 
vision  of  the  plumbing,  drainage,  and  ventilation 
of  new  houses  under  the  laws  of  1879  and  1881,  affect, 
ing  about  six  thousand  tenement-houses  and  many 
other  dwellings  constructed  since  that  time,  the  al¬ 
most  total  demolition  of  vaults  and  cesspools, 
throughout  the  city,  and  the  more  rigid  control  of 
contagious  diseases,  ied  to  the  belief  that  the  death- 
rate  had  considerably  decreased. 

There  is  a  certain  class  of  deceases  known  to  phy¬ 
sicians  as  “preventable.  These  are  diairhcea  and 
zymotic  diseases,  the  latter  Including  small-pox, 
measles,  diphtheria,  meningitis,  scarlet,  typhoid, 
typhus,  malarial  and  puerperal  fevers,  etc.  These 
generally  result  from  bad  air,  bad  water  and  bad 
drainage— causes  which  can  be  greatly  diminished  by 
improved  sanitary  conditions.  And,  in  fact,  if  the 
present  census  be  assumed  to  be  correct,  and  the 
population  on  June  1, 1890,  be  regarded  as  1,513,501, 
as  reported,  the  death  rate  from  zymotic  diseases 
has  decreased  during  the  past  decade  from  8.31  per 
cent,  to  7.29  per  cent.,  and  the  death  rate  in  diar- 
rhoeal  diseases  from  3.59  per  cent,  to  2.77  per  cent. 
The  death  rate  from  consumption  has  also  dimin¬ 
ished.  This  shows  the  improved  sanitary  condition 
of  the  city.  But  during  the  same  time  the  general 
death  rate  has  advanced  from  27.44  per  cent,  to  27.54 
per  cent.,  so  that  by  the  federal  census  we  have  the 
startling  coincidence  of  an  impioved  sanitary  condi¬ 
tion  and  an  increased  death  rate.  If  the  federal 
census  were  true,  there  was  also  a  considerable  in¬ 
crease  of  the  percentage  of  registered  voters  and  of 
names  in  the  city  directory  in  proportion  to  the  pop¬ 
ulation. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  count  of  the  city,  as  first 
added  up  and  published,  gave  a  population  more 
than  100,000  greater  than  the  aggregate  afterward 
published. 

These  things  led  to  the  belief  that  the  count  was 
irraccurate;  and  the  police  authorities,  by  order  of 
the  mayor,  had  the  population  of  the  city  recounted. 
The  result  showed  a  population  nearly  200,000greater 
than  that  shown  by  the  federal  enumeration,  and 
the  mayor  accordingly  asked  the  census  bureau  for 
a  recount.  This  was  not  granted.  The  request  was 
then  made  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior;  and  the 
books  rontaining  the  names,  as  taken  by  the  police 
authorities,  were  sent  to  Washington,  where  Mr. 
Kenny,  their  custodian,  offered  to  the  secretary  of 
the  interior  to  take  them  for  his  inspection  to  any 
place  the  secretary  might  designate,  and  to  keep 
them  there  for  comparison  with  the  federal  sched¬ 
ules  as  long  as  might  be  necessary,  the  books  still  re. 
maining  in  Mr.  Kenny’s  custody.  The  secretary  re¬ 
fused  to  receive  them  unless  they  were  absolutely 
surrendered  to  the  exclusive  custody  of  the  federal 
authorities,  which  Mr.  Kenny  was  not  authorized  to 
do.  The  New  York  authorities,  considering  it  im¬ 
practicable  to  procure  copies  of  the  entire  federal 
enumeration,  which  would  involve  vast  expense. 


determined  to  take  one  of  the  wards  of  the  city  and 
make  the  necessary  comparison,  and  a  copy  of  the 
federal  enumeration  in  the  second  ward  was  de¬ 
manded,  this  being  one  of  the  smallest  wards  in  the 
city,  and  one  in  which  the  comparison  could  be  most 
easily  made.  A  copy  of  the  federal  list  for  the  second 
ward  was  furnished.  It  contained  826  names,  and  8  of 
these  were  found  upon  inquiry  to  belong  to  the  first 
ward.  The  police  enumeration  for  the  second  ward 
contained  1,340  names— a  differance  of  414,  or  more 
than  41  per  cent,  above  the  federal  enumeration. 

The  board  of  health  had  previously  taken  an 
enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  ward  during 
the  first  part  of  September.  It  was  made  rapidly  in 
a  single  day,  but  it  showed  a  population  of  274  more 
than  was  reported  in  the  federal  census. 

The  New  Y'ork  authorities  now  procured  from  the 
persons  whose  names  appeared  in  the  police  enum¬ 
eration,  but  who  had  been  omitted  from  the  census 
affidavits,  showing  their  residence  in  that  ward  on 
the  first  of  June  last.  Affidavits  were  furnished 
showing  the  residence  of  some  328  of  these  persons. 
The  chairman  of  your  committee  has  inspected  a 
number  of  the  books  containing  the  police  enumer¬ 
ation,  as  well  as  a  copy  of  the  federal  enumeration 
and  of  the  health  enumeration  of  the  second  ward. 
The  work  done  by  the  police  presents  a  neat  ap¬ 
pearance,  and  is  in  each  instance  verified  by  an 
affidavit.  There  are  no  doubt  inaccuracies  in  it; 
and  some  of  the  affidavits  of  the  residents  after¬ 
wards  taken  are  irregular  in  form.  But  a  compar¬ 
ison  of  the  two  lists  certainly  Indicates  that  a  very 
large  number  of  the  residents  of  this  ward  were 
omitted  in  the  federal  enumeration.  For  instance, 
your  chairman  ascertained  that  in  the  two  squares 
bounded  by  Broadway,  John,  Nassau,  and  Liberty 
streets,  there  were  no  less  than  twelve  houses  wholly 
omitted  from  the  census,  in  which  it  appears,  both 
from  the  police  reports  and  by  the  affidavits,  that 
there  were  thirty-eight  persons  residing  on  the  first 
of  June  last. 

The  chairman  of  your  committee  called  upon  John 
Kiernan,  the  enumerator  of  this  district,  and  in¬ 
quired  concerning  the  manner  of  his  appointment, 
and  was  told  he  secured  it  through  the  “  regular 
channel,”  as  an  enrolled  republican  of  the  third  as¬ 
sembly  district;  that  he  got  it  through  Charles  Wag¬ 
ner,  the  brother  of  the  candidate  for  the  assembly; 
that  one  Reed  was  first  appointed,  also  through  the 
“  regular  channels,”  but  soon  found  that  it  did  not 
pay,  and  gave  up  the  job  after  he  had  taken  about 
fifteen  names.  Mr.  Kiernan  exhibited  his  commis¬ 
sion,  which  was  evidently  the  same  one  that  had 
been  issued  to  Reed  in  the  first  place,  the  name  of 
Reed  having  been  erased  and  his  own  Inserted. 
Mr.  Kiernan  said  that  Reed  threw  down  his  book 
and  was  never  required  to  report.  The  schedules 
taken  by  Reed  and  given  to  Kiernan,  who  proceeded 
to  verify  them ;  but  some  of  the  persons  thus  taken 
refused  to  give  Kiernan  any  information,  saying  that 
they  had  already  been  enumerated.  The  names 
upon  these  schedules  were  not  included  by  Kier¬ 
nan  in  his  returns.  On  December  8lh,  Kiernan 
telegraphed  to  Superintendent  Porter,  “  Schedules 
containing  about  fifteen  names  which  were 
not  included  in  my  returns,  will  be  mailed 
to  you  early  Monday  morning.”  Kiernan  stated 
that  he  had  been  unable  to  find  these,— they 
had  been  lying  somewhere  around  the  house,  but  he 
could  not  find  them.  In  this  he  was  corroborated 
by  the  other  members  of  the  family,  who  said  they 
had  looked  everywhere  around  the  house,  but  that 
these  schedules  could  not  be  found. 

Nothing  more  seems  necessary  to  show  the  un- 
trustworthiness  of  a  census  taken  by  men  appointed 
through  the  “regular  channels”  of  political  ma¬ 
chinery. 

And  it  seems  that  in  a  number  of  cases  the  names 
reported  by  Mr.  Kiernan  did  not  appear  in  the  fed¬ 
eral  lists.  Whether  the  schedules  containing  these 
names  were  lost  or  destroyed,  or  in  what  manner 
the  discrepancy  occurred,  is  not  known.  Among 
these  houses  were  the  following :  102,  152,  140  Nassau 
street,  35  Park  Row,  25  Ann  street,  50  Nassau  street. 
Many  others  can  be  given.  These  facts  appear  from 
a  comparison  between  the  telegram  sent  by  Mr. 
Kiernan  to  Mr.  Porter,  and  read  to  the  cen.sus  com- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


295 


mlttee  of  the  house  of  representatives,  with  a  copy  of 
the  federal  enumeration  of  the  second  ward/* 

Indeed,  there  is  strong  reason  to  doubt  the  com¬ 
pleteness  of  the  enumeration  made,  not  only  in  New 
York  City,  but  throughout  the  entire  country. 
Numerous  corrections  and  additions  have  been 
made,  and  in  cases  where  a  recount  was  ordered, 
the  enumeration  was  sometimes  found  to  be  greatly 
defective.  Thus  Multnomah  county,  Oregon,  had  a 
recount,  the  result  of  which  showed  a  population  of 
75,657,  whereas  the  first  enumeration  gave  only 
61,000.t  In  several  other  cases,  the  enumeration 
was  found  to  be  incomplete  when  compared  with 
the  resultsof  subsequent  recounts  by  the  local  author¬ 
ities.  For  instance,  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis  over  12,000 
names,  and  in  Augusta,Ga., 4, 150(oroverl2>^ percent, 
of  the  whole)  appear  to  have  been  omitted.  Of  course, 
there  is  always  a  question  which  of  the  two  enumera¬ 
tions  are  the  more  trustworthy,  where  two  have  thus 
been  made;  but,  since  the  total  result  falls  far  short 
of  what  is  to  be  expected  from  the  statistics  of  emi¬ 
gration,  vital  statistics  and  other  evidences  of  growth, 
it  is  not  unfair  to  presume  that  in  many  places 
where  the  first  returns  are  still  uncorrected  they 
are  probably  inaccurate  and  unreliable. 

The  bulletin  of  October  30, 1890,  announces  that 
the  population  of  the  United  States  was  62,480,540. 
In  this  bulletin  the  superintendent  of  the  census 
considered  it  necessary  to  explain  this  result . 

“Upon  their  face  these  figures  show  that  the  popu. 
lation  has  increased  between  1880  and  1890  only 
727,845  more  than  between  1870  and  1880,  while  the 
^  rate  of  Increase  has  apparently  diminished  from 
lij  30  08  to  24.57  per  cent.  If  these  figures  were  derived 
!  from  correct  data,  they  would  indeed  be  disappolL  t- 
ing.  Such  a  reduction  in  the  rate  of  increase,  in  the 
[  face  of  the  enormous  immigration  during  the  past 
■  ten  years,  would  argue  a  great  diminution  in  the 
I  'fecundity  of  the  population  or  a  corresponding  in¬ 
crease  in  its  death-rate. 

“These  figures  are.  however,  easily  explained.  It 
is  well  known,  the  fact  having  been  demonstrated 
by  extensive  and  thorough  investigation,  that  the 
census  of  1870  was  grossly  deficient  in  the  southern 
states,  so  much  so  as  not  only  to  give  an  exaggerated 
rate  of  increase  of  population  between  1870  and  1880 
in  these  states,  but  to  effect  materially  the  rate  of  the 
increase  of  the  country  at  large. 

“There  is  of  course  no  means  of  ascertainlqg  accu¬ 
rately  theextentof  these  omissions,  butin  all  prob¬ 
ability  they  amounted  to  not  less  than  1,500,000_ 
There  is  but  little  question  that  the  population  of 
the  United  States  in  1870  was  at  least  40,000,000  in¬ 
stead  of  38,558,371,  as  stated.  If  this  estimate  of  the 
extent  of  the  omissions  in  1870  be  correct,  the  abso¬ 
lute  increase  between  1870  and  1880  was  only  about 
10,000  000,  and  the  rate  of  increase  was  not  far  from 
25  per  cent.  These  figures  compare  much  more  rea¬ 
sonably  with  similar  deductions  from  the  popula¬ 
tion  in  1880  and  1890.” 

The  superintendent  therefore  justifies  his  own 
figures  by  assuming  that  the  omissions  in  the  census 
of  1870  were  not  less  than  1,500,000.  He  evidently 
sees  that,  un  iess  th  is  can  be  establ  ish  ed ,  th  e  resu  1  ts  of 
the  present  census  will  be  discredited.  But  in  this 
explanation  Mr.  Porter  makes  no,  mention  of  the 
great  increase  of  immigration  in  the  past  decade- 
some  two  and  one-half  millions  greater  than  in 
either  of  the  preceding  ten-year  periods.  This  would 
make  a  difference  of  some  3)4  percent.;  and  Francis 
A.  Walker,  who  superintended  the  taking  of  the 
ninth  and  tenth  census,  showed  very  clearly,  in  an 
address  delivered  before  the  National  Academy  of 
Science  at  Boston,  on  November  11th,  that  a  discrep¬ 
ancy  of  1,500,000  in  the  census  of  1870  could  not 

"■As  the  enumerators  In  New  York  City  were  ap¬ 
pointed  through  the  machinery  of  the  republican 
party,  and  as  the  city  had  a  large  democratic  ma¬ 
jority,  and  the  result  appeared  to  be  an  underesti¬ 
mate  of  the  population,  it  was  inferred  that  the  error 
was  intentionally  made  for  the  purpose  of  reducing 
the  representation  of  New  York  in  congre.ss.  Thisin- 
ference,  whether  correct  or  not,  was  natural  and  in¬ 
evitable,  and  will  always  be  made  whenever  politi¬ 
cal  considerations  invade  the  census  bureau. 

tThe  president  of  the  board  of  trade  of  Portland 
writes  us  that  some  of  these  enumerators  were  “po¬ 
litical  hacks,”  others  too  old  to  do  the  work,  others 
mentally  incompetent. 


exist.  That  there  were  Inaccuracies  was  not  denied ; 
but  these  losses  occurred  in  districts  where  the  col¬ 
ored  people  greatly  outnumbered  the  whites,  and 
where  they  had  no  regular  abodes  and  often  no  fam¬ 
ily  names.  The  percentage  of  growth  in  the  whole 
country  by  decades  and  by  periods  of  twenty  and 
thirty  years  is  as  follows : 


Census. 

10  year  period. 

1800 

84.7 

1810 

36.3 

1820 

33.1 

1830 

33.5 

1840 

32  6 

1850 

35.8 

1860 

35.6 

1870 

22.6 

1880 

30.8 

1890 

24.6 

The  percentage  of  increase  in  the  colored  popula¬ 
tion  (where  the  census  of  1870  was  defective)  is  as 
follows : 


Census. 

Total 

10-year 

20- year 

30year 

per  cent. 

period. 

period. 

period. 

1790 

19.3 

1800 

18.9 

32.3 

1810 

19.0 

37.5 

82.0 

1820 

18.4 

28.6 

77.0 

134.0 

1830 

18  2 

31.4 

69  0 

133.0 

1840 

16.8 

23.4 

62.2 

108.6 

1850 

15.7 

26.6 

56.3 

105.4 

1860 

14.1 

22.1 

54.6 

90.7 

1870 

12.7 

9.9 

34.1 

69.8 

1880 

13.1 

34.8 

48.1 

80.8 

Taking  the  twenty  years’  periods,  these  show  a 
constant  decline  in  the  percentage  of  increase  of  the 
colored  people. 

From  1860  to  1880  the  fall  is  from  54.6  to  48.1  per 
cent.  Now,  if  the  census  of  1870  be  omitted,  and  the 
ratio  in  that  year  be  fixed  at  the  higher  figure,  the 
number  of  colored  people  would  be  5,624,505.  If  the 
lower  ratio,  48.1,  be  taken,  the  number  would  be 
5,390,894.  If  the  30-years’  period  be  adopted,  the  ex¬ 
tremes  to  be  followed  were  90.7  for  1860  and  80.8  for 
1880.  If  the  former  be  taken,  the  number  of  colored 
people  in  the  country  in  1870  would  have  been 
5,489,196.  If  the  latter  figure  be  taken,  the  num¬ 
ber  would  be  5,206,992.  The  real  figures  could  hardly 
have  been  higher  than  one  of  these  estimates.  The 
census  of  1870  returned  the  colored  population  at 
4,880,009.  The  true  colored  population,  if  the  census 
be  omitted,  must  have  been  between  the  limits  of 
5,206,992  and  5,624,505.  Taking  either  of  these  figures, 
the  inaccuracy  of  the  census  of  1870  would  be  less 
than  one-half  the  one  and  one-half  millions  which 
Mr.  Porter  claims,  and  the  figures  derived  from  the 
present  census  remain  still  unexplained. 

In  the  face  of  the  inaccuracies  conceded  and  the 
omissions  proved,  it  is  far  more  likely  that  the 
present  census  is  incomplete  than  that  there  has 
been  the  great  diminution  in  the  fecundity  of  the 
population  or  a  corresponding  increase  in  its  death- 
rate  which  its  figures  necessarily  imply. 

Your  committee  consider  the  following  propositions 
have  been  established  by  the  results  of  their  in¬ 
quiries: 

1.  That  the  refusal  to  apply  the  civil  service  re¬ 
form  system  of  open,  non-partisan  competitive  ex¬ 
aminations  in  appointments  to  the  clerical  force  of 
the  census  bureau  was  violation  by  the  President  of 
a  promise  contained  in  the  republican  platform  in 
1888,  and  indorsed  in  his  letter  of  acceptance. 

2.  That  by  the  appointment  of  enumerators  on 
political  gounds,  in  open  violation  of  Sect.  5  of  the 
census  act,  great  numbers  of  incompetent  men  have 
been  engaged  in  taking  the  census,  and  that  in  many 
places  attempts  have  been  made  to  nse  oflicial 
positions  for  the  benefit  of  the  party  in  power. 

3.  That  while  in  some  places  the  results  of  the 
work  appear  to  be  free  from  partisan  color  and  to  be 
accurately  and  well  done,  yet  in  many  places  the 
work  has  been  carelessly  and  badly  done,  and  is  open 
to  the  suspicion  that  partisan  considerations  have 
not  been  absent,  and  that  finally,  there  is  a  wide¬ 
spread  distrust  of  the  accuracy  of  the  census,  which 
greatly  impairs  its  value  to  the  country,  and  which 
is  caused  in  great  measure  by  the  fact  that  the  census 
bureau  has  been  conducted  upon  the  spoiis  system. 

Your  committee  desires  to  exple.ss  its  belief  that  no 
census  vvill  hereafter  receive  the  confidence  of  the 
people  until  it  has  been  wholly  removed  from  parti¬ 
san  influences;  and  they  trust  that  in  the  future 


such  successful  examples  as  have  already  been  made 
of  the  merit  system  will  be  followed  in  all  federal 
enumerations.  William  Dudley  Foulke. 

Chas.  J.  Bonaparte. 
Richard  H.  Dana. 

Wayne  MacVeagh. 
Sherman  8.  Rogers. 


THE  BALTIMORE  INVESTIGATION. 

(CONTINUKD.) 

Charles  Oeli  testified  as  follows: 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  You  are  a  clerk  in  the 
oflSce  here  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

iS-  *  *  »  *  * 

Q.  Have  you  been  identified  with  the  John¬ 
son  or  Henderson  factions?  A.  I  haven’t  been 
identified  with  either  of  them. 

Q.  But  they  have  these  two  factions  in  your 
ward?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  two  factions  are  going  to  fight 
for  supremacy  next  Monday,  are  they  not? 
A.  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  And  to  whom  did  you  contribute,  if  at 
all,  to  what  faction?  A.  I  contributed  to  the 
club  of  which  I  am  a  member. 

Q.  Was  $5  the  sum  you  contributed?  A. 
Well,  I  gave  that  free  gratis  to  them. 

*♦*»*» 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  You  gave  this,  you 
say,  through  the  president  of  the  club,  who  is 
a  Mr.  Pierson?  A.  Yes,  sir  ;  for  the  benefit  of 
the  club,  to  help  to  keep  the  club  up  ;  mostly 
for  social  enjoyment;  that  is,  to  benefit  the 
mind,  and  discussing  the  things  of  the  day, 
etc. 

*  *  *  -St  •»  * 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  How  much  did  you 
contribute  last  fall?  A.  I  didn’t  contribute 
anything. 

Q.  You  made  no  contribution  last  fall?  A. 
I  gave  a  few  dollars  voluntarily. 

Q.  I  mean  voluntarily  entirely,  but  how 
much  did  you  give  voluntarily  last  fall ;  was 
it  $15?  A.  Fifteen  dollars;  I  think  it  was 
about  that. 

•*■***** 

Henry  Martin  testified  as  follows; 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  You  are  a  letter-car¬ 
rier?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

****** 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Now,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  do  you  know  whether  on  that  day  or 
some  other  day  soon  after  that  there  was  a 
meeting  of  six  or  seven  employes  of  the  post- 
oflBce,  among  them  being  yourself  and  Glass 
and  Reed,  at  the  rooms  of  the  Fairmount 
Club,  where  there  was  a  discussion  as  to  the 
amount  of  money  there  would  be  needed  for 
the  primaries?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  don’t  remember  anything  of  any 
such  discussion  ?  A.  Nothing  about  anything 
like  that ;  no,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  what  do  you  recollect  about  it, 
about  that  or  any  other  discussion  taking 
place  at  that  time?  A.  Well,  we  were  going 
to  buy  a  pool  table;  we  wanted  to  get  a  pool 
table  in  the  room  for  the  enjoyment  of  the 
members,  and  that  is  what  we  were  talking 
about. 


296 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Q.  At  that  time?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  On  that  occasion  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  did  any  of 
these  persons  whose  names  I  have  mentioned 
subscribe  anything  towards  the  expenses  of  the 
primaries?  A.  No,  sir;  not  as  I  know  of. 

Q.  Do  you  know  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Mitchell?  I  don’t  know  what  his  first  name 
is  ;  he  is  employed  in  some  capacity  on  the  el¬ 
evator.  A.  Yes,  sir;  I  know  him  I  am  not 
personally  acquainted  with  him;  that  is,  I 
don’t  know  him  well. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  he  was  present  on 
that  occasion,  at  that  meeting?  A.  Well,  I 
don’t  know  whether  he  was  or  not. 

(See  testimony  of  W.  A.  Mitchell,  September 
Chronicle.) 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  he  has  contrib¬ 
uted  any  money  towards  the  primaries?  A. 
I  think  not. 

Q.  Whether  he  has  contributed  anything  to 
the  primaries?  A.  No,  sir;  none  of  us  con¬ 
tributed  any  money  for  the  primaries. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Well,  for  the  purchase 
of  this  pool  table?  A.  Not  yet,  no  sir;  we 
are  going  to  get  a  pool  table  for  the  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  the  members  of  the  club.  1  suppose 
there  ain’t  anything  wrong  about  that? 

Mr.  Bonaparte :  I  suppose  not.  A.  We 
want  some  kind  of  enjoyment. 

Q.  Now,  you  say  for  the  primaries  there 
has  not  been  any  discussion  about  taking  up  a 
contribution  at  all?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  given  something  toward  the 
expenses  of  the  primaries,  yourself,  haven’t 
you?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Nothing  at  all  ?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  And  you  haven’t  received  anything 
from  anyone  else  for  them?  A.  No,  sir. 

»  i!}  * 

Note — At  this  point,  W.  A.  Mitchell  was 
recalled,  and  the  following  questions  put  to 
him  in  the  presence  of  the  witness : 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Do  you  know  Mr. 
Martin?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  was  he  the  person  whom  you  testi¬ 
fied  had  acted  as  treasurer  for  that  fund  that 
was  subscribed?  A.  Somebody  said  that  he 
was  willing  to  give  it  to  him. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  He  was  the  man  to 
whom  you  gave  your  $5.  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Was  there  anyone 
else  who  acted  as  treasurer  on  that  occasion  ? 
A.  That,  gentlemen,  I  couldn’t  say. 

Q.  You  don’t  think  there  is  any  mistake,  is 
there,  in  your  mind  as  to  its  being  this  Martin 
and  not  somebody  else?  A.  That  is  the  gen¬ 
tleman  I  gave  it  to. 

Mr.  Bonaparte  :  That  will  do. 

(Whereupon  the  witness  Mitchell  retired.) 

Q.  (Roosevelt.)  Have  you  anything  to  say 
in  answer  to  that? 

Witness.  In  answer  to  w'hat? 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  To  his  statement. 

A.  I  have  nothing  to  say  about  that ;  that’s 
all  right. 

Q.  Do  you  deny  it?  A.  I  don’t  deny  that 
he  gave  me  $5. 

Q.  You  don’t  deny  that?  A.  No,  sir;  he 
gave  me  $5. 


Q.  What  was  that  for?  A.  To  buy  a  pool 
table;  we  were  going  to  buy  a  pool  table. 

N(  te. — The  witness  W.  A.  Mitchell  was 
again  recalled. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  did  you  give 
that  for;  what  was  the  object  of  the  gift  of 
that  $5  to  Mr.  Martin?  Didn’t  you  testify 
that  it  was  for  legitimate  expenses  of  the  pri¬ 
maries?  A.  Yes,  sir;  that’s  what  I  said. 

Q.  Was  there  any  talk  about  its  being  for 
any  other  purpose  but  that?  A.  They  were 
talking  about  buying  a  pool  table. 

Q.  Did  you  subscribe  the  $5  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  you  testified;  you  testified  that  you  sub¬ 
scribed  for  the  primaries?  A.  Yes,  sir;  I 
did  ;  but  I  was  willing  to  give  it,  though,  for 
the  pool  table;  we  have  got  to  have  a  meeting 
about  that  yet ;  which  way  it  will  go. 

(Whereupon  the  witness  Mitchell  retired.) 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  I  think  that  is  all,  un¬ 
less  you  want  to  make  some  further  explana¬ 
tion.  A.  I  have  no  further  explanation  to 
make. 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  But  you  didn’t  have 
any  talk  that  night  about  the  primaries  at  all? 
A.  No,  sir. 

John  H.  Ashton  testified  as  follows : 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  is  your  position? 
A.  I  am  fireman  in  the  post  oflBce. 

Q.  Appointed  by  Mr.  Johnson  as  custodian 
of  the  public  buildings?  Appointed  by  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury. 

Q.  How  long  ago  since  you  were  appointed? 
A.  This  November  past  a  year  ago ;  what 
date  I  disremember. 

Q.  (Mr.  Bonaparte.)  Do  you  know  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Frederick  Hammond?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  He  was  at  one  time  employed  in  the 
government  service,  wasn’t  he?  A.  Yes,  sir. 
****** 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Hammond  show  you  a  subscrip¬ 
tion  paper  for  the  expenses  of  the  primaries 
next  Monday?  A.  Yes,  sir;  he  didn’t  show 
it  to  me ;  he  didn’t  tell  me  what  it  was  for ;  he 
had  it  in  his  hand. 

Q.  He  was  holding  it  in  his  hand?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  You  say  he  didn’t  tell  you  what  it  was 
for?  J ust  tell  us  how  you  knew  it  was  for 
that  purpose? 

Witness  :  How  I  knew  it,  or  him? 

Mr.  Bonaparte  :  Well,  how  did  you  know 
it  in  the  first  place,  and  then  how  did  he 
know  you  knew  it? 

A.  I  didn’t  know  for  what  purpose  he 
had  it. 

Q.  What  did  he  say  to  you  about  this  paper? 
A.  He  came  to  me  and  if  I  remember  now  he 
asked  me  if  I  contributed  anything,  and  I  told 
him  no;  I  told  him  that  the  engineers  or  some  of 
them  in  the  building  generally  came  down 
stairs  and  had  a  talk  when  anything  like  that 
was  going  on  ;  so  nothing  more  was  said  and 
he  went  away.  That  is  all  that  was  said. 

****** 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  Now,  did  this  man 
Hammond  tell  you  at  the  same  time  that  he 
showed  you  the  paper  that  he  had  collected  a 


certain  number  of  subscriptions?  A.  They 
were  marked,  you  know,  on  there,  “  five.” 

Q.  You  mean  that  there  were  five  subscrib¬ 
ers  or  $5  ?  A.  No  sir,  $5. 

Q.  Opposite  the  various  names,  was  that? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  whether  these  names 
were  among  those  that  were  down  there,  John 
F.  Thomas,  superintendent  of  the  registry  di¬ 
vision?  A.  I  seen  his  name  there. 

Q.  George  Sears,  was  that  down  ?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  George  W.  Johnson  ?  A.  W.  W.  John¬ 
son,  I  seen  his  name. 

Q.  That  would  be  the  postmaster  ?  A.  Yes, 
sir;  and  George  W.  Johnson. 

Q.  Were  there  any  others?  A.  Yes,  sir, 
there  were  others ;  but  I  don’t  remember  the 
others.  In  fact,  I  didn’t  know  the  others. 

Q.  Now,  you  are  pretty  clear  in  your  mind 
that  you  didn’t  pay  anything  yourself?  A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you 
didn’t  pay  to  anybody  ?  A.  I  paid  the  sum  ; 
that  is,  I  intend  to  pay  the  sum. 

Q.  You  have  promised  to  pay  it  to  some¬ 
body?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  But  it  was  not  to  Hammond?  A.  No, 
I  didn’t  make  any  promises  to  him  at  all.  I 
told  him  in  this  way,  I  says,  “  I  guess  I  will 
see  them  people  about  that.” 

Q.  What  did  you  mean  by  that?  A.  I 
told  him  that  generally  the  engineer,  he  gener¬ 
ally  said  something  if  there  was  anything  like 
that  on  hand,  and  I  was  in  closer  contact  with 
him  than  anybody  else.  I  told  him  it  was  a 
wonder  that  he  hadn’t  said  something  if  there 
was  anything  like  that  on  hand. 

Q.  Who  was  the  engineer?  A.  Mr.  Pier¬ 
son. 

Q.  Noah  R.  Pierson?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  you  told  Hammond  was  that  you 
wondered  that  Mr.  Pierson  hadn’t  said  some¬ 
thing  to  you  about  it?  A.  I  said,  “It  is  a 
wonder  that  he  hasn’t.” 

Q.  Now,  at  that  time  Pierson  hadn’t  said 
anything  to  you  on  the  subject,  as  I  under¬ 
stand?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  tell  Hammond  that  you  ex¬ 
pected  to  pay  your  money  through  Pierson  ? 
A.  No,  sir;  I  didn’t  tell  him  that  I  intended 
to  pay  any  money  at  all. 

Q.  To  whom  had  you  promised  to  pay  this? 
A.  Nobody. 

Q.  Then  we  misunderstood  you  in  saying 
that  you  had  promised  to  pay  it  to  somebody 
just  now?  A.  No,  sir;  I  said,  “It  was  a  won¬ 
der  that  some  of  them  hadn’t  been  there  if 
there  was  anything  to  be  paid ;  it  is  a  wonder 
that  somebody  hadn’t  said  something  about  it.” 
And  me  being  in  closer  contact  with  the  engi¬ 
neer  I  thought  if  anybody  there  was  contribu¬ 
ting  anything  they  would  certainly  let  me 
know;  if  there  was  a  contribution  to  be  made 
I  would  know  it. 

Q.  In  other  words — let  me  understand  you 
— you  mean  that  you  were  surprised  that  these 
other  oflScers  who  were  so  much  more  with  you 
hadn’t  mentioned  this  contribution  to  you 
rather  than  Hammond  ?  A.  That  an  outsider 
altogether,  if  there  was  to  be  any  ;  but  there 
wasn’t  anything  said  to  me  about  any. 
****** 


i 

I 

i 


The  Civil  service  Chronicle. 


VoL.  I,  No.  35. 

I 

j  — ^  - 


INDIANAPOLIS,  JANUARY,  1892.  terms  fcrnuT/copT 


P  ulished  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23, 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indiavapolis,  Ind, 

1  Mr.  W.  C.  Phipps  has  been  in  the  city 
service  in  different  capacities  for  thirteen 
years,  the  later  years  of  his  service  having 
been  in  the  capacity  of  chief  clerk  of  the 
engineer’s  office.  He  has  been  regarded 
as  an  especially  efficient  man,  particularly 
I  in  matters  relating  to  forms  and  methods 
of  business.  The  charter  requires  a  written 
statement  of  the  cause  of  dismissal,  and 
the  city  engineer  thus  states  it : 

“  l  desire  for  the  betterment  of  the  service  in  my 
office  to  introduce  a  new  method  of  keeping  ac¬ 
counts;  deliiie  a  policy  of  keeping  a  systematic  record 
aud  have  made  the  change  referred  to  in  order  that 
,  in  the  position  of  chief  clerk  I  could  have  an  ap¬ 
pointee  who  thoroughly  understands  the  systematic 
methods  to  be  pursued.” 

Mr.  Phipps  publicly  states,  and  it  is  not 
denied,  that  the  city  engineer  first  told 
him  that  he  would  keep  him  as  long  as  he 
desired  to  stay,  and  later  that  he  wanted  a 
democrat  in  Phipps’  place.  The  latter  says 
that  the  city  engineer  admitted  both  of 
these  statements  before  the  board  of  pub¬ 
lic  works,  to  whom  the  matter  of  the  dis¬ 
missal  was  referred.  The  city  will  not 
believe  that  Mr.  Phipps  was  not  competent 
to  take  charge  of  and  improve  upon  any 
methods  of  book-keeping  which  the  city 
engineer  could  devise;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  belief  will  be  very  general  that  Phipps 
was  discharged  solely  to  make  room  for  a 
••  democrat.  The  city  government,  by  its 

I  neglect  to  comply  with  the  charter  in  the 
matter  of  the  city  civil  service,  is  in¬ 
viting  an  appeal  to  the  courts  which  in  due 
time  will  be  made. 

Indiana  affords  to  day  the  most  fnterest- 
ing  example  of  the  evil  of  the  rule  that  a 
President  may  be  re-elected.  Strike  out 
the  federal  office-holders  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  a  majority  of  the  new  republican 
state  committee,  and  of  the  delegates  to  the 
coming  national  convention  would  not 
have  been  Harrison  men.  This  fact  was 
recognized  by  the  administration  and  ac- 
,  cordingly  the  full  power  of  the  federal 
patronage  was  turned  on.  Throughout  the 
state  it  has  been  used  with  consummate 
;  skill  and  slyness.  It  is  not  a  popular  move, 
and  to  the  utmost'  possible  extent  its  use 
has  been  veiled.  No  clumsy  and  brazen 
bull-dozing  by  federal  officials,  such  as  the 
democrats  practiced  under  the  late  admin¬ 
istration,  appeared.  All  was  smooth  and 
secret,  but  federal  patronage  was  never 
more  powerful.  For  instance.  Marshal 
Ransdtill  came  from  Washington,  but  his 


coming  was  not  announced  by  the  Journal. 
Hanna,a  law  officer  of  the  government,  ap¬ 
pears  and  holds  a  secret  conference  with 
republicans  not  active  in  politics.  Warren 
G.  Sayre,  of  the  Indian  service,  suddenly 
has  business  in  Indiana,  and  so  on  through 
a  long  list.  Meanwhile,  thousands  of  post¬ 
masters  and  other  minor  officials  give  their 
attention  to  setting  up  the  primaries  and 
with  such  success  that  Harrison  will  ap¬ 
parently  have  a  majority  of  the  state  com¬ 
mittee.  Whether  he  will  have  a  unani¬ 
mous  delegation  to  the  national  conven¬ 
tion  is  yet  undecided. 

The  undisputed  facts  are  that  the  re- 
election  of  Senator  Sherman  was  secured 
by  federal  office  holders.  There  has  never 
before  been  a  case  where  in  such  numbers 
and  with  such  aggregate  strength,  federal 
office  holders  have  worked  upon  a  state 
legislature  which  is  supposed  to  act  with 
deliberation  and  free  from  federal  influ¬ 
ence.  Any  one  can  see  what  this  practice 
if  continued  hy  successive  Presidents 
would  lead  to.  The  immense  power  of 
the  federal  government  through  its  patron¬ 
age  w’ould  destroy  the  free  action  of  the 
state  legislatures.  The  worst  of  it  is  that 
Senator  Sherman  saw  what  was  going  on 
and  admitted  it  and  sanctioned  it.  In  the 
fullness  of  years  of  eminent  service  to  his 
country,  he  was  in  a  position  to  say,  “If  the 
legislature  of  Ohio  desires  to  elect  a  blather¬ 
skite  like  Foraker  in  my  place,  I  will  sub¬ 
mit.  If  the  Cincinnati  Tammany  headed 
by  an  illiterate  keeper  of  a  notorious  dive 
can  go  among  the  members  of  the  Ohio 
legislature,  and  influence  them  to  defeat 
me,  I  will  submit.  If  the  respectable  citi¬ 
zens  of  Ohio  choose  to  stand  aloof  and 
allow  this  disreputable  gang  to  secure  my 
defeat,  I  will  abide  the  result.”  A  defeat 
under  such  circumstances  would  have 
been  a  badge  of  honor. 

In  the  summer  of  1891  Sherman  S.  Rog¬ 
ers,  President  of  the  Buffalo  Civil  Service 
Reform  Association,  applied  for  informa¬ 
tion  as  to  the  number  of  post-offices  having 
twenty  or  more  employes.  He  received 
the  following  reply : 

On  your  stating  the  use  you  desire  to  make  of  the 
information  in  regard  to  the  postal  employes,  further 
consideration  will  be  given  to  your  request. 

Very  respectfully,  E.  C.  Fowlek, 

Acting  First  Assistant  Postmaster-General. 

It  would  not  seem  that  Mr.  Rogers, armed 
with  the  information  asked  for,  could 
have  done  any  great  damage.  Yet  the  ad¬ 
ministration  seems  to  be  working  on  the 
same  line  with  the  Czar,  who  sends  subjects 


to  Siberia  upon  suspicion  of  a  desire  to 
change  the  existing  imperial  rule. 

Postmaster  Flood,  of  Elmira,  hearing 
that  he  had  been  removed  upon  charges 
filed  against  him,  wrote  to  Postmaster-Gen¬ 
eral  Wanamaker  demanding  a  copy  of  the 
charges.  To  this  Wanamaker  answered 
as  follows : 

Your  demand  for  a  copy  of  the  inspector’s  report 
can  not  be  complied  with,  because  this  administra¬ 
tion  adopted  the  course  laid  down  by  President 
Cleveland,  to  regard  such  reports  as  confidential  pa¬ 
pers,  and  to  neither  allow  them  to  go  out  of  the  office 
nor  to  permit  copies  of  them  to  be  made. 

Very  respectfully,  John  Wanamaker, 

Postmaster-General. 

It  is  difficult  to  fitly  characterize  this 
transaction.  The  facts  are  that  Flood  was 
not  a  friend  of  Platt  or  Sloat  Fassett,  and 
they,  smarting  under  overwhelming  de¬ 
feat,  are  hunting  up  subjects  for  vengeance, 
and  the  administration  is  trying  to  help 
them.  To  this  end  it  sends  an  “inspector” 
to  Elmira  who  is  nothing  but  a  tool  of 
Wanamaker’s.  He  makes  a  report  which 
Wanamaker  and  the  administration  are 
ashamed  to  publish,  knowing  that  it  would 
bring  upon  them  the  contempt  of  the  peo¬ 
ple.  They  therefore  pursue  a  star  cham¬ 
ber  method  and  remove  Flood.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  time  will  come  when  the 
sneaks  and  cowards  who  get  into  public 
office  will  understand  that  the  American 
people  mean  to  have  the  accused  con¬ 
fronted  with  the  charges  and  with  his  ac¬ 
cusers. 

We  have  received  from  the  Postmaster 
General  a  copy  of  his  last  report  and  en¬ 
closed  with  it  a  broadside  of  editorials 
deemed  suitable  for  the  use  of  the  press  and 
abounding  in  such  expressions  as  “  Mr. 
Wanamaker  believes,”  and  “  the  Post¬ 
master  General  argues  strenuously,”  and 
so  on.  Preferring  to  prepare  our  own 
remarks,  we  leave  the  broadside  to  the 
subsidized  press. 

Mr, Wanamaker  can  not  boast  sufficiently 
of  what  he  calls  “an  enlargement  of  the 
scheme  of  promotions  on  merit.”  He 
says  that  formerly  a  great  majority  discov¬ 
ered  that  there  was  no  recognition  of 
merit  and  gave  up  the  struggle  for  ad¬ 
vancement  and  he  felt  that  “  there  was 
but  one  way  to  bring  about  the  greatest 
state  of  efficiency  in  the  clerical  force”  and 
that  was  to  advance,  reduce,  retain  or  dis¬ 
miss  on  merit  only,  without  regard  to 
inffuence.  He  therefore  introduced  a  daily 
record  and  competitive  examination  sys¬ 
tem.  At  the  first  examination,  twenty- 
three  were  examined  for  two  vacancies 


298 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


and  the  successful  competitors  were 
women.  Ninety-two  were  examined  for 
twenty-seven  promotions  in  about  three 
months.  Mr.  Wanamaker  says  “  the  re¬ 
sults  of  this  competitive  merit  system  have 
been  extremely  gratifying.  *  *  *  There  is 
marked  improvement  in  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  work  done  from  day  to  day.” 
He^has  further  issued  an  order  extending 
this  scheme  to  all  post-offices  having  fifty 
employes.  Is  this  the  same  Mr.  Wana¬ 
maker, whose  present  private  secretary  was, 
in  Mr.  Wanamaker’s  behalf,  writing  over 
the  country  in  1889  when  this  same  merit 
system  Mr.  Wanamaker  now  boasts  of  gov¬ 
erned  admission  to  over  30,000  places  in 
the  federal  service,  asking  “  why  both 
parties  should  not  discard  their  insincere 
professions  and  have  the  patriotism  to  go 
back  to  the  old  system,”  that  is,  to  the 
spoils  system  ? 


We  must  criticise  Mr.  Wanamaker  for 
obviously  not  living  up  to  the  precept  to 
turn  the  other  cheek.  He  smarts  under 
the  smiting  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  and,  there¬ 
fore,  tries  to  establish  a  merit  system  in¬ 
dependent  of  the  civil  service  commission. 
He  says  “  this  can  be  done  more  fairly  and 
conscientiously  in  a  great  department  like 
this  from  within  than  from  the  outside.” 
This  is  clearly  from  spite,  for  Mr.  Wana¬ 
maker’s  successor  can  overturn  his  system 
at  a  word,  while  if  it  is  put  under  the  civil 
service  commission  he  would  be  powerless 
to  disturb  it.  Another  instance  is  Mr. 
Wanamaker’s  comments  on  the  bill  to  reg- 
late  the  appointment  of  fourth-class  post¬ 
masters.  He  says  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  members  of  congress  will  give  up 
the  privilege  “  of  furnishing  the  depart¬ 
ment  with  desired  and  welcome  informa¬ 
tion  touching  the  qualifications  of  can¬ 
didates,”  that  is,  will  give  up  their 
usurped  power  of  appointing  their  hench¬ 
men  fourth-class  postmasters.  Wanamak¬ 
er  says,  “  I  fancy  that  the  surrender  of  this 
power  *  *  *■  is  a  long  way  in  the  future.” 
It  seems  inconsistent  that  he  can  say  of  his 
new  promotion  scheme  that  it  takes  out  of 
any  man’s  hands  the  power  of  promoting 
"under  the  influence  of  social  or  political 
friendships,”  and  yet  can  look  complacent¬ 
ly  and  without  protest  upon  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  over  50,000  postmasters  under  the 
same  influences.  The  obvious  reason  is 
that  this  bill  is  from  the  "outside,”  and  is 
supported  by  those  who  have  had  occasion 
to  smite  Mr.  Wanamaker  to  bring  him  to 
a  proper  sense  of  his  shortcomings,  not 
only  as  a  public  officer,  but  as  a  man. 


No  FACT  is  in  these  days  more  promi¬ 
nent  than  that  the  merit  system  has  con¬ 
quered  its  way  and  is  steadily  coming  to 
its  own.  Against  every  kind  of  opposition 


it  has  reached  the  control  of  original  ad¬ 
mission  to  thirty-two  thousand  high-sala¬ 
ried  places  in  the  federal  service,  this  be¬ 
ing  under  the  civil  service  commission. 
In  addition  we  have  the  spectacle  of  cabi¬ 
net  officers  originally  unfriendly  but  now 
thoroughly  stampeded  by  the  onward 
march  of  the  competitive  system,  running 
races  with  each  other  to  get  the  system  in¬ 
troduced  throughout  their  departments. 
Thus  Secretary  Tracy  has  revolutionized 
the  navy  yards.  Mr.  Wanamaker  has  made 
the  despised  civil  service  reform  stone  the 
head  of  the  corner  in  his  department,  and 
now  brags  that  he  is  the  original  maker  of 
that  stone.  Now  comes  Secretary  Foster 
with  an  admirable  set  of  rules  for  promo¬ 
tions  on  merit  in  his  department,  devised 
by  Mr.  De  Land.  Lastly  comes  Secretary 
Noble  with  the  most  stringent  and  refined 
set  of  rules  yet  established. 


Nobody  denies  that  Mr.  Croker  asserts  truthfully 
that  Tammany  Hall  is  the  only  organization  in  the 
city  recognized  by  the  democratic  party  of  New 
York,  nor  that  Governor  Hill  is  the  actual  demo¬ 
cratic  leader  in  the  state.  Nor  will  anybody  deny 
that  Mr.  Platt  is  the  republican  leader  in  New  York, 
and  Mr.  Quay  in  Pennsylvania,  nor  that  the  attempt 
to  justify  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Elkins  is  an  evi¬ 
dence  of  decline  in  the  true  standard  of  the  public 
service.  It  is  a  time  when  parties  do  not  represent 
the  actual  division  of  political  opinion,  and  when 
both  parties  degrade  the  political  standard,  and  it  is 
therefore  a  time  of  greater  political  independence 
than  cyeT.— Harper's  Weekly,  January  2. 

At  no  time  since  between  1850  and  1860, 
have  voters  shaken  off  the  shackles  of 
party  as  they  do  now.  It  is  to  be  encour¬ 
aged  by  every  means.  We  may  continue 
to  be  ruled  by  the  Platts  and  Quays,  the 
Hills  and  Gormans,  but  not  if  the  inde¬ 
pendents  do  their  duty  and  work  each  over 
against  his  own  house. 


IS  THE  REFORM  OF  THE  CIVIL 
SERVICE  A  MORAL  QUESTION.? 

There  was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  trage¬ 
dies  which  spring  from  the  spoils  system  in 
the  recent  death  of  Col.  Bario,  of  Connecti¬ 
cut,  late  an  inspector  in  the  post-office  depart¬ 
ment.  He  served  with  honor  in  the  civil  war, 
and  had  been  colonel  of  the  second  regiment 
Connecticut  National  Guard.  In  i886  he 
was  appointed  a  post-office  inspector,  and  soon 
won  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  in  New 
England.  So  shrewd  and  successful  did  he 
prove  that  he  was  often  sent  for  from  New 
York,  and  even  as  far  away  as  Ohio.  Through 
his  work  in  his  special  field,  the  United  States 
district  attorney  had  been  enabled  to  convict 
forty  Connecticut  postmasters  of  selling  stamps 
on  credit  to  a  firm  of  New  York  architects,  for 
which  offense  one  of  the  firm  was  fined  $5,000 
and  sent  to  jail  for  one  day.  He  secured  the 
evidence  that  resulted  in  the  indictment  of  the 
New  Orleans  lottery  men,  and  he  broke  up  the 
infamous  Connecticut  “  card  game,”  the  “  one 


dollar  time-piece”  scheme,  the  “Scriptural 
fake,”  and  other  notorious  swindles.  Re¬ 
cently  he  had  been  engaged  in  collecting  evi¬ 
dence  against  five  postmasters  of  New  Haven 
county,  who  are  charged  with  selling  postage 
stamps  on  credit  in  violation  of  law.  He  was 
devoted  to  his  work,  and  was  in  every  way  an 
official  who  had  the  confidence  of  his  superiors 
and  earned  a  permanent  tenure.  On  Friday 
of  last  week,  as  a  New  Year’s  gift,  came  the 
announcement  from  Washington  that  he  must 
summarily  surrender  his  office,  solely  because 
he  was  a  democrat  in  politics.  The  United 
States  attorney,  the  United  States  commis¬ 
sioner,  and  the  New  Haven  postmaster,  met 
last  Monday  to  confer  regarding  the  offending 
postmasters,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  In¬ 
spector  Bario.  Here  is  the  story  of  what  fol¬ 
lowed  : 

“  ‘  I  never  knew  him  lobe  tardy  before,’  said  At¬ 
torney  Sill. 

“  ‘Nor  I,’  said  Postmaster  Sperry. 

‘‘  Then  they  began  talking  about  his  removal  by 
the  President,  the  news  of  which  had  only  reached 
them  that  morning. 

"  ‘  It’s  a  shame,’  said  Mr.  Sperry,  who  is  one  of  the 
most  prominent  republicans  of  the  state,  ‘and  it  will 
break  Bario’s  heart.  I  never  knew  a  man  so  wrapped 
up  in  his  duties  as  he.’ 

‘‘  ‘Nor  I,’  said  Mr.  Sill ;  ‘and  I’d  give  more  for  Bario 
than  for  all  the  other  inspectors  in  New  England  put 
together.’ 

‘“Let  us  write  to  Washington,’  said  Postmaster 
Sperry,  ‘and  remonstrate  against  his  removal.’ 

‘‘The  other  gentleman  acquiesced,  and  sat  down 
and  wrote  to  Washington.  It  was  decided  to  ask 
District  Judge  Shipman,  recently  appointed  to  the 
circuit  court  of  appeals.  United  States  Commissioner 
Marvin,  and  Postmaster  Bennett  of  Hartford  to  write 
similar  letters,  and  their  willingness  to  so  write  was 
doubted  by  none.  Then  they  speculated  again  on 
the  inspector’s  tardiness,  and  it  was  not  until  an 
evening  paper  was  handed  in  which  announced  his 
sudden  death  at  noon  on  Saturday  that  they  knew 
the  reason  of  his  faiiure  to  report. 

‘‘  •  He  has  been  removed  by  a  higher  power  than 
the  President,  said  Mr.  Sill.” 

The  case  of  Colonel  Bario  illustrates  not 
only  the  tragedies  involved  in  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem,  but  also  the  singular  indifference  of  the 
public.  It  is  enough  to  kill  many  a  man  to  be 
summarily  removed  from  a  place  in  private 
service  which  he  knows  he  has  filled  capably, 
faithfully,  and  satisfactorily,  and  which  he 
desires  to  retain.  The  shock  of  summary  dis¬ 
charge  from  the  public  service  under  similar 
conditions  is  often  quite  as  hard  for  a  high- 
spirited  man  to  bear.  The  public  would  be 
filled  with  indignation  against  the  private  em¬ 
ployer  who  would  thus  disgrace  a  meritorious 
subordinate.  Yet  it  looks  coolly  on  while  the 
public  employer  rewards  capacity,  industry 
and  fidelity  with  removal.  Americans  are 
not  a  heartless  people  in  their  relations  “be¬ 
tween  man  and  man,”  but  when  it  comes  to 
the  relations  between  the  people  as  the  state 
and  its  employes  they  witness  the  most  shock- 
ing  spectacles  of  inhumanity  with  an  equanim¬ 
ity  worthy  only  of  savages. — JVew  York  Evening 
Post,  yanuary  (j. 


For  a  President  to  manipulate  the  federal 
service  to  secure  a  re-nomination  is  a  bold 
assumption  of  royal  power. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


299 


When  we  consider  the  patronage  of  this  great  office,  the  allnrements  of  power,  tlie  temptation  to  retain  public  place  once 
gained,  and  more  than  all,  the  availability  a  party  fliids  in  an  incumbent  .whom  a  horde  of  office-holders,  with  a  zeal  born  of  bene¬ 
fits  received  and  fostered  by  the  hope  of  ffivors  yet  to  come,  stand  ready  to  aid  with  money  and  trained  political  service,  we 
recognize  in  the  eligibility  of  the  President  for  re-election  a  most  serious  danger  to  that  calm,  deliberate  and  intelligent  political 
action  which  must  characterize  a  government  by  the  people.— [Z,e/<er  of  Acceptance,  ISS4,  Grover  Cleveland. 


IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Senator  Quay  was  asked  if  it  was  true,  as 
reported,  that  his  second  choice  for  the  Presi¬ 
dential  nomination  is  Gen.  Alger,  and  he  re¬ 
plied  ;  “  I  am  for  Secretary  Blaine.  He  is  my 
choice.” 

“But  who  is  your  second  choice.  Senator?” 

“I  have  no  second  choice.” 

“  Do  you  think  Blaine  will  be  a  candidate  ?” 

“  I  really  don’t  know  ;  but  if  Mr.  Blaine  is 
not  a  candidate,  I  don’t  think  he  will  refuse  to 
accept  the  nomination  if  it  is  tendered  him.” — 
Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  Nerv  York  Times,  Decem¬ 
ber  lo. 

It  looks  as  if  there  was  to  be  a  general  shaking  up 
of  Senator  Quay's  office  holding  liiuttnants  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  by  order  of  the  President.  There  are  alle¬ 
gations  concerning  the  mismanagement  of  affaiis  in 
the  office  of  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Samuel  D. 
Warmcastleso  serious  that  the  collector  will  visit 
Washington  to-morrow  to  ascertain  just  what  the 
special  agents  of  the  treasury  department  have  dis¬ 
covered  about  him  and  his  subordinates.  The  state¬ 
ment  is  made  that  Warmcastle  is  to  be  removed. 
The  friends  of  the  President  want  the  office  in  the  hands 
of  a  man  in  harmony  with  the  administration ,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  district  embraces  nearly  half  the  counties 
inthe  state,  audits  influence  will  therefore  be  important 
in  the  selection  of  national  delegates.  Congressman 
Dalzell  is  also  determined  that  the  collector  shall  not 
use  his  office  offensively  for  Quay  in  the  senatorial 
contest  next  year. 

The  office  of  United  States  District  Attorney  Wal¬ 
ter  Lyon  will  also  be  shaken  up.  The  allegation  is 
made  that  it  is  run  too  expensively.  It  is  said  that 
Lyon  maintains  three  assistants,  at  an  expense  of 
$5,000  annually,  though  there  is  only  about  half  as 
much  to  do  as  there  was  when  the  district  attorney 
had  but  one  assistant.  Lyon  is  another  Quay  lieu¬ 
tenant  and  presided  at  Quay’s  state  convention  in 
1890,  when  Delamater  was  nominated  for  governor. 

It  is  possible  that  the  post-office  deparlment  will 
be  asked  to  make  inquiry  as  to  the  offensive  partisan¬ 
ship  of  Assistant  Postmaster  Albert  J.  Edwards  and 
Custodian  W.  W.  Colville.  Charges  made  last  spring 
j  against  Postmaster  John  A.  Gilleland  of  Alleghany, 
"  will  also  be  revived.  Gilleland  is  a  Quay  man.  The 
allegation  being  made  that  he  was  incompetant,  an 
Investigation  was  ordered,  and  a  report  was  filed 
'  sustaining  the  charge.  Through  the  influence  of 
Congressman  Bayne  this  report  was  ignored  at  the 
itime. 

/  Altogether  the  future  does  not  appear  to  be  proni- 
'  ising  for  Quay  office  holders  at  this  end  of  the  state. 
—Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  December  5. 

*  * 

Congressman  Dalzell's  ambition  to  succeed  Sena¬ 
tor  Quay  is  said  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  Dalzell's  al¬ 
leged  desire  to  remove  Samuel  Warmcastle  from  the 
office  of  collector  of  Internal  revenue  for  this  dis¬ 
trict,  which  includes  twenty-four  counties.  This  is 
the  gist  of  an  article  in  this  morning's  issue  of  the 
Commercial- Gazette,  the  Pittsburgh  organ  of  Quay.  A 
special  agent  w'as  .sent  from  Washington  to  make  an 
investigation,  and  the  Commercial- Gazelle  &s.ys,  that  he 
was  frequently  visited  by  ex- Revenue  Collector 
Frank  P.  Case  and  Congressman  Dalzell.  Case  set  up 
the  delegates  for  Dalzell  in  his  congressional  cam¬ 
paign,  and  wanted  another  term  as  collector.  He  is 
now  city  assessor.  The  report  of  the  special  agent 
does  not  reflect  criminally  upon  Collector  Warm¬ 
castle,  who  was  for  many  years  a  high  official  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  and  is  highly  re¬ 
spected  by  the  business  element  here.  It  is  said  the 


report  censures  him  for  carelessness  in  selecting  sub- 
ordinales,  failure  to  keep  a  strict  watch  over  them, 
and  devoting  too  much  time  to  private  matters.  Col¬ 
lector  Warmcastle  and  Senator  Quay  will  both  be  in 
Washington  to-morrow  and  a  conference  will  be  held.  In 
this  connection,  the  position  of  Chris  Magee  on  the  sena¬ 
torial  (jufstion  is  much  debated.  It  is  said  that  he  would 
like  to  support  Dalzell,  but  dare  not,  because  Quay  is  al¬ 
leged  to  have  had  a  hand  in  terminating  the  rate  war  be¬ 
tween  rival  street  car  lines  here,  one  owned  by  Magee, 
the  other  by  the  Elkins-Widner  syndicate  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,  and  who  have  always  been  close  to  Quay. 
A  termination  of  the  war  helped  Magee  financially.— 
PitUburgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening  Post,  Decem¬ 
ber  5. 

*  *  * 

Internal  revenue  collector  Samuel  D.  Warmcastle 
of  the  twenty- third  district,  expects  to  be  out  of  office 
within  the  next  few  days.  He  returned  from  Wash¬ 
ington  this  morning  where  he  had  been  for  two  days 
putting  in  a  defense  to  charges  against  him.  He 
said  this  morning  that  he  would  probably  resign. 
Then  he  went  down  to  Beaver  and  had  a  conference  with 
Senator  Quay,  and  on  his  return  said  he  would  await  the 
action  of  the  President,  in  whose  hands  the  case  now 
is.  The  charges  against  Mr.  Warmcastle  are  that  he 
did  not  turn  over  the  funds  in  his  care  as  soon  as  is 
required  by  the  internal  reveue  laws  and  that  he  paid 
employes  for  full  time  when  they  were  sometimes  engaged 
in  political  work  instead  of  serving  the  Government. 
Mr.  Warmcastle  has  been  Senator  Quay’s  principal 
lieutenant  in  western  Pennsylvania,  but  the  ex- 
national  chairman  now  concedes  that  his  case  is 
hopeless,  and  has  not  gone  to  Washington  to  try  to 
save  him.  C.  L.  Magee  who  until  recently  was  Quay's 
bitterest  political  enemy  in  Pennsylvania,  but  who  became 
reconciled  to  him  in  the  late  state  campaign,  is  now  in 
Washington  trying  to  induce  President  Harrison  to 
allow  the  collector  to  resign  Mr.  Warmcastle’s  expres¬ 
sion  to-day  indicates  that  he  will  succeed  and  that 
the  collector  will  be  saved  the  disgrace  of  dismissal- 
— Pittsburgh  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  December  12. 

*  *  * 

Washington,  D.  C.,  December  23. — The 
President  to-day  issued  an  order  for  the  re¬ 
moval  of  Samuel  D.  Warmcastle,  collector  of 
internal  revenue  for  the  twenty-third  district 
of  Pennsylvania  (Pittsburgh). 

*  *  * 

President  Harrison  will  not  have  a  delegate  in  the 
next  national  conveniion  from  this  city  unle.ss  Senator 
Quay  and  those  who  represetit  him  in  Philadelphia 
recede  from  their  present  position.  The  only  oppor¬ 
tunity  President  Harrison’s  friends  had  of  making 
an  attempt  to  elect  delegates  in  his  interest  was 
brushed  aside  yesterday  by  the  republican  cam¬ 
paign  committee. 

About  a  week  ago  it  became  apparent  that  the 
Quay  people  were  opposed  to  the  election  of  Harri¬ 
son  delegates,  and  machinery  was  put  in  motion  to 
redu^'e  their  chances  of  success  to  a  minimum.  The 
office  holders  who,  of  course,  would  be  loyal  to  President 
Harrison,  depended  on  the  special  primaries,  when  they 
would  make  an  appeal  to  the  people  for  their  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  conveniion.  The  Quay  people  yester 
day  deprived  them  of  this  opportunity,  by  securing 
the  passage  of  a  resolution  that  the  primaries  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  national  convention  be  held  on 
Jan.  12,  when  delegates  to  the  conventions  to  select 
candidates  for  other  offices  will  also  be  elected. 

There  was  not  a  dissenting  voice  to  the  resolution, 
though  Marshal  /.gerf.s  and  Joseph  L.  Nobre,  who  are 
candidates  for  delegates  to  the  national  convention, 
in  opposition  to  the  Quay  people,  were  at  the  meet¬ 
ing.  It  was  learned  that  Marshal  Leeds  had  a  confer¬ 
ence  with  Collector  Cooper  previous  to  the  meeting, 
when  the  rules  were  carefully  examined  to  determ¬ 


ine  whether  the  proposed  action  of  the  campaign 
committee  was  illegal  or  not.  It  was  found  that  the 
committee  had  power  to  hold  the  primaries  when  it 
pleased,  which  accounted  for  Marshal  Leeds’s  and 
Joseph  L.  Nobre’s  silence. 

Elated  with  the  success  of  their  plans,  which  in 
their  minds  placed  beyond  a  doubt  the  possibility 
of  the  election  of  any  Harrison  delegates  in  this  city, 
the  Quay  people  have  partly  decided  upon  the  dele¬ 
gates  who  shall  go  from  this  city  to  the  national  con¬ 
vention. — Public  Ledger,  December  1. 

*  *  * 

While  President  Harrison  has  not  yet  declared 
himself  a  candidate  for  renomination,  some  of  the 
principal  members  of  his  cabinet  are  hard  at  work 
endeavoring  to  secure  the  election  of  delegates  to  the 
national  convention  who  will,  by  their  votes  in  that 
body,  support  their  chief  for  renomination. 

Postmaster-general  Wauamaker,  who,  for  a  long 
time  after  his  acceptance  of  the  position  held  by 
him  was  on  terms  of  political  intimacy  with  Senator 
Quay,  since  the  latter  declared  against  Harrison  for 
nomination,  has  been  busy  arranging  his  forces  and 
the  signs  of  the  times  point  to  a  battle  royal  in  the 
several  counties  of  this  state  between  the  Wana- 
maker  and  Quay  forces  for  the  election  of  national 
delegates.  It  is  well  known  that  Marshal  Leeds,  who 
received  his  ptesent  appointment  through  the  influence, 
mainly,  of  the  Postmaster  General,  has  taken  his  coat  off 
and  is  battling  for  a  seat  in  the  national  convention 
against  David  H.  Lane  and  Jacob  Wildermore,  the 
slated  candidates  of  the  Martin-Porter  combination. 

Despite  the  refusal  of  the  postmaster-general  and 
mayor  to  give  out  the  inside  history  at  to  day’s  chat, 
Joseph  L.  Nobre,  Gen.  Snyder,  Thomas  Lindsay,  and 
other  “anti-combine”  workers,  declare  that  there  is 
a  well-developed  movement  underway  to  have  Har¬ 
rison  candidates  for  national  delegates  put  in  the 
field  in  every  district  of  the  city.  Word  has  been  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  western  part  of  the  state  that  the  removal 
of  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  Warmcastle  has  been 
understood  by  the  federal  office-holders  of  that  section  to 
mean  that  they  are  to  go  to  work  in  earnest  in  their  dis¬ 
tricts  and  endeavor  to  have  delegates  elected  who  will  fa¬ 
vor  the  President  for  renomination.  It  is  also  under¬ 
stood  that  the  friends  of  Congressman  Dalzell,  who 
is  in  line  with  the  Wanamaker  programme,  will  lend 
their  best  efl'orts  to  defeat  the  candidates  for  seats 
in  the  national  convention  who  have  been  slated  in 
the  western  districts  by  Senator  Quay’s  orders.  The 
postmasters  located  at  the  county  seats  of  the  respec¬ 
tive  districts  have  been  given  the  “tip,”  and  as  the 
country  cross-road  postmasters  within  their  counties 
are  virtually  under  their  control  by  reason  of  the 
system  of  supervision  now  in  vogue,  they  are  ex¬ 
pected  to  direct  their  attention  toward  securing  the 
election  of  friendly  delegates. 

Congressman  and  President  of  the  State  League  of  Re¬ 
publican  Clubs  John  B.  Robinson,  who  has  declared  him¬ 
self  a  candidate  for  tlie  succession  to  Senator  Quay,  has 
been  publicly  indorsed  for  the  position  by  Collector  of  the 
Port  Thomas  V.  Cooper,  who,  as  editor  of  the  Delaware 
American,  last  week  declared  himself  in  favor  of  Robin¬ 
son's  elevation  to  the  senate.  It  is  a  known  fact  that 
Collector  Cooper,  who  now  holds  the  best  office  in 
this  state  within  the  gift  of  the  President,  controlled 
the  politics  of  Delaware  county  until  he  and  Robin¬ 
son  met  in  the  political  arena,  the  result  ending  in 
Robinson’s  favor,  since  which  time  “Fighting  Jack,” 
as  he  is  termed,  has  been  in  undisputed  control.  A 
close  friend  of  Cooper’s  said  to-night  while  discuss¬ 
ing  the  subject :  “  It  has  been  given  out  that  Collec¬ 
tor  Cooper  will  uot  be  able  to  get  a  delegate  for  the 
President’s  renomination.  Let  me  say  to  you  that 
the  southeastern  counties  will  be  in  line  for  Robinson 
for  senator,  and  they  will  also  name  delegates  to  the 
Minneapolis  convention  who  will  support  the  Presi¬ 
dent  for  a  second  ierm."— Philadelphia  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  December  27. 


300 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


I  am  an  advocate  of  civil  service  reform.  My  brief  experience  at  Wasliington  lias  led  me  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an 
emphasis  I  do  not  often  use,  Unit  I  might  he  for  ever  relieved  of  any  connection  with  the  di>trihution  of  public  patronage. 
I  covet  for  myself  tlie  free  and  nnpurchased  snjiport  of  my  fellow-citizens.  *  *  [Senator  Benjamin  Harvixon. 


A  decidedly  uneasy  feeling  prevails  among  the 
federal  office  holders  who  are  just  now  so  unfortu¬ 
nate  as  to  have  their  residences  in  the  second  and 
fifth  congressional  districts.  They  are  with  one  ac¬ 
cord  loud  in  their  protestations  of  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  President  Harrison,  and  each  and  every 
man  asserts  in  emphatic  terms  that  his  loyalty  can 
not  for  an  instant  be  questioned. 

Only  a  few  days  ago  they  were  hesitating.  They  feared 
to  obey  the  orders  issued  by  the  ward  combine 
to  work  for  such  delegates  as  could  be  depended 
upon  to  follow  the  instructions  of  Senator  Quay,  and 
disliked  to  openly  participate  in  a  movement  hav¬ 
ing  for  its  object  the  snubbing  of  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  nation.  It  was  only  a  week  ago 
that  the  administration  demonstrated  its  willing¬ 
ness  to  assist  the  two  men  who  had  the  courage  to 
wage  war  upon  the  powerful  ward  combination. 
W.  H.  Brooks,  collector  of  internal  revenue,  was  sus¬ 
pected  of  oeing  wedded  to  the  Quay  leaders,  and  was  noti¬ 
fied  that  he  was  no  longer  custodian  of  the  United  Stales 
buildings.  Marshal  W.  R.  Leeds,  who  wants  to  go  to 
Minneapolis  as  a  Harrison  man,  was  given  the  place  and 
the  patronage  attached  to  it.  This  was  intended  as  a 
warning,  but  as  it  did  not  have  the  desired  effect, 
four  gaugers  were  “suspended”  because  of  their 
known  indisposition  to  work  for  Charles  W.  Henry, 
the  administration  candidate  in  the  fifth  district. 
The  announcement  of  this  decided  action  by  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury  Foster,  caused  a  sensation,  and 
there  was  at  once  a  stiffening  of  the  backbone  of  the 
Harrison  men.  The  move  had  a  decided  flavor  of 
Ohio  methods,  but  it  was  effective,  and  the  weak- 
kneed  federal  office-holders  began  loudly  to  assert 
their  allegiance  to  the  cause.  On  Saturday  came  the 
announcement  that  at  least  a  dozen  custom-house 
employes  had  been  booked  for  dismissal,  and  that 
started  a  panic  among  the  many  men  suspected  of 
trying  to  carry  water  on  both  shoulders.  It  was  as¬ 
serted  that  when  Charles  W.  Henry  went  to  Washing¬ 
ton  last  week,  he  had  in  his  pocket  a  list  of  office¬ 
holders  whose  loyalty  was  questioned.  The  four  dis¬ 
missed  gaugers  were  on  his  list,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  doomed  custom-house  men  were  also  included. 
Rumor  has  it  that  the  post-office  had  also  been 
scrutinized  by  the  twenty-second  ward  man,  and 
that  quite  a  number  of  men  who  serve  under  Post¬ 
master  Field  are  to  be  asked  to  walk  the  plank  in  the 
very  near  future,  unless  the  result  of  luesday’s  pri¬ 
maries  shall  show  that  they  have  done  good  service. 
*  »  * 

Finding  that  the  frankly  given  warning  was  not 
having  the  desired  effect,  and  that  some  of  the  Federal 
office  holders  were  not  looming  up  as  strongly  in  the  fight 
for  national  delegates  as  the  friends  of  President  Harri 
son  deemed  desirable,  extreme  measures  were  resorted  to 
today,  and  quite  a  large-sized  basket  full  of  heads  fell 
under  the  ofiicial  axe.  A  telegram  from  Wash¬ 
ington  stated  that  twelve  employes  of  the  internal 
revenue  department  had  been  suspended  for  “rea¬ 
sons  satisfactory  to  Secretary  Foster.”  The  names 
of  the  men  removed  were,  however,  not  made  public, 
and  an  air  of  mystery  was  thrown  around  the  affair. 
Internal  Revenue  Collector  Brooks  stated  early  in 
the  day  that  he  had  heard  of  no  removals  or  suspen¬ 
sions,  but  late  in  the  afternoon  he  admitted  that  six 
gaugers  had  been  notified  that  their  services  were  no 
longer  required.  The  identity  of  the  unfortunates  was 
not  positively  established,  but  it  was  stated  on 
apparently  good  authority  that  four  of  the  sus¬ 
pended  men  are  Dan  Ahearn  of  the  eighteenth  ward, 
John  S.  Todd  of  the  Twenty-fifth,  Meschert  of  the 
Nineteenth  and  Hecksler  of  the  Twenty  fifth.  The 
other  two  are  personal  friends  of  David  Martin,  Senator 
Quay' s  chief  lieutenant.  This  activity  on  the  part  of 
the  administration  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  as  to 
the  sincerity  of  the  fight  being  made  to  prevent  the 
Quay  men  from  capturing  a  solid  delegation  to 
Minneapolis  from  Philadelphia,  but  the  Beaver 
man’s  henchmen  are  not  standing  still,  and  the 
screws  have  been  put  on  such  employes  of  the  city 
as  are  suspected  of  taking  an  interest  in  the  plucky 


fight  being  made  by  United  Slates  Marshal  Leeds 
and  Henry  to  prevent  the  snubbing  that  President 
Harrison’s  opponents  are  fixing  up  for  him.  Three 
employes  in  the  city’s  gas  works,  who  owe  their  ap¬ 
pointments  to  ex-Sheriff  Leeds,  were  to-day  warned 
thnt  their  places  could  easily  be  filled  with  men 
more  zealous  in  behalf  of  the  ward  combine. 
This  action  is  said  by  the  Leeds  men  to  have  been 
laken  in  order  to  scare  off  men  who  are  running  for 
delegates  to  the  convention  in  the  interest  of  Leeds. 
Philadelphia  dispatch  to  New  Yoi  k  Times  January  9. 

*  *  * 

Collector  Thomas  V.  Cooper  was  seen  at  his  Media 
home  to  day,  and  in  response  to  some  direct  ques¬ 
tions,  said : 

“This  trouble  would  not  have  originated  at  all  but 
for  the  early  call  for  the  election  of  national  dele¬ 
gates.  It  Is  several  months  ahead  of  the  ordinary 
time,  and  this  fact  seemed  to  indicate  a  desire  to 
elect  a  delegate  who  would  oppose  President  Har¬ 
rison’s  renomination  even  if  Mr.  Blaine  was  not  a 
candidate.  The  friends  of  the  administration,  of 
course,  opposed  this,  contending  that  if  Mr.  Blaine 
is  not  a  candidate.  President  Harrison’s  renomina¬ 
tion  shall  not  be  opposid.  In  short,  they  are  averse 
to  having  the  delegates  carried  over  bodily  to  a  third 
man,  as  they  are  convinced  that  the  sentiment  of 
all  the  people  is  in  favor  of  Blaine  or  Harrison. 
There  is  no  other  meaning  to  the  contest  than  this. 
There  is  no  hostility  to  Mr.  Blaine  whatever,  in  any 
sense  of  the  world.  All  of  the  combine  delegates 
are  now  willing  to  .say  that  if  Mr.  Blaine  is  not  a 
candidate.  President  Harrison’s  renomination  is  in¬ 
evitable,  and  they  will  support  it.  The  mischief, 
was  in  calling  the  delegate  elections  in  advance  of 
the  accustomed  time,  and  in  widely  advertising  the 
fact  that  this  step  was  taken  for  the  purpose  of  injur, 
ing  President  Harrison’s  changes.  However,  this  is 
now  disclaimed  byihe  combine,  but  the  disclaimer 
has  not  been  half  as  well  advertised  as  the  original 
purpose,  and  therefore  the  friends  of  the  President 
feel  that  if  the  views  of  the  combine  have  really 
been  changed,  they  ought  to  show  the  fact  decidedly 
by  at  least  admitting  two  delegates  out  of  ten  who,  ii 
is  well  known,  will  vote  for  Mr.  Blaii  e  if  he  is  a  can¬ 
didate,  but  who  will  assuredly  resist  any  attempt  to 
carry  the  Pennsylvania  delegates  from  President 
Harrison  if  Mr.  Blaine  is  not  a  c&adid&ie.— Philadel¬ 
phia  Dispatch  to  N.  Y.  Times,  Jan.  11. 

*  *  * 

In  the  fight  for  delegates  to  the  national  repub¬ 
lican  convention  the  Harrison  forces  to  day  suffered 
an  important  defection  in  the  desertion  to  the  Quay 
column  of  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Brooks,  who  until  to¬ 
day  had  bf-en  counted  on  as  a  supporter  of  Charles  W 
Henry,  the  Harrison-  Wanamaker  candidate  in  the  fifth 
congressional  district.  The  friends  of  Henry  yesterday 
made  a  strong  effort  to  get  an  open  declaration  from 
Brooks  in  favor  of  their  candidate,  but  Mr.  Brooks 
hesitated.  The  significance  of  this  hesitation  on  his 
part  was  definitely  demonstrated  to-day  when  Mr. 
Brooks,  with  deliberation  and  emphasis,  declared  : 

“I am  no  longer  interested  in  Mr.  Henry’s  candi 
dacy.  My  independence  and  manhood  will  not 
permit  me.  I  have  been  and  am  loyal  to  President 
Harrison.  If  I  were  not,  I  would  not  now  be  rev 
enue  collector.  The  moment  my  loyalty  wavered  to 
the  President,  that  moment  I  would  surrender  my 
position.” 

“  What  is  the  reason,  then,  for  the  change  in  your 
sentiments  regarding  Mr.  Henry’s  candidacy?”  he 
was  asked. 

“  I  do  not  propose  to  shelter  myself  behind  the 
men  in  my  department  and  assume  a  position  thai 
would  be  regarded  as  selfish,  unmanly,  cowardly  or 
dishonest,”  W’as  his  reply.  “1  do  not  propose  to 
permit  the  men  in  this  department  to  suffer  for  their 
Independence.  I  never  have  been  an  object  to  be 
coerced  by  any  power,  and  I  do  not  propose  to  begin 
now.” 

“  When  did  you  make  up  your  mind  in  this  direc¬ 
tion?” 


“  1  made,  it  up  yesterday  afternoon,  immediately  upon 
being  notified  of  the  suspension  of  the  four  officers  in  my 
department.  I  determined  if  this  course  was  to  be  pur 
sued  against  federal  employes  unaer  me  I  would  not  by 
imputation  be  misunderstood  or  placed  in  any  uncertain 
position.  I  therefore  wrote  to  Mr  Henry  last  night 
telling  him  that  I  could  no  longer  interest  myself  in 
his  candidacy,  and  askinghim  to  call  upon  me  when 
1  would  explain  my  position  more  in  detail.”— PAtl- 
adelphia  dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  January  10. 

*  *  * 

The  result  of  Senator  Quay’s  talk  with  the  Presi¬ 
dent  last  Friday  is  now  known.  He  was  turned 
down  and  can  get  no  .satisfaction  from  the  President. 
His  farce  comedy  protests  against  the  use  of  the  fed¬ 
eral  officials  to  forward  the  political  fortunes  of  the 
administration  were  received  with  an  icy  smile  by 
the  President,  but  otherwise  went  unheeded.  Mr. 
Harrison  seems  to  have  had  no  terms  to  offer  the 
Pennsylvania  senator.  He  was  in  no  mood  to  make 
a  compromise.  Under  the  circumstances  he  felt  that 
the  only  thing  for  Quay  was  to  make  a  complete  sur¬ 
render.  As  the  President  has  recently  pointed  to  gentle¬ 
men  who  called  on  him  in  regard  to  Pennsylvania  affairs, 
the  administration  has  done  everything  up  to  the  present 
lime  that  Quay  has  asked.  He  has  controlled  the  appoint¬ 
ments  in  Penrmjlvania.  He  has  got  many  of  his  friends 
and  henchmen  into  the  departments  in  Washington,  and 
friends  of  his  have  been  given  fat  places  in  other  branches 
of  the  public  service.  In  spite  of  all  this  Quay  has  missed 
no  opportunity  to  show  his  contempt  for  Harrison  and 
his  administration,  and  of  late  he  has  been  openly  antag¬ 
onizing  Harrison's  renomination.  At  the  same  time 
he  has  gone  on  urging  the  appointment  of  his  man 
Graham  to  the  revenue  collectorship  at  Pittsburgh. 
All  went  well  as  long  as  the  President  contented 
himself  with  simply  “  turning  down  ”  Quay’s  re¬ 
quests,  but  when  Mr.  Harrison  buckled  on  his  armor 
and  took  up  the  cudgel  in  his  own  behalf  by  striking 
back  at  Quay’s  official  friends  in  Philadelphia  who 
did  not  bow  obeisance  to  his  dictates.  Quay  grew  an¬ 
gry.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Philadelphia  Times,  Jan. 
13. 

*  *  * 

There  were  many  smiling  faces  in  the  rooms  of 
the  republican  city  committee  last  night.  The  ward 
combine  had  captured  almost  everything  its  mem¬ 
bers  wanted  and  the  fact  that  their  victory  had  been 
gained  by  the  most  outrageously  fraudulent  meth¬ 
ods  did  not  detract  one  jot  from  the  keen  enjoyment 
of  the  organization.  All  the  leaders  were  on  hand 
and  when  United  States  Marshal  Leeds,  fresh  from 
the  scene  of  his  crushing  defeat  in  the  second  con¬ 
gressional  district,  strolled  in  with  the  returns  from 
his  own  ward  and  looking  crestfallen,  there  were 
many  unkind  whispers  about  the  rain  and  the  val¬ 
iant  marshal’s  cherished  whiskers. 

The  Harrison  forces  w^re  routed  at  every  point. 
Policemen,  firemen  and  city  employes  of  every  de¬ 
gree,  had  obeyed  the  orders  of  the  combine,  and  by 
main  force  controlled  the  polls  in  the  eighth,  ninth, 
tenth,  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  twentieth  wards, 
where  Leeds  were  fighting  against  terrific  odds.  In 
many  instances  they  took  possession  of  the  voting 
places,  inside  and  out,  and  the  Leeds  men  had  prac¬ 
tically  no  earthly  chance.  The  same  tactics  were 
used  in  the  up-iown  wards,  and  David  Martin’s 
faithful  henchmen  gave  the  followers  of  Charles  W. 
Henry  but  little  show. 

’I'  *  In  the  twelfth  division  of  the  fourteenth, 
John  Lacey,  who  resigned  from  the  police  force  and 
was  placed  in  '.he  custom  house  in  order  to  work  for 
Leeds,  was  defeated  by  about  fifty  votes. 

Despite  the  plucky  fight  made  in  behalf  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison,  by  Ex-Councilman  C.  W.  Henry,  he 
was  heavily  outvoted.  The  police  and  fireman  were 
openly  against  him,  and  the  hundreds  of  city  em¬ 
ployes  who  live  in  his  district  sturdily  stuck  up  for 
the  combine,  and  literally  snowed  the  twenty-sec¬ 
ond  ward  man  under.  Internal  Revenue  Collector 
Brooks  was  unable  to  carry  his  own  division  for 
Henry,  while  Naval  Officer  Tom  Powers,  made  a 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


301 


splendid  showing  in  his  ward.  John  Keller,  a  cus¬ 
tom  house  man,  turned  in  his  division,  the  seventh 
of  the  eighteenth  ward,  for  Henry,  and  the  Quay 
men  took  everything  else.— PhiladeljMa  Time-s,  Jan¬ 
uary  13. 

<c  i;i 

It  was  announced  to-day  that  Senator  Quay  had 
finally  determined  to  oppose  the  present  administra¬ 
tion,  and  that  he  would  do  so  by  offering  a  resolution 
charging  that  federal  officers  had  recently  "interfered 
with  the  polities  of  Pennsulvania,"  and  directing  that 
the  senate  committee  on  reform  in  the  civil  service  should 
make  an  investigation  "for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
to  what  extent  federal  officers  have  interfered  with  the 
primaries  and  conventions." 

Senator  Quay  is  simply  angry  with  the  present  ad¬ 
ministration  because  President  Harrison  has  not 
taken  up  his  fights  in  Pennsyivanla  and  made  them 
his  own  party  quarrels  and  personal  strifes.  For 
many  months  after  the  inauguration  of  1889,  President 
Harrison  recognized  the  requests  of  Senator  Quay  for  po¬ 
litical  appointments,  and  in  every  way  possible  tried  to 
show  his  appreciation  of  the  senator's  party  services." 
Finallv  the  latter’s  course  in  and  out  of  congress 
drew  him  into  many  embarrasing  personal  and  po¬ 
litical  complications,  which  resulted  in  a  division 
of  the  republican  party  in  the  state,  and  a  bitter 
personal  strife.  Naturally,  the  President  did  not  feel 
that  the  personal  affairs  of  Senator  Quay  or  any 
other  person  should  be  the  guiding  star  of  federal 
affairs  within  any  state,  and  while  he  has  practically 
brought  about  a  standstill  in  Pennsylvania’s  federal 
allotments,  it  can  not  be  truthfully  said,  as  is  charg¬ 
ed  by  Senator  Quay,  that  the  President  has  in  any 
way  used  the  federal  patronage  or  his  preroga¬ 
tives  to  destroy  the  senator’s  political  influence.— 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  15. 


IN  OHIO. 

The  one  important  event  of  the  day  has 
been  the  general  protest  of  Mr.  Foraker’s 
friends  against  the  alleged  interference  of  the 
office-holders  of  the  national  administration  in 
the  interest  of  Senator  Sherman.  Congress¬ 
man  Enochs,  of  the  twelfth  district,  and  Wm. 
Binkley,  of  Sidney,  have  both  taken  occasion 
to  criticise  this  influence.  Mr.  Binkley,  who 
is  one  of  Mr.  Foraker’s  leading  managers,  is 
particularly  severe.  “It  is  simply  outrageous,” 
said  he,  to-day,  “  that  this  army  of  federal  of¬ 
fice  holders  should  invade  Columbus  and  at¬ 
tempt  to  dictate  the  senaiorship.  It  is  a 
shame  upon  our  citizenship  that  the  national 
administraiion  should  lend  its  influence  to  a 
state  affair  of  this  kind  and  permit  all  the  ap¬ 
pointees  to  come  here  under  government  pry 
and  take  a  hand  in  the  matter.  The  disposi 
tion  of  all  the  local  federal  appointments  in 
this  state  has  been  under  a  referee  system. 
Senator  Sherman  appointing  the  referee  in 
each  locality  and  that  man  dictating  the  ap¬ 
pointments  in  his  section  of  the  state.  To-day 
we  find  these  referees  and  all  the  men  who 
have  profiled  under  their  appointments  here 
working  for  Sherman’s  re-election.  These 
men  are  reinforced  by  a  multitude  of  office¬ 
holders  from  Washington  until  there  are  three 
or  four  federal  office-holders  on  the  ground  to 
every  member  of  the  general  assembly.” 

A  visit  to  Senator  Sherman’s  headquaiters 
found  his  followers  confident  of  success  and 
di.sjjosed  to  make  merry  over  the  complaints 
of  Governor  Foraker’s  friends  of  the  impropri¬ 
ety  of  office-holders  expressing  their  personal 
preferences  in  the  contest  “  The  friends  of 
Governor  Foraker  complain,  Senator,  that  un¬ 
due  outside  influences  are  being  exerted  in 
your  behalf,  and  point  particul  irly  to  the  ar¬ 
ray  of  federal  office-holders  who  are  working 
in  your  interest.  Have  you  anything  to  say  to 
this?”  “I  can  only  say,”  replied  the  Senator, 
“  that  all  the  former  office-holders  under  Gov¬ 
ernor  Foraker  are  for  him  also.  Nearly  ev¬ 
erybody  that  ever  served  under  him  seems  to 
be  laboring  in  his  behalf.  I  don’t  see  that 


there  is  any  difference  in  this  respect.” — Colum¬ 
bus  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  i. 

ill  *  * 

The  Sherman  men  are  making  the  argu¬ 
ment  that  the  newspapers  are  a  reflection  of 
public  sentiment,  and  that  a  great  many 
papers  favoring  the  return  of  Mr.  Sher¬ 
man  to  the  United  States  Senate,  the  senti¬ 
ment  of  the  people  must  be  for  his  election. 
The  fact  is,  that  the  most  influential  papers 
of  the  state  are  championing  the  cause  of  ex- 
G  ivernor  Foraker.  If  from  the  list  of  Sherman 
papers  are  taken  those  which  owe  official  pre¬ 
ferment  to  him,  the  remainder,  representing  his 
free,  untrammeled  support  will  be  sadly  small. 

The  postmaster  and  revenue  collector  edi¬ 
tors,  who  are  earning  their  salaries,  are  nu¬ 
merous  enough.  A  list  of  the  papers  support¬ 
ing  Senator  Sherman’s  candidacy  has  been  pub¬ 
lished.  Among  them  are  to  be  found  those 
mentioned  hereafter : 

The  Cincinnati  Times  Star  is  edited  by  Mr.  Taft, 
whose  father  was  minister  to  both  Austria  and  Rus¬ 
sia,  and  whose  brotheris  now  solicitor  general  of  the 
United  States. 

Charles  P.  Johnson,  managing  editor  of  the  Cincin¬ 
nati  Volksblalt.  was  appointed  consul-general  at 
Frankfort-on-the  Main. 

Thomas  H.  Beers,  editorof  the  Ashland  Gazette,  was 
late  supervisor  of  the  census. 

T.  J.  Howells,  editor  of  the  Ashtabula  Sentinel,  is 
postmaster  at  Jeffersen. 

W.  Ij.  Hunt,  editor  of  the  Belmont  Chronicle,  is  post¬ 
master  at  St.  Clairsville,  and  was  formerly  a  super¬ 
visor  of  the  census. 

John  Hopley,  editorof  the  Bucyrus  Journal,  is  post¬ 
master  at  Bucyrus. 

A  son  of  the  editor  of  the  Delaware  Gazette  has  for 
many  years  held  official  position  at  Washington. 

J.  O.  Converse,  editor  of  the  Geauga  Republican, 
is  postmaster  at  Chardon. 

D.  D.  Taylor,  editor  of  the  Guernsey  Times,  was  for 
twelve  years  postmaster  at  Cambridge,  and  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  his  brother,  who  has  held  the  place  ever 
since. 

Geo.  U.  Harn,  editor  of  the  Mansfield  Herald,  was 
appointed  one  year  ago,  through  Senator  Sherman, 
as  sugar  inspector. 

E.  R.  Alderman,  editor  of  the  Marietta  Register,  is 
postmaster  at  Marietta. 

Mr.  Iches.  associate  editor  of  the  Newark  American, 
is  postmaster  at  Newark,  and  his  partner,  Captain 
Wm.  C.  Lyon,  was  postmaster  before  htm. 

D  L  Flickinger,  brother  of  the  editor  of  the  Ohio 
State  Journal,  is  statistical  agent  for  Ohio,  a  position 
secured  by  S.  J.  Flickinger,  the  editor,  by  applica¬ 
tion  made  through  Senator  Sherman. 

Mr.  Marlin,  editor  of  the  Ottawa  Gazette  is  post¬ 
master  at  Port  Clinton,  and  is  said  to  be  the  only 
Sherman  man  in  the  town. 

The  editor  of  the  Painesville  Telegraph  is  postmaster 
at  Painesville. 

D.  J.  Richards,  editor  of  the  Zanesville  Times- 
Recorder,  was  made  postmaster  at  Zanesville. 

F.  S.  Purcell,  editor  of  the  Jjogan  ^Republican,  is 
postmaster  at  Logan. 

Pietro  Cuneo  of  the  Wyandot  Union  is  postmaster 
at  Upper  Sandusky. 

The  editor  of  the  Pike  County  Republican  is  post¬ 
master  at  Waverly. 

The  late  editorof  the  Circleville  Union- Herald  vf as 
appointed  postmaster  at  Circleville. 

The  late  editorof  the  McConnelsville  Herald  was  ap¬ 
pointed  internal  revenue  agent. 

One  of  the  owners  of  the  Sidney  Gazette  is  post¬ 
master  at  Sidney. 

One  of  the  editors  of  the  HohnesCounty  Republican,  is 
postmaster  at  Millersburg. 

C.  L.  Poorman.  editor  of  the  BeVaire  Tribune,  was 
appointed  to  office  through  Senaior  Sherman,  hut 
resigned. 

The  editor  of  the  Youngstown  Telegraph,  is  a  broth¬ 


er  of  E  J.  Halford,  private  secretary  of  President 
Harrison. 

Geo.  A.  Keepers,  editor  of  ihe  Monroe  Gazette,  is 
postmaster  at  Beallsvilie. 

The  editor  of  the  Marion  Independent  has  a  son 
holding  official  position  in  Washington. 

A  son  of  editor  Tripp,  of  Carrollton,  is  postmaster 
at  that  place,  and  the  father's  paper  is  a  Sherman 
organ. 

General  C.  H.  Grosvenor  is  a  World’s  Fair  commis¬ 
sioner,  and  the  Athens  Herald  is  for  Sherman. 

Several  relatives  of  Editor  Bickham,  of  the  Dayton 
Journal,  hold  federal  places. 

It  is  .said  that  Secretary  Foster  is  interested  in  the 
Toledo  Commercial. 

It  is  not  hard  to  understand  after  the  above  state¬ 
ment,  why  Senator  Sherman  has  a  considerable 
newspaper  support.— ColMBibus  Hfspafc/i  to  Cincinnati 
Commercial-  Gazette,  December  9. 

*  *  * 

Mansfield  News,  owned  by  W.  S.  Cappeler,  ap¬ 
pointed  railroad  commisssoner  by  Gov.  Foraker. 

Ml.  Vernon  Republican,  edited  and  owned  in  part 
by  Col.  Charles  Baldwin,  appointed  penitentiary 
manager  by  Gov.  Foraker ;  also  a  member  of  the 
governor  s  staff. 

Zanesville  Sunday  Neivs,  owned  and  edited  by 
Charles  U.  Shryock,  appointed  member  of  the  Zanes¬ 
ville  board  of  elections  by  Gov.  Foraker. 

Columbus  Express  and  Sonntagsgast,  edited  and  con¬ 
trolled  by  L.  Hir.sch,  appointed  supervisor  of  public 
printing  by  Gov.  Foraker. 

Toledo  News,  edited  and  controlled  by  A.  D.  Fassett, 
appointed  commissioner  of  labor  statistics  by  Gov. 
Foraker. 

Zanesville  Courier,  edited  by  R.  B.  Brown,  appointed 
trustee  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors’  home  at  Sandu.sky 
by  Gov.  Foraker. 

Ironton  Register,  edited  by  Edward  Wilson,  brother 
of  Col.  Henry  D,  Wilson,  appointed  on  the  staff  by 
Gov.  Foraker. 

New  Philadelphia  Advocate,  edited  by  W.  J.  McEl- 
vaine,  who  received  recognition  during  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  Gov.  Foraker. 

Scioto  Gazette,  edited  by  Gen.  S.  H.  Hurst,  appointed 
dairy  and  food  commissioner  by  Gov.  Foraker. 

There  are  doubtless  others  of  the  same  sort, 
but  these  are  enough  to  show  that  Governor 
Foraker’s  friends  are  subject  to  the  same 
charge  that  they  make  against  Sherman’s 
friends.  It  would  also  be  interesting  to  con¬ 
tinue  the  analysis,  and  disclose  the  number  of 
Foraker  advocates  who  are  such  simply  be¬ 
cause  they  have  a  grievance  against  Sherman. 
One  of  these  is  A.  B.  Clark,  editor  of  the 
Newark  Ttibune  and  Granville  Times,  who 
wanted  to  be  postmaster  at  Newark  when 
Capt.  W.  C.  Lyon  was  appointed.  Another 
IS  C.  E.  M.  Jennings,  of  the  Athens  Messenger, 
who  blames  Sherman  for  endorsing  Grosvenor’s 
recommendation  of  Wood,  of  Athens,  for  cen¬ 
sus  supervisor  when  he  (Jennings)  wanted  the 
place.  These  are  only  samples,  but  they  help 
to  show  that,  if  motives  are  to  be  subjected 
to  scrutiny  and  analysis,  the  Foraker  men 
will  suffer  with  the  rest.  The  sword  is 
two-edged.  —  Columbus  Sunday  Morning  News, 
December  6. 

•  *  * 

How  did  Sherman  come  so  near  to  failure 
and  Foraker  so  near  to  succ  ss?  The  question 
is  fully  answered  in  a  remarkable  reviewof  the 
senatorial  controversy  which  has  just  been 
published  by  Gen.  H  V.  Boynton,  the  vete¬ 
ran  and  well  known  Washington  correspond¬ 
ent,  whose  sturdy  republicanism,  high  per¬ 
sonal  character,  and  intimate  knowledge  of 
Ohio  politics  entitle  him  to  spe  k  with  author¬ 
ity.  The  explanation  of  the  mystery  is  found 
in  the  existence  of  “  a  republican  Tammany 
organization  in  Hamilton  county  [Cincin¬ 
nati],”  which  General  Boynton  characterizes 
as  “of  a  lower  order  of  political  morality  and 
worse  than  any  similar  organization  in  either 
party  anwhere  else  in  the  United  States.” 
The  Evening  Post  has  more  than  once  of  late 


302 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


years  referred  to  this  republican  machine  in 
Cincinnati,  but  we  have  never  before  seen  it 
so  clearly  and  fully  described.  As  a  study  in 
municijial  government,  and  as  an  example  of 
the  baneful  influences  which  a  city  ring  may 
exert  upon  slate  and  even  national  politics. 
General  Boynton’s  statement  merits  the  closest 
attention. 

“The  boss  of  this  Cincinnati  Tammany,” 
he  says,  “is  George  Cox,  an  illiterate  saloon¬ 
keeper  of  one  of  the  most  notorious  dives  in 
the  most  notorious  part  of  the  city,  known  as 
‘Dead  Man’s  Corner,’  because  of  the  many 
murders  committed  in  and  about  it.  It  has 
had  a  gambling-house  attachment  and  a  depart¬ 
ment  devoted  to  even  viler  uses.”  It  was  while 
running  this  saloon  ihat  Cox  entered  politics, 
and  he  soon  became  a  power  in  city  affairs. 
A  fellow-feeling  drew  Cox  and  Foraker  to¬ 
gether,  when  the  latter  came  to  the  front  ten 
years  ago,  and  they  have  been  hand-and-glove 
ever  since.  When  Foraker  became  Governor, 
he  appointed  Cox  to  the  lucrative  sinecure  of 
coal-oil  inspector,  and  the  saloon  keeper  went 
through  the  form,  so  familiar  in  this  city,  of 
nominally  putting  the  establishment  out  of  his 
own  hands  and  into  the  handi  of  his  former 
barkeeper.  It  is  this  man  Cox  who  was  “the 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  Foraker  forces, 
and  without  his  countenance  the  governor 
would  have  had  no  chance  of  success.”  The 
second  in  command  in  this  republican  Tam¬ 
many  is  a  confidence  man,  who  deals  in  bogus 
remedies  for  the  alleged  cure  of  consumption — 
a  person  who  has  no  standing  among  Cincin¬ 
nati  physicians,  and  who  advertises  only  at  a 
distance,  manufacturing  his  worthless  stuff  by 
the  barrel  for  sixteen  cents  a  quart,  and  selling 
it  to  gullible  invalids  all  over  the  country  at 
five  dollars  a  quart.  He,  loo,  early  became  a 
favorite  of  Foraker’s,  and  was  appointed  to 
office  by  the  governor. 

So  absolute  has  become  Cox’s  control  that 
Gen.  Boynton  declares  it  to  be  “now  impos¬ 
sible  for  any  aspirant  to  be  nominated  by  the 
county  republican  convention  in  the  city  unless 
he  first  seeks  out  the  local  boss  and  pays  him 
spot  cash” — save  where  it  happens  that  he 
deems  it  discreet  to  allow  a  few  representatives 
ot  decent  politics  to  go  on  the  ticket  to  allay 
the  suspicions  of  the  body  of  honest  voters. 
The  way  in  which  Cox  “set  up  the  pins”  for 
his  pal  Foraker  is  thus  described  ; 

“  In  the  last  campaign  the  candidates  as  a  body, 
from  th'ise  aspiring  to  ihe  legislature  to  those  seek 
ing  judicial  nominations,  were  obliged  to  visit  this 
boss  at  his  headquarters  and  pay  in  advance.  The 
sums  ranged  from  $200  up  to  $2,000.  As  an  example, 
the  cash  price  paid  for  nomination  as  sheriff 
was  $2,000,  and  Immediately  after  the  election  the  boss 
cooly  demanded  that  he  allowed  to  name  sixteen 
out  of  the  twenty-one  appointments  in  the  sheriffs 
office.  Every  man  on  the  Hamilton  county  republi¬ 
can  legislative  ticket,  without  an  exception,  was  se¬ 
lected  in  advance  by  this  boss,  George  Cox.  Doubt¬ 
less  this  will  seem  amazing,  but  it  is  true,  without  a 
qualification.” 

This  is  the  way  it  was  done  ;  Shortly  be¬ 
fore  the  convention,  Cox  called  on  the  post¬ 
master  and  collector  (both  Sherman  men)  with 
a  list  of  five  names  as  his  personal  choxe  for 
the  legislative  ticket,  and  asked  them  to  select 
eight  from  another  list  of  sixteen,  all  of  whom 
were  represented  by  him,  and  believed  by  the 
postmaster  and  collector  to  be  for  Sherman, 
this  concession  being  due  to  the  unquestion- 
b  e  fact  that  the  republicans  of  the  city  were 
overwhelmingly  for  Sherman  and  against  For¬ 
aker.  Eight  names  were  accordingly  selected 
from  the  sixteen,  but  the  thing  turned  out 
to  be  a  confidence  game  on  Cox’.s  part.. 
“Every  man  of  the  sixteen,  as  is  now  known, 
had  made  his  pecuniary  and  political  peace 
with  Cox,  and  the  latter  had  taken  a  pledge 
from  each  one  in  advance  that,  in  case  of  nom¬ 


ination  and  election,  he  would  do  such  a  favor 
for  Cox  as  the  lat'er  might  name.  So  strong 
was  his  pledge  that  those  who  knew  of  it 
among  Cox’s  press  supporters  made  bold  to 
announce,  in  double  leads,  the  morning  after 
election,  and  before  a  man  of  those  elected  had 
been  consulted,  that  the  Hamilton  county  dele¬ 
gation  was  solid  for  Foraker  for  senator  to 
succeed  John  Sherman.’  — New  York  Evening 
Post,  yanuary  7. 


IN  INDIANA. 

— Editor  Wheeler  will  be  the  next  postmaster 

at  Crown  Point,  Ind. 

«  .1! 

The  anti-Blaine  element  and  administration 
supporters  held  a  second  conference  here  last 
night.  A  large  crowd  of  the  faithtul  from  all 
parts  of  the  state  were  here.  There  was  a 
good  sprinkling  of  postmasters  and  revenue 
collectors,  and  the  seventh  district  was  espe¬ 
cially  well  represented.  They  were  here  to 
prepare  plans  for  opposing  the  anti-Harrison- 
ites  next  month  when  the  election  of  the 
central  committee  takes  place. 

The  rivalry  between  the  two  factions  threat¬ 
ens  to  break  out  in  open  warfare  long.  The 
anti- Harrison  men  claim  that  Harrison  tried 
to  take  the  breeze  out  of  their  sails  in  the 
Jeffersonville  district  by  apppinting  one  of 
their  number  a  collector  at  that  point.  They 
also  say  they  are  perfectly  willing  to  furnish 
office-holders  enough  to  take  all  the  wind  out 
of  their  canvass,  if  it  can  be  done  by  ap¬ 
pointments.  The  postmasters  in  a  meeting 
here  some  time  ago  decided  to  sit  on  the  fence 
during  the  political  row,  but  their  actions  last 
night  were  in  direct  opposition  to  that  deci¬ 
sion.— dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
December  24. 

*  *  * 

A  bitter  fight  for  supremacy  is  being 
waged  in  this,  the  twelfth  congressional  district 
of  Indiana,  between  the  Harrison  and  anti-Har¬ 
rison  factions. 

The  leader  of  the  antis  is  Mayor  G.  W.  Wil¬ 
son,  of  this  city,  a  member  of  the  governor’s 
staff.  He  represents  the  young  republicans  of 
the  district,  and  his  platform  is  anything  to 
beat  Harrison.  He  is  opposed  by  Harry  C. 
Hanna,  a  young  attorney,  who  is  an  intimate 
friend  of  Postmaster  Higgins,  who  is  counted 
for  the  administration.  Wilson  is  immensrly 
popular,  and  as  90  per  cent,  of  the  republicans 
in  this  district  are  original  Gresham  or  Blaine 
men,  and  with  the  leading  republican  papers  of 
this  city  openly  fighting  Harrison,  the  chances 
for  the  administration  candidate  are  slim  indeed. 
In  this  extremity  Postmaster  Higgins  sought 
advice  from  Washington,  and  the  answer  came 
promptly.  It  was  in  the  shape  of  an  order  to 
assess  the  federal  office-h<  Iders  in  this  dis¬ 
trict  to  the  tune  of  $2,500,  and  to  spend  this 
money  where  it  would  do  the  administration 
the  most  good.  Mayor  Wilson  was  not  slow 
in  discovering  the  facts,  and  is  using  the  in¬ 
formation  to  good  advantage. 

It  is  said  that  several  of  the  post  office  em¬ 
ployes  refused  to  pay  the  assessments,  and  sav 
they  will  resign  rather  than  be  mulcted  of  half 
a  month’s  salary.  Postmaster  Higgins,  when 
asked  about  the  truth  of  the  report,  refused  to 
talk.  A  district  convention  has  been  called  by 
the  republicans  for  the  9th  of  January,  to  meet 
in  this  city,  when  the  fight  will  be  settled  — 
Fort  Wayne  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  De¬ 
cember  24. 

*  *  * 

The  Harrison  republicans  are  very  active  all 
over  the  state  putting  the  machine  in  shape  to 
capture  the  new  state  central  committee  next 
week.  Dan  Ransdell,  marshal  for  the  Dis¬ 
trict  of  Columbia,  is  now  “  fixing  ”  the  Ninth 
district.  He  was  at  Lebonon  and  Frankfort 
Saturday.  The  anti-Harrison  men  are  very 


active,  also.  In  the  Evansville,  Terre  Haut^ 
Fort  Wayne  and  Kankakee  districts  the  “an¬ 
tis”  could  elect  committeemen  without  trouble 
if  ihey  could  agree  among  themselves.  In  ihe 
Fort  Wayne  district,  where  there  are  no  Har¬ 
rison  republicans  outside  of  the  office-holding 
class,  half  a  dozen  “antis”  are  running  for 
committeemen.  It  is  said  that  the  Harrison 
managers  have  been  scheming  for  some  time 
to  induce  at  least  two  “antis”  from  each  coun¬ 
ty  to  come  out  for  committeemen.  In  many 
counties  alleged  “antis”  are  doing  fine  work 
for  Harrison  under  the  direction  of  Dan  Rans¬ 
dell.  The  Fourth  district  is  about  evenly  di¬ 
vided,  but  Internal  Revenue  Collector  John 
O  Cravens  and  his  numeroTis  deputies,  to¬ 
gether  with  the  distilleries  at  Lawrenceburg 
and  the  postmasters,  will  pull  Chairman  Gow- 
dy  through  for  re-election  as  committeeman. 
Gowdy  lives  in  Rush,  which  is  now  in  the  new 
Fourth. 

The  New  Albany  district  is  .slightly  anti- 
Harrison,  but  the  posi masters,  who  generally 
run  country  stores,  have  a  big  pull  with  the 
republican  ex-soldiers  from  the  fact  that  they 
sell  their  goods  on  the  “  trust  system”  until 
“next  pension  day.” 

U.  S  District  Attorney  Smiley  N.  Chambers 
can  be  relied  upon  to  “fix”  the  Second,  or 
Vincennes,  district,  for  Harrison  as  easily  as 
he  assisted  to  quash  the  thirty  indictments  for 
illegal  voting  in  Judge  Woods’  “  court.” — In¬ 
dianapolis  Sentinel,  December  28. 

*  *  * 

The  unpopularity  of  the  Harrison  adminis- 
stration  in  Marion  county,  was  fully  demon¬ 
strated  at  last  night’s  primaries  to  elect  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  district  convention  which  will  be 
held  January  21,  for  the  selection  of  a  state 
central  committeeman.  Although  the  game 
WBS  small,  the  contest  was  one  of  the  bitterest 
and  most  hotly  contested  in  the  history  of  re¬ 
publican  primaries  in  the  city.  From  early 
morning  the  federal  officers  of  high  and  low 
degree  were  out  hustling  and  spending 
“  boodle  ”  freely  among  the  boys.  Among 
those  who  were  out  during  the  day  setting  up 
the  pins,  were  Ed.  Thompson,  Al.  Moore, 
Billy  Patterson,  George  Harvey,  Dave  Wal- 
Dce,  Shel.  Woodward,  Oscar  Wilmington, 
Billy  Leonard  and  D  ck  Craft.  Among  the 
many  interesting  incidents  which  occured  last 
night  was  the  defeat  of  Otto  Gresham  for  del¬ 
egate  in  the  sixth  ward,  the  selection  of  Mar¬ 
tin  Moran,  recently  released  from  jail  under  a 
heavy  bond  for  attempting  to  murder  John 
Cain,  his  victim  still  lying  at  St.  Vincent  hos¬ 
pital  in  a  precarious  condition,  and  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  the  ward  heeler  Al.  Moore,  now  hold¬ 
ing  a  federal  position,  as  committeeman  in 
ward  eleven. — Indianapolis  Sentinel  yan.  10. 

*  *  * 

R.  C.  Bell  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  at  the 
Grand  Hotel  to-day.  He  told  a  News  reporter 
that  there  was  a  red-hot  canvass  on  at  Fort 
Wayne  over  the  election  of  a  member  of  the 
republican  state  committee.  “Billy”  Watson 
and  Editor  Leonard,  of  the  Gazette,  and  Cap- 
tein  White  are  manipulating  the  Blaine  forces 
against  the  administration  as  represented  by 
Postmaster  Higgins,  Colonel  Rober'son  and 
Judge  Taylor.  Senator  Bell  thinks  the  anti- 
administrationists  have  the  best  of  it. — Indian¬ 
apolis  News,  yanuaiy. 

*  *  * 

“Take,  for  instance,”  said  a  second  ward 
republican,  “Clint  Lowe,  ’Gene  Saulcy,  Al 
Moore,  Ed  Conway,  Bill  Davis,  George  Har¬ 
vey,  Ben  Bagley,  Marshall  Woods,  Ed  Nolan, 
‘Billy'  Patterson,  Ed  Thompson  and  others  I 
might  name.  They  are  doing  some  rapid  work 
crystallizing  things  for  the  Saturday  primaries. 
The  primaries  will  result  in  a  cut  and  dried 
slate — prepared  in  the  post-office.  Then  there  is 
Con  Kelley,  who  is  emigrant  inspector  at  Chi- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


303 


cago.  He  is  on  ‘  detail  duty  ’  here  and  he  has 
to  have  his  finger  in  the  pie.  These  individu¬ 
als  have  important  duties  theoretically,  and 
should  be  compelled  to  keep  hands  off  and  let 
the  rest  of  our  people  have  a  word  or  two  to 
say  in  selecting  the  delegates.” 

[Clint  Lowe,  P.  O.  Supt.,  Union  Station. 

'Gene  Saulcy,  Deputy  Coll.  Internal  Revenue. 

George  Harvey,  Deputy  Coll.  Internal  Revenue. 

Ed  Conway,  Deputy  U.  S.  Marshal. 

Marshall  Woods,  Post-office  clerk. 

Edward  Nolan,  Warehouseman  U.  S,  Customs. 

Billy  Patterson,  Supt.  of  Mails. 

Ed  Thompson,  Postmaster. 

A1  Moore,  Deputy  Th  S.  Marshal. 

Bill  Davis,  Post-office  clerk. 

— Indianapolis  News,  Jan.  7. 

*  *  * 

The  result  of  the  general  skirmish,  Satur¬ 
day,  between  the  Blaine  and  Harrison  repub¬ 
licans  in  Indiana  is  not  reassuring  to  the  ad¬ 
ministration  men.  In  the  fourth.  Chairman 
Gowdy,  with  the  assistance  of  Internal  Reve¬ 
nue  Collector  Cravens  and  deputies  of  Dear¬ 
born,  seems  to  have  captured  a  majority  of  the 
delegates.  In  this  city  the  post-office  gang 
and  the  “Slick  Six  ”  got  the  best  of  the  antis. 
Money  was  spent  freely  by  the  administration 
people  to  bring  out  the  vote.  One  man  alone 
was  paid  fifty  dollars  to  bring  a  gang  of  toughs 
to  the  sixth  ward  meeting,  where  the  antis 
were  defeated  by  thirty  votes.  Nearly  all  the 
federal  officers  were  out  working,  a  number 
being  elected  delegates.  In  the  fourth  ward 
Deputy  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Harvey 
presided.  Surveyor  of  Customs  Hildebrand 
was  denounced  by  the  gang  for  his  inactivity. 
The  federal  officers  not  only  managed  the  pri¬ 
maries  in  the  interest  of  Harrison,  but  when 
they  were  in  the  minority  they  held  “rump” 
meetings  after  the  reguUrs  had  adjourned  In 
the  fourth  ward  Collector  Harvey  declared  his 
set  elected  when  the  anti-Harrison  set  had  se¬ 
cured  a  majority  of  seventy-five  votes. — Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel,  Jan.  1 1 . 

*  *  * 

The  “  antis  ”  have  secured  absolute  proof 
that  in  all  the  large  cities  of  the  state,  assess¬ 
ments  were  levied  upon  the  mail  carriers  to 
raise  money  to  elect  Harrison  delegates.  A 
few  days  ago  the  Fort  Wayne  Gazette,  republi¬ 
can,  published  the  correspondence  between 
Chairman  Daugherty,  of  Allen  countv,  and 
his  son,  a  clerk  in  the  U.  S.  pension  office  in 
this  city.  Nicholas  Ensley,  the  pension  agent, 
comes  from  the  Twelfth  district,  and  was 
anxious  to  see  his  own  district  go  right.  He 
ordered  young  Daugherty  to  write  his  father 
that  he  must  call  the  election  by  primaries  in¬ 
stead  of  by  mass  convention.  Chairman 
Daugherty,  a  one-legged  soldier,  who  was  re¬ 
fused  the  post-office  to  provide  for  a  stay-at- 
home  republican,  is  an  “  anti,”  and  he  replied 
that  he  would  call  a  mass  convention.  The 
next  mail  brought  another  letter  from  his  son 
that  if  a  mass  convention  was  called  Ensley 
would  discharge  him.  R.  T.  McDonald,  who 
has  spent  more  money  for  the  success  of  the 
g.  o.  p.  than  all  the  republican  officeholders  of 
Fort  Wayne,  and  who  thoroughly  hates  Har¬ 
rison,  told  Chairman  Daugherty  to  go  ahead 
with  the  mass  convention  and  that  if  Ensley 
dared  to  discharge  the  young  man,  he  (Mc¬ 
Donald),  would  give  him  a  better  job  with  the 
Fort  Wayne  electric  light  works,  of  which  he 
is  the  general  manager, — Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
lanuary  19. 


IN  NEW  YORK. 

The  bouncing  of  Postmaster  Flood  would 
not  have  occasioned  so  much  surprise  last 
summer  as  it  does  now,  for  ever  since  his  ap¬ 
pointment  he  has  been  apprised  that  a  pickle 
was  in  store  for  him  should  the  time  ever  come  j 


I  to  use  it.  But  when  Mr.  Fassett  was  made  col- 
I  lector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  republicans 
]  generally  hoped  that  the  then  leader  of  the 
j  senate  would  bury  the  hatchet.  But  notwith- 
!  standing  that  Mr.  Fassett  was  highly  honored, 
j  he  did  not  forget  that  as  secretary  o‘  the 
national  committee  he  could  not  name  the  post¬ 
master  in  his  own  town,  and  evidently  smarted 
under  the  well-published  fact  that  ex-Congress- 
man  Thomas  S.  h'iood  outgenera'ed  him  in  the 
distribution  of  the  spoils.  That  there  was  a 
feeling  not  less  than  a  factional  tug  of  war  be¬ 
came  more  and  more  apparent  day  by  day,  and 
I  the  strain  continued  until  the  holding  of  the 
1  caucuses  last  fall,  when  Mr.  Fassett  secured 
control  of  the  county  conve'-tion.  How  that 
was  done  is  also  a  matter  of  record.  There 
were  several  contesting  delegations;  dual  con¬ 
ventions  were  held,  and  the  matter  was  finally 
disposed  of  at  the  state  convention,  the  Flood 
men  not  receiving  the  slightest  recognition. 

Dr  Flood  has  been  aware  for  a  long  time 
that  government  officials  were  sent  here  to 
trump  up  a  case  against  him  on  any  pretext, 
no  matter  how  slight;  but  he  also  knew  that 
the  office  had  been  honestly  conducted,  that 
the  complaints  were  less  than  during  any  of 
his  predecessors’  terms  of  office,  and  he  there¬ 
fore  feit  sure  that  his  tenure  of  office  would  be 
measured  by  at  least  a  full  term. 

Finally  a  case  was  made  against  Postmaster 
Flood.  It  was  mainly  to  the  effect  that  he  did 
not  devote  personal  attention  to  the  office,  not 
being  there  more  than  one  hour  a  day  some 
days.  In  speaking  of  the  charges  Dr.  Flood 
said;  “Of  course  you  know  the  so-called 
charges  preferred  against  me  were  all  nonsense 
and  without  any  foundation  whatever.  They 
were  merely  a  pretext  for  my  removal.  I  will 
say  one  thing,  and  I  can  say  it  with  a  feeling 
of  pride,  and  that  is  that  the  Elmira  postoffice 
will  compare  favorably  with  any  office  of  its 
size  in  the  state,  and  I  have  its  affairs  in  such 
perfect  order  that  I  have  always  been  ready 
to  turn  the  office  over  to  a  successor  with¬ 
in  sixty  seconds  and  everything  be  found  all 
right.” 

In  regard  to  the  charge  of  spending  only  one 
hour  a  day  in  the  office,  Mr.  Flood  said  :  “That 
is  false  and  is  a  mere  pretext.  Every  day  I 
personally  opened  all  the  post-office  mail,  super¬ 
intended  the  business,  mapped  out  the  work, 
and,  besides,  I  did  a  great  deal  of  labor  at  my 
house,  where  I  employed  a  typewriter  at  my 
own  expense,  who  worked  almost  exclusively 
on  post-office  matters,” 

“During  the  June  and  September  floods,” 
he  continued,  “I  worked  night  and  day  to  give 
the  people  good  service,  and  I  think  I  have  no 
reason  to  be  ashamed  of  my  official  steward¬ 
ship,  In  fact,  the  whole  trouble  grew  out  of 
a  deal  between  Tom  Platt  and  Mr.  Harrison. 
It  was  consummated  at  the  time  when  Fassett 
was  appointed  Collector  of  the  port  of  New 
York. — Elmira  Dispatch  to  New  Yoik  Times, 
December  26, 

4;  « 

There  is  a  possibility  that  the  plan  of  Mr. 
J.  Sloat  h'assett  of  Elmira,  to  disgrace  his  po¬ 
litical  foe.  Dr,  Henry  Flood  of  the  same  city, 
will  come  to  naught.  Dr.  Flood  was  recently 
removed  from  the  office  of  postmaster  of  El¬ 
mira,  and  Lewis  G.  Rathbun  was  appointed  in 
his  place.  Everybody  in  Elmira  knew  at  the 
time  that  politics  alone  was  at  the  bottom  of 
the  doctor’s  removal.  Against  him  Fassett 
has  borne  a  grudge  for  a  long  time.  Before 
the  last  state  convention  in  New  York,  when 
Fassett  was  nominated  for  Governor,  Dr. 
Flood  had  been  threatened  with  removal. 
Fassett  held  the  threat  over  him  in  the  hope 
that  it  would  be  the  means  of  disarming  the 
opposition  of  Flood  and  his  numerous  friends. 
After  Fassett  received  his  crushing  defeat  he 
prepared  to  make  good  his  threat  against 
P’lood.  Just  before  the  beginning  of  the  holi¬ 


day  adjournment  of  congress  he  sprang  his 
mine.  A  posroffice  inspector  appeared  at  the 
Elmira  postoffice  and  made  a  hunied  report; 
then  Flood  received  notice  of  his  removfl. 
No  reason  whatever  was  given  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent  or  by  the  postmaster  general  for  the 
action.  Dr.  Flood  did  not  propose  to  submit 
quietly.  He  sent  this  letter  to  Mr,  Wana- 
maker : 

Elmira,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  25,  1891. 

To  Postmaster  General: 

Sir:  The  associated  press  dispatches  report 
that  Mr.  L.  G.  Rathbun’s  name  has  been  sent 
to  the  senate  for  confirmation  as  postmaster  at 
Elmira,  N.  Y.  I  an  informed  from  outside 
sources  that  there  are  charges  on  file  in  your 
office;  also  that  there  is  an  inspector’s  report. 
You  have  not  informed  me  of  such  charges  or 
inspector’s  report,  nor  have  you  given  me  an 
opportunity  to  be  heard.  I  respectfully  re¬ 
quest  and  demand  that  a  copy  of  all  charges 
and  the  inspector’s  report  (complete),  be  sent 
to  me  by  return  mail.  Yours  respectfully, 
Henry  Flood,  Pos  master. 

Six  days  later  Dr.  Flood  received  this  letter: 

Office  of  the  Posi  master-Gfneral,  j 
Washington,  D.  C.,  Dec.  31,  1891.  j 
To  Henry  Flood,  Esq.,  Elmira,  N,  V,: 

Sir — In  answer  10  your  letter  received  on 
the  26th.  You  have  been  rightly  informed 
that  Mr.  Lewis  G.  Rathbun  has  been  appoint¬ 
ed  postmaster  at  Elmira,  and  that  you  have 
been  removed,  for  the  reason  that  you  were 
drawing  a  salary  of  $3, 100  while  giving  very 
little  personal  attention  to  the  duties  of  the  of¬ 
fice.  You  were  present,  during  a  part  of  the 
time  at  least,  when  the  inspector  visited  the 
office,  because  you  made  up  a  shortage  in  your 
accounts. 

Your  demand  for  a  copv  of  the  inspector’s 
report  can  not  be  complied  with,  because  this 
administration  adopted  the  course  laid  down 
by  President  Cleveland,  to  regard  such  reports 
as  confidential  papers,  and  to  neither  allow 
them  to  go  out  of  the  office  nor  to  permit  cop¬ 
ies  of  them  to  be  made.  Very  respectfully, 
John  Wanamaker,  Postmaster-General. 

The  reference  to  an  alleged  shortage  showed 
plainly  the  flimsy  ground  on  which  the  removal 
had  been  made.  Dr.  Flood  remembered  that 
at  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  post-office  inspec¬ 
tor,  Capt.  Brockway,  the  superintendent  of 
the  Elmira  Reformatory  owed  the  post-office 
$100  for  postage  stamps.  In  dealing  with  the 
reformatory  superintendent  it  has  been  the 
custom  of  the  Elmira  postmaster  to  permit  the 
stamp  account  to  run  a  few  days  to  accommo¬ 
date  the  system  of  auditing  accounts  which 
prevails  at  that  institution.  Stamps  might  be 
purchased  on  Monday  and  the  following  Sat¬ 
urday  payment  be  made.  This  custom  was 
probably  well  known  to  the  instigator  of  the 
investigation,  for  the  inspector  appeared  on  the 
scene  at  the  time  when  Capt.  Brockway  was 
in  arrears  for  stamps.  Dr.  Flood  made  good 
the  amount  due  the  office,  as  he  was  always 
prepared  to  do.  He  did  not  realize  at  the 
time  that  his  removal  would  be  brought  about 
on  the  basis  of  this  transaction. 

Since  the  doctor’s  removal,  his  friends  have 
been  very  active  in  his  behalf.  Fassett  has 
disclaimed  any  share  in  ousting  him,  but  the 
evidence  does  not  support  his  statement.  Har¬ 
rison  removed  Flood  to  satisfy  Fassett  and 
Platt.  Apparently  he  thought  that  he  could 
do  so,  without  calling  down  upon  himself  any 
adverse  criticisin.  He  now  finds  that  he  was 
mistaken.  Flood’s  friends  are  beginning  to 
make  life  unpleasant  for  him.  They  know 
that  the  removal  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
the  civil  service  system  and  are  impressing  that 
fact  upon  him.  He  seems  to  have  acted  on 
the  assumption  that  Platt  and  Fasset  were 
still  men  of  influence  in  New  York  state  poli¬ 
tics.  Gradually  the  fact  is  dawning  upon  him 


304 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


that  he  has  been  laboring  under  a  delusion. 
To-day  ex-Congressman  Flood,  of  Elmira,  the 
brother  of  Dr.  Flood,  and  ex  Assemblyman 
Toms  Van  Duzer,  the  postmaster  at  Horse- 
heads,  called  upon  the  President  and  protested 
against  the  outrage.  They  gave  him  facts  and 
figures  to  prove  that  they  understood  thor¬ 
oughly  the  reason  for  the  doctor’s  removal 
Mr.  Harrison  was  quite  gracious  at  first,  but 
soon  he  grew  very  nervous,  and  declared  that 
he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter.  Mr.  Wana- 
maker,  he  said,  was  responsible,  and  he  ad¬ 
vised  them  to  see  Wanamaker.  They  told  him 
of  Wanamaker’s  letter,  and  reiterated  the  de¬ 
mand  of  Dr.  Flood  to  be  confronted  with  the 
evidences  of  his  guilt,  if  any  there  were.  Mr, 
Harrison  tried  to  smooth  the  matter  over,  and 
finally  promised  to  see  Wanamaker  himself 
about  it.  He  referred  to  the  Chemung  county 
row,  and  asked  plaintively  why  it  could  not  be 
stopped. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  January  g. 

There  was  a  caucus  of  the  Goodrich  fol¬ 
lowers  in  the  Kings  county  republican  general 
committee  last  night  in  a  room  over  the  Crite¬ 
rion  Theatre,  Biooklyn.  The  object  was  to 
fix  up  a  slate  to  be  voted  for  by  the  delegates 
to  the  committee  meeting  on  Tuesday 
night.  State  Committeeman  Israel  F.  Fisch¬ 
er  presided  over  the  caucus,  which  was  at¬ 
tended  by  about  fifty  republicans,  among 
them  Naval  Officer  Willis,  Port  Warden 
Leavcraft.  This  ticket  had  no  sooner  been 
reported  than  Election  Commissioner  Cot¬ 
ton  stated  that  he  could  not  stand  by  Henry 
for  treasurer.  He  had  promised  to  vote  for 
James  W.  Birkett  for  that  office,  and  he  would 
keep  his  word.  Then  Joseph  Benjamin  gotnp 
and  protested  against  the  whole  ticket.  “Ii 
represents  the  one-man  power  that  has  con¬ 
trolled  us  for  three  years,”  he  said,  referring 
to  “  Boss  ”  Ernst  Nathan  [Internal  Revenue 
Collector]  “  and  the  people  over  our  way  are 
tired  of  it.  They  have  an  idea,  and  a  well 
settled  one,  that  this  one-man  power  is  too 
closely  allied  with  the  democracy.  If  you  elect 
this  ticket  the  sixteenth  ward  will  give  a  demo¬ 
cratic  majority  of  over  i,oco  next  November  ” 

Still  the  caucus  went  ahead  and  adopted  a 
resolution  pledging  its  support  to  the  ticket. 
This  means  250  out  of  392  delegates  to  the 
committee  on  Tuesday  night. — Ne^v  York  Times, 
January  lO. 

The  Kings  county  republican  general  committee 
held  its  usual  noisy  annual  meeting  last  evening  in 
the  Criterion  Theater,  Brooklyn,  and  the  Nathan 
faction  succeeded  in  electing  all  the  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year  and  in  retaining  control  of  the  organi¬ 
zation.  This  means  that  Harrison  delegates  will  be  sent 
to  the  next  national  convention  if  Nathan  can  bring  that 
event  to  pass.  It  required  half  an  hour  more  to  get 
rid  of  the  routine  business,  and  then  Henry  D.  Ham¬ 
ilton  of  the  twentieth  ward  rose  and  nominated  Mr. 
Goodrich  for  a  second  term  as  president.  This  was 
seconded  by  delegates  from  half  a  dozen  wards,  and 
James  M.  Fuller  tried  to  have  the  nomination  made 
by  acclamation,  but  there  were  cries  of  "  Don’t  cram 
him  down  our  throats.”  This  roused  Charles  B. 
Morton,  who  said  that  he  bore  no  ill  will  to  Mr. 
Goodrich,  but  that  he  felt  compelled  by  the  wretched 
condition  of  the  party  to  oppose  the  nomination  of 
any  more  Nathan  men  “  We  see  our  city  in  the 
handsof  the  democracy, ’’Mr.Morton  continued, “and 
we  want  to  know  the  cause  of  all  this.  The  men  who 
assume  to  rule  our  party  do  not  know  what  to  do. 
Self-assumed  leadership  has  produced  these  effects. 
There  is  too  much  bickering  and- interference  by 
alleged  leaders.  The  politician  or  the  federation  of 
politicians  who  tries  to  dictate  c  tn  not  get  our  sup¬ 
port  and  we  won’t  let  them  control  our  votes.  It’s 
time  the  buying  and  selling  of  votes  was  stopptd. 
The  present  system  is  obnoxious.  A  conspiracy  has 
has  been  formed  in  this  city  to  foil  the  wishes  of  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  republicans  of  this  county  in  the  next 
national  convention."  This  brought  out  great  cheers 


and  cries  of  “  Give  it  to  him !  ”  “  Pound  Nathan !  ” 
The  .self-constituted  boss  stood  against  the  wall  and 
never  blinked.  Joseph  Benjamin,  who  denounced 
Nathan  at  the  caucus  on  Saturday  night,  seconded 
Mr.  Newins’  nomination.  He  was  not  against  Mr. 
Goodrich,  but  he  was  against  the  influences  behind 
Goodrich.  Eepubliravs,  he  said,  would  not  vote  their 
parly  ticket  because  they  desired  to  show  their  independ¬ 
ence  of  Aat/ian  (Internal  Revenue  Collector).  If  any 
one  would  go  through  the  heavy  republican  wards, 
he  would  find,  Mr.  Benjamin  said,  that  the  voters 
were  sick  and  tired  of  the  present  mactiine.  Joseph 
M  Farrington  spoke  to  the  .same  pointaxd  added  that 
1  the  present  leaders  were  too  closely  allied  with  the  demo- 
1  cratic  managers.  He  then  mentioned  the  name  of 
Blaine,  and  the  delegates  cheered  and  yelled  them¬ 
selves  hoarse.  Nathan  didn’t  move  a  hand.  He  put 
forward  Israel  F.  Fischer  who  pleaded  for  Goodrich 
for  the  sake  of  harmony,  and  he  was  greeted  with 
jeers.  This  ended  the  talking,  and  the  roll  was 
called.  The  big  vote  for  Goodrich  encouraged  the 
Nathan  crowd  to  put  through  the  slate  adopted  on 
Saturday  night  without  more  ado,  and  Naval  Officer 
Willis  rose  and  read  off  the  following  list  of  candi¬ 
dates,  and  on  his  motion,  they  wereeletced  by  accla¬ 
mation  :  Andrew  Jacobs,  George  Nason.  Charles 
Bell,  W.  S.  Ryan,  Warren  C.  Treadwell,  W.  H.  N. 
Cadmus,  George  England,  John  F.  Henry.  Some  one 
tried  to  have  the  resolutions  considered,  but  the 
crowd  wanted  to  go  home,  and  the  meeting  ended  in 
an  uproar. 

*  *  * 

The  action  of  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Republi¬ 
can  party  in  causing  the  removal  of  Dr.  John  L.  Van 
Alstyne  from  the  board  of  pension  examiners  will 
cause  the  parly  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  Dr.  Van 
Alstyne  is  a  stanch  republican  and  a  veteran  of  the 
late  war,  and  so  incensed  are  the  members  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  over  his  removal  that 
they  are  determined  to  defeat  the  republican  ring. 
The  Grand  Army  men  allege  that  Col.  George  W.  Dunn, 
postmaster  and  member  of  the  state  republican  committee. 
is  the  instigator  of  the  scheme  to  remove  Dr.  Van 
Alstyne,  and  they  propose  to  have  his  scalp.  For 
the  first  lime  in  the  history  of  this  county,  the  res 
publican  party  leaders  can  not  count  on  the  soldier’- 
vote.  It  will  not  bo  a  surprise  if  this  county  is 
placed  in  the  democratic  column  next  fall  in  the 
presidential  election.— Binghamton  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  January  10. 


AT  LARGE. 

George  Rundstadtler  has  been  appointed  to  a  po¬ 
sition  in  the  postoffice  here,  and  thereby  hangs  a  neat 
little  political  tale.  He  was  a  member  of  the  city  re¬ 
publican  committee  when  the  recent  faction  fight  was 
on.  The  Bain  faction,  representing  the  element  in  the 
republican  party  favorable  to  the  Harrison  adminis¬ 
tration,  needed  him  in  order  to  have  a  quorum.  He 
held  a  position  in  the  office  of  the  recorder  of  deeds. 
Recorder  Herbbs  told  him  if  he  met  with  eithtr 
wing  of  the  committee,  he  must  resign  his  official 
position.  R.  C.  Kerens  and  John  C.  Orrick,  law 
partners  of  Secretary  Noble,  agreed  to  pay  Runstadt- 
ler  $30  a  week  or  find  him  a  position  if  he  would  sit 
with  the  committee.  He  did  so.  Pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  on  Postmaster  Harlow  to  make  a 
place  for  Rundstadtler,  but  he  did  not  want  to  be 
placed  in  the  position  of  taking  sides.  It  is  now  said 
that  orders  came  direct  from  Wa.shington  that  Rnn- 
stadler  must  be  provided  for  in  order  to  relieve 
Orrick  and  Kerens  of  the  burden  of  his  support.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  Runstadler  is  now  in  a  snug  position  in 
the  post  office,  and  has  resigned  from  the  committee. 
—St.  Loxiis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  December  5. 

»  *  * 

Hardly  had  the  democratic  convention  ad¬ 
journed  in  Baton  Rouge  before  the  republican 
state  central  committee  was  called  to  order  in 
New  Orleans.  The  fight  in  the  republican 
camps  is  as  real  and  bitter  as  on  the  other  side, 
while  the  lottery  issue  is  assisting  the  similar¬ 
ity  by  being  one  of  the  chief  disturbing  ele¬ 
ments.  Ex-Governor  Warmolh  has,  until 
now,  been  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the 
party  in  the  state.  As  collector  of  the  port 


he  represents  the  national  administration, 
and  just  now  is  trying  to  control  the 
Louisiana  vote  for  Harrison.  Warmouth  is 
backed  by  almost  the  entire  white  repub¬ 
lican  element  and  a  great  part  of  the  col¬ 
ored  vote,  but  Internal  Revenue  Collector 
Wimberly  and  Superintendent  of  the  Mint 
Smythe,  with  a  patronage  equal  to  that  of  the 
custom  house,  and  better  for  political  pur¬ 
poses,  not  being  tied  up  by  civil-service  rules, 
combined  with  P.  F.  Herwig,  one  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  the  state,  and  Ex-Governor 
Kellogg,  have  been  making  big  inroads  into 
Warmoth’s  strength.  In  consequence  of  this, 
when  Mr.  Herwig  called  the  state  central 
committee  to  order  to  day  at  noon,  and  a  test 
vote  was  taken  on  the  filling  of  a  vacancy  at 
large,  the  Warmoth  candidate  received  only 
26  votes,  while  the  opposition  polled  47.  The 
announcement  of  the  vote  caused  great  com¬ 
motion,  and  this  was  repeated  and  exagger¬ 
ated  into  a  tumult  when  Philly  Robinson,  a 
colored  member,  arose  and  addressed  the  meet¬ 
ing.  He  held  $120  in  bank  bills  in  his  hand, 
and  said  this  had  been  given  him  to  desert 
Warmouth  and  vote  with  the  anti-administra¬ 
tion  faction.  There  being  other  charges  of  brib¬ 
ery,  Collector  Warmouth  left  the  hall  and  was 
followed  by  his  supporters.  These  adjourned 
to  the  custom  house,  where  they  were  called 
to  order,  and  their  numbers  being  re  inforced 
by  other  bolters,  forty-eight  members,  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  committee  being  present,  business 
was  proceeded  with.  They  decided  to  hold  a 
convention  to  nominate  a  state  ticket  on  the 
third  Wednesday  in  February. 

The  anti-Warmoth  faction  continued  in  ses¬ 
sion  at  the  original  place  of  meeting.  It  is 
probable  that  they  will  also  call  a  nominating 
convention,  with  the  result  that  next  April 
there  will  be  two  republican  tickets  as  well  as 
two  democratic  tickets,  in  the  field  for  state 
offices.  The  original  intention  of  the  War- 
moth  faction  was  to  put  up  full  ticket,  mak¬ 
ing  anti-lotteryism  a  main  point  in  the  plat¬ 
form.  The  opposition  faction  want  to  take  the 
Louisiana  delegation  to  the  national  conven¬ 
tion  uninstructed,  and  probably  have  it  sup¬ 
port  Blaine.  When  Mr.  Herwig,  who  is  a  large 
holder  of  lottery  stock,  joined  their  ranks,  they 
added  to  their  purpose  an  intention  to  thwart 
the  plan  to  put  up  a  state  ticket,  and  to  defeat 
the  anti-lottery  portion  of  the  platform. — New 
Orleans  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Decem¬ 
ber  20. 


CORRESPONDENCE, 

A  corresponpent  from  Denison  University, 
Granville,  Ohio,  writes  the  Chronicle: 

The  gross  brutality  of  the  spoils  system  re¬ 
ceives  a  fresh  illustration  in  the  recent  discov¬ 
ery  that  the  asylum  for  the  blind  at  Columbus, 
Ohio,  has  been  making  no  provision  whatever 
for  the  special  treatment  of  the  eyes  of  its  in¬ 
mates.  Can  anyone  conceive  of  such  a  state 
of  affairs  if  the  trustees  of  the  institution  had 
been  chosen  simply  on  the  basis  of  fitness  for 
the  position,  and  if  they,  in  turn,  had  applied 
the  same  test  in  the  appointments  devolving 
upon  them  ?  If  the  people  of  this  land  could 
only  realize  the  inhumanity  of  entrusting 
to  political  bummers  the  care  of  those  who  are 
afflicted  with  mental  or  physical  disease  the 
reform,  in  that  line,  at  least,  would  be  swift 
and  sure  We  can  well  afford  a  serious  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  question  whether  our  treat¬ 
ment  of  criminals  and  unfortunates  is  not  as  far 
beneath  the  just  demands  of  our  own  civiliza¬ 
tion  as  the  treatment  of  Russian  political 
exiles  is  beneath  the  civilization  of  Russia. 
The  spoils  system  is  not  only  corrupt  from  a 
business  standpoint;  it  is  cruel  and  brutal  from 
the  standpoint  of  humanity. — W.  H.  J. 


The  Civil  service  Chronicle. 


VoL.  I,  No.  36.  INDIANAPOLIS,  FEBRUARY,  1892. 


TERMS :  { 


50  cents  perennnm. 
5  cents  per  copy. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

A  PRESIDENT  who,  upon  charges  made 
by  an  inspector  not  belonging  to  a  class 
enjoying  or  worthy  of  public  confidence 
for  impartiality,  dismisses  an  officer  from 
a  place  so  important  as  the  postmastership 
of  Elmira,  and  refuses  to  let  the  disgraced 
official  see  or  know  the  nature  of  the 
charges,  is,  in  this  country  of  open  courts 
and  public  trials,  a  bold  man. 


Cornell  University  has  the  notorious 
distinction  of  having  a  professor — Collin 
— who  has  written  an  elaborate  defense 
of  Hill,  the  indefensible.  If  the  uni¬ 
versity  permits  this  to  go  unpunished, 
parents  who  want  to  make  good  citi¬ 
zens  of  their  sons  will  hesitate  about 
sending  them  to  Cornell.  Another  public 
institution,  The  North  American  Review, 
has  published  an  article  in  defense  of  Tam¬ 
many  Hall  purporting  to  have  been  written 
by  Richard  H.  Croker,  an  "  illiterate  ex¬ 
tough.”  This  kind  of  sensationalism  only 
finds  its  parallel  in  the  Police  Gazette. 


expended  for  municipal  purposes  is  the 
practice  >^f  giving  the  subordinate  places 
to  person  i  because  they  are  republicans,  or 
because  uhey  are  democrats.  So  long  as 
this  practice  continues,  party  machines 
will  see  nothing  but  spoil  in  any  public 
employment. 


One  of  the  Mahone  blackmailing  cases 
has  been  tried  at  last  in  Washington,  the 
jury  finding  for  the  accused.  Whatever 
the  evidence  there  could  have  been  no 
other  result  after  the  charge  of  the  judge 
which  was,  in  substance,  as  follows  : 


In  the  past  it  has  generally  been  useless 
to  warn  the  democratic  machine.  It  is 
nevertheless  true  that  the  nomination  of 
Hill  or  Gorman  as  the  presidential  candi¬ 
date  of  the  party  would  be  followed  by 
such  a  crusade  against  the  nominee  as  has 
never  been  known  in  this  country.  Both 
« of  these  men  are  in  the  position  of  Dudley 
[except  that  their  advice  has  been  acted 
^on.  Nor  will  the  nomination  of  any  man 
who  might  be  the  tool  of  these  men  help 
.the  matter. 


i  The  civil  service  commission  has  pro¬ 
vided  for  a  physical  examination  of  appli¬ 
cants  for  the  railway  mail  service.  It  can 
be  taken  before  any  qualified  physician, 
tbutthe  successful  applicant  maybe  sub- 
[ject  to  a  further  physical  examination. 
iThe  probable  object  of  this  reservation  is 
10  guard  against  the  leniency  of  friendly 
doctors.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that 
the  duties  of  this  service  require  men 
physically  sound  and  likely  to  remain  so. 
Others  should  not  try  for  this  branch  of 
service. 


The  common  council  of  Rochester  has 
been  wrestling  with  the  New  York  civil 
service  law,  like  its  much-discomfited  sis¬ 
ter  council  of  BuflFalo,  and  has  been  badly 
worsted.  It  wanted  to  give  a  job  to  one 
Belknap,  and  did  so  over  the  mayor’s  veto, 
the  latter’s  objection  being  that  the  pro¬ 
posed  job-giving  was  in  contravention  of 
the  civil  service  law.  An  action  was  begun 
by  a  taxpayer  to  restrain  payment  of  the 
salary.  The  case  went  to  the  court  of  ap¬ 
peals,  and  that  court  has  just  decided  that 
the  employment  of  Belknap  was  illegal,  as 
he  had  not  come  into  the  service  after 
competitive  examination,  as  provided  by 
law. 


Quay  did  well  in  his  libel  suits  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania  against  those  who  charged  him 
with  sharing  with  Bardsley  because  the 
latter  sent  him  a  check  for  some  eight  or 
ten  thousand  dollars.  Two  editors  of  the 
Beaver  Star,  where  Quay  lives,  were  fined 
$600  each  and  sent  to  jail  for  six  months. 
Somehow  the  country  looks  on  with  a 
broad  grin.  Is  this  meant  as  an  insinu¬ 
ation  that  Quay  is  not  “  vindicated,”  and 
that  the  “  slick  ”  way  in  which  the  court 
machinery  worked  is  a  great  joke  on  the 
incarcerated  editors?  It  must  be  con¬ 
fessed  it  would  look  better  if  Quay  had 
sought  “  vindication  ”  first  against  those 
rich  people  who  very  particularly  charged 
him  with  stealing  some  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  dollars  from  the  Pennsylvania 
state  treasury,  which  Don  Cameron  made 
up  to  the  treasury  out  of  his  private 
means. 


There  is  nowhere  in  any  constitution, 
state  or  federal,  or  in  any  state  or  federal 
law,  any  authority  by  which  an  appointing 
officer  or  any  administration  may  use  the 
public  service  in  any  manner  for  personal 
or  party  purposes.  We  challenge  any  one 
to  point  out  such  authority,  yet  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  state  and  federal  offices  are 
constantly  used  for  such  purposes.  There 
is  no  precedent  for  such  a  practice  except 
in  feudalism,  aristocracy,  monarchy,  and 
imperialism.  The  country  is  saddled  with 
bogus  lords  afibrding  “  protection  ”  to  con¬ 
temptible  vassals,  each  of  whom  “plows  his 
lord’s  land  or  carries  out  his  dung.” 


In  this  country,  the  one  thing  that  pre¬ 
vents  the  people  from  getting  little  more 
than  nominal  value  for  the  enormous 
amount  of  money  raised  by  taxation  and 


Justice  Bradley  gave  the  case  to  the  jury  shortly 
after  2  o’clock.  He  referred  to  the  act  as  a  broad, 
comprehensive  one,  and  said  that  whatever  may 
have  been  the  policy  of  congress  in  passing  the  act 
unless  the  act  was  declared  unconstitutional  it 
should  be  sustained. 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  doubt  if  congress  contem¬ 
plated  such  a  trivial  case,  yet  in  its  terms  it  is  so 
broad  as  to  cover  this  case. 

“  For  any  political  purpose,”  is  the  language  of  the 
law,  and  the  man  who  pays  the  money  as  well  as  the 
man  who  receives  it  is  a  violator  of  the  law.  It  is 
.singular,  to  say  the  least,  that  although  the  law  pro¬ 
vides  that  offenders  shall  be  dismissed  from  service 
the  offenders  are  now  in  the  employ  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  It  looks  like  trifling,  but  some  one  doubtless 
wants  the  law  vindicated.  If  the  question  was  on 
the  constitutionality  of  the  act  he  would,  perhaps, 
have  something  to  say. 

The  late  Justice  Bradley  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  had  held  the  act  to  be  unconsti¬ 
tutional— as  an  abridgement  of  the  rights  of  the 
citizen. 

The  object  was  a  good  one  to  protect  the  employes 
of  the  government.  The  law  was,  however,  on  the 
books  and  should  be  enforced. 

He  then  directed  the  jury  that  they  were  to  con¬ 
sider  the  evidence  and  determine  if  the  law  had 
been  violated. 

Those  concerned  with  the  enforcement 
of  the  law  in  this  case  perhaps  feel  proud 
of  their  achievements:  The  judge  of  his 
charge ;  the  jury  of  the  promptness  with 
which  it  took  the  wink  from  the  judge; 
the  prosecutor  of  his  success  in  securing 
failure  ;  the  President  of  his  cold  shoulder 
to  any  prosecution  of  blackmailing  of  the 
stripe  charged. 


As  WAS  to  be  expected,  Congressman 
John  F.  Andrew,  of  Massachusetts,  regards 
his  position  as  chairman  of  the  house  civil 
service  committee  seriously.  He  grasps 
the  whole  scope  of  civil  service  reform,  and 
takes  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  his 
committee  will  push  forward  this  reform 
in  every  direction.  The  steps  which  Mr. 
Andrew  believes  now  practicable  are  the 
extension  of  the  classified  system  to  post- 
oflfices  with  twenty-five  or  more  employes. 


306 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


to  the  heads  of  divisions  in  the  various  de¬ 
partments,  and  to  the  superintendents  of 
postal  stations  in  large  cities.  He  says 
that  the  present  labor  service  system  of 
Massachusetts  has  been  tried  “  with  re¬ 
markable  success,”  and  should  be  applied 
to  the  entire  federal  labor  service.  Secre¬ 
tary  Tracy  having  already  introduced  it  in 
the  navy-yards,  the  system  to  be  so  incor¬ 
porated  in  the  law  that  succeeding  admin¬ 
istrations  can  not  upset  it.  Mr.  Andrew 
is  a  democrat,  and,  filled  with  these  and 
other  wholesome  ideas  which  he  frankly 
expresses,  he  may  bring  his  party  to  such 
aid  of  civil  service  reform  as  to  make  it  no 
longer  possible  to  say  that,  as  a  party,  it  is 
a  spoils  party. 

We  have  read  with  interest  The  Public 
Service,  published  at  Washington,  hy  a 
company  largely  composed  of  members  of 
the  civil  service.  The  project  of  enlarging 
the  paper  and  putting  it  more  into  the 
field  of  the  diplomatic  and  consular  serv¬ 
ice  is  under  consideration.  Whatever  is 
done  we  hope  that  the  present  uncom¬ 
promising  stand  of  The  Public  Service  in 
favor  of  civil  service  reform  will  not  be 
modified. 


DAVE  HILL. 

The  democratic  friends  and  some  of  the  op- 
j)onent8  of  Hill  are  unable  to  speak  of  him 
without  mentioning  “  his  splendid  services  to 
the  party.”  The  Atlanta  Constitution,  for  in¬ 
stance,  calls  him  “that  unconquerable  demo¬ 
cratic  le.ader.” 

It  is  astonishing  that  any  honest  democrat 
can  mention  Hill  in  any  such  terms,  or  can 
ever  mention  him  at  all  without  denouncing 
him  as  a  scoundrel.  The  sum  of  his  “splendid 
services”  is  the  capture  of  the  New  York  leg¬ 
islature.  The  county  board  of  canvassers 
counted  out  the  elected  republican  candidate 
of  Dutchess  county  and  counted  in  Hill’s  man. 
The  county  clerk,  as  clerk  of  the  board,  refused 
to  sign  the  certificate,  and  Hill,  as  governor, 
removed  him  and  appointed  one  Emans  in  his 
place.  The  certificate  was  sent  to  the  secreta¬ 
ry  of  state.  The  republicans  took  the  case 
before  a  democrat,  Judge  Barnard,  of  the  su¬ 
preme  court,  who  declared  that  the  certificate 
was  based  upon  an  illegal  and  erroneous  count, 
and  restrained  the  board  of  state  canvassers 
from  canvassing  it,  and  ordered  the  county 
board  and  the  new  clerk  Emans  to  forward  to 
the  state  board  a  certificate  of  the  election  of 
the  republican  candidate.  This  was  done, 
Emans  signing  the  certificate  and  forwarding 
it  to  the  state  board  by  mailing  one  copy  to 
the  governor,  one  to  the  comptroller,  and  one 
to  the  secretary  of  state,  as  the  law  requires. 
After  he  had  thus  ended  all  lawful  connection 
with  the  returns,  some  one  telegraphed  him 
that  .Judge  Ingraham  had  granted  an  order 
restraining  him  from  forwarding  them.  No 
such  order  was  served  upon  him,  but  Emans 


took  the  train  for  Albany,  went  to  the  secre¬ 
tary  of  state,  and  that  official  gave  him  back 
his  copy.  Emans  then  went  to  the  governor’s 
office  and  got  a  messenger-boy  to  find  the  gov¬ 
ernor’s  copy  and  give  it  to  him.  Isaac  H. 
Maynard,  deputy  attorney-general,  went  to 
the  comptroller’s  office  and  got  one  of  that  of¬ 
ficer’s  messengers  to  give  him  the  third  copy. 
After  this  extraordinary  theft  from  the  offi¬ 
cial  files  of  the  state,  two  other  copies  equally 
authentic  were  offered  to  the  secretary  of  state 
and  the  comptroller,  but  were  refused  because 
they  had  not  come  by  mail.  Next,  the  court 
of  appeals,  the  highest  court  of  the  statej  af¬ 
firmed  the  decision  of  Judge  Barnard  that  the 
certificate  of  the  Dutchess  county  board  in 
favor  of  Hill’s  man  was  based  upon  an  illegal 
and  erroneous  count.  This  certificate  had 
reached  the  hands  of  the  secretary  of  state,  but 
not  by  mail,  and  immediately  after  this  decis¬ 
ion,  and  with  full  knowledge  of  it,  Hill’s  board 
of  state  canvassers  canvassed  it  and  declared 
Hill’s  Dutchess  county  candidate  elected  to 
the  senate.  This  gave  the  democrats  a  major¬ 
ity  in  that  body. 

These  are  the  splendid  services  for  which 
Hill  is  now  being  praised.  He  has  publicly 
chained  himself  to  this  transaction  by  declar¬ 
ing  that  his  messenger  did  right  in  stealing 
the  returns  filed  with  him  as  governor.  Now, 
if  any  one  can  see  any  difference  between  this 
whole  transaction  and  Sim  Coy  with  his  re¬ 
turning  board  altering  tally-sheets,  it  would 
be  well  to  point  it  out.  There  is  no  difference. 
Hill,  in  every  fiber,  is  of  the  Sim  Coy  stripe. 
His  methods  are  Sim  Coy  methods.  His  nat¬ 
ural  abilities  are  not  greater  than  Sim  Coy’s. 
Were  Hill  put  forward  by  the  east  as  a  candi¬ 
date  for  the  presidency,  the  eternal  fitness  of 
things  would  only  be  satisfied  by  the  west  seat¬ 
ing  Sim  Coy  by  his  side  as  a  candidate  for  the 
vice-presidency.  The  fact  that  the  Coy  con¬ 
spiracy  which  altered  tally-sheets  was  pun¬ 
ished  by  imprisonment,  while  the  Dave  Hill 
conspiracy,  which,  in  violation  of  the  consti¬ 
tution  and  the  laws,  pushed  aside  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  state  of  New  York,  chosen  by  the 
people,  and  crowded  into  its  place  a  bogus 
government,  which  is  now  there,  does  not  af¬ 
fect  the  question;  it  only  goes  to  show  corrupt 
prosecuting  officers  and  venal  juries.  Given 
an  honest  jury  and  a  fearless  and  able  prose¬ 
cutor,  and  this  whole  conspiracy.  Clerk  Em¬ 
ans,  the  state  board,  the  secretary  of  state,  the 
messengers,  Isaac  H.  Maynard  and  Dave  Hill 
would  receive  the  same  lesson  the  Coy  con¬ 
spiracy  received  at  Indianapolis. 


A  POLITICAL  BUCCANEER  AS  A 
PRESIDENTIAL  CANDIDATE. 

[Compiled  from  the  New  York  Evening  Post-l 

David  B.  Hill  began  his  political  life  in 
Elmira,  New  York,  nearly  thirty  years  ago  as 
a  justice  of  the  peace.  Nearly  all  his  friends 
and  workers  were,  and  are,  the  dregs  of  the 
community.  He  never  mingled  in  respect¬ 
able  society.  He  has  always  had  a  trick  of 
“downing”  an  opponent  in  his  own  party  by 


a  temporary  coalition  with  the  opposite  party 
He  personally  bought  votes,  and  since  Hill  J 
began  his  career,  Elmira  has  become  one  of  J 
the  most  politically  corrupt  cities  in  the  United^ 
States.  Says  one  witness: 

“I  personally  saw  Hill  hand  an  envelope  to  an 
old  man  who  had  the  palsy.  The  man  was  unable 
to  open  it  and  handed  it  to  one  of  my  clerks.  1  saw 
the  clerk  open  it  and  take  out  a  two  dollar  bill  and 
hand  it  to  the  old  man.” 

In  1856  the  Chemung  canal  overflowed  and 
damaged  adjacent  property.  No  one  thought 
of  holding  the  state  responsible.  Years  after¬ 
wards  Hill’s  law  firm  stirred  up  the  matter 
and  agreed  to  take  the  case  for  nothing  if  they 
lost  and  for' nearly  all  if  they  won.  In  1866, 
and  later,  bills  were  passed  by  the  assembly 
to  pay  nearly  six  millions  of  these  claims,  and 
when  the  last  batch  was  passed.  Hill  was  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  assembly.  One  of  the  awards  was 
for  $11,445  to  James  A.  Locke,  whose  whole 
estate  was  not  worth  that  amount.  In  1875 
Governor  Tilden’s  Canal  Commission  exposed 
the  nature  of  these  claims.  Locke  testified 
that  he  first  lenrned  from  the  lawyers  Smith 
&  Hill  that  he  had  been  damaged  by  the  state 
“Tell  us,”  said  the  questioner  of  the  commis. 
sion,  “in  what  manner,  and  by  whom,  was 
this  question  first  presented  to  you  of  making 
a  claim?”  “I  think  it  was  by  Smith  &  Hill,” 
replied  Locke.  “You  got  your  information 
in  some  way?”  “  I  got  it  from  them,”  replied 
the  witness. 

Elected  to  the  assembly.  Hill  became  one  of 
the  most  useful  agents  of  Tweed,  and  finally 
went  into  partnership  with  Tweed,  publishing 
the  Elmira  Gazette.  Hill  voted  for  Tweed’s 
bills  to  consummate  the  plot  of  robbing  New 
York  city.  He  opposed  the  impeachment  of 
Tweed’s  judge,  Cardoza,  and  apologized  on 
the  floor  of  the  assembly  for  Tweed’s  judge, 
Barnard.  Hill  has  always  kept  up  his  Elmira 
fights  and  trades.  He  invariably  appears  the 
Sunday  before  election,  and  all  that  day  and 
the  day  following,  his  office  swarms  with  heel¬ 
ers.  Hundreds  go  away  with  the  envelopes 
that  constitute  the  secret  of  Hill’s  influence. 

Mr.  Hill  succeeded  to  the  governorship  on 
.January  1, 1885,  when  Mr.  Cleveland  resigned 
the  office  because  of  election  to  the  presidency. 
He  at  once  began  to  work  for  re-election  in 
in  November  following,  and,  in  order  to 
strengthen  himself  with  patronage,  he  sought 
to  gain  control  of  the  work  of  constructing  a 
new  aqueduct  for  New  York  city.  The  build¬ 
ing  of  the  aqueduct  had  been  authorized  in 
1883,  and  begun  in  1884  under  a  commission 
of  three  members,  all  honorable  and  able  men, 
with  the  mayor,  comptroller  and  commis¬ 
sioner  of  public  works,  members  ex  officio. 
The  commissioner  of  public  works,  when  Mr. 
Hill  became  governor,  was  one  Rollin  M. 
Squire,  an  unprincipled  adventurer  from  Bos¬ 
ton,  who  had  been  thrust  into  the  office  in  the 
last  days  of  1884,  in  accordance  with  a  dis¬ 
graceful  compact  between  a  mayor  who  was 
leaving  office  and  a  mercenary  board  of  aider- 
men.  Mr.  Hill  opened  communication  with 
Squire,  and  entered  into  an  alliance  with  him 
by  which  they  mutually  agreed  to  stand  by 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


307 


each  other  through  thick  and  thin.  The  two 
worked  together  for  Mr,  Hill’s  re  election, 
which  was  accomplished  in  November  follow¬ 
ing. 

Soon  after  the  election  Squire  went  to  the 
governor  and  told  him  that,  in  order  to  get 
the  office  of  commissioner  of  public  works,  he 
had  signed  a  pledge  to  administer  that  office 
an  all  respects  as  one  Maurice  B.  Flynn,  a  con¬ 
tractor,  wished  him  to;  that  he  supposed 
this  pledge  had  been  destroyed,  but  had  dis¬ 
covered  that  it  was  still  in  existence  and  was 
about  to  be  made  public  as  a  means  of  get¬ 
ting  him  out  of  office.  The  governor  ad¬ 
vised  Squire  not  to  resign,  but  to  hold  on  to 
his  office,  assuring  him.  Squire  subsequently 
testified,  that  “he  would  support  me  (Squire) 
through  it  all,  unless  I  should  do  something 
so  bad  that  a  criminal  court  would  convict 
me.”  The  governor  kept  this  promise  faith¬ 
fully,  though  after  making  it  he  was  shown 
a  copy  of  the  pledge  which  Squire  had  signed. 
Knowing  the  existence  of  this  pledge,  he  en¬ 
tered  into  a  compact,  or  “deal,”  with  the  re¬ 
publican  leaders  of  the  legislature  to  pass  a 
hill  so  re-organizing  the  aqueduct  commis¬ 
sion  as  to  put  Squire  in  virtual  control  of  its 
work.  The  partners  to  this  “  deal  ”  on  the 
republican  side  were  Speaker  Husted,  Senator 
Hoysradt  and  Hamilton  Fish,  Jr.,  and  on  the 
democratic  side.  Governor  Hill,  John  O’Brien, 
aqueduct  contractor  and  chairman  of  the 
democratic  state  committee,  and  William 

L.  Muller,  a  former  law  partner  of  Governor 
Hill.  They  had  a  bill  passed  which  provided 
for  the  appointment  by  the  governor  of  three 
new  aqueduct  commissioners  at  a  salary  of 
$5,000  each,  and  the  removal  of  the  mayor 
and  comptroller  as  ex  officio  members,  leaving 
Squire  as  the  sole  official  representative  of  the 
city  on  the  commission.  After  the  bill  had 
passed,  the  governor  appointed  Hamilton 
Fish,  Jr.,  one  of  the  new  commissioners,  thus 
keeping  his  bargain  with  the  republicans. 
Before  he  had  given  his  approval  to  the  bill 
he  was  shown  a  copy  of  Squire’s  pledge,  and 
then  the  pledge  itself,  as  proof  of  Squire’s 
character,  and  as  a  reason  for  refusing  to  put 
such  great  power  in  his  hands,  but  he  declined 
to  be  influenced  at  all  by  it. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  reorganized  com¬ 
mission  was  to  open  bids  for  the  work  of  con¬ 
structing  an  important  section  of  the  new 
aqueduct.  The  bid  of  O’Brien  &  Clark,  the 
former  the  John  O’Brien  alluded  to  above, 
was  $54,000  higher  than  the  lowest  bid.  Gov. 
Hill  sent  his  friend  Muller  to  members  of  the 
commission  asking  them  to  vote  to  accept 
O’Brien  &  Clark’s  bid  as  a  personal  favor  to 
himself,  and  a  majority  of  the  commission  ac¬ 
ceded  to  the  request.  As  soon  as  they  were 
awarded  the  bid,  O’Brien  &  Clark,  in  defiance 
of  law,  at  once  sold  out  their  contract  to  one 
of  the  lower  bidders  for  $30,000  clear  profit. 
The  full  meaning  of  this  transaction  will  ap¬ 
pear  later  on  in  this  narrative. 

The  new  commission  went  into  power  in 
May,  1886.  In  August  following,  William 

M.  Ivins,  having  obtained  possession  of  the 


pledge  which  Squire  had  given  to  Flynn,  pub- 1 
lished  it,  and  Mayor  Grace  at  once  began  pro¬ 
ceedings  for  Squire’s  removal,  basing  the  de¬ 
mand  for  it  upon  this  pledge.  The  governor 
was  forced  to  accede  to  the  demand  by  public 
sentiment.  At  the  time  of  doing  so,  the  gov¬ 
ernor  made  public  denial  that  he  had  ever! 
seen  a  copy  of  the  pledge  before  its  publica¬ 
tion. 

In  1888  the  scandals  about  the  doings  of  the 
aqueduct  commission  became  so  great  that  an  j 
investigation  was  ordered  by  the  senate.  It  j 
was  shown  by  unimpeachable  testimony  that  j 
in  the  campaign  for  his  own  re-election  in 
1885,  Gov.  Hill  had  drawn  two  notes,  one  for  | 
$10,000  and  the  other  for  $5,000,  the  proceeds  j 
of  which  had  been  used  to  defray  campaign  ! 
expenses.  The  first  was  drawn  to  the  order  of  ! 
William  L.  Muller,  and  was  indorsed  by  Mul-  j 
ler,  and  by  John  O’Brien  and  Heman  Clark,  j 
the  two  heaviest  contractors  for  aqueduct ! 
work.  The  note  was  cashed  by  O’Brien,  and  | 
charged  to  him  on  the  books  of  the  firm.  The 
second  note  was  indorsed  by  Muller  and  Al¬ 
ton  B.  Parker,  and  was  cashed  by  John  Keen¬ 
an,  the  alleged  “  boodle-holder”  in  the  Broad- 
w.ay  railway  scandal.  Keenan  was  afterwards 
repaid  by  John  O’Brien.  Mr.  O’Brien  con¬ 
tributed  .$500,  Alton  B.  Parker  $500,  and  other 
friends  of  the  governor  similar  amounts.  It 
was  to  pay  these  notes  that  the  contract  was 
awarded  to  Clark  &  O’Brien,  though  their  bid 
was  $54,000  above  the  lowest,  for  Mayor  Grace 
and  Squire  testified  that  they  were  asked  to 
vote  in  favor  of  that  bid  in  order  that  the 
governor’s  notes  might  be  paid.  The  testimo-  | 
ny  also  showed  that  both  notes  were  finally 
paid  by  O’Brien  &  Clark,  presumably  out  of  I 
the  $30,000  profit  made  on  that  bid.  I 

It  was  also  shown  by  the  testimony  during 
the  investigation  that  Gov.  Hill  had  heard  of 
the  Squire-Flynn  pledge  several  months  be¬ 
fore  it  was  made  public  ;  that  Squire  told  him 
of  it  in  December,  1885,  and  again  in  Janu¬ 
ary,  1886;  that  a  copy  of  it  was  shown  him  in 
March,  1886,  and  the  original  in  May,  1886.  j 
Yet,  after  all  this  knowledge,  he  had  entered  ' 
into  a  compact  with  Squire,  had  addressed  [ 
him  in  letters  asking  for  patronage  as  “  Hon¬ 
orable”  and  “  My  Dear  Sir,”  had  united  with  ^ 
the  republicans  of  the  legislature  in  passing  a  j 
bill  to  put  the  acqueduct  work  into  his  con- 1 
trol,  and  had  been  profiting  in  many  ways, 
including  the  receipt  of  $15,000  of  public 
money,  from  his  association  with  him.  Yet 
when  the  pledge  was  made  public,  he  was 
forced  to  remove  Squire  as  a  dishonest  official, 
thus  admitting  that  the  pledge  was  prima  facie 
proof  of  his  worthless  character.  For  their 
friendly  services  in  his  hehalf  the  governor 
•ubsequently  appointed  John  O’Brien  receiver 
for  the  Broadway  railway,  and  made  Mr. 
Muller  a  commissioner  of  claims. 

In  1887,  Hill  cultivated  the  liquor  interests 
by  vetoing  a  reasonable  high  license  bill. 
He  vetoed  a  similar  bill  in  1888,  and  in  that 
year  he  also  vetoed  the  first  ballot  reform  bill. 
In  1888  he  was  re-elected  governor,  although 
Cleveland  failed  to  carry  the  state.  Of  this 


the  New  York  Tribune  said,  “  JHU  succeeded  only 
because  he  was  able  to  sell  a  presidency  for  a  gov¬ 
ernorship.”  In  1889,  Hill  vetoed  another  bal¬ 
lot  reform  bill,  and  in  1890  still  another. 

Elsewhere  in  the  Chronicle  is  described 
the  overturning  of  the  elected  legislature  of 
New  York  by  Hill  upon  the  Coy  system.  His 
whole  public  history  shows  him  to  be  a  man 
that  stops  at  nothing,  and  who  jjanders  always 
to  the  lawless  and  degraded. 


A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  A 
GORMAN  HENCHMAN. 

We  have  the  demoralizing  spectacle  of  dem¬ 
ocrats  professing  morality  and  yet  praising 
the  unscrupulous  work  of  unscrupulous  Da¬ 
vid  B.  Hill.  As  if  this  were  not  enough 
there  is  also  similar  praise  for  Gorman,  either 
himself  a  presidential  candidate  or  a  demo¬ 
cratic  Warwick  along  with  Calvin  S.  Brice. 
It  is  not  safe  to  desist  in  the  efl'ort  to  keep 
awake  the  moral  senses  of  those  honest  parti¬ 
sans  whom  Gorman  has  put  into  a  lethargic 
state  by  his  fight  against  the  Force  Bill. 
With  whom  Gorman  consorts,  what  manner 
of  citizens  his  work  requires,  are  very  well 
indicated  in  the  following  sketch,  from  the 
Baltimore  Sun. 


Charlie  Goodman,  a  man  who  has  been  in 
the  hands  of  the  police  a  number  of  times,  and 
who  has  also  figured  in  Baltimore  local  poli¬ 
tics,  shot  and  killed  John  T.  Duncan  yester¬ 
day  afternoon.  The  shooting  occurred  in 
Louis  Steigerwald’s  saloon,  105  North  Eutaw 
street,  at  twenty  minutes  before  6  o’clock. 

«  »  35 

Charles  Goodman  was  born  in  Baltimore 
and  is  about  fifty  years  old.  His  early  life 
was  spent  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  city, 
and  when  still  a  young  man  he  obtained  a 
reputation  as  a  fighter  and  was  frequently  ar¬ 
rested  on  charges  growing  out  of  his  belliger¬ 
ent  nature.  His  principal  occupation  for 
many  years  was  that  of  a  saloon-keeper,  and 
at  different  times  he  conducted  saloons  at  the 
corner  of  Green  and  Baltimore  streets,  at  Gen¬ 
eral  Wayne  Inn,  on  Greene  street,  near  the  old 
western  district  police  station,  on  Baca  street, 
near  the  Crescent  Club,  and  at  the  corner  of 
Holliday  and  Fayette  streets. 

While  running  a  saloon  at  the  last-named 
place  he  had  a  fight  with  John  Keleher  and 
came  near  being  killed.  Pistols  were  drawn, 
and  a  bullet  struck  Goodman  in  the  forehead 
and  plowed  along  the  scalp  to  the  top  of  his 
head. 

The  first  serious  charge  laid  against  Good¬ 
man  was  in  1870,  when  he  assaulted  Nathaniel 
Cole,  a  gate  keeper  at  Camdem  Station.  He 
was  arrested  for  the  assault,  and  after  he  was 
released  he  followed  Mr.  Cole  to  his  home,  on 
Pratt  street,  near  Parkin,  and  struck  him  on 
the  head  with  an  iron  plate.  Cole  was  seri¬ 
ously  injured.  Goodman  was  tried  on  the 
charge  of  assault  with  intent  to  kill,  and,  be¬ 
ing  convicted,  was  sentenced  to  four  years  in 


308 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  peuiteotiary.  lie  remained  there  until 
December  16,  1872,  when  he  was  pardoned 
upon  the  condition  that  he  would  leave  the 
state.  He  accepted  the  condition  and  went 
to  Washington. 

He  had  not  been  in  Washington  long  before 
he  got  into  a  quarrel  with  Lemuel  Weeden. 
They  had  a  bloody  fight  in  a  room,  and  before 
they  could  be  separated  Goodman  was  shot  in 
the  shoulder  and  wrist  and  the  furniture  in  the 
room  was  wrecked.  While  Weeden  was 
under  arrest,  and  before  he  was  taken  to  the 
police  station,  Goodman  drew  a  pistol  and 
shot  him.  The  wound  was  not  dangerous 
Goodman  escaped  while  being  taken  from  the 
jail  van  to  the  court-room.  He  made  his 
way  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  was  arrested  a 
few  weeks  later,  and  w'as  started  on  his  return 
to  Washington  in  charge  of  a  Cincinnati  oflS- 
cer  who  volunteered  to  deliver  him  to  the 
Washington  authorities.  He  professed  to  be 
willing  to  return  and  stand  a  trial,  but,  watch¬ 
ing  his  opportunity,  he  jumped  from  the  train 
near  Sir  John’s  Run.  The  train  was  running 
at  a  speed  of  more  than  thirty  miles  an  hour 
at  the  time,  and  it  was  thought  his  desperate 
leap  had  killed  him.  The  train  was  stopped 
and  the  officer  ran  back  and  found  Goodman 
lying  beside  the  track  with  a  broken  leg.  He 
was  taken  to  Washington. 

During  the  civil  war  Goodman  was  a 
stanch  Unionist  and  served  as  a  soldier. 
Friends  in  Washington,  who  knew  of  his 
army  record,  interested  themselves  in  his  be¬ 
half  with  President  Grant,  and  he  escaped  a 
term  in  the  penitentiary  at  Albany.  He  re¬ 
turned  to  Baltimore,  and  in  January,  1873, 
was  arrested  for  violating  the  terms  of  his 
pardon.  He  was  afterward  granted  a  full 
pardon.  The  wound  in  his  shoulder  con¬ 
tinued  to  give  him  trouble,  and  he  placed 
himself  under  the  care  of  Dr.  W.  H,  Crim, 
who  took  several  pieces  of  shattered  bone 
from  the  shoulder. 

In  1879  Mary  Lizzie  Kuhns,  a  minor,  was 
arrested  in  the  western  district  by  Lieutenant 
(then  patrolman)  Fullem,  charged  with  being 
drunk  and  disorderly.  The  charge  was  dis¬ 
missed  and  she  was  arrested  upon  a  ticket-of- 
leave  from  the  Maryland  Industrial  School 
for  Girls  and  returned  to  that  institution. 
Goodman  had  her  brought  into  court  on  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Upon  his  promise  to 
marry  the  girl  she  was  released  from  the  In¬ 
dustrial  school  and  they  lived  together  until 
nine  months  ago.  They  had  numerous  quar¬ 
rels.  On  one  occasion  Goodman  shot  the 
woman  in  the  arm,  and  at  another  time  she 
stabbed  him  in  the  abdomen,  inflicting  a 
wound  which  confined  him  to  bed  for  six 
weeks. 

Among  other  things  Goodman  was  inter¬ 
ested  in  politics  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Crescent  Club,  During  the  political  cam¬ 
paign  of  1889  he  created  a  sensation  by  de¬ 
serting  the  regular  ticket  and  appearing  on 
the  stage  with  the  fusionists  at  the  Con¬ 
cordia  Opera  House  on  the  night  of  October 
20  with  Mr.  John  K.  Cowen  and  Bill  Harig. 


He  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  said  that  he 
had  been  taught  revolution  for  four  months 
past  in  the  Cresent  Society  by  its  president, 
J.  Frank  Morrison.  Then  he  said:  “Mr. 
Cowen  sent  for  me  and  accused  me  of  what  I 
knew  I  was  guilty  of.  He  asked  me  in  a  very 
abrupt  way  if  I  was  not  a  ballot-box  stuffer. 
He  asked  me  if  I  would  come  to  this  meeting 
and  confess  my  political  sins.  I  said  I  would.” 
Goodman  said  he  did  good  work  for  Mr.  Gor¬ 
man  in  1879,  and  told  how  he  made  an  expe¬ 
dition  to  Howard  county  at  the  election  in 
1879  with  forty  repeaters,  all  armed,  and 
scared  the  colored  voters  by  firing  pistols. 
Two  days  later  the  following  record  of  Charlie 
Goodman  was  published  as  an  advertisement 
in  The  Sun. 

Charles  Goodman,  October  17,  1866— Arrested  on 
bench  warrant  for  threatening  to  shoot  Samuel 
Warner. 

October  17, 1866— Snapping  a  pistol  and  threaten¬ 
ing  to  shoot  Samuel  Warner. 

December  11, 1866— Assault  with  intent  to  murder. 

February  21,  1867— Rioting. 

February  27, 1868— Assault. 

October  2,  1868 — Assault  on  D.  A.  Jenkins. 

December  9,  1868 — Larceny. 

December  26,  1868— Assault  on  .Samuel  C.  Wade. 

August  31, 1869— Assault. 

September  9, 1869— Assault  (two  cases.) 

September  7,  1869 — Assault  with  intent  to  kill  A.  C. 
Williamson. 

February  20,  1870— Assault  with  intent  to  kill; 
sentenced  to  four  years  in  penitentiary.  Second 
case,  same  charge,  stetted. 

January  2,  1873— Returning  to  state  contrary  to 
terms  of  pardon.  Afterward  pardoned  again. 

December  19,  187.3— Assault  and  destroying  prop¬ 
erty. 

December  19, 1873— Destroying  property. 

May  2,  1874— Assault  to  kill ;  returned  non  est  un¬ 
til  September  2, 1876,  when  return  of  cipi  was  made ; 
case  stetted  December  22, 1877. 

August  26,  1878— Assault. 

December  20,  1878— Cruelty  to  animals. 

November  26, 1880— Sunday  law. 

June  17, 1880 — Sunday  law. 

January,  1881— Sunday  liquor. 

September  28, 1883— Assault  to  kill. 

January  17, 1885— Assault. 

October  24,  1885— Assault. 

October  30, 1885— Assault  to  kill. 

Not  long  after  the  election  of  1889  Goodman 
was  appointed  to  a  position  on  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  canal  [Gorman  spoil. — Ed. 
Chronicle]  where  he  remained  until  a  short 
time  before  the  election  of  1891,  when  he  re¬ 
turned  to  Baltimore  and  rejoined  the  regu¬ 
lars. 


The  association  at  once  protested  against  a 
policy  which,  however  gratifying  it  may  be  to 
partisan  rapacity,  is  evidently  hostile  to  In¬ 
dian  interests, — a  policy  which  removes  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  the  right  management  of 
the  service  from  the  department  in  Wash¬ 
ington,  where  it  belonged  —  a  department 
that  could  be  held  accountable  for  results — 
and  diffuses  it  among  a  multitude  of  irrespon¬ 
sible  men  fifteen  hundred  to  three  thousand 
miles  distant;  which  subjected  the  Indian  to 
local  influences  in  many  cases  manifestly  hos¬ 
tile,  and  confined  the  selection  of  agents  who 
possess  almost  autocratic  powers  over  him  to 
localities  often  permeated  with  a  hostile  sen¬ 
timent.  But  protests  against  this  policy — the 


spoils  system  in  a  concentrated  and  most  ob¬ 
jectionable  form — were  even  less  effective  than 
our  remonstrances  under  the  previous  admin¬ 
istration.  The  proscription  of  agents  appoint¬ 
ed  under  President  Cleveland  was  conducted 
with  such  neatness  and  dispatch  that  so  long 
ago  as  last  winter  but  a  single  democratic 
agent  owing  his  commission  to  him  remained 
in  the  service !  If  we  are  correctly  informed, 
there  is  to-day  not  one  such  agent  left  to  bear 
witness  to  the  fact  that  there  ever  was  such  a 
thing  as  a  democratic  president!  The  policy 
complained  of  was  not  long  in  giving  proof  of 
its  evil  nature  by  its  evil  fruit.  Agents  of  in¬ 
telligence  and  high  character,  in  cases  known 
to  us,  were  removed  to  make  way  for  the 
henchmen  of  local  politicians — men  who  were 
manifestly  inferior  to  their  predecessors, whose 
administration  has  witnessed  a  steady  decline 
in  the  condition  of  their  agencies,  and  where 
in  two  instances  serious  complaints  have  been 
made  by  the  leading  progressive  Indians  on 
the  reservations. — From  the  last  Annual  Report 
Indian  Rights  Commission. 

One  obection  is  frequently  raised  to  the  re¬ 
form  system  which  has  weight  with  many 
friends  of  pure  government ;  that  is,  that  the 
system  will  create  a  bureaucracy.  There  is  a 
certain  measure  of  plausibility  about  this  to 
the  extent  that  continued  office  holding  tends 
to  produce  routine  methods.  But  whenever 
my  mind  inclines  to  be  impressed  by  this  ar¬ 
gument,  it  is  promptly  recalled  to  the  condi¬ 
tions  under  the  spoils  system  by  a  pen  picture 
drawn  by  Josiah  Quincy  in  the  early  part  of 
the  century : 

“  Why,  sir,  we  hear  the  clamor  of  the  craving 
animals  at  the  treasury  trough  here  in  this  capitol. 
Such  running,  such  jostling,  such  wriggling,  such 
clambering  over  one  another’s  backs,  such  squealing 
because  the  tub  is  so  narrow  and  the  company  so 
crowded.” 

And  lest  this  may  seem  the  idea  of  an  old- 
fashioned  theorist  and  purist,  I  say  to  you 
that  only  two  years  ago  I  read  what  purported 
to  be  the  utterances  of  a  prominent  politician, 
in  which,  as  I  remember  it,  he  used  the  same 
figure  of  speech,  and  complaining  of  the 
slowness  of  removals,  demanded  that  the 
hungry  hogs  be  given  speedier  access  to  the 
swill-trough. 

The  al  ternative  is  presented — a  “bureau” 
or  a  “trough.”  Which  is  the  most  desirable? 
For  my  own  part,  even  if  the  danger  is  what 
it  is  pictured,  which  I  do  not  believe,  I  prefer 
a  bureaucracy  to  a  trough-ocracy. — From  an 
Address  of  Charles  Cluflin  .Allen,  President  of  the 
Civil  Service  Reform  Association  before  the  Office 
Men's  Club. 


William  G.  Low,  brother  of  President  Low 
of  Columbia,  has  sent  to  the  college  an  offer, 
which  has  been  accepted,  to  give  a  prize  of 
$100,  for  the  best  essay  on  civil  service  reform. 
The  award  will  be  made  in  the  spring. 

Lemoohe,  Cal.,  February  3, 1892. 

Civil  Service  Chronicle :  I  think  my  subscription  ex¬ 
pired  with  the  year  past.  As  I  desire  not  to  lose  one 
number  of  your  high-charactered  little  journal,  1 
herewith  enclose  postal  note.  W.  S.  Cunningham. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


S09 


Heretofore  it  has  been  the  custom  in  Newburg  to 
call  the  primaries  for  the  county  convention,  which 
elects  delegates  to  the  state  convention,  about  ten 
days  before  the  date  of  the  latter.  Under  the  new 
ballot-reform  law  forty-eight  hours’  notice  is  re¬ 
quired.  Our  citizens  observed  in  town  on  Sunday 
a  number  of  employes  of  Sing  Sing  prison,  who  owe 
their  positions  to  the  fact  that  they  are  heelers  of  Warden 
‘  ‘  Bill  ’  ’  Brown.  Politicians  of  bothparties  promptly  con¬ 
cluded  that  some  of  Gov.  Hill’s  dirty  political  linen 
was  to  be  washed,  and  that  Brown  had  sent  his  heel 
ers  to  prepare  the  laundry.  Before  night  all  the  New- 
burgers  whom  Brown  has  taken  care  of  in  Sing  Sing, 
to  the  number  of  a  dozen,  were  here  to  the  neglect 
,  of  their  ofl9cial  duties.  They  have  remained  over  to- 
"day  and  will  be  with  us  to-morrow.  In  the  mean¬ 
time  people  are  asking :  “Who  is  running  the  pris¬ 
on?’’  and  “What  is  going  to  be  done  about  it?’’ 
Everybody  knows  what  this  battalion  of  heelers  is 
here  for,  namely,  to  carry  the  primaries  which  have 
been  so  suddenly  called  to-night  to  be  held  to-morrow 
and  Wednesday,  in  the  interest  of  Gov.  Hill,  and  to 
elect  Hill  delegates  to  the  Saratoga  convention,  who 
in  turn  will  elect  a  state  committeeman  for  Hill. 
The  fact  was  further  emphasized  this  afternoon  when 
Brown  himself  swaggered  into  town.  Within  five 
minutes  he  was  surrounded  by  his  henchmen,  the 
most  prominent  among  them  being  “Dave”  Craw¬ 
ford,  “Tommy”  Ray,  the  notorious  “Gil”  Crissey, 
who  was  chief  clerk  of  the  post-office  when  Brown 
was  postmaster ;  “Jack”  Glynn,  “Teddy  ’’Ford,  aud 
the  noted  “  Ed  ”  Brown,  who  was  made  purchasing 
agent  at  the  prison  at  a  salary  of  $1,200  a  year  and 
perquisites— a  merry  lot  taken  altogether.  They  ob¬ 
sequiously  reported  that  “things  was  fixed,”  as  they 
expressed  it.  Brown’s  programme  is  to  hold  the  pri¬ 
maries  in  the  first  and  second  wards  to-morrow 
night,  and  in  the  third  and  fourth  wards  Wednes¬ 
day.  The  better  class  of  democrats  deprecate  this 
sudden  call,  and  express  their  disgust  that  the  poli¬ 
tics  of  this  county  should  be  in  tbe  hands  of  “  such 
a  man  as  Brown,”  as  the  general  expression  goes. 
Heretofore  the  rule  has  been  to  call  the  primaries 
about  ten  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  state  con¬ 
vention,  but  Brown,  inspired  with  the  fear  of  opposi¬ 
tion,  anticipated  the  old  custom  and  set  the  call 
three  weeks  before  the  date  of  the  convention.— AVio- 
burg,  N.  Y.,  Dispatchto  Neiv  York  Times,  Aug.  24, 1891. 
*  « 

Warden  Brown  of  Sing  Sing  prison  has  had  a  hard 
time  of  it  this  week,  and  his  face  wore  anything  but 
a  contented  look  as  he  stepped  into  the  court-house 
in  this  city  to-day,  accomi  anied  by  his  right  bower. 
Clerk  Gilbert  R.  Orissy  of  Sing  Sing  prison.  The  dem¬ 
ocrats  of  the  first  assembly  district  of  Orange  county 
were  in  session  there  to  elect  delegates  to  the  state 
convention.  Brown  and  his  Sing  Sing  horde  were 
here  two  weeks  ago,  at  the  time  of  electing  delegates 
to  the  several  conventions,  and  intimidated  the  anti- 
Brown  following  to  such  an  extent  thai  there  was  a 
fight  in  only  one  ward,  and  that  he  finally  captured. 
— Newburg,  N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Feb.  14. 

When  Chairman  Watson  announced  the  result  on 
a  motion  to  allow  only  delegates  to  vote,  one  of  the 
Hill  men  walked  up  to  him  and,  shaking  his  fist  in 
his  face,  yelled,  “It’s  a  lie!  It’s  a  lie!”  Another 
Hill  man  sprang  forward  to  attack  Watson,  but  was 
seized  by  others  and  held  back.  A  fight  seemed  im¬ 
minent.  The  crowd  surged  back  and  forth,  over¬ 
turning  chairs  and  tables,  and  gesticulating  wildly. 
When  Chairman  Watson  appointed  the  secretaries 
another  riot  occurred,  the  crowd  pushing  and  pull¬ 
ing  each  other  about  and  driving  the  chairmen  from 
their  seats.  Then  Bancroft,  the  Hill  chairman,  ap¬ 
pointed  a  committee  on  credentials,  despite  the  pro¬ 
tests  of  the  anti-Hill  men,  who  cried:  “  Give  us  a 
fair  show!”  This  committee  reported,  of  course,  in 
favor  of  the  Hill  delegation  from  Penfield,  and  then 
the  Hill  faction  went  ahead  and  elected  a  delegation 
to  the  state  convention. — Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  August  25, 1891. 


The  unanimous  acquiescence  of  the  democratic 
state  committee  in  Senator  Hill’s  plan  for  a  raid-win¬ 
ter  convention.  Boss  McLaughlin,  of  Brooklyn,  join¬ 
ing  with  the  other  members  in  voting  for  it,  shows 
that  Mr.  Hill  has  overcome  all  opposition  to  himself 
inside  his  party  machine.  How  he  has  overcome  it 
is  not  known,  but  it  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  the 
submission  of  McLaughlin  to  his  wishes  was  accompa¬ 
nied  by  the  appearance  in  the  senate  at  Albany  last  night 
of  a  bill  which,  if  it  becomes  a  law,  will  restore  to  Mc¬ 
Laughlin  the  control  of  the  Brooklyn  bridge  which  Tam¬ 
many  took  away  from  him  some  time  ago.  The  loss  of 
the  bridge  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  McLaughlin’s 
hostility  to  Mr.  Hill,  and  he  has  more  than  once 
made  the  return  of  it  a  eoudition  of  his  further  sup 
port  of  Hill’s  plans.  If  the  proposed  Bridge  Bill  is 
allowed  to  pass  through  the  Hill-Tammany  legisla¬ 
ture,  that  fact  willbe  pretty  conclusive  evidence  that 
McLaughlin  has  got  his  “terms.”— AVw  York  Evening 
Post. 

* 

All  this  programme  was  foreshadowed  in  these 
dispatches,  a  few  days  ago.  Gov.  Hill  keenly  real¬ 
izes  that  his  chances  are  desperate,  and  in  spite  of 
precedent  and  of  the  protests  that  he  has  received 
from  prominent  democrats,  in  spite  of  reason  and  of 
sound  judgment,  he  is  determined  to  force  on  the 
party  a  “snap”  convention  in  midwinter,  when 
many  of  the  roads  are  impassable,  and  when  it  will 
be  well  nigh  Impossible  for  the  people  of  the 
country  districts  to  attend  the  primaries  whtre 
the  delegates  will  be  chosen,  thu8  enabling 
the  “bosses”  to  choose  their  own  delegates 
in  their  own  way  and  without  opposition. 

Coming  within  twenty- four  hours  after  Gov. Flower 
had  affixed  his  signature  to  the  enumeration  bill, 
the  real  significance  of  the  hurry  to  pass  that  meas¬ 
ure  now  becomes  thoroughly  manifest.  For  a 
week  before  the  convention  is  held,  and  during  the  lime  it 
is  held,  the  5,300  enumerators  who  are  to  be  selected  by 
Secretary  of  State  Frank  Rice  will  be  engaged  in  their 
labors— a  formidable  army  of  politicians  who  will  e.ecrt  no 
little  influence,  even  in  those  counties  where  the  honest, 
andwtll-grounded  opposition  to  Hill  is  strongest.  The 
passage  of  that  bill,  the  gag-law  that  was  applied  in 
the  senate,  the  precipitate  haste  of  Gov.  Flower  to 
sign  it  without  giving  to  it  that  attention  and  scrut¬ 
iny  which  a  bill  of  its  importance  demands,  stand 
forth  now  in  the  light  of  a  conspiracy  against  the 
state,  and  in  the  interest  of  as  desperate  a  gang  of 
freebooters  as  ever  ran  a  political  machine.— A’ew 
York  Times,  January  22. 

tit  ^  * 

The  names  of  the  enumerators  for  all  the  other 
sections  of  the  state  were  transmitted  to  Senator  Hill 
at  his  headquarters  in  this  city  for  his  personal  inspec¬ 
tion,  before  they  were  agreed  upon.  If  the  senator  ap¬ 
proved  of  the  lists,  they  were  turned  over  to  the  sec¬ 
retary  of  state,  with  the  former’s  indorsement.  In 
case  any  of  the  appointees  were  found  unsatisfactory 
by  Senator  Hill,  who  wants  none  but  political 
hangers-on  or  ward  heelers  to  serve  as  enumerators, 
the  names  of  the  undesirable  candidates  were 
stricken  from  the  lists,  and  the  local  leader  was  di¬ 
rected  to  select  others.  Evidently  Hill  is  not  easily 
satisfied  in  this  particular,  for  it  is  said  that  the  sec 
retary  of  state  has  been  kept  busy  revising  the 
“official”  lists  of  enumerators,  in  accordance  with 
instructions  receive*!  continually  from  the  senator.— 
New  York  Evening  Post,  Feb.  10. 

The  fact  that  Secretary  Rice  refused  to  give 
out  the  names  of  the  enumerators  shows, more¬ 
over,  that  this  census  is  to  be  taken  by  a  close 
corporation,  which  works  on  tbe  principle 
that  the  census  is  not  the  public’s  business. — 
New  York  Eve.ning  Post,  Feb.  16. 

*  >,t 

The  county  democratic  convention  was  held  at 
Horseheads  to-day,  and  was  one  of  the  liveliest  ever 
held  in  this  county.  Ale.r.andria  C.  Eustace,  the  State 
committeeman  and  civil  service  commissioner,  as  was 
expected,  worked  things  under  the  instructions  of  his 
party  boss,  Senator  D.  B.  Hill,  to  suit  himself.  John 


B.  Stanchfield,  one  of  Hill’s  lieutenants,  was  chosen 
chairman.  The  committee  on  contested  delegates 
reported  in  favor  of  the  Eustace  delegates.  This  oc¬ 
casioned  a  bitter  feeling,  and  the  anti-Eustace  men 
expressed  their  feelings  in  the  most  vigorous  lan¬ 
guage. — Elmira  Dispatch  to  New  York  'Limes,  Feb. 


The  early  call  of  the  New  York  State  Democratic 
Convention  to  choose  delegates  to  the  national  con¬ 
vention  is  in  a  measure  having  the  eftect  it  was  in¬ 
tended  to  have  in  Connecticut.  The  call  for  the 
state  convention  here  has  not  been  issued,  but  the 
Hill  men  are  as  industriously  at  work  all  over  the 
state  as  if  the  Connecticut  convention  was  to  be  co¬ 
incident  with  the  one  in  Albany.  They  have 
picked  out  their  candidates  for  delegates  to  the  na¬ 
tional  convention  in  every  county  in  the  state,  and 
are  strengthening  their  lines  in  all  directions.  Here 
in  New  Haven  the  candidate  for  county  delegate  who  rep¬ 
resents  Hill  and  Hillism  is  Alexander  Troup,  who  has 
more  than  once  been  repudiated  by  the  democrats 
of  his  own  town,  and  who  will  be  repudiated  again. 
In  published  communications  Troup  has  declared 
that  he  wears  no  man’s  collar  (perhaps  he  doesn’t 
since  William  H.  Barnum  died),  and  that  if  chosen 
as  a  delegate  he  will  act  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
party.  He  dare  not  say  that  he  is  opposed  to  Cleve¬ 
land— he  filled  a  federal  office  under  Cleveland— and 
he  is  careful  not  to  say  that  he  is  opposed  to  Hill. 
But  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  announce  his 
preference.  Everybody  knows  that  he  is  working 
for  Hill.  He  believes  in  and  practices  the  Hill  kind 
of  politics.  He  is  a  spoilsman  of  the  spoilsmen, 
holding  rigidly  to  the  motto  “  to  the  victors  belong 
the  spoils.”  He  publicly  scoffed  at  President  Cleve¬ 
land’s  civil  service  reform  declarations  while  hold¬ 
ing  an  office  in  the  Cleveland  administration  which 
Chairman  Barnum  demanded  for  him.  And  if  he 
can  not  have  all  the  spoils  he  is  willing  to  divide.— 
New  Haven  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Feb.  8. 

<< 

Tammany  shows  its  customary  defiance  of  decent 
public  sentiment  by  forcing  the  board  of  police  jus¬ 
tices  to  appoint  the  Hon.  John  P.  Keating  clerk  of 
the  court  of  special  sessions.  Keating  was  indicted  by 
the  grand  jury  in  1890 for  extorting  money  from  prisoners 
as  warden  of  Ludlow  street  jail,  and  was  compelled  to  re¬ 
sign  that  position.  There  was  never  any  doubt  about 
his  guilt.  Henry  S.  Ives  testified  that  he  had,  while 
confined  for  fourteen  months  in  the  jail,  paid  Keat¬ 
ing  $10,000  for  special  privileges.  Another  civil  pris¬ 
oner  testified  that  he  had  paid  Keating  twenty  dol¬ 
lars  for  the  privilege  of  going  about  the  city  in  charge 
of  a  keeper.  The  indictments  against  Keating  were  dis. 
missed  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Hon.  John  R.  Fel¬ 
lows,  and  Keating  was  soon  after  appointed  to  a  city 
court  clerkship.  Now  he  goes  a  step  higher  and  se¬ 
cures  a  place  with  a  salary  of  $6,000  a  year.  He  owes 
his  steady  progress,  in  spite  of  all  exposures  as  to  his 
character,  to  the  friendship  of  the  Hon.  Richard  Cro- 
ker,  he  being  the  Tammany  leader  in  Croker’s  dis¬ 
trict.— New  York  Evening  Post,  Jan.  26. 

<■  <■  « 

Gov.  Flower’s  appointment  of  Isaac  H.  Maynard  as 
a  judge  of  the  court  of  appeals  is  recognized  by  the 
democratic  press  as  so  indefensible  that  they  receive 
it  in  silence.  There  Is  nothing  in  his  career  to  com¬ 
mend  him  for  this  exalted  position.  He  has  been  a 
politician  of  the  "pernicious  activity”  kind  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  He  began  as  a  member  of  the 
assembly  from  Delaware  county,  and  though  his 
skill  as  a  politician  was  sufficient  to  get  him  elective 
office  in  that  county  he  has  never  been  able  to  com¬ 
mand  popular  support  in  the  state  at  large.  He  was 
elected  county  judge  and  surrogate  there  in  1877, 
and  his  service  on  that  bench  constitutes  his  entire 
judicial  experience.  He  was  the  democratic  candi¬ 
date  for  secretary  of  state  in  1883,  and  was  defeated, 
running  behind  his  ticket.  He  then  secured  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  deputy  attorney-general  at  Albany, 
and  in  1885  Secretary  Manning  appointed  him  second 
comptroller  in  the  treasury  department  at  Washing- 


310 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


ton.  Secretary  Faircnild  promoted  him  to  lire  post 
of  assistant  secretary,  and  in  that  position  he  origin¬ 
ated  the  bOKUs  “  sugar  fraud”  charges  against  offi¬ 
cials  in  the  New  York  custom  house  and  used  them 
as  an  excuse  for  making  fifteen  removals.  We 
charged  him  with  the  responsibility  for  this  per 
forniance,  and  he  telegraphed  to  us  denying  the 
charge  and  demanding  proof.  An  investigation  was 
held  by  a  committee  of  the  senate,  and  the  charge 
was  sustained,  Mr.  Maynard  failing  to  appear  in  his 
own  defence.  The  “sugar  frauds”  were  subse- 
<iuently  shown  to  be  entirely  bogus,  the  officials  re¬ 
moved  and  assailed  by  Maynard  were  exonerated, 
and  the  Boston  Advertiser,  which  repeated  Maynard’s 
charges  against  one  of  the  accused,  has  recently 
paid  $1,000  damages  as  a  compromise  to  prevent 
further  legal  proceedings  in  a  suit  for  damages  in 
which  the  jury  gave  a  verdict  of  $12,500  against  the 
jiaper. 

*  «! 

After  his  departure  from  the  treasury  department 
with  this  record,  Mr.  Maynard  was  appointed  again 
deputy  attorney-general  at  Albany.  When  the 
democratic  state  convention  met  last  summer,  he 
appeared  before  it  as  Governor  Hill's  candidate  for 
attorney-general,  but  found  so  little  encouragement 
for  his  claims  that  he  left  town  before  the  balloting 
tiegan,  and  his  name  was  not  presented  to  the  con¬ 
vention.  When  Governor  Hill  began  his  campaign  Jor 
the  control  of  the  senate,  after  election,  Mr.  Maynard  acted 
as  his  ally  and  agent  in  instigating  the  county  ca7ivass- 
ing  boards  to  the  various  fraudulent  proceedings  which 
c%dminated  in  the  theft  of  the  Dutchess  county-seat  by  the 
.state  board  of  canvassers.  He  was  the  recognized  “coun¬ 
sel”  of  the  Onondaga  and  Dutchess  C07inty  canvassing 
boards,  in  which  the  most  outrageous  frauds  tvere  com¬ 
mitted.  His  activity  m  this  work  is  universally  ad- 
milled  to  have  constituted  his  chief  claim  to  the  present 
appointment,  and  Governor  Flower  is  generally  regarded 
as  using  a  court  of  appeals  judgeship  as  payment  for  a 
political  debt.— New  York  Evening  Post,  Jan.  20. 

);« 

The  favored  candidate  for  superintendent  of  pub- 
lie  instruction  was  a  man  that  not  more  than  five 
members  had  ever  heard  of  before  last  Saturday  and 
whom  less  than  five  had  ever  seen.  He  has  made  no 
canvass,  written  no  letters,  applied  for  no  support. 
Beyond  the  confines  of  Erie  county  he  had  no  repu¬ 
tation.  There  whatever  reputation  he  had  was  that 
of  a  politician.  At  the  eleventh  hour,  when  the 
other  half  dozen  candidates  imagined  the  contest 
would  be  awarded  on  its  merits,  the  name  of  Mr. 
Crooker  of  Erie  is  sprung,  and  the  members  of  the 
legislature  are  informed  by  Lieut.  Gov.  Sheehan  and 
Senator  Hill  that  they  must  support  him.  Many  of  the 
members  are  indignant  and  express  their  feelings 
openly.  Others  are  angry  and  conceal  it ;  all  are  dis¬ 
gusted  more  or  less,  but  hesitate  to  say  so. 

James  F.  Crooker  has  been  superintendent  of  educa¬ 
tion  in  Buffalo  for  ten  years  or  more.  The  office  is 
an  elective  one.  its  term  being  two  years.  Mr. 
Crooker  is  and  always  has  been,  a  stanch  democrat, 
and  Buffalo  is,  in  the  main,  a  republican  city,  but 
Mr.  Crooker  has  been  re  elected  so  many  times  that 
the  republicans  have  about  made  up  their  minds 
that  it  is  useless  to  nominate  a  man  against  him. 
This  condition  of  things  is  not  due  to  Mr.  Crooker’s 
popularity,  but  to  his  adroit  disposition  of  the  im¬ 
mense  patronage  at  his  disposal.  Early  in  his  career 
Mr.  Crooker  catered  to  the  local  political  bosses  in 
the  distribution  of  his  “patronage.”  He  then  formed 
an  alliance  with  “  Jack  ”  White,  the  republican  boss 
of  the  first  ward  which  has  never  been  broken.  For 
years  it  has  been  a  public  scandal  in  Buffalo  that 
“Jack  ”  White  could  get  anybody  that  he  chose  into 
the  public  schools  as  a  teacher.  White  is  an  illiterate 
b»it  shrewd  man,  who  has  represented  his  ward  in 
the  common  council  for  the  last  sixteen  or  eighteen 
years  consecutively.  He  is  one  of  the  few  men  who 
control  the  republican  machine  in  Erie  county,  and 
he  openly  works  for  Crooker’s  election,  no  matter 
who  the  candidate  of  his  own  party  may  be.  So 
powerful  is  he  that  no  republican  leader  has  even 
suggested  that  he  be  disciplined.  He  is  a  Barney 
Biglin  sort  of  a  man  and  his  followers  cling  to  him 
because  he  “  takes  care  of  them.”— New  York  Times, 
February  10. 


Gov.  Hill’s  action,  it  is  well  understood,  was  polit¬ 
ical.  The  fish  commissioners  have  the  appointment  of  fif¬ 
teen  fish  and  game  protectors,  and  strong  efforts  have  been 
made  to  convert  the  protective  system  into  a  part  of  the 
political  machine.  The  commissioners  have  ignored 
politics;  they  have  been  governed  in  their  appoint¬ 
ments  solely  by  an  earnest  desire  to  maintain  an  effi¬ 
cient  service.  Their  only  purpose  has  been  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  game  and  the  fish  and  to  increase  the  sup¬ 
ply.  As  public-spirited  officers,  serving  without  pay, 
they  have  acknowledged  allegiance  to  neither  dem¬ 
ocrat  nor  republican  ;  and  they  have  never  consid¬ 
ered  an  employe’s  politics,  nor  the  political  bearing 
of  his  employment  in  their  service.  This  independ¬ 
ent  attitude  they  have  maintained  in  the  face  of  con¬ 
stant  importunings  by  those  in  authority  to  appoint, 
for  political  reasons,  unworthy  applicants.  This  step 
—the  summary  ousting  of  a  faithful,  upright,  and  in¬ 
dependent  public  servant  from  a  position  of  trust  to 
make  the  office  and  its  Incumbent  a  subservient  fac¬ 
tor — is  an  unmistakable  and  shameless  declaration 
that  the  fish-culture  interests  of  the  state  of  New 
York  are  to  be  sacrificed  to  political  ends.  We  are  to 
have,  not  game  protectors,  but  ward  heelers ;  the  in¬ 
crease  of  the  food-fish  supply  is  to  be  subordinated 
to  the  satisfying  of  partisan  greed. —F’cresfaJid  Stream, 
January,  1892,  on  Removal  of  Fish  Commissioner  Eugene 
G.  Blackford. 

lit 

Senator  Hill’s  endeavors  to  turn  the  state  fishery 
commission  into  a  political  machine  have  at  last 
been  rewarded  with  success.  It  was  only  a  short 
time  ago  that,  as  governor,  he  removed  from  the 
commission  its  most  valued  member,  Eugene  G. 
Blackford,  and  appointed  in  his  place  David  G. 
Hackney,  a  professional  politician,  whose  only  rec¬ 
ommendation  for  the  place  was  that  he  was  a  politi¬ 
cal  friend  of  Hill’s.  At  that  time  Henry  Burden,  of 
Troy,  another  valuable  member  of  the  board,  pre¬ 
pared  his  letter  of  resignation.  He  was  induced  to 
put  off  sending  it,  but  a  day  or  two  ago  he  decided 
to  remain  a  commissioner  no  longer  and  sent  the 
following  letter  to  Gov.  Flower: 

i.'  “  In  the  two  and  one-half  years  that  I  have 

been  on  the  commission,  the  question  of  politics 
has  not  entered  into  the  few  appointments  we  have 
had  to  make,  and  I  think  I  voice  the  sentiment  of  all 
my  former  associates  on  the  board  that  it  should 
be  kept  out,  as  we  recognize  the  fact  that  its  efficien¬ 
cy  would  be  destroyed  if  other  than  fitness  and 
merit  should  control  our  appointments.  I  regret  to 
say  that  our  freedom  of  action  has  been  somewhat 
hampered  of  late  by  politicians  and  state  officials 
high  in  authority.  The  work  of  the  commission  is 
of  such  a  nature  that  it  can  not  be  made  a  political 
machine  without  destroying  its  usefulness. 

“  As  we  receive  no  salary,  I  had  a  personal  pride 
that  our  work  should  be  conducted  as  one  would  his 
private  business,  that  is,  to  give  the  people  the  best 
possible  results  with  the  means  at  our  command. 
In  view  of  the  above  facts,  I  can  not  consistently 
longer  remain  a  member  of  this  board.” 

Mr.  Burden  has  taken  the  greatest  interest  in  his 
duties.  He  is  an  enthusiastic  fisherman,  and 
anything  relating  to  fi.sh  or  fi.sh  culture  is  his  de¬ 
light.  It  was  largely  through  his  efforts  that  the 
legislature  empowered  the  construction  of  the  three 
fishways  in  the  Hudson  river.  He  had  charge,  also,  of 
the  Sacondaga  fish  hatchery,  and  he  was  interested  in 
the  construction  of  a  fish  car  for  the  distribution  of 
fish.  His  intention  was  to  have  it  fitted  with  a  shad 
hatching  plant. — New  York  Times,  January  20. 

There  is  not  a  decent  man  in  the  city,  of  either 
party,  who  is  not  ashamed  of  the  exhibition  of  Hill’s 
boomers  at  Albany.  A  gentleman  who  has  known 
the  ex-governor  for  twenty-five  years,  and  who  was 
present  when  the  rabble  called  upon  him,  says  that 
Mr.  Hill  has  broken  his  anti-swearing  record ;  that 
when  he  was  accosted  by  the  hungry  mob  he  caused 
the  air  to  become  blue  with  copper-lined  oaths,  his 
wrath  being  generally  turned  upon  the  managers  of 
the  excursion.  A  large  crowd  was  at  the  station  to 
“view  the  remains”  of  wrecked  humanity  as  the  ex¬ 
cursion  train  rushed  into  the  station  here  at  nine 
o’clock  this  morning.  The  toughs  were  in  a  stupor, 
many  of  them  hatless,  and  there  were  few  whose 


cheap  hats  were  not  smashed  into  the  appearance  of 
Chinese  lanterns.  Several  fights  had  taken  place, 
and  cuts  and  bruises  adorned  the  faces  of  some  of  the 
men.  At  the  station  a  lively  scrimmage  took  place, 
and  several  of  the  mob  were  locked  up.  The  banners 
looked  as  if  they  had  been  through  a  cyclone, 
and  as  a  whole  a  more  woebegone  aggregation  of 
mortals  never  stepped  off  a  train  in  this  city.  An  in¬ 
spection  of  the  empty  cars  revealed  a  disgusting  state 
of  things.  The  floors  and  seats  were  completely  lit¬ 
tered,  and  empty  bottles  were  everywhere  to  be  seen. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  senator  is  sorry 
that  he  chartered  and  paid  for  the  train  that  carried 
his  political  puppets  to  the  state  capital. — Elmira 
Dispatch  to  New  York  T imes,  Feb.  24. 


FACTS  DISCERNIBLE  AFAR  OFF 
WITH  THE  NAKED  EYE. 

“  We  make  no  excuses,  offer  no  apolo¬ 
gies,  ask  no  suspension  of  jiulgment.  We 
say,  investigate,  scrutinize,  take  our  word 
for  nothing but  atar  otF,  or  near  at  hand, 
with  glass  or  naked  eye,  examine  what  lias 
been  done  in  great  things  and  little  things, 
and  on  such  examination  pass  judgment. 
■»  *  *  — Attorney  General  Miller,  at  Phila¬ 

delphia,  Febrtiary  12,  1892. 

Senator  Quay  is  as  frank  and  open  in  his 
methods  as  Senator  Hill.  He  says  of  the 
'Pennsylvania  delegation,  which  he  is  now 
“packing”  for  personal  use  in  the  National 
Republican  convention,  that  it  will  not  be 
committed  to  any  candidate,  but  will  go  to 
Minneapolis  as  a  “Quay  delegation, and  thativhen 
he  gels  on  the  ground  with  it  he  will  look  the  field 
over,  and  see  what  to  do  with  his  men. — Neiv  York 
Evening  Post,  February  15. 

■5}:*  sif 

It  affords  the  Ledger  as  much  satisfaction  to 
announce  this  morning  the  withdrawal  of  Mr. 
John  Field’s  resignation  of  the  office  of  post¬ 
master  of  Philadelphia  asitwill  givegratifica- 
tion  to  his  fellow-citizens,  especdally  to  those 
of  the  active  business  community,  to  be  au¬ 
thoritatively  informed  of  its  withdrawal.  A 
few  months  ago  it  became  an  open  secret  that 
the  practical  politicians,  who  had  strenuously 
opposed  Mr.  h'ield’s  appointment,  were  en¬ 
croaching  upon  his  official  authority,  and  in¬ 
terfering  with  his  sagacious  and  efficient  man¬ 
agement.  The  pressure  of  this  political  force 
became  greater  and  greater  upon  the  post¬ 
master,  until,  at  last,  he  was  obliged  to  recog¬ 
nize  that  he  was  no  longer  untrammelled,  no 
longer  able  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  post- 
office  in  accordance  with  the  same  just  and  in¬ 
telligent  principles  as  those  upon  which  his 
business  as  a  merchant  was  conducted.  Recog¬ 
nizing  then  that,  in  respect  of  his  own  good 
fame,  he  could  not  continue  to  occupy  a  posi¬ 
tion  of  public  trust  in  which  his  capacity  for 
usefulness  to  the  community  of  business  was 
already  impaired  and  likely  to  be  destroyed, 
and  his  own  good  faith  likely  to  be  impugned, 
Mr.  Field  tendered  his  resignation  of  it.  Sub¬ 
sequently,  on  Saturday  evening,  Mr.  Field 
was  induced  to  withdraw  his  resignation.  It 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  assure  those  who  know 
him  that  he  has  consented  to  remain  post¬ 
master  only  upon  condition  that  he  shall  be 
in  fact  and  deed  the  postmaster,  with  absolute 
authority  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  office 
in  harmony  with  his  sense  of  duty  to  the  pub¬ 
lic,  and  with  his  long  and  honorable  record  of 
devotion  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
regardless  of  the  selfish  interests  of  the  practi¬ 
cal  politicians. — Philadelphia  Ledger, Fehruai-y  1. 
»!« 

The  republicans  of  Pennsylvania  are  choosing 
delegates  to  a  state  convention  w’hich  is  to  nomi¬ 
nate  a  candidate  for  justice  of  the  .supreme  court. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


311 


Among  ilie  delegates  already  elected  in  Philadelphia  are 
three  appraisers  who  were  indicted  for  their  complicity  in 
the  Bardsley frauds.  Two  magistrates  in  the  same  city 
hare  also  been  nominated  for  re-election  by  the  republi¬ 
cans  who  admitted  before  the  council' s  committee  that  they 
permitted  Bardsley  to  retain  portions  of  the  costs  and 
fees  when  a  settlement  was  made  with  him  for  the  delin¬ 
quent  mercantile  taxes  of  1890,  the  reason  for  their 
payment  of  tribute  being  the  outrageous  costs  which 
thy  had  themselves  piled  up,  one  of  them  having 
charged  $8.76  for  each  dollar  taken  in,  and  the  other 
extorting  $36  for  the  collection  of  $1.— iVew  York  Even 
ing  Post,  Jan.  21. 

♦  *  jIt 

John  Collins,  leader  of  the  fourth  assembly 
district,  started  the  discussion.  He  said  that 
something  should  be  done  at  once  to  get  the 
republican  workers  something  to  do.  He 
raised  the  old  cry  and  declared  that  it  was  an 
outrage  that  so  many  democrats  were  retained 
in  the  federal  offices.  He  said  that  he  had 
gone  to  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Tracy,  to  get 
him  to  put  some  democrats  out  of  the  navy 
yard  and  that 'while  the  secretary  didn’t  ab¬ 
solutely  refuse  to  do  so,  he  left  it  to  be  inferred 
that  he  would  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 

Mr.  Collins  complained  bitterly  that  demo¬ 
crats  were  employed  in  the  post-office,  in  the 
public  stores,  and  in  the  custom  house  as  well 
as  in  the  navy  yard.  He  believed  that  the  ne¬ 
cessities  of  the  republican  party  made  it  im¬ 
perative  that  a  change  should  be  made  and 
that  at  once.  He  also  complained  that  those 
who  were  most  successful  in  getting  places  for 
republicans  were  men  who  did  not  mingle  with 
the  men  who  got  the  votes  and  who  did  all  the 
hard  work  for  the  republican  party.  Every 
man  who  got  a  job  had  some  big  republican 
back  of  him.  “  This  social  line  must  be 
broken  down,”  exclaimed  Mr.  Collins  dramati¬ 
cally,  thereby  giving  warning  to  the  “silk 
stockings”  that  the  “short  hairs”  were  get¬ 
ting  mad. 

Several  other  members  of  the  executive  com¬ 
mittee  also  spoke  in  the  same  vein.  The  dis¬ 
cussion  was  very  animated  at  times.  One 
speaker  said  that  Bernard  Biglin  employed 
sixty  men  and  that  none  of  them  belonged  to 
the  republican  organization.  He  thought 
that  all  republicans  should  do  what  they  could 
to  secure  employment  for  republican  workers 
in  or  out  of  the  federal  service.  It  was  charged 
that  not  only  were  democrats  employed  in  the 
federal  offices,  but  they  were  also  employed  by 
republican  commissions  and  officers. 

George  W.  Wanmaker,  therepublican  lead¬ 
er  of  the  seventeenth  assembly  district,  advised 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  five  to  go 
to  Washington  and  call  on  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  Foster  with  a  view  to  ascertaining 
what  could  be  done  toward  getting  the  demo¬ 
crats  out.  Another  leader  said:  “This  com¬ 
mittee  should  call  on  everybody  and  get  every 
democrat  out.”  Mr.  Wanmaker  insisted  that 
the  republican  workers  should  be  provided  for. 
He  said  ;  “  Unless  this  is  done  we  shall  go  un¬ 
der  in  1892.” 

John  H.  Gunner,  leader  of  the  republicans 
in  the  twenty-second  district,  also  argued  on 
this  line.  He  said  that  he  had  succeeded  in 
getting  a  sweeper  appointed  in  the  post-office, 
and  that  when  he  made  an  effort  to  get  this 


sweeper  promoted,  instead  of  being  promoted 
the  sweeper  was  discharged.  Then,  to  appease 
Mr.  Gunner,  Postmaster  Van  Cott  appointed  a 
woman  scrubber.  The  postmaster  was  in¬ 
formed  by  Mr.  Gunner  that  he  had  no  woman 
in  his  district  that  could  vote,  — Meeting  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Republican  County 
Committee,  New  York  Times,  November  19. 

*  <c  ft 

The  republicans  of  Brooklyn  will  have  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  Quarantine  Commissioner 
John  A.  Nichols  and  Port  Warden  William  H. 
Leaycraft  put  out  of  office.  The  former  was 
agpointed  ten  years  ago  by  Gov.  Cornell,  and 
he  has  been  holding  over  ever  since  by  grace 
of  Thomas  C.  Platt  and  the  latter’s  senators. 
Although  the  salary  is  not  a  large  one,  Nichols 
has  managed  to  become  a  well-to-do  man  since 
he  came  from  Baltimore  fifteen  years  ago,  and 
rumor  has  it  that  he  made  his  money  in  the 
rag-disinfecting  ring,  in  which  E,  B,  Bartlett 
and  he  were  interested.  It  was  these  men  who 
took  Ernst  Nathan  under  their  united  wings, 
and  put  him  forward  as  a  local  boss.  The  re¬ 
sult  has  been  apparent,  and  there  are  very  few 
republicans  who  will  shed  tears  over  Nichols’s 
decapitation,  Leaycraft  was  also  appointed 
by  Governor  Cornell  in  1882,  and  he  has  been 
holding  over  through  Platt’s  friendship.  His 
office  is  run  on  the  fee  system,  and  Leaycraft 
claims  to  have  netted  between  $3,000  and  $4,- 
000  a  year  out  of  it.  His  work  has  never  been 
exacting,  and  rarely  requires  his  personal  at¬ 
tention.  His  time  in  winter  is  spent  in  Albany 
as  a  “cavalrymin,”  and  is  said  to  be  very  pop¬ 
ular  with  the  legislators,  and  to  have  exercised 
considerable  “persuasive”  powers.  It  is 
hinted  that  he  and  Israel  P.  Fischer,  republi¬ 
can  state  committeeman,  are  going  to  organize 
a  firm  to  deal  in  legislative  privileges.  They 
have  both  made  arrangements  to  be  in  Albany 
all  winter. — New  York  Times,  January 
<«  << 

Port  Warden  William  H.  Leaycraft  has  be¬ 
gun  to  realize  that  he  must  soon  walk  the 
plank  and  make  room  for  some  good  demo¬ 
crat,  so  he  is  spending  all  his  time  in  Wash¬ 
ington  trying  to  hunt  up  a  profitable  job  in 
the  treasury  department.  Reports  received 
by  his  friends  indicate  that  he  will  succeed. 
Leaycraft  is  very  much  like  Major  “Billy” 
Barker,  not  only  in  personal  appearance,  but 
in  his  ability  to  get  a  job  at  almost  any  time. 
He  is  the  boss  of  a  very  small  section  of 
Brooklyn,  the  thirteenth  ward,  and  is  always 
on  the  side  of  the  candidate  who  has  most 
clearly  followed  lago’s  advice  to  “put  money 
in  thy  purse,”  and  he  has  done  as  much  as  any 
other  man  except  Ernst  Nathan  to  give  the 
democratic  ring  20,000  majority  in  Kings 
county.  Yet  he  can  always  get  a  job. — New 
York  Times,  Februai-y  7. 

ijt  * 

An  effort  is  being  made  by  some  senators 
who  want  certain  appointments  to  the  circuit 
and  district  courts  to  delay  confirming  the  ju¬ 
dicial  nominations  pending  till  the  President 
has  not  only  filled  the  circuit  court  vacancies 
existing,  but  also  the  vacancies  which  may  be 
created  by  appointments  to  circuits.  The  pur¬ 
pose  of  such  a  movement  is  plain.  It  is  to 
force  the  President  to  yield  to  the  demands  of 
senators  in  making  appointments,  or  suffer  the 
penalty  of  an  alliance  with  democrats  for  the 


purpose  of  defeating  pending  nominations. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
January  12, 

ft  ft  ft 

Patronage,  spelled  with  capital  letters,  has  been 
an  engrossing  topic  in  Washington  to-day.  How 
could  itbe  otherwise,  with  ten  stalwart  patronage- 
hunters  from  New  York  city  in  town?  Mr.  Jacob 
M.  Patterson  mustered  his  braves  quite  early  this 
morning.  The  number  had  been  increased  by  sev¬ 
eral  New  Yorkers  who  did  not  get  here  with  the 
main  body  last  night,  and  comprised  representa¬ 
tives  of  ten  out  of  the  twenty  four  assembly  districts 
in  New  York  city.  This  is  the  way  the  delegation 
lined  up  at  the  Arlington'  Hotel  previous  to  the 
opening  of  hostilities :  .  - 

J.  M.  Patterson,  tenth  district. 

M.  J.  Healy,  first  district. 

Charles  F.  Murray,  third  district. 

John  Simpson,  sixth  district. 

John  R.  Nugent,  fourteenth  district. 

R.  A.  Greacen,  fifteenth  district. 

George  W.  Wanmaker  (not  Wanamaker),  seven¬ 
teenth  di.strict. 

Bernard  Biglin,  eighteenth  district. 

Michael  Goode,  twentieth  district. 

All  these  men  had  come  to  Washington  to  further 
a  preconcerted  plan  to  a.sk  the  administration  for 
more  patronage  for  republicans  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  About  11  o’clock  the  procession  started  for 
the  White  House.  The  President  had  been  warned 
of  the  coming  invasion  and  was  fully  prepared  to 
receive  the  place-seekers.  They  were  ushered  into 
his  presence  without  delay,  and  in  about  fifteen 
minutes  he  was  made  fully  actiuainted  with  the 
object  of  their  call.  Mr.  Patterson  acted  as  spokes¬ 
man  and  introduced  the  gentlemen  to  the  President. 
Mr.  Harrison  was  already  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Biglin  and  one  or  two  others  of  the  party.  They 
had  been  to  see  him  before  on  similar  errands.  The 
position  of  the  New  York  republicans  was  fully  set 
forth  by  Patterson  and  Biglin.  The  party,  they  said, 
was  on  the  eve  of  a  great  struggle.  They  believed 
that  victory  could  be  won  in  the  state  of  New  York 
if  the  republicans  adopted  the  right  tactics.  The 
democrats  were  torn  by  dissensions,  and  the  recent 
acts  of  David  B.  Hill  had  done  much  to  make  repub¬ 
lican  success  possible.  In  the  city  it  was  hard  to 
contend  against  Tammany  and  its  enormous  re¬ 
sources  in  the  shape  of  party  patronage.  Patronage 
was  necessary  to  party  organization,  and  party 
organization  was  necessary  if  victory  was  to 
be  had  at  the  polls.  There  were  in  the  employment 
of  the  government  in  New  York  city  many  demo¬ 
crats  who  were  appointed  by  the  last  admintstra- 
tion.  Their  places  ought  to  be  filled  by  republicans. 
The  sight  of  democrats  holding  office  under  a  repub¬ 
lican  administration  was  repugnant  to  old-time  re¬ 
publicans,  who  believed  that  victory  should  carry 
with  it  all  the  spoils  consistent  with  good  govern¬ 
ment.  While  the  delegation  believed  in  the  civil 
service  law  (everybody  looked  solemn  at  this 
juncture),  there  were  many  places  which  this  law 
did  not  cover,  and  these  were  the  ones  the  republi¬ 
cans  coveted. 

The  interview  came  to  an  end  at  last,  and  the 
delegation  marched  from  the  White  House  to  the 
treasury  department.  Secretary  Foster  had  been  ap¬ 
prised  of  its  coming  and  was  “in.”  For  fifteen  min¬ 
utes  he  listened  to  the  tale  of  woe.  However  much 
he  may  have  sympathized  with  the  object  of  the 
visit,  he  was  exceedingly  circumspect,  and  no  man 
in  the  party  could  say  afterward  that  he  had  prom¬ 
ised  to  do  anything  definite.  “He  talked  about  the 
outlook  for  the  party,  and  even  discussed  the  sub- 
jecs  of  turning  the  democrats  out,  but  he  didn’t  say 
positively  that  anything  would  be  done,”  said  the 
republican  quoted  above.  "He  promised  to  talk 
the  matter  over  with  the  President,  and  we  had  to 
be  content  with  this.”  The  delegation  went  back  to 
the  Arlington,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day 
there  comparing  notes.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  of  the 
civil  service  commission,  is  the  man  whose  scalp 
they  deem  necessary  to  the  furtherance  of  their 
plan.  Nothing  about  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  .said  to  the 
President  or  to  Secretary  Foster,  but  some  very 
broad  hints  were  let  fall.  On  this  subject  one  of  the 
delegation,  who  has  exercised  a  controlling  voice  in 
its  movements,  said  to-night: 


312 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


“Mr.  Roosevelt  aloue  stands  in  the  way  of  repub¬ 
lican  occupancy  of  the  offices  we  have  come  to 
Washington  to  see  about.  The  civil  service  commission- 
ers,  it  is  well  known,  have  the  power  to  make  many  rules 
which  can  be  used  to  the  detriment  oj  the  parly  in  power 
if  they  so  elect.  Ur.  Harrison  could  meet  all  our  de¬ 
mands  and  strengthen  himself  ivith  the  party  if  he  would 
remove  Roosevelt  and  put  in  a  man  who  would  be  willing 
to  change  the  rules  to  suit  the  occasion.  These  are  plain 
words,  but  they  express  our  feelings  exactly.  Mr. 
Harrison  needs  only  to  look  between  the  lines  of 
our  argument  to-day  to  recognize  our  position  as  re¬ 
gards  the  civil  service  commission.  If  he  docs  this, 
and  acts  as  we  would  like  to  have  him  do,  he  will  be 
more  favorably  regarded  by  the  members  of  the 
party  at  large.” 

The  republican  who  made  this  utterance  was  cer¬ 
tainly  in  earnest,  and  there  can  be  no  question  that 
he  stands  high  in  the  ranks  of  the  New  York  City 
members  of  the  party.  Perhaps  the  President  did 
not  “  look  between  the  lines.”  If  not,  this  will  be 
sufficient  notice  to  him  to  do  so. 

The  offices  which  the  delegation  is  after  are 
greater  in  number  than  the  general  public  imagines. 
To  begin  with,  Mr.  Patterson  wants  to  be  one  of  the 
commissioners  provided  for  in  the  law  controling  the 
construction  of  the  new  custom  house  in  New  Y’ork. 
There  are  five  of  these  commissioners  to  be  appoint¬ 
ed  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  they  are  to 
superintend  the  construction  of  the  proposed  new 
building.  They  are  to  be  known  as  United  States 
building  commissioners  and  are  to  receive  “a  fair 
and  reasonable  compensation,”  to  be  fixed  by  the 
secretary.  Ex-governor  McCormick  of  Arizona,  now 
of  Long  Island,  is  another  candidate  for  one  of  these 
commissionerships.  There  are  many  chief  clerkships 
at  $‘J,500  a  year,  which  the  republicans  regard  with 
covetous  eyes.  These  are  now  tilled  by  democrats 
who  are  protected  by  the  civil  service  law.  It  is 
claimed  that  they  were  placed  on  the  classified  list 
of  the  service  some  time  before  Mr.  Cleveland  retired 
from  the  presidency.  Other  places  which  are  de¬ 
manded  are  those  of  the  paymaster,  the  superin¬ 
tendent  of  weighers,  superintendent  of  laborers  in 
the  public  stores,  and  superintendent  of  warehouses. 
Then  there  are  any  number  of  deputy  collectorships 
which  the  democrats  now  hold,  carrying  salaries 
which  would  handsomely  support  republican  fami 
lies.  Many  of  the  “hold-overs,”  it  is  said  by  the 
delegation  to-night,  are  not  protected  by  the  civil 
service  rules  and  might  just  as  well  be  put  out  to 
make  room  for  republicans  and  thus  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  administration.  The  leaders  of  the 
delegation  professed  to  feel  confident  after  their 
visits  to  the  President  and  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
that  their  mission  would  prove  successful.  Barney 
Biglin  said  he  believed  that  the  administration  was 
disposed  to  do  “what  was  right,”  and  he  believed 
that  in  good  time  the  rank  and  file  would  have  no 
cause  to  complain  of  its  action  in  regard  to  the 
offices  at  its  disposal.  He  expresed  the  opinion  that 
the  republicans  would  win  in  New  York  state  and 
the  nation  next  fall.  “You  may  say  forme  that  I 
believe  that  Mr.  Harrison  will  be  the  republican 
nominee,  and  that  he  will  be  elected.”— lPas/ii«yton 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  February  5. 

ifi  };«  >;t 

Kx-United  States  Marshall  Louis  F.  Payn  left  here 
for  New  York  this  afternoon  sore  in  spirit.  He  had 
come  to  Washington  full  of  hope  that  he  might  carry 
away  with  him  the  fat  contract  he  has  been  seeking 
for  several  months  for  his  brother-in-law,  Edward  S. 
Mellen,  for  labor  at  the  public  stores  in  New  York 
City,  He  had  the  indorsement  of  Thomas  C.  Platt,  and 
Senator  Hiscock  had  promised  to  aid  him.  Mr.  Payn 
was  duly  introduced  to  Secretary  Foster,  and  his 
plea  and  that  of  the  big  man  from  Syracuse  were  re¬ 
ceived.  Then  Mr.  Foster  refused  to  give  him  the 
contract.  The  refusal  was  so  plainly  the  result  of 
long  consideration  that  Mr.  Payn  did  not  tarry  in  the 
presence  of  the  Secretary.  *  *  * 

All  the  New  York  republican  patronage  seekers, 
with  the  exception  of  Jacob  M.  Patterson  and  Ber¬ 
nard  Biglin,  left  Washington  for  home  this  after¬ 
noon.  These  two  gentlemen  remain  to  see  if  they 
can  not  carry  back  with  them  the  promise  of  Secre¬ 


tary  Foster  to  make  Patterson  one  of  the  five  com¬ 
missioners  to  supervise  the  erection  of  the  new  cus¬ 
tom  house  and  the  appraisers’  stores.  They  called 
upon  Mr.  Foster  again  this  afternoon  and  pressed 
the  claim  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  If  they  get 
away  with  their  personal  baggage  they  will  do  well. 
Tlie  district  leaders  expressed  themselves  as  not  any 
too  well  satisfied  with  the  outlook  for  more  patron¬ 
age  when  they  departed.— Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  Feb.  6. 

I  <lo  lift  up  a  liearty  prayer  that  wo  iiuiy 
iievor  liavo  a  rresideiit  who  will  iiotoitlier 
pursue  aiul  coiupel  his  eahiiiet  advisers  to 
pursue  the  civil  service  policy  pure  and 
simple  and  upon  a  just  basis,  allowing:  men 
accusetl  to  bts  heard,  and  tleciding:  ag:ainst 
them  only  upon  competent  proof  and  fairly 
—either  have  that  kind  of  a  civil  service, 
or  for  Uotl’s  sake  let  us  have  that  other 
frank  and  hold,  if  brutal,  methotl  of  turn¬ 
ing  men  and  women  out  simply  for  political 
opinion.  Let  us  have  one  or  the  other. 
They  will  not  mingle.  »  *  »  — SeneUen' 
Benjamin  Harrison,  1886. 

There  is  much  excitement  in  political 
circles  here.  Some  days  ago,  Signal  Officer  B. 
II.  Bronson,  who  has  been  stationed  at  Char¬ 
lotte  for  a  number  of  years,  and  has  always 
been  non-partisan,  received  a  letter  from  the 
war  department  charging  him  with  being  a 
partisan,  and  with  affiliating  with  democrats. 
Bronson  wrote  the  department,  demanding  its  in¬ 
formant.  To-day  he  received  a  letter  m  reply,  re¬ 
fusing  to  give  the  author  of  the  charges  and  saying 
that  to  do  so  would  implicate  the  republican  party. — 
Charlotte,  N.  C.,  Dispatch  to  New  Ym'k  Times, 
June  7,  1891. 

Oen.  G.  J.  Langdon,  Elmira,  N.  Y.: 

My  Dear  Sir;  Your  favor  of  the  19th 
inst.,  is  just  received.  I  had  already  exam¬ 
ined  with  some  care  the  papers  on  file  in  the 
postmaster  general’s  office  relating  to  the  El¬ 
mira  postmastership,  which  were  forwarded  to 
the  committee  on  post-offices  and  post-roads 
at  the  request  of  tlie  chairman  of  the  com¬ 
mittee. 

The  charges  against  Dr.  Flood,  and  upon 
which  it  is  pretended  his  removal  was  based, 
are  of  the  most  trifling  character,  and  are 
wholly  unsupported  by  any  evidence  in  cor¬ 
roboration  of  them.  If  charges  of  a  similar 
character  were  made  by  any  individual  in 
somp  matter  not  affecting  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  they- would  not  stand  a  mo¬ 
ment’s  scrutiny.  They  deal  only  in  vile  innu¬ 
endo,  and  would  not  bear  the  light  of  the 
most  superficial  investigation.  They  were 
sufficient  for  the  postmaster  general  of  the 
United  States;  they  would  not  be  sufficient  for 
any  fair  man. 

The  inspectors,  and  there  were  two  of  them, 
commenced  their  work  as  early  as  May  last, 
although  Dr.  Flood’s  final  removal  was  not 
requested  until  December  9th.  The  result  of 
their  efforts  was  as  follows  : 

They  discovered  an  apparent  shortage  of 
S39,  which  upon  explanation  is  shown  to  be 
no  shortage  at  all. 

The  statement  by  two  letter  carriers  that 
when  some  question  was  coming  up  as  to  vot¬ 
ing  a  twenty  thousand-dollar  loan,  and  upon 
one  other  occasion.  Dr.  Flood  asked  the  car¬ 
riers  to  canvass  their  routes. 

That  he  belongs  to  a  corrupt  political 
ring. 

The  statement  by  another  physician  that 
on  one  occasion — date  not  given — the  doctor 
was  about  to  amputate  a  limb  without  first 
applying  torniquet,  thereby  endangering  the 


patient’s  life,  and  that  his  assistant  inter¬ 
fered  to  prevent  it. 

That  the  doctor  belonged  to  a  social  club, 
where  there  was  some  drinking,  and  that  it 
was  “suspected”  he  was  gambling. 

The  course  pursued  in  the  removal  of  Dr. 
Flood  is  in  exact  accordance  with  the  methods 
of  the  post-office  department,  as  they  have 
been  elsewhere  exemplified.  Every  good 
citizen  familiar  with  the  management  of  the 
office  deplores  them,  but  they  are  chargeable 
to  the  official  who  sanctions  them,  and  not  to 
the  political  party  to  which  the  official  be¬ 
longs.  The  republican  party  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  the  conduct  of  its  postmaster 
general;  if  it  was,  it  would  be  in  a  bad  way 
indeed. 

I  understand  the  removal  of  Dr.  Flood  is 
an  incident  to  a  factional  fight  in  the  county 
in  which  Elmira  is  situated.  If  the  true  rea¬ 
son  had  been  given  for  Dr.  Flood’s  removal 
there  might  be  justification  for  it,  inasmuch 
as  the  office  is  not,  as  it  should  be,  under  civil 
service  regulations.  There  are  no  charges 
against  the  character  of  Mr.  Rathbun,  who  is 
named  as  Dr.  Flood’s  successor,  and  it  may 
he  our  duty  in  such  case  not  to  inquire 
further  than  as  to  the  fitness  of  the  new  ap¬ 
pointee.  Without,  therefore,  touching  the 
question  of  Mr.  Rathbun’s  confirmation,  I 
cordially  join  with  you  in  your  expression  of 
disgust  at  the  unworthy  methods  employed  to 
effect  Dr.  Flood’s  removal.  With  regards, 
yours  very  truly.  Edavard  O.  Wolcott. 

Washington,  January  21. 


THE  BALTIMORE  INVESTIGATION. 

(continued.) 

John  A.  Bell  testified  as  follows: 

Q.  (Mr.  Roosevelt.)  What  is  your  position 
in  the  office?  A.  I  am  dispatcher  here. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  service? 
A.  I  came  in  the  office,  I  think,  this  month  a 
year  ago. 

Q.  What  ward  do  you  live  in?  A.  I  live 
in  the  seventh  ward. 

Q.  Are  you  a  member  of  the  republican 
club  in  that  ward?  A.  Yes,  sir;  I  am  a 
member  of  the  seventh  ward  club. 

»  -Sr  S-  »  » 

Q.  Mr.  Bell,  do  you  know  of  any  collection 
of  money  for  use  in  the  primaries  on  next 
Monday  ?  A.  Well,  I  don’t  know  particularly 
about  what  the  money  is  to  be  used  for.  I 
know  that  Mr.  Gladfelter  handed  me  some 
money  to  hand  to  the  treasurer  of  the  organ¬ 
ization  the  other  day. 

Q.  He  gave  you  five  dollars,  wasn’t  it?  A. 
Yes,  sir;  he  handed  me  a  five-dollar  note. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  when  that  was?  A. 
Well,  I  couldn’t  say  positively  the  night,  but 
it  was  one  night  this  present  week ;  two  or 
three  nights  ago. 

Q.  Was  it  down-stairs  in  the  basement?  A. 
Well,  I  couldn’t  positively  tell  you  where  it 
was  he  handed  it  to  me.  I  am  generally  very 
busy,  you  know. 

Q.  But  it  was  in  this  building  somewhere? 
A.  It  was  around  the  building  somewhere ; 
yes,  sir. 

***** 

Q.  You  have  not,  then,  contributed?  A. 
I  haven’t  given  him  a  cent. 

Q.  Have  you  contributed  through  anyone? 
A.  No,  sir;  not  a  cent. 


The  Civil  Service  chronicle. 

VoL.  I,  No.  37.  INDIANAPOLIS,  MARCH,  1892.  terms  ?’crnr,^rc‘opT' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  2.3  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

With  this  number  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  enters  upon  its  fourth  year,  the 
first  number  having  been  published  in  the 
first  month  of  Harrison’s  administration. 
The  volume  will  cover  the  four  years  of 
that  administration,  that  being  deemed  the 
most  fitting  arrangement  considering  the 
purposes  of  the  paper.  That  period  will 
cover  the  time  it  was  originally  intended 
to  continue  the  publication.  It  may  be 
said  that  the  Chronicle  has  met  with  an 
appreciation  from  leading  men  in  all  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country  which  is  an  ample  re¬ 
ward  for  the  steady  and  extended  labor 
which  has  been  freely  given  for  three 
years. 

We  have  received  from  a  professor  of 
Cornell  University  a  note,  not  for  publica¬ 
tion,  protesting  that  our  criticism  of  Pro¬ 
fessor  Collin  last  month  for  his  advocacy 
of  Hill  and  Hillism  shows  a  lack  of  appre¬ 
ciation  of  the  fact  that  Cornell  professors 
hold  their  positions,  and  would  only  hold 
them,  with  the  understanding  that  they 
are  to  have  the  utmost  latitude  of  expres¬ 
sion  of  opinion.  We  so  understood  it  and 
should  regard  any  other  holding  as  a  sacri¬ 
fice  of  manliness.  The  right  to  the  freest 
expression  of  opinion  however  is  well  de¬ 
fined  and  limited.  It  does  not,  for  in¬ 
stance,  embrace  the  right  of  advocating 
the  establishment  of  more  gambling  houses 
in  Ithaca.  There  is  nowhere  any  pretense 
of  denying  that  securing  a  democratic  ma¬ 
jority  in  the  New  York  senate  was  Hill’s 
work ;  it  is  this  of  which  his  friends  are 
the  proudest.  A  few  years  ago  we  had  a 
returning  board  in  session  at  Indianapolis. 
Under  the  lead  of  Simeon  Coy,  a  local  poli¬ 
tician,  a  conspiracy  was  formed  and  car¬ 
ried  out  to  the  extent  that  the  figures  of  a 
number  of  the  returns  were  erased  and 
other  figures  substituted  with  a  view  to 
giving  candidates  of  Coy’s  party  a  majority 
which  the  people  had  not  given  them 
For  their  part  in  this  conspiracy  Coy  and 
the  chairman  of  the  board  were  sent  to 
prison.  Now,  we  challenged  last  month 
and  we  challenge  again  any  one  to  show 
that  the  Hill  conspiracy  by  which  his 
party  got  control  of  the  New  York  senate 
differs  in  any  essential  criminal  element 
from  Coy’s  conspiracy.  Are  we  to  under¬ 


stand  that  a  professor  of  Indiana  Univer¬ 
sity  would  be  wiihin  the  limits  of  the  ut¬ 
most  latitude  of  expression  of  opinion 
w'ere  he  to  become  a  public  champion  of 
Coy  ?  Clearly  not,  and  neither  is  Professor 
Collin  within  such  limit. 


Since  the  foregoing  was  written  we  have 
received  the  following  extract  from  the 
Cornell  Daily  Sun  of  February  17,  quoting 
from  an  address  of  Professor  Collin  before 
the  History  and  Political  Science  Associa¬ 
tion  on  the  “Machine  in  Politics”: 

“  It  is  the  duty  of  every  true  citizen  who  has  any 
spark  of  patriotism  about  him  to  assist  the  machine 
in  one  way  or  another.  No  one  should  feel  himself 
above  the  work  of  political  fighting.  The  man  who 
sells  his  vote  for  money  is  more  to  be  respected  than  the 
man  who  stays  away  from  the  polls  and  does  not  vote." 

We  commend  the  last  statement  to  the 
notice  of  our  readdVs  with  the  remark  that 
it  seems  powerful  cumulative  evidence  of 
fundamental  unbalance.  We  repeat  again, 
that  parents  will  not  desire  their  boys  to 
be  in  the  path  of  such  notions  of  citizen¬ 
ship.  The  political  ethics  of  the  Hills  and 
Quays  will  not  long  be  tolerated  in  the 
teaching  of  any  university. 


The  Indianapolis  Journal  divides  its 
time  between  a  silly  adulation  of  President 
Harrison  and  declarations  that  indepen¬ 
dence  in  politics  is  disappearing.  In  the 
meantime  with  ceaseless  industry  it  works 
its  notary  seal  in  London  to  the  tune  of 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  This 
is  the  unseen  but  perfectly  Well-known 
rudder  that  guides  its  course  and  makes  it 
an  object  of  goodnatured  pity.  President 
Harrison  is  not  helped  by  its  adulation, 
and  independence  in  politics  was  never  j 
so  great  and  growing  as  it  is  to-day,  and  it 
is  nowhere  more  flourishing  than  in  the 
Journal's  own  city.  Parties  at  present  are 
small  minorities  composing  the  party  ma¬ 
chines  in  each  community.  These  ma¬ 
chines  have  no  object  in  the  world  except 
to  quarter  their  members  upon  the  people. 
Let  each  citizen  look  around  him  and  see 
if  this  is  not  so.  Blind  adherence  to  a 
party  leads  to  the  Quay  grip  upon  Penn¬ 
sylvania  and  the  Tammany  grip  upon  New 
York.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to 
look  with  cold-blooded  indifference  upon 
mere  party  success,  and  this  duty  is  now 
being  performed  as  it  never  was  before. 
Party  machines  can  and  do  control  nomi¬ 
nations,  but  the  voters  have  absolute  con¬ 
trol  of  the  elections. 


The  late  Oscar  C.  McCulloch  was  an  ex¬ 
ample  to  the  clergy.  He  saw  that  blind 
adhesion  to  a  party  was  the  way  not  to  se¬ 
cure  good  government.  He  recognized 
that  to  keep  civil  government  advancing, 
great  reforms  are  always  necessary.  He 
knew  the  stupendous  corruption  of  the 
spoils  system  and  he  was  its  uncompro¬ 
mising  enemy.  In  every  election  he  made 
his  vote  count  with  complete  indifference 
to  mere  party  success.  He  was  a  leader  of 
the  people.  How  this  course  does  contrast 
with  the  course  of  a  large  number  of  his 
brother  ministers  who  occupy  comfortable 
pulpits  and  consider  their  duty  done  when 
they  have  preached  their  creed.  They  are 
but  dilettante  citizens  and  always  break 
down  in  a  crisis.  They  then  take  their 
cue  from  the  politicians  of  their  party  and 
labor  heavily  to  make  the  worse  appear 
the  better  matter. 

One  of  the  curious  phases  of  politics  is 
the  attitude  of  the  democrats  towards  Hill 
It  is  true  that  one  of  them  shows  a  com¬ 
plete  grasp  of  his  character  by  the  remark 
that  Hill  can  not  break  into  the  White 
House  with  a  jimmy,  and  there  are  doubt¬ 
less  others  of  equal  moral  courage,  but 
they  are  exceptions.  All  the  corrupt  ele¬ 
ments  of  the  democratic  party  are  for  Hill. 
A  large  majority  of  the  rest  are  against 
him,  and  this  majority  is  now  struggling 
apparently  helpless  in  the  hands  of  the 
Hill  machine.  Its  protest  in  New  York 
may  be  taken  as  a  fair  example.  Natu¬ 
rally  we  should  expect  to  see  the  acts  by 
which  a  bogus  majority  was  secured  in 
the  New  York  senate,  brought  by  these 
protestants  with  minute  detail  to  the  notice 
of  every  democrat  in  the  state,  with  indig¬ 
nant  insistence,  that  the  party  should 
make  an  outcast  of  the  man  who,  if  the 
boasts  of  his  friends  are  true,  is  fit  for  the 
penitentiary.  A  statement  of  the  facts  of 
Hill’s  “splendid  services  to  his  party”  ends 
the  argument,  and  those  democrats  who 
should  make  it  would  command  the  re¬ 
spect  of  the  country.  Instead  they  are 
making  a  great  noise  because  Hill  had  a 
state  convention  held  in  February.  There 
is  no  indication  that  their  conscience  is 
roused  because  a  state  government  has 
been  stolen  or  that  they  do  not  mean  to 
vote  for  Hill  if  his  machine  rides  them 
down.  Frederick  R.  Coudert  and  Everett 
P.  Wheeler,  and  their  associates,  have  the 
appearance  of  being  indifferent  to  acta 
that  are  subversive  of  free  government. 


314 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


As  the  readers  of  the  Chronicle  know 
there  are  yet  left  in  Pennsylvania  some  men 
not  deadened  to  the  duties  of  citizenship, 
who,  sacrificing  personal  ease,  financial 
profit  and  other  worldly  perquisites,  are 
struggling  to  free  themselves  and  other 
fellow-citizens  from  Quay’s  dictatorship. 

-  There  are  signs  that  they  are  making 
headway,  for  there  has  lately  appeared  an 
occasional  press  report  with  the  startling 
charge  purporting  to  be  written  by  Clark¬ 
son,  but  said  to  be  written  by  Quay’s  late 
private  secretary,  now  in  Clarkson’s  em¬ 
ploy,  that  all  these  charges  against  Quay 
emanate  from  a  conspiracy  of  Tammany 
to  ruin  him.  A  few  days  later  the  story 
becomes  more  lurid  with  the  further  de¬ 
tail  that  Tammany  threatened  to  kill 
Quay.  This  is  pretty  slippery  ground  on 
which  to  hope  to  stem  the  rising  tide 
against  Quay ;  yet  it  will  avail  somewhat. 
His  henchmen  will  with  forced  soberness 
applaud  him  as  a  hero,  and  a  class  of  very 
ignorant,  or  very  bigoted  republicans,  will 
grasp  this  as  an  excuse  for  casting  another 
ignorant  and  bigoted  vote.  Quay  as  a  mar¬ 
tyr  is  a  grotesque  spectacle. 


It  will  be  remembered  that  Eugene 
Higgins  cut  some  figure  during  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land’s  administration.  Of  late  years  he  has 
lived  the  best  he  could  on  Maryland  spoil, 
but  he  seems  embittered  and  reckless.  He 
says; 

“Civil  service  reform  is  a  fiasco.  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  outrages  that  was  ever  perpetrated  on  a 
too-confiding  public.  Let  me  give  you  an  example : 
When  I  was  a  clerk  in  the  treasury  department  (you 
remember  mine  was  the  first  appointment  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  made),  one  of  the  positions  of  watchman  in 
the  building  became  vacant.  There  were  two  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  position,  one  a  sturdy  young  fellow  of 
twenty-two  and  the  other  a  consumptive  school 
teacher.  The  young  man  was  the  son  of  a  western 
farmer  who  had  been  one  of  the  most  useful  sup¬ 
porters  of  the  democratic  party  in  his  section  of  the 
country.  There  was  a  civil  service  examination, 
and  the  school  teacher  got  the  place  and  its  salary 
of  $1,800,  while  the  young  fellow,  who  needed  the 
money  to  support  his  father  in  his  old  age,  did  not 
get  the  position.  Do  you  think  that  was  right?  Well 
that  occurs  every  day.  I  am  down  on  civil  service 
reform,  and  I  do  not  care  who  knows  it.” 

The  difficulty  with  Higgins’s  story  is 
that  watchmen  in  the  treasury  are  not  and 
never  were  paid  $1,800  a  year,  and  they 
are  not  and  never  were  examined. 


We  ask  the  readers  of  this  paper  to  ex¬ 
amine  the  work  of  Tammany  for  one 
month  ;  note  the  manifold  directions  of  its 
activity,  and  consider  how  monstrous  is  its 
power  for  evil.  New  York  is  most  vitally 
concerned  to  cut  herself  out  from  this 
mesh  of  wickedness,  and  so  also  is  the 
whole  country.  Tammany’s  last  exploit 
was  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Godkin,  of  the  Even¬ 
ing  fbst.  He  has  the  supreme  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  he  has  got  through  Tam- 
man’y  thick  hide  at  last. 


THE  VICTOR  AND  THE  SPOIL. 

(Compiled  from  Indianapolis  papers.) 

The  Indianapolis  fire  department  is  now 
composed  of  ii6  men,  classified  as  follows; 

Chief  and  assistants .  2 

New  firemen  employed  within  the  past  two 

years .  51 

Men  in  the  service  two  years  and  upward...  45 

Out  of  active  service .  1 1 

Tower  men .  3 

Line  men .  3 

Driver  of  coal  wagon .  i 

Total . 1 16 

*  *  * 

President  Morrison,  of  the  health  board,  was 
seen  by  a  Jouvnal  reporter  and  said  : 

“About  Sept.  24  the  Price  Baking  Powder 
Company  wrote  me  asking  for  a  full  analysis 
of  their  baking  powder,  and  offering  to  pay  all 
the  expenses  connected  therewith.  I  an¬ 
swered,  saying  that  if  they  wanted  a  full  pri¬ 
vate  analysis  of  their  powder  they  would  have 
to  make  a  private  contract  with  chemist  Latz, 
if  they  desired  to  make  such  analysis.  I  then 
wrote  Latz  a  note,  inclosing  the  note  of  the 
Price  company  to  me.  In  my  note  to  Latz  I 
stated  that  if  he  entered  into  any  agreement 
with  the  baking  powder  company  I  would  re¬ 
quest  that  he  make  his  fees  reasonable,  as  we 
did  not  wish  to  be  placed  in  the  position  of 
driving  any  concern  into  the  position  of  mak¬ 
ing  an  expensive  analysis  by  a  man  who  was 
acting  for  the  health  board  and  at  the  same 
time  doing  private  work.  This  was  suggested 
by  a  remark  made  to  me  by  Mr.  Harry  Gates 
to  the  effect  that  he  had  been  compelled  to 
pay  a  good  round  sum  in  excess  of  a  fair  charge 
to  Mr.  Latz  for  a  re-examination  of  his  pow¬ 
der,  and  that  such  examination  has  done  him 
no  good  whatever. 

“When  the  result  of  the  various  analyses 
came  in  the  ordinary  qualitative  analysis  of 
various  brands  was  followed  by  a  complete 
quantitative  analysis  of  the  Price  powder,  to¬ 
gether  with  a  puff  of  the  same.  This  latter 
was  neither  desired  nor  tolerated  by  the  board, 
and  all  of  that  part  of  the  report  was  sup¬ 
pressed.  The  board  fully  recognizes  the  right 
of  Dr.  Latz  to  take  private  contracts,  but  is 
fully  determined  that  the  results  of  such  pri¬ 
vate  analyses  shall  not  be  embodied  in  its  pub¬ 
lic  report.” 

Dr.  Martin,  of  the  Indiana  Chemical  Com¬ 
pany,  which  employs  Latz,  through  whom  it 
is  understood  that  the  latter  was  employed  to 
analyze  the  Price  baking  powder,  was  also 
seen.  He  was  very  surly  at  first  and  professed 
to  be  in  entire  ignorance  of  Mr.  Latz’s  busi¬ 
ness,  but  he  finally  softened  a  little,  and  ad¬ 
mitted  that  he  knew  of  the  correspondence, 
though  declining  to  say  anything  about  it  on 
the  plea  that  it  would  not  be  fair  to  the  health 
board,  which  had  suppressed  the  Price  analy¬ 
sis.  All  attempts  to  see  chemist  Latz  proved 
futile. 

»  •  * 

John  Maloney,  an  attendant  at  the  central 


I  hospital  for  the  insane,  visited  Wachstetter 
,  Bros.’  saloon,  154  West  Washington  street,"^ 
j  Thursday  afternoon.  He  had  twelve  dollars, 

]  and  very  soon  began  spending  it  freely  at  the 
j  bar,  repeatedly  paying  for  drinks  for  strangers 
I  in  the  room.  Among  other  things  he  did  was 
to  buy  one  dollar’s  worth  of  beef  steak  at  a 
butcher  shop  and  distribute  it  among  several 
loafers  in  the  saloon.  His  money  was  soon 
exhausted,  and  later  in  the  evening  he  caused 
the  arrest  of  the  Wachstetters,  charging  them 
with  robbing  him.  Judge  Buskirk  continued 
their  hearing  yesterday  morning.  - 
«  ■»  «• 

Dr.  J.  E.  Curtis,  of  the  Central  Insane  Hos¬ 
pital,  does  not  deny  that  he  charged  the  attor¬ 
neys  who  applied  for  a  certificate  of  the  death 
of  Charles  Fisher  a  fee  of  $10  therefor,  but 
says  he  had  a  right  to  mike  the  charge,  since 
this  is  a  service  which  he  is  not  required  to 
render  in  his  official  capacity.  He  is  very  anx¬ 
ious  for  an  investigation. 

*  *  0 

One  day,  about  six  weeks  ago,  a  News  re¬ 
porter  was  in  Coroner  Manker’s  office  when  his 
deputy,  Isaac  Dunn,  was  taking  the  statement 
of  M.  R.  Mansfield  in  an  inquest.  Mr.  Mans¬ 
field  is  a  railway  conductor,  and  his  train  on 
the  Vandalia  struck  an  escaped  inmate  of  the 
Insane  Hospital  and  killed  him.  It  was  in 
the  inquest  of  this  case  that  he  was  called  to 
testify.  When  he  had  concluded  his  testimony 
and  signed  the  written  statement,  Dunn  said  : 
“I  suppose  you  want  your  fee?” 

“Yes,”  replied  Mr.  Mansfield,  “if  there  is 
anything  coming  to  me.  I  went  to  Terre 
Haute  the  other  day  and  got  nothing  for  my 
long  ride.” 

“Well,  here,”  said  Dunn,  tossing  out  two 
quarters.  “I  guess  I’d  better  pony  up.  Put 
your  John  Hancock  on  this  please,”  indicating 
a  small  piece  of  paper  bearing  a  dozen  or  more 
names. 

Mr.  Mansfield  signed  his  name,  took  the 
fifty  cents  and  left,  remarking  that  he  had 
made  the  cigars  off  his  visit. 

The  next  day  the  News  reporter  called  upon 
Mansfield  at  his  home  upon  Bellefontaine  street, 
and  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  witness  fee  he 
was  entitled  to  ?” 

“No,  I  do  not,”  he  replied,  “I  suppose  fifty 
cents  was  all  I  was  entitled  to.  That  is  all  I 
got.” 

“Mr.  Dunn  didn’t  tell  you  that  you  were 
entitled  to  seventy.five  cents,  did  he?” 

“No,  sir,  he  did  not.  I’ve  never  had  any 
experience  in  court,  and  didn’t  know  whether 
I  was  entitled  to  any  fee  or  not.  My  brake, 
man,  B.  E.  Reynolds,  only  got  the  same  as  my¬ 
self.” 

Saturday  afternoon  Dunn  filed  his  bill  for 
witness  fees,  together  with  his  personal  bill 
and  Coroner  Manker’s  bill,  with  the  county 
commissioners.  The  fee  bill  was  passed,  and 
when  passed  Dunn  receipted  for  sixty-eight 
witness  fees,  among  them  those  of  Mansfield 
and  Reynolds.  The  warrants  which  he  re¬ 
ceived  were  for  seventy-five  cents  each.  On 
June  6  he  receipted  for  fifty-nine  witness  fees. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


315 


1  This  morning  the  county  commissioners  con¬ 
sidered  Coroner  Manker’s  bill,  which  for  July 
was  $469.20.  The  coroner  is  allowed  $10  per 

I  day  for  the  first  day  of  an  inquest,  and  $2.50 
for  each  succeeding  day.  The  commissioners 
reduced  the  bill  to  $400.  Dunn’s  bill  as  clerk 
was  $93,  but  the  commissioners  cut  it  to  $81. 

Deputy  Dunn  returned  this  afternoon,  and 
gives  this  explanation  :  “  Fees  are  payable  at 

the  county  auditor’s  office  between  the  loth 
and  the  15th  of  each  month.  I  tell  witnesses 
that  they  are  entitled  to  seventy-five  cents.  If 
they  want  cash  I  sometimes  offer  them  fifty 
cents,  and  they  are  often  glad  to  accept,  rather 
than  return  or  wait.  This  statement  I  made 
to  Mr.  Mansfield,  and  if  he  says  to  the  contra¬ 
ry  I  am  sure  he  must  be  mistaken.  I  frequent¬ 
ly,  as  a  matter  of  accommodation,  pay  the  full 
I  fee.  The  utmost  there  is  in  it  as  a  matter  of 
speculation  is  eight  or  ten  dollars.” 

*  •  s 

The  county  commissioners  yesterday  consid¬ 
ered  the  bill  of  Dr.  Manker,  coroner,  for  the 
month  of  November.  It  aggregated  $420  for 
ninety-three  days’  work.  It  struck  the  board 
as  singular  that  so  many  days  could  be  crowd¬ 
ed  into  one  month,  and  a  reduction  of  $90, 

I  leaving  the  amount  $330,  was  made  in  the  bill, 
after  which  it  was  allowed.  This  gives  the 
coroner  fifty-three  days’  service,  which,  while 
it  may  be  within  the  meaning  of  the  statute 
regulating  coronial  fees,  still  distends  a  month 
of  time. 

w  ■»  -3 

A.  G.  Smith  held  up  his  right  hand  this 
morning  and  made  oath  to  support  the  consti¬ 
tution  of  the  United  Siates  and  of  Indiana  dur¬ 
ing  his  term  of  service  as  attorney  general. 

I  have  appointed  Leon  Bailey  to  be  my  deputy  be¬ 
cause  he  is  a  warm  personal  friend^  and  because 
his  experience  especially  fits  him  for  the  duties 
of  the  position,’'  said  Mr.  Smith  to  The  News 
to-day.  “The  duties  of  the  place  are  not  so 
heavy  but  that  Mr.  Bailey  can  have  time  to  at¬ 
tend  to  the  work  of  the  city  attorneyship,  to 
which  he  has  been  elected.  The  salary  of  the 
deputy  attorney  general  is  $2,000  per  year.  I 
have  not  yet  determined  whom  I  shall  ap¬ 
point  to  the  clerkship  in  my  office ;  probably 
no  one  for  some  time.”  Thus  Mr.  Bailey  will 
be  city  attorney  and  deputy  attorney  general, 
and  from  the  two  offices  will  draw  the  com¬ 
fortable  combined  salaries  and  fees,  amounting 
to  about  $5,000. 

4:  «  « 

The  appointment  of  the  above  officers  is  to 
take  effect  January  i,  thus,  for  the  first  time, 
making  the  terms  uniform.  The  appointment 
of  a  night  watchman  was  left  open.  There 
are  so  many  candidates,  and  the  pull  to  reap¬ 
point  Eden  is  so  strong,  that  some  trouble  in 
agreement  turned  up.  Commissioner  Hunter 
is  for  Eden,  but  Commissioner  Farrell  is  dead 
set  against  him.  Commissioner  Stout  was 
therefore  made  to  feel  the  brunt  of  the  pres¬ 
sure,  but  he  would  not  commit  himself.  The 
boiler-makers  of  the  city  are  pressing  James 
Sullivan,  one  of  their  number,  for  the  place. 
He  is  known  as  a  faithful  democrat,  whose 


usefulness  in  his  trade  has  become  impaired  by 
age.  He  has  an  invalid  wife  and  six  children. 
These  facts  are  set  forth  in  his  behalf,  but  it  is 
not  believed  Eden  will  be  beaten.  Albert 
Sahm  is  said  to  be  for  him,  and  so  is  Tom 
Taggart,  but  he  denies  having  any  interest  in 
the  matter.  But  the  auditor’s  office  is  the  only 
one  which  Eden  is  free  to  enter.  The  rest  are 
all  closed  to  him  by  order  of  the  head  officials. 
The  matter  may  be  settled  this  morning. 

1}  *  * 

It  leaked  out  to  day  that  a  week  ago  last  Sat¬ 
urday  Thomas  Lyons,  a  prisoner  sentenced  to 
the  penitentiary  for  two  years,  escaped  from 
the  deputy  sheriff  who  had  him  in  charge  be¬ 
tween  this  city  and  the  penitentiary,  and  has 
not  since  been  heard  from  And  Lyons  is  a 
one-legged  man  too. 

The  sheriff ’s  office  had  arranged  to  keep  this 
escape  a  secret,  and  but  for  the  brakeman  on 
the  train  from  which  the  prisoner  escaped  the 
attempt  at  secrecy  would  probably  have  been 
successful.  This  morning  a  News  reporter  sur¬ 
prised  the  deputies  in  the  sheriff’s  office  by 
unfolding  the  facts  to  them.  The  brakeman’s 
story  is  that  at  Guernsey,  just  this  side  of  Mo- 
non,  the  prisoner,  who  was  sitting  on  the  front 
seat,  while  the  deputy  sheriff  was  in  the  rear 
of  the  car,  got  up  and  jumped  off  the  train 
and  disappeared.  At  Monon  the  deputy  got 
off  and  took  the  return  train  to  Indianapolis, 
The  brakeman  said  the  deputy  told  him  that 
he  was  to  have  left  Indiananapolis  with  the 
prisoner  on  the  noon  train,  but  he  and  the 
prisoner  had  “lushed  up”  and  had  missed  the 
train.  The  brakeman  said  the  train  was 
scarcely  moving  when  the  prisoner  escaped, 
and  that  the  deputy  made  no  effort  to  get  off 
and  capture  the  prisoner.  “Yes,  a  man  did 
escape,”  said  Chief  Deputy  Corbaley.  “The 
person’s  name  was  Thomas  Lyons,  who  had 
been  sent  up  two  years  for  burglary.  It  is 
also  true  that  he  is  a  one-legged  man.  The 
person  from  whom  he  escaped  is  John  A.  An¬ 
derson,  a  bar-tender.  Anderson  came  back 
here  and  reported  that  the  train  was  running 
twenty.five  miles  an  hour.  His  story  does  not 
agree  at  all  with  the  one  told  by  the  brake- 
man.” 

Anderson,  it  seems,  did  not  get  back  here 
until  Monday,  and  by  that  time  the  prisoner 
might  have  been  in  Halifax,  unless  he  thought 
it  safer  to  be  very  near  bar-keeper  Anderson. 
A  good  m^any  persons  will  want  to  know  why 
the  sheriff  has  been  allowing  bar-tenders  and 
other  irresponsible  (officials)  men  to  take  con¬ 
victs  to  prison — or  rather  to  let  them  go  free. 
The  administration  under  the  present  sheriff 
has  been  one  series  of  disgraces,  and  this  is 
the  crowning  one.  Prisoners  run  away  from 
the  jailors,  the  jail  is  kept  in  a  lousy,  foul  con¬ 
dition,  the  sheriff  himself  figures  in  disgusting 
episodes  and  finally  allows  a  bar-keeper  to  balk 
justice  in  the  way  described.  And  it  is  even 
true  that  this  same  sheriff  has  the  audacity  to 

ask  a  renomination. 

*  «  * 

There  is  dissatisfaction  over  the  commission¬ 
ers’  appointments  at  the  court  house.  It  is 


charged  that  Mr.  “Billy”  Eden,  who  has  been 
reappointed  night  watchman  at  the  court 
house,  does  not  attend  to  his  duty.  It  is  said 
that  there  are  many  nights  in  every  month 
when  he  is  not  around  the  building  at  all. 
This  week  he  took  a  prisoner  to  Michigan  City, 
and  he  often  goes  out  of  the  city  and  is  gone 
several  days.  Fifty  dollars  per  month  is  al¬ 
lowed  for  this  service,  and  democrats  say  a 
man  could  be  employed  who  would  give  the 
valuable  court  records  protection  and  all  of  his 
time. 

»  •  » 

There  is  likelihood  of  another  bet  getting 
into  court.  The  trouble  comes  about  this  way: 
John  Woodard,  who  was  recently  released  from 
the  penitentiary,  went  to  Sheriff  King  the  oth¬ 
er  day  and  asked  permission  to  escort  a  pris¬ 
oner  to  Michigan  City.  The  sheriff,  knowing 
his  face  but  not  remembering  his  record,  wrote 
him  an  order  to  Turnkey  Emmett,  telling  Em¬ 
mett  to  let  him  (Woodard)  escort  a  prisoner  to 
the  penitentiary.  Woodard  put  the  order  in 
his  pocket,  and  said  something  to  his  friends 
about  the  trip  he  was  going  to  make. 

Joe  Littler  didn’t  believe  Woodard  had  an 
order  from  King,  and  offered  to  bet  Woodard 
that  he  wouldn’t  take  the  prisoner  up.  The 
bet  was  made,  $35  on  a  side  being  put  up. 
After  the  money  had  been  put  in  the  hands  of 
a  stake-holder,  Woodard  presented  his  order 
to  Turnkey  Emmett,  who,  knowing  him,  re¬ 
fused  to  recognize  the  order,  and  tore  it  up. 
Woodard  now  wants  his  money  back,  and  says 
he  will  bring  suit  before  ’Squire  Feibleman  to 
replevin  it. 

«  *  # 

The  board  of  trustees  and  superintendent 
of  the  southern  Indiana  hospital  submitted 
their  report  to  the  governor  yesterday. 

The  water  supply  was  entirely  inadequate. 
To  remedy  this  deficiency,  wells  were  dug 
which  now  furnish  300,000  gallons  a  day. 
The  cost  of  this  water  plant  was  $7,500.  To 
provide  against  fire,  and  for  use  in  the  boilers, 
a  lake  was  excavated  covering  an  acre  of 
ground  and  fully  four  feet  in  depth.  A  con¬ 
tract  was  let  for  the  construction  of  a  sewer 
to  Pigeon  creek,  but  this  necessary  work  was 
stopped  by  the  auditor’s  action  in  refusing  the 
funds  to  carry  on  the  work. 

*  *  * 

“Is  Dr.  Metcalf  in?” 

“No,  sir,”  came  the  reply  of  a  female  clerk 
in  the  office. of  the  state  board  of  health  this 
morning. 

“When  will  he  be  in?” 

“Well,  that  is  hard  to  say.  He  ought  to  be 
down  to  tend  to  the  mail  pretty  soon.” 

This  was  after  10  o’clock. 

“How  long  has  it  been  since  he  has  been  at 
the  office?” 

“He  was  here  yesterday  afternoon  and  a 
while  in  the  morning,  but  his  practice  often 
keeps  him  away?” 

The  reporter  turned  from  the  door  of  the 
handsome  quarters  furnished  by  the  state  for 
the  secretary  to  tend  to  his  business  in,  and 
walked  over  to  the  city  dispensary,  where  he 


316 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


found  a  young  man  taking  a  patient’s  name 
and  residence  in  a  quarto  record  book. 

“Is  Dr.  Metcalf  in?” 

“No,  sir,”  answered  the  young  man. 

“When  will  he  be  in?” 

“It’s  hard  to  say  about  that.” 

“Who  is  in  charge  of  the  dispensary  during 
his  absence?” 

“I  am,  sir.” 

“How  often  is  Dr.  Metcalf  here?” 

“Oh,  he  manages  to  drop  in  a  few  minutes 
every  morning  and  afternoon.” 

Reporters  are  not  the  only  ones  who  ask 
such  questions.  Visitors  and  those  having 
business  at  both  the  state  health  office  and  the 
city  dispensary  ask  those  questions  and  get  the 
same  answers.  As  secretary  of  the  state  board 
of  health  Dr.  C.  N.  Metcalf  gets  $1,500  per 
year,  and  as  superintendent  of  the  city  dispen¬ 
sary  he  gets  $70  per  month.  So  far  as  public 
observation  goes,  he  doesn’t  give  proper  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  office,  and  probably  if  the  city 
health  board  had  the  authority  it  would  ac¬ 
complish  his  disconnection  with  the  city  dis¬ 
pensary  in  a  jiffy.  Metcalf  seems  to  be  respon¬ 
sible  to  no  one  for  his  management  of  the 
health  office’s  affairs.  The  two  offices  he  holds 
have  been  reduced  to  a  minimum  of  usefulness 
from  sheer  want  of  direction.  It  is  highly  dis¬ 
creditable  that  these  offices  should  be  at  the 
mercy  of  peanut  politics.  Metcalf  can  not  be 
interfered  with  by  the  health  board  until  his 
term  expires.  His  deputy.  Dr.  Berg,  at  the 
state  board,  is  almost  as  infrequently  seen  as  is 
his  superior. 

»  *  » 

Three  weeks  ago  the  daughter  of  John  O’Ma- 
ra  died  from  a  malignant  attach  of  diphtheria. 
Contrary  to  the  law  Mr.  O’Mara  allowed  the 
funeral  service  to  be  held  thirty-six  instead  of 
eighteen  hours  after  death,  and  had  them  pub¬ 
licly  instead  of  privately.  The  board  of  health 
held  a  special  meeting  on  the  case,  and  decided 
to  prosecute  O’Mara.  The  matter  was  recon¬ 
sidered,  however,  and  nothing  was  done  be¬ 
yond  quarantining  the  children  of  four  families 
who  attended  the  services.  Last  Friday  Mr. 
O’Mara  was  appointed  sanitary  officer  by  the 
new  democratic  board  of  health  to  succeed 
Leonard  Crane. 

*  «-  * 

Are  councilmen  and  other  city  officers  vio¬ 
lating  laws?  Some  of  them  are  employes  of 
corporations  doing  business  with  the  city. 
Others  have  for  years  done  business  at  their 
shops  with  corporations  so  profitably  that  they 
could  not  afford  to  “break”  with  them  by  vot¬ 
ing  against  anything  the  corporations  demand¬ 
ed. 

Perhaps  some  things  can  be  explained.  Last 
night  Mr.  Davis,  who  is  chairman  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  on  public  property,  presented  two  bills 
for  expenses  at  Garfield  Park.  One  was  for 
about  $450  for  fencing,  and  the  other  for  $50 
worth  of  supplies  furnished  by  the  South  Side 
P'oundry.  This  foundry  is  owned  and  managed 
by  Thomas  Markey,  who  is  a  member  ef  the 
city  council. 


“FREE  AND  UNPURCHASED  SUP¬ 
PORT.” 

“  No  oflicer  should  be  required  or  p«>r- 
iiiitted  to  take  part  iu  the  arraugemeiit  of 
political  organizations,  caucuses,  conyen- 
tioiis,  or  election  campaigns.  Their  right 
to  vote  and  to  express  their  views  on  pub¬ 
lic  questions,  either  orally  or  through  the 
press,  is  not  denied,  i)rovided  it  does  not 
interfere  with  the  discharge  of  their 
oflicial  duties.  No  assessment  for  political 
purposes  on  offices  or  subordinates  should 
be  allowed.” — President  Hayes,  June  22, 1817. 

When  we  consider  the  patronage  of  this 
great  office,  the  allurements  of  power,  the 
temptation  to  retain  public  place  once 
gained,  and  more  than  all,  the  availability 
a  party  finds  iu  an  incumbent  whom  a 
horde  of  office-holders,  with  a  zeal  born  of 
benefits  received  and  fostered  by  the  hope 
of  ffivors  yet  to  come,  stand  ready  to  aid 
with  money  and  trained  political  service, 
we  recognize  in  the  eligibility  of  the  Pres¬ 
ident  for  re-election  a  most  serious  danger 
to  that  calm,  deliberate  and  intelligent 
political  action  wiiich  must  characterize  a 
government  by  the  people. — {Letter  of  Accep¬ 
tance,  188 4,  Grover  Cleveland. 

I  am  ail  advocate  of  civil  service  reform. 
My  brief  experience  at  Washington  has  led 
me  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an  emphasis  I 
do  not  often  use,  that  I  might  be  for  ever 
relieved  of  any  connection  witli  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  public  patronage.  I  covet  for 
myself  the  free  and  unpurchased  support 
of  my  fellow-citizens.  *  *  * — [Seriator  Ben¬ 
jamin  Harrison. 

*  *  * 

— The  new  secretary  of  the  republican  cen¬ 
tral  committee  is  a  mail  carrier.  Does  this 
indicate  that  the  postoffice  is  to  be  made  re¬ 
publican  headquarters?  We  do  not  believe 
that  a  person  in  the  government  service  should 
occupy  such  a  position. — Logansport  Pharos, 
February  26. 

— At  the  republican  state  committee  meet¬ 
ing  the  P.  M.’s  were  on  hand  in  force.  There 
was  P.  M.  Thompson  of  this  city,  P.  M.  Hig¬ 
gins  of  Fort  Wayne,  P.  M.  Greiner  of  Terre 
Haute,  P.  M.  Godfrey  of  New  Albany,  P.  M. 
Ellis  of  Muncie,  P.  M.  Crockett  of  South 
Bend,  P.  M.  Bennett  of  Warsaw,  P.  M.  Byerly 
of  Goshen,  P.  M.  B.  Wilson  Smith  of  La 
Fayette,  P.  M.  Fearis  of  Union,  P.'M.  Hen¬ 
dricks  of  Greensburgh,  O.  M.  Tichner  of 
Princeton,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum. 

After  all  the  other  federal  officers  had 
crowded  into  the  room,  including  District  At¬ 
torney  Chambers,  Assistant  Cockrum,  Mar¬ 
shal  Dunlap,  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue 
Cravens,  Deputy  Collector  Harvey  and  Pen¬ 
sion  Agent  Ensley,  the  creatures  of  the  noble 
army  of  P.  M.’s,  the  members  of  the  commit¬ 
tee  were  graciously  allowed  to  crowd  in  and 
occupy  seats,  while  they  were  being  instructed 
as  to  their  duties,  when  as  a  mere  matter  of 
form  they  should  meet  in  executive  session 
later  on  in  the  afternoon. 

“You  might  have  heaved  a  brick  into  that 


conference  and  never  missed  an  office-holder,” 
said  a  disgusted  Blaine  man  in  the  Denison' 
office  yesterday  afternoon.  Those  who  didn’t; 
have  offices  had  relatives  in  office.  Of  this 
class  were  J.  A.  Coutts,  of  the  Kokomo  Tribune, 
whose  father  is  postmaster  at  Andrews,  and  J. 
W.  Hess  of  this  city,  whose  son  Herbert  has  a^ 
fat  seat  in  the  departments  at  Washington. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  January  29. 

— The  tenth  congressional  republican  con¬ 
vention  was  held  here  to-day  to  elect  a  member- 
of  the  state  central  committee.  The  list  of 
office-holders  in  attendance  were  two  national 
bank  examiners,  fifteen  postmasters,  a  pension 
agent  or  two  and  mail  carriers  innumerable. 
Ex-Congressman  Demotte,  the  postmaster  at 
Valparaiso,  and  his  son-in-law,  who  is  a  post- 
office  inspector,  labored  h  ird  to  secure  an  in¬ 
dorsement  of  Harrison’s  administration. — Lo¬ 
gansport  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Janu- 
aiy  2 1 . 

— The  republicans  of  the  eleventh  congres¬ 
sional  district  held  their  convention  in  this 
city  to  day  to  elect  a  member  of  the  state  cen¬ 
tral  committee.  Resolutions  were  reported  by 
a  committee,  of  which  Warren  G.  Sayre  [In¬ 
dian  land  commissioner]  was  chairman,  warmly 
indorsing  the  administration. —  Wabash  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  January  2 1 . 

— The  republicans  of  the  second  congres¬ 
sional  district  met  in  mass  convention  here  to¬ 
day  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  member  of 
the  state  central  committee.  Smiley  N.  Cham¬ 
bers  of  Indianapolis  [United  States  District 
Attorney]  made  several  fiery  speeches. — Shoals 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  January  21. 

— The  committee  on  permanent  organiza¬ 
tion,  through  W.  Wilson,  of  Warrick  county, 
reported  that  Warren  G.  Sayre  (Indian  land 
commissioner)  of  Wabash,  had  been  chosen 
by  the  committee  for  permanent  chairman. 
Mr.  Sayre,  upon  taking  the  chair,  spoke  at 
some  length.  He  said  that  he  believed  the 
prospect  of  the  republican  party  continuing  in 
power  was  never  brighter.  This  was  so  be 
cause  t  e  party  deserved  it.  It  was  a  party  of 
progress.  He  said  he  had  a  suspicion  that 
this  convention  was  fairly  friendly  to  the  Pres¬ 
ident  of  the  United  States,  Benjamin  Harrison. 
The  President’s  Bible  the  last  three  years,  had 
been  the  platform  put  out  by  the  convention 
of  four  years  ago.  Mr.  Sayre  said  many  pleas¬ 
ant  things  about  the  President,  and  was  fre¬ 
quently  applauded.  As  Mr.  Sayre  is  an  ap¬ 
pointee  under  President  Harrison,  there  were 
some  smiles  when  he  alluded  to  the  high  grade 
of  the  appointments.  On  the  call  of  the  roll 
the  Third  district,  through  Marcus  L.  Sulzer,  of 
Madison,  placed  in  nomination  Newland  T. 
DePduw,  of  New  Albany.  Although  Mr. 
Sulzer  a  short  time  ago  was  opposing  the  ad¬ 
ministration,  he  talked  out  plainly  for  Harri¬ 
son  as  the  only  man  the  republicans  could  af¬ 
ford  to  nominate  for  President.  A  few  months 
ago  Mr.  Sulzer  was  appointed  to  a  special  In¬ 
dian  agency. 

After  the  resolutions  had  been  read  ex-Con- 
gressman  White  took  exception  to  the  resolu- 


317 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


tion  endorsing  Harrison.  *  *  At  this  point 

Captain  White’s  voice  was  drowned  in  hisses, 
J.  B.  Cheadle  came  to  Captain  White’s  assist¬ 
ance,  and  told  the  convention  that  Captain 
White  was  a  republican  who  four  years  ago  re¬ 
ceived  1,400  more  votes  than  Mr.  Harrison. 
Captain  White  then  proceeded  amid  hisses. 

What  has  President  Harrison  done  ?  ”  asked 
Mr.  White. 

I  “Everything!”  shouted  the  c^'nvention. 

Attempt  after  attempt  was  made  to  drown 
Captain  White’s  voice,  but  he  went  on.  * 

Ed  Conway  arose  in  the  midst  of  the  uproar 
and  asked  that  Captain  White  be  allowed  to 
go  on.  “Let  him  run  down,”  said  Mr.  Con¬ 
way.  “A  republican  who  is  against  Harrison 
is  a  novelty,  and  I  move  we  hear  him 
through.” 

Order  was  finally  restored,  and  Captain 
White  went  on.  *  * 

At  this  point  Assistant  District  Attorney  J, 
B.  Cockrum  got  the  floor,  and  insisted  that 
this  was  a  republican  convention,  and  not  a 
place  where  a  man  could  come  loaded  with  per¬ 
sonal  bile  and  spit  it  out. — Indianapolis  News, 
March  i . 


— Mr.  R.  T.  McDonald,  of  Foit  Wayne  de¬ 
feated  candidate  for  delegate  to  the  republican 
national  convention,  has  appealed  to  the  chair¬ 
man  of  the  national  republican  committee  for 
a  new  deal.  His  appeal,  addressed  to  Hon.  J. 
S.  Clarkson,  is  as  follows: 


“The  convention  to  elect  delegates  to  the 
national  convention  held  in  this  congressional 
district  yesterday,  was  without  jurisdiction  on 
account  of  unfair  apportionment.  The  dele¬ 
gates  declared  elected  did  not  have  a  majority 
of  the  votes  of  the  convention.  The  whole 
proceedings  were  dominated  by  a  tyrannical 
office-holders’  machine.  I  propose  to  test  the 
validity  of  the  election  of  the  delegates  and 
the  validity  of  the  convention. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  March. 


— The  arraignment  of  the  democracy  by  Smi¬ 
ley  N.  Chambers,  United  States  District  At¬ 
torney,  in  his  speech  before  the  Columbian 
Club,  Saturday  night,  was  such  a  powerful 
philippic  that  the  Journal  this  morning  prints 
it  almost  in  full.  Mr.  Chambers  said  : — Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal,  March  2 1 . 


THE  MOUTH. 

Charles  J.  Bonaparte  writes  of  Political  Cor¬ 
ruption  in  Maryland  in  the  March  Forum. 

The  North  American  Review  follows  its  arti¬ 
cle  on  Tammany  by  Boss  Croker  by  another 
written  by  Dorman  B.  Eaton. 

The  eighth  annual  report  of  civil  service 
commissioners  of  Massachusetts  has  been  is¬ 
sued.  For  the  thousandth  time  the  facts  show 
that  competitive  tests  favor  those  with  the 
the  common-school  education.  Of  those  ex¬ 
amined,  1,084  passed  the  requirem'*nts  and 
were  placed  on  the  eligible  lists.  Of  these, 
1,055  fiave  had  a  common-school  education 
only,  and  29  have  attended  college.  Also  the 
average  age  of  those  who  passed  was  37-28,  and 
of  those  who  failed  35.34.  Again  we  commend 
to  the  Indianapolis  Board  of  Public  Safety  the 
labor  service  of  Boston. 


Rev.  W.  H,  Kaufman,  Milbank,  S.  Dak., 
would  like  the  Civii,  Service  Chronicle  for 
October,  1889,  to  complete  his  file. 


A  MOUTH  OF  TAMMANY. 

Curious  and  unusual  things  are  being  done  these 
days  by  the  democrats  who  operate  under  the  orders 
of  the  Albany  Regency.  The  legislature,  in  pro¬ 
viding  for  the  enumeration,  authorized  Secretary  of 
the  State  Rice  to  appoint  one  enumerator  for  each 
election  district,  and  it  was  naturally  supposed  that 
the  secretary  would  at  least  make  a  show  of  appoint¬ 
ing  them  himself.  So  far  as  this  city  is  concerned, 
however,  he  has  adopted  a  very  curious  course,  lie 
has  notified  Tammany  Ball,  through  Richard 
Croker,  that  the  Tammany  organization  should  send  the 
names  of  asi  enumerators  to  him  before  Feb.  in  other 
words,  he  authorizes  Tammany  to  dispose  of  that  many 
appointments,  887  being  the  number  of  election  dis¬ 
tricts  in  this  city.  The  Tammany  committee  of  twen¬ 
ty-four  met  yest' rday  afternoon,  and  the  acting  sec 
retary,  John  C.  Sheehan,  read  Mr.  Rice’s  letter.  Each 
leader  was  then  authorized  to  send  the  names  of  the 
enumerators  for  each  election  district  in  their  sev¬ 
eral  assembly  districts  in  to  the  committee’s  secre¬ 
tary  as  .soon  as  possible.  Richard  Croker  advised 
the  leaders  to  leave  the  selection  of  the  men  to  the 
captains  of  the  election  districts,  and  he  suggested 
that  each  captain  select  a  man  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  his  election  district  to  make  the  enumeration, 
The  enumerators  can  easily  be  made  useful  for 
political  purposes.— ATsu)  York  Times,  Jan.  20 
* 

Frank  A.  Lewis,  assistant  superintendent  of  the 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Crime,  and  Justice 
Divver  are  anxious  to  know  who  gave  information  to 
the  gamblers  at  522  Sixth  avenue  and  thus  spoiled 
the  raid  that  was  made  on  that  place  Wednesday 
afternoon,  Feb.  12,  1892.  Mr.  Lewis  had  suspected 
for  some  time  that  gambling  was  going  on  at  this 
place.  He  visited  it  and  found  the  room  crowded 
with  men  and  boys,  who  were  gambling.  Then  he 
went  before  Justice  Divver  at  the  Jefferson  market 
police  court  and  obtained  a  warrant.  It  was  decided 
to  serve  the  warrant  at  4:30  o’clock  Wednesday  after¬ 
noon,  as  the  place  was  generally  crowded  at  that 
time.  When  Sergt.  Coombs  and  six  policemen 
reached  the  place  they  found  no  one  there  but  a 
man  who  was  industriously  writing  in  the  express 
office  in  front  of  the  gambling  room.  There  was 
nothing  to  suggest  that  gambling  had  ever  been  car¬ 
ried  on  in  the  building.  Mr.  Lewis  said  it  was  a 
shame  that  a  warrant  could  not  be  obtained  without 
the  person  who  was  concerned  getting  information 
about  it.  Justice  Divver  said  he  could  not  understand 
it.  He  had  made  every  effort  to  discover  who  had  given 
Old  this  information,  but  he  had  been  unable  to  do  so. — 
New  York  Times,  Feb.  12. 

[Patrick  Divver,  commonly  called  “Paddy,”  is  the 
Tammany  leader  in  the  second  assembly  district. 
He  is  the  keeper  of  a  sailors’  boarding  house  and  is 
the  proprietor  or  has  interests  in  several  liquor  sa¬ 
loons.  He  is  an  ex  member  of  the  board  of  aider- 
men,  a  race  track  frequenter,  and  the  friend  and 
confidant  of  gamblers.  He  is  on  terms  of  intimacy 
with  “Johnny”  Matthews  and  “Jake”  Shipsey,  two 
members  of  the  sporting  and  gambling  fraternity, 
wlKjse  particular  methods  of  gaining  a  livelihood  are 
unknown  to  the  frequenters  of  PaUdy  Divvers’  and 
other  rum  shops  on  Park  Row,  where  they  are  gener¬ 
ally  to  be.  found.— TAe  “New  Tammany''  New  York 
Evening  Post.] 

»;t  lU  * 

Mayor  Grant’s  eagerness  to  punish  the  Staats- 
Zeitung  for  daring  to  oppose  his  candidacy  for  re- 
election  is  carrying  him  to  extraordinary  lengths. 
Not  content  with  taking  as  a  site  for  the  new  city 
building  the  property  upon  which  the  Staats- Zeitung 
building  stands,  the  mayor  declares  his  intention 
to  ask  the  legislature  to  pass  a  law  which  will  enable 
the  city  to  take  possession  in  a  more  speedy  manner 
than  would  be  possible  under  the  usual  condemna¬ 
tion  proceedings.  In  other  words,  he  means  to 
force  the  newspaper  to  abandon  possession  of  its 
property  without  any  regard  to  its  own  interests  or 
convenience.  If  such  a  law  were  passed,  it  would 
be  an  unspeakable  outrage  upon  private  rights.  The 
Staats- Zeitung  must  be  printed  every  day,  and  in 
order  to  move  to  new  quarters  it  must  have  new 
presses  built.  The  old  ones  can  not  be  moved  with¬ 
out  stopping  the  publication  of  the  paper.  The  con¬ 


duct  of  the  mayor  and  his  Tammnny  associates  in 
deciding  to  take  the  property  is  indefensible  from 
every  point  of  view.  The  site  is  not  a  desirable  one 
for  a  city  building,  and  it  will  be  a  great  mistake  to 
place  it  there.  They  are  using  their  power  as  city 
authorities  to  erect  a  great  municipal  building  upon 
a  most  unsuitiable  site,  simply  that  they  may  “get 
even”  with  a  newspaper  which  presumed  to  oppose 
their  continuance  in  office.— JVm  York  Evening  Post, 
February  24. 

<!  *  « 

The  democrats  in  the  legislature  apparently  mean 
to  do  everything  possible  to  convince  the  people 
that  their  party  is  unfit  to  be  trusted  with  power. 
The  senate  yesterday  passed  the  McCarren  East 
River  Bridge  Bill,  which  gives  a  company  the  ex¬ 
clusive  charter  for  the  construction  of  two  bridges 
between  this  city  and  Brooklyn,  and  the  power  to 
build  a  three  mile  elevated  railroad  on  this  side, 
neither  bridges  nor  railroad  to  pay  anything  to 
either  city,  neither  city  to  have  any  authority  over 
bridges  or  railroad,  and  the  foot-path  on  the  bridge 
not  to  be  free.  Senator  Brown  declared  that  he  had 
received  from  responsible  men  an  offer  of  $500,000  for 
this  charter,  and  that  he  would  give  $250,000  for  it 
himself,  and  yet  the  senate  insisted  upon  letting  the 
company  have  it  for  nothing.  Meanwhile  the  as¬ 
sembly  was  passing  what  is  known  as  “The  Huckle¬ 
berry  Road  Bill,”  which  provides  for  the  consolida¬ 
tion  of  all  the  street  car  roads  in  the  annexed  dis¬ 
trict,  gives  the  consolidated  company  a  monopoly 
of  the  street  railroads  across  the  Harlem,  releases  it 
from  all  provisions  [of  the  present  general  law  for 
the  payment  of  percentages  to  the  city,  makes  the 
city  take  care  of  the  street  between  the  car  tracks, 
and  in  short,  as  the  Sun  corres;  ondent  says,  “does 
everything  that  the  promoters  could  ask,  except  to 
make  the  city  lay  their  tracks  and  furnish  them  with 
cars  and  motive  power.”— iVew  York  Evening  Post, 
February  25. 

* 

The  latest  “grab”  of  the  Tammany-Hill  combine 
at  Albany  is  for  the  lower  part  of  Fifth  avenue,  from 
Washington  square  to  Forty-second  street,  for  a 
street  railway.  The  bill  embodying  it  was  intro¬ 
duced,  in  violation  of  the  rules  and  by  stealth,  by  a 
Hill  member  of  the  assembly  from  Ulster  county. 
He  took  it  to  Mr.  Hill’s  speaker  of  the  assembly  at 
the  latter’s  house  after  the  assembly  had  adjourned, 
and  induced  him  to  consent  to  an  illegal  way  of  get- 
ing  it  on  the  assembly  files.  Then  the  Hill  speaker 
had  it  referred  to  the  committee  on  cities,  which  has 
a  Tammany  chairman  and  a  Tammany  majority, 
instead  of  to  the  committee  on  railroads,  to  which  it 
properly  belonged.  The  chairman  of  the  latter  com¬ 
mittee  protested  in  vain.  The  Hill  speaker  insisted 
that  the  bill  should  goto  the  Tammany  committee. 
That  it  contains  a  job,  and  a  most  outrageous  one, 
nobody  questions.  The  Hill-Tammany  organs  of 
this  city,  which  are  being  severely  tried  just  now, 
hasten  to  denounce  it  and  to  say  it  must  not  pass, 
but  unless  the  Hill-Tammany  c  mbine  shows  more 
regard  for  public  sentiment  than  it  has  shown  thus 
far  in  its  legislative  couauct,  the  bili  will  follow  in 
the  wake  of  the  bridge  and  elevated  railway  exten¬ 
sion  and  “  huckleberry  ”  jobs,  pass  both  houses,  and 
go  to  the  Governor. — New  Yor1l,Evening  Post,  February 
Tl. 

❖  Ijt 

Attention  has  been  directed  lately  to  the  very  low 
voice  of  the  reading  clerk  of  the  assembly  at  Albany, 
which  renders  it  difficult  for  members  to  know  what 
kind  of  bills  or  amendments  are  going  through  that 
body.  When  McCarren ’s  amendment  to  the  East 
River  Bridge  Bill  was  passed  unanimously,  or  nearly 
so,  it  is  stated  that  hardly  anybody  in  the  chamber 
knew  what  it  was.  the  clerk’s  voice  was  so  indistinct. 
This  is  quite  explainable  as  the  clerk  himself  is  a  lobbyist 
and  the  tool  of  Chairman  Murphy.  Last  year  a  bill 
known  as  the  McKnight  Bill,  changing  the  law  re¬ 
garding  elevated  railroad  damage  suits,  was  slipped 
through  so  adroitly  that  at  least  one  hundred  law¬ 
yers  who  were  watching  for  elevated  railroad  bills 
were  utterly  deceived  and  never  knew  of  the  Mc¬ 
Knight  Bill  till  it  had  become  a  law.— iVw  York 
Evening  Post,  Feb.  29, 


318 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


When  William  F.  Sheehan  caused  to  be  passed  through 
the  Legislature  in  one  day  a  bill  creating  a  commission 
that  would  appoint  a  superintendent  of  education 
of  his  own  choosing  to  succeed  Jamas  F.  Crooker, 
the  new  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  it 
caused  a  strong  protest  from  all  classes  and  all  par¬ 
ties  not  strictly  of  the  Sheehan  stripe.  Politics  was 
the  only  reason  for  the  change,  which  was  at  first  in¬ 
tended  to  meet  the  emergency  of  the  recent  vacancy. 
It  worked  so  well,  however,  that  it  is  understood  an¬ 
other  bill  has  been  prepared  placing  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  the  superintendent  for  a  full  term  in  the 
hands  of  the  commission,  vHth  the  mayor  left  off. 

This  would  give  Sheehan  control  of  the  school  de¬ 
partment  for  at  least  four  years.  *  <■  The  mayor  is 
to  be  left  off  the  commission  presumably  because  he 
has  connected  himself  with  the  anti-Hill  element  of 
the  party  and  is  an  active  and  effective  worker  in 
behalf  of  decent  politics.— /?u/afo  Dispatch  to  Xew 
York  Times,  March  2. 

*  *  * 

The  action  of  Mayor  Grant  in  appointing  police 
commissioner  John  R.  Voorhisto  a  police  justiceship 
and  John  C.  Sheehan  as  police  commissioner  is  pro 
nounced  by  Tammany  Hall  men  as  “good  politics.” 
Voorhis’s  political  career  is  a  remarkable  one,  and 
he  has,  since  1873,  been  more  or  less  of  a  power.  In 
1873  he  xoas  picked  up,  unknown,  by  Mayor  Havemeyer 
and  made  an  excise  commissioner,  and  every  mayor 
since  has  appointed  him  to  one  place  or  another.  Voor¬ 
his’s  appointment  is  regarded  as  a  fine  political 
move.  The  appointment  of  Sheehan  is  said  to  be  in 
the  nature  of  a  personal  reward  for  good  work  done 
and  a  favor  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Sheehan.  The  appoint¬ 
ments  are  far-reaching  and  by  the  transfer  of  the  two 
men  already  in  office  the  Tammany  organization  ac¬ 
complishes  much  and  brings  under  its  absolute  control  two 
departments  where  there  are  many  places  and  much  money 
tobe  expended.  The  placating  of  the  New  York  de¬ 
mocracy  is  said,  however,  to  be  the  chief  reason  for 
Voorhis’s  appointment,  and,  furthermore,  it  removes 
the  possibility  of  Voorhis  as  a  mayoralty  candidate  next 
fall.  The  yew  York  and  "Voorhis"  democracy  cast 
about  20,000  votes  in  the  last  election,  and  should  Mr. 
Voorhis  be  a  candidate  for  mayor,  these  votes  token  away 
from  Tammany  would  place  it  in  a  position  to  be  de¬ 
feated.  Whether  the  New  York  democracy  will  prac¬ 
tically  dissolve  on  account  of  the  preferment  of  its 
leader  is  not  yet  certain.  Mr.  Voorhis’s  chief  lieu¬ 
tenant,  ex-Assemblyman  John  Martin,  has  been  pro¬ 
vided  with  a  lucrative  clerkship  in  the  legislature, 
and  this  could  not  have  been  accomplished  had  it  not 
been  approved  by  the  Tammany  legislators  Police- 
Justice  Voorhis,  however,  says  his  party  will  live  and 
grow.  It  has  for  several  years  been  favorable  to 
Tammany,  not  on  the  ground  that  it  had  nominated 
the  best  men,  but  that  the  members  were  all  demo 
crats.  Recently  Mr.  Voorhis  declined  to  go  into  aw 
anti-  Tammany  combination  with  the  Stecklers  avd  others, 
and  this  did  much  towards  securing  his  appointment. 
The  appointment  was  ofiered  to  him  three  times, 
once  previous  to  the  election  and  twice  since.— A’eto 
York  Evening  Post,  March  2. 

#  sS  # 

Returning  to  a  consideration  of  Voorhis,  it  is  curi¬ 
ous  that  on  the  very  day  of  his  appointment  to  be  a 
police  justice  the  World  published  a  long  interview 
with  him  in  his  capacity  as  president  of  the  police 
board,  in  which  he  illustrates  as  naively  as  grimly, 
his  native  unfitness  for  the  place.  It  was  all  about  a 
policeman  of  the  name  of  Gallagher,  who  commit¬ 
ted  the  misdemeanor  of  brutally  kicking  and  cuffing 
an  aged  woman  who  sells  newspapers  at  the  corner  of 
Ann  street  and  Broadway.  For  this  he  was  hauled 
before  a  court  and  after  trial  and  conviction  was  sen¬ 
tenced  to  the  penitentiary  on  Blackwell’s  Island  for 
a  term  of  six  months.  But,  strange  to  say,  he  re¬ 
mained,  as  this  report  said,  a  policeman  in  good 
standing  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  his  pay  con¬ 
tinued.  The  late  president  of  the  police  board,  now 
by  the  favor  of  Tammany  made  a  police  justice, 
was  interviewed  regarding  these  facts  and  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  having  justified  them ,  but  we  are  in¬ 
formed  that  Gallagher  has  now  been  removed  from 
the  force  for  “absence  from  duty,”  the  absence  be¬ 
ing  caused  by  his  imprisonment.  As  a  sample  of 
the  commissioner’s  talk,  take  the  following  extracts : 


"Would  you  let  his  conviction  in  a  criminal  court 
count  against  him  ?”  asked  the  reporter. 

“No,”  .said  the  commissioner ;  “no,  I  do  not  think 
we  should.  There  often  have  been  cases  where  par¬ 
ties  have  been  convicted  and  punished  before  police 
courts  or  juries  where,  in  the  opinion  of  the  board, 
they  have  been  convicled  unjustly.  We  do  not  take 
the  conclusion  of  a  jury  as  to  a  man’s  innocence  or 
guilt.  We  draw  conclusions  from  the  evidence  put 
before  us.  Policeman  Gallagher’s  trial  has  already 
taken  place  before  us ;  but  as  a  matter  of  justice  to 
an  accused  oificer  we  thought  that  for  a  reasonable 
time  we  would  suspend  the  judgment  of  this  board. 
*  *  <* 

“  We  do  not  consider  the  time  before  our  judg¬ 
ment  is  a  matter  of  life  or  death,”  added  the  Com¬ 
missioner.  “  It  is  better  to  err  on  the  side  of  the 
weak  and  the  unfortunate  than  to  take  advantage  of 
him  in  his  deplorable  situation. 

“Weak— and— unfortunate !”  gasped  the  reporter. 
“Mr.  Voorhis.  what  about  the  old  woman  who  was 
as.saulted?” 

“It  would  not  make  any  diflerence  to  her,”  replied 
the  commissioner,  “whether  he  was  on  the  Island  a 
day  longer  or  not.  She  has  had,  I  suppose,  her  satis¬ 
faction.  She  is,  from  what  I  hear,  inclined  to  be 
crazy.” 

“Crazy!  Then  is  not  that  all  the  worse  for  the 
officer?” 

“I  did  not  say  crazy,”  said  Commissioner  Voorhis. 
“She  is  a  singular  creature,  from  what  I  have  been 
informed.  I  have  never  seen  her.  This  case  has 
been  made  a  great  deal  of.  Simply  that  this  woman 
has  been  selling  papers  at  one  place  for  a  great  many 
years  is  something  that  I  attach  no  importance  to.” 

It  does  not  seem  tobe  necessary  to  add  any  commen- 
to  this  man’s  exhibition  of  his  notions  of  official  duty 
and  the  revelation  of  his  ideas  of  justice  and  human¬ 
ity,  except  to  say  that  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
they  agree  with  the  notions  and  ideas  prevailing  in 
Tammany.— Ario  York  Times,  March  2. 

*  *  if 

A.  R.  Conkling  made  an  able  and  convincing  ar¬ 
gument  in  the  assembly  to-day  in  support  of  his 
motion  to  reverse  the  unfavorable  report  of  the  judiciary 
committee  on  his  bill  to  prohibit  ths  payment  of  assess¬ 
ments  or  contributions  to  arganizations  or  persons  by 
candidates  for  judicial  offices.  The  bill  has  been  held 
in  committee  for  six  weeks,  and  all  efforts  to  get  a  re¬ 
port  upon  it  proved  unavailiug  until  to-day,  although 
Mr.  Conkling  agreed  to  amend  it  so  as  to  make  its 
provisions  less  stringent  and  radical.  In  urging  his 
motion  to-day  Mr.  Conkling  declared  that  the  meas¬ 
ure  had  the  unqualiflea  endorsement  of  the  press, 
bar,  and  bench  of  the  state,  all  of  which  viewed  the 
reform  as  most  necessary.  Xo particular  surprise  was 
manifested  when  the  assembly  refused  by  a  tie  vote  of  bl 
to  51,  to  reverse  the  committee’s  unfavorable  report 
upon  the  bill.  This  vote  sufficed  to  kill  the  measure, 
but  Speaker  Bush  seemed  to  think  it  advisable  to 
place  himself  on  record  against  the  proposition  to 
pnta  stop  to  the  auctioning  off  of  judicial  nomi¬ 
nations  that  now  so  generally  prevails,  so  he  voted 
“no”  along  with  the  Tammany  men.— Vem  York 
Evening  Post,  March  7. 

■S-  j5 

Mayor  Grant  to-day  accepted  the  resignations  of 
Inspectors  H.  B.  Masterson  and  Michael  Hahn  of 
the  bureau  of  weights  and  measures,  who  were 
charged  with  fraud  and  malfeasance  in  office.  The 
charges  were  brought  about  a  week  ago,  and  Comp¬ 
troller  Myers  began  an  investigation.  He  found 
that  the  charges  were  true,  and  so  reported  to  the 
mayor  yesterday  afternoon.  It  appears  that  Masterson, 
who  is  a  Tammany  man,  collected  large  fees  and  kept 
them,  and  turned  in  small  ones.  To  make  up  a  proper¬ 
looking  amount  he  put  in  a  large  number  of  ficti¬ 
tious  names.  Hahn  was  recommended  by  the  gro¬ 
cers'  union.  He  collected  sums  for  January  and 
February,  and  when  the  charges  were  preferred  last 
Wednesday  Hahn  came  to  the  comptroller’s  office 
and  turned  in  a  larger  amount  than  the  sums  which 
were  sworn  to.  The  acceptance  of  the  resignations 
by  the  mayor  was  much  criticised  this  morning.— 
Xew  York  Evening  Past,  March  9. 


Police  Justice  William  Watson  is  In  trouble  again. 
He  made  an  alliance  with  Alderman  Pickering  not 
long  ago,  and  induced  the  latter  to  introduce  a  resolu¬ 
tionproviding  for  a  courtroom  for  him  ( B'af.son)  in  Ben¬ 
nett’s  Casino.  But  the  democratic  leaders,  Adams  and 
Suter,  heard  of  it,  and  they  frightened  Pickering  into 
withdrawing  his  proposed  ordinance.  They  even  in¬ 
duced  a  lot  of  ministers  to  protest  against  having  a 
courtroom  in  such  a  place  as  this  Casino,  which 
would  have  been  raided  long  ago  if  its  owner  had 
been  devoid  of  a  pull.  Pickering  is  a  weak  vessel 
and  he  deserted  Watson,  so  that  the  latter  has  no 
courtroom,  and  has  to  draw  his  85,000  a  year  and  do 
no  work.  This  is  objectionable  to  him,  he  says.  The 
fact  is  that  he  hoped  to  build  up  a  political  following 
when  he  got  a  courtroom  of  his  own,  and  Adams  and 
Suter  were  afraid  he  would.  Xew  York  Times, 
March  12. 

S'  S'  =:' 

It  was  pointed  out  in  The  Times  a  year  ago  that  the 
men  who  were  behind  the  bills  appropriating  money 
for  the  construction  of  new  regimental  armories  in 
Brooklyn  were  engaged  in  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  bunko  game.  They  went  to  Albany  and  sub¬ 
mitted  their  bills,  arguing  at  the  time  that  the  money 
they  asked  for  was  absolutely  all  that  would  be  needed 

*  *  ’sfow  the  exposure  has  come,  and  every  one 
appears  to  have  been  very  much  surprised  at  it.  The 
report  of  the  experts  appointed  to  examine  the  con¬ 
dition  of  the  new  thirteenth  regiment  armory  was 
expected,  and  every  one  knew  that  it  was  going  to 
show  that  a  great  deal  of  money  had  been  wasted, 
but  no  one  thought  it  would  disclose  such  a  state  of 
corruption  as  it  did.  These  experts  declare  very 
positively  that  the  building  will  cost  8-505,260  when 
it  is  finally  completed  instead  of  the  8300,000  appropri¬ 
ated  by  the  legislature.  This  is  about  75  per  cent, 
more  than  the  original  appropriation.  If  this  course 
should  be  pursued  in  reference  to  all  public  con¬ 
structions,  thb  result  would  be  beyond  the  wildest 
imagination.  But  there  has  been  a  scandal  abotit 
this  thirteenth  regiment  armory  from  the  start.  The 
first  step  in  that  direction  was  the  selection  of  Rudolph 
L.  Daus  as  architect.  Be  is  a  yomig  man  with  little  ex¬ 
perience,  btit  he  is  a  protege  of  Hugh  McLaughlin,  and 
the  latter’s  backing  secured  him  this  job,  although  Col. 
Austen  and  ex-Mayor  Chapin  were  opposed  to  him 
and  his  plans.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  .selection  only 
8146,000  had  been  spent  on  this  project,  and  that 
went  for  a  site.  This  left  8300,000  for  the  building, 
and  plans  were  invited  on  that  basis.  Those  of  Daus 
were  accepted,  although  the  members  of  the  regiment 
did  not  like  them  at  all,  and  ex-mayor  Chapin  tried 
very  hard  to  have  another  set  selected.  The  Mc¬ 
Laughlin  influence  was  too  strong,  however,  and 
Daus  triumphed.  But  when  his  specifications  were 
published  and  bids  called  for  it  was  found  that  the 
building  could  not  be  erected  for  less  than  8409.000, 
exclusive  of  the  architect’s  commissions.  Corpora¬ 
tion  Counsel  Jenks  decided,  however,  that  the  com¬ 
mission  could  not  spend  more  than  the  appropria¬ 
tion— 8300,000.  Here  was  a  chance  to  get  rid  of  Daus 
and  his  plans,  and  ex-Mayor  Chapin  tried  to  have 
new  plans  put  in,  but  again  McLaughlin  was  able  to 
force  the  commission  to  decide  merely  to  strike  out 
what  they  thought  would  be  unnecessary  and  so  re¬ 
duce  the  cost.  But  the  method  of  reducing  the  cost 
was  a  most  peculiar  one.  “We  understand,”  said  the 
experts  in  their  recent  report,  “that  thismethod  was 
knowingly  adopted  by  the  commission,  yet  it  was  to 
cutout  features  absolutely  essential  while  adhering 
to  a  somewhat  expensive  exterior.”  For  Instance, 
these  wise  men  cut  down  the  drill-room  to  one-half 
its  proper  size,  they  put  a  wooden  partition  at  the 
rear  instead  of  a  brick  wall,  and  they  decided  to  put 
no  plaster  at  all  on  the  walls  of  the  drill-room  or  the 
Memorial  Hall.  They  put  a  miserable  little  150  horse 
power  boiler  in  to  heat  the  entire  building,  and  made 
no  provision  whatever  for  heating  the  big  drill-room. 
Yet  they  thought  it  necessary  to  select  for  that  one 
boiler  the  most  expensive  they  could  find.  But  the 
most  remarkable  discoverj'  made  by  these  experts 
was  in  reference  to  what  was  not  provided  for  at  all 
in  Daus’s  original  plans  and  specifications.  He  had 
submitted  his  idea  of  what  the  armory  building 
should  be  like,  and  that  idea  was  adopted  and  con¬ 
tracts  made  for  the  erection  of  some  sort  of  a  build- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


319 


ing,  and  yet  there  was  absolutely  no  provision  made 
for  sidewalks  to  surround  that  building  or  even  for  a 
fence  or  for  iron  slats  to  keep  people  from  falling 
down  the  area  ways.  As  the  entire  appropriation  had 
been  used  uj),  where  wiis  the  money  to  come  from  to 
pay  for  these  very  necessary  things?  But  this  was 
not  all.  Dans  had  made  no  provision  for  lockers  in 
the  armory,  for  a  rifle-range  equipment,  for  gun 
racks,  for  lighting  fixtures,  gas  or  electric,  or  even 
for  a  kitchen.  The  state  law  in  referencs  to  armories 
requires,  in  so  many  words,  that  the  plans  for  an 
armory  shall  provide  for  these  very  things.  The  cost 
of  these  omissions,  the  experts  reported,  would  be 
860,100.— .Veio  I'orfc  Times.  March  13. 

if  f.  * 

The  New  York  Evenivg  Post  has  been  looking  up 
the  records  of  the  men  who  composed  the  grand 
jury  which  exonerated  District  Attorney  NIcoll 
from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Parkhurst’s  charges.  It  finds  that 
nearly  one-third  of  them  are  leading  lights  in  the 
Tammany  organization.  Tammany  isn’t  caught 
napping  when  there  are  charges  against  any  of  its 
bosses  to  be  inve.stigated.— Rw^afo  Express. 

i'.t 

“Don’t  tell  me  I  don’t  know  what  I  am  talking 
about.  Many  a  long,  dismal,  heartsickening  night, 
in  company  with  two  trusty  triends,  have  I  spent 
since  I  spoke  on  the  matter  before,  going  down  into 
the  disgusting  depths  of  this  Tammany-debauched 
town.  And  it  is  rotten  with  a  rottenness  that  is 
unspeakable  and  indescribable,  and  a  rottenness 
:  that  would  be  absolutely  impossible,  except  by  the 
I  connivance,  not  to  say  the  purchased  sympathy,  of 
the  men  whose  one  obligation  before  God,  men  and 
their  own  conscience  is  to  shield  virtue  and  make 
vice  difficult.  Now,  that  1  stand  by,  because  before 
Almighty  God  I  know  it,  and  I  will  stand  by  it, 
though  buried  beneath  presentments  as  thick  as 
autumn  leaves  in  Vallambrosa,  or  snowflakes  in  a 
March  blizzard.  Excuse  the  personal  releiences  to 
myself  in  the  case  but  I  can  not  help  it.  I  never 
dreamed  that  any  force  of  circumstances  would 
ever  draw  me  into  contacts  so  coarse,  so  beastly,  so 
consummately  filthy  as  those  I  have  repeatedly  found 
myself  in  the  midst  of  these  last  days.  I  feel  as 
though  I  want  to  go  out  of  town  for  a  month  to 
bleach  the  memory  of  it  out  of  my  mind  and 
the  memory  of  it  out  of  my  eyes.  I  am  not 
ignorant  of  the  collossal  spasms  of  indignation  into 
which  the  trus  ees  of  Tammany  ethics  have  been 
thrown  by  the  blunt  and  inelegant  characterizations 
(  f  a  month  ago.— Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  March  13. 
»  *  * 

The  notorious  women  of  Capt.  Brogan’s  precinct 
now  carry  on  their  trade  in  the  sight  of  the  men  and 
women  who  ride  on  the  Broadway  cars.  While 
Broadway  is  torn  up  the  cars  of  that  line,  instead  of 
turning  with  the  street  at  Fourteenth  street,  go  down 
University  Place  by  Washington  Square  and  through 
Wooster  street.  Some  time  ago  the  Sun  found  it  nec¬ 
essary  to  call  the  attention  of  the  officials  at  police 
headquarters  to  the  fact  that  vice  was  so  openly 
flaunted  in  the  fifteenth  precinct  that  Capt.  Brogan 
could  not  go  to  or  from  his  station  without  being 
compelled  to  witness  the  orgies  that  occurred  in  the 
vile  dens.  Inspector  Steers  took  hold  of  the  matter, 
and  for  a  time  the  standard  of  decency  was  raised. 
It  was  only  for  a  time,  but  long  enough  to  show  that 
the  police  can  maintain  public  decency  when  they 
try  to. 

Now,  every  passenger  who  travels  on  the  Broadway 
line  must  close  his  or  her  eyes  as  the  car  goes  through 
the  street,  or  else  must  be  a  witness  to  the  atrocious 
conduct  of  pretty  nearly  the  lowest  creatures  that 
live  in  New  York.  Inspector  Steers  has  a  chance  to 
distinguish  himself  again.  If  he  had  been  on  a 
Broadway  car  with  a  Sun  reporter  yesterday,  he 
would  have  seen,  at  No.  245  Wooster  street,  a  blear- 
eyed  woman,  partly  dressed,  with  the  marks  of  a  Sat¬ 
urday  night’s  debauch  visible,  sitting  at  the  window. 
The  blinds  were  closed,  but  the  slats  were  opened, 
and  she  hissed  her  invitation  loud  enough  for  the 
men  and  women  who  were  returning  from  church 
on  the  car  to  hear.  He  would  have  seen  a  young 
girl  in  one  corner  of  the  car  look  curiously  at  the 
creature  in  the  window.  Her  attention  had  been 
attracted  by  the  hiss.  Ho  would  have  seen  her  ask 


her  mother,  who  sat  beside  her,  a  question,  and  he 
would  have  seen  a  look  of  horror  on  the  mother’s 
face. 

He  would  liave  seen  a  woman  in  the  window  of 
the  house  next  door,  and  next  and  next.  In  hou.se 
after  house  on  either  side  of  the  street  these  crea¬ 
tures  .sat  and  called  and  beckoned  and  insulted  men 
and  women  in  the  very  presence  of  policemen  of  the 
fifteenth  precinct.  The  only  effort  made  to  hide  the 
sights  of  vice  were  the  closed  shutters,  but  in  every 
house  where  the  shutters  were  closed  the  slats  were 
openaud  the  women  were  in  plain  sight. 

In  two  alleyways  between  the  Park  and  Bleecker 
street,  there  were  women  of  the  character  of  the 
women  in  the  windows,  and  they  called  to  passers- 
by  who  were  on  their  way  from  church.  The  streets 
were  filled  with  children.  There  are  many  respect¬ 
able  people  living  in  the  street  in  houses  side  by  side 
with  these  dens.  This  weather  it  is  impossible  to 
keep  children  off  the  street,  and  thi-y  watched  and 
watched  the  women  ami  wondered. 

This  was  on  Sunday.  The  scenes  on  week-days  are 
worse  still,  and  just  as  many,  it  not  a  great  many 
more,  respectable  people  ride  on  the  Broadway  cars 
during  the  week.  In  the  early  morning  young 
women  pa.ss  on  their  way  to  business  down  town,  in 
theafternoon  mothers  and  their  daughters,  who  are 
at  all  other  times  shielded  from  evil,  or  even  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  it.  and  in  the  evening  again  the  young 
women  who  earn  their  own  living.  After  dark 
women  from  the  windows  come  out  on  the  steps  of 
the  houses  or  walk  the  street  and  lay  hold  on  men 
w'ho  walk  by,  and  these  things  are  witnessed  there 
by  the  men  and  women  on  their  way  to  and  from  the 
theaters  in  the  cars. 

The  police  of  the  fifteenth  district  are  respousi 
ble  for  this  condition  of  affairs.  They  could  keep 
the  street  decent  if  they  wanted  to. — Me^u  York  Sun, 
August  10. 

*  * 

My  attention  has  been  called  to  the  political  tirade 
delivered  yesterday.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  a 
sane  man,  and  especially  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
would  so  far  forget  himself  as  to  talk  in  a  manner 
that  would  cause  anxious  and  loving  mothers  to  look 
with  alarm  on  the  face  of  the  daughters  who  accom¬ 
panied  them,  and  to  find  thereon  the  blushes  of 
shame  caused  by  his  improper  remarks. — "Jimmy'’ 
Martin  of  the  Police  Board  on  the  Rev.  Dr.  Parkhurst's 
Sermon,  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  March  15. 

«:<  * 

“Boss”  McLaughlin  of  Brooklyn  has  got  his 
pound  of  flesh.  [The  first  complication  was  created 
by  the  action  of  Tammany  Hall  in  stealing  a  march 
upon  boss  McLaughlin  of  Brooklyn  and  running 
away  with  the  patronage  of  the  Brooklyn  Bridge. 
As  McLaughlin  puts  it,  "they  might  just  as  well  have 
broken  into  my  bedroom  at  night  and  stolen  my  watch  and 
pockelbook  from  umler  my  pillow."  He  regarded  the 
bridge  as  his  personal  and  peculiar  property,  to  be 
used  for  his  own  emolument  and  that  of  the  Kings 
county  democracy.  When  Tammany  committed  the 
theft  McLaughlin  demanded  its  return,  and  called 
upon  the  governor  to  enforce  the  demand.  The 
governor  declined  to  honor  the  call,  and  then  the 
serions  trouble  began.]  Gov.  Flower  this  morning 
sent  to  the  senate  the  nomination  of  Alfred  C. 
Chapin,  ex-mayor  and  the  present  congressman  from 
the  third  district,  to  succeed  Isaac  V.  Baker,  Jr.,  as  a 
member  of  the  railroad  commission.  Mr.  Baker  is 
the  only  republican  left  on  the  board.  Many  demo¬ 
crats  of  position  believe  that  this  board,  the  most  im¬ 
portant  in  the  state,  should  remain  non-partisan  and 
have  so  signified  to  Gov.  Flower.  The  governor, 
himself  an  old  railway  man,  with  a  thorough  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  dangers  and  risks  to  invested  property 
by  the  establishment  of  a  strictly  partisan  board,  has 
not,  according  to  Albany  rumor,  looked  with  favor 
upon  these  exactions  from  influential  democrats. 
To  Edward  Murphy,  Jr.,  chairman  of  the  democratic 
state  committee,  was  given  the  post  of  superinten¬ 
dent  of  public  works  and  the  superintendent  of 
buildings;  to  Lieut.  Gen.  Sheehan  the  superinten¬ 
dent  of  public  instruction;  to  Richard  Croker,  "boss” 
of  Tammany  Hall,  the  health  officer  of  the  port  of 
New  York. 


Having  satisfied  the  demands  of  Hill,  Croker,  Mur¬ 
phy,  McLaughlin,  and  Sheehan,  Gov.  Flower  is  now 
manifesting  a  disposition  to  take  care  of  his  own. 
The  long  expected  port  warden  and  harbormaster 
nominations  came  in  with  the  rest.  The  majority  of 
those  displaced  were  appointed  to  office  by  Gov.  Cor¬ 
nell  eleven  or  twelve  years  ago,  and  have  held  on 
because  a  republican  senate  refused  to  confirm  the 
nominations  of  a  democratic  governor.  The  gov¬ 
ernors  old  friend  and  long  continued  tooter,  Thomas 
M.  Lynch,  succeeds  port  warden  Isaac  W.  Edsall. 
Lynch  is  a  Watertown  man,  a  saloon  keeper  in  New 
York,  formerly  represented  the  twenty-fourth  ward 
in  the  board  of  alderman  of  that  city,  is  wealthy,  in¬ 
dependent,  and  a  blind  worshiperof  the  governor’s. 
Another  ardent  friend  of  Mr.  Flower,  who  has  re¬ 
ceived  reward  for  past  services,  is  ex-congressman 
Nicholas  Muller. 

The  name  of  Col.  Michael  C.  Murphy,  who  has  been 
appointed  a  port  warden,  is  familiar  to  every  one 
who  followed  the  course  of  politics  in  this  state  for 
twenty  years  past.  He  is  about  sixty  years  old.  For 
three  years  past  he  has  been  practically  an  invalid, 
owing  to  a  cancer  in  the  stomach.  Many  times  his 
life  has  been  despaired  of,  but  surgical  operations 
have  greatly  improved  his  Condition. 

.lohn  McGroarty,  who  has  been  reappointed  port 
warden,  is  a  Brooklyn  saloon-keeper.  He  was  born 
In  the  ninth  ward  in  1838,  and  has  run  a  saloon  next 
to  the  Academy  of  Music  in  Montague  street,  Brook¬ 
lyn  for  fifteen  years  and  has  accumulated  a  fortune. 
His  place  has  long  been  one  of  the  headquarters  of 
the  sporting  members  of  the  local  political  ring.  It 
was  in  the  basement  of  this  resort  that  a  disgrace-  . 
ful  fracas  over  a  woman  occurred  several  years  ago  at 
3  o’clock  in  the  morning.  The  Emerald  ball  was  in 
progress  in  the  Academy  of  Music  and  McGroarly’s 
saloon  was  in  full  swing  up  stairs  and  down  stairs 
and  in  the  basement.  In  the  latter  portion  of  the 
premises  were  a  man  and  woman  drinking  cham¬ 
pagne.  The  woman  was  a  well-known  character, 
whose  husband  was  killed  by  her  son.  Detective 
Patrick  Carr  of  the  Brooklyn  central  office  joined  the 
drinking  party  and  a  row  ensued.  Champagne  bot¬ 
tles  were  hurled  by  the  woman  and  her  companion, 
a  man  got  his  head  broken,  the  woman  hid,  and  Carr 
vanished  in  the  excitement.  The  man  with  the 
broken  head  was  carted  away,  and  although  the 
news  of  the  row  reached  the  first  district  police  sta¬ 
tion,  it  did  not  get  on  the  blotter.  It  leaked  out, 
afterward,  however,  and  detective  Carr  was  allowed 
to  resign,  a  police  sergeant  was  reduced  to  the  ranks 
and  the  officer  on  the  beat  was  severely  punished. 
McGroarty  got  off  without  so  much  as  a  complaint 
against  his  place,  although  it  was  open  in  direct  vio¬ 
lation  of  the  excise  laws. 

Thomas  M.  Lynch,  who  has  been  appointed  a  port 
warden,  is  a  saloon  keeper  and  an  ex  alderman.  He 
was  defeated  for  re-election  as  alderman  at  the  last 
election.  His  Nassau  street  bar  room  is  a  popular 
resort  for  down  town  politicians.  His  claim  for  the 
appointment  probably  lies  in  the  fact  that,  like 
Gov.  Flower,  he  is  a  Watertown  man  and  has  been 
able  to  do  many  small  services  for  Mr.  Flower. 

Port  wardens  get  fees  that  will  aggregate  upward 
of  8^1,000  a  year.  The  position  is  a  substantial  sine¬ 
cure.  There  are  nine  port  wardens.  Three  must 
be  nautical  men  and  one  must  be  a  resident  of 
Brooklyn.  Their  pay  comes  from  fees  levied  on  all 
vessels  entering  this  harbor.  Two  of  the  nine  must 
live  at  quarantine  and  board  all  Incoming  vessels 
that  are  detained  by  the  health  oflficer.  They  have 
the  appointment  and  licensing  of  pilots,  and  are 
called  upon  to  decide  whether  owners  or  insurers 
are  liable  for  damages  to  cargo.— A’ew  York  Times, 
March  16. 

il* 

The  committee  on  civil  service  examinations  in 
this  city  has  submitted  to  the  executive  committee 
of  the  civil  service  reform  association  of  New  York 
a  carefully  prepared  report  touching  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  municipal  civil  service  rules.  These 
rules  apply  to  7,098  persons,  who  are  divided  in  the 
classified  service  of  the  city  as  follows;  3,503  In  the 
police  department,  1,013  in  the  fire  department,  287 
in  the  department  of  public  works,  and  2,295  miscel¬ 
laneous. 


320 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


The  committee  present  the  following  conclusions : 

“First— That  the  civil  service  rules  now  In  force, 
while  excluding  the  absolutely  unfit,  present  but  a 
slight  and  wholly  inadequate  barrier  to  appoint¬ 
ments  upon  other  grounds  than  merit. 

“Second— That  the  fact  that  few  or  no  requisitions 
are  made  upon  the  civil  service  board  for  clerks 
would  justify  the  suspicion  that  the  law  is  invaded 
or  openly  set  aside  when  it  proves  to  be  an  insur¬ 
mountable  obstacle  to  favoritism.” 

The  report  is  signed  by  C.  W.  Watson,  A.  R.  Mac- 
donough,  Edward  Carry  .  Seth  Sprague  Terry,  and 
Alfred  BLshop  Mason.— jVew  York  Times,  March  16. 

Persons  who  are  interested  in  the  methods  which 
Mr.  David  B.  Hill  pursues  in  his  chase  after  the  pres¬ 
idential  nomination  are  just  now  making  a  quiet  in¬ 
vestigation  into  the  fads  surrounding  the  pardoning 
of  William  Conroy,  a  murderer  who  was  serving  a 
life  sentence  in  the  state  prison.  Conroy  is  an  ex¬ 
policeman,  and  the  same  influences  which  secured 
his  appointment  on  the  police  force  are  expected  to 
aid  in  helping  along  the  cause  of  the  man  who  used 
his  high  office  as  chief  executive  of  the  state  to  lib¬ 
erate  the  murderer.  In  order  to  avoid  an  airing  of 
the  pardon  as  long  as  possible,  Mr.  Hill  put  it  off  un¬ 
til  his  last  hours  in  the  governor’s  chair,  the  order 
having  been  Issued  on  the  afternoon  of  December  31 
last.  Conroy  was  convicted  on  December  16, 1883,  of 
murder  in  the  first  degree  for  killing  Peter  Keenan 
on  November  3  of  the  same  year.  Conroy  was  on  pa¬ 
trol  duty  at  the  time  of  the  killing.  He  had  been 
drinking  more  or  less  during  the  day,  and  when  he 
was  told  that  “  Tom  Murphy  had  left  a  drink  in  Co¬ 
dy’s  saloon  ”  for  him  he  hastened  to  accept  the  gen¬ 
erous  offer.  In  the  saloon  were  eight  or  ten  men,  all 
of  whom  were  invited  by  the  policeman  to  drink  at 
his  expense:  Afterward  he  disputed  about  the  pay¬ 
ment  for  the  drinks,  and  offered  to  fight  anybody  in 
the  place.  No  one  accepted  the  challenge,  and  Con¬ 
roy  rushed  into  a  rear  room  and  began  plying  the  in¬ 
mates  with  his  club.  When  they  ran  out  for  safety 
he  stepped  back  into  the  main  saloon  again  and,  put¬ 
ting  his  club  back  in  its  socket,  pulled  his  pistol, 
took  deliberate  aim  at  a  group  composed  of  Mrs, 
Cody,  a  man  named  Cantwell,  and  Peter  Keenan, 
and  fired.  Keenan  fell  mortally  wounded.  The 
drunken  policeman  calmly  walked  out,  and,  meeting 
two  other  members  of  the  force  who  had  been  at¬ 
tracted  by  the  shot,  he  started  to  assist  them  in  car¬ 
rying  the  wounded  man  out.  It  was  suggested  that 
an  ambulance  be  called,  but  Conroy  said  this  was 
unnecessary.  He  took  hold  of  Keenan  and  made  the 
dying  man  stand  up  and  walk  to  the  station.  On  the 
way,  it  was  shown  by  the  evidence,  he  clubbed  his 
victim  several  times.  When  the  couple  arrived  at 
the  station  the  sergeant  at  the  desk  promptly  sent 
for  an  ambulance  and  Keenan  was  taken  to  Bellevue, 
but  before  he  arrived  there  he  was  dead.  The  mur¬ 
derer  was  stripped  of  his  uniform,  and,  as  his  act  had 
aroused  general  indignation,  the  case  was  rushed  to 
a  trial  at  once.  The  jury,  after  deliberating  seven¬ 
teen  hours,  found  the  defendant  guilty,  and  on  De¬ 
cember  21, 1883,  he  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  An 
appeal  was  taken,  however,  and  the  general  term  of 
the  supreme  court  reversed  the  verdict  on  the  ground 
that  the  necessary  premeditation  to  establish  murder 
in  the  first  degree  had  not  been  shown.  The  court 
of  appeals,  while  upholding  the  reversal,  did  it  on 
different  grounds,  holding  that  the  facts  were  suffi¬ 
cient  to  justify  the  verdict,  but  that  Judge  Cowing, 
before  whom  the  case  was  tried,  had  erred  in  refus¬ 
ing  to  admit  certain  testimony  bearing  on  Conroy’s 
mental  state,  counsel  for  the  defense  having  put  in 
a  plea  of  insanity. 

Conroy  never  faced  a  second  jury.  When  the  time 
for  his  re-trial  came  he  pleaded  guilty  in  order  to  es¬ 
cape  the  gallows,  and  accepted  the  life  sentence, 
which  David  B.  Hill  commuted  for  him,  thanks  to 
the  “pull”  of  the  gentleman  on  whom  the  senator 
relies  for  his  presidential  boom. 

Nothing  was  known  in  the  district  attorney's  office  yes¬ 
terday  of  the  manner  in  which  Conroy’s  pardon  had  been 
secured,  and  William  F.  Howe,  who  was  the  murderer's 
lawyer,  said  the  first  he  knew  of  the  affair  was  when  he 
saw  it  recorded  in  the  newspapers  —New  York  Times, 
March  17. 


There  is  an  unaccountable  amount  of  “  hitch”  and  de‘ 
lay  in  the  Central  Park  menagerie  investigation  by  the 
commissioners  of  accounts.  Superintendent  Conklin  is 
probably  trying  to  get  his  ''pull,”  which  has  somehow  be¬ 
come  weakened,  into  good  order  again,  and  the  commis¬ 
sioners  seem  disposed  to  give  him  plenty  of  time.  There 
is  nothing  particularly  new  in  the  condition  of  things 
at  the  menagerie.  Mr.  Conklin  has  for  years  been 
nursing  it  as  if  he  owned  it.  Everybody  has  known 
that  animals  belonging  to  Barnum’s  show  and  to 
importers  and  dealers  in  animals  had  been  kept 
there  at  public  expense,  and  those  belonging  to  the 
city  have  been  used  at  the  discretion  of  the  superin¬ 
tendent  for  show  purposes  outside  the  park.  If  he 
has  bought  animals  himself  and  kept  them  there,  or 
has  sold  or  given  away  those  belonging  to  the  collec¬ 
tion,  or  swapped  with  other  dealers  without  any¬ 
body’s  consent,  it  is  only  in  keeping  with  the  theory 
upon  which  he  has  always  seemed  to  act,  that  the 
whole  establishment  was  at  his  disposal. — New  York 
Times,  March  20. 

iff  if  tf 

Every  resident  of  this  city  has  an  apportunity  to¬ 
day  to  do  something  toward  .saving  Central  Park  from 
despoliation  by  the  placing  of  a  race  course  along  its 
westerly  side.  The  job  the  Tammany  politicians 
"put  up”  to  rob  the  people  of  the  city  of  a  large  slice 
of  their  finest  pleasure  garden  for  the  benefit  of  a  few 
hundred  owners  of  race  horses  and  a  limited  num¬ 
ber  of  contractors  has  worked  to  a  charm  up  to  this 
time.  Senator  Plunkitt's  iniquitous  bill  providing  for  it 
having  been  railroaded  into  a  law  by  the  assembly  and  the 
governor,  and  an  obedient  board  of  park  commissioners 
having  demonstrated  their  entire  willingness  to  do  the 
dirty  work  placed  tn  their  hands.  The  only  apparent 
way  effectually  to  undo  the  evil  work  that  has  al¬ 
ready  begun  is  by  a  popular  expression  of  indigna¬ 
tion  such  as  will  call  the  politicians  to  a  halt  and 
demand  the  immediate  repeal  of 'the  law. — New  York 
Times,  March  20. 

THE  BALTIMORE  INVESTIGATION. 

(continued.) 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Ray  testified  as  follows: 

Examined  by  Mr.  Roosevelt. 

Q.  Your  name,  Mr.  Ray?  A.  Charles  H. 
Ray. 

Q.  Position?  A.  United  States  assistant 
weigher. 

»  »  -»  -»  »  » 

Q.  Mr.  Ray,  have  you  contributed  to  any 
person  within  the  last  week  or  so  for  political 
purposes?  A.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  Understand,  you  have  a  per¬ 
fect  right  if  you  wish. 

Mr.  Ray.  That’s  all  right;  I  tell  you,  sir, 

I  did  not  contribute. 

Q.  Have  you  been  asked?  A.  No,  sir; 
not  directly. 

Q.  Have  you  been  indirectly?  A.  The 
treasurer  of  our  association  in  the  seventh 
ward — it  is  not  a  political  association  in  any 
way,  shape,  or  form — he  said  that  we  would 
have  to  have  some  money,  and  I  said  I  was 
willing  to  give  anything.  We  have  a  costly — 

Q.  Who  is  the  treasurer?  A.  Charles  A. 
Allard. 

Q.  And  in  office?  A.  No,  sir;  I  know 
what  the  law  is,  and  did  not  intend  to  put  my¬ 
self  in  the  law. 

Q.  You  then,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  contrib¬ 
uted?  A.  I  contributed  one  dollar. 

Q.  Have  you  not  been  spoken  to  before,  so 
that  anyone  who  said  his  name  was  on  a  cer¬ 
tain  list  was  a  contributor?  A.  I  told  you,  y’ 
understand — Mr.  Allard  y’  understand — that  I 
was  invited  to  his  house.  I  though  I  had  a 


I 

perfect  right  to  go  to  a  neighbor’s  house.  I 
am  a  republican;  I  know  I  was  straight.  I 
belong  to  a  club.  I  thought  I  had  a  right  to 
outside  of  my  business  hours.  I  thought  I 
had  a  right  to  give  my  money  as  I  pleased.  I 
am  an  old-stock  republican,  and  I  have  loved 
the  party  all  my  life.  The  democrats  would 
turn  me  down  every  time  and  would  not  put 
me  in,  and  I  could  not  stand  back.  I  would 
give  freely  if  I  was  not  prohibited  by  law. 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte : 

Q.  Mr.  Ray,  what  is  the  name  of  this  club? 
A.  We  call  ourselves  “The  Young  Men’s 
Republican  Club  of  the  Seventh  Ward,”  in  op-' 
position  to  the  Stone  Club.  ' 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt:  j 

Q.  The  .Stope  Club  is  the  same  as  the 
Henderson  Club?  A.  Our  club  is  the  ad-^ 
ministration  club. 

Q.  The  administration  club — that’s  what 
the  fight  will  be  to-day?  A.  A  great  many 
people  are  in  the  post-office  and  the  custom¬ 
house,  and  I  think  it  would  be  ungrateful  if 
we  went  back  on  Mr.  Johnson  or  Mr.  Marine, 
and  he  never  hinted  at  such  a  thing,  and  if  he 
would  say  it  to  anybody  he  would  say  it  to  me. 
They  have  tried  to  crush  me  and  keep  me  out 
of  here,  and  I  was  a  voter  when  he  was  in  his 
breeches - 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte  : 

Q.  Mr.  Ray,  let  us  see  if  we  have  you 
down  straight.  Your  name  came  to  be  on 
this  list  by  your  saying  that  you  were  willing 
to  give  him  some  money?  A.  Certainly;  he 
did  not  call  on  me. 

Q.  Has  anyone  brought  the  list  around 
here?  A.  I  have  not  seen  it.  I  was  out  on 
duty,  as  the  books  will  show,  from  last  Wed¬ 
nesday  week  to  last  Tuesday.  If  the  list  was 
brought  to  this  custom-house  I  didn’t  see  it. 

Q.  When  did  this  meeting  at  Allard’s 
house  take  place,  do  you  remember?  A. 
Tuesday  evening,  17th  of  March,  I  went  up 
there. 

Q.  On  the  17th  of  March  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  that  correct  ?  A.  I  think  it  is. 

Q.  Now,  was  there  a  Mr.  Bell,  an  employe 
of  the  post-office,  a  member  of  that  club?  A. 

I  don’t  know  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  club 
at  all  now.  He  was  down  there  when  we  first 
started.  It’s  a  social  organization,  you  under¬ 
stand.  We  have  people  in  it  as  are  against  us 
and  some  are  with  us — its  a  social  organiza¬ 
tion.  And  Mr.  Bell  has  not  attended  that 
club  since  before  last  September. 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt : 

Q.  Mr.  John  Bell,  do  you  mean?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  Didn’t  you  attend  a  meeting  at  Mr^ 
Bell’s  house  when  he  was  absent?  A.  No, 
sir.  (Witness  here  objected  to  being  cross- 
examined  by  Mr.  Bonaparte.  Mr.  Roosevelt 
said  it  was  perfectly  proper  for  Mr.  Bonaparte 
to  cross-question.) 

Mr.  Ray.  That’s  all  right.  I  am  willing 
to  do  it.  I  will  answer  you  truthfully.  I  was 
not  there.  No,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte: 

CONTINUED  IN  NEXT  ISSUE. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle. 


This  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  which  it  exists,  but  to  the  spoils  that  accompany  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so  absolute  that  it  has  pro¬ 
duced  an  evil  greater  than  any  which  party  proposes  torcm  5  ly  —George  WUliam.  Garth,  at  BiUinore,  April,  1892. 


OL.  I,  No.  38.  INDIANAPOLIS,  APRIL,  1892.  terms  fe^uVer^opT' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 


WEare  able  to  give  the  full  address  of 
Mr.  Curtis  before  the  National  League  of 
Civil  Service  Reform  Associations  at  Balti¬ 
more,  April  28th.  It  is  a  complete  state¬ 
ment  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  irrepressible  spirit  of  progress  acts  in 
political  matters,  and  under  which  civil 
service  reform  is  now  waging  its  war,  and 
it  is  couched  in  terms  which  make  its 
reading  a  rare  pleasure.  Progress  is  every¬ 
where  the  Golden  Fleece  to  be  won  only 
by  hard  contention.  Distrust  of  political 
power  is  the  safeguard  of  democracy. 
The  demand  for  civil  service  reform  is  the 
cry  of  that  eternal  vigilance  which  is  the 
price  of  liberty,  for  a  still  further  restric¬ 
tion  of  executive  power.  It  is  but  another 
successive  step  in  the  development  of  lib¬ 
erty  under  law.  The  superstition  of  di¬ 
vine  right  has  passed  from  king  to  party  and 
the  old  fiction  that  the  king  can  do  no  wrong 
has  become  the  practical  faith  of  great 
multitudes  in  regard  to  party.  Patronage 
has  but  to  capture  the  primary  and  it  com¬ 
mands  the  party  organization.  Devotion 
to  party  success  for  the  spoil  which  it 
brings,  has  become  a  greater  evil  than  any 
which  party  proposes  to  remedy.  Party 
is  no  longer  a  combination  of  citizens  for 
public  ends;  it  is  a  trading  company  seek¬ 
ing  the  advantage  of  the  leading  partners. 
Party  machines  no  more  favor  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform  than  kings  favor  the  restriction 
of  the  royal  prerogative.  Civil  service  re¬ 
form  will  nevertheless  succeed  through 
party  action  because  party  machines  defer 
to  public  opinion  and  independent  votes. 
Already  planted,  it  grows  like  a  vigorous 
sapling.  The  futility  of  theoretical  objec- 
tionp  is  shown  by  conclusive  experiment, 
as  when  the  first  steamship  crossed  the 
ocean  before  Dr.  Lardner  had  finished 
demonstrating  that  it  was  impossible. 

It  is  impossible  in  any  synopsis  to  give 
an  adequate  idea  of  this  address.  It  must 
be  ranked  as  perhaps  the  greatest  utter¬ 
ance  that  has  ever  been  delivered  against 
the  spoils  system. 

The  following  resolutions,  recommended  by  the 
committee  on  resolutions  a  nd  read  by  Carl  Schurz, 
were  adopted :  * 

The  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League  gladly 
acknowledges  that  notwithstanding  all  violations  of 


pledges  and  inconsistency  of  official  action,  the  In¬ 
creasing  pressure  of  public  opinion  upon  public 
officers  secures  a  faithful  observance  of  the  reform 
law  of  1883,  a  greater  reluctance  to  remove  honest 
and  efficient  employes  for  political  reasons,  a  deeper 
sense  of  shame  in  extorting  political  contributions 
from  public  employes,  and  the  league  congratulates 
all  good  citizens  upon  the  constant  and  certain 
progress  of  reform. 

The  present  administration  entered  upon  its  du¬ 
ties  with  unprecedented  promises  from  its  party  of 
thorough  reform  by  extending  the  reformed  system 
to  all  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable, 
by  observing  the  spirit  of  the  reform  in  all  executive 
appointments,  and  by  repealing  all  laws  at  variance 
with  the  objects  proposed  by  reform  legislation.  To 
fulfill  these  extraordinary  pledges  the  President  has 
appointed  an  admirable  commission,  which  has  en¬ 
forced  the  requirements  of  the  law,  and  has  awak¬ 
ened  in  the  southern  states  confidence  in  its  honest 
operations  so  that  the  quotas  of  appointments  may 
be  equalized  among  all  the  states,  and  has  every¬ 
where  stimulated  a  wholesome  apprehension  in 
official  circles  of  the  danger  of  violating  the  reform 
law.  The  President’s  judicial  appointments  are  a 
sign  of  progress  in  the  right  direction.  He  has  in¬ 
cluded  some  additional  hundreds  of  places  in  the 
Indian  service  within  the  classified  system,  and  has 
authorized  open  competition  for  promotion  within 
the  departments.  The  secretary  of  the  navy  has 
placed  the  entire  labor  system  of  the  navy  yards  under 
reform  rules,  and  the  postmaster-general  has  intro¬ 
duced  competition  for  promotion  in  the  department 
at  Washington  and  the  classified  post-offices.  These 
are  all  measures  of  reform  which  the  league  recog¬ 
nizes  with  pleasure  and  warmly  commends. 

REPUBLICAN  PROMISES  BROKEN. 

Much  has  been  accomplished  for  reform  by  the 
force  of  public  opinion,  by  the  fidelity  of  the  civil 
service  commission,  and  by  the  action  of  the  secre. 
tary  of  the  navy  during  this  administration,  but  the 
solemn  promises  of  the  republican  platform  of  1888 
have  been  broken,  the  voluntary  pledges  of  the  Pres¬ 
ident  are  unfulfilled,  and  the  claim  of  the  republican 
party,  however  strong  may  be  the  sympathy  of  indi¬ 
vidual  republicans  to  be  distinctly  the  party  of  civil 
service  reform,  is  not  sustained  by  the  course  of  the 
administration,  and  against  this  gross  breach  of 
plighted  faith  with  the  people  of  the  United  States 
the  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League  earnestly 
protests. 

But  with  these  exceptions  the  administration  has 
done  nothing  to  fulfill  the  pledges  of  extending  the 
reformed  system  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to  which 
it  is  applicable ;  the  spirit  of  the  reform  has  not  been 
observed  in  all  or  in  many  executive  appointments, 
and  no  effort  has  been  made  to  repeal  all  laws  at  va¬ 
riance  with  the  objects  of  reform.  The  post-office 
service.  Including  the  employes  of  60,000  post  offices, 
the  custom-houses  and  other  executive  offices,  with 
the  exception  of  the  places  within  the  classified  sys¬ 
tem,  have  been  ravaged  by  party  removals ;  politi¬ 
cal  assessments,  although  happily  greatly^ restricted 
by  law  and  public  opinion,  have  not  been  restrained; 
the  power  of  patronage  has  been  boldly  exercised  by 
the  administration  in  factional  quarrels,  as  in  New 
York,  and  the  earnest  recommendation  of  the  civil 
service  commission  for  the  removal  of  employes  who 
have  violated  the  civil  service  laws,  as  in  Baltimore, 
have  been  wholly  disregarded  by  the  President. 

ARBITRARY  POSTAL  REMOVALS. 

The  national  postal  service  contained  on  the  first 
of  March  1892,  106,459  persons  out  of  a  total  in  the 


entire  executive,  judiciary  and  legislative  depart¬ 
ments  of  175,884.  The  arbitrary  removals  in  the 
post-office  service  for  political  reasons  alone  wan¬ 
tonly  impose  upon  the  country  the  loss,  delay  and 
expense  which  necessarily  result  from  replacing  effi¬ 
ciency  and  experience  by  Ignorance  and  inexperi¬ 
ence.  The  practice  is  an  antiquated  political  tradi¬ 
tion  against  which  reason  and  good  sense  protest. 
It  is  a  wrong  which  should  be  corrected  by  law,  and 
we  commend  warmly  as  measures  of  great  advant¬ 
ages  to  the  public  service  the  correction  proposed  by 
the  Honorable  Sherman  Hoar  in  his  bill  providing 
for  the  removal  of  postmasters  solely  for  cause  sta¬ 
ted,  and  by  the  bill  introduced  by  Honorable  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge,  providing  for  the  appointment  of 
fourth-class  postmasters  without  regard  to  political 
considerations. 

The  league  also  regards  as  a  public  (measure  of 
great  value  and  importance  the  bill  introduced  into 
the  house  of  representatives  by  the  Hon.  John  F. 
Andrew  of  Massachusetts,  providing  for  the  selec¬ 
tion,  by  merit,  under  equal  conditions  for  every  ap¬ 
plicant,  ot  the  labor  force  of  the  government  in  ev¬ 
ery  department.  Eminent  pubiic  officers  testify  to 
the  admirable  practical  working  of  this  system  in 
the  cities  of  Massachusetts,  were  it  has  been  estab¬ 
lished  since  1885,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
it  would  be  of  the  utmost  benefit  in  the  national 
service. 

FOUR  years’  law  OPPOSED. 

Believing  that  the  power  of  removal  should  be 
vested  in  appointing  officers,  subject  only  to  a  sound 
discretion,  the  league  holds  that  such  officers  should 
be  relieved,  so  far  as  practicable,  of  every  tempta¬ 
tion  and  every  facility  for  the  partisan  exercise  of 
such  power.  It,  therefore,  renews  its  demand  for 
the  repeal  of  the  act  known  as  the  four  years’  law, 
which,  by  prescribing  a  fixed  term  of  office,  were  de¬ 
signed  to  facilitate  political  removals,  offering  the 
opportunity,  which  is  eagerly  embraced,  for  a  mon¬ 
strous  abuse  of  the  power  of  appointment. 

The  league  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  at  the 
recent  trial  of  persons  charged  with  illegally  assess¬ 
ing  government  employes  for  political  purposes  Jus¬ 
tice  Bradley  charged  the  jury  that  the  retention  of 
the  accused  in  office  by  the  government  was  reason 
for  considering  them  innocent,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  government  failed  to  remove  them  till  they  were 
criminally  convicted.  Thus,  while  the  President 
does  not  remove  until  the  offender  is  convicted,  and 
the  offender  is  not  convicted  because  he  is  not  re¬ 
moved  by  the  President,  the  law  is  made  of  no  effect. 

The  league  regrets  that  no  punishment  whatever 
should  have  been  inflicted  upon  those  employes  of 
the  Baltimore  post-office  proved  by  their  own  admis¬ 
sions  to  Commissioner  Roosevelt  to  have  violated 
both  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  civil  service  law; 
it  finds  no  satisfactory  explanation  for  the  President’s 
silence  and  Inaction  on  the  subject ;  it  declares  the 
reasons  given  officially  for  this  failure  to  vindicate 
the  law  (in  so  far  as  any  reasons  have  been  given) 
utterly  insufficient,  and  it  expects  of  Congress  a  thor¬ 
ough  investigation  and  exposure  of  the  entire  trans¬ 
action  . 

The  house  is  inquiring  into  the  scandals 
of  the  federal  service  in  Baltimore,  set  out 
in  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  recent  report.  The 
committee  will  find  it  an  easy  task  to  show 
that  federal  offices  in  Baltimore  have  been 
extensively  used  for  personal  and  party 
ends,  that  the  law  relating  to  the  black- 


322 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


mailing  of  employes  has  been  openly  vio¬ 
lated,  and  that  a  multitude  of  facts  show¬ 
ing  this  disgraceful  state  of  affairs  has  been 
laid  before  the  President,  and  that  he  has 
paid  no  attention  to  them.  The  Baltimore 
district  attorney  has  not  brought  the  mat¬ 
ter  to  the  attention  of  the  grand  jury,  and 
the  law  breakers  are  still  in  office.  Crimi¬ 
nals  drawing  pay  from  the  public  treasury, 
a  district  attorney  in  silent  league  with 
them,  and  the  President  looking  on  with 
indifference,  do  not  make  a  pleasing  sight. 


Ex  Congressman  Allen,  of  Michigan, 
has  been  in  Chicago  soliciting  funds  from 
government  employes.  He  “  struck  ”  Mr. 
Oliver  T.  Morton  in  his  office  in  the  federal 
building,  but  Mr.  Morton  has  a  way  of 
striking  back  at  blackmailers.  Allen  now 
denies  the  charge,  as  might  be  expected ; 
that  is  an  old  and  convenient  dodge.  One 
curious  distinction  may  be  noted.  When 
the  person  who  figures  as  United  States 
marshal  at  Chicago  was  questioned,  he 
took  the  ground  that  Allen  only  talked 
with  Mr.  Morton  “  as  a  republican.”  The 
millenium  of  evil  doers  has  arrived  if  a 
criminal  or  his  friends  may  answer  that 
he  has  not  committed  crime  but  has  only 
acted  in  a  capacity. 


The  resignation  of  Civil  Service  Com¬ 
missioner  Thompson  is  a  loss  to  the  public 
service.  Being  of  the  minority  party  he 
was  not  the  spokesman  of  the  commission 
in  its  contests  with  the  hungry  crowd 
that  sees  the  public  service  slipping  away 
from  its  clutches,  but  he  was  not  the  less 
an  admirable  officer.  He  had  no  favoritism 
for  members  of  his  own  party,  nor  any 
blind  side  toward  blackmailers  who  try  to 
squeeze  money  out  of  government  em¬ 
ployes.  He  believed  in  fair  play  and  in 
the  enforcement  of  the  law.  It  is  saying 
much  in  these  times  to  say  that  he  was 
not  afraid,  either  of  the  President  or  of  any 
office-holder  under  the  President.  Those 
who  are  familiar  with  the  dishonesty  and 
the  cowardice  which  has  had  to  be  fought 
down  by  the  advocates  of  the  merit  sys¬ 
tem  will  understand  that  in  mentioning 
these  qualifications  we  are  paying  Mr. 
Thompson  the  very  highest  compliment. 


Collector.Beard,  of  the  Boston  custom 
house,  has  given  to  the^  public  a  report  of 
his  office  for  the  two  years,  ending  March  1, 
1892,  During  this  time,  in  the  classified 
service  of  219  places,  eleven  changes  were 
made  by  removal,  eleven  by  death,  twelve 
by  resignation,  and  one  by  promotion  to 
an  excepted  place.  The  reduction  of  an¬ 
nual  expenses  is  $69,630.  At  the  end  of 
the  report  is  this  remark : 

“  Collector  Beard 'submits  to  Ithe  public  the  fore¬ 
going  statement  as  illustrating  his  idea  of  a  practical 


business  administration  of  the  civil  service,  and 
believes  that  the  facts  herein  presented  save  him  the 
necessity  of  making  ostentatious  professions  of  de¬ 
votion  to  civil  service  reform.” 

Ostentatious  professions  should  always 
be  avoided  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Col¬ 
lector  Beard  will  neither  make  them  indi¬ 
vidually  nor  join  in  party  platforms  which 
make  them  upon  any  subject.  But  he  has 
not  made  any  professions  of  devotion  to 
civil  service  reform.  He  has,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  disapproved  of  it,  while  compelled 
by  public  opinion  around  him  to  conduct 
his  office  upon  its  principles,  and  now  the 
results  confound  him.  The  merit  system 
has  again  conquered  its  ill-wishers. 


Democrats  over  the  country  are  hold¬ 
ing  their  conventions  and  declaring  that 
the  tariff  must  be  the  issue  in  the  ap¬ 
proaching  presidential  election.  Never¬ 
theless  they  had  better  be  preparing  an 
answer  to  the  question  how,  if  their  can¬ 
didate  is  elected,  will  he  proceed  with  re¬ 
gard  to  the  some  hundred  and  forty  thou¬ 
sand  places  in  the  federal  service  now 
operated  as  spoil.  What  will  he  do  with 
regard  to  the  civil  service  law  ?  If  it  is 
said  that  he  will  enforce  it  is  it  meant  that 
he  will  enforce  it  as  it  was  enforced  in 
Indiana  by  the  last  democratic  adminis¬ 
tration?  Democrats  have  had  too  many 
lessons  from  those  who  are  fighting  the 
spoils  system  to  be  justified  in  supposing 
for  a  moment  that  they  will  sit  down  qui¬ 
etly  and  let  a  question  of  importance,  but 
of  minor  importance,  like  the  tariff  be  the 
one  great  question  which  bears  upon  a 
president’s  qualifications.  The  tariff  ques¬ 
tion  has  been  with  us  for  a  hundred  years 
and  it  will  be  with  us  a  hundred  more.  It 
can  wait  and  the  country  will  prosper. 
The  work  of  destroying  the  spoils  system 
can  not  wait. 


The  democrats  of  Indiana  have  held 
their  state  convention  and  adjourned 
without  saying  anything  about  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  merit  system  into  the  state 
and  municipal  service  of  Indiana.  In  the 
meantime  we  have  two  great  prisons,  four 
great  hospitals  for  the  insane,  a  large  in¬ 
stitution  for  the  blind,  one  for  the  deaf 
and  dumb,  fire  and  police  departments  in 
several  large  cities,  and  other  departments 
of  state  and  municipal  service  running 
upon  a  system  of  personal  and  party  fa¬ 
voritism  which  is  essentially  and  incurably 
corrupt. 

The  annual  examination  for  under¬ 
physicians  in  the  Indianapolis  city  hospital 
and  dispensary  was  held  this  month.  These 
examinations  are  competitive  and  the  one 
this  year  lasted  five  days,  being  oral  and 
written.  There  is  not  a  person  in  Indiana 
who  will  say  that  this  method  of  choosing 


physicians  is  not  practicable,  or  that  it  is 
not  fair,  or  that  it  is  not  free  from  personal 
and  party  favoritism,  or  that  it  is  not  in 
every  way  a  thorough  success.  This  was 
brought  about  by  the  medical  profession 
and  that  same  profession  can  bring  it  about 
that  similar  appointments  in  our  four  in¬ 
sane  hospitals  and  in  all  of  our  state  insti¬ 
tutions  shall  be  relieved  of  the  incubus  of 
partisan  politics. 


PARTY  AND  PATRONAGE. 

An  Address  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
National  Civil  Service  Reform  League 
in  Baltimore,  April  28,  1892. 

By  George  William  Curtis. 

If  Charles  Lamb  had  been  an  American  by  birth, 
as  he  is  certainly  an  American  by  affectionate  liter¬ 
ary  adoption,  he  would  have  added,  probably,  to  his 
list  of  Popular  Fallacies  the  pleasing  delusion  that  a 
republic  is  a  self-adjusting  .system  of  liberty  and 
equal  rights,  and  that  to  upset  a  throne  is  to  set  up 
justice.  When  Voltaire  was  insulted  by  the  London 
mob  for  being  a  Frenchman,  an  offence  which  John 
Bright  said  is  forgiven  by  John  Bull  only  with  the 
greatest  reluctance,  the  Frenchman  turned  upon  the 
steps  as  he  entered  his  door,  and  with  exquisite  sar¬ 
casm  appealed  to  the  nobleness  of  the  English  char 
acter  and  complimented  the  mob  upon  their  institu¬ 
tions  and  love  of  liberty.  Voltaire  knew  that  in  En¬ 
gland  the  surest  appeal  was  to  the  national  self-com¬ 
placency,  a  virtue  which  is  not  wanting  to  the  En¬ 
glish-speaking  race  wherever  it  is  found. 

But  although  we  may  justly  claim  that  a  republic 
upon  the  whole  secures  fairer  play  for  every  man 
than  any  other  government,  it  is  not  necessary,  as  iu 
a  disputed  election,  to  claim  everything.  However 
it  may  be  in  Maryland,  in  New  York  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  a  republic  by  our  fathers,  while  it  has  se¬ 
cured  a  fairer  general  chance  for  all  men,  has  not 
yet  developed  universal  political  virtue  or  absolute¬ 
ly  honest  government.  Like  all  excellent  human 
devices,  the  administration  of  government  must  be 
constantly  and  carefully  repaired  and  improved.  If 
a  locomotive  upon  a  railroad  must  be  watched  with 
incessant  care  and  be  scrupulously  oiled  and  bur¬ 
nished,  in  order  effectively  to  do  its  work;  if  even  a 
chronometer  must  be  regularly  wound  if  it  is  to  re¬ 
port  accurately  the  time  of  day;  if  a  slight  derange¬ 
ment  of  the  machinery  brings  the  huge  humming 
factory  to  silence,  it  is  a  fond  delusion  that  popular 
forms  of  government  alone  will  secure  honest  and 
equitable  administration. 

In  the  ninteenth  year  of  our  constitutional  union 
Fulton  essayed  with  steam  to  force  his  little  vessel, 
the  Clermont,  up  the  Hudson  river  to  Albany.  It 
was  an  experiment  in  mechanics,  but  no  more  an 
experiment  than  the  republic  in  politics.  Incessant 
care,  comprehensive  observation,  intelligence,  dis¬ 
cretion,  shrewd  modification  of  details,  perpetual 
deference  to  the  hints  of  experience,  a  thoughtful 
care  which  has  not  yet  ceased,  all  these  have  devel¬ 
oped  Fulton ’s  struggling,  doubtful  Clermont  pushing 
its  way  upon  a  smooth  stream  to  Albany  iu  thirty- 
two  hours  into  the  magnificent  marine  palace  that 
crosses  the  turbulent  ocean  in  five  times  thirty-two 
hours.  Much  more  was  necessary  to  this  marvellous 
development  than  the  invention  of  the  steam  engine, 
and  the  application  of  steam  to  navigation.  Very 
much  more  is  necessary  to  honest  government,  to 
the  security  of  liberty,  the  equality  of  rights,  and 
the  general  welfare,  than  a  republican  form  of  gov¬ 
ernment.  Among  the  Zulus  to-day  a  republic  would 
hardly  prosper.  In  Bourbonized  France  a  hundred 
years  ago  a  republic  was  a  saturnalia  of  wrong  and 
blood  Wendell  Phillips,  seeing  only  the  cause  and 
the  result,  the  inhuman  tyranny  that  produced  the 
French  revolution,  and  the  relaxed  grasp  of  despot¬ 
ism  that  followed  it,  called  it  “  the  most  unstained 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


323 


and  wholly  perfect  blessing  Kurope  has  had  in  mod¬ 
ern  times.”  However  that  may  be  from  the  orator’s 
point  of  view,  the  French  republic  of  1793,  the  fierce 
outbreak  of  a  people  imbruted  by  unspeakable  op¬ 
pression,  was  itself  an  awful  revenge  in  kind.  Even 
great  as  is  the  progress  and  marvellous  the  recuper¬ 
ative  force  of  the  French  people,  and  fair  their  fu¬ 
ture  prospect,  the  republic  is  built  upon  volcanic 
ground,  and  may  yet  reel  with  earthquake  shocks. 

If  Mount  Blanc,  the  sovereign  Alp,  has  not  a  charm 
to  stay  the  morning  star,  the  American  republic, 
greatest  and  best  of  all  republics,  has  no  more  power 
than  the  Roman  republic  by  its  name  alone  to  se 
cure  freedom  and  wise  progress.  It  is  but  an  instru¬ 
ment,  and  its  beneficent  efficiency  depends  upon  the 
intelligence,  character  and  conscience  of  the  people 
who  wield  it,  and  upon  the  promptitude  and  skill 
with  which  it  is  kept  in  repair  and  adjusted  to  the 
changing  conditions  of  its  operation.  The  demand 
of  reform  In  methods  of  administration  of  govern¬ 
ment,  therefore,  is  not  revolutionary,  nor  Quixotic, 
nor  surprising.  It  is  the  sign  of  a  healthy  and  pro¬ 
gressive  political  life.  It  is  not  exceptional,  but  on 
the  contrary  it  is  familiar  in  every  kind  of  human 
activity.  It  is  the  impulse  of  the  instinct  which  con¬ 
stantly  seeks  something  better; 

”  The  desire  of  the  moth  for  the  star, 

Of  the  night  for  the  morrow 

the  instinct  which  stimulates  medical  science  to  dis¬ 
covery  of  more  certain  relief  for  the  physical  pain 
and  suffering  of  mankind,  which  produces  endless 
mechanical  inventions,  increases  the  knowledge  of 
occult  forces  and  their  practical  application  to  hu¬ 
man  convenience,  arrests  the  vast  and  needless 
waste  of  vitality  that  lesser  knowledge  can  not  stay  ; 
which  lightens  labor  and  lengthens  life  by  greater 
command  of  time  and  space. 

Why  should  this  beneficent  inspiration  be  lost  to 
the  sphere  of  politics  which  is  not  a  less  universal 
concern  than  all  these  ?  When  human  ingenuity  is 
busily  improving  sewing-machines,  and  type-writers, 
steam  engines,  telephones  and  electric  lights,  and 
every  mechanical  and  industrial  process,  why  should 
methods  of  administration  and  government  not  be 
supposed  susceptible  of  improvement?  As  the 
Arabian  Nights  and  the  old  fairy  stories  are  but 
delightful  prophecies  of  our  modern  world  of  larger 
intelligence  and  shrewder  wit,  where  we  are  wafted 
from  place  to  place  upon  an  enchanted  carpet  and  in 
a  chair  of  magic,  where  Ispahan  converses  with 
Istamboul,  and  a  drop  of  elixir  deadens  pain,  so 
Plato’s  republic,  and  Sir  Thomas  More’s  Utopia,  and 
Harrington’s  Oceana,  and  all  the  ideal  common¬ 
wealths  of  the  poets  and  philosophers  are  but  vague 
forecasts  of  states  not  further  from  ours  than  ours 
from  those  of  early  history. 

Yet  the  world  is  not  a  garden  of  the  Hesperides 
where  we  have  only  to  raise  our  hands  and  pluck 
the  golden  fruit  of  progress.  Progress,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  is  everywhere  the  Golden  Fleece  to  be  won 
only  by  hard  contention,  by  taming  fire-breathing 
bulls  of  stupidity,  by  slaying  dragons  of  malignity, 
and  by  victoriously  withstanding  hosts  of  slanderers 
and  liars  sprung  from  the  teeth  of  venemous  ser¬ 
pents.  If  the  application  of  humane  discoveries  of 
science  and  the  advance  of  the  comfort  and  conven¬ 
ience  of  modern  civilization  have  been  resisted  as 
stoutly  as  if  they  were  a  pestilence  or  a  consuming 
cloud  of  locusts,  it  is  not  surprising  that  every  polit¬ 
ical  reform  is  ridiculed  as  visionary  and  denounced 
as  incendiary.  This  has  been  so  universally  the  wel¬ 
come  of  improvement  in  every  department  of  hu¬ 
man  interest  that  it  may  be  said  almost  that  the  pre¬ 
sumption  is  in  favor  of  every  proposed  reform,  and 
that  reputed  quacks  and  tiresome  fanatics  are  prob¬ 
ably  new  Columbuses  and  Galileos  and  Jenners,  the 
latest  benefactors  of  mankind.  It  is  this  jealous 
distrust  of  progress  which  led  so  sagacious  a  states¬ 
man  as  Lord  Shelburne  to  say:  “The  moment 
the  independence  of  America  is  agreed  to  by  our 
government  the  sun  of  Great  Britain  is  set,  and  we 
shall  no  longer  be  a  powerful  or  respectable  people,” 
and  even  Richard  Henry  Lee  called  the  framers  of 
the  American  censtitution  “visionary  young  men.” 
They  were  very  positive,  but  it  was  only  their  highly 
rhetorical  way  of  saying  “  here  is  a  change,”  and 


change  to  certain  conservative  temperaments  means 
only  mischief.  But  the  challenge  of  conservatism  to 
the  spirit  of  progress  has  this  advantage,  that  it  com¬ 
pels  every  change  to  prove  its  right  by  showing  its 
reason. 

The  uncertain  fortune  of  reform  in  politics,  fluct¬ 
uating  between  sudden  success  and  long  delay,  is 
well  explained  by  a  remark  of  Fisher  Ames,  that 
“the  only  constant  agents  in  political  affairs  are  the 
passions  of  men;”  and  by  what  Gardiner,  the  latest 
and  masterly  historian  of  the  great  civil  war  in  En¬ 
gland,  says  of  the  Presbyteriani.sm  of  Prynne,  that  it 
enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  average  intellect  of  the 
day,  “which  looked  with  suspicion  on  ideas  not  yet 
stamped  with  the  mint  mark  of  custom  ;  the  feeling 
which  unconsciously  exists  in  the  majority  of  man¬ 
kind,  of  repugnance  against  all  who  aim  at  higher 
thinking  or  purer  living  than  are  deemed  sufficient 
by  their  contemporaries,  and  who  usually,  in  the 
opinion  of  their  contemporaries,  contrive  to  miss 
their  aim.”  But  existing  order  con.sists  always  of 
ideas  which  are  stamped  with  the  mint  mark  of  cus¬ 
tom,  and  the  hope  of  progress,  therefore,  lies  in  the 
ideas  which  are  not  yet  authenticated  at  the  mint. 
The  Bourbon  despotism  in  France,  the  Stuart  abuses 
in  England,  the  supremacy  of  the  Crown  in  Colonial 
America,  had  the  mint  mark  of  custom.  Had  no 
other  coinage  been  demanded  these  coined  abuses 
would  have  remained  the  sole  currency.  Political 
progress,  and  with  it  larger  liberty  and  higher  gen¬ 
eral  welfare,  are  secured  only  by  bringing  fresh 
bullion  to  be  stamped  with  the  mint  mark.  In  the 
ever  spreading  tree  of  political  life  it  is  distrust  of  the 
established  order,  not  acquiescence  in  it, which  is  the 
irritation  of  the  stem  that  shows  the  spot  where  the 
new  growth  will  spring. 

In  the  legal  security  of  liberty  progress  has  been 
always  effected  by  regulating  the  executive  power 
which  is  the  final  force  in  all  politically  organized 
communities.  The  Great  Charter,  the  Grand  Re 
monstrance,  the  Petition  of  Rights  in  England,  were 
all  declarations  against  the  arbitrary  exercise  of  exec- 
•  utive  power,  and  steadily  diminished  by  jealous  pop 
ular  care,  this  power  gradually  became  mainly  the 
arbitrary  control  of  patronage.  For  this  arbitrary  con¬ 
trol  the  English  tory  had  always  a  plausible  plea,  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when  England  had 
been  freshly  reminded  by  Culloden  and  the  roman¬ 
tic  enthusiasm  for  Prince  Charles  that  the  Hanover¬ 
ian  throne  was  not  yet  secure,  David  Hume  in  his 
essay  upon  the  Independence  of  Parliaments,  made 
a  better  argument  for  patronage  under  the  British 
Constitution  than  could  ever  be  made  for  it  under 
ours.  It  was  essential,  he  said,  to  the  balance  of  the 
constitution.  The  House  of  Commons  did  not  as¬ 
sert  its  supremacy  over  the  other  branches  of  the 
government  only  because  it  did  not  think  it  its  in¬ 
terest  to  do  so.  The  patronage  of  the  crown,  he  said, 
with  the  aid  of  honest  members  alone  maintained 
the  royal  power.  That  is  to  .say  the  King  bought 
votes  enough  to  supplement  the  votes  of  his  friends. 
“We  may  call  this  influence,”  he  says,  for  Hume 
was  an  honest  man,  “by  the  invidious  appellations 
of  corruption  and  dependence,  but  some  degree  and 
some  kind  of  it  are  inseparable  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  constitution,  and  necessary  to  the  preserva 
tlon  of  our  mixed  government.” 

Mr.  Lecky  points  out  the  coincidence  of  Hume’s 
view  with  that  of  Paley,  who  attributes  the  loss  of 
the  American  colonies  to  the  want  of  royal  patron¬ 
age  extensive  enough,  as  he  says,  “to  counteract 
that  restless,  arrogating  spirit  which  in  popular 
assemblies,  when  left  to  it.self,  will  never  brook  an 
authority  that  checks  and  interferes  with  its  own.” 
This  is  the  tribute  of  the  moral  philosopher  to  the 
necessity  and  reasonableness  of  the  spoils  system,  a 
tribute  which  is  echoed  in  the  political  gospel  ac¬ 
cording  to  Tammany  Hall  as  recently  set  forth  under 
the  name  of  the  political  moralist,  Mr.  Richard 
Croker,  in  the  North  American  Review,  a  plea,  I  may 
add,  which  was  promptly  and  thoroughly  exposed 
by  our  friend  and  associate,  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton. 

Our  fathers  were  largely  children  o^  the  English¬ 
men  who  with  great  gyves  of  reform  bound  the 
royal  prerogative  ;  and  the  American  Declaration  of 
Indepemlence  in  legitimate  succession  from  Magna 


Charta  and  the  Grand  Remonstrance  wasan  arraign¬ 
ment  of  the  abuse  of  executive  power.  Our  colonial 
politics  were,  in  large  part,  a  contest  over  patronage 
between  the  royal  governors  and  the  colonial  legis¬ 
latures.  The  destruction  of  the  statue  of  George  the 
Third  in  the  Bowling  Green  at  New  York,  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  Revolution,  was  symbolic  of  the  in¬ 
stinctive  distrust  of  executive  power  by  the  colonists. 
The  crown  was  the  emblem  of  executive  oppression, 
and  when  the  republic  began  in  the  formation  of  the 
first  state  constitutions  during  the  revolution,  the 
chief  distinction  of  those  constitutions  was  the  at¬ 
tempted  restraint  of  that  power  by  distribution  be¬ 
tween  the  legislature  or  the  council  and  the 
governor.  With  the  same  jealousy  the  framers  of 
the  constitution  in  establishing  the  national  govern¬ 
ment  limited  the  executive  power  of  appointment. 
They  provided  that  only  with  the  advice  and  con¬ 
sent  of  the  senate  should  the  President  appoint 
certain  specified  officers,  while  the  congress  should 
provide  at  its  pleasure  for  the  appointment  of  others_ 
The  constitution  thus  re.serves  to  the  senate  a  prac¬ 
tical  veto  upon  the  appointing  power  and  to  congress 
the  designation  of  the  methods  of  appointment  of  all 
inferior  officers. 

The  people  had  assumed  their  own  government, 
but  as  they  could  not  administer  it  directly  it  was 
administered  by  agents  selected  by  party  or  the  or¬ 
ganized  majority,  but  under  such  restrictions  as  the 
whole  body  of  voters,  or  the  people,  might  impose. 
The  crown  had  vanished.  There  was  no  king  or  per¬ 
manent  executive.  There  were  a  president  and  a 
legislature  elected  by  the  people  for  limited  terms. 
But  the  practical  agency  of  the  government  was  par¬ 
ty,  and  whoever  was  elected  president,  party  re¬ 
mained  in  the  administration  as  permanent  as  a  king 
and  with  the  same  control  of  the  executive  power. 
But  executive  power,  whether  in  the  hands  of  a  king 
or  a  party,  does  not  change  its  nature.  It  seeks  its 
own  aggrandizement  and  can  not  safely  be  trusted. 
Buckle  says  that  no  man  is  wise  enough  and  strong 
enough  to  be  vested  with  absolute  authority.  It 
fires  his  brain  and  maddens  him.  But  this,  which  is 
true  of  an  individual  is  not  less  true  of  an  aggregate 
of  individuals  or  a  party.  A  party  or  a  majority  needs 
watching  as  much  as  a  king.  Indeed,  that  distrust  is 
the  safeguard  of  democracy  against  despotism  is  a 
truth  as  old  as  Demosthenes.  Like  a  sleuth-hound 
distrust  must  follow  executive  power  however  it 
may  double  and  whatever  form  it  may  assume.  It 
is  as  much  the  safeguard  of  popular  right  against  the 
will  of  a  party  as  against  the  prerogative  of  a  king. 
Distrust  is.  in  fact,  the  instinct  of  enlightened  polit¬ 
ical  sagacity  which  sees  that  the  peril  of  popular 
institutions  lies  in  the  abuse  of  the  forms  of  pop¬ 
ular  government.  The  great  common-place  of  our 
political  speech,  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  lib¬ 
erty,  is  fundamentally  true.  It  is  a  scripture  e.ssen- 
tial  to  political  salvation.  The  demand  for  civil  ser- ' 
vice  reform  is  the  cry  of  that  eternal  vigilance  for 
still  further  restriction  of  the  executive  power. 

Civil  service  reform,  therefore,  is  but  another  suc¬ 
cessive  step  in  the  development  of  liberty  under  law. 
It  is  not  eccentric  nor  revolutionary.  It  is  a  logical 
measure  of  political  progress.  In  the  light  of  larger 
experience  and  adjusted  to  the  exigencies  of  a  re¬ 
public  in  the  nineteenth  century,  instead  of  a  mon¬ 
archy  in  the  thirteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 
in  the  spirit  of  the  wise  jealousy  of  the  constitution, 
in  the  interest  of  free  institutions  and  of  honest 
government,  it  proposes  to  restrict  still  further  the 
,  executive  power  as  exercised  by  party.  It  is  a  meas¬ 
ure  based  upon  the  observation  of  a  century  during 
which  government  by  party  has  developed  condi¬ 
tions  and  tendencies  and  perils  which  could  not 
have  been  fore.seen  in  detail,  although  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  party  government  under  the  constitution, 
Washington  said  of  party  spirit,  “  it  exists  under 
different  shapes  in  all  governments  more  or  less 
stilled,  controlled  or  repressed  ;  but  In  those  of  popu¬ 
lar  form,  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness  and  is 
truly  their  worst  enemy.” 

The  experience  of  a  century  has  justified  Wash¬ 
ington’s  words.  The  superstition  of  divine  right 
has  passed  from  a  king  to  a  party,  and  the  old  fiction 
of  the  law  in  a  monarchy  that  the  king  can  do  no 


324 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


wrong,  has  become  the  practical  faith  of  great  multi¬ 
tudes  in  this  republic  in  regard  to  party.  Armed 
with  the  arbitrary  power  of  patronage  party  over¬ 
bears  the  free  expression  of  the  popular  will  and 
entrenches  itself  in  Illicit  power.  It  makes  the  whole 
civil  service  a  drilled  and  disciplined  army  whose 
living  depends  upon  carrying  elections  at  any  cost 
for  the  party  which  controls  it.  Patronage  has  but 
to  capture  the  local  primary  meeting  and  it  com¬ 
mands  the  whole  party  organization.  Every  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  party  must  submit  or  renounce  his  party 
allegiance,  and  with  it  the  gratification  of  his  politi¬ 
cal  ambition,  and  such  is  the  malign  force  of  party 
spirit  that  in  what  seems  to  him  a  desperate  alterna¬ 
tive  he  often  supports  men  whom  he  distrusts  and 
methods  which  he  despises  lest  his  party  should  be 
defeated.  He  takes  practically  the  position  that 
party  loyalty  requires  him  to  support  one  party  with 
bad  measures  and  unfit  candidates  rather  than  risk 
the  success  of  another  party  with  good  measures  and 
suitable  men. 

This  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  which  it 
exists  but  to  the  spoils  that  accompany  success  at 
the  polls,  has  become  so  absolute  that  it  has  pro¬ 
duced  an  evil  greater  than  any  which  party  proposes 
to  remedy.  In  order  to  secure  and  maintain  party 
power,  a  corruption  has  been  introduced  which  in 
volves  not  only  the  whole  system  of  our  politics, 
but  the  character  of  the  people.  It  is  a  corruption  so 
general  and  so  familiar  that  an  amendment  to  the 
constitution  is  proposed  in  congress,  which  contem¬ 
plates  the  election  of  senators  of  the  United  States 
by  the  popular  vote  of  state  instetd  of  the  legisla¬ 
ture,  and  the  argument  gravely  urged  for  the  amend¬ 
ment  is  that  it  is  harder  to  corrupt  the  whole  people 
than  to  buy  a  legislature.  Familiar  incidents  of  the 
last  presidential  campaign,  the  collection  of  an  im¬ 
mense  sum  of  money  by  party  managers  to  be  spent 
without  audit  or  accounting  of  any  kind,  and  the 
general  public  conviction  that  it  was  a  simple  cor¬ 
ruption  fund  not  only  spent  for  Illicit  purposes, 
but  by  which  high  office  was  bought,  and  the 
equally  general  conviction  that  if  the  other  party 
could  have  procured  the  same  sum  of  money  it 
would  have  done  the  same  thing,  show  how  wide¬ 
spread  the  evil  has  become. 

A  New  York  morning  paper  of  the  highest  char¬ 
acter  recently  published  the  remark  of  a  conspicu¬ 
ous  politician  whose  name  was  given,  that,  “two- 
fifths  of  the  democratic  voters  of  the  state  are  repre¬ 
sented  in  conventions  by  delegates  selected  by  the 
heads  of  the  various  departments  in  New  York  and 
King’s  county,”  that  is  to  say  in  the  cities  of  New 
York  and  Brooklyn.  An  evening  paper  of  the  same 
day,  speaking  of  the  republican  nomination  for  the 
governorship  in  Rhode  Island,  said,  “it  is  notorious 
in  the  state  that  every  republican  candidate  must 
pay  for  this  honor,  and  the  price  has  heretofore 
ranged  from  $20,000  to  $40,000.  *  *  *  It  has  fre¬ 
quently  happened  that  a  second  assessment  has  been 
necessary  when  the  election  by  the  people  has  failed 
and  the  choice  has  fallen  upon  the  legislature.” 
These  statements  are  not  disputed.  They  are  read 
languidly  by  many  readers  as  illustrations  of  the 
rottenness  of  politics.  They  are  read  with  alarm  by 
many  others  as  signs  of  a  taint  that  will  rot  the 
whole  system  if  not  extirpated.  The  wrong  is  not 
peculiar  to  any  party,  for  its  source  is  the  party 
spirit  which  Washington  foresaw.  The  pot  indeed 
Bolemly  rebukes  the  kettle,  but  when  traders  in 
mules  denounce  traders  in  blocks  of  five  for  politi¬ 
cal  corruption,  w’e  instructively  recall  the  legendary 
Roman  augurs  and  the  stage  direction  in  Robert  the 
Devil,  “infernal  laughter.” 

This  monstrous  development  of  the  party  system 
in  a  republic,  while  it  might  have  been  vaguely  an¬ 
ticipated,  could  not  have  been  definitely  foreseen. 
The  American  who  had  served  under  Washington 
in  the  field  and  had  voted  for  him  as  President,  al¬ 
though  he  may  have  seen  in  the  malice  of  the  oppo¬ 
sition  newspapers  the  adder  tongue  of  faction, would 
have  smiled  to  hear  the  suggestion  that  in  Repub¬ 
lican  America,  the  party  proscriptions  and  excesses 
of  Athens  and  Rome  and  Florence,  without  the 
slaughter,  might  be  revived  and  repeated.  Still  less 
would  it  occur  to  him  that  a  civil  service  which  a 


century  ago  in  the  whole  Union  included  only  two 
hundred  and  nine  post-masters  and  a  handful  of 
other  officers,  whose  tenure  was  their  fidelity  and 
efficiency,  would  suddenly  rise  like  the  Afrite  from 
the  casket  in  the  Arabian  tale,  into  a  gigantic  and 
towering  form,  but  still  the  supple  slave  of  reckless 
party  power.  The  increase  of  the  population,  the 
vast  alien  addition  to  the  native  stock,  the  universal 
extension  of  male  adult  suffrage,  the  growth  of  great 
cities  of  heterogeneous  citizenship,  the  opening  of 
enormous  opportunities  of  contracts  and  political 
money  making,  the  vast  consolidations  of  capital 
not  hesitating  to  attempt  for  their  purposes  the  brib¬ 
ery  of  legislatures,  the  paralysis  of  the  national  con¬ 
science  for  a  generation  in  the  defence  by  a  great 
political  party  of  a  huge  moral  wrong,  and  finally  a 
long  and  relentless  civil  war,  all  these  were  yet  to 
come,  and  their  relation  to  an  enormous  increase  of 
public  patronage,  and  their  influence  upon  the  party 
system,  could  not  be  foretold. 

These  results,  however,  are  now  evident.  What 
our  fathers  could  not  guess,  we  can  see.  Party 
which  is  properly  simply  the  organization  of  citizens 
who  agree  in  their  views  of  public  policy  to  secure 
the  enactment  of  their  views  in  law,  has  become 
what  is  well  called  a  machine,  which  controls  the 
political  action  of  millions  of  citizens  who  vote  for 
candidates  that  the  machine  selects  and  for  measures 
which  the  machine  dictates  or  approves.  Servility 
to  party  takes  the  place  of  Individual  independence 
of  action.  So  completely  does  it  consume  political 
manhood  that  like  men  suddenly  hurried  from  their 
warm  beds  into  the  night  air,  shivering  and  chatter¬ 
ing  in  the  cold,  even  Intelligent  citizens  who  have 
protested  against  their  party  machine  as  fraudulent 
and  false,  and  an  organized  misrepresentation  of  the 
party  conviction  and  will,  declare  that  if  their  pro¬ 
test  against  the  power  of  fraud  and  corruption  does 
not  avail  and  the  party  commands  them  to  yield, 
they  will  bow  the  head  and  bend  the  knee  in  loyalty 
to  fraud  and  corruption.  The  despotism  of  the  ma¬ 
chine  is  so  absolute  and  the  triumph  of  the  party  so 
supersedes  the  reason  and  purpose  of  party,  that  we 
have  now  reached  a  point  in  our  political  develop¬ 
ment,  W'hen  upon  the  most  vital  and  pressing  pub¬ 
lic  questions  parties  do  not  even  know  their  own 
opinions,  and  factions  of  the  same  party  wrangle 
fiercely  to  determine  by  a  majority  what  the  party 
thinks  and  proposes.  Meanwhile  so  completely  has 
the  conception  of  party,  as  merely  a  convenient  but 
clumsy  agency  to  promote  certain  public  objects, 
disappeared,  that  one  of  the  chief  journals  in  the 
country  recently  remarked,  with  entire  gravity,  that 
it  found  “no  fault  with  conscientious  independence 
in  politics,”  which  was  like  announcing  with  lofty 
forbearance  that,  as  a  philosophic  moralist,  it  found 
no  fault  with  truth  telling  or  honest  dealing. 

The  recent  vivid  and  detailed  picture  of  political 
corruption  in  Maryland,  which  we  owe  to  the  distin¬ 
guished  president  of  the  Maryland  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
form  Association,  one  of  the  earliest,  most  steadfast, 
and  most  effective  advocates  of  reform,  and  its  com¬ 
panion-piece  depicting  political  corruption  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  by  our  devoted  and  undaunted  friend  of 
political  reform,  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh,  whom  ravaged 
Indians  bless,  show  how  completely  in  two  great 
states  the  two  great  parties  of  the  country  by  base 
and  dishonest  methods  pervert  their  power  from 
promoting  the  public  benefit  to  fostering  their  own 
aggrandizement.  I  am  not  forgetting  Burke’s  apo¬ 
thegm  that  we  can  not  draw  an  indictment  against  a 
nation.  I  am  not  arraigning  the  individual  citizens 
who  compose  the  great  parties  as  guilty  of  bribery 
and  corruption.  As  individuals  they  deprecate  and 
denounce  them.  But  as  partisans  they  sustain  the 
bribers  and  corrupters.  The  drivers  of  the  machine 
are  necessarily  few,  but  they  are  also  the  drivers  of 
the  party,  and  substantially  they  are  the  party.  The 
individual  partisan  forced  to  excuse  himself  can 
only  say  that  it  is  bad  business,  but  that  his  party 
machine  is  no  worse  than  the  other.  This  was  the 
plea  of  Thaddeus  Stevens,  the  leader  of  his  party  in 
the  house  of  representatives,  who  is  said  to  have 
asked  in  a  contested  election  case,  “  Which  is  our 
damned  rascal?”  in  order  that  he  might  vote  for  the 
right  wrong.  So  far  as  the  mere  fact  is  concerned. 


however,  the  plea  that  the  other  machine  is  equally 
bad  is  undoubtedly  sound.  When  Theodore  Parker 
delivered  his  tremendous  discourse  on  Daniel  Web¬ 
ster,  to  which  Rufus  Choate’s  eulogy  at  Dartmouth 
College  was  the  magnificent  but  pathetically  futile 
reply,  a  fervent  admirer  of  Webster  declared,  ener¬ 
getically,  that  Parker’s  discourse  was  the  most  out¬ 
rageous  deliverance  he  had  ever  heard,  “and  the 
worst  of  it  is,”  he  said,  “  that  it  is  true.”  When 
the  supporter  of  one  party  machine  defends  himself 
with  the  rueful  apology  that  theother  party  machine 
is  quite  as  bad,  the  worst  of  it  is  that  it  is  true. 

If  I  am  telling  the  truth,  it  is  plain  that  when  the 
control  of  patronage  passed  from  royal  prerogative 
to  popular  party,  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  its  exer¬ 
cise  did  not  substantially  change.  A  hundred  years 
ago  in  England  the  king  bought  votes  in  parliament; 
to  day  in  America  party  buys  votes  at  the  polls.  The 
party  system  has  subjected  the  citizen  to  the  ma¬ 
chine,  and  the  first  great  resource  of  its  bribery  fund 
is  patronage.  It  is  the  skillful  annual  expenditure 
of  sixty  millions  of  public  money  in  the  national 
arena,  and  by  that  of  thirty  millions  in  the  munici¬ 
pal  contests  of  New  York  alone,  not  by  educational 
arguments  and  appeals  to  reason,  that  the  machine 
or  the  managers  of  parties  attempt  to  secure  or  main¬ 
tain  their  ascendancy.  Tammany  Hall  defends  it¬ 
self  as  Hume  defended  the  king.  The  plea  of  both 
is  the  same.  The  king  must  maintain  the  crowd 
against  the  parliament,  and  he  can  do  it  only  by 
corruption,  said  Hume.  Party  is  necessary,  says 
Tammany,  but  party  organization  can  be  made 
effective  only  by  workers.  Workers  must  be  paid, 
and  the  patronage  of  the  government,  that  is  to  say, 
the  emolument  of  place,  is  the  natural  fund  for  such 
payment.  This  is  the  simple  plea  of  the  spoils  sys¬ 
tem.  It  places  every  party  on  a  wholly  venal  basis. 
Under  its  control  party  is  no  longer  a  combination 
of  citizens  for  public  ends;  it  is  a  trading  company 
seeking  the  advantage  of  the  leading  partners.  It  is 
the  selfishness  of  the  individual,  not  the  public 
spirit  of  the  citizen,  upon  which  it  rests.  And  this 
view  has  various  consequences. 

If  public  money  may  be  properly  given  as  a  pri¬ 
vate  reward,  the  givers  may  decide  upon  what  terms 
it  shall  be  given.  This  is  frankly  asserted  by  Tam¬ 
many,  and  in  this  it  speaks  for  every  party  machine. 

It  asks  plainly,  why  should  not  a  judge  who  is  elected 
by  us  for  a  term  of  years,  with  a  salary  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  who  except  for  us 
could  not  be  elected,  pay  to  Tammany  the  very 
moderate  commission  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for 
his  election,  which  Tammany  guarantees  ?  This  is 
the  doctrine  of  political  assessments  in  the  custom 
house  and  post-office,  and  every  branch  of  the  serv¬ 
ice.  It  is  rent  paid  for  the  place.  It  is  tribute  to 
the  party  for  the  personal  favor  of  appointment. 
“Why  should  not  a  man  pay  for  benefits?  Why 
should  not  those  who  are  elected  to  well-salaried 
offices,”  asks  Tammany,  “pay  the  expenses  of  the 
election  ?  Who  are  so  much  inter..sted  in  the  elec¬ 
tion  as  its  beneficiaries?”  it  Inquires,  and  it  asks 
candidly,  because  the  truth  that  the  people  ordain 
elections  for  their  own  benefit  and  not  for  the  pri¬ 
vate  advantage  of  the  candidates  Tammany  not  only 
does  not  believe,  but  when  stated  does  not  compre¬ 
hend.  And  this  view  of  Tammany  is  the  view  of 
not  only  of  each  party  machine,  hut  of  a  large  ma¬ 
jority’  of  both  parties.  Tammany  is  called  a  gang  of 
public  robbers  without  political  principles,  an  ob¬ 
scene  fungus  fattening  upon  the  corruption  engen¬ 
dered  by  a  great  city.  But  it  is  the  natural  spawn 
of  the  spoils  sy’stem.  It  is  the  mirror  in  which  party 
as  now  organized  among  us  is  reflected,  and  when 
party  contemplates  the  image  of  that  diamonded 
savage  with  his  scalping  knife  of  spoils  it  may  well 
recall  the  title  of  Rossetti’s  picture,  “How  they  met 
themselves.” 

The  sophistry  of  the  spoils  extends  itself  readily 
beyond  elections  and  appointments  and  assessments 
in  the  civil  service  not  only  into  the  whole  political  -  I 
system,  but  into  every  department  of  the  national  i|l' 
life.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  whether  there 
were  a  spoils  system  or  not  great  interests  of  all 
kinds  in  the  pursuit  of  their  own  advantage  would  H 
alw'ays  attempt  to  bribe  legislatures,  and  that  public  •  I 
officers  and  voters  would  still  be  bought  at  the  polls.  '  j  I 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


325 


But  it  is  not  true  that  such  attempts  would  be  made 
or  would  succeed  under  all  circumstances.  Cholera 
and  typhus  may  not  be  wholly  prevented  by  the 
wisest  sanitary  care.  But  cleanly,  well-drained, 
and  prudent  neighborhoods  are  much  less  exposed 
'  to  their  ravages  than  those  which  are  abandoned  to 
foulness  of  every  kind  and  degree.  The  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  is  a  moral  pestilence  bred  of  ignorance,  careless¬ 
ness,  and  knavery,  which  invites  corruption  as  filth 
invites  disease.  A  community  which  holds  that  a 
public  office  is  a  private  benefit  for  which  the  recip¬ 
ient  ought  to  pay,  or  that  citizens  of  all  parlies  in  a 
free  government  may  be  justly  taxed  for  the  workers 
of  a  party,  would  hardly  frown  upon  the  proposi¬ 
tion  that  the  beneficiary  of  a  law  may  properly  pay 
for  its  passage.  I  do  not  say  that  the  cases  are  ex¬ 
actly  parallel,  but  the  moral  laxity  and  blindness  in 
the  one  case  would  extend  naturally  and  readily  to 
the  other.  So  long  as  it  is  held  that  the  public 
money  may  be  spent  by  a  party  for  its  own  benefit, 
which  means  that  in  a  country  where  party  domi¬ 
nance  should  depend  upon  honest  preference  of  its 
policy,  the  dominant  party  may  properly  pay  sixty 
millions  of  dollars  from  the  public  treasury  for 
votes  so  long  it  will  be  as  impossible  to  stem  the  cor¬ 
ruption  which  threatens  us  on  every  side  as  to  stay 
the  resistless  plunge  of  Niagara. 

We  are  approaching  the  third  presidential  election 
since  the  League  was  organized.  Does  any  intelli¬ 
gent  observer  doubt  that  the  party  of  administration 
controlling  the  vast  salary  fund  of  the  civil  service, 
wnich  is  practically  a  corruption  fund,  enters  upon 
the  campaign  with  an  immense  but  wholly  illicit  ad¬ 
vantage?  Like  every  administration  party  it  is  just¬ 
ly  entitled  to  every  advantage  that  arises  from  a  wise 
policy,  from  the  honest  and  efficient  conduct  of  af¬ 
fairs,  from  strict  adhesion,  if  it  has  adhered,  to  the 
promises  by  which  it  solicited  public  support,  and 
from  the  faithful  fulfillment,  if  it  has  fulfilled  them, 
of  voluntary  executive  pledges.  To  all  these  legiti¬ 
mate  advantages  the  party  is  entitled.  But  so  far  as 
its  administration  has  expended  sixty  millions  of 
dollars  in  salaries  with  a  view  to  the  next  election 
and  to  the  continuance  of  the  party  in  power,  so  far 
it  has  betrayed  the  principle  of  popular  government, 
because  so  far  it  has  deliberately  bought  party  sup¬ 
port  with  public  money.  The  disposition  of  that 
i'Bfund  was  committed  to  it  in  trust  for  the  public 
welfare,  and  every  cent  of  it  which  this  administra¬ 
tion  has  spent  to  advance  a  party  interest  has  been 
spent  in  betrayal  of  a  public  trust.  If  the  national 
patronage  fund  were  six  hundred  millions  of  dollars 
instead  of  sixty,  it  is  not  impossible  that,  in  the 
present  development  of  the  party  system,  the  party 
of  this  administration,  as  of  any  other,  by  the  shrewd 
expenditure  of  that  sum  might  maintain  itself  in 
power.  But  the  oflfense  is  not  measured  by  figures. 
The  abuse  of  a  trust  of  sixty  millions  is  morally  as 
great  as  abuse  of  a  trust  ten  times  as  large. 

It  is  not  an  abuse  peculiar  to  this  administration. 
There  has  been  no  administration  since  that  of  John 
Quincy  Adams  which  has  not  done  the  same  thing. 
It  was  long  done  amid  general  public  apathy  arising 
from  the  good-natured  and  careless  feeling  that  it 
was  the  natural  order  of  politics,  the  common  law  of 
parties.  It  grew  up  gradually  amid  general  igno¬ 
rance  of  its  tendency  and  public  indifference.  The 
spoils  system  may  plead  that  although  a  breach  of 
the  earlier  tradition  in  national  politics,  it  is  really 
as  old  in  New  York  and  nearly  as  old  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  as  parties  themselves,  and'  that  it  has  grown 
strong  with  the  general  acquiescence.  But  that  is 
only  to  say  that  public  evils  and  abuses  do  not  arrest 
attention  and  arouse  organized  resistance  until  they 
are  seen  to  be  public  perils.  That  is  now  distinctly 
seen,  and  this  League  is  the  living,  active,  aggressive 
witness  of  the  happy  awakening  of  the  public  mind 
to  the  fact  that  the  prostitution  of  patronage  to  the 
maintenance  of  party  power  imperils  liberty  to-day 
in  a  republic  no  less  than  the  arbitrary  will  of  a  king 
imperiled  it  in  a  monarchy. 

In  appealing  to  public  opinion  to  bind  the  exec¬ 
utive  power  still  more  closely  by  restricting  the 
license  of  party  in  the  interest  of  the  whole  people, 
we  propose  nothing  which  has  not  been  often  done. 
The  very  fact  that  party  is  a  convenient  agency  and 


that  its  disposition  is  to  magnify  its  authority,  is 
conclusive  reason  for  vigilant  observation  of  its  con¬ 
duct  and  for  wholesome  checks  upon  its  ac.ion. 
Party  is  a  clever  servant  like  Steerforth’s  man  Litti- 
mer  in  David  Copperfield.  But  the  cleverer  he  is 
the  more  insolent,  if  permitted,  he  Is  likely  to  be¬ 
come,  and  the  more  firmly  he  needs  to  be  disciplined. 
Party  is  the  servant  of  the  people,  but  it  is  so  clever 
that  it  tends  to  become  practically  master  and  bul¬ 
lies  the  individual  citizen  as  the  clever  Littimer, 
setting  the  table  and  stirring  the  fire,  overpowered 
with  awe  poor  little  shrinking  David.  Those  who 
grovel  before  party  as  the  courtiers  in  Siam  crawl  on 
their  bellies  before  the  king,  forget  that  the  people 
are  really  master  snd  often  break  from  their  good- 
natured  indifference  to  teach  party  its  place.  There 
is,  for  instance,  in  this  country  a  public  opinion 
which  has  the  force  of  law  that  the  judicial 
bench,  the  tribunal  of  ultimate  appeal  even  in  ques¬ 
tions  of  elections,  whether  the  judges  are  appointed 
or  elected,  shall  be  independent  of  party  partiality 
and  influence,  and  it  is  a  happy  fact  that  the  bench 
is  so  absolutely  non  partisan  that  the  infrequent  ex¬ 
ceptions  to  the  rule,  when  they  occur,  justly  startle 
the  community  as  with  a  shock  that  threatens  the 
foundations  of  social  order.  Another  Illustration  of 
this  suspicion  of  party  is  the  condition  frequently 
imposed  by  law  upon  the  executive  appointment  of 
commissions  charged  with  important  public  duties, 
that  the  members  shall  not  be  all  d  awn  from  one 
political  party.  But  the  most  striking  illustration  of 
a  sane  public  sentiment  which  recoils  from  the 
abuse  of  executive  power  by  the  party  and  of  the  in¬ 
tervention  of  the  people  tocorrret  it,  is  found  in  the 
political  history  of  New  York,  the  state  in  which  the 
spoils  system  was  introduced  with  the  rise  of  parties 
under  the  constitution,  and  which  for  the  first 
twenty-five  years  of  the  century  witnessed  the  worst 
excesses  of  party  tyranny. 

When  the  state  constitution  was  adopted  in  1777, 
in  order  to  curb  the  executive  power,  a  council  of 
appointment  for  all  state  officers  was  elected  by  one 
house  of  the  legislature  from  the  members  of  theother, 
of  which  council  the  governor  was  made  president, 
with  a  casting  vote.  For  some  years  before  parties 
were  definitely  organized,  its  function  was  honestly 
discharged  to  the  public  satisfaction,  and  upon  the 
true  principles  of  the  public  service.  Political  re¬ 
movals  were  practically  unknown  until  as  parties 
arose  under  the  constitution,  the  council  of  appoint¬ 
ment  was  swiftly  transferred  into  a  clean-sweeping 
party  machine,  and  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  the 
century  its  action  was  merciless.  In  1820  the  coun 
cil  controled  about  15,000  appointments  in  a  stale 
where  there  were  but  145,000  voters.  A  change  in 
its  party  majority  Inaugurated  an  orgy  of  plunder. 
The  public  service  of  the  state  after  an  election  was 
looted  like  a  Chinese  city  after  its  capture  by  barba¬ 
rians.  The  party  proscription  was  complete,  and 
among  a  healthy  and  vigorous  people  it  became  also 
intolerable.  The  evil  wrought  its  own  cure.  There 
was  a  general  demand  for  the  abolition  of  the  coun¬ 
cil,  and  in  821  one  hundred  and  nine  thousand 
votes  against  thirty-five  thousand  demanded  its  abo¬ 
lition,  and  the  clean-sweeping  party  machine  was 
destroyed  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  constitu¬ 
tional  convention.  This  was  not  a  party  victory;  it 
was  the  act  of  the  people  regulating  the  executive 
power  by  curbing  the  arbitrary  will  of  party.  The 
appointing  power  was  distributed  among  different 
agencies  where  it  still  remains,  and  as  its  abuse  by 
party,  although  greatly  reduced,  still  remained  under 
the  changed  form,  the  people  still  further  abridged 
it  by  the  civil  service  reform  law  of  188.3,  a  measure 
in  direct  and  logical  succession  from  Magna  Charta, 
and  all  the  great  muniments  of  political  liberty. 

This  is  the  law’  which  in  its  limited  operation  is 
an  undisputed  public  benefit,  that  we  would  apply 
to  every  branch  of  the  public  service,  national,  state 
and  municipal,  to  which  it  is  applicable.  By  re¬ 
straining  the  arbitrary  power  of  party  we  would 
promote  hojiest  administration  of  the  government. 
But  when  we  say  that  our  aim  is  honest  government, 
we  do  not  say  that  the  civil  service  is  dishonest.  It 
is,  therefore,  no  reply  to  our  demand  to  allege  that 
the  percentage  of  loss  to  the  government  in  the  col¬ 


lection  of  the  revenue  is  inconsiderable.  What  we 
affirm  is  that  the  theory  which  regards  places  in  the 
public  service  as  prizes  to  be  distributed  after  an 
election  like  j)lunder  after  a  battle,  the  theory  which 
perverts  public  trusts  into  parly  spoils,  making 
public  employment  dependent  on  personal  favor 
and  not  on  proved  merit,  necessarily  ruins  the  self" 
respect  of  public  employes,  destroys  the  function 
of  party  in  a  republic,  prostitutes  elections  into  a 
desperate  strife  for  personal  profit,  and  degrades  the 
national  character  by  lowering  the  moral  tone  and 
standard  of  the  country. 

Four  years  ago  as  the  presidential  election  ap¬ 
proached,  the  League  stated  in  some  detail  the  rea¬ 
sons  for  its  dissatisfaction  with  the  administration  of 
that  time.  It  tested  the  administration  by  the  sim¬ 
ple  standard  of  reform,  and  all  that  it  could  say  was 
that  the  scope  of  the  classified  service  had  been 
somewhat  enlarged  and  that  the  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions  had  been  revised  and  improved.  It  declared 
that  the  general  party  change  in  the  service  which 
had  followed  the  inauguration  of  the  new  presiden 
was  not  demanded  by  the  welfare  of  the  service 
Itself,  nor  by  any  public  advantage  whatever,  and 
was  due  solely  to  parti.san  pressure  for  partisan  ob¬ 
jects  which  unfortunately  the  President  had  not  re¬ 
sisted.  But  it  will  not  be  foigotten  not  only  that  the 
party  of  the  President  bad  not  demanded  reform- 
but  that  its  controlling  sentiment  was  ho.stile  to  it 
All  that  was  done  under  the  last  administration— 
and  what  was  done  gave  the  question  of  reform  a 
place  in  practical  politics  which  it  will  not  lose  un, 
til  the  reform  is  fully  achieved— was  done  by  the 
President  alone.  Except  for  his  courage  and  fidel¬ 
ity  to  his  personal  convictions,  the  reform  law  of 
1883  would  have  been  practically  nullified,  and  the 
reform  ignored  and  discarded.  Tried  by  the  stand¬ 
ard  of  absolute  reform,  he  failed  as  President  Grant 
failed  ten  years  before,  and  for  the  some  reason,  the 
hostility  of  his  party.  But  tested  by  the  actual  situ¬ 
ation  of  to-day,  notwithstanding  the  executive 
yieldingito  party  pressure,  the  pure  flame  of  reform 
sentiment  not  only  was  not  extinguished  during  the 
late  administration,  but  burned  more  brightly  in 
the  public  mind  as  the  administration  ended— 
burned  so  brightly,  indeed,  that  the  opposition 
party  in  the  platform  upon  which  they  carried  the 
election  made  the  strongest  profession  of  reform 
faith  and  purpose  that  any  party  ever  made. 

The  present  administration  came  into  power  not 
with  the  usual  vague  platitude  upon  the  subject, 
but  with  a  definite  promise  of  reform  and  the  dis¬ 
tinct  pledge  to  fulfill  its  pledges.  But  it  celebrated 
the  success  of  its  party  with  a  wild  debauch  of  spoils 
in  which  its  promises  and  pledges  were  the  meats 
and  the  drinks  that  were  riotously  consumed. 
Nevertheless,  the  reform  law  has  been  as  faithfully 
observed  as  by  its  predecessor,  and  the  scope  of  the 
reformed  service  has  been  greatly  enlarged.  The 
secretary  of  the  navy,  in  the  interest  of  the  public, 
and  he  could  have  done  his  party  also  no  greater 
service,  has  introduced  the  reform  into  the  skilled 
and  unskilled  labor  system  of  the  navy  yards.  In 
his  late  speech  in  Rhode  Island,  a  carefully  and 
skillfully  prepared  defence  of  the  administration 
and  the  strongest  presentation  of  its  claims  to  public 
confidence  that  probably  will  be  made  during  the 
pending  campaign.  Secretary  Tracy  says:  “I  be- 
live  I  am  justified  in  saying  that  so  far  as  its  admin¬ 
istration  is  concerned  the  navy  has  never  been 
treated  so  little  in  the  spirit  of  a  party  question  as  it 
is  to-day;  the  regulations  of  the  department  within 
the  last  year  have  eradicated  all  political  considera¬ 
tions  from  the  employment  of  navy  yard  labor,  and 
have  made  that  employment  dependent  alone  upon 
the  skill  and  efficiency  of  the  workmen.” 

A  more  signal  illustration  of  the  practical  progress 
of  reform  can  not  be  found,  and  when  we  add  to 
this  action  of  a  republican  secretary  of  the  navy  the 
fact  that  a  democratic  member  of  the  house  of  rep¬ 
resentatives  has  unanimously  reported  from  the 
committee  of  which  he  is  chairman  a  bill  to  make 
the  order  of  the  secretary  in  one  department  the 
law  in  all  departments  of  the  government,  it  is  plain 
that  the  beneficent  flame  of  reform  of  which  I  spoke 
is  in  no  danger  of  extinction.  The  President  has 


326 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


also  somewhat  extended  the  classified  service,  and 
has  authorized  open  voluntary  competitions  for  pro¬ 
motions,  while  the  postmaster-general  had  already 
adopted  the  principle  of  competitive  promotion  in 
his  department.  It  is  the  post-office  department, 
however,  the  largest  patronage  branch  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  which  has  been  ruthlessly  ravaged  under 
this  administration  by  the  old  abuse.  At  the  same 
time,  again,  in  the  house  of  representatives  bills 
have  been  introduced  regulating  the  appointment 
of  all  postmasters  upon  reform  principles. 

Yet  while  the  steady  advance  in  one  of  the  most 
fundamental  of  political  reforms  proceeds,  the  party 
platforms  of  the  last  year  have  barely  mentioned 
it,  and  in  the  hot  party  campaigns  of  the  autumn 
and  of  the  spring,  party  orators  have  forborne  even 
to  compliment  it,  lest  haply  some  vote  might  be  lost. 
The  explanation  of  this  apparent  inconsisteucy  and 
this  evident  avoidance  and  silence,  is,  however,  not 
difficult.  Civil  service  reform  proposes  to  restrict 
the  arbitrary  power  of  party.  It  does  not,  of  course, 
contemplate  the  dissolution  of  parties  or  suppose 
that  popular  government  will  be  carried  on  without 
the  organization  of  citizens  who  desire  to  promote 
public  policies  upon  which  they  agree.  Indeed,  the 
reform  will  necessarily  promote  the  legitimate  power 
of  party  by  making  it  a  representative  of  opinion  to 
a  degree  which,  under  the  spoils  system,  is  impossi¬ 
ble.  But  as  party  has  now  become  largely  a  machine, 
oiled  by  bribery  and  corruption  in  the  form  of  pa¬ 
tronage  and  money,  and  as  the  result  of  elections  is 
coming,  in  the  popular  belief,  not  to  indicate  the 
popular  will,  but  to  signify  merely  the  preponder¬ 
ance  of  “boodle”  on  one  side  or  the  other,  party 
machines  no  more  favor  civil  service  reform  than 
kings  favor  the  restriction  of  the  royal  prerogative. 

But  it  is  by  party  action,  nevertheless,  that  reform 
must  be  secured.  Why,  then,  do  we  anticipate  suc¬ 
cess?  Because  party  itself  is  finally  subject  to  pub¬ 
lic  opfnion,  and  whatever  the  machine  may  wish  it 
is  at  last  obliged  to  conform  to  public  opinion  as  a 
sailing  ship  to  the  wind.  There  is  already  a  pecu¬ 
liarly  intelligent  and  Influential  reform  opinion,  an 
opinion  with  independent  votes,  of  which  party  ma¬ 
chines  are  conscious,  and  to  which  they  now  formal¬ 
ly  defer.  It  is  an  opinion  which  is  known  to  public 
officers  who  often  share  it,  and,  taught  by  official 
experience  the  practical  value  of  reform,  they  intro¬ 
duce  it  cautiously  into  the  administration.  Once 
planted,  like  a  vigorous  sapling,  it  grows  apace.  The 
uniform  and  undeniable  excellence  of  the  result 
strengthens  and  extends  the  reform  sentiment,  and 
stili  further  emboldens  public  officers  to  heed  it. 
The  futility  of  theoretical  objections  is  shown  by 
conclusive  experiment,  as  when  the  first  steamship 
crossed  the  ocean  before  Dr.  Dionysus  Lardner  had 
finished  demonstrating  that  it  was  impossible.  The 
wiser  and  more  independent  sentiment  of  party  per¬ 
ceives  the  advantage  to  be  gained  by  becoming  the 
instrument  of  reform,  as  the  wiser  Whigs  forty  and 
fifty  years  ago  strove  to  make  their  party  an  anti' 
slavery  party,  and,  failing,  saw  their  party  disap¬ 
pear.  Undoubtedly  if  the  Republican  party,  born  of 
that  failure,  had  proved  that  It  meant  what  it  said  of 
civil  service  reform  in  its  recent  platforms  it  would 
enter  upon  the  contest  this  year  a  more  powerful 
party  than  it  is.  But  its  platform  and  the  declara¬ 
tions  of  republican  leaders  and  its  obervance  of  the 
reform  law,  like  the  same  observance  and  the  reform 
acts  of  the  late  democratic  President,  show  in  what 
way  despite  the  party  machines  public  opinion,  as 
it  is  strengthened,  prevails,  and  the  good  work  is 
done.  The  vigorous  young  sapling  must  encounter 
gales  and  frosts  and  droughts,  but  still  it  grows,  and 
swells  and  burgeons.  So  feeling  its  way  gradually, 
irregularly,  inconsistently,  halting  and  stumbling, 
but  steadily  advancing,  reform  proceeds. 

Party  machines,  truculent  and  defiant,  resist,  but 
like  kings  they  yield  at  last  to  the  people.  The  king 
whose  arbitrary  excesses  produce  the  peremptory 
popular  demand  for  relief  ordains,  however  reluct¬ 
antly,  a  restriction  that  limits  his  power.  So  the 
French  Bourbon,  Louis  the  Eighteenth,  signed  the 
charter  of  1814,  and  the  Prussian  Hohenzollern  Fred¬ 
erick  William  the  Fourth,  summoned  the  constitu¬ 
ent  assembly  of  1848.  They  call  their  surrender  a 


molu  proprio,  an  act  of  their  sovereign  will.  But 
they  know,  and  the  world  knows,  that  it  is  the  will 
of  a  greater  sovereign  than  they,  the  will  of  the 
people.  Our  appeal  is  now,  as  it  has  always  been, 
not  to  party,  but  to  the  people  who  are  the  masters 
of  party.  As  the  English  barons,  in  the  phrase  of  an 
old  English  writer,  cut  the  claws  of  John ;  as  the 
English  parliament  taught  terribly  the  English  king 
that  not  he,  but  the  English  people  was  the  sovereign; 
as  the  American  colonies  taught  the  English  parlia¬ 
ment  in  turn  that  the  American  people  would  rule 
America,  so  by  every  law  and  custom  demanded  by 
public  opinion,  which  restrains  the  arbitrary  abuse 
of  executive  power  by  party,  the  American  people 
are  constantly  teaching  American  parties  that  not 
the  parties  but  the  people  rule.  We  can  not  expect 
the  king,  nor  the  parliament,  nor  the  party,  to  solicit 
the  lesson  or  to  enjoy  the  discipline.  We  can  not 
expect  their  supple  courtiers  either  in  the  palace  or 
in  the  saloon,  to  demand  that  the  king  or  the  party 
shall  be  bound.  But  bound,  nevertheless  they  are, 
bound  by  the  people  they  have  been,  and  bound  by, 
the  same  power  they  will  be.  The  record  of  this 
year,  as  of  last  year,  and  of  every  year  since  the 
League  was  formed ;  even  the  reiterated  pledges  of 
platforms,  although  reiterated  only  to  be  largely 
broken ;  the  most  sweet  voices  of  the  stump,  that 
sink  into  barren  silence;  the  bills  introduced  that 
gasp  and  die  in  committee,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other  the  constantly  larger  scope  of  the  reformed 
system  in  the  public  service,  all  reveal  the  ever 
stronger  public  purpo.se,  and  the  constantly  greater 
achievemcment  of  that  purpose,  to  add  in  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform  another  golden  link  to  the  shining 
chain  of  historical  precedents  which  by  wisely  re¬ 
straining  executive  power  promote  the  public  wel¬ 
fare. 

THE  BALTIMORE  INVESTIGATION. 

LConcluded.] 

Q.  You  know  the  meeting  to  which  we  re¬ 
fer?  A.  No,  sir,  I  do  not.  I  have  not  been 
in  Mr.  Bell’s  house  at  any  meeting  when  he 
was  absent. 

Q.  No  meeting  when  he  was  present?  A. 
I  stopped  in  one  night.  I  stop  in  there  often. 
He  lives  right  above  me — right  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood. 

Q.  Wasn’t  there  a  meeting  there,  Mr.  Ray, 
about — somewhere — about  this  same  time  you 
mentioned — within  a  week  or  ten  days  ago, 
which  was  attended  by  different  persons,  some 
of  them  in  the  government  employ,  to  con¬ 
sider  ways  and  means  for  this  coming  cam¬ 
paign?  A.  We  often  talk — we  have  been 
talking  some  time  together,  among  our¬ 
selves,  and  spend  the  evening  in  this  way — 
talk  over  the  administration.  We  took  an  in¬ 
terest  in  Mr.  Marine.  We  were  going  to  hold 
up  the  administration.  And  I  think  it  is 
right,  you  understand.  I  never  did  anything 
during  business  hours,  and  had  no  hand  in  it, 
nor  made  any  arrangements. 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte  : 

Q.  Why  we  are  asking  this  is  because  we 
heard  of  this  meeting  up  at  the  post-office,  and 
I  want  to  see  if  the  information  that  we  got  up 
there  is  correct.  Now,  you  were  not  present 
at  any  meeting  at  Mr.  Bells  house?  A.  I 
stopped  at  Mr.  Bell’s  house  a  couple  of  weeks 
ago.  He  was  on  duty.  I  went  up  there  one 
night  and  stopped  in  and  met  several  of  our 
friends  there. 

Q.  Mr.  Bell  was  on  duty  that  night  ?  A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  He  was  there?  A.  For  a  short  time. 


I  was  in  there  for  an  hour.  I  went  in  there 
with  a  friend  I  knew.  We  walked  down  the 
street  together  but  I  havent  done  nothing  to 
collect  money. 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  There  is  no  charge  against 
you. 

Mr.  Ray.  If  there  is  a  charge  I  will  face 
the  music,  .sir. 

Mr.  Bonaparte ; 

Q.  Is  there  not  a  Mr.  Hammond  connected 
with  your  club?  A.  I  don’t  know  him,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  a  Mr.  Lingenfelter  ?  A. 
No,  sir ;  I  don’t  know  him. 

Q.  Do  you  know  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Oeh  ?  A.  Well,  I  have  met  that  young  fel¬ 
low.  He  has  grown  up  later.  I  know  more 
of  the  old  stock. 

Q.  Do  you  know  a  Mr.  Aimstrong?  A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  Is  this  Mr.  Oeh  a  member  of  your  club? 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  he  present  at  this  meeting  at  Mr. 
Bell’s  house?  A.  I  didn’t  see  him.  I  usually 
go  about  and  stop  in  and  see  my  friends  some¬ 
times. 

Q.  For  the  friends  of  the  administratron? 
A.  I  did  not  say  for  the  friends  of  the  admin¬ 
istration,  exactly.  I  have  given  no  money  after 
Mr.  Lingenfelder  called  me  up.  I  thought 
there  was  people  trying  to  put  a  job  up  on  me 
and  trying  to  get  me  into  a  snap. 

Q.  Had  you  been  asked  to  call  at  Mr.  Bell’s? 
A.  I  was  told  some  one  would  be  there. 

Q.  Who  told  you?  A.  Word  was  left  at 
ym  house.  My  wife  told  me  some  one  wanted 
to  see  me  at  Mr.  Bell’s  house. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  how  many  people 
were  at  Mr.  Bell’s  house?  A.  About  eight  or 
ten,  or  a  dozen. 

Q.  You  say  some  of  them  are  employes  of 
the  post-office  and  the  custom-house?  A.  No 
sir;  none  from  the  custom-house  but  myseK. 

Q.  Did  you  see  Mr.  Bell  or  any  other  em¬ 
ploye  of  the  post-office?  A.  Yes,  sir;  I  seen 
Mr.  Bell  there,  and  Mr.  Bell  stayed  there  dur¬ 
ing  the  time  we  were  there. 

Q.  Was  he  there  all  that  time?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  What  did  you  mean  by  saying  he  was 
was  not  there?  A.  I  did  not  say  it. 

Q.  Yes,  you  did.  Was  he  there  when  you 
put  your  name  down  on  that  paper?  A.  Yes, 
sir;  he  was. 

Q.  Did  he  put  his  name  down?  A.  I  did 
not  notice. 

Q.  To  whom  were  you  to  pay  the  money? 
A.  To  Mr.  Allard. 

Mr.  Ray  was  dismissed. 

Special  Deputy  Collector  Henry  Lingenfel¬ 
ter  afterward  stated  that  Ray  had  told  him 
that  he  (Ray)  had  made  a  contribution.  By 
order  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  Mr.  Ray  was  recalled. 

Examined  by  Mr.  Bonaparte. 

Q.  Mr.  Ray,  we  want  to  see  if  we  have  got 
you  quite  straight  about  this  matter.  Have 
you  given  anything  yourself  for  this  political 
business?  A.  I  tell  you  no,  sir. 

Q.  You  haven’t  given  anything  at  all?  A. 
No,  sir. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


327 


Q.  Well,  you  know  what  I  am  driving  at  is 
whether  you  have  made  any  contributions 
yourself  for  political  purposes  in  connection 
with  this  approaching  primary  election.  A.  I 
understand  what  you  are  driving  at,  and  pre¬ 
cisely  what  you  mean. 

Q.  And  you  say  you  haven’t  given  any¬ 
thing?  A.  Well — that  is — you  understand — 
I  again  tell  you  no,  sir. 

Q.  You  told  us  you  had  a  conversation 
with  Mr.  Allard,  who  is  the  treasurer  of  your 
club. 

Mr.  Ray.  I  didn’t  say  club;  I  said  associa¬ 
tion. 

Mr.  Bonaparte.  Well,  call  it  association;  to 
whom  you  said  that  you  would  put  your  name 
down  on  his  list,  but  that  nobody  came  around 
to  collect  from  that  list,  so  far  as  you  know. 

A.  I  could  not  look  after  anybody  else.  I 
told  you  nobody  came  after  me. 

Q.  And  you  have  not,  either  at  Mr.  Allard’s 
house,  or  at  your  own  house,  or  at  Mr.  Bell’s 
house,  or  here,  given  anything  yourself?  A. 
No,  sir;  I  have  not.  If  you  want  an  affidavit, 
I  will  make  it. 

Q.  And  you  have  not  seen  anyone  give? 
A.  No,  sir;  not  a  government  employe.  No 
one  ever  approached  me  in  any  way,  shape,  or 
form,  neither  about  here,  nor  anywhere  else, 
at  all,  sir. 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  Mr.  Lingenfelder,  you  told 
us  that  Mr.  Ray  told  you,  I  understand,  that 
he  had  given. 

Mr.  Lingenfelder.  He  either  said  that,  or 
that  he  had  intended  to  give.  As  I  recollect, 
he  signed  his  name.  He  said  he  had  not  given* 
but  he  had  intended  to  give.  He  had  put  his 
name  down  on  a  piece  of  paper  in  his  own  house. 

***»»* 

Mr.  Ray.  I  told  Mr.  Lingenfelder  I  was 
asked — I  said  I  would  contribute — by  a  friend 
outside  of  government  employ,  Mr.  Allard — I 
say  this  much,  I  did  not  give  my  money.  I 
was  on  duty  outside  of  this  building  for  a  week 
nearly.  When  I  come  in  I  had  not  given,  and 
I  did  not  give, 

Q.  You  put  your  name  down?  A.  Yes,  sir; 
on  Mr.  Allard’s  paper, 

Q.  You  did?  A.  Yes,  sir;  for  the  ex¬ 
penses  of  the  club,  or  organization — I  do  not 
term  it  “political  purposes.” 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte: 

Q.  When  was  that  you  put  your  name  down 
on  the  paper,  Ray?  A.  About  a  week  or  so 
before  I  seen  Mr.  Lingenfelder.  He  went  to 
one  of  our  houses. 

Q,  Where  was  it  that  you  put  your  name 
down — in  your  own  house?  A.  No,  sir;  we 
were  trying  to  raise  contributions  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  our  club - 

Q.  Was  it  in  your  club  room  ?  A.  No,  in¬ 
deed.  We  were  trying  to  raise  money  towards 
defraying  expenses. 

Q.  Where  was  it  that  you  put  your  name 
down?  A.  It  was  in  Mr,  Bell’s  house. 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt : 

Q.  It  was  in  Mr.  Bell’s  house?  A,  Yes, 
sir;  at  night. 


Q.  Who  else  was  there  ?  A,  I  don’t  know. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Bell  there?  A.  I  did  not  see 
him. 

By  Mr,  Bonaparte : 

Q.  Where  is  Mr.  Bell’s  house  ?  A.  About 
three  squares  above  me. 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt : 

Q.  Who  else  besides  My.  Bell  and  Mr.  Al¬ 
lard  were  there?  Was  Mr.  Oeh  there?  A.  I 
can’t  say  positively.  He  is  one  of  the  latter- 
day  boys. 

Q.  There  were  no  other  employes  of  the 
custom  house?  A,  Oh,  yes;  there  were  sev¬ 
eral  of  us  there  that  night. 

Q.  Was  Mr,  Kimball  there ?  A.  No,  sir; 
he  belongs  to  the  Sixth  ward. 

Q.  Did  all  the  people  present  put  their 
names  down  on  that  list?  A.  I  could  not 
say. 

Q.  Who  started  the  list?  A.  I  don’t 
know. 

Q.  Who  asked  you  to  put  your  name  down? 
A.  No  one.  We  were  anxious  to  get  our 
club  out  of  debt,  and  the  money  was  put  in  a 
fund. 

Q.  Who  started  it?  A.  I  can’t  tell. 

Q.  Were  there  any  names  down  when  you 
signed?  A.  Yes,  sir;  there  were  several 
names  down,  but  I  could  not  tell  you  who  were 
ahead  of  me. 

Q.  You  could  not  see  who  was  ahead  of 
you  ?  A.  No,  sir  ;  I  signed  with  my  glasses 
off.  1  could  not. 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte : 

Q.  You  went  to  Mr.  Bell’s  house  to  a  meet¬ 
ing  there  with  a  number  of  persons.  Who 
they  were  you  don’t  remember.  And  there 
was  a  paper  that,  somehow  or  other,  was  there 
for  people  to  sign,  but  you  don’t  know  how  it 
got  there ;  and  you  signed  it,  but  you  don’t 
feel  quite  clear  how  you  came  to  sign  it  ? 

Mr.  Ray.  I  signed  it  because  I  thought  it 
was  my  duty  to  give  my  aid.  I  said  I  would 
be  one  of  ten  men  to  clean  the  debt  up. 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt: 

Q.  You  said  you  would  be  one  of  ten  men 
to  clean  the  debt  up?  A.  Our  club  is  a  so¬ 
cial  organization  and  has  nothing  to  do  with 
anything  bearing  on  this  election.  We  have 
people  of  both  factions  in  it,  and  we  come  to¬ 
gether  at  night,  or  Sunday  or  Monday,  or 
whenever  we  please. 

By  Mr.  Bonaparte: 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Allard  preside  over  that  meet¬ 
ing?  A.  Which? 

Q.  That  which  met  at  Mr.  Bell’s  house; 
who  presided  over  that  meeting?  A.  Now, 
there  was  no  organized  meeting.  Some  young 
man  just  took  a  paper;  who  it  was  I  don’t 
know. 

Q.  Took  it  around  ?  A.  No,  he  did  not 
take  it  around  at  all.  Nobody  was  asked 
straight  out  to  contribute. 

Q.  Nobody  was  asked  to  contribute?  A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  the  young  man  put  it  down  on  the 
table?  A.  No,  sir,  it  was  on  the  table,  and 
nobody  put  it  there  as  I  know  of. 


Q.  Did  everyone  put  down  his  name  ?  A. 
I  can’t  tell  that.  There  is  always  some  peo¬ 
ple  who  won’t  pay  nothing. 

Mr.  Marine.  Was  this  money  that  you  sub¬ 
scribed  for  there  at  that  meeting,  was  it  to  be 
used  in  the  campaign  in  the  Seventh  Ward? 
A.  I  could  not  tell  you  that  to  save  my  life. 
I  told  you  I  did  not  pay  any  money. 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt : 

Q.  When  are  you  going  to  pay  the  money? 
A.  I  ain’t  going  to  pay  it  at  all,  now. 

Q  What  did  you  put  your  name  down  for? 
Tell  us  frankly  about  this. 

Mr.  Marine.  You  had  better  just  answer 
the  question.  You  have  said  that  when  you 
subscribed  you  subscribed  to  the  club  and  that 
it  was  for  club  purposes.  What  these  gentle¬ 
men  want  to  get  at  is  this  :  they  want  to  as¬ 
certain  whether  you  are  sincere  in  telling 
them  that  you  really  gave  money  for  club  pur¬ 
poses,  that  you  did  not  really  give  for  some 
other  purpose. 

Mr.  Ray.  No,  sir;  I  am  telling  the  truth. 
I  gave  $5,  you  understand. 

By  Mr.  Roosevelt. 

Q.  Just  answer  me  this  question:  Was  the 
money  you  gave  there  for  the  purpose  of  that 
club  or  was  it  for  other  purposes?  A.  I  could 
not  tell  you  to  save  my  life.  I  stated  that  we 
wanted  to  raise  money  for  the  club.  Some 
said  they  were  going  into  this  fight  and  that 
it  would  take  some  money  to  pay  the  legiti- 
mrte  expenses,  and  after  they  asked  Mr.  Allard 
and  another  office  holder,  I  told  them  I  was 
willing  to  pay  $5. 

Q.  Who?  A.  Mr.  Allard  and  some  other 
gentlem  in. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Bell  present?  A.  I  don’t 
know. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Bell  present  when  you  told 
Mr.  Allard  that  you  would  pay'  some  money? 
A.  No,  sir.  When  Mr.  Lingenfelder  sent  for 
me  that  day  I  refused;  I  did  not  give  a  cent. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  who  it  was  that  said 
that  we  were  going  into  this  fight  and  needed 
money  for  legitimate  expenses?  ,A.  No,  sir; 
I  got  a  little  mixed  on  that.  Of  course,  we 
have  two  primaries  in  our  ward,  and  some  of 
them  said  we  had  some  expenses  to  meet, 

T.  Sewell  Plummer,  employed  in  the  Balti¬ 
more  custom-house,  testified  as  follows  : 

Examined  by  Mr.  Roosevelt. 

Q.  Your  name?  A.  T.  Sewell  Plummer. 

Q.  Your  position?  A.  Warehouse  clerk 
and  member  of  the  local  civil  service  board. 

Q.  For  how  long?  A.  Ever  since  the 
board  was  organised. 

Q.  How' long  have  you  been  in  the  office? 
A.  I  have  been  in  the  office  about  21  years. 

Q.  You  have  been  approached,  I  under¬ 
stand,  by  a  gentleman  who  asked  you  to  con¬ 
tribute  to  the  political  campaign  expenses? 
A.  There  was  a  man  came  to  my  desk.  As 
soon  as  ever  he  approached  I  saw  that  he  was 
a  very  ignorant  man.  I  said  to  him,  said  I, 
“Do  you  know  that  you  are  violating  the  civil 
service  act  ?”  He  said  he  did  not  know  that 
that  he  was  not,  or  had  not  passed  the  exam¬ 
ination.  I  said,  “That’s  a  mistake.  Any 


/ 


328 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


man,  whether  he  passes  the  examination  or 
not,  if  he  approaches  a  party  in  the  custom¬ 
house  to  solicit  money  for  political  purposes 
is  liable  to  the  penalty  of  the  law.” 

Q.  Had  he  asked  you  to  contribute?  A. 
Yes,  but  he  immediately  left  the  building. 

Q.  Was  he  a  post-office  employe  ?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  His  name?  A.  Bell ;  John  Bell. 

«»»»«• 

C.  S.  Burns  testified  as  follows : 

Questioned  by  Mr.  Roosevelt : 

Q.  Your  name?  A.  C.  8.  Burns. 

Q.  Your  position  ?  A.  Entry  clerk  in  the 
naval  office. 

Q.  You  are  secretary  of  the  local  board  of 
civil  service  examiners,  are  you  not?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  in  office?  A. 
Nearly  five  years. 

Q.  Appointed  under  the  last  administra¬ 
tion?  H.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  on  the  board? 
A.  I  came  on  the  board  in  May  of  that  year — 
five  years  ago  last  May. 

R.  Do  you  know  anything  about  collection 
of  names  for  political  purposes?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  So  far  as  you  know  ?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  The  bulk  of  employes  now  left  in  the 
office  were  appointed  under  the  last  adminis¬ 
tration?  A.  Yes,  sir.  There  have  been  no 
changes  in  our  office  since  the  advent  of  the 
present  administration.  Mostly  all  the  clerkg 
are  democrats. 

Q.  So  far  as  you  know,  there  has  been  no 
collection  of  political  assessments  among  them? 
A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  there  no  collection  in  the  fall  of 
1888,  so  far  as  you  know?  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Any  voluntary  contributions  on  their 
part  this  year?  A.  I  know  of  none,  sir. 

Q.  Any  such  voluntary  contributions  in 
the  fall  of  1888?  A.  I  think  there  was. 

Q.  Perfectly  voluntary  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  they  all  took  part?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Pretty  general  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  All  give  about  the  same  amount?  k. 
No, sir;  according  to  the  amount  of  salary. 

Q.  Was  it  about  $50  or  $60?  A.  It  was  a 
little  more  than  that  in  1888. 

Q.  How  much  larger?  A.  About  from  6 
to  8  per  cent. 

Q.  Well,  why  did  they  happen  to  choose 
that  amount?  A.  Well,  I  don’t  know  that. 

Q.  What  was  the  amount  of  your  contribu¬ 
tion?  A.  I  made  a  contribution  of  6J  per 
cent. 

Q.  Made  entirely  unsolicited?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  did  you  happen  to  select  6^  per 
cent?  A.  Well,  that  would  make  $100  ;  that 
was  the  understanding  among  the  $1,600 
clerks. 

Q.  Did  the  employes  of  the  custom-house 
generally  contribute  that  proportion  ?  A. 
Well,  some  gave  less  than  that. 

Q.  The  contributions,  then,  were  general 
in  1888?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  yon  know  if  they  were  very  general 
last  year?  A.  I  do  not  think  so.  I  contribu¬ 
ted. 


Q.  You’re  a  democrat  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  contributed  to  the  democratic 
fund?  A.  No,  sir;  to  the  republican  fund. 

Q.  Why  did  you  do  that?  A.  Well,  I 
thought  it  was  my  part  to  do  so.  I  thought  it 
was  my  part  to  support  the  administrrtion.  It 
was  voluntary  on  my  part. 

Q.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  were  there  any  con¬ 
tributions  to  the  opposition,  do  you  know  ? 
A.  I  do  not  know,  sir. 

Mr.  Roosvelt.  I  have  heard  just  that  view 
before,  that  the  desk  owes  so  much  to  the 
party. 

»•**** 

Mr.  Roosevelt  then  asked  Collector  Marine 
the  following  question: 

You  have  not  appointed  or  refrained  from 
appointing  by  reason  of  politics  ?  A.  I  have 
always  understood  that  out  of  a  certification 
of  three  you  were  at  liberty  to  select. 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  But  not  with  regard  to  pol¬ 
itics? 

Mr.  Marine.  I  have  brought  the  men  here 
and  had  a  look  at  them.  I  have  been  careful 
to  exercise  a  proper  supervision,  and  if  the 
candidate  did  not  suit  me  I  would  not  put 
him  in.  Of  course,  you  will  understand  that 
my  preference  is  to  appoint  republicans  to 
office. 

Mr.  Roosevelt.  Not  in  the  classified  serv¬ 
ice.  There  must  be  no  discrimination. 

Mr.  Marine.  Here  is  the  way  I  have  done 
it;  I  don’t  want  to  mislead  you  ;  I  have  never 
when  I  have  had  this  list  before  me,  for  in! 
stance,  if  I  did  not  know  a  man  on  the  list, 
which  very  frequently  is  the  case,  and  did 
know  the  others,  I  would  take  the  man  I  did 
know  in  preference  to  the  one  I  did  not. 

Mr.  Burns  was  dismissed.  Mr.  Marine  was 
asked  to  withdraw. 

Capt.  William  Fensley,  being  called,  said: 

Examined  by  Mr.  Roosevelt : 

Q.  Your  name?  A  Capt.  William  Fens¬ 
ley. 

Q.  What  is  your  position  at  present  ?  A.  I 
am  a  night  inspector. 

Ijr  * 

Q  Do  you  recollect  being  present  within 
the  last  week  or  two  at  a  meeting  where  a 
number  of  office-holders  were  present — I  think 
Mr.  Kimball  presided — where  some  money  was 
raised,  or  they  started  to  collect  some  money 
in  reference  to  these  primaries  that  are  just 
taking  place  to-day  ?  A.  I  was  at  that  meet¬ 
ing  ;  do  you  want  me  to  be  truthful  ? 

Mr.  Roosevelt:  I  would  very  much  prefer 
it.  About  what  date  was  that  meeting?  A. 
Well,  I  think  it  was  on  last  Tuesday,  two  or 
three  weeks  ago. 

***** 

Q.  Were  the  other  gentlemen  employes  of 
the  custom-house  and  post-office?  A.  Now, 
I  could  not  say.  I  suppose  there  were  some. 
There  was  two  or  three  there  and  more,  and 
there  was  outsiders — to  be  frank  with  you,  I 
only  knew  a  few. 

Q.  What  were  the  names  of  the  post-office 
men  who  were  there?  A.  Well,  now,  before 
I  proceed  any  further,  I  see  that  you  are  going 
to  interview  me  closely.  Now,  sir,  in  point  of 


law,  a  witness  is  not  bound  to  incriminate  him-  ^ 

self.  J 

*****  m 

Q.  Well,  who  are  the  employes  of  the  post- 
office  building  who  were  there?  A.  There 
was  a  gentleman  there  named  Biddleman - 

Mr.  Lingenfelder :  He  is  not  in  the  post- 
office;  he  is  in  United  States  Marshal  Airey’s  * 
office.  * 

Q.  Well,  at  that  meeting  did  you  decide  to  i 
raise  funds  in  view  of  the  coming  primaries  or 
for  legitimate  expenses?  A.  Yes,  sir;  there 
was  some  funds  for  to  pay  the  necesssary  ex¬ 
penses  of  the  house  that  we  were  to  occupy  for 
that  day,  and  I  was  there  this  afternoon  and  ^ 
saw  where  they  had  a  private  house  for  hold¬ 
ing  the  primaries,  which  is  legitimate. 
***** 

Q.  To  whom  did  you  pay  it?  A  Well, 
now,  there  was  about  a  dozen  persons  there, 
and  I  don’t  know  who  I  did  hand  it  to ;  but  I 
was  appointed  one  of  the  officers  to  disburse 
the  money  and  yet  it  was  handed  to  another, 
for  I  had  not  been  to  the  meeting ;  never  had 
been  to  those  meetings  in  that  ward,  not  for  a 
number  of  years,  from  the  time  I  ran  for  coun¬ 
cil  a  number  of  years  ago. 

Q.  Don’t  you  recollect  who  you  handed  it 
to?  A.  I  don’t;  I  handed  it  to  a  gentleman 
who  was  sitting  like  Mr.  Smith  and  he  handed 
it  to  some  one  else. 

**-*«*  * 

By  Mr.  Rose  : 

Q.  Didn’t  you  hear  his  name  ?  A.  Well, 
perhaps  I  did. 

Q.  Don’t  you  remember  it  ?  A.  Well,  let 
me  see,  I  would  not  remember  it  now.  I  never 
seen  the  man  before  to  know  him. 

Q.  Besides  Captain  Biddleman  who  else 
was  there  that  you  knew?  A.  Mr.  Kim¬ 
ball — - 

Q.  Anybody  else  from  the  custom-house  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  him  and  I  were  representing  the 
custom-house. 

Who  else  was  theie  from  the  post-office — 
Captain  Biddleman  of  the  United  States  mar¬ 
shal’s  office — who  represented  the  post-office? 

A.  Well,  there  were  several  gentlemen  there 
that  I  did  not  know,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  know  anybody  that  was  there 
besides  Mr.  Kimball,  Mr.  Biddle,  and  your¬ 
self?  A.  I  knew  a  gentleman  named  Mr. 
Bond. 

Q.  Where  is  he?  A.  I  don’t  know 
whether  he  is  in  the  post  office  or  in  the  cus¬ 
tom-house, 

Q.  Do  you  know  if  he  is  in  office?  A.  I 
don’t  know. 

Q.  Is  it  your  impression  that  he  is?  A. 

No,  sir;  I  didn’t  say  that.  I  don’t  know. 

Q.  Mr.  Bond  was  there.  Who  else?  Who 
is  Mr.  Bond?  is  the  first  question.  A.  He 
keeps  a  coal  yard. 

Q.  Who  else?  A.  That  is  all  that  I 
knew. 

Q.  Was  this  gentleman,  the  custodian  of 
the  fund,  was  he  an  employe  of  the  post-office? 

A.  I  don’t  know,  sir;  I  could  not  say. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  do 
not  know  the  name  of  the  man  to  whom  you 
gave  your  money  ?  A.  I  did  not.  He  was 
sitting  in  the  parlor  of  this  house,  and  I  was  . 
invited  there.  i 

[There  is  much  more  of  Interest  in  this  investiga-  * 
lion,  but  as  the  house  is  now  going  over  the  ground  '4 
again,  the  object  of  repeatedly  calling  public  atten¬ 
tion  to  it  has  been  accomplished. — Ed.  Chronicle.] 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE; 


Tliis  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  which  it  exists,  but  to  the  spoils  that  accompany  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so 
absolute  that  it  h.as  produced  an  evil  greater  than  any  which  party  proposes  to  remedy. — George  WUliam  Curtis,  at  Baltimore,  April,  1892. 


VoL.  I,  No.  39.  INDIANAPOLIS,  MAY,  1892.  terms  :<(  fcrnuVercopr' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 


A  FURTHER  examination  of  the  address 
I  of  Mr.  Curtis  before  the  League  at  Balti¬ 
more  confirms  our  opinion  expressed  last 
month  after  a  first  reading.  It  is  the  great¬ 
est  utterance  that  has  yet  been  delivered 
against  the  spoils  system.  Its  fundament¬ 
al  principle  that  the  evil  of  party  struggle 
for  spoil  has  become  greater  than  any  evil 
which  party  proposes  to  remedy  is  abso¬ 
lutely  beyond  question.  It  now  remains 
to  get  this  principle  thoroughly  fixed  in 
the  minds  of  the  American  people.  The 
circulation  of  this  address  is  the  most  pow¬ 
erful  means  to  this  end  now  at  hand.  Ev¬ 
ery  friend  of  the  merit  system  should  join 
in  this  work.  Mr.  John  Hemsley  Johnson 
whose  post-office  address  is  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  is  chairman  of  the  committee 
having  the  distribution  in  charge,  and  all 
communications  and  contributions  should 
be  sent  to  him.  The  smallest  contribution 
will  be  welcomed.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
every  member  of  the  Indiana  civil  service 
reform  association  will  send  money  to  Mr. 
Johnson  for  copies  and  distribute  them 
among  his  neighbors.  Civil  service  reform 
associations  everywhere,  and  especially 
those  that  have  not  been  able  to  find  any¬ 
thing  to  do,  will  find  this  a  most  effective 
n  work. 


The  paper  read  by  Mr.  R.  Francis 
Wood,  of  Philadelphia,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
National  League  in  Baltimore,  upon  ap¬ 
pointment  of  postmasters,  grounds  its  dis¬ 
cussion  largely  upon  the  last  annual  re¬ 
port  of  the  postmaster-general  and  is  an 
entertaining  commentary  upon  that  bump¬ 
tious  document.  The  following  from  Mr. 
Wood’s  paper  defines  the  situation  in  his 
own  state : 

In  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  which  seems  to 
have  been  exceptionally  favored  in  the  distribution 
of  offices,  there  were  in  1891,  4,684  post-offices  of  all 
classes.  If  I  may  use  the  analogue  which  has  been 
so  well  applied  in  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle, 
think  what  a  fine  retinue  of  knights  and  squires 
these  furnish  to  Duke  Donald  of  Lochiel  and  to  Earl 
Stanley,  the  lord  lieutenant  of  Pennsylvania;  and 
what  consideration  must  be  given  to  nobles  with 
such  a  following,  if  the  lord  paramount  desires  their 
aid  in  one  of  his  quadrennial  wars?  Is  it  strange 
that  our  newspapers  have  contained  almost  daily  for 
sometime  past  the  news  that  one  county  convention 
after  another  has  given  its  cordial  endorsement  to 


Mr.  Quay’s  candidacy  for  re-election  to  the  United 
States  senate;  or  can  we  wonder  at  the  eulogies 
upon  that  gentleman  delivered  in  the  late  state  con¬ 
vention  of  his  party?  “As  a  dog  turneth  to  his 
vomit,  so  a  fool  Iterateth  his  folly.’’ 


To  the  young  men  who  have  followed 
Mr.  Clarkson’s  suggestion  and  have  formed 
a  national  league  of  college  republican 
clubs,  we  take  the  liberty  to  repeat  Wash¬ 
ington’s  warning :  “  The  common  and 

continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party 
are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and 
duty  of  a  wise  people  to  discourage  and 
restrain  it.”  And  again :  “  It  exists  under 
different  shapes  in  all  governments  more 
or  less  stifled,  controlled  or  repressed,  but 
in  those  of  popular  form,  it  is  seen  in  its 
greatest  rankness  and  is  truly  their  worst 
enemy.” 

And,  since  the  machines  of  both  par¬ 
ties  are  under  the  manipulating  fingers 
of  Quay,  and  Platt,  and  Clarkson,  and  Gor¬ 
man,  and  Hill,  and  both  machines  exist 
only  for  spoil,  and  only  by  spoil,  these 
young  men  would  do  well  to  heed  another 
warning  by  a  patriot  as  distinguished  as 
Washington,  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  said 
to  a  friend  a  few  days  after  the  fall  of 
Richmond,  pointing  to  a  crowd  of  office- 
seekers  besieging  his  door :  “  Look  at  that. 
Now,  we  have  conquered  the  rebellion, 
but  here  you  see  something  that  may  be¬ 
come  more  dangerous  to  this  republic  than 
the  rebellion  itself.” 

As  both  parties  are  now  constituted,  it  is 
a  misfortune  when  party  ties  sit  anything 
but  lightly  on  the  young  college  men  of 
this  country. 

In  the  new  Baltimore  investigation, 
cabinet  officers  have  distinguished  them¬ 
selves.  Mr.  Wanamaker  testified  that  after 
Mr.  Roosevelt  made  his  report,  he  sent  a 
special  agent  to  look  into  the  matter,  and 
this  agent  reported  that  the  accused  office¬ 
holders  had  not  been  correctly  reported  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  had  had  no  chance  to 
defend  themselves,  and  were  not  guilty. 
He  therefore  had  punished  no  one.  It  re¬ 
quires  great  self-restraint  to  repeat  what 
Mr.  Wanamaker  swore  to  and  not  follow  it 
with  the  declaration  that  he  is  willfully  in 
collusion  with  law-breakers  and  criminals, 
and  is  shielding  them  from  punishment. 
To  note  the  difference  between  his  acts 
and  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  acts  in  this  Baltimore 
matter,  is  to  note  the  simple  difference  be¬ 


tween  a  sneak  and  an  honest  officer.  With 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  every  word  that  fell  from  the 
lips  of  the  witnesses  was  taken  by  a  sten¬ 
ographer,  and  was  printed  and  laid  before 
the  President  and  Mr.  Wanamaker  and 
the  public.  The  evidence  of  guilt  is  con¬ 
clusive.  The  accused  are  convicted  by 
their  own  testimony.  To  the  same  ques¬ 
tions  they  would  again  have  to  make  the 
same  answers.  Now  comes  Mr.  Wanamak¬ 
er  and  says  that  he  sent  a  man  to  Balti¬ 
more  who  made  a  re-investigation  and  re¬ 
ported  that  the  men  were  innocent.  He 
shirks  his  official  duty,  and  denies  evidence 
which  he  knows  is  true,  and  dodges  behind 
a  report  which  he  knows  is  false.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  followed  him  before  the  com¬ 
mittee,  and,  as  usual,  crushed  him  in  a  way 
to  make  the  whole  countr}'  ashamed  of  its 
postmaster-general.  We  give  the  follow¬ 
ing  specimen : 

It  is  difficult  to  discuss  seriously  the  proposition 
that  a  man  when  questioned  as  to  something  which 
has  just  happened  will  lie  to  his  own  hurt,  and  six 
months  afterward  tell  the  truth  to  his  own  benefit. 
The  honorable  the  postmaster-general,  in  speaking 
of  the  accused  men,  says ;  “  When  they  declare  that 
they  have  not  made  such  statements,  and  they  do 
that  under  oath,  you  are  bound  to  take  their  state¬ 
ments.”  It  seems  to  me  that  if  in  a  private  business 
of  large  size  an  investigation  into  one  of  its  branches 
should  disclose  that  twenty-one  men  were  cheating, 
the  men  being  caught  red  handed  and  confessing 
their  guilt,  it  would  be  very  unwise  to  accept  the 
oaths  of  these  same  men  six  months  later  that  they 
were  innocent  and  had  lied  when  they  made  their 
confessions. 

The  position  of  Attorney- General  Miller 
on  the  subject  of  raising  money  on  the  pay 
of  government  employes  is  demonstrated 
by  himself.  The  other  day  he  told  the  com¬ 
mittee  which  is  re-investigating  the  fed¬ 
eral  offices  of  Baltimore  that  his  attention 
had  not  been  called  to  the  Baltimore  cases 
until  within  a  few  days,  when  a  copy  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt’s  report  had  been  sent  him. 
Also,  that  he  could  not  be  personally  cog¬ 
nizant  of  all  violations  of  the  law,  “  even 
violations  of  the  civil  service  law.”  He  did 
not  know  for  what  purposes  the  Baltimore 
primaries,  reported  upon  by  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
were  held.  He  was  immediately  followed 
upon  the  stand  by  Mr.  Roosevelt,  who 
turned  to  his  letter-book  and  produced  the 
following  copy : 

Washington,  August  4, 1891. 

The  Attorney- General: 

Sir— By  direction  of  this  commission  I  have  the 
honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  copy  of  Commissioner 
Rooseveit’s  report  of  an  investigation  made  by  him 
at  Baltimore  in  respect  to  alleged  violations  of  the 


330 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


provisions  of  the  civil  service  law  relating  to  politi¬ 
cal  assessments  hy  persons  in  the  official  service  of 
the  U  nited  States.  A  copy  has  also  been  sent  to  the 
President,  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  and  the  post¬ 
master-general.  The  report  will  not  be  made  public 
except  with  the  consent  of  the  President. 

Very  respectfully,  Hugh  S.  Thompson, 
Acting  President. 

To  this  Mr.  Roosevelt  added  that  he 
personally  sent  the  report  at  the  time. 
Mr.  Miller  is  not  capable  of  a  falsehood  in 
this  matter.  The  report  undoubtedly 
came  to  him  in  his  mail,  and  if  he  noticed 
it  at  all,  it  was  simply  to  throw  it  aside 
with  acontemptuous  feeling  that  he  would 
not  take  the  trouble  to  read  it,  and  he 
has  undoubtedly  forgotten  all  about  it. 
There  was,  however,  a  great  deal  of  talk  in 
the  papers  at  the  time,  and  it  would  be  an 
unjust  reflection  upon  Mr.  Miller’s  intel¬ 
ligence  to  say  that  he  did  not  at  that  time 
know  that  hundreds  of  public  prints 
charged  a  wholesale  violation  of  the  law  in 
Baltimore. 

We  believe  that  he  has  voluntarily  given 
directions  to  the  district  attorneys  to  be  on 
the  lookout  for  trusts,  but  we  venture  to 
say  that  it  never  occurred  to  him  that  he 
had  any  duty  to  perform  in  connection 
with  the  use  of  public  officers  to  provide 
funds  or  run  primaries,  and  this,  though 
twenty-five  or  twenty  times  that  number 
should  violate  the  law  in  a  single  city.  Mr. 
Miller  is  at  times  very  spicy,  and,  if  he  is 
on  your  side,  entertaining.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  tone  in  which  he  said  “even 
violations  of  the  civil  service  law,”  made 
every  spoilsman  within  hearing  grin  with 
delight.  The  sum  of  the  matter  is  that 
efficient  prosecution  of  violators  of  the 
civil  service  law  can  not  be  secured  under 
this  administration. 


To  the  last  statement  there  is  one  excep¬ 
tion.  Mr.  George  W.  Jolley,  the  United 
States  district  attorney  for  the  district  em¬ 
bracing  Owensboro,  Kentucky,  learning 
that  the  law  had  been  violated,  promptly 
called  witnesses  before  the  grand  jury  and 
six  revenue  officers  were  indicted  for  un¬ 
lawfully  soliciting  and  receiving  money  for 
political  purposes.  Before  the  house  com¬ 
mittee  on  the  civil  service,  recently.  Secre¬ 
tary  Foster  was  asked  and  he  answered  in 
relation  to  this  transaction  as  follows: 

“The  Chairman.  I  have  received  a  communication 
signed  by  C.  C.  Stewart  and  others,  in  which  they  re¬ 
fer  to  indictments  in  Kentucky,  and  say  that  parties 
who  testified  before  the  grand  jury  have  been  dis¬ 
missed  from  the  internal  revenue  service;  while 
those  who  have  been  indicted  have  not  yet  been 
tried,  and  have  been  retained  in  the  service.  Are 
you  aware  of  the  truth  or  falsity  of  that? 

“Mr.  Foster.  I  have  some  knowledge  about  it 
which  I  do  not  care  to  make  public  at  this  time;  but 
if  It  Is  true,  these  people  have  been  wrongfully  in¬ 
dicted.” 

At  the  same  time  Secretary  Foster’s  at¬ 
tention  was  called  to  some  cases  in  the  rev¬ 


enue  service  in  Baltimore,  brought  out  in 
Mr.  Roosevelt’s  investigation,  as  follows: 

“Mr.  Boatner.  These  parties  are  charged,  and  two 
of  them  admit,  in  answer  to  questions,  that  they 
consider  any  sort  of  fraud  in  a  primary  as  entirely 
justifiable.  You  are  the  head  of  this  department, 
and  of  course  your  judgment  will  prevail  in  the  con¬ 
duct  of  the  business  of  your  department.  Asa  mem¬ 
ber  of  this  committee  I  desire  to  know  whether  it  is 
consistent  with  the  law  and  with  thegood  of  thepub- 
lic  service  to  retain  such  men  in  office?  ■>  -■  The 
question  I  ask  is  simply,  whether,  in  your  judgment, 
the  collector  of  the  port  should  dismiss  these  men 
upon  their  confession  of  having  committed  these 
acts?” 

“Mr.  Foster.  I  should  want  to  investigate  the  sub¬ 
ject  before  answering.” 

This  is  a  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  be 
proud  of. 

The  civil  service  commission  gave  Dis¬ 
trict-Attorney  Jolley  the  facts  upon  which 
he  started  the  investigation  by  the  grand 
jury.  A  Washington  dispatch  of  May  4  to 
the  New  York  Times  contained  the  follow¬ 
ing  summary  of  those  facts  : 

Similar  charges  were  made  by  L.  H.  Axton,  of 
Owensboro,  Ky,,  against  officials  of  the  second  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  district.  John  Feland  is  the  col* 
lector  in  that  district.  Axton  told  the  commission 
that  in  July  last  Feland  permitted  assessments  of 
from  825  to  850  to  be  made  on  officers  under  his  con¬ 
trol.  Those  who  lacked  sufficient  funds  gave  their 
individual  acceptances,  according  to  Axton,  in  favor 
of  William  Feland,  son  of  the  collector  and  chief 
clerk  of  the  office.  He  charged  also  that  several 
hundred  dollars  were  raised  in  this  way  to  support 
the  candidacy  of  John  Feland,  Jr.,  for  county  at¬ 
torney. 

The  remaining  charges  made  by  Axton  were  that 
the  collector  authorised  N.  S.  Roark  to  collect 
throughout  the  district  for  him,  H.  G.  Overstreet 
and  Gabe  Crutcher  being  implicated ;  also,  that  in 
April  last  Collector  Feland,  his  son  William,  and 
the  clerks  under  him  were  concerned  in  a  gen¬ 
eral  assessment  of  the  minor  internal  revenue  of¬ 
ficials  for  convention  purposes,  810  being  the  amount 
exacted  from  each  person. 

Axton  enclosed  in  his  communication  to  the  com¬ 
mission  a  letter  written  by  E.  P.  Adams,  a  district 
deputy  under  Feland,  asking  a  fellow  employe 
outright  lor  a  contribution  of  825. 

John  W.  Lane  made  affidavit  that  he  was  directly 
solicited  by  Adams  and  also  by  Roark,  the  latter  de¬ 
manding  a  contribution  of  830.  Lane  said  that  he 
spoke  to  the  collector  in  relation  to  the  matter,  and 
that  the  latter  said  he  could  do  as  he  pleased,  but 
that  he  (Feland)  expected  to  do  “his  part.” 

J.  S.  Barnett  submitted  an  affidavit  reciting  that 
he  gave  his  check  to  Roark  and  that  he  was  also  so¬ 
licited  by  C.  N.  Buchannan,  to  whom  he  gave  hiff ac¬ 
ceptance  for  825  in  favor  of  William  Feland.  He 
charged  also  that  William  Feland  deprived  him  of 
810  of  his  pay  for  political  purposes. 

An  affidavit  by  I.  O.  G.  Barnett  was  to  the  effect 
that  he  gave  a  check  for  810,  payable  to  William  Fe¬ 
land  as  a  political  contribution.  Roark  had  asked 
him  for  the  money. 

It  is  against  such  facts  as  these,  believed 
and  acted  upon  by  the  grand  jury,  that 
Secretary  Foster  says  he  has  information 
which  he  will  not  divulge,  but  which 
makes  him  believe  that  these  indictments 
were  wrongfully  returned.  There  has 
never  been  any  unanimity  in  the  world 
like  the  unanimity  with  which  the  Wana- 
makers  and  Fosters  of  this  administration 
put  themselves  in  the  position  of  appar¬ 
ently  deliberately  shielding  wrong-doers 
and  criminals. 


The  Netv  York  Evening  Post  brings  to 
light  a  “confidential”  circular  which  is 
being  sent  to  postmasters  by  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Protective  Tariff  League,  Cornelius 
N.  Bliss  president.  After  stating  that  its 
object  is  to  show  “  the  benefits  of  protec¬ 
tion  and  reciprocity,”  the  circular  says: 

“  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  at  once  give  us  a 
list  of  the  patrons  of  your  office  according  to  the  en¬ 
closed  blanks?  The  effectiveness  of  our  work  will 
depend  upon  the  care  with  which  you  prepare  these 
lists.  Give  the  names  of  intelligent  voters  only,  and 
of  those  who  may  become  voters  before  the  election 
of  1892. 

“  ( A)  Under  ‘  Our  Friends  ’  give  at  the  top  of  each 
blank  the  names  of  two  active,  reliable,  influential 
republicans  to  each  blank  used. 

“  (B)  Next,  give  the  names  of  republicans  who 
ought  to  take  an  interest  in  the  cause  of  protection. 

“(C)  Under  the  head  ‘Opposition’  give  the 
names  of  all  doubtful  voters  and  reading  democrats; 
that  is,  give  name  of  every  democrat  who  takes  a 
newspaper. 

“Immediate  reports  will  be  gratefully  received, 
but  take  time  to  have  the  lists  as  perfect  as  possible. 
If  you  need  additional  blanks,  please  inform  us  at 
once. 

“Please  do  not  fold  the  blanks,  but  return  them 
to  us  by  the  enclosed  post-paid  envelope.  Give  the 
names  at  your  post-office  only.  If  you  can  not  fur¬ 
nish  this  information,  kindly  consult  some  leading 
republican,  so  that  the  work  can  be  done  thoroughly 
and  promptly.” 

Senators  Hawley  and  Platt,  of  Connecti¬ 
cut,  have  written  a  letter  indorsing  the 
scheme,  and,  in  effect,  with  irresistible  force 
coercing  the  postmasters  of  their  state. 
Probably  other  members  of  congress  have 
done  the  same  for  their  domains.  Thus 
the  use  of  public  offices  for  party  and  pri¬ 
vate  purposes  has  come  to  its  full  bloom. 
First,  democrats  are  turned  out  and  re¬ 
publicans  become  holders  of  the  offices. 
Then,  instead  of  being  confined  to  an  im¬ 
partial  discharge  of  their  duties,  they, 
though  paid  by  taxing  all,  are  set  to  ren¬ 
dering  the  most  pt>werful  aid  to  the  dis¬ 
semination  of  a  party  tenet  which  is  of¬ 
fensive  to  one-half  of  the  American  peo¬ 
ple.  And  at  the  same  time,  these  banded 
legions  of  federal  office-holders  are  put 
under  the  control  of  an  association  of  pro¬ 
tected  manufacturers,  who  have  a  direct 
pecuniary  interest  in  the  work  they  are 
calling  upon  the  office-holders  to  do.  Of 
course  President  Harrison  could  by  a  word 
stop  this  corrupt  use  of  public  office. 


A  RECENT  instance  of  Hillism  was  the  es¬ 
cape  of  O’Brien,  a  notorious  bunko  crimi¬ 
nal,  as  he  was  being  transferred  from  the 
Clinton  prison  to  Utica.  The  warden  after 
thirteen  years  of  faithful  service  had  been 
displaced  by  Boss  Murphy  for  a  local  heel-^i 
er  with  no  qualification  for  the  office  ex-^ 
cept  usefulness  to  the  Hill  machine.  He  j  I 
made  changes  in  the  prison  service  to  fur-  | 
ther  parcel  out  spoil.  O’Brien  was  put  in  the  f 
sole  charge  of  a  keeper  of  two  weeks’  expe-  f 
rience  who  is  believed  to  have  connived  at  j 
the  escape  of  his  prisoner.  The  prison  as-  I 
sociation  of  New  York  with  the  assistances  j 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


331 


I 


w 


\  of  the  civil  service  reform  association  are 
taking  advantage  of  the  scandal  of  the 
O’Brien  affair  to  urge  a  constitutional 
amendment  necessary  to  get  prison  ap¬ 
pointments  under  the  civil  service  law. 
At  the  prison  at  Dannemora,  of  fifty  seven 
prison  officers  fifty-one  were  democrats, 
and  about  forty  were  appointed  through 
I  I  the  influence  of  Boss  Murphy  at  Troy  and 
I  j  the  rest  were  Smith  Weed’s  men. 

^  J.  Sloat  Fassett  having  been  success- 
I  ful  in  getting  Postmaster  Flood  removed 
is  now  charged  with  an  attempt  to  dispose 
|[j-  of  another  political  enemy,  Vanduzer,  the 
i‘'  Horseheads  postmaster.  Lately  Wanamak- 
er’s  post-oflBce  inspectors  have  been  drop- 
I  ping  in  to  see  Vanduzer  and  they  have 
been  followed  by  captious  letters  from 
Wanamaker  which  Vanduser  considered 
I  the  preliminary  steps  for  his  decapitation. 
He  informed  the  postmaster-general  at 
length  of  the  situation  in  a  letter  which  did 
not  mince  matters.  Then  he  waited  a 
week  and  went  to  Washington  and  called 
on  Wanamaker  who  said  he  had  not  re¬ 
ceived  Vanduzer’s  letter  Vanduzer  was  sur¬ 
prised  and  intimated  that  an  investigation 
would  be  proper,  but  Wanamaker  showed 
no  desire  to  see  the  letter.  Then  Vanduzer 
withdrew  and  procured  a  copy  which  he 
saw  safely  to  Wanamaker’s  desk.  Finally, 
to  complete  his  business  with  thorough¬ 
ness  and  neatness,  he  saw  Halford  and  re¬ 
lated  all  the  facts.  According  to  the  Wash¬ 
ington  report  he  talked  to  the  President’s 
private  secretary  as  follows: 

“Before  Dr.  Flood  was  removed  the  President  told 
me  he  did  not  understand  the  merits  of  the  case.  I 
propose  that  he  shall  not  be  ignorant  of  the  merits 
of  this  one.  I  do  not  propose  to  remain  quiet  and  be 
blackmailed  by  either  the  postmaster-general  or  Mr. 
Fassett.  If  I  am  to  be  removed,  I  want  the  people 
of  my  district  to  know  upon  what  grounds.”' 

How  Mr.  Wanamaker  must  detest  Van¬ 
duzer’s  indelicacy  in  letting  not  only 
him  but  the  public  know  that  he  sees 
through  the  pious  trick  to  oust  him. 


Another  interesting  tale  of  Wanamak¬ 
er’s  department  and  his  inspectors  in  Ma¬ 
ryland  was  lately  given  in  the  New  York 
Evening  Post.  The  republican  congress¬ 
man  had  the  post  office  removed  from  a 
good  location  to  an  inconvenient  one  where 
liquors  were  sold,  though  not  in  the  same 
room.  Complaint  was  made  to  Wanamaker 
and  he  referred  the  complainants  to  Clark¬ 
son.  After  several  hours  of  waiting  Clark¬ 
son  saw  the  gentlemen  and  informed  them 
in  a  discourteous  tone  that  their  complaints 
must  be  in  writing.  This  was  done  and 
they  went  home  to  await  the  visit  of  the 
inspector.  We  quote  the  outcome  of 
the  visit: 

“In  three  or  four  weeks  after  this  interview  the  in¬ 
spector  came  down.  He  sent  for  me,  and  said  that  as 
for  my  first  reason,  the  office  was  within  the  number 
of  rods  from  the  railroad  allowed  by  law,  and  that  we 


must  put  up  with  its  inconvenient  location;  that  we 
could  not  expect  to  have  everything  just  as  we  want¬ 
ed  it;  then,  that  fora  post-office  in  a  saloon  it  was 
very  well  arranged,  and  that  liquors  were  hardly  an 
objection,  as  they  were  sold  down  stairs.  I  reminded 
him  that  that  did  not  prevent  people  under  their  in¬ 
fluence  coming  up  stairs,  and  asked  him  if  it  was  not 
against  the  law  to  have  a  post-office  in  a  place  where 
liquors  were  sold.  He  said,  ‘Why,  certainly  it  is,’ and 
took  from  his  pocket  a  copy  of  thatsection  of  the  law 
and  read  it  to  me,  adding  that  if  that  were  enforced 
half  the  post-offices  in  the  South  would  have  to  be 
closed;’  and  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  do  without 

one  at - ville.  I  told  him  no,  and  that  argument 

had  no  force  here,  as  we  had  another  place  for  it  that 
was  satisfactory  in  every  respect.  He  asked,  ‘Where?’ 
I  said  at - ’s  store,  where  it  had  been  so  satisfac¬ 

tory  hitherto.  But  he  said,  ‘He  is  a  democrat.’  I 
said,  ‘He  votes  that  ticket,  but  is  no  politician.’  The 
inspector  replied,  ‘  Whe.n  it  comes  to  a  cfwice  between  a 
democrat  and  a  saloon,  the  saloon  will  get  it  every  time.' 
Then  in  answer  to  my  third  reason  he  required  me 
to  give  him  the  particulars  of  their  carelessness,  etc., 
which  1  did.  He  said  I  had  good  reasons  for  com¬ 
plaint  on  that  head;  that  he  would  reprimand  the 
postmaster  and  threaten  him,  and  he  had  no  doubt 
that  things  would  improve  in  that  respect  [as  they 
have].  Then  I  said  to  him,  ‘I  suppose  there  is  no 
chance  of  a  change  of  place  for  our  post  office.’  He 
said  he  thought  not,  unless  our  congressman,  who 
had  it  put  where  it  is,  would  request  Mr.  Clarkson 
to  make  a  change,  which  he  was  not  likely  to  do.  I 
have  heard  nothing  more  since.’’ 

The  Indianapolis  Journal,  of  May  6,  has 
the  following  dispatch : 

Madison,  May  5.— The  new  republican  city  coun¬ 
cil  to-night  ousted  all  the  democrats  in  subordinate 
offices  and  put  in  the  following  good,  trusty  republi¬ 
cans:  Sexton,  Earnest  Argus;  street  commissioner, 
Benjamin  Mayo ;  attorney,  Solomon  J.  Bear;  market 
master,  Anderson  Benson;  janitor,  Paul  Wolf ;  engin¬ 
eer  of  light  station,  Frank  McKay  ;  linemen,  Mark 
Mollyne  and  Samuel  Medlicott;  commissioners, 
James  Hargan,  Salathiel  Grayson,  James  D.  Taylor, 
John  Clements  and  Patrick  Wade. 

The  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  of  May  11, 
publishes  the  following : 

Anderson,  Ind.,  May  10.— [Special.]— The  new 
democratic  council  assumed  control  of  affairs 
last  night  for  the  first  time  in  four  years.  In  five 
minutes  after  the  newly  elected  members  had  taken 
their  seats  Councilman  Forkner  introduced  a  sweep¬ 
ing  resolution,  which  fired  out  every  republican 
holding  a  minor  city  office  and  appointed  in  their 
stead  tried  and  true  democrats.  The  city  attorney, 
chief  of  police;  ten  policemen,  city  engineer,  street 
commissioner  and  a  half  dozen  other  offices  were 
placed  in  the  hands  of  democrats.  There  is  a 
great  howl  going  up  to  day  from  republicans  and 
they  threaten  to  retaliate  by  firing  out  every  demo¬ 
cratic  teacher  from  the  public  schools. 

The  new  appointees  were  ward  bosses 
and  party  heelers.  This  is  a  good  instance 
of  the  almost  universal  corruption  which 
exists  in  our  national,  state  and  municipal 
affairs  in  relation  to  appointments  to  office. 
In  these  cases  there  was  no  pretense  of 
inefficiency  of  those  dismissed  or  of  effi¬ 
ciency  of  those  appointed.  It  was  plain 
freebooting.  In  most  cases  there  is  a  pre¬ 
tense  of  efficiency  yet  the  governing  mo¬ 
tive  in  the  selection  for  appointment  is  fav¬ 
oritism  and  the  action  of  the  appointing 
power  is  therefore  corrupt.  The  magni¬ 
tude  of  the  evil  is  colossal  and  the  effect 
upon  individual  citizenship  is  degrading 
in  the  extreme.  So  widespread  is  this  cor¬ 
ruption  that  every  other  public  question  is 


dwarfed  by  the  side  of  it.  Party  machines 
and  managers  as  now  constituted  do  not 
want  this  corruption  removed  or  citizen¬ 
ship  elevated.  They  like  to  enjoy  this 
spoil  and  they  have  no  means  of  political 
existence  without  it.  They  constantly  at¬ 
tempt  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  by  pushing  forward  some  other  ques¬ 
tion  as  the  all-important  one.  That  trick 
is  now  well  understood.  The  one  great  ob¬ 
ject  to  work  for  now  in  American  politics 
is  the  destruction  of  the  spoils  system. 
That  can  best  be  worked  at  from  a  position 
of  cold-blooded  indifference  to  mere  party 
success. 


A  Boston  Herald  Washington  dispatch, 
of  April  12,  says,  regarding  Mr.  Andrew’s 
bill  “to  exclude  political  influence  in  the 
appointment  of  labor  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States:” 

The  federation  of  labor  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
met  last  night,  and,  after  a  two  hours’  discussion  of 
the  bill  by  sections,  voted  to  indorse  it,  with  only 
one  dissenting  vote.  It  was  also  voted  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  wait  upon  Mr.  Andrew  to  urge^the  ad¬ 
dition  of  a  clause  making  it  a  penal  offence  for  a 
public  officer  to  violate  the  law  if  it  is  enacted. 

Of  the  recent  application  of  the  system 
in  the  Washington  navy-yard.  Commodore 
Folger  in  his  last  annual  report  says : 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  state,  and  it  is  a  fact 
which  isgenerally  acknowledged, that  the  gun  factory 
at  the  Washington  navy-yard  has  proved  itself  suc¬ 
cessful  in  the  direction  of  economy  and  efficiency. 
Ordnance  material  of  every  description  is  now  man¬ 
ufactured  in  this  establishment  cheaper  than  out¬ 
side  contractors  will  agree  to  undertake  the  work. 
This  state  of  affairs  is  largely  due  to  the  methods 
which  have  been  pursued  in  purifying  the  manner 
of  making  appointments,  promotions,  etc.,  in  the 
labor  force,  and  in  the  adoption  of  an  administration 
based  upon  business  methods,  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  merit  system,  which  has  become  finally  estab¬ 
lished,  is  satisfactory  and  beneficial  both  to  the 
government  and  to  the  labor  employed. 


The  sale  of  the  Indianapolis  News  by 
Mr.  John  H.  Holliday  is  an  event  of  great 
political  interest.  Mr.  Holliday  founded 
the  News  with  a  small  capital,  and  carried 
it  through  all  difficulties  until  it  became  a 
great  newspaper,  and  sold,  it  is  reported, 
for  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It 
has  been  a  great  power  in  Indiana,  with 
its  25,000  daily  circulation  and  100,000  daily 
readers.  While  not  without  mistakes,  it 
has  during  its  twenty  years  existence  stood 
for  the  free  exercise  of  the  powers  of  citi¬ 
zenship  unhampered  by  partisan  bands. 
While  the  party  papers  of  Indiana  have 
ignored  the  facts,  or  have  lied  about  them, 
the  News  has  told  the  truth.  Its  stand  up¬ 
on  public  questions  has  been  without  fear 
or  wavering,  and  with  indifference  to  party 
effect.  It  has,  in  most  cases,  been  right. 
It  has  been  a  persistent  and  powerful  fight¬ 
er  of  the  spoils  system  in  every  phase. 


Mr.  Morton  has  published  a  statement 
in  his  usual  clear  and  conclusive  terms. 


332 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


of  the  solicitation  of  money  by  ex-Con- 
gressman  Allen  in  the  federal  building 
at  Chicago.  The  feeling  among  the  boys 
here  is  very  ugly  toward  Mr.  Morton,  not 
that  they  question  for  a  moment  the  truth 
of  his  statements,  but  for  “  blowing,”  as  one 
them  put  it.  Merrill  Moores,  chairman  of 
the  republican  county  committee,  talks  of 
having  Mr.  Morton  expelled  from  the  Col¬ 
umbia  Club,  a  “swell  ”  republican  organi¬ 
zation  of  this  city.  The  last  seen  of  Allen, 
he  was  hurrying  across-lots  to  Washington 
where  he  ran  around  to  the  President  and 
other  officers  to  deny  what  he  had  not  yet 
been  charged  with.  It  was  a  case  of  the 
wicked  making  rapid  time  in  anticipation 
of  pursuit. 

The  President  has  placed  the  employes 
of  the  tish  commission,  132  in  number, 
under  the  civil  service  law.  This  was  done 
at  the  urgent  request  of  Fish  Commission¬ 
er  McDonald,  and  swells  the  number  of 
additions  made  by  the  President  to  the 
classified  service  during  the  three  years 
of  his  term  to  between  eight  and  nine 
hundred.  How  full  this  measure  of  per¬ 
formance  is  can  be  determined  by  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  platform  upon  which  he  was 
elected. 

The  President  turned  the  Virginia  fed¬ 
eral  offices  over  to  Mahone,  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  offices  to  Quay,  the  New  York  to 
Platt,  and  he  let  Clarkson  displace  forty 
thousand  postmasters  with  his  friends  and 
partisans.  Yet,  to  a  man,  these  bosses  are 
now  his  bitter  enemies.  With  this  full¬ 
ness  of  ingratitude,  poetic  justice  punishes 
the  President  for  forgetting  his  oath  of 
office  and  his  duties  under  the  constitu¬ 
tion. 


THE  HENCHMEN  IN  ACTIVE  SER¬ 
VICE. 

“  No  officer  should  be  required  or  per¬ 
mitted  to  take  part  iu  the  arraugemeut  of 
political  organizations,  caucuses,  conren- 
tions,  or  election  campaigns.  Their  right 
to  rote  and  to  express  their  views  on  pub¬ 
lic  questions,  either  orally  or  through  the 
press,  is  not  denied,  provided  it  does  not 
interfere  with  the  discharge  of  their 
official  duties.  No  assessment  for  political 
purposes  on  offices  or  subordinates  should 
be  allowed.” — President  Hayes,  June  22, 1817 

FIELD  SERVICE  FOR  A  MONTH. 

[From  the  New  York  Times.] 
Appointments,  removals  and  transfers  were  nu¬ 
merous  at  the  custom-house  yesterday,  and  the  spe¬ 
cial  treasury  agent’s  office  came  in  for  the  lion’s 
share  of  the  “shake  up.’’  It  began  with  Special 
Treasury  Inspectors  Morton  Britton  and  Ignatius  Du¬ 
gan,  who  were  removed.  Both  of  them  are  republi¬ 
cans.  Britton  had  been  a  long  time  in  the  service, 
and  had  had  to  do  with  some  important  cases.  Chief 
Wilbur  speaks  well  of  his  work,  but  that  didn’t  pre¬ 
vent  the  sending  of  an  order  from  Washington  for 
his  removal.  It  was  gossip  yesterday  that  some  power¬ 
ful  influence  had  been  exerted  against  him. — March  5. 


Collector  Hendricks  has  had  many  sessions  lately 
with  the  local  republican  leaders,  who  are  hunger¬ 
ing  for  that  amount  of  spoils  represented  by  what  is 
known  as  the  Briggs  contract.  They  have  long 
fought  for  this  slice  of  government  patronage,  and 
now  they  are  in  a  fair  way  to  get  possession  of  it 
very  speedily.  This  contract  is  for  the  cartage  of 
goods  to  the  general  order  stores.  It  is  estimated  to  be 
worth  850,000  a  year  to  the  holder. — March  16. 

»:t  i.**  ».t 

Yesterday  it  leaked  out  at  the  custom-house  that 
Ex-Sheriff  Clark  D.  Rhinehart,  of  Brooklyn,  was 
likely  to  come  in  for  one  of  the  shares,  and  that  there 
was  strong  influence  back  of  him.  The  story  given 
to  account  for  this  new  factor  in  the  situation  is 
rather  a  roundabout  one,  and  has  to  do,  more  or  less, 
with  the  factions  in  Brooklyn,  where  the  friends  of 
Secretary  Tracy  and  Naval  Officer  Willis  are  arrayed 
against  Revenue  Collector  Ernst  Nathan.  A  month 
ago  Gov.  Flower  ended  the  term  of  William  H.  Leay- 
craft  as  a  port  warden,  an  ofliee  which  he  had  held 
since  the  time  of  Gov.  Cornell.  Leaycraft  is  leader 
in  the  nineteenth  ward  in  Brooklyn,  and  is  classed 
as  a  friend  of  Secretary  Tracy.  At  one  time  he  was 
looked  upon  as  booked  for  an  assistant  appraiser- 
ship,  but  in  the  last  few  days  it  has  been  practically 
settled  that  he  will  not  get  the  place.  The  New  York 
seekers  for  the  Briggs  contract  figure  it  out  that  it 
is  as  an  offset  to  delay  or  failure  to  bring  about  Leay- 
craft’s  appointment  that  the  scheme  to  give  Rhine¬ 
hart  a  slice  of  the  contract  and  pacify  his  faction  has 
been  evolved.  The  result  is  that  the  leaders  in  this 
city  are  preparing  to  make  the  biggest  fight  they  can 
to  keep  Rhinehart  out,  even  if  he  has  the  support  of 
Secretary  Tracy.  They  are  talking  of  all  sorts  of 
rash  things  if  a  Brooklyn  finger  is  to  be  thrust  into 
this  particular  custom-house  pie.— April  9. 

v  #  v 

The  Eleventh  Assembly  District  Republican  Asso¬ 
ciation  had  a  meeting  last  night  at  its  headquarters, 
Broadway  and  Thirty-fourth  street,  which  developed 
such  a  factional  fight  that  the  police  were  called  in, 
and  the  meeting  broke  up  in  confusion.  It  is  in  this 
district  that  many  republicans  protested  against 
machine  methods  which  kept  them  out  of  the  organ¬ 
ization  at  the  recent  meeting  of  the  republican 
county  organization.  The  anti-machine  men  were 
in  authority  at  the  start  last  night. 

Meantime  “the  machine’’  was  on  the  sidewalk, 
unable  to  force  its  way  in.  Col.  Bliss,  Charles  A, 
Peabody,  S.  V.  R.  Cruger,  Alderman  Morris,  ex- Al¬ 
derman  J.  C.  O’Connor,  and  others  were  trying  to 
get  through  the  disorderly  crowd  on  the  stairs.  Busi¬ 
ness  was  being  conducted  amid  shouts  and  jeers  and 
hisses.  The  leaders  outside  said  it  was  a  disorderly 
mob  and  they  went  for  the  police.  Three  or  four 
officers  came  and  crowded  their  way  up  the  stairs. 

“  Put  the  Tammany  democrats  out,’’  shouted  some 
of  the  machine  crowd. 

“  Put  the  Tammany  police  out!  ’’  replied  some  of 
the  anti-machine  crowd. 

The  officers  said  they  could  tell  a  Tammany  demo¬ 
crat  as  soon  as  they  saw  him,  and  they  at  once  began 
removing  such  as  seemed  democrats  and  passing 
them  down  the  stairs.  There  were  shouts  and  yells 
and  a  general  scramble.  The  anti-machine  men 
wore  white  buttons  in  the  lapels  of  their  coats.  Some 
one  had  told  the  officers  that  these  were  the  men  to 
go,  and  there  was  a  long  line  of  white  buttons  passed 
down  the  stairs.  Mr.  Milholland  stood  on  a  chair 
and  cried  out  that  Tammany  Hall  had  sent  the  offi¬ 
cers  t(f  break  up  the  meeting.  Others  joined  iu  the 
cry  and  confusion  reigned.  When  the  hall  had  been 
cleared  the  leaders  in  the  district  took  possession 
and  decided  to  appoint  a  committee  of  five  to  in¬ 
vestigate  the  trouble.  Col.  Bliss  moved  to  adjourn 
and  the  meeting  broke  up.  Several  lively  bits  of  re¬ 
partee  passed  between  Col.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Milholland 
and  others.  Col.  Bliss  said  among  other  things  that 
charges  had  been  filed  at  Washington  against  Mr. 
Milholland  for  being  an  offensive  partisan  while 
holding  a  federal  office.— ifarc/i  23. 

v  * 

Considerable  surprise  was  occasioned  yesterday  by 
the  announcement  that  the  official  ax  had  fallen 
on  the  heads  of  three  contract  labor  inspectors 


attached  to  the  immigration  bureau  on  Ellis  island. 
John  E.  Milholland  is  the  chief  of  the  contract  labor 
bureau.  This  reduction  of  his  force  is  said  to  be  the 
outcome  of  his  quarrel  with  Col.  George  Bli.ss  and 
other  leaders  of  the  eleventh  assembly  district.— 
March  28. 

The  pretty  republican  row  in  the  eleventh  assem¬ 
bly  district,  wherein  John  E.  Milholland,  with  a 
very  good  backing,  seeks  to  overturn  the  Col.  George 
Bliss  dynasty,  took  on  a  new  phase  yesterday.  Scared 
at  the  inroads  on  their  strength  which  Mr.  Milhol¬ 
land  had  been  making.  Col.  Bliss  and  some  of  his 
followers  got  together  and  prepared  a  circular.  The 
circular,  which  is  a  rather  remarkable  local  political 
document,  is  as  follows: 

“Recent  occurrences  in  the  eleventh  assembly 
district  induce  us  to  make  the  following  statement  to 
the  republicans  of  the  district  and  the  state : 

“  A  complaint  was  presented  at  the  last  meeting 
of  the  republican  county  committee  charging  unfair 
dealing  in  the  republican  association  in  preventing 
republicans  from  joining  it  and  in  keeping  the  roll 
of  members  inaccessible.  The  paper  was  signed  by 
39  of  the  800  members  of  the  association.  Its  state¬ 
ments  are  untrue.  No  person  desiring  to  become  a 
member  has  been  prevented  from  so  doing  longer 
than  was  reasonably  necessary  to  inquire  into  his 
claim  to  become  such  member.  The  member  who 
presented  the  paper  to  the  association  has  himself 
been  found  proposing  for  membership  persons  who 
were  not  eligible.  More  than  a  third  of  the  names 
proposed  were  found  to  be  those  of  democrats,  per¬ 
sons  not  residents,  or  who  did  not  desire  to  join  the 
association. 

“The'rollof  the  association  has  been  always  ac¬ 
cessible  on  proper  application,  but  has  been  kept 
from  those  desiring  to  steal  it. 

“Prior  to  the  regular  meeting  of  the  association  on 
Tuesday  last,  a  gang  of  ruffians  took  possession  of 
the  room,  excluded  the  officers  and  proceeded  to 
act  as  the  association.  How  they  were  brought  to 
that  meeting,  and  how  the  gang  was  made  up,  is  in¬ 
dicated  by  the  following  advertisement  which  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  Herald  of  that  day : 

“  ‘I  can  give  temporary  employment  to  twenty-five 
men.  Apply  to  store 438 Fourth  avenue.’ 

“ The  ‘ store  438  Fourth  avenue’ is  kept  by  a  for¬ 
mer  member  of  the  association  who  was  expelled 
under  the  constitution,  and  the  ‘  temporary  employ¬ 
ment’  was  to  capture  a  republican  association’s 
room. 

“  He  was  there  with  them.  They  were  aided  by 
gangs  recruited  all  over  the  city  and  paid,  or  prom¬ 
ised  to  be  paid,  for  going  there.  The  proceedings 
were  openly  conducted  under  the  supervision  of  an 
officer  under  the  national  government,  who  was  not 
and  is  not  a  member  of  the  association,  though  he 
and  his  gang  went  through  the  motions  of  electing 
him  a  member. — March  31. 

«!  <<  !.-< 

Mr.  Thomas  C.  Platt  still  lingers  in  Washington. 

He  met  with  a  series  of  disappointments  this  morn¬ 
ing  which  would  have  disheartened  a  less  seasoned 
campaigner.  First  he  called  at  the  White  House  and 
was  informed  that  the  President  was  unable  to  see 
him,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  had  an  engagement 
which  w'ould  occupy  several  hours. 

Mr.  Platt  pocketed  disappointment  and  started  for 
the  treasury  department.  Yes,  Mr.  Foster  was  in, 
but  he  was  engaged.  Would  Mr.  Platt  kindly  call  in 
the  afternoon  ?  This  was  the  discouraging  message 
New  York’s  republican  boss  received  through  the 
colored  gentleman  on  guard  at  the  secretary’s  door 
Mr.  Platt  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  a  few  hours 
later  he  was  closeted  with  Mr.  Foster.  Before  even¬ 
ing  he  contrived  to  get  an  audience  Avith  Mr.  Har¬ 
rison. 

“  As  stated  in  The  Times  this  morning,  the  object 
of  Mr.  Platt’s  visit  is  to  try  to  patch  up  peace  iu  the 
ranks  of  New  York  republicans,  which  has  been  de- 
stroyed  by  young  Mr.  Milholland’s  performance  in 
the  eleventh  as.sembly  district.  When  Milholland  [ji 
came  here  last  week  to  explain  away  the  charges 
made  against  him  by  Col.  George  Bliss,  and  substan. 
tiated  by  Col.  S.  V.  R.  Cruger,  he  found  that  he  had 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


333 


tackled  an  exceedingly  difficult  undertaking.  The 

I  Union  League  Club  influence  had  preceded  him,  and 
both  the  President  and  Secretary  Foster  were  pre¬ 
pared  to  take  him  to  task  for  his  actions. 

“Mr.  Milholland  asserted  while  here  that  he  had 
smoothed  the  difficulty  over,  but  later  reports  show 
that  he  was  hauled  over  the  coals  in  the  liveliest 
possible  fashion  by  his  superiors.  Soon  after  his  re- 
j  turn  home,  his  force  in  the  contract  labor  bureau 

^  was  reduced  and  the  public  was  informed  that  he 

had  been  rebuked. 

“  Now  comes  Mr.  Platt  to  straighten  out  the  diffi¬ 
culty  if  he  can.  He  does  not  want  Milholland  to  be 
disciplined  further,  and  he  wants  Col.  Bliss  and  the 
Union  League  Club  to  let  the  matter  drop.  He  finds 
the  President  and  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  who 
is  his  political  right  bower  just  now,  anxious  for 
peace  and  willing  to  sacrifice  Milholland  if  it  seems 
likely  that  such  a  course  would  prove  advisable.  Mr. 
Platt  discovered  that  he  had  a  good-sized  job  on  his 
hands  when  he  interviewed  the  gentlemen  this  af¬ 
ternoon.  He  has  arranged  for  another  session  with 
Mr.  Foster  to-morrow.’’— Afarc/i  30. 

*  l(* 

At  12:25  o’clock  this  morning  information  was  re¬ 
ceived  at  The  Times  office  from  persons  associated 
with  the  Col.  Bliss  faction  in  the  Bliss-Milholland 
fight  in  the  eleventh  assembly  district  that  Secre¬ 
tary  Foster  had  demanded  the  resignation  of  John  E. 
Milholland  as  supervising  immigrant  inspector  as  a 
result  of  his  opposition  to  Col.  Bliss.  If  the  news  is 
true,  a  big  rumpus  in  the  republican  party  in  this  city 
is  very  certain  to  follow.  Nearly  all  of  the  big  repub¬ 
lican  politicians  here  sympathize  with  Mr.  Milhol¬ 
land.  It  will  also  intensify  the  interest  in  to-day's 
primary  in  the  eleventh  district,  where  the  Bliss  and 
Milholland  factions  will  battle  at  the  polls  from  9 
A.  M.  until  9  p.  M.  The  election  will  be  held  at  the 
Hamilton  Club,  Thirty-fourth  street  and  Broadway. 

The  Milholland  faction  goes  in  under  decided  dis¬ 
advantage.  Col.  George  Bliss  controls  the  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  particularly  the  inspectors  of  election. 
Many  of  the  wealthy  men  in  the  district  are  with 
the  Bliss  faction. 

Since  Mr.  Milholland  has  been  making  the  fight 
against  Col.  Bliss  the  latter  faction  has  called  for  help 
from  the  national  administration  and  the  official 
head  of  Mr.  Milholland  has  been  demanded.  Mr. 
Milholland’s  refusal  to  sign  the  letter  of  withdrawal 
from  the  contest  and  his  consequent  decision  to  fight 
it  out  at  the  polls  have  aroused  the  Bliss  people. 

Cornelius  N.  Bliss  said  yesterday  that  it  w'as  simply 
a  matter  of  Mr.  Milholland’s  withdrawal.  No  com¬ 
promise  would  be  considered.  He  charged  Mr.  Mil¬ 
holland  with  not  keeping  faith.  It  was  also  de¬ 
clared  that  the  whole  matter  of  Mr.  Milholland’s  re¬ 
moval  from  office  was  left  by  Secretary  Foster  in  the 
hands  of  Cornelius  C.  Bliss,  and  the  latter  wrote  to 
Mr.  Foster  yesterday  demanding  Mr.  Milholland’s 
removal. 

John  C.  O’Conor,  jr.,  chairman  of  the  enrolled  re¬ 
publicans  of  the  eleventh  district,  stirred  up  a  hor¬ 
net’s  nest  and  stepped  on  a  good  many  respectable 
republican  corns  yesterday  by  writing  a  letter  which 
in  most  districts  would  help  Mr.  Milholland’s  cause. 
For  instance,  he  made  this  remarkable  statement  in 
reference  to  the  famous  meeting  of  March  22: 

“What  else  this  gang  of  hirelings  may  have  con¬ 
templated  I  know  not,  but  I  have  been  informed 
that  prior  to  the  assembly  of  these  worthies  it  was 
arranged  to  overpower  the  secretary  of  the  regular 
organization,  take  his  books  away  by  force,  and  also 
to  pull  the  president  from  the  chair  and  throw  him 
out  of  the  window.  The  window  was  on  the  third 
story.  These  acts  became  unnecessary,  the  officers 
of  the  association  being  unable  to  make  an  entry. 

“This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Milholland  move¬ 
ment.  These  are  the  people  who  comprise  the  Mil¬ 
holland  element.  You  will  readily  understand  that 
with  the  iuaugurators  of  such  a  movement  or  the  sup¬ 
porters  of  such  people  no  conference  is  possible,  nor, 
in  my  judgment,  could  any  conference  be  held  with 
them.  They  are  heyond  the  pale  of  consideration, 
political  or  otherwise.” 

When  asked  last  night  about  Cornelius  N.  Bliss’s 
request  for  his  removal,  Mr.  Millholland  said. 


“I  have  simply  to  say  that  I  am  not  in  the  least 
surprised.  The  Col.  Bliss  crowd  have  been  clamor¬ 
ing  for  my  removal  ever  since  I  began  the  fight 
against  the  way  in  which  they  managed  the  district. 
They  may  convince  the  administration  that  it  is  its 
duty  to  interfere  in  this  little  assembly  district  row, 
and  if  they  do,  I  don’t  think  I  shall  worry  much 
about  it.  I  certainly  shall  not  hesitate  for  an  instant 
to  keep  up  the  fight,  nor  shall  I  or  my  friends,  and  I 
have  plenty  of  them,  recede  one  inch  from  the  posi¬ 
tion  that  I  have  taken.  I  told  Cornelius  N.  Bliss, 
when  I  met  him  at  the  personal  request  of  Secretary 
Foster,  that  all  the  threats  he  or  his  friends  could 
indulge  in  were  wasted  upon  me,  and  that  the  only 
influence  to  which  I  would  yield  would  be  that 
which  was  presented  by  Chairman  Brookfield,  name¬ 
ly,  the  interests  of  the  party. 

“There  is  not  a  fair  fighter  among  them.  Their 
circular  having  proved  a  boomerang,  they  rushed  off 
to  Washington  and  tried  to  have  me  removed.  They 
say  now  that  they  did  not  pretend  to  represent  the 
Union  League  Club  in  making  this  request,  and  they 
did  not  threaten  to  cut  off  contributions  to  the  cam¬ 
paign  if  I  were  not  called  down,  but  I  say  they  did, 
and  I  can  prove  it  by  authority  that  they  dare  not 
question.— Ajjrtf  15. 

>.' 

Republican  primaries  were  held  yesterday  in  all 
the  assembly  districts  of  the  city  except  the  twenty- 
fourth,  and  men  were  selected  to  go  to  Albany  to 
nominate  as  delegates  to  the  Minneapolis  convention 
those  persons  who  were  long  ago  selected  by  “  Boss’’ 
Platt  to  perform  that  service. 

In  the  eleventh  assembly  district  John  E.  Milhol¬ 
land’s  effort  to  overthrow  the  regular  ticket  headed 
by  Cornelius  N.  Bliss  was  a  failure.  There  was, 
however,  a  lively  fight  all  day  long  for  supremacy, 
and  the  district  was  scratched  over  for  voters  by  the 
ward-workers  with  great  zeal  and  vigor. 

The  Bliss  crowd  set  up  a  mighty  cheer  up  stairs 
and  down  when  the  result  was  announced.  John  E. 
Milholland  and  his  followers  adjourned  to  their 
headquarters,  on  Sixth  avenue  above  Thirty-fourth 
street,  and  there  Milholland  got  on  a  table  and  made 
a  speech.  He  accused  the  Bliss  faction  of  unfairand 
illegal  voting,  and  declared  that  the  fight  would 
go  on. 

He  said  that  he  had  evidence  in  his  possession  to 
show  that  a  number  of  the  Bliss  tickets  were  fraudu' 
lently  voted. — April  16. 

<1  *  !S 

Last  night  Dr.  L.  L.  Seaman,  one  of  the  best-known 
republicans  in  the  eleventh  district,  sent  a  dispatch 
to  President  Harrison  indignantly  protesting  against 
the  interference  of  the  administration  in  the  Bliss- 
Milholland  faction  fight,  as  described  on  another 
page  of  The  Times.  Dr.  Seaman  also  mailed  to  the 
President  a  letter  in  which  he  said : 

“The  newspapers  say  that  Milholland’s  resigna¬ 
tion  is  demanded,  not  for  neglect  of  duty  or  any 
dishonorable  act,  but  because  he  failed  to  arrange 
matters  satisfactory  with  Bliss.  What  a  text  for 
democratic  orators  next  fall !  How  they  will  ring 
the  changes  on  it!  It  will  be  interpreted  by  the  in¬ 
dependent  element  of  our  parly  as  an  unwarranted 
interference  in  local  affairs  by  the  administration,  a 
repetition  of  Hillism,  an  insult  to  a  righteous  effort 
to  purify  politics,  and  will  be  justly  rebuked  next 
November  by  a  split  in  the  party  at  the  polls.” 

Ethan  Allen  wrote  the  following  open  letter  on 
Mr.  Milholland’s  removal: 

“I  can’t  refrain  from  uttering  my  protest  as  a  re¬ 
publican  against  the  action  of  the  authorities  in 
Washington  in  the  most  unwarrantable  interference 
in  the  primary  of  the  eleventh  district  yesterday. 

“Mr.  Milholland  had  as  much  right  as  any  voter  in 
the  land  to  resort  to  fair  means  and  an  open  fight  for 
the  supremacy  of  his  views  and  wishes.  It  seems 
that  he  was  repressed  in  his  manly  views  by  a  cabi¬ 
net  minister,  and  removed  from  office  because  he 
interfered  with  the  motives  of  a  district  boss,  whose 
pocketbook  at  all  times  seems  more  powerful  than 
his  brains  in  party  management. 

“Boss  Croker  could  have  done  nothing  lower  nor 
meaner  than  was  expressed  in  the  demands  of  this 
eleventh  district  republican  magnate,  nor  could 
Tammany  Hall  have  been  more  subservient  than 


was  the  pliant  powers  of  a  republican  cabinet.— 
April  17. 

<«  •  <■ 

There  was  no  lack  of  interesting  features  about  the 
republican  cougressional  district  conventions  which 
were  held  last  night  for  the  purpose  of  electing  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  republican  national  convention. 

Through  the  medium  of  the  conventions,  T.  C. 
Platt  found  a  way  to  get  a  sharp  slap  at  the  adminis¬ 
tration,  Col.  George  Bliss,  and  Cornelius  N.  Bliss  for 
the  removal  of  John  E.  Milholland  from  his  position 
as  supervising  inspector  of  immigrants.  Secretary 
Foster  removed  Mr.  Milholland  from  his  position 
last  Friday  because  the  Bliss  faction  in  the  eleventh 
assembly  district  demanded  it.  Mr.  Milholland’s 
friends  were  seeking  to  overthrow  the  Bliss  dynasty 
in  the  eleventh,  and  that  is  why  he  was  removed. 

The  politicians  began  to  ask  what  Platt  would  do 
about  all  this.  His  plan  only  came  out  at  the  con¬ 
vention  in  the  sixth  congressional  district  last  night. 

Mr.  Milholland  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  na¬ 
tional  republican  convention  with  H.  0.  Armour. 
Only  five  days  had  elapsed  between  his  removal  by 
the  administration  and  his  election  as  a  delegate  to 
the  national  convention  at  which  the  head  of  the 
administration  expects  plain  .sailing  to  a  renomina¬ 
tion. 

This  incident  indicates  the  feeling  of  the  Platt 
people  toward  the  administration. 

With  the  exception  of  the  delegates  chosen  from 
the  tenth  congressional  district,  practically  all  ihe 
delegates  can  be  counted  on  for  Platt,  and  they  will 
be  for  whatever  candidate  he  may  determine,  be  he 
Harrison  or  some  other  man.— April  20. 

j;« 

Thomas  C.  Platt  is  mad.  There  is  no  more  doubt 
about  this  than  there  is  about  the  more  interesting 
fact  that  by  the  removal  of  John  E.  Milholland  and 
Charles  H.  Murray  the  administration,  and  espe¬ 
cially  Secretary  Foster,  intended  to  make  Platt  mad. 

Mr.  Platt  said  yesterday  that  these  removals  were 
the  funniest  things  he  had  ever  heard  of,  because 
both  men  removed  were  delegates  to  the  national 
republican  convention.  He  calmly  averred  that 
there  was  no  politics  in  Mr.  Murray’s  removal,  and 
yet  he  said : 

“Tlie  persons  who  removed  him  had  not  got 
wind  of  Murray’s  election  as  a  delegate  to  the  na¬ 
tional  convention.” 

“  How  about  Milholland  ?”  Mr.  Platt  was  asked. 

“  Mr.  Milholland  is  all  right.” 

“  What  will  he  get  ?” 

“  Even,”  said  Mr.  Platt. 

“  The  administration  is  quite  chummy  with  me,” 
was  another  of  Mr.  Platt’s  repletions. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Milholland  getting  even,  if  noth¬ 
ing  else,  Mr.  Platt  said,  with  fine  sarcasm  :  “  I  sup¬ 
pose  we  will  have  to  see  Mr.  Cornelius  N.  Bliss  and 
fix  it  up  with  him.” 

When  asked  about  the  possibility  of  Mr.  Milhol¬ 
land  being  reinstated,  he  said  : 

“Oh,  the  administration  would  never  do  anything- 
as  wise  as  that.”— April  23. 

♦  <1  »;< 

The  rupture  between  Thomas  C.  Platt  and  the 
federal  administration  is  now  so  pronounced  that 
many  officials  who  are  now  holding  their  places  in 
government  offices  here  through  the  Platt  influence 
are  in  dire  fear  for  their  heads. 

It  was  announced  last  night  that  Secretary  Foster 
had  followed  up  the  removal  of  John  E.  Milholland 
from  the  office  of  supervising  inspector  of  immi¬ 
grants  by  dismissing  Charles  H.  Murray,  who  was 
counsel  to  the  immigration  department  at  a  salary 
of  88  a  day.  Murray  Is  ex-supervisor  of  the  Porter 
census  in  this  city,  a  man  for  whom  the  administra¬ 
tion  had  great  use  when  the  count  in  this  city  was 
attacked.  He  is  the  republican  leader  of  the  third 
assembly  district,  and  is  a  protege  of  Platt. 

Murray’s  removal  is  a  direct  slap  at  Platt,  just  as 
the  Milholland  removal  was.  It  was  made  just  be¬ 
fore  the  congressional  conventions  were  held  in  this 
city  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  national  re 
publican  convention,  although  Mr.  Murray  declined 
to  state  positively  last  night  just  when  he  received 
the  notification  that  his  services  would  be  dispensed 
with.  He  said  no  charges  had  been  made  against 


334 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


him,  and  no  explanation  was  given  him  whatever- 
He  was  simply  notified  by  Secretary  Foster  that  his 
services  would  be  dispensed  with  after  April  30  — 
April  25. 

«  *  * 

The  fight  between  the  administration  and  Thomas 
C.  Platt  assumed  new  proportions  yesterday  when 
Immigration  Commissioner  Weber  appointed  George 
K.  Gilooly,  of  Brooklyn,  supervising  inspector  of 
the  immigration  bureau  in  place  of  John  E.  Mil- 
hollaud,  removed.  The  appointment  was  credited 
to  Secretary  Tracy,  and  was  another  attack  on 
Platt’s  control  of  the  party  in  this  state.  It  is  ru¬ 
mored  that  a  lot  more  of  Platt’s  appointees  are  to  go 
by  the  board,  and  the  administration  is  about  as  un¬ 
popular  with  the  machine  politicians  here  as  it  is 
possible  to  make  it. 

There  was  something  of  a  rebellion  among  the 
other  inspectors  when  the  department  order  making 
Gilooly  supervising  inspector  was  sent  out  by  Mr. 
Weber.  Department  orders  have  to  be  signed  by 
each  of  the  inspectors  to  show  that  they  have  fuU 
cognizance  of  ihem. 

When  a  copy  of  the  order  was  sent  to  Major  S.  C. 
Osborn,  he  wrote  under  his  signature  “Under  pro¬ 
test.’’  Mr.  Weber  called  him  into  his  office  and  ask¬ 
ed  him  what  he  meant. 

Major  Osborn  said  he  meant  what  he  had  written, 
and  that  the  appointment  was  unfair  to  the  other 
men. 

Mr.  Weber  said  this  was  insubordination. 

Major  Osborn  said  he  could  not  help  that. 

Then  Mr.  Weber  read  a  lecture  to  all  the  inspect¬ 
ors,  in  which  he  told  them  substantially  that  he  was 
boss  there  and  any  one  who  did  not  like  it  could  get 
out. 

Some  of  the  other  inspectors  are  in  a  highly  indig¬ 
nant  frame  of  mind.  Several  of  them  are  the  right- 
hand  political  workers  of  such  men  as  Senators  Hig¬ 
gins  and  Allison.  Major  Osborn  is  one  of  Senator 
Allison's  men  in  Iowa,  and  Captain  0.  H  Gallagher 
is  one  of  Senator  Higgin’s  men  in  Delaware.  Mr. 
Gallagher  was  a  candidate  for  Mr.  Milholland’s 
place,  and  so  was  Colonel  “Tim”  Lee,  who  hails 
from  Virginia. 

These  men  are  in  such  an  indignant  frame  of  mind 
that  some  of  them  are  going  to  their  senatorial  pa¬ 
trons  and  try  to  get  them  to  take  a  hand  in  the  row. 
Some  of  them  expect  to  be  removed  because  they 
were  friendly  to  Milholland  and  because  of  their 
action  yesterday. 

They  declare  that  Gilooly  is  incompetent  and  has 
only  worktd  about  one  full  week  since  his  first  ap¬ 
pointment,  two  years  ago. 

“He  did  so  little  work,’’  said  one  of  the  inspectors 
last  night,  “that  some  time  ago  his  pay  was  reduced 
from  $8  to  $1  per  pay.’’— April  26. 

si!  *  it 

The  following  document,  which  seems  to  indicate 
that  the  Milhollanders  are  extremely  virtuous  these 
days,  has  been  sent  to  Commissioner  Roosevelt  at 
Washington,  accompanied  by  the  signatures  of 
200  or  more  eleventh  district  republicans; 

“We,  the  undersigned  committee,  representing  the 
republicans  of  the  eleventh  assembly  district.  New 
York,  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  action  of 
certain  office-holders  of  the  administration  at  the 
primary  election  held  at  107  West  Thirty  fourth 
street,  in  the  eleventh  district.  New  York,  on  the  15th 
inst. 

“Not  less  than  twenty  of  these  individuals  took 
part  in  this  primary,  not  merely  to  vote,  but  la¬ 
bored  at  the  polls  from  the  time  they  opened  at  9 
o’clock  in  the  morning  until  they  closed  at  9  o’clock 
at  night,  neglecting  their  government  duties,  and 
apparently  with  the  approval  of  their  superior  offi¬ 
cers. 

“Four  of  these  officers  were  inspectors  of  election 
on  that  day,  namely: 

“George  D.  Overin,  inspector,  custom-house. 

“James  W.  Leeds,  inspector,  custom-house. 

“George  Finkenhauer,  gauger’s  laborer,  custom¬ 
house. 

“Henry  A.  Hill,  messenger,  barge  office. 

“The  rest  devoted  themselves  throughout  the  day 
to  the  work  of  electioneering  for  the  machine. 


“Andrew  Peddie,  deputy  collector  internal  reve¬ 
nue. 

“J.  C.  H.  Smith,  watchman,  public  stores. 

“William  Graham,  gauger’s  laborer,  custom-house. 

“John  T.  Mayers,  laborer,  public  stores. 

“Caleb  Simms,  messenger,  custom-house. 

“Thomas  H.  Brown,  messenger,  public  stores. 

“Samuel  Stokely,  messenger,  .shipping  commis¬ 
sioners. 

“Benjamin  A.  Levy,  examiner,  public  stores. 

“Sherman  Williams,  examiner,  public  stores. 

“Edward  S.  Flow,  messenger,  public  stores. 

“Daniel  Morrison,  public  stores. 

“William  H.  Baker,  laborer,  public  stores. 

“Robert  Edwards,  laborer,  custom-house. 

“Joseph  Kirwin,  laborer,  custom-house. 

“James  Reilly,  laborer,  custom-house. 

“A  Munson,  laborer,  custom  house. 

“Pierre  Bargae,  messenger,  Ellis  Island. 

“Besides  their  work  on  election  day,  most  of  these 
men  have  canvassed  the  district  for  weeks  previous 
to  the  election,  some  of  them  neglecting  their  gov¬ 
ernment  work  to  do  so. 

“The  facts  above  stated  are  so  well  known  that  we 
assume  that  a  mere  statement  of  them  is  all  that  is 
necessary  to  lay  before  you.  If,  however,  you  need 
further  proof  in  the  form  of  affidavits,  we  shall  be 
pleased  to  furnish  them  promptly.’’— April  30. 

^  <« 

Wlien  we  consider  the  patroiiag^e  of  this 
great  office,  the  allurements  of  power,  the 
temptation  to  retain  public  place  once 
gained,  and  more  than  all,  the  availability 
a  party  finds  in  an  incumbent  whom  a 
horde  of  office-holders,  with  a  zeal  born  of 
benefits  received  and  fostered  by  the  hope 
of  favors  yet  to  come,  stand  ready  to  aid 
with  money  and  trained  political  service, 
we  recognize  in  the  eligibility  of  the  Pres¬ 
ident  for  re-election  a  most  serious  danger 
to  that  calm,  deliberate  and  intelligent 
political  action  which  must  characterize  a 
government  by  the  people. — [Letter  of  Accep¬ 
tance,  1884,  Grover  Cleveland, 

<■ 

John  C.  New,  of  Indiana,  the  President’s  able 
lieutenant  of  four  years  ago,  who  was  rewarded 
with  the  consul-generalship  at  London,  is  said  to  be 
coming  home  to  manage  Mr.  Harrison’s  campaign 
at  Minneapolis.  *  « 

The  republican  state  convention  met  here  to-day 
and  was  under  the  complete  domination  of  the  federal 
office-holders.  Ninety  counties  are  represented  by 
more  than  average  delegations. 

Virgil  S.  Lusk  was  elected  permanent  chairman. 
It  was  then  proposed  to  proceed  to  elect  a  new  state 
committee,  and  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Eaves 
faction  to  cut  off  discussion  by  calling  the  previous 
question.  This  precipitated  a  row  that  for  two 
hours  turned  the  convention  into  a  howling  mob. — 
Raleign,  N.  C. ,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  April  14. 
❖  *.■« 


Eighth— L.  L.  Jenkins,  postmaster  at  Qostonia,  and 
Dr  J.  A.  Wilcox. 

Ninth— C.  J.  Harris  and  R.  W.  Logan. 

Except  when  otherwise  stated  the  delegates  are 
white  men  and  hold  no  federal  offices.  Of  the 
twenty-two,  eight  are  federal  office-holders  and  have 
been  instructed  for  Harrison.— Raleigh,  N.  G.,  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  May  8. 

<<  <«  <« 


The  republicans  of  Harrison  county  met  in  mass 
convention  at  Corydon  to-day  and  appointed  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  state  and  district  conventions.  Hon. 
Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States  district  attorney^ 
was  present  and  addressed  the  meeting.— Dwiian- 
apolis  .Journal,  April  10. 


«  -•> 


An  enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  Richmond  repub¬ 
lican  club  was  held  this  evening,  it  being  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  the  second  annual  election  of  officers.  After 
the  business  of  the  evening  had  been  transacted  the 
club  was  addressed  by  Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  of 
Indianapolis,  on  the  political  issues  of  the  day.— Jn- 
dianapolis  Journal,  April  12. 

*  *  « 

The  republicans  of  this  county  held  their  conven¬ 
tion  here  to-day.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States 
district  attorney]  was  present  and  addressed  the 
brethren  on  the  tariff  and  other  issues.— Gremcnstfe 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  April  30. 

The  election  for  delegates  to  the  republican  state 
convention,  which  was  held  throughout  the  state 
yesterday,  was  attended  by  some  disorder  in  this 
city,  and  marked  the  preliminaries  of  what  promises 
to  be  a  lively  fight  against  the  continued  rule  of  the 
Higgins  wing  of  the  republican  party  here.  In  the 
three  wards  where  contesting  delegate  tickets  were 
run,  the  Higgins  candidates  won  easily,  but  the  feel¬ 
ing  was  more  intense  than  was  indicated  by  the  poll 
of  votes,  and  resulted  in  several  spirited  rows.  One 
of  these,  between  Letter  Carrier  Sylvanus,  an  ardent 
Higgins  advocate,  and  County  Constable  Brown,  led 
to  a  battle  at  republican  headquarters  after  the  elec¬ 
tion.  In  the  melee  the  letter  carrier  was  savagely 
assaulted  by  Brown  and  two  other  constables  and 
and  brutally  beaten.  Saturday  morning  Postmaster 
David  F.  Stewart,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Higgins 
forces,  issued  an  address  to  the  employes  of  the  post- 
office,  directing  their  attention  to  the  civil  service 
regulations  prohibiting  the  interference  of  federal 
employes  in  political  primaries.  In  the  afternoon. 
Postmaster  Stewart  was  electtd  a  delegate  to  the 
state  convention  from  the  tenth  ward,  with  one  of 
his  clerks  as  a  colleague,  while  the  employes  of  the 
post-office  and  federal  officials  generally  were  con¬ 
spicuous  throughout  the  city  for  their  eager  work  at 
the  polls. —  Wilmington,  Del.,  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  May  2. 

i'fi  lit  * 

At  the  republican  convention  of  this  slate  the  fol¬ 
lowing  office-holders  were  present:  Postmaster  Hart, 
Collector  Beard,  Appraiser  Dodge,  Assistant  Apprais¬ 
er  Dunham,  Clerk  Pousland,  and  the  examiner  of 
drugs  and  two  inspectors,  all  of  the  custom-house, 
and  a  few  others  not  of  the  custom-house.— Rosfon 
Civil  Service  Record,  May. 


The  full  list  of  delegates  to  Minneapolis  from  this 
state  is  as  follows : 

At  Large— E.  A.  White,  collector  of  internal  revenue; 
John  C.  Dany,  colored,  collector  of  the  port  at  Wilming¬ 
ton-,  Henry  P.  Cheatham,  colored;  Congressman 
Jeter  C.  Pritchard. 

First  District— C.  M.  Bernard  and  Hugh  Cole,  col¬ 
ored. 

Second— C.  A.  Cook,  United  States  district  attorney; 
J.  H.  Hannon,  colored,  postmaster  at  Halifax. 

Third— G.  C.  Scurlock  and  A.  R.  Middleton,  both 
colored. 

Fourth— John  Nichols,  chief  of  the  mail  and  files  di¬ 
vision,  treasury  department;  Edward  A.  Johnson,  col¬ 
ored. 

Et/fft- Thomas  B.  Keogh,  James  A  Cheek. 

Sixth— James  H.  Young,  colored,  inspector  of  customs, 
Archibald  Brady,  postmaster  at  Charlotte. 

Seventh— Zeb  V.  Walser,  deputy  collector,  and  W.  A. 
Bailey. 


j;? 

Yesterday’s  convention  was  an  office-holder’s  con¬ 
vention,  pure  and  simple.  Nearly  every  district 
delegation  was  represented  by  two  or  more  office¬ 
holders,  many  of  them  owing  their  places  to  the  gen¬ 
erosity  of  President  Harrison  and  incidentally  to  the 
influence  of  Thomas  C.  Platt  The  office-holders 
from  New  York  formed  a  veritable  army.  The  cus¬ 
tom-house  was  well  represented  by  all  the  most  in¬ 
fluential  office-holders.  Collector  Francis  Hendricks, 
Surveyor  George  W.  Lyon,  and  Naval  Officer  Theo¬ 
dore  B.  Willis  headed  the  list. 

Then  there  were  Dennis  Shea,  deputy  collector ; 
Charles  H.  Murray,  ex-attorney  for  the  bureau  of  im¬ 
migration;  John  Collins,  deputy  surveyor;  John 
Simpson,  bureau  of  immigration ;  Major  W.  H.  Corsa, 
clerk  of  the  third  judicial  court ;  John  W.  Jacobus, 
United  States  marshal ;  George  B,  Deane,  custom¬ 
house  contractor ;  Clarence  W.  Meade,  police  justice; 
John  R.  Nugent,  food  contractor  in  the  barge  office ; 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


335 


Barney  Biglin,  luggage  contractor;  Geii.  Denis  F. 
Burke,  internal  revenue  collector;  Charles  W.  An¬ 
derson  (colored),  clerk  in  internal  revenue  office; 
John  H.  Gunner,  deputy  collector ;  Frank  Raymond, 
deputy  collector ;  J.  Thomas  Stearns,  custom-house 
auctioneer. 

From  the  city  of  Brooklyn  came  Andrew  J.  Perry, 
Wallabout  land  appraiser;  J.  J.  Scheusser,  assistant 
custodian  federal  building;  Theodore  B.  Willis, 
naval  officer;  A.  R.  Booth  of  the  navy  yard,  Jesse 
Johnson,  United  States  district  attorney;  John 
Kissel,  navy  yard  ;  George  Buchanan,  navy  yard; 
G.  N.  Dick,  internal  revenue  officer;  Ernst  Nathan, 
internal  revenue  collector;  Jacob  Mass,  secret  ser¬ 
vice  bureau  ;  George  H.  Mason,  book-keeper  post-of¬ 
fice;  John  E.  Smith,  secretary  to  the  naval  office; 
John  H.  Fisher,  internal  revenue  officer;  Joseph 
Benjamin,  Wallabout  land  appraiser. 

From  the  country  districts  were  the  following: 
Albany,  Postmaster  Gen.  J.  M.  Warner;  Allegany, 
Postmaster  Glenn  of  Cuba;  Auburn,  Gen.  John  N. 
Knapp  and  Congressman  Sereno  E.  Payne  ;  Colum¬ 
bia,  County  Judge  J.  Rider  Cady;  Cortland,  Assem¬ 
blyman  James  H.  Tripp,  who  owes  his  nomination 
'^o  T.  C.  Platt ;  Erie,  Assemblyman  Mason  H.  Clark  ; 
Onondaga,  Postmaster  Carroll  E.  Smith  of  Syracuse ; 
Postmaster  John  I.  Platt  of  Poughkeepsie,  Internal 
Revenue  Collectors  Robert  H.  Hunter  of  Pough¬ 
keepsie  and  Charles  E.  Fitch  of  Rochester,  and  a 
score  or  more  of  country  postmasters.— Al6a«!/  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  April  30. 

* 

The  visit  of  the  honorable  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury  to  Ohio  has  not  been  without  fruit.  That 
high  functionary  is  able  to  report  to  his  chief,  as  the 
result  of  the  energetic  and  faithful  performance  of 
the  duties  for  which  he  was  selected,  that  the  ad¬ 
ministration  will  be  indorsed  by  the  Ohio  republi¬ 
can  convention,  and  that  the  Ohio  delegation  will 
support  the  renomination  of  Mr.  Harrison.— iVeia 
York  Times,  April  25. 

>|t  s.** 

The  republican  factions  are  hard  at  it  again.  This 
time  it  is  the  registration  for  the  primaries  which 
forms  the  bone  of  contention. 

In  the  old  eighth  the  registration  was  held  in  the 
rear  of  Thomas  Sheridan’s  saloon,  Barclay  and  Fed¬ 
eral  streets.  The  Gary  officers  were  Richard  B.  Evans 
and  Dorsey  Whittaker,  and  the  Johnson  man  ap¬ 
pointed  was  J.  R.  Wetherill,  but  the  two  other  of¬ 
ficers  did  not  allow  him  to  take  his  seat  because  he 
did  not  have  his  commission  and  threatened  to  have 
him  arrested  if  he  persisted  in  remaining  in  the 
room.  Sixty-seven  names  were  placed  on  the  poll- 
books,  and  of  these  the  Johnson  men  declare  that  at 
least  eleven  are  democrats  and  can  be  readily  proved 
so.  [Johnson  is  postmaster.] 

In  the  Ninth  ward  the  registration  place  was  at 
German  and  Eutaw  streets.  The  officers  were  Frank 
Duhurst  and  John  G.  Kipp,  both  Gary  men.  John 
Walters,  the  Johnson  representative,  was  not  al¬ 
lowed  to  take  his  seat  either.  So  he  and  some  of 
his  friends  contented  themselves  with  standing  out¬ 
side  the  whole  time  the  officers  were  there  and 
keeping  tab  on  the  applicants  for  registration  who 
went  inside.  One  of  this  party  of  watchers,  a  federal 
official,  says  that  twelve  men  passed  the  threshold 
of  the  door,  yet  the  books  show  that  twenty-three 
were  registered. 

In  the  thirteenth  ward  the  two  factions  had  a 
free-for-all  fight  in  the  registration  room.  The  of¬ 
ficers  here  were  Harry  Lardowsky,  James  Robinson 
and  Harry  Hartzel,  all  Gary  men.  One  of  these  will, 
however,  be  relieved  next  Monday  night  and  John 
A.  Whitney,  a  Johnson  man,  put  in  his  place. 

John  F.  Thomas,  in  the  registered  letter  division 
of  the  post-office,  went  to  the  registration  place.  651 
W.  Baltimore  street,  with  about  a  dozen  of  his 
friends.  They  were  all  refused  registration  on  the 
grounds  that  they  had  not  been  registered  at  the 
last  primary.  Mr.  Thomas  said  he  saw  George  Con- 
rades,  876  W.  Fayette  street,  registered  by  the  officers 
while  he  was  there.  He  knows  that  Conrades  is  a 
democrat. 

In  the  twenty-second  ward  about  the  same  state 
of  affairs,  it  is  said,  prevailed.  One  of  the  registra¬ 


tion  places  was  at  Quaker  Lane  and  Gorsuch  avenue. 
Here  again  there  were  only  two  judges,  both  Gary 
men.  Arthur  Flitten  was  the  Johnson  man,  but  he 
was  not  allowed  to  take  his  seat.  Mr.  Flitten  and 
Monitor  Watchman,  the  latter  secretary  of  the 
Twenty-second  Ward  Republican  Club,  are  responsi¬ 
ble  for  the  statement  that  a  man  whom  they  recog¬ 
nized  as  a  democrat  registered  three  times  under 
different  names  last  Monday  night.  The  man,  they 
say,  changed  his  hat  with  his  name  each  time.  It 
is  said  that  he  was  quite  indignant,  because  he 
began  with  a  new  stiff  hat  of  his  own,  and  wound 
up  with  an  old  slouch  belonging  to  some  one  else, 
and  did  not  get  his  own  hat  back.  His  arrest  was 
ordered  by  the  Johnson  men,  but  the  policeman  on 
duty  there  would  not  take  him  in  cliarge,  as  he 
thought  no  law  covered  the  case. 

United  States  District  Attorney  Ensor  was  applied 
to  for  relief  but  could  not  give  any.  Mr.  Ensor  took 
Mr.  Watchman,  who  complained,  over  to  State’s 
Attorney  Kerr’s  office,  and  Mr.  Kerr  now  has  the 
case  under  advisement.  The  man,  in  the  mean¬ 
time,  has  become  very  much  frightened  and  has 
confessed  all  about  the  job,  saying  that  he  did  not 
know  he  was  violating  any  law.— Baltimore  News, 
Aprils. 

The  Baitimore  republicans  held  their  primaries 
tu-day,  and  the  administration  men  and  anti-admin¬ 
istration  men  had  a  lively  time  of  it. 

The  administration  leader  was  Postmaster  Johnson, 
and  the  opposition  was  led  by  James  A.  Gary,  the 
national  committee  man  and  a  capitalist,  who  wants 
to  go  to  Minneapolis.  There  were  many  exciting 
scenes.  In  the  twelfth  ward  the  Johnson  men  pulled 
a  Gary  judge  bodily  out  of  the  window,  and  had  him 
arrested  because  they  said,  he  was  using  a  registra¬ 
tion  book  of  his  own  make. 

In  the  eleventh  ward  the  hottest  fighting  of  the 
day  took  place.  Hiram  Watty,  the  colored  leader, 
in  a  little  discussion  at  the  registration  office  two 
weeks  ago  got  into  trouble  and  was  assaulted.  To¬ 
day  he  had  his  revenge.  Last  night  he  stowed  away 
150  negroes  in  one  house  and  locked  them  up.  This 
morning  at  6  o’clock  he  marched  them  to  the  polling 
place.  The  window  did  not  open  until  4  o’clock  in 
the  afternoon,  but  they  stood  there  ten  solid  hours 
and  carried  the  day. 

The  result  is  not  settled  to-night  because  the  Gary 
judges  in  some  wards  refused  to  sign  the  returns: 
but  the  Johnson  men  have  probably  carried  two  leg. 
islative  districts  and  the  Gary  men  orb.— Baltimore 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  April  26. 

»:« 

The  delegates  to  the  republican  state  convention, 
which  will  be  held  to-morrow,  have  arrived.  There 
is  more  bitterness  than  has  been  displayed  in  a  re¬ 
publican  state  meeting  since  1876,  when  the  conven¬ 
tion  was  in  this  same  town,  and  when  the  Blaine 
crowd  was  out-generaled  and  defeated. 

The  direet  representatives  of  the  administration, 
the  federal  office-holders  and  their  men,  are  clam¬ 
oring,  but  they  are  whipped  out  of  their  boots. 

The  district  conventions  in  Baltimore  to-day 
were  more  eruptive  than  usual.  In  the  third 
the  majority  made  an  open  assault  on  the  office¬ 
holding  crowd,  who  retreated  and  held  a  conven¬ 
tion  all  to  themselves.  The  amusing  part  of  the 
whole  situation  is  that  the  men  whom  Mr.  Wana- 
maker  and  Secretary  Foster  are  apparently  protect¬ 
ing  against  the  effect  of  the  civil  service  laws  have 
been  unmercifully  defeated,  and  are  trembling,  not 
because  they  violated  civil  service  rules,  but  for  fear 
that  their  failure  to  carry  the  city  and  state  will 
lose  them  their  positions.— FrecfertcA:,  Md.,  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  May  3. 

’Jt 

Mr.  Gary  had  carried  the  state  against  the  federal 
office-holders  and  had  arranged  for  an  uniustructed 
delegation,  but  Southern  Maryland,  speaking 
through  Captain  Potter,  bluntly  said  that  all  Its  men 
would  vote  against  Gary  unless  the  delegates  were 
instructed.  There  was  a  stormy  scene,  and  Gary 
tried  every  means  to  escape  the  demand,  but  he 
was  finally  forced  to  yield.  This  work  is  attributed 
to  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Hill  who  was  not 
present  except  through  representatives. 


In  spite  of  civil  service  investigation  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  Postmaster  W.  W.  Johnson,  of  Baltimore,  was 
there  at  work  to-day,  openly  managing  his  hench¬ 
men  and  directing  administration  politics.— Freder¬ 
ic!:,  Md.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  May  4. 

^  ^  is 

The  testimony  of  Postmaster-general  Wanamaker 
and  Secretary  Foster  before  the  investigating  com¬ 
mittee  regarding  the  violations  of  the  civil  service 
law  in  Baltimore,  emboldened  the  offie- holders,  and 
the  following  actively  participated  in  yesterday’s 
convention:  W.  W.  Johnson,  postmaster  oj  Baltimore; 
Dr.  Tuck,  postmaster  at  Annapolis;  Mr.  Mulliken,  post 
master  at  Easton;  Qeorge  L.  Wellington,  United  States 
sub-treasurer;  W.  D.  Burchinal,  surveyor  oJ  the  port  of 
Baltimore;  Mr.  Hill,  United  States  revenue  collector,  and 
Clay  Dodson,  deptUy  revenue  collector.  To  the  work  of 
these  men  is  attributed  the  unexpected  result  of 
getting  the  delegates  instructed  for  Harrison.— Baffi- 
more  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  May  6. 

*  *  * 

The  republican  state  convention,  which  meets  in 
this  city  to-morrow,  will  have  a  majority  of  mem¬ 
bers  who  have  been  chosen  through  the  active  and 
persistent  effort  of  federal  office-holders,  under  the 
direction  of  Senator  McMillan.  They  have  controlled 
the  primaries  through  a  greater  portion  of  state, 
many  of  their  employes  being  given  a  vacation  to 
engage  in  this  work,  while  the  private  secretaries 
of  bo*h  McMillan  and  Stockbrldge  have  been  serv¬ 
ing  as  field  marshals.- Dcfroif  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  April  13. 

if  it  it 

The  republican  state  convention  held  in  this  city 
to-day  was  merely  a  ratification  of  the  slate  prepared 
by  Senator  McMillan  and  made  a  winner  through 
the  activity  of  federal  office-holders  and  their  em¬ 
ployes  in  Michigan.— Defrotf  Dispatch  to  Neio  York 
Times,  April  14. 

*  <1  * 

There  gathered  in  Springfield  early  in  the  week  a 
number  of  gentlemen  who  are  paid  salaries  by  the 
United  States  to  attend  to  certain  specific  duties, 
among  which  the  running  of  state  conventions  and 
the  supervision  of  “booms”  are  not  included.  These 
gentlemen  are  exercising  their  “pernicious activity” 
not  in  obedience  to  their  official  superior,  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  United  States— for  he  is  in  favor  of  civil- 
service  reform  and  the  faithful  discharge  of  duty  by 
government  officers— but  in  obt  dience  to  the  orders  of 
a  superior  unknown  to  the  law— the  senior  senator 
from  Illinois.  That  high  dignitary  is  not  on  the 
ground.  He  remains  at  Washington  and  instructs  his 
deputies  by  telegraph.  He  sits  at  the  Washington 
end  of  the  wire  and  dictates  the  quantity  of  ginger 
in  the  instructions  and  the  number  of  rounds  of 
applause  with  which  they  shall  be  received.  Per¬ 
sons  not  in  the  secret  will  think  that  all  that  is  done 
is  the  spontaneous  act  of  the  republicans  of  Illinois, 
but  he  knows  better. 

One  of  the  deputy  bosses  of  Illinois  is  Col.  A.  C. 
Matthews,  the  second  controller  of  the  treasury.  He 
has  been  absent  from  his  post— possibly  without 
leave,  certainly  without  the  approval  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent— for  the  last  three  or  four  weeks.  During  that 
time  he  has  been  endeavoring  to  convince  the  repub¬ 
licans  of  Illinois  that  they  are  boiling  over  with  enthu¬ 
siasm  to  commit  themselves  on  the  presidential  ques 
tion  a  month  in  advance.  The  chief  deputy  boss" 
Sub-Treasurer  Tanner,  is  also  on  the  ground.  Al-^ 
though  he  has  just  been  appointed  to  an  important 
financial  office  in  Chicago,  he  has  spent  his  entire 
time  for  three  weeks  in  the  rural  “deestricts”  collar¬ 
ing  “enthusiastic”  delegates,  and  bj'  threats,  prom¬ 
ises  and  entreaties  inducing  them  to  join  the  spon¬ 
taneous  movement  for  “instructions”  in  favorof  his 
chief. 

Other  deputy  bosses  are  there— Collector  Mamer, 
Collector  Hogan,  Collector  Starr — forgetful  of  their 
duty'  to  the  government  in  their  eagerness  to  dis¬ 
charge  their  duty  to  the  chief  boss.  Postmasters, 
pension  agents,  large  and  small,  gaugers,  storekeep¬ 
ers  and  all  the  other  federal  officials  and  employes  are 
at  Springfield,  neglecting  their  duty  and  outraging 
the  civil  service  reform  feelings  of  the  President. 


336 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


They  have  no  business  there,  for  they  do  not  attend 
as  republicans,  but  as  deputy  bosses,  seeking  to  im' 
pose  on  the  convention  a  policy  which  pleases  the 
chief  boss,  but  not  the  mass  of  the  republican  voters 
of  the  state.  They  went  to  the  capital  to  intrigue 
and  terrorize,  to  hold  out  to  one  man  prospects  of 
rewards  from  the  chief  boss  and  to  threaten  another 
with  his  displeasure.— C/ifcago  Tribune,  May. 

*  *  * 

The  republican  party  in  Cincinnati  is  now  divided 
into  two  factions— the  government  building  crowd 
represented  by  Amor  Smith  and  McClung,  and  the 
George  Cox-Foraker  element,  which  seems  to  be  in 
almost  complete  control.  Both  sides  are  after  the 
delegates  to  the  national  convention  at  Minneapo¬ 
lis.  The  administration  office-holders  feel  it  to  be 
their  duty  to  show  Harrison  that  thej*^  represent  a 
majority  of  the  republican  voters  in  the  city,  while 
Mr.  Cox  and  his  followers  are  just  as  anxious  to 

prove  the  contrary.— So«</i  West,  April  15. 

«! 

The  refusal  of  the  convention  to  instruct  for  Ilar- 
ri.son  was  looked  upon  as  the  best  indorsement  the 
convention  could  give  Collector  Wennecker,  now  in 
expectation  of  removal,  at  the  request  of  Secretary 
Noble,  for  his  friendship  to  Filley.— St.  Louis  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  Mayd. 

»l*  ^ 

The  republican  county  convention  held  here  to¬ 
day  to  select  delegates  to  the  congressional  district 
convention,  which  will  send  two  delegates  to  the 
national  convention,  was  one  of  the  liveliest  affairs 
of  the  kind  that  ever  took  place.  It  was  controlled 
by  Gen.  George  H.  Sharpe,  through  his  son,  Severyn 
B.  Sharpe  is  one  of  Mr.  Harrison’s  office-holders. 

In  the  further  proceedings  William  M.  Hayes  made 
a  speech  accusing  Noah  Woolven,  the  Kingston  post¬ 
master,  of  writing  letters  to  postmasters  in  the  rural  dis¬ 
tricts  threatening  them  with  removal  if  they  did  not  send 
the  right  kind  of  delegates  to  the  county  convention. 

In  response  to  this  the  postmaster  said  Hayes  was 
a  liar,  and  also  that  he  had  lied  in  the  convention 
last  fall.  Mr.  Hayes  in  reply  said  he  had  one  of  Mr- 
Woolven’s  letters  in  his  pocket.  Mr.  Woolven  dared 
him  to  produce  it  In  further  remarks  on  the  mo¬ 
tion,  G.  D.  B.  Ha.sbrouck  characterized  it  as  tending 
to  a  tyrannical  and  outrageous  use  of  power,  of 
which  only  one  family,  Gen.  Sharpe  and  his  son, 
would  be  guilty.— JSTinjrstott.  N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  April  19. 

s;:  #  * 

The  republican  convention  to  elect  two  delegates 
to  the  national  convention  was  held  here  to  day. 
When  the  delegates  assembled  vigorous  canvassing 
was  in  order.  Delaware,  Ulster  and  Greene  each 
had  a  candidate,  but  it  was  soon  seen  that  Gen. 
George  H.  Sharpe  was  general  manager  for  both 
Ulster  and  Greene  counties,  through  his  wide-awake 
son,  Severyn  B. 

Ex-Assemblyman  James  Ballatine,  of  Delaware 
county,  declaimed  loudly  against  office-holders  run¬ 
ning  conventions.  He  didn’t  believe  it  right  that  a 
federal  office-holder  receiving  a  salary  of  8700  a  year 
and  a  postmaster  should  be  forced  on  the  party  as 
their  representatives  to  the  national  convention.  He 
referred  to  Oen.  Sharpe  and  Mr.  Jacobs  of  Catskill.  It 
had  been  agreed  that  the  vote  of  each  county  should 
be  cast  by  the  chairman  of  each  delegation.  The  re¬ 
sult  of  this  little  game  was  that  Oen.  Sharpe  of  Ulster  and 
J.  Leroy  Jacobs  of  Oreene  each  received  18  votes,  and 
George  W.  Crawford  of  Delaware  7. —Kingston,  N.  Y., 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  April  26. 

A  hot  fight  is  on  foot  in  the  republican  ranks  be¬ 
tween  the  supporters  of  Ernst  Nathan,  who  holds 
the  office  of  collector  of  internal  revenue,  and  The¬ 
odore  B.  Willis,  naval  officer,  and  his  supporters, 
over  the  choice  of  delegates  to  the  national  conven¬ 
tion.  Nathan,  who  represents  T.  C.  Platt,  and  is 
more  than  suspected  of  close  affiliations  with  the 
democratic  leaders  in  the  city,  has  shown  a  grasp¬ 
ing  desire  to  control  the  choice  of  all  the  delegates, 
after  Willis  and  his  friends  had  been  assured  that 
they  would  be  recognized  in  the  choice.  The  real 
purpose  of  Nathan  is  to  secure  the  choice  of  such  men  as 
can  be  controlled  in  the  interests  of  Platt,  and  can  be  used 
by  him  to  support  Harrison's  renomination  or  the  choice 


of  some  other  man,  if  it  shotdd  be  deemed  desirable. 
The  opposition  desire  the  delegates  to  be  firmly 
bound  to  support  the  President  for  renomination, 
thus  insuring,  in  the  event  of  his  re-election,  the 
continuance  of  Secretary  Tracy  in  the  cabinet. 
Nathan  is  accused  of  treachery,  and  if  the  opposition 
to  him  can  only  solidly  combine,  he  will  be  defeated 
at  the  primaries .  But  the  men,  to  get  ahead  of  the 
Mephistophelian  collector,  must  rise  early.— ATfw 
York  Evening  Post,  March  26. 

The  merry  little  contest  between  Internal  Reve¬ 
nue  Collector  Nathan  and  Naval  Officer  Willis  is 
going  right  along,  and  each  side  claims  to  be  ahead 
in  the  fight  for  delegates  to  the  national  convention. 
The  real  contest  will  be  at  the  primaries  and  con¬ 
ventions  in  the  latter  part  of  this  month,  when  the 
leader  of  each  faction  will  ascertain  how  many 
Harrison  delegates  he  can  control.  Judging  from 
the  result  or  the  past  week’s  work  Nathan  will  come 
very  near  winning. 

Ex-Senator  Birkett  was  the  first  one  taken  out, 
but  he  was  quickly  followed  by  Michael  J.  Dady, 
William  Buttling  and  Israel  F.  Fischer.  The  latter 
was  a  Willis  man  until  recently,  but  the  Nathan 
bait  was  too  attractive  to  be  resisted.  It  was  an 
offer  of  a  comfortable  job  when  Harrison  begins  his 
second  term. 

Nathan  is  waging  this  fight  in  his  usual  way,  by 
depending  upon  ten  or  twelve  ward  bosses  instead 
of  upon  the  enrolled  voters  who  will  cast  the  ballots 
at  the  primaries.  He  expects  each  of  these  men  to 
carry  his  ward  and  send  delegates  whom  he  can 
control  to  the  conventions.— iVisw  York  Times,  April  10. 

*  * 

The  dispatch  relates  chiefly  to  Capt.  George  J.  Col¬ 
lins,  who  is  at  present  the  postmaster  of  Brooklyn. 
He  was  passing  through  Washington  on  his  way  to 
Fort  Monroe  for  a  week’s  vacation  and  was  inter¬ 
viewed.  He  told  the  reporter  that  he  was  literally 
running  away  from  the  Brooklyn  republican  poli¬ 
ticians  who  are  just  now  engaged  in  a  bitter  fight  for 
the  control  of  the  delegation  to  Minneapolis.  The 
fight  is  between  Tom  Platt  and  Ernst  Nathan,  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  collector,  on  the  one  side,  and  Naval 
Officer  Willis,  backed  by  Secretaries  Tracy  and  Elkins 
on  the  other.  The  former  pretend  to  be  favorable 
to  Harrison;  the  latter  undoubtedly  are  so.  Capt. 
Collins  declared  that  he  was  worn  out  and  could 
hardly  go  through  another  week  like  the  past,  so 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  ask  a  week’s  leave  to 
escape  the  “onslaught.”  “I  have  been,”  he  says, 
“threatened,  browbeaten  and  persecuted  simply  be¬ 
cause  I  refused  for  some  time  to  take  action  with 
either  faction  and  desired  to  preserve  harmony 
among  my  fellow-republicans  of  Brooklyn.”  Capt. 
Collins,  we  take  it,  must  be  a  man  of  very  considera¬ 
ble  consequence  in  Brooklyn  politics,  but  he  would 
hardly  have  been  subjected  to  such  strenuous  treat¬ 
ment  if  he  had  only  his  own  vote  to  give  at  the 
primaries,  or  even,  we  fear,  for  the  influence  his 
personal  example  might  exert.  The  correspondent 
explains  \vhy  Capt.  Collins’s  decision  is  a  matter  of 
such  moment  to  the  leaders  of  the  contending  fac¬ 
tions.  He  gives  a  statement  of  the  “patronage”  that 
the  postmaster,  now  moved  into  a  new  building, 
has  to  dispose  of.  It  is  as  follows:  One  assistant 
custodian,  one  engineer,  one  assistant  engineer,  four 
watchmen,  one  janitor,  one  assistant  janitor,  eight 
laborers,  six  firemen,  and  finally,  twelve  char¬ 
women.  Here  are  thirty-five  places  in  all.  Capt. 
Collins  having  decided  to  take  sides  with  the  Willis 
faction,  it  is  assumed  that  these  places  will  be  given 
where  they  will  secure  the  most  votes  at  the  pri¬ 
maries  for  that  faction,  and  thus  promote  the  nomina¬ 
tion  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  greatest  republic 
of  the  world  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Harrison.— A'ew  York 
Times,  April  12. 

<!  S!  # 

The  latest  developments  in  the  Nathan-Willis  fight 
for  control  of  the  local  republican  machine  is  the 
conduct  of  Postmaster  Collins  in  climbing  down  on 
the  Willis  side  of  the  fence.  He  has  held  aloof  from 
the  fight  as  long  as  possible  and  has  received  nothing 
but  the  reproaches  of  both  sides.  Then  he  went  on  to 
Washington  and  saw  Secretary  Tracy,  and  the  result  was 


his  declaration  against  Nathan.  The  postmastership  is 
not  usually  worth  fighting  for,  but  just  now,  owing 
to  the  opening  of  the  new  federal  building,  he  has 
the  power  to  appoint  about  thirty-five  subordinates, 
including  twelve  charwomen,  and  the  great  republi¬ 
can  party  in  Kings  county  is  not  despising  charwo¬ 
men  in  these  days. — New  York  Times,  April  17. 

sjs 

The  first  step  toward  electing  delegates  from 
Kings  county  to  the  republican  national  convention 
will  be  taken  on  Thursday  night,  when  primaries 
will  be  held  in  each  ward  and  town. 

From  present  appearances  the  fight  on  that  occa¬ 
sion  between  the  Willis  and  Nathan  factions,  one 
representing  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Tracy,  the  other 
Thomas  C.  Platt,  will  be  bitter. 

A  report  was  also  circulated  by  the  Nathan  people 
that  the  employes  in  the  navy  yard  had  been  or¬ 
dered  to  get  out  at  the  primaries  and  work  for  Willis 
or  take  the  consequences. 

Naval  Officer  Willis  returned  from  a  trip  to  Wash¬ 
ington  on  Saturday  and,  it  is  said,  brought  this  order 
from  the  navy  department.  Of  course,  Mr.  Willis  de¬ 
nied  this  story,  but  there  were  politicians  about  town 
who  knew  men  in  the  navy  yard  who  had  decided  to 
do  just  what  this  alleged  order  called  for,  although 
until  a  few  days  ago  they  had  not  favored  Willis. 

George  A.  Buchanan,  of  the  twenty-second  ward, 
Brooklyn,  was  appointed  a  special  treasury  agent 
yesterday.  He  will  serve  under  Special  Agent 
Whitehead,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  office  at  the  cus¬ 
tom-house.  Buchanan’s  appointment  is  credited  to 
the  backing  of  Secretary  Tracy,  in  whose  interest 
he  has  been  active  in  the  squabble  between  the 
republican  factions  in  Brooklyn.  In  fact,  the  fight 
across  the  river  is  becoming  so  lively  and  the  de¬ 
mand  for  patronage  is  so  great  that  the  custom-house 
and  other  federal  offices  in  this  city  are  feeling  the 
effects.  Anything  in  the  way  of  any  office  that  is  to 
be  had  these  days  is  being  sought  by  the  Brooklyn 
leaders.— A7ew  York  Times,  April  19. 

<1  v  ■:= 

The  republican  primaries  in  Kings  county  were 
held  last  night,  and  neither  of  the  factions,  headed 
by  Naval  Officer  Willis  and  Internal  Revenue  Col¬ 
lector  Nathan,  won  the  great  victory  which  its  lead¬ 
ers  had  predicted.  The  delegates  elected  to  the  as¬ 
sembly  and  congressional  conventions,  the  former  to 
be  held  to-night  and  the  latter  to-morrow  night,  will 
be  about  equally  divided. 

Nathan  had  a  formidable  combination  to  oppose, 
and  was  regarded  as  fortunate  In  having  escaped  an 
overwhelming  defeat  at  the  hands  of  men  who  have 
grown  tired  of  the  Platt  management.  As  it  is,  he 
will  go  to  the  state  convention  with  more  delegates 
than  Willis  can  control,  and,  will  also  name  four  of 
the  eight  delegates  to  the  national  convention.— ATew 
York  Times,  April  23. 

>;*  ^ 

The  Willis-Nathan  fight  for  control  of  the  republi¬ 
can  party  in  Kings  county  did  not  end  with  the  pri¬ 
maries  on  Thursday  night  by  any  means.  The  vari¬ 
ous  ward  leaders  were  about  yesterday  working  just 
as  hard  as  ever,  and  conferences  were  held  with  Na¬ 
than  and  Willis  all  day  long. 

Willis  said  that  when  the  conventions  are  held  it 
will  be  found  that  he  really  won  a  great  victory 
at  the  primaries  and  that  some  of  the  delegates  who 
are  now  supposed  to  be  Nathan  men,  will  vote  for 
his  candidates.— A7ew  York  Times,  April  23. 

I  am  an  advocate  of  civil  service  reform. 
My  brief  experience  at  Wasliing^ton  lias  led 
me  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an  emphasis  I 
do  not  often  use,  that  I  miglit  be  for  ever 
relieved  of  any  connection  with  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  public  patronage.  I  covet  for 
myself  the  free  and  unpurchased  support 
of  my  fellow-citizens.  *  *  *— {Senator  Ben¬ 
jamin  Harrison. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


This  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  wliich  it  exists,  hnt  to  the  spoils  that  accompany  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so 
absolute  that  it  has  produced  an  evil  greater  than  any  which  party  proposes  to  remedy. — George  William  Curtis,  at  Baltimcn  e,  April,  1892. 


VoL.  I,  No.  40.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JUNE,  1892.  terms  :<(  fee* t8%er"opy.“ 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN  PLAT- 


“  The  men  who  abandoned  the  republi¬ 
can  party  in  1884  and  continued  to  adhere 
to  tii^eniocratic  party  have  deserted  not 
only  the  cause  of  honest  government,  of 
sound  iinance,  of  freedom  and  purity  of  the 
ballot,  but  especially  have  deserted  the 
cause  of  reform  in  the  civil  service.  We 
will  not  fail  to  keep  our  pledges  because 
their  candidate  has  broken  his.  We  there¬ 
fore  renew  our  declaration  of  1884,  to  wit: 
‘The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspi¬ 
ciously  begun  under  a  republican  admin¬ 
istration,  should  be  completed  by  the  fur¬ 
ther  extension  of  the  reform  system  already 
established  by  law  to  all  the  grades  of  serv¬ 
ice  to  which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit 
and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  ob¬ 
served  in  ali  executive  appointments,  and 
all  laws  at  variance  with  the  object  of  ex¬ 
isting  reform  legislation  should  be  re¬ 
pealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free 
institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  of¬ 
ficial  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effec¬ 
tively  avoided.’  ” 

1892. 

“We  commend  the  spirit  and  evidence  of  reform  in 
the  civil  service  and  the  wise  and  consistent  enforce¬ 
ment  by  the  republican  party  of  the  laws  regulating 
the  same.” 

We  have  devoted  much  space  this  month 
to  uncovering  the  motive  power  which 
successfully  operated  the  republican  na¬ 
tional  convention,  beginning  at  Minneapo¬ 
lis,  June  7.  The  spoils  system  was  in  its 
full  fruition.  The  successful  candidate  was 
successful  because  through  his  henchmen 
he  had  the  convention  literally  by  the 
throat.  One  hundred  and  forty  place¬ 
holders  at  the  lowest  estimate  had  votes. 
On  the  best  authority  at  least  three  thou¬ 
sand  other  place-holders  gathered  around 
and  bore  down  opposition.  All  these 
were  led  by  a  place-holder  who  makes 
thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year  out 
of  his  place  and  who  came  specially  from 
London  for  this  purpose.  The  whole  was 
superintended  by  the  President  who  had 
wires  connecting  the  White  House  with 
the  convention,  and  who,  as  the  IndL 
anapolis  Journal  puts  it,  was  busy  “sending 
and  receiving  communications  from  the 


seat  of  war.”  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our 
United  States  executive  government  has 
now  reached  its  lowest  point  of  degrada¬ 
tion.  It  would  not  seem  that  political 
pirates  and  buccaneers  could  get  or  would 
want  greater  power. 

It  was  not  the  fault  of  the  President  that 
Quay,  Clarkson  and  Platt  were  opposed  to 
him  in  the  convention.  It  is  doubtful  if 
any  man  in  the  same  length  of  time  ever 
controlled  such  an  amount  of  patronage  as 
the  President  gave  to  each  of  these  men. 
No  doubt  he  now  feels  that  they  bunkoed 
him  out  of  this  spoil,  but  that  is  not  the 
game  with  which  the  people  are  concerned. 
The  matter  which  concerns  the  people  is 
that  before  his  election  the  President  prom¬ 
ised  that  the  reform  of  the  civil  service 
“  should  be  completed  by  the  extension  of 
the  reform  system  already  established  by 
law  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it 
is  applicable.”  He  also  promised  that  “the 
spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be 
observed  in  all  executive  appointments.” 
All  this  was  promised  “to  the  end  that  the 
dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in 
the  power  of  official  patronage  may  be 
wisely  and  effectively  avoided.”  General 
Harrison  was  elected,  but  these  promises 
have  not  been  kept.  Was  that  a  confidence 
game,  too  ? 

The  Lord  Paramount  literally  fought 
his  own  battle,  and  with  his  faithful  hench¬ 
men  he  has  completely  overthrown  the 
greater  and  lesser  barons.  Quay,  Clarkson, 
Platt,  Wolcott,  Miller,  Fassett,  Pettigrew 
and  others  who  were  in  rebellion.  His 
position  at  the  moment  of  final  triumph  is 
described  by  the  Washington  special  of  the 
Indianapolis  Journal,  dated  J une  10. 

The  center  of  attraction  to-day  was  at  the  White 
House.  All  the  morning  the  President  and  his  able 
and  faithful  lieutenants  were  busily  occupied,  as 
they  have  been  for  several  days  and  nights  past,  in 
sending  and  receiving  communications  from  the 
seat  of  war. 

The  New  York  Evening  Post,  of  June  9, 
gives  two  interesting  incidents  of  the  con¬ 
vention  from  the  Minneapolis  correspond¬ 
ence  of  the  New  York  Press.  One  is  a  mes¬ 
sage  sent  from  Washington  J  une  8th,  by 
Mr.  Foster,  the  President’s  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  to  the  Utah  member  of  the  na¬ 
tional  republican  committee  as  follows : 

“Whatever  you  can  do  for  us  at  Minneapolis  will 
be  duly  appreciated  and  gratefully  remembered  in 
Washington." 


The  Other  was  a  letter  seen  in  Minneap¬ 
olis  on  the  same  date,  from  the  President’s 
son,  Russell  Harrison,  to  E.  H.  Studebaker> 
of  South  Bend, in  these  words: 

“Mr.  George  A.  Halsey,  of  New  Jersey,  who  is  a 
delegate  to  Minneapolis,  is  said  to  be  inclined  to  fa¬ 
vor  Mr.  Blaine.  Will  you  please  use  Influence  with 
him  to  get  him  to  support  father?  ” 


How  platoons  and  companies  of  place¬ 
holders  swarmed  to  Minneapolis  needs 
little  illustration.  For  example.  Land 
Commissioner  Carter,  Assistant  Post¬ 
master-General  Rathbone,  United  States 
Marshal  Ransdell,  Fourth  Auditor  Lynch 
and  Register  Bruce  led  the  Washington 
contingent.  Postmaster  Johnson  led  a 
club  from  Baltimore.  The  President’s 
brother.  United  States  Marshal  Carter 
Harrison,  had  charge  of  the  Tennessee 
delegation.  Postmaster  Thompson  and 
his  assistants,  Wallace,  Patterson,  and  W ood- 
ward,  and  United  States  Marshal  Dunlap, 
Pension  Agent  Eusley,  Collector  Hilde¬ 
brand  and  United  States  District  Attorney 
Chambers  headed  the  Indianapolis  place* 
holders,  while  those  of  New  York  were 
led  by  Postmaster  Van  Cott,  Naval  Of¬ 
ficer  Willis  and  Collector  Hendricks.  This 
was  the  way  throughout  the  United  States. 

What  were  the  repeated  communica¬ 
tions  for  days  and  nights  to  the  seat 
of  war  ?  What  would  the  President  have 
to  say  or  authorize  to  be  said  to  a  halting 
delegate  ?  Again,  what  was  it  in  relation 
to  tampering  with  delegates  that  the  Har¬ 
rison  managers  threatened  the  Blaine 
managers  to  expose  ?  Would  Messrs.  New 
and  Michener  have  us  believe  that  the 
Blaine  managers  bought  delegates  and 
that  they  got  them  back  by  moral  suasion? 
Why  do  strong  Harrison  men  who  were 
at  Minneapolis  come  back  to  Indianapolis 
and  talk  that  the  “southern  niggers”  were 
bought  three  or  four  times  before  the  final 
vote  ? 

On  receiving  the  news  of  his  renomina¬ 
tion  the  President  made  a  short  speech  to 
the  reporters  and  others  who  gathered 
around  him.  The  burden  of  his  thought 
naturally  would  have  been  that  he  had 
fulfilled  the  promises  upon  which  he  was 
elected  in  relation  to  his  greatest  duty 
under  the  constitution — the  management 
of  the  civil  service.  But  he  was  clearly 
not  examining  himself  upon  that  point. 


338 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


The  weight  then  greatest  upon  him  was 
evidently  expressed  in  his  words :  “I  have 
felt  great  regret  that  I  was  unable  to  find 
a  suitable  place  for  every  deserving  friend.” 

It  is  proper  for  every  civil  service  re¬ 
former  to  inquire  whether  the  promises  of 
the  republican  platform  of  1888  have  been 
kept.  That  part  of  the  platform  when 
adopted  was  known  to  have  been  written 
by  George  William  Curtis  for  and  adopted 
in  the  platform  of  1884.  It  was  therefore 
chosen  with  deliberation.  Its  promises 
are  liberal. 


At  its  late  meeting  in  Baltimore  the  Na¬ 
tional  League  provided  for  a  committee  to 
investigate  assessment  of  office-holders  and 
for  a  committee  to  investigate  the  interfer¬ 
ence  of  office-holders  in  campaigns  and 
elections.  Upon  the  first  committee  Mr. 
Curtis  has  appointed  John  C.  Rose,  Balti¬ 
more,  Lucius  B.  Swift,  Indianapolis,  C.W. 
Watson,  New  York;  and  George  A.  Merser, 
Philadelphia,  with  one  vacancy  yet  to  be 
filled.  Upon  the  second  he  has  appointed 
Moorfield  Storey,  Boston;  Lucius  B.  Swift, 
Indianapolis;  Herbert  Welsh,  Philadel¬ 
phia;  John  C.  Rose,  Baltimore;  and  Ed¬ 
ward  Cary,  New  York. 


Mr.  Charles  A.  Lewts,  of  this  city,  has 
taken  up,  on  a  large  scale,  the  distribution 
in  Indiana  of  the  address  of  Mr.  Curtis  at 
Baltimore.  Any  one  desiring  to  co-op¬ 
erate  may  communicate  with  him.  This 
is  important  in  order  to  keep  the  distribu¬ 
tion  systematic.  Mr.  Lewis  has  had  some 
whole  counties  listed,  and  will  there 
completely  cover  the  field.  Will  not  some 
of  our  Fort  Wayne,  Evansville,  and  Terre 
Haute  friends  join  in  this  matter?  The 
price  is  §18  a  thousand,  and  orders  should 
be  sent  to  John  Hemsly  Johnson,  Box  793, 
Baltimore. 


Harper’s  Weekly  of  June  4,  answer¬ 
ing  a  correspondent  in  relation  to  the  rel¬ 
ative  merits  of  Harrison  and  Cleveland, 
says : 

“  This  is  the  test  by  which  Mr.  Harrison 
is  to  be  tried.  He  had  behind  him  what 
Mr.  Cleveland  had  not,  a  strong  reform 
sentiment  in  his  own  party,  with  the  most 
vehement  party  declaration  for  reform, 
and  the  most  unconditional  party  pledge 
to  keep  its  pledges,  with  its  own  detailed 
and  specific  engagements,  some  of  them 
made  a  year  or  two  before  in  censure  of 
Mr.  Cleveland’s  course.  Practically,  Mr. 
Harrison  has  kept  none  of  these  pledges, 
although  the  reform,  impelled  by  public 
opinion,  has  advanced  decidedly  during 
his  administration.  *  *  *  The  Presi¬ 

dent  has  sustained  examinations  under  the 
law  as  Mr.  Cleveland  did.  He  has  sup¬ 
ported  the  commission  as  Mr.  Cleveland 


did,  except  that  Mr.  Harrison  has  not 
adopted  its  most  important  recommenda¬ 
tion,  that  for  the  dismissals  in  Baltimore. 
He  has  extended  somewhat  the  classified 
service,  as  Mr.  Cleveland  did.” 

Many  reformers  will  not  balance  the  ac¬ 
counts  in  this  manner.  They  will  say  that 
Mr.  Cleveland  amply  supplied  any  lack  of 
party  pledges  in  favor  of  civil  service  re¬ 
form  with  his  own  written  pledges  in  dif¬ 
ferent  forms  and  shapes,  and  that  he  was 
elected  in  reliance  upon  his  personal 
pledges,  which  the  constitution  gave  him 
ample  powers  to  keep.  That  a  President 
is  in  no  sense  a  trustee  of  his  party  with  a 
duty  to  look  out  for  its  welfare,  but  that 
it  is  his  duty  to  conduct  his  part  of 
the  govenment  upon  business  principles 
without  regard  to  party  advantage. 
That  Mr.  Cleveland  let  his  civil  service 
commission  go  to  the  dogs.  That  it 
is  impossible  to  compare  favorably  his 
administration  of  the  civil  service  law 
with  that  of  Mr.  Harrison  ;  otherwise,  how 
ever,  the  two  administrations  are  not  great¬ 
ly  different.  But  they  will  also  say  that 
favorable  comparison  with  the  preceding 
administration  is  not  the  true  test.  That 
the  question  is.  What  ought  the  President 
to  have  accomplished?  That  the  sum  of 
all  favorable  allowances  is  insignificant  by 
the  side  of  the  fact  that  in  distinct  violation 
of  his  own  and  his  party  pledges  the  Pres¬ 
ident  has  refused  to  extend  the  classified 
service,  and  has  divided  more  than  100,000 
federal  offices  as  spoil  among  his  relatives 
and  personal  friends  and  among  a  pestifer¬ 
ous  and  dangerous  set  of  political  manipu¬ 
lators,  and  has  shamelessly  used  the  offices 
to  secure  renomination,  and  ought  not 
to  have  his  acts  ratified  by  re  election. 
That  Mr.  Cleveland  was  defeated,  and 
therefore  his  acts  were  not  ratified.  That 
he  is  undoubtedly  sincerely  in  favor  of 
civil  service  reform.  That  he  can  look  for 
no  future  renomination  or  re-election. 
That  he  will  probably  profit  by  experience. 
That  he  knows  that  the  democrats  who 
wrung  the  most  spoil  from  him  before  do 
not  want  him  for  president,  and  he  will 
not  be  likely  to  yield  to  them  again. ,  That, 
in  short,  the  advantage  to  civil  service  re¬ 
form  in  the  next  four  years  would  be  much 
greater  with  the  defeat  of  Harrison  and 
the  election  of  Cleveland.  That  in  saying 
this  they  mean  to  be  understood  as  expect¬ 
ing  more  of  the  latter  than  was  expected 
of  Harrison  for  the  reason  that  the  stand¬ 
ard  of  requirement  of  abstention  from 
spoil  is  constantly  being  raised  and  that  it 
is  about  time  that  a  president  should  com¬ 
prehend  that  the  use  of  any  office  as  spoil 
is  unconstitutional  and  is  in  violation  of 
his  oath,  and  that  it  is  his  first  duty  to  de¬ 
vise  and  enforce  plans  totally  exterminat¬ 
ing  the  whole  practice— and  this  without 
regard  to  what  he  or  the  platform  has  said. 


AMERICAN_FEUI)ALlSM.l 

“  To  the  Victor  Belong  the  Spoils.”-  1 
THE  LORD  PARAMOUNT. 

I  am  an  advocate  of  civil  service  reform. 
My  brief  experience  at  Washington  has  led 
me  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an  emphasis  I 
do  not  often  use,  that  I  might  be  for  ever 
relieved  of  any  connection  with  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  public  patronage.  I  covet  for 
myself  the  free  and  unpurcliased  support 
of  my  fellow-citizens.  *  *  *  [Senator  Ben¬ 
jamin  Harrison.'] 

Only  conceive  such  a  lure  held  out  to  this 
great  people,  and  all  the  little  offices  of  the 
Government  thus  set  up  for  the  price  of 
the  victory,  without  regard  to  merit  or 
anything  but  party  services,  and  you  have 
a  spectacle  of  baseness  and  rapacity  such 
as  was  never  seen  before.  No  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  in  our  land,  no  parental  dis¬ 
cipline,  no  schools,  not  all  the  machinery 
of  virtue  together,  can  long  be  a  match  for 
the  corrupting  power  of  our  political 
strifes  actuated  by  such  a  law  as  this.  It 
would  make  us  a  nation  ©f  apostates  at  the 
foot  of  Sinai. — From  a  Sermon  by  Rev.  Horace 
Bushnell,  in  ISjO. 

“I  do  not  want  federal  office  holders  at  the 
Minneapolis  convention,”  was  the  order  which 
the  President  issued  last  week,  and  forthwith 
Secretary  Foster,  Secretary  Elkins  and  a 
number  of  other  prominent  officials  announced 
their  determination  not  to  attend.  If  the 
President  is  really  in  earnest  in  this  matter, 
there  will  be  considerably  over  one  hundred 
absent  delegates.  It  is  a  fact  that  at  the  con¬ 
vention  which  is  to  meet  to  select  the  republican 
candidate  for  the  presidency  one  man  in  every 
eight  will  be  a  federal  office-holder,  appointed 
by  President  Harrison  who  is  himself  a  candi¬ 
date  for  nomination. —  Washington  Post, May 22. 
*  *  * 

“I  do  not  believe  that  individual  disappoint¬ 
ments  will  control  the  convention  at  Min¬ 
neapolis.” — Froftn  President  Harrison’s  talk  tvith 
the  World’s  Washington  correspondent,  May  26. 
*  *  * 

The  remark  about  “individual  disappoint¬ 
ments”  indicates  how  thoroughly  the  Presi¬ 
dent  misapprehends  the  nature  of  the  opposi¬ 
tion  to  his  candidacy,  and  also  how  wise  is 
the  American  system  of  frequent  changes  in 
the  personnel  of  the  government.  It  is  aston¬ 
ishing  how  quick  and  easy  is  the  process  by 
which  a  man  comes  to  look  upon  the  place  he 
holds  as  his  private  property.  He  becomes 
accustomed  to  the  exercises  of  power,  and  to 
the  homage  which  follows  in  the  train  of 
high  authority,  and  he  soon  regards  it  as 
little  less  than  impious  to  suggest  that 
he  would  better  make  way  for  another.  *  * 
Now  I  am  what  our  mugwump  friends  delight 
to  stigmatize  as  a  “practical  politician.”  I 
look  at  things  as  they  really  are.  *  *  The 
charge  against  Mr.  Harrison’s  supporters  can 
not  so  easily  be  set  aside.  It  is  a  much  to  be 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


339 


regretted  fact  that  the  President  has  placed 
his  campaign  in  the  hands  of  those  who  hold 
office  under  him,  and  has  even  recalled  men 
from  their  posts  abroad.  It  will  be  a  serious 
matter,  if,  by  any  chance,  he  should  be  nomi¬ 
nated,  should  this  fact  give  rise  to  the  charge 
that  he  was  forced  to  give  his  campaign  to 
these  men  because  he  could  get  no  others  to 
assume  the  task.” — From  Tom  Platt’s  Answer, 
United  Press  Dispatch,  May  SI. 

*  *  * 

“I  do  not  look  for  a  snap  judgment  on  the 
part  of  the  Minneapolis  convention,”  said  Mr. 
Miller.  “There  will  be  no  ‘stampede’  of  the 
delegates.  I  have  no  doubt  that  President 
Harrison  will  be  renominated.” 

“Have  you  anything  to  say  of  the  remarks 
of  President  Harrison  printed  in  the  World 
to-day?” 

“No,  although  perhaps  I  may  say  that  some 
of  the  ‘individual  disappointments’  to  which 
General  Harrison  refers  are  felt  by  gentle¬ 
men  for  whom  much  has  been  done.  There 
are  men  for  whom  you  can  not  do  enough. 
Load  them  with  favors,  and  like  the  often 
quoted  ‘daughter  of  the  horse-leech,’  they  are 
not  satisfied.  Such  men  become  disappointed. 
Disappointment  may  possibly  develop  a  re¬ 
vengeful  state  of  mind.  When  the  President 
says  that  disappointment  will  not  prevail  at 
Minneapolis,  I  quite  agree  with  him.” 

^  ‘‘The  President  says  he  has  declined  to  call 
on  his  friends  for  assistance.  What  are  his 
^friends  doing?” 

“His  friends,  personal  and  political,  need 
no  requests,  no  stimulation.  They  are  going 
'before  the  convention  and  they  will  present 
his  name  for  renomination.  They  do  not  an¬ 
ticipate  any  sensations  or  stampedes.” — Fro^n 
the  Woi'ld’s  Washington  Correspondent’s  Interview 
^ith  Attorney- General  Miller,  May  29. 
t  «  «  « 

There  are  already  many  Harrison  men  in 
Minneapolis  prepared  to  do  missionary  work 
among  the  delegates  as  soon  as  they  arrive, 
and  others  are  preparing  to  get  away  in  a  day 
or  two.  Nothing  more  has  been  heard  of  the 
alleged  order  which  Mr.  Harrison  issued  last 
week  calling  upon  office-holders  to  remain 
away  from  the  convention.  There  are  more 
than  100  of  these  who  will  be  seated  as  dele¬ 
gates.  A  prominent  republican  said  this  even¬ 
ing  in  regard  to  this  matter : 

I  “The  President  was  not  aware  that  so  many 
men  who  draw  pay  from  the  government  had 
been  selected  as  delegates.  When  he  discov¬ 
ered  that  the  office-holding  class  was  to  have 
such  a  large  representation  he  was  very  much 
dissatisfied.  But,  if  he  contemplated  issuing 
any  such  order  as  was  reported,  it  must  soon 
have  occurred  to  him  that  it  would  be  not 
only  impracticable,  but  decidedly  hazardous 
at  this  stage  of  the  game.  So  he  decided  to 
take  no  action.  I  think  it  was  the  wisest 
thing  he  could  do  under  the  circumstances. 
He  would  be  playing  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies  by  adopting  any  other  course.” — New 
York  Times,  June  1. 


President  Harrison’s  telegraphic  facilities 
for  reaching  the  men  who  are  engineering  his 
fight  have  been  increased.  A  wire  has  been 
put  into  the  White  House  which  will  give  in¬ 
stant  communication  with  the  leaders  in  Min¬ 
neapolis.  Expert  operators  have  been  em¬ 
ployed  and  bulletins  will  be  sent  direct  to  the 
executive  mansion  by  the  telegraph  compa¬ 
nies.  This  and  some  other  incidents  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  President  is  very 
much  absorbed  in  the  question.  For  some 
reason  he  saw  fit  not  to  go  to  Gettysburg  to¬ 
day,  as  he  had  half  promised  to,  but  remained 
within  easy  reach  of  his  wire.  The  arrivals 
of  his  friends  and  enemies  at  Minneapolis  are 
duly  noted. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  June  2. 

*  *  * 

There  are  two  sensations  in  the  air  here. 
The  first  is  caused  by  the  publication  of  the 
authorized  dispatch  of  the  associated  press 
announcing  that  Blaine  will  write  no  more 
letters.  This  is  interpreted  to  mean  that  he 
will  put  nothing  further  in  the  way  of  the  men 
who  are  resolved  to  make  him  a  candidate.  It 
has  frightened  the  Harrison  contingent  very 
badly.  They  had  already  begun  to  weaken, 
and  they  now  show  signs  of  staggering.  Two 
of  their  most  earnest  workers  are  on  the 
ground  in  the  person  of  John  R.  Lynch  of 
Mississippi,  the  colored  orator,  and  Thomas 
Carter  of  Montana.  Mr.  Lynch  is  fourth  auditor 
of  the  treasury  and  Mr.  Carter  is  commissioner  of 
the  general  land  office.  Mr.  Carter,  although  an 
office-holder  himself,  is  too  shrewd  and  long¬ 
headed  a  politician  not  to  recognize  the  gross 
folly  of  the  President  in  using  the  creatures 
of  his  executive  favor,  and  the  White  House 
family  influence,  to  push  his  interests  in  Min¬ 
neapolis.  It  was  first  arranged  that  “  Prince” 
Russell  Harrison  should  come  on  here  and 
work  with  the  Montana  delegation  for  his 
father,  but  Mr.  Carter  made  a  personal  visit 
to  the  White  House,  it  is  understood,  to  insist 
upon  the  President’s  putting  his  veto  upon 
this  scheme.  His  arguments  prevailed  and 
the  young  man  was  kept  at  home.  Mr.  Car¬ 
ter  came  here  to  look  the  field  over  and  see 
what  the  chances  looked  like.  He  has  made 
his  canvass,  and  the  result  is  that  he  has  run 
up  the  danger  signal.  In  response  to  this  a 
car-load  of  office-holders  will  be  poured  into 
this  city  at  once  to  direct  and  lead  the  forlorn 
hope.  Most  of  them  will  come  from  Wash¬ 
ington  and  be  clothed  with  the  insignia  of 
Presidential  authority.  The  arrangement, 
before  Mr.  Carter  left  Washington,  was  that 
these  office-holders  were  to  be  kept  at  home 
unless  the  Harrison  cause  looked  deperately 
blue.  Their  release,  therefore,  wears  an  omi¬ 
nous  aspect.— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Evening  Post,  June  5. 

*  »  • 

“Mr.  George  A.  Halsey,  of  New  Jersey,  who 
is  a  delegate  to  Minneapolis,  is  said  to  be  in¬ 
clined  to  favor  Mr.  Blaine.  Will  you  please 
use  influence  with  him  to  get  him  to  support 
father?” — Letter  of  Russell  Harrison  to  E.  B. 
Studebaker,  New  York  Evening  Post,  June  9. 


“Whatever  you  can  do  for  us  at  Minneapo¬ 
lis  will  be  duly  appreciated  and  gratefully 
remembered  in  Washington. 

“Charles  Foster.” 

— Letter  of  the  President’s  Secretary  of  the  Treas¬ 
ury  to  the  Utah  member  of  the  National  Republican 
Committee,  New  York  Evening  Post,  June  9. 

*  ■  *  * 

President  Harrison’s  two  brothers — J.  Scott 
Harrison,  of  Kansas  City,  and  Carter  Harri¬ 
son,  of  Nashville — are  here. — Minneapolis  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  June  9. 

*  *  » 

The  center  of  attraction  to-day  was,  of 
course,  the  White  House.  All  the  morning 
the  President  and  his  able  and  faithful  lieu¬ 
tenants  were  busily  occupied,  as  they  have 
been  for  several  days  and  nights  past,  in  send¬ 
ing  and  receiving  communications  from  the 
seat  of  war. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Washington 
Dispatch,  June  10. 

»  *  » 

Word  was  given  to  a  pronounced  Harrison 
man  in  each  of  the  delegations  to  notify  only 
the  members  from  his  state  who  were  known 
by  him  to  be  friendly,  and  wherever  the  chair¬ 
men  were  favorably  inclined  they  were  asked 
to  make  a  careful  poll  and  bring  with  them  all 
those  who  were  sure  to  go  for  Harrison.  By  a 
quarter  to  1  o’clock  this  afternoon  the  dingy 
hall  was  fairly  packed  with  delegates,  the  only 
outsiders  present  being  a  few  members  of  the 
national  committee,  perhaps  a  dozen  gentlemen 
who  have  been  here  from  the  first  in  General 
Harrison’s  behalf,  and  the  Journal’s  corre¬ 
spondent.  The  door  was  guarded  by  Sam  Miller, 
son  of  Attorney-General  Miller,  Gerald  Pierce, 
of  North  Dakota,  and  B.  Wilson  Smith,  of 
Indiana,  and  each  delegate  as  he  entered  the 
hall  gave  his  name,  state  and  preference  for 
the  presidency. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  June  10. 

*  »  » 

The  news  which  they  received  was  [said  to 
be  uniformly  favorable.  About  noon  the 
premises  were  invaded  by  a  company  of  news¬ 
paper  correspondents  and  other  privileged  in¬ 
dividuals,  who  established  themselves  in  the 
rooms  and  hallways  of  the  upper  story  and 
awaited  fateful  tidings  with  as  much  compos¬ 
ure  as  they  could  muster.  The  President, 
meanwhile,  was  in  his  private  office  surround¬ 
ed  by  the  members  of  his  cabinet,  who  re¬ 
ceived  every  few  minutes  the  successive  tele¬ 
grams  from  Minneapolis  and  made  calcula¬ 
tions  from  them.  Secretary  Tracy  kept  the 
tally-sheet,  Secretary  Elkins  and  Attorney- 
general  Miller  did  the  heavy  figuring,  and  the 
other  cabinet  officers  rendered  whatever  assist¬ 
ance  they  could.  In  the  telegraph  room  across 
the  hall.  Private  Secretary  Halford  took  down 
the  first  draft  of  the  figures  as  they  came  over 
the  wire,  and  sent  duplicates  in  to  the  Presi¬ 
dent.  The  room  was  full  of  subordinate  offi¬ 
cials,  newspaper  men  and  other  interested 
parties.  Postmaster-general  Wanamaker  made 
excursions  from  one  room  to  the  other,  and 
did  some  very  accurate  and  business-lik 
figuring  from  time  to  time. 


340 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


For  three  hours  or  more,  during  the  long 
struggle,  characterizing  the  ballot,  the  most 
intense  excitement  prevailed  in  the  upper 
rooms.  Until  about  four  o’clock  it  seemed  to  the 
White  House  people  there  would  be  no  choice 
on  the  first  ballot,  and  there  were  many  specu¬ 
lations  and  criticisms  in  regard  to  the  strength 
displayed  by  the  McKinley  vote.  After  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania  had  been  passed,  however, 
the  probabilities  of  the  President’s  immediate 
success  dawned  upon  the  company  and 
caused  a  flutter  of  pleasant  anticipation,  in  the 
midst  of  which,  at  exactly  ten  minutes  past 
five,  the  record  of  the  roll-call  was  momen¬ 
tarily  interrupted  as  the  telegraph  instrument 
ticked  out  the  words:  “Harrison  is  nomi¬ 
nated.”  At  once  there  was  a  shout,  and  all 
those  in  the  room,  including  the  postmaster- 
general  and  Private  Secretary  Halford,  rose 
and  made  a  rush  for  the  President’s  room. — 

hidianapolis  Journal,  June  11. 

*  *  * 

When  he  was  congratulated  last  Friday 
night  on  his  renomination,  the  most  note¬ 
worthy  thing  the  President  found  to  say  was: 

“  I  have  felt  great  regret  that  I  was  unable 
to  find  a  suitable  place  for  every  deserving 
friend;  but  I  have  insisted  that  I  did  not  dis¬ 
parage  those  I  could  not  appoint  to  place.”  — 
Indianapolis  Journal  June  11. 

*  *  * 

The  President  is  reported  by  a  simple-mind¬ 
ed  organ  as  being  “  deeply  grieved  ”  at  the 
action  of  Senator  Chandler  in  declaring  for 
Blaine,  despite  the  fact  that  all  the  “good 
things”  in  New  Hampshire  had  been  freely 
at  his  disposal.  In  like  manner  he  is  said  to 
be  “much  pained”  at  the  ingratitude  of  ex 
Minister  Langston  in  turning  on  his  “  bene¬ 
factor,”  and  working  among  the  colored  men 
for  Blaine,  notwithstanding  the  patronage 
conferred  upon  him  by  Mr.  Harrison. — New 
York  Evening  Post,  June  16. 

THE  CHIEF  HENCHMAN. 

Allotments  thus  acquired,  mutually  en¬ 
gaged  such  as  accepted  them  to  defend 
them;  and  as  they  all  sprang  from  the 
same  right  of  conquest,  no  part  could  sub¬ 
sist  iiidcpeudeut  of  the  whole ;  wherefore 
all  givers  as  well  as  receivers  were  mu¬ 
tually  bound  to  defend  each  other’s  pos¬ 
sessions.  *  *  *  Every  receiver  of  lauds,  or 
feudatory,  was  therefore  bound  when 
called  upon  by  his  heuefactor,  or  immedi¬ 
ate  lord  of  his  feud  or  fee,  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  defend  iiim.  Such  benefactor  or 
lord  was  likewise  subordinate  to  and  under 
the  command  of  his  immediate  benefactor 
and  superior ;  and  so  upwards  to  the  prince 
or  general  himself;  and  the  several  lords 
were  also  reciprocally  bound,  in  their  re¬ 
spective  gradations,  to  protect  the  posses¬ 
sions  they  had  given.  Thus  the  feudal  con¬ 
nection  was  established,  a  proper  military 
subjection  was  naturally  introduced  and 
an  army  of  feudatories  was  always  ready, 
enlisted  and  mutually  prepared  to  muster. 
— Blackstone. 


Counsel- General  John  C.  New  arrived  Satur¬ 
day  afternoon  on  the  City  of  Chicago.  When 
asked  his  views  on  the  presidential  situation, 
he  said  :  “  Harrison  will  be  renominated  and 

will  be  elected.  I  am  so  certain  of  his  being 
the  choice  of  the  convention  that  I  shall  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  influencing  delegates  to 
the  convention  in  his  favor.  It  is  a  mistake  io  say 
that  my  object  in  coming  home  at  this  time  is  to 
manage  the  canvass  of  President  Hairison  at  Min¬ 
neapolis.  That  has  been  said  of  every  minis¬ 
ter  and  consul  who  has  got  leave  of  absence 
and  come  home.  It  is  natural  that  all  of  them, 
good  republicans  as  they  are,  should  desire  to 
be  at  home  and  attend  the  convention.  I 
should  very  much  like  to  attend  myself,  for  I 
believe  my  place  is  there.  I  have  attended 
every  national  convention  since  1856,  with 
the  exception  of  that  of  1864.  I  feel  all  the 
more  desirous  to  go  this  time,  because  I  am 
the  oldest  member  of  the  national  committee. 
— New  Yoik  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  May 
23 

*  *  » 

Gen.  John  C.  New  took  hold  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  interests  in  earnest  to-day.  He  spent 
most  of  the  day  at  the  White  House  in  con¬ 
ference  with  Harrison  and  Elkins.  To-night 
there  was  a  meeting  in  his  room  at  the  Shore- 
ham  of  a  number  of  administration  men.  Mr. 
Elkins  dropped  in  for  a  few  minutes  to  see 
that  the  arrangements  for  an  aggressive  cam¬ 
paign  were  well  under  way.  Fourth  Assistant 
Postmaster  General  Paihbone  was  one  of  the 
gentlemen  who  met  Mr.  New.  The  confer¬ 
ence  continued  until  a  late  hour,  and  a  num¬ 
ber  of  people  who  called  to  see  Mr.  New  were 
told  that  he  was  busily  engaged. —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  Neto  York  Times,  May  25. 

*  •»  » 

Consul-General  New  reached  home  yester¬ 
day  afternoon  to  remain  a  few  days  before 
going  to  Minneapolis.  Mr.  New  had  but 
little  to  say  yesterday  regarding  political 
movements  which  has  not  been  already  re¬ 
ported.  When  asked  as  to  the  probability  of 
Robert  T.  Lincoln  being  named  in  the  con¬ 
vention,  he  said  he  was  authorized  to  state 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  not  be  a  candidate. 
As  to  Mr.  Blaine  he  knew  nothing  of  his  in¬ 
tentions  except  as  they  have  been  expressed 
in  his  letter  and  his  interviews. — Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  May  2S. 

• 

John  C.  New,  consul-general  at  London,  one  of 
President  Harrison’s  most  trusted  political  lieuten¬ 
ants,  reached  Chicago  to-day,  en  route  to 
Minneapolis.  He  will  probably  remain  in 
Chicago  until  Wednesday.  Speaking  of  the 
permanent  chairmanship  of  the  convention, 
Mr.  New  said:  “Mr.  Harrison’s  friends 
have  no  candidate.  Any  one  of  several  names 
suggested  would  be  acceptable.  Major  Mc¬ 
Kinley,  who  has  been  mentioned,  would  suit 
very  well.”  The  executive  committee  of  the 
republican  national  committee  will  be  here 
to-morrow,  and  Mr.  New  may  have  some  sug¬ 
gestions  to  make  to  them  as  to  the  appoint¬ 


ment  of  a  temporary  chairman  of  the  conven¬ 
tion,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  commit¬ 
tee. — Chicago  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
May  30. 

^ 

The  early  opening  of  the  Harrison  head¬ 
quarters  is  a  surprise  to  the  Blaine  men,  who 
expected  to  be  first  when  they  came  in  with 
the  national  committee  to  morrow.  In  short, 
the  President’s  friends  have  stolen  a  march  on 
the  Blaine  boomers,  and  their  sudden  arrival 
means  fight  from  start  to  finish.  It  is  said 
that  their  unannounced  arrival  and  quick 
opening  of  headquarters  was  at  a  telegraphic 
suggestion  from  Washington.  President  Har¬ 
rison  had  got  his  back  up  and  the  men  sent 
here  and  to  come  to-morrow  are  the  same 
ones  who  did  so  much  for  Harrison’s  nomina¬ 
tion  in  1888.  Gen.  Michener  and  John  C. 
New  will  be  in  command. — Indianapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  June  1. 

*  »  » 

About  the  time  that  this  group  of  anti-Har¬ 
rison  men  arrived,  Gen.  John  C.  New,  consul- 
general  to  London,  arrived  with  Harry  S.  New 
and  a  few  of  Harrison’s  Indiana  friends. 
These  men  diluted  a  little  the  flood  of  jour¬ 
nalists  that  had  crowded  through  the  corri¬ 
dors  of  the  West  Hotel  without  much  admix¬ 
ture  of  statesmanship  and  politics  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  managers  had  not  been  here 
long  before  they  began  to  talk  sharply  about 
one  another. 

Gen.  New  finds  something  in  Col.  Conger 
that  exasperates  him.  Col.  Conger  has  said, 
in  an  interview,  that  Harrison’s  interview,  in 
which  he  spoke  of  the  opposition  of  the  disap¬ 
pointed,  placed  him  on  an  equal  footing  with 
Blaine  regarding  an  instructed  delegate.  Gen. 
New  does  not  like  that.  He  says: 

“Col.  Conger  knows  better,  and  ought  to  tell 
the  truth.  He  understands  English  well 
enough  to  know  that  the  contents  of  the  Pres¬ 
ident’s  letter  bears  no  resemblance  to  the 
Blaine  epistle,  and  means  moreover  that  Mr. 
Harrison  wants  a  renomination. 

“The  trouble  about  Col.  Conger  is  that  he 
has  a  political  sore  toe  and  is  showing  it  all 
over  because  his  man  was  not  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Akron.  The  President  chose  to 
take  the  advice  of  the  Ohio  senator  instead  of 
Conger,  a  private  citizen.  Hence  Conger’s  at¬ 
titude  of  opposition  to  the  President.  I  don’t 
approve  of  Col.  Conger’s  conduct,  nor  of  the 
opposition  to  Harrison  by  a  man  who  hasn’t 
brains  enough  to  see  straight  over  his  eye¬ 
glass.” — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
June  2. 

»  *  • 

John  C.  New,  and  A.  L.  Conger  of  Ohio, 
Blaine  leader,  had  an  encounter  in  one  of  the 
corridors  of  the  West  Hotel  last  night.  They 
had  been  talking  at  one  another  through  the 
newspapers,  but  had  not  met  before. 

“I  know  what  is  the  matter  with  you.  Con¬ 
ger,”  said  New.  “You  didn’t  get  your  man 
appointed  postmaster  at  Akron.  That  is  all 
there  is  to  it,  and  that  is  the  only  explanation 
of  your  anti-Harrison  attitude.” 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


341 


Conger  replied  indignantly,  and  the  words 
ran  pretty  high,  though  both  men  kept  their 
tempers.— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Eve¬ 
ning  Post,  June  3. 

«  «  • 

The  Harrison  men  were  stirriug  at  seven 
o’clock,  and  an  hour  later  they  had  begun 
their  work  in  the  state  delegations.  The  ad¬ 
mirable  organization  of  the  President’s  forces 
compels  the  admiration  even  of  his  enemies. 
For  more  than  a  week  the  whole  conven¬ 
tion  membership  has  been  blocked  out  by 
state  delegations  and  each  block  has  been  put 
in  charge  of  a  trusted  lieutenant  of  John  C. 
New.  These  lietenants  have  reported  to  Mr. 
New  three  and  four  times  a  day,  and  as  often 
they  have  talked  with  the  Harrison  men  in 
their  delegations  and  reported  immediately 
any  sign  of  weakness.  The  greatest  argument 
which  Mr.  New  has  used  from  the  beginning 
of  the  canvass  is  the  table  of  votes  by  states. 
It  was  made  up  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in 
Mi  nneapolis,  and  it  has  been  revised  every 
day.  To  every  doubtful  delegate  the  Harrison 
men  have  displayed  this  table,  urging  him  at 
the  same  time  to  “get  into  the  Harrison  band¬ 
wagon.”  The  table  has  been  the  strongest 
argument  to  bring  recruits,  and  the  strongest 
argument  to  hold  doubtful  Harrison  men  in 
line.  On  every  man  who  was  not  sworn  to 
support  Harrison  right  through  the  fight,  the 
idea  has  been  impressed  as  strongly  as  possi¬ 
ble  that  it  was  only  nece.ssary  to  hold  the 
assured  Harrison  strength  together  and  his 
nomination  on  the  first  ballot  was  certain. 
The  final  coup  came  yesterday  when  Mr.  New 
brought  his  forces  together  in  caucus  for  a 
showing  of  strength.  This  meeting  was  held 
less  for  the  purpose  of  giving  Mr.  New  assur¬ 
ance  of  Harrison’s  strength  than  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  holding  the  Harrison  men  in  line  just 
before  the  test  vote  was  made.  As  soon  ag 
the  meeting  was  over  the  Harrison  men  spread 
the  story  of  it  through  the  corridors  of  the 
hotel  and  about  the  stale  headquarters.  It 
created  an  enthusiasm  which  undoubtedly  had 
its  effect  on  the  first  ballot  in  the  convention 
last  night.  The  second  ballot  showed  the 
moral  effect  of  the  first  for  it  increased  the 
apparent  strength  of  Mr.  Harrison  and  gave 
renewed  confidence  to  his  managers.  They 
found  when  they  started  in  this  morning  that 
it  needed  little  encouragement  to  hold  their 
men  in  line. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Evening  Post,  June  10. 

»  »  * 

John  C.  New,  who  has  figured  as  largely  as 
anybody  in  Harrisonian  councils,  was  in  fine 
spirits.  He  said  that  the  President  has  given 
the  country  a  splendid,  safe,  honest  and  cour¬ 
ageous  administration.  He  had  the  people 
with  him  and  he  would  be  elected.  Mr.  New 
said  he  had  made  a  hard  fight  and  had  to  meet  men 
who  were  skillful  opponents,  but  he  had  noth 
ing  to  say  against  them. — Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
June  11. 

»  »  * 

The  evening  trains  brought  back  to  the  city 
a  goodly  number  of  tired  pilgrims.  They 


have  practically  the  same  story  to  tell.  They 
are  all  for  Harrison  now,  or,  at  least,  with  few 
excej»tions,  they  say  they  are.  Hon.  John  C. 
New,  who  arrived  to-day,  says  the  prospect  for 
victory  was  never  better.  After  calling  on 
the  President  Mr.  New  visited  the  state  de¬ 
partment,  and  left  Washington  at  4  o’clock  for 
New  York.  He  sails  on  Wednesday  for  Lon¬ 
don. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  June  14. 

*  ■*  » 

The  battle  at  Minneapolis  has  been  fought 
over  and  over  several  times  to-day  at  the 
White  House.  The  door  to  the  President’s 
private  room  has  been  swinging  inward  at  fre¬ 
quent  intervals,  and  the  victorious  generals 
have  been  telling  the  President  just  how  it 
was  brought  about  that  they  and  their  brother 
office-holders  carried  the  Harrison  banner  to 
victory. 

Col.  A.  M.  Hughes,  the  chairman  of  the  Ten¬ 
nessee  delegation,  was  there  to-day.  Two  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Virginia  delegation  and  Col.  John 
C.  New  have  also  reported.  Colonel  New,  it  is 
announced,  will  soon  go  back  to  his  duties  as 
consul  general  at  London,  which  position,  it 
will  be  remembered,  he  left,  as  he  said,  on  a 
short  leave  of  absence  “to  attend  to  some  pri¬ 
vate  matters,”  some  weeks  ago. 

Colonel  New’s  meeting  with  the  President 
is  said  to  have  been  unique.  For  the  first 
time  in  all  the  excitement  of  the  past  two 
weeks  the  President  is  said  to  have  shown 
some  signs  of  melting  and  to  have  displayed 
some  emotion.  At  all  other  times  he  has  been 
as  cool  and  calm  and  unmoved  as  the  Wash¬ 
ington  Monument.  He  is  said  to  have  list¬ 
ened  while  Colonel  New  told  him  how  Platt, 
Clarkson  and  Quay,  and  the  others  of  their 
crowd,  had  set  up  the  Blaine  image  and  com¬ 
manded  all  the  people  to  fall  down  and  wor¬ 
ship,  like  the  scriptural  king  who  built  the 
great  golden  image  in  the  plain  of  Baby¬ 
lon. 

There  is  a  story  that  the  President,  drawing 
from  his  store  of  scriptural  knowledge,  car¬ 
ried  the  incident  to  its  climax  by  recalling 
that  the  old  king  after  it  was  all  over,  was 
forced  to  “eat  grass  as  oxen,”  and  it  is  gossiped 
that  up  in  the  White  House  there  was  a  good 
laugh  at  the  figure  of  Platt  and  Quay  thus 
humiliated.  Colonel  New  having  completed 
his  matters  of  personal  business  is  scheduled 
to  return  no  later  than  the  last  of  this  week. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  June  14- 

*  ♦ 

Gen.  John  C.  New,  United  States  consul- 
general  at  London,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  “on  a  little  private  business”  a  short 
time  ago,  was  at  the  Gilsey  House  yesterday. 
Very  few  persons  called  upon  him.  Those 
who  did  were  not  members  of  the  New  York 
delegation  to  Minneapolis. 

“  I  met  Tom  Platt  on  the  street  when  I  went 
out  this  morning,”  said  Gen.  New,  “  and  he 
said  it  was  all  right.” 

“  With  regard  to  supporting  the  republican 
ticket?”  Gen.  New  was  asked. 


“  Oh,  yes.  Mr.  Platt  said  he  was  in  favor  of 
the  ticket — now.” 

“  Will  Mr.  Platt  do  any  active  work  for  Mr 
Harrison  ?  ” 

“It  doesn’t  make  any  difference  whether  he 
he  does  or  not.  Mr.  Platt  and  myself  have 
been  in  conventions  for  twenty  years.  We 
have  fought  together  for  our  man.  We  have, 
politically  speaking,  starved  for  our  man.  But 
that  is  all  past.  Mr.  Platt’s  dice  on  this  oc¬ 
casion  were  not  loaded.  He  made  a  mistake. 
But  he  told  me  he  would  support  the  ticket.” 

“  Will  the  men  who  supported  Blaine  at 
Minneapolis  stand  up  for  the  ticket  during 
the  campaign  ?  ”- 

“  Well,  I  saw  a  telegraphic  interview  with 
Mr.  Clarkson,  who  still  remains  in  Minneapo¬ 
lis,  in  the  Philadelphia  Press  yesterday.  In 
that  interview  Mr.  Clarkson  showed  more 
temper  and  less  judement  than  I  should  have 
expected  of  him.  He  said,  for  instance,  that 
Harrison  was  only  nominated  by  the  aid  of 
copious  promises  of  offices  by  myself  and  Mr. 
Depew,  and  that  the  men  who  already  held 
office  were  given  assurance  of  four  years’ 
further  tenure  of  their  jobs.  Mr.  Clarkson 
even  said  that  the  mission  to  St.  Petersburg 
was  to  be  one  of  the  rewards  of  Harrison’s 
best  worker. 

“Didn’t  I  work  pretty  hard  for  Ben  Har¬ 
rison  at  Minneapolis?  Well,  I’m  going  back 
to  London  to-morrow  morning.  I  was  offered 
the  St.  Petersburg  mission  three  years  ago. 
If  I  wanted  to  go  to  Russia  couldn’t  I  have 
gotten  the  assignment?” 

“  Mr.  Clarkson  says  that  the  St.  Petersburg 
mission  was  offered  to  three  men  when  he  first 
took  hold  of  the  national  committee,”  said  the 
reporter. 

“Mr.  Clarkson  said  so,  did  he?  Have  you 
figured  up  where  Mr.  Clarkson  will  be,  polit¬ 
ically  speaking,  a  year  hence,  when  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  will  once  more  resume  its  regular 
business  of  making  history?  Some  of  the 
newspaper  men  compared  Mr.  Clarkson  at 
Minneapolis  with  Puck,  Cupid,  Ariel,  and  so 
on.  The  newspaper  men  struck  it  about  right. 
Mr.  Clarkson  has  a  wand  that  doesn’t  wield. 
In  Iowa  they  worship  false  gods  occasionally. 
Mr.  Clarkson  might  get  into  the  Iowa  legis¬ 
lature  some  time  for  that  reason.” 

“  Is  there  any  possibility  of  the  republican 
split  healing  before  November?”  Gen.  New 
was  asked. 

“  Split?  There  hasn’t  been  any  split.  The 
fellows  that  shrieked  for  Mr.  Blaine  will  be 
out-doing  themselves,  two  months  hence,  in 
the  style  of  their  bell-crowned  high  white 
hats.  There  wasn’t  any  bitterness.  There 
wasn’t  any  split.  The  men  whom  I  have  men¬ 
tioned  as  being  insane  on  the  Blaine  subject 
have  lost  their  grip  utterly  unless  they  fight 
for  the  republican  nominee.” 

“Shall  you  be  in  this  country  between  now 
and  November?” 

“  My  private  business  may  call  me  here  within  a 
short  time.'' 

“It  has  been  said  that  in  your  interview 


342 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


with  Mr.  Harrison  yesterday  a  certain  scrip¬ 
tural  king  who  ate  grass  was  mentioned.” 

“  I  never  saw  any  pasture  lands  at  Bar  Har¬ 
bor,”  said  Gen.  New,  “  and  I  have  been  there 
several  times.  But  I  want  to  say  that  there 
was  not  the  least  sort  of  an  alfalfa  tone  to  my 
conversation  with  Mr.  Harrison  yesterday.” 

“  Were  you  in  any  wise  responsible  for  the 
result  at  Minneapolis?” 

“  No,  sir.  As  a  citizen  of  Indiana  I  did  my 
duty.  Chauncey  Depew  touched  all  the  but¬ 
tons.  He’s  the  only  man  in  America  that  can 
touch  a  button  and  secure  results  without  his 
actual  presence.” 

Gen.  New  and  his  daughter  will  sail  for  Eu¬ 
rope  this  morning. — New  York  Times,  June  15. 
»  *  * 

Gen.  John  C.  New,  United  State  consul  in 
London,  who  helped  to  manage  the  Harrison 
campaign  at  the  Minneapolis  convention, 
sailed  yesterday  for  his  post  by  the 'steamer 
City  of  New  York.  He  was  accompanied  by 
his  daughter,  and  wore  in  the  lapel  of  his  coat 
a  new  badge  with  a  silver  grandfather’s  hat 
attached.  There  was  no  delegation  to  see  him 
off,  but  on  board  he  met  the  Rev.  T.  De  Witt 
Talmage,  who  is  a  passenger  on  the  same 
steamer.  Gen.  New  hopes  to  come  over  again 
when  the  campaign  becomes  lively. — New  York 
Times,  June  16. 


UNDER-HENCHMAN  CARTER. 

It  is  only  a  few  weeks  since  Senator  Petti¬ 
grew  (Rep.  S.  D.),  because  of  alleged  neglect 
at  the  hands  of  the  administration  declared 
that  he  would  so  fix  matters  that  the  eight 
delegates  to  be  selected  would  be  opposed  to 
the  renomination  of  the  President.  His  chal¬ 
lenge  was  accepted  by  Land  Commissioner 
Garter,  who  went  to  South  Dakota,  and  the 
liveliest  political  skirmish  the  state  has  known 
for  some  time  took  place.  The  result  was  the 
complete  defeat  of  Pettigrew.  The  eight  men 
selected  are  pledged  to  the  support  of  Harri¬ 
son.  Pettigrew  himself  will  not  deny  this. 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
May  29. 

»  *  * 

Soon  after  noon  Land  Commissioner  Thomas 
H.  Garter  arrived  at  the  West  Hotel  from  St. 
Paul.  He  has  come  from  Washington  with 
his  wife  and  baby  on  his  way  to  Helena,  and 
will  interrupt  his  journey  long  enough  to  see 
the  convention  get  under  way.  He  is  a  strong 
arm  to  the  Harrison  men,  better  perhaps  than 
Clarkson  and  Fassett  together,  and  almost  a 
match  for  Platt  and  Fassett. — Minneapolis  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  June  S. 

»  *  » 

All  day  Harrison  men  were  being  sent  out 
to  buttonhole  delegates  and  others,  and  prin¬ 
cipally  Land  Commissioner  Carter  and  Mr. 
Michener  were  on  hand  to  receive  the  assur¬ 
ances  of  those  who  came  in.  Mr.  Carter  said  : 
“  We  are  perfectly  serene.  The  people  at 
headquarters  are  absolutely  confident.  They 
have  received  assurances  that  their  delega¬ 
tions  are  going  to  stand  firm.” — Minneapolis 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  June  6. 


I  have  just  seen  Land  Commissioner  Garter 
who  is  looking  cheerful.  In  answer  to  my 
question  as  to  how  things  were  going,  he  said  ; 
“  We  are  as  strong  as  ever.  The  Harrison 
line  is  without  a  break  anywhere.  We  have 
our  own  notions  of  the  action  of  the  national 
committee  in  slating  men  for  the  temporary 
organization  who  have  no  right  to  be  there, 
but  it  has  not  yet  reached  the  point  where  it 
will  hurt  us.  We  know  our  men,  and  can 
count  our  votes  on  paper  in  plain  figures.  We 
can  whip  those  fellows,  and  we  are  going  to 
do  it.  We  shall  waste  no  time  or  energy  on 
side  issues  or  preliminaries.  When  the  fight¬ 
ing  begins  we  shall  all  be  there  and  the  other 
fellows  wont.” — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Evening  Post,  June  7. 

»  ♦  * 

The  chief  of  President  Harrison’s  triumvi¬ 
rate  in  Minneapolis  is  Land  Commissioner 
Carter.  After  consultation  with  the  other 
two,  Michener  and  New,  he  summed  up  the 
situation  in  their  headquarters  to-day  just  be¬ 
fore  leaving  for  the  convention  for  the  day’s 
battle.  Carter  and  Michener  had  been  in  con¬ 
ference  several  times  before  since  daybreak 
with  Senator  Cullom  and  other  prominent 
Harrisonians,  and  they  have  arrived  at  an 
understanding  as  to  the  policy  to  be  adopted 
before  the  convention  in  regard  to  the  Blaine 
tactics  of  the  day.  Mr.  Carter  said 

“We  fully  realize  that  the  opposition  to  the 
President  dare  not  go  to  a  vote  between  the 
President  and  Mr.  Blaine,  as  the  President 
would  defeat  him  by  100  majority  on  a  square 
vote.  Under  these  circumstances  we  expect 
that  the  opposition  will  employ  means  at  their 
command  to  put  off  the  ballot  on  candidates. 
We  do  not  intend  to  interpose  any  objections 
to  the  employment  of  all  the  time  that  any 
reasonable  person  may  consider  necessary  for 
the  investigation  of  questions  at  issue  on  cre¬ 
dentials  and  the  perfection  of  permanent  or¬ 
ganization,  but  when  it  becomes  obvious  that 
dilatory  tactics  are  being  employed  to  keep 
the  convention  from  expressing  its  free  voice, 
we  are  satisfied  that  the  convention  will  take 
the  matter  in  hand  and  dispose  of  all  frivolous 
and  dilatory  opposition  in  very  short  order. — 
Minneapolis  Dispatch,  New  York  Evening  Post, 
June  8. 

*  *  • 

In  answer  to  further  inquiries  Mr.  Depew 
said  he  and  the  President  had  talked  over  the 
fight  at  Minneapolis  as  a  matter  of  history. 
History  is  always  an  interesting  subject,  said 
he,  especially  when  it  is  inside  history.  There 
were  some  men  who  had  done  excellent  work 
at  Minneapolis  and  had  not  received  due 
credit  for  it  in  the  newspapers,  and  Mr.  De¬ 
pew  took  care  that  the  President  was  fully  in¬ 
formed  with  relation  to  these  men.  Among 
others  he  mentioned  were  Michener  of  Indi¬ 
ana,  “Long”  Jones  of  Chicago,  and  Thomas 
H.  Carter  [land  commissioner]  of  Montana, 
all  of  whom  rendered  valuable  services. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
June  19. 


AN  ARMY  OF  FEUDATORIES. 

“Large  districts  or  parcels  of  land  were 
allotted  by  the  conquering  generals  to  the 
superior  ollicers  of  the  army,  and  by  them 
dealt  out  again  in  smaller  parcels  or  allot¬ 
ments  to  the  inferior  ollicers  and  most  de¬ 
serving  soldiers.  *  *  The  condition  of 
holding  the  lands  thus  given  was  that  the 
possessor  shouhl  do  service  fait  hfully,  both 
at  home  and  in  the  wars,  to  him  by  whom 
they  were  given,”  and,  on  breach  of  this 
condition,  “  by  not  performing  the  stipu¬ 
lated  service,  or  by  deserting  his  lord  in 
battle,”  the  huids  reverted  to  the  lord. 
The  vassal,  upon  investiture,  took  an  oath 
of  fealty  to  the  lord,  and  in  addition  did 
homage,  “openly  and  humbly  kneeling, 
being  ungirt,  uncovered  and  holding  up 
his  hands,  both  together,  between  those  of 
his  lord,  who  sat  before  him,  and  there 
professing  that  he  did  become  his  MAN 
from  that  day  forth,  of  life  and  limb  and 
earthly  honor,  and  then  he  received  a  kiss 
from  his  lord.”  Services  were  free  and 
base.  Free  service  was  to  pay  a  sum  of 
money,  or  serve  under  the  lord  in  war. 
Base  service  was  to  plow  the  lord’s  land, 
to  make  his  hedge  or  carry  out  his  dung. — 
Blackstone. 

United  States  Marshal  Ransdell  will  go  to 
Minneapolis  to  help  out  Harrison. —  Washing¬ 
ton  Dispatch  to  Courier  Journal  May  27. 

»  «  » 

B.  W.  Smith,  postmaster  of  La  Fayette,  Ind., 
talked  warmly  for  Harrison,  and  it  is  aston¬ 
ishing  how  many  Harrison  votes  the  letter  of 
resignation  made  in  La  Fayette  yesterday. — 
Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
June  6. 

»  *  •» 

Postmaster  C.  R.  Higgins,  of  Fort  Wayne,  who 
has  been  an  industrious  hustler  for  Harrison, 
as  in  duty  bound,  is  known  as  an  incorrigible 
wag.  The  other  day,  when  the  news  of  Mr. 
Blaine’s  resignation  was  received  at  the  Har¬ 
rison  headquarters,  an  eloquent  silence  fell 
upon  the  boomers  therein  assembled.  It  last¬ 
ed  for  half  a  moment,  and  until  broken  by 
Mr.  Higgins’s  exclamation  :  “  Well,  I  have 
got  no  use  for  a  man  who  will  resign  a  good 
oflSce  until  he  has  a  sure  thing  on  a  better 
one.” — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  7. 

*  *  * 

Higgins  is  postmaster  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  and 
Greiner  is  postmaster  at  Terre  Haute.  Higgins 
is  for  Harrison :  Greiner  is  supposed  to  be  for 
Blaine,  and  wears  a  Blaine  badge.  Higgins 
meets  Greiner,  falls  into  an  argument  with 
him  about  the  merits  of  the  candidates,  and 
Greiner  is  convinced,  takes  off  his  Blaine 
badge,  and  becomes  a  Harrison  convert.  This 
happens  several  times  a  day  in  localities  discreetly 
selected. — New  York  Times,  June  6. 

*  *  » 


district  attorney,  and  formerly  of  Indianapolis, 
arrived  yesterday.  After  an  hour’s  conference 
with  Genei al  Clarkson,  he  said:  “I  believe 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


343 


!  Mr.  Harrison  will  be  nominated,  and  I  feel 
*  certain  Mr.  Blaine’s  name  will  not  go  before 
I  the  convention  in  any  form.  Clarkson,  Quay 
:  and  Fassett  are  not  sweating  the  dye  off  their 

j  suspenders  to  nominate  Blaine.  They  are 
i  working  for  the  defeat  of  Harrison,  and  there 
I  is  now  a  movement  on  foot  of  which  you  will 
I  hear  within  twenty-four  hours,  by  which  it  is 
!  hoped  to  nominate  a  third  man  whose  name  I 

Sam  not  at  liberty  to  give  you.  Blaine  will 
not  be  heard  of  in  the  convention.” — Minneap- 
,  oils  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  June  7, 

'  *  *  -x- 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Ohio  delegation  this  af¬ 
ternoon  twenty-nine  votes  were  pledged  for 
I  Harrison,  against  seventeen  for  Blaine.  The 
boasted  Foraker  strength  did  not  pan  out. 
Immediately  after  the  meeting  Col.  D.  S. 
Alexander  [United  States  district  attorney],  of 
1  Buffalo,  formerly  of  Indianapolis,  met  Gov- 
1  ernor  McKinley,  and  asked  him  what  he 
t  would  do  about  the  effort  of  the  opposition  to 
,  the  President  to  force  a  McKinley  boom.  “It 
will  not  materialize,”  was  the  reply.  “I  shall 
take  occasion  to  suppress  it.” — Indianapolis 
t  Journal,  June  7. 


Business  about  the  federal  building  this 
week  is  quiet  almost  beyond  precedent.  Judge 
Baker,  District  Attorney  Chambers,  Assistant 
District  Attorney  Cockrum,  Marshal  Dunlap, 
Postmaster  Thompson,  Assistant  Postmaster 
Wallace,  S.  G  Woodward,  chief  of  the  money 
order  department  of  the  post-office,  and  others 
perhaps  of  those  having  offices  in  the  building 
are  at  the  republican  convention  at  Minneap¬ 
olis. — Indianapolis  News,  June  9. 


'The  Columbia  club  delegation  [of  Indian¬ 
apolis]  arrived  this  morning.  The  patriots 
looked  quite  natty,  and  have  been  on  dress 
parade  all  day,  admiring  themselves  im¬ 
mensely.  These  office-holders  are  the  lead¬ 
ing  features  in  this  kid-gloved  galaxy  of 
youth,  beauty  and  virtue.  U.  S.  Marshal 
Dunlap,  Pension  Agent  Ensley,  Assistant  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  Cockrum,  Postmaster  Thomp¬ 
son  and  three  of  his  assistants,  Wallace,  Wood¬ 
ward  and  Patterson,  are  among  the  party,  and 
even  Collector  Hildebrand  came  along.  [All 
Indianapolis  office-holders.]  Among  other  ar¬ 
rivals  of  the  day  were  D.  S.  Alexander,  U.  S. 
district  attorney  at  Buffalo,  formerly  of  In¬ 
dianapolis,  and  Harrison’s  private  secretary 
during  the  campaign  of  ’88,  and  Judge  Tay¬ 
lor,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Mississippi  river  com¬ 
missioner. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  June  6. 


*  *  * 

Smiley  Chambers  [United  States  district 
attorney]  and  Hugh  Hanna  are  in  charge  of 
the  public  Indiana  headquarters. — Minneapolis 

Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  June  6. 

*  *  * 

Dan  Ransdell  [marshal  District  of  Colum¬ 
bia]  said :  “We  are  in  excellent  shape,  and 
I  firmly  believe  the  President  will  be  nomi¬ 
nated  on  the  first  ballott.  The  opposition 
has  the  noise  here  to-night,  but  we  have  the 
votes.” — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
.  Joitmal,  June  7. 


For  the  first  time  the  Columbia  Club  went 
wild  for  Benjamin.  Rhody  was  lifted  upon  the 
shoulders  of  U.  S.  Marshal  Dunlap  and  Postmaster 
Thompson  and  carried  through  the  lobby  at  the  head 
of  the  procession,  which  the  Columbians  instant¬ 
ly  formed.  Rhody  waved  a  huge  picture  of 
Harrison  at  the  end  of  a  fifteen -foot  pole.  For 
fifteen  minutes  the  Columbians  circled  about 
Rhody  and  Ben’s  picture  like  Indian  ghost 
dancers,  singing: 

Every  mother’s  son  from  Maine  to  Oregon 

Is  a  son  of  a  gun  if  he  don’t  vote  for  Harrison. 

Suddenly  Rhody  jumped  off'  the  shoulders 
of  Dunlap  and  Thompson  and  made  a  dash 
for  a  colored  delegate  who  happened  to  be  so 
unfortunate  as  to  catch  Shiel’s  eagle  eye. 
Placing  his  arm  around  the  negro’s  neck, 
Rhody  disappeared  toward  the  bar,  and  the 
ghost  dance  broke  up.  Then  a  quartet,  con 
sisting  of  Bruce  Carr,  O.  H.  Tripp  of  North 
Vernon,  Postmaster  De  Motte  of  Valparaiso,  and 
Postmaster  Greiner  of  Terre  Haute,  went  from 
one  street  corner  to  another  repeating  the 
refrain  of  the  song,  “  Every  mother’s  .son,’ 
etc. —  Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sen¬ 
tinel,  June  9. 

*  *■  -* 

The  Harrison  men  at  the  Indiana  head¬ 
quarters  were  wild  with  enthusiasm  this  aft¬ 
ernoon.  They  say  their  faith  in  the  Harrison 
boom  bas  developed  into  positive  knowledge. 
The  following  message  was  sent  whizzing  over 
the  wires  to  the  White  House  expressive  of 
the  feeling  which  permeated  the  Harrison 
contingent : 

E.  W.  Halford,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

The  Harrison  delegates  have  just  had  a 
meeting  in  Market  Hall,  presided  over  by 
Chauncey  M.  Depew.  A  roll-call  by  states 
showed  521  votes  for  the  President,  not  count¬ 
ing  contested  seats.  He  will  be  nominated  at 
the  first  opportunity  to  ballot. 

D.  M.  Ransdell, 
[Marshal  District  of  Columbia.] 

— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News, 
June  9. 

*  *  » 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States 
district  attorney],  was  then  introduced.  He 
looked  as  if  he  had  done  a  hard  day’s  work, 
and  his  voice  was  husky.  When  the  applause 
that  greeted  his  appearance  had  subsided,  he 
said : 

“One  week  ago,  yesterday,  my  fellow  citizens,  we 
left  this  city  for  the  great  convention,  carrying  with 
us,  as  we  felt  then,  and  now  know,  the  best 
wishes  of  all  of  you,  that  victory  might  be 
ours.” — Indianapolis  Journal,  June  12. 

»  *  » 

Ever  since  certain  republicans  set  about  to 
defeat  the  nomination  of  Chase  for  governor, 
some  people  have  been  busy  creating  the  im¬ 
pression  that  President  Harrison  and  the  In¬ 
diana  republicans  at  Washington  do  not  desire 
to  see  Governor  Chase  nominated.  The  report 
has  been  circulated  until  the  story  has  been 
accepted  as  true  by  many  of  the  politicians. 
But  things  have  taken  a  dififerent  turn  the  last 
day  or  two,  since  the  arrival  here  of  Dan  Rans¬ 
dell,  United  States  marshal  for  the  Distinct  of  Co- 
lumbia.  The  friends  of  the  governor  who  were 


at  Minneapolis  called  the  attention  of  the  ad¬ 
ministration  people  there  to  the  report  that 
was  in  circulation,  and  asked  that  something 
be  done  to  counteract  the  injury  the  governor’s 
cause  was  sufTering.  When  the  matter  came 
up,  Mr.  Ransdell,  so  it  is  said,  stated  to  some 
of  Chase’s  friends  that  he  was  for  Chase,  and 
that,  if  it  was  necessary,  he  would  come  to 
Indiana  and  remain  until  after  the  state  con¬ 
vention  and  do  something  to  help  along  the 
governor’s  cause. 

Mr.  Ransdell  did  come  to  Indiana,  and  he 
will  probably  remain  until  after  the  state  con¬ 
vention,  and  he  is  urging  that  Chase  be  nomi¬ 
nated  at  Fort  Wayne  next  week.  Mr.  Rans¬ 
dell  said  to-day : 

“I  have  heard  that  some  one  is  circulating 
the  report  that  the  administration,  which,  I  take  it, 
is  intended  to  mean  the  President  and  the  Indiana 
republicans  in  office,  is  opposed  to  the  nomina¬ 
tion  of  Chase.  This  story  is  without  founda¬ 
tion.” — Indianapolis  News,  June  17. 

*  *  * 

The  Brooklyn  republican  delegates  and 
others  who  purpose  to  attend  the  Minneapolis 
convention  will  start  on  Thursday  by  a 
special  chartered  car  over  the  Pennsylvania 
railroad.  They  have  arranged  foi’  a  trip  of  ten 
days,  including  five  days  in  Minneapolis  and 
one  day  in  Chicago.  In  the  party  will  be  Naval 
Officer  Willis.— New  York  Evening  Post,  May  28. 

*  *  -*- 

The  custom-house  will  not  lack  for  repre¬ 
sentatives  at  the  Minneapolis  convention,  al¬ 
though  the  customs  officers  on  the  list  of  dele¬ 
gates  and  alternates  are  not  many.  Naval 
Officer  Willis  is  a  delegate  and  Deputy  Collector 
Shea  is  an  alternate.  Collector  Hendricks  will  be 
one  of  the  spectators  of  the  proceedings.  So 
will  Surveyor  Lyon,  Deputy  Collectors  John  H. 
Sunner  and  Frank  Raymond  are  going,  too, 
along  with  Gen.  Dennis  F.  Burke,  assistant  ap¬ 
praiser.  Others  to  make  the  trip  will  be  Gen. 
Wheeler,  chief  custodian  of  the  custom-house  and 
Edmund  G.  Lee,  who  once  did  valiant  battle 
with  the  General  for  the  pos.session  of  the  office 
now  held  by  the  father. — New  York  Times, 
May  28. 

-3f  *  * 

Federal  office-holders  make  up  the  major 
part  of  the  state  delegation  to  the  national 
republican  convention.  The  state  convention 
broke  up  in  a  big  row,  and  two  sets  of  dele¬ 
gates  for  the  state  at  large  were  sent,  both 
claiming  to  be  regular.  The  first  delegation 
is  headed  hy  James  Hill  (colored),  postmaster  at 
Vicksburg.  His  associates  are,  A.  F.  Wimber- 
ley,  late  interned  revenue  collector  for  the  district  of 
Louisiana  and  3Iississippi,  who  was  removed  by 
the  President  for  participation  in  the  attempt 
to  re-charter  the  Louisiana  State  Lottery 
Company;  W.  E.  Mollison,  colored,  chancery 
clerk  of  Issaquena  county,  and  John  McGill, 
formerly  mayor  of  this  city,  whose  defeat  in 
January,  1888,  was  the  subject  of  investiga¬ 
tion  by  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  These 
delegates  are  uninstructed. 

The  other  side’s  delegates  are,  John  R. 
Lynch,  colerred,  fourth  auditor  of  the  treasury;  W. 


344 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


H.  Gibbs,  poslviaster  at  this  city;  George  M.  Bu¬ 
chanan,  of  Holly  Springs,  deputy  collector  of  inter¬ 
nal  revenue,  and  George  W.  Goyles,  colored,  a 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives  from 
Bolivar  county.  This  delegation  is  instructed 
for  Harrison. 

The  district  delegates  are: 

First  District — H.  C.  Powers,  of  Starkrille,  col¬ 
lector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  district  of  Louisi- 
a?ia  and  Mississippi,  and  Mr.  Shanno7i,  a  fourth- 
class  postmaster. 

Second — John  S.  Burlin,  United  States  7nai-shal 
for  the  northern  district;  Frank  B.  Hill,  colored, 
deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue. 

Third — A.  G.  Pierce,  colored,  deputy  collector  of 
internal  revenue,  and  Wesley  Creighton,  col¬ 
ored. 

Foui'th — S.  S.  Mathews,  late  United  States  mar¬ 
shal  for  the  southern  dishdcl  (removed  under 
charges,  and  now  deputy  postmaster  at  Wi¬ 
nona),  and  W.  D.  Frazee,  assistant  United  Stales 
district  attorney. 

Fifth — W.  H.  Monnger,  of  Jasper;  J.J.  Gar¬ 
ret,  colored,  of  Yazoo. 

Sixth — Fred  W.  Collins,  United  States  marshal 
for  the  so7ithern  distivct,  and  George  F,  Boyles, 
colored,  of  Natchez. 

Seventh — E.  E.  Perkins,  colored,  postmaster  at 
Edwards,  and  E.  E.  Eugharth,  postmaster  at  Rod¬ 
ney. — Jackso7i,  Miss. ,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times^ 
May  30. 

*  *  * 

Senators  Felton  of  California,  Powers  of 
Montana,  Teller  and  Wolcott  of  Colorado, 
Jones  of  Nevada,  Dubois  of  idaho,  and  Gallin- 
ger  of  New  Hampshire,  are  the  recent  depart¬ 
ures  from  that  end  of  the  capitol.  Every  one  of 
them  is  a  pronounced  Blaine  man.  They  will 
find  at  Minneapolis  Senators  Stockbridge  and 
McMillan  of  Michigan,  Hansbrough  of  North 
Dakota,  Washburn  of  Minnesota,  Cullom  of 
Illinois,  Quay  and  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  Hiscock  of  New  York.  Possibly  Aldrich 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Higgins  of  Delaware  will 
join  them. 

This  large  crowd  of  anti-Harrison  men  will 
be  to  some  extent  offset  by  Marshal  Dan  Rans- 
dell.  Commissioner  Thomas  H.  Carter,  Director  of 
the  Mint  E.  0.  Leech,  Fourth  Assistant  Postmaster. 
General  Rathbone,  and  other  office-holders  who 
will  join  Consul-General  New  and  the  other 
Harrison  workers.  —  Mmneapolis  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  June  S. 

*  *  * 

The  Harrison  delegates  from  Kings  county 
left  town  at  1 : 30  o’clock  yesterday  afternoon 
and  started  for  Minneapolis  on  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  railroad.  In  the  party  were  Naval  Officer 
Willis,  *  *  *  They  were  all  positive  that 
Harrison  would  be  renominated,  practically 
without  opposition.  They  will  stop  over  in 
Chicago  to-night. — New  York  Times,  June  3. 

•  *  * 

Nine  carloads  of  delegates  and  visitors  to 
the  Minneapolis  convention  left  the  Grand 
Central  Station  at  10 : 20  o’clock  this  morn¬ 
ing.  Few  of  the  republican  leaders  were  in 
the  crowd.  Platt,  Depew,  Fassett,  Chairman 
Brookfield  of  the  state  committee,  and  the 


other  men  who  will  dictate  the  action  of  the 
New  York  delegation  had  already  started  for 
Minneapolis.  The  most  prominent  man  on  the 
tram  was  Collector  Hendricks.  Among  the  dele¬ 
gates  and  visitors  were:  David  Friedsam,George 
Hilliard,  ex-Coroner  John  R.  Nugent,  Michael 
Goode,  Deputy  Collector  Dennis  Rhea,  William 
Henkel,  ex-Police  Justice  Jacob  M.  Patterson, 
John  Reisenweber,  Charles  F.  Bruder,  Collector 
Francis  Hendncks,  John  S.  Kenyon,  secretary 
republican  state  committee.  Deputy  Collector 
Frank  Rayinond,  H.  Henry,  M.  B.  Bryant, 
William  C.  Roberts,  Jntei-nal  Revenue  Collector 
Ferdinand  Eidman,  William  I.  Martin,  Henry 
Gleason,  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Michael  Ker- 
win.  Judge  Rooney,  Wilbur  F.  Wakeman, 
Robert  W,  Taylor,  Deputy  Surveyor  John 
Collins,  Isaac  T.  Stoddard,  David  F.  Porter, 
Deputy  Collector  John  H.  Gsmner,  R.  M.  Lush, 
T.  W.  McGown,  Secretary  William  H.  Bella¬ 
my  of  the  republican  county  committee.  Col. 
E.  A.  McAlpin,  president  of  the  state  league 
of  republican  clubs,  Charles  B.  Page  and  W. 
V.  Ruppert,  of  this  city. — New  York  Evening 
Post,  June  S. 

*  *  » 

John  R.  Lynch  [fourth  auditor  of  the  treas¬ 
ury],  the  well-known  colored  politician  from 
Mississippi,  was  at  the  Palmer  house  talking 
for  Harrison.  “  The  Blaine  boom  is  wind,” 
he  said.  “  Harrison’s  treatment  of  the  colored 
men  has  been  very  satisfactory,  and  there  is 
no  concerted  movement  on  their  part  to  se¬ 
cure  the  nomination  of  any  other  man.” 

In  contrast  with  Lynch,  ex-U.  S.  Senator 
William  Pitt  Kellogg,  of  Louisiana,  “the 
colored  man’s  friend,”  is  at  the  Auditorium. 
Mr.  Kellogg  heads  the  Louisiana  delegation, 
and  he  has  a  long,  sharp  knife  which  he  ex¬ 
pects  to  use  in  crippling  the  Harrison  forces. 
He  declares  that  Harrison  has  practically 
given  nothing  to  the  colored  men  of  the  north, 
but  that  Bruce  [register  of  deeds]  and  Lynch, 
of  Mississippi,  where  votes  do  not  count,  got 
all  they  wanted. — Chicago  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel,  June  3. 

*  *  * 

Special  Treasury  Agent  MUes  Kehoe,  one  of  the 
delegates  at  large  from  Illinois,  left  for  Min¬ 
neapolis  this  afternoon.  He  says  the  Blaine 
boom  will  not  last  longer  than  Sunday  next, 
and  Harrison  will  have  a  clear  field  before 
him  when  the  convention  meets.  Post-office  In¬ 
spector  Stuart,  Maj.  John  Burit,  of  the  immigration 
department.  Assistant  Treasurer  John  Tanner,  and 
other  federal  officials,  will  leave  for  Minneapolis 
Saturday  night. — Chicago  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  Sentinel,  Jtme  3. 

»  •  • 

United  States  Marshal  S.  S.  Matthews,  of  Wi¬ 
nona,  Miss.,  was  a  conspicuous  figure  at  the 
Grand  Pacific.  “Our  four  delegates  at-large,” 
he  said,  “  are  instructed  for  Harrison,  and  a 
majority  of  the  others  are  favorable  to  the 
President.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that 
there  is  a  remarkably  strong  undercurrent  of 
enthusiasm  for  Blaine.” — Chicago  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  June  S. 

♦  iic 

Contrary  to  the  belief  generally  held,  there  are 
but  thee  federal  office-holders  in  the  delegation. 


Collector  Feland,  United  States  Marshal  Bur- 
chell  and  Surveyor  of  the  Port  Collier.  To  the 
Times  correspondent  Col.  Bradley  expressed 
the  belief  that  Blaine  would  not  allow  his 
name  to  go  before  the  convention,  for  the  rea¬ 
son  that,  however  much  he  might  desire  the 
nomination  now, his  letter  removed  him  from 
the  field  of  candidates,  and  that  he  could  not 
permit  his  name  to  be  used  without  being  pal¬ 
pably  guilty  of  a  breach  of  faith. — Minneapolis 
Dispatch  to  New  Yoi'k  'Times,  June  4. 

*  *  * 

The  city’s  delegation  on  the  special  included 
Collector  Hendricks  and  Postmaster  Van  Cott,  who 
are  for  Harrison  and  who  thought  it  too  hot 
to  talk  politics;  Jacob  M.  Patterson,  chair¬ 
man  of  the  republican  county  committee’s  ex¬ 
ecutive  committee,  who  said  that  the  dele¬ 
gates  were  going  to  Minneapolis  to  do  the  best 
they  could;  Deputy  Collectors  Denis  Shea  and 
Frank  Raymond,  who  thought  it  was  pretty 
hot  for  men  of  their  size  to  go  traveling,  a  be¬ 
lief  that  was  shared  in  by  John  H.  Gunner, 
another  deputy  collector,  and  John  D.  Lawson. 

Deputy  Surveyor  John  Collins  helped  to  swell 
the  office-holding  contingent  that  went  out  to 
shout  for  Harrison  if  their  official  heads  seemed 
to  demand  it.  John  Reisenweber,  Charles  F. 
Bruder,  Michael  Goode,  Wilbur  H.  Wake- 
man  and  William  Henkel  were  also  aboard. — 
New  York  'Times,  June  4- 

*  »  ♦ 

The  New  York  delegation  to  the  republican 
convention  at  Minneapolis  left  here  on  a 
special  train  of  eight  cars,  from  the  Grand 
Central  depot,  at  10:20  o’clock  this  morning. 
Most  of  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  party 
started  a  few  days  ago.  Among  those  who 
started  to-day  were  Collector  Hendricks,  Secre¬ 
tary  Kenyon,  of  the  republican  state  commit¬ 
tee;  Jacob  Patterson,  W.  H.  Bellamy,  Deputy 
Collectors  Frank  Raymond,  Denis  Shea  and  John 
H.  Gunner,  Liternal  Revenue  Collector  Ferdi¬ 
nand  Eidman,  Deputy  Surveyor  John  Collins.  On 
either  side  of  each  of  the  eight  cars  in  the 
train  is  a  strip  of  white  canvas  with  the  words, 
“New  York  Delegation,  National  Republican 
Convention,”  printed  in  large,  black  letters. — 
New  Yo7'k  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 

June  4. 

*  »  ♦ 

There  were  some  bets  made  during  the 
evening,  of  which  the  largest  was  $1,000  even 
on  Harrison’s  nomination  against  the  field. 
Marcus  Johnson,  revenue  collector  at  St.  Paul,  took 
the  Harrison  end  of  the  bet,  and  Delegate  Eustis, 
of  Minneapolis,  a  Blaine  man,  the  other  end. 
Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
June  4. 

*  »  * 

The  first  of  the  New  York  delegation  to  arrive 
was  John  W.  Dwight,  of  Dryden,  the  advance 
guard  of  the  Blaine  forces.  Dwight,  Fassett, 
Armour,  Frank  S.  Witherbee  and  Collector 
Frank  Hendricks,  who  is  not  a  delegate,  and 
who  is  the  only  loyal  Harrison  man  in  the 
outfit,  have  rented  a  palatial  residence  and 
installed  a  French  chef  for  the  entertainment 
of  their  friends. 


345 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Edward  C.  O'Brien,  who  holds  a  position  under 
the  administration,  followed  Dwight  bj  a  few 
feet,  and  oft’  set  the  former’s  sinister  slurs 
against  Harrison  by  declaiming  on  his  excel¬ 
lent  qualities  and  the  fine  record  he  has  made. 
Then  followed  Fassett,  who  took  much  pleas¬ 
ure  in  firing  a  number  of  case  shot  into  the 
administration,  a  part  of  which  he  once  was. 
The  majority  of  the  New  York  delegation— 
II  and  they  are  all  expected  to  arrive  on  Sunday 
morning — will  occupy  the  quarters  secured 
for  them  several  months  ago  by  Dwight  Law¬ 
rence  at  the  West.  Messrs.  E.  B.  Bartlett 
and  Naval  Officer  Willis,  of  the  Brooklyn  con- 

Stingent,  will  occupy  two  rooms,  the  six  other 
delegates  having  found  quarters  in  private 
houses. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York 
'Times,  June  4- 

*  *  * 

Chauncey  I.  Filiey,  a  member  of  the  na¬ 
tional  committee  and  delegate-at-large  from 
Mis.souri,  made  another  lightning  change  last 
night.  When  he  reached  Minneapolis  the  Harri¬ 
son  sentiment  seemed  very  strong.  Mr.  Filiey 
immediatelyannounced  that  under  instrui'tions 
from  the  Missouri  convention  he  would  vote 
for  Harrison.  Following  the  Blaine  boom’s 
lively  impetus  received  last  night  Mr.  Filiey 
this  morning  says  he  is  going  to  vote  for 
Blaine  in  spite  of  his  instructions. 

“When  instructions  were  given  for  Harri¬ 
son,”  he  said,  “they  were  given  under  the  im¬ 
pression  that  Blaine  would  not  accept  the 
nomination.  'There  were  137  office-holders  in  our 
convention  who  instructed  us  for  Harrison,  but 
Blaine  is  the  choice  of  the  people  of  Mis¬ 
souri.”  Mr.  Filiey  adds  that  all  of  the  dis¬ 
trict  delegates  from  his  state  vote  for  Blaine. 
— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening 
Post,  June  4- 

»  *  ♦ 

Leaders  of  the  anti  administration  forces 
held  a  secret  conference  to  night  lasting  sev¬ 
eral  hours.  There  were  present  Chairman 
Clarkson,  Senators  Washburn,  Stockbridge, 
Quay  and  Hansbrough,  Secretary  Fassett, 
Conger,  of  Ohio;  H.  C.  Payne,  of  Wisconsin, 
and  Chauncey  Filiey,  of  Missouri.  The  state¬ 
ments  previously  published  purporting  to  give 
the  delegates  unplaced  were  placed  before  the 
gentlemen,  and  were  carefully  considered. 
The  roll  of  delegates  were  canvassed,  state  by 
state,  and  their  preferences,  so  far  as  could  be 
determined  from  the  information  at  hand, 
were  tabulated.  When  the  meeting  was  over. 
Senator  Stockbridge  stated  that  the  gentlemen 
of  the  conference  were  of  the  opinion  that 
Harrison  could  depend  upon  347  all  told,  of 
whom  144  are  federal  officeholders,  while  there 
were  opposed  to  him  551  delegates. — Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  June  4- 

*  *  * 

Utah  has  come  to  Minneapolis  with  a  lively 
contest  which  the  convention  will  have  to 
settle.  United  States  Marshal  Parsons,  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  who  heads  the  Harrison  crowd  from 
the  territory,  is  confident  that  their  claims 
will  be  upheld.  Naturally  he  is  “satisfied  with 
the  candidacy  of  President  Harrison.” — New 
York  Times,  June  5. 


Emmons  Blaine  went  to  Minneapolis  to¬ 
night  at  6  o’clock.  He  disappeared  as  com¬ 
pletely  as  though  the  earth  had  swallowed 
him,  when  the  first  whisper  of  the  news  of  his 
father’s  action  began  to  get  abroad.  No  in¬ 
formation  concerning  the  son  could  be  ob¬ 
tained,  either  at  his  office  or  his  residence,  ex¬ 
cept  that  the  first  train  this  evening  bore  him 
to  Minneapolis.  A  thrill  of  excitement  ran 
through  the  crowded  rotunda  of  the  Grand 
Pacific  at  the  reception  of  the  intelligence 
from  Washington.  Hundreds  of  politicians 
were  in  the  great  apartment,  and  in  a  moment 
all  else  was  lost  sight  of.  “  Such  a  thing  was 
never  before  known  in  American  politics,” 
exclaimed  Justice  Harlan,  of  the  United 
Stales  Supreme  Court.  The  distinguished  ju¬ 
rist  checked  his  astonishment  and  comments 
suddenly,  however,  and  refused  to  discuss  the 
bearings  of  the  matter  in  connection  with  the 
Minneapolis  convention. 

“  It  is  too  late.  He  should  have  done  it  be¬ 
fore,”  almost  shouted  the  celebrated  Webster  Flani¬ 
gan,  United  States  collector  at  El  Paso,  'Tex.,  who 
became  famous  with  his  convention  query  of 
“  What  are  we  here  for,  if  not  for  the  offices?” 
When  seen  he  said  that  the  general  verdict 
was  that  the  news  meant  business  now  from 
the  word  go. — Chicago  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  June  5. 

♦  * 

Within  a  few  moments  after  the  reception 
of  President  Harrison’s  acceptance  of  Mr. 
Blaine’s  resignation,  Mr.  Wolcott,  the  elo¬ 
quent  senator  from  Colorado,  was  called  upon 
for  his  views  in  reference  to  the  sudden 
change  of  the  political  situation.  He  said  : 
“  It  does  not  change  the  situation  materially, 
except  to  accentuate  the  result  which  the 
President  in  his  interview  and  Secretary  Mil¬ 
ler  and  Foster  in  theirs,  attempted  to  inflict 
upon  him.  His  friends  have  realized  for 
some  time  that  the  President  sought  to 
aggrandize  the  effects  of  the  wisdom  and  sa¬ 
gacity  of  the  secretary  of  state,  but  it  appears 
that  they  not  only  desire  to  ignore  him,  but 
because  he  did  not  seem  disposed  to  ‘  write  a 
letter’  every  few  minutes,  they  saw  fit  to 
throw  mud.  The  resignation  may  be  of  some 
help  here,  as  it  leaves  vacant  another  office  to 
be  peddled  for  Harrison  votes.  The  assistant 
postmaster-general,  the  chief  of  the  bureau  of 
engraving  and  printing  and  scores  of  heads  of 
departments  fill  the  lobbies,  and  promise 
offices  and  favors  promiscuously,  but  they  are 
having  no  effect. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  June  5. 

*  *  * 

Webster  Flanagan  [collector  at  El  Paso]  of 
Texas  (“What  are  we  here  for?”),  says  that 
his  delegation  and  most  of  the  southern  dele¬ 
gations  are  for  President  Harrison. — Indianap¬ 
olis  News,  June  6. 

*  »  * 

Ex-Qovernor  Warmouth,  of  Louisiana,  a  man 
of  strikingly  handsome  presence,  says:  As  a 
federal  office  holder,  I  feel  a  little  diffident  about 
expressing  myself.  But  if  I  might  dare  to 
speak,  I  would  say  that  Louisiana  is  for  Harri¬ 
son,  and  that  the  electoral  vote  of  that  state  will 


be  cast  for  him  this  fall.  Of  course  you  know 
that  we  have  a  contesting  delegation.  *  * 

The  sugar,  rice  and  lumber  interests  are  very 
strongly  for  Harrison  and  the  republican  ticket 
because  of  what  the  McKinley  bill  has  done 
for  them.”  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch,  the  colored 
leader  of  Mississippi,  was  temporary  chair¬ 
man  of  the  convention  that  nominated  Blaine, 
but  he  is  not  for  the  plumed  knighi  this  time. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  congress  from  the 
“Shoe-string”  district  of  his  stale  and  is  now 
an  appointee  of  the  Harrison  administration  as 
fourth  auditor  of  the  treasury.  “It  is  an  unfortu¬ 
nate  thing,”  he  said  to  day,  “that  the  delegates 
to  this  convention  should  be  called  upon  to 
decide  between  Blaine  and  Harrison. — Minne¬ 
apolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  June  4. 
•  *  » 

Fred  Douglass  [late  minister  to  Ilayti],  not¬ 
withstanding  his  age,  is  actively  at  work  in 
the  Harrison  cause  addressing  the  colored 
men  and  stiffening  the  lines  where  they  are 
inclined  to  waver. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  June  7. 

*  *  » 

Ex-Senator  Bruce  [register  of  deeds].  Audi¬ 
tor  Lynch  and  other  colored  men  are  working 
for  Harrison.  An  effort  was  made  to  win 
over  Mr.  Langston  to  the  President’s  support, 
but  he  told  the  committee  in  an  outspoken, 
vigorous  manner  that  he  was  on  the  other 
side.  He  claims  that  Virginia  will  vote  for 
Blaine  with  the  exception  of  four  or  six  dele¬ 
gates.  Others  give  the  President  at  least  eight 
votes  from  Virginia. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  June  7. 

*  •  * 

Nearly  all  the  southern  delegates  were 
named  by  the  federal  office-holders.  They 
were  selected,  of  course,  in  Harrison’s  interest, 
and  most  of  them  were  instructed  for  him.  If 
he  can  hold  them  he  will  be  nominated.  As 
his  people  have  offices  to  promise  in  addition 
to  plenty  of  cash  to  pay  down,  they  ought  to 
be  able  to  hold  their  own  at  the  auction. 
John  C.  New  and  Dan  Kansdell  and  Michener, 
it  would  seem,  should  be  as  handy  at  this  sort 
of  business  as  Quay,  Clarkson  &  Co.,  but  there 
are  indications  to-night  that  the  latter  have 
got  the  start  of  them  and  that  Harrison  will 
lose  a  large  number  of  his  colored  delegates. 
If  so,  it  is  all  up  with  him. 

Ben  Thornton  is  at  the  head  of  a  force  of 
colored  detectives  employed  by  the  Harrison 
managers  to  watch  “the  coons,”  as  they  are 
usually  styled  by  the  republican  politicians 
here.  Thornton  is  a  pretty  good  detective* 
but  he  has  the  biggest  contract  on  his  hands 
that  he  has  ever  undertaken. — Minneapolis  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  7. 

*  »  » 

There  sat  at  the  head  of  several  delegations 
from  the  south  certain  federal  office-holders, 
who  voted  their  delegations  as  if  they  had 
been  so  many  cattle.  Talk  about  plantation 
manners!  When  one  of  these  delegates  arose 
the  chairman  called  to  him  : 

“Sit  down,  blank  you,  sit  down!” 

The  delegate  sat  down.  When  another 


346 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


started  to  leave  the  hall,  the  chairman,  turn¬ 
ing  sharply,  exclaimed ; 

“Where  in  thunder  are  you  going?” 

And  the  delegate  returned  and  took  his  seat. 
One  body  of  these  southern  delegates  was 
herded  in  the  top  floor  of  a  hotel  at  night  and 
marched  to  and  from  the  convention  with 
about  the  same  volition  that  a  chain  gang 
moves.  It  was  not  pleasing  to  the  winners 
that  such  a  condition  helped  on  the  victory. 
The  recollection  of  how  certain  southern  del¬ 
egations  were  handled  leaves  a  sore  spot  for 
the  side  which  won. — St.  Louis  Globe- Democrat 
[Eep.]. 

*■  »  * 

When  the  Louisiana  contest  was  heard,  ex- 
Seuator  William  Pitt  Kellogg  and  ex-Gov. 
H.  C.  Warmouth  [collector  at  New  Orleans] 
headed  their  respective  forces.  Kellogg,  who 
appears  as  the  regular  delegate,  prevailed  be¬ 
fore  the  sub-committee,  beating  Warmouth, 
who  led  the  contesting  delegation  in  every 
district  except  the  sixth, where  the  sub-commit¬ 
tee  split  the  two  votes  evenly  between  each 
faction.  In  the  third  and  fifth  districts  the 
Warmouth  men  withdrew  their  contests,  and 
in  the  first,  second  and  fourth  districts  they 
lost  the  fight.  This  is  a  Blaine  victory. 

Wright  Cuney  [collector  at  Galveston],  the 
colored  national  committeeman  from  Texas, 
licked  hib  competitors  from  the  Lone  Star 
state,  who  are  known  as  the  “lily  whites.” 
The  point  he  worked  to  advantage  was  that 
the  contestants  were  an  antiriiegro  organiza¬ 
tion  and  therefore  hostile  to  the  principles  of 
the  republican  party.  The  point  was  well 
taken,  the  committee  deciding  not  to  admit 
the  so-called  “lily-white”  delegation  to  the 
convention.  It  appears  that  the  color-line 
was  drawn  in  the  selection  of  delegations, 
which  action  the  committee  regarded  as  un¬ 
republican,  and  they  decided,  therefore,  that 
the  paper  presented  was  not  admissible  as  a 
communication  from  a  republican  body. — 
Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
June  7. 

*  *  * 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  an  interview 
between  Carter  Harrison,  United  Stales  marshal 
for  Tennessee,  and  brother  of  the  President,  and 
Crawford  Fairbanks,  of  Terre  Haute.  Fair¬ 
banks  came  as  far  as  Chicago  on  the  train 
bearing  Postmaster  Greiner  and  other  republi¬ 
can  patriots  from  Terre  Haute  en  route  to  the 
convention.  On  the  same  train  was  Carter 
Harrison  in  charge  of  the  Tennessee  delegation. 
Greiner  introduced  Fairbanks  as  a  republican 
and  a  Harrison  boomer.  Fairbanks  played 
the  part  well  and  was  soon  engaged  in  a  confi¬ 
dential  chat  with  Harrison  over  the  situation. 

“The  only  thing  I  fear,”  said  Fairbanks,  “is 
that  the  Blaine  crowd  will  buy  our  niggers 
away  from  us.” 

“Yes,  that’s  the  danger,”  replied  Harrison. 
“We  picked  out  the  most  reliable  ones  we 
could  find  but  they’re  mighty  uncertain.  We 
shall  have  to  watch  them  every  moment,  and 
even  then  they  are  liable  to  give  us  the  slip.” 
— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  7. 


The  Blaine  men  are  greatly  exasperated  be¬ 
cause  of  participation  in  the  convention  of  so 
many  office-holding  delegates.  They  are  con¬ 
stantly  referring  to  the  fact.  In  the  argu¬ 
ments  that  take  place  office-holders  are  flatly 
insulted  as  “hirelings”  who  are  “earning  their 
money  for  their  masters,”  and  weatherbeaten 
old  politicians  like  Senator  Teller  talk  of  their 
“ubiquitousness”  with  a  horror  that  would  be 
more  impressive  if  it  were  not  humorous. 
They  would  be  glad  to  have  all  the  office¬ 
holders  for  Blaine,  however.  There  are  100, 
more  or  less,  of  business  appointees  in  the  roll 
of  delegates.  Some  of  them  will  be  glad  to 
vote  for  Blaine.  Then  there  are  shoals  of 
postmasters,  revenue  officers,  customs  officers 
and  others  in  the  Harrison  vote,  all  inclined 
to  be  fearful  of  the  result  should  their  man 
be  defeated  in  the  convention.  A  republican 
ax  will  kill  a  republican  should  Harrison  go 
out  as  remorselessly  as  if  he  were  a  democrat. 
Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  June  6. 

♦  * 

“The  promises  of  the  Blaineites  are  poten¬ 
tial,  those  of  the  Harrisonites  real.  The  Har' 
risonites  have  got  the  offices.  There  is  where, 
in  the  contest  for  delegates,  the  Harrisonites 
have  got  the  advantage.”  So  spoke  a  shrewd 
observer.  There  is  a  force  in  the  fact  that 
there  is  already  a  good  deal  of  loud  talk  at 
the  number  of  office-holders  here,  and  it  is 
not  confined  to  the  Blaineites.  They  are  the 
first  and  fourth  assistant  postmasters-general,  the 
commissioner  of  the  land  office,  the  commissioner  of 
the  navigation  office,  the  director  of  the  mint,  the 
superintendent  of  the  bureau  of  engraving,  the  mar¬ 
shal  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  collectors  of 
internal  revenue  and  postmasters  not  to  be  named, 
not  counting  the  1 47  office-  holders  who  are  delegates. 
It  is  making  comment  among  the  President’s 
friends  that  these  office-holders  should  be  ap¬ 
parently  in  charge  of  his  interests.  Sam  Mil¬ 
ler,  son  of  the  attorney  general,  is  here.  Maj 
George  Steele  is  here,  and  apparently  full  of 
business.  Horace  Speed  [United  States  district 
attorney  for  Oklahoma]  is  at  this  point  des¬ 
canting  on  the  greatness  of  Oklahoma  and 
Harrison,  with  Harrison  in  the  lead. — Indian¬ 
apolis  Netvs,  June  6. 

*  * 

There  was  the  usual  collection  of  notables 
just  behind  the  chairman’s  platform.  Senator 
Carey  and  Senator  McMillan  sat  side  by  side 
under  the  gallery.  Assistant  Postmaster- General 
Ralhbone  was  in  his  accustomed  place. — Even¬ 
ing  Post,  June  6. 

Postmaster  Brandt,  of  Des  Moines,  afterward 
presented  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Tippeca¬ 
noe  club  in  Iowa.  No  action  was  taken  on 
the  resolutions. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  7. 

*  »  * 

The  Harrison  managers  have  summoned  to 
Minneapolis  an  officer  of  the  post-office  de¬ 
partment,  who  has  under  his  orders  twelve  de¬ 
tectives,  who  are  tracking  the  Blaine  agents 
about  to  see  that  they  do  not  corrupt  the  Har¬ 
rison  delegates.  Our  dispatches  to-day  report 
that  the  Harrison  managers  not  only  employ 


these  detectives,  but  have  served  notice  upon 
the  Blaine  managers  that  if  they  continue  their 
policy  of  trickery  and  delay,  a  complete  ex¬ 
posure  of  the  detectives’  discoveries  will  be 
made  in  the  convention.  There  seems  to  be 
nothing  to  add  to  this  picture. — New  York 

Evening  Post,  June  9. 

*  *  * 

The  first  Alabama  case  called  was  from  the 
eighth  district,  and  here  the  report  of  the  na¬ 
tional  committee  was  approved  with  substan¬ 
tial  unanimity.  The  anti-Moseley  delegates 
were  permanently  enrolled.  A  fight  was  made 
on  Hendricks  and  Fitzpatrick,  the  represent¬ 
atives  of  the  faction  headed  by  Stevens  and 
Gee  of  the  New  Idea  and  known  as  the  anti- 
Moseleys  in  the  Third  Alabama  district,  but 
a  poll  showed  27  Blaine  to  21  Harrison  votes, 
and  they  were  also  enrolled.  In  the  fourth 
district  it  was  also  demonstrated  that  there 
was  a  good  working  majority  and  Bland  and 
Wilson,  the  anti-MoseJeyites,  were  sustained 
in  their  right  to  seats.  The  fifth  district  was 
also  carried,  but  when  it  came  to  the  delegates  at- 
large  and  the  contest  over  one  seat  in  the  first  district 
the  administration  forces  mustered  strong  and  exe¬ 
cuted  a  skillful  coup  d'etat.  They  surprised  the 
other  side  and  carried  the  day  temporarily  for  the 
Moseley  or  offiee-holders’  faction  by  a  vote  of  24  to 
23.  In  describing  how  it  was  done  one  of  the 
members  of  the  committee  said  :  “A  couple 
of  fellows  suddenly  jumped  over  to  the  other 
side,  one  sneaked  and  another  was  absent.” 

— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  9. 

*  *  » 

There  was  quite  an  exciting  time  this  morn¬ 
ing  in  the  meeting  of  the  Missouri  delegation 
and  Kerens  was  chosen  committeeman  by  a 
vote  of  19  to  13  for  Filley,  one  for  Maj. 
Warner,  and  one  absent.  In  the  present  po¬ 
litical  fight  Filley  has  been  for  Blaine  and 
Kerens  for  Harrison.  The  Missouri  delega¬ 
tion  is  a  little  slow  on  going  on  record  about 
the  presidential  nomination,  but  the  probabili¬ 
ties  are  that  Harrison  has  twenty-one  or  twenty- 
two  out  of  thirty-four  delegates.  The  trouble 
got  very  hot  before  the  meeting  was  over.  Major 
Warner  and  District  Attorney  Bexjnolds,  both  of 
whom  ai'e  for  Hairison,  came  to  blows.  Both  are 
impetuous,  hot-headed  men,  and  a  row  of 
words  terminated  in  Major  Warner  shooting 
out  his  fist  with  such  effeet  that  Reynolds  was 
knocked  down.  Afterward  a  reconciliation 
was  effected. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  9. 

*  *  * 

Ex-Senator  Platt  was  of  the  same  opinion  as 
Mr.  Clarkson  regarding  the  importance  of  the 
Harrison  gathering.  He  characterized  it  as  a 
pow-wow  of  office-holders,  office-holding  dele¬ 
gates  and  alternates,  together  with  a  number 
of  outsiders.  “About  one  third  of  those  pres¬ 
ent  were  Blaine  curiosity  seekers,”  he  said, 
“while  the  whole  number  present  was  less  than 
450.” — Indianapolis  Journal,  June  10. 

*  *  » 

John  A.  Sleicher  [civil  service  commissioner 
New  York],  of  New  York,  had  a  point  to 
make  against  one  vote  in  that  delegation,  but 
Mr.  Fassett  explained  it  away. — Indianapolis 
Jownal,  June  10, 


CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


347 


Then  Webster  Flanagan  [collector  at  El 
I  Paso]  of  Texas,  came  to  the  edge  of  the  plat- 
I  form  to  speak  for  the  Lone  Star  state. 

“What  are  we  here  for?”  cried  some  face¬ 
tious  individual. 

“To  nominate  Benjamin  Harrison,”  quickly 
responded  the  doughty  Texan. — Indianapolis 
i  Journal,  June  10. 

»  »  • 

Neil  McGroarty,  ex-councilman  of  the  old 
sixteenth  ward,  who,  until  a  short  time  ago, 
was  a  rampant  anti-Harrison  man,  now  has 
nothing  to  say.  Mr.  McGoarty’s  reticence  is 
due  to  his  appointment  to  a  lucrative  position 
in  Revenue  Collector  Craven’s  office. — Indi¬ 
anapolis  Sentinel,  June  10. 

*  *  * 

Carroll  E.  Smith  [postmaster],  editor  of  the 
Syracuse  Journal,  explained  the  policy  of  the 
Harrison  forces  to-day  as  follows: 

“If  there  is  a  fight  in  this  convention,  the 
Harrison  men  will  not  be  found  in  it.  We 
don’t  propose  to  make  a  contest  on  anything 
but  the  nomination,  and  we  have  that  to  a 
certainty.  Nor  do  we  propose  to  allow  the 
impression  to  be  spread  broadcast  over  the 
country,  for  effective  use  in  the  doubtful  states, 
that  the  republican  party  is  split  beyond  re¬ 
demption.  It  is  our  policy  to  conciliate  and 
not  to  antagonize  the  members  of  our  own 
party.  If  the  Blaine  forces  desire  to  fight,  I 
trust  they  will  fight  among  themselves.  They 
can’t  involve  us.  We  can  afford  to  be  mag¬ 
nanimous.” — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  June  10. 

*  *  • 

When  the  vote  of  Texas,  cast  by  negro  office¬ 
holders,  secured  Harrison’s  renomination,  the 
Harrison  delegates  and  office-holders  in  the 
galleries  cheered  for  a  few  minutes. — Minne¬ 
apolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  11. 
»  *  * 

A  huge  six-by-eight  portrait  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent  was  borne  down  to  the  grand  stand,  and 
Fred  Douglass  [late  minister  to  Hayti],  the 
leader  of  the  colored  race,  led  the  mighty 
ovation  by  mounting  a  chair  and  waving  his 
hat  high  in  air,  his  white  hair  swung  to  the 
breezes. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Sentinal,  June  11. 

*  *  * 

A  little  flutter  of  applause  greeted  the  re¬ 
port  by  Senator  Quay  that  the  Hon.  David 
Martin  [collector  of  internal  revenue],  of 
Philadelphia,  had  been  selected  as  Pennsyl¬ 
vania’s  member  of  the  national  committee. 
Marlin  was  Quay’s  candidate  and  his  selection 
indicates  the  continued  sway  of  the  senator  in 
the  Keystone  state. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  11. 

*  »  » 

Senator  Wolcott,  of  Colorado,  seems  to  have 
an  unique  way  of  “  talking  out  in  meeting” 
that  is  not  pleasing  to  the  republican  bosses. 
We  extract  the  following  from  his  brief  but 
instructive  remarks  at  Minneapolis  : 

“  I  hold  in  my  hand,  Mr.  Chairman,  a  list 
of  ISO-odd  office-holders  who  are  delegates  to  this 
convention,  nine-tenths  of  whom  live  in  states  j 


where  there  is  a  hopeless  democratic  majority. 
[Applause.]  The  trouble  in  this  committee 
as  to  these  contests  comes  not  alone  from  these 
men,  but  comes  from  the  government  office¬ 
holders  who  swarm  the  corridors  of  the  hotels 
and  fill  these  galleries,  haunting  the  delegates 
who  ought  to  be  in  Washington  and  else¬ 
where  attending  to  other  business.  [Ap¬ 
plause.]  Mr.  Chairman — [Cries  of  ‘sit  down.’] 
I  won’t  sit  down.  1  will  speak.  [Applause.] 
We  republicans  from  republican  states  would 
like  to  have  a  little  voice  in  naming  a  candi¬ 
date  for  the  presidency.  Possibly  the  office¬ 
holders  will  name  him,  but  we  don’t  believe 
it.  We  from  the  republican  states  ask  the 
office-holding  contingent  who  are  bringing  a 
solid  south  against  us  to  at  least  conduct 
their  side  of  the  case  in  common  decency  and 
common  honesty,  so  we  won’t  be  ashamed  to 
vote  the  republican  ticket.” 

In  connection  with  this,  the  following  fig¬ 
ures  of  the  vote  nominating  Harrison  may 
prove  of  interest : 

For  For  all  other 
Harrison.  Candidates. 


Solid  South  (including 


Delaware) .  245  1-6 

New  Jersey .  18 

Alaska  (ice-wagon  dis¬ 
trict.) .  2 

New  Mexico .  6 

Utah .  2 


69  5-6 
2 


Total 


273  1-6  71  5-6 


— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  14- 


This  morning  Platt,  Quay,  Clarkson,  Miller 
and  Wolcott  were  in  consultation  nearly  an 
hour  considering  the  proposition  of  Senator 
Wolcott  to  exclude  from  the  convention  142 
federal  office-holders.  The  convention  is  op¬ 
erating  under  the  rules  of  the  fifty-first  con¬ 
gress,  which  provide  that  members  shall  not 
vote  upon  measures  in  which  they  have  pe¬ 
cuniary  interests.  These  142  delegates  hold¬ 
ing  office  under  Harrison,  Wolcott  claimed, 
were  financially  interested  to  the  extent  of 
their  annual  salaries,  and  voting  to  continue 
Harrison  in  office  four  years  they  were  also 
voting  to  continue  themselves  in  office.  Platt 
and  Miller  opposed  this  bold  proposition,  and 
it  was  only  after  great  pressure  was  brought 
on  Wolcott  that  he  desisted  from  offering  a 
resolution  to  oust  the  federal  office-holders. — 
Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
June  11. 

«  »  # 

Three  months  ago  an  assessment  was  made 
on  the  office- holders  by  the  national  commit¬ 
tee  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  cam¬ 
paign.  This  money  was  used  for  Clarkson, 
Platt  et  al.  to  buy  off  Harrison  delegates,  but 
they  encountered  a  big  obstacle  in  the  state. 
The  majority  of  the  delegates  are  office-holders 
under  Harrison  and  they  could  not  be  bought. 
The  remainder  took  the  Blaine  money,  but 
were  brought  back  by  the  Harrison  men. 
There  were  5,000  federal  office-holders  in  the 
city  to  draw  upon. — Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Sentinel,  June  11. 


Field  Marshal  Lew  Payn  was  more  out¬ 
spoken  than  most  of  his  colleagues  of  the 
Blaine  persuasion. 

“Why  is  President  Harrison  so  unpopular?” 
asked  the  reporter. 

“Because  of  his  unrivalled  ability  for  of¬ 
fending  every  one.  For  weeks  previous  to 
the  convening  of  the  convention.  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  Tracy,  and  the  office-holders,  big 
and  little,  throughout  the  state,  were  at  work 
day  and  night  to  secure  a  Harrison  delega¬ 
tion.  They  distributed  patronage,  promoted 
men,  and  removed  others  who  could  not  be 
won  over  to  their  schemes.  Never  in  all  my 
experience  have  I  seen  such  a  shameful  inter¬ 
ference  by  the  administration  for  the  sole  pur¬ 
pose  of  capturing  a  convention. — New  York 
Times,  June  11. 

»  *  * 

The  vast  majority  of  the  returning  delegates 
who  passed  through  Chicago  to-day  did  not 
leave  the  depots,  being  anxious  to  reach  their 
homes  as  soon  possible.  The  Young  Men’s  Re¬ 
publican  Club  of  Baltimore,  headed  by  Postmaster 
W.  Johnson,  escorted  the  Maryland  delegation 
into  the  city  and  immediately  scattered  to  va¬ 
rious  parts  of  the  city  for  a  brief  rest  before 
leaving  at  5  o’clock  to-morrow  morning. 
“Our  club  was  for  Harrison,”  said  Postmaster 
Johnson,  “and  we  are  consequently  happy.” — 
Chicago  Dispatch  to  Journal,  June  12. 

*  *  • 

The  nomination  of  Harrison  was  very  coldly 
received  by  the  republicans  here.  The  only 
member  of  the  party  celebrating  to-night  is  Postmas¬ 
ter  Patterson. — Memphis  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  June  11. 

*  *  * 

At  the  meeting  of  the  republican  city  cen¬ 
tral  committee  last  night,  William  R.  Will¬ 
iams,  who  was  an  enthusiastic  Blaine  man, 
offered  a  resolution  congratulating  the  dele¬ 
gates  on  concluding  their  work.  It  was  adop¬ 
ted.  But  when  W.  F.  Otis,  a  federal  employe, 
made  a  motion  that  the  conyratidations  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  be  extended  to  President  Harrison,  it  failed 
to  pass.  Three  cheers,  proposed  for  Blaine, 
were  given  with  a  hearty  good  will. — Newark, 
N.  J.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  June  13. 

*  *  » 

Postmaster  Cornelius  Van  Co«  said,  in  speaking 
on  the  topic  last  night :  It  seems  to  me  that 
Mr.  Hendricks  [collector],  is  pre-eminently  the 
man  to  take  charge  of  the  republican  cam¬ 
paign  in  this  state  this  year.  He  has  no  ene¬ 
mies  in  the  party  and  his  judgment  is  magnifi¬ 
cent.  You  can  not  quote  me  too  highly  in 
the  praise  of  ex-Senator  Frank  Hendricks.  I 
know  him  well.  I  was  in  the  state  senate 
with  him. — New  York  Times,  June. 

»  »  « 

Dan  Ransdell,  United  States  marshal  for 
the  District  of  Columbia,  will  arrive  in  In¬ 
dianapolis  this  evening,  and  will  probably 
have  some  advice  to  give  the  republicans  as 
to  the  nomination  of  a  governor  at  Ft.  Wayne. 
Mr.  Ransdell  is  at  Lebanon  to-day,  visiting 
his  mother. — Indianapolis  News,  June  15. 


348 


CIVIL  SERA^CE  CHRONICLE 


To  day’s  victory  places  Chauucey  M.  De¬ 
pew  at  the  head  of  the  republican  organiza¬ 
tion  in  New  York  State,  with  Collector  Francis 
Hendricks,  of  Syracuse,  as  his  second  in  com¬ 
mand.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  one  of  those  “per¬ 
nicious  office-holders”  who  was  here  on  the 
ground,  and  it  is  due  to  his  skill  and  sagacity 
that  the  Blaine  delegation  was  no  larger.  He 
was  so  quiet  and  unobstrusive  and  modest  that 
the  Blaine  leaders  underestimated  his  power 
as  a  politician  and  his  skill  as  a  leader. — New 
York  Times,  June  11. 


COMMISSIONED  HENCHMEN. 


'  Delegates  to  the  Minneapolis  Convention. 


It  assumes,  however,  that  oftieial  patron¬ 
age  eau  l)e  made  a  strong  factor  in  secur¬ 
ing  the  renomination  and  re-election  of  a 
President,  which  is  very  doul)tful.  It 
must  he  femembered,  also,  that  a  Presi¬ 
dent  who  would  prostitute  the  olftce  in 
this  way  would  be  just  the  kind  of  man 
that  the  people  would  turn  out  at  the  end 
of  four  years.  In  the  present  state  of  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  on  this  question,  it  would  be 
sure  defeat  for  any  President  to  have  it 
known  that  he  had  used  the  power  and 
patronage  of  his  ofliceto  secure  his  reuomi- 
nation  or  that  he  was  using  it  to  secure  his 
re-election.  The  people  are  not  easily 
hoodwinked  about  such  matters,  and  they 
can  not  be  trifled  with  at  all. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  June  I4,  1892. 


Take  New  York,  for  instance.  In  that  state  Mr. 
Theodore  B.  Willis,  the  native  officer  of  the  port, 
openly  exerted  the  power  of  his  official  position  to 
secure  the  delegation  for  Harrison,  if  possible,  and 
succeeded  in  having  himself  elected  from  the  fourth 
district,  with  a  subordinate  as  his  fellow -delegate. 
Geo.  H.  Sharpe,  of  the  board  of  appraisers,  testifies 
his  appreciation  of  the  good  care  bestowed  upon  him 
by  going  as  a  delegate  from  the  seventeenth  district, 
and  E.C.  O’Brien,  who  fell  into  the  commissionership 
of  navigation  after  he  had  fallen  out  of  a  senate 
office,  and  who  has  been  an  ardent  Harrison  man 
ever  since,  is  also  fixed  in  a  delegate’s  position. 
Then  there  is  S.  W.  Allan,  of  Auburn,  who  is  one  of 
the  commissioners  of  the  World’s  Fair  by  appoint¬ 
ment  of  the  President;  Charles  H.  Murray,  who  was 
supervisor  of  the  census  in  New  York  City,  and 
Jacob  M.  Patterson,  who  said,  when  he  was  here  a 
few  days  ago,  that  he  had  been  promised  an  office. 
There  are  said  to  be  also  a  number  of  other  office¬ 
holders  on  the  delegation.  In  the  Nebraska  delega¬ 
tion  the  interests  of  the  President  will  be  watched 
by  C.  H.  Gere,  the  postmaster  at  Lincoln,  while  an¬ 
other  friend  of  the  administration  is  found  in  the 
Minnesota  delegation,  of  which  ex-Representative 
Darwin  S.  Hall,  who  was  provided  with  a  place  in 
the  Red  Lake  Indian  commission  after  he  had  been 
defeated  for  congress,  is  a  member. 

Michigan’s  delegation  contain.®,  a  federal  post¬ 
master,  Gen.  J.  H.  Kidd,  of  Ionia,  but  as  he  is  an 
earnest  friend  of  General  Alger,  his  presence  is 
hardly  a  victory  for  the  administration.  In  New 
Hampshire,  Delegate  George  T.  Croft  is  postmaster  at 
Maplewood,  while  Henry  B.  Quimby,  of  Lakeport,  is 
a  relative  of  General  Batchelder.  The  latter,  by  the 
way,  was  appointed  quartermaster-general  by  the 
President,  and  is  now  adding  his  efforts  to  those  of 
others  to  secure  Mr.  Harrison’s  renomination.  The 
head  of  the  New  Hampshire  delegation  is  Frank 
Churchill,  of  Lebanon.  His  brother  is  the  post¬ 


master  at  that  place.  Even  in  far-off  North  Dakota 
the  interests  of  the  administration  were  not  neglect¬ 
ed.  John  A.  Percival,  the  receiver  of  the  land  office 
at  Devil’s  Lake,  found  a  resting-place  in  the  delega¬ 
tion  along  with  Thomas  Marshall,  who  has  a  large 
number  of  contracts  with  the  government  for  sur¬ 
veys,  and  to  whom  a  special  agent  was  sent  direct 
from  delegates  who  were  elected.  In  Kansas,  Cyrus 
Leland,  Jr.,  one  of  the  delegates  from  the  first  dis¬ 
trict,  is  the  internal  revenue  collector  for  the  state. 

While  the  list  of  office-holding  delegates  from 
northern  states  is  by  no  means  complete,  it  affords 
some  idea  of  the  endeavors  which  have  been  put 
forth  to  secure  men  who  might  be  relied  upon  to 
vote  for  the  President.  It  is  in  the  south,  however, 
where  the  republicans  naturally  acquiesced  in  rath¬ 
er  than  resented  federal  manipulation  that  the  dele¬ 
gations  show  such  an  array  of  office-holders  as  to  pre¬ 
sent  a  remarkable  spectacle.  Georgia  leads  the  list 
with  twenty-two  office-holders  out  of  twenty-six  del¬ 
egates.  Here  is  the  list : 

A.  E.  Buck,  United  States  marshal. 

*W.  A.  Pledger,  railway  mail  service. 

W.  W.  Brown,  railway  mail  service. 

M.  J.  Doyle,  postmaster. 

*8.  B.  Morse,  custom-house  employe. 

<'B.  F.  Brimberry,  postmaster. 

’‘■'C.  B.  Barnes,  internal  revenue  service. 

*Chas.  E.  Coleman,  railway  mail  service. 

'^E.  S.  Richardson,  railway  mail  service. 

A.  J.  Laird,  postmaster. 

John  T.  Sheppard,  internal  revenue. 

<'C.  C.  Wimbush,  custom-house  employe. 

E.  A.  Angier,  assistant  district  attorney. 

R.  D.  Lock,  postmaster. 

■^'Erank  Dissron,  post-office  employe. 

W.  T.  Blackford,  internal  revenue  service. 

Madison  Davis,  postmaster. 

S.  A.  Darnall,  internal  revenue  service. 

J.  M.  Barnes,  postmaster. 

*J.  H.  Devreux,  custom-house  employe. 

*W.  H.  Matthews,  deputy  collector  internal  reve¬ 
nue. 

In  Alabama  there  are  two  sets  of  delegates,  one  of 
them  representing  what  is  known  in  that  state  as  the 
Moseley  faction,  in  honor  of  Robert  A.  Moseley,  Jr., 
who  is  the  federal  collector  of  internal  revenue. 
While  Collector  Moseley  is  not  personally  on  the 
delegation,  he  has  not  allowed  it  to  lack  for  want  of 
other  office-holders.  Here  is  a  list  of  them : 

William  H.  Smith,  special  United  States  assistant 
attorney. 

D.  Baker,  postmaster.  Mobile. 

Charles  O.  Norris,  mailing  clerk,  Montgomery. 

Henry  Boyd,  postal  clerk,  Selma. 

Julian  H.  Bingham,  register  United  States  land 
office. 

Benjamin  W.  Walker,  marshal  southern  district. 

T.  A.  Miller,  postmaster,  Tuscaloosa. 

Owen  T.  Harris,  special  receiver  public  lands. 

M.  F.  Parker,  postmaster,  Cullman. 

James  Jackson,  assistant  United  States  attorney. 

Robert  L.  Houston,  postmaster,  Birmingham. 

A.  L.  Matthews,  mail  carrier. 

The  anti-Moseley  wing  will  send  only  one  office 
holder,  Alfred  H.  Hendricks,  a  postal  clerk  at  Ope¬ 
lika. 

There  is  also  a  contesting  delegation  from  Missis¬ 
sippi,  but  the  office-holders  are  in  both.  In  the  reg¬ 
ular  delegation  there  are  the  following : 

James  Hill,  postmaster,  Vicksburgh. 

H.  C.  Powers,  internal  revenue  collector. 

Dr.  John  Burton,  United  States  marshal,  northern 
district. 

F.  P.  Hill,  deputy  revenue  collector, 

A.  G.  Pierce,  revenue  collector,  fourth  district. 

W.  D.  Frazee,  assistant  district  attorney. 

F.  W.  Collins,  marshal,  southern  district. 

<'John  R.  Lynch,  fourth  auditor  treasury  depart¬ 
ment. 

tGeorge  M.  Buchanan,  deputy  revenue  collector. 

W.  H.  Gibbs,  postmaster,  Jackson. 

Two  more  of  the  eighteen  delegates  from  Missis¬ 
sippi,  a  state  which  is  counted  in  the  Harrison  col¬ 
umn,  are  A.  T.  Wimberly,  the  internal  revenue  col¬ 
lector,  who  was  recently  deposed  by  the  President, 
according  to  the  statements  made  at  the  time  his  sue 
cessor  was  nominated,  because  he  opposed  the  send, 
ing  to  Minneapolis  of  a  delegation  friendly  to  the 
President,  and  S.  S.  Matthews,  the  United  States  mar¬ 
shal,  who  was  recently  dismissed. 

In  Texas,  N.  W.  Cuney,  the  collector  of  customs  at 
Galveston,  leads  the  delegation  with  Deputy  Interna- 
Reveuue  Collector  John  W.  Rector  and  L.  M.  Daniel 

’■‘Colored. 

tContestants. 


recently  appointed  an  alternate  on  the  World’s  Fair 
commission,  among  his  numerous  office-holding  col¬ 
leagues.  In  Arkansas,  Henry  M.  Cooper,  internal 
revenue  collector,  is  the  most  prominent  office¬ 
holder  on  the  delegation.  Delaware’s  small  contin¬ 
gent  contains  George  V.  Massey,  who  was  appointed 
a  World’s  Fair  commissioner  by  the  President,  while 
North  Carolina  comes  to  the  front  with  the  follow¬ 
ing: 

E.  A.  White,  collector  internal  revenue. 

♦John  C.  Dancy,  collector  customs,  Wilmington. 

C.  A.  Cook,  United  States  district  attorney. 

*J.  H.  Hannon,  postmaster,  Halifax. 

John  Nichols,  chief  division,  treasury  department. 

■I'dames  H.  Y’’oung,  inspector  customs. 

Archibald  Brady,  p  stmaster,  Charlotte. 

Florida  has  eight  delegates,  and  of  these  four  are 
office-holders,  as  follows: 

’^‘Joseph  E.  Lee,  collector  customs,  Jacksonville, 

E.  R.  Gunby,  collector  customs,  Tampa. 

John  F.  Horr,  collector  customs.  Key  West. 

Henry  S.  Chubb,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

In  the  proportion  of  office-holders  to  delegates, 
South  Carolina  makes  even  a  more  generous  showing 
than  Florida.  Of  the  eighteen  men  who  will  go  from 
the  Palmetto  state  to  Minneapolis,  eleven  are  draw¬ 
ing  pay  out  of  the  United  States  treasury  through  the 
kindness  of  the  President.  The  instructions,  there¬ 
fore,  to  vote  for  him  are  borne  with  easy  grace.  The 
office-holders  are : 

*E.  A.  Webster,  collector  internal  revenue. 

E.  H.  Deas,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

G.  J  Cunningham,  United  States  marshal. 

’i'C.  H.  Fordham,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

=:‘S.  E.  Smith,  postal  clerk,  Aiken. 

J.  P.  Scruggs,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

J.  F.  Ensor,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

’M.  E.  Wilson,  postmaster,  Florence. 

T.  B.  Johnson,  collector  customs.  Charleston. 

J.  H.  Ostendorf,  deputy  collector  customs. 

<‘R.  H.  Richardson,  postmaster,  Wedgefield. 

There  are  no  federal  office-holders  on  the  West  Vir¬ 
ginia  delegation,  although  Prof.  T.  C.  White,  the  ge¬ 
ologist  of  the  West  Virginia  University  and  one  of 
the  district  delegates,  is  a  brother  of  United  States 
Marshal  White.  Maryland  sends  one  office-holder, 
John  T.  Ensor,  United  States  district  attorney,  but 
there  would  have  been  a  large  number  if  the  efforts 
of  the  administration  men  had  been  more  success¬ 
ful.  In  the  adjoining  state  of  Virginia  the  list  is 
considerably  larger,  as  follows : 

A.  W.  Harris,  inspector  of  customs. 

S.  Brown  Allen,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

V.  D.  Groner,  World’s  Fair  commissioner. 

Edgar  Allen,  special  attorney  department  of  jus¬ 
tice. 

S.  I.  Griggs,  United  States  court  commissioner. 

H.  C.  Wood,  United  States  court  commissioner. 

P.  H.  McCaull,  internal  revenue  collector,  Lynch¬ 
burg. 

C.  M.  Loutham,  deputy  internal  revenue  collector. 

P.  W.  Strouther,  deputy  internal  revenue  collector. 

The  Kentucky  delegation  has  been  also  pretty  well 

packed,  no  less  than  seven  federal  office-holders 
finding  places  within  it.  They  are  as  follows: 

John  Feland,  collector  internal  revenue. 

Jordan  Jackson,  government  storekeeper. 

A.  D.  Crosby,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

T.  B.  Matthews,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

T.  P.  Tarlton,  deputy  collector  internal  revenue. 

Dr.  Collier,  surveyor  port,  Louisville. 

D.  J.  Burchett,  United  States  marshal. 

In  Louisiana  a  condition  of  affairs  somewhat  simi¬ 
lar  to  that  in  Alabama  exists.  Under  the  leadership 
of  Henry  C.  Warmoth,  collector  of  customs  at  the 
port  of  New  Orleans  by  the  grace  of  the  President,  a 
convention  was  organized,  and  it  was  arranged  that 
the  delegates  elected  should  vote  for  the  President 
at  Minneapolis.  These  delegates  are  nearly  all  of¬ 
fice-holders,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  Pearl  Wright,  who 
is  a  broker  at  the  custom-house,  have  some  reason  to 
be  attached  to  the  administration.  The  office¬ 
holders  are : 

James  Lewis,  inspector  of  customs. 

J.  Vigneaux,  United  States  marshal,  western  dis¬ 
trict. 

J.  B.  Donnelly,  United  States  marshal,  eastern  dis¬ 
trict. 

J.  K.  Small,  employed  in  federal  building. 

Lucien  B.  Carmouche,  employed  in  federal  build¬ 
ing. 

J.  B.  Budd,  employed  in  federal  building. 

A.  R.  Blount,  employed  in  federal  building. 

D.  Young,  employed  in  federal  building. 

J.  G.  Donato,  employed  in  federal  building. 

E.  J,  Barrett,  postmaster  at  Alexandria.— 

ton  Post,  May  22.  j 


^‘Colored. 


F 

’•  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


This  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  wliich  it  exists,  but  to  the  spoils  tliat  accompany  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so 
absolute  that  it  has  produced  an  evil  greater  than  any  w  liich  party  proposes  to  remedy.— Georjrfi  William  Curtis,  at  Baltimme,  April,  1892. 


I  VoL.  I,  No.  41.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JULY,  1892.  terms  :<(  fernt^r^opr' 


Published  monthly.  Publicatipn  ofiice,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 


NATIONAL  DEMOCRATIC  PLAT¬ 
FORMS. 

1888. 

“Honest  it-.foriii  ill  the  civil  service  hiis  been  inaugurateil 
auci  iiiiuiitained  by  I’resideut  Cleveluiid.” 


tend  that  Harrison  has  kept  the  promises, 
but  they  say  that  opposition  to  him  on  the 
ground  of  bad  faith  “  will  make  it  impossi¬ 
ble  for  him  to  do  anything  for  this  reform.” 
It  seems  as  though  in  years  past  and  under 
other  skies  we  have  heard  something  like 
that  before.  And  now  again  it  has  the 
sound  of  coming  from  very  near  the  pres¬ 
idential  chair.  The  answer  is  that  the 
cause  of  civil  service  reform  does  not  need 
thelpatronage  of  any  President.  It  can 
make  its  own  way  and  it  can  not  be  over¬ 
thrown.  It  expects  that  a  President  will 
do  as  he  agrees,  and  the  question  now  is. 
Why  has  not  President  Harrison  kept  his 
promises  ? 

The  Indiana  state  democratic  platform 
carefully  avoids  committing  the  party  to 
the  merit  system  in  the  state  service,  and 
we  followed  the  corresponding  republican 
plank  with  interest  to  see  what  the  end 
would  be.  The  end  was  a  demand  for  “an 
absolute  non-partisan  management  of  the 
benevolent  and  reformatory  institutions 
of  the  state  through  boards  whose  mem¬ 
bers  shall  be  appointed  by  the  governor 
from  the  different  political  parties  of  the 
state.”  As  a  reform  measure,  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  a  non-partisan  board  is  very 
nearly  a  humbug,  and  those  who  got  up 
this  platform  probably  so  considered  it. 
The  places  are  given  out  by  favoritism  the 
same  as  before,  the  only  difference  being 
that  the  minority  member  is  usually 
allowed  to  distribute  some  share  of  the 
favors  among  his  partisans.  The  only  civil 
service  reform  worth  lighting  for  is  that 
which  provides  for  the  appointment  of 
laborers  according  to  the  Boston  labor 
system,  and  which  gives  the  other  subordi¬ 
nate  places  to  the  successful  competitors 
in  competition  open  to  all,  without  regard 
to  politics,  religion,  color  or  any  other  im¬ 
proper  consideration. 

There  is  a  disposition  in  some  reform 
quarters  to  attempt  to  make  Stevenson, 
whom  the  democrats  have  nominated  for 
vice-president,  presentable.  It  is  impossible; 
he  is  simply  another  Clarkson,  and  his  nom¬ 
ination  for  that  reason  was  the  last  expiring 
kick  of  Tammany  Hall.  No  independent 
would  vote  for  him  if  there  were  any  way 
to  leave  him  out.  The  dislike  is  mutual, 
and  never  ought  to  be  reconciled  while 
Stevenson  holds  his  present  spoils  views. 
As  vice-president  he  will,  if  elected,  be  the 
usual  vice-presidential  cipher. 


NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN  PLAT¬ 
FORMS. 

1888. 

“  The  lucii  who  abandoned  the  repnbli- 
ean  party  in  1884  and  continued  to  adhere 
to  tlie  deinoeratic  party  liave  deserted  not 
only  the  cause  of  honest  government,  of 
sound  finance,  of  freedom  and  purity  of  the 
ballot,  but  especially  have  deserted  the 
cause  of  reform  in  the  civil  service.  We 
will  not  fail  to  keep  our  pledges  because 
their  candidate  has  broken  his.  We  there¬ 
fore  renew  our  declaration  of  1884,  to  wit: 
‘The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspi¬ 
ciously  begun  under  a  republican  admin¬ 
istration,  should  be  completed  by  the  fur¬ 
ther  extension  of  the  reform  system  already 
established  by  law  to  all  the  grades  of  serv¬ 
ice  to  which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit 
and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  ob¬ 
served  in  all  executive  appointments,  and 
all  laws  at  variance  with  the  object  of  ex- 
'lliisting  reform  legislation  should  be  re- 
*pealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free 
institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  of¬ 
ficial  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effec¬ 
tively  avoided.’  ” 


1892. 

“  We  commend  the  sjnrit  and  evidence  of  reform  in  the 
civil  service  and  the  wise  and  consistent  enforcement  by  the 
republican  party  ofthe  laws  regulating  the  same.” 


1892. 

“Public  oHice  is  a  public  trust.  We 
reallirm  the  declaration  ofthe  democratic 
national  convention  of  1876  for  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service,  [Reform  is  necessary 
in  the  civil  service.  Experience  proves 
that  eflicient,  economical  conduct  of  the 
government  business  is  not  possible  if  its 
civil  service  be  subject  to  change  at  every 
election,  be  a  prize  fought  for  at  the  ballot 
box,  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,  in¬ 
stead  of  posts  of  honor,  assigned  for  proved 
competency  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the 
public  employ ;  that  the  dispensing  of  pa¬ 
tronage  should  neither  be  a  tax  upon  the 
time  of  all  our  public  men,  nor  the  instru¬ 
ment  of  their  ambition]  and  we  call  for 
the  honest  enforcement  of  all  laws  regu¬ 
lating  the  same.  The  nomination  of  a  Pres¬ 
ident,  as  in  the  recent  republican  conven¬ 
tion  by  delegations  composed  largely  of  his 
appointees,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure, 
is  a  scandalous  satire  upon  free  popular 
institutions,  and  a  startling  illustration  of 
the  methods  by  which  a  President  may 
gratify  his  ambition.  We  denounce  a  pol¬ 
icy  under  which  federal  oflice-holders 
usurp  control  of  party  conventions  in  the 
states,  and  we  pledge  the  democratic 
party  to  the  reform  of  these  and  all  other 
abuses  which  threaten  individual  liberty 
and  local  self-government.” 


The  Chronicle  last  month  with  great 
T  care  set  out  the  facts  relating  to  the  Min- 
*  neapolis  convention.  These  facts  were 
taken  from  original  sources  and  there  is 
nowhere  any  pretense  of  denying  them. 
The  shame  of  the  whole  proceeding  does 
not  grow  less  with  time  and  it  ought  not 
to.  It  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  Min¬ 
neapolis  example  for  federal  employes  to 
now  turn  themselves  into  Harrison  elec¬ 
tion  agents,  and  we  shall  doubtless  soon 
have  a  large  spectacle  of  this  kind  before 
us.  Few  things  ought  to  stir  the  blood  of 
honest  citizens  more  than  to  compare  these 
things  with  the  republican  platform  of 
1888.  It  is  worth  while  for  every  voter  to 
ask  himself  to  what  class  of  governments 
those  which  attempt  to  control  popular 
action  by  the  efforts  of  thousands  of  agents 
paid  from  the  public  treasury  have  always 
belonged  ? 


The  republican  party  has  a  body  of  what 
may  be  called  passive  civil  service  reform¬ 
ers.  They  are  in  a  general  way  opposed 
to  the  spoils  system,  but  they  never  lift  a 
hand  to  assist  those  who  are  actively  fight¬ 
ing  it.  This  has  been  their  course  during 
Harrison’s  administration.  In  the  great 
struggle  which  has  been  carried  on  now 
for  three  years  under  the  leadership  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt  against  the  Wanama- 
kers  and  Clarksons  of  the  administration, 
they  have  never  raised  their  voices  to  tell 
the  President  that  he  ought  to  keep  the 
promises  of  the  platform  upon  which  he 
was  elected.  And  now  when  an  election 
is  drawing  near,  their  party  machine, 
needing  a  covering  of  respectability,  reach¬ 
es  out  and  pinphes  them  and  they  wake  up 
to  astonishment  that  there  are  civil  service 
reformers  who  will  not  vote  for  Harrison 
again.  In  remonstrating,  they  do  not  pre- 


350 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Like  the  resort  to  Paris  for  pure  French, 
to  London  for  the  best  English,  and  to  the 
seaside  for  the  best  enjoyment  of  the  prod¬ 
ucts  of  the  sea,  so  in  the  population 
around  New  York  harbor  is  to  be  found 
the  highest  development  of  the  American 
system  of  politics.  True,  it  requires  a 
mind  trained  like  a  race-horse  to  keep  up 
with  the  ever- varying  struggle.  Now  Hill, 
by  a  quick  turn,  takes  the  Brooklyn  bridge 
from  McLaughlin,  and  then  McLaughlin 
wrenches  it  away  again  by  threatening 
Hill’s  chances  for  nomination  at  Chicago. 
Now  Collector  Erhardt  snubs  Platt,  and 
then  the  President  kicks  Erhardt  out  to 
placate  Platt.  Elsewhere  will  be  found  the 
latest  picture  made  by  this  troubled  sea. 
Just  a  little  while  ago  Naval  Officer  Willis 
was  irresistible,  and  carried  everything  for 
the  Harrison  delegates.  But  lo!  Collector 
Nathan  has  his  district  enlarged  by  his 
democratic  allies,  and  Willis  now  lies  very 
flat.  The  kaleidescope  is  nothing  to  this. 


The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  June  25  has 
the  following : 

The  Indiana  Civil  Service  Chronicle,  a  sporadic 
sheet,  fills  its  latest  is.sue  with  accounts  of  the  oflice- 
holders  who  went  to  Minneapolis  to  work  for  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison’s  renomination.  It  is  filled  with  hor¬ 
ror  at  the  very  idea,  and  is  evidently  under  the  im¬ 
pression  that  its  showing  will  induce  somebody  or 
other  to  bolt  the  republican  ticket  and  vote  for  that 
champion  of  political  purity  and  perennial  office- 
seeker  G.  Cleveland.  Perhaps  in  the  next  issue  the 
Chronicle  will  tell  how  many  of  Cleveland’s  ap¬ 
pointees  worked  for  him  in  Chicago.  It  can  begin 
with  five  of  his  ex-cabinet  officers.  Stevenson  was 
only  an  assistant  secretary,  but  there  was  an  army  of 
still  smaller  fry  whose  names  will  help  fill  the 
Chronicle’s  pages,  though  they  can  not  make  them 
interesting. 

The  Journal  of  June  14  may  answer  the 
Journal  of  June  25: 


insist  that  it  is  well  to  salt  religion  with 
those  facts ;  it  will  make  better  citizens. 
The  church  should  not  forget  the  time 
when  it  winced  under  the  bitter  gibes  of 


I 


Wi 


I 


the  anti-slavery  agitators. 


DIVERGENT  VIEWS. 


Notwithstanding  its  party  pledges  to 
abridge  the  spoils  system,  the  republican 
majority  in  the  senate  has  tacked  to  the 
appropriation  bill  that  Wanamaker  may 
employ  at  free  delivery  offices  mail  col¬ 
lectors  who  shall  simply  collect  mails  and 
whose  pay  shall  be  $600  a  year.  The  object 
of  this  is  undoubtedly  to  find  places  for  re¬ 
publican  workers  during  the  coming  cam¬ 
paign.  Mr.  Andrew,  of  the  house,  how¬ 
ever,  has  been  promised  by  the  democrats 
that  no  such  amendment  shall  pass  unless 
the  appointments  are  made  under  the  civil 
service  rules.  In  the  face  of  such  a  con¬ 
dition  the  Wanamaker  crowd  will  doubt¬ 
less  lose  interest  in  the  matter. 


In  recent  times  opposition  to  a  second  term  comes 
from  two  classes :  First,  those  who  honestly  oppose  it 
in  the  interest  of  good  government,  believing  that 
restriction  to  one  term  would  make  a  President  more 
independent  and  remove  entirely  the  temptation  to 
use  the  power  and  patronage  of  the  office  to  secure 
his  renomination  and  election.  This  view,  w’hen 
honestly  entertained,  is  entitled  to  respectful  con¬ 
sideration.  It  assumes,  however,  that  ofiScial  pa¬ 
tronage  can  be  made  a  strong  factor  in  securing  the 
renomination  and  re-election  of  a  President,  which 
is  very  doubtful.  It  must  be  remembered,  also,  that 
President  w'hb  would  prostitute  the  ofifice  in  this 
way  would  be  just  the  kind  of  man  that  the  people 
would  turn  out  at  the  end  of  four  years.  In  the 
present  state  of  public  opinion  on  this  question  it 
would  be  sure  defeat  for  any  President  to  have  it 
known  that  he  had  used  the  power  and  patronage  of 
his  office  to  secure  his  renomination,  or  that  he  Y^as 
using  it  to  secure  his  re-eiection.  The  people  are 
not  easily  hoodwinked  about  such  matters,  and  they 
ean  not  be  trifled  with  at  all. 


One  of  the  most  satisfactory  things  which 
has  lately  happened  was  the  Indiana  crowd 
of,  at  heart,  Hillites  going  to  the  Chicago 
convention  to  shear  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Morss> 
the  editor  of  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel 
and  themselves  coming  home  very  closely 
clipped.  Mr.  Morss  is  the  most  valuable 
addition  that  has  been  made  to  Indiana 
democratic  politics  for  a  generation.  He 
succeeds  not  at  all  because  he  is  a  boss  or 
a  political  manipulator,  but  because  he 
takes  a  stand  that  is  right  and  can  not  be 
scared  out  of  it.  It  is  a  revolution  to  have 
the  Sentinel  favor  the  merit  system  in  the 
state  institutions. 


We  have  many  complaints'  that  the 
Chronicle  is  not  received  by  those 
whom  it  is  sent.  For  instance,  the  library 
of  Cornell  University  has  not  received  half 
of  its  numbers.  The  number  of  errors  is 
so  large  and  in  so  many  different  direc 
tions  that  the  fault  can  only  be  chargeable 
to  the  mails. 


Philadelphia,  June  :!0, 1892. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  : 

Dear  Sir— Pleasd  discontinue  sending  me  yourj  J 
periodical.  I  am  a  member  of  the  civil  service  re. 
form  association  of  this  citj',  and  I  am  a  thorough 
believer  in  the  principles  of  civil  service.  No  one 
could  go  further  than  I  would  in  the  application  of 
the  reform  to  existing  evils,  but  your  periodical  is  in 
my  opinion  so  blindly  rancorous  in  its  reference  to 
President  Harrkson,  so  partisan  and  unfair,  and  in 
my  judgment  so  wilfully  insulting,  that  I  do  not 
wish  to  see  the  paper  any  more.  In  my  opinion,  it 
does  the  cause  more  harm  than  good,  and  shows 
plainly,  I  think,  that  there  must  be  some  animus  for 
such  labored  denunciation  of  the  President  other 
than  merely  a  love  for  civil  service  reform.  If  any 
other  political  party  offered  a  satisfactory  alterna¬ 
tive  ;  if  any  other  party  was  more  sincere  in  regard 
to  civil  service  reform,  there  might  be  some  excuse 
for  the  indulgence  of  such  expressions  as  “Pirates,” 
‘Buccaneers,  “liOrd  Paramount,”  etc. 

Under  Cleveland’s  administration  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  post-office  was  nothing  short  of  a  national  scan¬ 
dal  ;  and  the  friends  of  civil  service  certainly  can  not 
consistently  endorse  the  democratic  nominee  for  vice- 
president.  As  stated  above,  your  blind  and  unjust 
partisanship  in  my  opinion  does  the  cause  more 
harm  than  good,  and  you  will  therefore  please 
strike  my  name  from  oflf  your  lists,  as  I  wish  to 
continue  to  believe  in  the  reform,  which  is  gaining 
ground,  notwithstanding  the  harm  done  by  over- 
zealous  friends  of  the  cause. 

Henry  Justice. 


Mr.  Thomas  A.  Hall,  of  Chicago,  has 
subscribed  for  seventy-five  copies  of  the 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  to  be  sent  to 
libraries  and  reading-rooms,  and  particu. 
larly  to  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso 
ciation  reading-rooms  in  Illinois.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  latter  will  take  better 
care  of  them  than  seems  to  be  the  case  with 
the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  of 
this  city.  Soon  after  the  June  number 
came  out  it  was  not  found  in  the  reading- 
room  and  was  asked  for  at  the  desk.  Af¬ 
ter  fumbling  around  a  little,  the  attendant 
said,  “  I  can’t  just  now  lay  my  hand  on  it.” 
He  was  then  asked  for  the  file  since  Janu¬ 
ary  and  said  “I  haven’t  got  them.”  Was 
the  fumbling  around  a  pious  deception,  and 
is  the  paper  in  fact  thrown  into  the  waste- 
paper  basket  as  soon  as  received?  If 
any  of  our  Illinois  friends  do  not  want  the 
paper  we  shall  be  glad  of  an  intimation  to 
that  effect  and  it  will  be  discontinued 
As  we  have  said  elsewhere,  the  facts  from 
month  to  month  published  in  the  Chron 
ICLE  are  unpalatable,  and  to  none  are  they 
more  so  than  to  civil  service  reformers. 
Whenever  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  man¬ 
agement  of  the  civil  service  become  pleas¬ 
ant,  its  reform  will  have  been  accom¬ 
plished,  and  there  will  be  no  need  of  re¬ 
form  papers.  But  in  the  meantime,  we 


We  have  always  believed  that  the  Phil¬ 
adelphia  post-office  under  the  late  admin¬ 
istration  was  a  national  scandal,  and  the 
editor  of  the  Chronicle  at  the  time  de¬ 
nounced  it  and  other  like  scandals  with 
all  his  might  and  at  considerable  expense. 
He  also  did  all  he  could  to  secure  the  de¬ 
feat  at  the  polls  of  those  who  caused  those 
scandals.  The  writer  of  the  above  letter 
does  not  dispute  the  facts  which  are  from 
month  to  month  set  out  in  the  Chronicle, 
and  it  does  not  seem  that  his  mind  ought 
to  be  so  powerfully  affected  by  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  Philadelphia  post-office  four 
years  ago,  without  being  similarly  affected 
by  the  circumstances  of  the  Minneapolis 
convention,  which  are  scarcely  four  weeks 
old,  and  which  are  truthfully  related  in  the 
June  Chronicle,  and  which  make  up  the 
greatest  single  national  scandal  that  has 
ever  occurred  in  connection  with  the  fed¬ 
eral  service.  Nor  would  it  seem  that  his 
mind  ought  to  be  unaffected  by  the  re¬ 
cent  spectacle  of  Wanamaker  shielding 
law-breakers  in  Baltimore,  and  for  proof 
of  this  he  need  not  regard  reports  of  com¬ 
mittees,  but  needs  only  the  testimony  taken 
by  Mr.  Roosevelt.  Nor  would  it  seem  that 
the  three  years’  career  in  which  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  through  the  Quays,  Clarksons,  Ma- 
hones  and  Platts,  until  he  quarreled  with 
them  over  the  division,  has  looted  the  fed¬ 
eral  service,  ought  to  be  ignored.  The 


r 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE.  351 


way  to  fight  the  spoils  system  is  to  tell  the 
facts  about  it,  not  only  under  a  democratic 
administration,  but  under  a  republican 
administration.  These  facts  are  very  un- 
^  pleasant,  but  that  is  the  fault  of  those  who 
create  them,  not  of  those  whose  duty  it  is 
to  bring  them  to  the  notice  of  the  people. 
The  use  of  any  office  as  spoil  is  absolutely 
and  without  qualification  illegal,  and  the 
comparison  which  the  Chronicle  has 
urged  between  the  American  spoils  sys¬ 
tem  and  feudalism  and  piracy,  is  apt  and 
just.  There  is  no  question  of  any  other 
party  being  “more  sincere  in  regard  to 
civil  service  reform.”  The  question  is 
whether  outrageous  acts  now  going  on 
shall  be  ignored.  If  they  are  ignored 
now,  similar  ones,  if  they  occurred,  would 
have  to  be  ignored  under  the  next  admin¬ 
istration,  though  it  might  be  democratic. 


THE  CLARKSON  STANDARD. 

In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  thanking  the 
national  committee  for  the  offer  of  the  chair¬ 
manship,  Mr.  Clarkson  said  : 

“I  have  spent  twenty-five  years  in  politics, 
and  I  believe,  from  my  experience  that  the 
best  place  to  serve  the  republican  party  is  in 
its  ranks.  In  my  political  life  I  have  found 
that  in  that  field  can  be  made,  and  are  made, 
the  most  precious  friendships  of  one’s  life. 
There  are  more  sacrifices  made  in  that  field 
than  in  any  other.  There  is  more  heart  in 
politics  than  in  any  other  walk  in  life,  and  I 
say  fearlessly  and  honestly  that  men  engaged 
in  politics  will  go  further  to  serve  a  friend 
than  in  any  other  sphere  of  man’s  existence. 
In  1884  we  had  a  hard  working  committee 
and  lost.  In  1888  we  had  aharder  working  com¬ 
mittee,  and,  to  my  knowledge,  no  campaign 
was  ever  conducted  more  cleanly,  more  hon¬ 
orably  than  the  campaign  of  1888.  I  know 
Senator  Quay  and  Colonel  Dudley  and  I  hope 
there  is  not  a  republican  in  this  land  who  will 
ever  cease  to  render  due  honor  to  these  two 
honorable  men  who  went  into  the  hottest  fire 
for  the  republican  party  and  emerged  victori¬ 
ous  and  without  detraction.  I  have  known 
many  men — I  have  large  friendship  in  the 
United  States — and  I  want  to  say  to  you, 
gentlemen,  that  upon  my  dying  bed,  before 
my  family,  I  could  not  name  two  men  more 
to  be  loved  and  honored  than  Senator  Quay 
and  Colonel  Dudley. 

“1  want  to  warn  you,  gentlemen  of  the  com¬ 
mittee,  against  a  growing  tendency  in  the 
republican  party,  under  the  hypocrisy  of  the 
times,  not  to  defend  its  party  leaders.  The 
cases  of  Senator  Quay  and  Colonel  Dudley 
afford  vivid  examples  of  this  practice.  They 
were  attacked  by  a  party  whose  success  is  de¬ 
rived  by  the  use  of  the  knife  in  the  south  and 
the  assassination  of  character  in  the  north. 
They  were  attacked,  not  because  Senator  Quay 
was  guilty  of  any  wrong  in  thecampaign,  but 
because  he  won  a  victory  for  the  republican 
party  and  restored  the  government  to  an  hon¬ 
est  basis.  The  democrats  saw  in  Senator  Quay 
a  corrupter  and  began  their  abuse,  and  a  cow¬ 
ardly  republican  press  soon  became  their 
allies.  No  man  who  has  the  good  of  the  re¬ 
publican  party  at  heart  can  do  otherwise  than 
to  put  his  honest,  strong  hands  between  this 
accusation  of  the  democratic  party  and  the 
gentlemen  I  have  just  named.  So  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  if  I  ever  have  another  boy  to 
name,  I  will  be  glad  to  confer  upon  him  the 
name  of  Senator  Quay  or  Dudley,  and  this  as 


an  evidence  of  the  affection  I  have  for  the 
men.  In  conclusion,  I  want  to  state  that  no 
man  on  this  continent  desires  to  help  the  re¬ 
publican  ticket  or  will  do  more,  according 
to  his  ability  than  I.” 


THE  QUAY  STANDARD. 

[A  reminiscence  of  David  Martin,  appointed  by 
President  Harrison  collector  of  internal  revenue,  and 
lately  chosen  member  of  the  republican  national 
committee.] 

Three  men  sat  in  the  cabinet  room  in  the 
White  House  one  bright  morning  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1889.  One  was  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  The  second  was  Matthew 
Stanley  Quay,  senator  from  Pennsylvania  and 
chairman  of  the  republican  national  commit¬ 
tee.  The  third  was  James  McManes,  the 
sturdy  and  wealthy  Scotch-Irishman,  whose 
sterling  qualities  had  won  for  him  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  all  the'residents  of  the  Qua¬ 
ker  city. 

The  President  raised  his  eyes  inquiringly  to 
Senator  Quay.  Obviously  he  did  not  know 
the  object  of  the  consultation.  Neither  did 
the  silent  senator.  He  had  been  requested  by 
his  companion  to  introduce  him  to  President 
Harrison  and  had  fulfilled  his  part.  In  turn 
he  looked  towards  Mr.  McManes. 

Meanwhile  the  old  Scotsman’s  eyes  had  been 
fastened  upon  the  impassive  countenance  of 
Benjamin  Harrison.  When  the  time  came  for 
him  to  speak  he  leaned  forward  in  his  chair 
and  spoke  the  few  words  which  he  deemed  it 
his  solemn  duty  to  utter  with  all  the  earnest¬ 
ness  at  his  command. 

“I  have  come  here,  Mr.  President,”  he  said 
slowly,  “  to  protest  against  the  appointment  of 
David  Martin  to  one  of  the  most  important 
federal  offices  in  this  country.  He  is  a  disrep¬ 
utable  rascal,  and  his  appointment  as  collector 
of  internal  revenue  would  be  an  insult  to 
every  respectable  citizen  of  Pennsylvania.” 

The  old  man  half  rose  from  his  chair  as  he 
continued.  His  language  took  on  the  tinge  of 
the  rich  North  Country  accent  of  his  youth 
and  the  muscles  of  his  fine  face  quivered  from 
the  indignation  burning  within  his  breast. 
Hastily  he  sketched  Martin’s  early  career.  He 
denounced  him  as  a  ruffian  at  the  polls  and  a 
manipulator  of  ballot-boxes.  He  declared 
that  he  was  a  dispenser  of  corruption  funds 
contributed  by  the  liquor  interests.  He  held 
him  up,  with  all  the  scorn  born  of  contempt, 
as  a  willing  tool  of  that  element  in  the  social 
life  of  Philadelphia  which  defies  law,  order 
and  decency.  He  closed  with  the  remark  that 
no  President  could  afford  to  appoint  such  a 
man  to  a  position  of  honor  and  trust. 

When  he  had  done  the  President  moved  un¬ 
easily  in  his  chair  and  then  glanced  appeal¬ 
ingly  at  Senator  Quay,  whose  astonishment, 
though  apparent,  was  not  sufficient  to  loose 
his  silent  tongue.  The  silence  was  broken  by 
Benjamin  Harrison. 

“They  say,”  he  observed  in  measured  tones, 
“that  the  charges  against  Mr.  Martin  are  not 
true.” 

This  was  more  than  the  honest  Scotsman 
could  bear.  With  all  the  fierce  impetuosity 


of  Roderick  Dhu  he  burst  forth  in  resentment 
of  what  seemed  to  him  a  reflection  upon  hi® 
veracity. 

“  Mr.  President,”  he  cried,  “  I  have  lived 
long  in  Philadelphia.  I  am  well  known  there. 
You  can  not  find  in  that  whole  city  a  single 
responsible  person  who  will  say  that  I  ever 
uttered  an  untruth.  There  sits  Senator  Quay. 
He  knows  me.  I  ask  you,  Senator  Quay,  if  I 
am  not  respected  in  Philadelphia  as  a  man  of 
my  word.” 

“  Mr.  McManes’s  word  is  above  question,” 
quietly  observed  the  one  addressed. 

“  Then,  Mr.  President,”  continued  Mr.  Mc¬ 
Manes,  “I  reiterate  all  I  have  said  concerning 
David  Martin.  Senator  Quay  informs  you 
that  my  veracity  is  above  question.  I  say  to 
you  again,  sir,  that  the  appointment  of  David 
Martin  would  be  a  disgrace  to  your  adminis¬ 
tration  and  an  insult  to  every  honest  citizen 
of  Pennsylvania.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say.” 

Again  Benjamin  Harrison  turned  to  Mat¬ 
thew  S.  Quay.  This  time  he  secured  a  re¬ 
sponse. 

“  The  two  senatm's  from  Pennsylvania  desire  this 
appointment,  Mr.  President,''  was  all  he  said. 

Mr.  McManes  made  no  rejoinder.  He 
bowed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  left  the  room. — New  York  World,  October 
20,  1890. 


THE  MUGWUMP. 

The  result  is  that  the  politicians  of  both  parties, 
who  are  fond  of  speaking  of  any  who  refuse  to  obey 
the  orders  or  accept  the  mandates  of  the  party  lead¬ 
ers  as  traitors  and  apostates,  regard  the  mugwump 
with  utter  abhorrence.  They  themselves  may  arrange 
"deals"  by  which  certain  candidates  are  "knifed"  in  the 
interest  of  the  opposition;  they  may  "cut"  the  ticket,  or 
even  within  certain  limitations  "bolt,"  and  not  lose  caste. 
All  that  is  legitimate  when  done  in  theway  of  “politics.” 
But  that  men  should  actually  vote  one  ticket  one 
year  and  refuse  to  vote  the  same  the  next  from  prin¬ 
ciple— from  principle,  mark  ye— why  what  will  the 
world  come  to  at  that  rate  ?  For  the  creed  of  your 
working  politician  is : 

I  d07i't  believe  in  princerple. 

But  O  I  di*  in  interest. 

The  worst  epithet  in  the  politician’s  vocabulary  is 
mugwump !  An  oath  may  add  sonority,  but  does 
not  really  increase  its  ignominious  force.  That  a 
candidate  has  the  approval  of  the  mugwumps  is 
sufficient  cause  for  voting  against  him.  When  Ira 
Davenport  ran  for  governor  of  New  York  against 
David  B.  Hill,  in  1885,  he  was  defeated  by  the  re¬ 
publicans  because  the  mugwumps  favored  him. 
When  Edward  Murphy,  jr.,  chairman  of  the  New 
York  democratic  state  committee,  put  forth  his  pro- 
nunclamento  at  Chicago  against  Mr.  Cleveland  the 
burden  of  it  was  that  the  regular  New  York  demo¬ 
crats  did  not  like-  Mr.  Cleveland  because  the  mug¬ 
wumps  did.  Bourke  Cockran,  in  his  speech  before 
the  convention,  presented  the  same  great  objection 
to  the  ex-president  with  wonderful  rhetorical  full¬ 
ness  and  force.  It  really  does  seem  extraordinary 
that  the  fact  that  a  candidate  is  liked  by  an  element 
outside  his  party  and  promises  to  draw  votes  there¬ 
from  should  make  him  unpopular  with  his  own 
p&Tty.— Indianapolis  News,  June  28. 

I. 

The  republican  county  committee  held  an 
harmonious  meeting  in  Grand  Opera  House 
Hall  last  night  until  near  the  ending,  when  a 
firebrand  was  thrown  by  ex-Police  Justice  Pat¬ 
terson  which  destroyed  all  the  harmony,  and 


352 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


a  scene  was  enacted  such  as  is  usual  at  the 
meetings  of  the  committee.  *  *  *  a  pro¬ 
test  from  some  republicans  against  the  present 
machine  in  the  twentieth  district  was  made. 
It  charged  upon  the  organization  a  continual  deal 
with  Tammany  Hall,  and  declared  that  the 
organization  was  spiritless  and  ineffective. — 
New  York  Evening  Post,  January  22. 

II. 

The  decent  republicans  of  Cincinnati  have 
been  trying  to  escape  from  the  domination  of 
their  party  by  Geo.  B.  Cox,  the  illiterate  ex¬ 
saloon  keeper  who  secured  control  of  the 
organization  a  few  years  ago  and  has  ruled 
that  great  city  ever  since.  But  the  attempt 
was  a  failure.  The  reformers  found  that  they  had 
to  fight  not  merely  Cox  and  his  republican  gang,  but 
also  the  whole  democratic  machine,  which  threw 
all  of  its  strength  in  favor  of  the  republican 
machine.  The  republicans  of  the  citizens’ 
movement  cast  about  6,200  votes  and  were 
not  allowed  one  more  than  they  cast.  The 
Cox  ticket  was  credited  with  11,000  votes,  but 
a  large  share  of  them  were  cast  by  democrats 
and  a  good  many  men  voted  more  than  once. 
The  Times-Star,  a  republican  newspaper,  says 
of  the  proceedings : 

The  democrats  who  were  in  office  were  just  as 
eager  for  the  election  of  the  Cox  ticket  as  city  repub¬ 
lican  office-holders.  At  the  primaries  there  seems  to 
be  little  or  no  protection  against  wholesale  voting  of 
democrats  for  republicans.  In  certain  precincts  it 
is  stated  that  some  of  them  voted  twice.  It  is  de¬ 
veloped  that  under  our  by-partisan  system  of  city 
government  the  controlling  machine  in  each  party 
is  worked  for  the  benefit  of  the  other,  and  in  yester¬ 
day’s  primaries  Mr.  Bernard’s  machine  turned  out 
as  strongly  for  Mr.  Cox’s  machine  as  it  was  possible. 
Jerry  Mulroy  and  Mr.  Furst  were  quite  as  active  in 
yesterday’s  primaries  as  they  ever  were  in  any  demo¬ 
cratic  primary.” 

III. 

There  was  a  similar  “combine”  of  the  two 
party  machines  against  the  reformers  of  one 
party  in  Philadelphia  a  couple  of  months  ago. 
Four  magistrates  were  to  be  chosen.  Two  of 
the  incumbents  had  been  exposed  as  having 
shared  their  fees  with  the  notorious  embezzler 
Bardsley.  Nevertheless,  both  of  them  secured 
a  renomiuation.  The  decent  republicans  put 
two  independent  candidates  in  the  field  against 
them,  and  it  might  have  been  expected  that 
their  majority  would  have  been  cut  down,  if 
indeed  they  were  not  beaten.  But  the  delinquent 
officials  were  not  at  all  worried.  They  made  an  ar¬ 
rangement  with  the  bosses  of  the  democratic  party  by 
which  the  latter  refused  to  exercise  their  right  to 
nominate  four  candidates  for  magistrates,  and  put 
up  only  two,  and  threw  all  of  their  strength  in  favor 
of  the  two  republican  rascals.  The  result  was  that, 
although  the  two  independent  candidates  re¬ 
ceived  about  6,000  votes,  the  two  against  whom 
the  movement  was  directed  polled  several 
thousand  fewer  votes  than  their  respectable 
associates  on  the  republican  ticket. — New  York 
Evening  Post,  April  27. 

IV. 

The  announcement  that  Boss  McKane  will 
support  the  democratic  ticket  this  year  is  of 
interest  and  importance.  McKane  is  the  man 
who  rules  the  town  of  Gravesend,  which  in¬ 
cludes  Coney  Island,  and  he  rules  it  with  a 


rod  of  iron.  In  1884  this  town  gave  Cleve¬ 
land  667  votes  and  Blaine  295.  Not  long  af¬ 
terward  McKane  quarrelled  with  the  leaders 
of  the  Kings  county  democracy,  and  in  1888 
he  came  out  against  his  old  party,  the  result 
being  a  vote  in  Gravesend  of  only  397  for 
Cleveland,  while  Harrison  had  833.  Harrison 
rewarded  McKane  by  allowing  him  to  name 
his  man  for  United  States  marshal.  In  1890 
the  boss  still  opposed  his  old  party,  and  al¬ 
lowed  a  most  popular  democratic  candidate 
for  sheriff  to  poll  only  233  votes,  while  his  re¬ 
publican  opponent  was  given  1,023.  Before 
the  election  of  1891  a  peace  was  patched  up, 
but  McKane  had  previously  promised  to  vote  his 
town  for  the  republican  state  ticket,  and  he  kept 
that  promise,  giving  Fassett  1,908  votes  against 
only  180  for  Flower,  while  the  democratic 
county  ticket,  which  was  acceptable  to  him, 
received  about  1,800  votes,  as  against  only 
about  250  for  the  republican. — Neiv  York 
Evening  Post,  July  6. 

V. 

The  Brooklyn  republican  politicians  who 
have  been  fighting  one  another  steadily  for 
five  years  are  engaged  just  now  in  another 
wrangle,  and  the  lines  of  battle  are  drawn  on 
theold  Nathan  and  anti-Nathan  basis.  Ernst 
Nathan  [internal  revenue  collector],  who  is 
very  closely  related,  politically,  to  certain  democratic 
leaders,  was  able  to  induce  the  aldermen  at  a 
recent  meeting  to  alter  the  boundary  of  his 
ward,  the  twenty-third,  by  annexing  to  it  a 
large  section  of  the  twenty-fifth  ward,  con¬ 
taining  about  3,000  voters,  of  whom  2,000  are 
republicans. 

In  this  way  Nathan  is  able  to  control  enough 
votes  to  name  the  candidate  in  his  assembly 
district,  and  with  the  help  of  the  twenty-first 
ward,  to  name  the  candidate  in  his  senatorial 
district.  This  practically  makes  him  boss  of 
the  party  in  Kings  county,  and  the  anti- 
Nathan  forces  are  beginning  to  grumble. 
United  States  District  Attorney  Jesse  Johnson  took 
the  initiative  yesterday  and  lodged  o  formal  protest 
against  the  change  with  Acting  Mayor  Coffey. 
It  was  in  the  form  of  a  letter  asking  for  a 
chance  to  be  heard  before  the  resolution  was 
signed. — Nexv  York  Times,  July 

VI. 

Naval  Officer  Willis  returned  from  Washing¬ 
ton  yesterday,  and  when  told  that  the  demo¬ 
cratic  aldermen  had  cut  out  part  of  the 
twenty-fifth  ward  and  handed  it  over  to 
Nathan  in  the  twenty-third  ward,  he  said  : 

“  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  but  that  the 
change  was  made  to  pay  Mr.  Nathan  for  the  favors 
that  have  passed  between  him  and  Mr.  McLaughlin 
and  Mr.  Shevlin.  Why,  everybody  knows  it.  It’s 
as  plain  as  day.  The  democratic  party,  it  is  easy  to 
see,  did  not  make  those  changes  for  its  own  benefit 
in  the  twenty-third  and  twenty-fifth  wards.  They 
would  never  have  proceeded  in  the  way  they  did  if 
their  desire  was  to  make  the  best  possible  profit  of 
the  circumstances.  It  was  done  for  Nathan,  and,  if 
I  am  right,  will  not  help  him  materially.  He,  of 
course,  thinks  differently.  Of  one  thing  I  am  cer¬ 
tain,  and  it  is  this;— This  move  has  demonstrated  to 
a  great  many  people,  that  Nathan  and  McLaughlin 
and  Shevlin  are  on  very  good  terms.  The  story  of 
their  friendship  is  an  old  one  and  very  generally 
known,  but  until  this  move  a  great  many  did  not 
pay  much  attention  to  it.  They  are  all  convinced 
now.” — New  York  Times,  JulyS. 


AMERICANJEUDALISM.  '■ 

“  To  the  Victor  Belong  the  Spoils.”  J 
THE  LORD  PARAMOUNT.  % 

I  am  an  advocate  of  civil  service  reform." 
My  brief  experience  at  Wasliington  has  led 
me  to  utter  the  wish,  with  an  emphasis  I 
do  not  often  use,  that  I  might  be  for  ever 
relieved  of  any  connection  with  the  distri-" 
bntioii  of  public  patronage.  I  covet  for 
myself  the  free  and  nnpiirchased  support 
of  my  fellow-citizens.  *  *  *  [-Senator  Ben¬ 
jamin  Harrison,'] 


Only  conceive  such  a  lure  held  out  to  this 
great  people,  and  all  the  little  offices  of  the 
Government  thus  set  up  for  the  price  of 
the  victory,  without  regard  to  merit  or 
anything  but  party  services,  and  you  have 
a  spectacle  of  baseness  and  rapacily  such 
as  was  never  seen  before.  No  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  in  our  land,  no  parental  dis¬ 
cipline,  no  schools,  not  all  the  machinery 
of  virtue  together,  can  long  be  a  match  for 
the  corrupting  power  of  our  political 
strifes  actuated  by  such  a  law  as  thi.s.  It 
would  make  us  a  nation  ®f  apostates  at  the 
foot  of  Sinai. — From  a  Sermon  by  Rev.  Hmace 
Bushnell,  in  1840. 


A  LOCAL  RAID. 

Dan  Ransdell,  the  marshal  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  is  in  tmvn.  He  arrived  last  evening. 
His  mission  is  purely  political.  He  will  re¬ 
main  in  the  state  long  enough  at  least  to  help 
the  administration  curb  the  political  ambi¬ 
tions  of  Governor  Chase. — Indianapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  June  16. 

*  ■»  * 

A.  D.  Shaw,  deputy  third  auditor  of  treasury, 
will  be  given  a  reception  on  Thursday  even¬ 
ing  June  2,  at  Grand  Army  Hall,  60  Clifford 
avenue,  by  his  Grand  Army,  railroad  and 
Knights  of  Pythias  comrades  and  friends. — 
Indianapolis  New.s,  May  SS. 

*  »  » 

Ruckle  Post  hall  was  illuminated  last  night 
and  upon  the  walls  hung  many  flags  and  yards 
of  bunting.  Col.  A.  D.  Shaw,  deputy  third  aud¬ 
itor  of  the  treasury  and  supervisor  of  railroad 
votes  for  the  Harrison  administration,  form¬ 
erly,  plain  “Gus”  Shaw,  boss  of  the  Big  Four 
yards  in  this  city,  was  to  be  received.  He 
was  to  be  welcomed  home,  as  it  was  an¬ 
nounced  “by  his  comrades  of  the  Grand 
Army,  and  brethren  of  the  link  and  pin  and 
fraters  of  the  great  pythian  order.”  “  It  was 
an  auspicious  occasion,”  remarked  Harry 
Mounts,  a  deputy  in  Collector  HUderbrand’s  office, 
when  he  called  the  meeting  to  order.  He  told 
the  large  audience,  principally  composed  of 
Grand  Army  representatives,  that  they  had 
met  to  give  greeting  to  their  old  comrade,  who 
had  come  home  to  spend  a  few  days. — Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  June  3. 

*  *  * 

Sha,w  [deputy  third  auditor].  Mounts  [Uni¬ 
ted  States  custom-house]  and  the  other  Indian- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


353 


apolis  railroad  men  are  here  using  the  blue 
book  against  Chase  and  are  trying  to  organize  a 
laboring  men’s  demonstration  against  him  for 
this  evening. — Ft.  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  News,  June  ^7. 

»  *  * 

Charles  Martin,  Harry  Mounts  and  Frank 
Alley  have  been  reinforced  by  Gus  Shaw,  dep¬ 
uty  third  auditor  of  the  treasury.  When  a 
railroad  man  is  proclaiming  against  the  par¬ 
son  he  is  a  follower  of  Gus  Shaw,  the  office¬ 
holder.  *  * 

Shaw  is  still  paying  for  his  place  in  the 
treasury  department  by  operating  for  the  ad¬ 
ministration  against  Chase,  and  Alley  is  as¬ 
sistant.  *  * 

^’During  this  speech,  Harry  Mounts,  secreta¬ 
ry  of  the  Conductors’  Brotherhood,  and  a 
trainman  wearing  a  Chase  badge  got  into  an 
argument  about  the  merits  of  Murray’s  speech. 
It  was  quite  heated  at  times,  and  closed  with 
this  remark  from  Mounts:  “I  will  vote  for 
Chase,  but  he  is  not  the  man  to  nominate.  He 
will  weaken  the  ticket,  and  the  desire  to  nominate 
him  is  to  weaken  poor  Ben  Harrison.” 

The  value  of  this  remark  will  be  appreci¬ 
ated  when  it  is  recalled  that  Mounts  is  a  dep¬ 
uty  in  the  custom-house,  and  Murray,  the  con¬ 
ductor,  an  employe  of  McKeen,  the  never- 
wavering  friend  of  Harrison. — Ft.  Wayne  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  June  SS. 

♦  *  » 

Henry  Mounts,  cf  the  custom-hoaise,  the  leader 
of  the  “  railroad  ”  opposition  to  the  “  parson,” 
rushed  up  to  the  nominee,  and  grasping  his 
hand  in  a  tight  grip,  declared,  “  I  am  for  you. 
Governor.”  Less  than  a  week  ago  Mr.  Mounts 
was  busy  circulating  dodgers,  which  in  burning 
words  asserted  that  if  Chase  were  nominated 
he  would  lose  the  votes  of  ten  thousand  rail¬ 
road  men  in  Indiana,  of  whom  it  was  under¬ 
stood  Mounts  was  many.  Now  Mounts  de¬ 
clares  himself  not  one  of  the  ten  thousand. — 
Indianapolis  News,  June  S8. 

*  *  • 

A.  D.  Shaw,  deputy  auditor,  has  returned 
from  Indiana  and  elsewhere,  after  a  month's  ab¬ 
sence. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  July  4‘ 

*  ♦  * 

United  States  Marshal  Dunlap  and  Assist¬ 
ant  District  Attorney  Cockrum  arrived  at 
noon. — Ft.  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  June  25. 

*  *  * 

John  B.  Cbc^Tum  [assistant  United  States  dis¬ 
trict  attorney],  has  Smiley  N.  Chambers’s  boom 
in  hand.  lie  is  working  like  a  man  who  sees  the 
district  attorneyship  in  his  grasp,  in  case  he 
wins  for  his  chief. — Ft.  Wayne  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  June  27. 

*  *  * 

Al.  Moore,  deputy  United  States  marshal, 
Ed.  Conway,  deputy  United  States  marshal, 
John  Cockrum,  assistant  United  States  at¬ 
torney,  Henry  Mounts,  of  the  United  States 
custom-house  ;  Eugene  Saulcey,  of  the  United 
States  revenue  department;  Billy  Patterson, 
of  the  United  States  postal  department ;  Ben- 


no  Mitchell,  of  the  United  States  government 
at  large,  are  among  the  high-toned  visitors 
who  are  honoring  Fort  Wayne  with  their 
presence. — Fort  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
News,  June  27. 

*  *  * 

It  was  the  voice  of  the  meeting  that  if  Chase 
is  to  be  beaten,  the  opposition  must  be  organ¬ 
ized  at  once.  The  merits  of  the  various  men 
mentioned  were  considered,  and  it  was  voted 
that  Judge  Elliott  would  be  the  strongest  can¬ 
didate  to  put  up  against  the  governor.  The 
only  person  present  who  objected  to  Elliott 
was  Warren  G.  Sayre  [Indian  commissioner], 
who  stated  his  rea.son  to  be  that  when  he 
[Sayre]  and  Robertson  were  having  their 
trouble  with  Green  Smith,  Judge  Elliott  was 
asked  to  swear  in  the  lieutenant-governor,  and 
declined  on  the  ground  that  the  question  at 
issue  might  get  into  the  courts  and  possibly 
come  before  him  for  judgment. — Ft.  Wayne 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  June  27. 

*  *  * 

It  is  averred  that  Mr.  Chambers  never  had 
any  idea  of  being  nominated,  and  that  he  con¬ 
sented  to  enter  the  race  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
taking  away  some  of  the  strength  that  threat¬ 
ened  to  go  to  Chase.  Whether  this  story  is 
true  or  not,  it  has  been  evident  that  the  men 
who  have  been  here  pretending  to  be  for 
Chambers  have  been  much  more  industrious 
in  opposing  Chase  than  in  furthering  the 
chances  of  Mr.  Chambers.  John  B.  Cockrum 
[assistant  U.  S.  district  attorney],  who  has 
been  managing  the  Chambers  boom,  has  been 
ready  and  anxious  for  two  days  to  promise 
Chambers’s  strength  to  any  one  upon  whom 
the  anti-Chase  people  might  unite.  Mr.  Cock¬ 
rum  was  in  the  “round- up”  anti  meeting  last 
night  and  pledged  Chambers’s  support  for  El¬ 
liott.  The  true  friends  of  Judge  Elliott  have 
no  hand  in  the  movement  to  make  him  a  can¬ 
didate. —  Fort  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
News,  June  28. 

FEUDS. 

In  spite  of  the  sweltering  atmosphere  there 
was  a  large  gathering  at  the  Carnegie  music 
hall.  Fifty-seventh  street  and  Seventh  avenue, 
last  night,  at  the  ratification  meeting  held 
under  the  direction  of  the  republican  club. 
Letters  of  regret  were  read  from  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent  Morton,  Senator  Hiscock,  .1.  Sloat  Fas- 
sett,  William  M.  Evarts  and  Warner  Miller. 
But  not  one  word  came  from  ex- Boss  Plait. — New 

York  Times,  June  22. 

*  *  * 

The  voluble  Clarkson  probably  sees  by  this 
time  how  he  cheapened  himself  by  his  precip 
itate  haste  in  getting  back  into  the  Harrison 
camp.  Those  more  astute  campaigners,  Quay 
and  Platt,  have  a  higher  idea  of  their  own 
worth,  and  are  calmly  waiting  for  the  invita¬ 
tions  which  they  are  sure  will  come  all  in 
good  time.  Quay  says  he  feels  “the  need  of  a 
long  rest,”  as  he  is  “tired”,  and  must  “nurse 
himself,”  and  the  erstwhile  loquacious  Platt 
has  “not  a  word  to  say.”  It  is  already  given 
out  at  Washington  that  “there  is  no  disposi¬ 


tion  on  the  President’s  part  to  punish  Platt  or 
Miller  or  Quay,”  as  he  is  ready  to  “let  by¬ 
gones  be  bygones  and  to  encourage  everybody 
to  come  together  and  work  harmoniously  for 
the  success  of  the  ticket.” — New  York  Evening 
Post,  June  18. 

*  *  ♦ 

The  Herald  says:  “  Ex-Senator  Thomas  C. 
Platt  received  his  first  overture  from  the  Har¬ 
rison  administration  yesterday.  Secretary 
Tracy  met  him  at  the  Manhattan  Beach  Ho¬ 
tel,  and  they  were  in  close  consultation  for 
two  hours.  The  conference  was  a  satisfactoiy 
one.  As  a  result  of  it  Mr.  Tracy  left  the  ho¬ 
tel  shortly  after  it  was  over,  although  he  had 
expected  to  spend  the  night  there,  and  took 
an  evening  train  back  to  Washington  to  carry 
the  news  to  the  President.  Just  what  was 
asked  of  Mr.  Platt  and  was  promised  to  him 
it  will  be  impossible  to  say  until  these  things 
develop  in  the  approaching  campaign.  It  is 
understood  that  Mr.  Tracy  came  here  with  the 
express  purpose  of  taking  initiatory  steps  to 
placate  the  man  who  controls  the  republican 
machine  in  this  state.  That  Mr.  Platt  was 
willing  to  receive  the  secretary  and  talk  over 
the  situation  in  good  spirits,  is  the  best  of  ev¬ 
idence,  say  the  politicians,  that  he  is  in  a 
frame  of  mind  to  be  placated.” — NewYork  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  June  21. 

*  *  » 

General  Clarkson,  chairman  of  the  republi¬ 
can  national  committee,  had  a  long  confer¬ 
ence  with  the  President  at  the  White  House 
to  night  in  regard  to  the  political  situation. 
—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
June  26. 

*  *  * 

There  is  a  general  agreement  that  the  truce 
entered  into  between  Senator  M.  S.  Quay  and 
C.  L.  Magee  at  Harrisburgh  last  year  has  been 
broken,  and  that  the  battle  for  supremacy  in 
the  republican  party  of  the  state,  of  which 
the  defeat  of  Delamater  for  governor  in  1890 
was  an  incident,  will  be  taken  up  again.  The 
two  leaders  have  been  drifting  apart  for  some 
time.  The  positive  attitude  of  each  against 
the  other  at  Minneapolis  strained  their  bonds 
to  the  breaking  point.  Senator  Quay’s  per¬ 
sistent  opposition  to  the  confirmation  of  George 
W.  Miller  for  internal  revenue  collector  for 
the  twenty-second  district  is  expected  to  be 
the  last  straw.  Magee’s  paper,  the  Pittsburgh 
Times,  this  morning  printed  a  Washington 
dispatch,  in  which  these  words  were  used  : 

“It  is  asserted  thatshould  Mr.  Quay  attempt 
by  his  opposition  to  Mr.  Miller’s  confirma¬ 
tion  to  continue  the  assumption  of  a  proprie¬ 
tary  right  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  state 
in  which  he  has  in  recent  years  received  a  se¬ 
vere  rebuke,  he  may  expect  to  receive  a  repri¬ 
mand  direct,  instead  of  through  his  man,  as 
in  the  gubernatorial  election  of  1890.” 

This  is  construed  to  mean  that  Magee  will 
take  off  his  coat  to  prevent  the  return  of  Quay 
to  the  United  States  senate. — Pittsburgh  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  June  30. 

*  *  » 

Messrs.  Hiscock  and  Platt  were  both  at  work 
among  the  committeemen  in  the  corridors  of 


354 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


the  hotel  last  night.  Among  other  promi¬ 
nent  republicans  in  the  corridors  were  ex- 
Congressman  Henry  J,  Burleigh,  ex-Railroad 
Commissioner  Isaac  V.  Baker,  Congressman 
James  W.  Wadsworth,  Congressman  N.  W. 
Curtis,  Congressman  John  M. Weaver,  Howard 
White,  editor  of  the  Syracuse  Standard;  Wil¬ 
lard  A.  Cobb,  editor  of  the  Lockport  Journal; 
Ellis  H.  Roberts,  assistant  treasurer;  William 
Leary,  John  A.  Sleicher,  Collector  Frank  Hen¬ 
dricks  and  ex-State  Senator  Sweet. — New  York 
Times,  June  S8. 

*  *  * 

A  gentleman  who  talked  with  Land 
Commissioner  Carter  to-day  asked  him  what 
he  thought  of  the  organization  of  the  New 
York  republican  state  committee,  and  Mr. 
Mr.  Carter  is  quoted  as  replying,  “It  looks 
as  though  they  had  given  us  a  cold  deck.”  It 
is  the  impression  among  the  republicans  in  the 
national  committee  that  if  there  is  to  be  any 
work  done  in  New  York  for  Harrison,  it  must 
be  done  by  the  national  committee.  The  state 
committee  will  do  nothingfor  Harrison. 

Mr.  Platt  is  reported  as  having  said  that 
there  was  no  trouble  in  getting  promises  from 
Mr.  Harrison  ;  he  had  a  barrel  full  of  them 
now,  all  several  years  old  and  unfulfilled.  To 
work  for  Harrison’s  election  would  be  to 
simply  accept  a  number  of  promises  that 
would  be  broken  almost  as  soon  as  made. 

There  is  no  doubt  among  Harrison’s  friends 
that  if  anything  is  to  be  done  in  New  York 
for  him  it  must  be  done  by  the  national 
committee,  and  by  his  friends.  The  organiza¬ 
tion  of  the  state  committee  is  regarded  as  a 
menace  to  Harrison’s  success  in  the  state.  In 
order  to  be  sure  that  Harrison  is  looked  after, 
a  branch  of  the  national  committee  will  have 
to  be  named  for  New  York,  as  there  is  a  dis¬ 
trust  of  the  intentions  of  the  Platt  and  Warner 
Miller  faction. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  July  1, 

PUBLIC  OFFICERS  AT  THEIR  DU¬ 
TIES. 

There  was  some  doubt  last  night  whether 
Land  Commissioner  Carter,  of  Montana,  would 
accept  the  secretaryship  of  the  national  com¬ 
mittee.  Mr.  Carter  believes  that  he  could 
materially  assist  in  making  Montana  purely 
republican  this  year,  including  the  legisla¬ 
ture,  which  will  elect  a  United  States  senator, 
if  he  could  only  give  the  state  his  undivided 
attention. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  June  30. 

»  »  » 

Who  will  be  chairman  of  the  republican 
national  committee?  Mr.  Campbell  reached 
Washington  this  morning  and  made  known 
his  decision  to  the  President  as  soon  as  he 
could  gain  admittance  to  the  White  House. 
He  had,  in  fact,  arranged  for  a  conference  at 
the  White  House,  and  it  began  soon  after  Mr. 
Campbell  arrived.  Besides  the  President  and 
Mr.  Campbell,  there  were  present  Land  Commis¬ 
sioner  Carter,  Secretaries  Elkins  and  Rusk,  ex- 
Sen  ator  Spooner  of  Wisconsin,  and  L.  T. 
Michener. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  July  6. 


Chairman  Campbell,  of  the  national  re¬ 
publican  committee,  arrived  in  the  city  on 
the  noon  train  from  Chicago.  He  was  met  at 
the  depot  by  Mr.  Michener,  the  President’s 
personal  friend.  They  immediately  took  a 
carriage  for  the  Arlington  Hotel.  Mr.  Camp¬ 
bell  did  not  register,  but  went  directly  to  the 
room  of  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office  Car¬ 
ter,  who  is  also  secretary  of  the  national  re¬ 
publican  committee,  where  Mr.  Carter,  Mr. 
Michener  and  Mr.  Campbell  held  a  consulta¬ 
tion  lasting  about  half  an  hour.  They  after¬ 
wards  left  the  hotel  together,  going  directly  to 
the  White  House,  and  were  in  conference  for 
four  hours  with  the  President,  Secretary  Elkins, 
ex-Seiiator  Spooner,  of  Wisconsin,  and  Secre¬ 
tary  Rusk. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  July  6. 

»  »  * 

Mr.  William  J.  Campbell,  who  has  put 
aside  the  chairmanship  of  the  republican 
national  committee,  was  very  busy  in  Wash¬ 
ington  to  day  up  to  the  time  of  his  departure 
for  New  York.  In  the  morning  he  had  a  long 
conference  with  Col.  Dudley  and  Gen.  Mich¬ 
ener  of  Indiana,  and  then  he  went  to  the 
White  House  and  was  closeted  with  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  Secretary  Elkins,  and  Land  Commissioner 
Carter.  The  composition  of  the  executive  com¬ 
mittee  was  discussed,  but  after  the  conference 
Mr.  Campbell  said  he  was  not  yet  ready  to 
announce  the  committee.  He  said  he  might 
announce  it  after  he  reached  New  York.  It 
was  generally  understood  that  he  desired  to 
consult  with  Gen.  Clarkson  before  completing 
the  list.  There  has  been  a  decided  hitch  con¬ 
cerning  this  committee,  the  President  desiring 
to  have  several  men  on  it  whom  Campbell  and 
Clarkson  do  not  favor. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 

New  York  Times,  July  7. 

*  *  « 

Chairman  William  J.  Campbell,  of  the  re¬ 
publican  national  committee,  arrived  at  the 
Imperial  Hotel,  Broadway  and  Thirty  second 
street,  early  last  evening,  having  left  Wash¬ 
ington  a  little  after  noon.  “Do  you  expect  to 
confer  with  Mr.  Clarkson  and  Mr.  Platt  while 
heref  ” 

“I  should  be  glad  toseethem  both  if  oppor¬ 
tunity  presents  itself,  but  I  have  made  no  ar¬ 
rangements  for  any  meeting  with  them.” 

A  story  was  passed  through  the  corridor 
last  night  that  “Sam”  Fessenden,  of  Con¬ 
necticut,  Land  Commissioner  Carter,  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury  Foster,  General  Clark¬ 
son,  and  possibly  one  or  two  others,  were  to 
meet  Mr.  Campbell  and  make  an  attempt  to 
select  some  one  to  take  up  what  seems  to  be 
the  unattractive  task  of  managing  President 
Harrison’s  campaign. 

Mr.  Campbell  said  that  while  it  was  true 
that  Commissioner  Carter  was  on  his  way  to  this 
city  he  did  not  think  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
conferring  on  this  particular  topic. 

‘Jf  Mr.  Carter  is  heix  during  my  stay,  probably 
I  shall  see  him,”  said  Mr.  Campbell.  “I  do  not 
know  that  Secretary  Foster  is  coming,  or  that 
his  visit  would  have  any  connection  with  the 
selection  of  the  committee  if  be  did  come.” 
— New  York  Times,  July  7. 


HENCHMEN  IN  ACTIVE  SERVICE." 

The  republicans  opened  their  campaign 
here  this  evening,  John  L.  Griffiths  and  John 
B.  Cockrum  [assistant  United  States  district 
attorney],  of  Indianapolis,  making  addresses. 
— Lebanon  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
June  14. 

*  »  * 

The  Indiana  republican  association  of 
Washington  v/ill  have  a  ratification  meeting 
at  G.  A.  R.  Hall,  No.  1,411  Pennsylvania 
avenue,  at  8  o’clock  to-morrow  night,  at 
which  the  nominations  made  by  the  Minne. 
apolis  convention  will  be  indorsed  by  resolu¬ 
tion  and  speeches.  The  principal  speaker 
will  be  the  Hon.  William  M.  Marine,  collector  of 
the  port  of  Baltimore. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  July  2. 

*  *  » 

Indiana  republicans  in  Washington  feel 
that  the  cause  of  republicanism  was  given  a 
very  decided  impetus  at  their  ratification 
meeting  last  night.  There  was  an  immense 
turnout  of  Hoosiers,  quite  all  of  the  members 
of  the  Indiana  republican  club  and  many 
others  being  present.  President  John  C. 
Cheney  presided.  The  speech  by  William  Ma¬ 
rine,  collector  of  the  port  of  Baltimore,  indorsing  the 
nomination  of  Harrison  and  Reid,  was  a  gi-eat  suc¬ 
cess.  It  was  largely  devoted  to  the  personal 
character  of  the  President,  and  was  a  high 
tribute.  Thomas  H.  McKee,  Frank  Swigart 
and  A.  D.  Shatv  [deputy  third  auditor]  also 
delivered  short,  but  eloquent  speeches. —  Wash¬ 
ington  Dispatch  to  In-dianapolis  Journal,  July  J. 

*  »  * 

The  political  allies  of  President  Harrison 
are  already  confessing  that  they  expect  to  see 
him  make  a  very  poor  showing  in  Kings 
county  on  election  day,  and  they  do  not  hesi. 
tate  to  give  their  reasons.  They  merely  point 
to  the  fact  that  that  old  political  trickster, 
Ernst  Nathan,  is  again  in  the  saddle,  and  ask 
all  inquirers  to  point  to  a  single  year  when 
Nathan  led  his  party  to  anything  but  igno¬ 
minious  defeat. — N.  Y.  Times,  July  S. 

*  *  * 

There  is  no  doubt  about  the  fact  that 
Nathan,  who  was  badly  beaten  by  Naval  Officer 
Willis  at  the  primaries  which  decided  the  complexion 
of  the  Kings  county  delegation  to  the  Minneapolis 
convention,  is  again  at  the  head  of  affairs.  By 
a  neat  trick  he  elected  one  of  his  own  tools, 
Michael  J.  Dady,  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee,  and  then  forced  the  election  of 
Francis  H.  Wilson  as  chairman  of  the  cam¬ 
paign  committee.  Through  these  two  men  he  will 
have  absolute  control  of  the  approaching  fight,  and 
the  candidates  must  call  on  him  for  support 
or  get  up  an  internal  fight  which  would  prove 
fatal. 

“The  outlook  is  certainly  not  very  cheer¬ 
ful,”  said  oue  of  the  few  friends  President 
Harrison  has  made  in  Brooklyn,  “for  this  fellow 
Nathan  is  the  most  pliant  tool  Thomas  C.  Platt  has 
in  this  state.  He  has  been  keeping  hold  of  his  offixe 
of  collector  of  internal  revemix,  given  him  by  Har¬ 
rison,  solely  for  the  power  it  confers  upon  him,  yet 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  use  that  power  in  his  efforts  to 
defeat  the  President’s  renomination. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


355 


“There  are  certainly  no  republicans  in  this 
city  who  do  not  know  of  the  fight  made  by 
Nathan  to  send  anti-Harrison  delegates  to  the 
convention,  so  that  none  of  us  can  be  deceived 
now  by  his  assertion  that  he  was  for  Harrison 

I  all  along  and  had  never  favored  any  one  else. 
He  has  not  even  the  self-respect  to  resign  the 
oflBce  given  him  by  the  President,  and  yet  he 
1  knows  that  he  would  have  been  removed  be¬ 
fore  this  if  it  had  not  been  that  Gen.  Harrison 
realized  that  he  could  not  afford  to  dismiss  a 
public  officer  solely  because  of  that  officer’s 
personal  treachery  to  him. 

“  But  it  is  very  humiliating,  I  can  tell  you> 
to  be  compelled  to  go  to  this  political  jockey 
for  every  single  thing  we  want  during  the 
next  four  months.  What  is  more,  a  great 
many  of  the  best  men  in  the  party  won’t  do 
it.  I  know  half  a  dozen  who  have  already 
refused  and  who  declare  they  will  take  no 
I  part  in  a  campaign  managed  by  Nathan. — 
■  New  York  Times,  July  S. 

Bj  *  $  « 

I  The  employes  at  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard 
^|were  surprised  to  learn  yesterday  that  Ed¬ 
ward  F.  Page,  chief  of  the  Ordnance  Depart¬ 
ment,  had  been  removed  by  Secretary  Tracy. 

■  Page  is  a  good  republican,  but  is  said  to 
have  expressed  a  belief  that  Harrison  could 
not  be  re-elected,  and  to  have  worked  in  his 
ward  to  send  an  anti-Harrison  delegate  to 
Minneapolis. 

“I  have  not  the  slightest  idea  why  I  have 
been  discharged,”  he  said  yesterday.  “  I 
went  to  Washington  to  asscertain  the  cause 
and  demanded  the  right  to  face  my  accusers. 
The  secretary  merely  said  that  he  had  been 
told  that  I  had  neglected  my  duty.  That  is 
false,  no  matter  who  says  it.  My  books,  all 
written  up  to  date,  prove  it.” 

J.  W,  Beaty,  the  opponent  of  ex-Senator 
Birkett  in  the  fourth  ward,  and  a  Harrison 
worker  in  the  recent  faction  squabble,  expects 
to  get  the  vacant  place. — New  York  Times, 
July  1, 

»  »  * 

The  President  to-day  sent  to  the  senate  the 
j  nominadon  of  William  H.  Leaycraft  of  New 
i  York  to  be  assistant  appraiser  of  merchandise 
p  in  the  district  of  New  York.  For  years  Leay- 
b  ;  craft  has  been  the  republican  boss  of  the  thir- 
I  teenth  ward,  and  has  been  able  to  carry  around  in 
j  ;  his  pocket  the  delegates  elected  from  that  ward  to  the 
nominating  conventions  in  the  ninth  assembly,  the 
j  third  senatorial,  and  the  third  congressional 
,  districts.  He  was  a  devoted  follower  of  Thos. 
^  C.  Platt  until  the  latter  lost  the  legislature 
and  Leaycraft  was  put  out  of  his  position  as 
port  warden.  Since  then  he  has  trained  with 
I  Naval  Officer  Willis,  and  his  appointment 
now  is  regarded  as  a  slap  at  Platt  and  Nathan. 

I  — New  York  Times,  July  7. 

*•  *  * 

Some  racy  testimony  against  the  republican 
office-holders  in  Alabama  will  be  considered 
by  the  house  committee  on  civil  service  re- 
J  form  at  the  meeting  which  Chairman  Andrew 
has  called  for  to-morrow  morning. 

The  matter  comes  before  the  committee  on 
i  the  resolution  ofiered  Monday  by  Representa¬ 


tive  Herbert  (Dem.,  Ala.),  for  an  investiga¬ 
tion,  and  the  striking  feature  of  the  charges 
is  that  they  are  signed  by  William  J.  Ste¬ 
vens,  chairman  of  the  republican  executive 
committee  of  Alabama,  and  dated  June  25, 
1892. 

This  state  committee  represents  the  anti¬ 
office  holding  element  in  Alabama,  and  it  is 
evident  from  its  complaints  that  it  is  not 
ready  to  wheel  into  the  Harrison  column, 
even  though  the  President  has  been  renomi¬ 
nated.  Mr.  Stevens,  in  his  letter  to  Repre¬ 
sentative  Herbert,  incloses  a  copy  of  the  reso¬ 
lutions  unanimously  adopted  by  the  republi¬ 
can  state  convention  at  Montgomery  on  April 
28,  1892,  charging  most  flagrant  violations  of 
the  civil  service  law. 

He  goes  further  than  this,  however,  and  de¬ 
clares  that  the  United  States  marshal  and  re¬ 
ceiver  of  the  Mobile  and  Girard  Railroad 
Company’s  lands  has  not  managed  his  trust  in 
the  interest  of  the  government,  and  that  many 
thousands  of  dollars  have  been  disbursed  with¬ 
out  vouchers  or  receipts  being  taken. 

He  makes  serious  charges  against  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States  district  attorney  and  declares  that 
he  has  continued  cases  on  the  promise  of  de¬ 
fendants  that  they  would  return  home  and  use 
their  influence  in  controlling  conventions,  and 
has  dismissed  cases  in  order  to  secure  indorse¬ 
ments  as  a  candidate  for  judicial  honors.  It 
is  further  declared  that  he  has  used  his  pres¬ 
tige  to  control  the  action  of  juries,  and,  in  one 
case,  has  called  men  from  the  jury  room  in 
order  to  change  their  votes  and  action  before 
the  jury. 

It  is  further  declared  that  the  collector  of 
internal  revenue  has  not  only  violated  the 
civil  service  law,  but  has  levied,  collected,  and 
borrowed  large  sums  of  money  from  numerous 
applicants  for  office,  said  money  having  never 
been  repaid.  Numerous  witnesses  are  cited 
to  sustain  the  accusations,  and  affidavits  are 
made  to  some  of  them. —  Washington  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  June  SO. 

A  CALAMITY. 

“  What  would  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  mean?” 

“  It  would  mean  the  destruction  of  the 
regular  organizations  in  the  great  demo¬ 
cratic  cities  of  the  state  and  in  the  state 
itself.” — Murphy,  Tammany  Boss,  at  Chicago, 
June  17. 

EXAMPLES. 

I 

All  persons  who  think  of  getting  on  the  Brooklyn 
police  force  are  advised  to  see  to  it  that  they  have  a 
political  “pull”  before  they  endeavor  to  pass  the 
civil  service  examination. 

They  will  find  it  very  useful  later  on. 

That  has  been  the  recent  experience  of  Nicholas 
Callan,  prize  fighter.  He  decided  some  time  ago 
that  there  was  more  money  to  be  made  in  raiding 
prize  fights  than  there  was  in  conducting  them,  so 
he  consulted  ex-Assemblyman  Sheridan  about  get- 
ing  on  the  force. 

In  due  time  he  appeared  for  his  competitive  exam¬ 
ination,  and  passed  well  toward  the  head  of  his  class, 
standing  No.  6.  This  was  really  embarrassing,  for 
Callan  had  arranged  to  participate  in  just  one  more 


fight  before  retiring,  but  if  he  was  appointed  a  po¬ 
liceman  he  could  not  do  it. 

Sheridan  was  appealed  to,  and  again  he  “fixed” 
things,  so  that  Police  Commissioner  Hayden  ap¬ 
pointed  thirty-three  new  patrolmen,  but  left  Callan 
out.  The  latter  thereupon  took  his  place  in  the  ring 
and  was  badly  whipped.  He  at  once  yearned  for  the 
police  force,  and  the  commissioner  very  accommo¬ 
datingly  turned  back  on  the  list  a  few  days  ago  and 
appointed  him.— New  York  Times,  May  30. 

II. 

The  recent  appointment  of  Alexander  McLean  as 
acting  janitor  of  the  new  grammar  school.  No.  62,  on 
One  Hundred  and  Fifty-seventh  street,  near  Cort- 
landt  avenue,  by  Tammany  trustees  of  the  twenty- 
third  ward,  in  which  the  school  is  situated,  is  a  strik¬ 
ing  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  the  organization 
rewards  its  supporters,  “  without  regard  to  race,  col¬ 
or,  or  previous  condition.” 

McLean  has  had  dealings  with  the  board  of  educa¬ 
tion  for  more  than  six  years,  receiving  many  jobs  of 
repairing  school  buildings  in  the  twenty-third  ward. 
His  bills  for  this  work  have  not  always  been  found 
correct  when  sent  to  the  comptroller’s  oflice  for  pay¬ 
ment.  Instead  of  making  these  accounts  out  in  his 
own  name,  he  used  at  different  times  the  name  of 
E.  A.  McLean  &  Co.  and  M.  E.  McLean,  which  was 
found  to  be  the  name  of  his  twelve-year-old  daugh¬ 
ter,  by  Superintendent  of  School  Buildings  George 
W.  Debevoise,  who  was  asked  by  President  Simmons 
of  the  board  of  education  to  make  an  examination. 
This  request  by  the  president  was  explained  in  a  let¬ 
ter  to  the  clerk  of  the  board  of  education,  in  1886,  by 
E.  V.  Loew,  comptroller,  declaring  that  many  of  Mc¬ 
Lean’s  bills  were  “  false  in  fact,  and  that  if  payment 
were  made  by  this  department  upon  the  strength  of 
the  certificates  attached  to  the  vouchers,  the  city 
would  be  defrauded.” 

When  an  inspeetor  of  the  comptroller’s  office  made 
an  investigation  he  found  that  many  false  charges 
had  been  entered  by  McLean.  One  of  them  was  for 
“2,400  brick,  four  days’  labor  for  mason,  five  days’ 
labor  for  laborer.”  The  alleged  repairing  was  done 
at  the  branch  of  school  No.  60,  at  Brook  avenue  and 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  street.  The  inspector 
found  that  not  a  brick  was  in  the  building  except  the 
chimney,  and  no  work  of  any  kind  had  been  done 
by  McLean.  Another  instance  was  where,  two  years 
previous,  McLean  had  slated  the  roof  of  grammar 
school  No.  60,  at  College  avenue  and  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-fifth  street  without  authority.  He  at¬ 
tempted  to  charge  for  it,  but  the  account  was  not 
indorsed  by  the  superintendent  of  school  buildings. 

The  reductions  recommended  in  the  report  of  the 
inspector  from  the  comptroller’s  office  were  made, 
and  no  demand  for  payment  in  full  was  received 
from  McLean. 

During  the  term  of  office  of  George  W.  Debevoise 
as  superintendent  of  school  buildings,  the  trustees  of 
the  twenty-third  ward  made  frequent  attempts  to 
have  McLean,  who  is  a  Tammany  “heeler”  in  that 
.section,  appointed  as  a  janitor.  Mr.  Debevoise  knew 
the  man  was  unfit  for  the  position,  and  refused  to 
sign  his  license.  The  trustees  who  are  backing  Mc¬ 
Lean  are  William  Hogg  and  Samuel  Samuels,  whose 
devotion  to  Tammany  is  well  known.  There  is  a 
third  trustee  who  votes  with  them  in  these  matters, 
and  by  his  aid  the  appointment  of  McLean  has  at 
last  been  made.  The  other  three  trustees  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  Hogg  and  Samuels  are :  Thomas  J.  Rusk, 
James  A.  Ferguson  and  Dr.  A.  F.  Brugman.  The 
position  will  net  McLean  about  $800  a  year,  with  no 
rent,  and  free  coal,  after  he  pays  his  assistants  and 
all  necessary  expenses,  leaving  him  ample  time  to 
continue  his  work  as  “repairer”  of  public  schools. — 
New  York  Evening  Post,  May  9. 

III. 

State  Railroad  Inspector  Thomas  W.  Snencei  has 
been  asked  for  his  resignation,  to  take  effect  July  1. 
Mr.  Spencer  has  occupied  the  position  nine  year.s. 
He  is  peculiarly  well  qualified  for  the  office,  ha-in't 
spent  many  years  in  charge  of  the  building  and 
equipment  of  several  important  railroads.  His  rec¬ 
ord  in  the  position  has  been  admirable,  as  he  is  a 
man  of  the  highest  integrity  and  ability. 


356 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


'  The  place  is  to  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
Frank  K.  Baxter,  ex-city  surveyor  of  this  city,  and 
a  close  political  partner  of  Railroad  Commissioner 
Beardsley.  His  main  qualification  for  the  position  is 
his  ability  to  run  a  caucus  or  engineer  a  convention  in 
the  most  approved  Hill  style.  He  is  utterly  incompe¬ 
tent  as  an  expert,  and  has  had  no  experience  in  rail¬ 
road  work  whatever. —  Utica  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  May  3. 

IV. 

The  dictation  of  Senator  D.  B.  Hill  and  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  State  Comptroller  Frank  Campbell  in  the 
matter  of  the  appointment  of  game  and  fish  protect 
ors  for  the  Lake  Keuka  district  have  renewed  the  li¬ 
cense  of  the  fish  pirates  on  that  lake,  and  virtually 
notified  them  that  they  may  go  on  with  their  illegal 
netting  of  salmon  trout  with  the  same  immunity 
from  interference  by  the  protectors  under  Governor 
Flower’s  administration  that  they  enjoyed  to  the  ut¬ 
most  during  Governor  Hill’s  time.  It  was  only  a 
few  years  ago  that  Lake  Keuka,  the  fairest  of  New 
York’s  inland  waters,  provided  the  best  salmon  trout 
fishing  of  any  water  in  the  country.  It  was  Seth 
Green’s  favorite  fishing  place.  Twelve-pounders 
were  not  uncommon,  and  a  four-pounder  was  not 
regarded  as  much  of  a  catch  to  brag  of,  so  plentiful 
and  superior  were  these  princes  of  game  fish. 

Four  or  five  years  ago  Governor  Hill  appointed  a 
saloon  keeper  of  Penn  Yan,  John  Sheridan,  to  take 
charge  of  the  fish  interests  of  Lake  Keuka.  Sheridan 
was  and  is  a  local  Hill  healer  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
kind.  He  knew  nothing  about  salmon  trout  or  their 
importance,  but  he  knew  many  of  the  most  per¬ 
sistent  fish  pirates  of  the  lake,  for  there  were  many 
of  them  who  were  regular  patrons  of  his  saloon. 

Protest  after  protest  went  to  Albany,  during  the 
administration  of  Governor  Hill,  against  the  reten¬ 
tion  of  so  palpably  unfit  a  man,  through  personal  in¬ 
terest  and  association,  as  guardian  of  the  fish  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  lake,  but  they  were  never  listened  to. 
The  fish  pirates  had  votes,  and  they  were  not  likely 
to  go  against  the  wishes  of  the  governor’s  game  pro¬ 
tector.— flawmondsporf  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
June  7. 

V. 

Christopher  C.  Collins  was  made  captain  of  the 
Park  police  by  the  Park  board  yesterday  to  succeed 
Capt.  Thomas  Beatty,  who  died  on  March  26.  The 
appointment  is  a  curious  one,  and  it  iilustrates  the 
beautiful  workings  of  local  civil  service  reform  as 
the  system  is  now  administered.  Collins,  who  has 
been  a  sergeant  of  the  Park  police  for  a  few  weeks, 
was  born  in  Ireland  in  1852,  and  became  a  gate 
keeper  in  Central  Park  in  1879,  as  a  member  of  the 
Park  police  force.  He  was  made  a  park  keeper  in 
March,  1880,  and  a  roundsman  in  1886. 

Then  came  a  set-back  to  Mr.  Collin’s  career.  In 
1887  he  was  reduced  from  roundsman  to  park  keeper 
He  held  that  place  until  March  24,  just  two  days  be¬ 
fore  the  death  of  Capt.  Beatty.  He  was  then  made 
roundsman  again,  and  his  later  promotions  have 
come  with  a  rapidity  that  is  singular.  After  serving 
as  a  roundsman  for  a  month  and  a  few  days  Collins 
was  made  a  sergeant  by  the  Park  board  on  May  5. 
This  promotion  was  not  made  because  of  any  special 
service  he  had  rendered  the  department,  but  because 
it  had  been  planned  by  the  Tammany  leaders  to 
make  him  a  captain,  and  he  had  to  be  a  sergeant  be¬ 
fore  he  could  take  the  civil  service  examination  for 
the  captaincy. 

The  sergeants  who  took  the  civil  service  examina¬ 
tion  were  James  B.  Ferris,  who  got  a  rating  of  98.75; 
Louis  Flock,  the  senior  sergeant  of  the  force,  who 
has  been  in  the  service  for  twenty  years,  and  who 
got  a  rating  of  96.50,  and  Collins,  who  got  a  rat¬ 
ing  of  %.52.  Collins  was  chosen  at  yesterday’s  meet¬ 
ing  without  opposition  by  the  votes  of  Commission¬ 
ers  Dana,  Gallup  and  Tappen.  Commissioner  Straus 
was  not  present  and  Sergeant  Flock  thought  that  he 
would  have  stood  a  better  chance  had  Mr.  Straus 
been  there. 

Mr.  Gallup,  in  explaining  why  Collins  was  chosen, 
said  that  the  department  wanted  new  blood,  and 
that  Collins  was  a  man  of  strong  individuality.  Mr. 
Gallup  thought  that  a  retired  cavalry  officer,  who 
would  be  “a  good  horseman  and  a  gentleman,” 


would  make  the  ideal  police  captain;  but  there  was 
no  retired  cavalry  officer  on  hand.  Collins,  he  said, 
would  look  well  in  the  saddle. 

Capt.  Collin’s  salary  will  be  82,750.  He  is  a  relative 
of  Mrs.  Richard  Croker  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Tam¬ 
many  Hall  general  committee.— New  York  Times,  July  1. 

VI. 

Drs.  Abraham  Jacobi  and  T.  Mitchell  Prudden 
have  withdrawn  from  the  health  department  of  this 
city.  The  reason  they  give  for  this  action  is  that  the 
board  has  become  a  political  machine,  and  as  their 
connection  with  it  was  purely  in  a  non-partisan  and 
scientific  capacity,  they  concluded  that  their  useful¬ 
ness  was  fast  drawing  to  a  close. 

Dr.  Jacobi  said  last  night :  * 

‘‘When  I  say  that  the  department  has  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  a  political  machine,  of  course  I  mean 
Tammany  Hall. 

“The  trouble  dates  back  to  the  peremptory  demand 
for  the  resignation  of  Dr.  W.  A.  Ewing,  sanitary  su¬ 
perintendent,  which  was  without  warrant,  only  that 
his  place  was  wanted  for  a  Tammany  man.  The 
way  in  which  Ewing’s  resignation  was  demanded 
was  simply  disgraceful.  I  was  told  by  him  that  on 
the  day  he  resigned.  President  Charles  Wilson,  of  the 
board,  a.sked  him  for  his  resignation,  and  he  said  he 
would  take  twenty  four  hours  to  consider  it,  but 
President  Wilson  told  him  that  he  must  have  the 
resignation  that  afternoon,  and  added :  ‘If  your 
resignation  is  not  forthcoming  at  once,  mine  will  be 
demanded  by  the  powers  that  be.’ 

“I  was  very  reluctant  to  sever  my  connection  with 
the  department,  for  it  was  I  who  suggested  the  Wil- 
lard-Parker  Hospital  for  scarlet  fever  and  diphthe¬ 
ria  while  I  was  president  of  the  state  medical  so¬ 
ciety.  Besides,  the  best  methods  for  doing  good  for 
the  health  of  the  community  are  through  the  health 
department,  and  I  had  hoped  to  be  of  much  more 
service  than  I  had  been,  but  the  outside  pressure 
was  too  great  and  I  could  not  consistently  remain 
in  the  position.” 

Dr.  Prudden  was  reluctant  to  discuss  his  resigna¬ 
tion.  “My  connection  with  the  board  of  health,” 
he  said,  “was  solely  in  a  scientific  capacity.  I  am 
not  a  partisan  of  any  kind,  and  when  I  saw  matters 
shaping  the  department  into  a  political  machine,  I 
did  not  consider  that  my  professional  duties  were 
any  longer  required.  The  forcing  out  of  Dr.  Ewing 
and  Counselor  Prentice,  two  men  of  great  worth  to 
the  board  and  its  impartial  work,  was  the  beginning 
of  the  trouble.” 

Dr.  Ewing  reiterated  what  Dr.  Jacobi  had  said  in 
regard  to  his  sudden  withdrawal  from  the  board  and 
how  impatient  President  Wilson  was  for  his  resigna¬ 
tion. 

“Now,”  said  the  doctor,  “I  wish  it  understood 
that  the  position  of  sanitary  superintendent  came  to 
me  from  President  Wilson  in  the  spring  of  1889  un- 
solicted.  I  am  not  a  politician  but  a  physician,  and 
devoted  myself  to  the  impartial  service  of  the  city 
as  its  chief  sanitarian.  I  do  not  in  the  least  regret 
leaving  the  position.  The  simple  fact  is  Tammany 
wanted  the  place  for  Dr.  Cyrus  Edson  and  had  to 
have  it.  So  I  got  out.”— iVew  York  Times,  June  25. 

VII. 

Drs.  Richard  H.  Derby,  Daniel  M.  Stimson  and 
Joseph  O’Dwyer  resigned  yesterday  from  the  medi¬ 
cal  consulting  board  of  the  health  department.  The 
reason  actuating  them  was  the  same  as  that  which 
caused  Drs.  Janeway,  Jacobi,  Prudden  and  Smith  to 
leave  the  board— the  infusion  of  too  much  politics 
into  the  administration  of  the  department.  By  the 
withdrawal  of  these  last  three  gentlemen,  the  con¬ 
sulting  board  is  practically  wiped  out,  only  one 
member.  Dr.  George  F.  Shrady,  remaining. 

“My  resignation,”  said  Dr.  O’Dwyer  to  a  reporter, 
“is  to  be  attributed  to  the  same  cause  that  led  to  the 
resignation  of  the  other  members  of  the  consulting 
board.  Tt  is  a  protest  on  my  part  against  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  politics  in  the  administration  of  the 
board  of  health.  I  have  no  objection  to  urge  against 
Dr.  Cyrus  Edson,  the  new  sanitary  superintendent, 
on  the  score  of  his  ability,  but  Dr.  Ewing  was  equally 
able,  and  there  was  absolutely  no  excuse  for  dis¬ 
charging  him.— iVcw  York  Times,  July  6. 


VIII. 

Now  that  the  Chicago  convention  is  over  and  the 
Kings  county  leaders  want  to  show  to  the  world 
that  they  will  cordially  and  honestly  support  Cleve¬ 
land,  the  story  of  how  and  why  they  agreed  to  sup¬ 
port  Hill  is  gradually  leaking  out. 

To  those  who  knew  how  McLaughlin  denounced 
Hill  last  fall  as  a  trickster  and  fraud  for  his  treat¬ 
ment  of  Alfred  C.  Chapin,  it  was  a  surprise  to  hear 
that  he  had  fallen  in  with  the  February  convention 
plan,  and  had  agreed  to  stand  by  Hill  to  the  last. 

Those  men  said  then  that  there  was  some  deal,  and 
they  were  right,  although  they  didn’t  know  just 
what  it  was. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  a  sale  by  Hill,  and 
the  article  disposed  of  was  the  New  York  and  Brook¬ 
lyn  bridge. 

This  statement  is  made,  not  on  the  word  of  some 
“well-informed  man,”  but  as  an  actual  fact,  and  The 
Times  can  substantiate  it.  Hill  went  about  the  state 
buying  up  delegates  wherever  he  could  not  bulldoze 
them  into  supporting  him,  and  he  found  that  the 
thing  Hugh  McLaughlin  most  wanted  was  the  con¬ 
trol  of  the  big  bridge,  which  he  had  lost  through  the 
stupidity  of  ex-Mayor  Chapin,  Controller  Jackson, 
and  a  few  others. 

So  Hill  sent  one  of  his  numerous  emissaries  over  to 
Willoughby  street  with  this  message : 

“For  a  full  delegation  from  Kings  county  1  will 
give  you  the  bridge.” 

McLaughlin  considered  the  matter  and  accepted 
the  bargain.  But  he  did  not  have  much  faith  in 
Hill’s  promises  and  was  ready  to  dump  him  and  his 
presidential  aspirations  overboard  even  as  late  as  the 
Hoffman  House  conference. 

A  gentleman  who  was  at  that  conference  said  to  a 
Times  reporter  yesterday  ? 

“McLaughlin  went  over  to  that  meeting  solely  to 
see  Hill  and  ascertain  if  he  was  going  to  keep  to  his 
part  of  the  bargain,  and  they  had  a  long  talk  on  the 
subject  in  my  hearing.  Hill  vowed  by  everything 
that  he  was  dealing  straight,  and  closed  the  conver¬ 
sation  by  hammering  his  fist  upon  the  table  and  say¬ 
ing  :  ‘I  assure  you,  Mr.  McLaughlin,  that  the  bridge 
will  be  yours.  This  fellow  Wagstaff  will  resign  at 
the  next  meeting.’  And  he  did.”— New  York  Times, 
June  26. 


A  subscriber  at  St.  Cloud,  Minnesota,  writes: 
“The  Chronicle  has  been  to  me  of  the  high¬ 
est  worth.  It  has  fanned  a  spark  of  patriotism 
that  greatly  needs  kindling,  in  a  latitude 
where  one  is  tempted  to  believe  that  every 
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office  is  public  trust,” 


Another  subscriber  from  Buffalo  says:  “I 
wish  to  congratulate  you  on  the  first  number 
of  the  fourth  year.  You  do  manage  to  hit  the 
bull’s  eye  on  what  you  have  to  say  on  this 
question,  about  as  ofien  as  you  shoot.  There 
is  nothing,  to  my  mind,  like  saying  what  you 
have  to  say  in  such  shape  that  no  one  can 
misunderstand  it.” 


“I  enclose  one  dollar,  my  usual  subscription, 
to  your  paper.  I  see  an  intimation  in  the  last 
number  that  after  the  present  year  its  discon¬ 
tinuance  is  probable.  The  field  you  occupy 
is  so  important,  and  the  service  you  are  ren¬ 
dering  so  valuable,  that  I  can  not  but  view 
your  retirement  with  extreme  regret. 

“The  fight  for  civil  service  reform  is  but  just 
begun,  as  I  view  it,  and  to  give  up  any  of 
our  positions  now  is  hazarding  everything.  L 
“Very  truly  yours,  John  H.  Magee.® 
‘'Scottsburyh,  New  York.” 


1 


The  civil  service  chronicle._ 

This  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  which  it  exists,  Imt  to  the  spoils  that  accompany  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so 
absolute  that  it  has  produced  an  evil  greater  than  any  which  party  proposes  to  remedy. — George.  William  Curtis,  at  Baltimore,  April,  1892. 


VoL.  I,  No.  42. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  AUGUST,  1892.  terms  :  ^  fcrnuVercopT' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  oflSce,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

IndiarMpolis,  Ind, 


The  Chronicle  will  be  glad  to  receive 
information  from  all  sources  relating  to  the 
participation  of  oflSce-holders  in  the  cam¬ 
paign.  The  facts  are  often  shown  in  news¬ 
papers,  and  the  favor  of  wrapping  and 
mailing  will  be  much  appreciated. 

The  pictures  the  Chronicle  is  able  to 
give  this  month  of  the  progress  of  the  cam¬ 
paign  are  interesting  and  vivid.  The  great 
triumph  of  the  month  is  the  Placation  of 
Platt  and  Quay.  They  blocked  all  prog¬ 
ress,  and  when  the  Placation  was  an¬ 
nounced  the  Indianapolis  Journal  said,  as 
its  load  of  anxiety  rolled  oflf,  “  Now  that 
Senator  Quay  and  ex-Senator  Platt  have 
got  into  the  republican  band  wagon  the 
procession  is  ready  to  move.”  The  other 
noticeable  feature  of  the  campaign  is  the 
ceaseless  activity  of  the  President,  in  which 
he  is  openly  aided  by  a  large  number  of 
his  great  office-holders  like  Collector  Hen¬ 
dricks  of  New  York.  On  every  hand  the 
question  arises,  What  are  “  the  dangers  to 
free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power 
of  official  patronage”  ? 

In  a  speech  at  Malone  to  “  old  soldiers,” 
President  Harrison  declared  himself  to  be 
in  a  non-partisan  mood,  and  this  was  the 
only  condition  fit  for  the  occasion.  Ex¬ 
pressing  his  reflections  as  a  non-partisan 
he  declared  that  we  are  a  favored  nation, 
free  from  contiguity  with  great  military 
powers;  but  that,  nevertheless,  we  have 
duties  and  responsibilities.  He  was  not 
very  definite  in  pointing  out  those  duties 
and  responsibilities,  except  to  say  that  we 
should  resume  our  “  once  proud  participa¬ 
tion  in  the  ocean-carrying  trade  of  the 
world.”  It  is  a  pity  that  while  in  a  non¬ 
partisan  mood  he  did  not  consider,  and  in 
good  set  terms,  such  as  he  knows  so  well, 
reflect  upon  a  President  who  uses  the  full 
power  of  the  civil  service  to  secure  the 
selection  of  delegates  favorable  to  himself, 
among  whom  are  140  who  hold  places  in 
the  service  absolutely  at  his  will,  and  who 
has  another  office-holder,  to  whom  he  has 
given  a  chance  to  make  $40,000  a  year, 
come  from  London  to  manage  the  conven¬ 
tion  of  these  delegates,  and  who  sits  at  the 
ends  of  two  wires  running  into  the  official 
presidential  residence  for  days  “sending 


and  receiving  messages  from  the  seat  of 
war,”  until  he  has  by  these  means  accom¬ 
plished  his  renomination.  There  is  much 
which  could  be  said  as  to  our  responsibili¬ 
ties  and  duties  in  relation  to  such  a  Presi¬ 
dent. 


In  the  general  laudation  of  President 
Harrison,  which  is  going  on  among  his  par¬ 
tisans  and  the  general  boast  about  his 
“clean  administration,”  we  have  looked 
patiently  for  some  expression  concerning 
his  management  of  the  civil  service  as 
compared  with  his  platform.  Among 
other  places  we  have  looked  in  the  New 
York  Tribune,  in  Colonel  Elliott  Shepard’s 
paper,  and  particularly  in  Senator  Hoar’s 
article  in  the  July  Forum,  and  we  have 
watched  a  large  list  of  eastern  and  western 
papers.  On  every  hand  there  is  silence. 
We  call  attention  to  this,  for  if  a  favorable 
comparison  can  be  made  it  will  be  of  the 
greatest  advantage  to  the  candidacy  of 
President  Harrison,  and  will  save  him  the 
loss  of  several  close  states,  including  In¬ 
diana. 

With  the  cholera  approaching,  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  that  this  city  will  examine  the  con¬ 
duct  of  some  part  of  its  affairs.  We  have 
the  best  city  government  that  we  have  ever 
had.  Nevertheless  no  one  can  return  from 
eastern  cities  without  being  impressed 
with  the  comparatively  scandalous  amount 
of  dirt  that  lies  on  the  streets  and  side¬ 
walks  of  Indianapolis.  We  pay  a  large 
sum  weekly  for  street  hands.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  where  in  the  world 
these  men  put  in  their  time.  Are  we  be¬ 
ing  swindled  by  “  politics,”  and  are  these 
men  hired  not  for  their  services  but  to  give 
them  places?  Do  they  get  in  and  stay  in 
by  political  “pulls”  and  work  about  as 
their  feelings  dictate?  Will  not  the  mayor 
and  the  board  of  public  works  render  this 
city  the  greatest  service  and  give  it  the 
worth  of  its  money  as  they  can  by  intro¬ 
ducing  the  Boston  labor  system?  There 
is  no  cleaner  city  than  Boston.  Secretary 
Tracy  with  this  system  has  revolutionized 
the  work  of  the  navy-yards.  New  York 
under  Tammany  was  one  of  the  dirtiest 
cities  in  the  world,  but  its  few  months 
under  this  system  is  rapidly  making  it 
one  of  the  cleanest. 

The  Civil  Service  Record,  published  at 
Boston,  and  the  Civil  Service  Reformer,  pub¬ 


lished  at  Baltimore,  have  been  consoli¬ 
dated,  and  now  appear  as  Good  Government, 
published  at  Washington.  We  shall  miss 
the  Record,  with  its  even  temper  and  abso¬ 
lute  fairness ;  and  we  shall  miss  the  Re¬ 
former,  with  its  scholarly  ability  and  its 
stinging  blow.  The  editor  of  Good  Gov- 
eryiment  is  Mr.FrancisE.  Leupp,  well  known 
as  the  Washington  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Post,  There  is  also  a 
committee  of  publication  consisting  of 
George  William  Curtis,  Charles  J,  Bona¬ 
parte,  Edward  Cary,  Richard  H.  Dana, 
William  Potts  and  Herbert  Welsh.  The 
subscription  is  one  dollar  a  year,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  every  friend  of  civil 
service  reform  will  subscribe.  The  ad¬ 
dress  is  the  Corcoran  Building,  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C. 

Many  years  ago  “Jim”  Tyner  was  an 
Indiana  republican  politician.  He  passed 
into  obscurity  to  be  resurrected  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  along  with  Warmouth,  Paul 
Vandervoort,  and  many  others  of  unpleas¬ 
ant  memory.  He  is  now  assistant  attor¬ 
ney-general  for  the  post-office  department. 
He  is  Wanamaker’s  kind  of  a  man,  and 
he  has  been  giving  his  chief  an  “  opinion  ” 
upon  the  civil  service  law  and  the  Balti¬ 
more  post-office  investigation.  He  quotes 
from  the  statute  the  prohibitions  against 
soliciting  or  receiving  money  “  for  any  po¬ 
litical  purpose  whatever,”  and  then  says 
that  they  do  not  apply  to  primaries  where 
Postmaster  Johnson  and  Marshal  Airey 
heading  the  Baltimore  federal  office-hold¬ 
ers,  and  forming  the  Johnson- Airey  fac¬ 
tion  are,  on  behalf  of  the  President,  des¬ 
perately  fighting  the  non-office-holding 
republicans.  Then  he  takes  the  ground 
that  the  rule  which  directs  that  any  em¬ 
ploye  who  shall  willfully  violate  any  of  the 
above  prohibitions  “shall  be  dismissed 
from  the  service,”  should  only  be  applied 
after  “conviction  upon  indictment.”  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Judge  Bradley 
charged  the  jury  which  acquitted  Mahone’s 
blackmailers  that  the  failure  of  the  execu¬ 
tive  to  dismiss  the  accused  was  prima  facie 
evidence  of  their  innocence.  Mr.  Charles 
J,  Bonaparte  in  Good  Government,  for  Au¬ 
gust,  thus  closes  a  discussion  of  this  knav¬ 
ish  trickery : 

While  the  assistant  attorney -general  says  they  can 
not  be  removed  until  they  have  been  convicted,  the 
judge  says  they  can  not  be  convicted  until  they 
have  been  removed.  The  result  of  the  two  views 


358 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


combined  is  that  the  law  and  the  rules  may  be  vio¬ 
lated  with  equal  Impunity  and  become,  practically, 
a  dead  letter. 

It  issufhciently  easy  to  detect  an  underlying  mo¬ 
tive  for  all  this  paltry  quibbling.  A  postmaster-gen¬ 
eral  may  not  wish  his  subordinates  to  rob  the  mails; 
so,  if  there  is  reasonable  ground  to  suspect  that  any 
of  them  have  done  this,  he  will  consider  these  per¬ 
sons  unfit  to  remain  in  the  service  and  will  purge  it 
of  them.  The  same  officer  may  wish  them  to  violate 
the  civil  service  law  whenever  he  believes— very 
foolishly,  perhaps,  in  some  Instances— that  his  own 
party  or  faction  may  profit  by  their  wrongful  acts. 
Then,  as  he  is  virtually  an  accomplice  in  their  guilt, 
he  will  seize  any  pretext,  shrewd  or  silly,  to  secure 
them  impunity ;  and  it  may  be  the  business  of  some 
brother  officer,  whose  resonant  title  would  justify  a 
popular  notion  that  he  spoke  with  authority  on  the 
legal  phases  of  the  case,  to  furnish  such  pretexts 
when  required.  The  conduct  of  the  unjust  steward 
in  the  parable  would  be  perplexing  enough  were  we 
bound  to  assume  his  honesty  and  devotion  to  his 
master’s  interests.  Mr.  Wanamaker  Is  reputed  to  be 
a  careful  Bible  student ;  and  doubtless,  if  he  speaks 
his  candid  judgment,  he  dismisses  the  steward  with 
the  simple  verdict  that  he  was  a  rascal.  What 
opinion  must  he  entertain  of  a  public  officer  who 
either  refuses  to  carryout  in  letter  and  spirit  a  law 
which  he  has  sworn  to  execute,  or  supplies  shallow 
sophistry,  in  quantities  to  suit,  to  excuse  another 
functionary  called  to  account  for  such  perjury  and 
breach  of  trust  ? 

The  civil  service  commission  has  again 
shown  that  it  knows  its  duty  and  is  not 
afraid  to  do  it.  We  do  the  President  no 
injustice  in  saying  that  he  does  not  favor 
encouraging  in  government  employes  a 
spirit  of  independence  of  the  blackmail¬ 
ers  who  would  wring  money  out  of  them 
for  political  purposes.  His  indifference, 
to  put  it  with  extreme  charity,  in  the 
Mahone  cases,  and  his  refusal  to  punish  in 
the  Baltimore  cases,  conclusively  show  his 
real  convictions,  humiliating  as  the  show¬ 
ing  is.  If  he  could  prevent  it  without  dis¬ 
aster  he  would  not  let  the  commission 
put  forth  such  a  warning  as  is  printed  be¬ 
low.  What  the  country  knows  the  com¬ 
mission  knows,  and  it  is  therefore  doubly 
refreshing  in  these  times  of  vassal  and 
chief,  master  and  man,  henchman  and 
boss,  to  have  some  officers  fearless  in  the 
performance  of  duty,  though  it  requires 
bearding  their  chief.  The  document  is  as 
follows : 

United  States  Civil  Service  Commission, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  July  27, 1892. 

At  the  outset  of  the  political  campaign  which  is 
now  pending,  this  commission  feels  it  to  be  its  duty 
to  call  public  attention  to  the  provisions  of  the  civil 
service  law  in  relation  to  political  assessments  or 
contributions,  to  inform  government  employes  of 
their  rights  in  the  premises,  and  to  warn  those  not 
in  the  government  service,  of  whatever  political 
party,  not  to  infringe  upon  these  rights. 

Political  assessments,  under  any  guise,  are  pro¬ 
hibited  by  law.  The  provisions  of  the  law  on  the 
subject  are,  in  substance,  as  follows : 

That  no  government  officer  or  employe  shall, 
directly  or  indirectly,  solicit  or  receive,  in  any 
manner  whatever,  a  contribution  for  political  pur¬ 
poses  from  any  other  government  officer  or  em¬ 
ploye. 

Second,  that  no  government  officer  or  employe 
shall  make  a  contribution  for  political  purposes  to 
any  other  government  officer  or  employe. 

Third,  that  no  person  shall  in  any  manner, 
directly  or  indirectly,  solicit  or  receive  contributions 
for  political  purposes  in  any  room  or  building 


occupied  by  government  employes  In  the  discharge 
of  official  duties ;  and 

Fourth,  that  no  superior  officer  shall  discriminate 
against  or  in  favor  of  any  government  officer  or 
employe  on  account  of  his  action  in  reference  to 
contributions  for  political  purposes.  Government 
employes  must  be  left  absolutely  free  to  contribute 
or  not  as  they  see  fit,  and  to  contribute  to  either 
party  according  to  their  preferences;  and  an  em¬ 
ploye  refusing  to  contribute  must  not  be  discrimi¬ 
nated  against  because  of  such  refusal. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  commission  to  see  that  the 
provisions  of  this  law  are  enforced,  and  it  will  em¬ 
ploy  every  available  means  to  secure  the  prosecution 
and  punishment  of  whoever  may  violate  them.  The 
commission  requests  any  person  having  knowledge 
of  any  violation  of  this  law  to  lay  the  facts  before  it, 
and  it  will  at  once  take  action  upon  them. 

Charles  Lyman, 
Theodore  Roosevelt, 
George  D.  Johnston, 
Commissioners. 

In  the  preceding  house  of  representa¬ 
tives  six  republicans  introduced  bills  pro¬ 
posing  the  direct  repeal  of  the  civil  service 
act,  and  every  one  of  these  republicans 
has  disappeared  from  public  life.  In  the 
present  house  no  such  bill  has  been  intro¬ 
duced.  Of  the  present  committee  Mr. 
Roosevelt  says :  “The  friends  of  civil  ser 
vice  reform,  without  distinction  of  party, 
are  to  be  congratulated  upon  having  such 
a  committee  in  the  house,  and  especially 
upon  having  such  a  chairman  as  Mr.  An¬ 
drew.” 

The  cities  of  Boston  and  Cambridge 
have  passed  and  now  have  in  force  the  fol¬ 
lowing  ordinance : 

“No  head  of  a  department,  member  of  a  board, 
clerk,  employe  or  other  officer  of  the  city,  except 
such  as  may  be  elected  by  popular  vote,  shall  be  an 
officer  of  a  caucus  or  member  of  any  political  com¬ 
mittee  or  convention.” 

Fifty-six  office-holders  in  Boston  and  five 
in  Cambridge  are  affected.  Thus  two  im¬ 
portant  cities  stamp  out  the  nefarious 
practice  of  having  their  politics  managed 
by  those  who  are  paid  from  the  public 
treasury.  They  know  very  well  that  party 
management  will  be  put  upon  a  higher 
plane  by  this  action.  The  man  who  makes 
place-holding  the  condition  of  his  political 
efforts  is  conscienceless  and  lost  to  patriot¬ 
ism  ;  he  is  the  meanest  mercenary  among 
men. 

In  the  Cincinnati  post-office  there  was 
recently  a  competitive  examination  among 
the  fourteen  stampers  to  determine  who 
should  have  a  higher  place  with  |300  addi¬ 
tional  salary.  The  successful  competitor 
reached  over  ninety-nine,  while  all  of  the 
others  were  under  ninety-one.  The  test 
was  relative  rapidity  at  work.  Under 
favoritism  that  one  of  the  fourteen  who 
had  the  strongest  “  pull  ”  would  have  been 
promoted,  but  open  competition  elevates 
the  best  man  without  regard  to  “pulls.” 

When  Collector  Erhardt  was  forced  out 
of  office,  the  New  York  Tribune  said  of  him  : 

“  The  republican  party  honored  him  with  an  office 


of  great  trust  and  responsibility.  It  supposed  him  to 
be  a  republican,  a  believer  in  its  policies,  anxious 
for  its  success  in  administration.” 

Ever  since  then  events  have  happened 
logically  and  the  New  York  Evening  Fbst  of 
July  12  adds  the  following  interesting 
batch . 

Collector  Hendricks  has  realized  the  expectations 
of  the  republican  “boys”  by  taking  the  contract 
for  cartage  at  the  custom-house  away  from  a  wicked 
though  efficient  democrat,  and  giving  it  to  a  good 
republican  who  will  let  Barney  Biglin  and  sundry 
other  good  republicans  have  slices  of  the  $100,000 
a  year  involved.  One  of  the  chief  complaints  against 
Col.  Erhardt  was  his  action,  or  rather  non-action, 
about  this  matter.  He  found  the  work  in  the  hands 
of  a  democrat  who  was  doing  it  satisfactorily,  and 
when  he  advertised  for  new  bids  this  democrat’s 
figures  were  the  lowest.  Accordingly  Col.  Erhardt 
allowed  him  to  continue  in  charge  of  the  cartage. 
As  the  Tribune  says:  “While  the  civil  service  law 
did  not  control  the  awarding  of  this  contract  yet  the 
collector  decided  that  Briggs  should  continue  with 
the  work,  to  sustain  what  was  thought  to  be  the 
spirit  of  the  law.”  In  other  words.  Col.  Erhardt 
actually  tried  to  live  up  to  the  civil  .service  plank  of 
the  republican  national  platform  of  1888,  which  had 
pledged  the  party  toobserve  “  thespiritaud  purpose 
of  the  reform”  everywhere.  It  was,  of  course,  a 
fatal  blunder,  and  he  paid  the  penalty  when  he  was 
compelled  to  tender  his  resignation.  Collector 
Hendricks  has  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  reason 
he  was  appointed,  and  the  cartage  business  will  now 
be  controlled  by  George  B.  Deane,  “  the  leader  of  the 
ninth  assembly  district,”  who  will  sub-let  portions 
of  the  work  to  George  W.  Wanamaker,  “the  leader  of 
the  fifteenth  assembly  district;”  George  Hilliard, 
“leader  of  the  twelfth  district;”  Barney  Biglin  of 
the  eighteenth  district  and  Leroy  Jacobs  of  Green 
county. 

WHAT  TO  EXPECT. 

Commenting  upon  the  platform  Harper's 
Weekly  of  July  9,  said,  “  It  is  too  much  to 
suppose  that  with  the  present  feeling  of  the 
democratic  party,  Mr.  Cleveland’s  admin¬ 
istration,  however  friendly  to  reform, 
would  be,  in  the  sense  of  the  League,  a  civil 
service  reform  administration.” 

Of  this  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  of  July 
13  says : 

“  Mr.  Cleveland’s  administration  will  be  a 
democratic  administration.  The  civil  service 
laws  and  all  other  laws  will  be  honestly  en¬ 
forced.  But  we  have  no  doubt  that  Mr. 
Cleveland  will  rid  the  public  service  as  quickly  and 
fully  as  practicable,  consistent  with  the  laws  and 
public  interests,  of  tbe  republican  partisans  who 
have  been  given  place  by  President  Harrison,  and 
that,  in  selecting  their  successors,  good  democrats 
will,  other  things  being  equal,  be  given  the  prefer¬ 
ence.  Mr.  Cleveland  realizes  the  evils  of  the  spoils 
system,  but  his  experience  has  taught  him  that  these 
evils  can  never  be  extirpated  until  the  great  party 
which  for  twenty-five  years  was  debarred  from  all 
participation  in  the  public  service  has  been  restored 
to  an  absolute  equality  in  that  respect  with  the  op¬ 
position  party.  Civil  service  reform  means  that  the 
public  service  shall  not  be  a  mere  asylum  for  party 
workers,  but  it  does  not  mean  that  one  party  shall 
monopolize  government  employment  both  when  “in 
power  ”  and  when  “  out  of  power.” 

There  is  no  more  intelligent  or  zealous  advocate  of 
civil  service  reform  than  Harper's  Weekly,  and  its  sup¬ 
port  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  while  admitting  frankly  that 
it  does  not  expect  him  to  give  the  country  a  civil 
service  reform  administration  in  the  extreme  sense 
of  the  League,  is  creditable  to  its  good  sense  and 
fairness.” 

Whether  Mr.  Cleveland  will  give  the 
country  a  civil  service  reform  administra- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


359 


tion  “  in  the  extreme  sense  of  the  League” 
is  not  the  question.  Whether  he  will  live 
up  to  his  oath  of  office  and  to  the  fair  in¬ 
tent  of  the  platform  upon  which  he  is  a 
candidate  is  the  question.  To  say  as  this 
platform  does  that  the  “  civil  service  ought 
not  to  be  subject  to  change  at  every  elec¬ 
tion,  be  a  prize  fought  for  at  the  ballot- 
box,  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,”  and 
then  proceed  to  make  a  clean  sweep  by 
turning  out  republicans  and  putting  in 
democrats  would  not  be  living  up  to  the 
platform  but  would  be  a  treacherous  repu¬ 
diation  of  it.  Experience  has  never  taught 
Mr.  Cleveland  that  he  can  remedy  ,the 
evils  of  the  spoils  system  by  turning  over 
the  service  to  democrats  as  spoil.  It  has 
taught  him  that  he  can  in  this  way  bring 
defeat  to  his  party  on  every  hand. 

A  declaration  that  there  ought  not  to  be 
a  change  of  the  service  at  every  election  is 
a  promise  to  take  such  measures  as  will 
put  an  end  to  such  changes.  The  demo¬ 
crats,  if  successful,  will  have  before  them 
the  plain  duty,  the  opportunity,  and  the 
ways  and  means  of  forever  ending  the  dis¬ 
graceful  prostitution  of  the  federal  service 
to  personal  and  partisan  ends.  Large  ad¬ 
ditions  to  the  classified  service,  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  system  of  the  railway  mail 
service  to  all  higher  grade  post-offices  and 
including  the  postmasters,  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  regulations  proposed  in  Mr. 
Andrew’s  bill  for  the  appointment  of 
fourth-class  postmasters,  and  the  incorpo¬ 
ration  of  the  Boston  labor  service  system 
into  the  federal  labor  service  are  the  great 
fundamental  measures  which  will  prac¬ 
tically  complete  the  reform  in  the  national 
service,  and  will  be  but  meeting  the  fair 
and  reasonable  expectation  to  which  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  platform  gives  rise. 

'  AMERICAN^UDALISM. 

It  assumes,  however, that  official  patroii- 
fage  can  he  made  a  strong  factor  in  secur¬ 
ing  tlie  renomination  and  re-election  of  a 
President,  which  is  very  donlitful.  It 
must  be  remembered,  also,  that  a  Presi¬ 
dent  who  would  prostitute  the  office  in 
this  way  would  be  just  tlie  kind  of  man 
tliat  the  people  would  turn  out  at  the  end 
of  four  years.  In  tlie  present  state  of  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  on  this  question,  it  would  be 
sure  defeat  for  any  President  to  have  it 
known  that  he  had  used  tlie  power  and 
patronage  of  his  office  to  secure  his  renomi- 
natioii  or  tliat  he  was  using  it  to  secure  his 
re-election.  The  people  are  not  easily 
hoodwinked  about  such  matters,  and  they 
can  not  be  trifled  with  at  all. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  June  1//,  1892. 

THE  LORI)  PARAMOUNT. 

A  few  minutes  before  noon  Russell  Harri¬ 
son  walked  into  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel.  He 
waived  off  the  reporters  and  retired  to  the 


cafe  with  a  Montana  friend.  Young  Mr. 
Harrison’s  appearance  here  at  this  time  was 
not  unexpected.  He  generally  turns  up  at 
any  place  where  there  is  to  be  a  meeting 
affecting  his  father’s  interests.  None  of  the 
small  politicians  about  the  hotel  approached 
the  son  of  the  President. — New  York  Evening 
Post,  July  15. 

*  »  * 

Mr.  Clarkson  had  invited  the  whole  execu¬ 
tive  committee  to  spend  Sunday  with  him, 
but  Mr.  Fessenden  went  to  Connecticut,  Mr. 
Kerens  went  off  with  Russell  Harrison. — 
New  York  Times,  July  17. 

*  *  » 

Russell  Harrison  arrived  at  the  Fifth  Ave¬ 
nue  Hotel  early  this  morning.  He  went 
direct  to  Chairman  Carter’s  room. — -New  York 
Evening  Post,  July  22. 

»  *  ♦ 

Chairman  Carter  and  the  members  of  the 
Republican  National  Executive  Committee 
have  again  failed  to  hold  the  informal  con¬ 
ference  which  has  been  on  the  programme  for 
two  weeks.  Last  night  Mr.  Carter  went  to 
Washington  to  get  further  orders  from  the 
President.  To  the  politicians  it  appears  that 
the  chairman  of  the  Republican  National 
Committee  is  as  much  a  subordinate  of  the 
President  as  he  was  when  he  held  the  United 
States  land  commissionershlp.  He  does  noth¬ 
ing  without  consultation  with  Mr.  Harri¬ 
son,  and  when  he  is  in  New  York  Russell 
Harrison  is  nearly  always  at  his  side. — New 
York  Evening  Post,  July  27. 

*  •» 

President  Harrison  and  Mr.  Carter  dined  to¬ 
gether  at  the  White  House,  and  then  took  a  ride  this 
evening,  and  came  to  an  understanding  concerning 
the  preliminaries  of  the  campaign. 

Jacob'M.  Patterson,  chairman  of  the  cam¬ 
paign  committee  of  the  republican  county  com¬ 
mittee  of  New  York  has  divided  his  time  to¬ 
day  between  the  White  House,  the  treasury 
department,  and  Senator  Hiscock’s  rooms. 
He  seemed  to  feel  unusually  “chipper”  to¬ 
night,  and  the  impression  is  growing  that  the 
custom-house  commissionership  he  has  been 
chasing  so  long  is  much  nearer  his  hand  than 
it  was  a  month  ago.  The  outlook  in  New 
York  county  has  been  carefully  canvassed  to¬ 
day  by  the  President,  Secretary  Chas.  Foster, 
Mr.  Patterson,  and  Surveyor  of  the  Port 
Lyon.  —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  July  21. 

«  «  • 

“It  would  be  a  great  convenience  if  a  tele¬ 
phone  could  be  put  in  between  the  White 
House  and  the  national  republican  committee 
headquarters,  or  if  the  President  would  im¬ 
itate  the  vice-presidential  candidate  and  set¬ 
tle  himself  near  the  rooms  where  he  is  to  con¬ 
duct  his  campaign,”  said  a  gentleman  yesterday 
who  has  been  watching  the  struggles  of  the 
committee  in  its  attempts  to  begin  business. 
The  remark  was  called  out  by  the  announce¬ 
ment  that  Chairman  Carter  was  going  to 
Washington  again  to  submit  some  further 
details  of  the  campaign  to  the  President. — 
New  York  Times,  July  27. 


The  conference  which  Mr.  Carter  held  yesterday 
in  Washington  with  President  Harrison,  it  is 
thought  by  the  republicans,  can  not  fail  to  be 
productive  of  good  results.  Whether,  how¬ 
ever,  the  President  has  signified  his  willing¬ 
ness  to  accede  to  certain  demands  which  Mr. 
Platt  is  known  to  have  made,  is  a  subject  that 
is  full  of  interest. — New  York  Evening  Post, 
July  29. 

♦  *  * 

J.  S.  Clarkson  and  J.  N.  Huston,  of  the 
National  Republican  Committee,  joined 
Chairman  Carter  in  Washington  to-day.  With 
Senator  Felton,  of  California,  they  called  at  the 
White  House  and  spent  some  time  with  President 
Hairison,  discussing  the  political  silufition  and 
probabilities  of  the  campaign.  One  thing 
that  they  talked  of  with  much  interest  was 
the  work  of  the  literary  bureau  of  the  cam¬ 
paign,  which  is  to  be  under  Mr.  Clarkson’s 
special  management.  Messrs.  Carter  and 
Clarkson  lunched  with  the  President,  and  in 
the  afternoon  and  evening  held  conferences 
with  numerous  politicians  who  called  to  see 
them. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  July  29. 

»  #  * 

The  conferences  between  the  President  and 
Chairman  Carter,  ex-Chairman  Clarkson,  Col¬ 
lector  Hendricks,  J.  N.  Huston  of  Indiana  and 
others  have  led  to  all  sorts  of  reports  concern¬ 
ing  the  prospects  for  adjusting  the  troubles  be¬ 
tween  the  President  and  the  New  York  repub¬ 
lican  leaders.  The  New  York  leaders  refused 
to  support  the  President  without  a  definite  un¬ 
derstanding  regarding  patronage.  This  was 
the  situation  when  Chairman  Carter,  General 
Clarkson,  Collector  Hendricks  and  others  visited 
Washington  on  Wednesday  last. — New  York  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Boston  Herald,  August  1. 

*  *  * 

The  President  has  had  to-day  his  first  vis¬ 
itor  of  note  in  the  person  of  Collector  Hen¬ 
dricks,  of  the  port  of  New  York.  There  is  a 
delicate  business  under  consultation.  Mr. 
Hendricks  slipped  away  from  work  and  from 
the  Fifth  Avenue  hotel  on  a  moment’s  notice. 
He  did  not  even  take  the  time  to  telegraph 
the  President  that  he  was  coming.  He  told 
the  World  correspondent  that  his  trip  to  Loon 
Lake  was  unexpected  and  would  in  all  prob¬ 
ability  last  “a  day  or  two.”  That  his  busi¬ 
ness  with  Mr.  Harrison  was  important  he 
made  no  secret,  but  he  declined  to  discuss  it  or 
give  any  one  an  idea  of  its  nature.  “Oh,  no,” 
he  declared,  jocularly, ■“  we  are  not  a  bit  un¬ 
easy  over  the  outlook.  I  have  said  time  and 
again,  and  I  still  hold  to  the  opinion,  that  the 
prospects  for  a  republican  victory  are  good, 
very  good. — Loon  Lake  Dispatch  to  New  York 
World,  August  13. 

*  »  * 

The  vicinity  of  Loon  Lake  assumed  a 
slightly  political  air  to-day.  Francis  Hen¬ 
dricks,  collectm-  of  the  port  of  New  York,  arrived 
and  called  upon  the  President.  He  was  with 
the  chief  executive  some  length  of  time. — 

Loon  Lake  Dispatch  to  New  York  Press,  Aug.  17. 

*  *  * 

It  has  been  rather  a  busy  day  for  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  Arising  at  about  the  usual  hour  he  ate 


360 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


a  hearty  breakfast,  and  after  the  meal  took  a 
short  walk  of  about  a  mile  altogether.  Then 
he  saw  Collector  Hendricks.  Mr.  Hendricks  came 
here  upon  a  very  important  mission,  as  he  informed 
The  Press  correspondent,  but  the  nature  of  it 
he  would  not  divulge.  Mr.  Hendricks  left 
soon  afterwards  for  New  York. — Loon  Lake 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Press,  August  19. 

*  *  * 

No  one  knew  that  Elijah  W.  Halford,  the 
President’s  private  secretary,  was  coming  here 
yesterday,  and  when  at  noon,  direct  from 
Washington,  he  stepped  into  the  Denison  and 
registered  everybody  wanted  to  know  the 
meaning  of  his  visit  at  this  time.  Mr.  Hal¬ 
ford  was  greeted  by  friends  about  the  lobby 
and  told  them  that  he  did  not  expect  to  come 
until  later  in  the  year,  but  that  did  not  lessen 
the  pleasure  he  had  in  being  with  Indianapolis 
friends  once  more.  It  was  dull  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  and  he  had,  he  said,  a  breathing  spell  of 
two  or  three  days,  which,  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  he  decided  to  use  in  coming  here, 
staying  a  day  or  two  and  going  back.  He  as¬ 
sured  inquirers  that  he  was  not  on  a  political 
mission  to  prod  Chairman  Gowdy  of  the  state 
central  committee  into  something  like  activity. 
In  the  afternoon  he  was  at  the  Central-ave. 
methodist  Sunday-school,  in  which  he  has 
always  had  the  liveliest  interest. — Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  August  15. 


PLACATING  REBELLIOUS  BARONS. 

PLATT. 

Mr.  Reid’s  task  of  making  terms  at  the  court 
of  Thomas  C.  Platt,  it  was  said  yesterday,  was 
likely  to  call  into  play  all  his  powers  as  a  dip¬ 
lomat.  It  was  generally  put  down  as  being  as 
delicate  a  thing  to  handle  as  any  which  _pame 
in  Reid’s  way  while  he  was  the  minister  to 
France.  On  the  one  side  was  placed  the  ob- 
stinancy  of  President  Harrison,  who  hated  to 
yield  a  point  to  an  enemy  with  all  theHoosier 
hatred  for  which  he  has  become  celebrated, 
and  on  the  other  the  cool  and  dignified  man¬ 
ner  in  which  Mr.  Platt  sat  back  and  refused 
to  turn  over  his  machine  to  anybody. — New 
York  Times,  July  15. 

*  *  * 

The  failure  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  republican  state  committee  to  meet  yes¬ 
terday  was  a  matter  of  general  comment. 
That  the  real  reason  for  the  failure  is  that 
Thomas  C.  Platt,  being  still  in  a  sullen  mood, 
wants  to  point  out  to  the  President  that  he  is 
not  ready  to  go  on  with  the  campaign  in  this 
state,  and  that  will  not  be  until  the  President 
is  ready  to  dicker  with  Platt,  is  very  certain 
from  all  the  evidence. — New  York  Times, 
July  17. 

*  »  » 

Jacob  M.  Patterson,  of  New  York,  regis¬ 
tered  at  the  Arlington  about  9  o’clock  to¬ 
night.  As  soon  as  he  had  made  arrangements 
fer  a  room  with  a  breeze,  he  started  for  the 
apartments  of  Senator  Hiscock  and  remained 
with  the  Senator  until  10  o’clock.  Soon  after 
his  arrival  Mr.  George  W.  Lyon^  surveyor  of  the 


port  of  New  York,  also  placed  his  name  on  the 
Arlington  register.  Lyon  and  Patterson  had 
a  private  confab  after  the  latter  left  Mr. 
Hiscock. 

To  all  inquiries  concerning  their  presence 
in  Washington  at  this  time  they  returned 
purely  diplomatic  replies.  It  is  not  long 
since  Mr.  Patterson  was  in  Washington  seek¬ 
ing  an  appointment  as  one  of  the  commission¬ 
ers  of  the  new  custom-house  in  New  York. 
He  was  not  in  very  good  odor  with  the  ad¬ 
ministration  then,  and  his  appeal  met  with 
no  response.  Now  that  he  is  chairman  of  the 
campaign  committee  of  the  republican  county 
committee,  he  feels  that  his  chances  have  ma¬ 
terially  improved.  To-morrow  he  will  call  upon 
the  President  and  Secretary  Charles  Foster,  who 
rehtrned  to  the  city  to-day. 

Postmaster  George  T.  Collins,  of  Brooklyn,  is 
in  Washington  to-day  trying  to  arrange  for 
an  enlargement  of  the  force  under  his  imme¬ 
diate  control.  He  has  a  friend  with  a  good-sized 
political  ‘'pull”  whom  he  would  like  to  have  made 
janitor  of  the  new  government  building  in  Brook¬ 
lyn. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
July  20. 

«  *  * 

Field  Marshal  Louis  F.  Payn,  of  Columbia 
county,  looking  a  trifle  subdued  since  his  un¬ 
happy  Minneapolis  experience,  and  John  E. 
Milholland  of  New  York,  came  to  town  to¬ 
day.  The  field  marshal  is  here  in  the  role  of 
Thomas  C.  Platt’s  envoy  extraordinary  to  the 
court  of  Benjamin  I.  Platt  and  the  Presi¬ 
dent  are  “  getting  together  ”  slowly.  Payn  is 
Platt’s  trusted  friend.  The  President  is  will¬ 
ing  and  anxious  to  obliterate  the  differences 
which  have  arisen  between  the  administra¬ 
tion  and  the  New  York  republican  machine, 
as  manipulated  by  Plait.— Washington  Dis¬ 
patch  to  New  York  Times,  July  23. 

»  ♦  * 

Mr.  Carter  came  back  from  Washington  two 
days  ago.  Yesterday  he  had  an  extended  con¬ 
ference  with  Mr.  Platt.  Charles  W.  Hackett, 
chairman  of  the  state  executive  committee, 
by  grace  of  Mr.  Platt,  also  called  on  that  gen¬ 
tleman  yesterday.  These  two  calls  were  the 
chief  events  in  the  republican  circle  of  poli 
ticians  during  the  day. — New  York  Times, 
J uly  24-. 

s  »  » 

Collector  Francis  Hendricks  whose  coming 
in  the  interests  of  harmony  between  the  ad¬ 
ministration  and  Thomas  C.  Platt- has  been 
heralded  for  several  days,  placed  his  neat  au¬ 
tograph  on  the  Arlington  register  this  morn¬ 
ing.  Mr.  Hendricks  went  to  the  treasury  de¬ 
partment  and  had  a  long  talk  with  Secretary 
Charles  Foster,  and  afterward  he  called  upon 
the  President  and  was  closeted  with  him  so 
long  that  the  excuse  advanced  by  Mr.  Hen¬ 
dricks  that  he  came  to  discuss  departmental 
affairs  is  forced  deep  into  the  “chestnut” 
receptacle. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  July  29. 

»  *  * 

Chairman  Thomas  H.  Carter,  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  national  committee  and  James  S.  Clark¬ 
son,  his  predecessor,  departed  this  evening  for 


Old  Point  Comfort.  Collector  Hendricks  left 
for  New  York  on  an  afternoon  train.  Before 
thegentlemen  leit  they  consulted  ivith  the  President 
again  regarding  the  political  outlook.  The  impres¬ 
sion  prevailing  here  is  that  when  they  reach 
New  York  they  will  be  in  position  to  tell  Mr. 
Platt  that  he  can  begin  running  his  machine  on 
his  own  terms,  and  that  the  administration  will 
not  shove  any  bars  between  the  spokes  while 
the  machine  is  in  motion.  “I  am  as  certain 
there  will  be  entire  harmony  between  the 
President  and  Mr.  Platt  as  I  am  that  we  are 
both  standing  here,”  said  Senator  Hiscock  to¬ 
night  to  a  correspondent  of  the  Times. —  IFctsA- 
ington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  July  30. 

•  *  *  * 

Chairman  Carter  brought  messages  from 
the  President  to  politicians  in  this  state,  and 
it  was  said  the  two  members  of  the  state  com¬ 
mittee  received  a  portion  of  them  at  the  con¬ 
ference  at  headquarters.  In  substance,  the 
messages  from  the  President  were  that  the 
New  York  committee  would  be  allowed,  and, 
in  fact,  was  desired,  to  conduct  the  campaign 
in  this  state  without  much  interference  from 
the  White  House  or  the  national  committee, 
and,  in  case  of  victory,  those  who  did  the 
work  would  be  entitled  to  such  standing  and 
influence  at  the  White  House  as  come  to 
faithful  laborers.  Further  than  this,  it  was 
said,  the  President  was  not  willing  to  specify. 
It  was  by  no  means  certain  in  the  minds  of 
the  leaders  that  this  would  be  satisfactory  to 
Mr.  Platt.  Some  doubted  if  he  would  con¬ 
sider  this  an  olive  branch  of  sufficient  size  to 
make  it  worth  his  while  to  accept  it. — New 
York  Times,  August  2. 

«  «  « 

The  chief  topic  of  conversation  today 
among  the  few  politicians  in  the  hotel  cor¬ 
ridors  is  the  failure  of  Chairman  Carter  to 
secure  suitable  terms  from  the  president  to 
conciliate  Platt  and  Miller.  It  is  now  thought 
that  the  New  York  bosses  will  stand  aloof 
during  the  campaign.  Their  demand,  as  an. 
nounced  in  the  Evening  Post  before  Carter  went 
to  Washington,  is  that  they  be  allowed  to  take 
entire  charge  of  the  campaign  in  this  state 
and  there  should  be  no  supervision  from 
Washington  or  the  national  committee.  The 
president  has  not  been  able  to  bring  himself  to 
place  implicit  trust  in  the  men  who  abused 
him  before  and  after  the  Minneapolis  conven¬ 
tion.  And  so  the  breach  widens.  Platt  spends 
his  time  at  his  office  and  at  Manhattan  Beach, 
Miller  looks  after  his  private  business,  and  the 
Platt-Miller  State  Committee  is  taking  a  long 
vacation,  while  the  national  executive  com¬ 
mittee  is  trying  hard  to  make  a  show  of  doing 
something.  That  is  the  republican  situation 
at  present. — New  York  Evening  Post,  August  2. 

fit  «  « 

Mr.  Platt  had  not  been  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  national  republican  committee  since 
they  were  established,  nearly  three  weeks  ago. 
He  has  had  interviews  with  few  of  the  promi¬ 
nent  republican  leaders,  and  such  as  he  has 
had  have  not  been  of  his  own  seeking.  He 
has  kept  away  from  the  haunts  of  the  politi- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


361 


cians.  Since  Chairman  Carter’s  return  from 
the  White  House,  nearly  a  week  ago,  he  and 
Mr.  Platt  have  been  strangers,  and  there  have 
been  no  signs  of  the  love  feast  and  general 
getting  into  line  and  taking  off  of  coats  which 
were  promised  a  short  time  ago. — New  York 
Times,  August  5. 

*  *  * 

Despite  all  reports  the  contrary,  Mr.  Thomas 
C.  Platt  and  Whitelaw  Reid  came  together 
yesterday.  A  little  after  1  o’clock  the  repub¬ 
lican  candidate  for  vice-president  dropped 
into  the  office  of  the  United  States  Express 
Company  on  Broadway,  and  a  few  minutes 
thereafter  the  two  leaders  were  sitting  vis  a  vis 
over  a  luncheon  upon  Mr.  Reid’s  invitation. 
Whether  the  long  expected  placatory  dish 
was  served  on  this  occasion,  or  whether  it  has 
been  deferred  for  some  other  occasion,  only 
three  men  know — President  Harrison,  Mr. 
Platt  and  Mr.  Reid. 

Those  who  are  close  to  Mr.  Platt  make  no 
hesitation  in  declaring  that  if  Mr.  Harrison 
wishes  to  deal  with  the  ex-senator  a  compact 
must  be  drawn  and  duly  signed  and  sealed  in 
the  presence  of  witnesses.  These  friends  of 
Mr.  Platt’s  claim  that  twice  within  eight  years 
he  has  been  deceived  by  Presidents — by  Gar¬ 
field  in  1881  and  by  Harrison  in  1889 — and 
that  if  Harrison  now  aspires  for  his  support 
he  must  give  pledges  that  can  neither  be  re¬ 
nounced  nor  broken. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  claimed  by  Platt’s 
friends  that  in  the  fall  of  1888  Gen.  Harrison 
promised,  in  the  event  of  his  election,  that  he 
would  nominate  Platt  as  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  and,  but  for  the  interference  of 
Warner  Miller,  that  pledge  would  have  been 
redeemed.  Mr.  Platt’s  vindictive  disposition 
was  not  so  well  known  by  Gen.  Harrison  then 
as  it  is  now.  At  all  events  Platt  habitually 
spoke  of  Garfield’s  treachery  to  Mr.  Conkling 
as  the  purest  kindness  compared  with  Harri¬ 
son’s  treachery  to  him. — New  York  Times,  .4m- 
g^^st  6. 

*  *  * 

The  latest  news  is  that  if  Thomas  0.  Platt 
desires  to  establish  himself  on  a  peace  footing 
with  President  Harrison  he  must  get  down  on 
his  marrow  bones  and  ask  to  be  forgiven  for 
past  sins  and  give  signs  that  he  will  be  sub¬ 
missive  in  the  future.  President  Harrison,  it 
is  said,  will  make  no  attempt  to  “placate” 
him,  and  has  indicated  that  for  various 
reasons,  which  he  has  given  to  his  confidential 
friends,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him 
what  attitude  Mr.  Platt  may  please  to  take 
during  the  next  two  months.  Mr.  Harrison 
has  further  indicated,  so  the  report  has  it,  that 
he  is  disgusted  with  the  attempts  which  Mr. 
Whitelaw  Reid  and  others  have  been  making 
to  secure  favoring  glances  from  tbe  Tioga 
statesman,  and  will  tolerate  no  more  nonsense 
of  that  sort.  These  statements  came  from  a 
source  that  is  close,  not  only  to  the  President, 
but  also  to  the  men  who  have  charge  of  the  re¬ 
publican  campaign  at  both  national  and  state 
headquarters.  They  were  given  as  a  condensed 
summary  ojf  3  UJituber  of  interviews  with  the 


President  and  his  managers. — New  York  Times, 
August  12. 

*  *  * 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Platt  has  joined  forces 
with  Mr.  Harrison  was  announced  formally 
and  officially  early  in  the  evening.  “  Chair¬ 
man  Hackett  of  the  state  executive  committee 
had  an  interview  with  Thomas  C.  Platt  to-day, 
at  which  Mr.  Platt  expressed  loyalty  to  the 
party,  and  said  that  he  desired  to  take  an  act¬ 
ive  part  in  the  canvass  and  do  all  in  his  power, 
as  he  always  has  done,  to  bring  success  to  the 
republican  ticket.”  These  were  the  words  in 
which  the  news  was  broken.  This  was  coupled 
with  the  statement  that  Mr,  Platt’s  utterances 
were  satisfactory  to  Mr.  Hackett  and  led  him 
to  believe  that  Mr.  Platt  was  proposing  to  do 
all  in  his  power  for  the  canvass  in  this  state. — 
New  York  Times,  August  18. 

i  *  «  * 

Mr,  Platt  was  good-natured  yesterday  and 
discussed  somewhat  the  “official  declaration” 
of  his  position.  He  said  that  it  had  not  been 
his  intention  to  make  a  formal  declaration, 
although  he  had  told  Mr.  Hackett  that  he 
might  announce  the  fact  that  he  was  loyal  to 
the  ticket.  Mr.  Platt  was  said  by  some  to 
have  visited  national  republican  headquarters 
again  yesterday,  although  no  official  corrobo¬ 
ration  of  the  statement  could  be  secured.  One 
of  the  officials  in  charge  at  headquarters, 
when  asked  whether  the  Tioga  statesman  had 
been  there,  winked  one  eye  and  said ;  “Well, 
there  was  a  man  here  who  looked  very  much 
like  Mr.  Platt.  It  may  have  been  his  double, 
if  he  has  one.” — New  York  Times,  August  19. 

QUAY. 

Senator  Quay  dropped  into  the  city  very 
quietly  this  evening,  and  expects  to  meet  a 
few  of  the  city  leaders  to-morrow.  His  com¬ 
ing  was  without  herald  beyond  a  brief  tele¬ 
gram  to  ex-Collector  Dave  Martin,  who  met 
him  in  parlor  49  at  the  Continental  Hotel 
shortly  after  7  o’clock.  The  only  other  caller 
was  Secretary  Frank  Willing  Leach,  whose 
specialty  in  this  year’s  campaign  is  the  man¬ 
agement  of  the  legislative  districts.  Mr. 
Richard  R.  Quay  accompanied  his  father. 
The  senator  will  return  to  Washington  late 
to-morrow  afternoon."'  First  on  the  list  of  his 
engagements  for  to-morrow  -is  his  usual  con¬ 
ference  with  Collector  Cooper.  Mr.  Quay  would 
not  say  that  politics  had  anything  to  do  with 
his  visit. — Philadelphia  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  July  19. 

*  *  ♦ 

Thomas  V.  Cooper,  collector  of  the  port  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,  had  just  gone  up  to  see  the  national 
committeemen  and  candidate  Whitelaw  Reid, 
who  made  “his  usual  Tuesday  call,”  as  one  of 
the  republicans  described  it,  and  was  consult¬ 
ing  with  Chairman  Carter.  Mr.  Cooper  had 
been  sent  for.  He  is  counted  one  of  the  most 
expert  politicians  in  the  Keystone  state,  hav¬ 
ing  served  at  times  on  the  state  committee,  of 
which  he  was  once  chairman.  Just  at  pres¬ 
ent  holding  a  fat  position  through  the  kind¬ 
ness  of  Mr.  Harrison,  he  is  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  administration  crowd  in  his  state,  for 


politicians  say  that  the  classification  is  no 
longer  made  there  on  the  Quay-Magee  basis. 
There  is  no  “Quay  faction”  and  no  “Magee 
faction,”  but  it  is  either  administration  or 
anti-administration.  As  Mr.  Cooper  would 
like  to  retain  his  present  comfortable  job  for 
four  years  more,  it  is  easy  to  define  his  stand¬ 
ing.  Mr.  Magee  was  in  the  city  on  Monday, 
and,  after  some  extended  conferences,  it  was 
thought  best  to  ask  Mr.  Cooper  to  come  up. 
It  is  believed  that  in  his  position,  with  the 
patronage  of  the  custom-house,  and  assisted 
by  Mr.  Magee  and  others,  he  may  be  a  valua¬ 
ble  man  in  raising  a  good-sized  contribution 
to  carry  on  the  campaign.  He  was  for  some 
time  concealed  in  the  private  room  up  stairs 
where  the  campaign  orders  of  President  Har¬ 
rison  are  carried  out. — New  York  Times,  Au¬ 
gust  8. 

*  *  * 

Several  Pennsylvanians  who  are  counted  as  among 
those  best  calculated  to  raise  money  were  at  headquar¬ 
ters  yesterday.  Christopher  L.  Magee,  whom  the 
committee  has  come  to  regard  as  the  successor 
of  Quay  as  the  recognized  leader  in  the  state, 
was  there.  He  is  supposed  to  have  influence 
with  the  professional  politicians.  Collector 
Cooper,  of  Philadelphia,  was  also  there.  He 
is  counted  an  able  worker  among  federal 
office  holders. — New  York  Times,  August  19. 

*  *  » 

Mr.  Quay  sent  a  message  to  Mr.  Carter,  and 
Mr.  Carter  thought  it  of  sufficient  importance 
to  warrant  a  quick  trip  to  Philadelphia,where, 
it  was  said,  Mr.  Quay  was.  The  message  came 
at  about  the  same  hour  that  Mr.  Platt  sent  for 
Mr.  Hackett.  There  was  for  the  first  time  in 
this  campaign  talk  of  “Quay’s  mailed  hand” 
which  he  was  supposed  to  be  stretching  out  in 
the  direction  of  the  machine  again.  Chair¬ 
man  Carter  returned  to  this  city  yesterday 
morning  after  a  two  day’s  visit  to  Washington. 
— New  York  Times,  August  18. 

»  »  » 

Chairman  Carter  got  back  from  Philadel¬ 
phia  and  was  at  republican  national  headquar¬ 
ters  early  ye.sterday.  Among  the  callers  at 
headquarters  yesterday  were  Solicitor  of  the 
Treasury  Hepburn,  and  Minister  to  Denmark 
Clark  E.  Carr,  who  sailed  yesterday.  Chairman 
Hackett  saw  Mr.  Carter  late  in  the  day,  after 
one  of  the  usual  delays.  Christopher  L.  Magee 
and  Collector  Cooper,  of  Philadelphia,  also 
called. — New  York  Press,  August  18. 

*  «-  ♦ 

Outside  of  Collector  Cooper  and  ex-Collector 
Dave  Martin,  no  one  knew  of  Senator  Quay’s 
intention  to  visit  the  city  to-day,  and  a  tele¬ 
gram  apprised  them  of  his  coming.  The  sen¬ 
ator  slipped  into  the  Continental  hotel  just  be¬ 
fore  noon,  accompanied  by  his  son  Dick.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  morning  Mr.  Quay  called  at  the  Peo¬ 
ple’s  Bank,  the  offices  of  the  Traction  Company 
and  at  the  custom-house,  where  he  met  Col¬ 
lector  Cooper.  With  this  business  over,  he  met 
Gen.  Reeder  at  republican  state  headquarters 
and  was  in  conference  with  him  over  an  hour. 
Senator  Quay’s  principal  caller  was  ex-Col¬ 
lector  Martin,  and  the  two  were  not  only  to- 


362 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


gether  all  the  afternoon,  but  left  the  hotel 
together  shortly  before  6  o’clock. — Philadelphia 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  August  2S. 

»  »  * 

Now  that  Senator  Quay  and  ex-Senator 
Platt  have  got  into  the  republican  band 
wagon  the  procession  is  ready  to  move.  It 
promises  to  be  a  great  procession  and  a  long 
time  passing  a  given  point. — Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  August  20. 


THE  ARMY  OF  FEUDATORIES  AT 

WORK. 

John  R.  Leonard,  who  formerly  trained  with  the 
“Slick  Six,"  but  is  now  doing  a  watchman's  duty  in 
the  treaswy  department  at  Washington,  is  in  the 
city  to  see  if  the  local  republican  organiza¬ 
tion  is  doing  its  duty.  Leonard  on  Monday 
night  dropped  into  the  old  soldiers’  meeting 
and  took  a  seat  near  the  door.  “Why,  halloo! 
Leonard,  I  did  not  know  you  were  here,”  said 
one  of  the  veterans.  “I  didn’t  see  anything 
about  it  in  the  newspapers.”  “No,  I  don’t 
want  the  newspapers  to  get  on  to  it  that  I  am 
here,”  replied  Leonard. — Indianapolis  News, 
Judy  IS. 

*  *  * 

Third  Auditor  Hart  has  gone  to  his  home 
at  Frankfort  for  a  few  weeks’  rest. —  Washing¬ 
ton  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  July  25. 

•  «  « 

After  a  stormy  session  at  the  meeting  at 
Cambridge  City  some  months  ago  Capt.  Frank 
Ellis,  Mancie's  post-office  manager  of  Harrison 
affairs  in  Delaware  county,  was  selected  chair¬ 
man  of  the  district.  At  yesterday’s  meeting 
his  resignation  was  accepted.  Now  the  ques¬ 
tion  that  has  set  the  Delaware  republican 
tribe  of  anti-Harrison  men  to  guessing  is, 
what  does  it  all  mean,  this  manner  of  light¬ 
ning  changes  bn  the  quiet. — Muneie  Dispatch 
to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  July  SO. 

»  *  Sit 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Allen  county  repub¬ 
lican  central  committee  to-day  Chairman 
Vesey  did  not  resign,  but  Clark  Fairbanks, 
committeeman  from  the  First  and  Edward 
Sheltabarger  from  the  Seventh  ward,  did. 
Eli  Higgins,  postmaster,  ^vas  elected  to  succeed 
Fairbanks. — Fort  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indianapo¬ 
lis  Sentinel,  July  24- 

*  *  * 

Postmaster  Higgins  and  President  Harper, 
of  the  Morton  club,  were  in  secret  conference 
all  day.  The  Blaineites  were  in  high  glee 
and  the  Harrison  men  were  in  the  depths  of 
despair.  A  portion  of  the  committee  were  in 
telegraphic  correspondence  with  R.  T.  McDon¬ 
ald,  who  is  in  New  York,  and  the  other 
portion  with  Gowdy. — Indianapolis  Sentinel, 

July  28,  Fort  Wayne  Dispatch. 

»  *  * 

Col.  Higgins,  the  dapper  little  postmaster, 
is  wielding  the  headman’s  ax  dexterously  or 
otherwise  now.  Some  days  ago  he  decapi¬ 
tated  William  Rockhill,  postmaster  at  Areola, 
and  selected  in  his  place  a  renegade  demo¬ 
crat,  Dr.  McGoogle,  or  some  such  name.  Col. 
Higgins’  latest  engagement  on  the  block  was 
to  cut  off  the  official  head  of  R.  Latham, 


postmaster  at  Huntertown,  and  put  in  his 
place  A.  G.  Dunton.  His  work  was  confirmed 
at  Washington  yesterday. — Indianapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  August  4,  Fort  Wayne  Dispatch. 

»  »  • 

J.  B.  Throop,  collector  of  internal  revenue  for 
the  Terre  Haute  district,  has  not  been  attend¬ 
ing  to  his  official  duties  personally  since  June 
28.  The  collector’s  office  is  located  in  Terre 
Haute,  but  Mr.  Throop,  who  resides  in  Orange 
county,  it  is  said,  has  devoted  nearly  all  of 
his  time  since  June  in  repairing  Harrison’s 
fences  in  the  second  congressional  district. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  August  24. 

*  ♦  * 

William  Petty  and  Bradley  Connett,  the 
two  war  politicians  recently  appointed  in  the 
government  inspection  service  at  Kingan’s, 
were  the  loudest  kickers  against  Harrison  the 
Blaine  club  took  to  Minneapolis.  They  were 
the  leaders  of  the  contingent  that  charged 
upon  the  Harrison  drum  corps  in  the  West 
hotel  and  tore  down  the  Harrison  banners  of 
the  Columbia  club.  But  now  they  are  fixed 
with  forteen-dollar  per  week  jobs,  these  two 
patriots  are  shouting  for  Harrison  and  “pro¬ 
tection.” — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  August  24. 

»  *  * 

Hon.  Blanche  K.  Bruce,  ex-United  States 
Senator,  and  at  present  recorder  of  deeds  for 
the  district  of  Columbia,  is  in  the  city,  visit¬ 
ing  his  father-in-law.  Dr.  Joseph  Wilson,  on 
College  avenue.  Mr.  Bruce  is  one  of  the 
most  effective  colored  speakers,  if  not  the 
most,  in  the  United  States,  and  has  in  his  life 
been  honored  with  many  offices,  elective  and 
appointive. 

He  was  seen  at  the  Denison  Hotel  last 
night  and  talked  concerning  the  political 
situation  happily  and  without  reserve.  “Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison,”  he  said,  “will  undoubtedly 
have  a  much  larger  majority  at  the  next  elec¬ 
tion  than  he  had  at  the  last.” 

“Where  will  your  work  be  done  in  the 
coming  campaign  ?” 

“I  have  been  assigned  by  the  national  com¬ 
mittee  to  the  middle  and  western  states.” — 
Indianapolis  Journal,  August  1. 

*  *  * 

A  number  of  young  republicans  have  organ¬ 
ized  a  young  men’s  republican  club,  which  it 
is  intended  to  make  a  permanent  organization 
on  the  order  of  the  Marion  club.  Wednesday 
night  they  met  in  the  United  States  marshal's 
office  and  admitted  a  number  of  new  members. 
The  club  will  meet  regularly  on  Wednesday 
nights,  at  the  same  place,  until  they  can  secure 
quarters  of  their  own. — Indianapolis  Journal, 
August  20. 

*  *  * 

The  republicans  of  this  county  opened  the 
campaign  to-day  •  *  Smiley  Chambers 

[United  States  district  attorney]  followed 
Shockney  in  a  speech  for  two  hours.  *  * 

— Noblesiille  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
August  29. 

»  *  » 

With  this  in  view  Eaves  has  resigned  as 
stamp  clerk  at  Statesville  for  the  avowed  pur¬ 
pose  of  running  the  campaign.  He  estab¬ 


lished  headquarters  here  yesterday.  He  has 
already  assessed  every  federal  office-holder  in 
the  state,  and  Collector  Rollins  has  appointed 
another  son  of  Eaves  a  clerk  in  his  office, 
making  two  of  Eaves’s  sons  in  his  office,  in 
order  to  furnish  Eaves  money  in  place  of  his 
salary  as  revenue  stamp  clerk. — Raleigh  {N. 
C.)  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  July  SI. 

♦  *  * 

The  most  disgraceful  scene  ever  witnessed 
among  the  g.  o.  p.  politicians  in  this  city  was 
that  of  last  evening  at  the  police  court  room, 
when  attempt  was  made  to  organize  a  Harri¬ 
son  and  Reid  club.  The  paid  hireling  of  the 
government — Collector  Pew,  and  his  retinue  oj 
office-holders,  save  one.  Postmaster  Mansfield, 
were  present. — Gloucester  Dispatch  to  Boston 
Post. 

*  *  * 

I  think  a  few  of  the  many  illustrations  in 
this  state  would  be  of  interest  to  your  readers. 
During  the  recent  county  conventions  I  do  not 
recall  a  single  federal  officer  who  did  not  take 
part  in  the  wire-pulling.  In  Yakima  county, 
for  instance,  among  the  delegates  were  the  Indian 
agent  and  his  employes,  the  register  and  receiver  of 
the  United  States  land  office,  the  postmaster  in  the 
leading  post-office,  etc.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  the  local  land  officers  occupy  positions  of 
a  judicial  nature,  further  comment  is  unnec¬ 
essary. — New  York  Evening  Post  Seattle  Letter, 
Aug  15, 

*  »  * 

A  regular  meeting  of  the  republican  na¬ 
tional  executive  committee  will  be  held  this  af¬ 
ternoon,  and  to-morrow  a  hearing  will  be  given 
to  A.  H.  Leonard  of  Louisiana,  the  republican 
candidate  who  polled  30,000  votes  in  the  gub¬ 
ernatorial  election  last  April.  Mr.  Leonard 
will  ask  the  committee  to  use  its  power  to  “  call  off'' 
Warmo^dh,  the  collector  of  the  part  of  New  Orleans 
who  through  control  of  federal  patronage  has  built  up 
a  faction  which  destroys  the  harmony  of  the  parly  in 
Louisiana.  Mr.  Leonard  will  promise  that  if 
his  recommendation  is  followed  harmony  will 
prevail  and  two  republican  congressmen  will 
be  elected,  and  two  farmers’  alliance  men,  out 
of  the  delegation  of  six. — New  York  Evening 
Post,  Aug.  15. 

*  *  * 

Although  Chairman  Carter  of  the  national 
republican  committee  was  in  Washington 
yesterday,  a  large  amount  of  work  was  turned 
oflT  at  headquarters. 

Among  the  callers  yesterday  were  Congress¬ 
man  J.  C.  Burrows,  Senator  Proctor  and  M.  S. 
Colburn,  of  Vermont,  ex-Congressman  Horr 
and  Collector  Cooper,  of  Philadelphia. — New 
York  Press,  August  17. 

♦  •  * 

Col.  J.  C.  Hill,  chief  of  the  Indian  division  of 
the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  has 
resigned  to  enter  the  campaign.  He  will  be 
under  the  direction  of  the  national  republican 
committee. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Aug.  25. 

*  *  * 

Col.  “  Dan  ”  Macauley,  who  holds  a  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  treasury  department  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  was  at  national  republican  headquarters 
yesterday.  He  will  remain  during  the  cam- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


363 


I 

I 


) 


paign  as  one  of  Chairman  Carter’s  assistants. 
It  was  announced  that  he  would  resign  his 
position  in  the  treasury  department. — New 

York  Times,  Aua.  21. 

^  ♦ 

One  occurrence  has  become  public  in  these 
days  which  throws  a  significant  light  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  Minneapolis  convention, 
and  authorizes  the  gravest  apprehension  as  to 
what  the  administration  is  capable  of.  The 
story  is  this:  William  D.  Crum,  a  colored 
man,  had  for  three  years  been  seeking  the 
appointment  as  postmaster  in  Charleston, 
South  Carolina.  President  Harrison  had 
steadfastly  refused  to  appoint  him.  Crum 
then  managed  to  be  elected  a  delegate  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention.  Arrived 
at  Minneapolis,  he  gave  out  that  he  was  going 
to  vote  for  Blaine.  Suddenly  he  changed  his 
attitude,  and  announced  himself  as  a  sup¬ 
porter  of  Harrison.  He  voted  accordingly.  It 
was  then  said  that  Crum  had  been  assured  of 
his  reward.  From  Minneapolis  he  went 
straightway  to  Washington  and  saw  the  Presi¬ 
dent.  A  few  days  later  his  nomination  for 
the  postmastership  at  Charleston  was  sent  to 
the  Senate.  No  sooner  was  this  known  in 
Charleston  than  indignant  protests  against 
the  appointment  poured  into  Washington. 
Crum  was  summoned  before  the  post-office 
committee  of  the  Senate,  and  the  opposition  to 
the  appointment  in  that  body  became  so 
strong  that  the  President  saw  himself  forced 
to  withdraw  the  nomination. — Harper's  Weekly, 
July  30. 

*  *  * 

Just  before  the  convention  began,  members 
of  the  South  Carolina  delegation  announced 
that  Crum  would  vote  for  the  President,  and 
that  in  return  for  his  vote  he  would  receive 
the  Charleston  postmastership.  It  was  even 
said  that  he  had  a  written  guarantee  to  that 
effect,  made  on  behalf  of  the  President,  when 
Crum  refused  to  accept  a  verbal  promise. 

Crum  came  to  Washington  from  Minne¬ 
apolis  and  saw  the  President.  Soon  afterward 
he  was  nominated  for  postmaster  at  Charles¬ 
ton.  That  his  nomination  was  the  result  of  a 
political  deal  was  apparent. 

At  the  hearing  last  week  before  the  com¬ 
mittee  on  post-offices  it  became  apparent  that 
Crum  would  not  be  confirmed.  Senator  Wol¬ 
cott  asked  him  a  number  of  leading  questions 
concerning  his  action  at  Minneapolis,  and 
finally  threw  him  into  confusion  by  asking 
him  whether  he  did  not  pledge  himself  to 
vote  Lr  some  person  other  than  Harrison. 

“I  don’t  remember,”  was  all  that  Crum 
could  say  in  reply. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  July  16. 

THE  SINEWS  OF  WAR. 

From  a  republican  source  comes  the  infor¬ 
mation  that  the  calls  which  the  republican 
state  central  committee  are  making  for  money 
for  the  campaign  are  already  becoming  oner¬ 
ous  and  are  at  this  early  day  arousing  some 
serious  antagonism.  Before  the  Minneapolis 
convention  the  requests  for  money  began  to  is 
sue  from  the  committee,  according  to  the  au-  j 


thority  here  quoted.  A  circular  was  sent  to 
every  republican  in  the  state  who  had  been 
mentioned  for  nomination  to  state  office,  as¬ 
suring  him  that  the  only  hope  of  republican 
success  in  the  coming  campaign  lay  in  the  re¬ 
nomination  of  Harrison,  and  calling  on  him  to 
pay  $50  to  help  defray  the  expenses  of  the  state 
committee  and  of  other  influential  friends  of  the 
President  at  the  national  convention.  An  ef¬ 
fort  was  also  made  to  assess  every  delegate  to 
the  national  convention  $250  in  addition  to 
his  personal  expenses  of  attendance,  the 
amount  thus  realized  to  be  used  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  committee  and  Harrison  work¬ 
ers  at  the  convention.  This  last  request  was 
refused  by  the  delegates  at  a  rather  stormy 
meeting,  it  is  said,  partly  through  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  Charles  F.  Griffin,who  made  a  computa¬ 
tion  to  prove  that  the  total  sum  realized  would 
be  $7,500,  and  that  that  would  be  a  great  deal 
more  than  the  committee  would  need.  It  is  al¬ 
leged,  too,  that  the  pension  office  did  not  escape, 
but  on  the  contrary,  that  it  was  assessed  for 
$500,andpaid  itpreliminary  to  the  Minneapolis 
convention.  Since  the  convention  the  de¬ 
mands  for  money  have  been  heavy,  it  is  said. 
The  candidates  have  been  assessed  mercilessly, 
and  each  district  committeeman  has  been  in¬ 
formed  that  he  is  expected  to  see  that  the 
money  prorated  to  his  district  is  duly  collected. 
The  pension  office,  it  is  said,  is  not  yet  consid¬ 
ered  to  have  done  its  part  and  has  been  called 
upon  for  $1,000  more.  In  response  to  this 
second  call.  Pension  Agent  Ensley  is  alleged 
to  have  openly  rebelled,  and  there  the  mat¬ 
ter  stands.  In  brief.  Chairman  Gowdy  is  cred¬ 
ited  with  greater  boldness  in  soliciting  cash 
than  any  of  his  predecessors  for  years. — In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  July  28. 

»  »  * 

About  the  first  move  Mr.  Carter  made  when 
he  became  chairman  was  in  the  direction  of  a 
campaign  fund.  Lists  of  government  em¬ 
ployes  were  desired,  and  he  laid  plans  to 
secure  them.  At  the  meeting  last  night  of 
the  New  York  Republican  Association  Mr. 
Carter’s  methods  were  plainly  shown.  He 
started  out  a  fortnight  ago  to  secure  a  list  of 
all  the  New  Yorkers  employed  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  departments,  and  this  association  readily 
lent  itself  to  his  scheme.  At  last  night’s 
meeting  the  announcement  was  made  that  the 
treasury,  war  department,  and  government 
printing  office  lists  were  complete,  but  that 
the  post-office  department  declined  to  make 
up  such  a  roster,  because  the  clerks  who 
would  have  to  do  it,  were  it  ordered,  had 
other  and  more  important  business  to  attend 
to.  Mr.  Wanamaker  has  in  mind  his  recent 
experience  with  the  civil  service  commission, 
in  which  his  hide  was  gracefully  removed, 
and,  knowing  the  meaning  of  the  demand  for 
a  roster  of  his  subordinates,  he  does  not  pro¬ 
pose  to  render  himself  liable  to  further  pun¬ 
ishment  by  furnishing  it. 

The  “nerve”  of  Carter  is  shown  in  a  request 
made  by  the  New  York  association  for  a  list 
of  civil  service  commission  employes  who  be¬ 
long  to  New  York. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  Aug.  19. 


Treasurer  Bliss  of  the  national  republican 
committee  entertained  a  distinguished  coterie 
of  republicans,  all  possessed  of  standing  in 
the  party  and  considerable  wealth,  at  the 
Union  League  Club  house  last  night.  It  was 
an  invitation  “affair,”  which  was  kept  as 
secret  as  possible.  “The  Campaign,  and  How 
to  Carry  It  On  ”  was  the  subject  of  the  discus¬ 
sion,  which  was  said  to  have  been  very  in¬ 
formal. 

Among  those  who  received  invitations  were 
Messrs.  Clarkson,  Kerens,  and  McComas  of 
the  national  committee,  and  they  were  all 
there  last  night.  Others  present  were  Gen. 
Felix  Agnus,  editor  of  the  Baltimore  American; 
Alexander  Shaw,  of  Baltimore,  and  W.  W> 
Johnson,  postmaster  of  that  city;  Christopher  L. 
Magee,  of  Pittsburgh,  CoUectw  Thomas  V. 
Cooper,  of  Philadelphia. 

Considerable  significance  was  attached  to 
the  facts  surrounding  this  gathering.  Yester¬ 
day  morning  Chairman  William  Brookfield, 
of  the  state  republican  committee,  returned 
from  Loon  Lake,  where  he  had  extended  con¬ 
ferences  with  President  Harrison.  Yesterday 
afternoon  Mr.  Brookfield  went  to  republican 
headquarters  and  had  a  confidential  talk  with 
some  members  of  the  committee  who  chanced 
to  be  present.  Among  others  he  talked  with 
Mr.  Carter.  Some  inclined  to  the  belief  last 
night  that  Mr.  Brookfield  indicated  to  Chair¬ 
man  Carter  some  of  the  information  given 
him  by  the  President.  On  this  point,  however, 
those  who  were  present  gave  no  information 
for  publication. 

It  was  said  by  some  who  commented  on  the 
meeting  that  Postmaster  Johnson  was  not  in¬ 
clined  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  circular 
issued  by  the  civil  service  commissioners,  be. 
cause  after  the  severely-plain  English  which 
Commissioner  Roosevelt  had  used  in  regard 
to  his  observance  of  the  civil  service  law  he 
was  disposed  to  treat  any  document  signed  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt  with  utter  disrespect. 

Collector  Cooper,  it  was  also  said,  was  not 
disposed  to  let  the  circular  interfere  with  his 
functions  as  a  solicitor  if  he  were  called  on  to 
act  in  that  capacity. — New  York  Times,  August 
19. 

*  *  ♦ 

Pennsylvania,  which  is  looked  on  as  the 
harvest  field  for  campaign  funds,  according  to 
the  best  information  is  to  be  held  largely 
responsible  for  the  fight  in  that  stale.  Thomas 
V.  Cooper,  of  Philadelphia,  collector  of  the 
port,  has  been  placed  in  direct  charge  of  the 
southern  portion  of  the  state.  He  is  also  to 
have  charge  of  Delaware.  He  is  not  only  an 
expert  in  raising  campaign  funds  in  his  own 
state,  but  has  had  experience  in  the  intrica¬ 
cies  of  the  politics  of  both  states.  He  had  a 
prominent  hand  in  the  management  of  the 
campaign  in  Delaware  when  the  republican 
legislature  was  chosen  which  elected  Anthony 
Higgins  to  the  United  States  Senate  four  years 

ago. — New  York  Times,  August  28. 

%  « 

In  discussing  the  late  republican  convention 
this  afternoon,  Mr.  Clarkson  said  that  one 
man  who,  as  much  as  any  other,  was  responsi- 


364 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


wt 


ble  for  the  nomination  of  President  Plarrison 
was  Senator  Philetus  Sawyer,  of  Wisconsin.  I 
“  Had  he  not  been  on  the  ground  the  vote  of 
Wisconsin  would  have  gone  away  from  Har¬ 
rison,”  said  Gen.  Clarkson.  “  He  did  some  of 
the  heavy  work  of  the  week.” 

“How  did  he  do  it?”  was  asked. 

“  In  the  first  place,”  said  Gen.  Clarkson,  “his 
very  presence  counted  for  a  good  deal.  He  is 
eighty  years  old  and  stands  high  among  men 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Further  than  this, 
he  is  chairman  of  the  senate  committee  on  post- 
offices,  and  it  has  been  my  experience  that  post- offices 
are  a  not  unimportant  factor  in  politics.” —  IPas/t- 
ington  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  June  26. 

*  *  * 

A  serious  charge  is  made  in  the  third  con¬ 
gressional  district  by  one  wing  of  the  republi¬ 
can  party  against  the  other  wing,  which  in¬ 
cludes  several  postmasters.  Governor  Burleigh 
is  one  of  the  four  candidates  for  the  congres 
sional  nomination.  Joe  Manley,  Mr.  Blaine’s 
friend,  is  another,  and  he  is  the  postmaster  of  Au¬ 
gusta.  The  postmaster  of  Waterville  is  a  Milliken 
man. 

In  the  town  of  Vassalborough,  twelve  miles 
from  Augusta  and  five  miles  from  Waterville, 
there  were  mailed  on  the  3d,  4th,  5th  and  6th 
of  April  last  eighty  sacks  of  a  weekly  news¬ 
paper,  a  publication  entered  as  second-class 
matter.  On  these  S40  postage  was  paid.  In 
the  eighty  sacks  were  33,000  papers,  wrapped 
and  addressed,  one  to  each  voter,  in  the  dis¬ 
trict. 

These  papers  contained  an  article  in  the  in¬ 
terest  of  Governor  Burleigh.  The  sacks  going 
south  from  Vassalborough  went  into  the  Au¬ 
gusta  office  all  right.  This  much  is  known. 
There  was  a  paper  directed  to  each  voter  in 
Blaine’s  home.  Not  one  in  ten  of  them  has 
been  delivered.  Five  business  men  doing 
business  in  one  block  declare  they  never  saw 
the  paper.  Not  over  200  delivered  papers 
can  be  found  in  Augusta,  where  2,000  were 
sent  from  a  point  only  twelve  miles  away. 
Papers  going  north  from  Vassalborough  went 
five  miles  and  into  the  Waterville  oflSce, 
and  here  all  trace  of  thousands  have  been 
lost. 

Burleigh  men  and  detectives  have  been  hunting 
the  district,  and  are  satisfied  that  over  forty  of  these 
sacks  of  mail  have  been  destroyed  in  the  interest  of 
Manley  and  Milliken.  A  formal  complaint  and 
charge  will  be  made  against  several  officials, 
and  another  lot  will  be  printed.  The  govern¬ 
ment  will  be  asked  to  see  to  it  that  the  mails 
are  not  looted.  As  the  facts  become  known 
the  indignation  grows. — Bangor  {Me.)  Dispatch 
to  Neiu  York  Times,  May  27. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Rockville,  Ind.,  Aug.  2,  1892. 
Editor  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

Dear  Sir — I  am  pleased  that  your  paper  is 
outspoken  on  the  only  true  line  of  reform.  As 
a  civil  service  reformer,  I  could  not  support 
Grover  Cleveland  in  1884,  but  was  perfectly 
satisfied  with  his  course  as  President.  It  was 


a  “  stagger  ”  at  reform  from  a  very  unexpected 
quarter.  I  therefore  voted  for  him  in  1888, 
when  many  who  had  voted  for  him  four  years 
before  supported  Harrison.  It  is  quite  plain 
that  in  spite  of  its  past  the  democratic  party 
is  more  progressive  to-day  than  the  republi¬ 
can.  Respectfully, 

Isaac  R.  Strouse. 


Baltimore,  Md.,  Aug.  3,  1892. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle: 

Sir — I  wish  to  thank  you  for  the  thorough¬ 
ness  with  which  you  have  collected  and 
published  the  facts  as  to  the  participation  of 
federal  officials  in  the  work  of  the  Minne¬ 
apolis  convention.  Ninety-five  per  cent,  of 
the  active  politicians  in  each  party  are  bit¬ 
terly  opposed  to  the  merit  system.  One  na¬ 
tional  convention  has  renominated  the  Presi¬ 
dent  who  is  responsible  for  Wanamaker, 
Clarkson  and  Dave  Martin,  and  who,  in  his, 
to  a  great  e.vtent  at  least,  personally  conducted 
campaign  for  renomination,  used  the  offices 
in  bis  gift  for  all  they  were  worth.  The 
other  has  asked  the  suffrages  of  the  people  for 
the  author  of  the  Fellows  letter,  the  man  who 
gave  Vilas,  Stevenson  and  Higgins  a  free 
hand.  And  yet  each  convention  in  making 
these  nominations  voiced  the  desires  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  best  elements  of  their  re¬ 
spective  parties.  Under  such  circumstances 
neither  party  is  entitled  to  pose  as  a  reform 
organization  nor  to  ask  the  votes  of  reformers 
as  such,  and  the  reform  vote  will  not  all  be 
cast  one  way.  Those  reformers  who  believe 
that  the  decalogue  forbids  a  protective  tariff, 
or  that  the  federal  control  of  congressional 
elections  will  be  dangerous  to  local  liberties 
and  will  produce  violence  and  corruption  in 
the  cotton  states,  will  doubtless  vote  for  Mr. 
Cleveland.  Those  who  believe  in  protection, 
together  with  those  who  are  on  the  subject  of 
the  tariff  economic  agnostics,  unwilling  to 
turn  things  upside  down,  with  little  idea  of 
whether  such  an  overturning  would  produce 
good  or  ill  results,  or  who  believe  that  the 
constitutional  gift  of  power  to  the  federat 
government  to  regulate  congressional  elections 
imposes  the  corresponding  duty  to  exercise 
that  power  when  for  any  considerable  period 
and  over  any  large  area  the  states  have  al¬ 
together  failed  to  make  such  elections  reason¬ 
ably  free  and  fair,  will  support  Harrison. 

While  those  who  are  inclined  to  view  all 
the  party  cries  as  to  a  large  extent  insincere, 
and  as  shouted  the  loudest  by  men  who  are, 
after  all,  chiefly  concerned  in  getting  or  keep¬ 
ing  the  oflSces,  may  find  it  as  diflScult  to  agree 
as  to  what  outcome  of  the  election  will  do 
most  good  or  perhaps  least  harm  to  the  cause  of 
civil  service  reform.  The  Chronicle  believes 
that  the  duty  immediately  at  hand  is  to  pun¬ 
ish  Harrison.  The  writer  believes  that  it  will 
be  wiser  not  make  the  country  believe  that 
reformers  are  willing  to  vote  for  the  man  who 
allowed  the  civil  service  law  to  fall  in  many 
places  into  what  he  himself  might  call  a  state  of 
innocuous  desuetude  rather  than  for  the  man 


under  whose  administration,  in  spite  of  the  m 
grave  and  even  scandalous  failures  to  observe  J 
its  spirit  outside  of  the  classified  service ;  f 
within  that  service  the  law  has  been  reasona-  ^ 
bly  well  enforced  almost  everywhere.  The  , 
Chronicle  takes  one  side,  the  writer  takes  C 
the  other.  But  let  us  agree  that  whatever 
side  we  take  we  shall  do  it  with  our  eyes  as  ' 
wide  open  as  past  party  affiliations  and  preju¬ 
dices  will  let  us  get  them.  Whether  Harrison 
or  Cleveland  shall  be  elected  whatever  else  is 
doubtful,  it  is  certain  that  the  reform  will  not 
long  hold  its  own,  much  less  go  forward,  un¬ 
less  reformers  mercilessly  expose  the  failures 
of  the  men  in  power  to  obey  the  letter  of  the 
reform  law  and  observe  its  spirit.  Therefore, 
although  a  republican  who  expects  to  vote  for 
Harrison,  I  rejoice  in  the  persistency  with 
which  you  hold  up  to  public  view  the  spoils 
mongering,  no  matter  what  party  or  man  is 
responsible  for  it.  J.  C.  R. 

Many  voters  will  not  agree  with  our 
correspondent  upon  the  relative  weight  of 
things.  The  manipulation  of  the  civil 
service  by  President  Harrison  is  not  sim¬ 
ply  a  brazen  violation  of  his  pledges.  It  is 
the  most  universal,  unscrupulous  and 
dangerous  use  of  that  service  for  personal 
ends  that  this  country  has  ever  witnessed. 

It  is  but  a  step  from  this  to  the  tricks 
which  Balmaceda  undertook  to  play  with 
the  government  of  Chili.  In  the  presence 
of  this  tendency,  of  which  President  Har¬ 
rison’s  manipulation  of  his  office-holders 
leading  up  to  and  at  the  Minneapolis 
convention,  was  a  startling  example,  every 
other  question  is  dwarfed.  The  President 
does  not  enact  tariff  laws  or  force  bills. 
This  President  has  very  greatly  increased 
the  dangers  to  free  institutions,  which,  as 
his  platform  said,  “lurk  in  the  power  of 
official  patronage.”  The  evidence  is  con¬ 
clusive  against  him. 


I  beg  to  inclose  a  postal  note  in  payment  for 
your  admirable  paper.  Hall  Harrison. 
Ellicott  City,  Md. 


I  enclose  one  dollar  as  subscription  to  the 
Chronicle  to  December,  1893.  May  you  con¬ 
tinue  long  in  the  good  work. 

Chas.  H.  Gilbert. 

Menlo  Park,  Cal. 


MASSACHUSETTS  TO  THE  WILD 
AND  WOOLLY  WEST. 

We  have  received  copy  of  paper  bearing  the 
name  “The  Civil  Service  Chronicle.” 
published  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Its  chief  ob¬ 
ject  and  aim  seems  to  be  to  laud  Cleveland  and 
the  democratic  party,  and  to  berate  Harrison 
and  the  republican  party.  There  is  a  vast 
deal  of  claptrap  about  civil  service,  and  any¬ 
body  taking  stock  in  the  fad  is  not  wise. — 
Chelsea,  Mass.  Gazette,  August  13.  I 


H  ' 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Tliis  devotiou  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  which  it  exists,  l)nt  to  the  spoils  that  accompany  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so 
absolute  that  it  has  produced  an  evil  greater  than  any  wliicli  party  proposes  to  remedy. — George.  William  Curtis,  at  Baltimore,  Ajnil,  1892. 


VoL.  I,  No.  43.  INDIANAPOLIS,  SEPTEMBER,  1892.  teems :<(  “rnuVer^opT' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

We  gladly  give  all  possible  space  this 
month  to  the  speech  of  George  W.  Julian 
delivered  in  this  city,  September  15,  and 
which  appeared  in  full  in  the  Indianapolis 
Sentinel  the  next  morning.  We  do  this  the 
more  gladly  because  Mr.  Julian  is  the  first 
of  his  party,  whether  person  or  paper,  to 
lay  hold  of  the  only  issue  in  this  campaign 
which  is  vital  to  the  people  and  connected 
with  the  election  of  the  next  President — 
the  abuse  of  his  power  over  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  by  President  Harrison.  It  will  be 
seen  that  Mr.  Julian’s  stroke  was  never 
more  steady  and  certain.  Nothing  more 
entertaining  from  an  intellectual  and 
literary  stand-point  will  be  said  in  this 
campaign,  and  we  commend  the  speech  as 
an  enunciation  of  the  soundest  principles  in 
its  denunciation  of  the  unsoundest  princi¬ 
ples  by  one  who  has  no  object  in  view  but 
to  serve  his  country. 

The  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Foulke  be¬ 
fore  the  Keform  Club  of  Boston,  September 
10th,  was  received  at  the  last  moment,  and 
it  is  with  regret  that  the  Chronicle  can  not 
find  room  for  all  of  it.  It  was  published 
in  full  in  the  New  York  Evening  Ibst,  of 
September  15th,  and  in  the  New  York  Times 
of  16th.  It  is  the  speech  of  a  man  who 
justly  feels  that  it  is  his  peculiar  duty  to 
stand  forth  and  declare  the  worst  that  can 
be  said  of  a  President — the  bad  faith  of 
President  Harrison.  The  declaration  comes 
with  a  power  which  might  be  expected  from 
the  indisputable  facts  and  Mr.  Foulke’s 
well  known  ability  to  arrange  them,  aided 
by  the  irresistible  incentive  that  he  is  en¬ 
gaged  in  behalf  of  a  great  and  outraged 
cause. 

The  democratic  platform  touching  the 
civil  service  is  in  marked  contrast  with 
that  of  the  republicans.  The  democrats 
must  be  held  to  believe  in  their  declara¬ 
tion,  and  in  addition  they  clearly  made  it 
to  induce  the  independent  vote  to  unite 
with  them.  The  platform  is  a  promise  to 
render  it  impossible  for  the  service  to  be 
subject  to  change  at  every  election,  or  to 
be  a  prize  to  be  fought  for  at  the  polls,  or 
to  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal.  Those 
independents  who  design  voting  for  Mr. 
Cleveland  have  a  right  to  rely  on  this 


promise.  Nothing  but  the  convention 
itself  can  modify  it,  and  all  attempted 
modifications  by  local  papers  or  personages 
may  be  disregarded.  We  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  living  up  to  this  platform  would 
be  welcomed  by  all  democrats.  There  are 
yet  in  Indiana,  for  instance,  a  class  of  rock- 
ribbed,  hide-bound,  and  moss-backed  dem¬ 
ocratic  politicians  who  never  had  and 
never  will  have  a  single  political  idea  ex¬ 
cept  looting  the  offices.  They  care  noth¬ 
ing  upon  what  issue  a  campaign  is  argued, 
so  that  nothing  is  said  or  done  that  will 
make  it  more  difficult  to  seize  the  spoil  of 
victory.  Any  side  of  the  tariff  question 
is,  they  think,  a  haven  of  safety;  they  are 
not  particular  what  side,  and  as  likely  as 
not  after  success  at  the  election  they  will 
be  found  lobbying  against  the  very  tariff 
legislation  which  they  said  their  success 
in  the  election  would  bring  about.  Inde¬ 
pendents  understand  this  class.  They  are 
not  so  numerous  nor  so  strong  as  they 
were,  but  they  are  still  here.  Unfortu¬ 
nately  for  them,  their  party  in  national 
convention  has  put  them  in  close  quarters. 


Upon  this  issue  the  republicans  are  as 
dumb  and  helpless  as  they  were  upon  the 
issue  involved  in  the  Mulligan  letters  in 
1884.  Every  night  they  go  to  bed  rejoic¬ 
ing  that  they  have  had  no  general  attack 
at  the  only  point  at  which  they  can  make 
absolutely  no  resistance.  For  instance,  no 
one  here,  in  the  President’s  own  city,  will 
answer  Mr.  Julian’s  attack  for  the  simple 
reason  that  it  is  unanswerable.  Yet  the 
acts  charged  are  of  such  a  nature  that  if 
they  can  not  be  denied  they  must,  with  a 
large  body  of  voters,  unfit  for  re-election 
the  man  who  has  committed  them.  To  say 
otherwise  is  to  say  that  the  American 
people  are  hopelessly  venal.  To  convince 
them  is  only  a  question  of  a  forcible,  re¬ 
iterated  and  persistent  presentation  of  the 
facts. 


Zealous  tariff  reformers  are  apt  to 
urge  that  until  that  question  is  settled, 
the  civil  service  can*  not  be  reformed. 
This  is  nonsense.  The  tariff  situation  does 
not  materially  differ  from  the  tariff  situa¬ 
tion  of  1844.  The  democrats  then  won  a 
great  victory  upon  that  issue.  Yet  the 
spoils  system  was  in  greater  vigor  than 
ever.  In  1848  the  democrats  were  totally 
defeated.  Nothing  was  settled  except  a 


redistribution  of  spoil.  Suppose  the  coun¬ 
try  were  carried  now  ostensibly  for  tariff 
reform.  In  the  course  of  time  a  consider¬ 
ably  moderated  tariff'  might  be  the  result; 
it  would  depend  upon  the  effect  the  party 
machine  thought  a  given  bill  would  have 
upon  its  hold  upon  the  offices.  That  and 
nothing  else  would  fix  the  course  followed. 
The  fact  becomes  more  prominent  every 
day  that  no  public  question  will  or  can  re¬ 
ceive  more  than  hand-to-mouth  treatment 
while  an  enormous  federal  patronage  re¬ 
mains  a  prize  to  be  fougbt  for  at  the  polls. 
When  voting  for  President  two  things 
should  be  remembered:  he  is  an  executive 
officer;  he  does  not  make  tariff  laws  and 
all  his  other  duties  put  together  are  noth¬ 
ing  compared  with  his  duty  of  superin¬ 
tending  the  civil  service.  A  voter  should 
also  remember  that  he  can,  when  voting 
for  his  congressman,  completely  perform 
his  duty  toward  any  question  requiring 
legislation. 


It  is  a  matter  of  universal  remark  that 
the  campaign  seems  “dead.”  It  seems 
settled  that  neither  candidate  from  his 
personality  nor  either  side  of  the  tariff 
question  can  “rouse”  the  people.  The  rea¬ 
son  of  the  lack  of  interest  is  the  lack  of 
prominence  of  any  moral  issue.  The  only 
moral  issue  in  this  election  is  President 
Harrison’s  course  with  the  civil  service, 
with  particular  reference  to  the  dangers 
to  free  institutions  arising  from  his  per¬ 
sonal  use  of  it,  which  finally  led  up  to  the 
formation  and  manipulation  of  the  Minne¬ 
apolis  convention.  It  would  be  an  insult 
to  the  people  of  Indiana,  for  instance,  to 
say  that  all  are  not  interested  in  this  vital 
question ;  but  there  are  in  this  state  fifteen 
to  twenty  thousand  voters  who  have  a  keen 
and  abiding  interest  in  it.  They  are  usu¬ 
ally  quiet  people  scattered  through  all  the 
hamlets,  country-sides  and  cities  of  the 
state.  The  party-worker  rarely  knows  of 
them.  He  says  there  are  no  such  voters, 
and  in  polling  his  district  he,  in  dense  ig¬ 
norance,  puts  them  down  as  democrats  or 
republicans.  They  pass  nominally  as  such, 
and  unless  stirred  by  facts  and  arguments 
they  are  apt  to  vote  with  their  nominal 
party.  The  democrats  within  the  line  of 
their  platform  have  facts  and  arguments 
which  can  be  made  to  stir  these  voters  as 
they  were  never  stirred  before,  but  they 
will  have  to  be  used. 


366 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


There  are,  however,  some  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  securing  for  the  democrats  the 
widest  presentation  of  the  case  against  Pres¬ 
ident  Harrison.  We  hear,  for  instance,  of 
democratic  leaders  in  Indiana  who  have  al¬ 
ready  fixed  upon  the  offices  that  they  will 
take  if  Mr.  Cleveland  is  elected,  and  this 
report  involves  even  the  subsidizing  of 
Democratic  newspapers.  Of  course  so  far 
as  these  have  anything  to  do  with  the  cam¬ 
paign  they  will  have  nothing  to  say  of  the 
evils  inherent  in  the  distribution  of  spoil 
by  President  Harrison.  They  are,  in  fact, 
already  muzzled.  This  quite  authentic 
report  makes  some  things  plain  which 
were  before  obscure. 

We  give  President  Harrison  the  full 
benefit  of  what  he  said  of  the  civil  service, 
in  his  letter  of  acceptance: 

The  civil  service  system  has  been  extended  and 
the  laws  enforced  with  vigor  and  impartiality.  There 
has  been  no  partisan  juggling  with  the  law  in  any  of 
the  departments  or  bureaus  as  had  before  happened, 
but  appointments  to  the  classified  service  have  been 
made  impartially  from  the  eligible  lists.  The  sys¬ 
tem  now  in  force  in  all  departments  has  for  the  first 
time  placed  promotions  strictly  upon  the  basis  of 
merit  as  ascertained  by  the  daily  record,  and  the 
efficiency  of  the  force  thereby  greatly  Increased. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  produced  conclusive  evi¬ 
dence  that  certain  officials  in  Baltimore 
had  violated  the  civil  law.  This  was  months 
ago.  Those  officials  are  in  office  to-day. 
The  President  knows  that  the  evidence  is 
conclusive. 

The  President  also  says  in  the  same  let¬ 
ter: 

I  have  endeavored,  without  wavering  or  weari¬ 
ness,  so  far  as  the  direction  of  public  affairs  was  com¬ 
mitted  to  me  to  carry  out  the  pledges  made  to  the 
people  in  18S8. 

The  displacement  of  more  than  100,- 
000  officers  to  make  room  for  parti¬ 
sans  and  relatives  would  have  wearied 
an  ordinary  man.  Probably  he  rested 
while  adding  832  places  to  the  classified 
service. 


Herbert  Welsh  has  an  entertaining 
and  valuable  article  in  the  September  Fo¬ 
rum  on  publicity  as  a  cure  for  corruption, 
with  particular  reference  to  the  work  of 
campaign  committees.  The  very  fact  that 
secrecy  is  sought  is  proof  that  the  commit¬ 
tees  know  that  the  public  would  not  ap¬ 
prove  of  their  use  of  money.  It  does  not 
take  a  large  amount  of  money  in  any  com¬ 
munity  to  meet  all  of  the  expenses  of  an 
honorable  campaign.  The  committee  and 
the  beneficiary  mutually  shrink  from  hav¬ 
ing  the  public  know  that  the  latter’s  house 
rent  has  been  paid,  for  the  public  would 
correctly  denominate  the  act  as  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  a  “  floater.”  The  good  influence 
of  an  honest  publication  of  accounts  is 
clear.  Mr.  Welsh  says  of  the  main  ques¬ 
tion: 

“It  is  becoming  more  and  more  apparent  to 
thoughtful  men  that  no  question  before  the  country 


to-day  is  of  greater  national  importance  than  that  of 
civil  service  reform,  the  question  whether  the  public 
funds  represented  by  the  salaries  of  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand  officers  of  the  civil  service, 
aggregating  sixty  million  dollars  annual  expendi' 
ture,  shall  be  used  in  the  interest  of  the  people  or 
whether  they  shall  continue  to  furnish  an  Immense 
bribery  fund  by  which  a  small  but  highly  organized 
class  of  professional  politicians  shall  acquire  and 
maintain  their  power." 

Mr.  Louis  H.  Gibson,  the  well-known 
architect  of  this  city,  recently  read  before 
the  Century  Club  a  paper  on  “The  Relation 
of  the  Civil  Service  to  Comfortable  Living 
in  Cities.”  Mr,  Gibson  has  carefully  stud¬ 
ied  the  street  and  road  question  and  city 
government  generally  in  Europe,  and  the 
foundation  of  all  he  has  to  suggest — and  he 
has  much  to  suggest— is  that  the  service  of 
cities  must  be  skilled,  and  to  be  skilled  it 
must  be  permanent.  He  incontestibly 
maintains  that  street-cleaning  is  skilled 
labor.  Here  is  an  extract : 

“  In  order  to  carry  out  all  of  these  vast  undertak¬ 
ings  the  work  must  be  done  by  those  having  special 
knowledge ;  it  must  be  done  by  men  especially  edu¬ 
cated  for  the  kind  of  work  in  hand.  In  order  to  se¬ 
cure  such  educated  service  there  must  be  assurance 
that  individuals  will  be  as  regularly  employed  as  in 
any  private  enterprise,  entirely  independent  of  po¬ 
litical  belief.  There  is  no  more  reason  why  any 
matter  of  politics  should  have  to  do  with  municipal 
service  than  with  ordinary  business  enterprises.  In 
general  business,  active  political  interest  is  regarded 
as  a  demerit  rather  than  otherwise.  The  only  thing 
needful  for  proper  municipal  administration  is  edu¬ 
cated  service.  W'hat  is  wanted  is  knowledge.  In 
order  to  secure  this  knowledge  there  must  be  a  rea¬ 
sonable  assurance  of  employment." 


It  seems  to  be  undisputed  that  a  local 
politician  here  named  Bradley  Connett, 
was  much  opposed  to  President  Harrison’s 
renomination ;  that  he  afterward  assumed 
such  a  threatening  attitude  toward  his 
party  that  he  was  given  a  place  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  meat-inspection  department  which  is 
located  at  Kingan  &  Co.’s  in  this  city.  If 
true,  is  this,  or  is  it  not,  a  purchase  of  the 
influence  of  Connett,  giving  him  therefor 
a  public  office  ?  If  so,  is  that,  or  is  it  not,  a 
corrupt  use  of  public  office  ?  Again,  Mer¬ 
rill  Moores,  the  chairman  of  the  republi¬ 
can  county  committee,  has  been  endeav¬ 
oring  to  bully  Postmaster  Thompson,  of 
this  city,  into  making  places  in  his  office 
for  certain  republican  henchmen,  who  also 
made  threats.  There  is  no  claim  of  in¬ 
competency  on  the  part  of  the  employes 
sought  to  be  displaced.  We  repeat  that 
the  man  who  will  not  work  for  his  party 
unless  he  is  paid  with  an  office  is  the 
meanest  mercenary  among  men. 

In  the  August  examination  for  carriers 
in  the  Indianapolis  post-office  three  colored 
men  were  successful  and  one  of  them 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  whole  list.  The 
merit  system  is  the  truest  democracy  con¬ 
nected  with  our  government,  and  there  is 
no  race  for  whom  it  has  such  benefits  in 
store  as  it  has  for  the  colored  people. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

It  is  hard  to  find  words  to  express  what 
deserves  to  be  said  of  George  William  Cur¬ 
tis.  From  the  beginning,  his  was  an  un¬ 
ceasing  effort  to  make  his  country  and  his 
fellow  Americans  better.  His  career 
stretches  over  two  great  epochs,  the  one 
characterized  by  the  Philadelphia  mob,the 
other  by  the  Jay  Hubbell  campaign  text¬ 
book.  In  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers 
the  war  against  slavery  enlisted  all  his 
strength  and  to  the  victorious  end  he 
was  a  foremost  leader.  When  that  was 
over,  his  unerring  judgment  selected  the 
uprooting  of  venal  practices  in  public  rela¬ 
tions,  the  eradication  of  the  element  of 
spoil  in  the  transaction  of  American  pub¬ 
lic  business  as  the  greatest  service  which 
could  be  rendered  to  the  country.  To  this 
end  the  merit  system  and  the  various  re¬ 
forms  which  have  the  general  name  of  civil 
service  reform  are  indispensable  helps. 
How  easy  it  would  have  been  for  him  to 
fatten  upon  the  country.  For  allegiance 
to  his  party,  right  or  wrong,  there  was 
nothing  it  would  not  have  given  him.  How 
easy  to  have  held  sinecure  offices  until  he 
became  rich.  How  easy  to  have  have  en¬ 
joyed  the  best  at  foreign  courts.  Either 
could  have  been  had  if  he  would  but  make 
the  sacrifice  of  leaving  undone  the 
work  which  he  knew  was  the  greatest 
which  could  be  done  for  his  country.  He 
refused  the  English  mission  and  became 
one  of  the  first  civil  service  commissioners. 
In  entering  upon  the  war  against  the  spoils 
system,  he  undertook  one  of  the  greatest 
reforms  that  has  ever  been  attempted  in  a 
commonwealth,  and  yet  it  was  an  humble 
task.  Venality  in  public  affairs,  a  feeling 
that  in  public  business  it  was  to  be  ex¬ 
pected  that  there  would  be  something  over, 
for  which  the  recipient  had  not  given  value 
but  which  accrued  to  him  by  reason  of  pol¬ 
itics,  had  thoroughly  debauched  the  public 
conscience.  The  multitude  did  not  join  in 
the  new  reform.  Party  leaders  passed  by 
on  the  other  side  with  coarse  abuse.  It 
however  gathered  strength  and  then  the 
sting  and  smart  of  defeat  wrung 
great  tears  of  repentance  from  party  ma¬ 
chines.  Step  by  step  the  reform  made  its 
way  until  it  became  rooted  so  firmly  that 
it  can  not  be  overturned.  How  small  and 
mean  the  political  Hubbells  now  seem. 
Of  all  the  leaders  in  this  crusade  George 
William  Curtis  was  without  question  the 
first;  and  no  leader  ever  had  greater  love 
and  no  leader’s  memory  greater  respect 
and  reverence  from  his  associates.  He 
has  trained  them  well.  It  is  with  no  sense 
of  weakness  that  they  mourn  his  death. 
They  look  with  confidence  into  the  fu¬ 
ture.  Their  hands  are  not  stayed  but 
strengthened  by  the  responsibility  laid 
upon  them.  The  greatest  monument  they 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


367 


can  build  to  George  William  Curtis  will  be 
to  complete  his  work,  and  it  shall  be  done. 

MR.  JULIAN’S  ADDRESS. 

I  propose  this  evening  to  devote  a  b^ief  hour 
to  the  discussion  of  a  single  issue  of  the  pend¬ 
ing  campaign,  namely,  the  reform  of  the  civil 
service;  and  I  have  chosen  this  topic  for  rea¬ 
sons  which  will  abundantly  appear  as  I  pro¬ 
ceed.  This  issue  was  involved  in  the  canvass 
of  1888,  but  the  attitude  of  the  opposing  can¬ 
didates  was  then  strikingly  different.  Mr. 
Cleveland  had  already  tried  his  hand  at  civil 
service  reform,  and  although  his  actions  had 
disappointed  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  a 
portion  of  his  friends,  and  were  severely  criti¬ 
cised,  yet  he  did  more  for  the  cause  than  any 
President  had  done  since  the  inauguration  of 
the  spoils  system.  It  should  be  remembered, 
moreover,  that  what  he  accomplished  was  pre¬ 
eminently  his  own  work,  for  the  leaders  of  his 
party  generally  disagreed  with  him,  while  the 
time-honored  policy  and  traditions  of  the  par¬ 
ty  itself  stood  in  his  way.  General  Harrison, 
on  the  contrary,  had  his  party  behind  him,  or 
at  least  a  powerful  sentiment  in  the  party,  and 
its  declaration  of  principles  was  not  only 
sweeping  and  unconditional,  but  it  embodied 
specific  and  detailed  pledges  which  could  not 
possibly  be  misunderstood.  Indeed,  both  the 
'party  and  the  candidate  seemed  to  gather 
strength  and  courage  from  the  alleged  short¬ 
comings  of  Cleveland  and  to  be  hungry  for 
the  conflict  and  eager  to  demonstrate  their 
faith  by  their  works.  Here  is  their  platform  : 

We  will  not  fail  to  keep  our  pledges  because  their 
candidate'  has  broken  his.  We  therefore  renew  our 
declaration  of  1884,  to  wit:  "The  reform  of  the  civil 
service,  auspiciously  begun  under  a  republican  ad¬ 
ministration,  should  be  completed  by  the  further 
extension  of  the  reform  system  already  established 
by  law  to  all  the  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is 
applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  system 
should  be  observed  in  all  executive  appointments, 
and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the  object  of  existing 
reform  legislation  should  be  repealed,  to  the  end 
that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in 
the  power  of  official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and 
effectively  avoided.” 

In  his  letter  of  acceptance  General  Harrison 
adopted  these  declarations  as  his  own,  and 
said : 

In  appointments  to  every  grade  and  department 
fitness  and  not  party  service  should  be  the  essential 
and  discriminating  test,  and  fidelity  and  efliciency 
the  only  sure  tenure  of  office.  Only  the  interest  of 
the  public  service  should  suggest  removal  from  office. 

In  speaking  of  the  civil  service  law  he  de¬ 
clared  : 

The  law  should  have  the  aid  of  a  friendly  inter¬ 
pretation  and  be  faithfully  and  vigorously  enforced. 
All  appointments  under  it  should  be  absolutely  free 
from  partisan  considerations  and  influence. 

In  his  inaugural  address  he  declared  : 

Heads  of  departments,  bureaus  and  all  other  pub¬ 
lic  officers  having  any  duty  in  connection  therewith 
will  be  expected  to  enforce  the  civil  service  law  fully 
and  without  evasion. 

In  this  address  he  took  occasion  to  say  : 

We  may  reverently  invoke  and  confidently  expect 
the  favor  and  help  of  Almighty  God ;  that  he  will 
give  to  me  wisdom,  strength  and  fidelity,  and  to  our 
people  a  spirit  of  fraternity  and  a  love  of  righteous- 
ne.ss  and  peace. 


This  zeal  for  civil  service  reform  was  not 
new-born.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  travail 
of  his  soul  while  he  was  a  member  of  the  senate, 
and  in  a  speech  on  the  subject  on  the  26th  of 
March,  1886,  he  delivered  himself  as  follows  : 

1  do  lift  up  a  hearty  prayer  that  we  may  never 
have  a  President  who  will  not  either  pursue,  and 
compel  his  cabinet  advisers  to  pursue,  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  policy  pure  and  simple,  and  upon  a  just  basis, 
allowing  men  accused  to  be  heard,  and  deciding 
against  them  only  upon  competent  proof  and  fairly 
—either  have  that  kind  of  civil  service,  or,  for  God’s 
sake,  let  us  have  that  other  frank  and  bold,  if  brutal 
method,  of  turning  men  and  women  out  simply  for 
political  opinion.  Let  us  have  one  or  the  other. 
They  will  not  mingle.  It  was  the  conflict  of  these 
currents— the  President  on  one  side  endeavoring  to 
be  responsive  to  his  self-imposed  pledges,  and  the 
pressure  of  his  party  on  the  other,  that  has  driven 
those  who  were  at  the  heads  of  the  departments  in 
the  attempt  to  preserve  and  maintain  the  President’s 
professions  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  to  the  hun¬ 
gry  who  were  demanding  to  be  fed— it  was  an  at¬ 
tempt  to  reconcile  the  irreconcilable  that  has  brought 
this  wretched  condition  of  things  in  which  men  and 
women  are  condemned  without  a  hearing. 

No  words  in  the  English  language  could 
more  absolutely  have  bound  the  judgment 
and  conscience  of  Gen.  Harrison  to  the  sup¬ 
port  of  civil  service  reform  than  did  the  ex¬ 
tracts  I  have  quoted.  They  imported  pro¬ 
found  earnestness  and  absolutely  sincerity. 
They  not  only  committed  him  to  the  reform 
without  qualification,  but  they  brought  him 
to  the  front  as  its  chief  prophet.  His  devo¬ 
tion  to  it  seemed  to  be  a  fascination,  and  his 
reference  to  the  recreancy  of  his  predecessor 
gave  evidence  that  his  heart  palpitated  and 
his  soul  panted  for  the  great  cause.  His  fer¬ 
vent  words  could  fairly  be  accepted  as  the 
evangel  of  political  righteousness,  while  his 
earnestness  was  attested  by  the  sanctities  of 
religion.  He  was  known  to  be  a  devout  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  an 
elder  in  the  church,  which  is  a  priestly  oflice 
and  a  spiritual  dignity.  He  was  so  straight- 
laced  in  his  Puritanism  that  he  would  not 
travel  on  Sunday.  He  was  a  man  of  prayer, 
and  this  has  not  been  kept  from  the  public; 
for  the  newspapers  emphasized  the  fact  that 
on  his  journey  to  Washington  in  the  spring  of 
1889  he  attended  to  his  morning  devotions  in 
the  palace  car  in  which  he  journeyed.  Would 
such  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  violate 
his  plighted  faith  to  the  nation  ?  Would  a 
religious  man  and  a  Presbyterian  elder  look 
heaven  in  the  face  with  a  lie  on  his  lips?  He 
was  as  sacredly  bound  to  maintain  the  spirit 
and  purpose  of  civil  service  reform  in  all  ex¬ 
ecutive  appointments,  and  to  make  fitness  and 
not  party  service  the  essential  and  discrimi¬ 
nating  test  in  appointments  and  removals,  as 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  bound  to  maintain  the 
prohibition  of  slavery  in  our  territories  in 
1860;  with  this  diflerence,  that  Lincoln  could 
do  nothing  without  the  help  of  congress,  while 
Gen.  Harrison  could  perform  nearly  all  his 
promises  without  legislative  aid.  He  was  far 
more  explicitly  committed  to  the  reform  of 
the  civil  service  by  reiterated  pledges  and  as¬ 
severations  than  he  was  committed  to  the 
force  bill  or  the  principles  of  protection.  The 
people  so  understood  him  and  trusted  him.  It 


was  their  faith  in  his  promises  which  made 
him  president.  The  contest  was  a  close  one, 
and  there  were  independent  voters  enough  in 
New  York  and  New  England  alone  who  de¬ 
serted  Cleveland  and  threw  their  votes  for 
Harrison  to  turn  the  scales  in  his  favor.  One 
possible  way  was  only  left  open  by  which  he 
could  defend  himself  against  the  charge  of 
obtaining  the  presidency  by  false  pretenses  if 
elected,  and  that  was  the  proof  of  his  sincer¬ 
ity  by  performing  his  resounding  promises. 

But  I  come  now  to  the  painful  part  of  my 
duty.  In  his  inaugural  address,  from  which 
I  have  already  quoted.  General  Harrison  said: 
“  Retrospect  will  be  a  safer  basis  of  judgment 
than  promises.”  This  is  most  true.  Men  are 
to  be  judged  by  what  they  perform,  and  not 
by  what  they  promise.  In  the  forum  of  mor¬ 
als  and  religion  it  is  not  the  men  who  content 
themselves  with  crying  “Lord,  Lord,”  hut  the 
doers  of  the  word  who  are  to  be  recognized, 
and  the  moral  world  would  be  turned  upside 
down  if  any  other  principle  should  prevail. 
General  Harrison  invites  us  to  try  him  hy 
his  acts,  and  his  own  words  must  be  my  text. 
It  will  not  be  necessary  to  go  extensively  into 
details,  and  I  shall  therefore  only  refer  to  a 
few  conspicuous  cases  which  will  serve  as  cru¬ 
cial  tests  of  his  honesty  and  consistency  in  dis¬ 
pensing  the  federal  patronage. 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  he  was  called 
upon  to  deal  with  the  post-office  of  New  York 
City.  Pearson  was  the  postmaster,  and  had 
been  appointed  by  Garfield  in  1881  as  the  suc¬ 
cessor  of  Postmaster  James,  who  had  conduct¬ 
ed  the  office  so  admirably  that  he  was  after¬ 
ward  made  postmaster-general.  Pearson  so 
improved  and  perfected  the  management  of 
the  office  and  so  completely  lifted  it  out  of  the 
mire  of  party  politics  and  made  it  a  great 
business  concern  that  Cleveland,  when  his 
term  expired,  reappointed  him,  which  he  did 
against  the  powerful  opposition  of  his  own 
party  leaders.  *  *  ♦ 

Let  me  refer  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Saltonstall, 
collector  of  the  custom-house  at  Boston,  who 
was  removed  from  office  early  in  the  following 
year  before  the  expiration  of  his  term,  and 
solely  for  political  reasons.  He  was  accepta¬ 
ble  to  men  of  all  parties  and  was  universally 
regarded  as  one  of  the  best  collectors  that  had 
ever  occupied  the  office.  *  *  • 

In  March,  1891,  General  Corse  was  displaced 
from  the  post-office  at  Boston.  He  was  gener¬ 
ally  regarded  as  the  best  postmaster  Boston 
had  ever  had,  and  all  parties  desired  his  re¬ 
tention.  Even  Senators  Hoar  and  Dawes,  not¬ 
withstanding  their  proverbial  partisan  zeal, 
together  with  four  Massachusetts  representa¬ 
tives,  joined  the  people  in  the  demand  for  his 
continuance  in  office.  He  was  the  head  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  and  one  of  the  best  generals  in 
the  war  for  the  Union.  As  a  man,  an  officer 
and  a  citizen  he  was  popular,  and  there  was 
not  even  the  shadow  of  a  reason  for  his  dis¬ 
placement.  The  gentleman  who  succeeded 
him  declared  that  he  knew  nothing  about  the 
business  of  the  office,  and  he  had  signed  a  pe¬ 
tition  for  the  retention  of  the  incumbent.  He 


368 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


had  further  declared  that  “if  the  interest  of 
the  public  service  is  to  decide,  General  Corse 
will  be  renominated.”  *  •  » 

Another  remarkable  case  is  that  of  Mr. 
Burt,  naval  officer  of  New  York,  who  was  re- 
•moved  in  the  summer  of  1889.  He  had  not 
filled  out  his  term  of  office  under  his  appoint¬ 
ment  by  Cleveland,  but  was  summarily  dis¬ 
missed  at  the  bidding  of  ex-Senator  Platt  for 
political  reasons  only.  He  had  been  twenty 
years  in  the  public  service  and  was  well 
known  as  a  determined  friend  of  the  civil 
service  policy.  He  was  a  trained  officer,  thor¬ 
oughly  familiar  with  the  duties  of  his  posi¬ 
tion,  and  as  thoroughly  conscientious  in  dis¬ 
charging  them.  Like  Pearson,  he  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  a  man  who  was  unfamiliar  .with  the 
work  of  the  office  and  opposed  to  the  civil 
service  law;  and  the  inference  is  irresistible 
that  the  change  was  made  for  no  other  pur¬ 
pose  than  to  make  the  office  a  party  machine 
under  the  control  of  Platt,  to  whom  the  federal 
patronage  of  the  state  was  farmed  out  by  the 
President. 

A  more  shocking  illustration  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  faithlessness  was  given  soon  after  his 
inauguration  in  his  action  touching  the  bureau 
of  printing  and  engraving.  This  is  one  of  the 
chief  bureaus  in  the  treasury  department,  and 
it  controls  more  places  not  included  in  the 
classified  service  than  all  the  other  treasury 
bureaus  combined.  Under  different  adminis¬ 
trations  preceding  that  of  Mr.  Cleveland  it 
had  become  notorious  as  the  refuge  of  para¬ 
sites  and  spoilsmen,  and  an  investigating  com¬ 
mittee  of  experts  in  the  treasury  had  reported 
that  a  force  which  in  some  divisions  was  twice 
and  in  others  three  times  as  large  as  was  nec¬ 
essary  had  been  employed,  and  that  more  than 
half  the  force  in  the  bureau  might  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with.  President  Cleveland,  soon  after 
his  inauguration,  selected  the  chairman  of 
this  committee,  E.  O.  Graves,  as  the  chief 
of  the  bureau.  Graves  was  an  independent 
republican,  but  was  appointed  by  Cleve¬ 
land  and  warmly  supported  by  Secretary 
Manning  on  the  score  of  his  rare  qualifications 
for  the  work  and  his  proved  fidelity.  He  did 
not  wait  for  civil  service  rules  and  regulations 
but  courageously  applied  the  principles  of  re¬ 
form  so  as  to  make  the  bureau  a  strictly  busi¬ 
ness  establisment.  No  employes  were  dis¬ 
charged  for  political  reasons  or  to  make  places 
for  others.  *  *  * 

Let  me  mention  one  further  illustration. 
Under  the  administration  of  President  Arthur 
a  lady  named  Isabella  de  la  Hunt  was  ap¬ 
pointed  postmistress  atCannelton,  in  this  state, 
on  the  recommendation  of  Senator  Harrison. 
She  was  the  widow  of  a  soldier  who  died  of 
wounds  received  in  the  service.  I  think  it  was 
on  some  complaint  of  offensive  partisanship 
that  she  was  removed  under  Cleveland’s  ad¬ 
ministration  and  a  democratic  politician  and 
editor  appointed  in  her  place.  Senator  Har¬ 
rison  was  exceedingly  indignant,  and  was  at 
once  overtaken  by  one  of  his  spasms  of  virtue 
and  patriotism.  He  said  : 

If  there  was  in  all  this  country  one  person  who,  by 


reason  of  her  sex,  who  by  reason  of  her  widowhood- 
who  by  reason  of  the  sacrifice  she  made  in  giving  the 
arm  on  which  she  leaned  to  her  country’s  service, 
was  entitled  to  be  kept  in  office,  was  entitled  to  have 
her  reputation  guarded  jealously  by  all  men  who 
represented  the  government,  it  was  Mrs.  Isabell  de 
la  Hunt. 

This  is  very  fine  ;  but  let  us  follow  the  case  a 
little  further.  Senator  Harrison  afterwards 
became  President,  and  Mrs.  Isabella  de  la 
Hunt,  whom  he  had  taken  under  his  wing 
with  such  fatherly  tenderness,  asked  him  to 
restore  her  to  the  place  from  which  she  had 
been  driven.  What  did  Elder  Harrison  do? 
Did  he  visit  the  widow  in  her  affliction?  Yes, 
but  his  visit  was  a  visitation.  He  gave  the 
office  to  a  male  applicant,  and  this  poor  wo¬ 
man,  “who  by  reason  of  her  sex,  who  by  rea¬ 
son  of  her  wTdowhood,  who  by  reason  of  the 
sacrifice  she  made  in  giving  the  arm  on  which 
she  leaned  to  her  country’s  service,”  was 
turned  over  to  the  consolations  of  religion  and 
the  hope  of  a  better  world,  and  to  meditations 
on  the  blessedness  and  beauty  of  civil  service 
reform  as  illustrated  by  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  It  seems  as  if  the  Presi¬ 
dent  was  determined  to  leave  no  manner  of 
doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  man  or  woman  re¬ 
specting  his  brazen  infidelity  to  his  jiledges. 
It  is  true  that  his  friends  have  tried  to  excuse 
him  in  this  case  on  the  plea  that  it  was  Clark¬ 
son,  his  wicked  partner,  who  did  this  out¬ 
rageous  thing,  but  as  Clarkson  was  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  subordinate,  and  under  explicit  instruc¬ 
tions  to  enforce  the  civil  service  policy 
“without  evasion,”  and  inasmuch  as  the  Pres¬ 
ident  never  put  him  under  discipline  for  this 
“  bold  if  brutal  ”  act,  it  would  seem  to  be  pret¬ 
ty  clear  to  a  layman  that  this  defense  simply 
aggravates  his  recreancy.  He  was  bound  to 
watch  his  subordinate.  It  was  his  duty  to 
keep  alive  the  fires  of  his  chivalric  devotion 
to  the  fortunes  of  this  widow,  whose  case  only 
a  little  while  before  had  so  roused  his  indig¬ 
nation.  *  *  * 

Let  me  proceed  with  my  subject  in  the  way 
of  further  illustrations.  I  understand  the 
fundamental  principle  of  civil  service  reform 
to  be  that  in  all  executive  appointments  fidel¬ 
ity  and  efficiency,  not  party  service,  should  be 
the  tenure  of  office.  This  is  the  President’s 
creed,  and  keeping  it  in  mind  I  wish  to  inquire 
why  John  Wanamaker  was  made  postmaster- 
general.  It  is  true  that,  like  the  President 
himself,  he  is  a  religious  man  and  zealously 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  church  and  the 
Sunday-school.  But  these  qualifications  were 
not  sufficient  in  a  cabinet  minister.  He  was 
wholly  unknown  to  the  public  as  a  statesman 
or  even  a  politician.  He  was  a  successful 
Philadelphia  shop-keeper  and  a  man  of  wealth. 
According  to  the  high  authority  of  Mr.  Her¬ 
bert  Welsh,  he  also  had  a  “  reputation  for 
skill  in  diving  into  the  depths  of  political 
waters  and  fetching  brilliant  results  to  the 
surface.”  What  strange  influence  all  at  once 
brought  such  a  man  before  the  eyes  of  the  na¬ 
tion  as  the  incumbent  of  a  great  office  ?  Who 
believes  he  would  ever  have  been  thus  hon¬ 
ored  for  his  piety  merely,  if  he  had  not  pos¬ 


sessed  more  solid  charms?  The  explanation 
is  an  open  secret.  Near  the  close  of  the  cam¬ 
paign  of  1888,  when  the  contest  grew  doubt¬ 
ful  and  money  was  sorely  needed,  especially 
in  such  pivotal  states  as  Indiana,  where  Dud¬ 
ley  was  organizing  his  “  blocks-of-five  ”  and 
furnishing  them  with  funds  for  the  conversion 
of  the  heathen.  Senator  Quay  asked  Wana¬ 
maker  to  take  the  lead  in  raising  $400,000  for 
the  blessed  work.  The  request  was  responded 
to  favorably,  and  Wanamaker  himself  has 
since  admitted  in  a  public  interview  that 
more  than  $200,000  were  raised,  and  that  he 
paid  $10,000.  In  that  interview  he  said:  “I 
had  a  large  experience  in  raising  money  from 
my  connection  with  the  Christian  association 
and  other  enterprises.”  Harrison  was  elected 
and  Quay  now  asked  the  President,  in  consid¬ 
eration  of  Wanamaker’s  services,  to  make 
him  postmaster-general,  and  it  was  done.  The 
President  personally  knew  all  about  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  this  monstrous  transaction.  He  knew 
that  Wanamaker’s  financial  aid  in  a  great 
emergency  was  urged  as  the  ground  on  which 
he  should  be  thus  honored,  and  he  knows  that 
he  honored  him  accordingly.  These  are  the 
simple  facts,  and  they  furnish  a  very  instruct¬ 
ive  commentary  upon  the  President’s  civil 
service  policy.  They  constitute  a  “damned 
spot”  in  his  record  which  no  waters  can  ever 
wash  out,  and  the  revolting  affair  can  best  be 
accounted  for  by  referring  it  to  an  unholy  al¬ 
liance  between  office  greed  and  godliness. 
Wanamaker  was  a  man  of  prayer  whose  or¬ 
thodoxy  was  unquestioned,  whatever  might 
be  thought  of  the  morality  of  this  perform¬ 
ance.  To  his  piety  he  had  added  wealth  and 
cunning,  and  these  advantages  made  him  very 
attractive  to  a  man  of  the  President’s  practi¬ 
cal  turn  of  mind  when  facing  a  great  tempta¬ 
tion.  Both  seem  to  belong  to  a  class  of  re¬ 
ligionists  Avho 

PI5'  every  art  of  legal  thieving, 

No  matter,  stick  to  sound  believing. 

In  conducting  this  important  negotiation  I 
have  no  doubt  that  both  preserved  their  custo¬ 
mary  self-complacency,  and  that  each  could 
have  entered  heartily  into  the  sprit  of  “Holy 
Willie’s  Prayer:” 

Yet  I  am  here  a  chosen  sample 
To  show  thy  grace  is  great  and  ample; 

I’m  here  a  pillar  in  thy  temple, 

Strong  as  a  rock, 

A  guide,  a  buckler,  an  example. 

To  a’  thy  flock. 

Again,  let  me  inquire  tvhy  Stephen  B.  El¬ 
kins  was  made  secretary  of  war  in  the  last 
half  of  the  administration.  His  career  is 
historic.  More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  he  settled  in  New  Mexico  and  became  a 
member  of  the  territorial  legislature.  He 
studied  the  Spanish  language  and  the  charac¬ 
ter  and  habits  of  the  Mexican  population. 
President  Johnson  afterward  appointed  him 
district  attorney  for  the  territory,  which  office 
he  held  three  years.  He  was  then  elected  a 
delegate  to  congress  and  served  two  terms. 
This  experience  amply  prepared  him  for  the 
brilliant  ventures  in  real  estate  through  which 
he  became  rich.  His  dealings  were  mainly 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


369 


in  Spanish  grants,  which  he  bought  for  a 
very  small  price  from  their  Mexican  claim¬ 
ants  or  their  grantees.  The  boundaries  of  these 
grants  were  vague  and  uncertain  and  their 
definite  settlement  had  to  be  determined 
by  the  surveyor-general  of  the  territory,  sub¬ 
ject  to  the  final  action  of  congress.  Elkins 
became  a  member  of  the  land  ring  of  the 
territory,  and  largely  through  his  influence 
the  survey  of  these  grants  was  made  to  con¬ 
tain  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  that  did 
not  belong  to  them.  He  thus  became  a  great 
land-holder,  through  the  manipulation  of 
committees  in  congress  grants  thus  illegally 
surveyed  were  confirmed  with  their  fictitious 
boundaries.  He  made  himself  particularly 
conspicuous  as  the  hereof  the  famous  Maxwell 
grant,  which,  as  Secretary  Cox  decided  in  18G9, 
contained  only  twenty-two  square  leagues,  or 
about  ninety-six  thousand  acres,  but  which, 
under  the  manipulation  of  Elkins,  was  sur¬ 
veyed  and  patented  for  1,714,764  acres,  or 
nearly  two  thousand,  six  hundred  and  eighty 
square  miles.  Congress,  through  the  action  of 
its  committees,  was  beguiled  into  the  confirma¬ 
tion  of  the  grant,  with  the  exterior  boundaries 
vaguely  indicated  in  it  so  stretched  as  to  cover 
the  whole  of  this  immense  area,  and  which  con¬ 
firmation  by  congress  compelled  the  supreme 
court  to  recognize  this  astounding  robbery  as 
valid.  By  such  methods  as  these  more  than 
ten  million  acres  of  the  public  domain  in  New 
Mexico  have  become  the  spoil  of  land  grab¬ 
bers,  and  the  ring  leaders  in  this  game  of 
spoiliation  was  Stephen  B.  Elkins,  the  confed- 
rate  of  Stephen  W.  Dorsey,  and  the  master 
spirit  in  the  movement.  He  was  thoroughly 
qualified  for  his  work.  He  was  irrepressible 
and  full  of  resources.  He  was  Quay,  Platt, 
Mahone  and  Clarkson  rolled  into  one.  He 
was  a  genius  in  business,  and  in  the  pursuit  of 
his  ends  was  singularly  unshackled  by  a  con¬ 
science.  He  used  the  surveyor-general  of  the 
territory,  the  land  department  in  Washington 
and  the  committees  of  congress  as  his  instru¬ 
ments  in  fleecing  poor  settlers  and  robbing  the 
government  of  its  lands.  To  cheat  a  man  out 
of  his  home  is  justly  regarded  as  a  crime 
second  only  to  murder;  and  to  rob  the  nation 
of  its  public  domain  and  thus  abridge  the 
opportunity  of  landless  men  to  acquire  homes 
is  not  only  a  crime  against  society,  but  a  cruel 
mockery  of  the  poor. 

If  any  such  considerations  ever  disturbed 
the  dreams  of  Mr.  Elkins,  they  were  summa¬ 
rily  silenced  by  his  overmastering  zeal  in  the 
work  of  “practical  politics.”  According  to 
Dorsey,  Elkins  knew  more  than  any  other  per¬ 
son  about  the  star  route  cases,  which  became 
famous  a  dozen  years  ago,  and  he  will  also  be 
remembered  as  engaged  in  the  prosecution  of 
a  claim  for  $50,000,000  against  Brazil,  while 
Blaine  was  secretary  of  state  under  Garfield, 
which  claim  was  afterward  indignantly  re¬ 
jected  by  Secretary  Bayard.  In  the  light  of 
his  other  performances  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  President  should  desire  to  place  such  a 
man  as  Elkins  under  special  obligations  on 
the  eve  of  a  desperate  struggle  for  renomina¬ 


tion.  Elkins  had  been  Blaine’s  chief  political 
manager  for  years.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  ap¬ 
pointment  he  was  known  everywhere  as  an 
enthusiastic  friend  and  admirer  of  Blaine; 
and  I  think  it  is  morally  certain  that  he 
would  so  have  continued  but  for  this  remark¬ 
able  display  of  the  President’s  zeal  for  civil 
service  reform.  Harrison  knew  his  man  and 
he  knew  all  about  his  career  in  the  southwest 
as  I  have  depicted  it;  for  while  he  was  in  the 
senate  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
territories  and  gave  particular  attention  to 
the  affairs  of  New  Mexico.  In  referring  to 
these  matters  I  do  not  speak  at  random,  but 
from  official  documents  and  ascertained  facts 
with  which  I  became  familiar  during  my  pub¬ 
lic  service  of  four  years  in  that  territory  under 
the  last  administration.  *  *  * 

The  discussion  of  the  President’s  civil  serv¬ 
ice  policy  invites  attention  to  his  nepotism. 
Early  in  his  administration  he  made  his 
brother.  Carter  Harrison,  marshal  of  Tennes¬ 
see.  His  brother-in-law,  John  N.  Scott,  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  construction  in 
the  office  of  the  supervising  architect  at  Port 
Townsend.  The  list  of  places  given  to  other 
relatives  includes  the  deputy  collectorship  of 
customs  at  Port  Townsend,  a  five-thousand- 
dollar  position  in  Utah,  the  post  of  naval  at¬ 
tache  to  the  Samoan  commission  in  Berlin, 
the  collectorship  of  internal  revenue  in  the 
First  Ohio  District,  the  position  of  naval  offi¬ 
cer  at  New  Orleans,  and  that  of  law  clerk  in 
the  post-office  department.  These  appoint¬ 
ments  are  utterly  irreconcilable  with  the 
President’s  various  pledges,  and  they  have  a 
sinister  meaning.  His  brother,  for  example, 
may  be  a  fit  man  for  the  position  of  marshal, 
but  the  public  will  be  slow  to  believe  that  his 
fitness  was  “the  sole  and  discriminating  test” 
in  his  appointment,  or  that  he  would  even 
have  been  thought  of  for  the  place  if  he 
had  not  been  the  relative  of  the  President. 
This  is  equally  true  of  all  the  positions  named. 
The  policy  of  giving  office  to  relatives  was 
denounced  by  all  our  early  Presidents,  who 
turned  away  from  it  as  a  political  indecency. 
No  administration  can  be  regarded  as  “clean” 
which  adopts  it,  and  it  is  particularly  un¬ 
comely  in  a  President  who  has  paraded  him¬ 
self  as  the  champion  of  the  merit  system  of 
appointments. 

A  far  more  flagrant  prostitution  of  federal 
patronage  was  the  attempt  of  the  President  to 
control  the  freedom  of  the  press  in  furtherance 
of  him  ambition.  He  has  appointed  scores 
and  hundreds  of  editors  of  influential  journals 
to  important  places  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
thus  placed  before  them  a  temptation  which 
may  prove  stronger  than  the  love  of  truth.  A 
journalist  who  is  dependent  upon  the  govern¬ 
ment  for  his  bread  is  an  untrusty  representa¬ 
tive  of  public  opinion.  The  newspapers  fav¬ 
ored  by  the  President  are  located  in  various 
sections  of  the  Union,  and  each  is  a  center  of 
power  which  may  be  used  by  him  both  offen¬ 
sively  and  defensively  in  a  political  compaign. 
He  evidently  regards  them  as  fortified  places, 
which  he  hopes  to  command  through  the  po¬ 


tency  of  patronage,  and  the  effect  can  not  be 
otherwise  than  pernicious.  The  foremost  of 
all  his  subsidized  organs  is  the  New  York  Tri¬ 
bune,  “founded  by  Horace  Greeley,”  and  edited 
by  Whitelaw  Keid.  It  is  a  great  power  in 
politics,  and  to  win  it  over  to  his  side  was  nat¬ 
urally  a  darling  purpose  of  the  President. 
Reid  was  always  well  known  as  an  ardent 
friend  of  Blaine  prior  to  his  appointment  as 
minister  to  France,  and  but  for  the  important 
favor  thus  bestowed  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  he  would  have  been  his  zealous  sup¬ 
porter  in  the  late  struggle  for  the  presidential 
nomination.  At  heart  he  undoubtedly  pre¬ 
ferred  Blaine;  but  the  acceptance  of  an  hon¬ 
orable  and  lucrative  position  could  scarcely 
fail  to  have  a  certain  influence.  It  created 
an  obligation.  It  may  have  been  the  make¬ 
weight  which  secured  the  President’s  renomi¬ 
nation,  and  probably  prompted  the  statement 
already  quoted  that  the  President  “  has  given 
the  country  a  clean  administration.”  The 
appointment  of  Clarkson,  the  editor  of  the 
Iowa  Slate  Register,  as  first  assistant  postmas¬ 
ter  general,  suggests  kindred  observations, 
which  would  apply  with  varying  degrees  of 
force  to  all  of  the  many  journalists  singled 
out  by  the  President  for  his  official  smiles. 
His  obvious  purpose  was  to  bring  the  patron¬ 
age  of  the  government  into  conflict  with  the 
freedom  of  the  press,  and  thus  to  purchase  the 
presidency  with  the  public  money.  It  was  a 
bold  and  comprehensive  scheme,  and  there 
was  method  in  it ;  but  it  was  as  flagitious  in 
principle  as  it  was  unprecedented  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  government.  The  grandfather  of 
the  President,  more  than  half  a  century  ago^ 
said  :  “  There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed 

in  the  hands  of  the  executive  which  might  be 
used  with  greater  effect  for  unhallowed  pur¬ 
poses  than  the  control  of  the  public  press.” 
And  Daniel  Webster  declared  that  “  an  open 
attempt  to  secure  the  aid  and  friendship  of 
the  public  press,  of  bestowing  the  endowments 
of  office  on  its  active  conductors,  seems  to  me 
®f  everything  we  have  witnessed  to  be  the 
most  reprehensible.  It  degrades  both  the 
government  and  the  press.  As  far  as  its  nat¬ 
ural  effect  extends,  it  turns  the  palladium  of 
liberty  into  the  engine  of  party.  It  brings 
the  agency,  activity,  energy  and  patronage  of 
the  government  all  to  bear,  with  united  force, 
on  the  means  of  general  intelligence,  and  on 
the  adoption  or  rejection  of  political  opin¬ 
ions.”  All  this  was  perfectly  understood  by 
the  President,  for  in  a  speech  in  the  senate  in 
the  spring  of  1886  he  arraigned  Mr.  Cleveland 
for  doing  on  a  very  small  scale  what  he  him¬ 
self  has  been  doing  on  a  large  one.  He  knew 
that  his  purpose  was  to  muzzle  the  press  of  his 
party,  and  thus  serve  himself.  “Give  me  the 
liberty,”  said  Milton,  “  to  think,  to  know,  to 
believe,  and  to  utter,  freely  and  according  to 
the  conscience,  above  all  other  liberties.”  It 
was  against  this  liberty  that  the  President 
deliberately  conspired  in  attempting  to  bribe 
the  journalists  of  his  party  by  federal  offices 
to  give  him  their  support. 

This  review  of  the  President’s  civil  service 


370 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


policy  would  not  be  complete  without  some 
reference  to  the  Minneapolis  convention  of  the 
7th  of  June.  No  better  illustration  of  the 
power  of  the  spoils  was  possible  than  the  per¬ 
formances  of  this  body.  As  nearly  as  I  can 
determine  140  office-holders  attended  as  dele¬ 
gates  and  cast  their  votes,  while  probably 
3,000  other  place-holders  reinforced  them  by 
their  presence  and  influence.  *  *  * 

I  have  spoken  plainly  because  I  desire  to 
be  perfectly  understood.  My  subject  demands 
that  I  speak  after  the  fashion  of  Nathan  to 
David.  I  have  not  alluded  to  General  Harri¬ 
son’s  relations  to  the  church  in  any  spirit  of 
levity  or  irreverence.  The  subject  of  relig¬ 
ion  has  burdened  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men 
in  every  age  and  clime.  It  is  an  affair  be¬ 
tween  the  soul  and  its  Creator,  and  as  such  it 
is  inviolate.  No  man  should  trifle  with  the 
religious  faith  of  any  man  or  woman.  It  is 
not  a  matter  which  can  decently  be  put  on 
dress  parade  or  placed  upon  the  market  as  an 
investment  in  business  or  politics  ;  and  he  who 
makes  it  a  cloak  for  selfish  ends  merits  uni¬ 
versal  condemnation  and  contempt.  The  news¬ 
papers  have  told  us  that  Judge  Gresham  re¬ 
gards  the  President  as  a  Pharisee.  In  my 
opinion  Judge  Gresham  is  right,  and  I  believe 
the  Pharisees  of  to-day  are  no  better  than 
those  of  nearly  nineteen  centuries  ago.  They 
have  abounded  in  every  age  of  the  church, 
and  like  the  poor  they  are  always  with  us.  In 
their  ceremonial  righteousness  they  are  im¬ 
maculate,  but  in  the  weightier  matters  of  law 
they  are  infidel.  I  think  they  are  nowhere  so 
well  characterized  as  in  the  twenty-third 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Matthew  : 

Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites! 
for  ye  devour  widows’  houses,  and  for  a  pretense 
make  long  prayer;  therefore  ye  shall  receive  the 
greater  damnation.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  compass  sea  and  land 
to  make  one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  made  ye 
make  him  twofold  more  the  child  of  hell  than  your¬ 
selves.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo¬ 
crites!  for  ye  pay  tithe  of  mint  and  anise  and  cum¬ 
min,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the 
law,  judgment,  mercy  and  faith ;  these  ought  ye  to 
have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone.  Ye 
blind  guides,  which  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a 
camel.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo¬ 
crites  !  for  ye  make  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and 
of  the  platter,  but  within  they  are  full  of  extortion 
and  excess.  Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  that 
which  is  within  the  cup  and  platter,  that  the  out¬ 
side  of  them  may  be  clean  also.  Woe  unto  yoxi, 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  are  like 
unto  whited  sepulchres,  which  indeed  appear  beau¬ 
tiful  outward,  but  are  within  full  of  dead  men’s 
bones,  and  of  all  uncleanness.  Even  so  ye  also  out¬ 
wardly  appear  righteous  unto  men,  but  within  ye 
are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity. 

AMERICAN_FEUDALISM. 

The  President  is  of  opinion  that  it  is 
n  great  ahnse  to  bring  the  patronage  of 
tlie  federal  government  into  conflict  with 
the  freedom  of  elections;  and  that  this 
abuse  ought  to  be  corrected  wherever  it 
niaj’  have  been  permitted  to  exist,  and  to 
be  prevented  for  the  future;  He,  there¬ 
fore,  directs  that  information  be  given  to 
all  ollicers  and  agents  in  your  department 


of  the  public  service  that  partisan  inter¬ 
ference  in  popular  elections,  whether  of 
state  officers  or  officers  of  tliis  govern¬ 
ment,  and  for  whomsoever  or  against 
whomsoever  it  may  be  exercised,  or  the 
payment  of  any  contribution  or  assessment 
on  salaries  or  official  compensation  for 
party  or  election  purposes,  will  be  regard¬ 
ed  by  him  as  cause  for  removal. — From  a 
Circular  issued  by  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of 
State  under  President  William  Henry  Harrison, 
to  the  Heads  of  the  Departments  under  the  Oorern- 
ment  of  the  United  States. 

The  campaign  is  on  in  Rushville,  having  been 
opened  to-night  by  Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United 
States  attorney],  of  Indianapolis. — Rushville  Dispatch 
to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  4. 

*  *  *  . 

The  repnblicans  of  Hancock  county  met  in  mass 
convention  at  the  court-house  this  noon.  After 
calling  the  convention  to  order  he  introduced  Hon. 
S.  N.  Chambers  [United  States  attorney],  of  Indianap¬ 
olis,  who  addressed  the  people  for  over  an  hour  in  a 
highly  interesting  m&nner.—Oreenfleld  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  4. 

*  *  » 

There  was  a  ronsing  meeting  of  republicans  in  this 
city  to-night.  The  Hon.  J.  B.  Cockrum  [deputy  Uni¬ 
ted  States  attorney],  of  Indianapolis,  addressed  the 
Harrison  and  Baker  guards,  two  republican  organiz¬ 
ations  of  this  city.  One  hundred  and  fifty  members 
escorted  the  speaker  to  the  court-house.  The  speech 
aroused  much  enthusiasm. — Columbus  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  13. 

*  *  * 

An  enthusiastic  republican  meeting  was  held  in 
Ross’s  Opera  House  last  evening.  Eon.  Smiley  N. 
Chambers  [United  States  attorney]  was  present  and 
addressed  the  crowd.— Union  City  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  Sept.  14. 

*  »  » 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  addressed  a  splendid 
meeting  of  republicans  here  [Nashville,  Ind.]  yester¬ 
day  afternoon. 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  will  address  the  people  of 
North  Indianapolis,  at  Greenleaf  Hall.  The  West 
Indianapolis  McKinley  drum  corps  will  be  in  at¬ 
tendance. 

Following  is  a  list  of  additional  assignments  of 
speakers  throughout  the  state  made  by  the  republi¬ 
can  state  committee : 

Hon.  S.  N.  Chambers. 

[United  States  District  Attorney.] 

Sept.  17— Union  City,  Randolph  county,  7  p.  m. 

Hon.  J.  B.  Cockrum. 

[Assistant  District  Attorney.] 

Sept.  17 — Martinsville,  Morgan  county,  7  p.  m. 

Sept.  19— Knightstown,  Henry  county,  7  p.  M. 

Sept.  23— Elizabethtown,  Bartholomew  county,  7  p.m. 
Oct.  7— Marion,  Grant  county,  7  p.  m. 

—Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  10. 

*  *  * 

The  republican  clubs  of  the  city  turned  out^ 
and  fully  six  hundred  voters  were  present  to 
listen  to  the  speech  of  the  Hon.  Smiley  N, 
Chambers,  of  Indianapolis. — Columbus  Dispatch 
to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  17. 

*  *  * 

United  States  Treasurer  Nebeker  returned  last  night 
from  Indiana,  where  he  has  been  on  business  for 
some  time.  During  his  stay  in  Indiana  he  visited  a 
number  of  counties  and  had  several  conferences 
with  the  republican  candidate  for  governor,  Mr. 
Chase,  and  with  the  chairman  of  the  state  republi¬ 
can  committee,  Mr.  Gowdy.—  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  1. 

*  *  ♦ 

The  only  interest  shown  in  the  convention  was  that 
caused  by  the  efforts  of  many  of  Harrison’s  friends 
to  defeat  as  candidate  for  county  treasurer,  R.  R. 
Shiel.  But  Mr.  Shiel  with  the  a.ssistance  of  a  score  or 


more  federal  office-holders,  led  by  Postmaster  Thomp¬ 
son,  Wiliam  Patterson,  superintendent  of  letter-carriers. 
United  States  Marshal  Dunlap  and  Deputy  Marshal 
Moore,  routed  the  other  administration  gang.— /ndf- 

anapolis  Sentinel,  Sept.  5. 

*  *  * 

The  republicans  of  Delaware  county  shot  the  ini¬ 
tial  gun  in  Muncie  to-night.  Col.  Charles  W.  Fair¬ 
banks  was  the  principal  speaker.  The  reception 
committee  consisted  of  Postmaster  Ellis,  ex-Postmas- 
ter  Eiter  and  other  post-office  aspirants.  All  of  to¬ 
day  Postmaster  Ellis  had  runners  out  personally  urging 
everybody  to  come  to  the  meeting.- ifuncie  Dispatch 
to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Sept.  3. 

*  »  * 

Assistant  Secretary  Crouse  of  the  Treasury  Depart¬ 
ment  says  he  expects  to  relinquish  charge  of  his  office 
some  time  next  week  when  he  will  go  to  Nebraska 
to  enter  the  gubernatorial  campaign.— TFas/iinfffon 

Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  4. 

*  *  ♦ 

“Dave”  Martin,  the  national  committeeman  from 
Pennsylvania,  and  Postmaster  W.  W.  Johnson,  of  Bal¬ 
timore,  who  is  rated  no  lower  than  the  second  class 
as  a  campaign-fund  raiser,  were  at  headquarters  for 
a  time  on  Tuesday.  Among  the  other  visitors  were 
Oj/rws  Bussy,  assistant  secretary  of  the  interior.— New 
York  Times,  Sept.  1. 

»  »  * 

Col.  J.  D.  Brady,  collector  of  the  revenue  for  this  dis¬ 
trict,  and  a  bitter  opponent  of  Mahone,  has  for  some 
time  posed  as  the  President’s  accredited  Virginia 
representative.  Gen.  Mahone  has  served  notice  upon 
the  administrative  and  the  other  republican  leaders 
that  if  they  desire  the  party  machine  to  work  in 
their  interest  the  chairman  of  the  state  committee 
must  be  treated  with  and  Brady  he  utterly  ignored. 
—New  York  Evening  Post,  Sept.  1. 

*  «  ♦ 

There  are  a  large  number  of  delegates  here  to  at¬ 
tend  the  republican  convention.  The  whole  day  has 
been  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  the  propriety  of 
nominating  a  state  ticket.  Those  in  favor  of  a  lickei 
were  led  by  two  white  men  who  are  federal  office-holders 
and  several  negroes.  The  better  argument  was  made 
by  the  opponents  of  a  ticket,  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  convention  will  decide  to-morrow  to  nomi¬ 
nate  one.— Raleigh,  N.  C.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times, 
Sept.  7. 

“I  desire  to  obtain  from  you  the  names  of  from 
eight  to  twelve  of  the  most  active,  earnest,  discreet, 
and  trustworthy  young  republicans  who  will  yet  their 
mail  at  your  post-office.  I  particularly  wish,  also, 
that  you  keep  this  request  a  secret,  even  from  those 
whose  names  you  furnish  me.  I  want  twelve  names, 
but  if  there  are  but  ten  or  eleven,'  send  the  ten  or 
eleven;  if  only  eight  or  nine,  send  them.  They 
should  be  men  between  twenty-two  and  forty,  of 
good  character  and  standing  in  their  neighborhood. 
But  I  desire  young  men  between  twenty-two  and 
thirty-two  if  you  have  the  number  between  those 
ages.  Each  man’s  age,  occupation,  whether  married 
or  single,  and  his  nationality,  should  follow  his 
name.  Kindly  send  this  information  by  return 
mail,  if  possible.  If  not  able  to  respond  so  quickly, 
let  the  answer  come  within  three  days  at  least.  Your 
prompt  service  in  this  matter  will  not  be  forgotten." — 
Confidential  Circular  of  Hackett,  Chairman  of  the  New 
York  Republican  State  Committee  {New  York  Evening 
Post,  Se2)l.  7). 

*  *  » 

Marshal  Jacobus,  of  Brooklyn,  was  a  brief  visitor  to 

the  President  to-day.— Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  11. 
*  «  * 

A  meeting  of  republicans  was  held  on  Sept.  8  in 
Blachley’s  hall  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  perma¬ 
nent  political  organization  and  arranging  prelimi¬ 
naries  for  active  campaign  work.  Postmaster  Qeorge 
Lincoln  explained  *  «  «  —Cedar  Rapids  Gazette, 
Sept.  15. 

*  *  *  .  . 

Oen.  Oreen  B.  Baum,  commissioner  of  pensions, 
addressed  a  republican  rally  here  to-night,  it 
being  the  dedication  of  the  republican  wig¬ 
wam. — Decatur,  111.,  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  Sept.  IG. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


371 


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i 


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Consul  Wood,  Collector  French  and  Railroad  Com¬ 
missioner  Putney  were  also  on  hand  early  from  force 
of  habit,  [Republican  State  Convention.] — Concord, 
N.  IL,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Sept.  6. 

.  »  »  »  ^ 

All  the  arrangements  for  the  new  contract  were 
completed  yesterday  at  the  custom-house.  The 
leaders  tried  hard  to  get  it  when  the  time  came  to  re- 
let  it  while  Collector  Erhardt  was  in  office,  but  a  dis¬ 
pute  arose  between  the  collector  and  the  treasury 
department,  which  resulted  in  postponing  an  award. 
Ootlector  Erhardt  held  that  it  should  be  made  to  the  low¬ 
est  bidder,  while  the  officers  in  Washington  took  the 
ground  that  the  law  did  not  make  such  a  course  obliga¬ 
tory,  and  that  there  was  no  need  of  public  advertiseme7its 
forbids.  No  agreement  on  the  point  was  reached, 
and  matters  dragged  along,  Mr.  Briggs  holding  over 
and  the  republican  leaders  getting  hungrier  and 
hungrier  for  a  slice  of  the  good  things.  This  feeling 
had  developed  into  something  very  close  to  famine 
by  the  time  Collector  Erhardt  went  out  of  office.— 
New  York  Times,  July  12. 

«  »  » 

The  appointment  of  William  H.  Leaycraft  to  a  po¬ 
sition  in  the  appraiser’s  department  has  simply 
added  fuel  to  the  flame  of  republican  dissension  in 
Kings  county.  It  was  a  direct  slap  at  Internal  Rev¬ 
enue  Collector  Nathan,  the  local  representative  of 
Thomas  C.  Platt,  and  is  regarded  by  all  his  associates 
as  a  notification  by  the  President  that  he  does  not 
want  any  help  from  the  Nathan  faction.  Yet  it  is 
Nathan  who  has  absolute  control  of  the  local  ma¬ 
chinery,  and  he  is  in  a  position  to  apply  the  knife  to 
Mr.  Harrison  in  a  most  scientific  manner.— Times, 
July  10. 

♦  ♦  * 

For  years  Leaycraft  has  lived  solely  by  politics.  He 
was  kept  in  office  by  Platt,  whom  he  now  repudiates, 
but  his  winters  were  all  spent  in  Albany.  The  third 
house  knew  him  well,  and  men  here  of  the  legiti¬ 
mate  branches  of  the  legislature  have  had  many 
business  dealings  with  him.  These  transactions  have 
been  profitable  to  both  parties,  and  Leaycraft  has 
been  able  to  make  a  good  showing  in  public.  Lo¬ 
cally  he  has  been  nothing  more  than  a  ward  boss, 
and  other  leaders  anxious  for  the  votes  of  delegates 
from  the  thirteenth  ward  have  always  known  how 
to  get  them.  They  have  dealt  directly  with  Leay¬ 
craft,  and  he  has  always  been  able  to  deliver  the 
goods.  He  has  made  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  he  is 
in  politics  for  what  he  can  get  out  of  it,  and  every¬ 
body  knows  what  that  means.— Wem  York  Times, 
July  10. 

,  *  *  * 

It  was  announced  at  republican  headquarters  last 
week  that  “harmony”  prevailed  in  the  ranks  of  the 
party  in  Kings  county,  and  this  flattering  statement 
was  interpreted  to  mean  that  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
Tracy  and  Naval  Officer  Willis  would  cease  from 
fighting  Ernst  Nathan  [internal  revenue  collector], 
who  is  to  be  left  in  control  of  the  local  machine.— 
New  York  Times,  Aug.  29. 

*  »  * 

The  Kings  county  republican  organization  is  in  a 
pitiable  plight,  being  torn  by  dissensions  and  petty 
jealousies.  Worst  of  all,  the  rigors  of  a  Presidential 
campaign  stare  them  in  the  face.  Ernst  Nathan 
[internal  revenue  collector],  the  half-acknowledged 
leader,  looked  woe-begone  and  disconsolate  yester¬ 
day  when  he  admitted  that  things  were  decidedly 
blue.  He  said  he  had  experienced  a  feeling  akin  to 
that  felt  by  the  aged  female  in  the  nursery  rhyme, 
who,  though  disposed  to  feed  her  dog,  found  she  had 
an  empty  cupboard.  Brightening  up  a  little,  he 
said:  "Well,  the  democrats  have  the  money  and  they 
have  the  county,  but  we  will  get  money  enough  to 
keep  the  majority  down.” — New  York  Times,  Sept.  11- 
*  *  » 

The  republican  campaign  in  Brooklyn  will  be 
practically  opened  this  evening,  when  the  County 
Committee  of  Four  Hundred  will  meet  for  the  first 
time  after  the  summer  vacation,  during  which  the 
factional  hostilities  which  rent  the  body  in  twain  last 
springwereof  necessity  intermitted.  At  the  last  meet¬ 
ing  in  June  there  was  a  perfunctory  indorsement  of 


the  national  ticket  nominated  at  Minneapolis  coupled 
with  a  denunciation  of  Brooklyn’s  representative  in 
the  administration.  Since  that  time  there  has  been 
a  persistent  effort  on  the  part  of  the  opponents  oi 
Secretary  Tracy  to  secure  control  of  all  the  party 
machinery.  They  are  led  by  Ernst  Natha^i,  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  and  by  securing  control  of  the 
executive  committee  of  thirty-five  by  the  use  of  un¬ 
derhand  means,  he  dictated  the  appointment  of  a 
campaign  committee  of  fifteen,  who  in  turn  added 
to  their  own  number  up  to  100  from  among  the  active 
republicans  of  the  city,  being  careful  to  assure  a 
majority  of  Nathan  men.  The  adherents  of  Secre¬ 
tary  Tracy  with  Naval  Officer  WUlis  at  their  head  have 
sulked  in  their  tents  while  all  this  was  done,  as 
they  felt  powerless  and  helpless,  although  they  were 
able  to  elect  the  majority  of  the  delegates  to  Minne¬ 
apolis  in  the  interest  of  President  Harrison.  But 
when  the  democratic  scheme  to  alter  ward  bounda¬ 
ries  in  manipulating  assembly  districts  was  put 
through,  Nathan  had  influence  enough  to  secure  the 
alteration  of  the  boundaries  of  the  twenty-third 
and  twenty-fifth  wards  in  his  interest,  so  as  to  con¬ 
trol  the  senate  and  assembly  districts  of  which  they 
form  a  part,  and  which  are  almost  the  only  surely 
republican  districts  in  the  city.  This  was  a  purely 
partisan  movement,  and  the  Tracy-  Willis  faction  de¬ 
termined  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  upset  It.  To  this 
end  the  proceedings  were  begun  to  set  aside  the  re¬ 
apportionment  and  to  declare  the  alteration  of  ward 
boundaries  illegal.  When  the  proceedings  were  de¬ 
feated  in  the  supreme  court,  the  Nathan  interest  gave 
out  the  statement  that  the  matter  would  end  there 
and  no  appeal  would  be  taken.  But  the  Tracy-  Wil¬ 
lis  people  have  appealed  and  the  matter  comes  up 
for  argument  in  the  general  term  to-morrow.  In  or¬ 
der  to  profit  by  the  change  in  ward  boundaries  as 
much  as  possible,  the  Nathan  faction  has  devised  a 
scheme  to  have  the  "representation  of  the  wards  in 
the  governing  body  of  the  party  remain  the  same  as 
before  they  were  divided  until  the  end  of  this  year, 
but  to  permit  the  representatives  in  nominating  con¬ 
ventions  to  be  counted  as  representing  the  wards  as 
now  constituted.  This  device  is  simply  to  give  Col¬ 
lector  Nathan’s  ward  a  preponderance  of  votes  when 
nominations  are  made  and  enable  him  to  name  an  as¬ 
semblyman.  The  scheme  has  to  come  before  the  gen¬ 
eral  committee  for  ratification  to  night,  and  much  as 
they  deprecate  factional  contests  in  the  face  of  a  pres¬ 
idential  campaign,  the  Tracy-Willis  side  is  deter¬ 
mined  to  give  battle  to  the  Nathan  men  to-night. 
A  lively  meeting  is  expected  and  there  will  be  sharp 
debate  and  a  close  drawing  of  factional  lines.  Naval 
Officer  Willis,  District  Attorney  Johnson,  Col.  Charles 
B.  Morton  and  Joseph  Benjamin  will  be  heard  on 
one  side;  while  Senator  Aspinwall,  David  A.  Bald¬ 
win,  Jacob  Brenner,  M.  J.  Daly,  and  others,  will 
speak  for  Collector  Nathan,  who  will  pull  wires  in 

the  background.— JVeifl  York  Evening  Post,  Sept.  13. 

♦  *  * 

The  Kings  county  republican  general  committee 
met  last  night  in  the  Criterion  Theater,  Brooklyn. 
It  was  near  ten  o’clock  when  Chairman  W.  W.  Good¬ 
rich  called  the  committee  to  order.  On  a  test  vote 
as  to  the  representation  of  the  twenty- fifth  ward  in 
the  committee,  it  was  decided  that  the  ward  had  all 
the  delegates  it  was  entitled  to  by  a  vote  of  176  to  142. 
This  means  another  victory  for  the  Nathan  faction  and 
leaves  him  hi  control  of  the  ward.— New  York  Times, 
Sept.  14. 

»  -»  * 

The  removal  of  Henry  F.  Merritt,  consul  at  Chem¬ 
nitz,  by  the  appointment  of  one  Barnes  of  Illinois  to 
that  place,  has  drawn  from  Mr.  Merritt’s  friends 
some  bitter  remarks  about  the  President’s  regard  for 
“interest  of  the  public  service.”  It  appears  that 
Merritt  was  promoted  from  Aix-la-Chapelle  to  Chem¬ 
nitz  because  he  had  ferreted  out  violations  of  the 
customs  laws,  and  that  he  continued  his  labors  at 
Chemnitz  with  notable  industry  and  success.  The 
explanation  is  given  that  “the  Chicago  politicians 
have  constantly  been  clamoring  for  his  place,”  and 
that  the  President  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
could  further  his  own  interests  in  the  campaign  by 
conveniently  ignoring  his  assertion  that  “only  the 
interest  of  the  public  service  should  suggest  remov¬ 
als  from  office.”— iVew  York  Times,  Aug.  31. 

r-. 


The  appointment  of  A.  Barton  Hepburn  as  con¬ 
troller  of  the  currency  was  a  bid  for  harmony  and 
the  first  treasury  crumb  that  has  been  flung  at  the 
empire  state  republicans  since  Batchellor  was  made 
assistant  secretary,  and  he  wanted  to  be  minister  to 
Turkey.— ATew)  York  Times,  July  28. 

»  »  * 

Walter  D.  Stinson,  who  has  been  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Augusta,  Me.,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  resignation  of  Hon.  J.  H.  Manley,  is  a  nepiiew  of 
Mrs.  Blaine.- /ndfoMapofls  Journal,  July  24. 


PLACATING  REBELLIOUS  BARONS. 


The  national  committee  has  given  out  the  follow¬ 
ing  as  its  part  of  the  arrangements: 

“No  arrangements  have  been  made  for  anything 
like  a  formal  reception  of  the  President  during  his 
stay  with  Mr.  Reid.  It  is  not  known  who  will  be  in¬ 
vited  by  Mr.  Reid  to  meet  him.  All  of  the  members 
of  the  republican  national  committee  who  are  in 
the  city  at  this  time  and  who  can  conveniently  go  to 
Ophlr  farm  will  undoubtedly  present  themselves  at 
some  time  during  the  day.  It  is  expected  that  ex- 
Senator  Platt  and  Mr.  Brookfield  and  Mr.  Hackett 
of  the  state  committee  will  also  call  upon  the  Presi¬ 
dent. 

“The  President’s  main  purpose  in  coming  to  Ophir 
farm  at  this  time  is  to  see  and  consult  with  Mr. 
Reid,  and  a  large  part  of  his  time  will  be  occupied  in 
conference  with  his  host.”— New  York  Times,  Aug.  31. 
*  *  * 

Ex-Senator  Platt  arrived  at  11 :  30  a.  m.,  accompa¬ 
nied  by  John  E.  Millholland.  The  visitors  drove  over 
to  Ophir  farm,  and  when  they  arrived  they  were  re¬ 
ceived  on  the  piazza  by  Mr.  Reid  and  I).  O.  Mils. 
Mr.  Platt  was  at  once  conducted  into  the  reception 
room,  and  a  conference  took  place  between  the 
President  and  Mr.  Platt.— New  York  Evening  Post, 


“Doubts  were  raised  in  my  mind  after  the  Minne¬ 
apolis  convention  how  far  my  services  were  desired 
by  those  who  seemed  then  to  be  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Harrison’s  campaign.  I  heard  that  some  persons 
were  representing  to  him  that  all  the  misfortunes 
the  republican  party  had  ever  undergone  in  the 
state  of  New  York  were  to  be  attributed  directly  to 
me,  and  that  it  would  be  good  politics  for  him  to  let 
it  be  understood  that  he  wished  to  have  nothing  to 
do  with  ‘bosses.’ 

“Certainly,  I  had  no  desire  to  obtrude  myself  upon 
the  President,  nor  to  force  myself  into  the  conduct 
of  his  campaign  if  I  was  not  wanted.  As  the  facts 
have  proved,  I  was  probably  over-sensitive.  But  if 
a  man  must  have  faults,  that  one  is  among  those  most 
easily  forgiven.” 

“So  you  waited,”  said  the  reporter.” 

“Yes,  I  waited.  I  waited  to  hear  from  President 
Harrison.  Some  people  said  that  I  waited  to  hear 
from  him  a  request  to  take  office;  that  I  waited  to 
make  a  sordid  bargain;  that  I  stood  like  a  road  agent 
‘holding  up’  a  coach. 

“These  were  lies,  and  they  were  among  the  mean¬ 
est  and  most  irritating,  most  painful  and  most  hurt¬ 
ful  lies  I  have  ever  had  to  endare.”— Interview  with 
Tom  Platt,  New  York  Times,  Sept.  5. 


MR,  FOULKE’S  SPEECH. 

***»-»»* 
BROKEN  REPUBLICAN  PLEDGES. 

“The  reform  of  the  civil  service  [says  the 
platform  of  1888],  auspiciously  begun  under  a 
republican  administration,  should  be  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform 
system  already  established  by  law  to  all  grades 
of  service  to  which  it  is  applicable.” 

The  only  extensions  of  the  classihed  service 
made  by  Mr.  Harrison,  in  pretended  pursuance 


372 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


of  the  promises  of  the  platform,  were  the  ex¬ 
tensions  to  about  700  teachers  and  superin¬ 
tendents  in  the  Indian  bureau,  less  than  200 
in  the  fish  commission,  and  a  few  employes  in 
the  patent  office.  The  entire  number  of  such 
extensions  is  not  far  from  1,000. 

When  the  civil  service  law  first  took  effect 
there  were  about  16,000  subject  to  its  provis¬ 
ions.  At  the  close  of  President  Cleveland’s 
term  there  were,  after  including  the  railway 
mail  service,  which  he  had  incorporated,  more 
than  30,000  men  in  the  classified  service.  But 
there  are  more  than  100,000  in  the  entire  fed¬ 
eral  civil  service  which  still  remain  unclassi¬ 
fied.  Of  this  immense  number  President  Har¬ 
rison  has  extended  the  civil  service  rules  to 
about  1,000  employes. 

Secretary  Tracy  has,  indeed,  provided  for  a 
registration  of  laborers  in  the  navy  depart¬ 
ment,  under  a  system  quite  similar  to  the 
classified  service,  although  it  is  not  embraced 
within  the  rules  or  placed  under  control  of  the 
civil  service  commissioners,  and  it  would  be 
discretionary  for  any  subsequent  secretary  of 
the  navy  to  abolish  his  regulations.  With 
these  trifling  exceptions  there  has  been  abso¬ 
lutely  nothing  done  by  the  present  adminis¬ 
tration  in  performance  of  its  promises  that  the 
reform  system  should  be  extended  to  all  the 
branches  of  the  classified  service  to  which  it  is 
applicable. 

The  civil  service  law  itself  provided  that  it 
should  apply  to  all  post-offices  and  custom¬ 
house  offices  having  fifty  or  more  employes, 
and  that  it  should  be  extended  to  other  post- 
offices  and  custom-houses  having  less  than 
fifty  employes  whenever  so  ordered  by  the 
President.  The  law  itself  designated  these 
custom-houses  and  post-offices  as  places  to 
which  it  was  applicable. 

After  the  accession  of  President  Harrison  to 
office,  his  own  civil  service  commissioners  re¬ 
ported  recommending  its  extension  to  post- 
offices  having  twenty-five  employes  or  more, 
and  afterward,  in  1891,  recommended  its  ex¬ 
tension  to  post-offices,  custom-houses  and  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  districts  in  which  there  are 
twenty-five  or  more  employed,  as  well  as  to 
clerks  in  the  navy  yard,  to  the  employes  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  to  the  mints  and 
sub  treasuries,  and  to  all  free  delivery  post- 
offices. 

Yet,  during  his  entire  term.  President  Har¬ 
rison  has  utterly  failed  to  extend  it  to  a  single 
post-office  or  custom-house,  or  to  any  of  the 
offices  to  which  this  extension  was  recom¬ 
mended.  A  clearer  violation  of  the  written 
promise  of  the  party  could  not  be  imagined. 

CENSUS. 

If  there  was  any  branch  of  the  service  where 
appointments  should  have  depended  upon  the 
fitness  of  the  appointee,  as  proved  by  ex¬ 
amination  and  probation,  and  not  upon  pat¬ 
ronage  and  political  favor,  it  was  the  census 
bureau.  It  was  the  plain  duty  of  those  in 
charge  of  this  bureau  to  give  to  the  people  the 
exact  facts  as  to  all  matters  inquired  of,  un¬ 
warped  by  political  bias.  If  the  promise  of 
the  republican  platform  had  any  significance 


at  all,  it  meant  that  the  President  would  ex¬ 
tend  this  competitive  system  to  the  clerks  of 
the  census  bureau  when  that  bureau  should 
be  established.  Mr.  Harrison,  in  concurring 
with  and  adopting  the  platform,  distinctly 
made  this  promise  his  own.  His  civil  service 
commissioners  advised  this  extension  also. 
The  President  refused  to  make  it.  The  census 
bureau  has  been  used  as  a  partisan  machine, 
and  the  result  of  the  work  has  been  greatly 
discredited. 

HOW  HAS  THE  LAW  BEEN  ENFORCED? 

In  his  inaugural  President  Harrison  de¬ 
clared  :  “  Heads  of  departments,  bureaus  and 

other  public  offices  having  any  duty  connected 
therewith,  will  be  expected  to  enforce  the  civil 
service  law  fully  and  without  evasion.  Be¬ 
yond  this  obvious  duty,  I  hope  to  do  some¬ 
thing  more  to  advance  the  reform  of  the  civil 
service.”  How  far,  then,  has  President  Harri¬ 
son  enforced  the  law? 

The  civil  service  commission,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  enforce  it,  is  composed  of  three  mem¬ 
bers,  two  of  whom  must  belong  to  opposite  po¬ 
litical  parties.  When  the  present  adminis¬ 
tration  came  into  power,  Charles  Lyman,  a 
Republican,  was  the  sole  acting  commissioner 
Mr.  Harrison  then  appointed  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt,  a  republican,  and  Governor  Hugh  S. 
Thompson,  a  Democrat,  a  man  who  had  been 
selected  for  the  place  by  Mr.  Cleveland  before 
he  went  out  of  office.  These  were  excellent 
men,  who  determined  to  enforce  the  law  im¬ 
partially,  so  far  as  they  had  the  power.  They 
could  see  that  examinations  were  fairly  con¬ 
ducted,  and  they  did.  But  they  could  not  re¬ 
move  any  officer  who  violated  the  law,  they 
could  not  personally  conduct  prosecutions, 
they  could  merely  investigate,  report  and  rec¬ 
ommend.  The  rest  lay  with  the  President, 
the  cabinet  officers  and  their  subordinates, 
and  these  have  utterly  failed  in  many  import¬ 
ant  instances  to  sustain  the  commission  in 
their  efforts. 

THE  BALTIMORE  POST-OFFICE. 

Take,  for  example,  the  Baltimore  post-office. 
Commissioner  Roosevelt  heard  that  this  office 
was  being  used  to  influence  a  primary  election 
on  March  30,  1891,  and  he  went  to  Baltimore 
personally  to  investigate  the  matter.  His  re¬ 
port  contains  the  following: 

“On  the  day  when  the  primaries  were  held,  I  went 
around  in  person  to  several  of  the  wards  to  observe 
what  was  done,  preferring  to  see  for  myself  what  the 
facts  really  were  rather  than  to  seek  to  sift  them  out 
afterward  from  the  conflicting  testimony  of  scores  of 
interested  and  possibly  untrustworthy  witnesses.  I 
herewith  submit  all  the  testimony  taken.  In  my 
opinion  it  establishes  the  following  facts: 

“  The  primaries  held  on  March  30  were  marked  by 
a  very  bitter  contest  between  two  factions  of  the  re¬ 
publican  party.  One  of  these  factions  was  generally 
known  in  the  newspapers,  as  well  as  among  its  own 
supporters  and  opponents,  who  took  part  in  the  pri¬ 
mary  election,  as  the  ‘  Johnson  crowd,’  or  ‘Johnson- 
Airey  faction,’  Mr.  Johnson  being  the  postmaster 
and  Mr.  Airey  tlie  marshal  in  Baltimore.  The  other 
faction  was  known  similarly  as  the  ‘  Henderson  fac¬ 
tion,’  or  ‘Henderson-Stone  faction,’  Messrs.  Hender¬ 
son  and  Stone  having  been,  respectively,  candidates 
for  appointment  to  the  positions  of  postmaster  and 
marshal. 

“Asa  whole,  the  contest  was  marked  by  great  fraud 
and  no  little  violence.  Many  of  the  witnesses  of 


each  faction  testified  that  the  leaders  of  the  opposite 
faction  in  their  ward  had  voted  repeaters,  democrats 
and  men  living  outside  of  the  ward,  in  great  num¬ 
bers.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that,  in  this  respect, 
there  is  much  reason  to  regard  the  testimony  of  each 
side  as  correct  in  its  outline  of  the  conduct  of  the 
other.  Accusations  of  ballot-box  stuffing  were  freely 
made,  with  much  appearance  of  justification.  A 
number  of  fights  took  place.  In  many  wards  there 
were  several  arrests.  In  one  or  two  cases  so  many 
men  were  arrested  that  the  police  patrol  wagons 
could  not  accommodate  them.  In  several  cases  the 
judges  of  the  election  were  themselves  among  those 
arrested.  The  judges,  three  in  number  in  each  ward, 
sat  within  a  house  at  a  window  opening  on  the  street, 
and  the  voters  at  the  primary  were  marshaled  in  a 
line  outside,  surrounded  by  a  great  crowd  of  onlook¬ 
ers. 

“  One  of  the  incidents  of  the  day  was  an  effort  on 
the  part  of  Marshal  Airey  to  drag  a  judge,  whom  he 
accused  of  misconduct,  out  of  the  window,  a  fierce 
struggle  being  the  result.’’ 

As  to  the  post-office  and  marshal’s  office, 
Mr,  Roosevelt  reports: 

“The  evidence  seems  to  be  perfectly  clear  that  both 
these  offices  were  used  for  the  purpose  of  interfering 
with  or  controlling  the  result  of  the  primary  election 
and  that  there  was  a  systematic,  though  sometimes 
indirect,  effort  made  to  assess  the  government  em¬ 
ployes  in  both,  for  political  purposes. 

“The  only  two  deputy  marshals  examined,  Messrs. 
Biddleman  and  Sultzer,  both  confessed  that  they 
had  collected  money  for  political  purposes  from 
other  office-holders,  in  defiance  of  the  law,  and  that 
they  took  a  very  active  part  at  the  polls.  It  seems 
clear  from  the  testimony  of  these  two  deputy  mar¬ 
shals,  and  of  Mr.  McAllister,  as  well  as  Incidentally 
from  the  testimony  of  some  of  the  other  witnesses, 
that  the  marshal’s  office  was  used,  apparently  by  or 
with  the  consent  of  the  marshal  himself,  to  influence 
the  election.  General  Rule  1  of  the  civil  service  rules 
reads  as  follows : 

‘“Any  officer  in  the  executive  civil  service  who 
shall  use  his. official  authority  or  Influence  for  the 
purpose  of  interfering  with  an  election  or  controll¬ 
ing  the  result  thereof  *  ■i'  shall  be  dismissed 
from  office.’ 

“In  my  opinion,  therefore,  all  the  following  gov¬ 
ernment  employes  should  be  dismissed  from  office 
for  vioiating  Sections  11  to  14  of  the  civil  service  law. 
[naming  them.] 

“It  is  evident,”  says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  “from  the  testi¬ 
mony,  that  the  non-classifled  service  in  the  Balti¬ 
more  post-office,  as  is  the  case  with  the  non-classifled 
service  in  almost  every  patronage  office,  was  treated 
as  a  bribery  chest  from  which  to  reward  influen¬ 
tial  ward  workers  who  were  useful,  or  likely  to  be 
useful,  to  the  faction  in  power. 

*  >,■< 

“Mr.  Johnson  has  filled  the  entire  unclassified  and 
half  the  classified  service  with  republican  ward 
workers,  and  has  permitted  the  post-office  to  be 
turned  into  a  machine  to  influence  primary  elec¬ 
tion.  Doubtless,  unless  checked,  it  will  be  similarly 
used  as  a  machine  to  influence  the  course  of  the  state 
and  national  elections.” 

These  were  the  statements  contained  in  the 
report  of  an  upright  republican  official.  Cop¬ 
ies  of  this  report  were  sent  on  August  4, 1891 
by  direction  of  the  entire  civil  service  com¬ 
mission  to  the  President,  to  Postmaster  Gen¬ 
eral  Wanamaker,  to  Mr.  Foster,  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  and  to  Mr.  Miller,  attorney-gen¬ 
eral.  Although  the  report  was  delivered  in 
person  by  L.  C.  Westerfield,  one  of  the  clerks 
of  the  commission,  at  the  department  of  jus¬ 
tice  and  the  treasury  (report  of  civil  service 
committee  to  house  of  representatives,  fifty- 
second  congress,  report  No.  1,669,  page  59), 
the  attorney-general  stated  that  he  never 
knew  anything  of  it  until  nine  months  after. 


i 


4 

i  \ 

t 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


373 


when  the  matter  was  investigated  by  con¬ 
gress.  The  solicitor-general  had  never  looked 
upon  the  testimony  as  calling  for  action!  (Id. 
pp.  40,  41.)  Secretary  Foster  says:  “Upon  in¬ 
quiry  at  the  department  I  find  that  probably 
about  the  time  that  this  report  was  printed,  a 
copy  was  sent  to  the  department.  It  so  hap¬ 
pened  that  I  never  saw  it,  and  we  can  not  find 
it  at  the  department.”  (Id.,  p.  18.) 

WANAMAKER  COMPLAISANT. 

Postmaster- General  Wanamaker,  however, 
saw  the  copy  which  was  sent  to  him.  One 
would  suppose  that  such  a  report  would  call 
for  energetic  action,  not  only  by  the  depart¬ 
ment  of  justice,  whose  duty  it  was  to  prose¬ 
cute  the  offenders  and  dismiss  the  marshal 
and  his  guilty  subordinates,  but  also  by  the 
postmaster-general,  to  whose  department  most 
of  the  culprits  belonged.  But  not  a  single  one 
of  these  violators  of  the  laws  was  removed  or 
punished  for  his  misconduct. 

On  April  19,  1892,  the  house  of  representa¬ 
tives  instructed  its  select  committee  on  civil 
service  reform  to  inquire  whether  these  men 
were  still  in  office  or  whether  any  of  them 
had  been  prosecuted. 

Mr.  Wanamaker  admitted  to  the  committee 
(Id.  page  2),  that  they  were  all  still  in  the  gov¬ 
ernment  service,  and  that  none  had  been  in¬ 
dicted.  He  had  another  investigation  made 
by  some  post-office  inspectors  of  his  own,  who 
reported  in  the  following  December  (four 
months  afterward)  that: 

“After  hearing  the  evidence  from  all  the  witnesses 
and  the  accused,  and  giving  the  whole  subject 
thoughtful  study,  and  consideration,  we  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  facts  do  not  justify  the  dismissal  of 
the  twenty-one  men,  or  of  any,  for  violation  of  the 
civil  service  law,  as  charged.  On  that  report,”  says 
he,  “no  order  has  been  issued  for  the  dismissal  of 
any  person.  <•  «  »  The  inspectors  making  the 
:  declaration  that  in  their  judgment  these  men  have 
:  not  violated  the  civil  service  law,  I  have  not  issued 
any  order  for  their  dismissal,  and  if  it  is  true,  as  it 
must  be  in  most  of  the  cases,  if  not  in  all  of  them, 
that  these  men  were  innocent,  it  seemed  to  me  that 
they  were  sufficiently  punished  in  having  charges 
made  against  them  which  were  not  found  on  investi¬ 
gation  to  be  sustained  by  the  facts.” 

Again,  “Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  the  state¬ 
ments  made  by  these  government  employes  in  Sep¬ 
tember  to  the  Inspectors  who  investigated  the 
matter  under  your  instruction  differ  from  the  state¬ 
ments  made  to  the  civil  service  commission  ?” 

Answer— “They  are  totally  different  in  almost  all 
cases.” 

To  this  Mr.  Roosevelt  answers  (page  27): 

“It  is  difficult  to  discuss  seriously  the  proposition 
that  a  mail  when  questioned  as  to  something  which 
has  just  happened  will  lie  to  his  own  hurt  and  six 
months  afterward  tell  the  truth  to  his  own  benefit.” 

At  last  the  postmaster-general  sent  to  the 
civil  service  committee  the  report  of  the  in¬ 
spectors  appointed  by  him.  The  testimony 
submitted  with  it  (extracts  from  which  are 
given  at  great  length  in  the  report  of  the  civil 
service  committee,  page  66  to  74  (show  that  in 
spite  of  their  efforts  to  screen  themselves  the 
bulk  of  the  men  found  guilty  by  Roosevelt 
had  again  confessed  the  same  illegal  acts. 

The  conclusion  of  this  committee  was  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

“We  therefore  find  that  the  report  of  the  civil 


service  commission  recommending  the  removal  of 
certain  employes  in  the  post-office  at  llaltimore 
was  well  founded;  that  the  postmaster  at  Ilaltimore 
has  not  removed  any  of  these  parties,  substantially 
by  direction  of  the  postmaster-general;  that  the  re- 
tport  of  the  inspectors  upon  which  they  were  retained 
is  unsupported  by  the  evidence  taken  by  themselves, 
and  Indicates  either  complete  ignorance  of  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  civil  service  law  or  a  determination 
that  in  this  particular  case  their  violation  should  not 
be  punished.” 

The  key  to  this  disgraceful  business  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  at  the  Minneapolis  convention 
Postmaster  Johnson  led  a  club  from  Balti¬ 
more,  and  that  he  and  his  law-breaking  sub¬ 
ordinates  were  among  the  most  active  and  in¬ 
fluential  of  the  supporters  of  Harrison  for  re- 
nomination. 

In  many  other  cases  contributions  were 
shamelessly  demanded  from  office-holders  in 
plain  violation  of  law,  and  no  man  has  been 
punished  for  it. 

The  blackmailing  of  government  employes 
went  on  two  years  ago,  and  is  going  on  to-day 
as  flagrantly  as  in  the  time  of  Congressman 
Hubbell. 

IN  THE  PENSION  BUREAU. 

Another  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  civil  service  reform  law  has  been  enforced 
by  the  present  administration  is  furnished  by 
the  pension  bureau.  In  the  fifty-first  congress 
the  Hon.  George  W.  Cooper,  a  member  from 
Indiana,  introduced  a  resolution  to  investi¬ 
gate  the  pension  office  and  conducted  the  in¬ 
vestigation  himself.  He  was  renominated  for 
congress,  his  competitor  being  J.  G.  Dunbar,  a 
republican.  Raum  wanted  to  beat  Cooper 
and  gave  Dunbar,  his  opponent,  the  privileges 
of  the  pension  office.  For  the  purpose  of 
making  friends  of  the  old  soldiers  he  allowed 
Dunbar  to  call  up  their  claims.  At  that  time 
it  was  the  practice  of  the  office,  when  claims 
were  thus  called  up  for  status,  if  they  were 
found  complete,  to  carry  them  forward  for  ad¬ 
judication.  This  was  all  done  just  before 
election  to  get  votes  for  Dunbar  against  Coop¬ 
er.  After  election  neither  Raum  nor  anyone 
else  in  the  office  cared  anything  for  the  claims 
of  these  soldiers,  and  nothing  further  was 
done. 

General  Rule  No.  1,  adopted  and  approved 
by  the  President  to  carry  out  the  civil  service 
laws,  provides — 

“That  any  officer  in  the  executive  civil  service 
who  shall  use  his  official  authority  or  influence  for 
the  purpose  of  interfering  with  an  election  or  con¬ 
trolling  the  result  thereof  shall  be  dismissed  from 
office.” 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  prostitution  of  his  offi¬ 
cial  place,  confessed  by  the  commissioner  him¬ 
self,  he  still  retains  control  of  the  pension  bu¬ 
reau. 

Thus  has  the  President  enforced  the  law  and 
his  own  regulations  made  in  pursuance  of  its 
provisions. 

Another  part  of  the  promise  in  the  republi¬ 
can  platform  was  this:  “All  laws  at  variance 
with  the  object  of  existing  reform  legislation 
should  be  repealed.” 

The  republican  party  has  been  in  power  for 
four  years ;  for  two  years  it  has  had  control  of 
the  senate,  the  house  of  representatives,  and 


the  executive  branch  of  the  government,  yet 
no  bill  has  been  passed  to  repeal  any  law  at 
variance  with  the  reform  legislation  referred 
to  in  the  platform.  There  has  been  not  the 
slightest  pretense  of  even  attempting  to  fulfill 
this  explicit  promise  of  the  platform. 

Another  declaration  of  the  republican  plat¬ 
form  is:  “The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  re¬ 
form  should  be  observed  in  all  executive  ap¬ 
pointments.” 

This  spirit  and  purpose  was  to  make  ap¬ 
pointments  depend  upon  proved  merit  and  not 
upon  political  considerations. 

THE  HEADSMEN  AT  WORK. 

The  man  who  has  the  most  extensive  ap¬ 
pointing  power  in  the  civil  service  is  the  first 
assistant  postmaster-general.  Into  his  hands 
are  committed  all  changes  in  fourth-class  post¬ 
masterships,  not  far  from  50,000  in  number. 
Whom  does  the  President  select  to  do  this 
work?  A  man  who  will  conform  to  civil  serv¬ 
ice  reform  principles,  who  will  make  remov¬ 
als  only  when  the  interest  of  the  public  service 
suggests  it  ?  He  appoints  J.  S.  Clarkson,  a  pol¬ 
itician  of  the  same  class  as  Quay,  Platt,  and 
Dudley.  Mr.  Clarkson  has  declared  in  the 
most  public  manner,  in  his  speeches  (as  at 
Boston),  as  well  as  in  published  articles,  his 
contempt  for  this  service  reform.  Men  do  not 
gather  grapes  of  thorns,  nor  figs  of  thistles,  nor 
could  the  President  hope  for  the  redemption 
of  his  promises  by  such  an  agent.  Under 
Clarkson’s  administration  political  executions 
have  gone  on  at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  ever 
before,  and  the  entire  service,  including  all 
desirable  fourth -class  postmasterships,  has 
been  substantially  changed  for  political  rea¬ 
sons. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Harrison’s  inauguration 
he  appointed  Joel  B.  Erhardt,  a  republican 
politician,  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York. 
Erhardt  turned  out  to  be  an  efficient  man,  and 
enforced  the  civil  service  regulations  so  faith¬ 
fully  that  the  politicians  were  dissatisfied. 
But  after  a  while  he  resigned,  and  he  thus 
tells  the  reason  of  his  resignation  : 

“I  have  resigned  because  the  collector  has  been 
reduced  to  a  position  where  he  is  no  longer  an  inde¬ 
pendent  officer  with  authority  commensurate  with 
his  responsibility.  I  have  given  bonds  for  8200,000. 
I  have  received  for  the  government  during  the 
twenty  months  last  past  8322,697,135.40,  and  I  am 
all  the  time  personally  responsible  for  enormous 
values  in  money  and  merchandise.  My  duties  arc 
necessarily  performed  through  about  1,600  em¬ 
ployes.  I  am  not  willing  to  be  responsible  for  their 
conduct  unless  I  can  have  proper  authority  over 
them.  The  recent  policy  of  the  treasury  depart¬ 
ment  has  been  to  control  the  details  of  the  customs 
administration  at  the  port  of  New  York  from  Wash¬ 
ington,  at  the  dictation  of  a  private  individual  hav¬ 
ing  no  official  responsibility.  The  collector  is  practi¬ 
cally  deprived  of  power  and  control,  while  he  is  left 
subject  to  all  responsibility.  The  office  is  no  longer 
independent  and  I  am.  Therefore  we  have  sepa¬ 
rated.” 

The  private  individual  referred  to  was  Mr. 
Thomas  C.  Platt,  the  republican  boss  of  the 
state  of  New  York.  In  place  of  Erhardt  Mr. 
Harrison  appointed  Mr.  Fassett,  Platt’s  man, 
collector.  Fassett  said  when  he  was  ap¬ 
pointed  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the  du¬ 
ties  of  the  place. 


374 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


When  Mr.  Fassett  was  sworn  in  he  was  pre¬ 
sented  with  a  San  Domingo  cutlass,  in  barbaric 
origin  and  purpose  truly  emblematic  of  the 
spoils  system,  and  with  the  following  legend  : 

“This  cutlass  is  an  instrument  of  torture  to  be 
used  in  beheading  democrats.  Use  it  quickly  and 
success  is  assured  for  the  republican  party. 

"Kepublican  directions:  Use  daily,  morning, 
noon  and  night  until  every  democratic  head  is 
severed.  Sure  cure  for  democratic  headache.’’ 

Fasset  had  scarcely  taken  the  oath  of  office 
when  he  left  the  city  to  take  charge  of  the  Platt 
division  in  a  quarrel  in  Chemung  county.  He 
soon  resigned  the  place  to  be  candidate  for 
governor,  for  which  office  he  was  defeated  by 
a  large  majority. 

But  not  only  has  President  Harrison  thus 
removed  the  most  efficient  men  in  the  service; 
he  has  conspicuously  appointed  those  who 
were  most  unfit. 

*  *  * 

Smiley  N.  Chambers  was  appointed  by  the 
President,  United  States  district  attorney  for 
Indiana,  to  prosecute  offenders  against  the 
law.  His  fitness  for  this  office  is  shown  by  his 
declaration  in  regard  to  the  famous  Dudley 
letter,  “Divide  the  floaters  into  blocks  of  five, 
and  put  a  trusted  man,  with  necessary  funds, 
in  charge  of  these  five,  and  make  him  respon¬ 
sible  that  none  get  away  and  all  vote  our 
ticket.”  Of  this  the  public  prosecutor,  ap¬ 
pointed  by  Mr.  Harrison,  said  in  an  interview 
in  the  Indianapolis  Journal  of  December  13th: 
“The  letters,  construed  in  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  that  we  all  possess  of  how  elections 
in  Indiana  are  conducted,  by  both  parties, 
have  nothing  in  them  of  a  criminal  character; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  when  so  construed,  are 
honorable,  and  indicate  simply  a  patriotic  in¬ 
terest  in  the  elections.” 

Elliott  Sandford  was  appointed  by  Cleve¬ 
land  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of 
Utah.  On  May  10,  1889,  his  resignation  was 
demanded.  He  asked  whether  he  had  been 
accused  of  misconduct;  if  charges  were  pre¬ 
ferred  against  him,  it  would  be  improper  for 
him  to  resign  until  they  were  proved  or  dis¬ 
proved,  and  the  attorney-general  answers : 
“There  are  on  file  in  this  department  some  pa¬ 
pers  complaining  of  the  manner  in  which 
your  judicial  duties  are  discharged.  Inde¬ 
pendently  of  these  particular  complaints,  how¬ 
ever,  the  President  has  become  satisfied  that 
your  administration  of  the  office  is  not  in  har¬ 
mony  with  the  policy  he  deemed  proper  to  be 
pursued  with  reference  to  Utah  afl'airs,  and 
for  this  reason  he  desired  to  make  a  change, 
and  out  of  courtesy  gave  you  an  opportunity 
to  resign.”  Here  were  charges  against  a  judi¬ 
cial  officer  which  he  could  neither  see  nor  re¬ 
fute.  He  was  to  be  removed,  however,  for 
not  carrying  out  the  policy  of  the  administra¬ 
tion.  But  a  judge  has  no  right  to  carry  out 
any  policy.  He  must  interpret  and  administer 
the  law  as  he  finds  it.  If  a  judge  of  a  supreme 
court  could  be  removed  because  his  policy  in 
interpreting  the  constitntion  differed  from  that 
of  the  President,  then  the  two  functions  of  the 
judiciary  and  executive  departments  become 
merged  in  one.  The  independence  of  the  ju¬ 
diciary  is  one  of  the  most  important  supports 
of  free  government.  A  President  who  re¬ 
moves  a  judge  for  not  doing  his  political  work 
for  him  is  essentially  a  tyrant  and  an  autocrat. 
Judge  Sandford’s  rejoinder  was  conclusive. 
It  was  as  follows : 

“In  reply  I  have  to  say  that  my  earnest  pur¬ 
pose  while  on  the  bench  as  chief  justice  of 
this  territory  has  been  to  administer  justice 


and  the  laws  honestly  and  impartially  to  all 
men  under  the  obligations  of  my  oath  of  of¬ 
fice.  If  the  President  of  the  United  States 
has  any  policy  which  he  desires  a  judge  of  the 
supreme  court  to  carry  out  in  reference  to 
Utah  affairs  other  than  the  one  which  I  have 
pursued,  you  may  say  to  him  that  he  has  done 
very  well  to  remove  me.” 

Ernst  Nathan,  a  local  republican  boss,  was 
appointed  internal  revenue  collector  in  Brook¬ 
lyn.  William  C.  Wallace  was  the  republican 
candidate  for  congress  and  William  J.  Coombs 
the  democratic  candidate.  Nathan  was  deter¬ 
mined  to  see  that  Wallace  was  elected,  and 
printed  the  following  circular  letter: 

“Brooklyn,  Oct.  25,  1890. 

“Dear  Sir:  The  Hon.  William  C.  Wallace 
having  been  renominated  for  member  of  con¬ 
gress  for  the  third  district,  comprising  the 
seventh,  thirteenth,  nineteenth,  twentieth, 
twenty-first  and  twenty-third  Wards,  and  be¬ 
ing  very  much  interested  in  his  re  election,  I 
would  deem  it  a  personal  favor  if  you  would 
interest  yourself  among  your  friends  by  advo¬ 
cating  his  election.  Respectfully  yours, 

“Ernst  Nathan.” 

And  in  order  to  enforce  the  recommenda¬ 
tions  of  this  letter  among  the  liquor  dealers 
and  cigar  manufacturers  he  had  his  official 
stamp  placed  upon  it,  as  follows:  “Ernst  Na¬ 
than,  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue,  Oct.  27, 
1890.  First  District,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.”  Then 
he  sent  these  to  the  liquor  dealers  and  cigar- 
makers,  whom  he  could  continually  harrass 
and  embarass  by  his  official  action. 

Another  of  President  Harrison’s  appointees 
was  Flanigan,  of  Texas,  a  man  who  passed 
into  happy  immortality  by  his  declaration  at 
a  national  republican  convention,  “What  are 
we  here  for  if  not  for  the  offices?” 

SAMPLE  APPOINTMENTS. 

But,  unfortunately,  there  is  still  a  darker 
page  of  this  history  of  official  prostitution. 
David  Martin  was  appointed  collector  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  in  Pennsylvania.  Who  was 
David  Martin?  He  was  a  man  who  had  be¬ 
come  a  director  of  repeaters  in  the  nineteenth 
ward  of  Philadelphia.  At  general  elections 
he  directed  operations,  driving  citizens  from 
the  polls,  sometimes  personally  assaulting  vo¬ 
ters  without  provocation.  He  had  charge  of 
thugs  and  repeaters  in  a  district  where  gigantic 
frauds  were  perpetrated.  On  one  occasion  he 
took  the  ballot  box  to  the  station,  where  the 
returns  were  changed  and  the  election  officers’ 
names  were  forged.  As  he  could  not  read  or 
write,  he  did  not  personally  forge  the  names, 
but  he  aided  and  abetted  the  criminal  act. 
At  the  election  for  the  adoption  of  the  new 
constitution  for  Pennsylvania,  Martin  again 
had  charge  of  the  repeaters  of  his  district.  He 
was  one  of  the  managers  who  made  up  the  re¬ 
turns  whereby  the  nineteenth  ward  gave  6,000 
majority  against  the  new  constitution. 

One  of  Martin’s  tricks  was  to  arm  his  “heel¬ 
ers”  with  short,  sharp  awls  with  which  to  prod 
adverse  electors  until  they  abandoned  the  at¬ 
tempt  to  vote.  Martin,  however,  was  one  of 
Quay’s  subordinates  and  henchmen.  When  his 
appointment  was  suggested,  Mr.  McManespro 
tested  against  it  in  person  to  President  Harri¬ 
son.  He  denounced  Martin  as  a  ruffian  and 
a  manipulator  of  ballot  boxes.  Quay  was 
present  at  the  interview.  His  answer  to  the 
charges  was  that  two  senators  from  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  desired  his  appointment.  A  memorial 
to  the  President  was  drawn  and  signed  by 
Joel  J.  Bailey  of  the  citizens’  municipal 
league  protesting  against  the  appointment, 
and  evidence  in  support  of  the  charges  was 
adduced,  but  as  the  messenger  bearing  this 
protest  was  on  his  way  to  the  post-office  he 
read  on  the  bulletin  the  statement  that  Martin 
was  appointed. 

Otis  H.  Russell,  appointed  as  postmaster  at 
Richmond,  Va.,  had  been  collector  of  customs 


under  Arthur,  and  special  agents  of  the  treas¬ 
ury  had  reported  a  shortage  of  over  $800  in 
his  accounts. 

R.  H.  Paul  was  appointed  marshal  of  Ari¬ 
zona.  Five  years  before  he  had  been  defeated 
for  election  as  sheriff,  but  secured  a  recount 
which  gave  him  a  majority.  The  polls  had 
been  tampered  with  and  Paul  and  his  ac¬ 
complices  were  indicted.  Two  of  them  con¬ 
fessed,  but  as  Paul  surrendered  the  sheriff’s 
office,  the  proceedings  were  nollied.  A  certified 
copy  of  the  court  proceediftgs  was  sent  to  the 
dejiartment  of  justice. 

The  President  sent  to  the  senate  the  name  of 
George  P.  Fisher  as  first  auditor  of  the  treas¬ 
ury.  This  was  the  man  of  whom  the  New  York 
Tribune  says:  “While  he  was  district  attorney 
in  Washington  his  office  was  the  chief  bulwark 
of  the  district  ring.  There  were  hatched  con¬ 
spiracies  to  convict  innocent  citizens  of  felony, 
plots  to  get  rid  of  witnesses,  and  schemes  to 
take  burglars  out  of  jail.  Public  opinion 
would  not  tolerate  Pusher’s  appearance  in  the 
safe  conspiracy  trial,  and  after  some  miserable 
revelations  of  the  misconduct  of  his  office,  the 
President  was  obliged  to  call  for  his  resigna¬ 
tion.”  General  Grant  afterward  nominated 
him  as  United  States  district  attorney  for  Del¬ 
aware,  but  was  compelled  to  withdraw  the 
nomination.  Yet,  under  Harrison,  this  man 
is  nominated  by  the  senate  and  confirmed  to 
this  important  office. 

William  R.  Leeds  was  appointed  in  March, 
1891,  marshal  of  the  eastern  district  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  He  was  one  of  Quay’s  tools  in  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  the  leader  of  the  worst  republican 
ring  that  the  city  had  ever  known.  He  was 
repudiated  by  his  party  in  1887,  when  he  ran 
as  candidate  for  sheriff,  running  more  than 
25,000  votes  behind  his  ticket.  Even  the  Phil¬ 
adelphia  Press  declares:  “It  is  an  appoint¬ 
ment  which  should  never  have  been  made, 
and  it  will  deeply  disappoint  the  President’s 
best  friends  in  Pennsylvania.” 

Governor  Warmoth’s  unsavory  reputation  is 
national.  The  New  York  Tribune  said  of  him 
December  28,  1874:  “That  his  administration 
as  governor  was  corrupt  and  bad  is  unfortu¬ 
nately  true.”  The  best  part  of  the  republican 
press  in  the  north  has  long  repudiated  War- 
moth.  He  was  one  of  the  black  spots  in  the 
reconstruction  period.  He  killed  a  man  in 
New  Orleans  under  the.  gravest  suspicion  of 
murder.  He  was  charged  by  the  lieutenant- 
governor  of  the  state  with  trying  to  bribe  him 
with  an  offer  of  $50,000  and  unlimited  ap¬ 
pointments  in  the  fight  with  Kellogg  in  1872. 
He  went  into  the  governorship  poor,  and  came 
out  a  rich  man  after  a  scandalously  extrava¬ 
gant  administration.  All  these  facts,  and 
many  more,  have  been  brought  to  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  President  Harrison  and  to  the  senate. 

Warmoth  has  been  appointed  to  the  collec- 
torship  of  the  port  of  New  Orleans.  The  po¬ 
sition  has  a  salary  of  $7,000  a  year.  The 
office  is  under  civil  service  rules,  and  it  is  the 
sixth  custom-house  in  size  in  the  United  States. 

The  cabinet  itself  has  not  been  secure  from 
corrupt  appointments,  as  Mr.  Wanamaker  got 
his  place  in  consideration  of  the  corruption 
fund  which  he  raised,  and  it  is  not  a  violent 
presumption  to  infer  that  Stephen  B.  Elkins 
was  appointed  for  like  services  to  be  rendered 
in  the  future.  Elkins  is  immensely  rich  and 
has  been  a  most  successful  money-getter.  His 
political  reputation  is  most  unsavory.  He 
was  mixed  up  with  land-grant  scandals  of  past 
republican  administrations.  He  was  an  hon¬ 
ored  guest  of  the  “soap”  banquet  in  1880,  and 
his  appointment  was  regarded  by  Brady  as  a 
vindication  of  those  who  were  connected  with 
the  star-route  scandals,  which  have  become 
infamous  in  our  political  history.  Clarkson 
said  that  in  the  campaign  of  four  years  ago 
“  he  carried  with  him  the  promises  made  by 
Mr.  Harrison.”  *  •  * 


% 


The  Civil,  service  chronicle. 


This  devotion  of  party,  not  to  the  ends  for  whicli  it  exists,  but  to  the  spoils  that  accoiupaiiy  success  at  the  polls,  has  become  so 
absolute  that  it  has  produced  an  evil  greater  than  any  which  party  proposes  to  remedy. — George  William  Curtis,  at  Baltimore,  April,  1892. 


VoL.  I,  No.  44.  INDIANAPOLIS,  OCTOBER,  1892.  teems 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

.  Indianapolis,  Ind, 

•  Public  officials  are  the  agents  of  the  people.  It  is, 
therefore,  their  duty  to  secure  for  those  whom  they 
represent  the  best  and  most  efficient  performance  of 
public  work.  This  plainly  can  be  best  accomplished 
by  regarding  ascertained  fitness  in  the  selection  of 
government  employes.  These  considerations  alone 
are  sufficient  justification  for  an  honest  adherence  to 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  civil-service  reform.  There 
are,  however,  other  features  of  this  plan  which 
abundantly  commend  it.  Through  its  operation 
worthy  merit  in  every  station  and  condition  of 
American  life  is  recognized  in  the  distribution  of 
public  employment,  while  its  application  tends  to 
raise  the  standard  of  political  activity  from  spoils¬ 
hunting  and  unthinking  party  affiliation  to  the  ad¬ 
vocacy  of  party  principles  by  reason  and  argument. 
—Cleveland’s  Letter  of  Acceptance. 

Elsewhere  will  be  found  the  report 
made  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of 
the  National  League,  showing  the  results  of 
an  investigation  of  the  interference  of  fed¬ 
eral  office-holders  in  primaries, conventions 
and  elections  in  Indiana  during  this  admin¬ 
istration.  It  shows  in  still  stronger  light, 
what  wasalready  well  known, that  the  Harri¬ 
son  delegates  to  the  Minneapolis  convention 
from  Indiana  were  not  the  choice  of  the 
republican  party.  If  his  office-holders  had 
given  no  more  attention  to  his  re-nomina¬ 
tion  than  they  gave  for  instance  to  the 
nomination  of  candidates  for  the  county 
offices  in  their  respective  counties,  he 
would  not  have  had  half  of  the  delegates 
from  this  state.  As  it  was  he  only  got  all 
of  them  by  the  most  desperate  efforts  of 
his  office-holders,  who  literally  seized  pri¬ 
maries  and  conventions. 

The  campaign  in  this  state  still  remains 
''  dead.”  The  people  are  not  listening  to 
the  tariff  discussion.  They  view  with  ap¬ 
parent  unconcern  the  most  dismal  fore¬ 
bodings  of  tariff  or  non-tariff  calamities 
that  campaign  orators  can  picture.  There 
is  one  vital  fact.  The  democrats  have 
found  a  large  number  of  voters  who  voted 
for  Harrison  four  years  ago  and  who  will 
vote  against  him  now ;  they  have  also  found 
a  large  number  of  voters  who  decline  to 
say  how  they  will  vote.  These  do  not  go 
to  political  meetings.  Under  the  new  bal¬ 
lot  act,  which  is  the  most  beneficent  law 
ever  made  in  Indiana,  they  will  cast  un¬ 
hampered  votes. 

The  only  thing  which  could  have  put 
life  into  the  campaign  would  have  been  a 


discussion  at  every  cross-roads  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison’s  revolutionary  civil  service 
record.  The  democrats  have  kept  out 
this  discussion  to  the  unbounded  relief  of 
ihe  republicans,  who  in  this  matter  are 
absolutely  helpless.  The  situation  is  a 
reminder  of  the  situation  about  1850,  de¬ 
scribed  by  Mr.  Julian  in  his  life  of  Gid- 
dings,  where  both  party  machines  sought 
to  divide  the  people  upon  economic  ques¬ 
tions  in  the  expectation  that  the  slavery 
question  would  be  forgotten.  The  great 
question  in  American  politics  to-day  is  the 
dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in 
the  prostitution  of  the  civil  service  to  par¬ 
tisan  and  particularly  to  personal  ends. 
This  question  will  not  be  suppressed. 


Those  who  are  insisting  that  all  other 
questions  shall  wait  until  the  tariff  ques¬ 
tion  is  “settled”  are  asking  a  great  deal. 
In  the  North  American  Review  for  October, 
Senator  Vest  says  of  that  question  : 

The  .same  issue  that  disrupted  the  cabinet  of 
Washington  in  179.3  and  caused  Jefferson  to  surren¬ 
der  his  portfolio  as  secretary  of  state,  aligns  the  two 
great  parties  in  the  pending  canvass.  <<<•■.•<>!■■;< 
Through  all  the  mutations  of  American  politics, 
though  often  obscured  and  interrupted  by  sectional 
and  financial  questions,  this  great  controversy  has 
marked  the  dividing  line  between  the  democratic 
party  and  its  adversaries. 

This  has  been  going  on  something  like  a 
hundred  years.  Will  another  hundred 
be  long  enough  to  settle  it? 

Evidently  Mr.  Adlai  Stevenson  has  not 
grown  wiser.  In  introducing  him  at  a 
meeting  near  Hamilton,  Ohio,  recently, 
ex-Governor  Campbell  in  defining  “a  vig¬ 
orous  and  true  democrat”  said,  that  as  a 
favor  to  him  Stevenson  had  decapitated 
sixty-five  republican  postmasters  in  two 
minutes.  Stevenson  then  said  that  he 
considered  that  the  highest  compliment 
he  had  ever  received.  Some  men  are  grat¬ 
ified  by  things  in  every  way  little.  These 
two  worthies  would  do  well  to  read  the 
platform  upon  which  they  are  now  stand¬ 
ing. 


An  attempt  has  been  made  to  interest 
college  students  in  the  campaign.  They 
ought  to  be  interested  in  it.  They 
could  not  do  a  more  profitable  work  than 
to  investigate  the  composition,  acts,  and 
surroundings  of  the  Minneapolis  conven¬ 
tion.  From  this  point  they  should  go 
back  to  the  various  state  and  district  con¬ 


ventions  which  chose  the  Minneapolis  del¬ 
egates.  Then  they  should  study  the  ma¬ 
nipulation  of  the  primaries  and  conven¬ 
tions  which  chose  the  state  and  district 
delegates.  From  all  of  these  the  manipu¬ 
lating  strings  lead  straight  to  federal  offi¬ 
cers  and  on  to  President  Harrison  at 
Washington.  Then  these  students  should 
ask  themselves  whether  there  are  any  dang¬ 
ers  to  free  institutions  lurking  in  the  power 
of  official  patronage.  If  so,  what  are  those 
dangers  ? 


However  much  the  administration  in 
general  shirks  its  duty,  the  civil  service 
commission  does  not.  In  September  Mr. 
Roosevelt  found  a  regular  system  of  black¬ 
mail  in  practice  by  republican  campaign 
committees  upon  the  Indian  service,  in¬ 
cluding  teachers,  mostly  women  and  help¬ 
ers,  mostly  Indians.  He  at  once  public¬ 
ly  notified  the  employes  that  they  need 
not  give  unless  they  chose,  and  even 
then  could  give  to  whatever  party  they 
preferred.  President  Harrison  and  Sec¬ 
retary  Noble  give  no  support  to  this,  but 
look  on  in  silence.  Again,  the  Michigan 
republican  state  committee  called  upon 
postmasters  for  the  names  of  “  from  eight 
to  twelve  discreet  and  trustworthy  young 
republicans,”  and  asked  the  postmasters  to 
keep  the  matter  secret.  The  commission 
notified  Wanamaker,  and  he  responded, 
not  by  a  special  warning  to  Michigan  post¬ 
masters  that  dismissal  would  follow  any 
service  to  the  committee  such  as  he  would 
give  unless  he  wanted  them  to  help  out  the 
republicans,  but  by  writing  to  the  commis¬ 
sion  that  he  can  not  help  such  attempts, 
but  that  there  is  an  order  against  giving 
information  gained  “in  the  discharge  of  of¬ 
ficial  duties,”  and  asks  the  commission  for 
evidence  of  a  violation  of  this  order.  A 
postmaster-general  who  wanted  to  find  vi¬ 
olations  of  this  order  would  set  his  inspec¬ 
tors  at  work. 

Since  the  above  was  written  Wanamaker 
has  discovered  that  the  order  above  re¬ 
ferred  to  has  been  been  violated.  He  does 
not  dismiss  the  culprits;  but  after  a  pub¬ 
lic  outcry,  and  after  the  mischief  is  done, 
he  issues  a  warning  to  postmasters  that 
they  must  not  do  it. 


In  answer  to  our  Greensburgh  corres¬ 
pondent,  whose  letter  is  elsewhere,  we 
say  that  the  Chronicle  editorials  have 


376 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


not  expressed  “all-abiding  faith”  in  the 
democratic  party,  as  our  correspondent  de¬ 
clares.  That  party,  four  years  hence,  may 
have  to  be  beaten  for  the  very  reason  for 
which  President  Harrison  ought  to  be 
beaten  now.  In  the  face  of  the  present 
and  the  worst  prostitution  of  the  federal 
service  that  has  ever  been  known,  it  is 
useless  to  point  to  what  the  democrats 
have  heretofore  done.  Mr.  Foulke  did  not 
speak  for  Mr.  Cleveland  and  against  Blaine 
in  1884.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  justly  de¬ 
feated  in  1883,  for  the  reason  that  he  had 
not  withstood  his  party  spoilsmen ;  but  it 
does  not  follow  that  he  should  be  defeated 
a  second  time  for  the  same  reason,  while 
Harrison,  who  did  not  “yield”  to  the  spoils 
element  of  his  party,  but  invited  it  to  come 
on  and  share  in  the  loot, is  re-elected.  It 
is  true  that  Harrison  has  had  unstinted 
criticism,  but  our  correspondent  could  not 
have  lived  in  Indiana  from  1885  to  1889  if 
he  means  to  intimate  that  Cleveland  did 
not  have  the  same.  It  is  easy  to  say  that 
criticism  is  unfair,  but  if  the  remark  is 
expected  to  have  any  weight,  cases  must  be 
specified.  It  would  be  well  to  point  out 
the  unfairness  of  criticisng  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  Wanamaker  for  raising  a  large 
campaign  fund ;  the  appointment  of  Elk¬ 
ins  to  detach  him  from  Blaine;  the  re¬ 
fusal  to  retain  Pearson,  Graves,  Corse,  and 
Saltonstall;  the  distribution  of  a  valuable 
block  of  offices  among  relatives;  the  subsi¬ 
dizing  of  the  press  condemned  by  Webster 
and  by  William  Henry  Harrison;  the 
work  of  Headsman  Clarkson;  the  loot  of 
the  Indian  service ;  the  turning  of  the  Vir¬ 
ginia  offices  over  to  Mahone,  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  to  Quay,  the  New  York  to  Platt;  the 
refusal  to  let  the  civil  service  commission 
apply  competition  to  the  census  bureau ; 
the  same  refusal  as  to  offices  having  twenty- 
five  employes ;  the  promotion  of  indicted 
office-holders;  indiflference  to  the  prosecu¬ 
tion  of  violators  of  the  civil  service  law; 
the  refusal  to  dismiss  confessed  crim¬ 
inals  in  the  Baltimore  post-office;  the 
general  failure  to  keep  the  promises  of  the 
platform;  the  personal  use  of  the  civil 
service  by  President  Harrison  to  secure 
renomination;  and  his  connection  with 
the  Minneapolis  convention.  His  party 
did  not  “honor”  him  with  a  re-nomina¬ 
tion.  He  is  not  the  nominee  of  his  party. 
His  nomination  was  brought  about  by  the 
seizure  of  primaries  and  conventions  by 
his  office-holders.  Tammany  is  a  bad  in¬ 
stitution.  It  is  one  with  Platt’s  republican 
machine  in  New  York,  and  they  now  seem 
to  be  in  a  deal  together. 

To  support  Harrison,  a  civil  service  re¬ 
former  would  have  to  change  his  princi¬ 
ples  ;  the  only  way  he  can  be  consistent  is 
to  oppose  Harrison.  Stevenson  and  Clark¬ 
son  are  as  near  alike  as  two  peas,  but  the 


former  will  not  be  first-assistant  post¬ 
master-general. 

Judging  from  the  unbroken  past,  may  a 
merciful  providence  protect  the  country 
against  a  president  who  feels  “the  restrain¬ 
ing  influence  of  an  ambition  for  a  re-elec¬ 
tion.”  President  Harrison  has  not  kept 
his  pledge  to  extend  the  reform  system  es¬ 
tablished  by  law  to  all  offices  to  which  it  is 
applicable,  nor  has  he  observed  the  spirit 
and  purpose  of  the  reform  in  his  execu¬ 
tive  appointments.  He  has  used  the  serv¬ 
ice  for  his  personal  ambition.  The  ques¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Julian’s  speach  is  the  facts.  If 
they  are  true,  Harrison  ought  to  be  de¬ 
feated.  Our  correspondent  does  not  deny 
a  single  fact.  It  is  no  answer  to  charge 
personal  pique. 


Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  in  a  recent  speech 
at  Brookline,  addressed  himself  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  civil  service  reform,  a  notable  mat¬ 
ter  considering  the  present  otherwise  si¬ 
lent  helplessness  of  his  party.  Even  Mr. 
Lodge  does  not  undertake  the  least  defense 
of  President  Harrison,  but  attempts  a  di¬ 
version  by  way  of  comparison  with  Mr. 
Cleveland.  The  question,  however,  is 
whether  Harrison’s  course  can  be  in  any 
way  defended.  If  it  can  not,  and  Mr. 
Lodge  seems  so  to  admit,  he  deserves  de¬ 
feat.  Mr.  Lodge’s  comparison  does  not 
need  further  attention  except  to  notice 
some  of  the  facts  by  which  he  tries  to  sus¬ 
tain  it.  Mr.  Lodge  is  right  that  the  civil 
service  commission  is  the  best  we  have  ever 
had  and  that  it  has  done  its  duty  admirably. 
But  he  omits  to  say  that  this  commission 
has  been  a  thorn  in  Harrison’s  side.  He 
knows  the  astounding  words  with  which 
Harrison  met  the  request  to  prosecute  the 
Mahone  blackmailers.  He  omits  to  state 
that  Harrison  refused  to  allow  the  com¬ 
mission  to  apply  competition  to  the  census 
bureau,  or  to  extend  the  classified  service, 
except  to  700  places  in  the  Indian  service 
and  132  places  in  the  fish  commission.  He 
is  compelled  to  “regret”  that  no  one  was 
punished  at  Baltimore,  but  his  severe  feel¬ 
ing  because  the  civil  service  papers  did  not 
warm  up  at  the  bad  condition  found  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt  to  have  existed  at  Baltimore 
under  Mr.  Cleveland  is  like  trying  to  raise 
sympathy  for  a  thief  because  some  other 
thief  stole  years  ago.  Mr.  Lodge  knows 
very  well  that  all  that  can  be  said  for  Har¬ 
rison’s  attitude  toward  the  commission  is 
that  he  has  not  removed  its  members  for 
doing  their  duty. 

In  speaking  of  the  classification  of  the 
railway  mail  service  Mr.  Lodge  omits  to 
state  that  President  Harrison  tricked  the 
law  and  in  violation  of  its  spirit  displaced 
more  than  2,000  members  of  that  service 
in  six  weeks  for  partisan  reasons.  The  ac¬ 
tion  of  Secretary  Tracy  with  the  navy- 


yards  is  improved  administration,  but  it  is 
not  permanent  reform.  The  next  secre¬ 
tary  may  disregard  it  entirely.  Where 
has  the  President  recommended  that  it  be 
made  permanent  by  law  ?  Mr.  Lodge 
sums  up  by  stating  that  “Cleveland  took 
out  of  politics  and  placed  under  the  re¬ 
formed  civil  service  system  in  round  num¬ 
bers  5,000  places  and  President  Harrison  in 
round  numbers  10,250.”  To  this  we  make 
the  plain  and  specific  answer  that  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  has  taken  out  of  politics  and 
placed  under  the  reform  system  just  832 
places  and  no  more. 

As  to  places  not  embraced  within  the 
civil  service  law,  Mr.  Lodge  denies  the 
right,  for  instance,  to  criticise  the  loot  of 
50,000  fourth-class  post-offices  after  the 
Clarkson  method.  He  has  apparently 
never  read  that  part  of  the  republican 
platform  which  said  that  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed 
in  all  executive  appointments.  He  men¬ 
tions  and  favors  an  admirable  bill  designed 
to  take  these  offices  out  of  politics.  Has  he 
noted  Harrison’s  silence  as  to  this  bill  and 
has  he  read  Wanamaker  s  report  upon  it  ? 


INTERFERENCE  OF  INDIANA  FED¬ 
ERAL  OFFICE-HOLDERS  IN  PRI- 
MARIES,  CONVENTIONS  AND 
ELECTIONS. 

To  Moorfield  Storey,  Esq.,  Chaiiman  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  National 
League  of  Civil  Service  Reform  AssociaJtions  to  in¬ 
vestigate  and  report  upon  the  interference  of  fed¬ 
eral  office-holders  in  primaries,  conventions  and 
elections,  under  the  present  National  Administra¬ 
tion  : 

Sir:  The  following  is  my  report  of  the 
matters  within  the  object  of  this  committee, 
and  pertaining  to  the  state  of  Indiana: 

A  clear  understanding  of  the  bearing  of  the 
labors  of  the  Indiana  office-holders  in  the 
management  of  the  republican  party  machine 
during  this  administration  can  not  be  had 
without  a  brief  preliminary  statement  of  the 
original  distribution  of  spoil  by  President 
Harrison.  Under  their  platform  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  the  republicans  would  have  ab¬ 
stained  from  looting  the  offices;  having,  how¬ 
ever,  disregarded  their  promises  any  course 
was  to  be  expected,  and  that,  in  turning  the 
federal  patronage  to  the  personal  behoof  of 
the  President,  they  took  the  worst  and  most 
dangerous,  is  not  a  matter  for  surprise. 

There  have  been  and  are  a  large  number  of 
Indiana  republicans  not  favorable  to  General 
Harrison.  These  in  a  general  way  have  fa¬ 
vored  Judge  Gresham.  The  feeling  has  al¬ 
ways  been  intense,  but  the  reasons  for  this 
preference  of  leadership  are  not  within  the 
province  of  this  report. 

President  Harrison  has  given  his  personal 
attention  either  directly  or  through  trusted 
agents  to  the  distribution  of  the  Indiana  pa¬ 
tronage.  One  of  the  cardinal  principles 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


377 


seems  to  have  been  to  leave  out  every  unre¬ 
pentant  Gresham  man,  or,  if  this  rule  was 
overstepped,  to  make  the  gift  so  insignificant 
as  to  be  valueless  to  the  recipient.  A  case  of 
this  kind  was  the  appointment  of  William  H. 
Calkins  to  a  judgeship  in  Washington  Terri¬ 
tory  just  previous  to  its  admission  as  a  state. 
The  only  exceptions  to  this  ungracious  giving 
have  been  where  it  was  possible  to  bring  the 
recipient  over  to  the  Harrison  interest.  For 
instance,  Marcus  L.  Sulzer,  of  Madison,  was 
in  opposition,  but  after  a  few  months  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  a  special  Indian  agency  given  him  by 
Harrison,  he  declared  the  latter  the  only  man 
whom  the  republicans  could  afford  to  nomi¬ 
nate. 

Another  rule  of  distribution  which  he  who 
runs  may  read  was  the  rewarding  of  dele¬ 
gates  who  supported  General  Harrison  in  the 
convention  of  1888.  Examples  of  this  kind 
of  important  dignity  or  great  emolument  are 
the  following : 

John  C.  New,  consul-general  at  London,  (whose 
perquisites  are  admitted  to  amount  to  over  $40,000  a 
year.) 

W.  L.  Dunlap,  United  States  marshal  of  Indiana, 

Smiley  N.  Chambers,  United  States  district  attor¬ 
ney  for  Indiana. 

John  B.  Cockrum,  deputy  United  States  district 
attorney  for  Indiana. 

Albert  G.  Porter,  minister  to  Italy. 

E.  W.  Halford,  private  secretary. 

James  N.  Huston,  treasurer  of  the  United  States. 

[  *  Marine  D.  Tackett,  special  Indian  land  agent. 

.  ©A.  K.  Sills,  special  swamp  land  agent. 

J - Kniseley,  Columbia  City,  special  internal  rev- 

laenue  collector  in  Tennessee. 

^  A.  C.  Bearss,  Peru,  chief  clerk  railway  mail  service. 
L  Newspapers  have  been  systematically  subsi¬ 
dized.  The  following  are  instances  of  the  gift 
'  of  post-offices  taken  from  all  parts  of  the 
^  state : 

S.  M.  Noyes,  Echo,  Akron. 

J.  P.  Prickett,  New  Era,  Albion. 

J.  P.  Clugate,  Union,  Sullivan. 

L.  H.  Beyerle,  Times,  Goshen. 

Ed.  Charles,  Record,  Carthage. 

Isaac  Jenkiuson,  Palladium,  Richmond. 

Thad.  Butler,  Herald,  Huntington. 

»\V.  F.  Voght,  Spence’s  People’s  Paper,  Covington. 
Bw.  E.  Knight,  Monitor,  Grand  View. 

■  C.  E.  Newton,  Herald,  Kewanna. 

■  John  H.  Rarick,  Standard,  LaGrange. 

■  M.  L.  Enyart,  Monitor,  Macy. 

G.  W.  Fountain,  Gazette,  New  Carlisle. 

J.  P.  Carr,  Tribune,  Oxford. 

C.  B.  Cady,  Republican,  Pendleton. 

J.  W.  Siders,  Republican,  Plymouth. 

A.  L.  Lawshe,  Journal,  Zenia. 

E.  J.  Marsh,  Commercial,  Portland. 

J.  J.  Wheeler,  Lake  County  Star,  Crown  Point. 

In  the  distribution  of  the  fourth-class  post¬ 
masterships  and  other  spoils  small  in  size  but 
great  in  number,  the  personal  supervision  of 
the  President  clashed  with  the  assumed  pre¬ 
rogative  of  Indiana  republican  congressmen. 
Of  the  personal  supervision  the  complaints 
were  steady  and  bitter.  In  the  case  of  Con¬ 
gressman  Cheadle  there  was  an  open  rupture, 
and  the  administration  forces  successfully  op¬ 
posed  Cheadle’s  renomination  in  1890.  In 
this  distribution  for  a  while  the  general  agen¬ 
cy  of  Mr.  Huston,  chairman  of  the  republican 
state  committee,  was  used.  He  soon  became 
United  States  treasurer  and  was  succeeded  by 
L.  T.  Micheuer,  then  the  attorney-general  of 


Indiana,  and  now  the  partner  of  Dudley,  the 
author  of  the  “  blocks-of-five  letter.”  Mr. 
Michener  has  always  been  an  untiring  and  in 
the  closest  degree  a  trusted  agent  of  General 
Harrison.  Of  this  particular  work  he  said : 

“  When  I  became  chairman  of  the  slate  central 
committee,  the  assignment  of  such  fourth-class  post- 
offices  as  remained  in  democratic  hands  in  demo¬ 
cratic  congressional  districts  was  put  into  my  hands.” 

How  promptly  Mr.  Michener  went  to  the 
point  is  illustrated  by  the  case  at  Freedom, 
Owen  county,  Indiana.  The  post-office  there 
was  held  by  a  one-legged  soldier  named  Suf- 
fall,  who  had  performed  his  duties  satisfacto¬ 
rily.  A  strenuous  attempt  to  have  him  re¬ 
tained  was  ended  by  the  following  from  Mr. 
Michener : 

Office  of  Attorney-General,  ) 
Indianapolis,  Ind.  | 

IF.  W.  Hart,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

My  Dear  Hart— We  have  decided  that  Frank  Watts 
should  be  appointed  postmaster  at  Freedom,  Owen 
county. 

Please  have  it  attended  to  at  once.  You  may  put 
this  on  file  as  a  recommendation. 

Yours  truly,  L.  T.  Michener, 

In  the  early  part  of  this  administration 
there  was  little  for  the  office-holders  to  do. 
The  administration  was  busy  with  the  distri¬ 
bution  and  the  favored  ones  were  engaged  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  shares,  or  possibly 
in  helping  others  less  fortunate.  For  instance? 
in  July,  1889,  the  Franklin  Star  says  that 
United  States  Marshal  Dunlap  asked  Brown, 
the  democratic  postmaster  of  that  city,  to  re¬ 
sign;  and  in  the  same  month  the  Evansville 
Journal  said  of  United  States  District  Attor¬ 
ney  Chambers,  “  There  was  no  occasion  for 
Chambers  to  go  on  sundry  pilgrimages  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  and  Washington  in  order  to  preju¬ 
dice  the  authorities  against  Adams.”  After 
the  election  of  1888,  there  was  no  general 
election  in  Indiana  until  1890.  Ordinarily 
in  the  off  year  federal  office- holders  are  most¬ 
ly  occupied  in  helping  congressmen  to  renomi¬ 
nation,  but  in  1890,  in  Indiana,  there  was  lit¬ 
tle  occasion  for  such  service,  except  in  the 
case  of  Cheadle,  and  he  was  deprived  of  it. 
There  was,  however,  a  constant  fear  of  the 
Gresham  men,  and  the  attention  of  the  office¬ 
holders  was  directed  to  every  incident  which 
would  have  a  bearing  on  the  desired  renomi¬ 
nation  of  President  Harrison.  It  was  impor¬ 
tant  that  the  state  committee  should  be  friendly 
to  him  andtliat  the  state  convention  should  in¬ 
dorse  him.  The  new  state  committee  was 
chosen  in  January,  1890,  by  district  conven¬ 
tions.  An  entirely  reliable  informant  who 
had  personal  knowledge  "of  the  facts,  wrote 
me  at  the  time: 

At  the  various  district  conventioijs  the  federal 
office-holders,  particularly  the  postmasters,  were  very 
prominent.  In  one  district,  the  third,  in  which  the 
administration,  through  Micheuer,  was  very  anxious 
to  win.  Postmaster  Ridland,  of  Scottsburg,  a  recent 
appointee,  was  compelled  to  change  the  vote  of  his 
county  from  the  man  of  his  choice  to  Michener’s 
candidate.  Postmaster  Godfrey,  of  New  Albany, 
was  a  delegate  to  that  convention  and  worked  ac¬ 
tively  for  Carter,  the  Michener  candidate,  for  com¬ 
mitteeman.  But  for  the  official  pressure  brought  to 
bear  in  that  convention.  Carter  would  not  have  re¬ 
ceived  one-third  the  vote. 

The  efforts  of  the  office-holders  failed,  for 


the  state  committee  then  selected  was  unmis¬ 
takably  anti-Harrison  and  continued  so  for 
a  year. 

With  regard  to  the  congressional  nomina¬ 
tion  in  Cheadle’s  district,  the  same  informant 
says : 

In  the  ninth  congressional  district  contest  for  the 
nomination,  Mr.  La  Follette,  superintendent  of  pub¬ 
lic  instruction,  was  backed  by  Chairman  Michener 
and  all  the  patronage.  B.  Wilson  Smith,  postmaster 
at  LaFayette,  was  particularly  active  in  Mr.  LaFol- 
lette’s  behalf.  Postal  clerk  Hack  helped  out,  but  in 
spite  of  all.  La  Follette  was  beaten. 

The  industry  of  the  office-holders  through¬ 
out  the  state  up  to  the  time  of  the  state  con¬ 
vention  in  Sept.,  1890,  ran  about  like  the  fol¬ 
lowing  instances  taken  from  Indianapolis: 

David  Wallace,  head  of  the  money  order 
department  in  the  post-office,  was  a  delegate  to 
all  conventions.  Deputy  United  States  Mar¬ 
shal  Conway  and  Deputy  Collector  Schmidt 
were  delegates  to  all  conventions  and  members 
of  the  republican  county  committee.  Deputy 
Collector  Saulcy,  proudly  spoken  of  as  “a 
hustler  from  way  back,”  was  a  member  of  the 
county  committee. 

At  the  state  convention  in  September,  there 
was  a  determined  and  persistent  attempt,  led 
entirely  by  federal  office-holders,  to  secure  from 
the  convention  an  approval  of  President  Har¬ 
rison.  The  following  are  the  names  of  some 
of  these  leaders  out  of  a  list  of  forty:  Post¬ 
master  Higgins,  of  Fort  Wayne;  Postmaster 
Smith,  of  Lafayette;  Postmaster  Greiner,  of 
Terre  Haute;  Postmaster  Bennett,  of  Evans¬ 
ville;  Postmaster  Crockett,  of  South  Bend, 
Postmaster  Thompson,  of  Logansport,  and 
Postmaster  DeMotte,  of  Valparaiso. 

The  attempt  was  generally  regarded  as  a 
failure.  While  in  words  the  convention  did 
approve  of  the  President’s  administration,  this 
declaration  was  nullified  by  other  parts  of  the 
platform.  It  was  known  that  the  convention 
was  hostile  to  the  President  and  it  left  in  bad 
shape  matters  bearing  upon  his  renomination. 
It  did  not  seem  possible  that  he  could  secure 
a  united  delegation  from  Indiana. 

In  the  campaign  which  followed,  leading 
up  to  the  November  election,  the  club  of  In¬ 
diana  office-holders  at  Washington  made  its  us¬ 
ual  demonstration.  Every  Indiana  republican 
in  the  government  service  at  Washington  re¬ 
ceived  a  demand  for  money  to  defray  the  cam¬ 
paign  expenses,  signed  by  W.  W.  Curry  as 
agent  for  the  Indiana  state  committee.  This 
demand  contains  the  folloAving  : 

“There  are  two  classes  who  are  always 
ready  to  cry  out  against  such  contributions — 
those  whose  meanness  seeks  an  excuse  for  re¬ 
fusing  to  aid  in  securing  the  success  of  the 
party  of  which  they  are  the  beneficiaries,  and 
those  whose  consciousness  of  their  own  cor¬ 
ruptness  makes  them  able  to  charge  corrupt 
motives  on  others.”  Also  the  following:  “You 
can  not  be  solicited  at  your  places  of  official 
duty,  but  outside  those  you  can  confer  and 
contribute  as  you  please.  The  civil  service 
laws  are  designed  to  protect  you  in  the  full 
exercise  of  your  rights — not  to  convert  you 
into  political  eunuchs.” 


378 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


The  office-holders  themselves  appeared  in 
all  parts  of  the  state.  For  instance  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  News  of  October  17,  1890,  says  ; 

This  is  about  the  time  when  all  the  Indianians  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  government  departments  at  Washing¬ 
ton  come  home  for  a  vacation.  The  Indianapolis 
contingent  has  begun  to  arrive.  Gus  Shaw,  who  is 
influential  with  railroad  men,  has  been  here  several 
weeks  getting  the  "boys”  into  line.  The  first  of  next 
week  all  the  Indianapolis  republicans  who  have  po¬ 
sitions  at  the  capitol-are  expected  here. 

The  Indianapolis  .lournal  reports  twenty- 
five  Indiana  office-holders  as  having  gone 
home  as  early  as  October  16.  Among  others 
who  came  were  Harry  McFarland,  of  the 
government  printing  office,  notorious  for  his 
influence  among  the  lowest  voting  element  in 
Indianapolis,  and  D.  N.  Ransdell,  marshal  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  who  is  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  right  hand  political  manager.  These 
and  scores  of  others  appearing  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  did  not  come  merely  to  vote, 
but  they  came  days  and  weeks  before  the  elec¬ 
tion  and  put  in  the  time  “hustling”  for  the 
party.  The  efibrts  of  these  and  of  the  office¬ 
holders  located  in  Indiana  supplemented  each 
other.  For  instance,  Postmaster  Higgins,  of 
Ft.  Wayne,  and  his  chief  deputy  headed  the 
petition  for  federal  supervisors. 

After  the  overwhelming  defeat  at  the  No¬ 
vember  election  in  1890,  the  internal  struggle 
in  the  party  again  broke  out.  In  order  to  se¬ 
cure  re-nomination.  President  Harrison  had 
to  have  every  delegate  from  Indiana.  It 
seemed  impossible  of  accomplishment.  The 
state  committee  and  certain  districts  in  the 
state  were  thoroughly  against  him.  The  fed¬ 
eral  office  holders  addressed  themselves  to  this 
task.  The  meeting  of  the  state  committee  in 
in  January,  1891,  first  required  attention.  A 
new  chairman  was  to  be  chosen  in  place  of 
Michener,  who  had  moved  to  Washington.  It 
was  highly  important  that  the  new  chairman 
should  be  in  the  President’s  interest.  The 
committee  met  at  the  Denison  hotel,  at  In¬ 
dianapolis.  William  T.  Steele,  governor  of 
Oklahoma  territory,  and  Warren  G.  Sayre,  an 
Indian  land  commissioner,  both  from  Indiana, 
and  Russell  B.  Harrison,  the  President’s  son, 
appeared  at  the  meeting  with  other  office¬ 
holders  and  in  some  manner  turned  a  hostile 
majority  into  a  minority. 

About  this  time  the  Indianapolis  corres¬ 
pondent  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial-Ga¬ 
zette  (rep.)  thus  stated  the  situation  with  re¬ 
gard  to  the  opposition  to  Harrison  in  this 
state : 

In  the  postmasters,  postal  agents,  revenue  men  and 
other  federal  employes  throughout  the  state,  the  adminis¬ 
tration  has  what  you  might  term  an  army  of  agents  and 
detectives,  and  any  suspicious  move  on  the  part  of  a 
prominent  anti-administration  man  is  promptly  reported 
to  headquarters  and  his  movements  are  watched,  and  the 
antidote  is  promptly  applied  for  any  mischief  that  may 
be  set  brewing.  In  general  terms  you  may  set  it  down 
that  the  President  is  nearly  as  well  informed  as  to 
what  is  going  on  in  the  camp  of  his  enemies  as  his 
enemies  themselves,  and  when  the  time  comes  he 
will  show  his  hand. 

In  June  of  that  year  O.  E.  Mohler,  editor  of 
the  Ft.  Wayne  Gazette,  declared  that  there  were 
no  Harrison  republicans  in  Allen  county  out¬ 


side  of  the  office-holding  ring.  The  Gazette  and 
the  Evansville  Journal,  both  important  pa-, 
pers,  were  strong  leaders  of  the  opposition  to 
Harrison.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  the 
subsidized  press  was  very  faithful  and  active 
in  his  interest,  and  it  is  believed  that  in  no 
case,  from  the  time  the  subsidy  was  received 
until  the  present,  can  there  be  found  in  any 
column  of  these  papers  anything  but  lauda¬ 
tion  and  praise  of  their  benefactor.  If  the 
President’s  administration  has  had  any  faults, 
these  papers  have  in  consideration  overlooked 
them. 

A  new  state  committee  was  to  be  chosen  in 
January,  1892,  and  this  enlisted  the  attention 
of  the  President’s  office-holders.  The  selection 
was  by  congressional  districts  and  the  work 
was  done  there.  We  find  Marshal  Ransdell 
in  December,  1891,  at  Lebanon  and  Frankfort, 
fixing  the  ninth  district.  The  fourth  district 
was  close,  but  Collector  John  O.  Cravens  and 
his  deputies,  together  with  the  postmasters, 
turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  Harrison.  When¬ 
ever  the  Harrison  men  could  bring  it  about, 
they  had  the  delegates  for  the  district  conven¬ 
tions,  and  for  every  other  convention,  for  that 
matter,  chosen  by  primaries  rather  than  by 
mass  conventions  in  order  that  the  fourth-class 
postmasters  and  the  other  small  office-holders 
might  work  more  efficiently  and  secretly.  In 
the  Indianapolis  district  Deputy  Collector 
Harvey  presided  at  the  fourth  ward  primary 
and  Postmaster  Thompson,  post-office  clerks 
Dave  Wallace,  Shel  Woodward,  Billy  Leon¬ 
ard,  Bill  Davis,  Clint  Lowe  and  Marshall  C. 
Woods,  Deputy  Collector  Saulcy,  Warehouse¬ 
man  Nolan,  Deputy  Marshals  Moore  and  Con¬ 
way  and  Superintendent  of  Mails,  Billy  Patter¬ 
son,  and  Superintendent  of  Carriers  Craft,  are 
examples  of  a  large  number  of  federal  office¬ 
holders  who  bent  their  best  and  highly  skilled 
energies  to  the  manipulation  of  these  pri¬ 
maries. 

The  delegates  to  the  various  district  conven¬ 
tions  met  to  elect  the  members  of  the  state 
committee.  In  the  tenth  district  the  meeting 
was  at  Logansport,  January  20.  Two  national 
bank  examiners,  thirty-seven  postmasters, 
three  post-office  inspectors,  a  pension  agent 
and  a  number  of  mail  carriers  were  in  attend¬ 
ance.  Among  others,  were  Postmaster  De 
Motte  of  Valparaiso  and  his  son-in-law,  a 
post-office  inspector.  At  the  convention  of  the 
eleventh  district,  held  at  Wabash,  January 
20,  the  resolutions  warmly  indorsing  President 
Harrison  were  reported  by  a  committee  of 
which  Indian  Land  Commissioner  Sayre  was 
chairman. 

The  result  of  these  combined  efforts  was  the 
choice  of  a  state  committee  favorable  to  Har¬ 
rison.  The  new  committee  met  at  Indianapo¬ 
lis,  January  28.  Among  other  office-holders 
who  crowded  into  the  same  room  to  oversee  the 
proceedings,  were  the  following:  Postmaster 
Thompson  of  Indianapolis,  Postmaster  Higgins 
of  Fort  Wayne,  Postmaster  Greiner  of  Terre 
Haute,  Postmaster  Godfrey  of  New  Albany, 
Postmaster  Ellis  of  Muncie,  Postmaster  Crock¬ 
ett  of  South  Bend,  Postmaster  Bennett  of  War¬ 


saw,  Postmaster  Byerly  of  Goshen,  Postmaster 
Smith  of  Lafayette,  Postmaster  Fearis  of 
Union,  Postmaster  Hendricks  of  Greeusburgh, 
Postmaster  Tichner  of  Princeton,  District  At¬ 
torney  Chambers,  Assistant  Cockrum,  Marshal 
Dunlap,  Collector  Cravens.  Deputy  Collector 
Harvey  and  Pension  Agent  Ensley. 

The  selection  of  delegates  to  the  Minneapo¬ 
lis  convention  was  the  next  step  to  be  taken. 
There  were  four  delegates  at  large  and  two 
from  each  congressional  district.  Under  the 
circumstances  only  the  most  consummate  skill 
and  the  most  diligent  application  of  every 
force  could  secure  the  entire  delegation  for 
Harrison. 

The  seventh  or  Indianapolis  district  was  a 
vital  point  and  the  struggle  was  long  and 
bitter.  Postmaster  Thompson  exercised  to  the 
utmost  all  of  his  well  known  skill  as  a  prim¬ 
ary  and  convention  manipulator.  The  evi¬ 
dence  seems  clear  that  in  some  of  the  prima¬ 
ries  at  Indianapolis,  the  Administration  was 
in  a  minority,  but  its  friends  got  up  con¬ 
testing  delegations  and  these  were  admit¬ 
ted  to  seats  in  the  convention.  At  the  district 
convention  following,  it  was  openly  charged 
by  delegates  on  the  floor  that  such  frauds  had 
been  perpetrated,  and  in  addition  that  federal 
office-holders  had  used  money  to  secure  the 
choice  of  delegates  for  Harrison,  who  were 
then  sitting  in  the  convention.  In  one  prima¬ 
ry  the  Harrison  men  had  nine  men  while  the 
opposition  had  118  by  actual  count.  Never¬ 
theless  half  of  the  Harrison  delegates  were 
admitted  to  seats.  One  of  those  who  seemed 
to  have  particular  charge  of  the  matter  in  the 
Indianapolis  district  was  Mr.  Stanton  J. 
Peelle.  He  gave  it  careful  attention  at  all 
points,  and  on  the  day  of  the  primary  in  his 
own  ward,  which  was  also  the’  President’s 
ward,  he  personally  solicited  voters  to  attend, 
saying,  “They  will  down  Ben  if  his  friends 
don’t  turn  out.”  Soon  after  the  selection  of 
Indiana  delegates  unanimous  for  Harrison, 
Mr.  Peelle,  himself  a  delegate,  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  court  of  claims.  The  juxtaposi¬ 
tion  of  the  extremely  valuable  services  ren¬ 
dered  by  Mr.  Peelle,  and  the  extremely  valu¬ 
able  gift  made  to  him  is  unpleasant.  His 
place  as  delegate  was  taken  by  his  alternate. 

Robert  Metzger,  of  Indianapolis,  makes  the 
following  statement: 

I  have  been  republican  committeeman  of  what  is 
now  the  tenth  ward  in  Indianapolis  for  four  years  in 
the  last  six  and  a  member  of  the  county  committee 
two  years.  The  tenth  is  in  the  central  part  of  the 
city  and  is  one  of  the  most  important  wards.  Before 
the  district  convention,  which  met  in  January,  1892, 
at  Indianapolis,  to  select  a  member  of  the  state  com¬ 
mittee,  J.  W.  Hess,  who  was  a  Harrison  candidate, 
asked  me  to  support  him,  and  said  that  if  he  were 
chosen  and  Harrison  was  re-elected  he  would  have 
control  of  patronage  and  would  remember  his  friends. 

A  colored  man  named  “Doc”  Wilson  had  always 
worked  with  me  and  had  been  one  of  my  most  relia¬ 
ble  friends.  At  the  tenth  ward  primary,  which  was 
held  to  choose  delegates  to  the  district  convention 
which  was  to  choose  Minneapolis  delegates,  Wilson 
was  detached  from  me,  and  he  has  since  told  me 
how  it  happened.  He  said  he  had  a  family  to  sup¬ 
port  and  it  was  a  matter  of  money  with  him.  That 
before  the  primary  was  held  Hess  came  to  him  and 
told^him  that  Metzger,  meaning  me,  would  have  a 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


379 


majority  at  the  primaries  and  it  was  useless  to  buck 
against  him,  but  to  be  there  with  his  crowd,  and  no 
matter  what  the  majority  did,  to  hold  anotAer  pri¬ 
mary  and  choose  delegates  and  they  would  be  recog¬ 
nized,  and  that  he,  Wilson,  would  be  taken  care  of. 

I  was  opposed  to  the  renomination  of  Harrison,  and 
was  working  for  anti-Harrison  delegates.  Wilson 
came  to  the  primary  and  mustered  just  eight  men, 
while  I  had  118.  My  ticket  went  through  first  by  ac¬ 
clamation,  but  the  Wilson  crowd  called  out  that 
there  were  democrats  in  the  room,  and  a  ballot  was 
therefore  taken,  which  resulted  in  118  for  my  ticket 
to  two  against  it. 

The  same  primary  also  elected  me  a  member  of 
the  republican  county  committee  and  the  credentials 
of  the  delegates  were  signed  by  the  secretary  of  the 
primary  and  by  me  as  chairman.  After  this  meeting 
had  adjourned,  Wilson  and  his  crowd  stayed  behind 
to  hold  another.  Not  more  than  thirty  people  re¬ 
mained  in  the  room  and  a  large  part  of  these  were 
spectators.  They  persuaded  our  secretary  to  act  as 
secretary  of  their  meeting  and  elected  GritBn  chair¬ 
man,  and  then  choose  delegates  to  the  district  con¬ 
vention.  They  also  named  Griffin  for  the  county  j 
committee. 

Afterwards  the  county  committee  met  to  decide 
on  the  contesting  committeemen.  The  county  com¬ 
mittee  was  for  Harrison.  Before  the  meeting  “Doc” 
Wilson  came  to  me  and  said  if  I  would  let  the  dis¬ 
trict  delegation  go,  they  would  give  me  the  county 
committeemanship.  I  refused.  When  the  commit¬ 
tee  met  I  was  there  with  twelve  or  fourteen  wit¬ 
nesses,  while  the  Wilson  crowd  had  three.  The 
county  committee  said  that  their  time  was  taken  up 
and  they  could  only  hear  three  witnesses  on  a  side. 
Deputy  United  States  Marshal  Conway  was  there  a 
member  of  the  committee,  and  I  said  to  him :  “You 
know  that  I  was  squarely  elected  down  there.”  He 
answered;  “Well,  Bob,  you  know  how  it  is  in  these 
things.  Those  who  are  not  with  us  are  against  us.” 
He  then  made  a  motion  to  appoint  a  committee  to 
hear  the  testimony.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the 
committee  and  after  hearing  three  witnesses  on  a 
side,  the  committee  reported  that  Griffin  was  chosen 
and  the  county  committee  adopted  the  report. 

When  the  district  convention  was  held,  the  tenth 
ward  contest  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which 
Ross  Hawkins  was  chairman.  Hawkins  is  one  of 
the  Slick  Six  and  is  a  desperate  Harrison  man. 

He  went  through  the  form  of  hearing  testimony, 
and  then  reported  in  favor  of  dividing  the  delegation 
three  and  three,  which  was  done.  Wilson  was  after¬ 
wards  appointed  to  a  place  in  the  railway  mail  serv¬ 
ice  as  weigher  of  mails. 

Afterwards  Stanton  J.  Peelle,  now  judge  of  the 
court  of  claims,  asked  me  about  supporting  Layman 
as  delegate  to  the  Minneapolis  convention.  He 
brought  up  the  subject  of  the  tenth  ward  trouble  and 
asked  me  why  I  was  against  Harrison.  After  some 
talk,  he  said,  “Metzger,  what  do  you  want?”  with  a 
look  and  tone  which  I  understood  to  signify  what  re¬ 
ward  I  wanted  to  cease  opposing  Harrison.  I  said  I 
wanted  justice. 

In  the  twelfth  or  Fort  Wayne  district  the 
federal  office  holders  won  their  most  signal 
victory.  The  convention  was  held  at  Auburn, 
March  3.  The  Courier  of  that  place  speaks  of 
it  as  “the  district  meeting  of  republican  post¬ 
masters.”  Kobert  T,  McDonald,  in  his  appeal 
to  the  national  republican  committee,  says: 
“The  whole  proceedings  were  dominated  by  a 
tyrannical  office  holders’  machine.”  The  fol¬ 
lowing  are  part  of  the  postmasters  who  were 
present  from  a  single  county,  DeKalb:  Pron- 
ner,  of  Spencerville;  Gordon,  of  Auburn; 
Bicknell,  of  Garrett;  Abies  of  St.  Joe  Station; 
Crane,  of  Sedan;  Bachman,  of  Carrunna,  and 
Jones,  of  Butler.  It  is  within  the  facts  to  say 
that  by  no  possibility  could  Harrison  dele¬ 
gates  been  chosen  in  this  district  without  the 
most  strenuous  offorts  of  these  hundreds  of  of¬ 


fice-holders.  The  same  is  undoubtedly  true 
of  at  least  several  other  districts. 

The  state  convention  which  selected  the  del¬ 
egates  at  large  met  at  Indianapolis,  March  1. 
It  was  presided  over  by  Land  Commissioner 
Sayre.  When  a  delegate  undertook  to  speak 
against  a  resolution  indorsing  Harrison,  Assist¬ 
ant  District  Attorney  Cockrum  interfered  and 
insisted  that  “this  is  a  republican  convention 
and  not  a  place  where  a  man  can  come  loaded 
with  personal  and  bile  and  spit  it  out.”  But 
Deputy  Marshal  Conway,  with  just  confidence 
in  the  Harrison  machine,  said:  “A  republi¬ 
can  who  is  against  Harrison  is  a  novelty,  and 
I  move  we  hear  him  through.” 

Practically  all  of  the  leading  and  a  large 
number  of  the  minor  office-holders  of  Indiana 
attended  the  Minneapolis  convention,  and 
rarely  have  office-holders  enjoyed  greater  noto¬ 
riety.  Consul-General  New  came  from  Lon¬ 
don,  denying  that  he  came  to  manage  the  can¬ 
vass  of  President  Harrison.  He  then  went  to 
Washington  and  spent  most  of  a  day  confer¬ 
ring  with  the  President,  Elkins,  Rathbone  and 
others.  Then  he  went  to  Minneapolis  and  for 
many  days  and  nights  managed  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  canvass.  Marshal  Ransdell,  River  Com¬ 
missioner  Taylor,  Collector  Hildebrand,  Mar¬ 
shal  Dunlap,  Pension  Agent  Ensley,  District 
Attorney  Chambers,  Assistant  District  Attor¬ 
ney  Cockrum,  Postmaster  Thompson,  of  Indi¬ 
anapolis,  and  three  of  his  assistants,  Wallace, 
Woodward  and  Patterson;  Postmasters  Smith, 
of  Lafayette;  Higgins,  of  Fort  Wayne,  and 
Greiner,  of  Terre  Haute,  were  among* those  at 
Minneapolis  to  whose  efforts  the  President 
owes  his  renomination.  One  kind  of  official 
effort  which  made  for  this  renomination  is 
illustrated  by  the  following  undoubtedly  cor¬ 
rect  dispatches,  the  “Rhody”  referred  to  being 
Roger  R.Shiel,  a  prominent  republican  “Boy” 
of  Indianapolis : 

For  the  first  time  the  Columbia  Club  went  wild  for 
Benjamin.  Shody  was  lifted  upon  the  shoulders  of  U. 
S.  Marshal  Dunlap  and  Postmaster  Thompson  and  car¬ 
ried  through  the  lobby  at  the  head  of  the  procession, 
which  the  Columbians  instantly  formed.  Rhody 
waved  a  huge  picture  of  Harrison  at  the  end  of  a  fif¬ 
teen-foot  pole.  For  fifteen  minutes  the  Columbians 
circled  about  Rhody  and  Ben’s  picture  like  Indian 
ghost  dancers  singing: 

Every  mother’s  son  from  Maine  to  Oregon 

Is  a  son  of  a  gun  if  he  don’t  vote  for  Harrison. 

Suddenly  Rhody  jumped  off  the  shoulders  of  Dun¬ 
lap  and  Thompson  and  made  a  dash  for  a  colored 
delegate  who  happened  to  be  so  unfortunate  as  to 
catch  ShieTs  eagle  eye.  Placing  his  arm  around  the 
negro’s  neck,  Rhody  disappeared  toward  the  bar  and 
the  ghost  dance  broke  up.  Then  a  quartet,  consist¬ 
ing  of  Bruce  Carr,  O.  H.  Tripp,  of  North  Vernon, 
Postmaster  De  Motte  of  Valparaiso,  and  Postmaster 
Greiner  of  Terre  Haute,  went  from  one  street  corner 
to  another  repeating  the  refrain  of  the  song,  “Every 
mother’s  son,”  etc.— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel,  June  9. 

United  States  Marshal  Ransdell  will  go  to  Minneapo¬ 
lis  to  help  out  Harrison  — IFas/ifnpfon  Dispatch  to 
Cou/rier-Journal,  May  27. 

Dan  Ransdell  [marshal  District  of  Columbia]  said : 
“We  are  in  excellent  shape,  and  I  firmly  believe  the 
President  will  be  nominated  on  the  first  ballot.  The 
opposition  has  the  noise  here  to-night,  but  we  have 
the  Yoies."— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  June  7. 


E.  W.  Halford,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

The  Harrison  delegates  have  just  had  a  meeting  in 
Market  Hall,  presided  over  by  Chauncey  M.  Depew. 
A  roll-call  by  states  showed  521  votes  for  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  not  counting  contested  seats.  He  will  be 
nominated  at  the  first  opportunity  to  ballot. 

D.  M.  Ransdell. 

[Marshal  District  of  Columbia.^ 
— Minneapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  June  9. 

B.  W.  Smith,  postmaster  of  La  Fayette,  Ind.,  talked 
warmly  for  Harrison,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  many 
Harrison  votes  the  letter  of  resignation  made  in  La 
Fayette  yesterday.—ilfmwapolis  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  June  6. 

Higgins  is  postmaster  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  and  Grei¬ 
ner  is  postmaster  at  Terre  Haute.  Higgins  is  for  Har¬ 
rison;  Greiner  is  supposed  to  be  for  Blaine,  and 
wears  a  Blaine  badge.  Higgins  meets  Greiner,  falls 
into  an  argument  with  him  about  the  merits  of  the 
candidates,  and  Greiner  is  convinced,  takes  off  his 
Blaine  badge,  and  becomes  a  Harrison  convert. 
This  happens  several  times  a  day  in  localities  discreetly 
selected.— New  York  Times,  June  6. 

After  the  Minneapolis  convention  still 
another  state  convention  drew  upon  federal 
official  energies.  This  met  at  Fort  Wayne, 
July  27,  1892,  for  the  nomination  of  state  of¬ 
ficers.  The  administration  opposed  the  re¬ 
nomination  of  Governor  Chase,  the  chief  argu¬ 
ment  used  being  that  the  railroad  men  would 
not  vote  for  him.  To  put  this  argument  in  shape 
A.  D.  Shaw,  deputy  third  auditor  of  the  treas¬ 
ury,  gave  a  great  deal  of  time-  during  a 
month’s  absence  from  Washington.  He  had 
been  the  chief  organizer  of  railroad  men  for 
General  Harrison  in  1888.  At  Fort  Wayne 
he  was  assisted  by  Deputy  Marshals  Moore 
and  Conway,  and  Deputy  Collectors  Mount 
and  Saulcy.  Another  movement  in  the  oppo¬ 
sition  to  Chase  was  the  candidacy  of  District 
Attorney  Chambers,  backed  by  another  group 
of  office-holders,  chief  of  whom  were  his  assist¬ 
ant  Cockrum  and  Marshal  Dunlap.  Chase 
was  nominated. 

The  following  particular  instances  of  the 
industry  of  President  Harrison’s  office-holders 
in  his  behalf  are  given  in  further  illustration 
and  proof  of  what  has  been  said  : 

Pensioner  Examiner  Drayer,  and  Postmaster  Ca¬ 
ble,  of  Hartford  City,  worked  for  Harrison  delegates, 
and  attended  the  convention  at  Bluft’ton,  to  select 
them. 

A  reliable  report  from  the  Lawrenceburgh  district 
says:  “The  entire  revenue  force  of  this  district 
were  actively  engaged  in  securing  delegates  to  elect 
George  M.  Roberts,  brother-in-law  of  Revenue  Col¬ 
lector  Cravens,  as  district  delegate  to  the  Minneap¬ 
olis  convention.”  Collector  John  O.  Cravens  and  a 
number  of  his  force  attended  the  Minneapolis  con¬ 
vention. 

Postmaster  Lucas,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  and  United 
States  Storekeeper  Sortwell,  have  been  workers  in 
primaries  and  conventions. 

Postmaster  Hudson,  of  Corydon,  has  attended 
state,  congressional  and  county  conventions. 

Postmaster  Shaw,  and  his  deputy  Long,  of  Vevay, 
are  active  political  workers. 

Postmaster  Simpson,  of  Lamb,  and  Postmaster 
Langsdale,  of  Florence,  have  been  active  in  select¬ 
ing  delegates  and  in  conventions. 

Amos  Hartman,  postmaster  at  Columbus,  went  to 
the  Minneapolis  convention. 

Postmaster  Stevens,  at  Peru,  Postmaster  Fite,  at 
Denver,  Postmaster  Lawshe,  at  Xenia,  take  part  in 
all  local  federal  politics. 

Post-office  Inspector  Bearss,  Peru,  and  Auditing 
Attorney  Stutesman,  Peru,  attended  the  Minneapolis 
convention. 

Postmaster  Quinn,  Decatur,  attended  the  distric 


380 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


and  state  conventions,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
selection  of  Minneapolis  delegates. 

Postal  Clerk  Baldwin,  of  Austin,  attended  the  Min¬ 
neapolis  convention. 

Postmaster  Dryden,  Martinsville,  has  been  an  ac¬ 
tive  political  worker. 

Postmaster  James  H.  Fearis,  Connersville,  is  the 
most  active  republican  worker  in  that  place.  He  has 
been  prominent  in  all  primaries  and  conventions. 
He  is  president  of  a  republican  club  organized  for 
this  campaign.  He  took  an  important  part  in  the  se¬ 
lection  of  county  delegates  to  the  district  conven¬ 
tion  and  attended  the  convention  at  Cambridge  City, 
where  Minneapolis  delegates  were  chosen.  He  at¬ 
tended  the  Minneapolis  convention  in  the  interest 
of  Harrison. 

Postmaster  McPheeters,  Bloomington,  helped  se¬ 
lect  the  delegates  to  and  attended  the  Minneapolis 
convention. 

Deputy  United  States  Marshal  Mathers,  Blooming 
ton,  and  Postmasters  Sharp,  Ellettsville;  Woodard, 
Harrodsburgh,  are  active  in  local  federal  politics. 

Postmaster  Geo.  W.  Bennett,  Warsaw,  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  every  political  convention  and  rallies 
the  voters  on  election  day.  He  was  at  the  state  con¬ 
vention  to  help  select  delegates  to  Minneapolis  and 
attend  the  Minneapolis  convention.  He  was  recently 
an  active  participator  at  a  convention  at  Elkhart. 

Postmaster  Joseph  A.  Gant,  Marlon,  attended  the 
Minneapolis  convention  after  working  for  Harrison 
delegates  at  home.  He  also  attended  the  Indianap¬ 
olis  convention  whii  h  chose  the  delegates  at  large. 
He  is  chairman  of  his  party  county  committee. 
Every  federal  officer  connected  with  the  post-office 
in  Marion  is  a  republican  worker  in  this  campaign. 

Postmaster  Rogers,  Huntington,  attended  the 
Minneapolis  convention. 

Pension  Examiner  Hobbs,  Salem,  is  chairman 
of  the  county  committee,  and  works  wherever  dele¬ 
gates  are  to  be  selected.  He  attended  the  conven¬ 
tion  at  Jeffersonville  which  selected  delegates  to  the 
Minneapolis  convention  and  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Indianapolis  convention  for  the  same  purpose. 

Postmaster  Ward,  Salem,  has  always  helped  to  se¬ 
lect  delegates.  He  attended  the  convention  at  Jef¬ 
fersonville  and  the  state  convention  which  selected 
Minneapolis  delegates. 

Postmaster  Tindolph,  Vincennes,  has  been  active 
in  politics,  in  primaries  and  in  state  and  local  con¬ 
ventions.  He  attended  the  Minneapolis  conven¬ 
tion. 

Postmaster  Hovey,  Mount  Vernon,  has  been  very 
active  for  Harrison  and  attended  the  Minneapolis 
convention. 

Bank  Examiner  Holman,  Rochester,  has  been  act¬ 
ive  in  primaries  and  in  state  and  local  conventions. 
He  helped  select  the  delegates  in  his  district  and  at 
large,  at  Indianapolis,  and  attended  the  Minneapolis 
convention. 

Postmaster  Marsh,  Portland,  has  been  a  steady 
worker  for  Harrison.  He  attended  the  convention  at 
Bluffton  to  select  Minneapolis  delegates  and  iittended 
the  Minneapolis  convention. 

Pension  Examiner  Bindley,  Paoli,  attended  the 
Minneapolis  convention. 

Collector  J.  P.  Throop,  of  the  Terre  Haute  district, 
resides  in  Orange  county,  where  the  republicans 
were  anti-Harrison.  He  spent  about  two  months  at 
home  “  continuously,  trying  to  whip  the  boys  back 
into  line.” 

Postmaster  Pate,  of  Boonville,  attended  the  dis¬ 
trict  meeting  at  Shoals  and  nominated  H.  R.  Lowder 
as  a  candidate  for  delegate  for  Minneapolis,  and  was 
Lowder’s  chief  worker  until  he  was  chosen. 

Postmaster  Cushman,  of  Newburgh,  has  been  a 
worker  in  primaries,  and  state  and  local  conven¬ 
tions. 

Postmaster  Provnes  of  Spencerville,  Postmaster  Gor¬ 
don  of  Auburn,  Postmaster  Bicknell  of  Garrett, 
Postmaster  Abies  of  St.  Joe  Station,  Postmaster  Crane 
of  Sedan,  Postmaster  Bachman  of  Corunna,  Postmas¬ 
ter  Jones  of  Butler,  attended  and  helped  to  manipu¬ 
late  for  Harrison  the  district  convention  at  Auburn, 
to  select  Minneapolis  delegates. 

All  the  postmasters  of  DeKalb  county  have  been 


deeply  interested  in  all  conventions  in  behalf  of  Har¬ 
rison. 

Postmaster  Gordon  of  Auburn  and  Postmaster 
Bicknell  of  Garrett,  attended  the  state  convention 
which  selected  delegates  at  large  for  Minneapolis. 

Postmaster  Zimmerman  of  Cannelton,  has  been  ac¬ 
tive  in  all  primaries  and  conventions.  Himself  and 
Postmasters  Schrieber  of  Tell  City  and  Gardiner  of 
Troy,  assisted  in  selecting  Harrison  delegates  at 
their  district  convention. 

Postmaster  Higgins  of  Fort  Wayne,  is  reputed  to 
be  the  President’s  right  hand  in  the  twelfth  distriet, 
making  and  unmaking  fourth-class  postmasters  and 
other  minor  officers  at  will.  He  is  a  ward  committee¬ 
man.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  seleetion 
of  all  delegates  in  federal  matters.  In  addition  to 
the  local  conventions,  he  attended  the  state  conven¬ 
tion  which  selected  Minneapolis  delegates,  and  the 
district  convention  at  Auburn  for  the  same  purpose. 
He  had  the  letter  carriers  take  the  poll  of  the  city  of 
Fort  Wayne.  He,  with  Utah  Commissioner  Robert¬ 
son  and  River  Commissioner  Taylor,  worked  in  Min¬ 
neapolis  for  Harrison,  and  the  latter  two  were  with 
Higgins  at  the  state  convention  above  mentioned. 

Utah  Commissioner  Robertson,  River  Commis¬ 
sioner  Taylor,  Pension  Examiner  Bueman  and  Pen¬ 
sion  Examiner  Stemen  of  Fort  Wayne,  are  now  mak¬ 
ing  Harrison  speeches. 

United  States  Marshal  Dunlap  permits  the  mar¬ 
shal’s  office  at  Indianapolis  to  be  used  as  a  meeting 
plaee  of  a  Harrison  club.  The  club  was  organized 
there. 

Postmaster  Godfrey,  of  New  Albany,  was  a  delegate 
to  the  distriet  convention  atScottsburgh  in  1890,  and 
worked  hard  for  the  Harrison  candidate  for  the  state 
committee.  He  worked  in  his  own  distriet  and  at  the 
state  convention  for  the  selection  of  Harrison  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  Minneapolis  convention  and  went  to  that 
convention.  Deputy  Collector  Plattand  Letter  Carrier 
Marsh,  of  New  Albany,  went  to  the  Minneapolis 
convention  after  attending  the  state  convention  at 
Indianapolis  to  select  delegates  at  large.  Pension 
Examiner  Idding  of  Merrillville  has  been  a  delegate 
in  a  state  convention. 

Postmaster  Royer,  of  Noblesville,  has  attended  the 
state,  and  the  congressional  and  local  conventions  of 
his  district.  He  is  an  incessantly  active  manager  for 
his  party.  He  helped  to  select  Harrison  delegates  to 
the  Minneapolis  convention,  and  attended  that  con¬ 
vention  as  “a  Harrison  boomer.” 

Postmaster  Hammond,  of  Booneville,  has  attended 
most  of  the  county  and  district  conventions  and  the 
primaries  of  his  party,  but  “has  been  very  shy.” 

Letter  Carriers  Irvin  and  Fletcher,  of  Frankfort,  at¬ 
tended  a  party  county  convention  as  delegates  and 
in  uniform.  Irvin  was  chairman  of  his  precinct 
delegation.  Fletcher  challenged  a  voter  at  the  polls 
while  in  uniform.  Irvin  also  has  remained  off  duty 
to  act  as  his  party  challenger,  and,  in  addition, 
polled  the  first  ward  in  Frankfort. 

There  is  not  room  to  set  out  more  than  a 
small  part  of  what  has  been  done  by  federal 
office-holders  in  the  way  of  henchman  service 
in  Indiana  under  this  administration.  I  ven¬ 
ture,  however,  one  further  illustration  in 
the  cases  of  two  peculiarly  zealous  hench¬ 
men.  District  Attorney  Chambers  and  his 
assistant,  Cockrum.  These  will  be  found 
very  interesting  cases.  Both  began  with  be¬ 
ing  delegates  to  the  convention  which  nomi¬ 
nated  Mr.  Harrison  in  1888.  Having  re¬ 
ceived  these  positions  Language  can  hardly  ex¬ 
press  the  zeal  with  which  they  have  labored 
in  the  line  of  their  fealty.  In  December, 
1889,  Dudley  came  to  Indianapolis  and  an  af¬ 
fidavit  was  filed  and  a  warrant  was  made  out 
for  his  arrest.  District  Attorney  Chambers 
ordered  that  the  warrant  be  not  issued.  In 
speaking  of  it  afterwards  he  said: 

“I  exercised  the  prerogative  in  this  case  that  I 
would  exercise  in  any  other  of  like  character,  and 


decided  that  the  warrant  be  not  issued  upon  this 
affidavit.” 

Speaking  also  of  the  celebrated  Dudley 
letters,  Mr.  Chambers  said: 

The  letters,  construed  in  the  light  of  the  knowledge  that 
we  all  possess  of  how  elections  in  Indiana  are  conducted 
by  both  parties  have  nothing  in  them  of  a  criminal  char¬ 
acter,  but,  upon  the  other  hand,  when  so  construed,  are 
honorable,  and  indicate  simply  a  patriotic  interest  in  the 
elections.” 

Dudley  had  written  to  divide  the  floaters  in 
blocks  of  five  and  put  a  trusted  man  with  nec¬ 
essary  funds  in  charge  of  these  five.  “The 
knowledge  we  all  possess”  was  that  floaters 
were  paid  cash  for  their  votes.  In  thus  de¬ 
claring  himself  Mr.  Chambers  made  a  sacrifice 
that  few  men  would  care  to  make. 

In  illustrating  these  two  cases  I  prefer  to 
take  the  accounts  of  those  present  on  the  dif¬ 
ferent  occasions: 

The  republicans  of  Warrick  county  met  in  mass 
convention  in  Boonville, Saturday,  Sept.  6,  and  nomi¬ 
nated  the  following  county  ticket.  '*•  J.B.  Cockrum, 
assistant  district  attorney,  came  down  and  took  an 
active  part  in  the  convention.  He  told  the  boys  here 
how  things  were  worked  at  Indianapolis,  and  how 
this  convention  must  act.  They  made  John  chair¬ 
man  of  the  committee  on  resolutions,  and  let  him 
write  them  to  suit  himself,  and  to  flatter  the  bosses 
at  Washington  and  Indianapolis. — Boonville  Dispatch 
to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Sept.  8,  1890. 

District  Attorney  Chambers’s  speech  at  the  Colum¬ 
bia  club  to-night  will  be  devoted  to  democratic  in¬ 
iquities  and  election  methods.  He  will  have  for  his 
text  that  portion  of  the  democratic  platform  that  al¬ 
leges  all  political  evils  against  the  opponents  of  that 
party  and  claims  for  it  all  political  purity.  Mr. 
Chambers  will  detail  many  instances  of  democratic 
bribery,  not  those  of  mere  assertion,  but  those  that 
have  been  established  by  evidence.  He  has  given 
great  care  to  this  speech,  and  it  will  be  made  up  of 
facts  obtained  from  nearly  every  county  in  the  state. 
—Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  5, 1890. 

The  speech  of  Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  delivered 
last  night  before  the  Columbia  club,  will  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  paper.  It  abounds  in  indisputable 
facts  concerning  democratic  rascality,  and  giveS  in 
detail  some  of  the  political  infamies  committed  by 
that  party  in  Indiana.  These  crimes  have  been  fre¬ 
quent  and  flagrant,  and  the  party  committing  them 
should  be  deprived  of  power  by  an  outraged  people. 
The  speech  is  strong  in  statement,  and  will  prove  an 
effective  campaign  document.— Indianapolis  Journal, 
Sept.  6, 1890. 

Hon.  Smiley  Chambers  [United  States  district  at¬ 
torney]  delivered  a  splendid  address  before  a  large 
audience  at  the  opera  house  this  evening.  He  dwelt 
at  length  upon  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  and  its  an¬ 
archistic  utterances  and  tendencies,  and  stated  a 
fact  not  generally  known— that  the  editor  of  the 
Sentinel  had  circulated  in  Fort  Wayne  a  petition  for 
the  pardon  of  the  Chicago  anarchists  after  they  had 
been  convicted. — Marion  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  Oct.  15, 1890. 

Mr.  Hinton  was  followed  by  Hon.  J.  B.  Cockrum 
[assistant  U.  S.  district  attorney],  of  Indianapolis,  in 
a  masterly  presentation  of  state  issues,  giving  a  thor¬ 
ough  discussion  of  the  iniquities  of  the  democratic 
party  that  have  pa.ssed  directly  under  his  notice  as 
an  officer  of  the  United  States  coavt.—RushviUe  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  17, 1890. 

District  Attorney  Chambers  has  written  to  the 
state  central  committee  that  he  and  Mr.  Trusler,  re¬ 
publican  candidate  for  secretary  of  state,  had  two 
grand  meetings  at  Marion  and  one  at  Kokomo. 
“Our  meetings  have  been  well  attended,  and  very 
enthusiastic,”  he  writes.— Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct. 
17,  1890. 

The  Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum  delivered  a  telling 
speech  to  a  large  and  enthusiastic  audience  at  the 
court- house  in  this  city  last  night.  *  <■  He  also 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


381 


dealt  with  the  infamous  violation  of  election  laws 
by  the  democratic  party,  and  the  extravagant  and 
dishonest  manner  in  which  the  affairs  of  the  state  in¬ 
stitutions  of  this  state  have  been  mismanaged  at  the 
hands  of  the  democratic  legislature.— iVoblcswlle  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  12,  1890. 

John  B.  Cockrum,  assistant  United  States  disirict 
attorney,  addressed,  August  4,  1891,  a  republican 
club  upon  the  recently  nominated  republican  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  city  ollices. 

At  this  point  Assistant  District  Attorney  J.  B. 
Cockrum  got  the  floor,  and  insisted  that  this  was  a 
republican  convention,  and  not  a  place  where  a  man 
could  come  loaded  with  personal  bile  and  spit  it 
ont.— Indianapolis  News,  March  1, 1892,  Account  of 
State  Convention. 

The  arraignment  of  the  democracy  by  Smiley  N. 
Chambers,  United  States  district  attorney,  in  his 
speech  before  the  Columbian  club,  Saturday  night, 
was  such  a  powerful  phillipic  that  the  Journal  this 
morning  prints  it  almost  in  full. — Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  March  21,  1892. 

The  republicans  of  Harrison  county  met  in  mass 
convention  at  -Corydon  to  day  and  appointed  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  state  and  district  conventions.  Hon. 
Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States  district  attorney] 
was  present  and  addressed  the  meeting. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  April  10,  1892. 

An  enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  Richmond  republi¬ 
can  club  was  held  this  evening,  it  being  the  occasion 
of  the  second  annual  election  of  officers.  After  the 
business  of  the  evening  had  been  transacted  the  club 
was  addressed  by  Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  of  Indian¬ 
apolis,  on  the  political  issues  of  the  day. — Indianapo¬ 
lis  Journal,  April  12,  1892. 

The  republicans  of  this  county  held  their  conven¬ 
tion  here  to  day.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States 
district  attorney]  was  present  and  addressed  the 
brethren  on  the  tariff  and  oilier  issues.  Oreencastle 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  April  30,  1892. 

Smiley  Chambers  [United  States  district  attornej] 
and  Hugh  Hanna  are  in  charge  of  the  public  Indiana 
headquarters —J/macapohs  Dispetch  to  Indianapolis 
News,  June  6, 1892. 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States  district 
attorney]  was  then  introduced.  He  looked  as  if  he 
had  done  a  hard  day’s  work,  and  his  voice  was  hus¬ 
ky.  When  the  applause  that  greeted  his  appearance 
had  subsided,  he  said  : 

“One  week  ago,  yesterday,  my  fellow-citizens,  we  left 
this  city  for  the  great  convention,  carrying  with  us,  as 
we  felt  then,  and  now  know,  the  best  wishes  of  all  of 
you,  that  victory  might  be  ours.” — Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  June  12,  1892. 

United  States  Marshal  Dunlap  and  Assistant  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  Cockrum  arrived  at  noon.— Wayne 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  June  25, 1892. 

John  B.  Cockrum  [assistant  United  States  district 
attorney]  has  Smiley  N.  Chambers’s  boom  in  hand. 
He  is  working  like  a  man  who  sees  the  district  attor¬ 
neyship  in  his  grasp,  in  case  he  wins  for  his  chitf.— 
Ft.  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  June  27, 1892. 

The  republicans  of  this  county  opened  the  cam¬ 
paign  to  day  *  Smiley  Chambers  [United 

States  district  attorney]  followed  Shockney  in  a 
speech  for  two  hours.  *  — Noblesville  Dispatch 

to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Aug.  29, 1892. 

It  is  averred  that  Mr.  Chambers  never  had  any  idea 
of  being  nominated,  and  that  he  consented  to  enter 
the  race  for  the  sole  purpose  of  taking  away  some  of 
the  strength  that  threatened  to  go  to  Chase.  Wheth¬ 
er  this  story  Is  true  or  not,  it  has  been  evident  that 
the  men  who  have  been  here  pretending  to  be  for 
Chambers  have  been  much  more  industrious  in  op¬ 
posing  Chase  than  in  furthering  the  chances  of  Mr. 
Chambers.  John  B.  Cockrum  [assistant  U.  S.  district 
attorney],  who  has  been  managing  the  Chambers 
boom,  has  been  ready  and  anxious  for  two  days  to 
promise  Chambers’s  strength  to  any  one  upon  whom 
the  anti-Chase  people  might  unite.  Mr.  Cockrum 
was  in  the  “round-up”  anti  meeting  last  night  and 
pledged  Chambers’s  support  for  Elliott.  The  true 
friends  of  Judge  Elliott  hare  no  hand  in  the  move¬ 


ment  to  make  him  a  candidate. — Ft,  Wayne  Dispatch 
to  Indianapolis  News,  June  28, 1892. 

The  campaign  is  on  in  Rushville,  having  been 
opened  to-night  by  Smiley  N.  Chambers  [United  States 
attorney],  of  Indianapolis. — Rushville  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  4,  1892. 

The  republicans  of  Hancock  county  met  in  mass 
convention  at  the  court-house  this  noon.  After  call¬ 
ing  the  convention  to  order  he  introduced  lion.  S.  N. 
Chambers  [United  States  attorney],  of  Indianapolis, 
who  addressed  the  people  for  over  an  hour  in  a  high¬ 
ly  interesting  manner.— Green Jield  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  Sept.  4,  1892. 

There  \vas  a  rousing  meeting  of  republicans  in  this 
city  to-night.  The  Hon.  J  B.  Coctruwi  [deputy  United 
States  attorney],  of  Indianapolis,  addressed  the  Har¬ 
rison  and  Baker  guards,  two  republican  organizations 
ofthiscity.  One  hundred  and  fifty  members  escorted 
the  speaker  to  the  court-house.  The  .speech  aroused 
much  enthusiasm. — Columbus  Dwpntch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  Sept.  13,  1892. 

An  enthusiastic  republican  meeting  was  held  in 
Ross’s  Opera  House  last  evening.  Hon.  hmiley  N. 
Chambers  [United  States  attorney]  was  present  and 
addressed  the  crowd. —  Union  City  Dispatchto  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  Sept.  14,  1892. 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  addressed  a  splendid 
meeting  of  republicans  here  [Nashville,  Ind.]  yester¬ 
day  afternoon. 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  will  address  the  people  of 
North  Indianapolis,  at  Greenleaf  Hall.  The  West 
Indianapolis  McKinley  Drum  Corps  will  be  in  at¬ 
tendance. 

Following  is  a  list  of  additional  assignments  of 
speakers  throughout  the  state  made  by  the  republi¬ 
can  state  committee : 

Hon.  S.  N.  Chambers. 

[United  States  District  Attorney.] 

Sept.  17— Union  City,  Randolph  county,  7  p.  m. 

Hon.  j.  B.  Cockrum. 

[Assistant  District  Attorney.] 

Sept.  17— Martinsville,  Morgan  county,  7  p.  m. 

Sept.  19— Knightstown,  Henry  county.  7  pm. 

Sept.  23— Elizabethtorvn,  Bartholomew  county,  7 
p.  M. 

Oct.  7— Marlon,  Grant  county,  7  p.  m. 

— Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  10, 1892. 
The  eleventh  ward  republicans  were  addressed  at 
the  corner  of  West  and  Maryland  streets  last  night 
by  the  Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum.  Mr.  Cockrum’s  ad¬ 
dress  was  a  forcible  one,  and  he  was  warmly  ap¬ 
plauded  at  frequent  intervals.  He  made  his  appeal 
to  the  working  men  and  for  the  inestimable  aid  that 
the  protective  tariff  has  been  to  them.  He  exposed 
the  fallacy  of  free  trade  principles  in  so  clear  a  man* 
ner  that  more  than  one  of  his  hearers  involuntarily 
exclaimed,  "That’s  right.”  He  drew  a  vivid  compari¬ 
son  of  the  opposing  candidates  of  the  two  great  par¬ 
ties;  pictured  Harrison  and  Reid  at  the  front  during 
the  war,  fighting  for  their  homes  and  their  nation, 
and  Cleveland  and  Stevenson  enjoying  their  ease 
while  their  paid  substitutes  suffered,  the  latter  propa¬ 
gating  the  interests  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Circle ;  compared  their  records  as  statesmen  and  as 
men  whose  promises  had  been  fulfilled  or  unful¬ 
filled,  and  finally  urged  them  as  thinking,  intelli¬ 
gent  men  to  vote  the  republican  ticket. — Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  Sept.  39. 

The  fair  officials  at  Newport  have  introduced  po. 
litical  days  for  the  fair  this  year.  D.  W.  Voorhees 
will  speak  Thursday,  Col.  R.  W.  Thompson,  of  Terre 
Haute,  and  Smiley  N.  Chambers,  United  States  district 
attorney,  Friday. — Newport  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  Oct.  4. 

Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum  was  in  the  city  yesterday, 
having  returned  from  a  campaigning  trip  to  Mont¬ 
gomery  and  other  counties.  “The  state  is  in  fine 
condition,”  he  said  yesterday,  “for  the  republicans 
and  is  getting  better  every  day.  I  think  Montgom¬ 
ery  county  has  as  fine  an  organization  as  I  ever  saw. 
Republicans  I  find  are  wide  awake  and  will  be  out  in 
force  on  Novembers.  I  have  no  fears  that  any  re¬ 
publican  will  stay  at  home  this  year.  There  is  too 


much  of  individual  and  national  prosperity  at 
stake."— Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  7. 

Hon.  S.  N.  Chambers. 

Oct.  7— Newport,  Vermillion  county,  1  p.  m. 

Hon.  j.  B.  Cockrum. 

Oct.  7— Marion,  Grant  county. 

Oct.  4— Crawfordsville,  Montgomery  county,  7.  p.m. 

Oct.  5— Wingate,  Montgomery  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  10— Oakland  City,  Gibson  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  11— Huntingburg,  Dubois  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  12— Brookville,  Warrick  county,  1  p.  m. 

Oct.  13 — Rockport,  Spencer  county,  1  p.  m. 

Oct.  14— Mt.  Vernon,  Posey  county,  7  p.  m, 

Oct.  15— Corydon,  Harrison  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  18— Franklin,  Johnson  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  19— Rushville,  Rush  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  20— Carthage,  Rush  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  21— New  Castle,  Henry  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  22— Greenfield.  Hancock  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  24— Danville,  Hendricks  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  25— Greencaslle,  Putnam  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  26— Kokomo,  Howard  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  27— Wabash,  Wabash  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  28 — W’arsaw,  Kosciusko  county,  7  p.  m. 

Oct.  17— Jeffersonville,  Clarke  county,  7  p.  m. 

Nov.  1— Amo,  Hendricks  county,  2  p.  m. 

Nov.  3— Plainfield,  Hendricks  county,  7  p.  m. 

— Appointments,  Campaign  Speeches,  Indianapolis 
Journal,  Oct.  11. 

Oct.  17 — Jeffersonville,  J.  B.  Cockrum. 

October  21— Orleans.  S.  N.  Chambers. 

— Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  10. 

Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum,  deputy  United  States  at¬ 
torney,  of  Indianapolis,  spoke  last  evening  in  Lado¬ 
ga.— Craia/ordsviiie  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
Oct.  6. 

At  the  rooms  of  the  Lincoln  Club,  Friday  night, 
J.  B.  Cockrum  made  an  interesting  and  forcible  ad¬ 
dress.  The  point  that  attracted  greatest  attention 
was  a  denunciation  of  the  Australian-ballot  law  as  a 
scheme  of  the  democracy  to  steal  this  state.— J/arion 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  10. 

Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum,  a  federal  office-holder,  vio¬ 
lated  the  civil  service  rules,  and  spoke  to  a  fair  crowd 
ill  the  court-house  in  this  city  last  night.— Jiff.  Vernon 
Democrat,  Oct.  15. 

Indianapolis,  Oct.  15,  1892. 

Respectfully  submit  ed, 

Lucius  B.  Swift. 


AMERICAN  FEUDALISM. 

The  President  is  of  opinion  that  it  is 
a  great  aimse  to  bring  the  patronage  of 
the  federal  government  into  conflict  with 
the  freedom  of  elections;  and  that  this 
abuse  ought  to  be  corrected  wherever  it 
may  have  been  permitted  to  exist,  and  to 
be  prevented  for  tlie  future:  He,  there¬ 
fore,  directs  that  information  be  given  to 
all  oflicers  and  agents  in  your  department 
of  the  public  service  that  partisan  inter¬ 
ference  in  popular  elections,  whether  of 
state  oflicers  or  oflicers  of  this  govern¬ 
ment,  and  for  whomsoever  or  against 
whomsoever  it  may  be  exercised,  or  the 
payment  of  any  contribution  or  assessment 
on  salaries  or  oflicial  compensation  for 
party  or  election  purposes,  will  be  regard¬ 
ed  by  him  as  cause  for  removal. — From  a 
Circular  issued  by  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of 
State  under  President  William  Henry  Harrison, 
to  the  Heads  of  the  Departments  under  the  Gcyrern- 
ment  of  the  United  States. 


382 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


BUSY  HENCHMEN. 


Col.  A.  D.  bhaw,  third  auditor  of  the  treasury,  is  in 
the  city. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  1. 

»  »  * 

E.  H.  Nebeker,  treasurer  of  the  United  States,  is  in  the 
city.— Indianapolis  Neios,  Oct.  1. 

»  •  » 

CajA.  John  R.  Leonard,  of  the  United  States  marshal's 
office,  goes  to  Indianapolis  at  the  end  of  this  month.— 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  3. 

*  »  * 

“There  will  not  be  many  men  in  Washington  on 
the  8th  of  next  month  who  can  vote  in  Indiana,” 
said  President  John  C.  Cheney,  of  the  Indiana  Re¬ 
publican  Club,  to  the  Journal  correspondent  to-day. 
“The  Indiana  republicans  here  feel  the  keenest  in¬ 
terest  in  the  political  situation  in  their  state,”  con¬ 
tinued  President  Cheney,  “and  they  will  do  their 
part  towards  giving  General  Harrison  as  large  a 
majority  as  he  had  four  years  ago.” 

Themeetingof  the  Indiana  Republican  Club  last 
night  was  largely  attended.  There  wasgreaten  husi- 
asm  shown  and  a  quiet  determination  evinced  in 
the  impending  contest.  The  club  will  meet  again  in 
two  weeks,  when  it  is  expected  that  about  two  hun¬ 
dred  Hooslers  will  have  announced  their  intention 
of  going  home  to  vole.  This  is  nine  tenths  of  the 
Indianians  in  Washington. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  3. 

♦  ♦  * 

Daniel  M.  Ransdell,  United  States  marshal  for  the 
Districxof  Columbia,  will  leave  for  Indianapolis  to¬ 
morrow  evening.  He  expects  to  spend  a  few  days 
socially  with  friends  at  his  old  home.— W'os/iington 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  27. 

W 

Third  Auditor  W.  H.  Hart  and  Deputy  Controller  of 
the  Currency  Nixon,  of  the  treasury  department,  will 
go  to  their  homes  at  Fraukfort  and  New  Castle,  re¬ 
spectively,  about  the  middle  of  next  month,  to  re¬ 
main  till  after  the  election. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  27. 

*  «-  » 

United  States  Treasurer  E.  II.  Nebeker  intends  to 
leave  for  his  home  at  Covington  in  a  few  days.  He 
has  received  his  annual  leave  time  for  October. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Sept.  27. 
-*  *  * 

Daniel  M.  Ransdell,  United  Stales  marshal  for  the 
District  of  Columbia,  is  at  the  Bates.  He  came  in 
from  Washington  last  night  and  will  remain  here 
several  days. — Indianapolis  News,  Sept.  29. 

-*-  ■»  * 

The  republican  committees,  state,  and  county,  are 
having  the  assistance  of  federal  office-holders. 

United  States  Treasurer  Nebeker  and  United  Stales 

Marshal  Ransdell  have  been  lending  an  advisory  hand 
to  the  state  committee,  and  Mr.  Shepherd,  of  Wash¬ 
ington,  is  advising  Merrill  Moores  as  to  his  work. 
John  R.  Leonard  will  be  here  soon  to  add  his  services 
to  the  campaign. — Indianapolis  News,  Oct.  3. 

*  *  * 

Ex-Congre,ssman  William  D.  Owen,  superintendent  of 
immigration,  leayes  here  on  next  Monday  for  Indiana 
to  enter  the  campaign,  and  to  remain  till  after  elec¬ 
tion. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  4. 

-»  *  * 

Paul  Leibhardl,  superintendent  of  the  dead-letter  office, 
post-office  department,  will  leave  here  for  his  home 
in  Wayne  county  next  week,  to  remain  there  till 
after  the  campaign.— B'asftinjfon  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  Sept.  29. 

*  *  * 

Harry  McFarland,  a  foreman  in  the  press-room  of  the 
government  printing  office,  will  go  to  his  home  at  Indi¬ 
anapolis  on  Sunday  for  a  month's  leave. —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  8. 

*  »  * 

Postmaster  Thompson  will  to-morrow  begin  a  tour 
of  the  post-offices  of  this  county.  There  are  forty  of¬ 
fices,  including  that  of  Indianapolis,  and  the  tour 
will  require  sixteen  or  eighteen  days.  The  object  is 
to  instruct  postmasters  in  their  duties,  where  necessary, 
and  to  encourage  them  in  efforts  to  better  the  service — In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  Oct.  7. 


E.  ir.  Halford,  the  President's  private  secretary,  will 
make  some  political  speeches  in  Indiana  near  the 
close  of  the  present  campaign. — Indianapolis  Journal, 
Oct.  10. 

«  »  * 

Hon.  Oreen  B.  Raum,  United  Stales  commissioner  of 
pensions,  will  arrive  in  this  city  on  Wednesday. — 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  10. 

*  *  * 

Ex-Senator  Brace,  recorder  of  deeds,  who  has  j  ust  re¬ 
turned  to  Washington  from  New  Jersey,  where  he 
has  been  aiding  the  republican  campaign,  says  that 
he  thinks  Mr.  Harrison  is  going  to  carry  New  Jersey 
as  well  as  New  York.  He  says  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
New  Jersey  republicans  is  such  as  never  seen  before. 
— Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  10. 

»  ♦ 

United  States  Marshal  Ransdell  ran  in  from  New 
York  yesterday  on  his  way  to  Indiana,  where  he  will 
remain  until  the  campaign  is  over.—  Washington  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  12. 

*  *  » 

Hon.  W.  D.  Owen,  commmissioner  of  immigration’ 
has  left  Washington  for  Indiana  to  take  part  in  the 
campaign.— Dtdtanapoffs  Journal,  Oct.  12. 

_  *  *  * 

Hon.  W.  D.  Owen  opened  his  campaign  at  this 
place  to-day,  when  fully  three  thousand  enthusiastic 
people  greeted  the  speaker. — Kentland  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  13. 

*  *  * 

Report  comes  that  C.  S.  Hudson,  postmaster  at  this 
place,  drove  twelve  miles  the  other  night  to  make  a 
rabid  republican  speech. — Corydon  Dispatch  to  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Sentinel,  Oct.  11. 

*  *  * 

Mr  Egan  is  counted  on  to  conduct  a  republican 
propaganda  among  the  Catholic  Irishmen  in  the 
middle  west. 

A  glance  over  the  blue-book  shows  how  the  diplo¬ 
mats  have  been  used.  Ryan  of  Mexico  and  Conger 
of  Brazil  were  both  home  on  leave  at  a  time  when 
matters  needed  straightening  out  in  Iowa  and  Kan¬ 
sas,  preparatory  to  the  Minneapolis  convention. 
Reid  of  Paris  resigned  his  place  to  come  back  and 
gel  a  grip  on  the  tail  of  the  ticket,  and  Mr.  Coolidge, 
who  was  appointed  to  his  place,  was  chosen  very 
largely  because  his  politics  bordered  so  closely  on 
mugwumpism  as  to  make  it  desirable  to  send  him 
abroad.  Porter  of  Rome  was  brought  home  to  do 
preparatory  work.  Carr  of  Denmark  was  engaged  in 
it  also,  and  was  forced  back  only  by  the  crisis  reached 
in  the  Ryder  scandal.  Pitkin  of  the  Argentine  Re¬ 
public  is  in  this  country,  working  like  a  beaver;  Ma- 
hany  of  Ecuador,  who  is  noted  as  an  orator,  has  taken 
the  stump;  Lincoln  of  Great  Britain  has  been  sent 
for ;  Beale  of  Persia  resigned  at  a  convenient  date  to 
turn  in  and  work.  Smith  of  Russia  came  back  in 
time  for  the  Minneapolis  convention,  and  another 
republican  of  uncomfortably  strong  reform  tenden¬ 
cies,  in  the  person  of  Andrew  D.  White,  was  sent  out 
of  the  country  to  succeed  him.  When  we  get  below 
the  diplomatic  rank  and  strike  the  consuls  and  con- 
suls-general  the  name  of  absentees  for  party  purposes 
is  legion.— IPos/awsfoM  Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening 
Post,  Oct.  11. 

*  »  -?- 

The  republican  state  convention  is  at  midnight 
in  a  wrangle  over  permanent  organization.  The  ad¬ 
ministration  forces,  led  by  Collector  E.  A.  Webster,  are 
in  control  of  the  convention,  and  so  far  have  had  ev¬ 
erything  their  own  way.  E.  M.  Brayton  leads  the 
opposition.— CohtmMa,  S.  C.,  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  Sept.  30. 


BUSY  BLACKMAILERS. 

The  “confidential-circular”  business  of  the 
republican  managers  is  on  the  increase  daily. 
The  brazen  tactics  of  Carter  and  Hackett  in 
their  confidential  circulars  were  outdone  yes¬ 
terday  by  one  sent  out  by  the  American  Pro¬ 
tective  Tariff  League  to  certain  post-offices. 


The  league  seeks  to  use  the  post-offices  as 
free  distributing  agents  for  high-protection 
literature.  It  practically  seizes  the  postmas¬ 
ter  by  the  official  throat  and  demands  that  he 
give  up  §5,  or  that  if  he  can  not  chip  in  that 
amount  to  pay  for  protection  literature,  he 
must  get  some  one  else  to  do  it. 

Dear  Sir— Accrpf  our  congratulations  upon  your  recent 
appointment.  Situated  as  you  are,  you  can  accomplish 
the  best  results  for  the  cause  of  protection  of  any  one  in 
your  locality.  It  is  our  plan  to  have  at  least  one  offi¬ 
cial  correspondent  of  the  league  at  every  post-office, 
and  through  him  secure  information,  obtain  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  documents,  and  exert  every  legitimate 
influence  in  favor  of  protection  and  reciprocity. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  bear  all  the  expense  of 
this  work,  for  this  is  a  big  country.  Every  intelligent 
voter  should  receive  complete  information  showing 
the  benefits  of  protection.  We  wish  to  have  you  act  as 
our  confidential  agent  and  correspondent  to  assist  in  this 
work. 

We  expect  that  each  correspondent  will,  either  person¬ 
ally  or  with  the  aid  of  friends,  furnish  at  least  $5  before 
the  next  election  for  circulation  of  our  literature  at  his 
home.  If  you  do  not  feel  like  personally  contributing 
the  amount  suggested,  a.sk  friends  to  help.  They  will 
do  it.  If  you  accept,  we  will  outline  a  plan  to  secure 
the  co-operation  of  others.  Will  you  act  as  our  cor¬ 
respondent?  * 

It  is  imperative  that  every  friend  like  you  put  his 
shoulder  to  the  wheel  and  work  in  season  and  out  of 
season  until  the  election  of  1892.  Yours  very  truly, 
Wilbur  F.  Wakeman,  General  Secretary. 

— New  York  Times,  Oct.  2. 
«  »  » 

Since  Gowdy  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  republi¬ 
can  state  committee  he  has  done  nothing  but  bleed 
office-holders.  There  never  has  been  such  a  beggar. 
For  nearly  two  years  he  has  written  letters  to  Indi¬ 
anians  at  Washington  all  on  the  subject  of  money, 
and  months  ago  they  sent  back  word  that  they  had 
no  more  money  to  give  until  the  campaign  began. 
That  was  before  the  Minneapolis  convention  when 
Gowdy  was  working  for  contributions  tO  pay  his 
proposed  extravagance  in  keeping  the  state  central 
committee  in  wine,  cigars  and  luxurious  quarters  at 
the  national  convention.  He  then  tried  to  assess  the 
Indiana  delegates  and  alternates  to  the  convention 
S200  and  8100  respectively.  They  denounced  the 
state  chairman  so  vigorously  that  he  pleaded  for  8100 
from  the  delegates  and  850  from  the  alternates,  and 
in  the  end  compromised  on  850  each.  Now  he  has 
broken  loose  again  and  has  addressed  the  following 
to  the  railway  postal  clerks  and  all  other  employes 
who  owe  their  employment  to  a  republican  adminis¬ 
tration  and  republican  influence: 

“Dear  Sir— The  campaign  is  now  on.  A  fierce  bat¬ 
tle  is  to  be  fought.  The  importance  of  republican 
success  in  this  state  can  not  be  overestimated.  Upon 
it  depends  the  election  of  a  full  state  ticket,  the 
possible  election  of  a  United  States  senator  and  the 
contingency  of  success  to  the  party  in  the  Union. 

“A  period  in  the  campaign  has  been  reached  when 
your  counsel  and  your  substantial  aid  should  be  ten¬ 
dered.  No  good  republican  or  other  person  desiring  to  con¬ 
tinue  present  favorable  conditions  can  afford  to  beindiffer- 
ent  or  fail  to  recognize  the  necessities  to  a  committee 
involved  in  organizing  and  conducting  a  campaign. 
Legitimate  expenses  must  be  met.  The  success  of 
the  ticket  is  involved  as  well  as  the  pleasant  condi¬ 
tions  about  you.  You  understand  the  necessities  for 
funds  with  which  to  defray  expenses.  We  confi¬ 
dently  expect  you  to  give  generous  assistance,  and  this 
can  not  be  more  timely  or  effective  than  if  given  at 
present.  * 

“Awaiting  your  early  reply,  we  are  yours  truly, 
“John  K.  Gowdy,  Chairman.” 

— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Oct.  4. 

*  *  * 

Messrs.  Huston  and  Long,  members  of  the  national 
republican  committee  from  Indiana  and  Florida,  re¬ 
spectively,  have  been  closeted  in  this  city,  to  day, 
with  leading  republican  federal  office-holders,  black  and 
white,  from  all  parts  of  the  state.  All  efforts  to  official- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


383 


ly  ascertain  the  object  of  their  presence  has  failed, 
but  it  has  leaked  out  from  republican  sources  that  their 
mission  here  is  similar  to  that  in  Texas  and  Louisiana— 
Ihe  assessment  and  collection  of  money  for  campaign  pur¬ 
poses.  More  republican  office-holders  were  present 
in  the  city  than  have  been  seen  here  before  at  any 
one  time,  other  than  a  state  convention,  for  years. 
They  decline  to  be  interviewed,  further  than  to  state 
that  their  presence  here  was  requested,  but  refuse  to 
disclose  the  source  from  whence  the  invitation  came. 
It  is  alleged  by  republicans  who  ought  to  know  that 
there  will  be  no  republican  electoral  ticket  in  this 
state. — Jackson,  Miss.,  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  Oct.  8. 

*  «  » 

It  is  openly  charged  by  the  Evening  States  of  this 
city,  after  a  careful  investigation  of  the  facts,  that 
Huston  and  Long,  ambassadors  from  the  national 
republican  party,  who  spent  a  couple  of  days  in  this 
city,  took  away  with  them  from  the  “  faithful  ”  here 
a  sum  approximating  S10,000,  to  be  used  in  further¬ 
ing  the  interests  of  Benjamin  Harri.son,  President  of 
the  United  States  and  candidate  for  re-election. 
Messrs.  Huston  and  Long  got  the  money  they  wanted, 
but  there  are  several  leading  office-holders  who  are 
now  in  a  state  of  perplexity,  and  who  are  out  of 
pocket  as  a  result  of  the  harmonizing  visit  of  their 
party  conferrees. 

Superintendent  Smyth,  of  the  mint.  Collector  War- 
moth  and  Postmaster  Eaton  have  had  to  stand  the 
brunt  of  the  tax.  Shortly  after  their  arrival  here  the 
republican  ambassadors  sent  for  these  officials  and 
others  to  call  upon  them,  and  made  their  proposi¬ 
tion.  The  success  of  the  party,  they  said,  meant  a 
great  deal  to  the  office  holders,  and  the  office-holders 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  willing  to  contribute  their 
mite  toward  achieving  that  success.  It  is  prohibited 
by  the  civil  service  law  to  assess  government  em¬ 
ployes,  but  Messrs.  Huston  and  Long  assured  the  officials 
that  if  any  trouble  resulted  from  the  effort  to  collect  money 
the  national  committee's  influence  with  the  powers  that 
be  at  Washington  was  sufficient  to  prevent  any  unpleas¬ 
ant  consequences.  They  wanted  money  badly,  and 
wanted  it  at  once.  They  could  not  afford  to  wait 
until  the  hat  was  passed  around  indiscriminately 
among  the  subordinates.  What  they  desired  was 
that  the  heads  of  the  departments  should  furnish 
their  personal  checks  and  then  look  to  the  employes 
for  reimbursement. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  committee  of  two  counted 
on  815,000  from  New  Orleans,  and  it  is  said  they  got 
two-thirds  of  that  amount.  The  mint  was  put  down 
for  84,000  and  at  that  rate  the  post-office  and  custom¬ 
house,  which  employ  a  great  many  more  men,  must 
have  been  slated  for  much  larger  sum.  Whatever 
the  amounts  were,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Collec¬ 
tor  Warmoth  and  Postmaster  Eaton  each  promptly 
wrote  out  his  check  and  handed  it  to  the  ambassa 
dors,  and  the  employes  in  the  granite  building  are 
expected  to  make  up  the  greater  part  of  what  the  of¬ 
ficials  were  required  to  fork  over. 

Superintendent  Smyth  “  kicked  ”  like  a  'Texas 
steer  at  the  plan  of  the  committeemen  and  the 
amount  they  demanded,  but  he  became  more  docile 
after  persuasion,  albeit  he  succeeded  in  cutting 
down  the  appropriation  budgeted  against  his  de¬ 
partment.  Messrs.  Huston  and  Long  said  they 
thought  the  superintendent  could  easily  afford  to 
contribute  84,000  to  the  cause  on  behalf  of  the  mint, 
but  Smyth  called  the  bluff  and  got  out  of  the  hole 
for  the  time  being  by  agreeing  to  furnish  a  check  for 
82,.500,  8500  of  which  was  to  be  considered  a  personal 
contribution  by  the  superintendent  of  the  mint. 
The  superintendent  was  told  that  he  might  use  his 
own  judgment  as  to  the  best  means  of  getting  the 
money  back,  and  that  if  those  engaged  in  making 
the  collection  got  into  trouble,  the  matter  would  be 
made  all  right  at  Washington.  The  superintendent 
did  use  his  “best  judgment,’’  but  his  judgment 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  good.  He  delegated 
several  assistants  to  formulate  a  plan  for  the  re¬ 
covery  of  the  money,  and  they  did  so.  They  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  assess  the  employes  without  regard  to  color 
or  sex,  and  that  caused  a  howl,  for  the  ladles,  if  they 
are  denied  the  right  of  suifrage,  are  as  much  pro¬ 
tected  by  the  civil  service  law  as  are  the  men.  A  list. 


however,  was  made  out,  and  handed  to  the  cashier 
for  collection.  It  was  found,  however,  that  this  plan 
was  a  dangerous  one  and  might  cause  trouble. 
Thereupon  the  list  was  taken  to  the  desk  where  the 
employes  sign  for  their  money  and  the  tax  was  levied 
there.  It  was  said  that  each  employe  was  assessed 
two  days’  pay  for  three  months.  Coiner  Burkdell 
created  trouble  for  the  superintendent  when  a  list 
reached  his  department.  He  knew  the  assessment 
was  contrary  to  law  and  he  did  not  propose  to  put 
his  foot  in  a  trap.  So  it  appears  that  he  did  not  even 
wait  for  those  under  him  to  broach  the  subject,  but 
at  once  told  them  that  they  would  not  have  to  con¬ 
tribute  a  cent.  He  explained  the  law  to  them  and 
said  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  assess¬ 
ment  of  employes.  He  is  said  to  have  even  gone 
further  and  said  that  any  employe  caught  violating 
the  law  would  be  reported  to  the  proper  authorities. 
There  is  where  there  is  a  hitch  just  now. 

The  coiner  and  superintendent  conjointly  em¬ 
ploy  the  force  in  the  coiner’s  department,  but  the 
superintendent  of  the  mint  has  authority  to  re¬ 
move  them  when  he  elects  to  do  so.  So  the  coiner’s 
employes  are  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  blue 
sea.  They  are  afraid  to  refuse  to  contribute,  lest 
they  shall  bring  down  upon  their  devoted  heads  the 
wrath  of  the  superintendent,  who  is  ai  present  out 
of  pocket,  and  they  are  equally  afraid  to  assist  in  a 
violation  of  the  law  when  their  chief  threatens  to 
enforce  it  against  them. — New  Orleans  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  Oct.  6. 

-*  *  » 

I  am  able  to  corroborate  through  personal  inquiry 
the  published  reports  concerning  the  violation  of  the 
civil-service  law  by  the  federal  officials  in  this  city. 
The  evidence  against  Andrew  W.  Smythe,  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  mint,  is  direct  and  convincing. 
Messrs.  Huston  and  Long,  members  of  the  republican 
national  committee,  during  their  recent  visit  here, 
called  upon  the  leading  federal  office-holders  for 
campaign  funds.  Mr.  Smythe  gave  his  check  for  82,- 
500.  In  order  that  he  might  be  partly  or  wholly  re¬ 
imbursed,  a  subscription  list  was  circulated  among 
the  employes  of  the  mint,  who  were  to  be  assessed 
an  amount  equal  to  six  days’  pay.  Mr.  Burkdoll, 
coiner  of  the  mint,  refused  to  allow  the  circulation 
of  the  list  in  his  department,  and  this  probably  ex¬ 
plains  how  the  scheme  was  made  public.  Your  cor¬ 
respondent  is  reliably  informed  that  the  same  meth¬ 
ods  are  being  pursued  in  the  custom-house  in  a 
manner  less  direct,  and  therefore  not  so  liable  to 
detection.— iVew  Orleans  Dispatch  to  New  York  Even¬ 
ing  Post,  Oct.  3. 

};<  ♦ 

Early  in  the  campaign  the  civil  service  commission 
issued  a  statement  designed  to  protect  employes  of 
the  government  from  the  rapacity  of  the  republi¬ 
can  sharks  charged  with  the  duty  of  collecting  head 
money  to  be  used  in  the  corruption  of  voters.  * 

It  was  apparent,  however,  that  a  new  scheme  for 
“bleeding”  employes  would  be  set  in  motion  when 
the  excitement  due  to  the  civil  service  commission 
circular  had  died  down.  It  seems  that  the  time  has 
arrived.  The  “scheme”  which  Mr.  Harrison  has 
adopted  is  to  appeal  to  the  employes  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  through  their  stale  associations  in  this  city. 
Nearly  every  state  in  the  Union  is  represented  here 
bj"  an  association.  Missouri  has  been  selected  to 
hold  the  right  of  the  line  in  this  new  movement.  To¬ 
day  every  government  clerk  who  hails  from  Missouri 
received  a  copy  of  the  following  circular: 

S.  G.  Brock,  President.  F.  C.  Jones,  Secretary. 

Office  of  the  Financial  Secretary  of  the  Mis¬ 
souri  State  Republican  Association, 

463  G.  Street,  N.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Oct.  5, 1892. 

Sir— I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  have 
been  selected  as  the  financial  secretary  of  the  Mis¬ 
souri  State  Republican  As.sociation  of  this  city. 

Believing  that  you  have  an  interest  in  the  contest 
now  going  on  in  the  state,  1  would  ask  that,  if  you 
have  any  suggestions  to  make  which  would  be  bene¬ 
ficial  to  the  cause  of  republicanism  in  the  state,  you 
will  call  at  my  office  at  the  above  number. 


I  will  be  at  my  office  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays 
during  this  month  and  on  Saturday  the  15th  inst., 
and  on  Monday  the  31st  inst.,  from  4  to  7  p.  m  ,  when 
I  will  be  pleased  to  see  all  Missourians  and  talk  over 
the  conduct  of  the  canvass  in  our  State  and  receive 
any  suggestions  which  may  be  offered. 

Very  respectfully, 

James  T.  Hunter, 

Financial  secretary. 

One  acquainted  with  political  methods  does  not 
need  to  be  told  that  the  word  “suggestions,”  which 
figures  so  prominently  in  this  circular,  means  “cash.” 
Financial  secretaries  of  political  organizations  are 
not  supposed  to  have  anything  to  do  with  “sugges¬ 
tions”  that  do  not  bear  directly  upon  the  subject  of 
finance. 

That  Financial  Secretary  Hunter  is  no  exception  to 
the  rule  is  proved  by  the  experience  of  a  Missourian, 
a  clerk  in  one  of  the  departments,  who  called  at  the 
office  of  the  secretary  this  morning  to  ask  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  circular.  He  says  he  was  told  frankly  that 
it  was  the  belief  of  the  managers  of  the  republican 
party  that  clerks  in  the  employ  of  the  government 
ought  to  give  at  least  5  per  cent,  of  their  salaries  to 
help  the  republican  canvass.— TPas/impton  Dispatch 
to  New  York  Times,  Oct.  8. 

*  *  » 

Civil  Service  Commissioner  Roosevelt  recently  un¬ 
did  a  little  extortion  game  which  the  republican 
politicians  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  were  playing  on  the 
post-office  employes.  He  found  that  every  clerk  was 
expected  to  join  the  republican  club  and  promptly 
pay  the  “dues.”  The  commissioner  promptly  de¬ 
cided  against  the  “dues”  system  of  collecting  cam¬ 
paign  assessments —Spring^efd  Republican. 

The  clerks  in  the  bureau  of  Indian  affairs  at  Wash¬ 
ington  have  been  assessed  fifty  dollars  each  for  the 
republican  campaign  fund.  The  Indian  office  is  lo¬ 
cated  in  the  Atlantic  building,  and  the  question 
arose  whether,  as  it  was  leased  by  the  government, 
it  was  a  government  building  within  the  meaning  of 
the  law  prohibiting  political  assessments  in  govern¬ 
ment  buildings.  The  solicitor,  to  be  on  thesafeside, 
gave  back  all  the  money  he  had  collected  in  the 
buildings  and  tore  up  the  receipts.  Then  he  called 
at  the  residences  of  the  clerks,  collected  the  money 
there  and  gave  new  receipts. — Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
Oct.  10. 

75?  3^  ^ 

The  U.  S.  civil  service  commission  to-day 
made  public  the  following  : 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Oct.  10.— A  blank  book,  pur¬ 
porting  to  have  been  sent  by  W.  R.  Bates,  secretary 
at  Detroit,  Mich.,  on  behalf  of  the  republican 
state  committee  to  George  B.  Daniels,  the  post¬ 
master  at  Withey,  Mich.,  has  been  laid  before  this 
commission.  It  requests  the  postmaster  to  furnish 
a  canvass  of  the  patrons  of  this  office  with  informa¬ 
tion  as  to  their  former  and  present  politics,  and  as 
to  the  papers  they  take,  together  with  recommenda¬ 
tions  as  to  what  papers  should  be  sent  to  them,  etc. 
The  postmaster  is  further  informed  that  he  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  consult  with  prominent  republicans  of  his 
locality  as  to  this  work,  but  as  far  as  possible  to  keep 
his  labors  from  becoming  public.  The  signature  is 
printed,  the  address  is  in  writing.  The  commission 
has  also  received  information  from  various  sources 
to  the  effect  that  requests  of  this  kind  have  been 
made  by  political  committees  not  only  in  Michigan, 
but  elsewhere.  Services  of  the  kind  requested  in 
the  book  submitted  to  the  committees  are  clearly 
political  services  and  to  render  them  is  contrary  to 
the  postal  regulations.  With  this,  however,  the 
commission  has  nothing  to  do,  but  it  feels  in  duty 
bound  to  inform  this  postmaster,  and  all  po.stmasters 
and  postal  and  other  nublic  employes  in  Michigan 
and  elsewhere  that  the  civil  service  law  expressly 
provides  (sec.  2,  division  2,  subdivision  58)  that  no 
person  in  the  public  service  is  for  that  reason  under 
any  obligation  to  render  any  political  service,  and 
that  he  will  not  be  removed  or  otherwise  prejudiced 
for  refusing  to  render  it;  while  general  rule  1  of  the 
civil  service^rules  provides  for  the  dismissal  of  any 


384 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


public  servant,  removing  him  or  causing  him  to  be 
removed  because  of  such  refufal. 

(Signed)  Charles  Lyman, 

Theodore  Roosevelt, 
George  D.  Johnston, 
Commissioners. 

— Associated  Press  Dispatch,  Oct.  12,  1892. 

*  *  * 

It  was  learned  yesterday  that  Col.  II.  C.  Powers, 
internal  revenue  collector,  had  made  a  contribution 
to  the  republican  campaign  fund  of  $2,500.  He  has 
the  appointment  of  160  sugar-weighers,  and  early  in 
the  week  began  to  make  his  selections.  He  required 
every  man  whom  he  appointed  to  sign  a  check,  and 
this  was  done  in  the  case  of  every  one  of  the  130  ap¬ 
pointments  already  made,  each  appointee  signing  a 
check  for  $15,  the  amount  to  be  deducted  from  his 
first  month’s  salary.  The  task  of  making  these  collec¬ 
tions  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Chief-Clerk  Young. 

Mr.  Buekdohl,  coiner  of  the  mint,  in  answer  to  a 
letter  from  the  civil  service  commission  as  to  the 
facts  and  figures  about  the  assessments,  sent  to 
Washington  yesterday  clippings  of  the  case  from  lo¬ 
cal  papers. — New  Orleans  Dispatch  to  New  York  Even¬ 
ing  Post,  Oct.  15. 

»  *  * 

Office  of  the  Secretary,  1 

Allegany  County  Postmasters’  Association,  j 
Silas  Burdick,  Pres.,  M.  H.  Bailey,  Treas., 

Clarence  Ricker,  Sec. 

Black  Creek,  N.  Y.,  1892. 

Dear  Sir:  At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  commit¬ 
tee  held  at  Cuba  Aug.  12,  the  following  was  unan¬ 
imously  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  president  and  secretary  are  in¬ 
structed  to  notify  each  postmaster  of  Allegany  coun¬ 
ty  that  the  amount  of  the  contribution  to  be  made  to 
the  republican  county  committee  be  5  per  cent,  of 
one  year's  compensation. 

You  have  no  doubt  received  a  letter  from  the  Alle¬ 
gany  county  republican  committee  requesting  that 
you  make  some  contribution  toward  defraying  the 
legitimate  expenses  of  the  coming  campaign.  It  is 
earnestly  hoped  that  you  will  comply  with  the  re- 
quq^t.  Yours  truly,  S.  C.  Burdick,  Chairman. 

Clarence  Ricker,  Secretary. 

—New  York  Times,  Oct.  16. 

COMMISSIONER  ROOSEVELT  ON 

THE  TRAIL  OF  BLACKMAILERS. 

At  the  Pine  Ridge  agency,  in  South  Dakota, 
I  found  that  the  following  letter  had  been  re¬ 
ceived  by  the  agent,  Capt.  George  LeEoy 
Brown,  the  letter  eoming  from  the  chairman 
of  the  South  Dakota  Republican  Campaign 
Committee : 

August  12,  1892. 

Maj.  at  Pine  Ridge; 

My  Dear  Sir— Will  you  kindly  send  me  a  list  of 
all  parties  at  the  agency,  including  all  teachers, 
helpers,  etc.  Give  me  a  tabulated  list  showing  name 
of  each  and  salary  per  year. 

I  am  very  desirous  of  a  speedy  reply  to  this  inquiry 
so  I  can  make  up  my  asst,  list  soon  and  correctly. 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  M.  Greene,  Chr. 

Captain  Brow’o,  very  properly,  made  no  an¬ 
swer  to  this  communication  but  forwarded  it 
immediately  to  the  civil  service  commission. 
I  wish  to  call  attention  in  the  first  place  to 
the  fact  that  the  chairman  of  the  republican 
committee,  Mr.  Greene,  makes  no  pretense 
that  these  collections  are  to  be  voluntary  con¬ 
tributions.  He  distinctly  uses  the  word  “as¬ 
sessment.”  In  the  next  place  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  he  particularly  requires  the  names  of 
the  helpers,  most  of  whom  are  themselves  In¬ 
dians,  and  of  the  teachers,  who  are  mostly 
women.  In  other  words,  he  makes  the  per¬ 
fectly  bald  request  to  Captain  Brown  to  com¬ 
mit  a  criminal  act  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
him  to  blackmail  women  teachers  and  Indian 


helpers  for  the  benefit  of  a  political  party. 
Had  Captain  Brown  acceded  to  the  request 
he  would  of  course  have  been  guilty  of  viola¬ 
ting  the  law,  which  provides  that  no  govern¬ 
ment  employe  shall  be,  directly  or  indirectly, 
concerned  in  soliciting  political  contributions 
from  any  other  government  employe;  and  to 
assist  in  making  up  such  an  assessment  list, 
would,  of  course,  have  amounted  to  being  at 
least  indirectly  concerned  in  making  the  as¬ 
sessments.  Chairman  Greene,  therefore,  was 
endeavoring  to  procure  the  commission  of  a 
criminal  act  by  Captain  Brown.  Whether  he 
was  himself  guilty  of  a  criminal  act  I  am 
hardly  prepared  to  say.  The  law  ought  to 
prohibit  outsiders  from  soliciting  government 
employes  at  all;  but  all  that  it  does  in  this 
respect  is  to  prohibit  them  in  the  most  sweep¬ 
ing  terms  from  soliciting  in  any  way  in  a  gov¬ 
ernment  building.  This,  of  course,  includes 
solicitation  by  writing.  The  letter  sent  by 
Mr.  Greene  to  Captain  Brown  was  addressed 
to  him  at  Pine  Ridge  agency.  I  do  not  know 
whether  this  would  be  held  as  being  addressed 
to  him  in  a  government  building  or  not;  but 
it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  well  to  lay  the 
the  matter  before  the  attorney-general  in  any 
event. 

Furthermore,  I  found  that  this  Pine  Ridge 
case  was  not  exceptional.  At  every  reserva¬ 
tion  and  government  school  which  I  visited  in 
South  Dakota,  letters  similar  to  the  above,  al¬ 
though  varying  in  details,  had  been  received, 
showing  that  the  republican  state  committee 
was  engaged  in  a  resolute  effort  to  assess  all 
the  governmental  employes  under  different 
agencies  and  in  the  different  schools. 

In  all  the  other  places,  however,  the  agents 
and  school  superintendents  whom  I  questioned 
informed  me  that  they  had  lost  or  mislaid  the 
letters  sent  them  by  the  committee,  although 
on  being  cross-examined  they  all  admitted, 
with  more  or  less  reluctance,  having  received 
them.  The  agent  at  the  Cheyenne  river  res¬ 
ervation  told  me  he  had  received  such  a  letter 
requesting  a  contribution  of  two  per  cent,  on 
the  salary  of  himself  and  his  subordinates, 
but  that  he  had  handed  it  to  his  son  and  paid 
no  further  attention  to  it.  Here  I  summoned 
all  the  teachers  and  other  employes  together 
and  informed  them  that  they  need  not  pay 
one  cent,  and  that  if  they  were  solicited  by  any 
one,  or  threatened  with  molestation  for  not 
contributing,  I  would  be  grateful  tc  them  for 
promptly  communicating  with  the  commis¬ 
sion,  and  that  I  thought  the  commission  could 
guarantee  that  they  would  be  protected,  for 
the  interior  department  would  certainly  see 
that  they  received  no  harm.  The  agent  in¬ 
formed  me  that  he  had  received  such  a  letter, 
but  that  the  writer  had  evidently  learned  be¬ 
forehand  the  names  and  salaries  of  all  his  em¬ 
ployes,  for  it  contained  a  regular  list  of  them, 
with  the  amount  that  was  expected  from  each, 
varying  from  one  hundred  dollars,  in  the  case 
of  the  agent,  to  ten  dollars,  in  the  case  of  the 
lower-grade  teachers.  He  told  me  that  he 
had  paid  no  attention  to  this  letter,  and  as  at 
Cheyenne  river,  I  called  together  the  em¬ 


ployes  and  informed  them  that  they  need  not 
contribute  a  cent  unless  they  wished,  and  that 
they  could  contribute  to  whichever  party  they 
cho.se.  The  superintendent  of  the  Indian 
school  at  Pierre  told  me  he  had  received  the 
same  kind  of  a  letter,  addressed  to  him  at  this 
Indian  school  at  Pierre.  He  said  he  did  not 
have  the  letter  at  hand,  but  that  it  requested, 
as  well  as  he  remembered,  a  subscription  of 
two  per  cent,  from  himself  and  those  under 
him.  I  told  him  and  the  only  one  of  his 
teachers  that  I  saw  that  they  need  pay  no  heed 
to  the  letter;  and  that  they  would  not  be  mo¬ 
lested  for  failing  to  contribute,  to  which  he 
answered  that  he  hoped  that  this  was  true, 
but  that  he  feared,  and  he  knew  many  other 
government  employes  feared,  that  if  they  did 
not  contribute,  the  local  politicians  would  re¬ 
member  it  against  them,  would  trump  up 
charges  to  their  discredit  and  have  them  re¬ 
moved  on  the  first  occasion,  not  ostensibly  for 
failure  to  contribute,  of  course,  but  because  of 
some  other  alleged  misdeed.  It  is  due  to  the 
superintendent  of  this  school  to  say  he  struck 
me  as  being  a  very  able  and  conscientious 
man,  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  pupils;  and 
undoubtedly  the  sentiments  he  expressed  ob¬ 
tain  very  largely  among  the  employes  who 
receive  such  blackmailing  letters  as  this  of 
Chairman  Greene,  and  who  do  feel  coerced  in¬ 
to  contributing  because  they  fear  that,  even 
though  the  contributions  are  not  asked  for  by 
their  superior  officers,  yet  these  superior 
officers  will  themselves  be  influenced  more  or 
less  by  the  members  standing  high  in  their 
own  party  who  do  make  the  requests  for  con¬ 
tributions.  In  this  case  of  the  government 
school  at  Pierre,  I  think  the  solicitation  was 
clearly  illegal,  as  the  letter  was  without  doubt 
addressed  to  a  government  building.  I  had 
no  facilities  for  carrying  on  the  investigation 
there  myself,  not  being  able  to  put  witnesses 
under  oath;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  an  in¬ 
vestigation  by  the  law  department  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  would  produce  facts  sufficient  to  war¬ 
rant  a  prosecution  at  least  in  this  case. 

In  Nebraska  I  found  much  less  evidence  of 
solicitation  than  in  South  Dakota.  At  the 
Santee  agency,  where  many  of  the  Indians  are 
voters,  complaints  were  made  to  me  that 
under  the  last  administration  efforts  had  been 
made  by  government  employes  to  coerce  the 
Indians  into  voting  the  democratic  ticket, 
precisely  as  I  found  that  in  North  Dakota  po¬ 
litical  assessments  had  been  collected  among 
the  agencies  by  the  democrats  prior  to  the 
last  presidential  campaign.  At  the  Winne¬ 
bago  and  Omaha  agencies  no  attempt  had  been 
made  to  collect  assessments  during  the  past 
two  or  three  years,  as  far  as  I  could  find  out. 
On  the  Santee  reservation  the  agent  had  been 
solicited  for  a  hundred  dollars  by  the  repub¬ 
lican  campaign  committee  a  year  or  two  ago, 
but  no  solicitation  has  been  made  this  year. 
In  all  these  cases  it  would  be  useless  to  at¬ 
tempt  to  take  action  on  what  happened  prior 
to  the  present  year,  owing  to  the  great  diffi¬ 
culty  of  getting  any  testimony  save  that  of 
the  persons  involved. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


385 


In  Kansas  I  visited  only  the  government 
Indian  non-reservation  boarding  school, 
known  as  Haskell  Institute,  under  the  charge 
of  Superintendent  Charles  F.  Meserve.  Here 
I  found  that  there  had  been  a  resolute  effort 
on  behalf  of  the  republican  committee  of  the 
second  congressional  district  to  assess  the 
superintendent  and  those  under  him,  the  at¬ 
tempt  being  made  by  R.  B.  Stevenson,  the 
secretary  of  the  republican  executive  commit¬ 
tee  for  the  second  congressional  district;  and 
it  appears  to  me  that  Mr.  Stevenson  has  clear¬ 
ly  laid  himself  open  to  prosecution  for  violat¬ 
ing  the  law.  Exhibits  A,  B,  C  and  D  contain 
three  of  the  original  letters  sent  out  by  Stev¬ 
enson  to  Mr.  Meserve,  to  Mr.  H.  B.  Peairs,  the 
principal  teacher,  and  to  Mr.  C.  W.  Jewett, 
the  assistant  clerk,  all  being  addressed  to 
these  gentleman  at  Haskell  Institute,  at  Law¬ 
rence,  Kansas,  written  and  signed  in  the  same 
handwriting,  the  signature  being  “R.  B.  Stev¬ 
enson,  secretary.”  Exhibit  D  contains  the 
stenographic  report  of  my  examination  of  the 
various  gentlemen  who  were  assessed.  From 
this  it  appears,  for  instance,  that  Mr.  Charles 
\V.  Grant,  the  assistant  clerk,  received  a  letter 
from  this  Mr.  Stevenson,  the  secretary  of  the  re¬ 
publican  committee  of  the  second  congressional 
district,  addressed  to  him  at  Haskell  Institute, 
soliciting  ten  dollars  for  political  purposes, 
about  the  first  of  August  last;  that  Dr.  Oliver  D. 
Walker,  the  physician  at  Haskell  Institute,  re¬ 
ceived  the  same  kind  of  letter,  similarly  ad¬ 
dressed,  requesting  fifteen  dollars;  that  the 
letter  sent  to  Mr.  Jewett  requested  seven  dol¬ 
lars,  the  request  being  couched  as  follows  : 

The  congressional  committee  has  directed  that  you 
be  asked  to  contribute  forcampaigii  purposes  in  this 
district.  Those  occupying  positions  similar  to  the 
one  you  do  are  giving  seven  dollars.  You  may  send 
your  contribution  to  the  treasurer  of  the  committee, 
Mr.  W.  H.  Haskell,  522  Minnesota  avenue,  Kansas 
City,  Kansas,  who  will  make  due  entry  thereof  and 
receipt  to  you  for  same.  An  early  response  will  be 
highly  appreciated  by  the  committee. 

M.  Peairs  was  asked  to  contribute  on  the 
same  ground,  that  persons  occupying  positions 
similar  to  the  one  he  did  were  giving  that 
amount.  Mr.  Meserve  was  asked  to  con¬ 
tribute  forty  dollars,  similar  reasons  being 
given  for  specifying  this  sum.  Mr.  Meserve 
and  the  other  gentlemen  named  were  natural¬ 
ly  not  very  anxious  to  testify  in  the  matter,  as 
to  do  so  would  very  probably  seriously  embroil 
them  with  the  local  politicians  of  influence  in 
the  dominant  party;  but  they  did  testify  with 
honorable  frankness  as  soon  as  I  requested 
them  to  do  so  in  my  official  capacity.  In  re¬ 
sponse  to  my  question  as  to  what  action  Mr. 
Meserve  had  taken  in  reference  to  the  request, 
he  informed  me  that  on  finding  that  his  em¬ 
ployes  had  received  such  letters  he  notified 
them  that  the  tenure  by  which  they  held  their 
offices  at  Haskell  Institute  would  be  neither 
weakened  nor  strengthened  by  replying  to 
the  request  or  by  failing  to  reply.  If  all  of 
the  gentlemen  occupying  positions  similar  to 
Mr.  Meserve  would  take  such  action  as  he 
took  when  their  subordinates  are  solicited  for 
political  contributions,  the  work  of  this  com¬ 


mission  in  trying  to  protect  government  em¬ 
ployes  from  blackmail  would  be  very  materi¬ 
ally  lightened. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  papers  in  this  case 
should  be  transmitted  to  the  attorney-general 
for  such  action  as  he  may  deem  wise,  and  I  so 
recommend,  for  it  would  appear  that  Mr. 
Stevenson  has  certainly  laid  himself  open  to 
prosecution. 

As  I  deemed  it  of  the  utmost  importance 
publicly  to  call  the  attention  of  the  employes 
in  the  government  service  to  their  rights,  and 
also  to  warn  the  various  campaign  committees 
that  any  attempts  on  their  part  to  violate  or 
evade  the  law  would  be  watched  with  a  jeal¬ 
ous  eye  by  the  commission,  I  caused  to  be 
printed  in  certain  papers  of  wide  circulation 
in  the  three  states  visited  the  following  no¬ 
tice  : 

Sioux  City,  Sept.  15, 1892. 

Upon  investigation  just  completed  I  find 
that  for  years  it  has  been  customary  for  state 
and  congressional  campaign  committees  sys¬ 
tematically  to  levy  political  assessments  on 
the  Government  employes  in  certain  Indian 
reservations  and  Indian  schools  through  Kan¬ 
sas,  Nebraska  and  the  Dakotas.  This  practice 
is  most  rife  during  Presidential  campaigns. 
It  obtained  four  yoars  ago  under  the  demo¬ 
cratic  administration;  but  this  is  no  excuse 
for  the  fact  that  it  is  now  prevalent. 

Within  the  last  month  there  has  been  a  bold 
series  of  efforts  to  practice  this  series  of  black¬ 
mail.  On  mostof  the  reservations  and  in  the  In¬ 
dian  schools  which  I  have  mentioned  attempts 
of  the  kind  have  just  been  made  by  local  state 
and  congressional  campaign  committees.  At 
one  agency,  for  instance,  the  agent  received 
the  following  communication:  “Send  me  a 
list  of  all  parties  at  the  agency  *  *  includ¬ 

ing  all  teachers,  helpers,  etc.,  showing  name  of 
each  and  salary  per  year  *  *  *  so  I  can 

make  up  my  assessment  list  soon  and  correct¬ 
ly;”  signed  by  the  chairman  of  the  republican 
state  committee.  Beit  remembered  that  these 
teachers  are  mostly  women,  and  the  helpers 
Indians;  there  is  an  infamy  of  meanness  in 
trying  to  extort  money  from  such  defenseless 
employes. 

At  another  agency  the  sums  assessed  were 
stated  outright,  ranging  from  $100  for  the 
agent  to  $10  for  the  lower  grade  teachers;  at 
one  school  2  per  cent,  of  the  salaries  was  speci¬ 
fied,  and  so  on  and  so  on. 

I  wish  publicly  to  assure  the  governmental 
employes  in  the  Indian  service  that  they  need 
not  pay  a  dollar  to  any  political  party  at 
all  unless  they  wish,  and  that  if  they  do 
wish  they  can  pay  it  to  whatever  party  they 
prefer.  Immediately  on  my  return  to  Wash¬ 
ington  I  shall  lay  all  the  information  I  can 
collect  in  each  case  before  the  department  of 
justice  so  that  wherever  practicable  the  per¬ 
sons  offending  against  the  law  prohibiting  po¬ 
litical  assessments  may  be  prosecuted. 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 

I  promptly  notified  the  commission  of  my 
action,  and  I  was  careful  to  refrain  from  giv¬ 
ing  any  names  in  my  notice  lest  I  might 


thereby  hamper  the  subsequent  action  of  the 
commission.  I  thought  it  important  not  to 
delay  in  publishing  this  card,  for  the  reason 
that  very  many  of  the  employes  who  would 
submit  to  being  blackmailed  if  they  felt  that 
they  had  no  promise  of  protection  would  un¬ 
doubtedly  be  encouraged  to  resist  if  they 
knew  that  the  commission  was  actively  watch¬ 
ing  their  interests  and  was  bent  on  maintain¬ 
ing  them. 


BE  JUST;  BE  CONSISTENT. 

Greensburg,  Ind.,  September  25,  1892. 
Editor  Civil  Service  Chronicle : 

In  reading  the  editorials  in  the  various  is¬ 
sues  of  your  publication  for  some  months 
past  the  child-like  and  all-abiding  faith  which 
your  writers  have  for  the  accomplishment 
of  that  much-to-be-desired  object,  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  civil  service  laws  and  their  ex¬ 
tension  to  other  branches  of  public  service,  at 
the  hands  of  the  democratic  party  has  struck 
me  as  a  most  unique  expectation.  The  edi¬ 
tors  of  the  Chronicle,  I  believe,  claim  to  be 
independent  of  party  bias  except  in  so  far  as 
the  civil  service  principle  is  involved.  This 
being  the  case,  permit  me  to  inquire  what  the 
history  of  the  democratic  party  holds  which 
gives  promise  of  the  attainment  of  your  de¬ 
sires?  To  gentlemen  of  your  mentality  it  is 
unnecessary  to  recall  the  fact  or  argue  that 
all  the  past  performances  of  the  democratic 
party  have  proven  its  devotion  to  the  spoils 
idea ;  what  then  is  the  cause  of  such  belief  in 
its  change  of  heart  and  policy?  Is  it  faith 
in  the  virtue  of  Mr..  Cleveland  alone?  In 
1884  the  writer  heard  Mr.  Dudley  Foulke,  of 
civil  service  advocacy,  speak  against  Mr. 
Blaine  and  in  favor  of  Cleveland ;  Blaine 
was  defeated  and  Mr,  Cleveland,  the  idol  of 
civil  service  reformers,  took  the  reins  of  gov¬ 
ernment.  He  was  given  a  most  fair  and  im¬ 
partial  trial.  And  what  of  his  admirer,  Mr. 
Foulke?  Four  years  later,  in  1888,  we  again 
hear  him  speak.  Is  he  praising  Cleveland 
and  the  democratic  party  for  their  brave  ad¬ 
herence  to  civil  service  reform  ?  Not  so.  He 
is  found  advocating  the  election  of  Benjamin 
Harrison,  whom  he  has  known  as  a  neighbor 
and  as  a  man  of  much  sincerity  of  purpose. 
Cleveland,  unable  to  withstand  the  pressure 
from  the  large  spoils  element  of  his  party,  has 
disappointed  Mr.  Foulke  and  his  co  workers, 
and  is  not  then  considered  as  at  all  worthy  ^ 
a  re-election.  Harrison  defeats  Cleveland 
and  is  put  on  trial,  but  instead  of  having  the 
support  of  the  civil  service  advocates,  from 
the  first  he  suffers  unstinted  criticism,  criti¬ 
cism  not  noted  for  fairness  and  which  seems 
rather  to  be  more  in  a  spirit  of  self-satisfac¬ 
tion  than  of  regret.  His  party  honors  him 
with  a  renomination,  and  now  where  do  we 
find  Mr.  Foulke?  He  appears  on  the  political 
stage,  but  he  has  see-sawed  back  to  Cleveland, 
who  has  also  once  been  tried  and  found  want¬ 
ing,  and  the  party  of  that  noted  reform(?)  or- 
ganization,Tammany.  Webegto  ask  wherein  is 
to  be  found  the  consistency  in  such  support? 
Democracy,  with  all  its  record  of  opposition, 


386 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


with  Cleveland’s  failure  and  broken  pledges 
— wherein  has  it  retrieved  itself  that  such  im¬ 
plicit  faith  as  your  journal  continually 
breathes  should  be  felt?  The  party  is  the 
same  party  and  Cleveland  is  the  same  Cleve¬ 
land  ;  their  records  are  unchanged,  their  prom¬ 
ises  are  no  more  to  be  relied  upon,  and  as  an 
additional  argument  against  them  comes  the 
nomination  of  Stevenson,  notorious  as  the 
headsman  of  the  Cleveland  regime,  in  direct 
recognition  of  the  “  real  democrats  ”  of  the 
democratic  party.  Surely  this  slap  in  the  face 
of  civil  service  reformers  can  not  inspire  them 
with  renewed  confidence?  What  then  is  there 
to  expect  at  the  hands  of  Cleveland  and  his 
party  except  a  repetition  of  past  experiences, 
with  the  loss  of  the  restraining  influence  of 
an  ambition  for  a  re  election  which  doubtless 
favored  the  reformers  in  his  first  term  ? 

The  nation  has  prospered  under  President 
Harrison,  who  has  kept  every  personal  pledge 
he  has  made,  and  while  he  may  not  be  perfect 
— who  is? — I  believe  that  the  verdict  of  the 
people,  who  remember  that  a  president  is  not 
all  powerful,  and  that  all  reforms  promised 
by  a  party  can  not  be  accomplished  in  the 
brief  period  of  four  years,  will  be  that  he  is 
entitled  to  and  shall  receive  the  endorsement 
of  a  re-election. 

The  speech  at  Indianapolis  on  the  15th 
inst.  by  George  W.  Julian,  to  which  you  give 
space  in  your  last  number,  I  regard  as  simply 
an  example  of  what  personal  pique  can  do 
for  a  man,  no  matter  how  brilliant  he  may  be 
when  away  from  the  subject  of  his  grievances. 
Mr.  Julian  was  an  appointee  under  Cleveland’ 
and  his  remarks,  which  are  full  of  a  spirit  of 
personal  dislike  for  President  Harrison,  are 
not  to  be  accounted  altogether  disinterested. 

Civil  Service  Fair  Play. 

SPOILS  AT  LARGE. 

One  of  the  most  acrimonious  and  bitter  po¬ 
litical  fights  in  Onondaga’s  history  is  now  on 
between  the  two  factions  of  the  republicans — 
the  Beldenites  and  the  Hendricks-Smithites. 
In  the  contest  are  involved  the  Standard,  which 
supports  Belden,  and  the  Journal,  Postmaster 
SmitPs  organ  and  the  advocate  of  Col.  George 
N.  Crouse’s  canvass  for  congress.  The  attacks 
on  both  sides  have  been  of  the  most  virulent 
character,  and  the  outcome  will  be  the  most 
vicious  knifing.  Although  the  war  between  Con¬ 
gressman  Belden  and  Postmaster  Carroll  E.  Smith 
dates  back  to  W'ar  times,  the  present  issue  is 
on  the  call  for  the  congressional  convention. 
Belden  gathered  together  the  old  congression¬ 
al  committees  from  Onondaga  and  Madison, 
her  new  political  sister,  on  June  16,  and  called 
a  convention  for  August  24  in  this  city.  There 
will  be  117  delegates  from  Onondaga  and  42 
from  Madison. 

The  Hendricks-Smithites  bolt  this  conven¬ 
tion  entirely,  claiming  that  the  state  commit¬ 
tee  alone  has  power  to  call  the  congressional 
conventions,  in  view  of  the  resolutions  empow¬ 
ering  them  to  organize  the  new  congressional 
districts  of  the  state,  passed  at  the  last  state 
convention. 


Belden  claims  that  congressional  nomina¬ 
tions  are  a  national  matter,  and  entirely  out 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state  committee.  On 
these  lines  Belden  and  Smith  have  been  call¬ 
ing  each  other  liar  and  scoundrel,  until  the 
party  is  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  over 
the  war  of  words.  The  matter  will  be  fought 
out  before  the  state  committee  at  Albany  next 
week,  and  it  may  be  expected  that  neither 
party  will  give  in  without  a  supreme  struggle. 

— Syracuse  Dispatch  to  Neiv  York  Times,  June  26. 

»  *  « 

The  Belden-Smith  feud  is  still  waging  with 
unabated  ardor,  though  probably  there  will 
be  no  pyrotechnics  until  the  hearing  before 
the  sub-committee  of  the  republican  state 
committee  in  this  city  on  July  8. 

Both  sides  are  busily  organizing.  On  Thurs¬ 
day  night  a  meeting  of  anti-Belden  republican 
office- holders  was  held  in  the  ofjice  of  Collector  Fran¬ 
cis  Hendricks,  where  the  headquarters  of  Col. 
G.  N.  Crouse  will  be.  The  call  was  issued  to 
all  the  republicans  of  Onondaga.  Corpora¬ 
tion  Counsel  Charles  E.  Ide  announced  that 
the  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  organize  for 
a  fight  against  the  renomination  of  James  J. 
Belden.  He  said  he  presumed  that  all  pres¬ 
ent  were  supporters  of  Col.  Crouse,  and  asked 
any  who  were  not  to  retire.  Luther  S.  Mer¬ 
rick,  a  prominent  republican  and  grand  army 
of  the  republic  man,  arose  and  said  that  if  it 
was  that  kind  of  a  game  they  wanted  to  be 
counted  out.  Others  followed  this  example 
and  left  the  room. 

Postmaster  Carroll  E.  Smith  was  in  charge,  and 
made  a  speech  assailing  Congressmen  Belden 
on  every  side.  The  conference  lasted  a  long 
time,  and  considerable  enthusiasm  was  shown. 
Col.  Crouse  was  present. — Syracuse  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  July  3. 

*-  » 

Col.  George  N.  Crouse,  who  has  been  contesting  the 
republican  congressional  nomination  in  this  district 
against  Representative  Belden,  has  withdrawn  from 
the  fight,  although  one  town  caucus  has  been  held. 
The  sentiment  for  Belden  was  loo  strong,  although 
Crouse  was  supported  by  Collector  Hendricks,  Senator 
Hiscock,  Postmaster  Smith,  editor  of  the  Journal,  and 
other  federal  and  city  officeholders.  Belden  will  be 
renominated  by  acclamation.  The  Hendricks  ma¬ 
chine  in  this  county  is  thoroughly  demoralized  and 
Belden's  influence  promises  to  be  supreme.  The 
Journal  has  been  fighting  Belden  with  the  greatest 
bitterness,  even  threatening  to  bolt  his  renomination, 
but  it  will  probably  desist  from  further  open  oppo¬ 
sition  before  and  after  the  renomination.— Syracuse 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Evening  Post,  July  22. 

v/t 

The  first  meeting  which  the  republican  city  com¬ 
mittee  has  held,  called  for  the  purpose  of  naming 
the  time  and  places  for  holding  the  caucuses  in  the 
congressional  election,  was  held  tonight  in  the 
assembly  room  of  the  new  city  hall.  It  was  the  most 
disgraceful  fracas  of  all  the  broils  of  the  contest  be¬ 
tween  Congressman  James  J.  Belden  and  his  oppon- 
eirts  of  the  Hiscock-Hendricks  [collector]  ring.  The 
shouts,  hisses,  groans  and  threats  of  the  meeting 
could  be  heard  at  the  hotels  several  blocks  away 
and  in  the  heat  of  the  turmoil  the  delegates  were 
standing  on  their  seats  yelling  and  calling  for  the 
blood  of  Clarence  G.  Brown,  a  Hiscock  man,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee.  The  trouble  began  in 
the  naming  of  sub.stitutes.  The  Hiscock-Hendricks 
people  offered  a  number  of  substitutes  which  the 
Beldenites  openly  declared  to  be  forgeries. —Syracuse 
Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  July  28. 


Senator  Frank  Hiscock  and  Collector  of  the  Port  of 
New  York  Francis  Hendricks  arrived  in  town  to  day, 
and  Congressman  J.  J.  Belden  left  after  a  brief  con¬ 
ference  with  them.  He  has  gone  to  his  summer 
home  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  probable  meaning 
thereof  is  that  Hiscock andHendrickshavepromised 
to  keep  their  hands  off  Belden’s  canvass  for  the  le- 
nomination  to  congress,  and  Belden  in  his  goodness 
of  heart  has  conceded  to  his  opponents  the  supreme 
court  judgeship.  The  last  probability  is  strength¬ 
ened  by  the  fact  that  this  afternoon  Frank  H.  His¬ 
cock,  a  nephew  of  the  senator,  came  out  as  a  candi¬ 
date  for  the  position,  haying  previously  held  off.  Mr. 
White  has  been  conducting  a  canvass  for  at  least  six 
weeks  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  backed  by  Col¬ 
lector  Hendricks.  He  has  made  the  assertion  openly. 
It  is  stated  now  that  he  will  make  the  fight  in  spite 
of  being  thrown  overboard  by  the  Hiscock-Hendricks 
people.— fyracuse  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Au¬ 
gust  6. 

■»  *  * 

The  appointment  of  Edward  G.  Harrison  as  post¬ 
master  to  succeed  A.  R.  Toland,  who  was  appointea 
by  ex-President  Cleveland,  stirred  up  a  hornet’s 
nest  in  the  ranks  of  the  republicans  in  this  section. 
A  majority  of  the  workers  favored  Water  Commis¬ 
sioner  George  W.  Treat  for  the  post.  Ex- Assemblyman 
Oviatt,  Gen.  Sewell’s  lieutenant  in  this  section,  did 
not  look  favorably  upon  Treat’s  candidacy  and  sent 
in  the  name  of  John  L.  Coffin,  formerly  editor  of 
the  Journal.  The  two  factions  waged  a  bitter  war 
for  six  months.  Now  that  a  dark  horse  has  walked 
off  with  the  prize,  the  Treat  men  are  furious.  Sev¬ 
eral  leading  republicans  to-night  denounced  both 
Gen.  Sewell  and  President  Harrison,  and  a  number 
of  them  declare  openly  that  they  will  vole  for 
Cleveland  in  November.  Treat’s  friends  say  that 
they  will  disband  the  Young  Men’s  Republican  Club 
at  the  next  meeting  and  pass  resolutions  denouncing 
Sewell  and  Harrison. — Asbury  Park  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  July  15. 

*  *  * 

There  is  widespread  dissatisfaction  here  among 
bu.siness  men  with  the  administration  of  the  post- 
office  by  John  T.  Platt,  who  was  appointed  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Harrison  a  year  and  a  half  ago.  Platt  cofibints 
with  his  post-office  duties  the  light  and  airy  job  of  writing 
editorials  for  the  Poughkeepsie  Eagle.  He  wasappointed 
against  the  protest  of  the  respectable  republicans, 
who  distrusted  him  because  of  his  record  in  the  as¬ 
sembly,  where  his  name  was  often  associated  with 
the  notorious  Poughkeepsie  bridge  lobby.  His  first 
act  when  he  received  his  appointment  was  to  remove 
Deputy  Postmaster  Samuel  Smith,  a  trusted  official 
of  thirty  years’  experience.  In  his  place  he  put  Ezra 
White,  a  general  utility  man  who  had  been  defeated 
for  mayor  by  500  votes.  Smith  died  of  a  broken 
heart  a  few  months  after  his  removal.  The  local 
newspapers  contain  daily  complaints  of  the  laxness 
of  the  postal  service.  Mails  are  not  distributed  for  two 
hours  after  they  are  received,  and  each  one  of  the 
twenty-five  employes  seems  to  be  a  postmaster  in 
himself.  It  is  notorious  that  carriers  leave  in  the  of¬ 
fice  letters  that  take  them  any  distance  off  their  regu¬ 
lar  routes  until  it  is  convenient  to  deliver  them.— 
Poughkeepsie  Dispatch  to  New  York  World,  August  18. 

«  «  * 

President  Harrison’s  appointment  of  Grocer  Kess¬ 
ler  as  postmaster  at  Short  Hills  has  aroused  the  in¬ 
dignation  of  the  residents  of  that  suburban  resort. 
When  Short  Hills  was  first  laid  out  it  was  urged  that 
a  post-office  would  be  a  convenient  thing  to  have, 
and  that  the  railway  station  would  be  a  convenient 
place  for  its  location.  So,  at  the  request  of  the  Short 
Hills  residents,  J.  C.  Goodrich,  the  station  agent  and 
telegraph  operator,  was  named  to  take  charge  of  it. 
Short  Hills  was  a  small  place  at  that  time.  Its  mail 
service  was  a  small  thing,  even  for  a  place  of  its  lim¬ 
ited  population.  It  has  grown  since,  and  Mr.  Good¬ 
rich  has  so  improved  the  service  that  the  post-office  is 
now  a  presidential  appointment,  with  81,800  per  year 
attached  to  it.  The  81,800  tempted  Grocer  Kessler 
and  he  began  circtilating  petitions  for  his  appoint¬ 
ment.  The  result  is  that  President  Harrison  has 
just  named  him  to  succeed  Mr.  Goodrich.  The  resi¬ 
dents  agree  that  his  store  is  not  half  as  convenient  a 
place  as  the  station,  and  that  he  is  not  half  as  nice  a 
man  anyhow  as  Mr.  Goodrich,  and  so  they  are  all  up 
in  arms.— Newark  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  July  17. 


The  civil  service  chronicle. 


If  we  see  notliin^  in  our  victory  but  a  license  to  revel  in  partisan  spoils,  we  shall  fail  at  every  point. — President-elect  Cleveland 

at  New  York,  November  18. 


VoL.  I,  No.  45. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  NOVEMBER,  1892. 


TERMS : ^ 


50  cents  persnnnm. 
5  cents  {^r  copy. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Addres.s, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

Frederick  Almy,  secretary  of  the  Buf¬ 
falo  Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  24 
Law  Exchange,  Buffalo,  New  York,  will  be 
glad  to  get  a  copy  of  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  for  October,  1889,  to  complete 
the  file  of  the  association. 


The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  contin¬ 
ues  its  references  to  the  part  played  by 
federal  officeholders  in  the  campaign  in 
order  that  the  record  may  be  as  complete 
as  possible.  These  same  brisk  fellows, 
paid  by  general  taxation,  and  a  couple  of 
weeks  ago  such  busy  and  brazen  hench¬ 
men,  are  now  so  limp  and  apprehensive 
that  they  rather  excite  pity. 


In  other  columns  will  be  found  taken 
from  the  Indianapolis  Evening  NetvsH  long 
list  of  those  who  “aspire”  to  federal  offices 
from  different  localities  in  Indiana.  Other 
lists  are  promised  by  the  News  in  the 
future.  The  value  of  this  service  to  the 
public  can  not  be  overestimated.  The 
publication  of  the  acts,  facts,  and  motives 
which  are  always  part  of  any  scramble  for 
spoil  is  the  one  thing  that  the  scramblers 
do  despise. 


The  “  best  citizens  ”  among  the  republi¬ 
cans  are  astounded  and  heartbroken  at 
their  defeat.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  these 
republicans  have  looked  on  with  apparent 
indifference  while  their  party  in  office  was 
carrying  out  a  wholesale  violation  of  its 
promises.  With  a  few  exceptions,  like 
Henry  C.  Lea, nothing  seemed  treacherous 
or  scandalous  enough  to  call  for  a  protest. 
Mahoneism,Quayi8m,  Plattism  and  Elkins- 
ism  were  viewed  with  equanimity.  The 
efforts  of  civil  service  reformers  to  keep 
the  administration  to  its  promises  did  not 
have  the  least  support  from  these  “best  cit¬ 
izens.”  They  looked  on  while  Harrison 
manipulated  and  with  otiices  bought  his 
re-nomination,  and  then  woke  up  with  sur¬ 
prise  because  voters  who  had  voted  for 
him  in  1888  would  not  vote  for  him  again. 
These  “best  citizens”  will  have  to  learn 
that  they  have  a  duty  to  perform  between 
elections.  One  of  these  duties  is  to  see 
that  the  promises  which  they  and  their 
j)arty  have  made  are  kept. 


The  republican  state  committee  of  In-  i 
diana  undoubtedly  knowingly  violated  the 
law  in  its  circular  soliciting  money  from 
federal  employes  The  case  of  the  post¬ 
master  at  Ditney,  Ind.,  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  Attorney-general  Miller.  Almost  all 
federal  officers  answered  that  circular  with  | 
contributions.  That,  however,  was  not 
enough.  All  who  made  one  contribution 
at  once  received  the  following  communica¬ 
tion,  the  words  “favorably  situated”  in 
these  circulars  meaning  that  the  recipients 
are  in  some  office  : 

INDIANA  RERUBLICAN  STATE  COMMITTEE. 

Rooms  4,  .30  and  32,  The  Denison. 

Telephone  No.  1119. 

Indianapolis,  Oct.  29,  1892. 

Dear  Sir — We  appreciate  what  you  have  done  In 
the  way  of  general  work  in  this  campaign,  and  thank 
yon  for  whatever  aid  you  have  rendered  the  com¬ 
mittee  direct,  but  we  must  ask  you  for  further 
assistance. 

Indiana  is  a  republican  state.  It  must  be  kept 
where  every  business  tie  and  interest  places  it— in 
the  republican  column.  She,  of  all  other  states, 
should  participate  in  the  electoral  college  that  will 
re-elect  her  worthy  citizen,  and  retain  the  position 
she  holds  in  the  counsels  of  the  government. 

The  result  in  the  nation  may  depend  upon  this 
state.  Let  every  republican  do  his  duty.  We  know 
that  you  desire  to  be  as  industrious  and  as  liberal  as 
others  as  favorably  situated,  a.id  that  you  wish  to 
continue  so  worthy  an  administration.  You  will  ap¬ 
preciate  the  importance  of  promptness  at  this  hour. 

May  we  not  hear  from  yoti  further? 

Yonrs  very  truly, 

Frank  M.  Millikan,  Secretary. 

The  President  in  no  way  failed  more 
disgracefully  than  in  the  way  in  which  he 
allowed  United  States  marshals  to  prosti¬ 
tute  their  offices  to  party  uses.  Marshal 
Dunlap  of  Indiana  was  a  typical  example. 
In  law  he  had  the  right  to  appoint  deputies 
to  keep  the  peace  at  the  election.  It  is  a  dan¬ 
gerous  power  if  in  thehandsofan  unscrupu¬ 
lous  man,  and  a  marshal  could  have  no 
higher  duty  than  to  act  in  this  matter  free 
from  partisan  bias.  Marshal  Dunlap  made 
his  appointments  under  the  direction  of  re¬ 
publican  politicians  of  the  most  obnoxious 
sort.  He  was  ashamed  to  let  the  public 
know  the  names  of  his  deputies.  He  did 
not  know  how  many  he  was  appointing, 
which  makes  it  appear  that  he  was  ap¬ 
pointing  all  of  a  certain  class  whose  names 
were  suggested  by  his  party  workers.  He 
finally  appointed  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
five,  who  will  be  paid  ten  dollars  each  for 
their  services.  They  are  reputed  to  have 
been  among  the  class  known  as  “  doubtful.” 
There  was  not  the  least  need  of  appointing 
a  single  deputy  and  no  one  knew  it  better 


than  Dunlap.  The  Indiana  law  requires 
deputy  sheriffs  from  both  parties  at  the 
polls.  When  asked  if  he  would  appoint  any 
democrats,  here  is  what  this  peace  officer, 
who  is  paid  by  and  who  is  supposed  to  act 
impartially  for  all  the  people,  said  : 

Not  a  democrat.  In  business  my  office  Is  run  for 
the  people,  in  politics  it  is  managed  solely  for  repub¬ 
licans. 


Marshal  Jacobus  appointed  some  five 
thousand  deputies  of  a  similar  class  in 
New  York.  Such  reckless  use  of  power  is 
full  of  the  gravest  danger.  It  needs  but  a 
conflict  between  state  and  federal  officers 
with  a  “  strong  ”  President  to  send  troops 
to  the  support  of  his  marshals  and  we  have 
reached  imperialism.  Those  who  laugh  at 
such  fears  should  study  the  career  of  Bal- 
maceda  in  Chili. 


The  action  of  John  I.  Davenport,  chief 
supervisor  of  elections  at  New  York,  is  a 
clear  illustralion  of  the  length  to  which 
desperate  professional  politicians  in  office 
will  go.  He  sent  out  the  following  letter: 


New  York,  October  — ,  1892.  ) 

Sir:  Your  right  to  register  and  vote  in  the  31  Elec¬ 
tion  District  of  the  16  Assembly  District  of  the  city 
of  New  York  has  been  questioned.  By  calling  at 
this  office  you  may  be  able  to  satisfactorily  explain 
the  matter  and  thus  avoid  further  trouble. 

Yours,  etc., 

John  I.  Davenport,  Chief  Supervisor. 
Martin  Norton,  Esq.,  400  East  Fifty-fourth  Street. 

More  fligrant  or  violent  abuses  of  official 
position  are  rare  in  this  country.  Daven¬ 
port  had  not  a  shadow  of  authority  for  such 
an  action.  It  was  a  bold  attempt  to  scare 
timid  voters  by  unscrupulous  and  violent 
henchmen,  openly  encouraged  by  the  ad¬ 
ministration. 


The  Washington  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Post  is  informed  that 
the  President  is  considering  whether  it 
will  not  be  “good  politics ”  to  extend  the 
civil  service  rules  only  in  a  trifling  way, 
and  to  trust  that  the  democratic  party  will 
be  wrecked  by  its  rapacity  for  office.  It 
was  well  known  among  Mr.  Cleveland’s 
friends  in  1888  that  whatever  the  results  of 
the  election,  it  was  his  intention  to  sub¬ 
stantially  extend  the  rules.  It  has  been 
understood  by  President  Harrison’s  friends 
for  a  long  time  that  it  was  his  intention 
after  the  recent  election  to  materially  ex¬ 
tend  the  rules.  It  would  have  been  better 


388 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


had  Mr.  Cleveland  done  his  work  earlier, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  President  Harrison. 
It  is  hardly  conceivable  that  the  President 
will  be  so  petty  as  to  neglect  this  in  order 
to  annoy  his  successor. 


Indiana  politics  have  always  been  noto¬ 
rious  and  interesting,  and  the  recent  cam¬ 
paign  affords  another  illustration  of  the 
political  backwardness  of  this  state.  The 
Columbia  Club  of  Indianapolis  is  a  pow¬ 
erful  republican  organization.  It  has  a 
handsome  club  house  with  a  dining-room 
to  which  the  members  might  invite  a 
young  Boston  republican  with  compla¬ 
cency.  To  belong  to  the  club  is  a  distinct 
social  advantage.  Its  members  call  them¬ 
selves,  and  they  undoubtedly  are,  the 
“  leading  young  men  ”  of  the  city.  To 
such  a  club,  if  anywhere,  one  would  look 
for  the  best  spirit  of  the  republican  party, 
that  tendency  “for  reform  within  the  par¬ 
ty,”  of  which  much  has  been  heard. 

In  Massachusetts  the  members  of  such  a 
club  would  be  the  aggressive  enemies  of 
the  spoils  system.  They  would  denounce 
the  blackmailing  of  government  employes. 
They  would  not  view  with  indifference  the 
methods  by  which  Harrison’s  renomina¬ 
tion  was  secured.  They  would  remain  re¬ 
publicans  but  they  would  not  occupy  a 
cowardly  attitude  in  relation  to  the  reform 
spirit  said  to  exist  among  the  better  ele¬ 
ments  of  the  republican  attitude.  Has  the 
Columbia  Club  any  of  that  reform  spirit, 
or  is  it  organized  as  an  aid  to  common,  or¬ 
dinary,  every  day  ward  politics  ? 


A  Philadelphia  correspondent,  thoroughly 
convinced  that  the  use  of  the  federal  service  as 
poil  is  the  most  serious  menace  to  free  insti¬ 
tutions,  said  to  the  writer  in  a  recent  private 
letter: 

“The  part  that  Tammany  will  play  in  this 
campaign,  and  the  presence  of  Stevenson  on 
the  presidential  ticket,  makes  it  to  my  minp 
extremely  doubtful  that  the  interest  of  good 
government  will  best  be  served  by  the  success 
of  the  democratic  ticket.” 

He  says  in  effect,  we  are  now  under  the  heel 
en,  Tof  Quay,  Dave  Martin,  Hackettom  Platt’ 
and  a  change  will  only  substitute  the  heel  of 
Tammany.  Our  correspondent  should  not 
forget  that  the  greatest  obstacles  to  successful¬ 
ly  throwing  off  tyranny  are  the  apathy  and 
acquiescence  of  the  subjects.  Especially  in 
Pennsylvania  is  any  effort  for  relief  hampered 
by  the  fact  that  the  present  generation  has 
never  known  any  other  condition  than  servi¬ 
tude  under  a  Cameron  dynasty  or  its  successor. 
Quay.  But  aside  from  the  valuable  habit  of 
frequent  revolts  against  bosses,  many  of  us 
think  that  if  we  must  carry  a  boss,  it  lightens 
the  weight  to  shift  the  load;  that  it  is  no  worse 
to  be  spoiled  by  a  Tammany  than  by  a  Quay 
and  that,  moreover,  every  time  a  boss  is  beat- 
ndahe  is  weakened. 


If  any  one  can  point  out  in  detail  the  way 
by  which  the  republican  vampires  who  have 
for  years  been  draining  the  life  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  can  be  destroyed  by  the  method, 
which  is  our  correspondent’s,  of  the  supply  of 
fresh  carcass,  it  ought  to  be  done. 

Another  correspondent  says  :  “  I  have, 
myself,  little  faith  that  the  democratic 
party  will  do  any  better  for  the  civil 
service  than  the  republicans  did.”  This 
has  been  for  years  a  typical  attitude  of  a 
large  number  of  people  and  it  has  more 
impeded  reform  than  hostility  to  it.  The 
question  is  what  course  will  in  the  long 
run  most  eflfectually  kill  patronage.  The 
answer  seems  clear — sharp  and  immediate 
punishment  to  the  offender  now,  four  years 
from  now,  again  in  eight  years,  and  again 
in  twelve  years  if  the  lesson  has  not  been 
learned  before. 

But  what  is  going  to  be  the  immediate 
effect  upon  the  civil  service  reform  move¬ 
ment  provided  the  democratic  party  should 
do  no  better  than  the  la'e  republican 
party  ?  The  answer  to  that  seems  equally 
plain  if  experience  goes  for  anything. 
Spoil  was  divided  in  1884,  and  again  in 
1888  and  each  time  it  was  an  object  lesson 
that  did  ten-fold  more  to  arouse  popular 
disgust  for  the  spoils  system  than  all  the 
efforts  of  all  the  civil  service  reformers- 
If  there  should  be  another  distribution  of 
spoils  in  1892,  the  President  who  permitted 
it  would  violate  his  oath  of  oflSce  and  he 
and  his  party  would  suffer;  but  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service  would  in  fact  go  on  the 
faster. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  CHANCE. 

The  democrats  have  on  various  grounds 
won  a  great  victory.  The  situation  has 
nowhere  been  better  summed  up  than  by 
the  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  which  realizes 
that  more  than  one  thing  brought  it  about. 
No  one  can  yet  say  that  the  democratic 
party  is  equal  to  its  time  and  its  oppor 
tunity,  but  it  gives  such  promise  that  it  is 
entitled  to  the  chance.  If  now  the  demo¬ 
crats  regulate  the  tariff  in  a  way  that 
pleases  the  greatest  number  of  Americans 
and  yet  turn  the  civil  service  over  to  their 
Quays  and  Platts,  and  put  their  party  in  an 
attitude  of  opposition  to  the  civil  service 
law  and  civil  service  reform,  their  majority 
will  all  be  worn  away  and  they  will  be  de¬ 
feated  in  1896.  The  reason  is  that  enough 
voters  to  turn  the  scale  have  an  irreconcil¬ 
able  hatred  of  being  ruled  by  bosses,  and 
of  the  use  of  the  civil  service  as  spoil.  The 
lessons  of  the  defeats  of  1884,  1886,  1888, 
1890  and  1892  may  be  read  by  all.  No 
party  in  power  can  stand  the  grinding 
power  of  public  criticism  of  its  prostitu¬ 
tion  of  the  civil  service  to  personal  and 
party  ends. 

The  democrats  so  far  bear  their  victory 


well.  It  is  only  in  republican  papers  that 
the  democrats  are  going  to  set  up  wildcat 
banks,  destroy  our  manufactures,  and  re¬ 
peal  the  civil  service  law.  A  repeal  of  the 
civil  service  law  would  be  about  like  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise.  Under 
the  present  administration  six  republican 
congressmen  introduced  bills  to  repeal  that 
law  and  the  whole  six  went  into  private  life 
at  the  next  election — not  solely  for  this 
reason  but  this  was  one  of  the  reasons. 

For  three  successive  presidential  elec¬ 
tions  the  party  which  has  had  the  oflSces  has 
been  defeated.  Yet  we  shall  hear  once  more, 
though  probably  not  to  such  an  extent,  the 
exploded  argument  that  the  offices  are  es¬ 
sential  to  party  success,  and  about  the  Boys 
with  cold  toes,  and  so  on.  Mr.  Cleveland 
is  in  a  position  to  smile  grimly  at  all  such 
nonsense.  In  fact,  he  is  in  a  position  to 
reform  the  civil  service  to  almost  any  ex¬ 
tent  he  desires.  His  platform  makes  the 
simple  statement  that  the  civil  service  law 
shall  be  enforced  ;  that  the  offices  ought 
not  to  be  subject  to  change  at  every  elec¬ 
tion,  or  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,  or 
be  a  prize  fought  for  at  the  polls.  This 
covers  the  whole  ground,  and  good  faith 
requires  that  matters  be  put  in  such  shape 
that  the  principles  of  the  platform  will  he 
permanently  established.  The  further  this 
is  carried  the  stronger  the  party  will  be  at 
the  end  of  four  years. 

It  does  not  seem  possible  that  further 
attempts  to  trick  the  civil  service  law  will 
be  made,  or  that  the  new  commission  will 
be  less  efficient,  aggressive  and  fearless 
than  the  present  one.  It  ought  to  be  a  sine 
qua  non  that  heads  of  offices  within  the  law 
shall  be  friendly  to  it.  Beyond  this  a  few 
measures  will  complete  the  reform  of  the 
federal  civil  service.  The  first  is  the  pass¬ 
age  of  a  bill  introduced  by  John  F.  An¬ 
drew,  a  democrat,  taking  the  fourth-class 
postmasters  out  of  politics.  The  second  is 
the  passage  of  a  bill,  also  introduced  by 
Mr.  Andrew,  establishing  the  Boston  labor 
service  system  in  the  federal  labor  service 
The  third  is  the  addition  by  the  President 
to  the  classified  service  of  the  remainder 
of  the  federal  service  which  is  capable  of 
being  put  under  competition.  About  35,- 
000  places  are  now  under  the  rules,  and 
probably  25,000  more  can  go  under.  These 
include  a  large  number  of  places  like 
heads  of  divisions  in  the  departments  at 
Washington,  and  in  large  offices  through¬ 
out  the  country.  These  are  now  used  to 
quarter  political  hacks  upon  the  people, 
and  these  political  hacks  are  usually  igno¬ 
rant  of  the  law  and  of  their  duties,  and 
are,  in  most  cases,  enemies  of  the  merit 
system.  Such  appointments  are  like 
choosing  collecters  of  customs  from  pro¬ 
fessional  smugglers.  These  places  should 
be  thrown  open  to  competion  among  the 
under  employes,  from  whose  numbers  bet- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


389 


ter  men  can  be  obtained  than  have  ever 
filled  them  yet. 

When  President  Harrison,  before  his  in¬ 
auguration,  was  urged  to  adopt  a  plan  of  re¬ 
form,  he  declared  that  he  would  have 
none,  but  would  deal  with  each  matter  as 
it  came  up.  We  see  where  this  led  to. 
The  greatest  danger  before  Mr.  Cleveland 
would  be  in  having  no  plan  of  dealing 
with  the  gravest  questions  that  will  be  pre¬ 
sented  to  him — the  demand  for  spoil— and 
it  will  be  presented  at  once.  There  is 
no  half-way  ground.  To  substitute  party 
workers  for  party  workers,  in  office,  is  mere 
favoritism.  Such  a  gift  of  offices  has  been 
for  all  time  the  most  conspicuous  mark  of 
arbitrary  government. 


The  incalculable  value  of  a  secret  ballot  has 
been  made  plainer  than  ever.  It  has  seeming¬ 
ly  destroyed  the  business  of  actual  buying  and 
selling  votes  at  the  polls  in  Indiana.  Some 
slight  changes  will  make  voting  much  more 
satisfactory.  The  law  is  designed  to  make 
“scratching”  difficult,  but  the  politicians  may 
as  well  give  up  trying  to  compel  voters.  In¬ 
dependent  voting  is  happily  going  to  increase, 
not  diminish.  The  voter  is  now  compelled  to 
stamp  opposite  the  name  of  every  candidate 
for  whom  he  wants  to  vote.  Where  there  are 
thirty  or  forty  candidates  on  each  ticket  this 
is  a  needlessly  tedious  and  care-requiring  op¬ 
eration.  Usually  one  ticket  contains  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  a  voter’s  candidates.  He  should  be 
allowed  to  stamp  the  head  of  this  ticket  and 
then  the  names  of  candidates  on  the  other 
tickets  for  whom  he  wants  his  vote  counted. 
If  he  will  vote  for  none  of  the  candidates  for 
a  given  office  he  should  be  required  to  stamp 
them  all  out.  Again,  the  booths  are  too 
small.  There  is  plenty  of  room  and  plenty  of 
lumber,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  a  voter 
should  not  have  elbow-room  and  a  shelf  wide 
enough  to  lay  his  ticket  on.  There  will  be  a 
good  deal  of  talk  by  the  enemies  of  the  system 
about  the  number  who  lost  their  votes  by  mis¬ 
takes  in  stamping.  This  number  will  steadily 
decrease,  and  even  now  it  is  not  so  large  as  the 
number  who  formerly  sold  their  votes. 

AMER1CAN_FEUDAL1SM. 

Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser¬ 
vice  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge 
or  carry  out  Iiis  dung. — Blackstone. 


BUSY  HENCHMEN. 

At  the  opera-house  eighteen  hundred  voters 
listened  to  Hm.  E.  W.  Halford,  President  Har¬ 
rison’s  private  secretary,  for  an  hour  and  a 
half.  The  day  closed  with  a  decided  advant¬ 
age  in  favor  of  the  republicans. — Columbus  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Nov‘.  6. 

»  »  * 

Private  Secretary  Halford  was  in  the  city  yes¬ 
terday,  between  appointments,  having  spoken 


at  Columbus  Saturday.  To-day  he  will  speak 
at  Huntington. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Nov.  7. 

*  *  * 

The  evening  celebration  was  followed  by  a 
mass  meeting  held  in  the  opera-house.  It  was 
addressed  by  Hon.  C.  W.  Fairbanks  and  Private 
Secretary  Halford.  This  closed  a  day  full  of 
old  time  enthusiasm. — Marion  Dispatch  to  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal,  Nov.  4. 

«  *  * 

Patrick  Eagan,  United  States  Minister  to  Chili, 
will  take  the  stump  in  the  interest  of  the  re¬ 
publican  ticket  next  week.  He  will  make  his 
first  appearance  at  Indianapolis,  October  28. — 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  22. 

»  *  » 

B.  K.  Bruce,  recorder  of  deeds  of  the  district, 
leaves  the  city  to-day.  He  will  address  a  re¬ 
publican  meeting  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  to¬ 
morrow  evening,  and  before  returning  will 
speak  in  New  Jersey  and  Indiana. —  Washing¬ 
ton  Dispatch  to  Indianapalis  Journal,  Oct.  22. 

»  *  » 

Postmaster  General  Wanamaker’s  tour 
through  northern  Indiana  is  proving  a  bril¬ 
liant  ovation.  *  *  William  Patterson  [su¬ 

perintendent  of  mails  in  Indianapolis  post- 
office]  of  Indianapolis,  accompanies  him  to 
arrange  routes,  time,  etc.,  and  proves  an  ex¬ 
cellent  manager. — Fort  Wayne  Dispatch  to  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal,  Nov.  5. 

•  ♦  * 

Mr.  Lincoln  [minister  to  England],  left  Bra¬ 
zil  immediately  after  the  meeting  for  Terre 
Haute,  where  he  was  to  make  a  short  speech, 
and  then  hasten  on  to  Sullivan,  where  the 
biggest  rally  in  Sullivan  county  in  this  cam¬ 
paign  is  in  progress,  and  where  he  spoke  to¬ 
night. — Brazil  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
Nov.  4. 

♦  «  * 

Deputy  Controller  of  the  Currency  Nixon 
has  gone  to  Indiana. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  October  24. 

*  *  « 

The  republicans  inaugurated  to-day  a  series 
of  noon  day  meetings,  which  are  to  last 
through  the  week.  The  principal  speaker  at  the 
committee  rooms  to-day  was  William  M.  Marine, 
collector  of  customs  at  Baltimore. — Indianapolis 
Evening  News,  Nowmber  1. 

»  *  » 

Attorney  General  W.  H.  H.  Miller,  Col.  A.  L. 
Conger  and  Han.  Wm.  Marine  [collector  at 
Baltimore]  were  the  orators.  The  opera-house 
and  Odd-fellows’  Hall  were  both  filled  to 
overflowing.  Thousands  from  the  surround¬ 
ing  country  and  towns  were  in  attendance. — 
Elwood  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Novem¬ 
ber  4. 

*  »  * 

There  will  be  a  big  meeting  in  Fort  Wayne 
to  day,  addressed  by  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  and  Hon.  W.  M.  Marine,  which 
makes  a  big  team. — Journal,  Nov.  1,  1892. 

*  »  « 

The  republicans  held  another  large  and  en¬ 
thusiastic  meeting,  Saturday  evening,  the 


speaker  being  Gen.  Green  B.  Baum,  commis¬ 
sioner  of  pensions. — Lafayette  Dispatch  to  Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  October  31. 

*  »  * 

A  few  hours  before  the  time  for  the  train  to 
arrive  to-night  it  was  learned  that  Gen.  Green 
B.  Raum  would  be  here  to  address  the  repub¬ 
licans. — Franklin  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  October  29. 

*  *  * 

Republicans  of  Jackson  township  had  a 
rousing  meeting  at  Roanoke,  Saturday  after¬ 
noon,  which  was  addressed  by  Hon.  Warren  G. 
Sayre  [Indian  commissioner]. — Huntington  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  November  1. 

•  «  * 

Lafayette  post-office  carriers  in  uniform  dis¬ 
tributed,  October  26,  the  following  notices  : 

Republican 

speaking. 

Hon.  W.  W.  Curry, 

Chaplain  Lozier, 
at  opera  house 
to-night. 

»  *  » 

One  of  the  largest  republican  meetings  of 
the  campaign  was  held  at  the  Grand  opera- 
house  last  evening.  Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum  was 
the  first  speaker. — Greensburg  Dispatch  to  Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal,  Oct.  31. 

»  ♦  * 

During  the  meeting  John  B.  Cockrum  came 
into  the  room  and  gave  a  half  hour’s  speech, 
which  captivated  the  audience. — Spiceland Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  23. 

»  *  » 

The  republican  round-up  rally  was  a  mon¬ 
ster.  *  Stirring  and  eloquent  speeches 
were  made  by  Marcus  R.  Sulzer,  Assistant  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  John  B.  CockrUm.  *  *  — Madison 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Nov.  6. 

*  »  * 

Mr.  Henry  retired  at  this  juncture,  plead¬ 
ing  weariness,  and  the  Hon.  John  B.  Cockrum 
took  his  place.  He  spoke  entirely  on  two 
questions,  that  of  the  soldier  and  the  force  bill. 
In  an  adroit  and  telling  manner  he  compared 
the  war  records  of  Grover  Cleveland  and  Ad- 
lai  Stevenson  with  those  of  General  Harrison 
and  War-correspondent  Reid.  He  told  how 
the  first  had  sent  a  substitute,  and  the  second 
had  done  likewise,  and  afterwards  became  a 
Knight  of  the  Golden  Circle. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  Nov.  4. 

♦  *  * 

Smiley  N.  Chambers,  United  States  district 
attorney,  presided  over  the  noon-hour  meeting 
of  the  republicans  at  county  headquarters  to¬ 
day. — Indianapolis  Evening  News,  Nov.  2. 

*  *  * 

Hon.  Smiley  N.  Chambers  speaks  at  Bright- 
wood  to-night;  C.  W.  Smith  and  George  W. 
Spahr  at  Millersville,  and  F.  J.  VauVorhis  at 
Traders  Point. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Nov.  1. 

*  <>  •> 

We  appeal  for  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
following  question  and  answer  in  regard  to 
the  appointment  of  deputy  marshals  in  this 
state: 

Reporter — I  presume  there  will  be  some 
democrats  among  the  deputies. 


390 


THE  CIVIL'SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Marshal  Dunlap — Not  :i  democrat.  In  busi¬ 
ness  my  office  is  run  for  the  people;  in  politics 
it  is  managed  solely  for  republicans. —  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  November  5. 

•  »  * 

In  the  afternoon,  Hon.  W.  D.  Owen  ad¬ 
dressed  a  large  an  lienee,  devoting  the  princi¬ 
pal  part  of  his  remarks  to  the  tariff  question. — 
Ehiffloit  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  No¬ 
vember  4. 

•s  »  * 

Twenty-five  hundred  people  came  in  yester¬ 
day  to  hear  Commissioner  of  Emigration  W.  D. 
Owen  deliver  one  of  his  republican  speeches. 
—  Valparaiso  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
October  29. 

*  *  » 

Hon.  ir.  D.  Owen  spoke  under  the  auspices 
of  the  republican  club  last  night. — Garrett  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  October  21. 

*  »  » 

Hon.’  W.  D.  Otuea  addressed  a  large  audience 
in  this  city  to-night. —  Wabash  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  October  21. 

4^  ifJ 

Hon.  W.  D.  Owen  spoke  at  the  opera  house 
last  night  to  a  good  audience. — Albion  DispiUch 
to  Indianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  20. 

»  s  «■ 

H  on.  L.  \V.  Brown,  United  States  consul  to 
Glasgow,  delivered  a  telling  speech  before  a 
large  audience  in  Bell’s  hall  last  night. — 
Knightstown  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
Oct.  20. 

»  *  9 

Ogden,  Ind.,  Nov.  4,  1892. 
Indianapolis  Sentinel  Company,  Indianapolis,  In¬ 
diana  : 

Dear  Sirs — I  have  been  taking  the  Sentinel 
for  four  years,  and  yesterday  when  our  post¬ 
master  handed  out  the  Sentinel,  he  also  handed 
oat  this  small  sheet. 

They  are  distributing  them  very  liberally 
to  all. 

Use  this  for  what  you  want  to. 

A.  O.  Hooton. 

[The  head  lines  of  the  circular  are  : 

CALUMNY  SILENCED. 

Allegatioxs  of  Matthews,  Myers,  and 

THE  Sentinel,  Proved  to  re  False. 

Democratic  Libelees  Put  to  Rout.] 

*  «  « 

Mr.  McMillan  is  assisted  in  his  work  of  “re¬ 
demption”  by  Internal  Revenue  Collector  F.  C. 
Stone,  and  others  to  the  number  of  twelve. 
Jay  A.  Hubbell,  the  solicitor  of  contributions 
from  the  departments  at  ^Vashington  in  years 
gone  by,  is  one  of  the  republican  candidates 
for  election  at  large. —  Detroit  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  November  2. 

♦  *  * 

Mr.  Quay  was  at  national  headquarters  yes- 
terdiiy  completing  his  deal  for  administration 
support.  Vice-President  Morton  was  one  of 
the  callers  there,  and  Mr.  Quay  had  a  consul¬ 
tation  with  him.  He  also  took  pains  to  talk 
the  matter  over  not  only  with  Chairman  Car¬ 


ter,  but  with  Messrs.  Manley  anil  Clarkson. 
Thomas  V.  Cooper,  collector  of  the  port  of  Phila¬ 
delphia. — New  York  Times,  November  2. 

*  »  » 

“Steve”  Elkins  is  seeking  to  justify  his  ap¬ 
pointment  as  secretary  of  war  by  working 
night  and  day  for  the  success  of  the  national 
republican  ticket  in  West  Virginia.  Since 
Mr.  Harrison  was  nominated  Elkins  has  spent 
but  little  time  at  the  war  department,  and 
about  every  matter  of  importance  there  is  left 
pending.  “Until  after  the  election”  has  be¬ 
come  a  common  expression  at  the  department 
in  connection  with  inquiries  concerning  the 
secretary’s  absence.  In  the  last  few  months 
five  West  Virginia  republicans  have  been  ad¬ 
ded  to  the  clerical  force  of  the  department. 
Every  clerk  hailing  from  IFest  Virginia  who  has  a 
vote  has  been  granted  leave  of  absence  and  asked  to 
go  into  the  state  and  work  for  the  republican  ticket. 
—  IFasAia^ton  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Oc¬ 
tober  28. 

»  *  9 

Customs  Collector  Williuin  J.  Morgan  w'ent  with 
two  lieutenants  into  the  fifth  election  district 
of  the  nineteenth  ward  and  presented  affi¬ 
davits  signed  by  Michael  C.  Hogan,  United 
States  supervisor  of  elections  (republican),  to 
the  effect  that  fifty-one  names  of  persons  duly 
registered  were  of  those  not  qualified  and  en¬ 
titled  vote  at  said  election. — Buffalo  Dispatch 
to  New  York  'Times,  Oct.  24. 

»  »  9 

The  administration  republicans,  led  by  Col¬ 
lector  of  customs,  John  M.  Bailey,  carried  their 
fight  into  the  county  convention  to  day  and 
succeeded  in  defeating  State  Committeeman 
William  Barnes,  jr. — Albany  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  Oct.  18. 

♦  a  » 

How  very  necessary  the  republicans  deemed 

the  polling  of  every  possible  vote  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  on  Saturday  last  the  employes 
of  the  sub-treasury  in  this  city  were  per¬ 

emptorily  ordered  to  go  to  the  polls  yesterday 
and  cast  their  votes  for  the  republican  candi¬ 
dates. 

They  were  informed  that  their  positions  in 
the  treasury  depended  on  their  doing  their 
whole  duty,  and  that  the  defeat  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  ticket  meant  that  their  places  would  be 
taken  by  Tammany  men.  The  orders  were 
given  without  any  attempt  to  gloss  things 
over. 

One  man  who  has  been  in  the  treasury  for 
over  a  dozen  years  said  that  this  was  the  first 
time  that  he  had  ever  been  instructed  or  even 
asked  to  vote  since  he  has  been  in  the  employ 
of  the  government. — New  York  Times,  Novem¬ 
ber  9. 


BUSY  BLACKMAILERS. 

H.  G.  Ewart,  ex-republican  congressman 
from  North  Carolina,  was  in  Charleston  last 
week  soliciting  funds  for  the  national  republi¬ 
can  campaign  committee  from  federal  office¬ 
holders  in  this  city.  He  kept  very  quiet,  but 
had  many  conferences  with  office-holders  here. 


The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  .sent  by 
Ewart  to  office  holders  : 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  Oct.  — ,  18'.t2. 

Dear  Sir— Your  name  has  been  given  me  by  our 
friends  here  as  one  likely  to  aid  the  cause.  Yon 
must  appreciate  its  importance.  Funds  are  urgently 
needed,  and  at  once.  Please  be  prompt.  Delay  is 
tantamount  to  refusal.  T  hat  you  have  already  ren¬ 
dered  local  aid  is  no  reason  or  excuse  for  not  assist¬ 
ing  in  this,  which  is  of  far  greater  importance  than 
local  contests. 

I  inclose  certificate  No.—,  which  I  am  assured  you 
will  take.  If  so,  please  fill  in  name  and  address,  and 

mail  with  amount, - dollars,  to  me  as  per  address 

given  below.  If  not  taken,  return  certificate  at  once 
to  the  same  address,  unless  it  is  convenient  for  yon 
to  pay  the  amount  by  Nov.  1,  in  which  event  retain 
the  certificate  till  that  dale.  A  favorable  and  immedi¬ 
ate  answer  is  expected.  Yours  respectfully, 

P.  S.— If  certificate  has  been  sent  you,  will  you  be 
kind  enough  to  either  refund  at  once  or  return  the 
same? 

— Associated  Press  Dispatch  from  Charleston, 
Oct.  31 

9  «  9 

An  assessment  circular,  which  must  have 
bad  the  H))proval  of  the  republican  national 
committee,  has  been  sent  to  the  departmental 
employes  in  Washington  by  the  republican 
state  committee  of  West  Virginia.  A  copy  of 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  democrat,  who  for¬ 
warded  it  to  the  democratic  national  commit¬ 
tee,  together  with  an  explanatory  letter. 

The  “stand  and  deliver”  circular  follows. 
Note  the  bulldozing  postscript  and  the  threat 
of  dismissal  it  contains; 

West  Virginia  Repubi.ican  State  (  o.mm  ittee,  i 
32  Tenth  Street,  Wheeling,  West  Va..  [ 
Sept.  8. 1892. ) 

Dear  Sir— The  prospects  for  republican  success  in 
West  Virginia  are  most  excellent.  We  confidently 
expect  to  win.  It  is  now  simply  a  <iuestion  of  secur¬ 
ing  means  wherewith  to  complete-the  splendid  or¬ 
ganization  begun.  If  we  are  enabled  to  do  that  suc¬ 
cess  is  sure.  We  solicit  from  you  a  contribution  of 

8 - .  This  will  cover  all  your  contributions  to  the 

national,  congressional  and  other  political  commit¬ 
tees.  We  are  in  urgent  need  of  funds  now.  If  you 
will  help  us.  do  so  at  once.  Send  remittances  to  P. 
B.  Dobbins,  treasurer.  Wheeling,  West  Va.,  who  will 
acknowledge  receipt.  Hoping  you  will  assist  us  at 
once,  and  substantially,  we  are,  yours  very  respect¬ 
fully,  Willia.m  M.  Dawson,  Chairman. 

G.  W.  Atkinson,  Secretary. 

N.  B.  Scott,  Member  of  National  Committee. 

P.  S. — Do  you  think  you  can  afford  to  ignore  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  this  committee^ 

—New  York  Times,  Oct.  25. 

^ 

Some  one  in  Ohio,  who  signed  himself  “A 
Friend,”  forwarded  to  Mr.  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt  copies  of  two  circulars  sent  by  the  Ohio 
republican  state  committee  to  a  government 
clerk,  calling  for  contributions.  The  name  of 
the  person  addressed,  presumably  the  author 
of  the  anonymous  letter,  was  cut  out,  so  that 
the  commission  might  not  profit  by  it.  The 
circulars  show  that  Chairman  Dick,  of  the 
Ohio  state  committee,  has  been  violating  the 
spirit,  if  not  the  letter,  of  the  civil  service 
law.  If  they  were  addressed  to  the  clerk  at 
his  place  of  employment,  Dick  can  be  pro¬ 
ceeded  against. 

The  first  circular  was  as  follows: 

De.vr  Sir:  The  republican  executive  committee 
of  Ohio,  which  has  been  actively  at  work  for  the 
past  two  month.s,  finds  itself  at  this  stage  of  the  cam- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


391 


paiga  greatly  ia  aeed  of  faads,  and  is  obliged  to 
call  apoa  repablieaus  throughoat  the  state  for  con- 
tribatioas  to  carry  oa  its  work.  The  prosperity  of 
the  whole  coaatry  depeads  apoa  the  coatiriued  suc¬ 
cess  of  the  republicaa  party.  As  aa  iadividual,  you 
are  iaterested  ia  the  party’s  success,  aad  as  such  we 
ask  you  for  a  coatributioa  to  aid  this  coaimittee  ia 
the  furtherance  of  its  work. 

This  is  the  only  request  that  will  be  made  of  you 
by  any  coiamittee,  therefore  aa  early  response,  with 
a  liberal  contribution,  will  be  thankfully  received 
aad  acknowledged,  aad,  as  promptness  ia  oar  busi¬ 
ness  Is  of  the  utmost  importanr e.  we  will  be  pleased 
to  hear  from  you  at  once.  Yours  truly. 

Charles  \V.  F,  Dick,  Chainnaa. 

John  K.  Moli.oy,  Secretary. 

(Remit  to  C.  W.  F.  D’ck,  or,  if  more  convenient, 
l>ay  in  person  to  W.  H.  Campbell,  36  West  Third 
street.  Cincinnati,  Ohio.) 

Kvidently  the  person  solicited  believed  in 
the  assuran  es  of  the  civil  service  commission, 
for  he  made  no  reply,  as  the  following  circu¬ 
lar  shows : 

Dear  Sir — Nearly  five  weeks  ago  vve  wrote  yon  re- 
(inestiag  a  contribution  to  the  republican  campaign 
fund.  Our  books  show  to  that  request  you  have  not 
responded.  A  numberof  your  associates  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  service  have  replied  to  our  letter,  aad  hold  our 
receipts  as  evidence  of  their  fidelity  to  the  cause  and 
interest  ia  the  success  of  the  party  under  whose  ad¬ 
ministration  they  are  holding  positions.  It  is  due 
them,  and  to  you  as  well,  thatall  should  share  alike 
in  the  legitimate  expense  of  the  campaign. 

In  this  campaign  Ohio  is  compelled  to  take  care  of 
herself,  and  if  those  who  are  direct  beneficiaries  of 
public  positions  do  not  contribute,  it  is  unreasonable 
to  expect  non-office-holders  to  do  .so.  We  agai  a  call  on 
you  fora  reasonable  contribution,  and  hope  you  will 
not  delay  in  sending  it,  for  which  we  will  mail  you 
a  receipt  and  give  you  due  credit  on  our  books. 

We  would  be  j>leased  to  have  your  reply  at  once. 
Kespectfuly,  C.  W.  F.  Dick,  Chairman. 

John  R.  Malloy,  Hecretary. 

— Nexo  York  Times,  October  3 1 . 

«  *  <1 

The  'Timer’s  < oirespondent  was  informed 
here  to  day  that  the  chairman  of  the  re- 
pnhlican  committee  had  assessed  the  office¬ 
holders  in  Jefferson  county  to  the  amount  of 
over  $10,000.  Every  postmaster  and  custom 
house  employe  has  been  asked  to  contribute 
from  5  to  20  percent,  of  his  salary.  The  cam¬ 
paign  fund  derived  from  the  post-office  in  this 
city  alone  will  amount  to  over  $1,400.  Every 
letter  carrier  in  the  city  has  been  assessed  $40, 
and  even  the  janitor  of  the  federal  building 
has  been  asked  to  stand  and  deliver  $50  for 
campaign  expenses.  In  several  instances 
where  contributions  have  been  delayed,  the 
victims  not  being  willing  to  submit  to  the 
demands,  threats  of  removal  have  been  made 
to  force  payment.  These  threats  have  come 
from  the  republican  managers  and  not  from 
the  superiors  of  the  men  assessed. —  Watertoum, 
N.  Y.,  Dispatch  to  New  York  Times,  Oct.  21. 

»  *  -s 

One  of  the  office  holders  to  whom  this  cir¬ 
cular  was  sent  was  Postmaster  Preston  E. 
Terry,  Terryville,  Suffolk  county.  Mr.  Terry 
is  a  prominent  prohibitionist,  hut  he  was  lucky 
enough  four  years  ago  to  be  appointed  post¬ 
master  at  Terryville  by  the  republicans. 

Treasurer  Samuel  Thomas’  circular  reached 
Postmaster  Terry  on  August  5  last.  It  asked, 
practically,  for  a  share  of  his  salary  for  cam¬ 
paign  purposes. 

Mr.  Terry  made  up  his  mind  that  no  one 


had  a  right  to  assess  him  in  that  way.  He 
not  only  refused  to  deliver  up,  but  sent  word 
back  to  Gtn.  Thomas  that  he  would  not  con¬ 
tribute. 

Now,  mark  the  spt^ed  with  which  the  Na¬ 
tional  government  avenged  itself  upon  Post¬ 
master  Terry.  Before  September  1  Mr.  Terry 
received  notice  that  his  services  were  no 
longer  required.  He  was  dismissed  from 
office. 

Naturally, he  was  desirous  of  knowing  what 
had  caused  his  dismissal,  and  he  wrote  to  the 
post-office  de[)artment  at  Washington  about  it. 
What  satisfaction  he  got  can  he  found  in  the 
following  letter  receivul  hy  Postmaster  Terry  : 

Post  Office  Depart.ment,  i 

Office  of  the  Fourth  Assistant  Postmaster,  1 
General  Appointmf.nt  Division,  f 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Sept.  7,  1892.  j 

Sir:  Your  communication  of  the27ih  ult.  relative 
to  the  recent  appointment  at  Terryville  has  been  re¬ 
ceived.  In  reply,  you  are  informed  that  it  would 
not  be  jiracticable  for  the  department  to  enter  upon 
written  discussions  of  its  causes  for  changes.  Very 
respectfully,  E.  G  Rathbone, 

Fourth  Assistant  Postinaster-Geneial. 

To  Mr.  P.  E.  Terry. 

—  New  York  Times,  Oct.  23. 

Si  «  » 

An  edict  went  forih  a  few  days  ago  that  the 
postal  employes  should  make  some  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  republican  campaign  fund.  Ac¬ 
cordingly  yesterday  the  local  republican  coun¬ 
ty  committee  issued  a  circular  which  was  sent 
to  every  person  enijiloyed  in  the  postal  service. 
The  assessment  is  10  per  cent,  of  the  year’s  sal¬ 
ary.  Thus  the  clerks  in  the  post-office  who 
receive  from  $400  to  $900  a  year  are  assessed 
from  $40  to  $90.  The  carriers,  who  get  from 
.$600  to  $1,000  per  annum,  are  mulched  $60  to 
$100,  and  so  on  up  to  the  $400  assessment  of 
the  postmaster  himself. — Buffalo  Dispatch  to 
New  York  Times,  Nov.  2. 

«  «  » 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  October  19,  1892. 

Dear  Sir — In  older  that  we  may  win  the 
election  in  November,  it  is  of  vital  importance 
that  we  have  funds  with  which  to  thoroughly 
organize  our  friends  throughout  the  state. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  have  each  county 
thoroughly  canvassed,  and  to  do  so  it  will  re 
quire  a  number  of  speakers  whose  expenses 
will  have  to  be  paid  by  this  committee. 

If  you  are  in  sympathy  with  the  movement 
to  elect  the  nominee  of  the  convention  held  at 
Lake  View,  near  Birmingham,  on  the  loth 
ultimo,  we  respectfully  ask  that  yoti  contribute  the 
sum  of  $50,  xvkich  is  the  amount  assessed  you  by  the 
campaign  committee. 

Send  the  money  by  registered  mail  or  post 
office  money-order  to  L.  W.  Willis.  By  the 
same  mail  please  notlfj  E.  M.  Smith  at  Mont- 
gemery,  Ala.,  that  you  have  donqso,  and  state 
the  amount  sent.  Very  truly  yours, 

Ben  De  Lemos, 

Secretary  Republican  Campaign  Committee. 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  October  28,  1892. 

Dear  Sir — Some  days  since  you  were  notified  by 
the  committee  that  you  are  assessed  fifty  dollars,  to 
which  no  reply  has  been  reeeived.  Your  at¬ 
tention  is  again  called  to  this  matter,  as  you 
have  had  a  sufficient  time  to  make  a  reply. 


The  position  which  you  have  held  under, 
this  administration  has  paid  you  sufficiently 
to  have  justified  a  demand  for  four  times  this 
amount. 

This  committee  keeps  a  list  of  Fulscribers, 
showing  the  amount  of  money  contributed  op¬ 
posite  their  names.  We  must  insist  that  the 
amount  lequested  of  you  be  transmitted  as  directed 
in  this  letter,  forthwith,  the  sum  oj  which  is  $50.00. 

If  no  reply  is  received  hy  or  before  Novem¬ 
ber  6,  1892,  it  will  be  considered  sufficient  evi- 
denceof  your  refusal  tocontribute  as  requested. 

Send  the  money  hy  register! d  mail  or  mon¬ 
ey-order  to  L.  W.  Willis,  Montgomery,  Ala., 
and  notify  by  same  mail  E  M.  Smith,  post- 
office  box  634,  Montgomery,  Ala.,  of  the 
amount  you  have  sent,  that  the  same  may  be 
credited  on  the  pay  roll  of  public  officials  of 
this  state.  L.  W.  Willis, 

Treasurer  of  Republican  Campaign  Commit¬ 
tee. — New  York  Evening  Pest,  Nov.  3. 

•  *  * 

Headquarters  of  Republican  Advisory  1 
Committee,  Room  108,  Imperial  Hotel.  [ 
Baltimore,  Oct.  29,  1892.  ) 

At  a  meeting  of  this  committee  and  city 
members  of  the  republican  state  central  com¬ 
mittee,  held  on  the  above  date,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  were  unanimously 
adopted  : 

Whereas,  There  is  a  large  number  of  per¬ 
sons  holding  office  in  Washington  and  ac¬ 
credited  to  Maryland  as  republicans,  many  of 
whom  do  not  vote  or  reside  in  Maryland  ; 
now,  therefore. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  heretofore  ap¬ 
pointed  to  receive  contributions  from  those 
holding  office  in  Washington  who  are  accredi¬ 
ted  to  Maryland  be  instructed  to  communicate 
with  such  office  holders  and  inform  them  that  it 
is  the  sense  of  this  committee  that  republicans  hold- 
ing  office  should  help  to  bear  the  campaign  expenses 
of  their  state,  and  a  refusal  on  their  part  to  do  so 
will  justify  this  committee  in  asking  that  their 
places  be  filled  by  more  useful  republicans. 

Inclosed  with  this  circular  was  the  follow¬ 
ing  notice,  addressed  to  the  person  in  each 
case  to  whom  the  circulars  were  sent: 

“The  committee  will  be  at  737  North  Capi¬ 
tol  street,  on  Tuesday,  Nov.  1,  between  the 
hours  of  11  and  5  o’clock,  to  receive  contribu¬ 
tions.  Frank  G.  Duhursf,  William  T.  Rob¬ 
erts,  committee.” — New  York  Times,  November  3. 

A  BUSY  CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMIS¬ 
SION. 

Washington,  Oct.  26,  1892. 

To  the  Honorable  Attorney-General : 

Sir — The  commissioner  forwards  herewith 
a  copy  of  testimony  taken  by  it  in  reference 
to  an  alleged  effort  by  Samuel  Thomas,  treas¬ 
urer  of  the  republican  state  committee  of 
New  York,  to  assess  employes  in  the  treasury 
department,  Washington,  together  with  the 
original  letters,  envelopes,  and  enclosures 
sent  to  three  of  the  employes,  marked  exhibits 
A  1,  2,  3;  B  1,  2,  3,  and  C  1,  2,  3. 

It  appears  that  H.  A.  Dobson,  Luther  W. 
Covill  and  Andrew  H.  Stamp  are  clerks  in  the 


392 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


sixth  auditor’s  office;  that  on  or  about  21st  of 
October,  as  shown  by  the  postmark  of  the 
AVashington  post-office  on  the  letters  in  ques¬ 
tion,  Messrs.  Dobson,  Covill  and  Stamp  re¬ 
ceived  each  a  letter  from  the  republican  state 
committee  of  New  York.  This  letter  was 
printed,  thesignature  “Samuel  Thomas,  Treas¬ 
urer,”  being  also  in  print,  and  it  had  at  its 
head  the  names  of  the  chairman  of  the  execu¬ 
tive  committee,  the  treasurer,  the  secretary, 
and  the  chief  clerk  of  the  committee.  It  con 
tained  a  request  for  a  contribution  to  defray 
the  legitimate  and  necessary  expenses  of  the 
campaign  in  New  York.  No  amount  was 
specified  for  contribution,  the  request  merely 
being  for  such  amount  as  the  receiver  might 
choose  to  give.  Inclosed  was  a  stamped  en¬ 
velope  with  on  it,  in  printing,  the  address 
“Samuel  Thomas,  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  New 
York  City.”  The  head-line  for  the  address  in 
the  printed  letter  was  filled  in  in  writing,  in 
one  case  with  the  name  “Andrew  H.  Stamp,’ 
in  another  with  the  name  of  “Luther  W.  Co¬ 
vill,”  intheother  with  thatof  “H.  A. Dobson.” 
The  envelopes  were  addressed:  “Andrew  H. 
Stamp,  AVashington,  D.  C.,  Treasury  Depart¬ 
ment;”  “Luther  AV.  Covill,  AA’ashington,  D  C., 
Treasury  Department,”  and  “H.  A.  Dobson, 
Washington,  Treasury  Department.”  It  ap 
pears  that  there  is  no  H.  A.  Dobson  in  the 
treasury  department,  but  that  Mr.  H.  A.  Dob¬ 
son  frequently  receives  mail  thus  addressed. 
In  the  case  of  Mr.  Stamp  and  in  the  case  of 
Mr.  Covill,  however,  the  address  is  correct. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  New  York  state 
republican  committee  has  sent  letters,  signed 
in  print  with  the  name  of  Samuel  Thomas, 
treasurer  of  the  committee,  to  certain  New 
York  clerks  in  the  departments  at  AVashing- 
ton,  these  letters  being  addressed  to  them  at 
the  treasury  department,  which  is,  of  course,  a 
government  building,  and  containing  stamped 
and  addressed  envelopes  in  which  their  con¬ 
tributions  could  be  sent  back  to  Samuel 
Thomas  at  New  York.  Clearly,  therefore,  the 
New  York  state  committee,  through  Samuel 
Thomas,  and  whoever  had  been  concerned  in 
addressing  the  letters,  has  been  soliciting  by 
letter  government  employes  in  a  building  oc¬ 
cupied  in  the  discharge  of  official  duties.  The 
commission  has  always  held  that  the  prohibi¬ 
tion  to  solicit,  “in  any  manner,  whatever,”  in 
a  government  building,  includes  solicitation 
by  letter.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  opinion  that 
the  offense  committed  by  Samuel  Thomas,  and 
perhaps  other  members  of  the  republican 
state  committee  of  New  York,  comes  under 
section  12  of  the  civil  service  act,  and  has  the 
honor  to  forward  the  papers  to  you  for  such 
action  as  you  may  deem  best. 

Very  respectfully, 

Theodore  Roosevelt, 

Acting  President. 

Attorney  General  Miller,  when  questioned 
on  the  subject  this  afternoon,  said  he  had  just 
received  the  papers  in  the  case,  and  had  not 
yet  had  time  to  examine  them.  He  added 
that  he  would  investigate  this  particular  case 
himself,  hut  certainly  would  not  act  until-  Mr. 


Thomas  had  full  opportunity  to  answer  the  charges 
against  him. — Netv  York  Times,  Oct.  1. 

«  ♦ 

Civil  Service  Commissioner  Roosevelt  for- 
w'arded  this  communication  to  the  attorney- 
general’s  office  to-day: 

“Sir — The  commission  directs  me  to  inclose 
to  you  a  copy  of  the  report  and  testimony 
taken  by  the  scretary  of  the  commission,  Mr. 
Doyle,  in  an  investigation  held  at  Watertown, 
N.  Y.,  by  the  direction  of  the  commission. 

“It  appears  from  this  that  De Witt  C.  Middle- 
ton,  the  chairman  of  the  republican  county 
committee  in  Jefferson,  has  been  engaged  in 
an  effort  to  assess  the  federal  employes  in  the 
post-offices  in  Jefferson  county,  having  at¬ 
tempted  to  collect  very  large  sums  of  money 
from  them.  Subsequently,  when  it  was  an¬ 
nounced  in  the  papers  that  the  commission 
would  investigate  the  facts  an  effort  was  made 
to  withdraw  these  circulars.  It  does  not  ap¬ 
pear  that  any  money  Avas  contributed  in  re¬ 
sponse  to  them  and  the  secretary  of  the  com¬ 
mission,  Mr.  Doyle,  states  that  it  has  even 
been  decided  that  no  money  will  be  received 
from  the  officers  and  employes  at  the  post- 
office  at  AV'atertown.  It  does  not  appear  that 
Mr.  Middleton  is  responsible  for  this  latter 
action,  and  it  will  be  observed  that  he  repeat¬ 
ed  the  solicitation  on  October  15,  the  first 
letter  having  been  written  on  Sept.  19. 

“The  commission  has  been  able  to  get  but 
one  of  the  envelopes  in  which  the  circulars 
were  sent.  This  is  the  one  addressed  to  the 
postmaster  and  is  addressed  “E.  M.  Gates, 
city.”  It  was  delivered  to  him  at  the  post- 
office.  The  postmaster  furnished  frankly  all 
the  information  in  his  power.  It  was  more 
difficult  to  obtain  it  from  some  of  the  other 
employes,  and  the  commission  does  not  feel 
competent  to  decide  whether  the  circulars 
making  the  assessments  can  be  considered  as 
directed  to  the  employes  in  a  government 
building  or  not,  nor  does  it  feel  that  it 
would  be  advisable  for  it  to  continue  further 
the  investigation,  in  view  of  its  inability  to 
administer  oaths  and  summons  witnesses. 

“It  appears,  however,  beyond  question,  that 
a  resolute  attempt  was  made  to  assess  the  fede¬ 
ral  employes,  and  that  the  letters  containing 
the  assessment  circulars  were  delivered  in  the 
government  building.  The  commission  turns 
the  papers  over  to  your  office  for  such  action 
as  you  may  deem  wise  in  the  premises. — New 
York  Times,  Nov.  3. 

»  *  » 

The  civil  service  commission  have  sent  to  the  at¬ 
torney-general  copies  of  a  circular  sent  to  C.  K. 
Ketcham,  the  postmaster  at  Ditney,  Ind.,  and  of  a 
letter  written  by  this  postmaster  to  the  editor  of  the 
Nonconformist. 

“It  appears  from  this  circular,”  says  the  commis¬ 
sion  in  its  letter  to  the  attorney-general,  “  that  John 
K.  Gowdy,  the  chairman  of  the  Indiana  state  com¬ 
mittee.  has  sent  a  letter  to  Mr.  Ketcham,  this  letter 
being  addressed  to  him  as  the  postmaster  at  Ditney, 
Ind.  In  this  letter  request  is  made  for  funds  to  in 
sure  republican  success,  the  letter  stating  in  one 
place  the  legitimate  expenses  must  be  met,  and  in 
another,  ‘the  success  of  the  ticket  is  involved  as  well 
as  the  pleasant  conditions  about  you.’  It  would 
certainly  appear  that  in  addressing  the  letter  to  C. 
K.  Ketcham  as  postmaster  at  Ditney,  Mr.  Gowdy  has 


been  guilty  of  soliciting  him  in  a  government  build¬ 
ing.  The  papers  are  also  turned  over  to  your  office 
for  such  action  as  you  may  deem  wise.” — Associated 
Press  Dispatch,  Nov.  6. 


THE  ONSLAUGHT. 

Ft.  Wayne.— Charles  A.  Zollinger  is  named  as  a 
candidate  lor  the  postmastership,  but  it  is  said  he 
prefers  to  be  state  pension  agent,  which  he  held  dur¬ 
ing  Cleveland’s  former  administration.  Wright  W. 
Rockhill,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Ft.  Wayne 
Journal,  wants  to  be  postmaster.  John  H.  Winge- 
mach,  principal  of  the  Lutheran  schools,  is  a  candi¬ 
date.  P.  J.  Fallon  is  talked  of  as  having  a  promise 
of  the  deputy  postmastership.  Montgomery  Ham¬ 
ilton,  one  of  Congre.ssman  McNagney’s  hardest  work¬ 
ers,  wants  the  Heidelburg  consulate.  Andrew  J. 
Moynlhan,  editor  of  the  Journal,  is  talked  of  for  an 
Irish  consulate.  Wm.  Kaough,  ex  postmaster,  wants 
something,  he  is  not  particular  what.  Louis  Jac- 
quel  thinks  he  (Jacquel),  should  have  the  post- 
office.  W.  P.  Denny  will  be  pushed  for  a  place  in 
the  patent  office  at  Washington.  P.  W.  Schader  has 
aspirations  for  a  place  in  the  attorney-general’s 
office.  Thomas  Mannix,  who  looked  after  the  mail 
transfer  ageney  four  years  ago  at  the  depot,  is  sure 
of  reappointment.  Clarence  Edsall,  clerk  of  demo¬ 
cratic  headquarters,  and  Joseph  Cope  are  candidates 
for  government  clerkships.  Over  one  hundred  men 
have  already  made  the  rounds  of  politicians  to  se¬ 
cure  places  in  the  post-office  and  government  build¬ 
ing. 

Evansville.— August  Brentano,  Jack  Nolan,  and 
James  D.  Saunders  are  the  conspicuously-named 
candidates  for  the  post-office,  with  Nolan  having 
much  the  strongest  following.  Thomas  C.  Bridwell 
has  an  eye  upon  the  revenue  collectorship.  He  has 
just  closed  a  losing  campaign  for  county  clerk.  Jo¬ 
seph  Cox,  of  HoAvelPs  Station,  is  after  the  position 
of  surveyor  of  customs.  He  held  the  place  under 
Cleveland  four  j'ears  ago.  Captain  F.  M.  Dougherty 
is  looking  after  the  supervising  inspectorship,  but 
there  will  be  several  more  applicants. 

Goshen.— The  great  scramble  here  is  for  the  post- 
office.  Elias  Gortner  was  the  first  to  spring  into  the 
arena  with  a  petition  which  is  being  numerously 
signed.  Mr.  Gortner  has  a  son-in-law,  J.  C.  Beck,  jr., 
in  the  mail  service.  J.  C.  Beck,  sr.,  is  also  a  full- 
fledged  candidate,  and  so  is  Thomas  A.  Starr,  who 
rendered  Congressman-elect  Conn  great  assistance. 
Mr.  Starr  is  the  Goshen  Times'  candidate,  while 
Martin  V.  Starr,  also  a  candidate,  is  supposed  to  be 
backed  by  the  Goshen  News.  J.  A.  Beane,  of  the 
Goshen  Democrat,  will  also  be  pushed  forward.  D. 
L.  Miller  and  Milton  Galentine  are  candidates  and 
there  is  a  possibility  that  J.  A.  Arthur  will  be  sprung 
as  a  dark  horse.  The  struggle  for  this  place  over¬ 
shadows  all  other  possible  gifts  by  the  incoming  ad¬ 
ministration  just  at  present. 

ANDERSON.— For  the  postmastership  John  Baker, 
the  Adams  express  agent:  B.  B.  Campbell,  deputy 
county  clerk,  and  George  Beehe,  secretary  of  the 
democratic  central  committee,  will  contest.  C.  K. 
McCullough,  whose  name  has  been  mentioned  in 
Washington  dispatches  in  connection  with  controller 
ol  the  currency,  is  not  a  candidate,  and  his  friends 
think  that  springing  his  name  is  only  intended  to 
sidetrack  him  and  get  him  out  of  the  way  of  some 
good  home  appointment.  James  J.  Netterville, 
John  L.  Forkner,  D.  F.  Mustard  and  W.  R.  Myers  will 
control  the  patronage  in  this  county,  while  A.  C. 
Davis  a  House  employe,  wilt  be  pretty  close  to  Mr. 
Bynum  when  at  comes  to  naming  men  for  places  at 
W’ashington. 

Columbus.— Wirt  Hord,  formerly  of  Indianapolis, 
and  financial  secretary  of  the  Gray  club,  is  a  candi¬ 
date  for  government  printer  under  the  Cleveland 
administration.  Bud  King  wants  a  position  in  the 
government  printing  office.  The  list  of  Avould-be 
postmasters  includes  Col.  H.  Daily,  of  Mexican 
war  fame,  Capt.  G.  E.  Finney,  ex-editor  of  the 
Herald;  Da\id  Stobo,  ex-couuty  recorder;  the  Hon. 
W.  S.  Swengel:  C.  M.  Spencer,  ex-mayor;  W.  W. 
Stader,  ex-mayor;  John  Mahoney,  ex-city  treas¬ 
urer;  George  King,  jr.,  ex-rccorder  Jackson  comity 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


393 


Jas.  F.  Toohey,  proprietor  St.  Denishotel;  C.  Cooper, 
city  attorney;  Thos.  A.  Rush;  John  Carr, councilman; 
and  Dr.  Barrett,  ex-state  senator. 

New  Castle.— For  the  post-offlce,  so  far  as  heard 
from,  Sam  Arnold,  Ed  Smith,  T.  A.  Balser,  D.  A. 
Tracy,  P.  M.  Gillies,  C.  F.  Sud  worth.  Dr.  Kissell, 
John  Heichart,  Col.  John  Mulford  and  Julia  Loer. 
Thos.  Bogot  has  his  eye  on  the  mission  to  Ncrway 
and  Sweden  ;  James  Brown  wants  very  badly  to  go 
to  Rome ;  John  Branch  would  like  a  good  clerkship, 
and  Col.  Reuben  Barr  is  looking  out  for  a  good  thing 
in  the  treasury  department,  something  about  the 
size  of  first  auditor.  There  ate  others  aspiring  to 
clerkships  in  the  postal  service. 

Greensburg.— Cicero  Northern,  the  only  democrat 
elected  to  the  mayoralty  of  this  city  for  the  past  ten 
years,  is  a  candidate  for  postmaster.  John  Lugen- 
bell,  a  party  orator,  same  case.  Col.  Hugh  Galla¬ 
gher,  defeated  candidate  for  county  treasurer,  wa.s 
Cleveland’s  agent  at  Pine  Ridge.  He  will  not  ask  to 
be  reinstated.  Abel  Ewing,  who  recently  resigned 
the  position  of  deputy  warden  in  the  pri.son  south, 
will  demand  recognition.  James  E.  Mendenhall,  ex¬ 
editor  of  the  New  Era,  is  a  candidate  for  collector  of 
revenue.  He  will  have  the  backing  of  Congressman 
Holman  and  the  entire  party  machinery  of  this  quar¬ 
ter  of  the  state.  W.  J.  Johnston  wants  to  be  city  post¬ 
master,  J.  W.  Fletcher  gauger.  Hal  Hamilton,  a  re 
cent  convert  from  the  people's  party,  and  who  made 
the  race  for  prosecuting  attorney,  wants  to  go  into 
the  attorney-general’s  office.  Ex-State  Senator  Cor 
tez  Ewing,  chairman  democratic  county  central  com¬ 
mittee,  son  in-law  of  Governor-elect  Matthews,  is 
timid  about  making  his  wants  known,  but  will  enter 
for  something.  Editor  Clark,  of  the  New  Era;  Thos, 
H.  Greenfield,  Riley  Billings,  Lewis  Wallace,  Davison 
Wilson,  H.  C.  Sandusky  and  Ale  Howard  will  seek 
recognition  of  some  sort.  Benj.  Jenkins,  of  St.  Paul; 
Sanford  Grayson,  of  Westport;  James  Tarplee,  of 
Clarksburg,  and  Fred  Wolfe,  of  Newport,  expect  to 
be  rewarded  for  political  services. 

Mt.  Vernon. — The  principal  office  of  emolument 
in  Posey  county  is  the  post-office  here,  and  Col.  A.  A. 
Sparks,  editor  Daily  Democrat;  J.  M.  Harlem,  chair¬ 
man  democratic  county  committee  ;  J.  C.  LefTel,  edi¬ 
tor  the  Sfar;  Enoch  E.  Thomas,  ex-mayor;  Captain 
Silas  P.  Jones  and  Henry  Yunker  are  already  avowed 
candidates.  Col.  J.  W.  Hiatt,  of  New  Harmony, 
wants  an  appointment  at  Washington,  waiting  fora 
copy  of  the  "Blue  Book  ’’  before  making  a  selection. 
V.  M.  Courtwright,  an  old  soldier,  and  ex-county  re¬ 
corder,  it  is  said,  wants  to  be  special  pension  exam¬ 
iner. 

New  Albany.— The  main  topic  is  the  successor  to 
Postmaster  Walter  B.  Godfrey.  Charles  W.  Schindler, 
recorder  of  Floyd  county,  is  an  avowed  candidate. 
During  the  campaign  he  was  Congressman  Brown’s 
right-hand  man, and  it  is  said  that  Brown  will  urge  his 
appointment.  Schindler’s  term  as  recorder  does  not 
expire  for  two  years  yet,  but  he  has  already  secured 
signatures  to  his  petition  to  be  appointed  postmaster. 
Postmaster  Godfrey  does  not  anticipate  being  re¬ 
moved  before  July  next.  Sheriff  John  Thornton, 
whose  term  expires  next  week,  is  looking  toward  the 
post-office  with  its  82,400  salary  and  8300  as  custodian 
of  the  custom-house.  Adam  Heimberger,  a  young 
democratic  leader,  is  being  urged  for  the  same  place. 
Thomas  Hanlon,  chairman  democratic  county  com¬ 
mittee,  is  the  only  applicant  for  internal  revenue 
collector,  a  position  now  held  by  Joseph  Throop, 
with  headquarters  at  Terre  Haute.  Hanlon  admir¬ 
ably  managed  the  campaign,  and  is  believed  to  be 
backed  by  Senator  Voorhees.  Hanlon  was  appointed 
collector  in  1885  through  Voorhees’  influence,  but 
after  holding  the  position  for  one  year  the  United 
States  Senate  refused  to  confirm  the  appointment. 
This  was  due  to  the  opposition  of  Senator  Harrison, 
who  claimed  that  Hanlon  was  incompetent. 

Vincennes.— Royal  E.  Purcell,  editor  of  the  Vin¬ 
cennes  Sun,  is  an  applicant  for  the  post-oflBce.  Dex¬ 
ter  Gardner  is  also  a  candidate.  Patrick  Kelleher 
and  John  M.  Berry  are  aspirants  for  agricultural 
agent  of  Indiana,  to  succeed  Daniel  Alton. 

Richmond.— The  post-office  with  its  salary  of  $3,- 
000  per  annum  is  sought  by  the  Hon.  Luther  M. 
Mering,  defeated  candidate  for  congress;  John  H. 
Rolling,  a  zealous  worker;  John  P.  Thistlewaite,  ex¬ 


mayor,  and  Henry  Culler.  Frank  Elder  could  have 
the  place,  but  he  is  provided  for.  John  H.  Macks,  a 
former  collector,  and  W.  K.  Young,  deputy  oil  in¬ 
spector,  want  to  be  collector  of  internal  revenue. 
Judge  L.  C.  Abbott,  nothing  special  in  view,  would 
like  to  be  United  States  district  attorney. 

Kentland.— For  the  post-office,  C.  F.  Wifenberg, 
W.  J.  Cunningham,  W.  T.  Drake  and  J.  B.  Howe. 
Public  sentiment  leads  to  Wittenberg,  but  the 
chances  favor  Cunningham  because  of  zealous  party 
work.  J.  T  Sanderson  is  mentioned  asa  candidate 
in  the  future  for  United  States  judge;  is  a  life-long 
friend  of  Senator  Turpie,  and  in  1844  was  a  candi¬ 
date  for  territorial  judge. 

Huntington.— For  the  post-office,  J.  M  Wright,  A. 
J.  Rosebrough  and  N.  A.  Myers,  old  soldiers,  have 
a  goodly  following.  The  railway  men  are  under¬ 
stood  to  be  supporting  James  Claybaugh,  who  is  em¬ 
ployed  by  the  Chicago  &  Erie  line.  John  J.  Young, 
a  retired  business  man,  has  the  office  in  view.  J.  A. 
W.  Kiniz  will  probably  present  himself  asa  candi¬ 
date  for  Collector  of  revenue  in  the  sixih  district. 

English  —Mrs.  Melissa  Bird  is  a  candidate  for 
postmistress;  no  opposition.  William  J.  McDermott 
will  seek  position  as  proof-reader  in  the  public  print¬ 
ing  department.  Ed  Wells  wants  to  be  postmaster  at 
Bird’s  Eye,  and  Joshua  Holland  at  Taswell.  George 
W.  Baltins  will  seek  similar  recognition  at  Marengo. 
John  V.  Benz,  of  Harrison  county,  will  be  pushed  for 
collector  of  revenue  in  the  seventh  district,  while 
William  L.  Gregory,  it  is  understood,  will  stand  for 
postmaster  at  Grantsburg. 

Hartford  City.— Dr.  Henry  C.  Davison,  who  wa.s 
pension  examiner  under  Cleveland,  wants  his  old 
appointment.  Dr.  W.  N.  Cronin  is  also  an  applicant. 
James  Ozenbaugh,  an  old  soldier,  and  James  Ken¬ 
ney,  as  well  as  a  host  of  minor  lights,  wants  the 
post-office. 

Greencastle.— Willis  G  Neff  wants  the  post-office. 
He  was  the  flist  appointee  under  the  former  Cleve¬ 
land  administration.  Geo.  J.  Langsdale  resigning  be¬ 
fore  expiration  of  term  rather  than  serve  under 
Cleveland.  Rival  candidates  are  W.  B.  Vestal,  chair 
man  of  the  Democratic  central  committee;  Louis 
Steeg,  Ed  Haneman,  T.  C.  Grooms  and  Judge  Bachel- 
der.  Putnam  has  a  candidate  for  speaker  of  the  In 
diana  housein  theperson  of  the  Hon.  Frank  D.  Ader, 
joint  representative-elect  of  the  counties  of  Clay,  Put¬ 
nam  and  Montgomery.  Dr.  N.  G.  Smith  will  be  pre¬ 
sented  for  appointment  as  adjutant-general. 

Crawfordsville.— Walter  Hulet  will  be  pushed  for 
internal  revenue  collector.  He  is  a  warm  personal 
friend  of  Congressman  Brook.'-hire.  James  Wright, 
John  A.  Booe  and  William  E.  Henkle  are  conspicu¬ 
ously  mentioned  for  the  post-offlce. 

Logansport.— Three  strong  candidates  for  the  post- 
office  are  V.  C.  Hanawalt,  chairman  of  the  democratic 
county  committee;  B.  F.  Louthain,  editor  of  the 
Logansport  Pharon,  and  T.  J.  Immei,  a  prominent 
business  man.  It  is  said  that  H.  D.  Hattery,  the 
presidential  elector  from  this  district,  will  have  the 
naming  of  the  man,  and  he  is  quoted  as  saying  that 
if  it  becomes  too  difficult  to  decide,  he  will  take  it 
himself.  The  Hon  D.  P.  Baldwin,  formerly  a  re¬ 
publican,  is  prominently  mentioned  for  a  good  con- 
sultate.  Dr.  H.  J.  Banta,  ex-republican,  and  form¬ 
erly  agent  of  the  Mescalero  Indians,  is  said  to  be 
booked  for  a  good  paying  agency  in  return  for  his 
democratic  campaigning.  Wiles  Berry,  an  artist, 
wants  something.  The  Hon.  J.  C.  Nelson,  beaten  by 
Chase  for  lieutenant-governor,  and  C.  N.  Graffis, 
deputy  county  auditor,  will  seek  recognition.  A.  D. 
Fansler,  Frank  Riley,  and  H.  H.  Six,  among  the 
younger  democrats,  have  the  first  call  for  clerkships. 

Shelbyville.— Squire  L.  Major,  who  held  the  post- 
offlce  under  Cleveland,  it  is  understood,  will  not  re¬ 
fuse  a  second  term.  A  relative  of  his,  Mr.  William 
J.  Buxton,  ex-county  recorder  and  for  two  years 
chairman  of  the  county  central  committee,  is  an 
avowed  candidate  for  the  place.  So  is  ex-Mayor 
John  W.  Vannoy.  Judge  K.  M.  Hord,  who  managed 
Congressman  Holman’s  campaign  in  Shelby  county 
in  the  nominating  convention  against  Bellamy  S. 
Sutton,  favors  Vannoy.  Edward  A.  Major,  present 
city  clerk  and  son  of  the  late  Judge  Steven  Major,  is 


after  the  same  office.  Mr.  Major,  as  secretary,  prac¬ 
tically  managed  the  campaign  in  this  county  two 
years  ago. 

Connersvii.le.— Applicants  for  the  post  office: 
William  Merrill,  chairman  of  county  central  com¬ 
mittee;  John  M.  Higgs,  editor  Connersville  Fiamtiier, 
and  Elder  Charles  M.  Reed,  a  medicinal  agent.  Dr. 
Joshua  Chitwood  wants  to  be  minister  to  some  place 
where  the  German  language  is  spoken.  E.  J.  Smith, 
attorney,  will  take  a  clerkship;  so  also  Alf  Hatchlas, 
secretary  of  the  local  democracy.  A.  M.  Mayer  would 
like  to  get  into  the  post-office.  James  L.  Miller 
wants  the  deputy-postmastership.  George  Mayers, 
Willard  Walley,  (fflarles  Hires,  Michael  Gillespie 
and  Vincent  Gibes  want  to  be  mail  carriers.  Dufley 
Murphy  and  James  Downs  want  to  be  revenue  col¬ 
lector.  Thomas  J.  Higgs  wants  a  department  clerk¬ 
ship. 

Madison.— Judge  John  R.  Cravens  and  the  Hon. 
C.  A.  Worbly  are  named  for  foreign  missions.  Can¬ 
didates  for  postmaster:  Ex-Mayor  Joseph  T.  Brash- 
ear,  Capt.  Jos.  C.  Abbott,  Ed  G.  Nicklaus,  A.  S. 
Chapman,  editor  of  the  Democrat-,  John  Adams,  pro¬ 
prietor  of  the  Herald;  John  McGregor,  Simeon  E.  Le- 
land,  Mrs.  Bessie  H.  Woolford,  C.  I.  Branham,  John 
W.  Scott  and  G.  K.  Lodge.  Congressman  Brown  says 
that  the  democrats  of  Madison  must  decide  on  one 
before  he  will  make  a  recommendation,  Thomas 
Gavin  is  mentioned  for  deputy  revenue  collector. 
Fergus  Cochran  is  a  candidate  for  superintendent  of 
construction  of  the  new  public  building  here,  and 
Ben  Sering  for  surveyor.  Fred  Schran,  Alex  Coch¬ 
ran.  Thomas  Leland,  Michael  Hughes,  Andrew 
Steinhardt,  Will  White  and  others  want  to  be  mail- 
carriers. 

Liberty. — For  postmaster,  Theo.  Miller,  John 
Maley,  Geo.  W.  Pigman,  Luther  Leonard  Charles  A. 
Drapier  and  Dr.  W.  W.  Shriner.  Railway  mail  serv 
ice,  William  Drlggs,  Will  Hamilton  wants  a  place 
at  Washington.  Thomas  Pentecost,  of  Colhge  Cor¬ 
ner,  wants  to  join  the  revenue  service. 

Marion.— Post-office,  Clarence  E.  Hawkinsand  W. 
J.  Houck,  of  the  Marion  Leader,  defeated  for  senator 
by  O.  A.  Baker.  Mr.  Hawkins  served  four  years  as  a 
mail  clerk  under  Cleveland,  and  did  good  work  as 
chairman  of  the  county  central  committee.  Charles 
Kile,  of  Vae  Leader;  Gilbert  Wilson  and  Miles  Mur¬ 
phy  are  also  aspirants.  Dr.  Marshall  Shiveley  served 
on  the  pension  board  under  Cleveland,  and  it  is 
believed  he  will  again  hold  the  place.  Dr.  Hubbard 
and  Dr.  Kimball  are  also  mentioned. 

Gosport.— For  the  post-offlce  petitions  are  already 
circulated,  but  it  is  thought  it  will  take  a  local  elec¬ 
tion  to  decide.  Aspirants  Include  W.  D.  Deitrich, 
Clinton  L.  Wampier,  Dr.  F.  V.  Stueky,  Joseph  P. 
Gentry,  James  Chenowith  and  Chas.  M.  Rogers. 
Luther  U.  Downey  and  Edward  S.  Davis  are  expect¬ 
ing  some  favor  of  Cleveland.  Edward  F.  Graham 
wants  to  be  clerk  in  the  post-offlce.  Dr.  J.  W.  Smith, 
Dr.  J.  M.  Stueky,  Dr.  C.  A.  Pritchard  and  Dr.  Ben 
Fox  hope  to  be  appointed  on  the  pension  examining 
board. 

Indianapolis— Isaac  P.  Gray  wants  something 
good.  8.  E.  Morss  is  credited  with  a  willingness  to 
succeed  John  C.  New  as  consul-general  to  London. 
William  K.  English  wants  to  be  sent  abroad.  Will¬ 
iam  F.  Christian  will  ask  for  the  Indianapolis  post- 
office.  Lewis  Jordan  wantsany  good  paying  position. 
Richard  Herrick,  of  the  state  committee  rooms,  wants 
any  83,000  a  year  place.  Thomas  Colbert,  present 
superintendent  of  police,  wants  to  be  United  States 
marshal  in  case  Edward  Hawkins  is  not  a  candidate. 
Mr.  Hawkins  says  he  does  not  want  the  place  again. 
He  will  probably  be  a  candidate  for  mayor  and  will 
give  way  to  others  seeking  federal  recognition.  John 
Steeg,  present  secretary  of  the  board  of  public  safety, 
wants  to  be  collector  of  customs.  So  does  August 
Kuhn,  who  was  collector  under  Cleveland  before.  So 
does  A.  Abromet.  Charley  Taylor  wants  any  fat 
place  about  the  federal  building.  There  are  two  or 
three  hundred  ward  workers  who  will  ask  for  places 
in  this  building  or  at  Washington.  John  W.  Kern 
would  like  to  succeed  Smiley  Chambers  as  district 
attorney.  So  would  Leon  Bailey.  The  few  colored 
men  in  Indianapolis  who  worked  for  and  voted  with 


394 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLF^. 


the  democratic  party  in  tlie  recent  election  will  be 
disappointed  unless  they  are  rewarded.  “There  are 
more  than  two  thousand  places,  paying  from  81,000 
to  82,000,  held  by  colored  men,  such  as  chaplains  in 
the  United  States  army,  timber  agents,  land  agents, 
heads  of  bureaus,  food  inspectors,  etc.,”  said  one  of 
these  colored  politicians  to-day.  “Democratic  col¬ 
ored  men  should  be  given  these  places  as  far  as 
possible.”  It  is  said  that  the  following  appointments 
would  suit  the  colored  democrats  of  Indiana :  Min¬ 
ister  to  Hayti,  E.  E.  Cooper;  fourth  auditor  of  the 
treasury,  A.  E.  Manning:  recorder  of  deeds,  L.  E. 
Christy.  These  aspiring  colored  democrats  are  car¬ 
rying  around  with  them  the  following  list  of  the  best 
otliees  held  now  and  heretofore  by  colored  men: 
Recorder  of  de«ds,  $15,000,  R  K.  Bruce:  minister  to 
Hayti,  83,000,  John  Durham ;  minister  to  Liberia, 
84,000,  VV.  D.  McCoy ;  consul  to  San  Domingo,  82,500. 
H.  T.  Downing;  consul  to  Kingston.  83.000  (white 
man);  consul  to  Loanda,  81,500  (white  man);  super¬ 
intendent  Freedmen’s  hospital,  $2,500,  Dr.  C.  U. 
Purvis:  assistant  librarian  house  of  representatives, 
$2,000,  W.  II.  Smith;  surveyor  port  Galveston,  Texas, 
$5,000,  N.  W.  Caney  ;  Indian  agent,  Oklahoma,  82,000 
(white  man):  recorder  general  land  office,  83,000,  the 
Rev  D.  P.  Roberts:  fourth  auditor  treasury,  84,000, 
John  R.  Lynch. 

\V.4.SHiXGTON— R.  C  Davis,  of  the  Peoples’  National 
Bank,  wants  to  be  national  bank  examiner  of  the 
state.  Ex-Congressman  O’Neal  is  talked  of  for  dis¬ 
trict  attorney.  For  postmaster,  J.  W.  McCarty,  jr., 
Hamlet  Allan  and  Wm.  Guy.  Deputy  revenue  col¬ 
lector,  the  Hon.  John  H.  Spencer.— From  the  Indian¬ 
apolis  EveningNews,  Nov.  17  and  18,  1892. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

Mr.  Curti'^  was  the  most  influential  repre¬ 
sentative  of  that  true  patriotism  which 
Washington  iuvoaed  in  his  last  words  to  his 
countrymen,  and  his  loss  is  a  national  calam¬ 
ity  which  long  will  be  felt. 

In  course  of  time  the  whole  American  peo¬ 
ple  will  recognize  the  pre  eminent  value  of 
his  services  in  this  second  struggle  for  polit¬ 
ical  freedom  which  now  is  waging.  George 
Washington  delivered  his  country  from  the 
despotism  of  the  Jlritish  crown,  but  the  super¬ 
stition  of  divine  right  was  not  exterminated 
by  the  union  of  our  states.  As  Mr.  Curtis  well 
said,  “It  was  transferred,  in  justification  of 
Washington’s  warning  from  a  king  to  a 
party,”  and  George  William  Curtis  asthe  hon¬ 
ored  leader  of  the  army  of  independents, 
fought  the  first  battles  in  the  war  for  our  po¬ 
litical  rights  against  the  tyranny  of  party.  To 
use  his  own  words  again: 

“The  old  fiction  of  the  law  in  monarchies, 
that  the  king  can  do  no  wrong,  has  become 
the  practical  faith  of  great  multitudes  in  this 
republic  in  regard  to  party.” 

He  was  the  independent  whom  all  partisans 
were  forced  to  respect  an  1  whose  leadership  all 
patriots  freely  recognized. 

As  Washington  was  reviled  as  the  traitor, 
insurgent  and  rebel,  so  Curtis  was  jeered  at  by 
the  creatures  of  that  tyranny  whose  right 
he  denied,  as  pharisee,  renegade  and  mug¬ 
wump.  *  *  * 

The  position  of  Curtis  was  almost  unique. 
His  political  services  had  been  eminent  and 
for  them  he  had  asked  nothing.  His  devotion 
to  his  party  had  been  absorbing.  Of  his  sin- 
ceriv^  there  could  be  no  doubt. 

The  history  of  all  countries  has  shown  that 


when  a  leader  is  needed  in  a  social  or  political 
crisis,  some  great  man  soon  stands  forth  pre¬ 
eminently  fitted  for  that  leadership.  By  birth, 
associations  and  many  facts  of  theearlier  years 
of  his  life,  Mr.  Curtis  was  especially  equipped 
for  that  contest  against  the  political  bondageof 
the  American  people  which  glorified  his  later 
years.  Had  he  lived  at  another  time  his  serv¬ 
ices  would  n(»t  have  been  called  for,  or  would 
not  have  availed  so  much.  T’^ntil  the  end  of 
the  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams, 
and  for  more  than  the  first  third  of  our  histo¬ 
ry,  though  party  spirit  ran  high  and  its  bitter¬ 
ness  had  already  caused  al'^rm  among  thought¬ 
ful  friends  of  the  republic,  it  had  not  yet 
armed  itself  with  the  power  of  patronage  and 
consequently  had  not  yet  been  able  to  over¬ 
come  the  popular  will.  *  *  ® 

In  1808  John  Adams  said  :  “Party  spirit 
confounds  the  distinction  between  truth  and 
falsehood,  right  and  wrong,  and  it  corrupts 
the  moral  sense,”  but  true  as  this  indictment 
then  was  and  still  is,  excessive  party  spirit 
alone  could  not  prevent  the  American  people 
from  governing  themselves  according  to  the 
system  guaranteed  by  the  constitution  until  it 
was  allied  with  the  spoils  system.  This  com¬ 
bination  is  what  endangers  our  institutions 
and  destroys  confidence  in  the  method  of  gov¬ 
ernment  by  party.  *  ^  * 

To  free  his  countrymen  from  the  chains 
thrown  around  them  by  this  alliance  was  the 
work  of  the  ripe  years  of  George  William  Cur¬ 
tis.  »  *  » 

The  work  before  him  who  would  attack  this 
evil,  involved,  first  the  breaking  away  from 
tbe  superstition  of  party  worship,  and  then 
the  creation  of  a  public  opinion  in  favor  of  a 
decent,  business-like  method  of  filling  the 
public  offices.  No  man  who  had  not  proven 
his  devotion  to  the  principles  of  one  of  the 
great  parties  could  have  any  influence  as  an 
independent  in  the  attempt  to  show  the  follv 
of  blind  partisanship.  No  man  who  had  not 
proven  his  devotion  to  the  principles  which 
had  made  the  republican  party  great  and 
grand  could  have  had  any  influence  in  the 
crusade  which  was  preached  by  George  Will¬ 
iam  Curtis.  He  was  ripe  for  it  just  when  the 
time  was  ripe  for  him.  Other  questions  of 
more  immediate  moment  had  engrossed  the 
attention  of  the  people  until  the  new  Declara¬ 
tion  of  Independence  was  made  in  the  pre¬ 
sentation  of  the  civil  service  reform  bill.  A 
glance  at  the  services  rendered  by  George 
William  Cnrtis  to  the  republican  party  will 
show  how  eminently  he  was  fitted  to  lead  that 
crusade.  »  »  *  *  —Pjorn  the  Address  ot 

Charles  B.  Wilby,  before  the  Literary  Club  of  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  October  1. 

At  the  September  meeting  of  the  executive 
committee  of  Buffalo  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association  appropriate  action  on  the  death 
of  President  George  William  Curtis  was  taken 
by  adoption  of  the  following 
“  MEMORIAL. 

“The  death  of  George  William  Curtis  has 
taken  from  the  civil  service  reform  its  fore¬ 


most  champion,  and  in  common  with  all 
friends  of  the  cause  to  which  he  had  given 
the  last  and  best  years  of  his  life,  we  feel  that 
it  has  sustained  a  loss  almost  overw’helming. 
He  was  indeed  our  great  leader,  wise,  devote<l, 
able,  fearless,  faithful.  He  brought  to  the 
service  of  this  reform  a  mind  of  the  first  or¬ 
der,  trained  in  the  most  admirable  manner. 
He  was  an  attractive  and  vigorous  writer, 
and  an  orator  of  such  persuasive  eloquence 
that  it  may  be  justly  said  he  had  no  superior. 
His  character  was  altogether  noble.  The  bit¬ 
terest  opponents  of  the  cau.se  he  advocated, 
equally  with  its  friends,  knew  and  acknowl¬ 
edged  his  sincerity,  and  to  those  who  were  not 
well  Informed  as  to  its  purposes  and  methods 
it  seemed  incredible  that  he  should  be  its  de¬ 
voted  leader  if  it  did  not  merit  success.  In  a 
time  when  personal  authority  is  little  re¬ 
garded,  his  judgment  upon  large  questions  of 
social  obligations  and  public  morals  carried 
more  weight  jierhaps  than  that  of  any  other 
.American. 

“  But  great  leader  as  he  was,  he  never  in¬ 
sisted  upon  primacy.  His  leadership  was 
never  disputed  because  he  never  sought  it  and 
because  he  was  so  hearty  and  generous  a  com¬ 
rade.  He  died  at  the  height  of  bis  power. 
At  an  age  when  most  men  are  ready  to  retire 
from  active  service,  he  did  not  seem  to  have 
been  touched  by  the  weariness  and  apathy  of 
advancing  years.  He  never  doubted  of  the 
complete  and  final  success  of  the  cause  to 
which  he  had  consecrated  his  life.  Nor  will 
we.  * 

“Sherman  S.  Rogers, 

“  T.  Guilford  Smith, 

“  Henry  A.  Richmond, 
Committee. 

John  B.  Olmsted,  Secretary  pro  tern. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

I  greatly  appreciate  your  continued  good 
work.  Hubert  Tuitle. 

Ithaca,  N.  V. 

Oxford,  Ga.,  Oct  8,  1892. 

To  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle: 

Dear  Sir — The  junior  class  of  Emory — 
about  forty  in  number — in  mydtparlment — 
Greek — are  engaged  now  with  the  Greek  po¬ 
litical  economy.  In  lecturing  them  upon  the 
Aoy.c/j.aa{a,  or  examination  for  political  posi¬ 
tion,  I  have  made  use  of  every  opportunity  to 
press  upon  their  attention,  both  by  compari¬ 
son  and  for  illustration,  our  own  efforts  at 
civil  service  reform.  Much  interest  has  been 
awakened  in  the  class  upon  the  subject,  and  we 
have  a  very  favorable  opportunity  for  push¬ 
ing  investigation  in  this  line  What  books, 
pamphlets,  etc.,  could  the  civil  service  reform 
association  furnish  to  help  on  the  work’?  As 
college  students  become  leaders  of  thought  in 
after  life,  and  the  influence  of  our  college  in 
the  South  is  very  commanding,  I  am  anxious 
that  our  students  should  become  grounded 
well  upon  a  policy  in  which  I  take  a  very 
deep  interest.  Very  truly, 

H.  A.  ScoMP. 


The  Civil  service  chronicle. 


If  we  see  uothing  in  our  victory  but  a  license  to  revel  in  partisan  spoils,  we  shall  fail  at  every  President-elect  Cleveland 

at  New  York,  November  18. 


VoL.  I,  No.  46.  INDIANAPOLIS,  DECEMBER,  1892.  terms “ruVer^opT' 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

“Public  ofilce  is  a  public  trust.  >Ve 
reafllnu  the  declaration  of  the  democratic 
national  convention  of  1876  for  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service,  [Reform  is  necessary 
in  the  civil  service.  Experience  proves 
that  efficient,  economical  conduct  of  the 
government  business  is  not  possible  if  its 
civil  service  be  subject  to  change  at  every 
election,  be  a  prize  fought  for  at  the  ballot 
box,  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,  in¬ 
stead  of  posts  of  honor,  assigned  for  proved 
competency  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the 
public  employ;  that  the  dispensing  of  pa¬ 
tronage  should  neither  be  a  tax  upon  the 
time  of  all  our  public  men,  nor  the  instru¬ 
ment  of  their  ambition]  and  we  call  for 
the  honest  enforcement  of  all  laws  regu¬ 
lating  the  same.  The  Homination  of  a  Pres¬ 
ident,  as  in  the  recent  republican  conven¬ 
tion  by  delegations  composed  largely  of  his 
appointees,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure, 
is  a  scandalous  satire  upon  free  popular 
institutions,  and  a  startling  illustration  of 
the  methods  by  which  a  President  may 
gratify  his  ambition.  We  denounce  a  pol¬ 
icy  under  which  federal  office-holders 
usurp  control  of  party  conventions  in  the 
states,  and  we  pledge  the  democratic 
party  to  the  reform  of  these  and  all  other 
abuses  which  threaten  individual  liberty 
and  local  self-government.”— Dem¬ 
ocratic  Platform,  1S92. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  will  close  with  the  number  for 
February,  1893.  The  first  number  was 
published  in  March,  1889,  and  this  volume 
will  therefore  cover  Harrison’s  adminis¬ 
tration.  The  original  intention  of  making 
the  paper  a  record  of  facts  connected  with 
the  use  and  enjoyment  of  public  office  as 
spoil,  and  adding  a  reasonable  amount  of 
editorial  comment,  has  not  been  departed 
from.  It  is  believed  that  as  a  record  the 
completed  volume  will  be  invaluable  for 
historical  reference.  A  full  index  will  be 
sent  with  the  last  number.  The  price  of 
the  completed  volume  will  be  twenty-five 
dollars. 


The  management  has  become  more  and 
more  convinced  that  the  publication  of  the 
accumulated  facts  is  the  most  effective  way 
to  fight  the  spoils  system.  Many  men  like 
to  enjoy  office  as  spoil ;  very  few  like  to  be 


told  or  have  their  neighbors  told  that  they 
are  so  enjoying  it.  It  has  also  generally 
been  found  best  to  state  the  facts  in  the 
words  of  the  authority  vouching  for  them; 
this  permits  investigation  at  original 
sources.  Comparatively  few  newspapers 
as  yet  give  attention  to  this  phase  of  public 
affairs.  For  instance,  county,  city,  and 
township  government  throughout  the 
United  States  is  honey  combed  with  trades 
and  deals  and  favoritism  yielding  office 
or  a  contract  or  some  job  reaching  into 
the  public  treasury,  yet  local  papers  as  a 
rule  are  silent  upon  the  subject.  The 
press  can  have  no  greater  duty  than  that 
of  finding  out  and  holding  up  to  the  public 
the  tainting  element  in  every  public  trans¬ 
action  whether  it  be  the  favoritism  in  the 
selection  of  a  common  laborer  on  city 
streets  or  the  manipulation  of  the  national 
service  to  the  personal  ends  of  one  man. 

On  September  8  there  was  a  conference 
of  prominent  democrats  with  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  at  the  Victoria  hotel  in  New  York. 
At  this  meeting  Lieutenant-Governor  Shee¬ 
han  and  Edward  Murphy,  Jr.,  seem  to  have 
given  Mr.  Cleveland  to  understand  that 
there  must  be  forthcoming  certain  “prom¬ 
ises”  or  “stipulations,”  or  “conditions”  or 
“understandings,”  or  “encouragements,”  or 
some  equivalent  thereof,  which  “would 
make  the  workers  feel  that  the  candidate 
was  and  meant  to  be  a  democrat.”  He 
heard  them  through  and  then  according 
to  the  Brooklyn  Eagle  of  November  16  : 

“  They  learned  that  Mr.  Cleveland  would  make  no 
promises  or  anything  of  the  sort  to  any  of  them,  or 
to  or  for  any  others  through  them;  that  he  had  not 
sought  the  nomination  which,  on  the  contrary,  had 
sought  him;  that  he  considered  the  success  of  the 
ticket  in  this  state  a  matter  of  much  more  importance 
to  them  than  to  him;  that  he  repelled  the  idea  that 
his  democracy  was  questionable  by  them  or  doubta¬ 
ble  by  any  one;  that  they  knew  he  was  aware  who 
had  been  his  friends  before  nomination  and  would 
know  who  had  and  who  had  not  been  his  friends 
after  election;  that  he  would  have  no  friends  to  re¬ 
ward  on  account  of  friendship,  and  no  formeroppon- 
ents  to  punish  on  account  of  former  opposition;  that 
he  would  go  to  election  or  to  defeat  equally  free  and 
absolutely  uncommitted;  but  that,  if  the  democratic 
people  and  ticket  were  beaten  in  this  stale  by  the 
democratic  machine,  another  democratic  organiza¬ 
tion  was  ready  to  take  its  place  at  once,  and  that.  In 
such  case,  the  youngest  man  present  would  not  live 
years  enough  to  see  that  machine  sufficiently  strong 
to  win  or  beiray  a  cause  thereafter,  or  one  of  their 
number  ever  sitting  In  a  state  or  national  conven¬ 
tion  again.” 

On  the  same  day  at  the  dinner  of  the 
Single  Tax  Club,  Thomas  G.  Shearman,  re¬ 
ferring  to  the  Eagle  article,  said  that  Shee¬ 


han  did  the  talking  and  that  Mr.  Cleveland 
answered  him  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Sheehan,  I  have  listened  with  the  utmost 
attention  to  what  you  have  said.  I  have  followed 
you  very  carefully,  and  I  think  I  understand  you 
perfectly ;  and  what  I  have  to  say  in  reply,  Mr.  Shee¬ 
han,  is,  that  I’ll  be  damned  before  I  pledge  myself 
to  any  man  on  any  subject  whatever,  and  I’ll  be 
doubly  damned  before  I  give  to  you  those  particular 
pledges  for  which  you  have  asked  at  this  particular 
time.” 

The  New  York  Herald  of  November  27 
completes  Mr.  Cleveland’s  reply : 

"I  will  appeal  from  the  machine  to  the  people. 
This  very  night  I  will  issue  a  declaration  to  the  elec¬ 
tors  of  the  state,  telling  them  the  proposition  you 
have  made  to  me  and  the  reason  why  I  am  not  able 
to  accept  it.  I  will  ask  them  to  choose  between  us. 
Such  Is  my  confidence  in  the  people  that  before  the 
week  ends  I  believe  your  machine  will  be  in  revo¬ 
lution  against  you.  I  can  not  make  the  promise 
you  ask.” 

The  presidency  was  really  at  stake. 
Desperate  and  unscrupulous  leaders  in  full 
control  of  the  most  powerful  political  ma¬ 
chine  in  the  country  and  seemingly  able 
by  a  word  to  turn  away  from  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  the  electoral  votes  of  the  greatest  state 
in  the  union,  thus  securing  his  defeat,  lit¬ 
erally  called  upon  him  to  stand  and  deliver. 
There  is  nothing  in  our  time  to  compare 
Mr.  Cleveland’s  act  with,  for  we  live  in  a 
time  when  public  affairs  are  trades  and 
deals,  bargains  and  sales,  and,  on  similar 
occasions,  independence  and  manhood  go 
for  a  price.  Considering  what  was  at 
stake,  this  was  an  act  genuinely  great — by 
far  the  greatest  done  by  Mr.  Cleveland  or 
by  any  contemporary  public  man.  It  in¬ 
dicates  a  power  strong  enough  to  perma¬ 
nently  drive  party  machines  away  from 
the  public  treasury  as  a  means  of  subsis¬ 
tence. 


At  a  reception  given  to  Mr.  Cleveland 
by  the  Manhattan  Club  in  New  York,  No¬ 
vember  19,  amid  great  enthusiasm,  he 
pointed  out  in  the  following  words  the  rev¬ 
olution  which  has  taken  place  in  this  coun¬ 
try  : 

The  A.nierican  people  have  become  politic¬ 
ally  more  thoughtful  and  more  watchful  than 
they  were  ten  years  ago.  They  are  considering 
now  vastly  greater  questions  than  then.  Party 
policy  has  become  the  important  thing  in 
contradistinction  to  parly  spoils.  The  distri¬ 
bution  of  party  rewards  for  party  action  is  no 
longer  the  mainspring  of  a  political  campaign. 
Thesituation  must  be  gravely  and  intelligently 
met  by  those  in  charge  of  our  political  organ¬ 
ization.  No  party,  I  care  not  whether  demo- 


396 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


cratic  or  republican,  can  get  the  support  of  the 
naass  of  the  voters  by  merely  promising  party 
rewards  for  party  supremacy.  The  whole 
people  will  be  satisOed  with  nothing  less  than 
the  redemption  of  the  sacred  pledges  made  to 
them  collectively — the  administration  of  wise 
policies,  and  the  carrying  on  of  an  honest 
government.  I  would  not  have  it  otherwise. 
I  am  willing  that  the  democratic  party  should 
only  hope  to  succeed  by  meeting  the  situation 
fairly  and  squarely,  by  being  absolutely  and 
patriotically  true  to  its  principles  and  its  pro¬ 
fessions.  This  is  the  assured  guarantee  of  suc¬ 
cess,  and  I  know  of  no  other. 

Mr.  Thomas  Taggart,  chairman  of  the 
state  democratic  committee  said  the  other 
day  in  Chicago,  that  “  we  are  a  unit,”  for 
Ex-Governor  Gray  for  a  cabinet  position 
under  President  Cleveland.  It  is  not  quite 
clear  whom  Mr.  Taggart  meant  by  his  “we,” 
but  if  he  means  the  people  or  even  the 
democrats  of  Indiana  he  is  mistaken.  Only 
those  in  Indiana  who  think  they  might 
“get  something”  if  Gray  were  in  ofl&ce, 
want  him  in  the  cabinet  or  in  any  other 
oflBce.  Nothing  more  discouraging  could 
happen.  His  business  in  life  is  to  plan  and 
scheme  to  get  himself  into  place.  Thfs  is 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  his  statesman¬ 
ship. 

ISA4C  P.  Gray  has  spent  several  busy 
years  posturing  as  a  Presidential  Possibili¬ 
ty  on  the  plan  of  aiming  high  to  get  some¬ 
thing.  For  the  last  few  months  he  appears 
to  have  been  working  up  coups  on  the  cabi¬ 
net.  It  is  probably  a  fact  that  Gray’s 
grammar  and  spelling,  which  in  unrevised 
state  papers  have  tickled  the  newspaper 
men,  are  no  disqualification  for  dividing 
spoil.  That  is  Gray’s  understanding  of  a 
public  office.  As  a  matter  of  personal  taste, 
we  should  suppose  that  even  spoilsmen 
would  feel  themselves  unable  to  endure  four 
years  of  Mr.  Gray’s  Smile,  but  they  probably 
have  in  mind  what  he  said  at  the  jubilee 
meeting  held  here  November  11,  1884,  a 
few  days  after  Cleveland’s  election,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  Sentinel  the  next  morning : 

“  One  of  the  peculiar  phases  of  the  campaign  just 
passed ,  and,  I  think  the  most  peculiar  that  I  have  ever 
seen  in  any  canvass  I  have  ever  been  engaged  in,  is 
that  our  republican  friends  put  forth  an  argument 
to  the  people  that  if  the  democratic  party  obtained 
control  of  the  government,  it  would  turn  the  repub¬ 
lican  office-holders  out.  Of  course  we  will ;  there  is 
no  doubt  about  it.  This  has  been  a  contest  between 
parties.  There  have  always  been  political  parties  in 
this  country,  ever  since  theformation  of  thegovern- 
ment,  and  I  presume  there  always  will  be.  The  re¬ 
publican  party,  in  its  long  twenty-four  years’  lease 
of  power,  has  filled  the  offices  exclusively  with  re¬ 
publicans.  That  was  right.  When  the  democratic 
party  obtains  control  of  the  government,  which  will 
be  on  the  fourth  of  March  next,  then  we  will  expect 
the  offices,  as  rapidly  as  can  be  done  with  safety  to 
the  proper  administration  of  government  affairs,  to 
be  filled  with  democrats.” 

Ex-Governor  James  E.  Campbell,  of 
Ohio,  is  evidently  finding  his  political 


level  and  means  to  make  it  low.  He  closed 
his  speech  at  the  Reform  Club  dinner  in 
New  York  December  10  as  follows: 

“  I  am  also  in  favor  of  the  boys  who  want  the  post- 
offices,  because  from  the  postmaster  at  Confederate 
cro.ss-roads  to  Van  Cott  in  New  York,  I  am  in  favor 
of  putting  them  all  out,  and  putting  in  men  who 
voted  for  Grover  Cleveland.” 

This  is  the  standard  of  Dave  Hill  and 
Ed.  Murphy.  Campbell  evidently  means 
to  join  with  them.  His  speech  places 
him  on  a  par  with  Flannegan  of  Texas. 
He  must  have  known  that  the  division  of 
spoil,  which  he  took  advantage  of  his 
opportunity  to  bawl  for,  was  directly 
opposed  to  the  principles  of  the  Reform 
Club  whose  guest  he  was  and  to  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  chief  guest,  Mr.  Cleveland, 
in  whose  presence  Campbell  spoke,  and 
to  the  principles  of  the  platform  upon 
which  Mr.  Cleveland  was  elected.  Though 
apparently  not  aware  of  it,  Mr.  Campbell 
owed  something  at  least  to  good  manners, 
to  say  nothing  of  his  readiness  to  disregard 
the  promises  of  his  party. 

In  gratifying  contrast  with  the  dema 
gogical  utterances  of  Mr.  Campbell  is  the 
speech  of  Carl  Schurz,  delivered  on  the 
same  occasion,  and  of  which  the  following 
is  an  extract: 

‘‘So  long  as  democracy  means  the  preservation  of 
popular  self  government  in  its  whole  sphere;  the 
maintenance  of  sound  constitutional  doctrines;  hon 
esty  and  wise  economy  in  administration;  war  upon 
the  corrupting  agencies  of  our  political  life;  war 
upon  selfish  monopoly  and  favoritism  by  law;  tax¬ 
ation  not  for  the  advantage  of  the  few  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  the  many,  but  just  to  all  and  for  the  benefit 
of  all;  a  currency  system  that  will  cheat  nobody  and 
keep  us  in  harmony  with  the  money  of  the  world’s 
commerce;  a  public  service  not  the  spoil  of  party,  but 
honestly  organized  upon  the  principle  that  a  public 
office  is  a  public  trust,  so  long  as  democracy  means 
in  Itself  a  government  for  the  people  and  by  the  peo¬ 
ple,  so  long  will  those  who  came  from  outside  the 
democratic  parly  to  vote  for  Cleveland  continue  to 
march  in  its  ranks.  * 

‘‘These  friends  rejoice  to  know  that  you  will  enter 
upon  your  high  duties  not  only  unembarrassed  by 
personal  pledges  but  unburdened  by  any  personal 
obligations.  No  man,  and  no  set  of  men,  has  a  claim 
upon  your  political  gratitude,  for  the  uprising  of  the 
people  for  your  cause  and  yourself  was  so  spontane¬ 
ous  and  overwhelming  that  there  is  no  man  and  no 
set  of  men  whose  efforts  in  behalf  of  your  election 
might  not  safely  have  been  spared.  Whatever  of 
personal  triumph  there  is  in  this  you  owe  only  to  the 
generous  confidence  of  the  American  people;  and 
their  confidence  greets  you  at  the  threshold  of  your 
second  administration  with  an  abundance  that  has 
but  few  precedents  in  the  past  history  of  the  repub¬ 
lic.  But  great  as  is  the  popular  confidence,  so  is  the 
popular  expectation.  This  consciousness,  no  doubt, 
rests  upon  your  heart  as  a  heavy  load  of  responsi¬ 
bility.  But  be  assured  as  you  are  true  to  the  moral 
forces  in  American  politics  which  nominated  and 
elected  you,  so  these  moral  forces  will  be  true  to  you 
to  the  end.  Doubt  not,  whatever  struggles  and  per¬ 
plexities  your  efforts  for  good  government  may  bring 
upon  you,  you  may  always  confidently  appeal  to  the 
good  sense,  the  honesty  and  the  patriotism  of  the 
American  people— and  you  will  never  appeal  in 
vain— against  any  unjust  assault  from  the  opposite 
party  as  well  as  against  any  cabal  of  selfishness 
within  your  own.” 

President  Patton,  of  Princeton  Col¬ 
lege,  is  reported  to  have  recently  said :  “  I 


am  interested  in  philosophy  and  theology, 
and  these  are  the  only  things  I  want  to  be 
known  in.  I  vote  for  neither  party.”  It 
is  a  stigma  upon  President  Patton,  an 
American  citizen,  to  show  such  callous¬ 
ness  to  his  duty.  It  ought  to  be  a  stigma 
for  the  trustees  of  an  American  college  in 
which  American  boys  are  to  pass  four 
years  to  retain  as  president  such  a  man; 
and  it  ought  to  be  a  discredit  for  any 
parent  to  permit  his  son  to  be  under  the 
influence  of  one  so  wanting  in  the  appre¬ 
ciation  of  the  elements  that  go  to  form 
character.  Of  what  ancient  stuflf  are  his 
theology  and  philosophy  made?  Those 
genial  cynics  who  claim  that  it  is  necessary 
to  buy  and  sell  votes,  steal  and  lie  in  poli¬ 
tics,  are  really  less  dangerous  than  this 
college  president  who  is  so  admirably 
suited  to  pursue  theology  and  philosophy 
in  a  Russian  college. 


His  annual  report  shows  that  Postmaster 
General  Wannamaker  still  smarts  under 
the  strictures  upon  his  action  in  shielding 
the  Baltimore  post  oflice  employes.  He 
ought  to  understand  by  this  time  that 
denials  or  statements  from  him  of  any  kind 
cut  no  figure  with  the  American  people. 
In  this  Baltimore  matter  he  started  in  with 
the  deliberate  purpose  of  protecting  law¬ 
breakers,  and  that  purpose  he  impudently 
carried  out  in  the  face  of  conclusive  proof 
of  their  guilt.  After  years  of  ready  de¬ 
nunciation  of  others  as  Pharisees  the  re¬ 
publicans  have  produced  some  apparently 
perfect  specimens,  and  one  of  these  is  Mr. 
Wannamaker. 


Mr.  Oliver  T.  Morton’s  admirable  es¬ 
says  on  civil  service  reform,  which  origi¬ 
nallyappeared  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly, hsiwe, 
with  several  other  papers,  been  issued  in  a 
volume  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.  Mr. 
Morton’s  answers  to  the  objections  to  civil 
service  reform  are  the  best  that  have  been 
made.  He  has  assumed  that  the  objec¬ 
tions  have  been  made  in  good  faith  and 
from  an  honest  patriotic  doubt,  and  he 
proceeds  with  the  utmost  patience  to  sat¬ 
isfy  every  possible  degree  and  sort  of  ob¬ 
jection.  When  the  essays  first  appeared, 
the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  urged  that 
they  be  reprinted  for  general  distribution 
in  the  shape  of  short  tracts.  Their  fitness 
for  this  is  as  apparent  now  as  then. 


The  report  of  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  was  made  public  December  6.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  year  ending  June  30,  1892,  3,919 
applicants  were  examined  for  the  depart 
ments  at  Washington,  and  of  these  1,315 
failed  to  pass.  For  the  railway  mail  serv¬ 
ice,  out  of  4,597  examined,  1,648  failed ;  for 
the  customs  service,  out  of  1,624  examined 
662  failed ;  for  the  postal  service,  out  of  9,162 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


397 


examined,  3,611  failed  ;  for  the  Indian  serv¬ 
ice,  out  of  158  examined,  64  failed.  The 
whole  number  examined  was  19,460,  of 
whom  12,160  passed,  and  7,300  failed.  Over 
the  previous  year  there  was  an  increase  of 
386  in  the  whole  number  examined.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  year  3,961  received  appointments. 
In  the  departments  245  men,  and  86 
women  were  appointed. 


The  commission  says: 

The  classified  service,  should  be  extended  as 
rapidly  as  practicable  to  cover  every  position  in  the 
public  service  to  which  it  can  appropriately  be  ap 
plied ;  as,  for  instance,  to  clerks  and  writers  in  navy- 
yards,  to  almost  the  entire  body  of  oflficials  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  to  the  internal-revenue  service’ 
to  custom-houses  with  twenty -five  employes,  and  to 
free-delivery  post  ofifices. 

It  also  recommends  the  enactment  into 
laws  of  some  such  bills  as  those  introduced 
by  Mr.  Andrew,  to  take  federal  laborers 
and  the  fourth-class  postmasters  out  of 
politics. 

Most  friends  of  civil  service  reform 
were  surprised  to  find  this  report  signed 
by  Comissioners  Roosevelt  and  Lyman  only 
Then  follows  the  remark  : 

“  I  approve  the  body  of  the  report,  but  prefer  that 
the  recommendation  for  the  extension  of  the  classi¬ 
fied  service  on  page  8  shall  conclude  with  the  sen¬ 
tence,  ‘  The  classified  service  should  be  extended 
as  rapidly  as  practicable  to  cover  every  position  in 
the  public  service  to  which  it  can  appropriately  be 
applied.’ " 

This  is  signed  by  Commissioner  John¬ 
ston.  When  asked  about  his  action  by  the 
correspondent  of  New  York  Evening  Post, 
Mr.  Johnston  said : 

I  regretted  very  much  the  necessity  of  differing 
with  my  colleagues,  even  apparently.  I  am  a  civil 
service  reformer  and  believe  in  the  extension  of  the 
merit  system,  but  I  consider  ihat  at  this  time  it  is 
well  that  the  commission  should  move  slowly.  The 
passage  in  the  report  to  which  I  refer  in  my  paragraph 
at  the  end  contains  a  number  of  specific  recom¬ 
mendations,  with  some  of  which,  I  may  say,  I  am  in 
sympathy.  As  to  others  I  am  not  able  to  speak  posi¬ 
tively,  because  I  have  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  of 
giving  them  the  necessary  study.  I  could  not  con 
scientiously  join  with  my  colleagues  in  recommend¬ 
ing  specific  extensions  of  the  rules  without  fully  as¬ 
suring  myself  of  the  wisdom  of  these  proposals.  The 
first  sentence  in  the  passage  under  consideration  is  a 
broad  general  one  on  which  we  are  entirely  agreed— 
that  is,  that  the  cla.ssified  service  should  be  extended 
‘as  rapidly  as  practicable.’  Beyond  that  I  did  not 
feel  that  it  would  be  wise  to  go  at  this  time.  I  had 
no  desire  or  expectation  of  being  drawn  into  the 
newspapers  with  reference  to  this  matter,  as  I  sedu¬ 
lously  avoid  unnecessary  publicity,  but  your  inquiry 
leaves  me  no  alternative  but  to  make  this  explana¬ 
tion." 

The  question  is  naturally  asked,  why  is 
Mr.  Johnston,  with  his  doubts  and  lack  of 
knowledge,  serving  on  the  civil  service 
commission  ?  He  is  not  put  there  as  a 
novice  to  learn  a  business.  Why  should 
the  commission  move  slowly  “at  this 
time  ?”  To  save  places  to  divide  as  spoil 
among  democrats?  The  recommenda¬ 
tions  of  the  commission  are  moderate. 
This  matter  has  been  discussed  and  succes- 
fully  experimented  upon  for  years.  Has 


Mr.  Johnston  been  hidden  in  the  swamps 
of  Louisiana  all  this  time?  Under  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  first  administration  we  had 
experience  with  commissioners  who  hid 
behind  generalities,  and  wanted  to  “move 
slowly,”  and  the  experience  was  not  happy. 
We  do  not  want  any  more  Edgertons. 


Mr.  Cleveland  owes  it  to  the  country 
to  retain  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  make  him  the 
head  of  the  civil  service  commission,  and 
Mr.  Roosevelt  owes  it  to  the  country  to  ac¬ 
cept  the  place.  He  has  been  the  advocate 
of  fair  play  for  democrats  as  well  as  repub¬ 
licans.  Emphatically,  he  has  not  been 
afraid,  and  this  means  almost  everything. 
He  has  compelled  respect  for  and  obser¬ 
vance  of  the  law.  There  is  no  one  to  take  his 
place.  He  has  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  the  country.  With  him  at  the  head  of 
the  commission  there  would  be  no  uncer¬ 
tainty,  either  as  to  what  President  Cleve¬ 
land  meant  to  have  done  or  as  to  what 
would  be  done. 


President  Harrison’s  annual  message 
was  sent  to  congress  December  7.  We 
have  read  it  carefully  and  here  give 
those  parts  bearing  upon  the  reform  of  the 
civil  service : 

The  civil  service  commission  asks  for  an  increased 
appropriation  for  needed  clerical  assistance,  which, 
I  think,  should  be  given.  I  extended  the  classified 
service  March  1, 1892,  to  include  physicians,  superin¬ 
tendents,  assistant  superintendents,  school  teachers 
and  matrons  in  the  Indian  service,  and  have  had 
under  consideration  the  subject  of  some  further  ex¬ 
tensions,  but  have  not  as  yet  fully  determined  the 
lines  upon  which  extensions  can  most  properly  and 
usefully  be  made. 

<c  2^  lit  if  i,t 

I  have  several  times  been  called  upon  to  remove 
Indian  agents  appointed  by  me  and  have  done  so 
promptly  upon  every  sustained  complaint  of  unfit¬ 
ness  or  misconduct.  I  believe,  however,  that  the 
Indian  service  at  the  agencies  has  been  improved  and 
is  now  administered  on  the  whole  with  a  good  degree 
of  efllciency.  If  any  legislation  is  possible  by  which 
the  selection  of  Indian  agents  can  be  wholly  re¬ 
moved  from  all  partisan  suggestions  or  considera¬ 
tions  I  am  sure  it  would  be  a  great  relief  to  the  ex 
ecutive  and  a  great  benefit  for  the  service. 

We  can  not  refrain  from  quoting  once 
more,  and  in  close  proximity  to  this 
record  of  performance,  the  promise  from 
the  platform  of  1888,  and  we  suggest  that 
it  is  not  yet  too  late  to  do  much  to  di¬ 
minish  the  prodigious  difference  in  size : 

"The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  be¬ 
gun  under  a  republican  administration,  should  be 
completed  by  tlie  further  extension  of  the  reform 
system  already  established  by  law  to  all  the  grades 
of  service  to  which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed  in  all  ex¬ 
ecutive  appointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance  with 
the  object  of  existing  reform  legislation  should  be 
repealed,  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institu¬ 
tions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  ofiScial  patronage 
may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided." 


This  paper  prints  in  full  the  newspaper 
reports  of  the  attempt  of  Senator  Higgins 
by  bribery  to  defeat  the  ballot,  because 
whatever  the  actual  facts,  the  admissions 


illustrate  vividly  the  baseness  of  the  pa¬ 
tronage  system.  Postmaster  Smith  is  the 
senator’s  henchman  and,  paid  by  the  pub¬ 
lic,  does  the  base  service  of  his  chief.  Sen¬ 
ator  Higgins  admits,  callous  to  the  shame 
of  it,  that  he  was  ready  to  purchase  influ¬ 
ence  with  an  office.  And  last,  a  minister, 
the  republican  nominee  for  congress,  is 
reported  to  have  sat  by  and  heard  Post¬ 
master  Smith  promise  a  “  good  office  ”  for 
help  this  fall,  and  to  have  responded  that 
he  would  do  all  he  could  to  carry  out  the 
postmaster’s  suggestions  in  regard  to  fed¬ 
eral  patronage. 


DEMOCRATIC  PROMISES. 

Very  early  in  the  next  administration 
the  democrats  will  have  to  decide  what 
they  will  do  with  the  civil  service.  The 
demand  that  it  shall  all  be  divided  as  spoil, 
will  be  presented  to  them  at  once,  and  they 
will  have  to  make  some  answer.  They 
have  won  by  decisive  numbers.  Their 
superior  numbers  however  are  spread  thin 
over  a  large  extent  of  territory.  It  will  be 
a  fatal  mistake  for  them  to  believe  that 
they  can  indulge  in  a  carnival  of  spoil  and 
experience  anything  but  defeat  in  1896. 
President  Harrison  and  his  administration 
from  the  start  treated  the  reform  element 
of  the  country  with  contempt,  and  this  was 
carried  to  an  extent  that  patience  and  for¬ 
bearance  ceased  to  be  a  virtue  and  almost 
to  a  man  the  reformers  became  hostile  to 
the  administration,  and  they  pursued  and 
published  its  multitude  of  glaring  faults 
with  a  relentless  persistence  that  would 
have  been  a  warning  to  wiser  officers.  This 
element  now  looks  to  the  democrats  with 
the  most  cordial  good  wishes,  and  with  the 
highest  hopes  of  what  they  will  accomplish. 
But  it  should  be  remembered  that  it  has 
not  forgotten  how  to  criticise  and  that  it 
wilt  do  its  duty. 

The  democrats  have  every  reason  urging 
them  to  the  completion  of  the  reform  of  the 
federal  service.  They  have  bound  them¬ 
selves  to  do  so  in  their  platform.  They 
said  that  the  service  ought  not  to  be  sub¬ 
ject  to  change  at  every  election,  or  be  a 
prize  fought  for  at  the  polls,  or  be  a  brief 
reward  of  party  service.  This  can  not  be 
made  to  mean  anything  except  that  these 
principles  shall  now  be  put  into  practice. 
They  were  the  principles  of  the  party 
under  Tilden,  and  they  are  now  its  princi¬ 
ples  under  Cleveland;  and  Tilden  and 
Cleveland  are  the  only  successful  national 
leaders  their  party  has  had  for  a  genera¬ 
tion. 

We  are  not  saying  that  republicans  not 
within  the  civil  service  law  shall  be  kept 
in  office;  but  we  do  say  that  sixty  thousand 
republican  heelers  shall  not  be  succeeded 
in  the  fourth  class  post-offices  by  sixty 
thousand  democratic  heelers.  That  would 


398 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


be  a  carnival  of  spoil.  There  is  a  well  de¬ 
vised  system  of  appointment  free  from 
politics  and  favorition.  Let  it  be  adopted 
and  then  if  the  party  demands  it  let  the 
places  be  vacated  and  filled  accordingly. 
Every  part  of  the  unclassified  sevice  should 
be  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  or  should 
be  classified  under  the  present  law.  Heads 
of  bureaus  and  under  secretaries,  should  be 
made  permanent,  though  always  with 
all  other  officers  subject  to  removal  for 
cause.  With  a  change  of  administra¬ 
tion  only  the  highest  officers  should  be 
changed.  This  is  the  way  to  get  rid  of  a 
change  of  officers  at  every  election  or  to 
keep  the  offices  from  being  a  prize  fought 
for  at  the  polls  or  from  being  a  brief  re¬ 
ward  for  party  service. 


THE  MASSACHUSETTS  CIVIL  SER¬ 
VICE  REFORMERS. 

The  following  resol ations  were  adopted  at  a 
conference  of  Massachusetts  Civil  Service  Re¬ 
form  Associations,  held  in  Boston,  December 
8,  1892 : 

We  welcome  the  announcement  of  President  Har¬ 
rison  that  he  contemplates  an  extension  of  the  civil 
service  rules,  and  we  hope  that  the  extensions  al¬ 
ready  recommended  by  the  National  Civil  Service 
Commission  will  be  made  without  delay,  viz.:  “to 
clerks  and  writers  in  navy  yards,  to  almost  the  entire 
body  of  officials  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  the 
internal  revenue  service,  to  custom  houses  with 
twenty-five  employes  and  to  free  delivery  post-of¬ 
fices,”  and  that  the  system  introduced  into  the  navy 
yards  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy  will  be  adopted  in 
permanent  form. 

We  urge  our  representatives  in  congress  to  spare 
no  effort  to  secure  a  liberal  appropriation  for  the 
needs  of  the  civil  service  commission. 

The  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  from  the  National 
civil  service  commission  would  be  a  serious  loss  to 
the  cause  of  reform,  and  we  respectfully  urge  him  to 
reconsider  his  announced  intention  of  resigning. 

A  committee  of  three  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
chairman  of  this  meeting,  to  secure,  if  possible,  from 
the  leading  supporters  of  President-elect  Cleveland 
In  Massachusetts,  an  indorsement  in  writing  of  the 
views  recently  expressed  by  him  in  condemation  of 
the  distribution  of  patronage  as  spoils,  and  their 
promise  of  support  in  any  effort  which  shall  be  made 
by  him  to  discontinue  this  odious  and  demoralizing 
praetice. 

We  urge  upon  our  representatives  in  congress  the 
passage  of  the  fourth-elass  postmaster  bill  and  the 
bill  for  the  seleetion  of  laborers,  favorably  reported 
in  the  last  session  by  the  house  committee  on  civil 
service  reform. 

Inasmuch  as  the  duty  of  the  officer  is  to  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  not  to  a  party,  we  disapprove  the  resignation 
of  a  non-political  office  in  deference  to  the  perni¬ 
cious  theory  that  a  change  of  administration  should 
involve  a  change  of  officers. 

Arthur  Hobart, 

Boston,  December  12, 1892.  Secretary  of  Conference. 


WHO  WAS  ELECTED  PRESIDENT.? 

Since  theelection  therehavebeen  at  least  ten 
democrats  who  have  in  some  manner  made 
known  their  intention  to  become  candidates 
for  postmaster  at  this  place.  These  parties 
through  their  friends,  have  so  pressed  Con¬ 
gressman  Cooper  for  indorsement  that  he  has 
made  known  his  intention  to  favor  George  E. 
Finney,  ex-editor  of  the  Herald,  for  this  posi¬ 


tion,  and  now  there  is  a  howl  from  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  party  that  extends  all  over  the 
county.  Finney  and  Congressman  Cooper 
held  the  post-office  under  Cleveland,  Cooper 
resigning  to  become  a  candidate.  Finney  suc¬ 
ceeded  him,  holding  the  office  for  about  four 
years.  The  young  working  democrats  are  the 
ones  that  are  mad,  and  there  is  trouble  ahead. 
A  numerously  signed  petition  for  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Guthrie  as 
postmaster  at  Nashville,  Brown  county,  was 
handed  to  Mr.  Cooper  yesterday,  but  he  in¬ 
formed  the  party  that  he  would  recommend 
Alonzo  Allison,  of  the  Brown  County  Demo¬ 
crat. — Columbus  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
November  18. 

*  *  * 

One  of  the  most  bitter  post-office  fights  that 
ever  took  place  in  this  part  of  the  state  is  on 
in  this  city.  It  was  charged  against  Congress¬ 
man  Cooper  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
before  election  as  to  whom  he  would  recom¬ 
mend  for  the  post-office,  but  many  thought 
that  this  could  not  be  the  case.  These  parties 
now  say  that  they  were  deceived.  He  pub¬ 
licly  announced  that  George  E.  Finney  was  to 
be  the  man  for  the  place,  and  late  last  night, 
after  this  statement  appeared  in  the  local 
democratic  organ,  sixty-four  leading  and  in¬ 
fluential  democrats,  many  of  whom  were  Cath¬ 
olics,  called  on  Mr.  Cooper  and  asked  him  to 
reconsider  his  action  and  leave  the  appoint¬ 
ment  open  to  the  decision  of  the  voters  of  the 
democratic  party  receiving  their  mail  at  this 
office.  This  the  congressman  refused  to  do, 
and,  to  a  few,  gave  as  the  reason  that  if  an 
election  were  held  that  a  hoodlum  might  be 
chosen,  as  no  one  would  be  allowed  to  vote  for 
postmaster  that  did  not  vote  for  Cooper.  This 
remark  did  not  set  well,  and  an  election  will 
be  held,  and  the  man  chosen  will  receive  the 
indorsement  of  all  other  applicants  for  the 
place,  and  his  appointment  urged  against  the 
wishes  of  Cooper. — Columbus  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  November  25, 

*  «  » 

Congressman  Cooper  to-day  announced  to 
the  democracy  of  Franklin  that  he  had  de¬ 
termined  to  recommend  Samuel  Harris  to  be 
appointed  postmaster  at  Franklin.  As  a  re¬ 
sult  the  local  democracy  is  worse  torn  up  than 
ever  at  any  time  within  its  history.  Cooper  is 
accused  openly  of  lying  and  treachery.  He 
announced  that  he  would  be  in  no  hurry  to 
make  the  appointment,  and  that  he  would 
come  to  Franklin  and  consult  those  interested 
in  the  matter.  He  never  came,  and  he  con¬ 
sulted  nobody.  Democrats  here  are  opposed 
to  the  appointment  of  Harris.  They  vow  that 
Harris  shall  not  be  confirmed.  They  also 
vow  that  Cooper  will  never  again  get  a  dele¬ 
gate  from  Johnson  county  to  secure  renomina¬ 
tion.  The  war  is  on. — Franklin  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  November  25, 

»  »  » 

The  Franklin  Republican  has  interviewed 
some  of  the  afflicted,  who  have  expressed 
themselves  freely,  as  the  following  extracts 
show : 

“J.  A.  Smith  said:  ‘It  looks  as  if  it  were 


Mr.  Cooper’s  appointment  on  personal  prefer¬ 
ence,  and  not  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
people.  Mr.  Cooper  has  made  a  mistake.  He 
should  have  come  to  Franklin  as  he  promised 
and  found  out  what  the  democrats  wanted.’ 

“Fred  Staff  said:  ‘Cooper  has  lied  like  a 
dog.  Even  in  a  dog  fight  I  like  to  see  fair  and 
honorable  treatment.  He  has  decided  the 
case  before  he  heard  it.  Cooper  has  broken 
his  promises  and  acted  in  bad  faith.  He  will 
regret  it.’ 

“  Ben  Brown  said :  ‘  You  may  quote  me  as 
saying  that  George  Cooper  has  lied  and  de¬ 
ceived  knowingly  in  the  matter,  and  has  de¬ 
ceived  his  best  friends  in  an  ungentlemanly 
manner.  He  has  shown  himself  to  be  a  cow¬ 
ard  in  that  he  has  not  come  to  Franklin  and 
given  all  a  fair  show.  I  can  find  no  fault  in  that 
I  did  not  obtain  Mr.  Cooper’s  indorsements, 
but  I  do  have  a  right  to  find  fault  with  Mr. 
Cooper’s  lying  and  deceptive  method  of  treat¬ 
ment.  I  wish  that  I  had  not  been  a  candidate 
that  I  might  be  free  to  make  the  vigorous  kick 
which  such  cowardice  and  treachery  makes 
consistent  and  proper.’” — Indianapolis  Journal, 
November  28, 

*  *  » 

Besieged  from  every  quarter,  “cussed”  and 
discussed  on  every  street  corner,  and  driven 
almost  wild  by  the  constant  ringing  of  his 
door-bell  by  men  who  want  place  under  the 
incoming  administration.  Congressman  Cooper 
has  left  his  district  and  gone  east,  but  to  what 
point  the  average  democrat  does  not  know, 
and  can  not  find  out  to  a  certainty.  For  days 
his  home  in  this  city  has  been  invaded  by  men 
wanting  places  and  his  influence  to  secure 
them,  and  these  men  have  come  from  all  parts 
of  the  district.  To  a  few  he  has  promised  his 
support  publicly,  and  in  each  case  this  has 
brought  committees  with  protests  until  it 
really  appears  that  his  decisions  have  not 
pleased  his  constituents  in  a  single  instance, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  have  worked  them  up  to 
fever  heat  against  him.  As  he  stepped  off  the 
Big  Four  train  he  looked  as  if  he  had  just  re¬ 
covered  from  a  severe  spell  of  sickness,  and 
appeared  to  be  glad  that  he  would  soon  be  out 
of  the  reach  of  those  who  were  wanting  favors 
at  his  hands. — Columbus  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  November  29. 

»  *  * 

Congressman  Cooper  has  aroused  in  Danville 
the  same  storm  of  opposition  over  his  action 
in  recommending  a  new  postmaster  that  he  did 
in  Columbus,  Edinburg  and  Nashville.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  local  democrats  have  placed 
their  names  on  a  petition  asking  that  they  be 
allowed  to  hold  an  election  to  select  their 
postmaster.  While  this  petition  was  in  circu¬ 
lation,  letters  were  received  from  Cooper  stat¬ 
ing  that  he  would  recommend  Mr.  Will  King, 
editor  of  the  Danville  Gazette.  Immediately 
there  was  a  cry  against  such  action,  but  Cooper 
still  persists  in  his  course.  It  is  generally  ad¬ 
mitted  that  King  would  have  stood  no  show 
in  an  election,  and  it  is  taken  as  an  indication 
that  Cooper  feels  that  he  will  need  newspaper 
support  in  future  campaigns.  The  rank  and 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


399 


file  of  local  democracy  will  hold  an  election, 
and  send  certificates  of  the  result  to  the  pow¬ 
ers  that  be. — Danville  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Journal,  December  17. 

«  «  « 

The  democratic  contest  for  the  post-office  at 
this  place  has  narrowed  down  to  but  two  can¬ 
didates,  J.  A.  Lewis  and  John  Duncan.  Lewis, 
it  is  said,  has  been  promised  the  place  by 
Congressman  Cooper,  but  Duncan’s  friends 
claim  it  was  promised  Lewis  provided  he 
could  “  satisfy  the  boys,”  and  the  boys  won’t 
be  satisfied.  Neither  will  withdraw  from  the 
race ;  neither  favor  an  election,  but  will  re¬ 
sort  to  this  only  as  a  last  means  of  settling  the 
difficulty. — Martinsville  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
News,  December  16. 

»  «  * 

The  democrats  of  this  place  and  vicinity  are 
on  the  ”  ragged  edge  ”  over  a  letter  received  a 
few  days  ago  by  Superintendent  T.  J.  Charlton, 
of  the  reform  school,  from  Congressman  Geo. 
W.  Cooper,  under  date  of  December  12,  in 
which  he  says : 

It  has  been  my  purpose,  whenever  I  could,  to 
decide  all  contests  for  postoffices  as  soon  as  possible. 
I  think  it  is  better  to  do  so  and  announce  the  decis¬ 
ion  as  soon  as  reached,  in  order  that  prolonged  and 
bitter  contests,  resulting  in  greater  disappointment, 
may  not  follow. 

I  have  decided  to  recommend  Mr.  Isaac  Holton  for 
Plainfield.  In  arriving  at  this  conclusion  I  make  no 
reflections  on  any  good  democrat  who  has  applied 
for  the  place,  I  have  about  180  of  these  cases  to  in¬ 
vestigate  and  decide,  and  my  hope  is  that  I  may  be 
able  to  get  through  with  them  in  time  to  give  the  ap¬ 
pointees  the  benefit  of  the  full  term  of  Cleveland’s 
administration. 

Whatever  your  views  or  personal  aspirations  may 
have  been  I  sincerely  hope  that  this  determination 
will  meet  your  approval,  and  believe  that  Mr.  Holton 
will  make  an  efficient  and  faithful  officer. 

Respectfully,  Geo.  \V.  Cooper. 

The  publication  of  the  letter  in  the  Plain- 
field  Progress  last  Thursday  was  like  a  bomb 
thrown  into  the  rank  and  file  of  the  democracy 
of  Guilford  township,  and  caused  a  crestfallt-n 
look  to  spread  over  the  faces  of  the  other  half- 
dozen  or  more  candidates  for  the  position. 
Immediately  the  kicking  began,  and  as  time 
rolls  by  the  defeated  candidates  are  getting 
madder  and  have  started  on  the  war-path. 
One  of  the  defeated  candidates  declared  that 
he  intends  to  have  Mr.  Charlton’s  scalp  dang¬ 
ling  in  his  belt  as  soon  as  the  legislature  meets. 
By  this  it  is  inferred  he  proposes  to  have  Mr_ 
Charlton  removed  as  superintendent  of  the  re¬ 
form  school. 

Another  gentleman  who  received  one  of 
Congressman  Cooper’s  manifold  letters  is  said 
to  have  written  a  letter  telling  him  that  it 
would  have  been  better  for  him  to  have  hied 
himself  to  the  wilds  of  Brown  county  and 
never  entered  public  life.  Still  another  dem¬ 
ocrat,  it  is  asserted,  has  written  a  short,  crisp 
letter  to  Mr.  Cooper  in  which  he  uses  this  ex¬ 
pression  :  “  You  have  played  h— 1 !  ” 

Mr.  Holton  knows,  and  Mr.  Cooper  was  ad¬ 
vised,  that  his  favored  candidate  would  stand 
no  show  for  the  post-office  if  the  matter  was 
referred  to  a  vote  of  the  democrats  of  the 
township.  It  is  going  to  be  a  Kilkenny  cat- 
fight,  and  no  means,  fair  or  foul,  will  be  left 


untried  to  induce  Cooper  to  change  his  views 
in  regard  to  recommending  Mr.  Holton  for  the 
Plainfield  post-office. — Plainfield  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  December  19. 


THE  ONSLAUGHT. 

Bourbon.— Post-office:  James  Laurence  and  George 
Stuckman. 

Bluffton.— For  district  attorney:  Edwin  C,  Vaugh. 
For  the  post-office:  James  R.  Bennett,  ex  recorder; 
Wm.  B.  Bennett,  ex-postmas'er;  Maurice  Sawyer, 
ex-postal  clerk;  Marcellns  M.  Justice,  ex-sheriff; 
Robert  F.  Cummins,  son  of  Repre.sentative  Cum¬ 
mins;  B.  F.  Kain,  recently  candidate  for  treasurer, 
and  Gus  Michaels,  who  has  never  held  an  office. 
Congressman  Marlin  is  understood  to  favor  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  postmasters  by  popular  vote. 

WiNAMAC.  —  Post-office:  W.  E.  Jackson,  Charles 
Shine,  S.  Pearson,  J.  J.  Gorrell,  J.  B.  Agnew,  Sr.,  M. 
H.  Ingrim  and  T.  B.  Hedges.  Mr.  Ingrim,  editor  of 
the  Democrat-Journal,  served  as  postmaster  under 
Cleveland  before.  Charles  H.  Howard  wants  the 
post-office  at  Star  City. 

Rochester  —Valentine  Zimmerman,  native  of  Ger¬ 
many,  run  for  Congress,  Tenth  district,  1888,  will  be 
pushed  for  a  consulate  at  some  important  city  of  his 
native  land.  Merritt  A.  Baker,  depnty  prosecuting 
attorney,  wants  a  place  In  the  law  department  at 
Washington.  Charles  Meyer  wants  the  revenne  col- 
lectorshin  of  this  district.  John  C.  Phillips,  Oliver 
P.  Waite  and  Andrew  T.  Bitters  want  the  post  office. 

Danville  -Post-office:  James  W.  Williams,  who 
was  displaced  by  Harrison,  H.  B.  Lingenfelter,  Joseph 
G.  Bowen,  Will  A.  King,  editor  of  the  Gazette,  and  R. 
D.  Snyder.  Cleveland  appointed  A.  P.  Pounds,  post 
master  in  ls85.  and  he  died  in  office.  Miss  Anna 
Pounds,  an  efficient  deputy,  was  an  unsuccessful 
applicant  as  her  father’s  successor.  She  is  now  a 
possible  candidate.  John  McClain,  of  Avon,  wants 
the  same  place  in  the  treasury  department  he  held 
under  Cleveland  before.  R.  F.  Hiatt  wants  the  post- 
office  at  Plainfield.  Lewis  Marsh,  Jr.,  of  Danville, 
wants  a  small  place  at  Washington.  Levi  A.  Bar¬ 
nett  expects  to  be  again  appointed  trustee  of  the  re¬ 
form  school  by  Matthews.  Simon  Rammell,  of  Dan 
ville,  a  life  long  democrat,  has  purchased  a  grocery 
at  New  Winchester,  in  the  hope  of  becoming  post¬ 
master  there. 

Attica.— For  the  post-office:  Martin  Schoonover, 
Henry  G.  Schlos.ser,  Wm.  Lippold,  Chas.  Hatton,  O. 
S.  Clark  and  Ed  Hemphill. 

Delphi.— Want  to  be  postmaster:  Rhen  Isherwood, 
editor  of  the  Times;  A.  B.  Crampton,  editor  of  the 
Citizen;  Allison  Rogers,  president  of  the  democratic 
club;  Albert  Brewer,  Fred  Neiworth,  the  Hon.  John 
C.  Odell.  Mrs.  Lydia  Pollard,  mother  of  Judge  Chas. 
R.  Pollard,  who  was  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  con¬ 
vention;  Mrs.  A.  Ball  and  John  G.  Troxell.  Charles 
Walker  dropped  from  the  mail  service  by  the  Harri¬ 
son  administration,  wants  his  old  place.  So  does 
Allison  Rogers,  if  he  fails  to  get  the  post-office.  Col. 
Isaac  Dreifus,  who  made  the  race  for  mayor  two 
years  ago.  will  apply  for  a  post-tradership.  [Judge  C. 
R.  Pollard  will  be  an  applicant  for  something,  but 
he  has  not  determined  what  he  wants.  Judge  Chas. 
R.  Pollard,  of  Delphi,  is  casting  an  eye  toward  the 
office  of  commissioner  of  emigration,  his  friends  say. 
The  office  is  the  one  at  present  filled  by  ex-Congress- 
man  Owen,  of  Logansport.  Mr.  Pollard  was  a  dele¬ 
gate  to  the  national  democratic  convention,  and  has 
been  chairman  of  the  democratic  committee  of  his 
county  for  several  years.  It  is  said  that  his  candi¬ 
dacy  will  have  the  backing  of  many  of  the  influen 
tial  democrats  of  northern  Indiana.— December  3.] 

MUNCIE.— The  Hon.  R.  S.  Gregory,  who  recently 
joined  democratic  ranks,  will  apply  for  a  high-sal¬ 
aried  position,  possibly  a  foreign  consulate.  Alex. 
Kirkwood  will  be  satisfied  with  a  post-office  inspect 
orship.  For  the  post-office:  Editor  Thomas  Me. 
Killop,  of  the  Herald;  ex-postmaster  John  Banta, 
Vernon  Davis,  John  Ritter,  ex-mayor  Charles  Kil¬ 
gore,  B.  Frank  Gubben,  Arthur  Shldeler,  John 


Graham,  Val.  Gilbert,  Percy  Craig,  Ed.  Everett  and 
Thomas  Duncan.  Want  to  be  door  keeper  at  the 
White  House:  Robert  Winters,  a  yoiu  g  journalist; 
Mark  Batton,  Daniel  Kelly,  Mark  Beehtell,  Will 
Kirk,  Frank  Beehtell,  Frank  Beemer,  William  Pat¬ 
terson  and  Ed.  Mauck.  Capt.  Hilligas,  W.  W.  Walby, 
Lafayette  McCormuk,  Charles  Bell  and  Dr.  Searcy 
will  ask  for  paying  clerkships  at  Washington,  or  to 
he  mail  agents. 

South  Bend.— Would-be  postmasters:  Sorden  Lis¬ 
ter,  postmaster  under  Cleveland  four  years  ago,  and 
chairman  of  the  democratic  central  committee;  John 
Gallagher,  Adolph  H.  Ginz,  present  councilman  from 
first  ward;  August  Beyer,  Andrew  J.  Jaquilh  and 
Patrick  Sheckey.  Emmet  F.  Marshall,  member  of 
the  democratic  state  central  committee,  wants  to  be 
post  office  inspector,  and  John  M.  Shlmp  revenue 
collector. 

Lebanon.— For  postmaster :  Ed.  F.  Hughes,  Henry 
C.  Ulin,  secretary  of  the  county  committee,  and  the 
Hon  S.  M.  Ralston,  presidential  elector  for  the  ninth 
district. 

Shoals.— The  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Clarke  wants  a 
judgeship  of  some  kind  ;  wanted  one  in  the  Okla¬ 
homa  country  in  1884.  For  the  post  office;  A.  C. 
Hacker,  editor  of  the  Hews;  Fabius  Gwinn,  a  young 
alb  rney  ;  W.  K.  Smith,  postmaster  under  Cleveland 
formerly,  and  H.  M.  Carroll,  I.  N.  Plummer  and  Dr. 
G.  M.  Freeman,  want  places  on  the  pension  board. 

Wabash.— For  the  post-office:  E.  A.  Edwards  and 
John  Hipskind.  W.  W.  Wood,  the  present  incum¬ 
bent,  has  over  three  years  to  serve. 

LaPorte.— For  the  post-office:  S.  E.  Grover, chair¬ 
man  of  the  democratic  county  committee;  S.  J. 
Kessler,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  La  Porte  Argos;  N. 
McCormick,  defeated  candidate  for  sheriff;  D  C. 
McCollum,  of  the  state  monument  commission ; 
George  H. Storey,  superintendent  of  the  water  works, 
and  Thomas  Fargher,  an  ex-soldier.  W.  H.  Parker, 
ex-gauger,  will  seek  re-appointment.  David  Walker, 
Charles  B.  Kenney  and  Wm.  C.  Criss,  want  to  be 
mail  carriers. 

Brazil.— The  Hon.  J.  M.  Hoskins,  chairman  of  the 
congressional  central  committee,  is  a  candidate  for 
revenue  collector.  E.  M.  Henkel  and  John  Stough 
want  the  post  office. 

Spencer.— For  the  post-office:  F.  M.  Field,  post¬ 
master  under  Cleveland  before;  O.  T.  Dickerson,  ex- 
auditor;  Joseph  W.  Workman,  deputy  auditor,  8. 
N.  Chambers,  ex  sheriff ;  Michael  Wolf,  ex  marshal ; 
M.  V.  Halton,  Capt.  J.  W.  Archer,  Mrs.  W.  S.  John¬ 
son,  wife  of  county  clerk  Johnson  and  sister  of  Miss 
Nellie  Ahern,  assistant  state  librarian,  and  Mrs.  Wm. 
Howard,  a  cousin  of  Mr.  Cleveland. 

Gosport.— B.  F.  Hart,  C.  L.  Wampler,  J.  P.  Gentry, 
Dr.  Fred.  Stuckey  and  B.  F.  Fox.  Judge  Wm.  M. 
Franklin,  who  was  a  candidate  before  the  demo¬ 
cratic  state  convention  for  appellate  judge,  will  be 
pressed  for  the  best  appointment  due  this  quarter  of 
the  state. 

Mitchell.— Dr.  J.  T.  Briggs.  Moses  Clinton,  Ed.  C. 
Burton  and  James  Moore  are  aspirants  for  the  post- 
office.  Most  talked-of  man  for  the  place  is  Walter  L. 
Shanks,  the  defeated  candidate  for  sheriff  of  Law¬ 
rence  county.  J.  F.  Dilley  and  Oscar  Williams  want 
good  government  places. 

Salem.— Candidates  for  the  post-office  are  ex-Post- 
master  J.  D.  Alvis,  W.  M.  Rudler,  H.  R.  Winsklet,  D. 
V.  B.  Motsinger  and  John  Shanks.  For  the  pension 
board.  Dr.  W.  J.  Purkhiser,  Dr.  H.  M.  Paynler  and 
Dr.  J.  J.  Mitchell. 

Plymouth.— For  the  post-office,  Adam  Vinnege,  J. 
A.  Palmer,  Thomas  Webber  and  J.  C.  Jillson.  The 
Hon.  Daniel  McDonald  wants  to  be  commissioner  of 
pensions.  W.  E.  Peterson  would  be  route  agent  on  a 
mail  line. 

Bedford.— For  the  post-office,  John  Johnson,  Jr., 
and  Mrs.  Frances  Wilson,  widow  of  the  late  Judge 
Wilson.  McHenry  Owen  wants  a  place  in  the  pen¬ 
sion  office. 

Lafayette.— For  the  post-office,  James  B.  Falley, 
wholesale  merchant;  George  T.  Beardsley,  city  treas¬ 
urer;  W.  Bent  Wilson,  of  the  Daffy  Jburnaf;  Michael 


400 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE, 


H.  Kennedy,  wholesale  merchant;  Nicholas  W.  Box. 
retail  merchant;  F.  E.  D.  McGinley,  now  holding 
his  fifth  term  as  mayor,  and  Walter  J.  Ball,  real  es¬ 
tate  dealer.  Rumor  has  it  that  the  local  managers 
promised  the  post-ofiftce  to  Mr.  Beardsley  if  he  would 
manage  the  campaign.  Mr.  Wilson  publishes  the 
only  morning  democratic  daily  in  the  ninth  district, 
and  his  friends  urge  him  because  he  has  no  county 
patronage.  Drs.  W.  S.  Walker,  Samuel  S.  Washburn, 
Emil  Schnaible,  J.  T.  Littell,  George  W.  Washburn 
and  Samuel  Seawright  want  to  be  on  the  pension 
board.  Col.  John  .S.  Williams,  third  auditor  under 
Cleveland’s  first  administration,  wants  something. 

Peru.— Those  desiring  office  Include  Jerome  Herff, 
Frank  McElheney,  Clarence  Jackson,  Wm.  Angor, 
M.  W.  Ream,  C.  Huffman,  W.  W.  Robbins,  J.  M.  Jack- 
sou,  Orson  Durand,  John  Toll,  M.  Rosenthal  and  C, 
McDowell. 

Valparaiso.— For  the  post-office,  E.  Zimmerman, 
editor  of  the  Messenger  and  Sun.  He  was  postmaster 
for  three  years  and  eleven  months  under  Cleveland 
before.  Henry  Binnaman,  John  H.  Magee,  Cyrus 
Axe,  S.  R  Martin  and  J.  Brodie  are  possible  candi¬ 
dates.  Postmaster  DeMotte’s  commission  expires 
May,  4,  1894. 

Waterloo.— Alfred  Kelley  wants  to  be  deputy  rev¬ 
enue  collector,  but  will  take  the  post-office.  Candi¬ 
dates  for  the  latter  place:  John  Koons  (if  nothing 
better  offers),  John  Duncan,  Benjamin  Duncan, 
Oliver  P.  Smith,  I.  J.  McFadden,  Miss  Ella  Jackman, 
Miss  Maude  Kepler,  Wm.  S.  Getz  and  Marion  Bemen. 
derfer.  Homer  M.  Henning  wants  to  be  postal  clerk. 
Bemenderfer,  John  Duncan  and  Ella  Jackman  have 
petitions  already  in  circulation. 

Plymouth.— The  Hon.  Dan  McDonald,  editor  of 
the  Plymouth  Democrat,  in  a  special  from  that  point, 
was  credited  with  aspiring  to  be  commissioner  of 
pensions.  Says  Mr.  McDonald,  in  a  note  to  The  News, 
“  That  office  is  always  given  to  a  distinguished  sol¬ 
dier.  and  it  so  happens  that  I  served  my  country  in 
the  late  unpleasantness  by  proxy,  and  am  therefore 
ineligible.” 

Leavenworth —For  postmaster  at  this  place  Peter 
Ouerbacker,  James  Clark,  George  E.  Sherron,  Clarke 
F.  Cracleus,  Thomas  Westfall  and  William  Callaghan 
are  named  as  candidates.  The  office  pays  $1,200  an- 
nualiy. 

Moore’s  Hill. — Eighteen  democrats  at  Newton,  a 
little  suburb  of  Lawrenceburgh,  are  circulating  peti 
tions  for  government  office.— Indianapolis  News,  No 
vember  23. 

Tipton.— This  city  has  its  full  quota  of  candidates. 
Those  mentioned  for  the  post-office  include  John  R. 
Bowlin,  present  county  superintendent;  B.  W.  S. 
Ressler,  Samuel  Vawter,  R.  M.  Roberson,  who  held 
the  office  under  Cleveland  before;  A.  Bennett,  Chas. 
Means  and  John  Woodruff.  Mr.  Rober-son  is  also 
mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  door-keeper  of  the 
house.  James  Mettlin  wants  a  place  in  the  mail 
service  where  he  served  during  the  last  democratic 
administration.  W.  O.  Legg  also  wants  a  similar 
place.  The  Hon.  W.  R  Ogleby  would  like  to  go 
abroad,  having  a  preference  for  the  Italian  mission. 
M.  T.  Shiel  wants  a  place  in  the  pension  department, 
and  E.  E.  Van  Buskirk  desires  to  go  west  and  teach 
in  the  Indian  schools.  He  was  a  teacher  until  re¬ 
lieved  by  Harrison.  A  number  of  young  democrats 
are  already  importuning  influential  men  to  secure 
places  at  Washington. 

Franklin.— There  were  about  fifteen  applicants 
for  the  office  of  postmaster  of  this  place,  and  a  city 
election  was  talked  of  to  determine  a  choice,  but 
Congressman  Cooper  threw  a  dampener  thereon  by 
writing  a  letter  to  Samuel  Harris,  pledging  Harris 
that  he  would  be  recommended.  Mr,  Harris  is  ex¬ 
county  clerk  and  ex-mayor,  and  during  the  last  cam¬ 
paign  he  was  chairman  of  the  county  committee. 

Columbus. — Congressman  Cooper  has  announced 
that  George  E.  Finney  would  be  recommended  by 
him  as  postmaster  here.  This  has  given  offense  to 
friends  of  other  candidates,  and  a  committee  waited 
upon  Mr.  Cooperand  urged  him  to  reconsider  his  de¬ 
termination,  and  leave  the  election  open  to  popular 
choice.  Congressman  Cooper  declined  to  accede  to 


the  request,  fearing  that  an  unworthy  person  might 
be  selected.  However,  it  is  now  the  understanding 
that  the  local  democracy  will  insist  on  an  election, 
and  will  urge  the  appointment  of  the  applicant  re¬ 
ceiving  the  greatest  number  of  votes.  It  is  further 
said  that  a  formal  remonstrance  will  be  prepared 
against  Mr.  Harris’s  appointment,  to  be  laid  before 
the  President.  This  failing,  the  matter  will  be  car¬ 
ried  to  the  senate,  hopeful  of  preventing  the  con¬ 
firmation.  The  additional  aspirants  for  office  under 
Cleveland  include  ex-Mayor  Charles  M.  Spencer, 
who  desires  a  clerkship  in  the  pension  department 
Abe  Terhune  will  seek  appointment  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  printing  office,  and  Dr.  C.  V.  Kent,  of  Hope, 
will  ask  to  be  appointed  medical  examiner.  Alonzo 
Allison,  editor  of  the  Brown  County  Democrat,  and 
James  Guthrie  are  applicants  for  postmaster  at  Nash¬ 
ville.  It  is  understood  that  Congressman  Cooper 
will  recommend  Allison.  Ephraim  Norman  wants 
to  be  postmaster  at  Hope;  also,  J.  K.  Righter,  a  phys¬ 
ician,  and  S.  C.  Felsberg,  editor  of  the  News-Journal. 

English. —Dr.  C.  D.  Luckett  will  seek  a  position  on 
the  board  of  pension  examiners.  James  R.  Duffin, 
George  W.  Davis,  James  P.  Smallwood  and  Louis  N. 
Jobe  are  named  for  postmaster  at  West  Fork.  Rich- 
aid  Byrd  is  seeking  similar  recognition  at  Oriole. 
Dr.  William  A.  Cole,  of  this  place,  will  apply  for  the 
collectorship  of  the  Seventh  district. 

Lapel.— N.  W.  Klepfer  is  circulating  a  petition  to 
be  appointed  postmaster  at  this  place  under  the  new 
administration. 

Atlanta.— The  candidates  for  postmaster  are:  J. 
M.  Whisler,  Dr.  J.  C.  Driver,  Dr.  L.  C.  McFatridge, 
Amos  Scott,  Daniel  Achenbach  and  J.  E.  Washington. 

Moore’s  Hill. — Foremost  among  those  who  worked 
to  swing  southeast  Indiana  solidly  against  Gray  and 
solidly  forCleveland  at  Lawrenceburgh  were  Hunter 
and  O’Brien,  editors  of  the  Register.  Dr.  Hunter  is 
strongly  talked  of  as  consul  to  the  port  of  Lisbon. 
O’Brien  looks  toward  the  collectorship,  so  said  War¬ 
ren  Tebbs  wants  an  Indian  agency.  Captain  Rief,  for 
revenue  agent,  and  likewise  Ed  Frederick,  William 
Bryan,  Henry  Huseman,  Parker  Rand,  Mike  Fitterer, 
William  Huston,  Jacob  Shepard,  Louis  Ellerbrook, 
and  Charles  Wilson  are  actively  asking.  Mentioned 
for  postmaster  are  John  Tittle,  Ernst  Everhart  and 
George  Columbia.  Here  at  Moore’s  Hill  petitions 
for  the  postmastership  were  in  circulation  two  days 
after  the  election.  Charles  Robinson  has  the  most 
signers  to  his  petition.  There  are  twelve  other  ap¬ 
plicants.  Mr  Holman’s  preference  is  the  unknown 
quantity. 

Milan.— At  Milan  there  are  six  post-office  appli¬ 
cants.  Thomas  Kane  went  to  see  Mr.  Holman  right 
away  after  the  election.  Mr.  Holman  has  promised 
a  pretty  gift,  it  is  reported,  to  Mr.  Kammon,  north  of 
Milan. 

Guilford.— Martin  Miller,  merchant,  would  read 
postal-cards.  Little  competition. 

SUN.MAN.— Virado  Bigney,  druggist,  would  more 
than  gladly  accept  his  old  place  as  postmaster.— /n- 
dianapolis  News,  November  26. 

La  Grange.— Candidates  for  the  post  office,  to  suc¬ 
ceed  Dr.  J.  H.  Rerick,  editor  of  the  Standard,  whose 
commission  expires  in  March,  1893,  are  looming  up. 
David  Fawcett,  editor  of  the  Democrat  and  secretary 
of  the  county  central  committee,  who  came  here 
from  Delphi  in  1886,  is  in  the  race.  Through  his  ex¬ 
ertions  McNagney,  democratic  congressman-elect,  se¬ 
cured  one-half  of  the  votes  of  this  county  in  the  con¬ 
gressional  convention,  over  the  protest  of  the  other 
half,  headed  by  Ballou  and  Hanan.  Ora  Rowe,  a 
brother-in-law  of  Ballou,  democratic  elector  and 
chairman  of  the  central  committee,  whose  candidacy 
was  opposed  by  the  Lowery  democrats  in  1884  and 
the  office  given  to  Snyder,  is  still  in  the  ring.  A 
split  in  the  party  followed  Snyder’s  appointment, 
and  Congressman  Lowery  was  defeated  for  re-election 
by  the  anti-Loweryites  voting  for  Stanley  and  White. 
H.  M.  Kramer,  pension  attorney,  is  being  backed  by 
the  old  soldier  boys,  but  the  bee  in  the  bonnet  has 
been  so  often  knocked  out  that  his  candidacy  is 
looked  upon  as  a  chestnut.  His  attempt  a  few  years 
ago  to  start  a  democratic  G.  A.  R.  is  being  worked 
against  him  for  all  it  is  worth.  He  has  been  a  life¬ 


long  resident  of  this  county.— Jndtanapolfs  News,  De¬ 
cember  1. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  candidates  for  the 
different  post  offices  over  Grant  county : 

Van  Buren — William  Whittaker,  Charles  Griffith, 
T.  E.  Ballard,  Dr.  G.  A.  Landis,  A.  J.  Barnes  and  G. 
W.  Hulce. 

Roseburg— Milton  Druckemiller. 

Swayzee— Isaac  Smith,  George  W.  Fisher,  M.  D^ 
Bish,  Harrison  Mark,  Thomas  Hubbard  and  O.  W,  J. 
Larkin. 

Sweetser — Mrs.  N.  E.  Spurgeon. 

Pointlsabel— J.  V.  John,  G.  A.  Brizendlneand  Will, 
iam  Mann. 

Fairmount— At  this  place  the  democrats  held  an 
election,  the  polls  being  open  from  6  am.  until  6  p- 
m.  Four  names  were  presented:  W.  H.  Campbell, 
L.  R.  W’hitney,  Samuel  Stokes  and  Jefferson  Fowler. 
W.  H.  Campbell  was  chosen. — Indianapolis  News, 
December  3. 

—It  has  been  given  out  among  the  Indianapolis 
democrats  that  ex-Congressman  C.  C.  Matson,  of 
Greencastle,  wants  to  be  made  United  States  pension 
agent  for  Indiana.  Mr.  Matson  is  allied  to  the 
Voorhees-Gray  wing  of  the  parly,  and  the  original 
friends  of  Cleveland  here  are  recalling  that  during 
the  meeting  of  the  national  democratic  convention 
in  Chicago,  Mr.  Matson  was  referring  to  Cleveland  as 
the  “stuffed  prophet  of  Williams  street.” 

John  W.  Cravens,  clerk  of  Monroe  county,  is  at  the 
Grand  Hotel.  Mr.  Cravens  has  his  eye  on  the  post- 
office  at  Bloomington,  and  his  friends  say  he  will  get 
the  appointment.  He  is  still  under  thirty.  When 
just  of  age  he  went  to  Bloomington  from  Danville. 
He  was  soon  elected  superintendent  of  the  schools  of 
Monroe  county,  and  after  having  filled  that  office  two 
terms,  he  was  elected  county  clerk. — Indianapolis 
News,  November  22. 

— Now  that  the  campaign  is  over  and  the  democrats 
have  gained  such  a  sweeping  victory,  the  prominent 
politicians  of  democratic  faith  in  this  city  and  coun¬ 
ty  have  begun  to  look  for  offices. 

The  post-office,  with  its  salary  of  $3,000,  is  the  chief 
objective  point,  and  as  many  as  a  dozen  are  looking 
after  this.  Among  these  are  Hon.  Lu'her  Mering, 
late  candidate  for  congress;  Frank  Elder,  postmaster 
under  Cleveland’s  first  term;  John  W.  Thistlewaite, 
George  Eggemeyer,  J.  C.  Macke,  S.  C.  Whltsell.  editor 
of  the  Independent,  and  others. — Richmond  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  November  29. 

—Richmond  is  not  the  only  place  in  Wayne  county 
where  the  contest  for  the  post  office  promises  to  be  a 
warm  one.  At  Hagerstown  also  the  eligible  are  look¬ 
ing  after  their  interests.  Ex- Postmaster  Mike  Conniff 
wants  it.  Joseph  Wallick  is  also  an  aspirant.  Be¬ 
sides  these  two,  J.  C.  Fritz,  John  B.  Allen  and  Jack 
Richey  are  each  being  urged  by  his  friends.— iJfcA- 
mond  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  December  2. 

—The  Hon.  Thomas  J.  Newkirk  of  thisclty  isa  can¬ 
didate  for  internal  revenue  collector  of  this  district. 
Mr.  Newkirk  was  chairman  of  the  democratic  county 
central  commitee.— iSws/iviife  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  December  3. 

Indianapolis.— William  E.  English  wants  to  besent 
abroad.  William  F.  Christian  will  ask  for  the  Indi¬ 
anapolis  post-office. 

There  are  a  good  many  aspiring  democratic  attor¬ 
neys  who  have  their  eyes  on  the  district  attorney- 
ship.  Republicans  generally  believe  that  John  W. 
Kern  will  be  the  appointee,  although  he  has  not  the 
support  of  the  Voorhees-Gray  wing  of  the  party.  Mr. 
Kern,  it  is  said,  will  have  the  indorsement  of  the 
original  Cleveland  men,  with  whom  he  cast  his  lot 
when  the  Cleveland-Gray-Hill  fight  was  on  before 
the  meeting  of  the  national  convention.  The  other 
men  who  would  like  to  have  the  office  are  Frank 
Burke,  of  Jeffersonville;  John  W.  Holtzman,  of  this 
city,  and  Mason  J.  Niblack,  of  Vincennes. 

So  far  as  can  be  learned  there  are  not  so  many  per¬ 
sons  after  the  UnitedStatesmarshal’s  office.  Indian¬ 
apolis  democrats  seem  to  think  that  Geo.  W.  Geiger, 
the  commercial  traveler,  has  earned  the  office,  and  it 
is  said  that  he  will  get  a  strong  support  from  here. 
The  men  who  think  they  know  all  about  how  the 
offices  will  be  distributed  say  that  Indianapolis  will 


THE  CIVILS  ERVICE  CHRONICEL- 


401 


not  be  permitted  to  gobble  up  everything  in  sight, 
and  that  it  is  foolish  to  talk  about  both  the  district 
attorneyship  and  the  marshal’s  office  coming  to  this 
city.  They  say  that  Indianapolis  will  do  well  if  it 
gets  one  of  these  offices. 

•‘My  mail  is  almost  as  heavy  as  it  was  during  the 
campaign,”  said  Chairman  Taggart  to  day.  “The 
applications  for  post-offices  I  send  back  with  direc¬ 
tions  that  they  be  referred  to  the  local  committees. 
I  can’t  undertake  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
selection  of  officers  that  affect  no  one  outside  the 
community  where  the  officer  is  to  serve.” 

Mr.  Taggart  does  not  say  what  he  does  with  the  ap¬ 
plications  for  other  offices  that  come  in,  but  those 
who  claim  to  know  say  that  he  is  filing  them  all 
away,  and  will,  when  the  proper  time  comes,  take  a 
hand  in  the  recommendatious  to  be  made.  “Taggart 
is  a  man  who  remembers  his  friends,”  said  a  demo¬ 
crat  to-day,  ”  and  you  can  rest  assured  that  when  the 
proper  time  comes  he  will  have  something  to  say 
about  who  is  recogni  ed  in  Indiana.  He  will  not 
decline  any  invitation  to  assist  in  portioning  out  the 
spoils.” 

Mr.  A.  Connor  is  an  applicant  for  the  North  In¬ 
dianapolis  post-office. 

Bloomington.— The  avowed  candidates  for  the 
post-office  are:  R.  H.  East,  Peter  Bowman,  S.  R. 
Phorer  and  W.  P.  Dill.  James  Ryan  and  Samuel 
Gilmore  want  to  be  wagon  inspectors  at  the  govern¬ 
ment  depot  at  Jeffersonville.  Other  applicants  in¬ 
clude:  For  the  mail  service,  John  Riley,  John  Har¬ 
ris  and  George  Riley;  Indian  agency.  Joseph  N.  Al¬ 
exander  and  D.  D.  Spencer.  John  R.  East,  C.  R. 
Worrall  and  John  D.  Morgan  are  liable  to  present 
claims  for  recognition. 

Vernon.— James  W.  Clarkson,  J.  W.  Forsyth,  who 
was  postmaster  under  Cleveland,  E.  J.  Hutton  and  J. 
W.  Sinnett  will  be  applicants  for  the  post-office  at 
Butlerville. 

Waterloo. — Lee  F.  Stamets  is  an  applicant  for  the 
post  office.  He  was  not  Included  in  the  former  list. 

Franklin.— Benjamin  P.  Brown,  who  served  four 
years  under  Cleveland,  desires  re-appointment  as 
postmaster.  Samuel  Harris,  ex-mayor  and  chairman 
of  the  county  central  committee,  is  prominently 
mentioned:  so  also  William  Neal,  ex-sheriff,  S.  M. 
Forsythe,  Aquilla  Mathes,  J.  M.  Needham,  John 
Diel,  A.  B.  Colton  and  A.  M.  Ragsdale.  J.  C.  Mc¬ 
Nutt,  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  Shelby-Johnson 
circuit,  will  petition  for  appointment  as  judge,  vice 
Judge  Hackney,  elevated  to  the  supreme  bench.  At 
Greenwood  John  Taylor  Green,  John  Arbuckle,  J.  S. 
Pernett,  Samuel  Jennings  and  Jordan  Graves  want 
the  post-office.  Dr.  Meyers,  of  Edinburg,  commander 
G.  A.  R.  post,  wants  on  the  board  of  pension  exam 
iners.  Dr.  W.  C.  Hall,  L.  L.  Whitesides  and  J.  F. 
Jones,  of  this  city,  aspire  to  the  same  position,  as 
also  Drs.  Lee  and  Province,  of  Union  Village,  and 
Dr.  Willan,  of  Trafalgar. 

Winchester.— Lewis  Ellingham,  Frank  Preston, 
Conrad  Meier,  Oliver  Davis,  Charles  Favorite,  An¬ 
drew  Lewis,  Garland  D.  Williamson,  Mrs.  Emma 
Riley  and  S.  O.  Irvin  are  named  as  applicants  for  the 
post-office.  Mr.  Irvin  was  tendered  the  position 
eight  years  ago,  but  declined  in  favor  of  John  Neff, 
who  was  an  old  man  and  an  applicant  for  the  place. 
It  is  understood  that  ex-Governor  Gray  will  support 
Mr.  Irvin.  Col.  Martin  B.  Miller,  who  held  a  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  pension  department  under  Cleveland, 
will  be  an  applicant  for  something  similar. 

Lebanon.— Mr.  S  M.  Ralston  writes  to  the  News 
that  he  was  wrongly  classified  as  an  applicant  for 
postmaster  at  Lebanon.  He  should  not  have  been 
included  in  the  list  forwarded  from  that  point. 

Lapel.— J.  W.  Barrett  is  named  as  a  probable  suc¬ 
cessor  of  W.  H.  Walker,  the  present  postmaster. 

Martinsville. — Eb.  Henderson,  deputy  commis¬ 
sioner  of  internal  revenue  under  Cleveland,  is  desir¬ 
ous  of  being  appointed  commissioner.  James  A. 
Lewis,  who  served  as  postmaster  twenty-two  months 
under  Cleveland,  and  who  is  chairman  of  the  county 
central  committee,  is  thought  to  have  a  good  chance 
for  reappointment  as  postmaster ;  he  will  be  opposed 
by  John  C.  Duncan,  Harry  Tarlton  and  John  Fusel- 
man,  Sr.  Drs.  S.  A.  Tilford,  J.  C.  Paxon,  R.  H.  Tarl¬ 


ton  and  8.  H.  Schofield  have  an  eye  on  the  pension 
examiners’  board.  Col.  Jeff  K.  Scott  is  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  adjutant-generalship  of  the 
state. 

Anderson. — It  is  pretty  definitely  settled  that  Dale 
J.  Crittenberger,  editor  of  the  Anderson  Democrat, 
will  receive  the  appointment  of  postmaster  for  An¬ 
derson  under  the  Cleveland  administration.  He  is 
the  son-in  law  of  Postmaster  Daniels,  and  Itis  thought 
the  latter  will  resign  soon  after  the  4th  of  March,  so 
that  Crittenberger  may  take  the  office. 

Rockville. — The  Parke  county  democrats  are  not 
talking  much  about  the  offices.  Lo  Humphries, 
county  chairman,  is  mentioned  for  postmaster;  so, 
also,  John  Overman,  T.  F.  Gaebler.  J.  R.  Strouse, 
editor  of  the  Tribune,  is  being  boomed  by  the  Repub¬ 
lican,  the  opposition  paper.  Mrs.  Maggie  Stockbridge, 
chief  deputy  under  W.  E.  Henkel,  postmaster  under 
Cleveland  before,  is  talked  of.  No  aspirants  for  fed¬ 
eral  positions  are  heard  of,  Parke  county  democrats 
standing  little  chance  with  their  hungrier  brethren 
in  Montgomery  and  Vigo  counties. 

J  bffersonville.— Strangely  enough,  theoffice- 
hunter  has  not  yet  developed  with  anything  like  the 
expected  virulence  in  this  county  or  city.  Sheriff 

P.  C.  Donovan  can  have  the  post-office  if  he  wants  it. 
S.  B.  Diffenderfer  is  asking  for  it,  and  friends  are 
pushing  Capt.  “Polk”  Burlingame  for  the  place. 
Capt.  Henry  Dugan,  of  the  ferry  company,  wants  to 
be  inspector  of  the  steamboats  in  this  district.  The 
great  government  depot  of  quartermasters’  supplies 
is  located  here,  with  half  a  hundred  subordinate 
positions,  ranging  from  a  mule-driver  to  a  two  thou- 
sand-dollar  clerkship.  A  clean  sweep  will  be  de¬ 
manded. 

Bloomfield.— For  the  post-office:  W.  E.  Inman, 
deputy  under  the  Cleveland  regime  ;  Will  Isensee, 
ex-deputy  auditor;  Horace  V.  Norrell,  ex-prison  di¬ 
rector;  Geo.  E.  Endres  and  M.  L.  Combs.  W.  M. 
Moss,  of  the  Democrat,  expects  the  best  thing  in  the 
district  to  be  given  him. 

Valparaiso.— A  mass-meeting  has  unanimously 
adopted  resolutions  favoring  the  candidacy  of  John 
Brodie  for  the  district  marshalship  of  Indiana.  Mr. 
Brodie  is  chairman  of  the  democratic  county  com¬ 
mittee. 

New  Castle.— Citizens  regardless  of  party  affilia¬ 
tions  are  working  to  secure  the  appointment  of  the 
Hon.  George  B.  Morris  as  secretary  of  agriculture 
under  Cleveland.  Mr.  Morris  is  vice-president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  New  Castle,  and  a  personal 
friend  of  Mr.  Cleveland.— /ndiawapotts  News,  Nov.  22. 

Greenfield. — The  Hon.  David  S.  Gooding  wants  a 
paying  position  either  in  the  foreign  service  or  at 
Washington.  Eugene  C.  Bojden  will  apply  for  a 
place  in  the  government  printing  office  or  in  the 
railway  mail  service.  The  Rev.  Andrew  J.  Ander¬ 
son  wants  a  position  as  deputy  revenue  collector  in 
this  district.  Dr.  J.  N.  Howard,  Jr.,  will  seek  ap¬ 
pointment  on  the  board  of  pension  examiners. 
Those  named  for  tbe  post-office  include  :  Jonathan 

Q.  Johnson,  ex  city  clerk  ;  Eugene  Lewis,  editor  of 
the  Greenfield  Herald;  Charhs  C.  Cochran,  who  was 
a  candidate  under  Cleveland  before,  and  Isaiah  A. 
Curry,  ex  city  treasurer  and  chairman  county  com 
mittee.  Captain  Curry,  while  treasurer,  sustained  a 
loss  of  88,000  by  the  failure  of  Indianapolis  banks, 
and  he  made  good  the  deficiency  out  of  his  private 
store. 


AMERICAN_pUDALISM. 

Services  were  free  and  base.  Free  ser- 
vice  was  to  pay  a  sum  of  money,  or  serve 
under  the  lord  in  war.  Base  service  was 
to  plow  the  lord’s  land,  to  make  his  hedge 
or  carry  out  his  dung. — Blackstone. 


Nothing  in  the  way  of  a  political  excite¬ 
ment  that  ever  occurred  in  this  state  equaled 
that  occasioned  here  this  afternoon  upon  the 
publication,  in  two  afternoon  papers,  of  a 


story  of  attempted  bribery  in  connection  with 
the  approaching  election,  in  which  United 
Slates  Senator  Anthony  Higgins  is  personally 
involved. 

The  story  of  the  attempted  debauchery  of 
the  ballot  is  told  by  Isaac  J.  Wootten,  of 
Laurel,  Sussex  county,  a  democratic  registrar 
for  the  east  election  district  of  Little  Creek 
hundred,  upon  whom  the  attempt  was  made. 
The  man  who  makes  this  astounding  charge 
against  the  republican  senator  from  the  state 
of  Delaware  is  a  citizen  of  the  highest  respect¬ 
ability,  against  whose  character  for  integrity 
and  veracity  not  a  word  can  be  uttered.  He 
is  major  of  the  First  Regiment,  National 
Guard  of  Delaware,  and  a  business  man  of 
high  standing  in  the  town  of  Laurel. 

Major  Wootten  has  made  affidavit  to  the 
truth  of  his  statement,  which  is  being  held  in 
reserve  to  refute  any  denials  that  may  be  put 
forth  by  the  accused  parties. 

Major  Wootten  says  that  George  E.  Smith, 
the  postmaster  at  Laurel,  who  was  appointed 
by  Higgins,  came  into  his  store  about  four 
weeks  ago  and  told  him  he  had  been  waiting 
a  long  time  to  talk  politics  with  him.  Smith, 
who  is  a  republican  “  worker  ”  of  the  most  un¬ 
scrupulous  kind,  began  by  asking  him,  he 
says,  what  he  expected  to  get  out  of  politics, 
any  way. 

He  said  that  Wootten  was  a  hard-working 
democrat,  and  the  latter  told  him  he  didn’t 
expect  to  get  anything  unless  Mr.  Cleveland 
was  elected.  Smith  went  on  to  talk  about  the 
certainty  of  republican  success,  and  finally 
told  Wootten  that  if  he  would  help  the  re¬ 
publicans  they  would  surely  carry  Sussex 
county,  in  which  case  he  should  have  “  any¬ 
thing  he  wanted.”  He  added  that  if  Woot¬ 
ten  didn’t  believe  him  he  would  summon  Sen¬ 
ator  Higgins  to  Laurel  to  convince  him. 

Wootten  continues  his  story  as  follows  :  “  I 
felt  like  knocking  Smith  down  when  he  ap¬ 
proached  me  in  this  way,  but  I  wanted  to  find 
out  from  him  all  I  could,  and  controlled  my¬ 
self  so  I  could  get  more  from  him.  He  went 
on  to  say  that  I  could  help  the  republicans  as 
registrar  by  ‘  turning  down  democrats,’  that 
is,  by  registering  republicans  as  qualified 
voters  when  they  were  not  qualified. 

“He  said  if  I  wanted  to,  and  just  said  the 
word,  the  democrats  would  make  me  voters, 
assistant,  and  if  I  was  voters’  assistant  I  could 
so  manipulate  the  tickets  of  illiterate  voters’ 
that  they  wouldn’t  know  it,  and  that  I  could 
stamp  the  tickets  so  that  democratic  ballots 
would  turn  out  to  be  stamped  for  the  republi¬ 
cans  when  they  came  to  be  counted. 

“After  our  first  talk  in  this  way  1  immedi¬ 
ately  consulted  Col.  William  T.  Records,  of 
Laurel,  who  is  a  prominent  democrat  and  the 
nominee  of  the  democrats  for  state  senator  in 
our  county.  I  asked  him  to  go  to  Georgetown 
and  see  Alfred  P.  Robinson,  chairman  of  the 
democratic  county  committee,  and  consult 
him  as  to  what  I  should  do  to  expose  the  fraud 
and  bribery  which  I  was  satisfied  the  republi¬ 
cans  contemplated  in  our  county. 

“Col.  Records  went  to  Gtorgetown,  and  said 


402 


THE  CIVEL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


he  had  seen  Mr.  Robinson,  and  ‘.hat  they 
thought  it  best  for  me  to  lead  Smith  on  and 
get  what  I  could  out  of  him.” 

Wootten  goes  on  to  say  that  Smith  kept  pur¬ 
suing  him,  and  he  kept  on  putting  him  off  un¬ 
til  he  learned  the  decision  that  Records  and 
Robinson  had  come  to.  Then  he  told  Smith 
he  could  get  the  place  of  voters’  assistant,  and 
Smith  insisted  on  bringing  Senator  Higgins 
down  to  see  him.  A  few  days  later  Smith 
made  an  appointment  with  Wootten  to  come 
to  his  house  on  the  night  of  October  13. 

Wootten  goes  on  with  his  story  thus: 

“About  10:30  or  11  o’clock  I  went  up  to 
Smith’s  back  door  as  he  had  requested,  and  he 
met  me  in  his  back  yard  and  took  me  into  his 
house,  where  I  found  Senator  Anthony  Hig¬ 
gins  waiting  for  me. 

“Higgins  began  to  talk  about  the  certainty 
of  Harrison’s  election,  and  went  on  to  mention 
what  states  he  would  carry.  ‘Delaware  is  sure 
for  him,’  says  he.  ‘If  you  will  do  this  thing 
we’re  all  right.’ 

“He  said  that  he  would  get  me  any  place  un¬ 
der  the  government  I  wanted  outside  the  civil 
service.  He  said  :  ‘Of  course,  I  can’t  tell 
you  what  a  third  man  will  do,  but  Harrison 
will  back  me  up  and  Noble  will  stand  by  me.’ 
The  next  morning  Smith  came  to  see  me  to 
talk  to  me,  and  said  to  me  that  Higgins  meant 
what  he  said. 

“I  reported  all  this  to  some  of  my  friends^ 
and  they  told  me  try  to  get  Mr.  Higgins  to 
promise  me  some  particular  place.  So  I  said 
to  Smith  that  I  wanted  the  place  in  the  land 
office  that  Gus  Parsons,  of  Salisbury,  had 
under  Mr.  Cleveland. 

“Smith  told  me  that  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Hig 
gins,  and  when  he  got  a  reply  showed  me  Mr. 
Higgins’s  letter.  Higgins  said  that  he  didn’t 
see  any  Gus  Parsons  in  the  Blue  book,  but 
found  that  a  J.  A.  Parsons,  of  Maryland,  had 
an  eighteen  hundred  dollar  place.  Smith 
told  me  that  that  wasn’t  good  enough  for 
me. 

“The  letter  which  Smith  showed  me  was 
on  one  of  Mr.  Higgins’s  letter-heads,  and  in  a 
postscript  Higgins  told  Smith  to  destroy  the 
letter. 

“Last  Saturday,  when  I  was  sitting  on  the 
board  of  registration,  it  was  necessary  to  de¬ 
cide  to  strike  off  the  names  of  some  republi¬ 
cans  who  had  been  registered  improperly  as 
qualified  voters.  Smith  came  to  me  and  said 
he  didn’t  understand  what  I  meant  by  such 
action.  I  told  him  that  he  knew  I  could  not 
do  otherwise,  with  the  democrats  all  around 
me  knowing  what  I  did,  and  I  think  he  left 
me  with  the  idea  that  everything  was  all 
right  for  his  scheme.  Wednesday  night  Smith, 
I  think,  went  to  see  Mr.  Higgins  at  some 
place  where  he  was  to  speak,  to  find  out  a 
better  place  for  me.  I  haven’t  seen  him 
since.” 

A  representative  of  the  associated  press  saw 
Senator  Higgins  this  afternoon  and  handed 
him  a  copy  of  the  paper  containing  the 
charges  against  him.  Mr.  Higgins  said  : 

“About  two  weeks  ago,  while  I  was  at 


Laurel,  Wootten  called  on  me  at  the  house  of 
George  Smith,  informing  me  that  he  desired 
to  change  his  political  connection  and  to  so¬ 
licit  an  office  under  the  government.  Having 
understood  him  to  be  a  man  of  influence  and 
good  standing,  I  told  him  I  thought  an  office 
could  be  had  for  him.  Nothing  was  said 
about  what  work  he  should  do  for  the  repub¬ 
lican  party  ;  nothing  was  said  about  his  being 
registrar  nor  voters’  assistant;  nor  did  I  know 
he  was  a  registrar,  nor  even  hear  that  he  was 
until  a  reporter  so  said  to  me  to-day.  Noth¬ 
ing  was  said  as  to  his  doing,  nor  did  I  have 
any  understanding  that  he  was  to  do  anything 
on  behalf  of  the  republican  party  as  an  official, 
or  in  the  discharge  or  abuse  of  any  official 
duty.  Subsequently,  Mr.  Smith  wrote  to  me 
to  know  if  Wootten  could  have  a  place  in  the 
land  office  held  by  one  ‘Gus’  Parsons,  and  I 
replied  that  I  could  find  no  such  person’s 
name  in  the  Blue  book,  but  only  one  John  A. 
Parsons.” — WUminglon  Dispatch  to  New  York 
Times,  October  30. 

*  »  * 

In  his  explanation  of  the  attempted  corrupt 
deal  with  Major  Wootten  for  the  vote  of  Sus¬ 
sex  county,  made  public  last  night,  Senator 
FTiggins  practically  admitted  his  connection 
with  the  unsavory  affair,  and  also  admitted 
having  met  Major  Wootten  at  the  house  of 
Postmaster  Smith,  the  other  republican  con¬ 
spirator,  in  Laurel.  His  declaration  to  this 
effect  has  been  published  all  over  the  country. 

Last  night  telegrams  were  sent  flying  in  all 
directions  in  a  wild  endeavor  to  find  Smith 
and  summon  him  to  Wilmington,  presumably 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  conference  and 
agreeing  upon  some  concerted  explanation  of 
the  perplexing  situation.  But  Smith  failed 
to  respond.  This  morning,  however,  realizing 
that  it  was  incumbent  upon  him  to  say  some¬ 
thing,  and  evidently  unaware  that  Senator 
Higgins  had  admitted  that  he  met  Wootten  at 
his  house.  Smith  hastily  wired  to  a  newspaper 
in  Wilmington  the  following  dispatch: 

“Laukel,  Del.,  Oct.  30. — Wootten’s  state¬ 
ment  is  without  a  word  of  truth.  I  defy  him 
to  produce  the  letters.  Wootten  oflfered  to  sell 
the  secrets  of  his  party  to  me  for  a  position.  I 
mentioned  the  fact  to  Higgins  and  he  refused 
to  have  a  thing  to  do  with  the  matter,  and  I 
declared  the  whole  thing  off  with  Wootten  on 
Tuesday  night  last.  He  then  became  alarmed 
and  made  a  lie  out  of  the  whole  cloth,  with 
the  help  of  others  in  Wilmington,  as  a  cut  at 
an  honorable  senator.  D.  E.  Smith.” 

This  bold  denial  only  puts  a  worse  face  on 
the  affair,  for  while  Higgins  admits  the  Woot¬ 
ten  interview.  Postmaster  Smith  now  asserts 
that  Higgins  declined  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  the  attempted  deal. —  Wilmington  Dispatch 
to  New  Yoj'k  Times,  October  SI. 

»  »  « 

Another  chapter  in  the  republican  plot  to 
corrupt  the  vote  of  Sussex  county  is  given  in 
an  affidavit  made  by  Cyrus  Ward,  the  demo¬ 
cratic  nominee  for  treasurer  of  that  county,  a 
man  who  is  well  known  and  whose  reputation 
stands  indorsed  by  hundreds,  if  not  thousands, 


who  have  heretofore  recommended  him  for 
official  appointment  at  the  hands  of  the  gover¬ 
nor. 

The  affidavit  shows  that  Mr.  Ward  was  one 
of  the  men  whom  Senator  Higgins  went  down 
to  Laurel  on  October  13  to  meet  at  Postmaster 
Smith’s  house,  and  it  further  shows  that  the 
Rev.  Jonathan  S.  Willis,  the  republican  nom¬ 
inee  for  congress,  is  as  lavish  with  the  offer  of 
federal  appointments  for  party  service  as  is 
Senator  Higgins  himself. 

In  his  affidavit  Mr.  Ward  says:  “About 
one  week  after  the  democratic  county  conven¬ 
tion  at  Georgetown,  George  Smith  the  post¬ 
master  at  Laurel,  drove  up  to  my  sawmill  at 
Coverdale  Cross  Roads,  in  Sussex  county, 
where  I  was  at  work.  In  the  carriage  with 
him  was  Jonathan  S.  Willis,  whom  I  knew 
only  by  sight.  Mr.  Smith  got  out  of  the  car¬ 
riage  and  came  into  the  mill.  He  asked  me 
to  come  outside  for  a  little  talk,  and  we  went 
to  one  side  of  the  mill.  He  said  : 

“You  have  been  treated  badly  by  the  demo¬ 
cratic  party  and  I  would  like  to  make  a 
proposition  to  you  to  help  us  (meaning  the 
republicans).  I  know  you  are  a  democrat, 
but  if  you  will.do  what  we  want  I  will  see 
that  you  get  a  genteel,  permanent  and  lucra¬ 
tive  position.” 

“I  didn’t  ask  him  what  it  was,  for  I  didn’t 
interest  myself  in  what  he  was  saying,  but  he 
went  on  to  state  that  it  was  a  clerkship;  that 
the  work  would  be  easy  and  not  more  than 
eight  hours  a  day,  and  that  it  would  pay  not 
less  than  $1,000  a  year,  and  perhaps  $1,200  or 
$1,500.  During  the  conversation  he  said: 
“If  you  think  favorably  of  this  call  at  my 
store  in  Laurel.’ 

“As  he  was  leaving  he  asked  me  to  walk  out 
to  the  carriage  and  meet  Mr.  Willis.  To  Mr. 
Willis  he  said:  ‘Mr.  Ward  is  a  democrat  and 
can  do  as  much  or  more  than  any  man  in 
Little  Creek  Hundred.  I  have  just  told  him 
that  if  he  will  help  us  this  fall  I  will  get 
him  a  good  office  that  he  will  think  some¬ 
thing  of.’ 

“Mr.  Willis  spoke  up  and  said  :  ‘If  I  am 
elected  to  congress,  and  every  one  says  I  will 
be,  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  carry  out  Mr. 
.'Smith’s  suggestions  in  regard  to  federal  posi¬ 
tions.’ 

‘T  replied,  ‘Very  well,’  and  they  drove  off. 

“On  October  9,  Mr.  Smith  drove  to  my  house 
and  said  that  he  had  seen  Senator  Higgins, 
and  that  the  senator  said  he  could  get  me  a 
place  not  later  than  the  1st  of  January,  and 
perhaps  by  the  1st  of  December.  He  repeated 
what  he  had  said  at  the  mill.  He  asked  me  if 
I  knew  how  the  democrats  were  going  to  spend 
their  money.  I  told  him  I  did  not.  He  said  : 

‘  We  propose  to  hire  them  to  stay  at  home,  and 
that  is  the  way  we  want  you  to  work  your 
men.’  I  suppose  he  meant  the  men  I  have 
some  influence  with.  He  said  they  were  giv¬ 
ing  $5  to  $10  apirce  to  them  to  stay  at  home. 

“Isaid:  ‘If  I  should  conclude  to  do  this, 
and  you  should  fail,  where  would  I  be?’  He 
replied:  ‘We  don’t  expect  you  to  do  it  all; 
we  have  lots  of  others  who  are  working  for  us.’ 
I  suppose  by  lots  of  others  he  meant  demo¬ 
crats.” 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Ward  says  Mr.  Smith  set 
a  date  for  him  to  meet  Senator  Higgins,  but 
he.  did  not  go. —  Wilmington  Dispatch  to  New 
York  Times,  November  3. 


The  Civil  Service  chronicle. 


If  we  see  nothing  in  our  victory  but  a  license  to  revel  in  partisan  spoils,  ive  shall  fail  at  every  point.- 

President-elect  Cleveland  at  New  York,  November  18. 


VoL.  I,  No.  47.  INDIANAPOLIS,  JANUARY,  1893.  teems 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Jnd, 

The  arrangement  under  which  the  Civil 
Service  Chronicle  has  been  published 
will  end  with  the  next  number.  If  no  new 
arrangement  is  made  the  publication  will 
then  cease.  The  last  number  will  be  de¬ 
layed  on  account  of  the  index  and  also  to 
enable  it  to  cover  Harrison’s  administra¬ 
tion  to  the  end.  It  is  not  necessary  to  re¬ 
peat  that  no  one  except  the  printer  and  the 
postmaster  is  paid  anything  in  connection 
with  this  publication.  The  accounts  are 
open  to  the  inspection  of  subscribers,  and 
statements  of  them  have  been  at  frequent 
periods  sent  for  inspection  to  various  cen¬ 
ters  where  the  Chronicle  had  large  sup¬ 
port.  If  publication  is  discontinued  all 
unexpired  subscriptions  will  be  returned 
and  all  funds  left  over  will  be  under  the 
order  of  those  who  contributed  them. 
There  will  be  no  unpaid  debts,  and  there 
is  nothing  in  the  four  years’  career  of  the 
paper  of  which  those  who  have  been  ac¬ 
tively  connected  with  it  are  not  frankly 
and  openly  proud.  Many  will  be  glad  to 
see  the  Chronicle  stop. 

Letter-carrier  Dunn,  of  the  Indianap¬ 
olis  post-office,  seems,  by  the  account  of  his 
transactions  printed  in  other  columns,  to 
have  acted  in  deliberate  and  insolent  de¬ 
fiance  of  the  law.  The  evidence  appears 
conclusive  that  he  solicited  contributions 
for  political  purposes  of  other  federal  offi¬ 
cers  and  that  he  did  so  in  a  federal  build¬ 
ing.  Postmaster  Thompson  did  his  duty 
in  promptly  dismissing  Dunn.  County 
Treasurer  Backus  figures  in  this  busi¬ 
ness.  He  called  upon  the  democratic  em¬ 
ployes  of  the  post-office  to  make  up  four 
hundred  dollars  to  pay  a  debt  of  the  county 
democratic  committee.  Having  bidden 
them  to  the  Hendricks  club  he  took  them 
into  a  room  by  themselves  and  told  them 
that  the  next  postmaster  was  named,  and 
that  he  was  a  good  democrat,  and  that 
those  who  contributed  freely  would  be  re¬ 
membered.  Making  his  own  hide  safe,  he 
puts  up  Dunn  to  violate  the  law.  Again, 
after  the  election  and  after  it  is  known  that 
these  employes  will  have  a  democrat  over 
them,  who,  if  he  is  dishonest,  can  trick 
them  out  of  promotion  or  out  of  their 
places,  he  tells  them  that  the  next  post¬ 
master  is  named,  and  that  he  is  a  good 


democrat,  and  that  those  who  contribute 
freely  will  be  remembered.  There  is  a 
covert  threat  in  this  declaration  that  makes 
it  inseparable  from  blackmailing.  Those 
who  do  not  contribute  freely  will  be  re¬ 
membered  also.  That  is  what  the  words 
mean.  Further,  these  men  are  in  the 
classified  service.  They  get  their  places 
by  competition,  and  their  right  to  promo¬ 
tion  rests  upon  their  daily  record  of  effi¬ 
ciency.  There  is  no  way  of  “  remember¬ 
ing”  them,  either  by  way  of  reward  or 
punishment,  without  violating  the  law. 
This  did  not  trouble  Backus,  but  it  will 
seriously  trouble  any  one  who  tries  to  put 
it  into  practice. 

The  transfer  of  all  of  the  free-delivery 
post-offices  and  the  weather  bureau  service 
by  President  Harrison  to  the  classified 
service  is  the  most  notable  event  in  civil 
service  reform  that  has  happened  under 
this  administration.  In  Indiana,  for  in¬ 
stance,  instead  of  only  one  city  many  cities 
will  aflFord  a  daily  object  lesson  in  the  fair¬ 
est  and  most  democratic  method  of  distrib¬ 
uting  public  employment  that  has  ever 
been  discovered.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  President  did  not  see  his  way  clear  to 
transfer  a  much  larger  portion  of  the  serv¬ 
ice.  There  is  no  fitness  nor  sense  in  going 
out  into  the  streets  and  picking  up  ward- 
heelers,  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  duties 
required  and  making  them  heads  of  di¬ 
visions  in  the  Indianapolis  post-office  or  in 
any  other  office  as  is  now  the  practice, 
and  the  stupidity  of  the  practice  becomes 
intolerable  when  it  is  considered  that  these 
ward-heelers  are  made  superintendents  of 
highly  skilled  under-employes  who  are 
thus  cut  off  from  promotion.  Nor  is  there 
any  reason  why  the  pension  agency  of  this 
city  with  its  twenty-five  employes,  should 
continue  to  be  the  family  perquisite  of  the 
agent,  nor  that  custom-houses  and  revenue 
offices  of  the  country  should  again  pre¬ 
sent  disgraceful  scenes  of  onslaught  for 
spoil.  But  we  are  gladder  than  we  can 
express  to  have  this  large  extension  to 
post-offices.  It  is  another  conclusive  evi¬ 
dence  that  civil  service  reform  is  grind¬ 
ing  the  life  out  of  favoritism  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  service. 

In  the  west  we  have  seen  in  democratic 
quarters  no  criticism  of  the  President’s 
action.  The  Buffalo  Courier,  which  ought 
to  know  better,  says  that  it  was  done  with 


a  design  to  keep  republicans  in  office,  and 
that  President  Cleveland  took  care  not  to 
put  his  transfer  of  the  railway  mail  service 
to  the  classified  service  four  years  ago  be¬ 
yond  the  power  of  his  successor  and  there¬ 
fore  he  fixed  the  date  of  taking  effect, 
March  15, 1889.  Like  William  Tell  and 
the  apple,  this  story  will  have  to  go  the 
way  of  all  the  world.  The  date,  March  15, 
was  a  clerical  mistake,  President  Cleve¬ 
land  having  ordered  and  intended  that 
February  15  should  be  the  date.  The 
Courier  ought  to  know  that  this  transfer  of 
post-offices  does  not  prevent  the  dismissal 
of  unfit  persons.  Their  places  however 
must  be  filled  by  competition.  Complaints 
against  the  extension  of  the  rules  at  this 
particular  time  lead  to  the  suspicion  that 
the  real  grievance  is  that  it  so  far  prevents 
the  quartering  of  a  new  lot  of  democratic 
politicians  upon  the  public.  It  undoubtedly 
does  do  this  unless  the  law  is  tricked.  All 
the  signs  are  that  Mr.  Cleveland  does  not 
intend  to  let  it  be  tricked.  In  all  places 
where  the  civil  service  law  is  to  be  newly 
applied  civil  service  reformers  should  crit¬ 
ically  watch  every  movement  made.  There 
should  be  a  local  committee  of  one  or  more 
determined  men,  self-constituted  if  neces¬ 
sary,  whose  business  should  be  to  note 
every  departure  from  absolutely  fair  deal¬ 
ing  with  competitors.  In  Indiana  the  state 
civil  service  reform  association  should  ap¬ 
point  such  committees. 


There  is  still  undoubtedly  a  wide-spread 
feeling  that  competitors  who  are  not  of  the 
party  in  power  stand  no  chance.  A  great 
change  has  taken  place  in  this  respect. 
Many  postmasters  take  pride  in  a  rigid 
and  impartial  enforcement  of  the  law  and 
in  a  short  time  it  will  be  regarded  as  a 
public  disgrace,  rather  than  as  an  evidence 
of  “smartness”  for  any  officer  to  try  to  “beat” 
the  fair  intent  of  the  law.  Public  opinion 
more  and  more  requires  that  the  highest 
on  the  list  shall  be  taken,  unless  there  is  a 
good  business  reason  for  passing  to  the 
second  or  third.  In  the  coming  four  years 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  all  parties  and  creeds 
will  crowd  the  eligible  lists. 


No  honest  democrat  can  complain  of  any 
number  of  transfers  to  the  classified  service. 
The  democratic  platform  says  that  the 
offices  ought  not  to  be  subject  to  change  at 
every  election  and  the  only  way  at  present 


404 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


to  carry  out  this  principle  is  to  place  the 
offices  under  the  civil  service  law.  Pres¬ 
ident  Cleveland  ought  to  complete  what 
Harrison  has  left  undone.  We  are  glad  to 
see  the  civil  service  rules  extended  at  any 
time.  The  merit  system  can  fight  its  way 
against  any  odds.  But  now  at  the  end  of 
two  successive  administrations  and  after 
the  offices  in  question  had  been  filled  with 
partisans,  large  extensions  have  been  made. 
This  process  puts  the  hardest  possible 
strain  upon  the  law,  because  partisans 
of  the  incoming  administration  claim 
that  they  have  been  “euchred”  and  are 
tempted  to  evade  the  law — a  temptation 
Harrison’s  administration  shamelessly 
yielded  to  and  thus  started  on  the  road  to 
final  defeat.  The  law  should  now  have  its 
turn  and  should  be  given  a  fair  chance. 
Whatever  President  Cleveland  is  going  to 
do,  he  ought  to  do  early.  It  is  established 
beyond  question  that  a  process  of  turning 
out  republicans  and  putting  in  democrats 
will  weaken  the  party  of  the  latter.  Then 
why  do  it?  Why  not  put  an  end  to  the 
matter  by  extending  the  rules  to  all  offices 
to  which  they  are  applicable  ?  The  estab¬ 
lishment  of  the  registry  system  for  the  la¬ 
bor  service  is  a  simple  matter,  and  if  con¬ 
gress  will  not  do  it,  it  can  be  done  by  an 
executive  order.  Then  let  it  be  under¬ 
stood  that  there  will  be  no  headsman  of 
fourth-class  postmasters  and  no  fourth-class 
post-offices  to  be  vacated  until  congress  has 
made  it  practicable  to  fill  them  without 
favoritism. 

Among  the  backwoods  jokes  may  be  put 
down  the  late  introduction  of  a  bill  by 
Congressman  DeArmond,  a  Missouri  dem¬ 
ocrat,  to  suspend  all  civil  service  rules  dur¬ 
ing  the  first  year  of  each  presidential  term. 
And  very  much  like  it  is  the  bill  lately  in¬ 
troduced  by  Congressman  Martin  of  this 
state  to  limit  the  terms  of  all  federal  em¬ 
ployes  to  four  years.  Why  not  include 
the  Atlas  Engine  Works  of  this  city  where 
about  a  thousand  men  are  employed  ?  The 
trouble  with  all  of  these  men  is  that  with 
a  blindness  like  Egyptian  darkness  they 
will  not  see  that  the  same  principles  apply 
to  public  and  private  business.  They 
think  that  in  public  business  there  is  some¬ 
thing  else  than  mere  business  principles — 
that  there  is  something  left  over.  At  pres¬ 
ent  there  is  something  over.  There  is 
money  to  pay  to  political  blackmailers. 
There  is  time  to  be  watch-dogs  for  con¬ 
gressmen.  There  is  time  to  sec  up  pri¬ 
maries  for  the  renomination  of  a  Presi¬ 
dent.  There  is  time  to  howl  down  opposi¬ 
tion  in  and  around  a  national  convention 
and  to  do  many  other  things  to  carry  out 
the  “policy”  of  an  administration.  For 
more  than  twenty  years  congressmen 
alone  have  stood  in  the  way  of  ridding  the 
service  of  these  badges  of  feudalism  and 
imperialism. 


Mr.  Clevelanp  need  not  fear  that  the 
people  are  anything  but  thoroughly  satis¬ 
fied  with  his  openly  expressed  opinion  that 
Murphy  ought  not  to  be  senator  from  New 
York.  No  one  outside  of  a  lot  of  cheap 
politicians  is  in  the  least  concerned  at  this 
“  interference.”  Murphy,  like  Quay,  is  the 
final  and  finished  product  of  the  system  by 
which  a  party  machine  gets  control  of  the 
public  offices  and  public  contracts  of  a 
state  and  treats  them  as  plunder.  When 
it  is  understood  that  only  those  who  will 
obey  certain  bosses  can  have  any  chance  at 
this  plunder,  such  present  themselves  and 
are  employed.  Then  follow  subservient 
primaries,  conventions,  and,  later,  a  legis¬ 
lature  absolutely  under  these  bosses.  This 
body  will  choose  a  statesman  for  senator  if 
the  bosses  say  so;  or  it  will,  if  ordered, 
choose  a  smart  political  rounder  like  Mur¬ 
phy.  New  York  politics  will  not  sink  any 
lower.  Mr.  Cleveland  ought  to  be  at  open, 
irreconcilable,  relentless  war  with  this 
whole  crowd,  Murphy  can  not  live  politi¬ 
cally  without  spoil  to  divide.  Deprived  of 
this,  he  would  pass  away  as  efllectually  as 
Roscoe  Conkling  did  for  the  same  reason. 

When  it  is  doubted  that  Mr.  Cleveland 
will  be  ruled  by  congressmen  in  the  mat¬ 
ter  of  appointments,  the  Bourbons  answer 
glibly  that  he  will  want  the  support  of  sen¬ 
ators  and  representatives  and  will  there¬ 
fore  have  to  yield  to  them.  Mr.  Cleveland 
is  not  a  safe  man  to  try  the  stand-and-de- 
liver  policy  on.  This  is  an  old  plan,  and  it 
has  always  been  more  or  less  successful; 
but  it  may  net  succeed  with  Mr.  Cleveland. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  he  should  conclude 
not  to  allow  Senator  Turpie  to  appoint  a 
postmaster  at  Indianapolis;  what  could 
Turpie  do?  Nothing  but  sit  in  the  senate 
and  look  glum.  And  what  could  Senator 
Voorhees  do  if  cut  off  from  naming  the 
Terre  Haute  postmaster?  Nothing  but 
bluster.  It  is  said  that  the  senate  would 
not  confirm  nominations.  Then  let  them 
go  unconfirmed.  There  is  no  greater  hum¬ 
bug  than  this  pretense  of  the  terrible  things 
congressmen  will  do  if  the  President  does 
not  knuckle  to  them.  Before  a  determined 
President  they  would  go  down  like  men  of 
straw,  or  up  like  smoke  before  a  wind. 

President  Patton,  of  Princeton  college,  is  reported 
to  have  recently  said;  “  I  am  interested  in  philoso¬ 
phy  and  theology,  and  these  are  the  only  things  I 
want  to  be  known  in.  I  vote  for  neither  party.”  It 
is  a  stigma  upon  President  Patton,  an  American  citi¬ 
zen,  to  show  such  callousness  to  his  duty.— Civil 
Service  Chronicle. 

If  President  Patton  is  correctly  reported  he 
must  have  said  :  “I  vote  for  neither  party  ” 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  for  he  is  not  an 
American  citizen.  He  was  born  on  the  island 
of  Bermuda  and  has  never  been  naturalized, 
because  if  he  did  certain  property  interests  in 
Bermuda  would  be  alienated. — Indianapolis 
News. 

The  Civil  Service  Chronicle  is  also  in 
receipt  of  a  private  letter  containing  sim¬ 


ilar  information.  As  the  purported  state¬ 
ment  of  President  Patton  was  seen  in  the 
New  York  Evening  Post  some  days  before 
the  late  election,  and  was  never  contra¬ 
dicted,  it  seemed  just  to  comment  upon  a 
college  president  who  could  say:  “lam  in¬ 
terested  in  philosophy  and  theology,  and 
these  are  the  only  things  I  want  to  be 
known  in.”  This  paper  is  very  glad  if  it 
is  in  error. 

When  Tammany  pursues  its  bold  and 
iniquitous  way  in  New  York  because  of 
the  indifference,  selfishness  and  party  big¬ 
otry  of  the  decent  citizens;  when  Quay  is 
returned  to  the  senate  by  influences  of  the 
same  character  in  Pennsylvania,  there  is 
nothing  more  depressing  than  to  see  young 
college  men  return  to  their  homes  such 
political  bigots  that  they  smother  all  their 
moral  senses  regarding  their  own  party, 
or  to  see  them  return  “interested  in  phi¬ 
losophy  and  theology,”  society  or  foot  ball, 
but  bored  by  any  intimation  that  they 
have,  as  citizens,  pressing,  disagreeable 
and  continuous  duties  to  perform.  There  is 
no  doubt  but-that  nearly  all  American  col¬ 
leges  are  failures  so  far  as  turning  out 
young  men  who  have  an  active  conscience 
for  the  duties  of  citizenship. 


The  police  commissioners  of  New  York 
wanted  a  police  matron,  and,  as  the  place 
was  within  the  civil  service  law,  the  city 
civil  service  authorities  put  the  competitive 
examination  under  the  charge  of  Mrs.  Jose¬ 
phine  Shaw  Lowell  and  Miss  Edith  Collins 
as  being  especially  fitted  to  test  applicants 
in  the  duties  required.  There  were  114 
applicants,  and  of  these  only  39  were  found 
fit  for  a  place  on  the  eligible  list.  All,  how¬ 
ever,  were  graded  in  the  order  of  merit. 
In  the  eighty-fourth  place  on  the  list  was 
one,  Mrs.  Lizzie  Molony,  who  had  come  to 
the  examination  saying  that  she  expected 
to  ge*t  the  place  because  she  had  political 
influence.  There  were  ten  weights,  and 
experience  was  to  count  two.  Mrs.  Mo¬ 
lony  was  found  to  be  without  experience  of 
any  kind,  even  in  housekeeping.  The  re¬ 
sults  of  the  examination  were  handed  in 
and  Mrs.  Molony  was  promptly  appointed 
to  the  matronship.  The  Tammany  civil 
service  board  had  taken  the  papers  and 
given  Molony  65  for  experience  where  the 
examiners  who  had  tested  her  had  given 
nothing,  and  95  for  technical  knowledge 
and  intelligence  where  the  ladies  gave  her 
60,  and  100  for  writing  where  the  ladies 
gave  60,  and,  after  some  other  dextrous 
turns,  behold  a  new  eligible  list  with  101 
names,  and  Lizzie  Molony  standing  first. 
That  is  the  incorruptible  way  in  which 
Tammany  does  business.  Lizzie  Molony 
turns  out  to  be  a  professional  beggar  of 
twelve  years’  standing,  and  her  touching 
appeals  for  “  aid  ”  addressed  to  various  in¬ 
dividuals  cover  pages  of  the  records  of  the 
charity  organization  society  of  New  York. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


405 


Republican  papers  are  spending  their 
time  abusing  mugwumps  and  urging  their 
party  to  “organize”  at  once  for  future 
work.  Mugwumps  who  know  how  to  re¬ 
member  facts  and  how  to  use  them  in  a 
campaign  are  amused  at  any  plan  which 
proposes  to  attain  success  by  organizing 
a  party  machine.  Republicans  may  or¬ 
ganize  until  they  get  their  last  man  into 
some  club  and  make  him  a  blind  and  stu¬ 
pid  follower  of  their  Quays  and  Platts  and 
yet  they  will  lack  votes,  and  before  they 
get  the  lacking  votes  they  will  have  to 
learn  the  simple  rule  of  keeping  promises. 
They  know  what  their  platform  was  in 
1888  in  relation  to  extending  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  law.  Yet  we  do  not  recollect  having 
seen  anywhere  any  intimation  to  President 
Harrison  before  the  late  defeat  from  any 
republican  paper,  or  club,  or  party  commit¬ 
tee,  or  convention,  or  organization  of  any 
kind,  that  he  ought  to  make  additions  to 
the  classified  service  as  the  platform  prom¬ 
ised.  The  few  individual  republicans  like 
Sherman  S.  Rogers  and  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt  who  urged  him  to  do  this  were  put 
down  by  the  mass  of  active  republicans  as 
no  better  than  mugwumps.  By  this  and 
other  treachery  the  republicans  have  sue 
ceeded  in  driving  almost  every  progressive 
man  out  of  their  party  and  “organization” 
will  not  make  up  the  loss. 


The  Netv  York  Recorder  prints  an  inter¬ 
view  with  John  Sabine  Smith  which  shows 
a  truly  chastened  spirit.  Being  stranded 
beyond  all  chance  of  getting  offices,  and 
being  without  power  to  put  republican 
“principles”  into  practice,  all  should  work 
to  establish  those  principles  “without  fear 
or  favor.”  Smith  says  : 

“  Being  practically  out  of  power  at  oiice  iii  the  na¬ 
tion,  state  and  city,  there  is  hot  much  left  for  repub¬ 
licans  except  the  principles  of  the  party,  which  are 
eternally  true,  and  the  heritage  of  its  great  men  and 
great  deeds  of  the  past.  Once  more  we  can  look  each 
other  in  the  face  and  discuss  the  great  questions  of 
the  day  without  fear  of  jostling  aside  any  one  from 
hisambition  to  secure  office.  Therefore,  there  seems  to 
me  to  be  no  good  reasou  why  all  of  us  should  not  pull 
together  for  the  establishment  of  these  great  princi¬ 
ples  without  fear  or  favor.  This,  I  believe,  will  unite 
and  vitalize  the  party  to  a  degree  it  has  not  known 
since  the  days  of  its  inception.  It  is  not  so  much  a 
question  of  kind  or  form  of  organization  as  it  is  to 
bring  the  whole  line  into  harmonious  action  for  a 
common  purpose.” 


“APPOINTMENTS”  BY  CONGRESS¬ 
MEN. 

Bourbon  democrats  and  democratic  pa- 
papers  in  Indiana  are  blandly  expatiating 
upon  the  blessedness  of  the  President  hav¬ 
ing  congressmen  to  make  appointments 
to  offices  for  him  throughout  the  country. 
All  through  this  state,  as  our  columns 
show,  congressmen  have  gone  to  work 
hearing  applications  and  deciding  whom 
they  will  “appoint”  to  all  the  federal  of¬ 
fices,  without  any  apparent  knowledge 


that  the  constitution  absolutely  lodges 
this  duty  elsewhere,  and  without  the  least 
apparent  thought  that  President  Cleve¬ 
land  may  have  a  mind  of  his  own  in  this  mat¬ 
ter  and  may  tell  them  plainly  that  they  are 
officious  and  pestiferous  meddlers.  Con¬ 
gressman  Bynum  will  allow  Senator  Turpie 
to  “  appoint  ”  the  postmaster  at  Indianapo¬ 
lis,  and  Turpie  is  giving  a  large  portion  of 
his  time  to  hearing  claimants  and  their 
friends  and  backers.  Congressman  Brook¬ 
shire  will  allow  Senator  Voorhees  to  “ap¬ 
point  ”  the  postmaster  at  Terre  Haute  and 
Senator  V oorhees  regrets  “  that  there  are 
so  few  offices  to  be  given  to  so  many 
worthy  and  capable  applicants.”  It  is  to 
him  “a  most  painful  duty  to  be  compelled 
to  decide  between  friends  who  are  equally 
meritorious  and  capable.”  Congressman 
Cooper  has  been  traveling  from  town  to 
town  in  his  district  solely  to  hear  appli¬ 
cants  and  their  backers  and  determine 
whom  he  will  “appoint”  to  the  various 
offices,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  Is  Indiana 
never  to  be  relieved  of  moss-backed,  hide¬ 
bound,  dyed-in-the-wool  Bourbons  ?  Every 
one  of  these  men  indorsed  a  platform 
which  said  that  the  offices  ought  not  to  be 
subject  to  change  at  every  election  and  yet 
before  Mr.  Cleveland  is  inaugurated  they 
are  working  day  and  night  to  bring  about 
such  a  change.  Will  they  never  learn  that 
civil  administration  in  this  country  is  ad¬ 
vancing,  and  that  the  methods  under 
Pierce  and  Buchanan  are  not  the  methods 
of  to-day  ?  The  interference  of  congress¬ 
men  in  federal  appointments  is  not  only  a 
usurpation  of  power  belonging  to  the  ex¬ 
ecutive,  but  it  is  an  unmixed  and  unmiti¬ 
gated  evil  and  has  been  so  regarded  by  the 
best  men  of  all  parties  for  many  years. 
The  practice  is  destined  to  be  completely 
broken  up  and  a  congressman  who  had  a 
single  element  of  the  statesman  in  him 
would  be  trying,  as  Mr.  Andrew  tries,  to 
find  some  way  to  hasten  the  end.  Yet  not 
a  single  Indiana  congressman  ever  thinks 
of  the  subject  with  so  much  attention  as 
he  gives  to  a  single  cross-roads  post-office. 
Again,  the  merit  system  in  its  different 
forms  adapted  to  the  labor  service,  the 
classified  service  and  the  selection  of 
fourth-class  post-masters  is  going  to  pre¬ 
vail  in  the  federal  service.  Its  opponents 
all  recognize  and  reluctantly  admit  that 
“  it  has  come  to  stay.”  Next  to  the  relief 
of  the  country  from  slavery,  this  revolution 
now  going  on  will  take  rank.  Yet  it  has 
not  the  good-will  of  a  single  Indiana  con¬ 
gressman. 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  GENERAL 
ASSEMBLY  OF  INDIANA. 

For  every  member  of  the  legislature  who 
came  in  here  to-day  there  arrived  not  less 
than  two  men  who  wanted  office  under  the 
general  assembly,  or  who  had  frieinls  whom 


they  desired  to  help  along.  The  men  who 
are  after  the  principal  offices  have  nearly 
all  been  at  the  hotel  since  Saturday,  with 
no  material  at  hand  on  which  to  work,  and 
when  the  law-makers  began  to  drop  in  this 
forenoon,  singly  and  in  couples,  they  were 
pounced  on  as  a  drove  of  hungry  wolves 
would  pounce  upon  a  flock  of  sheep.  Old 
politicians  declare  that  the  crowd  of  office- 
seekers  that  has  preceded  the  members  to 
the  city  is  the  hungriest  they  have  ever 
come  in  contact  with.  If  it  were  left  to  the 
candidates  for  the  principal  offices  to  make 
all  the  noise,  there  wouldn’t  be  a  great  deal 
of  interest  in  the  contest;  it  is  the  men 
who  desire  appointments  under  the  suc¬ 
cessful  aspirants  for  the  best  places  that 
are  doing  the  hardest  work.  It  is  esti¬ 
mated  that  there  are,  all  told,  over  one 
thousand  of  these  place-seekers,  and  each 
one  has  his  favorite  candidate  for  door¬ 
keeper,  or  secretary  of  one  of  the  houses. 
Some  two  or  three  hundred  aspirants  for 
five-dollar-a-day  places  are  from  this  city, 
and  they  are  not  permitting  the  floor  of 
the  hotel  corridor  to  get  cold  under  their 
feet. — Indianapolis  News,  January  2. 

The  usual  activity  preceding  the  meeting 
of  the  legislature  is  at  its  bight  at  the  state 
house.  The  number  of  visitors  is  large,  and 
as  the  time  grows  shorter  the  office-seekers 
fairly  swarm  in  and  out  of  the  building. 
They  seem  to  have  centered  their  clamor 
at  the  Capitol  on  Governor-elect  Matthews, 
and  his  office  is  constantly  besieged  by  the 
aspirants.  As  soon  as  the  doors  of  his  of¬ 
fice  are  opened  in  the  morning  the  stream 
of  men  begins  to  pour  in,  and  continues 
until  the  closing  hours  in  the  afternoon. 

The  candidates  have  all  kinds  of  founda¬ 
tions  upon  which  they  think  the  secretary 
of  state  can  base  his  indorsement  of  their 
causes.  One  candidate  sought  Mr.  Mat¬ 
thews’  aid  in  securing  an  appointment  in 
the  legislature,  basing  his  claims  on  having 
knocked  a  man  down  during  the  campaign 
for  having  said  some  slighting  things  about 
the  secretary.  It  is  authoritatively  an¬ 
nounced  that  JMyrou  D.  King  will  be  Mr. 
Matthews’s  private  secretary,  and  Miss 
Callie  McMechen  will  be  the  clerk  in  the 
governor’s  office.  Miss  McMechen  is  the 
first  woman  that  was  ever  appointed  to  the 
position  in  this  state.  The  appointment  of 
the  messenger  has  not  yet  been  announced. 
The  appointment  of  secretary  of  state  to 
serve  eight  days,  and  other  appointments 
to  be  made  by  the  new  governor,  have  not 
been  made  public. — Indianapolis  News,  Jan¬ 
uary  4. 

The  struggle  for  the  minor  positions  in 
the  two  houses  began  last  night  immedi¬ 
ately  after  the  caucus  ended.  The  nomi¬ 
nees  were  besieged  and  importuned  upon 
every  side  by  an  army  of  applicants  rep¬ 
resenting  almost  every  county  in  the  state. 
The  hotel  corridors  and  the  lobbies  in  the 
capitol  building  swnrmed  Avith  them.  The 


406 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


successful  candidates  were  given  a  taste  of 
what  political  success  means. — Indianapo¬ 
lis  Sentinel,  January  5. 

THE  HOUSE. 

Chief  Clerk  Crawley,  of  the  house,  has 
not  made  up  his  list  of  subordinates,  and 
will  not  until  the  house  decides  how  many 
men  he  shall  have.  Mr,  Crawley  says  J.  A. 
Marlowe,  of  Terre  Haute;  Benjamin  F. 
Harrell,  of  Fayette  county  ;  Edward  Leffel, 
Tipton,  will  be  on  his  force  when  it  is  made 
up.  He  has  not  yet  decided  what  work  he 
will  assign  them. 

Doorkeeper  Grazebrook  will  not  make  up 
his  force  until  the  house  has  had  a  report 
from  the  committee  appointed  to  fix  the 
number  of  employes  and  their  salaries. — 
Indianapolis  News,  Jan.  5. 

In  the  house  the  method  was  not  pre¬ 
cisely  the  same.  Curtis  and  Crawley  had 
each  several  managers,  as  did  Carter,  but 
McMahon,  of  Fulton,  “handled”  Glaze- 
brook  alone.  Crawley  has  nine  men  under 
him,  which  will  probably  be  increased  to 
thirteen ;  Carter  has  seven,  and  will  have 
probably  eleven,  while  Glazebrook  will  have 
twenty.  They  will  get  their  lists  this  morn¬ 
ing.  Crawley  was  rather  anxious  last  night 
to  know  whom  he  would  appoint.  Bud 
Swift,  for  chief  enrolling  clerk,  was  about 
the  only  one  he  knew  anything  about.  “I 
can’t  give  out  Glazebrook’s  appointments 
to-night,”  said  McMahon,  when  asked  for 
the  list  by  a  Journal  reporter.  “Yes,  I 
am  distributing  his  patronage,  but  I  got 
through  with  only  fifteen  promises,  and  1 
have  five  places  I  can  do  as  I  please  with, 
so  I  shall  not  complete  the  list  to-night.” 
Marion  county,  however,  is  to  get  five  door¬ 
keepers  and  four  clerkships,  and  the  dele¬ 
gation  is  taking  much  glory  to  itself  there¬ 
for.  The  celebrated  “  Jack  ”  Higgins,  John 
Mullen  and  “Mike”  Welch  are  to  go  on 
doors,  and  a  young  man  named  Derry  is  to 
have  a  minor  clerkship. — Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  .Tanuary  5. 

The  only  patronage  Speaker  Curtis  will 
have  to  distribute  will  be  the  places  on 
committees  and  the  appointing  of  five 
pages.  There  are  already  a  half  hundred 
or  more  applications  for  the  latter  places 
and  each  hour  the  number  grows  rapidly. 
— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  January  6. 

About  the  lobby  of  the  Grand  Hotel  still 
lingers  a  horde  of  minor  place-hunters.  The 
men  who  have  the  patronage  of  the  house 
at  their  disposal  decline  to  give  out  any  list 
of  appointees  until  the  committee  appoint¬ 
ed  yesterday  to  determine  the  size  of  the 
force,  and  their  compensation,  reports,  and 
that  committee  will  probably  withhold  its 
report  until  Monday  in  the  hope  that  the 
crowd  will  starve  out,  and  thin  out,  and 
thus  give  the  place-givers  some  chance  for 
their  lives.  The  committee  was  in  session 


all  yesterday  afternoon.  The  force  of  clerks 
will  not  be  cut,  and  the  time  for  employing 
the  copyists  will  be  fixed  about  January  20, 
instead  of  January  26,  as  two  years  ago. 
All  sub-clerks  will  receive  $5  per  day. 
iMembers  of  the  doorkeeper’s  force  will  re¬ 
ceive  $5  per  day  from  the  start,  instead  of 
starting  in  at  $4,  and  being  granted  an  ex¬ 
tra  dollar  a  day  back  pay  at  the  end  of  the 
seseion,  as  was  done  in  1891.  This  force 
will  not  be  cut.  The  only  question  is  wheth¬ 
er  or  not  Tim  Griffin  shall  be  allowed  seven 
extra  janitors  at  $40  a  month,  as  was  done 
in  1891,  or  only  five. — Indianapolis  Journal, 
January  7. 

John  F.  Habernel,  of  Harrison  county,  is 
serving  as  postmaster  of  the  house.  It  is 
understood  that  John  Mullen,  Kepresenta- 
tive  Wilson’s  appointee  of  this  county,  is  to 
have  the  place  eventually. 

The  house  pages  on  duty  are  Harry  Bus- 
kirk,  Frank  Palmer,  Leon  Smith,  James 
Kackney,  Raymond  Preston,  Frank  Fippen, 
Burrie  Redmond,  James  Burke  and  Flarry 
Doyle. 

Miss  Cora  M.  Alexander,  of  this  county, 
has  been  appointed  house  stenographer  and 
typewriter. — Indianapolis  News,  January  9. 

The  caucuses  that  followed  the  adjourn¬ 
ment  of  the  house  this  forenoon  were  for  the 
consideration  of  the  question  of  employes. 
The  committee  that  was  appointed  the  first 
day  of  the  session  has  been  having  a  hard 
time  to  agree  upon  a  report.  After  wrest¬ 
ling  with  the  question  Saturday  and  most 
of  yesterday  the  democratic  members  of 
the  committee  decided  to  leave  the  matter 
to  a  caucus  of  the  democrats  of  the  house. 
The  three  democratic  members  of  the  com¬ 
mittee,  through  Chairman  Cullop,  reported 
that  they  had  decided  to  recommend  the 
appointment  of  twenty  assistant  doorkeep¬ 
ers  and  sixteen  assistant  clerks.  The  re¬ 
port  was  adopted,  hut  not  without  opposi¬ 
tion.  Twenty-six  members  voted  against 
the  appointment  of  so  many  doorkeepers, 
and  it  is  possible  that  these  twenty-six  may 
not  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  caucus,  but 
may  join  with  the  republicans  in  cutting 
down  the  number  of  doorkeepers.  It  was 
also  decided  by  the  democratic  caucus  that 
the  pay  of  the  assistant  doorkeepers  and 
assistant  clerks  shall  be  $5  a  day  each. 

The  republicans,  as  soon  as  they  learned 
that  the  democrats  were  caucusing,  went 
into  hiding  to  also  consider  the  question  of 
employes.  It  was  the  unanimous  vote  of 
the  caucus  that  the  minority  oppose  any 
effort  to  increase  the  number  of  employes 
over  that  fixed  be  statute.  It  was  decided 
not  to  object  to  the  five-dollar-a-day  pay 
of  efficient  clerks  and  doorkeepers. — Indian¬ 
apolis  News,  January  9. 

“  Syd”  Moon,  the  new  reporter  of  the  Su¬ 
preme  Court,  is  all  right.  He  got  one  son 
in  as  postmaster  of  the  house  and  another 
as  assistant  in  the  state  museum,  and  a 


nephew  as  page  in  the  house.  “  Calamity 
Jim”  Fippen,  the  Tipton  reformer,  has  se¬ 
cured  a  job  for  his  boy  as  page  in  the  house. 
While  the  little  pages  were  discussing  the 
matter  yesterday  one  of  them  offered  a  res¬ 
olution  that  “no  member  be  permitted  to 
bring  his  sons,  daughters,  wife  or  hired  girl 
down  here  to  be  ipaid.”--Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  January  10. 

Clerk  Crawley,  of  the  house,  is  still  ab¬ 
sent,  and  his  appointments  are  not  yet  an¬ 
nounced.  Assistant  Clerk  Carter  has  filled 
his  force,  but  declines  to  give  out  the  list 
as  yet.  However,  he  had  at  work  yester¬ 
day,  W.  I.  Zacharias,  ex-sheriff  of  Frank¬ 
lin  county  ;  Frank  J.  Kapps,  of  Vincennes  ; 
Mr.  Buskirk,  of  Bloomington;  T.  C.  AVill- 
iams,  of  Terre  Haute,  and  E.  H.  Deery,  of 
this  city. 

Door-keeper  Glazebrook  also  declines  as 
yet  to  give  out  his  list.  His  chief  assistant 
is  F.  N.  Hoffman,  of  Rochester,  and  he  had 
on  the  doors  yesterday  W.  E.  Peterson,  of 
Plymouth,  W.  H.  Winters,  of  Goshen,  Syl¬ 
vester  Bertrain,of  Starke  county,  and  Philip 
Dellinger,  of  Pulaski. — Indianapolis  ,Tour- 
nal,  .January  10. 

Cullop  and  his  faction  favored  fixing  the 
doorkeeper’s  force  where  it  was  last  session, 
at  twenty-two  all  told,  fifteen  doormen  at 
$5  per  day,  a  raise  of  $1  per  day,  and  seven 
janitors  at  $45  per  month,  a  raise  of  $5  per 
month  over  last  session.  This  did  not  sat¬ 
isfy  McMahon  and  his  crowd,  and  an  acri¬ 
monious  discussion  followed,  in  the  course 
of  which  two  or  three  of  Cullop’s  followers 
declared  they  would  not  be  bound  by  the 
caucus.  Cullop  put  his  views  in  the  form 
of  a  motion,  and  Rodebaugh,  of  Fort  Wayne, 
moved  to  amend  by  having  twenty,  instead 
of  fifteen,  men  on  the  door,  and  two  extra 
copying  clerks.  When  it  came  to  a  vote 
the  McMahon  crowd  won  by  four  votes,  the 
vote  standing  26  to  30,  and  Mr.  Cullop,  as 
chairman  of  the  committee,  was  directed 
to  report  in  favor  of  twenty  doormen  at  $5 
per  day,  and  seven  janitors  at  $45  per 
month,  making  the  total  number  of  em¬ 
ployes  of  the  house,  pages,  doormen,  clerks 
and  janitors  all  told,  fifty-eight,  or  over 
half  as  many  as  there  are  members.  Daily, 
Blair,  Cravens  and  one  other  member  there¬ 
upon  bolted  and  left  the  room.  Cullop  and 
his  friends  were  feeling  pretty  badly  over 
this  after  the  caucus,  as  a  little  group,  con¬ 
taining  Daily,  Hill,  Higby  and  others,  dis¬ 
cussed  it  about  Cullop’s  desk.  “  They  are 
entirely  needless,”  said  Mr.  Cullop,  “  and  I 
had  no  idea  but  what  our  report  would  go 
through,  but  we  got  left  and  all  these  men 
will  be  employed.”  One  of  the  group  sug¬ 
gested  voting  with  the  minority,  but  Daily 
couldn’t  vote  for  anything  republican,  even 
though  it  were  religion  itself,  and  the  group 
broke  up  without  determining  upon  any 
line  of  action.  The  republican  minority 
decided  to  report  in  favor  of  the  number 
of  doormen  allowed  by  statute,  seven,  which 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


407 


is  all  that  is  needed.  When  the  house  con¬ 
vened  after  the  inauguration  ceremonies, 
about  its  first  and  only  business  was  the 
presentation  of  the  majority  report  of  this 
special  committee  on  house  employes,  by 
Cullop.  It  recommended  seven  janitors  at 
$45  per  month,  twenty  doorkeepers  at  $5 
per  day,  seven  assistants  to  the  clerk  at  $5 
a  day,  beginning  at  once,  and  three  at  the 
same  salary  beginning  January  20,  seven 
assistants  to  the  assistant  clerk,  beginning 
at  once  and  receiving  $5  per  day,  five  com¬ 
mittee  clerks  at  $5  per  day,  and  four  pages 
at  $2  per  day.  These,  with  the  postmaster 
and  speaker’s  page,  make  fifty-eight  em¬ 
ployes.  The  report  had  a  useless  paragraph 
on  the  end  of  it,  making  it  a  little  bit  diffi¬ 
cult  to  further  increase  the  horde  or  their 
pay,  put  in  to  ease  Cullop’s  conscience. — 
Indianapolis  News,  January  11. 

Chairman  Cullop,  of  the  house  commit¬ 
tee,  appointed  to  fix  the  number  of  employes 
the  house  should  have,  and  their  compensa¬ 
tion,  reported  to  the  house  yesterday  after¬ 
noon,  after  the  inaugural  ceremonies.  The 
majority  report  recommended  an  increase 
in  the  force.  It  favored  the  employment  of 
seven  janitors,  at  $45  per  month ;  of  twenty 
assistant  door-keepers,  at  $5  per  day ;  seven 
assistants  to  the  chief  clerk,  at  $5  per  day, 
and  three  additional  assistants  on  and  af¬ 
ter  January  20;  seven  assistants  to  the  as¬ 
sistant  clerk,  at  $5  per  day  ;  five  committee 
clerks,  at  $5  per  day,  and  five  pages,  at  $2 
per  day.  The  report  of  the  minority  of  the 
committee  was  presented  by  Representa¬ 
tive  Brown,  of  Steuben  county.  It  recom¬ 
mended  that  the  house  employ  the  number 
of  persons  allowed  by  statute.  In  the  dis¬ 
cussion  of  the  report.  Representative  Cul¬ 
lop,  who  had  presented  the  report  of  the 
majority  of  the  committee,  stated  that  the 
report  was  not  what  he  desired ;  that  the 
majority  had  been  against  him,  and  he 
concluded  to  carry  out  the  will  of  that  ma¬ 
jority.  Representative  Lindemuth  spoke 
for  the  republicans.  He  called  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  democrats  to  the  fact  that  they 
had  just  returned  from  the  corridor  below 
where  they  had  heard  Governor  Matthews, 
in  his  inaugural  address,  caution  the  legis¬ 
lature  to  be  careful  of  the  people’s  money. 
The  minority  report  was  tabled  by  a  viva 
voce  vote.  The  roll  was  called  on  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  the  majority  report,  and  eight  dem¬ 
ocrats  bolted  the  caucus  instructions  and 
voted  against  the  increase  of  the  force. 
The  eight  were  Representatives  Blair,  of 
Cass  and  Miami ;  Johnson,  of  Dearborn; 
Gill,  of  Huntington  ;  Smith,  of  Posey  ;  Hig- 
bee,of  Sullivan ;  Montoux,  of  Vanderburgh  ; 
Cravens,  of  Washington,  and  Farlow,  of 
Madison.  The  bolters  nearly  all  explained 
their  votes  by  saying  that  they  had  been 
sent  to  the  legislature  with  the  under¬ 
standing  that  they  would  favor  economy 
in  the  management  of  state  affairs ;  they 
could  not  understand  why  the  house  needed 
more  employes  than  it  had  two  years  ago. 


The  report  of  the  majority  of  the  commit¬ 
tee  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  53  to  44. — In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  January  1^. 

It  was  evident  before  the  house  assem¬ 
bled  this  afternoon  that  the  majority  was 
not  in  good  humor.  It  was  related  that 
the  bolters  of  yesterday  who  were  so  “  sat 
upon”  by  the  speaker  during  the  morning 
were  mad,  very  mad.  The  keeper  of  the 
door  to  Speaker  Curtis’s  room  was  busy. 
There  were  a  score  or  more  of  members  who 
wanted  to  get  the  speaker’s  ear.  Among 
those  Avho  called  was  Chairman  Taggart, 
of  the  democratic  state  committee.  When 
Mr.  Taggart  came  out  of  the  room  he  stated 
that  “all  is  now  peaceable.”  There  was 
much  caucusing  on  the  floor  of  the  house, 
and  it  was  finally  stated,  in  private,  that 
the  “bolters”  had  been  persuaded  not  to 
bring  up  the  employe  question  again. — In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  January  W. 

Barnes  has  been  mollified.  He  kicked  up 
such  a  row  about  the  place  he  was  prom¬ 
ised  for  a  friend  that  the  other  democrats 
offered  to  make  another  place  at  the  state’s 
expense  if  he  would  quit.  He  got  them  to 
carry  out  their  promise,  but  did  not  quit. 
Accordingly,  yesterday  morning  early  he 
moved  to  give  Clerk  Crawley  authority  to 
appoint  a  roll-clerk,  and  the  motion  was 
declared  carried  by  the  speaker  on  a  viva 
voce  vote.  Barnes  had  threatened  to  offer 
a  resolution  ousting  Door-keeper  Glaze- 
brook.  But  the  howl  of  the  “sore-heads,” 
as  the  disappointed  members  are  denomi¬ 
nated  by  the  rest  of  the  democrats,  had 
gotten  beyond  Barnes’s  control.  He  could 
not  have  shut  off  the  subsequent  row  if  he 
would,  and  probably  would  not  if  he  could. 
During  the  call  for  new  bills  McIntyre,  of 
Floyd,  offered  a  resolution  reducing  the 
number  of  door-keepers  from  twenty  to 
fifteen,  and  immediately  there  were  signs 
of  war.  Collins  at  once  moved  to  table  it, 
and  Passage  raised  the  point  of  order  that 
this  whole  business  had  been  settled  and 
clinched  on  Tuesday  by  tabling  a  motion 
to  reconsider.  McIntyre  tried  to  answer 
the  point,  and  claimed  that  it  was  in  order 
at  any  time  to  increase  or  reduce  the  force. 
Collins  tried  to  insist  on  Passage’s  point  of 
order,  but  the  speaker  reminded  him  that 
it  would  be  easier  to  insist  on  his  motion 
to  table.  He  did  so,  and  the  speaker  was 
declaring  it  tabled  when  there  was  such  a 
howl  for  the  yeas  and  nays  that  he  had  to 
listen  to  it.  - 

As  the  roll-call  proceeded  it  became  ap¬ 
parent  that  the  salary-grabbers  were  wiped 
out.  The  republicans,  consistent  in  their 
fight  for  economy,  voted  against  the  mo¬ 
tion  to  table,  and  the  F.  M.  B.  A.  combine 
and  “  sore-heads  ”  did  the  rest.  Ader  and 
Hench  and  some  of  the  other  noble  re¬ 
formers  were  in  a  tight  place,  and  dodged 
the  vote  until  it  was  all  over,  when  they 
asked  permission  to  vote  with  the  crowd. 

Quite  a  number  of  these  claimed  to  have 


voted  with  the  majority  in  order  to  recon¬ 
sider,  and  it  is  known  that  Erwin,  Lowe 
and  Stover  did.  When  the  vote  was  an¬ 
nounced,  McMullen  at  once  moved  to  refer 
the  McIntyre  resolution  to  a  special  com¬ 
mittee  of  three,  and  though  there  was  a 
storm  of  nays,  the  speaker  declared  this 
carried.  The  speaker  declined  to  announce 
the  committee  until  to-day.  Door-keeper 
Glazehrook  at  once  consulted  the  roll  and 
made  up  a  black-list,  knocked  off  his  force 
the  proteges  of  those  who  voted  against 
him,  and  made  up  his  “official”  list  of  em¬ 
ployes. — Indianapolis  Journal,  January  13. 


THE  SENATE. 

There  was  some  surprise  this  afternoon 
when  Lon  McClellan,  of  this  county,  can¬ 
didate  for  doorkeeper  of  the  Senate,  with¬ 
drew  from  the  race.  The  understanding 
is  that  Marion  county  forced  Mr.  McClel¬ 
lan  off  the  track.  Mr.  McClellan  was  as¬ 
sured  that  he  would  be  elected  if  he  con¬ 
sented  not  to  make  any  appointments  from 
Marion  county.  Mr.  McClellan  declined 
to  make  any  such  promise,  and  stepped 
out  of  the  race.  He  said  in  reference  to 
his  action  : 

“  In  withdrawing  from  the  race  for  door¬ 
keeper  of  the  senate,  I  desire  to  return  my 
thanks  to  the  senators  from  every  part  of 
the  state  who  so  generously  tendered  me 
their  support.  My  chief  reason  for  with¬ 
drawal  lies  in  the  fact  that  I  could  not  ob¬ 
tain  the  place  without  giving  up  the  right 
to  name  my  own  assistants.  It  would  have 
been  impossible  for  me  to  reward  my  many 
friends  in  Marion  county.  I  want  no  place 
for  myself  that  will  not  benefit  my  party 
associates  here  at  home.  I  was  not  a  can¬ 
didate  in  the  beginning,  but  became  such 
at  the  unanimous  request  of  our  senators. 
So  far  as  honor  goes,  this  is  honor  enough 
for  me.” — Indianapolis  News,  January  /f. 


The  senate  cabal  has  attended  to  all  this 
very  systematically.  In  this  “combine” 
are  twenty-six  senators — none  from  Marion 
county.  In  their  caucus  at  the  Grand  Tues¬ 
day  morning  they  not  only  agreed  upon  the 
“slate,”  but  also  appointed  a  committee 
three  to  distribute  the  petty  patronage. 
That  committee  consists  of  senators  Chand¬ 
ler,  of  Hancock ;  Fulk,  of  Monroe,  and  Mc- 
Kelvey,  of'Owen.  These  statesmen  met  at 
the  English  Hotel  last  night,  compared 
notes  on  promises,  and  made  out  therefrom 
a  partial  list.  They  were  unable  to  see 
some  senators  to  whom  patronage  had  been 
promised,  and  could  not  complete  it. 

This  petty  patronage  consists  of  a  read¬ 
ing,  roll,  registry  and  file  clerk,  and  five 
enrolling  and  engrossing  clerks,  nominally 
appointed  by  the  secretary ;  a  minute 
clerk,  journal  clerk  and  five  copying  clerks, 
nominally  appointed  by  the  assistant  sec¬ 
retary  ;  a  postmaster,  folding  clerk,  mail- 
carrier  and  fifteen  doormen,  cloak-room 
men,  spittoon  cleaners,  etc.,  nominally  ap- 


408 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


pointed  by  the  doorkeeper.  But  last  night 
Messrs.  Pleasants,  Friedman  and  Mannix 
confessed  to  a  Journal  reporter  that  they 
had  no  idea  whom  they  would  appoint  this 
morning.  “  Haven’t  received  my  list  yet,” 
was  the  answer  of  each. — Indianapolis  News, 
January  5. 

The  demand  for  subordinate  positions 
was  not  unusual,  but  it  was  felt  to  an  un¬ 
comfortable  extent  by  the  legislators.  In 
the  senate  the  entire  matter  of  appoint¬ 
ments  was  referred  by  caucus  agreement 
to  a  committee  composed  of  Senators  Mc- 
Kelvey,  Chandler,  Ellison  and  Holcomb. 
These  gentlemen  had  a  merry  time  farm¬ 
ing  out  the  places,  and  had  not  completed 
the  task  to-day.  The  heads  of  the  various 
departments  were  notified  that  “  their  ap¬ 
pointments”  included  the  following: 

FOR  PRINCIPAL  SECRRTARY,  PLEASANTS. 

R.  T.  F.  Abbott,  Switzerland  county,  file  clerk. 

John  McNew,  Hancock  county,  reading  clerk. 

George  H.  Ball,  Tippecanoe  county,  registry  clerk. 

Messrs.  Spangler,  of  Huntington  county,  and  H.  H. 
Miller,  of  Marshall,  engrossing  clerks. 

0.  B.  Burrell,  Jackson,  enrolling  clerk. 

A.  M.  Waltz,  Blackford,  roll  clerk. 

W.  E.  Stillwell,  Gibson,  unassigned. 

FOR  ASSISTANT  SECRETARY,  JOSEPH  FRIEDMAN. 

Charles  Zuckreigel,  Spencer  county,  journal  clerk. 

John  Holland,  Lawrence  county,  journal  clerk. 

Joseph  B.  Workman,  Owen  county,  minute  clerk 
(same  as  in  1891). 

Charles  Collins.  Miami  county,  journal  clerk. 

J.  M.  Aiken,  Sullivan,  and  Mr.  Stillwell,  of  Gibson, 
journal  clerks. 

FOR  W.T.  MANNIX,  DOOR  KEEPER. 

James  Brovard,  James  Barnett,  Charles  F.  Waltz, 
John  Crabtree,  William  Snyder,  Peter  Hoffman,  W. 
W.  Kintner,  W.  L.  Hulett,  John  Smith  and  five  more 
not  yet  selected. 

John  C.  Brophy,  Minnie  E.  Galbresth  and  John 
Francin  were  added  to  the  door-keeper's  force  this 
afternoon.  Miss  Galbreath  will  not  “keep  doors,” 
but  will  be  one  of  the  folding  clerks.  The  others  are 
not  yet  assigned. 

PAGES. 

Fred  Trevely,  Warren ;  George  Schley,  Marion ;  O. 
Beck,  Carroll:  Leo.  Lefkovits,  La.kQ.— Indianapolis 
News,  January  5. 

The  work  of  senators  getting  their  sons 
positions  as  pages  at  $2  a  day,  progressed 
fairly  well  yesterday.  Senator  Beck,  of 
Pulaski,  and  French,  of  Warren,  both  un- 
blushingly  accomplishing  the  delicate  task. 
— Indianapolis  Journal,  January  6. 

Senator  Sweeny,  of  Perry,  has  seen,  prob¬ 
ably,  more  public  service  than  any  other 
man  of  his  age  in  the  senate.  He  has  been 
sheriff  three  times,  door-keeper  of  the  sen¬ 
ate,  and  was  in  the  secret  service  under 
Cleveland.  He  is  now  engaged  in  farming 
near  Tell  City.  He  is  yet  a  young  man,  and 
while  not  a  public  speaker,  he  knows  what 
is  going  on  and  does  not  get  left  when  it 
comes  to  obtaining  patronage  for  his  dis¬ 
trict,  which  also  embraces  Dubois.  Mr. 
Sweeny  championed  Mr.  Friedman’s  cause 
in  his  successful  race  for  assistant  secre¬ 
tary. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  January  7. 

Just  before  adjourning  yesterday  morn¬ 
ing,  Senator  Loveland,  of  Miami,  offered 
this  resolution ; 


Whereas,  The  debt  of  the  state  of  Indiana  is  more 
than  88,000,(X)0,  and 

Whereas,  The  taxes  levied  for  the  support  of  the 
state  and  its  institutions  are  burdensome,  and  were 
increased  at  the  last  session  of  the  legislature,  ren¬ 
dering  rigid  economy  necessary,  to  the  end  that  the 
debt  and  the  taxes  may  be  reduced,  and 

Whereas,  Upon  yesterday  a  resolution  was  passed 
by  this  senate  providing  for  the  appointment  of 
eleven  doorkeepers  of  the  senate  in  addition  to  the 
four  provided  for  in  Section  No.  4970  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  of  1881,  making  a  total  force  of  fifteen,  and 

Whereas,  There  are  only  ten  doors  to  the  senate 
chamber,  including  all  the  doors  to  the  gallery, 
cloak-room  and  ante  room;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  senators  be 
appointed  to  investigate  and  make  report  to  the  sen¬ 
ate  on  Tuesday,  January  10, 1893,  with  recommenda¬ 
tions  as  to  the  number  of  doorkeepers  and  assistant 
doorkeepers  actually  necessary  for  the  dispatch  of 
the  business  of  the  Senate,  and  with  such  report 
state  the  facts  on  which  such  recommendation  is 
based. 

Before  tlie  resolution  was  read.  Senator 
McHugh,  of  Tippecanoe,  rose  to  a  point  of 
order  claiming  that  it  was  no  time  for  res¬ 
olutions.  Senator  Loveland  defended  the 
propriety  of  his  resolution  at  that  time  and 
read  the  rules  that  directly  supported  him, 
but  President  Griffith  looked  down  with  a 
beneficent  smile,  tapping  his  xylophone 
delicately  while  sustaining  McHugh’s  point 
of  order,  and  the  army  of  unnecessary  door¬ 
keepers,  against  whose  employment  the 
protest  of  the  republican  minority  was  filed 
the  day  before,  and  against  which  every 
citizen  of  the  state  should  protest,  still 
holds  the  fort.  This  resolution  was  for  the 
express  purpose  of  giving  Senator  Kern,  of 
Marion,  Senator  Wray,  of  Shelby,  and  Sen¬ 
ator  Morgan,  of  Johnson,  a  chance  to  with¬ 
draw  their  support,  which  they  had  given 
spontaneously  when  the  original  vote  was 
cast  that  the  order  might  be  temporary. 
The  clincher  put  upon  the  steal  by  Senator 
Magee,  of  Cass,  who  moved  the  day  before 
to  reconsider  the  resolution  and  table  the 
motion  to  reconsider,  was  an  adroit  move 
not  anticipated  Viy  the  trio  of  democratic 
senators  mentioned,  who  now  claim  to  be 
ready  for  any  kind  of  penance,  and  would 
willingly  be  on  record  with  the  republic¬ 
ans. — Indianapolis  Journal,  January  7. 

The  following  appointments  additional 
to  those  already  announced  have  been 
made  by  the  senate: 

Postmaster— Fred  Zollars,  of  Allen  county. 

E.  Wright,  Johnson  county,  journal  clerk  ;  Edward 
Mullen,  Spencer,  copying  clerk. 

In  the  senate  the  appointees  to  date  include  fifteen 
doorkeepers  and  eigh  teen  clerks— an  excess  of  two  in 
each  department  over  the  statutory  number.— Jn- 
dianapolis  News,  January  9. 


Senator  McHugh  (Marion)  offered  the 
following  resolution  upon  which  over  an 
hour  of  the  senate’s  time  was  wasted  by 
members  indulging  in  the  “old  soldier  rack¬ 
et.”  Both  sides  of  the  house  participated : 

Whereas,  The  ventilation  of  this  chamber  is  so 
imperfect  and  the  heat  furnished  so  irregular  as  to 
make  the  chamber  uncomfortable  and  the  services 
of  some  one  to  look  after  the  same  needed. 

Resolved,  That  Timothy  Dawson,  a  soldier,  be  ap¬ 
pointed  at  85  per  day  to  attend  to  this  duty. 

Mr.  Loveland  was  for  the  “  old  soldier,” 


but  thought  some  member  of  the  existing 
force,  who  was  not  a  soldier,  ought  to  be 
discharged  to  make  room  for  Capt.  Daw¬ 
son  and  offered  a  resolution  to  that  effect, 
which  was  rejected. 

THE  AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

But  the  “ventilation”  question  came  up 
again  and  an  hour  was  taken  up  fighting 
the  war  over.  Finally  Mr.  McHugh’s  res¬ 
olution  prevailed  by  a  vote  of  27  to  18,  and 
Capt.  Dawson  will  regulate  the  heat  and 
ventilation  during  the  remainder  of  the 
session. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  January  19. 

The  infant  son  of  the  Hon.  James  M.  Fippen,  of 
Tipton,  a  page  in  the  House,  was  ill  yesterday  and 
the  “Sleeping  Beauty”  did  not  appear  on  the  floor 
until  about  3  p.  m.  When  he  did  his  flrst  act  was  to 
oflFer  a  resolution  for  the  employment  of  three  more 
pages.  The  members  supposed  he  had  three  more 
children  unemployed  at  home  and  were  appalled. 
The  member  from  Tipton  explained  with  vehement 
eloquence  that  these  boys  were  overworked.  “I 
know,”  he  cried  in  stentorian  tones,  “the  patriot¬ 
ism  of  Tipton  county  don’t  ask  us  to  proceed  with 
insufficient  force,  and  I  introduce  this  resolution 
so’s  that  we  will  not  be  impeded,  and  so’s  that  the 
boys  won’t  be  impaired  by  their  health.”  He  was 
called  down  on  points  of  order  and  it  was  explained 
that  the  rules  required  such  a  resolution  to  iay  over 
three  days,  but  he  moved  to  suspend  the  rules.— 
Indianapolis  Journal,  January  21. 

ECHOES  FROM  THE  PAST. 

Another  illustration  of  the  way  the  administration 
used  federal  offices  to  secure  Harrison’s  renomina¬ 
tion  is  afforded  by  the  story  of  the  post-oflice  at 
Princess  Anne,  Md.,  as  told  by  E.  F.  Duer,  the  late 
postmaster.  Duer  was  appointed  about  three  years 
«go  and  has  managed  the  office  so  successfully  that 
it  was  not  long  ago  raised  to  a  higher  grade,  which 
brought  the  piace  within  the  range  of  a  presidential 
appointment.  The  rule  in  such  cases  is  for  the 
President  to  name  the  incumbent  if  his  record 
has  been  a  good  one,  and  his  continuance  is  de¬ 
sired  by  the  patrons  of  the  office.  There  is  no 
dispute  whatever  as  to  Duer’s  efficiency,  or  as 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  local  public  wuth  his 
administration.  He  filed  his  papers  with  the  de¬ 
partment  in  due  course  on  the  ]8lh  of  May,  and 
was  told  by  the  fourth  assistant  postmaster-gen¬ 
eral  that  the  appointment  would  not  be  made  before 
fifteen  d  tys.  Notwithstanding  this,  seven  days  later 
VV.  F.  Lankford  %vas  appointed,  without  even  a 
notice  to  Duer  that  his  claims  would  be  heard,  and 
without  any  examination  by  the  postmaster-general 
of  the  papers  which  he  had  filed.  The  explanation 
is  that  Lankford’s  name  was  presented  by  Thomas  S. 
Hodson,  who  was  a  delegate  to  the  republican  na¬ 
tional  convention,  then  soon  to  meet.  As  Duer  says 
in  his  letter  to  the  postmaster-general,  “  How  far 
these  things  stood  to  each  other  in  relation  to  cause 
and  effect,  is  a  question  which  each  one  can  decide 
for  himself,  and  in  view  of  the  charges  generally 
made  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  President’s  re¬ 
nomination  was  effected,  it  may  prove  an  interesting 

question.”— A'ew  York  Evening  Post,  August  3. 

«  *  • 

The  democratic  campaign  opened  in  Ohio  to-day 
with  a  meeting  at  Woodsdale  Island  Park,  near  Ham- 
ilion,  Butlercounty.  It  was  estimated  that  fully  five 
thousand  people  were  in  attendance.  Ex-Governor 
Campbell,  who  was  among  his  home  neighbors,  made 
a  short  dud  witty  speech,  confined  mostly  to  sallies 
at  the  audience  as  some  one  would  prompt  him  with 
a  question.  He  spoke  of  Mr.  Stevenson’s  record  as  a 
creator  of  democratic  postmasters,  relating  an  in¬ 
cident  where  the  present  candidate  for  vice  presi¬ 
dent  had,  as  a  favor  to  him  [Campbell],  decapitated 
sixty- five  lepublican  postmasters  in  two  minutes. 
He  regarded  a  man  of  that  sort  as  a  vigorous  and 
true  democrat.  When  the  cheers  following  this 
statement  had  subsided,  Mr.  Stevenson  rose  and  said 
the  considered  that  the  highest  compliment  he  had 
received  in  his  whole  Hie.— Cincinnati  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  Oct.  1. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


409 


THEl  onslauqht:". 

“Public  office  is  a  public  trust.  We  reaffirm  the  declaration  of  the  democratic  national  oonYention  of  1876  for  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service,  [Reform  is  necessary  in  the  civil  service.  Experience  proves  that  efficient,  economical  conduct  of  the 
government  business  is  not  possible  if  its  civil  service  be  subject  to  cliange  at  every  election,  be  a  prize  fought  for  at  the  ballot 
box,  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,  instead  of  posts  of  honor,  assigned  for  proved  competency  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the  public 
employ;  that  the  dispensing  of  patronage  should  neitlier  be  a  tax  upon  the  time  of  all  our  public  men,  nor  the  instrument  of 
their  ambition]  and  W'e  call  forthe  In. nest  enforcement  of  all  laws  regulating  the  same.  The  \Jominationof  a  President,  as  in  the 
recent  republican  convention  by  delegations  composed  largely  of  his  appointees,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure,  is  a  scandalous 
satire  upon  free  popular  institutions,  and  a  startling  iiliistralion  of  the  methods  by  which  a  President  may  gratify  his  ambition. 
We  denounce  a  policy  under  which  federal  office-holders  usurp  control  of  party  conventions  in  the  states,  and  we  pledge  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  party  to  the  reform  of  these  and  all  other  abuses  which  threaten  individual  liberty  and  local  self-government.”— .A^a^iona/ 
Democratic  Plat/orm,  1892. 


COOPER’S  DOMAIN 


Franklin.— Office  aspirants  continue  to  multiply. 
Prominently  mentioned  for  the  post-office  at  Tra¬ 
falgar  appear  the  names  of  J.  C.  Slack,  D  H.  Hunter, 
J.  C.  White  and  Mrs.  Van  Cleve.  The  promise  of 
Congressman  Cooper  to  recommend  Samuel  Harris 
for  postmaster  here  is  still  a  favorite  topic  of  discus¬ 
sion,  and  A.  B.  Colton,  a  defeated  candidate,  has 
challenged  Mr.  Harris  to  a  public  discussion  why  he 
(Colton)  should  have  been  the  chosen  one.  The 
question  may  be  put  to  a  vote  of  the  citizens.  It 
seems  to  be  authoritative  dictum  that  the  next  pen¬ 
sion  board  will  include  Dr.  Province,  of  Providence; 
Dr.  Myers,  of  Edinburg,  and  Dr.  Whitesides,  of 
Franklin. — Indianapolis  News,  Dec.  13. 

Plainfield.— Isaac  Holton,  has  been  recommended 
by  Congressman  Cooper  as  an  efficient  person  to  suc¬ 
ceed  William  Stanley  as  postmaster  at  this  place. 
Mr.  Holton  is  proprietor  of  the  Mansion  House  Hotel 
and  one  of  the  leading  democrats  of  the  town.— 
Indianapolis  News,  Dec.  16. 

Trafalgar?— The  post-office  race  is  ended  at  Traf¬ 
algar.  Congressman  Cooper  having  written  persons 
here  and  in  that  town  to  the  effect  that  he  had  de¬ 
cided  to  recommend  Carey  J.  Slack. 

Moorksville.— The  race  for  the  post-office  at  this 
place  was  brought  to  a  sudden  termination  to-day  by 
several  letters  to  prominent  democrats  from  Con* 
gressman  Cooper,  stating  his  intention  to  recom¬ 
mend  the  appointment  of  John  J.  Bayless  to  be  post¬ 
master.  The  notice  was  received  before  other  appli 
cants  had  forwarded  their  petitions.— Jndianapolfs 
News,  December  20. 

Plainfield.— Could  George  W.  Cooper,  of  the  fifth 
congressional  district,  be  in  Plainfield  for  an  hour  or 
so  any  day  of  the  week  since  it  has  become  known 
that  he  had  decided  to  recommend  Isaac  Holton  for 
the  postmastership  at  this  place,  he  would  have  to 
listen  to  the  preaching  of  his  funeral  before  he  was 
ready  to  plant  beneath  the  sod.  A  madder  set  of 
office  seekers  were  never  seen  than  at  present  in  this 
vicinity.  The  democrats  here  do  not  regard  Mr. 
Charlton  as  a  simon  pure,  dyed-in-the-wool,  Jack¬ 
sonian  democrat,  and  claim  that  he  was  a  republican 
during  the  Grant  campaign,  and  only  abandoned 
that  party  in  hopes  of  finding  pastures  more  green  in 
the  fold  of  the  party  of  broken  promises  and  pledges. 
There  has  not  been  the  best  of  feeling  existing  be¬ 
tween  the  prominent  democrats  of  this  place  and  the 
reform  school  since  the  memorable  democratic  con¬ 
vention  held  at  Gosport  several  years  ago,  in  which 
the  reform  school  delegates  took  such  a  prominent 
part  against  the  renomination  of  Congressman  Mat- 
son.  It  is  also  claimed  that  Mr.  Charlton  has  held 
his  position  as  superintendent  through  republican 
and  democratic  administrations  solely  through  his 
indifference  to  politics.  It  is  openly  charged  that 
Cooper  listened  to  no  one  except  Mr.  Charlton  in 
making  the  selection  of  a  postmaster  for  Plainfield. 
One  of  the  defeated  aspirants  for  post-office  honors 
said,  in  the  hearing  of  the  Journal  correspondent, 
Thursday:  “An  election  will  be  held  by  the  demo¬ 
crats,  and  the  lucky  aspirant  will  be  recommended 
to  Congressman  Cooper  for  appointment.’’ — Indian¬ 
apolis  Journal,  December  23. 

Spencer.  —  Congressman  G.  W.  Cooper  has  an¬ 
nounced  his  Intention  of  recommending  C.  L. 
Wampler  for  the  position  of  postmaster  at  Gosport. 


He  was  at  Spencer  last  night,  and  listened  to  the  ap 
peals  of  applicants  for  a  like  position  here.  Mr. 
Cooper  reserved  his  decision,  but  it  is  conceded  that 
Otto  Dickerson,  ex  auditor,  will  be  recommended. 
Many  desire  an  election  to  settle  the  matter.— 7ndt- 
anapoUs  News,  December  27. 

Spencer —Congressman  Cooper  was  in  Spencer  last 
night,  and  gave  audience  to  candidates  for  the  post- 
office  and  their  friends.  A  majority  of  them  fnvored 
holding  a  primary  election,  but  this  Mr.  Cooper 
would  not  sanction.  He  has  decided  to  recommend 
O.  T.  Dickerson.  This  is  in  return  for  personal  fa¬ 
vors  to  himself.  When  Cooper  was  needing  votes 
to  nominate  him,  Dickerson  and  S.  L.  Wallace  (now 
of  Indianapolis)  were  the  only  friends  he  had  in 
Owen  county.  C.  L.  Wampler  will  be  recommended 
at  Gosport. — Indianapolis  Journal,  December  27. 

Greencastle.— Congressman  Cooper  has  been  here 
among  his  constituents  and  disposing  of  the  patron¬ 
age  at  his  command.  Applicants  for  the  different 
post-offices  in  the  county  have  been  here  to  inter¬ 
view  him.  The  fight  for  the  office  at  Cloverdale  is 
between  Horn  and  Foster,  with  the  chances  in  favor 
of  Foster.  Milroy  Gordon  and  Oliver  Hubbard  are 
both  named  for  the  office  at  Bainbridge,  with  the 
chances  in  favor  of  Gordon,  if  he  wants  it.  Charles 
E.  Winn  will  probably  be  chosen  at  Russellville  and 
Charles  Lewis  at  Okalla.  There  will  be  no  primary 
election  held  at  this  place  for  the  purpose  of  choosing 
a  postmaster,  but  the  impression  is  that  Willis  G. 
Neff  will  be  the  lucky  man.  Mr.  Neff  held  the  office 
under  Mr.  Cleyeland.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Jan.  7. 

Greencastle.— Hon.  George  W.  Cooper  visited  this 
part  of  his  political  bailiwick  to  day,  with  a  view  to 
the  distribution  of  political  patronage  among  his 
henchmen.  The  principal  bone  of  contention  was 
the  Greencastle  post-office,  and  how  to  reconcile  the 
conflicting  claims  of  the  legion  of  aspirants  puzzled 
the  congressman.  It  is  given  out  that  Willis  G.  Neff, 
who  held  the  position  under  the  former  Cleveland 
administration,  has  the  promise  of  a  reappointment, 
and  that  the  claims  of  the  young  democracy  will  be 
subordinated  to  the  demands  of  the  court-house 
ring.  Mr.  Cooper  was  urged  to  submit  the  contest  to 
a  popular  election,  but  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  ap¬ 
peals,  and  the  curses  visited  upon  him  by  the  disap¬ 
pointed  aspirants  were  both  loud  and  deep. — Indi¬ 
anapolis  Journal,  January  7. 

Bloomington  —Last  week  Congressman  George 
W.  Cooper  was  in  our  city  looking  after  the  pat¬ 
ronage  which  will  be  at  his  disposal  after  March 
4.  He  made  his  headquarters  at  the  Stockwell  House 
where  a  large  number  of  friends  were  cordially  re¬ 
ceived.  Almost  every  position  in  the  county,  which 
will  be  controlled  by  Mr.  Cooper,  had  more  than  one 
applicant,  and  consequently  he  was  placed  in  the 
exceedingly  embarrassing  position  of  making  a 
choice  between  personal  friends  and  equally  good 
democrats.  The  choicest  position  was  the  postmas¬ 
tership  at  this  place  and  it  was  sought  by  the  follow¬ 
ing  named  well  known  citizens:  Dr.  Peter  Bowman, 
John  W.  Buskirk,  Edwin  Corr,  W.  P.  Dill.  R.  H.  East 
and  Dr.  8.  K.  Rhorer.  Friends  of  each  candidate 
presented  the  claims  of  their  favorite,  and  be  It  said 
to  the  credit  of  all  concerned  that  the  contest  was 
conducted  in  an  honorable  and  gentlemanly  man¬ 
ner.  We  are  not  prepared  to  say  what  disposition 
will  he  made  of  the  applications,  and  until  Congress¬ 


man  Cooper  makes  a  definite  statement  we  will  not 
venture  an  opinion. 

Delegations  were  here  from  other  places  in  the 
county  asking  official  favors  for  friends  and  to  all 
these  Mr.  Cooper  gave  respectful  attention.  He  has 
taken  all  applications  under  consideration  and  hopes 
to  make  known  his  decision  for  the  entire  district 
before  March  4.  There  are  about  two  hundred  post¬ 
masters  in  this  district,  and  these  together  with 
other  applications  will  require  all  his  extra  time  be¬ 
tween  now  and  the  date  of  inauguration.- T/ie  Bloom¬ 
ington  World. 


THE  TERRE  HAUTE  OVERLORD¬ 
SHIP. 

“  My  mail  these  days  is  something  appalling,’’  said 
Senator  Voorhees.  “I  have  had  experience  before 
on  the  approach  of  an  incoming  administration,  but 
nothing  like  this.  I  am  doing  the  best  I  can  with 
the  aid  of  short-hand  writers  to  answer  everything 
without  much  delay,  but  I  find  the  task  impossible. 
I  hope  my  friends  in  Indiana  will  be  patient.  Every 
letter  received  will  be  carefully  noted  and  filed 
away  for  future  reference  and  for  consideration.  No 
one  shall  be  overlooked  or  neglected.  My  greatest 
regret  is  that  there  are  so  few  offices  to  be  given  to  so  many 
worthy  and  capable  applicants.  It  is  a  most  painful 
duty,  so  far  as  1  am  concerned,  to  be  compelled  to  decide 
between  friends  who  are  equally  meritorious  and  capa¬ 
ble.” — Indianapolis  News,  December  13. 

Terre  Haute— The  post-office  fight  at  Terre  Haute 
is  between  A.  G.  Austin,  the  hardware  merchant, 
Robert  Hunter,  a  liveryman,  and  Harry  Donham,  a 
young  lawyer.  The  Sentinel  correspondent  is  able  to 
state  that  the  latter  will  receive  the  appointment. 
Both  of  the  other  applicants  are  stanch  democrats 
and  well  worthy  in  every  way  to  receive  this  honor, 
but  Mr.  Donham’s  active  services  in  the  late  cam¬ 
paign  entitle  him  to  this  reward  in  the  estimation  of 
democrats  who  appreciate  the  v  ilue  of  Mr.  Donham’s 
services  as  chairman  of  the  Vigo  county  democratic 
committee.  —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  December  23. 

Terre  Haute — The  Terre  Haute  postmastership  is 
again  to  be  a  bone  of  contention.  Two  congressmen 
have  been  defeated  for  re-election  by  members  of 
their  respective  parlies  on  account  of  this  office,  and 
it  looks  as  if  Congressman  Brookshire,  the  present 
congressman  from  this  district,  is  to  be  the  third  vic¬ 
tim.  A  few  weeks  ago  Congressman  Brookshire  an¬ 
nounced  that  he  would  leave  the  recommendation 
for  postmaster  entirely  with  Senator  Voorhees.  Un¬ 
der  ordinary  circumstances  that  would  be  sufficient 
excuse  forthe  congressman’s  non-interference,  but 
in  this  instance  circumstances  alter  the  case.  A  dem¬ 
ocrat  whose  name  is  familiar  to  all  who  have  ob¬ 
served  political  affairs  in  this  district,  talking  about 
the  situation,  said : 

“  I  understand  that  Voorhees  has  said  he  will  rec¬ 
ommend  the  appointment  of  Harry  Donham,  and  I 
suppose  Donham  will  be  appointed.  The  other  ap¬ 
plicants,  and  hundreds  of  democrats  who  are  not 
applicants  for  office,  would  not  object  to  Brookshire’s 
action  if  they  felt  that  the  senator  himself  was  the 
one  who  is  to  make  the  selection,  but  they  know  it 
would  be  waste  of  time  for  them  to  appeal  to  him 
unless  John  E.  Lamb  be  on  their  side.  Donham  was 
Lamb’s  obedient  henchman  during  the  campaign . 


410 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Lamb  and  editor  Ball,  of  the  Gazttte,  have  no  liking 
for  each  other’s  political  methods.  The  editor  doesn’t 
like  bossism  and  Lamb  doesn’t  like  any  one  who 
bolts  a  ‘regular’  cut-and-dried  programme.  Ball 
was  the  steadfast  Cleveland  advocate  here  prior  to 
the  Chicago  convention.  As  you  know,  he  and 
Lamb  had  a  bitter  contest  for  delegate  to  the  Chicago 
convention,  Lamb  capturing  it,  although  90  percent, 
of  the  democrats  in  this  district  were  for  Cleveland. 
Lamb  was  recognized  as  an  anti-Cleveland  man,  and 
did,  in  fact,  lead  the  anti-Cleveland  Indiana  forces 
at  Chicago  after  Senator  Voorhees  left  the  city  in  the 
midst  of  the  struggle.  For  a  year  or  more,  until  im 
mediately  after  the  election,  it  had  been  understood 
that  Mr.  B  ill  was  to  have  the  position  of  collector  of 
internal  revenue  in  the  event  of  the  election  of  a 
democrat  to  the  presidency.  Well,  now  comes  in 
Mr.  Lamb’s  master  stroke-  Without  any  delay  it  is 
made  known,  in  a  quiet  way,  to  leading  local  demo, 
crats  that  Mr.  Voorhees  has  decided  to  recommend 
Donham  for  postmaster.  If  Donham  be  made  post¬ 
master  Mr.  Ball  can  not  be  collector.  Donham  mar¬ 
ried  Mr.  Ball’s  sister  not  long  ago,  and  it  would  not 
do  for  brothers  in-law  to  hold  two  big  offices  of  the 
district.” 

Two  of  the  other  applicants  for  the  post-office  are 
Col.  Bob  Hunter,  brother  of  Andy  Hunter,  elected 
congressman  at  large  in  Illinois,  and  Mr.  A.  G.  Aus¬ 
tin.  The  former  is  a  carriage  manufacturer  and  the 
latter  a  hardware  dealer.  Hunter  was  a  member  of 
the  “Kickers’  Club,”  or  anti- Lamb  organization,  in 
1886.  when  Lamb  was  defeated  for  congress.  Mr. 
Austin  is  a  good  business  man,  but  does  not  know 
much  about  political  wire-pulling.  He  has  reason 
to  expect  Senator  Voorhees’  aid,  but,  of  course,  he 
will  be  disappointed. 

The  impression  here  Is  that  the  Lamb  faction  has 
agreed  upon  Hoskins,  of  Clay  county,  for  revenue 
collector.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  congres¬ 
sional  committee  by  Lamb  in  a  unique  manner, 
early  in  the  year.  The  ex-congressman  was  chair¬ 
man  of  the  convention,  and,  without  assistance  from 
the  convention,  so  to  speak,  declared  Hoskins  the 
choice  for  the  position,  although  the  Parke  county 
delegation  had  come  instructed  to  vote  for  Dr.  Gil¬ 
lum,  of  that  county.  But  Lamb  did  it  so  smoothly 
that  hardly  any  one  realized  how  it  had  been  done 
until  after  the  convention  had  adjourned.  Within 
the  past  few  days  the  report  has  been  circulated 
here  that  the  Hon.  Mason  Niblack,  of  Vincennes, 
would  be  an  applicant  for  the  collectorship.— IndiuM 
apoUs  Journal,  December  29. 

The  Washington  dispatch  to  the  Journal  of  yester¬ 
day,  announcing  that  Senator  Voorhees  would  rec¬ 
ommend  Harry  Donham  for  postmaster  is  in  accord 
with  what  was  known  here  by  the  senator’s  friends 
before  he  went  to  Washington,  and  which  was  first 
made  public  in  these  dispatches.  Since  then  Don¬ 
ham  has  proceeded  upon  the  assumption  that  all 
yet  to  be  done  was  the  formality  of  placing  Cleve¬ 
land’s  signature  on  the  commission.  The  more  the 
local  democracy,  and  especially  that  portion  which 
espouses  the  claims  of  either  of  the  other  applicants, 
ponders  over  the  cut-and-dried  proceeding  the 
greater  becomes  the  resentment  of  what  is  termed 
bossism.  The  fact  that  the  bosses  are  the  ones  who 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  renomination  of  Mr. 
Cleveland  and  set  up  the  primaries  in  this  county, 
where  90  per  cent,  of  the  democrats  were  unequivo¬ 
cally  for  the  renomination,  so  that  an  anti  Cleveland 
delegation  was  chosen,  increases  the  feeling  of  in¬ 
dignation  which  is  sure  to  result  in  an  open  revolt 
sooner  or  later.  One  ol  the  reasons  why  it  has  not 
broken  out  before  this  has  been  the  hope  of  the  hun¬ 
gry  to  get  some  of  the  crumbs  of  office.  Now  that 
the  hope  of  five  hundred  (more  or  less)  has  been 
shattered  by  the  President’s  order  there  is  more  like¬ 
lihood  of  the  outbreak  before  the  time  for  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  a  postmaster  comes  around.— Indian- 
apolis  Journal,  January  8. 

CHIEFS  OF  HIGH  AND  LOW  DE¬ 
GREE. 

The  democrats  of  Indianapolis  have  been  notified 
from  Washington  that  Congres  man  Bynum  has  de¬ 
cided  to  leave  the  selection  of  a  postmaster  for  this 


city  entirely  with  Senator  Turpie.  This  announce¬ 
ment  has  been  expected.  It  is  related  among  demo¬ 
crats  that,  before  he  returned  to  Washington,  Con¬ 
gressman  Bynum  said  to  some  of  his  friends  that  he 
intended  to  escape  all  responsibility  for  the  selection 
of  an  Indianapolis  postmaster  by  turning  the  ap¬ 
pointment  over  to  Senator  Turpie.— Jndianapohs 
News,  December  21 . 

Senator  Turpie,  who  is  at  his  home  in  this  city 
spending  the  holidays,  is  besieged  by  office-seekers 
The  men  who  are  after  government  positions  go  di¬ 
rect  to  the  senator’s  residence,  as  he  is  remaining 
away  from  the  hotel  corridors  where  expectant  dem¬ 
ocrats  delight  to  congregate  and  lay  in  wait  for  men 
of  influence.  Among  the  callers  on  the  senator  to¬ 
day  was  W.  D.  H.  Hunter,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  who 
wants  to  be  re-appointed  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  the  southern  district  of  Indiana.  Dr.  Hunter 
filled  the  office  under  Cleveland  before,  and  he  feels 
that  he  is  entitled  to  it  again.  He  requested  that 
Senator  Turpie  say  a  good  word  for  him  to  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land.  Another  one  of  the  callers  the  senator  has  re¬ 
ceived  this  week  is  D.  F.  Allen,  of  Frankfort,  who  is 
anxious  to  succeed  Nicholas  Ensley  as  United  States 
pension  agent  for  the  district  of  Indiana.  Captain 
Allen,  like  ex-Governor  Gray,  made  a  visit  to  Cleve¬ 
land  at  Gray  Gables,  and  he  thinks  his  acquaintance 
with  the  President-elect,  together  with  a  few  words 
from  the  Indiana  senators,  will  secure  him  the  office. 
Still  another  caller  was  Frank  Griffith,  of  Muncie, 
who  also  wants  to  be  collector  of  internal  revenuein 
the  southern  Indiana  district.  John  S.  Williams,  of 
Lafavette,  has  also  paid  the  senator  a  visit  since  his 
arrival  at  home.  Mr.  Williams  was  fourth  auditor  of 
the  treasury  during  Cleveland’s  former  administra¬ 
tion.  He  is  anxious  to  go  a  step  higher  this  time; 
he  desires  to  be  appointed  third  auditor  of  the  treas¬ 
ury  During  his  stay  at  home  Senator  Turpie  has 
also  been  furnished  the  names  of  the  men  who  would 
like  to  be  appointed  United  States  attorney  for  In¬ 
diana.  They  are  Judge  Nelson,  of  Logansport;  John 
W.  Kern,  John  W.  Holtzman,  of  Indianapolis;  Will¬ 
iam  A.  Cullop,  of  Vincennes;  Frank  B.  Burk,  of  Jef¬ 
fersonville;  W.  O.  Pickens,  of  Spencer,  and  C.  E. 
Vohn,  of  Bluffton.— inefianapoHs  News,  December  30. 

Fort  Wayne.— It  is  learned  from  the  best  author¬ 
ity  that  on  Monday  Congressman  McNagney,  of  Co¬ 
lumbia  City,  will  be  in  Fort  Wayne  and  decide  who 
shall  be  postmaster  under  the  new  administration. 
This  will  end  a  good  deal  of  suspense  and  will  prob¬ 
ably  be  the  cause  of  considerable  ill-feeling.  It  is 
said  Mr.  McNagny  will  meet  all  the  candidates  and 
hear  their  respective  claims.  It  will  be  decided 
probably  some  day  next  week,  but  the  decision  will 
not  be  known  at  the  time.  The  most  prominent 
candidates  are  William  Meyer,  proprietor  of  one  of 
the  leading  furnishing  stores;  Wright  Rockhill,  pro¬ 
prietor  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Journal;  Prof.  Ungemach, 
who  is  at  the  head  of  the  Lutheran  schools  in  this 
city ;  John  B.  Monning,  a  real  estate  agent ;  Dr. 
Samuel  Metcalf  and  M.  V.  B.  Spencer,  a  leading  at¬ 
torney. — Indianapolis  Journal,  January  8. 

Delphi.— Congressman  elect  Hammond,  of  this  dis¬ 
trict,  is  having  a  lively  time  with  applicants  for  of¬ 
fice,  there  being  from  one  to  a  dozen  candidates  for 
every  post-office  in  the  district.  R.  M.  Isherwood, 
editor  of  the  democratic  paper,  and  chairman  of  the 
county  committee,  is  the  most  prominent  aspirant, 
and  it  will  be  the  field  against  Isherwood.  The  men 
composing  the  field  are  now  circulating  petitions 
praying  Hammond  to  leave  the  settlement  of  the 
question  to  a  vote  of  the  democratic  patrons  of  the 
office,  and  these  petitions  are  being  generally 
signed.  Isherwood  will  oppose  such  an  election, 
taking  the  broad  and  comprehensive  ground  that  he 
has  earned  the  place.  His  claims  will  be  seconded 
by  Charles  R.  Pollard,  who  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Chicago  convention  and  an  uncompromising  Cleve¬ 
land  raun.— Indianapolis  Journal,  December  31. 

It  is  stated  at  democratic  headquarters  that  Con¬ 
gressman-elect  Conn,  of  the  thirteenth  district,  has 
decided  to  escape  all  responsibility  by  having  an 
election  for  every  postmaster  in  the  district.  So  far 
as  can  be  learned  the  other  congressmen  from  the 
slate  are  pursuing  the  old  course  of  receiving  all  the 
applications  and  recommendations  that  come  in,  and 


then  appointing  the  man  who  seems  to  be  the  favor¬ 
ite  in  the  community. — Indianapolis  News,  Dec.  21. 

Congressman  Jason  B.  Brown  was  in  the  city  last 
evening.  He  came  from  Washington.  Mr.  Brown 
said  that  so  far  he  had  not  been  bothered  by  his  con¬ 
stituents  seeking  office.  “  I  have  stated  two  or  three 
times,”  he  remarked,  “  that  I  would  take  no  part  in 
the  struggle  before  Mr.  Clevelaud'siuauguration.  It 
would  be  hardly  proper  for  me  to  do  so,  and  my  con- 
stitutents  know  my  position  fully,  I  think,  and  I 
don’t  anticipate  being  troubled  any.”— Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  December  23. 

Salem. — The  unsettled  condition  that  has  existed 
here  since  the  election  of  Clevland  as  to  who  should 
be  postmaster  took  a  sudden  turn  to-day.  While  it  is 
Senerally  understood  that  Congressman  Jason  B. 
Brown  is  opposed  to  a  primary  by  the  people  about  all 
the  candidates  met  to-day  and  entered  into  an  agree¬ 
ment  to  hold  a  primary,  and  the  chairman  of  the 
democratic  county  committee,  who  is  also  a  candi¬ 
date,  issued  a  call  for  it  to  be  held  February  A.— In¬ 
dianapolis  Sentinel,  January  17. 

Knightsville. — The  democracy  have  a  post-office 
fight  on  hand.  The  office  is  worth  about  J350  or  8400 
a  year.  Scott  luge,  postmaster  under  Cleveland,  is 
an  aspirant  for  re-appointment.  David  Lawson,  the 
man  who  controls  1,300  miners’  votes,  but  was  op¬ 
posed  to  Congressman  Brookshire,  is  also  an  aspirant. 
Benjamin  Males  and  George  Hoaglin  are  also  press¬ 
ing  their  claims.  One  prominent  young  man  wants 
to  be  gauger  at  Terre  Haute.  John  O’Neal,  who  is  a 
warm  friend  of  Brookshire,  will  try  and  have  Mr. 
McQuade’s  position  as  mine  inspector.  H.  C.  Payne 
Is  also  an  aspirant  for  mine  inspector.  ’Squire 
Eckles  says  he  will  be  satisfied  with  fish  commis¬ 
sioner.  Taken  altogether  the  fight  for  office  is  going 
to  be  hotly  contested.— KnightsviUe  IHspatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  Nov.  22. 

Elwood. — The  post-office  is  a  plum  that  mauy  dem¬ 
ocrats  are  eager  to  pluck.  Although  the  term  of 
the  present  incumbent  will  not  expire  for  over 
a  year,  petitions  by  different  democratic  aspir¬ 
ants  are  being  circulated  and  generously  signed. 
The  first  applicant  in  the  field  is  France  Harbit.  He 
Is  widely  known  here,  and  Is  a  ceaseless  and  untir¬ 
ing  worker  for  democracy.  He  is  at  present  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  city  council,  from  the  first  ward.  “Dock” 
Peed  is  also  an  aspirant.  He  is  making  no  flourish 
of  trumpets,  but  he  wants  the  office  as  bad  as  any¬ 
one.  James  Par.sons  is  also  in  the  field.  He  is  work¬ 
ing  like  a  trooper  and  the  race  between  him  and 
Harbit  is  being  watched  with  Interest.  The  claims 
set  forth  by  Parsons  are  known  only  to  those  who 
are  on  the  inside  of  several  political  contracts  and 
compromises,  which  were  enacted  between  the  dem¬ 
ocrats  last  spring  and  fall.  Parsons  was  a  candidate 
for  the  nomination  for  sheriff.  Dave  de  Hority  of 
this  city,  was  also  an  aspirant  for  the  same  nomina¬ 
tion.  Both  are  popular  men.  The  race  was  warm, 
but  as  both  were  from  Pike  Creek  township  the 
chances  of  each  were  impaired.  Something  had  to  be 
done.  It  was  decided  among  the  leaders  that  the 
only  way  out  of  it  was  for  Parsons  to  withdraw  from 
the  race.  A  prominent  democrat  said  a  committee 
waited  on  Mr.  Parsons  and  he  consented  to  with¬ 
draw,  after  receiving  8100  from  De  Hority.  The 
money  was  to  pay  the  expenses  already  incurred  by 
Parsons  in  his  canvass.  Besides  this,  it  was  under¬ 
stood  (by  Parsons  at  least)  that,  in  case  of  a  demo¬ 
cratic  victory.  Parsons  was  to  be  indorsed  for  the 
post-oflice.  The  democratic  victory  came,  and  now 
Parsons  demands  his  reward.  At  Anderson  a  num¬ 
ber  of  prominent  democrats  signed  an  agreement  to 
use  their  influence  in  securing  the  post-office  for  Par¬ 
sons.  This  paper  is  said  to  be  in  possession  of  Mr. 
Parsons,  and  he  will  produce  it  in  his  claims.  Lead¬ 
ing  democrats  of  Elwood  gave  a  promise  of  a  similar 
nature,  but  were  wise  enough  not  to  do  so  in  writ¬ 
ing.  Your  correspondent’s  informant  .said  that  those 
who  promised  Parsons  their  assistance  are  falling  to 
the  rear.  When  the  paper  was  presented  to  De  Hority 
be  refused  to  sign  it,  saying  that  he  fulfilled  his  con¬ 
tract  when  he  paid  the  8100.— EJiaood  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  Nov.  29. 

Portland. — The  Portland  post-office  is  now  the 
bone  of  contention  among  eligible  democrats,  and 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


411 


as  Congressman  Martin  does  not  care  to  mix  in  the 
scramble,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  a  city  election  will 
be  held  to  determine  a  choice.  Among  the  promi¬ 
nent  candidates  are  W.  W.  Timmonds,  editor  of  the 
Portland  Sun;  A.  W.  Evilsizer,  justice  of  the  peace; 
W.  A.  Humphries,  chairman  of  the  county  central 
committee;  S.  T.  McGovney,  ex-member  of  the  slate 
legislature;  L.  S.  Burkett,  timber  man;  Gjorge  F. 
Whittaker,  ex-prosecutor,  and  S.  A.  D.  Whipple,  dep¬ 
uty  clerk  of  the  circuit  court.— Indianapolis  News. 

Grebnsbdrg.— The  democracy  of  this  county  openly 
declare  that  the  republican  office  holders  will  not 
serve  out  their  time,  and  this  declaration  is  bringing 
out  a  new  crop  of  office-seekers.  Three  new  caiidi 
d  ites  have  appeared  for  the  post-office .  S.  F.  Rogers, 
George  Shoemaker  and  George  Magee.  Outside  of 
Greensburg  there  are  only  six  or  eight  paying  post- 
offices  in  the  county.  At  St.  Paul  the  scramble  is 
terrific.  The  candidates  are  Jeff.  DeBolt,  Daniel 
Dickey,  ex-State  Senator  Howard,  Luther  Bailey  and 
Benjamin  Jenkins.  The  principal  applicants  at 
Adams  are  W.  0.  McKee,  Robert  Kirby,  James 
Darby  and  John  Turner.  James  Tarplee  is  booked 
for  the  office  at  Clarksburgh,  and  James  S.  Harper 
has  the  call  at  Sardinia.  Sandford  Grayson  and 
Samuel  Webster  will  contest  at  Westport.  There  is 
some  talk  here  of  having  the  choice  of  postmaster 
determined  by  popular  election,  and  this  is  favored 
by  those  who  consider  themselves  strong  with  the 
people  but  a  little  shaky  with  the  appointing  power. 

Rockport.— Mentioned  for  postmaster  under  Cleve¬ 
land  at  this  point  are  George  Procrasky,  the  former 
incumbent,  Henry  Hochand  Calvin  Jones,  ex-editor 
of  the  Rockport  Democrat.  C.  N.  Douglass,  present 
editor  of  the  Democrat,  is  an  aspirant  for  a  clerkship 
at  Washington.  A.  E.  Stevenson,  formerly  of  the 
state  committee,  wants  the  position  of  judicial  ex¬ 
aminer,  now  held  by  Sam  Kercheval,  of  this  city, 
Allen  Armstrong,  who  was  the  candidate  for  county 
clerk,  stands  a  chance  of  entering  the  revenue  serv¬ 
ice,  and  Hugh  Haler,  defeated  candidate  for  sheriff", 
expects  a  position  in  the  secret  service.— Indianapolis 
News,  December  7. 

Greensboroh.— The  democracy  are  preparing  to 
boom  Judge  J.  K.  Ewing  for  collector  of  internal 
revenue.  It  is  said  that  he  will  be  supported  by 
Congressmen  Holman,  Brown  and  Cooper,  and  the 
state  officials.  The  Hon.  William  H.  Bracken,  for¬ 
merly  of  this  county,  but  now  of  Franklin,  is  also  in 
the  race.  He  was  an  elector-at  large  candidate,  and 
made  a  strong  canvass  of  the  State,  Bracken  has 
congressional  aspirations,  and  if  disappointed  in  his 
present  quest  he  may  contest  for  the  congressional 
nomination  two  years  hence.  Dr.  Hunter,  editor  of 
the  Lavvrenceburgh  Register,  was  collector  under 
Cleveland  before,  and,  it  is  said,  is  again  aspiring. 
The  Hon.  Jacob  Benham,  of  Ripley,  is  in  training. 
He  is  a  presidential  elector.  Other  candidates  for  the 
collectorship  are  said  to  be  Frank  J.  Hall,  of  Rush- 
ville,  and  Dan  Manning,  of  Switzerland.— /ndianapo- 
lis  News. 

Noblesville.— There  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the  list 
of  applicants  who  will  fight  for  the  Cicero  posi-oflSce. 
The  number  has  already  been  increased  to  nearly  a 
dozen.  Among  the  prominent  applicants  are  Samuel 
Dale,  Grant  Jacobs,  Samuel  Dunham,  George  An¬ 
thony  and  J.  S,  Williamson.— /ndfanapoKs  Sentinel, 
December  21. 

Greenfield.— Captain  Osaiah  A.  Curry,  ex-county 
treasurerand  chairman  of  the  county  democratic  cen¬ 
tral  committee,  and  a  highly  estimable  and  well- 
known  citizen  of  this  city,  at  the  solicitation  of  many 
of  our  prominent  business  men  and  citizens,  has  an¬ 
nounced  his  intentions  of  being  a  candidate  for 
postmaster,  and  will  begin  a  vigorous  canvass  at 
once.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  December  13. 

Greentown.— After  a  wrangle  over  a  choice  for 
postmaster,  the  Greentown  democrats  concluded  to 
ballot.  L.  C.  Knight  received  31  votes;  Wm.  Dun¬ 
can,  29 :  T.  H.  Frice  and  T.  A.  Seagraves,  15  each  ; 
J.  B.  Mozingo,  12;  Chas.  Hawberger,  8,  and  William 
Wooters,  7.  Duncan  is  admitted  to  be  the  best  quali¬ 
fied  man  for  the  place,  and  the  result  of  the  ballot 
has  only  increased  the  dissatisfaction,— JndtanapoHs 
News,  December  13. 


James  Chapman  has  discontinued  publication  of 
the  Review,  at  Converse.  Mr.  Chapman  was  a  post- 
office  candidate,  but  was  defeated  in  a  popular 
election.  He  complains  of  ill-treatment  by  the  local 
democracy.— Jndianopofis  News. 

Portland  —James  H.  De  Tray,  of  this  city,  is  ap¬ 
plicant  for  the  position  as  minister  to  France  under 
the  next  administration,  and  is  circulating  petitions 
to  thateffect.  DeTray  is  a ‘‘Buckeye”  by  birth.  He 
came  to  Portland  in  1885.  He  is  a  fourth  cousin  of 
the  famous  General  Lafayette,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
Yorktown  celebration,  in  1881,  he  was  present  by  in¬ 
vitation  from  the  secretary  of  state  as  the  American 
representative  of  the  Lafayette  family.— Indianapolis 
News,  December  17. 

Bedford.— John  Johnson,  jr.,  is  an  applicant  for 
the  postmastership  here,  and  it  is  stated  that  Con¬ 
gressman  Bretz  will  probably  see  that  he  gets  it.— 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  December  18. 

Richmond.— The  candidates  for  the  Dublin  post- 
office  held  a  caucus  Monday  night  to  determine  upon 
a  plan  for  the  selection  of  a  postmaster.  They  de 
termined  upon  an  election  to  be  held  January  21. 
All  known  democrats  who  voted  for  Grover  Cleve 
land  will  be  entitled  to  vote  at  that  time.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  persons  are  candidates:  Ira  Ellis,  Mrs.  Sarah 
J.  Roberts,  W.  B.  Smith,  Dr.  J.  R.  Hollingsworth,  G. 
W.  Steffy,  Tolbert  More  and  Thomas  Kemmer.— Jw- 
dianapolis  Sentinel,  January  7, 

Lebanon.— The  question  of  Lebanon's  next  post¬ 
master  seemed  to  be  a  difficult  one  a  few  weeks  ago. 
when  there  were  as  many  as  half  a  dozen  aspirants, 
but  now  it  seems  narrowed  down  to  a  single  person 
Henry  C.  Ulin,  secretary  of  the  county  central  com¬ 
mittee,  is  circulating  a  petition  which  Is  being  gen¬ 
erally  signed,  and  from  the  present  outlook  Mr. 
Ulin  has  almost  a  clear  field.— /ndtanap/is  News. 

Wabash.— The  post-office  fight  here  is  becoming 
decidedly  interesting.  A  month  ago  less  than  a  hall 
dozen  candidates  wanted  the  place,  but  now  there 
are  seventeen.  The  contest  is  growing  somewhat 
personal  In  its  character,  and  so  fearful  are  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  local  managers  that  there  will  serious  partj 
trouble  grow  out  of  the  scramble  that  an  election  ha.s 
virtually  been  decided  upon  as  a  solution  of  the 
controversy.  All  but  two  or  three  aspirants  have 
signed  the  compact,  and  the  primary  will  take  place 
February  14.  The  candidates  arc :  Dr.  M.  R.  Cra- 
bill,  John  Katchem,  Jonathan  Haas,  James  Early, 
E.  A.  Edwards,  James  Jackson,  Sam  Junfee,  H.  H. 
-Millican,  W.  J.  Alber,  Frank  Alber,  Simon  Swartz, 
John  Hoover,  Valentine  Smith,  William  Collin.s, 
James  V.  Simpson,  Ed  Kinerk  and  John  Hipskins. 
The  commission  of  Postmaster  Wood  does  not  expire 
until  December  10, 1895,  and  it  is  not  expected  there 
will  be  a  change  short  of  a  year  or  two.  as  Mr.  Wood 
is  competent  and  in  no  sense  an  “offenseve  par- 
tisan.’’— Indianapolis  News,  January  18. 


THE  WORST  CASE  YET. 

The  report  of  Commissioner  Roosevelt  to 
the  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission 
on  the  investigation  of  a  peculiar  political 
assessment  case  in  Indianapolis,  has  just 
been  given  to  the  press.  The  facts  ascer¬ 
tained  from  the  witnesses  examined  point 
to  a  special  variety  of  offense  differing 
from  any  other  that  has  yet  come  to  the 
public  notice. 

It  appears  that  the  democratic  campaign 
committee  in  Indianapolis  found  itself,  at 
the  close  of  the  late  campaign,  several 
thousand  dollars  in  arrears.  The  commit¬ 
tee  had  its  headquarters  in  the  rooms  of 
the  Hendricks  club,  to  which  some  of  its 
members  belonged.  County  Treasurer 
Backus,  a  prominent  committeeman,  spoke 
to  C.  J.  Dunn,  a  letter-carrier,  of  the  short¬ 
age,  and  suggested,  apparently  as  a  con¬ 


clusion  of  the  committee,  that  the  demo¬ 
cratic  employes  in  the  post-office — the  so- 
called  “hold-overs”  under  the  present 
administration — ought  to  make  up  about 
four  hundred  dollars  as  their  share  of  it. 
Mr.  Backus  further  notified  Dunn  to  re¬ 
quest  various  employes  to  come  to  a  meet¬ 
ing  at  the  club  “  to  see  what  they  felt  like 
doing.” 

Accordingly  the  invitations  were  dis¬ 
tributed,  mostly  by  Dunn,  it  being  under¬ 
stood  that  the  meeting  was  partly  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  funds;  partly  with  the 
idea  that  the  employes  should  press  one 
of  their  number,  Mr.  Lorenz,  for  superin¬ 
tendent  of  carriers  under  the  incoming  ad¬ 
ministration  ;  and  partly  in  order  to  meet 
a  Mr.  Sahm,  who,  according  to  the  com¬ 
mon  talk  among  “  the  boys,”  had  been  de¬ 
cided  upon  as  the  next  postmaster.  Mr. 
Lorenz  himself,  also,  seems  to  have  been 
instrumental  in  inducing  the  carriers  to 
attend  the  meeting. 

Alexander  McNutt  testified  that  Dunn 
told  him  of  the  straits  of  the  committee 
and  asked  “if  we  could  reach  in  our  pockets 
and  help  them  out ;”  that  Dunn  approached 
him  in  regard  to  making  a  donation  to 
make  up  the  deficiency,  the  request  being 
made  in  the  letter-carriers’  office,  but  no 
specific  amount  being  named,  although  it 
appeared  as  if  about  ten  dollars  apiece 
was  expected.  McNutt  said  that  he  did 
not  contribute,  and  that  he  and  Dunn  had 
not  been  on  good  terms  since. 

W.  A.  Balk,  a  letter-carrier,  testified  that 
Dunn  asked  him,  in  the  carriers’  room,  for 
a  contribution  to  a  campaign  fund. 

R.  0.  Shriner  testified  that  Dunn  said  to 
him  :  “  The  committee  is  short  some  money 
and  we  want  to  know  if  you  can’t  help  to 
make  it  up,”  or  something  to  this  effect. 

Jacob  Mathias  testified  that  Dunn  asked 
him  to  come  down  to  the  Hendricks  club, 
saying  that  there  was  a  shortage  in  the 
democratic  campaign  fund,  and  that  he 
was  authorized  to  notify  “the  boys” — 
meaning  the  democratic  carriers  in  office  — 
that  they  had  to  raise  some  money. 

AVilliam  Darby  testified  that  Dunn  said 
to  him,  in  the  street,  that  the  committee 
would  require  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  apiece 
from  “the  boys,”  and  invited  him  to  at¬ 
tend  the  meeting  at  the  Hendricks  club. 

F.  A.  Lorenz  testified  that  Dunn  told 
him,  in  the  street,  that  the  committee  was 
short  and  wanted  the  democrats  in  the 
post-office  to  help  it  out,  adding:  “What 
will  you  do?”  or  “  Will  you  do  anything?” 
or  “Can  you  do  anything?”  and  stating 
that  he  expected  the  democratic  carriers 
to  contribute  four  hundred  dollars. 

C.  W.  Parish  testified  that  Dunn  men¬ 
tioned  to  him  the  committee’s  need  of 
money;  told  him  to  go  to  the  Hendricks 
club  on  a  certain  date,  and  asked  for  a 
contribution,  as  it  was  desired  to  raise 
about  four  hundred  dollars  from  office¬ 
holders.  Parish  refused  to  give  anything. 

W.  P.  Marlatt  testified  that  Dunn  told 


412 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


him,  in  effect,  that  the  democratic  com¬ 
mittee  would  be  glad  to  receive  any  con¬ 
tributions  any  one  desired  to  give  to  make 
up  the  shortage. 

Dunn’s  sole  defense  was  a  lack  of  mem¬ 
ory.  He  did  not  remember  speaking  about 
the  finances  when  he  invited  “the  boys’’ 
to  the  Hendricks  club,  but  afterwards  ad¬ 
mitted  that  he  “might  have  told  one  or 
two  that  there  was  a  shortage.” 

.  About  a  dozen  government  employes, 
chiefiy  carriers  with  a  sprinkling  of  clerks, 
went  down  to  the  Hendricks  club  at  the 
time  appointed.  A  number  of  the  ordi¬ 
nary  members  of  the  club  were  present, 
but  the  carriers  met  in  a  room  by  them¬ 
selves,  no  outsider  except  Mr.  llackus 
being  present.  Mr.  Sahm  was  not  in  the 
room,  though  at  the  club  at  the  time, 
hackus  addressed  the  carriers,  saying  that 
there  was  a  shortage  of  several  thousand 
dollars,  and  that  the  post-oftice  employes 
ought  to  raise  three  or  four  hundred  dol¬ 
lars  of  the  amount.  The  meeting,  he  said, 
was  for  the  purpose  of  paying  tlie  cam¬ 
paign  expenses,  but  no  assessment  would 
be  made,  the  men  being  free  to  give  or  not. 
He  added  that  “the  next  postmaster  was 
named,  and  that  be  was  a  good  democrat,” 
and  “that  those  that  contributed  freely 
would  be  remembered.” 

Some  discussion  followed  as  to  how  the 
money  should  be  given,  and  objections 
were  made  at  once  to  giving  it  to  Mr. 
Dunn  or  taking  receipts  for  it;  and  Dunn 
was  warned  that  he  had  better  be  careful 
in  his  behavior  lest  he  might  get  into 
trouble  by  coming  into  contact  with  the 
cinl  service  law’. 

At  one  time  Dunn  intimated  that  he 
would  receive  the  money  himself,  and 
again  it  was  suggested  that  the  contribu¬ 
tions  should  simply  ))e  left  in  a  box  in  the 
oifice. 

Commissioner  Roosevelt  comments  on 
the  evidence  as  follows  : 

“This  case  seems  to  me  to  be  akin  to  the 
cases  of  political  assessments  in  the  Balti¬ 
more  post-office  at  the  time  of  the  republi¬ 
can  primaries  in  the  spring  of  1891,  and  in 
the  departmental  service  by  the  Old  Domin¬ 
ion  republican  club  in  the  fall  of  1889.  In 
both  these  cases  the  evidence  showed  that 
gov’ernment  employes  bad  been  endeavor¬ 
ing  to  assess  other  government  employes, 
aside  from  what  the  evidence  showe<i 
against  outsiders.  In  each  of  these  cases 
it  Avas  the  opinion  of  the  commission,  on 
the  evidence  taken,  that  certain  govern¬ 
ment  employes  w’ere  clearly  guilty,  ex¬ 
actly,  as  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  evidence 
shows  Dunn  in  this  case  to  have  been 
clearly  guilty  of  directly  or  indirectly  so¬ 
liciting  money  for  political  purposes  from 
certain  of  his  associates,  and  in  one  or  two 
cases  thus  soliciting  them  in  a  government 
building.  In  each  case  the  commission 
brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  not 
only  of  the  attorney-general,  but  of  the  j 
head  of  the  department  wherein  the  offi¬ 


cials  implicated  were  employed,  being  of 
the  opinion  that  in  many  of  these  cases, 
even  where  there  is  difficulty  in  securing  a 
conviction,  there  may,  nevertheless,  be 
amply  sufficient  evidence  to  remove  all 
reasonable  doubt  of  the  guilt  of  the  ac¬ 
cused  and  to  warrant  his  dismissal  from 
office,  it  being,  in  the  opinion  of  the  com¬ 
mission,  very  desirable  that  appointing 
officers  shall  take  prompt  action  to  punish 
the  wrongdoers  themselves,  w’herever  they 
are  in  government  employ.  This  case,  and 
the  two  cases  above  mentioned,  have,  of 
course,  many  points  of  dissimilarity,  al¬ 
though  they  resemble  one  another  in  this 
essential,  all  three  including  attempts  to 
collect  money  for  political  purposes  by  cer¬ 
tain  employes  from  other  employes  of  the 
government. 

“  In  the  case  of  the  Old  Dominion  league, 
an  organization  composed  partly  of  out¬ 
siders  and  partly  of  individuals  in  govern¬ 
ment  employ,  an  attempt  was  made  to  col¬ 
lect  funds  from  various  employes  in  the 
departments  at  Washington,  from  the 
state  of  Virginia,  for  the  purpose  of  aid¬ 
ing  the  republican  campaign  in  that  state. 
At  Baltimore  the  postal  employes,  together 
wdth  some  of  the  employes  in  the  office  of 
the  collector  and  the  marshal,  joined  to 
assess  one  another  and  to  solicit  and  re¬ 
ceive  from  one  another  sums  of  money  to 
be  expended  in  the  interests  of  one  faction 
in  the  republican  primaries.  In  the  pres¬ 
ent  instance  a  democratic  letter-carrier, 
appointed  AA’hen  a  democratic  postmaster 
was  in  oifice  at  Indianapolis,  but  continued 
in  office  to  this  day  under  the  operations 
of  the  civil  service  law,  acts  as  the  instru¬ 
ment  of  a  local  democratic  campaign  com¬ 
mittee,  in  the  effort  to  procure  political 
contributions  from  various  other  demo¬ 
cratic  letter-carriers,  in  order  to  make  up 
a  shortage  in  the  campaign  account  of  the 
committee.  This  request  is  in  the  nature 
of  a  reduclio  ad  absurdtmi  of  the  arguments 
usually  advanced  in  behalf  of  political  as¬ 
sessments.  Thus  the  circular  sent  out  by 
the  Ohio  republican  state  committee  in  the 
last  campaign  requesting  money  from  the 
various  postal  employes  in  Ohio,  upon  the 
ground  that  they  owed  their  positions  to 
the  republican  party.  This  was,  of  course, 
in  so  far  as  these  positions  are  under  the 
civil  service  laAV,  a  deliberate  and  willful 
untruth,  and  in  any  event  furnished  no 
excuse  for  the  attempted  blackmail.  But 
the  climax  of  iniquitous  absurdity  is  cer¬ 
tainly  reached  Avhen  an  attempt  is  made 
to  collect  money  from  government  em¬ 
ployes  by  a  democratic  campaign  commit¬ 
tee  on  the  ground  that,  thanks  to  the  op¬ 
eration  of  the  civil  service  law’,  these  same 
employes  have  been  kept  in  office  nearly 
four  years  under  a  republican  administra¬ 
tion.” 

The  Indianapolis  case  has  been  laid  by 
the  commission  before  the  attorney-gen- 
j  erel  and  the  postmaster-general  for  ac¬ 
tion. — Good  Government,  January,  1893. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

The  Closed  Ear. 

IIaverford  College, 
Haverford,  Pa.,  Jan.  3,  1893. 
Civil  Service  Chronicle,  Indianapolis,  Ind.: 

We  have  been  receiving  the  Chronicle  for  some 
time  and  it  has  regularly  been  put  in  our  reading- 
room.  We  have  understood  that  the  paper  is  sent 
by  a  friend  of  the  college;  if  this  is  not  the  ca.se 
kindly  discontinue  and  oblige.  Respectfully, 

Allen  C.  Thomas,  Librarian. 

While  writing  I  wish  to  say,  while  personally  a 
civil  service  reformer,  I  doubt  very  much  whether 
the  cause  is  permanently  helped  by  such  unvarying 
and  Avholesale  condemnation,  and  by  such  grudging 
praise  when  any  commendation  is  given,  I  confess 
what  I  have  read  in  your  paper  has,  if  anything, 
rather  weakened  my  devotion  to  the  cause  than 
strengthened  it.  I  believe  in  fairness  to  opponents, 
and  while  I  have  no  doubt  such  is  the  proposed  at¬ 
titude  of  the  paper,  it  does  not  convey  that  impres¬ 
sion  to  me.  One  would  think  that  the  United  States 
ofllclals  were  the  worst  class  imaginable— in  fact 
about  fit  for  the  penitentiary— if  the  Chronicle’s 
articles  were  fair  accounts  of  the  average  official  and 
office-holder  and  seeker.  However  wrong  the  “spoils¬ 
men  ’’  may  be  in  their  opinions,  there  is  something 
to  be  said  on  their  side,  as  the  debates  in  congress 
when  the  present  post-office  tenure  of  office  was 
passed,  or  thereabouts,  will  .show.  (Of  course  I  write 
this  as  an  individual.) 

The  object  of  this  paper  has  alw  ays  been 
to  set  out  the  facts  and  circumstances  con¬ 
nected  with  the  use  of  the  public  service 
for  personal  and  party  ends,  giving  so  far 
as  possible  the  sources  of  information.  Mr. 
Thomas  makes  no  question  about  these 
facts.  They  are  unpleasant  and  along  with 
us,  Mr.  Thomas  finds  them  so.  But  unlike 
us  he  can  not  bear  that  such  things  should 
be  said  about  such  nice  men,  as  he  knows 
many  of  them  are.  For  they  are  nice  men 
in  the  ordinary  meaning  of  that  term. 
They  are  respectable,  they  are  carefully 
honest  in  all  private  relations,  and  they 
attend  to  all  charitable  and  religious  du¬ 
ties,  as,  for  instance.  Quay  is  determined 
that  the  Sabbath  shall  not  be  desecrated 
by  a  fair.  But  all  the  same,  they  buy  votes, 
they  steal  public  money,  they  use  thugs 
and  ruffians  to  cheat  in  primaries  and  con¬ 
ventions,  they  use  public  offices  to  quarter 
friends  and  relatives  on  the  people,  and 
they  use  the  civil  service  to  break  down 
the  Avill  of  the  people.  The  only  way  to 
break  up  this  business  is  to  drag  these 
persons  and  their  acts  out  to  daylight.  Mr. 
Thomas  is  not  alone  in  finding  it  too  un¬ 
pleasant.  Everywhere  there  are  multi¬ 
tudes  of  “good  citizens”  w’ho  think  that 
something  can  be  said  on  the  other  side. 
They,  how’ever,  never  say  it.  We  have  for 
years  been  trying  to  find  some  one  who 
w’ill  argue  for  the  “other  side,”  and  if  Mr. 
Thomas  w  ill  do  it  he  can  have  room  in  the 
Chronicle.  If  his  faith  has  become  weak 
in  proportion  to  the  facts  given  in  the 
Chronicle  he  must  be  a  strong  advocate 
of  the  spoils  system  by  this  time.  If  any 
thing  can  be  said  for  the  “other  side”  of 
Quay,  it  is  time  some  one  was  saying  it. — 
[Ed.  Civil  Service  Chronicle.] 

The  Open  Ear. 

Cornell  University  Library, 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  January  4, 1893. 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  with  best  thanks  the  receipt 
of  your  gift  to  the  library.  Civil  Service  Chronicle, 
for  1892.  The  continuance  of  this  favor  of  a  free  copy 
for  the  year  1893  will  be  very  welcome. 

Yours  truly,  Qeo.  W.  Harris, 
Librarian. 


The  Civil  Service  chronicle. 


If  we  see  nothing  in  our  victory  hut  a  license  to  revel  in  partisan  spoils,  we  shall  fail  at  every  point.— 

President-elect  Cleveland  at  New  York,  November  18. 


INDIANAPOLIS,  FEBRUARY,  1893. 


VoL.  I,  No.  48. 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

There  are  but  eight  complete  files  of  the 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  and  one  of  these 
has  already  been  sold.  Several  more  files 
could  be  completed  if  numbers  5,  16,  17 
and  22  could  be  supplied. 

The  publication  of  the  Civil  Service 
Chronicle  will  be  continued  as  hereto¬ 
fore.  The  subscription  price  will  be  one 
dollar  a  year,  beginning  with  the  second 
volume.  The  present  number,  which  com¬ 
pletes  the  first  volume,  has  been  delayed 
in  order  that  this  volume  might  include 
the  whole  of  Harrison’s  administration. 
The  index  to  the  first  volume  will  be  sent 
to  subscribers  as  soon  as  completed. 

The  course  of  Mr.  Cleveland  since  his 
election  has  been  beyond  criticism.  He 
has  shown  himself  master  of  the  situation. 
He  has  proved  that  if  a  President-elect  de¬ 
clares  that  he  will  not  be  harried  by  poli¬ 
ticians  about  offices,  there  are  no  meeker 
men  than  those  same  politicians.  He  has 
been  left  to  select  his  cabinet  in  his  own 
way  and  from  the  men  he  wanted.  The 
result  is  a  cabinet  made  up  of  men  who 
sympathize  with  his  views  and  who  will 
assist  him  in  carrying  them  out.  Are  the 
people  dissatisfied  because  he  thus  kicked 
out  the  bosses?  They  were  never  so 
well  satisfied  with  Mr.  Cleveland  as  they 
are  now.  Has  the  party  been  ruined  ?  It 
never  was  so  strong  as  it  is  to-day.  What 
is  true  before  inauguration  will  be  true 
after.  Let  President  Cleveland  stand  upon 
his  constitutional  rights  and  strike  off  once 
and  for  all  the  unlawful  grip  of  congress¬ 
men  upon  the  presidential  office.  What¬ 
ever  the  consequences  let  him  put  an  im¬ 
passable  gulf  between  congressmen  and  the 
control  of  the  civil  service.  If  it  must  be, 
let  us  have  the  spectacle  of  congressmen 
refusing  to  perform  their  duties  because 
the  President  will  not  pay  them  for  it  with 
offices.  The  country  will  make  short  work 
of  such  mercenaries. 

While  Mr.  Cleveland  has  been  busy  se¬ 
lecting  his  cabinet,  with  his  judgment  un¬ 
ham  perd  by  party  workers,  the  country  has 
been  treated  to  the  sight  of  congressmen  di¬ 
viding  the  offices.  They  have  no  authority 
whatever  in  the  law  or  in  the  constitution, 
and  they  do  not  seem  to  have  the  least  au¬ 


thority  from  Mr.  Cleveland.  Nevertheless, 
they  are  holding  conferences,  ordering 
elections  to  decide  “  contests,”  and  decid¬ 
ing  who  shall  have  this  post-office  and  who 
shall  have  that  collectorship.  In  this  bus¬ 
iness  our  Indiana  democratic  congressmen 
appear  the  most  prominent  and  the  most 
contemptible.  Senator  Voorheesand  Sen¬ 
ator  Turpie  do  not  “  agree  ”  as  to  who 
shall  have  the  Indiana  district  attorney- 
ship.  Senator  Voorhees  claims  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  the  collector  for  the  Terre 
Haute  district  as  his  perquisite  as  against 
Congressman  Brookshire,  and  so  it  goes. 
Every  one  of  these  men  went  about  the 
country  before  election  upon  a  platform 
which  declared  that  offices  ought  not  to  be 
subject  to  change  at  every  election,  and 
yet  they  are  working  day  and  night  to 
bring  about  the  change.  They  know  very 
well  that  the  Harrison  administration  was 
ruined  because  it  failed  to  keep  its  prom¬ 
ises  in  relation  to  the  civil  service.  Most  of 
these  men  did  all  they  could  to  baffle  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  efforts  to  better  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  civil  service  during  his  former 
administration,  and  they  mean  to  repeat 
their  efforts.  They  do  not  care  what  dis¬ 
aster  is  brought  upon  the  party.  They 
want  spoil  to  give  to  heelers  and  hench¬ 
men,  and  they  mean  to  have  it. 


In  this  determination  of  congressmen, 
Mr.  Cleveland  has  presented  to  him  the 
gravest  question  for  decision  that  will 
come  before  him.  His  decision  will  settle 
the  question  whether  his  administration  is 
to  be  a  success  or  a  failure.  If  he  shall 
determine  that  the  great  departments  of 
the  government  shall  be  confined  to  the 
exercise  of  their  legitimate  functions,  and 
that  congressmen  shall  be  absolutely  cut 
off  from  influence  in  the  management  of 
the  civil  service, and  if  he  shall  hold  to  that 
determination  regardless  of  the  conse¬ 
quences  be  will  justly  rank  among  the  first 
statesmen  in  the  world.  If  congressmen 
will  not  legislate  upon  the  tariff,  or  the 
finances,  or  make  appropriations  unless 
they  are  paid  for  it  by  him  with  offices,  let 
the  tariff,  the  finances,  and  the  appropria¬ 
tions  go  unlegislated  upon.  The  first  step 
toward  buying  legislation  with  offices  will 
be  a  fatal  mistake.  Mr.  Cleveland  need  not 
fear.  In  any  such  struggle  he  would  have 
the  country  back  of  him  as  he  has  never 
had  it  yet. 


TWTJ  MK  •  J  dollar  per  annum 
lUiXvino  .  10  cents  per  copy. 


We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  say¬ 
ing  that  cutting  congressmen  off  from  the 
patronage  is  the  beginning  and  completion 
of  reform;  it  is  an  absolutely  essential  step. 
Nor  do  we  wish  to  be  understood  as  taking 
any  interest  in  the  retention  of  mere  poli¬ 
ticians  in  places.  But  we  do  say  that  if  the 
promises  of  the  democratic  platform  are 
to  be  kept,  mere  politicians  can  not  be 
succeeded  by  mere  politicians.  There  is 
no  limit  to  the  power  of  dismissal;  but  be¬ 
fore  dismissals  are  made  the  reorganiza¬ 
tion  of  the  system  of  appointment  should 
be  completed  to  the  extremest  extent  pos¬ 
sible.  The  entire  service  capable  of  it  and 
not  so  transferred  should  be  transferred  to 
the  classified  service.  Higher  positions 
below  presidential  offices  should  be  filled 
only  by  promotion.  Only  such  persons  as 
are  known  to  be  friendly  to  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  law  should  be  appointed  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent  to  any  place  connected  with  it.  No 
laborer  should  be  allowed  to  be  hired  in 
the  federal  service  except  under  rules  like 
those  of  the  Boston  labor  service.  If  con¬ 
gress  will  not  approve  the  plan  by  making 
a  law  the  President  has  ample  power  to  do 
so  by  an  executive  order.  There  should  be 
no  headsman  of  fourth-class  postmasters. 
If  congress  will  not  pass  the  Andrew  bill 
for  filling  fourth-class  post-offices,  then  the 
President  should  leave  in  the  present  in¬ 
cumbents,  and  through  the  present  force  of 
inspectors  he  should  fill  vacancies  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  principles  of  the  An¬ 
drew  bill.  The  balance  of  the  service  the 
President  could  manage  with  comparative 
ease  and  without  need  of  any  advice  from 
congressmen.  Above  all  there  is  no  hurry. 
There  is  plenty  of  time  to  mature  plans. 
It  is  not  important  that  any  of  the  present 
clamorers  should  have  an  office.  They  are 
not  seeking  office  for  the  public  good  but 
for  their  own  private  benefit.  The  public 
good  requires  that  measures  be  taken  to 
end  disgraceful  onslaughts  for  spoil  such 
as  our  columns  show  are  now  going  on. 


The  division  of  spoils  has  wrecked  the 
usefulness  of  every  administration  since 
Andrew  Johnson  went  out  of  office.  The 
one  prominent  feature  in  the  history  of  the 
country  since  1869  is  the  struggle  of  the 
Logans,  the  Conklings,  the  Camerons,  the 
Mahones,  the  Gormans,  the  Voorheeses  and 
the  Quays  to  get  offices  for  their  hench¬ 
men  and  to  force  the  President  to  give 


414 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


these  offices.  His  yielding  to  these  leech¬ 
es  against  his  own  principles  cast  a  blot 
upon  Grant’s  noble  career,  and  the  last  tri¬ 
umph  of  the  division  of  spoil  has  been  to 
make  Harrison’s  administration  a  ridicu¬ 
lous  and  disgraceful  failure. 


The  viciousness  of  “politics”  is  unbridled 
in  the  present  general  assembly.  The 
democratic  politicians  who  control  that 
body  seem  to  think  the  people  will  stand 
anything.  The  law  extending  the  terms 
of  town  officers  is  one  of  the  most  flagrant 
instances  of  swindling  legislation  that  ever 
was  enacted  and  it  is  well  worthy  of  the 
cheats  and  swindlers  who  had  a  hand  in  it. 
Another  worthy  specimen  of  their  work 
is  the  apportionment  bill  they  are  go¬ 
ing  to  pass.  It  is  practically  the  law  lately 
declared  unconstitutional  by  the  supreme 
court.  The  proposed  bill  is  such  an  im¬ 
pudent  cheat  and  swindle  that  the  Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel  opposes  it  and  Messrs.  Hord 
and  Wilson,  two  democrats  from  this 
county,  voted  against  it.  No  such  legis¬ 
lation  is  democratic  or  republican.  It  is 
imperialism  applied  by  party  bosses,  and, 
like  imperialism  with  a  single  head,  under 
the  form  of  law,  it  robs  the  people  of  their 
rights.  A  Fort  Wayne  paper  has  suggested 
that  when  this  legislature  finally  adjourns, 
the  people  of  Indianapolis  should  drum 
the  rascals  out  of  town,  and  it  must  be  con¬ 
fessed  that  the  spectacle  would  be  gratify¬ 
ing  and  wholesome.  And  in  this  parade 
the  true  character  of  the  members  would 
be  accurately  illustrated  by  making  each 
one  carry  in  public  view  the  property  he 
has  actually  stolen  from  the  state. 

The  Indiana  general  assembly  has  trans¬ 
ferred  the  power  of  appointing  trustees  in 
the  various  public  institutions  from  itself 
bo  the  governor.  Indiana  is  now  nearer  a 
great  office  holders’  machine  than  she  has 
ever  been  before.  She  also  has  some 
politicians  who  like  to  copy  after  Hill  and 
Quay.  It  is  useless  to  say  that  the  law 
vests  in  superintendents  the  power  of  ap¬ 
pointing  subordinates.  A  request  from  a 
trustee,  who  may  be  a  tool  of  the  gov¬ 
ernor’s,  that  certain  persons  be  given 
places  is  not  disregarded  by  a  superintend¬ 
ent.  This  power  to  build  up  a  personal 
machine  was  well  apprehended  by  the  op¬ 
ponents  of  the  transfer,  and  in  the  lower 
house  the  change  had  to  be  carried  through 
against  a  majority  of  the  democrats  and 
by  a  combination  of  the  minority  with  the 
republicans.  In  this  maneuver  the  repub¬ 
licans  promptly  voted  down  a  proposal  to 
make  the  boards  non-partisan,  although  to 
so  make  them  was  one  of  the  most  osten¬ 
tatious  planks  of  their  platform  last  fall. 

A  GREAT  quarrel  among  the  democrats 
is  the  result  of  this  struggle  over  patron¬ 


age.  The  state  and  the  public  institutions 
have  in  no  manner  been  benefited.  The 
state  service  will  not  be  in  any  manner 
better.  If  the  republicans  elect  the  next 
governor,  while  the  general  assembly  re¬ 
mains  democratic,  the  latter  will  again 
take  the  power  from  the  governor.  If  this 
general  assembly  had  put  the  state  service 
under  the  merit  system  it  would  have 
enacted  one  of  those  great  reform  laws 
which  mark  an  epoch  in  civil  adminis¬ 
tration,  and  it  would  adjourn  with  the 
party  strengthened  in  this  state  as  it  never 
was  strengthened  before.  Instead,  we  shall 
have  no  better  service,  and  the  party  has 
on  its  hands  the  usual  quarrel  over  spoils. 


It  is  said  that  Mr,  Frank  Burke  is  seek¬ 
ing  to  be  appointed  district  attorney  for 
Indiana,  Burke  was  a  member  of  the 
general  assembly  two  years  ago,  and  as 
such  he  was  one  of  the  most  persistent 
and  malignant  opponents  of  the  bill  which 
would  have  taken  the  benevolent  institu¬ 
tions  of  this  state  out  of  politics.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  no  such  opponent  of  Mr. 
Cleveland’s  well  known  principles  will  be 
given  an  office.  And  before  ex- Pension 
Agent  Zollinger  is  given  any  office  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  should  be  informed  that 
while  Zollinger  held  the  pension  agency 
here  the  clerks  in  his  office  were  in  plain 
violation  of  the  law  solicited  for  money  for 
campaign  expenses  by  his  chief  clerk  and 
Zollinger  has  never  denied  that  it  was 
done  at  his  instance.  Now  if  it  is  answered 
that  the  federal  grand  jury  investigated 
that  matter  and  found  no  indictments, 
knowing  something  of  that  investigation, 
we  are  prepared  to  meet  such  an  answer. 

Thb  gift  by  President  Harrison  of  a 
paymastership  in  the  army  to  his  private 
secretary,  Mr.  Halford,  is  a  curious  in¬ 
stance  of  the  survival  of  royal  favoritism 
among  us,  and  sending  him  over  seas  to 
pay  half  a  dozen  agents  their  wages 
though  all  the  world  pays  millions  over 
seas  every  day  by  drafts,  is  a  harmonious, 
further  and  probably  final  favor.  Mr. 
Halford  has  in  past  years  rendered 
service  to  General  Harrison,  and  for  this 
it  would  have  been  proper  and  republican 
for  General  Harrison  to  pay  him  at  his 
own  expense.  Instead,  he  rewards  him 
out  of  the  public  treasury  as  Elizabeth  re¬ 
warded  Burleigh  with  castles  and  estates. 
And  some  capable  army  officer  who  has 
waited  all  his  life  on  slow  promotion  must 
wait  still  longer. 


Another  civil  service  reform  paper  is 
needed,  one  devoted  simply  to  a  chronicle 
of  the  doings  of  Tammany.  The  daily  press 
of  New  York  does  its  work  thoroughly,  and 
furnishesagreat  mass  of  material  that  ought  > 


to  be  startling  to  any  person  of  average  in¬ 
telligence  and  conscience.  But  the  cumula¬ 
tive  effect  of  facts  scattered  through  daily 
papers  is  largely  dissipated.  These  facts 
should  be  combined,  and  arranged  month 
by  month;  above  all  they  should  be  put  in¬ 
to  compact  shape  for  exhibition  at  the  next 
centennial. 

There  are  four  great  and  disreputable 
chiefs,  McLaughlin,  Murphy,  Hill  and 
Croker,  who  are  sure  to  furnish  instruc¬ 
tive  material  in  the  next  few  months.  If 
Mr.  Cleveland  declines  to  hand  over  the 
state  of  New  York  to  them  as  booty,  they 
will  try  to  crush  him.  What  they  do  and 
how  they  do  it,  given  in  detail,  will  be 
curious  reading  for  the  patriotic  citizen. 
In  fact  the  lund  of  Murphy  is  already  felt. 
John  B.  Riley,  chief  examiner  of  the  civil 
service  commission, has  just  been  removed, 
because,  as  one  of  Murphy’s  henchmen 
said,  “he  was  not  with  us,  that’s  all.” 


It  is  now  stated  that  during  the  past  year, 
Govenor  Flower  has  suspended  the  com¬ 
petitive  tests  for  thirty  five  to  fifty  places 
in  order  that  henchmen  of  the  machine 
might  be  more  easily  provided  for.  This 
has  been  the  case  at  the  state  agricultural 
station.  At  the  suggestion  of  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Sheehan,  the  rules  were  suspend¬ 
ed  to  let  three  of  his  heelers  into  the  dairy 
commissioners’  office.  These  worthies  get 
$2,000  apiece.  Last  December  Murphy 
had  the  rules  suspended  so  that  his  hench¬ 
man,  Sternberg,  could  be  appointed  corpora¬ 
tion  bookkeeper  in  the  secretary  of  state’s 
office.  In  January  the  messenger  in  the 
office  of  the  superintendent  of  public 
buildings  died.  There  were  men  on  the 
eligible  list,  but  they  were  passed,  and  the 
place  given  to  a  heeler  who  had  passed  no 
examination.  The  attention  of  the  civil 
service  commission  was  called  to  this  viola¬ 
tion  of  the  law,  but  the  superintendent  of 
public  buildings  is  Murphy’s  father-in-law 
and  nothing  was  done.  Last  week  Labor 
Commissioner  Dowling  turned  out  six  em¬ 
ployes,  and  then  applied  to  the  commission 
to  suspend  the  rules  to  enable  him  to  make 
some  appointments.  So  it  goes.  It  is  time 
for  the  civil  service  reformers  of  the  state 
of  New  York  to  begin  a  crusade. 


The  political  reputation  of  Indiana  has 
been  such  as  often  to  embarrass  her  citi¬ 
zens  who  have  outgrown  their  party  bigotry 
and  cant.  Those  who  know  the  state  best 
are  not  discouraged  because  Dudley  and 
his  sort  have  done  a  great  deal  of  efficient 
“work,”  nor  of  the  swinish  onslaught  go¬ 
ing  on  now,  but  rather  because  of  the 
apathy  of  those  who  regard  themselves  as 
good  citizens,  moral  leaders  by  reason  of 
intellectual  or  social  position.  As  was 
'  noted  in  slavery  times  the  northern  man 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


415 


with  southern  principles  was  most  exas¬ 
perating  and  obdurate,  so  in  Indiana  the 
greatest  incubus  on  the  movement  to 
down  the  spoils  system  has  been  the  in¬ 
difference  or  the  hostility  of  many  sons  of 
New  England,  or  of  New  England  colleges 
resident  in  Indiana.  It  was  therefore  a 
happy  coincidence  that  Mr.  Charles  Dud¬ 
ley  Warner,  the  guest  of  the  New  England 
society  of  Indianapolis,  December  22, 
should  say  in  his  address: 

We  think  that  our  form  of  government  Is  the  one 
best  calculated  to  attain  this  end.  It  is.  of  all  others 
yet  tried  in  this  world,  the  one  least  felt  by  the  peo¬ 
ple,  lea.st  felt  as  an  Interference  in  the  affairs  of  pri¬ 
vate  life,  in  opinion,  in  conscience,  in  our  freedom  to 
attain  position,  to  make  money,  to  move  from  place 
to  place  and  to  follow  any  career  that  is  open  to  our 
ability.  In  order  to  maintain  this  freedom  of  action, 
this  non-interference,  we  are  bound  to  resist  central¬ 
ization  of  power;  for  a  central  power  in  a  republic, 
grasped  and  administered  by  bosses,  is  no  more  tol¬ 
erable  than  central  power  in  a  despotism,  grasped 
and  administered  by  an  hereditary  autocrat.  Let  us 
not  be  deceived  by  names.  Government  by  consent 
of  the  people  is  the  best  government,  but  it  is  not 
government  by  the  people  when  it  is  in  the  hands  of 
political  bosses  who  juggle  with  the  theory  of  major¬ 
ity  rule.  What  republics  have  most  to  fear  is  the 
rule  of  the  boss,  who  is  a  tyrant  without  responslbil- 
ityj  He  makes  the  nominations,  he  dickers  and 
trades  for  the  elections,  and  at  the  end  he  divides 
the  spoils.  The  operation  is  more  uncertain  than  a 
horse-race,  which  is  not  decided  by  the  speed 
of  the  horses,  but  by  the  state  of  the  wagers 
and  the  manipulation  of  the  jockeys.  We  strike  di¬ 
rectly  at  his  power  for  mischief  when  we  organize  the 
entire  civil  service  of  the  nation  and  of  the  states  on 
capacity,  integrity,  experience,  and  not  on  political 
favor. 

Mr.  Warner’s  remarks  are  aptly  illus¬ 
trated  by  a  recent  occurrence.  Early  in  the 
session  of  the  present  legislature  of  New 
York,  a  bill  was  introduced  to  put  into 
practice  in  Oswego  a  scheme  of  munici¬ 
pal  reform  which  aimed  to  do  away  with 
the  power  of  the  machine  by  providing 
for  primary  assemblies  of  the  people  in 
numbers  drawn  by  lot,  the  persons  so 
chosen  to  meet  at  once,  and  choose  a  rep¬ 
resentative  to  vote  in  their  behalf  for 
municipal  officers.  Dr.  Clark,  a  citizen  of 
Oswego,  had  been  urging  the  plan  for 
years.  The  town  was  anxious  to  try  it.  As 
the  New  York  Times  said  of  the  bill,  “as 
there  was  nothing  in  it  contrary  to  the 
constitution  or  to  good  morals,  and  inas¬ 
much  as  the  experiment  was  to  be  tried  at 
their  own  risk  and  charge,  there  seemed  no 
good  reason  why  they  should  not  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  try  it.  That  seems  to  have  been 
the  view  of  the  assembly,  which  passed  the 
bill  by  87to  21.”  But  Sheehan,  the  lieu¬ 
tenant-governor  of  the  state,  and  the  lieu¬ 
tenant  of  Hill  and  Murphy,  frankly  ex¬ 
plained  that  he  would  not  “  let  it  pass”  if 
every  man  in  Oswego  wanted  it,  because, 
to  quote  the  language  attributed  to  him  by 
Dr.  Clark,  “it  would  knock  parties  and 
politicians  to  the  devil,”  and,  upon  being 
reminded  that  the  assembly  had  passed  it, 
cheerfully  made  answer,  “  I  know  they  did, 
the  d - d  fools.” 


The  Boston  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso¬ 
ciation  recently  gave  Mr.  Roosevelt  a  din¬ 
ner.  Henry  H.  Sprague,  who  presided, 
said  that — 

“The  coming  administration  can  not  more 
clearly  demonstrate  its  fidelity  to  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  civil  service  reform  than  by  demand¬ 
ing  a  continuance  of  his  service  in  the  future. 
A  man  who  has  proved  the  sincerity  and  in¬ 
tegrity  of  his  motives  by  never  hesitating  to 
hold  with  an  unflinching  tenacity  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  his  own  party  to  a  strict  observance  of 
the  law,  certainly  can  not  be  charged  with 
partisanship  or  partiality  if  he  pursue  the 
same  course  under  the  administration  of  an¬ 
other  party.” 

It  is  well  to  take  count  now  of  how  much 
we  owe  to  Mr.  Roosevelt.  Publicity  in¬ 
stead  of  secrecy  in  all  matters  of  the  rec¬ 
ords  has  been  the  most  effective  step  ever 
taken  to  guard  against  tricking  the  law. 
The  invitation  that  competition  was  open 
to  all,  at  once  disposed  of  the  bugbear  re¬ 
peated  by  high  civil  service  reform  author¬ 
ities  that  in  a  republican  administration 
we  must  expect  only  republicans  to  apply 
for  examination,  and  likewise  only  demo¬ 
crats  when  their  party  was  in  power.  To 
realize  the  effect  of  courage  and  common 
sense,  note  in  the  reports  of  investigations 
and  in  the  letters  of  civil  service  reformers 
to  the  papers,  say  six  years  ago,  the  halt¬ 
ing,  quibbling  stand  on  evasions  of  the  law 
and  what  Mr.  Roosevelt  said  at  this  dinner, 
as  reported  in  the  Springfield  Bepublican: 

The  last  great  add  i  tiou  and  great  advance,  the  incl  u- 
sion  in  the  classified  service  of  the  free  delivery 
post-offices,  has  been  a  blow  to  the  spoils  system 
right  in  its  home,  the  local  politician  is  attacked, 
and  there  Is  a  “fierce  fight”  ahead  in  enforcing  the 
law  in  many  of  these  offices,  most  of  all  in  the  small¬ 
est  ones.  I  earnestly  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  commission  to  proceed  upon  the  assumption 
that  any  sweeping  change  of  force  in  any  one  of 
these  offices  shows  prima  facie  that  there  has  been  a 
violation  of  the  law,  and  that  in  the  event  of  such 
sweeping  change  the  postmaster  himself  should  be 
held  to  a  full  accountability  and  required  to  show 
cause  why  he  should  not  be  regarded  as  having  made 
such  changes  for  merely  partisan  reasons. 

There  is  one  rule  that  we  hope  will  in  all 
cases  be  adopted  by  the  new  administration. 
When  a  man  fixes  his  eye  upon  an  office 
he  wants  but  finds  a  present  incumbent  in 
his  way  and  then  goes  about  and  gets  oth¬ 
ers  to  help  him  make  “charges,”  let  the 
charges  in  all  cases  be  in  writing  and 
signed  by  the  persons  making  them.  Then 
let  them  be  given  out  for  publication  a 
substantial  period  before  action  is  taken. 
If  it  is  known  that  this  is  to  be  the  rule 
much  moral  deterioration  will  be  pre¬ 
vented.  Where  the  protection  of  secrecy 
is  allowed,  most  of  the  “charges”  have  no 
foundation  whatever,  but  are  manufact¬ 
ured  under  the  impulse  of  a  wolfish  desire 
for  prey.  Every  congressman,  every  party 
committeeman,  and  every  citizen  should 


be  given  to  understand  that  what  he  has 
to  say  toward  getting  an  officer  out  of  his 
place  must  be  said  openly  and  that  he 
must  be  prepared  to  take  the  consequences. 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
Civil  Service  Reform  League  will  be  held 
in  New  York  in  April  at  a  date  not  yet  fixed. 
Carl  Schurz  will  preside  and  deliver  the 
annual  address.  Any  member  of  any  civil 
service  reform  association  may  take  part 
and  vote  in  the  League. 


THE  SPOILS  SYSTEM. 

Catskill,  Feb.  20. — Brooding  over  the  im¬ 
pending  loss  of  his  office,  Postmaster  Judson, 
of  Prattsville,  finally  became  violently  insane, 
and  to-day  was  brought  before  Judge  Sander¬ 
son,  who,  upon  the  finding  of  physicians  who 
examined  him,  decided  .that  Mr.  Judson  be 
taken  to  the  Hudson  River  Hospital  at  Pough¬ 
keepsie. 


The  next  day  a  fever  developed  and  later 
pneumonia.  In  his  delirium  the  pressure  that 
office-seekers  and  office-holders  had  distressed 
him  with  was  made  apparent  by  his  ejacula¬ 
tions:  “My  dear  Madam,  I  did  not  direct 
that  your  husband  should  be  turned  out.  I 
did  not  know  it.  I  tried  to  prevent  it!” 

At  another  time  he  cried  :  “It  is  wrong — I 
won’t  consent  —  ’tis  unjust!”  And  again: 
“Oh,  these  applications!  Will  they  never 
cease?” — Death  bed  of  President  William  Henry 
Harrison. 


Gov.  Altgeld’s  flight  from  Illinois  for  a 
health  resort  was  caused  by  the  office-seekers. 
This  is  what  his  physician  said: — 

If  the  horde  of  place-hunters  would  only  give  him 
peace,  he  would  soon  be  on  the  road  to  recovery.  As 
it  is,  as  long  as  he  remains  here  he  will  get  no  better. 


THR  MERIT  SYSTEM. 

In  March  1892,  post-master  General  Wana- 
maker  announced  that  he  would  present  a  gold 
medal  to  the  railway  postal  clerk,  in  each  of 
the  eleven  divisions  of  the  service  who  should 
make  during  the  calendar  year  the  best  general 
record  in  his  division. 

Harry  P.  Swift  of  New  York  led  all  his 
companions.  He  is  in  the  second  class  of  the 
Greenport  and  New  York  railway  post-office. 
In  all  he  handled  35,309  cards  in  the  examina¬ 
tion,  with  a  correct  percentage  of  96.84,  and  a 
record  of  14  cards  per  minute.  In  connection 
with  his  work  Mr.  Swift  showed  remarkable 
development  in  his  power  to  memorize.  The 
distribution  in  the  case  work  implied  famili¬ 
arity  with  the  quickest  method  of  forwarding, 
and  the  exact  location  of  over  50  per  cent,  of 
the  post-offices  in  the  United  States,  covering 
most  of  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  Mr.  Swift  has  been  in  the  service  one 
year  and  a  half. 


416 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


T?HEL  ONSKAUQHT. 

“Public  olHce  is  Ji  public  trust.  We  reafllrm  the  declaration  of  the  democratic  national  convention  of  1876  tor  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service,  [Reform  is  necessary  in  the  civil  service.  Experience  proves  that  etiicieiit,  economical  conduct  of  the 
government  business  is  not  possible  if  its  civil  service  be  subject  to  change  at  every  election,  be  a  prize  fought  An*  at  the  ballot 
box,  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,  instead  of  posts  of  honor,  assigned  for  proved  competency  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the  public 
employ;  that  the  dispensing  of  patronage  should  neither  be  a  tax  upon  the  time  of  all  our  public  men,  nor  the  instrument  of 
their  ambition]  and  we  call  forthe  honest  enforcement  of  all  laws  regulating  the  same.  The  nomination  of  a  President,  as  in  the 
recent  republican  convention  by  delegations  composed  largely  of  his  appointees,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure,  is  a  scandalous 
satire  upon  free  popular  institutions,  and  a  startling  illustration  of  the  methods  by  which  a  President  may  gratify  his  ambition. 
We  denounce  a  policy  under  which  federal  office-holders  usurp  control  of  ptirty  conventions  in  the  states,  and  we  pledge  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  party  to  the  reform  of  these  and  all  other  abuses  which  threaten  individual  liberty  and  local  self-government.”— ^a<tono/ 
Democratic  Platform,  1892. 


COOPER’S  DOMAIN. 

Danville.— Democratic  patrons  of  the  Danville 
post-office  to-day  protested,  in  no  uncertain  manner, 
against  Congressman  Cooper's  action  in  recommending 
William  A.  King,  editor  of  the  Gazette,  as  postmaster 
under  the  incoming  administration.  There  are  175 
democratic  patrons  of  the  office  and  there  were  162 
votes  cast  in  the  election  which  resulted  in  the  se¬ 
lection  of  Robert  W.  Wade.  Four  ballots  were  neces¬ 
sary  to  decide  which  of  the  six  candidates  had  a 
majority.  Feeling  among  local  democrats  is  run¬ 
ning  high,  and  those  who  went  into  the  election 
claim  that  they  are  supported  by  the  State  central 
committee,  while  Mr.  King  is  endorsed  solely  by 
Cooper.— Indianapolis  Journal,  January  22. 

Martinsville.— Congressman  George  W.  Cooper 
was  in  the  city  to-day.  His  apartment  at  the  Grand 
Hotel  was  constantly  crowded  by  office-seekers  dur¬ 
ing  the  entire  time.  The  fact  has  leaked  out  that  he 
promised  James  A.  Lewis,  county  chairman  of  the 
democratic  committee,  the  post  office.  The  appoint¬ 
ment  will  not  meet  the  approval  of  the  democrats. 
There  has  been  a  general  sentiment  prevailing  here, 
suggesting  the  election  of  a  postmaster  by  demo¬ 
cratic  patrons  of  the  city.  Should  such  a  thing  oc¬ 
cur,  Mr.  Lewis  would  probably  little  more  than  re¬ 
ceive  a  complimentary  vote.  It  is  generally  thought 
that  Eb.  Henderson  and  son  Guthridge  will  receive 
fat  plums.  Eb’s  son  Will.,  who  received  half  a  dozen 
appointments  during  Cleveland’s  former  term,  is 
also  curling  his  hair  in  anticipation  of  a  clerkship 
of  some  sort. — Indianapolis  Journal,  January  25. 

Martinsville.— Hon.  Geo.  W.  Cooper,  while  in 
this  city,  yesterday,  appeared  to  be  in  excellent 
spirits,  with  the  exception  of  the  recommending  of 
a  postmaster  here.  That  part  of  his  job  he  would 
like  to  let  out  to  some  person  and  pay  them  to  take 
it.  He  does  not  favor  the  selection  by  popular  vote, 
and  yet  he  dislikes  to  appoint  one  for  fear  of  ex¬ 
citing  enmity  that  may  work  disadvantageously 
two  years  hence,  when  Judge  Cunning,  of  Blooming¬ 
ton,  will  make  his  nomination  improbable  as  mat¬ 
ters  now  stand.  Being  asked  what  he  had  to  say 
about  the  local  pension  board.  Cooper  remarked : 

“  I  am  taking  little  interest  in  that,  for  I  do  not 
know  what  will  be  the  policy  of  the  new  administra¬ 
tion— whether  it  will  be  to  divide  the  members  of  the 
board  between  the  two  parties  or  to  select  all  from 
among  democrats.  At  any  rale  you  may  say  that  Dr. 
S.  A.  Tilford  will  be  one  of  the  members  of  Iheboard.” 
The  congre.ssman  also  said  Eb  Henderson  wants  his 
old  position  as  deputy  revenue  commissioner,  and 
thinks  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  he  will  get  it. 
Being  asked  of  W.  S.  Shirley’s  chance  of  becoming 
district  attorney  of  Indiana,  he  replied:  “Well,  I 
can’t  say.  I  am  embarrassed  there  because  I  have 
another  candidate  in  my  districtfrom  the  same  place.  It 
is  William  Pickens,  of  Spencer."— Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  January  26. 

Congressman  Geo.  W.  Coeperuas  here  all  day  yester¬ 
day,  and  the  applicants  for  the  post-office  were  on  dress 
parade  before  the  distinguished  gentleman.  While  he 
did  not  definitely  state  his  preference  for  the  posi¬ 
tion,  the  aspirants  are  satisfied  that  James  A.  Lewis 
will  receive  his  approval.  Cooper  was  somewhat  as¬ 
tonished  when  notified  that  an  election  had  been 
held  at  Danville  after  his  preference  had  been  made 
public,  rfnd  he  intimated  that  it  would  make  no  dif  - 


ference  in  the  selection  of  a  postmaster  for  that 
place.  Eb  Henderson,  he  says,  will  undoubtedly  be 
appointed  deputy  revenue  commissioner.  He  fur¬ 
ther  stated  that  be  [Cooper]  was  poorer  now  than 
when  he  became  congressman,  and  his  purchase  of 
Washington  property  was  purely  a  business  tran.sac- 
tion.  He  had  mortgaged  his  property  in  Columbus 
to  obtain  the  money  to  make  the  first  payment. 

Some  dissatisfaction  exists  here  over  Cooper’s  ac¬ 
tion  in  refusing  an  election  to  determine  the  post¬ 
mastership,  and  four  of  the  applicants  have  ex¬ 
pressed  a  wish  that  an  election  be  held  over  his  pro¬ 
test. — Indianapolis  Journal,  January  26. 

The  five  candidates  for  the  post-office  at  this  place 
held  a  meeting  last  night  in  the  democratic  central 
committee  rooms  to  try  and  agree  upon  an  election. 
Nothing  was  accomplished  and  the  fightstill  goeson. 
— Indianapolis  News,  January  28. 

Danville.— The  democratic  patrons  of  the  Dan¬ 
ville  post-office  held  an  election  recently  and  elected 
R.  W.  Wade  for  postmaster,— jRdianapoh's  Sentinel, 
January  31. 

Plainfield.— Notwithstanding  that  William  Stan¬ 
ley  has  been  but  recently  reappointed  postmaster 
here,  an  election  will  be  held  to  morrow  by  the  local 
democracy  to  determine  a  choice.  The  main  object 
of  a  large  portion  of  the  democrats  is  to  thwart  the 
plans  of  Congressman  Cooper.— Didianapolis  News, 
January  27. 

None  of  the  democratic  candidates  for  the  post- 
office  at  Plainfield  would  submit  his  chances  to  a 
popular  election,  thinking  it  no  use,  R.  F.  Hiatt  alone 
excepted,  and  for  him  but  forty  votes  were  cast. 
Congressman  Cooper  has  named  Isaac  Holton.— /n- 
dianapolis  News,  January  30. 

A  special  from  Danville  stating  that  an  election 
had  been  held  there,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Cooper  had  decided  upon  the  candidate  whom 
he  would  recommend,  was  shown  to  the  congress¬ 
man,  and  he  was  asked  if  he  wasn’t  meeting  with 
some  dissatisfaction  in  his  selection  of  candidates. 

“Yes,”  he  replied,  “  that  is  to  be  expected.  This, 
too,  in  spile  of  the  fact  that  I  have  indicated  whom 
I  will  recommend  for  the  office.  There  has  also  been 
some  dissatisfaction  at  other  places."— Indianapolis 
Journal,  January  25. 

Martinsville.— W.  8.  Sherley,  of  this  city,  is  a 
candiate  for  district  attorneyship  of  Indiana.  He 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  convention,  and  was  one 
of  the  seven  supporters  of  Cleveland  from  this  state, 
giving  him  the  nomination  on  the  first  ballot.  Mr. 
Sherley  says:  “  I  believe  I  will  be  appointed  to  the 
district  attorneyship.  If  Mr.  Cleveland  takes  it  upon 
himself  to  distribute  the  important  patronage  in  this 
state,  I  am  confident  I  will  be  appointed,  for  he  can't  be 
ungrateful  to  his  friends,  and  the  district  attorneyship 
is  the  only  office  I  would  accept.” 

Among  the  twelve  candidates.  Judge  Nelson  of 
Logansport,  Mr.  Corbaley,  of  Madison,  and  John  W. 
Kern,  of  Indianapolis,  are  recognized  as  Mr.  Sher- 
ley’s  most  formidable  opponents,  but  as  neither  of 
these  gentleman  was  a  delegate,  while  two  of  them, 
Kern  and  Corbaley,  are  from  districts  whose  dele¬ 
gates  opposed  the  nomination  of  Cleveland  for  a 
second  term,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Sherley  claim  hes 
much  the  lead  in  the  race.  —Indianapolis  News,  Febru¬ 
ary  13. 


Martinsville.— Eb  Henderson,  Sam  Guthridge, 
James  Lewis,  and  probably  Charles  G.  Renner,  will 
leave  Tuesday  for  Washington  to  attend  the  inaugu¬ 
ration.  A  ticket  agent  of  an  eastern  line  was  here 
Thursday  to  see  them  tickets.  Hr.  Henderson  is  do¬ 
ing  the  negotiating  for  the  crowd.  After  the  rates 
and  limitations  of  the  tickets  had  been  given,  Mr. 
Henderson  said : 

“I  don’t  want  a  ticket  that  will  run  out  in  eight 
days.” 

"How  long,”  asked  the  agent,  “do  you  want  it  to 
run?” 

“Why,  I  can’t  tell,  exactly.  It  might  be  four  years. 
You  don’t  think  I’m  coming  home  before  I  get  an 
office,  do  you?” — Indianapolis  Journal,  February  25. 

*  »  » 

Hammond's  Domain. 

Logansport.— Congressman  Thomas  Hammond,  of 
this  district,  has  the  largest  post-office  matinee  on 
his  hands  that  ever  twitched  the  nerves  of  a  poli¬ 
tician,  and  all  the  fortune  tellers  in  the  Wabash 
valley  could  not  give  him  a  formula  that  would  ac¬ 
complish  the  appointment  of  candidates  that  would 
give  entire  satisfaction.  In  every  town  from  the  size 
of  Logansport,  which  is  18,000  strong  and  the  largest 
town  in  the  district,  to  the  snoring  hamlet  that  goes 
by  the  classic  name  of  Tailholt,  is  a  following  of  en¬ 
thusiastic  office-hunters,  and  the  new  congressman 
has  served  notice  on  the  party  workers  who  have 
surfeited  him  with  their  supplications  that  he  will 
name  all  postmasters  within  twenty  days.  Here  in 
Logansport  there  are  five  prominent  candidates  for 
the  post-office  and  about  twenty  others  who  are  pa¬ 
trons  of  the  black-horse  style  of  campaign,  and  will 
feel  as  though  commendable  traits  have  gone  un. 
crowned  if  they  are  not  successful.  The  foremost 
applicants  are  V.  C.  Hanawalt,  chairman  of  the 
county  committee;  Dr.  H.  D.  Hattery,  presidential 
elector ;  Harry  Torr,  ex-auditor,  and  John  Hawkins, 
foreman  of  the  Pan-Handle  shops.  Each  of  these 
gentlemen  Is  entitled  to  credit  for  the  zeal  mani¬ 
fested  in  his  work,  while  it  is  the  calm,  sober  judg¬ 
ment  of  the  vast  majority  that  V.  C.  Hanawalt  is  en¬ 
titled  to  the  appointment  from  every  stand-point 
from  which  the  merit  of  a  political  figure  can  be 
reckoned.  For  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  hard¬ 
working  party  man  and  has  been  successively 
turned  down,  not  because  he  was  not  popular,  but 
because  he  was  out-classed  by  the  artifice  of  his  op¬ 
ponents.  He  has  never  sulked  in  his  tent,  has  la¬ 
bored  strenuously  for  the  ticket  in  campaigns  when 
he  had  been  treated  shamefully  by  tricksters  at  the 
convention  and  when  the  only  beneficiaries  were 
those  who  had  always  fought  him  at  the  convention. 

Harry  Torr  is  a  fine  man,  but  has  just  retired  to 
private  life  about  860,000  better  off  than  eight  years 
ago,  when  he  became  county  auditor.  He  hardly 
had  time  to  brush  the  dust  off  of  his  private  affairs 
before  he  appeared  as  a  claimant  for  the  post-office, 
much  to  general  surprise,  but  he  is  making  a  vigor¬ 
ous  fight  and  will  go  down  only  after  he  has  fought 
valiantly. 

Hattery  is  a  shrewd,  persistent  worker,  and  he  has 
not  lost  any  opportunity  since  the  morning  of  vic¬ 
tory  to  strengthen  his  chances  with  the  congress¬ 
men.  The  fact  that  he  is  a  presidential  elector,  en¬ 
dows  his  cause  with  some  additional  prominence, 
and  he  realizes  it,  too. 

The  dark  horses  who  have  been  groomed  and  will- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


417 


ing  for  three  months  are  John  Sheerin  and  B.  F. 
Louthain.  Louthain  is  proprietor  of  the  democratic 
Pharos,  has  always  been  a  potent  factor  in  state  poli¬ 
tics  and  was  postmaster  during  Cleveland’*  former 
administration.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Lou¬ 
thain  was  one  of  the  intriguers  that  sprang  the  un¬ 
expected  nomination  of  Hammond  on  the  conveii 
tion  at  the  eleventh  hour  when  there  appeared  to  be 
no  candidate  but  Zimmerman,  it  will  be  seen  that 
Hammond  must  have  gratitude  for  the  editor. 

John  Sheerin  is  the  brother  of  the  Hon.  S.  P. 
Sheerin,  national  democratic  secretary,  and  an  offi¬ 
cial  who  can  get  almost  anything  under  the  coming 
dispensation. 

In  several  other  places  the  inhabitants  have  been 
given  to  novelties  in  the  way  of  determining  post- 
office  contests.  The  scheme  has  been  that  of  per¬ 
mitting  all  democrats  to  vote  for  the  preferred  candi¬ 
date,  and  this  man  to  be  indorsed  by  the  public  as 
the  desired  appointee.  When  Congressman  Ham¬ 
mond  learned  of  this  movement  he  thought  it  an  in¬ 
vasion  of  his  privilege  to  appoint  regardless  of  any 
local  assistance,  and  has  notified  all  that  he  is  not 
in  sympathy  with  this  procedure,  and  his  language 
has  been  so  positive  that  all  who  w'ant  to  curry  favor 
with  him  have  dissolved  connection  with  this  prop¬ 
osition.  Hammond  will  not  permit  the  people  to 
assume  any  position  that  threatens  to  lessen  the  dig¬ 
nity  or  patronage  of  his  station,  as  he  realizes  it,  but 
it  is  thought  that  the  politicians  who  inside  of  an 
hour  transformed  him  from  a  congressional  delegate 
to  a  congressional  nominee,  will  exercise  an  influ¬ 
ence  that  will  be  heeded  in  the  distribution  of 
spoils.— CWcapo  News  Record,  February  9. 

Delphi.— There  is  nothing  new  in  the  post  office 
situation.  John  Odell  is  still  in  the  race  with  all  his 
might,  as  are  a  half  dozen  others.  Jim  Weidner  went 
up  to  see  Hammond  last  week  and  reports  a  satisfac¬ 
tory  interview.  Isherwood,  accompanied  by  Will 
Smith,  also  paid  his  respects  to  the  next  congress¬ 
man,  and  it  is  said,  flxed  the  whole  thing  up.  When 
Odell,  Weidner,  Kennard,  Rogers,  Nieworth  and  the 
rest  of  them  hear  of  Isherwood’s  appointment  they 
can’t  say  that  I  did  not  tell  them  about  it  in  advance. 
— Delphi  Journal,  February  2. 

Several  weeks  ago  the  leading  democrats  of  this 
city  decided  that  they  would  prefer  to  settle  the 
question  of  postmastership  at  this  place  among 
themselves,  and  accordingly  sent  to  Thomas  Ham¬ 
mond,  congresssman  elect,  a  petition  to  leave  the 
matter  to  a  vote  of  the  democratic  patrons  of  the 
office.  The  petition  was  signed  by  nine  out  of  ten 
of  the  democrats  of  the  city.  In  a  letter  to  Hon. 
JohnC.  Odell,  whose  name  headed  the  petition,  Mr. 
Hammond  plainly  and  emphatically  gives  the  peti¬ 
tioners  to  understand  that  he  can  name  the  post¬ 
masters  in  this  district  without  any  assistance.  He 
said  that  petitions  and  recommendations  would  be 
received  and  filed  and  given  due  consideration  at 
the  proper  time.  Mr.  Hammond’s  letter  has  aroused 
no  little  bad  blood  in  the  party  here,  but  it  has 
greatly  stimulated  the  post-office  candidates.  No 
less  than  a  half  dozen  are  circulating  petitions,  and 
itis  said  that  no  one  who  can  write  is  barred.  The 
signatures  of  men  and  women,  democrats,  republi¬ 
cans  and  prohibitionists  are  gladly  received.  There 
can  be  no  question  but  that  R.  M  Isherwood,  editor 
of  the  Times,  will  receive  the  appointment.  He  is 
circulating  no  petition,  but  he  stands  in  with  the 
state  machine,  the  members  of  which  will  name  Mr. 
Hammond’s  postmasters  for  him.  —  Indianapolis 
Journal,  January  27. 

The  Rochester  Sentinel  says  that  Congressman  Ham¬ 
mond  has  named  the  incoming  postmasters  in  Fulton 
county  as  follows:  Rochester,  J.  Shields;  Akron, 
Neal  Hettmansperger ;  Fulton,  H.  M.  Wood  ;  Tiosa, 
Milton  Fertz;  Letter’s  Ford,  Wilson  Brugh  ;  Bruce's 
Lake,  J.  K.  Smith;  DeLong,  Wm.  Heeter;  Blue 
Grass,  John  W.  Rush  ;  Grass  Creek,  Ed  Cook ;  Bloom- 
ingsburg.  S.  Y.  Grove ;  Grant,  L.  T.  Barkman ;  Siu- 
conger,  Sol  Burns,  and  Richland  Center,  Jesse  Mar- 
tindale.— /ndtanapofis  News  February  18. 

Delphi.— The  post-office  row  at  this  place  was 
brought  to  a  focus  yesterday  when  a  letter  was  re¬ 
ceived  from  Congressman  Hammond  announcing  to  the 
contestants  that  he  had  decided  to  recommend  the  ap¬ 


pointment  of  R.  M.  Isherwood,  editor  of  the  Times.  Mr- 
Isherwood  was  chairman  of  the  county  central  com¬ 
mittee,  and  the  son-in-law  of  Charles  R.  Pollard,  who 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  convention  that  nom¬ 
inated  Cleveland.  This  appointment  is  received 
with  anything  but  joyous  acclaim  by  the  democrats 
of  the  city.  The  contestants  were  Hon.  John  S 
Odell,  a  democratic  war-horse,  and  James  W.  Weid- 
ener,  a  vigorous  representative  of  the  county  democ¬ 
racy.  Soon  after  the  contest  opened  Congressman 
Hammond  announced  that  the  man  who  presented 
the  best  petition  would  be  recommended  for  the 
place,  and  Odell  and  Weldener  spent  weeks  circulat¬ 
ing  petitions.  Isherwood  circulated  no  petition,  say¬ 
ing  that  if  he  could  not  get  the  appointment  without 
thus  humiliating  himself  he  did  not  care  for  it. 
Without  presenting  the  shadow  of  a  petition  he  se¬ 
cures  the  place.  This  is  what  aggravates  the  other 
contestants  and  their  friends  more  than  anything 
else,  and  they  are  talking  of  dire  revenge  on  the  con¬ 
gressman.  Dherwood  will  not  give  up  the  publica¬ 
tion  of  his  paper  during  his  incumbency.  The  post- 
office  and  democratic  organ  will  both  be  managed 
from  the  same  tent  and  both  will  be  auxiliary  to  the 
democratic  county  central  committee,  of  which  Mr. 
Isherwood  will  remain  chairman.- J«dtanapoHs  Jour¬ 
nal,  February  26. 

Logansport.— Congressman  Hammond  will  rec- 
commend  V.  C.  Hanawaltfor  post  master  at  Logans¬ 
port. 

Chesterton.— Among  the  petitions  in  circulation 
for  appointment  as  postmaster,  and  there  are  a  num¬ 
ber  of  them,  is  one  by  F.  F.  Maroney,  in  which  he 
says  of  himself:  “There  is  no  question  about  his 
democracy ;  it  was  born  in  him.  His  mother  is  a 
radical  and  cordially  hates  the  politics  of  a  republi¬ 
can  and  mugwump.  All  of  his  ancestors  before  him 
have  been  believers  in  the  Jacksonian  principles  of 
democracy.’’— indfanopoHs  News,  February  18. 

*  »  » 

HOLMAN'S  DOMAIN. 

Greensburg.— The  candidates  for  the  city  post- 
office  under  Mr.  Cleveland  have  agreed  among  them¬ 
selves  to  submit  their  claims  to  the  democratic  pa¬ 
trons  of  the  office  and  the  action  will  be  promulgated 
to  the  party  in  a  day  or  two.  The  date  for  holding 
the  election  has  not  yet  been  fixed.  The  action  on 
the  part  of  the  candidates,  itis  said,  is  due  to  a  letter 
received  from  Congressman  Holman,  who  advised 
such  a  step.  Who  the  successful  man  will  be  it  is 
hard  to  say,  but  at  this  time  Mayor  Cicero  Northern 
and  S.  F.  Rogers  are  the  leaders  — /ndianapoh's  News, 
January  81. 

Greensburg.— The  post  office  election  occurs  to¬ 
morrow,  and  the  ten  candidates  have  been  unusual¬ 
ly  active  to  day  in  an  effort  to  pull  themselves  to¬ 
gether  in  good  shape  for  the  contest  of  the  ballots. 
Charges  and  counter  charges  are  being  made  on  every 
hand.  The  struggle  has  caused  much  bad  blood 
among  the  rival  candidates,  and  it  will  be  many  a 
day  before  all  the  sore  places  have  been  healed.— /n- 
dianapolis  News,  February  27. 

Greensburg.— The  following  was  the  vote  for  post¬ 
master  to-day :  C.  F.  Northern,  29 ;  W.  N.  Boyles,  29; 
William  Haas,  9 ;  John  Lugenbell,  89 ;  S.  F.  Rogers, 
153;  G.  W.  Magee,  15  ;  G.  P.  Shoemaker,  89;  M.  Jack, 
son,  13 ;  Bernard  Keeh,  65;  Miss  Lida  Black,  6.  To¬ 
tal  vote,  445. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  1. 

Shelbyville — The  scramble  for  political  spoils 
among  the  democrats  is  amusing.  Before  the  offi¬ 
cial  count  disclosed  the  victor  in  the  last  election, 
men  made  their  claims  known  for  the  various 
places.  When  it  was  announced  that  Holman  was 
recommending  elections,  the  applicants  who  did 
not  possess  the  necessary  political  pull  commenced 
to  ask  for  an  election  for  the  post-office.  There  are 
already  eight  applicants  for  the  postmastership,  and 
if  there  is  an  election  several  more  will  shy  their 
castors  into  the  ring.  The  applicants  up  to  date  are 
John  W. 'V annoy,  formerly  mayor  of  the  city;  Wm. 
Buxton,  ex-county  recorder,  and  for  years  chairman 
of  the  county  central  committee;  Ed  Major,  city 
clerk;  Adam  Flaitz,  Joe  Kennerly,  deputy  post¬ 
master  under  Cleveland  and  the  Harrison  appointee; 
Wm.  Ryse,  an  old  and  intimate' friend  of  Mr.  Hol¬ 


man,  besides  'Squire  Higgins,  justice  of  the  peace  for 
years.  S.  S.  Major,  Cleveland’s  postmaster,  is 
strongly  talked  of,  but  as  yet  he  has  made  no  state¬ 
ment  The  friends  of  the  candidates  are  anxious  to 
hold  an  election,  but  those  who  possess  influence  de¬ 
sire  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  appointive  power.— 
Indianapolis  News,  February  16.  ' 

Rushville  — The  democrats  who  are  patrons  of  the 
Rushville  post  office  have  determined  upon  an  elec¬ 
tion  to  settle  the  matter  of  a  postmaster.  It  has 
been  arranged  by  the  candidates  to  hold  the  election 
Saturday,  March  11,  under  the  Australian  system. 
This  means  of  settling  the  matter  has  been  suggested 
by  the  Hon.  William  S.  Holman. 

There  are  now  in  the  field  twelve  candidates  for 
the  position,  each  of  whom  good  naturedly  pledged 
himself  to  abide  by  the  results.  The  names  of  the 
worthy  aspirants  who  desire  to  handle  the  U.  S.  mails 
are  as  follows:  Perry  Parrish,  T.  B.  Monjar,  Albert 
English,  John  Cavitt,  J.  T.  Niron,  Perry  Alexander, 
D.  P.  Shawhan,  Patrick  Lynch,  Douglas  Morris,  T.  M. 
Ochiltree,  W.  C.  Meredith,  J.  F.  Bigger. — Indianapo¬ 
lis  Sentinel,  February  27. 

To  the  Editor.— Sir:  The  communication  pub¬ 
lished  in  your  issue  of  this  date  from  Rushville  re¬ 
lating  to  an  election  of  postmaster  is  far  from  stating 
the  facts.  Mr.  Holman  did  not  suggest  an  election, 
and  parties  here  have  letters  from  him  of  very  re¬ 
cent  date  expressly  saying  he  did  not,  nor  has  not 
intended,  to  suggest  an  election.  This  mode  of  set¬ 
tling  the  matter  has  not  been  agreed  to  by  a  part  of 
the  aspirants  named  in  the  published  article.  Some 
of  them  have  expressly  refused  to  engage  in  or  take 
part  in  an  election  called  in  this  manner.  The  cen¬ 
tral  committee  of  this  county,  or  the  executive  com- 
mitte  of  this  township,  has  not  been  consulted  in  the 
matter,  and  the  call,  if  call  there  is,  has  been  made 
by  no  one  with  authority  to  call  an  election.  I  do 
not  understand  that  a  lew  seekers  for  a  petty  office 
can  disregard  the  constituted  party  authorities  and 
have  an  election  under  any  arrangements  they  may 
think  proper  and  whenever  they  may  think  proper. 
If  they  can,  then  we  will  soon  be  having  an  election 
every  day.  I  would  be  glad  if  you  would  publish 
this  to  correct  the  false  impression  made,  or  intended 
to  be  made,  by  the  article  referred  to. 

John  D.  Magee. 

Rushville.  February  27. 

—Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  28. 

To  the  Editor:  Sir — In  your  issue  of  the  Sentinel 
to-day  I  notice  an  article  over  the  signature  of  John 
D.  Magee  in  relation  to  the  call  for  an  election  to  be 
held  here  on  the  11th  of  March,  to  determine  who  is 
the  most  popular  democrat  in  the  city  for  postmaster. 

In  his  article  he  states  that  the  election  was  not 
officially  authorized  by  any  one  and  that  it  is  not  the 
work  of  Mr.  Holman.  In  reply  to  these  statements  I 
desire  to  say  that  the  notice  for  an  election  is  regu¬ 
larly  signed  by  Thomas  J.  Newkirk,  chairman  of 
democratic  central  committee  of  Rush  county,  and 
that  we  have  in  our  possession  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hol¬ 
man  requesting  the  post-office  matter  to  be  settled 
here  by  the  democracy  of  this  city. 

Rushville,  February  28.  Thomas  M.  Ochiltree. 

—Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  1. 

Rushville.— The  democrats  of  Milroy  concluded 
to  decide  their  choice  for  postmaster  at  that  place,  a 
few  days  ago,  by  holding  an  election .  There  were  sev¬ 
eral  worthy  aspirants  for  the  position, and  ihe  election 
was  held  according  to  previous  arrangements.  The 
result  was  that  a  Miss  Susie  Pegg  was  chosen,  she 
having  received  the  necessary  majority  of  votes.  It 
has  since  leaked  out  that  Miss  Pegg  is  a  strong  pro¬ 
hibitionist.  This  result  has  brought  about  quite  an 
uproar  among  the  faithful,  who  declare  that  another 
election  should  be  held  to  settle  the  matter.— /ndt- 
anapolis  Sentinel,  February  10. 

Moore’s  Hill.- It  is  a  reliably  stated  that  there  are 
thirty  nine  applicants  for  the  post  office  at  Aurora. 

Moore's  Hiil.— A  bitter  post-office  war,  which 
threaten  to  involve  the  entire  neighborhood,  is  wag¬ 
ing  at  Boston.  More's  the  pity,  for  the  salary  of  the 
postmaster  at  the  hamlet  is  not  $i0.— Indianapolis 
News,  February  25. 


418 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


BYNUM’S  DOMAIN. 

Anderson.— But  little  interest  is  taken  in  the  post* 
office  fight  here.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  pre¬ 
vailing  impression  that  Dale  J.  Criltenberger,  editor  oj 
the  Democrat,  and  a  warm  personal  and  political  friend 
of  Congressman  Bynum,  is  an  applicant  for  t’:e  place 
and  has  the  inside  track.  Other  candidates  men¬ 
tioned  are  Thomas  J.  Fleming,  John  Baker  and  B. 
W.  Scott.  Mr.  Crittenberger  has  the  support  of  the 
leading  men  of  his  party,  and  it  looks  now  lhat  he 
could  not  fail  to  get  the  appointment,  as  it  is  under¬ 
stood  Mr.  Bynum  is  pledged  to  his  support.— Z)ispafc/» 
to  Indianapolis  News,  February  4. 

HauohviLLE.— There  is  a  strong  tendency  toward 
having  J.  M  Taylor  for  Haughville’s  next  postmas¬ 
ter.  There  is  no  dissatisfaction  with  the  present  in¬ 
cumbent,  but  the  change  in  administration  makes 
possible  a  change  in  postmasters,  and  the  popular  J. 
M.  Taylor  is  the  almost  unanimous  choice. —Jndiaa- 
apolis  Sentinel,  February  10. 

The  Irish  element  of  the  Haughville  democracy  are 
putting  forward  John  Gallagher  as  a  candidate  for 
the  post-office.— /ndiatjapoh's  News. 

There  are  as  many  aspirants  for  the  Indianapolis 
post-office  as  there  are  local  democrats,  almost,  but 
the  knowing  ones  say  lhat  Albert  Sahm  is  the  one 
“Vic"  Backus  had  in  mind  when  he  told  the  clerks 
at  the  post-office  that  the  postmaster  \vas  already  se¬ 
lected.— Jndianapofis  Journal,  February  27. 

Marion.  — VV.  J.  Houck,  editorof  the  Marion />eader, 
is  a  candidate  for  collector  of  internal  revenue  for 
the  sixth  district.  A  petition  urging  his  appoint¬ 
ment  for  this  position  has  been  circulated  by  his 
friends,  and  the  names  of  a  great  many  of  the  promi¬ 
nent  local  democrats  secured.  Mr.  Houck  at  first 
was  a  candidate  for  the  post-office  at  this  place.— 
Indianapolis  News,  January  5. 

Local  democrats  say  that  the  question  of  federal 
patronage  for  this  city  has  been  settled;  that  the 
only  appointment  Indianapolis  will  get  is  that  of 
the  post-office  and  collector  of  customs.  Cleveland 
has  not  been  heard  from,  but  “Bynum  and  the  boys 
havefixedit  all  up.”  Congressman  Bynum  is  reported 
to  have  said  that  Albert  Sahm  would  be  appointed  post¬ 
master ,  and  it  h&s  been  inferred  from  Mr.  Bynum's 
talk  that  the  collectorship  would  go  to  Maurice  C. 
Donnelly;  that  Sahm  would  be  appointed  as  a  repre¬ 
sentative  German  and  to  satisfy  the  German-Ameri- 
can  club,  and  that  Mr.  Donnelly’s  appointment  would 
be  as  an  Irishman  and  a  representative  of  the  Shields 
club.  J.  L.  F.  Steeg,  who  is  an  applicant  for  thecol- 
lectorship,  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Bynum,  and  soon  dis¬ 
covered  that  there  was  no  chance  for  him,  even 
when  he  said  to  the  congressman  from  this  district 
that  he  did  not  ask  the  office  as  a  representative  of 
the  German,  French.  Irish  or  American  element,  but 
as  a  Democrat,  he  did  not  receive  any  encourage¬ 
ment.  He  has  withdrawn  from  the  race.  Smith 
Myers,  however,  has  not  given  up  all  hopes.  Hesays 
that  the  man  who  beats  Maurice  Donnelly  will  be 
appointed.  The  appointment  of  United  States  mar¬ 
shal  and  district  attorney  will  not,  it  is  believed,  be 
made  in  Indianapolis.  It  is  believed  that  Captain 
Allen,  of  Frankfort,  will  be  appointed  pension 
agent;  Judge  Nelson,  of  Logansport,  United  States 
attorney,  and  Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Sullivan,  for  United 
States  marshal.— JwdianopoHs  News,  February  2Z. 

AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 

Mr.  Erwin  yesterday  introduced  a  resolution, 
which  the  house  adopted,  asking  the  Cleveland  ad¬ 
ministration  to  •’ fire  ”  all  the  mail  clerks  employed 
during  the  Harrison  administration,  and  replace 
them  with  democrats.— indianapof fa  Journal  Febru¬ 
ary  25. 

if  *  i.> 

The  Cleveland  Club  gave  a  benefit  last  (Sunday) 
night  at  the  Empire  Theater,  and  drew  as  laige  an 
audience  as  was  ever  seen  there.  The  object  of  the 
entertainment,  was  to  secure  funds  for  an  excursion 
of  the  club  to  Washington,  to  attend  the  inaugural 
ceremonies.  The  show  netted  the  club  about  81,C00. 
The  first  part  of  the  entertainment  consisted  of  regu. 
lation  blackface  minstrel  .show.  Numerous  pictures 
of  Cleveland  were  hung  about  the  boxes,  and  on  the 
stage,  and  bunting  was  freely  used.  The  first  row  of 


people  on  the  stage  were  the  performers,  black  faced, 
and  dressed  in  swallow  tail  coats.  In  the  center  sat 
James  Fenncssy,  the  manager  of  the  house, .inter¬ 
locutor  for  the  nonce.  A  row  of  members  of  the 
Cleveland  Club  sat  on  raised  seats  just  behind  the 
performers,  clad  in  light  overcoats  and  silk  hats, 
holding  their  canes  rigidly  before  them.  They  were 
designed  to  help  the  decoration  of  the  stage,  and  were 
much  and  loudly  admired  by  friends  in  the  audi¬ 
ence.  The  great  disappointment  of  the  evening 
burst  upon  the  audience  when  the  curtain  rose.  The 
‘  •  HoiUfrable  Simeon  Coy,  ’’  so  advertised  to  appear  as 
one  of  the  end  men,  at  ihe  last  moment  backed  out. 
He  was  seen  however,  in  the  second  row  on  thestage, 
w'earlnga  silk  hat  and  looking  sublimely  uncomforta¬ 
ble.  During  the  whole  of  the  first  part  he  was  not 
seen  to  move  a  muscle  of  his  face.  The  lower  boxes 
were  filled  with  politicians.  The  Rhake  family  oc¬ 
cupied  the  left  box,  and  Ollie  Lanham,  with  his 
family  was  to  the  right.  The  performers  seemed  to 
think  the  presence  of  these  gentlemen  a  good  joke, 
and  various  references  to  “7  and  11”  were  made 
which  seemed  to  be  thoroughly  understood  by  the 
audience. 

The  ..rst  part  was  composed  of  songs  and  choruses 
in  the  best  style  of  amateurs,  and  w’hen  such  songs 
as  ‘'Push  Dem  Clouds  Away”  and  “Sunday  at  Fair- 
view  Park  ”  were  sung  the  enthusiasm  of  the  audi¬ 
ence  refused  to  be  restrained. 

When  the  curtain  went  down  the  male  portion  of 
the  audience  rose  en  masse  and  filed  out  of  the  house, 
and  during  the  wait  filled  the  wide  open  saloon 
across  the  street,  drinking  and  congratulating  each 
other  on  the  success  of  the  entertainmei  t.  Chief  of 
Police  Colbert  looked  benignly  on.  During  the  in 
termission  Police  Judge  Buskirk  appeared  in  front  of 
the  curtain  and  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  tdld  the 
“boys”  their  duty,  and  emphasized  the  fact  that  “to  the 
victorsbelong  the  spoils.”  Nothing  was  said  by  him  or  by 
the  chief  about  the  violationsof  law  before  them.  It 
was  the  first  evening,  so  far  as  is  recalled,  that  a  row 
of  patrolmen  was  not  in  line  in  the  foyer  of  the  thea¬ 
ter.  There  had  been  some  curiosity  to  know  if  the 
authorities  would  interfere,  as  the  entertainment 
was  like  others  lhat  had  been  suppressed  —Jndian- 
apolis  News,  February  27. 

♦  *  >s 

The  politicians  and  applicants  for  places  were 
flocking  around  “  Gil  ”  Shankliu  last  night  in  such  a 
force  that  he  was  hardly  able  to  eat  his  supper,  and 
he  got  little  sleep.  “Where’s  Gil?”  was  an  inter¬ 
rogatory  heard  about  every  five  minutes,  and,  as  a 
final  resort,  a  room  at  the  Bates  was  given  to  them, 
and  from  it  they  marched  in  on  Mr.  Shanklin  in  a 
solid  platoon.  Mr.  Shanklin,  who  had  a  two-hours’ 
talk  with  Mr.  Cleveland,  said  to  his  friends  that  he 
found  the  President-elect  thoroughly  informed  on 
the  condition  of  Indiana  politics,  and  that  the  result 
of  the  interview  was  that  “Cleveland  men”  will  be 
rewarded  above  all  others. 

Mr.  Shanklin  is  advocating  the  cause  of  Maurice  C. 
Donnelly  for  collector  of  customs,  and  this  leads  the 
friends  of  Donnelly  to  believe  lhat  he  will  be  ap¬ 
pointed.  John  Reaume  and  John  Reardon  are  also 
mentioned  for  the  place.  John  H.  Foley  wants  to 
succeed  Hart,  of  Frankfort,  in  the  sixth  auditor’s 
office,  or  Colonel  Shaw,  of  the  treasury  department. 
Charles  Rogers  has  put  in  his  application  for  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  railway  mail  service  in  the  fifth  dis¬ 
trict.  “Denny”  Colbert  is  an  applicant  for  the  same 
place.  “Billy”  Colbert  wants  a  place  in  the  Indl. 
anapolis  post-office,  and  Thomas  Colbert  is  a  candi¬ 
date  for  United  States  marshal.  M.F.  Kelly,  now 
emplojed  at  the  Central  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  is 
applicant  for  consul  at  either  Belfast  or  Londonderry, 
Ireland.  “Con”  Cunningham,  of  Crawfordsville,  is 
after  the  same  place.  George  W.  Geiger  wants  the 
United  Slates  marshalship.  John  Higgins,  assistant 
doorkeeper  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  will  ask 
for  a  place  in  the  navy  department.  “Wils”  Mc¬ 
Ginnis’s  friends  are  at  work  to  secure  his  appoint¬ 
ment  as  deputy  revenue  collector  in  place  of  L.  F. 
Karvey .—Indianapolis  News,  February  24. 

♦ 

The  friends  of  Isaac  P.  Gray  say  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  will  be  sent  to  Mexico  to  represent  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States.  They  say  that  he  is  well  aware  that  the 


President  will  have  a  cabinet  lhat  will  accord  with 
his  own  views.  Mr.  Gray  feels  that  he  might  differ 
with  him  on  some  things,  and  therefore  it  would  be 
better  that  he  be  not  in  the  position  of  a  confidential 
adviser.  He  has,  it  is  claimed,  signified  his  desire 
for  the  mission  to  Mexico,  and  has  been  slated  for 
that  place.  His  friends  say,  that  while  they  would 
prefer  that  he  be  given  an  office  of  more  importance, 
they  are  satisfied,  if  he  is.  The  office  pays  $12,000  a 
year. 

It  was  hoped  that  Mr  Gray  would  be  in  a  position 
to  dispense  a  little  patronage,  and  about  half  of 
the  members  of  the  club  named  in  his  honor,  it  is 
.said,  had  their  plates  ready  to  hand  out  as  soon  as 
their  patron  was  in  a  place  to  fill  them.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  Mr.  Gray  has  not  lost  sight  of  his 
friends  in  his  own  good  fortune,  and  will  make  an 
effort  to  have  some  of  them  remembered. 

Captain  Allen,  of  Frankfort,  is  in  the  city.  He  has 
returned  from  a  political  mission  east.  Captain 
Allen  has  been  the  steadfast  friend  of  ex- Governor 
Gray.  He  has  done  everything  lhat  a  loyal  follower 
could  do,  and  now  that  there  is  nothing  else  to  do 
for  Gray  there  are  evidences  that  the  captain  is  look 
ing  out  for  himself.  He  is  a  candidate  for  the  In¬ 
dianapolis  pension  agency.  He  has  the  support  of 
the  Indiana  senators  and  has  been  asked  by  them  to 
return  to  Washington  about  March  10.  He  was  told 
while  down  east  that  Governor  Gray  would  be  given 
a  place  under  the  new  administration. 

Sheriff  Hawkins,  of  Sullivan,  is  a  candidate  for 
United  States  marshal  for  the  Indiana  district.  It  is 
said  of  him,  politically,  that  he  has  possessed  him¬ 
self  of  every  political  honor  he  has  ev’er  sought,  and 
that  his  reputation  and  backing  are  of  the  best.  He 
is  not  a  relative  of  Edward  Hawkins,  who  was  mar¬ 
shal  under  Cleveland  four  years  ago.— Indianapolis 
News,  February  20. 

s;« 

Isaac  Pusey  Gray  will  go  to  Mexico  as  United 
States  minister.  All  doubt  of  this  has  been  set  at 
rest  by  Mr.  Gray  himself,  who  said  so,  confidentially, 
to  a  friend.  The  Mexican  mission  was  suggested 
for  Gray  by  Mr.  Cleveland  himself.  In  a  financial 
sense  it  is  the  best  of  the  missions. 

There  is  really  only  one  candidate  for  the  Indianap¬ 
olis  post-office  who  is  making  a  determined  fight, 
and  that  is  Albert  Sahm.  Mr.  Sahm  has  the  in¬ 
dorsement  of  nearly  the  entire  Indiana  delegation, 
and  the  local  leaders  have  made  frequent  trips  to 
New  York  in  his  behalf.  Tho.se  of  his  friends  who 
have  talked  to  Mr.  Cleveland  and  to  the  latter’s  ad¬ 
visers  say  that  there  is  no  doubt  but  the  appoint¬ 
ment  will  be  given  to  Mr.  Sahm. 

Fred  Lorenz  is  the  latest  applicant  for  the  position 
of  superintendent  of  carriers  at  the  Indianapolis 
po.st-office. 

Local  politicians  who  are  watching  events  closely, 
say  that  the  election  of  United  States  Senators  is 
having  a  strong  influence  in  the  Federal  appoint¬ 
ments.  There  is  a  reconnoiter  going  on  at  this  time. 
Senator  Voorhees  wants  to  succeed  himself.  The 
intimate  friends  of  J.  G.  Shanklin  say  that  he  will 
be  a  candidate.  W.  D.  Bynum  is  anxious  to  go  up  a 
step  and  Is  taking  care  of  himself  for  the  senatorial 
race.  Governor  Mathews’  friends  are  insisting  that 
he  will  make  a  good  candidate  for  senator.  Isaac 
P.  Gray,  his  friends  declare,  has  not  lost  his  love  for 
the  senate.  Thus  it  is  shown  that  Federal  appoint¬ 
ments  are  mixed  up  to  a  great  extent  with  political 
aspirations  and  ambitions,  and  the  result  is  a  great 
deal  of  confusion.  The  candidates  for  senator,  it  is 
said,  will  aid  those  who  will  best  serve  their  future  inter¬ 
ests,  and  an  o  ffice-seeker  who  has  the  indorsement  of  one 
of  the  aspirants  will  find  it  difficuH  to  secure  an  indorse¬ 
ment  from  the  others.— Indianapolis  News,  March  2. 

D.  F.  Mustard,  of  Anderson,  is  in  the  city  to-day. 
He  was  mentioned  for  United  States  treasurer,  but 
says  he  had  never  thought  of  such  a  thing.  A  num¬ 
ber  of  his  friends,  Mr.  Mus’ard  says,  have  urged  him 
to  apply  for  the  pension  agency  at  Indianapolis. 

“I  have  not,”  said  Mr.  Mustard,  “declared  myself, 
and  I  am  not,  understand,  a  real  sure-enough,  ap¬ 
plicant.  If  the  matter  gels  all  tangled  up  by  the  va¬ 
rious  candidates  and  an  outsider  is  selected,  why,  I 
will  try  and  be  the  outsider.  I  think  I  am  competent 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


419 


for  the  place  and  I  am  a  democrat.  But  I  will  not 
make  a  canvass  or  fight  against  any  one  else  for  the 
position.” — Indianapolis  News,  March  2. 

The  Indianapolis  Journal  and  Indianapolis  News 
have  heen  printing  during  the  last  two  weeks  a  series 
of  absurd  statements  touchingex  GovernorGrayand 
his  prospective  relations  to  the  new  administration. 
The  fact  is.  as  intimated  in  these  dispatches  many 
days  ago  that  due  provision  has  been  made  for  the 
ex  governor.  As  is  pretty  well  known  in  political 
circles,  boih  here  and  in  Indiana,  the  ex  governor 
was  quite  anxious  to  enter  the  cabinet.  His  prefer¬ 
ence  was  the  post-office  department  or  the  interior 
department.  Quite  a  strong  pressure  was  put  by 
the  ex-governor’s  close  friends  upon  the  President¬ 
elect  to  secure  his  appointment  to  one  of  these  posts 
or,  in  lieu  of  these,  to  some  other  position  in  the 
cabinet.  The  President  elect,  however,  after  can¬ 
vassing  the  situation  thoroughly,  could  not  see  his 
way  clear  to  tender  the  ex-governor  a  cabinet  posi¬ 
tion.  He  thereupon  determined  to  offer  him  the 
Mexican  mission.  The  tender  was  made  through  a 
close  friend  of  the  ex-governc  r,  and  promptly  ac¬ 
cepted.  His  nomination  will  be  sent  to  the  senate 
very  shortly  after  the  inauguration— certainly  not 
later  than  some  day  next  week— and  will  undoubt¬ 
edly  be  confirmed  at  once.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
prespect  of  opposition  to  the  confirmation  from  any 
quarter.  The  Mexican  mission  is  a  comfortable 
berth,  with  little  to  do  and  a  good  salary.  But,  of 
course,  there  is  no  patronage  attached  to  it. —  Wash¬ 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  28. 

Bretz’s  Domain. 

Congressman  Bretz  has  gained  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  frankest  dispensers  of  federal  pat¬ 
ronage  {neither  house  of  congre.ss.  Already,  a  month 
before  inauguration,  he  has  settled  on  the  men  he 
will  recommend  for  the  principal  post-offices  in  his 
district,  and  makes  no  concealment  of  his  choice. 
He  read  off  a  list  of  some  of  those  he  will  recom¬ 
mend  for  appointment  as  postmasters  under  the  new 
administration  to  the  News  correspondent  to-day: 
Vincennes,  Royal  E.  Purcell,  editor  Vincennes  Sun; 
Bedford,  John  Johnson,  editor  Democrat;  Shoals,  A1 
Hacker,  editor  Democrat;  Jasper,  Charles  Egg;  Mit¬ 
chell,  Joseph  T.  Dilley.— fPas/iiapfon  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  January  28. 

Over  Lords  Voorhees  and  Turpie. 

The  Indiana  senators  will  have  a  lively  question 
on  hand  when  it  comes  to  settle  the  post-office  at 
Richmond.  Luther  M.  Mering,  who  was  defeated 
for  congress  by  Henry  U.  Johnson,  believes  he  is  en 
titled  to  the  appointment,  but  his  democracy  is  not 
old  enough  to  meet  the  requirements  of  some  of  the 
old  time  Jacksonian  school,  whobelieve  thatdemoc- 
racy  like  Bourbon  ought  to  be  at  least  ten  year  old 
before  it  is  put  on  tap.  Vigorous  protests  have  al¬ 
ready  reached  Wa.shington  against  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Mering.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
News,  January  28. 

Mr.  Luther  Mering,  of  Richmond,  who  made  an 
unsuccessful  race  against  Congressman  Johnson,  is 
at  the  capital,  and  it  is  reported  that  he  claims  the 
privilege  of  dispensing  th;  patronage  of  Mr.  John¬ 
son’s  district,  which,  by  an  arrangement  between 
the  senators,  had  been  allotted  to  Senator  Voorhees. 
Mr.  Mering  is  an  applicant  for  postmaster  at  Rich¬ 
mond.- IPos/iinjifoTi  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News, 
February  2i.  *  * 

The  two  collectors  of  internal  revenue  have,  it  is 
stated  most  po.sitively,  been  agreed  upon.  It  is 
stated  that  Judge  Joshua  Jump,  of  Terre  Haute,  has 
been  "officially”  informed  by  the  arbiters  that  he 
shall  be  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  that  dis¬ 
trict,  and  that  Capt.  William  Bracken,  of  Brookvllle, 
who  has  recently  been  here,  was  informed  that  he 
would  be  appointed  collector  for  that  district.  The.se 
selections  are  said  to  be  positive  and  definite,  and 
the  Journal  correspondent  is  authorized  to  say  that 
unless  President  Cleveland  turns  down  the  delega¬ 
tion  these  men  will  be  appointed,  as  there  recom¬ 
mendation  is  to  be  unanimous.  A  great  many  men 
applied  for  these  two  places.  Judge  Holman,  when 
informed  that  his  district  would  get  one  of  the 


places,  and  that  he  could  name  the  man,  nearly 
fainted.  He  had  pretended  to  be  anxious  to  secure 
the  place,  but  when  confronted  with  the  responsibil¬ 
ity  he  got  red  in  the  face,  was  confused,  and  finally 
acknowledged,  before  the  delegation,  that  he  w'as 
“placed  in  an  embarrassing  position,”  as  he  had 
two  men  for  the  place,  and  it  leaked  out  that  he  had 
been  playing  fast  and  loose,  and  both  of  the  appli¬ 
cants  believed  they  had  the  judge’s  undivided  sup¬ 
port.  Finally  Senator  Voorhees  said  he  was  willing 
to  relieve  the  judge  of  his  "embarrassment;”  he 
would  lake  the  responsibility  and  name  Captain 
Bracken,  of  Brookville.  The  judge,  rather  than  per¬ 
mit  the  senator  to  take  the  responsibility,  and  conse¬ 
quently  the  credit,  said  he  would  also  name  Captain 
Bracken,  so  Dr.  Hunter,  of  Lawrenceburp,  who 
thought  he  would  surely  have  his  neighbor’s  sup¬ 
port,  is  left  out  in  the  cold.  There  w'ill  likely  be  trou¬ 
ble  over  the  appointment  of  Jump,  of  Terre  Haute, 
to  be  collector  of  internal  revenue.  Editor  Moss,  of 
the  Bloomfield  Democrat,  is  said  to  be  entitled  to  the 
place,  it  indorsements  and  general  fitness  count  for 
anything.  He  is  taid  to  have  by  far  the  greatest 
strength  in  indorsements,  and  it  is  hinted  that  he 
intends  to  appeal  to  President  Cleveland,  in  which 
event  It  is  hard  to  foretell  the  result.— H'as/itnpfon 
Dispatch  to  Indianapelis  Journal,  February  23. 

The  announcement  from  Washington  that 
Senator  Voorhees  would  recommend  ex  Judge 
Joshua  Jump  for  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  this,  the  seventh  district,  was  so  much  of  a  sur¬ 
prise  that  but  few  persons  believed  there  was  any  thing 
in  it.  In  all  the  general  discussion  of  applicants  his 
name  had  not  been  used.  It  seems,  however,  that 
the  Voorhees  Lamb  faction  of  the  democracy  had 
quietly  agreed,  several  months  ago,  to  get  the  ap¬ 
pointment  for  him.  That  he  is  the  ehoice  of  this 
faction  is  now  frankly  admitted  by  those  who  are 
best  acquainted  with  the  situation.  Ex-Judge  Jump 
is  ex-Congressman  Lamb's  law  partner  and  was  not 
supposed  to  want  office  of  any  class.  The  firm  has 
the  best  paying  law  practice  in  the  city,  but  the 
collectorship,  with  the  $1, .'>00  salary,  is  a  decided  in¬ 
ducement  for  him.  It  is  now  well  understood  that 
Lamb  has  prevailed  on  Senator  Voorhees  to  recom¬ 
mend  Harry  Donham,  another  lawyer,  for  post¬ 
master.  The  report  has  been  received  here  through 
firivate  channels  from  Washington  that  all  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  members  of  the  incoming  congress  have  con¬ 
sented  to  recommend  the  appointment  of  ex  Judge 
Jump.  Among  the  other  applicants  are  William  M. 
Moss,  the  Bloomfield  editor;  J.  M.  Hoskins,  of  Clay 
county;  George  Dixon,  of  Evansville,  and  James 
Bolton,  of  this  county.— iHdionapofis  Journal,  Febru¬ 
ary  24. 

#  *  * 

It  is  definitely  settled  that  the  matter  of  recom¬ 
mendations  for  the  local  patronage  in  the  two  repub¬ 
lican  districts  of  Indiana  will  be  settled  by  Senators 
Turpie  and  Voorhees.  The  two  senators  have  virtually 
agreed  upon  a  division  of  the  spoils,  Senator  Voorhees  to 
deal  out  the  appointments  in  Congressman  Johnson’s 
district,  and  Senator  Turpie  to  have  the  say  as  to  the  ap¬ 
pointments  in  Congressman  Waugh's  dislrict. 

George  L.  Dixon,  of  the  firm  of  Mackey,  Dixon  i& 
Co.,  of  Evansville,  is  a  candidate  for  collector  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  in  the  Seventh  district,  and  will  have 
the  indorsement  of  Representative  Taylor,  congress¬ 
man-elect  from  that  district.  The  appointment,  how¬ 
ever,  as  stated  in  the  News  some  time  ago,  has  been 
practically  settled  upon  Joshua  Jump,  of  Terre 
Haute,  law  partner  of  the  Hon.  John  E.  Lamb,  whQ 
seems  to  have  his  heart  set  upon  this  particular  piece  of 
federal  patronage. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  News,  February  24. 

stt 

As  already  announced  in  a  Journal  special,  Joshua 
Jump,  of  Terre  Haute,  who  is  John  E.  Lamb’s  law 
partner,  is  to  have  the  place,  if  Senator  Voorhees, 
Jason  Brown  and  Judge  Holman  can  deliver  it  to 
him.  There  are  other  applicants  for  the  place  who 
are  at  this  moment  engaged  in  making  trouble  over 
Mr.  Jump’s  selection.  They  are  alleging  that  Jump 
is  the  creature  of  Crawford  Fairbanks,  a  large  dis¬ 
tiller  of  Terre  Haute,  and  that  if  he  should  be  ap¬ 
pointed  it  would  give  Fairbanks  undue  advantages. 


Representative  Brookshire  has  a  candidate  for  that 
collectorship,  and  he  is  not  discouraging  the  rumpus 
which  is  brewing. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  February  26. 

<>  *  <• 

Indianians  are  beginning  to  arrive  here  for  the 
inauguration,  and  incidentually  to  get  government 
obs.  Interest  centers  in  the  U.  S.  district  attorney- 
ship,  marshalship  and  pension  agency.  Indiana 
will  probably  present  candidates  for  pension  com¬ 
missioner,  public  printer,  commissioner  of  internal 
revenue  and  at  least  one  important  diplomatic  ap¬ 
pointment,  perhaps  more. 

John  W.  Kern,  of  Indianapolis,  and  Frank  Burke, of 
Jeffersonville,  continue  to  be  in  the  lead  for  the  dis¬ 
trict  attorneyship.  Senator  Turpie  will  support  Mr. 
Kern.  Burke  will  have  the  support  of  iScaator  Voor¬ 
hees  and  Representative  Jason  Brown.  Senator  Voor¬ 
hees  and  Mr.  Brown  committed  themselves  in  favor 
of  Burke,  before  Kern  sought  to  secureany  influence- 
There  will  be  no  hard  contest  between  the  friends 
and  supporters  of  these  two  rival  candidates.  Sena¬ 
tors  Voorhees  and  Turpie  usually  agree  on  all  matters  af¬ 
fecting  the  best  interest  of  the  state,  and  although  each  one 
0]  the  senators  will  earnestly  work  to  secure  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  his  respective  candidate,  there  will  be  no  very 
great  rivalry,  and  the  appointment  will  be  made  accord¬ 
ing  to  merit. 

It  was  reported  a  few  days  ago  that  Representative 
Brookshire  would  insist  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  name 
the  internal  revenue  collector  for  the  Terre  Haute  district 
but  as  Senator  Voorhees  is  not  quite  ready  to  concede  this 
much  to  Brookshire,  Joshua  Jump,  of  Terre  Haute,  will 
probably  be  appointed,  as  heretofore  stated  in  these 
dispatches.— IFrt8/ii«pto«  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  February  26. 

And  still  they  come.  The  Indiana  sight-seers  and 
office-seekers  are  coming  in  squads  and  batialions. 
Among  the  prominent  arrivals  to-day  is  Thomas  B. 
Buskirk,  of  Poali.  He  is  after  the  United  Stales  mar¬ 
shalship  for  Indiana,  and,  it  is  said,  will  have  the 
support  of  nearly  all  of  the  Indiana  delegation. 
James  M.  Hoskins,  of  Brazil,  arrived  to-day.  He 
wants  to  be  internal  revenue  collector.  Joshua 
Jump, of  Terre  Haute.issaid  to  be  Senator  Voorhees’s 
choice.  Representative  Brookshire,  of  the  Eighth 
district,  will  recommend  another  man  for  the  posi¬ 
tion.  Mr.  Brookshire  was  asked  to  day  why  he 
would  recommend  a  man  to  oppose  Senator  Voor¬ 
hees’s  candidate.  He  said  because  Holman  was  to  be 
allowed  the  privilege  of  naming  the  collector  of  in¬ 
ternal  revenue  for  the  Seventh  district  He  thought 
he  ought  to  be  conceded  as  much  by  the  Indiana 
senators.  Mr.  Brookshire  does  not  state  whom  he  will 
recommend  for  the  place,  but  it  is  believed  to  be  Mr. 
Hoskins,  of  Brazil.  S.  H.  Taylor,  of  Daviess  county, 
and  O.  M.  Packard,  of  Plymouth,  are  the  leading 
candidates  for  bank  examiner,  although  there  are  a 
few  other  applicants  for  this  position,  which  pays 
81,000  a  year.  Pugh,  of  Rushville,  who  is  here,  woul  1 
like  to  have  the  place.  Senator  Voorhees  promised 
to  recommend  Taylor  if  he  was  physieally  able  to 
perform  the  duties.  Senator  Turpie  will  be  for 
Packard,  who  is  highly  esteemed  in  his  section  of 
the  state.  All  of  the  Indiana  representatives  in  con¬ 
gress  who  know  him  intimately  have  the  highest 
praise  for  his  character  and  ability. —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  28. 

«  <■  <« 

Thomas  Hanlon,  of  New  Albany,  who  has  had  his 
eye  upon  the  collectorship  of  internal  revenue,  gives 
up  that  chase.  He  concedes  that  Mr.  J ump,  of  Terre 
Haute,  has  it  nailed  down,  and  now  Thomas  says  he 
will  take  any  other  good  place  which  the  delegation 
may  give  him.  If  he  gets  nothing  under  Uncle  Sara 
he  proposes  to  go  back  to  railroading,  provided  he 
does  not  fall  into  the  position  of  warden,  of  the  prison 
south,  a  place  now  held  by  Mr.  Patten.  Mr.  Hanlon 
has  had  the  wardeuship  in  view  for  some  time,  as  a 
last  resort  before  going  into  private,  occupation.- 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  March  1. 

Martin’s  Do.main. 

North  Manchester.— Samuel  McCutchen has  been 
elected  postmaster  by  the  local  democracy  of  this 
city  and  vicinity,  receiving  a  plurality  of  seven 


420 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


votes.  The  board  will  recommend  Mr.  McCutchen 
to  the  President  through  Congressman  Martin  for  ap 
pointment.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Fehiuary  14. 

Congressman  Martin  has  within  the  last  two  days 
decided  to  recommend  the  following  gentlemen  for 
appointment  as  postmasters  in  his  district:  C.  M. 
Hawkins  at  Marion;  W.  W.  Timmonds,  editor  of  the 
Sun,  at  Portland ;  W.  A.  Gutelius  at  Bluffton ;  Ed 
Smith  at  Converse  (formerly  Xenia);  W.  H.  Camp¬ 
bell  at  Fairmount,  and  George  Peele  at  Upland. 

There  are  two  candidates  for  consulships  in  the 
Eleventh  district.  They  are  J.  H.  Detray,  of  Port¬ 
land,  for  consul  to  Havre,  and  Herman  Wiecklng,  of 
Bluffton,  for  one  of  the  German  consulships. — 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  February  25. 

Representative  Martin  has  determined  upon  the 
men  he  will  recommend  for  appointment  as  post¬ 
masters  at  a  number  of  the  most  important  cities  in 
this  district.  They  are  as  follows:  W.  A.  Gutchins, 
at  Bluffton  ;  C.  M  Hawkins,  at  Marion;  W.  W.  Tim¬ 
monds,  at  Portland ;  Ed  Smith,  at  Converse  (for¬ 
merly  Xenia);  W.  H.  Campbell,  at  Fairmount,  Mr. 
Martin  will  try  to  name  the  successors  to  the  Hon. 
Warren  G.  Sayre,  of  Wabash,  who  is  one  of  the  Chero¬ 
kee  commissioners,  and  General  James  N.  Tyner,  of 
Peru,  who  is  an  assistant  attorney  general,  assigned 
to  the  post-office  department.  He  hopes  also  to  name 
the  successor  to  the  superior  of  special  post-office 
agents  located  at  Cincinnati,  who  is  also  a  Peru  man, 
although  this  position  rightfully  belongs  to  the  civil 
service  classification. —  Washington  Dispatch  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  March  1. 

THE  GENER.^L  SCRAMBLE. 

Roann.— The  local  democracy  of  Roann  have 
named  Dr.  Baird  as  the  choice  for  postmaster. — In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  January  31. 

Salem.— At  an  election  held  here  to-day  for  post¬ 
master,  John  D.  .\lvis  received  133  votes;  Henry  M. 
Munklet,  110;  John  Stherlan,  33 ;  Collin  McKinney, 
17  ;  John  Warner,  9.  John  D.  Alvin  was  postmaster 
under  Cleveland  four  years  &go.— Indianapolis  Sen¬ 
tinel,  February  3. 

John  J.  Hoover  was  the  successful  candidate  in 
the  election  for  postmaster  at  Wabash  to-day.  There 
were  eight  names  on  the  ticket.— /ndfanapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  February  6. 

Noblesville.— The  post-office  fight  is  fairly  on. 
The  candidates  are  G.  W.  Ingermann,  who  was  post¬ 
master  under  Cleveland  and  is  ex-chairman  of  the 
democratic  county  committee;  F.  M.  Applegate,  F. 
W.  Applegate,  R.  H.  Goeble,  O.  A.  Harnish,  W.  F. 
Lacy,  E.  Lacy  and  Henry  Sappa.  It  has  been  de¬ 
cided  that  no  election  shall  be  held,  but  that  each 
one  shall  go  before  the  appointive  power  on  his 
meiiis.— Indianapolis  News,  February  15. 

Tipton  — The  post-office  fight  is  now  on  in  earnest 
here,  and  six  candidates  are  in  the  field.  Last  night 
a  meeting  was  held  by  the  candidates,  and  it  was 
decided,  by  a  close  vote,  that  they  would  hold  a 
primary,  nothing  but  democratic  patrons  of  the  office 
being  entitled  to  a  vote.  The  time  was  fixed  for  Sat¬ 
urday,  March  4.  The  candidates  are  E.  C.  Elliott, 
Samuel  Vawter,  W.  B.  S.  Resseller,  J.  R.  Bowlin  and 
Charles  Means,  of  this  city,  and  Wm.  Smart,  a 
farmer,  with  a  prospect  of  one  or  two  dark  horses  in 
sight.  [Also  Alpheus  Bennett  and  J.  W.  Pope.]— J«- 
dianapolis  Journal,  February  27. 

New  Castle.— a  merry  war  is  in  progress  among 
the  numerous  applicants  for  fourth-class  post  offices 
in  Henry  county.  At  each  town  there  are  from  one 
to  a  dozen  applicants,  each  confident  of  success. 
On  Saturday  elections  to  decide  who  should  be  the 
appointee  were  held  in  several  towns.  At  Lewis¬ 
ville  and  Middleton,  two  of  the  most  important 
offices,  some  of  the  applicants  would  not  agree  to 
allow  the  democratic  patrons  of  the  office  to  settle 
the  vexed  question  and  are  still  circulating  petitions 
and  seeking  the  influence  of  the  more  prominent 
politicians.  The  condition  of  affairs  is  daily  growing 
worse  and  will  only  be  settled  when  President 
Cleveland  makes  the  appointments.  At  this  place 
all  is  harmonious,  and  from  outside  appearances  one 
would  not  judge  that  a  new  postmaster  is  to  be 


named  before  a  year  rolls  by.— Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
February  21. 

Ed  Smith,  of  New  Castle,  arrived  in  the  city  last 
night  to  secure  a  little  “’flooence”  to  aid  him  in  his 
candidacy  for  postmaster  of  that  place.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  county  central  committee,  and  has 
always  been  an  active  democrat.  His  friends  say 
that  he  is  stron  s  ly  indorsed .  There  are  several  other 
applicants  for  the  place.— Indianapolis  News,  Febru¬ 
ary  28. 

^ 

JamesT.  V  Hill,  the  colored  lawyer,  is  a  candidate 
for  recorder  of  the  general  land  office.— Indianapolis 
Sentinal,  February  28. 

About  all  of  the  prominent  federal  offices  in  Indi¬ 
ana  have  been  parceled  out  already  by  the  Hoosier 
democratic  delegation  in  congress.  There  has  been 
a  conference,  at  which  consideration  was  given  the 
claims  of  the  army  of  applicants.  As  a  result  it  is 
known  by  the  delegation,  “  on  the  dead  quiet,”  you 
known,  who  will  get  the  places,  provided,  always, 
that  Mr.  Cleveland  does  not  enter  a  veto  to  the  ar 
rangements.  As  has  been  announced  frequently  in 
dispatches  to  the  Journal,  ex  Governor  Gray  has 
been  left  out  altogether,  upon  the  request  of  Messrs. 
Morss,  Shanklin  and  Bynum,  but  an  effort  will  be 
made  by  Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie  to  veto  that 
decision.  The  ex-governor  has  sent  word  that  he 
does  not  propose  to  be  left  out  or  sent  away  on  some 
third  or  fourth-class  mission,  just  to  begotten  rid  of, 
so  that  he  will  achieve  neither  wealth  nor  fame.  Al¬ 
though  beggars  should  not  be  choosers,  the  ex-gov¬ 
ernor  will  recognize  the  fact  that  he  is  regarded  as 
having  no  real  claim  to  office.  He  says  that  if  he  is 
to  be  sent  away  he  will  go  only  to  Mexico  and  take 
the  mission  which  is  now  held  by  ex-Representative 
Ryan,  of  Kansas.  The  Mexican  mission  has  been 
made  first-class,  and  has  a  salary  attachment  of  817,- 
600  a  year.  It  is  not  believed  that  Sir  Isaac  Pusey 
will  get  nearer  the  Mexican  mission  than  he  is 
at  present— that  is  if  the  three  distinguished  Hoosier 
democrats  named  can  keep  him  out  of  it,  but  if  he 
is  nut  given  it,  his  friends  send  word  here  that  he 
will  remain  in  Indiana  and  “see  his  enemies  later.” 

It  is  stated  that  Frank  Burke,  of  Jeffersonville,  who 
is  the  protege  of  Representative  Jason  Brown,  will 
likely  be  United  States  district  attorney,  although 
John  W.  Kern  is  pushing  him  hard.  Others  “promi¬ 
nently  mentioned  ”  for  the  position  are  Judge  Nel¬ 
son,  of  Logansport;  Charles  Offut,  of  Greenfield; 
Mr.  Cullop,  of  Vincennes,  and  Mr.  Sherley,  of  Mar¬ 
tinsville.  Offut  is  “  Bynum’s  man”  it  is  said. —  IFosA- 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Joxunal,  Februaro  23. 

if  ^  % 

Ex-Editor  Luther  Short,  of  Franklin,  wants  to  go 
to  Constantinople  as  consul-general. — Indianapolis 
Netos,  February  24. 

j{»  >:t 

Luther  Short,  secretary  of  the  Indiana  editorial 
association,  would  like  to  visit  Constantinople  as 
consul-general.  John  F.  Sherman,  of  Waterloo, 
wants  a  consulship.  Just  which  one  he  has  not  de¬ 
cided  upon.  Dr.  Leibecker,  of  Aurora,  thinks  a 
German  consular  post  would  repay  him  foi  his  serv¬ 
ices  during  the  late  campaign  ;  but  Prof.  Rucker,  of 
the  Lawrenceburgh  high  school,  says  he  has  a  claim 
on  that  at  Leipsic.  Prof.  Wright,  of  Valparaiso, 
would  like  to  represent  the  United  States  at  Victo¬ 
ria,  B.  C.,  and  believes  he  could  put  a  slop  to  the 
smuggling  of  Chinamen  at  that  port— Washington 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel  March  2. 

if  >:* 

E.  B.  Swan,  of  Rockport,  is  a  candidate  for  district 
attorney;  J  G. Winfrey,  of  Evansville,  forassistantdis- 
trict  attorney  general;  Leroy  Wade,  of  Posey  county, 
wants  a  territorial  judgeship;  W.  L.  Hargrove,  of 
Gibson,  aspires  to  the  United  States  marshalship; 
Thomas  Fuller,  of  Warren  county,  would  like  to  be 
a  territorial  district  attorney ;  Henry  Mellen,  a 
Boonvilie  lawyer,  wants  a  consulship;  Dr.  Fritsch, 
of  Evansville,  would  like  to  go  as  a  consul  to  Ger¬ 
many,  and  Henry  Kramer,  of  Rockport,  who  made 
an  unsuccessful  race  for  the  democratic  nomination 
for  congress  in  the  First  district,  would  like  a  South 
American  mission  or  consulship. 

Congressman-elect  Conn,  of  Indiana,  has  a  candidate 


for  public  printer  In  the  person  of  Editor  Wadsworth , 
of  the  Laporte  Argus.  He  will  probably  be  indorsed 
by  the  entire  Indiana  delegation  and  formally  en¬ 
tered  as  a  candidate  in  a  day  or  so. 

The  Hon.  Eli  Brown,  who  was  here  a  few  days 
ago,  has  b.een  slated  for  the  Frankfort  post-office,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  gossip.  George  Mitchell,  of  Batesville, 
is  also  here  in  quest  of  the  post-office.—  Washington 
Diepatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  February  24. 

The  Sentinel  correspondent  learned  to  night  that 
practically  the  whole  Indiana  delegation  will  pre¬ 
sent  the  name  of  H.  E.  Wadsworth,  editor  of  the  La¬ 
porte  Argus,  for  public  printer.  Representative 
Conn,  of  the  South  Bend  district  believes  that  Mr. 
Wadsworth  will  stand  a  very  good  chance  for  the 
appointment.  It  is  understood  that  Senators  Voor¬ 
hees  and  Turpie,  Representatives  Bynum,  Brown 
and  Martin  have  agreed  to  support  Wadsworth. 

Brookshire  had  proposed  a  candidate  in  the  per¬ 
son  of  W.  C.  Ball,  of  the  Terre  Haute  Gazette,  but  it 
is  not  certain  that  that  gentleman  will  be  an  appli¬ 
cant.  If  not,  Brookshire  will  probably  support  Wads¬ 
worth.  Bretz  will  act  with  his  Indiana  colleagues. 
Shively  and  Martin  will  talk  with  Holman  and  en¬ 
deavor  to  secure  his  influence  in  favor  of  Wadsworth, 
Taylor,  McNagney,  Patton  and  others  of  the  Indiana 
delegation  have  as  yet  had  nothing  to  say  with  re¬ 
spect  to  Wadsworth’s  candidacy,  but  all  of  the  In¬ 
diana  men  will  doubtless  soon  be  in  line  for  Mr. 
Conn’s  man.  Wadsworth  has  telegraphed  Conn 
agreeing  that  his  name  be  presented. —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  24. 

»!> 

Gen.  John  S.  Williams,  of  Lafayette,  arrived  to-day 
He  wants  to  be  commissioner  of  internal  revenue. 
Mr.  Williams  made  a  very  efficient  third  auditor  of 
the  treasury  under  President  Cleveland’s  adminis¬ 
tration,  and  as  he  may  have  the  support  of  the  Indi¬ 
ana  delegation,  his  prospects  for  the  appointment 
ought  to  be  very  good. 

Col.  C,  A.  Zollinger  will  probably  be  appointed 
pension  agent  at  Indianapolis. 

The  petition  in  favor  of  the  appointment  of  Henry 
E  Wadsworth,  of  Laporte,  as  public  printer  has  been 
signed  by  Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie,  Represen¬ 
tatives  Bynum.  Brown,  Holman,  Martin,  Shively, 
Brookshire,  McClellan,  Bretz  and  Representative- 
elect  Conn,  who  is  working  earnestly  for  Mr.  Wads¬ 
worth’s  appointment.  Representatives  Cooper,  Par- 
rett  and  Patton  and  Represeutatives-elect  Ham¬ 
mond,  McNagney  and  Taylor  will  sign  the  petition, 
thus  making  the  Indiana  delegation  solid  for  Wads¬ 
worth,  both  as  it  is  constituted  in  the  present  con¬ 
gress  and  as  it  will  stand  after  March  4  next.—  Wash¬ 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  26. 

if  M  if 

There  is  a  new  Richmond  in  the  field  for  marshal 
for  the  Indiana  district.  It  is  ex  Sheriff  Joseph  C. 
Gray,  of  Versailles,  Ripley  county.  It  is  said  he  made 
a  very  good  sheriff,  and  believes  he  is  well  qualified 
for  the  office  of  marshal. 

Colonel  Jones,  of  Manilla,  Rush  county,  Ind.,  one 
of  Judge  Holman’s  constituents,  has  made  applica¬ 
tion  for  appointment  as  commissioner  of  pensions. 
This  causes  some  surprise  and  comment  here,  in 
view  of  the  candidacy  of  Colonel  McLean,  of  Terre 
Haute,  who,  up  to  this  time,  has  been  the  only  can¬ 
didate  from  Indiana,  and  seemed  to  have  the  united 
support  of  the  delegation. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  News,  February  24. 

O  <!  « 

Not  much  is  being  said  as  yet  concerning  (he  post¬ 
mastership  of  Indianapolis.  The  name  of  Albert 
Sahm  is  frequently  and  favorably  mentioned  for  this 
appointment. 

There  are  several  candidates  for  the  Indiana  bank 
examinershlp,  the  place  formerly  held  by  Samuel  H. 
Taylor,  of  Washington,  Daviess  county.  Mr.  Taylor’s 
health  will  not  permit  his  candidacy  again,  and  it 
seems  to  be  the  impression  here  that  the  appoint¬ 
ment  will  go  to  Orlando  M.  Jackson,  of  Plymouth, 
who  would  make  a  most  excellent  officer  in  the  opin¬ 
ion  of  the  Indiana  representatives  in  congress  who 
are  intimately  acquainted  with  him. 

It  is  generally  known  that  Gil  Shanklin  would  like 
to  be  consul  general  to  London.  Some  of  the  Indiana 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE 


421 


representat  ives  wilt  soon  announce  a  complete  list  of  post- 
office  appointments  in  their  respective  districts.  Repre¬ 
sentative  Brown  is  inclined  to  appoint  as  postmaster  at 
North  Vernon  James  Remie,  editor  of  the  North  Vernon 
Sun.— Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
February  26. 

Among  the  candidates  for  the  office  of  collector  of 
customs  for  Indianapolis  is  W.  T.  Steele,  ex  superin 
tendeut  of  the  Citizens’  Street  Railroad.— /ndianap- 
olis  Journal,  December  17. 

)!(  * 

D.  F.  Mustard,  of  Anderson,  is  mentioned  for 
United  States  treasurer.  Ilis  brother  “Dick”  says 
he  (Dick)  wants  to  go  back  into  the  railway  mail 
service  long  enough  to  “fire”  the  republican  who 
took  his  place.  Thomas  B.  Busklrk,  of  Paoll,  who 
bases  his  claims  for  United  States  marshal  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  chairman  of  the  first  democratic 
convention  in  the  state  to  indorse  Cleveland  as  a 
candidate  for  President,  is  the  bearer  of  116  letters 
and  recommendations  representing  fifty-five  coun¬ 
ties  of  the  state.  He  also  says  he  has  always  been  a 
democrat  and  a  worker.  His  friends  say  his  chances 
are  bright.  Lewis  Jordan,  it  Is  said,  is  to  have  a  place 
in  one  of  the  departments  at  Washington.  Crawford 
Fairbanks,  of  Terre  Haute,  has  not  asked  for  any¬ 
thing,  but  it  is  said  that  he  can  be  appointed  one  of 
the  Mississippi  river  levee  commissioners  if  he  so  de¬ 
sires.— T/tdianapoIis  News,  February  21. 

“  Full  little  knowest  thou,  that  hast  not  tride. 

What  hell  it  is  in  suing  long  to  bide : 

To  loose  good  days,  that  might  be  better  spent ; 

To  waste  long  nights  in  pensive  discontent ; 

To  speed  to-day,  to  be  put  back  to-morrow ; 

To  feed  on  hope,  to  pine  with  feare  and  sorrow  ; 

To  fret  thy  soul  with  crosses  and  with  cares; 

To  eate  thy  heart  through  comfortless  dispaires; 

To  fawne,  to  crouche,  to  wait,  to  ride,  to  ronne, 

To  spend,  to  give,  to  want,  to  be  undone.” 

>>  ■;<  <« 

W.  A.  Cullop,  of  Vincennes,  has  two  opponents 
for  the  district  attorneyship  who  are  strongly  in¬ 
dorsed.  They  are  Charles  Korbly,  of  Madison,  and 
ex-Senator  Ewing,  of  Decatur  county,  son-in-law  of 
Governor  Matthews.— IFasftinpton  Dispafc/i  to  India¬ 
napolis  News,  February  17. 

^  >!<  >S* 

The  Indiana  candidates  for  office  are  beginning  to 
arrive.  John  W.  Kern,  of  Indianapolis  registered  at 
the  Riggs  house  to-night.  He  is  a  candidate  for  dis¬ 
trict  attorney.  W.  A.  Cullop,  of  Vincennes,  and 
William  A.  Pickens,  of  Spencer,  are  also  mentioned 
for  the  office.  It  is  said  Gil.  Shanklin  would  like  to 
go  as  consul-general  to  Loudon.  He  is  at  the  Willard 
hotel.  C.  E.  Allen,  of  Frankfort,  who  is  here,  and 
Col.  Zollinger,  of  Fort  Wayne,  are  among  the  appli¬ 
cants  for  the  Indiana  pension  agency.  Prof.  Moss, 
of  Bloomfield:  Joshua  Jump,  of  Terre  Haute,  and 
Dr.  C.  C.  Cole  are  among  the  many  applicants  for 
collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  Terre  Haute 
district.  Jump  will  be  appointed.  Representative- 
elect  Taylor  will  recomend  Mr.  Nolan,  postmaster 
at  Terre  Haute.  Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  of  Orleans, 
wants  to  be  United  States  Marshal  f  r  Indiana.  Dr. 
W.  D.  Hunter  and  Capt.  William  Bracken  arc  among 
the  candidates  for  internal  revenue  collector  for 
the  seventh  district.  Representative  Bretz  will 
recommend  John  Johnson  for  postmaster,  at  Bed¬ 
ford,  and  J.  T.  Lilly,  at  Mitchell.— IFas/iincfon  Dis¬ 
patch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  19. 

The  visit  of  John  W.  Kern,  of  Indianapolis,  to 
Washington,  has  been  fruitful  of  results.  It  is  stated 
on  good  authority  now  that  he  has  a  walkover  for 
district  attorney.  The  fight,  it  seems,  had  narrowed 
down  to  the  field  against  Frank  Burke,  of  Jefferson¬ 
ville,  and  the  field,  according  to  latest  reports,  is 
prepared  to  combine  on  Kern.  Mr.  Burke  has  been 
backed  by  Congressman  Jason  Brown.  The  Gray 
and  anti-Gray  elements  have  figured  in  the  district 
attorney  fight  to  the  disadvantage  of  Burke,  who  was 
a  Gray  man  against  Cleveland.  Kern,  it  is  claimed, 
was  an  original  Cleveland  man.  Congressman  By¬ 
num  has  stated  that  he  favored  Charles  G.  Offut,  of 
Greenfield.  W.  A.  Cullop,  of  Vincennes,  who  had  a 
promising  boom,  some  time  ago,  is  declared  now  to 


be  out  of  the  race  altogether.  If  Kern  is  made  dis¬ 
trict  attorney  it  will  necessarily  take  the  United 
States  marshalship  away  from  Indianapolis. —  B’asft- 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  February  21. 

lit  ft  ft 

John  C.  Nelson  came  down  from  Logansport  yes¬ 
terday  to  add  something,  if  possible,  to  his  prospects 
as  a  candidate  for  United  States  district  attorney. 
Judge  Nelson  has  the  support  of  S.  P.  Sheerin,  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  democratic  national  committee,  whose 
standing  and  influence  with  the  incoming  adminis¬ 
tration  is  believed  to  be  potential.  Judge  Nelson’s 
most  formidable  competitor  for  the  district  attorney- 
ship  is  Senator  John  W.  Kern,  of  Indianapolis,  who 
went  to  Washington  last  week  to  lay  some  pipes  ex¬ 
tending  toward  the  office. 

When  Mr.  Kern’s  friends  recall  the  eulogy  pro¬ 
nounced  by  him  when  he  presented  the  name  of  the 
candidate  recently  elected  United  States  senator, 
they  think  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  Turpie  is  for 
Kern.  Senator  Voorhees  is  understood  to  have  a 
leaning  in  the  same  direction. 

“I  believe  my  chances  are  as  good  as  those  of  any 
other  one  man,”  said  Judge  Nelson.  Another  man 
said  he  would  rather  have  thebackingof  Mr.  Sheerin 
than  to  be  recommended  to  Cleveland  by  the  entire 
Indiana  democratic  delegation  in  congress. 

In  Mr.  Kern’s  favor  it  is  urged  that  he  was  one  of 
the  earliest  and  most  aggressive  Cleveland  men, 
while  Judge  Nelson  and  his  most  influential  backer 
were  identified  with  the  opposition. 

The  other  aspirants  for  the  position  are:  W.  A. 
Cullop,  of  Vincennes;  Courlland  Ewing,  of  Greens- 
burg ;  Mr.  Corbaley,  of  Madison,  and  Mr.  Ballow,  of 
Bluffton.  Mr.  Ewing  is  a  son-in-law  of  Governor 
Matthews. 

What  is  regarded  as  a  serious  stumbling  block  in 
the  way  of  Mr.  Cullop  is  the  difference  that  has  been 
stirred  up  between  him  and  the  Indianapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  it  being  taken  for  granted  that  Mr.  Morss  has 
some  influence  with  the  coming  administration. 
Messrs.  Corbaley  and  Ballow  are  not  regarded  as  for¬ 
midable  isciors.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  21. 

ft  ft  ft 

The  next  United  States  district  attorney,  it  is  now 
said  by  those  who  believe  they  know,  will  be  Judge 
John  C.  Nelson,  of  Logansport.  He  is  a  personal 
friend  of  Si  Sheerin,  secretary  of  the  national  com¬ 
mittee,  and  it  is  understood  that  Sheerin  is  urging 
him  for  the  place.— Indianapolis  Journal,  Febrxiary  25. 

ft  ft  ft 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  opera  house  last  even¬ 
ing  resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  rising  vote  favor¬ 
ing  the  candidacy  of  John  Brodie,  chairman  of  the 
Porter  county  democratic  committee,  for  the  U.  S. 
marshalship  of  Indiana.— Pidparaiso  Dispafeft  to  In¬ 
dianapolis  Journal,  November  21. 

ft  ft  * 

Col.  I.  B.  McDonald,  of  Columbia  City,  is  an 
avowed  candid.ate  for  United  States  marshal  of  Indi¬ 
ana. — Indianapolis  News,  December  18. 

<*>:** 

Northern  Indiana  politicians  are  crediting  John 
Brodie,  of  Valparaiso,  Col.  I.  B.  McDonald,  of  Colum¬ 
bia  City,  and  George  W.  Reid,  of  La  Porte,  as  avowed 
candidates  for  district  marshal  of  Indiana  under  the 
incoming  administration,  while  Judge  Pollard,  of 
Delphi,  wants  to  be  commissioner  of  immigration.- 
Indianapolis  News,  January  16. 

ft  ft  ft 

Thos.  B.  Buskirk,  of  Paoli,  who  wants  to  be  United 
States  mar  hal  for  Indiana,  and  who  was  supposed 
to  be  backed  by  the  solid  delegation  of  Indiana 
democratic  congressmen,  is,  it  is  believed,  drifting 
away  from  the  goal.  It  is  stated  that  he  has  not  now 
the  solid  delegation,  and  that  he  may  not  have  half 
oliX— Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal, 
March  1. 

ft  ft  * 

Tom  Newkirk,  last  clerk  of  the  lower  house,  is 
making  a  fight  for  the  office  of  collector  of  internal 
revenue  for  the  southern  district.  He  has  the  sup¬ 
port  of  three  of  the  seven  congressmen  in  the  dis¬ 
trict,  and  says  if  good  backing  amounts  to  anything 
he  will  get  the  of&ce.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Decem¬ 
ber  23. 


J.  W.  Nusbaum,  of  Elkhart,  Ind.,  has  written  to 
Congressman  Shively  and  others  of  the  delegation 
saying  that  he  is  a  candidate  for  collector  of  internal 
revenue  of  the  sixth  district,  and  will  file  strong  pe¬ 
titions  laiCT.— Indianapolis  News,  January  12. 

W.  H.  Osborn,  of  Lawrenceburg,  the  well-known 
democratic  politician  and  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Hunter, 
is  at  the  capital.  His  business  here  is  to  try  to  ad¬ 
vance  the  interests  of  Dr.  Hunter  for  appointmentas 
revenue  collector.  Mr.  Mendenhall,  another  demo¬ 
cratic  politician,  of  Greensburg,  is  here. —  Washington 
Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  February  15. 

Dr.  W.  H.  H.  Hunter  left  for  Lawrenceburg  to-daj'. 
While  here  he  was  the  guest  of  Judge  Holman,  and 
saw  other  members  of  the  Indiana  delegation  about 
his  candidney  for  revenue  collector  of  the  sixth  In¬ 
diana  district.  His  hurried  trip  here  was  due  to  a 
report  that  Wm.  Bracken  had  secured  the  indorse¬ 
ment  of  the  Indiana  congressmen.  He  returned  in 
better  spirits. 

Judge  Gooding,  of  Greenfield,  arrived  to-day,  and 
called  on  the  members  of  congress  from  Indiana.— 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  January  31. 

tf.  if 

The  internal  revenue  collectorships  of  Indiana 
afford  the  liveliest  contests  that  are  now  going  on 
among  the  Hoosier  democrats.  Early  in  the  week 
editor  W.  H.  O’Brien,  of  Lawrenceburg,  arrived  and 
took  a  hand  in  the  fight  that  is  being  waged  be¬ 
tween  his  father-in-law.  Dr.  Hunter,  and  William 
Bracken,  of  Frankiin  county,  for  the  collectorship  of 
the  sixth  district.  The  pins  had  already  been  set  up 
for  Bracken,  but  O’Brien,  who  is  a  clever  politician, 
has  been  expending  his  efforts  quite  freely  to  change 
the  arrangement.  James  Mendenhall,  of  Greens¬ 
burg,  another  democratic  editor,  was  here  Tuesday 
and  Wednesday  urging  Bracken’s  appointment. 

In  the  seventh  internal  revenue  district  there  is 
quite  as  interesting  a  complication.  Wm.  M.  Moss, 
editor  of  the  Bloomfield  Democrat,  started  out  soon 
after  the  election  to  secure  indorsements  for  ap¬ 
pointment  as  revenue  collector.  The  result  is  that 
he  is  the  most  strongly  indorsed  applicant  for  fed¬ 
eral  office  now  in  the  country.  He  has  presented 
letters  from  the  governor.  Chairman  Taggart,  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  Legislature,  and  nearly  all  the  demo¬ 
crats  of  prominence  in  the  state.  In  his  own  district 
he  has  also  the  indorsements  as  second  choice  of  the 
friends  of  several  of  the  other  candidates.  The  fight 
will  probably  be  between  Moss  and  Joshua  Jump,  of 
Terre  Haute.  The  latter  is  Hon.  John  E  Lamb’s  law 
partner,  and  it  is  understood  that  Mr.  Lamb  is  very 
anxious  to  have  the  appointment  go  to  Mr.  Jump. 
Another  point  in  his  favor  is  that  most  of  the  reve¬ 
nues  in  the  district  are  collected  in  Terre  Haute.  An 
effort  is  being  made  among  Lamb’s  influential  dem¬ 
ocratic  friends  to  have  Moss  withdraw  as  a  can¬ 
didate  for  the  collectorship,  and  apply  for  something 
else.  But  he  is  reluctant  to  do  so.  It  is  understood 
that  a  letter  was  sent  out  from  Washington  this  week 
advising  Moss  to  withdraw,  as  it  had  been  practically 
settled  among  the  Indiana  delegation  to  recommend 
Mr.  Jump’s  appointment.— TFas/i£»p<on  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  News,  February  17. 

AT  W.\.SHINGTON. 

Hoosier  democrats,  up  to  the  present  time,  have 
been  content  to  Are  at  the  federal  patronage  at  long 
range.  The  Indiana  delegation  in  congress  has  re¬ 
ceived  as  many  petitions  and  letters  for  places  as 
have  come  from  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  But 
the  number  of  “visiting  statesmen”  is  not  large. 
The  fight  that  is  attracting  most  local  interest  at  this 
time  is  the  contest  for  revenue  collector  of  the  sixth 
district  Apparently  the  two  senators  and  most  of 
the  representatives  who  live  in  the  sixth  district  are 
disposed  to  favor  the  appointment  of  William  Brack¬ 
en,  of  Brookville.  But  Congressman  Holman  is 
playing  a  mysterious  part  in  the  proceedings,  and 
it  is  the  opinion  that  he  is  secretly  in  favor  of  Dr. 
William  H.  H  Hunter,  of  Lawrenceburg,  who  was 
collector  under  the  Cleveland  administration.  If 
Mr.  Holman  secures  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Hunter, 


422 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


he  will  have  to  overcome  the  Bracken  boom,  which 
up  to  this  time  has  had  the  field. 

jji 

W.  A.  Cullop,  of  Vincennes,  is  the  most  popular 
candidate  for  United  States  district  attorney  for  In- 
ana  who  has  yet  entered  the  field,  although  it  Is  un¬ 
derstood  that  he  will  have  many  competitors. 

Wm.  M.  Moss,  of  Bloomfield,  and  Dr.  W.  A.  Cole, 
of  English,  are  candidates  for  revenue  collector  in 
the  seventh  district. 

Dr.  Woolen,  of  Vevay,  has  been  at  the  capital  for 
several  days.  He  was  chief  of  the  swamp  lands  divis¬ 
ion  of  the  land  office  under  Commissioner  Stocksla- 
ger,  and  is  said  to  he  looking  for  his  old  position 
Again —Washington  Dispatch  to  Didianapolis  News, 
January  28. 

«  *  « 

The  mail'  of  the  average  Indiana  member  of  con¬ 
gress  is  a  burden  to  him  these  days.  The  candidates 
for  office  are  more  numerous  than  ever  before.  There 
are  forty  or  fifty  applicants  for  the  two  collectorshlps 
of  internal  revenue  in  Indiana.  The  pension  acency 
is  another  office  for  which  the  candidates  are  as  thick 
as  blackberries.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  February  3. 

<•  <<  * 

Orlando  M.  Packard,  of  Plymouth,  Ind.,  arrived  at 
Willard’s  hotel  to-night.  Mr.  Packard’s  friends  be¬ 
lieve  he  stands  a  chance  to  be  appointed  bank  exam¬ 
iner.  He  will  secure  the  support  of  Senator  Turpie 
and  Representative  Conn.  It  is  understood  that  when 
Senator  Voorhees  visited  Washington,  Daviess  county, 
during  the  late  campaign,  he  assured  S.  H.  Taylor 
that  he  would  indorse  him  for  the  position.  Mr.  Tay¬ 
lor  held  the  place  under  Mr.  Cleveland’s  first  admin¬ 
istration. 

Plymouth  has  another  candidate.  Dan  McDonald, 
editor  of  the  Plymouth  Democrat,  wants  to  be  made 
third  auditor  of  the  treasury.  Some  of  Mr.  McDon¬ 
ald’s  friends  aver  that  he  was  an  "original  Cleve¬ 
land  man”  but  there  are  those  who  remember  that 
Mr.  McDonald,  just  before  the  Chicago  convention, 
requested  that  his  name  be  withdrawn  from  the  pub¬ 
lished  list  of  Indiana  editors  who  were  for  Mr.  Cieve- 
land's  nomination. 

William  Merrill  arrived  from  Connerst^lle  to-night. 
He  is  a  candidate  for  postmaster.  He  is  backed  by 
the  democratic  organization  of  his  county.  Chair¬ 
man  Tom  Taggart  has  also  indorsed  him. —  Washing¬ 
ton  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  February  27. 

*>!<<• 

Indiana  will  present  another  candidate  for  an  im¬ 
portant  federal  position  not  heretofore  mentioned  in 
these  dispatches.  Dick  Johnson  will  try  to  be  third 
assistant  postmaster  general.  George  W.  Cooper, 
representative  from  the  Columbus  district,  may  be 
able  to  secure  the  support  of  a  good  many  of  the  In¬ 
diana  people  for  Johnson. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  1. 

❖  »!« 

James  C.  Carleton,  of  Bedford,  has  arrived,  and 
will  seek  a  chiefshlp  of  division  in  one  of  the  execu¬ 
tive  departments  as  soon  as  the  administration 
changes.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  February  26. 

E.  J.  Smith,  of  Connersville,  is  here.  He  used  to  be 
a  special  examiner  in  the  pension  bureau,  and  will 
be  willing  to  take  the  place  again  providing  he  can 
gel  nothing  better. 

Solomon  E.  Jackson,  formerly  of  Greenfield,  Han¬ 
cock  county,  now  of  Indian  Territory,  js  here,  and  is 
a  candidate  for  United  States  district  attorney  down 
there.  He  will  probably  be  indorsed  by  Representa¬ 
tive  Bynum  and  perhapsbySenators Voorhees  andTur- 
pie.  Mr.  Jackson  removed  from  Indiana  about  four 
years  ago,  and  has  already  made  himself  prominent 
In  the  politics  of  the  territory.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  Chicago  convention,  and  voted  for  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land's  nomination.  There  is  a  Spirited  contest  for 
the  United  States  district  judgeship  for  Indiana  Ter¬ 
ritory,  the  place  now  held  by  Judge  Shackleford, 
formerly  of  Evansville,  Ind.  There  are  three  candi- 
didates  for  the  position. 

Thomas  Hanlon,  of  New  Albany,  is  here.  He  was 
being  piloted  around  by  Representative  Jason  Brown. 
Mr.  Hanlon  would,  no  doubt,  like  to  be  collector  of 


internal  revenue  again.  It  is  hinted  that  Mr.  Han¬ 
lon  would  accept  the  United  States  marshalshlp  if  he 
were  pressed  hard,  but  failing  to  get  anything  better 
would  be  content  with  the  postmastership  of  New  Al¬ 
bany.— B’asTiDipfo?!  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
February  28. 

Dr.  Jere  Roberts,  of  Holton,  is  a  candidate  for  local 
medical  pension  examiner.  He  is  now  in  the  city 
urging  his  candidacy.  A  little  deal  will  be  arranged 
to-day  which  will  probably  knock  out  the  ambitions 
of  two  Indiana  men.  Col.  McLean,  of  Terre  Haute, 
and  Col.  Jones,  of  Mr.  Holman’s  district,  both  of 
whom  want  to  be  commissioner  of  pensions.  Col. 
Charles  A.  Zollinger,  fourteen  years  mayor  of  Fort 
Wayne,  and  a  politician  of  adroitness,  will  swoop 
down  on  the  capitol  to-day,  and  his  coming  portends 
the  collapse  of  at  least  two  booms.  A  deal  is  already 
arranged  which  awaits  only  the  sanction  of  Colonel 
Zollinger,  and  that  has  been  procured  in  advance, 
whicn  amounts  practically  to  the  dropping  of  the 
names  of  Col.  McLean  and  Col.  Jones  for  pension 
commissioner  and  the  putting  forward  of  Col.  Zol 
linger’s  name  for  deputy  commissioner.  Col.  Zol¬ 
linger  was  formerly  pension  agent.  This  position, 
according  to  the  programme,  arranged  to-day,  will 
go  to  Capt,  Allen,  another  Indiana  man.  Editor 
Will  A.  King,  of  the  Danville  Gazette,  who  is  to  be 
recommended  by  Congressman  Cooper  for  postmas¬ 
ter  at  Danville,  arrive  1  last  night  with  Mrs.  King. 
W.  H.  Hargrove,  of  Princeton,  is  said  to  be  in  the 
lead  to-day  for  appointment  as  United  States  mar¬ 
shal.  There  are  a  number  of  candidates  here,  among 
them  Buskirk,  of  Paoli,  and  Hawkins,  of  Sullivan. 
Samuel  Harris,  who  is  to  be  recommended  for  post¬ 
master  of  Franklin,  is  here.  James  R.  Ryan,  of 
Bloomington,  is  desirous  of  being  appointed  in¬ 
spector  of  supplies  at  an  Indian  agency.  He  ar¬ 
rived  this  morning.  Edward  D.  Pugh,  a  national 
bank  cashierof  Rushville,  is  here  seeking  the  position 
of  national  bank  examiner  for  Indiana. —  Washing¬ 
ton  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  March  2. 

Among  other  arrivals  are  C.  A.  Zollinger,  candi¬ 
date  for  pension  agent.  Royal  C.  Purcell,  of  the  Vin¬ 
cennes  Sun,  candidate  for  Vincennes  post-office,  ex- 
State  Senator  Hudson,  of  Indianapolis,  who  wants  to 
be  consul  to  Toronto,  and  Capt.  Kilaus,  of  Madison, 
who  Is  an  applicant  for  postmaster  of  that  city.— 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  MarchS. 

<<!><! 

Roscoe  C.  Griffiths,  a  well  known  and  popular  law¬ 
yer  of  Muncie,  Ind.,  arrived  this  evening.  He  comes 
to  secure  the  collectorshlp  of  internal  revenue  for 
his  district,  a  position  which  Dr.  Hunter,  of  Law- 
renceburg,  and  Captain  Bracken,  of  Brookville,  have 
been  wrangling  over  for  some  time.  Mr.  Griffiihs 
has  strong  backing  and  promises  to  be  a  winning 
compromise.  L.  A.  Kirkwood,  of  Muncie,  has  also 
arrived,  and  wants  his  position  of  four  years  ago— 
that  of  post-office  inspector  on  the  Pacific  slope. 

Hon.  Frank  Burke,  of  Jeffer-onville,  a  candidate 
lor  district  attorney  of  Indiana,  arrived  last  night. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  March  2. 

if  if  ir 

Col.  C.  C.  Matson  arrived  to-day.  He  is  stopping 
with  Hon.  George  W.  Cooper.  It  i>  generally  under¬ 
stood  that  Mr.  Matson  is  after  some  prominent  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  treasury  department.  The  Sentinel  cor¬ 
respondent  was  told  to-night  that  he  wants  to  be 
commissioner  of  internal  revenue.  This  is  the  posi¬ 
tion  which  John  S.  Williams  is  after.  Whether  Mr. 
Matson  wants  this  commissionership  or  not,  it  is  said 
that  he  will  certainly  be  provided  for  in  a  handsome 
manner.  Senator  Voorhees  and  Mr.  Carlisle  are  very 
good  friends  and  the  latter's  recommendation  of  Matson, 
coupled  with  Senator  Voorhees'  indorsement,  would  go  a 
long  ways  in  securing  the  position  for  Mr.  Matson. 

Another  candidate  for  district  attorney  arrived  to¬ 
night.  He  is  Elbert  M.  Swan,  of  Rockport,  Ind.  It 
issa^d  that  Tom  Newkirk,  of  Rush  county,  has  writ 
ten  a  letter  here,  withdrawing  from  the  contest  for 
collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  sixth  district  in 
f-ivor  of  Tom  H.  Bracken,  of  Brookville.  George  C. 
Griffith,  another  candidate  for  this  place,  arrived  to¬ 
day.  The  contest  is  between  Bracken  and  Griffith. 
The  latter  lives  at  Muncie.  Alexander  Kirkwood  of 


Muncie  wants  to  be  a  post-office  inspector  again.  He 
is  also  on  hand. 

W.  A,  Hawkins,  of  Sullivan,  candidate  for  marshal 
of  Indiana,  is  at  the  National.  Mr.  Hawkins’  friends 
believe  he  will  receive  the  support  of  Senator  Voor¬ 
hees  and  most  of  the  Indiana  delegation. 

C.  A.  Zollinger  and  Capt.  Allen,  the  latter  of  Frank¬ 
fort,  are  the  principal  candidates  for  pension  agent 
at  Indianapolis.  The  Sentinel’s  correspondent  re¬ 
ceived  a  tip  that  Zollinger  would  be  appointed,  but 
Allen’s  friends  declare  that  he  is  a  winner.— TFasft- 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  2. 

■if,  if  -tf 

One  of  the  most  interesting  rivalries  is  over  the  po¬ 
sition  of  special  bank  examiner.  There  is  only  one 
to  be  appointed  for  Indiana,  but  there  are  four  active 
candidates  and  a  number  of  dark  hor-es.  The  active 
candidates  are  Col.  Taylor,  of  Washington  ;  W.  H. 
McIntyre,  of  Auburn  ;  O.  A.  Packard,  of  Plymouth, 
and  E.  B  Pugh,  of  Rushville.  Mr.  Holman  seems  es- 
pecially  interested  in  Mr.  Pugh’s  behalf.  Congress¬ 
man  McClellan  and  Congressman-elect  McNagney  are 
backing  McIntyre  and  are  said  also  to  have  the  quiet 
support  of  Congressman-elect  Hammond.  Congress¬ 
man  Conn  is  behind  Packard’s  candidacy.  The  In¬ 
diana  senators  are  said  to  be  somewhat  disposed  to 
favor  Col.  Sam  Taylor,  of  Washington.  Geo.  W.  Gei¬ 
ger,  of  Indianapolis,  has  been  putting  in  some  pretty 
strong  work  for  the  United  States  marshalshlp.  A 
short  time  ago  it  looked  as  if  Mr.  Kern  would  be 
taken  and  Mr.  Geiger  left,  but  in  the  last  few  days 
Geiger  has  sent  on  a  large  number  of  strong  petitions, 
particularly  from  the  traveling  men  over  the  state 
who  are  recognized  as  political  factors  that  can  not 
be  ignored.  Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  of  Paoli,  who  is 
backed  by  Congressman  Bretz  for  United  States  mar¬ 
shal,  is  here  also,  and  is  making  a  strong  fight.  It  is 
stated,  however,  on  high  authority,  that  he  will  hard¬ 
ly  be  appointed.—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis 
News,  March  3. 

CORRESPONDENCE, 

Haverford,  Pa.,  Jan,  24,  1893. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Civil  Service  Chronicle  : 

Sir— The  January  number  of  the  Chroni¬ 
cle  has  just  come  to  hand.  You  will  doubt¬ 
less  allow  me  space  to  disclaim  altogether  the 
interpretation  which  you  have  put  upon  an  in¬ 
formal  note,  A  hasty  personal  postscript  to  a 
business  letter,  written  without  an  idea  of 
publication,  might  easily  be  so  expressed  as  to 
be  misconstrued,  but,  even  taking  this  fact 
into  consideration,  I  fail  to  find  in  my  post¬ 
script  anything  to  justify  or  excuse  the  use 
made  of  it,  the  title  prefixed  to  it,  or  the  com¬ 
ments  made  upon  it.  I  distinctly  stated  that 
I  was  a  civil  service  reformer,  and  yet  because 
I  criticised  the  methods  employed  by  the 
Chronicle,  and  because  I  happen  to  live  in 
Pennsylvania,  you  jump  to  the  conclusion 
that  I  support  Mr.  Quay.  No  conclusion 
could  be  more  inconsequent  or  further  from 
the  truth.  It  would  be  about  as  inconsistent 
for  me  to  defend  “spoilsmen”  as  for  the  ed¬ 
itor  of  the  Chronicle  himself;  yet  neverthe¬ 
less  I  believe  in  fair  play,  even  towards  those 
who  do  not  support  civil  service  reform,  and 
even  to  — corre.«pondents. 

Respectfully,  Allan  C.  Thomas. 

We  quote  the  following  from  a  correspon¬ 
dent  at  Crawfordsville : 

“  No  papers  published  are  doing  so  much 
good  as  those  exclusively  devoted  to  the  civil 
service  of  the  country,  and  I  prize  the  Chroni¬ 
cle  more  than  any  other  paper  I  get.  The 
civil  service  is  gradually  extending,  and  if 
the  President  will  extend  the  rules  to  the  ex- 
tremest  limit  that  he  can  under  the  law,  he 
will  have  the  applause  of  the  great  body  of 
the  people  who  expect  no  office,  and  whose 
highest  interest  in  office  is,  that  the  holders  of 
them  discharge  their  duties  faithfullv. 


The  Civil. service  chronicle. 


If  we  see 

nothing  ill  our  victory  but  a  license  to  revel  in  partisan  spoils,  w( 

President-elect  Cleveland  at  New  York,  November  18. 

5  shall  fail  at  every  point.— 

VoL.  II,  No.  1. 

INDIANAPOLIS,  MARCH,  1893. 

fTimvia-J  One  dollar  per  annum . 
J-iiiitalo  .  10  cents  per  copy. 

Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

One  mode  of  the  misappropriation  of  public  funds 
is  avoided  when  appointments  to  office,  instead  of 
being  the  rewards  of  partisan  activity,  are  awarded 
to  those  whose  efficiency  promises  a  fair  return  of 
work  for  the  compensation  paid  to  them.  To  secure 
the  fitness  and  competency  of  appointees  to  office 
and  to  remove  from  political  action  the  demoralizing 
madness  for  spoils  civil  service  reform  has  found  a 
place  in  our  public  policy  and  laws.  The  benefit 
already  gained  through  this  instrumentality  and  the 
further  usefulness  it  promises  entitle  it  to  the  hearty 
support  and  encouragement  of  all  who  desire  to  see 
our  public  service  well  performed,  or  who  hope  for 
the  elevation  of  political  sentiment  and  the  purifica¬ 
tion  of  political  methods.— President's  hiaitgural. 


Already  the  field  seems  broad  for  the 
Civil  Service  Chronicle  during  the  next 
four  years,  and  we  earnestly  invite  all  to 
subscribe  who  are  interested  in  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  this  field.  The  only  promise  we 
can  make  is  to  be  thorough  and  impartial. 
The  greater  the  support,  the  greater  will 
be  the  usefulness  of  this  paper. 


So  FAR  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Pres¬ 
ident  has  determined  upon  any  funda¬ 
mental  changes  looking  to  the  disuse  of 
the  offices  as  patronage.  To  make  the  ap¬ 
plications  public,  to  refuse  to  apppoint 
ex-office-holders,  to  refuse  to  appoint 
editors  unless  they  will  give  up  their  pa¬ 
pers  and  other  rules  which  have  been 
given  out  from  time  to  time,  will  lead  to 
more  or  less  improved  administration  but 
they  do  not  and  will  not  constitute  reform. 
That  can  only  come  by  such  fundamental 
rules  as  will  kill  the  patronage  element  in 
executive  acts.  Of  these  we  have  spoken 
elsewhere.  Meanwhile  our  columns  show' 
the  rush  of  office-seeking,  and  our  Presi¬ 
dent  sitting  patiently  while  the  torrent 
boils  and  seethes  around  him.  We  are 
the  going  curiosity  of  the  continents  and 
hemispheres.  We  are  the  civic  fool  of  the 
world. 


The  appointment  of  Frank  B.  Burke,  of 
Jeffersonville,  to  be  United  States  district 
attorney  for  Indiana,  is  so  unfortunate  that 
it  ought  to  be  withdrawn.  Burke  was  a 
member  of  our  state  senate  in  1889  and 
1891.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  defeat¬ 
ing  the  civil  service  bill  which  would  have 
taken  the  benevolent  institutions  out  of 
politics.  He  opposed  the  Australian  bal¬ 


lot  bill  and  was  the  only  democrat  in  the 
general  assembly  who  voted  against  it. 
He  opposed  the  new  charter  for  this  city. 
Any  measure  that  was  for  the  general  ben¬ 
efit  could  safely  count  on  Burke’s  opposi¬ 
tion.  He  is  one  of  the  most  vicious  men 
who  ever  got  into  public  place.  His  ap¬ 
pointment  seems  to  be  due  to  the  influence 
of  Senator  Voorhees.  After  being  the  chief 
factor  in  bringing  Mr.  Cleveland’s  former 
administration  into  disgrace  in  Indiana,  it 
is  strange  that  Voorhees  should  have  any 
influence.  He  is  working  solely  and  only 
to  secure  the  re-election  of  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  to  the  senate  without  friction. 
He  cares  nothing  for  the  public  service. 
He  is  a  bourbon  of  the  bourbons:  he  has 
never  been  known  to  lift  up  his  voice  for 
any  kind  of  reform.  There  is  a  reform 
element  in  the  democratic  party  in  this 
state.  It  has  had  to  fight  steadily  against 
such  men  as  Burke  and  Voorhees,  and 
against  them  it  has  already  accomplished 
important  work. 


The  editor  of  the  Anderson  Democrat 
has  been  appointed  postmaster  of  Ander¬ 
son,  Indiana.  This  is  a  good  illustration 
of  the  way  we  do  public  business.  Ander¬ 
son  is  a  large  and  flourishing  city.  Hand¬ 
ling  mail  matter  has  become  in  the  highest 
sense  an  expert  business.  Yet  to  take 
charge  of  it  in  a  place  like  Anderson,  we 
go  out  into  the  street  and  pick  up  a  politi¬ 
cian  who  never  worked  at  the  business  an 
hour  in  his  life.  This  is  not  done  to  fur¬ 
ther  the  public  business,  for  public  business 
isadvanced  in  the  same  manner  that  private 
business  is,  and  no  private  business  ever 
goes  into  the  street  and  picks  up  a  politi¬ 
cian  for  a  manager.  But  by  this  appoint¬ 
ment  Congressman  Bynum  pays  the  editor 
of  the  Democrat  for  past  and  future  services 
to  himself.  The  principles  of  private  busi¬ 
ness  would  have  chosen  from  the  lower 
ranks  of  the  postal  service  some  thorough¬ 
ly  skilled  postal  man  for  postmaster  at  An¬ 
derson.  This  would  have  been  for  the  in¬ 
terest  of  the  people,  while  the  above  ap¬ 
pointment  is  against  the  interest  of  the 
people.  Mr.  Bynum  and  the  whole  crew 
who  are  now  preying  upon  the  public  serv¬ 
ice  could  long  ago  have  brought  the  proper 
application  of  business  principles  to  the 
people’s  business;  but  they  fight  such  ap¬ 
plication  at  every  step. 


It  is  claimed  to  be  settled  that  Mr.  Al¬ 
bert  Sahm  is  to  succeed  Postmaster 
Thompson  in  the  post-office  of  this  city. 
Mr.  Thompson’s  commission  has  two  years 
and  more  yet  to  run.  In  this  connection, 
Mr.  Sahm  says  in  an  interview  in  the  In¬ 
dianapolis  News  of  March  14  ; 

“Should  I  be  appointed  postmaster  here,  I  will 
not,  as  some  have  said,  make  a  clean  sweep  from  cel¬ 
lar  to  garret.  In  taking  the  office  the  incumbent 
takes  oath  to  observe  the  laws,  and  I  propose  to  fol¬ 
low  the  laws,  especially  the  civil  service  law,  in  let¬ 
ter  and  spirit.  So  far  as  my  liberties  extend  I  shall 
appoint  democrats  to  positions  in  the  office,  but  oth¬ 
erwise  the  law  will  be  enforced.  Another  thing  that 
a  misapprehension  exists  about  is  the  time  when  I 
shall  succeed  Thompson.  Mr.  Thompson  will  fill 
out  the  time  for  which  he  has  been  commissioned.” 

Mr.  Sahm’s  expression  indicates  the  gen¬ 
eral  political  progress  which  has  taken 
place  among  political  workers.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  before  Mr.  Thompson’s  time  is 
out  such  rules  will  be  made  as  will  leave 
very  little  “liberty  ”  for  partisan  proscrip¬ 
tion.  All  but  one  or  two  of  the  chief  places 
in  this  post-office  should  be  filled  by  com¬ 
petitive  promotion  from  among  the  under¬ 
employes  of  the  office 

Congressman  Conn,  of  South  Bend,  Ind., 
has  won  immortality  like  only  to  that  of 
Flannigan  of  Texas,  who  in  the  Chicago  re¬ 
publican  convention  of  1880,  hearing  talk  of 
civil  service  reform,  with  honest  surprise 
inquired,  “What  are  we  here  for  if  not  for 
the  offices?”  Conn  has  promulgated  some 
rules  limiting  the  class  among  whom  he 
proposes  to  divide  spoil.  One  of  these  limi¬ 
tations  is  as  follows.  “No  person  can  be  a 
candidate  for  the  office  of  postmaster  who 
is  not  a  good  democratic  voter  in  good 
standing,  *  *  *  and  who  has  not  been 
an  active  worker  for  the  democratic  party 
in  past  years.”  This  is  the  view  of  public 
office  held  by  the  average  politician  and 
party  manager,  but  very  few  of  them  are 
callow  enough  to  put  their  views  in  writ¬ 
ing.  Cromwell  made  religion  a  test  for  of¬ 
fice.  How  does  he  differ  from  Congressman 
Conn?  King  James  II  insisted  that  none 
but  those  who  approved  his  policy  should 
have  a  license  for  selling  wine,  beer  or  cof¬ 
fee.  How  does  he  differ  from  Congressman 
Conn?  The  test  proposed  by  Conn  is  the 
one  peculiar  test  of  absolutism,  and  has 
been  used  by  every  absolute  ruler  who  has 
governed  since  the  world  began.  Men  of 
the  stripe  of  Congressman  Conn  had  better 
stop  talking  about  “democracy,”  and  make 
their  words  square  with  their  actions  and 


2 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


beliefs.  They  like  monarchical  institutions; 
they  like  feudalistic  notions,  anJ  they  are 
doing  all  they  can  to  perpetuate  them. 
The  only  known  democratic  method  of 
awarding  public  employment  is  by  meth¬ 
ods  of  selection  which  exclude  politics,  re¬ 
ligion,  race,  or  color.  Yet  Conn  and  his 
associates  tight  the  application  of  this 
method  with  a  desperation  born  not  of  a 
willingness  to  stand  equal  with  all  their 
fellow-citizens,  but  of  a  knowledge  that  only 
by  the  ways  of  the  pirate  and  the  bucca¬ 
neer  can  they  hope  for  place  and  profit. 


George  W.  Russell,  has  been  postmas¬ 
ter  of  Irvington,  a  suburb  of  Indianapolis 
and  the  seat  of  Butler  university,  for  some 
twelve  years.  The  people  like  him,  and 
more  than  two-thirds  of  the  voting  popula¬ 
tion,  including  all  parties,  have  asked  that 
he  be  retained.  It  seems  that  Congress¬ 
man  Bynum  has  determined  upon  a  change. 
We  shall  watch  with  interest  to  see  if  this 
office  will  be  kept  “  near  to  the  people  ” 
by  forcing  a  change  when  two-thirds  of 
the  people  are  against  it.  This  is  another 
proof  of  the  humbug  of  the  claim  that  the 
people  demand  ‘‘rotation  in  office.”  The 
only  people  in  this  country  who  demand 
rotation  in  office  are  the  comparatively 
small  number  who  want  to  quarter  them¬ 
selves  upon  the  rest.  The  rest  care  no 
more  for  the  change  of  a  republican  gauger 
for  a  democratic  gauger  in  the  public  serv¬ 
ice,  than  they  do  for  the  change  of  a  re¬ 
publican  boilermaker  for  a  democratic 
boilermaker  in  the  Pan  Handle  shops. 

The  Boston  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Evening  Post  writes  to  that  paper 
an  interesting  letter  upon  Josiah  Quincy, 
now  assistant  secretary  of  state.  He  quotes 
Mr.  Quincy  as  believing  “that  it  would  be 
a  waste  of  strength  for  the  administration 
to  neglect  the  tariff  and  currency  problems 
to  devote  attention  to  the  civil  service  in 
the  way  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform 
League  would  have  it  done.”  He  would, 
further,  “devote  the  strength  of  the  reform¬ 
ers  to  extending  the  rules  for  the  classified 
service.”  Mr.  Quincy  has  long  been  a  civil 
service  reformer  and  he  will  take  pleasure 
in  doing  his  utmost  to  bring  the  foreign 
service  to  the  greatest  practicable  extent 
under  the  classified  service  rules.  We 
shall  be  much  mistaken  if  the  subordinate 
places  in  that  service  are  given  over  to  be 
the  spoil  of  congressmen.  As  to  the  rest, 
we  would  rather  think  that  the  corres¬ 
pondent  had  misunderstood  Mr.  Quincy. 
Securing  extensions  of  the  classified  serv¬ 
ice  rules  has  come  to  be  only  one  part  of 
civil  service  reform.  Probably  the  great¬ 
est  evil  that  now  exists  in  connection  with 
the  public  service  is  the  practice  of  allow¬ 
ing  congressmen  to  station  watch  dogs  for 
themselves  in  the  shape  of  fourth-class 


postmasters  at  every  cross-roads.  Is  this 
to  be  repeated  lest  congressmen  may  te- 
fuse  to  legislate  upon  the  tariff"  and  the 
currency?  Are  congressmen  to  be  bribed 
with  offices  to  legislate  upon  these  subjects? 
As  to  neglect  of  the  tariff  and  currency 
problems,  if  left  alone  by  congre.ssmen,the 
President  will  have  plenty  of  time  to  do  his 
share  upon  these  problems,  while  if  con¬ 
gressmen  are  cut  off  from  the  offices  they 
will  have  more  time  than  they  have  ever 
had  before  in  their  congressional  lives. 
The  only  true  course  in  this  matter  is  the 
straight  and  narrow  one  of  doing  right 
and  the  whole  right,  though  the  heavens 
fall,  and  leaving  the  people  to  take  care  of 
mercenary  congressmen. 

In  urging  the  gift  of  places  to  editors  the 
Brooklyn  Eagle  says :  “  There  are  thous¬ 
ands  of  country  newspaper  men  seeking 
to  eke  out  an  adequate  income  from  petty 
but  respectable  sheets  by  obtaining  little 
places.”  This  fact  is  one  of  the  greatest 
public  abuses  with  which  the  country  is  af¬ 
flicted.  The  law  of  Indiana  requiring  the 
printing  of  the  ballot  in  newspapers,  before 
elections,  has  just  been  repealed.  It  cost 
the  people  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
a  year  and  was  of  little  practical  value;  yet 
its  repeal  was  taken  as  a  personal  insult  by 
the  “petty  but  respectable  sheets”  that  are 
trying  to  eke  out  an  adequate  income. 
The  political  morals  of  the  Eagle  need  re¬ 
generating.  Fully  one-third  of  the  news¬ 
papers  of  the  country  exist  only  because 
they  are  in  some  manner  quartered  upon 
the  public  treasury.  It  is  a  truth  that 
ought  to  be  branded  into  newspaper  ethics 
that  the  opinion  upon  public  affairs  of  such 
papers,  or  of  any  paper  that  is  receiving 
money  from  the  public  treasury  except 
in  the  way  of  ordinary  business  competi¬ 
tion  is  worthless.  No  paper  should  exist 
which  can  not  be  free  and  unbiased  in  its 
opinions.  There  is  no  greater  misuse  of 
power  than  the  distribution  of  offices 
among  editors  to  pay  them  for  “fighting 
battles.” 

The  Eagle  also  says :  “  So  long  as  gov¬ 
ernment  is  run  by  parties,  parties  will  be 
run  by  organizations.  That  long,  too,,  the 
cause  and  case  of  parties  will  be  forwarded 
by  ‘workers,’  and  by  putting  ‘  workers’  in 
places.”  This  is  a  well-worn  statement 
usually  called  into  play  when  there  is  no 
other  excuse  for  seizure  and  division  of 
plunder.  It  has  been  answered  every  day 
for  many  years  in  England,  where,  for  in¬ 
stance,  in  the  long  struggle  and  repeated 
elections  turning  upon  the  Irish  question, 
there  has  not  been  so  much  as  a  messen¬ 
ger’s  place  with  which  to  reward  “  petty 
but  respectable  sheets  ”  or  “  workers,”  or 
any  other  agency  that  helped  in  the  cam¬ 
paign.  It  will  be  so  in  this  country.  Ad¬ 


ministrative  reform  will  make  it  so.  W hen 
elections  cease  to  be  a  fight  for  spoil,  every 
American  citizen  will  take  a  keen  interest 
in  the  questions  to  be  decided.  Campaigns 
will  be  conducted  with  much  less  expendi¬ 
ture.  Instead  of  levying  blackmail  upon 
office-holders,  all  the  money  needed  will 
be  raised  without  difficulty  from  the  great 
body  of  citizens,  for  each  will  feel  that  he 
has  something  at  stake.  This  is  Sunday- 
school  politics,  but  it  will  prevail.  The 
false  course  of  great  and  influential  papers 
like  the  Eagle  simply  puts  off  the  day. 

!  - 

In  his  call  for  the  coming  meeting  of 

the  national  republican  league,  Clarkson 
invites  all  “  who  believe  in  practical  civil 
service  reform,  such  as  will  separate  the 
spoils  idea  from  politics  and  yet  preserve 
the  people  in  control  of  public  offices  and 
all  public  affairs.”  What  is  control  of  the 
offices  by  the  people  ?  Is  it  distribution  of 
places  to  henchmen  by  an  oligarchy  of  pol¬ 
iticians,  or  is  it  an  impartial  distribution 
of  public  employment  after  competitive 
t.ests  in  accordance  with  a  law  made  by  the 
people  ?  What  is  “  practical  civil  service 
reform?”  Is  it  the  Clarksons  removing 
thirty  thousand  postmasters  a  year,  or  is  it 
the  Andrew  bill,  the  Boston  labor  service, 
and  the  merit  system  as  we  have  it  to-day 
in  the  Indianapolis  post-office  ?  When  it 
meets  in  May,  if  it  means  well,  it  will  be 
better  for  the  national  republican  league 
to  say  what  it  means.  It  will  hardly  be 
worth  while  to  attempt  to  hoodwink  any 
one  by  a  general  declaration  for  “  practical 
civil  service  reform.” 


The  announcement  that  the  civil  service 
commission  has  canceled  all  examinations 
scheduled  to  be  held  between  March  21 
and  June  30,  in  six  states  and  in  a  number 
of  cities,  comes  at  an  unfortunate  time. 
The  addition  to  the  classified  service  made 
by  President  Harrison  at  the  last  moment 
increased  the  expenses  of  the  commission, 
and  it  asked  congress  to  appropriate  a 
thousand  dollars  additional  to  pay  the 
traveling  expenses  of  examiners.  This 
was  refused,  and  the  commission  has  been 
obliged  to  curtail  the  number  of  examina¬ 
tions.  At  the  beginning  of  Harrison’s  ad¬ 
ministration  the  commission  was  unable 
to  get  eligible  lists  ready,  and  advantage 
was  taken  to  put  into  the  railway  mail 
service  more  than  two  thousand  heelers  of 
congressmen — an  act  of  treachery  that  cost 
the  republican  party  dear.  A  similar  con¬ 
dition  has  now  come  about.  We  trust  to 
President  Cleveland  to  do  right  in  this 
matter.  It  will  not  be  right  to  repeat  re¬ 
publican  treachery  by  hurrying  in  new 
postmasters  and  permitting  them  to  carry 
out  the  doctrine  that  to  the  victors  belong 
the  spoils.  We  are  not  speaking  in  the 
interest  of  the  retention  of  ward  workers 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


3 


whom  the  republicans  may  have  put  into 
the  offices  in  question.  We  are  speaking 
in  the  interest  of  improved  administration, 
of  civil  service  reform.  It  is  President 
Cleveland’s  duty  to  see  to  it  that  no  unus¬ 
ual  change  takes  place  in  these  offices  un¬ 
til  the  eligible  lists  are  ready.  It  is  hard 
to  believe  that  if  the  President’s  time  had 
not  been  so  taken  up  by  office-seekers, 
some  way  could  not  have  been  found  to 
avoid  this  unfortunate  postponement.  A 
way  has  been  found  in  a  similar  case  in 
the  bureau  of  engraving  and  printing. 
The  resolutions  of  the  National  League,  at 
its  annual  meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  Oc¬ 
tober,  1889,  declared  it  to  be  a  “  flagrant 
violation  of  pledges  ”  that  “  a  brief  neces¬ 
sary  delay  in  the  preparation  of  eligible 
lists  by  the  civil  service  commission  was 
improved  to  sweep  out  of  the  railway  mail 
service  hundreds  of  employes,  regardless 
of  efficiency,  and  into  these  vacancies  were 
hurried  hundreds  of  partisans  of  the  ad¬ 
ministration,  with  but  a  subordinate  regard 
to  their  fitness.”  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
League,  which  meets  again  in  April,  in  New 
York,  will  not  have  a  similar  disagreeable 
duty  to  perform. 

Four  years  ago  President  Harrison  vir¬ 
tually  invited  the  party-workers  of  the 
United  States  to  “pitch  in”  for  the  offices. 
He  disregarded  the  rule  established  to  a 
large  extent  by  his  predecessor  that  offi¬ 
cers  should  serve  out  their  terms.  He 
hustled  out  incumbents  to  make  room  for 
his  party-workers  at  a  rate  never  heard  of 
before.  Now,  President  Cleveland  says 
that  offices  ought  not  to  be  used  to  pay 
party-workers  and  that  present  incum¬ 
bents  shall  serve  out  their  terms,  no  mat¬ 
ter  how  long  it  may  take.  In  these  two 
policies  there  is  a  vast  and  refreshing  dif¬ 
ference  in  favor  of  the  latter,  and  show  in 
Mr.  Cleveland  a  purpose  to  have  reform 
instead  of  a  debauch.  We  entirely  credit 
him  and  his  cabinet  with  this  purpose. 
But  while  a  change  of  officers  made  at  the 
end  of  each  officer’s  term  is  more  orderly,  it 
is,  nevertheless,  a  change,  and  if  each  officer 
shall  proceed,  as  heretofore,  to  discharge 
his  subordinates  to  make  room  for  his 
partisans,  a  clean  sweep  will  occur  the 
same  as  always  and  with  the  same  motives; 
and  before  the  end  of  his  term  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  will  have  turned  out  more  than  100,- 
000  place-holders,  and  will  have  put  parti¬ 
sans  into  their  places.  This  is  not  reform. 
This  is  the  power  of  official  patronage 
which  endangers  free  institutions.  Again, 
congressmen  are  seeking  to  make  the  ap¬ 
pointments  the  same  as  ever.  Their  mo¬ 
tives  are  not  changed.  Senator  Voorhees 
hardly  slept  nights  until  he  got  Isaac  P. 
Gray  an  office  that  Gray  would  take,  be¬ 
cause  Voorhees  feared  that  Gray  would  in¬ 
terfere  with  his  re-election  to  the  senate. 


Every  congressman  has  some  analagous 
motive  with  every  appointment.  As  the 
Indianapolis  Sentinel’s  Washington  corres¬ 
pondent  said,  March  12,  of  the  groan  of 
congressmen  at  the  President’s  refusal  to 
appoint  editors  unless  the  latter  would 
give  up  their  papers:  “What  good  can 
they  do  us  with  their  papers  under  the 
control  of  others,  perhaps  disappointed 
office-seekers?”  Appointment  by  congress¬ 
men  is  not  reform.  No  permanent  reform 
can  come  without  the  absolute  separation 
of  congressmen  from  patronage.  They 
will  never  let  go  of  themselves;  they  must 
be  cut  off. 


EXPECTING  TOO  MUCH. 

We  are  receiving  advice  from  various 
friendly  quarters  that,  while  we  are  un¬ 
doubtedly  honest  and  patriotic,  we  are  ask¬ 
ing  altogether  too  much;  that  it  is  unwise 
and  a  waste  of  strength  to  press  adminis¬ 
trative  reform  to  an  extreme,  and  that  such 
a  course  would  endanger  tariff  reform  and 
the  silver  question.  We  have  no  desire  to 
be  misunderstood.  We  want  to  be  under¬ 
stood  as  pushing  administrative  reform  to 
the  utmost  extreme.  Now  is  the  time.  We 
want  to  be  understood  as  holding  that  neith¬ 
er  tariff  reform  nor  the  silver  question  are 
of  a  feather’s  weight  when  put  by  the  side 
of  the  necessity  of  bringing  about  adminis¬ 
trative  reform  and  of  bringing  it  about  now. 
Taxation  not  in  accordance  with  sound 
economic  laws  is  a  mistake  and  the  people 
suffer  pecuniary  loss,  but  it  is  a  passing 
evil  like  the  routine  evils  that  come  and 
always  will  come  in  every  period  of  gov¬ 
ernment  and  are  and  will  be  corrected  in 
every  period.  For  a  government  to  pur¬ 
chase  and  store  a  man’s  product  to  keep  up 
its  price  is  the  very  depth  of  economic  stu¬ 
pidity,  but  it  bears  its  own  inevitable  pun¬ 
ishment  and  cure.  If  administrative  re¬ 
form  is  to  be  postponed  to  such  questions 
as  these  it  will  always  have  to  be  post¬ 
poned,  for  they  will  always  be  present. 
But  the  struggle  against  those  who  prey 
upon  the  people  by  seizing  public  offices 
and  by  controlling  public  contracts  is  a 
mortal  one  to  government.  If  this  strug¬ 
gle  fails  and  comes  to  an  end  it  is  only  a 
question  of  time  when  republican  govern¬ 
ment  will  cease.  Every  postponement 
makes  failure  more  imminent.  The  people 
get  used  to  the  warning  and  cease  to  listen. 

Those  reformers  who  fear  for  tariff  re¬ 
form  and  the  silver  question  are  but  play¬ 
ing  into  the  hands  of  both  party  machines. 
Mr.  Julian,  an  eye  witness  of  the  move¬ 
ments  of  1^52,  in  his  life  of  Giddings,  says 
of  the  Free-Soilers  of  that  date,  “  They 
saw  clearly  that  what  slavery  needed  was 
two  pretty  evenly  divided  parties  pitted 
against  each  other  upon  economic  issues 
so  that  under  cover  of  their  strife  it  could 


be  allowed  to  have  its  way.”  The  perpet¬ 
uation  of  the  spoils  system  needs  just  that 
condition  now.  We  can  not  be  a  party  to 
the  scheme.  We  call  upon  the  President 
to  stand  upon  his  constitutional  rights  and 
to  take  the  great  measures  now  left  to  be 
taken  to  complete  the  revolution  which 
has  been  going  on  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  We  are  aware  of  the  difficulties. 
We  know  that  the  road  at  some  points  is 
obstructed.  But,  in  urging  this  action, 
we  are  not  viewing  President  Cleveland  as 
a  pigmy  or  as  a  figure-head,  but  as  a  giant. 

A  giant  can  make  a  way  where  there  is 
none. 

We  are  asking  that  the  transfers  to  the  . 
classified  service  shall  be  completed  to  the 
fullest  extent ;  that  the  system  of  promo¬ 
tion  by  competition  in  the  lower  grades 
shall  be  carried  to  the  extent  that  the 
great  body  of  even  the  nominations  by  the 
President  to  the  senate  shall  represent  the 
sifting  process  of  merit  in  the  service; 
that  the  Boston  labor  system  already  in 
force  in  the  navy-yards,  shall  be  applied  to 
the  entire  federal  labor  service;  that  fourth- 
class  postmasters  shall  only  be  chosen  by 
some  impartial  method  such  as  is  set  out 
in  the  Andrew  bill ;  and  that  these  and 
similar  measures  shall  be  carried  to  the 
extent  that  there  is  nothing  left  in  federal 
appointments  for  congressmen  or  parti¬ 
sans  to  exercise  their  influence  upon. 

There  is  an  element  among  reformers, 
weak-kneed,  half-hearted  and  supercilious, 
withal,  who  declare  that  the  civil  service 
commission  would  be  swamped  and  that  the 
co-operation  of  congress  is  essential  to  the 
full  completion  of  administrative  reform. 
We  know  that,  and  to  that  we  insist  that  if 
congress  refuses  to  co-operate,  the  President 
shall  not,  thereupon,  turn  over  the  federal 
reins  to  congressmen  nor  to  any  other  men 
as  party  plunder  nor  to“  reward  ’’anybody 
for  anything.  Because  congressmen  tie 
his  hands  it  will  not  be  any  excuse  for 
him  to  permit  a  repetition  of  Clarkson’s 
disgraceful  career,  nor  will  it  be  ahy  ex¬ 
cuse  for  him  to  use  the  public  service  to 
“recognize”  anybody.  With  the  co-oper¬ 
ation  of  congress  in  the  application  of  non¬ 
partisan  and  impartial  principles  to  gov¬ 
ernment  appointments,  let  the  President 
express  himself  ready  and  willing  to  rid 
the  service  of  mere  politicians  now  in  it. 

If  congress,  demanding  plunder,  refuses, 
let  the  President  sit  down  and  wait.  Let 
the  issue  be  defined  and  let  the  people 
discuss  it.  Let  us  see  how  long  congress¬ 
men  can  stand  that  fire — the  President 
refusing  to  prostitute  the  public  service  to 
personal  and  party  ends — the  congressmen 
demanding  it.  This  is  not  the  first  Presi¬ 
dent  we  have  urged  to  make  this  stand, 
nor  would  President  Cleveland  be  the  first 
to  refuse  and  to  turn  to  the  vexatious  and 


4 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


unhappy  course  of  temporizing  with 
spoils  hunters  and  trying  to  make  one  loaf 
go  where  twenty  would  not  suffice— a 
course  that  surely  leads  to  personal  and 
party  failure.  There  is  now  no  half-way. 
To  deprive  a  congressman  of  a  cross-roads 
post-office  infuriates  him  as  much  as  to  de¬ 
prive  him  of  all.  After  President  Harrison 
had  given  everything,  those  to  whom  he 
had  given  most  turned  against  him,  and 
he  only  saved  his  nomination  by  whipping 
in  thousands  of  place-holders  whose  bread 
he  controlled.  War  there  is  bound  to  be. 
Then  let  it  be  for  something  great.  If  Mr. 
Cleveland  is  a  great  man  he  will  appreciate 
and  take  advantage  of  the  greatness  of  his 
opportunity. 


TWO  SPECTACLES. 

Two  great  political  spectacles  are  now 
presented  to  the  world.  In  1886,  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  his  party  went  out  of  office 
overwhelmingly  defeated  because  they  de¬ 
manded  home  rule  for  Ireland.  They  be¬ 
gan  the  work  anew.  There  was  not  a 
post-office,  nor  a  clerkship  that  could  be 
hoped  for  by  any  voter  who.  sided  with 
them.  Out  of  more  than  a  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  offices  not  a  hundred  would  be  va¬ 
cated  by  their  success.  They  had  but  one 
principle  upon  which  they  could  ask  for 
success — that  home  rule  was  right.  There 
was  but  one  reward  they  could  hold  out — 
that  home  rule  should  be  made  a  law.  For 
seven  years  they  urged  this  argument, 
and  in  converting  the  British  people  they 
achieved  the  triumph  of  popular  govern¬ 
ment  of  this  generation.  After  the  elec¬ 
tion,  Mr.  Gladstone  does  not  have  to  give 
public  notice  that  office-seekers  must  keep 
away  from  him  while  he  selects  his  cabinet. 
He  goes  into  office  but  aside  from  the  places 
immediately  around  him,  he  does  not  con¬ 
trol  a  clerkship.  Members  of  parliament 
do  not  come  streaming  around  him  intro¬ 
ducing  office-seekers  by  the  thousand,  nor 
at  all.  All  his  energies,  all  the  energies  of 
his  cabinet,  all  the  energies  of  members  of 
parliament,  and  all  the  attention  of  the 
British  people  are  given  to  the  subject  of 
incorporating  into  legislation  the  princi¬ 
ple  upon  which  the  victory  at  the  election 
was  won.  This  is  government  by  the 
people.  And  yet  the  offices  of  Great  Bri¬ 
tain  are  distributed  upon  the  most  demo¬ 
cratic  system  known  in  the  world— a  sys¬ 
tem  that  gives  the  son  of  a  day  laborer  an 
equal  chance  with  the  son  of  a  peer. 

The  other  spectacle  is  to  be  seen  in  this 
country.  We  have  an  election  in  which 
public  questions  are  discussed  with  great 
earnestness  and  the  result  is  decisive.  The 
victorious  party  started  into  the  campaign 
with  the  declaration  that  offices  ought 
not  to  be  subject  to  change  at  every  elec 
tion.  Now  what  is  the  result?  Have  con¬ 


gressmen  been  busy  with  measures  which 
would  do  away  with  a  change  of  offi¬ 
cers?  Have  they  spent  the  time  trying 
to  get  even  a  surface  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  taxation?  Not  at  all. 
Some  of  them  have  traveled  from 
county  to  county  preparing  for  a 
change  of  officers.  They  have  nominal¬ 
ly  attended  a  session  of  congress  but  their 
waking  moments  have  for  four  months 
been  given  to  dickering  with  party-work¬ 
ers  relating  to  changes  in  offices.  Forbid¬ 
den  by  Mr.  Cleveland  to  speak  to  him  on 
the  subject,  before  inauguration,  they  kept 
on,  full  swing,  planning  changes  in  office 
without  Mr.  Cleveland.  The  day  after  the 
inauguration  they  and  the  party-workers 
passed  through  the  White  House  and 
looked  at  Mr.  Cleveland.  The  next  day, 
the  wolf  could  no  longer  be  restrained  and 
the  despatches  say  that  Voorhees  and 
other  congressmen  called  upon  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  not  to  confer  upon  methods  of  in¬ 
corporating  into  legislation  the  principles 
of  the  campaign,  but  to  demand  when  the 
changes  in  office  would  begin.  With  this 
the  scramble  for  office  began.  It  seems 
likely  to  go  on  for  months.  Not  a  word  is 
said  in  favor  of  any  principle  that  was  a 
part  of  the  campaign.  Every  issue  upon 
which  the  election  was  won  has  apparently 
been  forgotten.  This  is  government  by  an 
oligarchy  of  congressmen. 

Which  is  the  nobler  spectacle,  Mr.  Glad¬ 
stone  and  his  host,  daily  and  nightly  fight¬ 
ing  the  battle  of  home  rule,  or  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  sitting  at  his  desk  day  after  day  while 
congressmen,  party  committeemen,  edi¬ 
tors,  party  workers  and  all  the  other  belong¬ 
ings  of  a  party  machine  crowd  around 
him  in  succession  by  thousands  demand¬ 
ing  post-offices,  consulships,  clerkships  and 
all  the  other  offices  pertaining  to  the 
government  system,  not  because  of  merit 
but  as  pay  for  service  claimed  by  them  to 
have  been  rendered  to  himself  or  to  his 
party? 

In  order  that  there  may  be  no  mistake 
about  the  way  in  which  public  employ¬ 
ment  is  awarded  in  England,  we  quote  Mr. 
Gladstone’s  own  words  in  a  speech  made 
in  Greenwich,  October  28,  1871.  He  said: 

“  It  has  been  onr  happy  lot  in  almost  every 
department  of  the  state — I  believe  there  are 
but  two  exceptions — to  give  up  that  which  has 
always  been  considered  the  special  patronage 
and  the  highly  prized  patronage  of  a  govern¬ 
ment,  namely,  the  appointment  of  clerks  to  the 
civil  offices  of  the  country.  We  have  aban¬ 
doned  that  power;  we  have  thrown  every  one 
of  them  open  to  public  competition.  The 
transition  is  now  ne'arly  complete,  and,  with 
regard  to  the  future,  I  can  say,  that  as  to 
the  clerkships  in  my  own  office — the  office  of 
the  treasury — every  one  of  you  have  just  as 
much  power  over  their  disposal  as  I  have.  * 
*  *  And  in  order  that  the  public  service 


might  be  indeed  the  public  service,  in  order 
that  we  might  not  have  among  the  civil  of¬ 
ficers  of  the  state  that  which  we  had  complain¬ 
ed  of  in  the  army,  namely,  that  the  service 
was  not  the  property  of  the  nation,  but  of  the 
officers,  we  have  now  been  able  to  remove  the 
barriers  of  nomination,  patronage,  jobbing, 
favoritism  in  whatever  form,  and  every  man 
belonging  to  the  people  of  England,  if  he  so 
pleases  to  fit  his  children  for  the  position  of 
competing  for  places  in  the  public  service,  may 
do  it  entirely  irrespective  of  the  questioti, 
what  is  his  condition  in  life,  or  the  amount  of 
means  with  which  he  may  happen  to  be  or  not 
to  be  blessed.” 

How  immeasurably  Mr.  Gladstone  and 
the  English  government  would  be  lowered 
in  the  estimation  of  the  world  if  instead 
of  leading  the  liberal  party  to  a  trium¬ 
phant  result  in  the  contest  for  home  rule 
he  should  sit  “  patiently  ”  in  his  office 
while  members  of  parliament  crowded 
around  by  hundreds  introducing  their 
heelers  by  thousands  and  demanding  for 
them  post-offices,  clerkships,  consulships 
’and  places  as  watchmen,  dog  catchers, 
and  what  not,  to  pay  them  for  services 
rendered  to  Gladstone  or  to  his  party. 
What  a  travesty  upon  Gladstone’s  great  ca¬ 
reer  and  what  an  indignity  upon  the  noble 
cause  of  home  rule  such  a  sight  would  be! 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
League  will  he  held  in  New  York  April 
26  and  27.  The  address  will  be  delivered 
by  Carl  Schurz  on  the  evening  of  the  26tb, 
in  the  Madison  Square  Garden  assembly 
room  and  the  other  usual  meetings  will  be 
held.  The  dinner  will  be  on  the  evening 
of  the  27th.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
west  will  be  well  represented.  Any  mem¬ 
ber  of  a  civil  service  service  reform  asso¬ 
ciation  is  entitled  to  take  part  in  the  pro¬ 
ceedings.  Further  information  can  be 
obtained  by  writing  to  William  Potts,  Sec¬ 
retary,  New  York. 


“Some  removals”  said  President  Jeffer¬ 
son  “  I  know  must  be  made.  They  must 
be  as  few  as  possible,  done  gradually,  and 
bottomed  on  some  malversation  or  inherent 
disqualification.  Good  men  to  whom  there 
is  no  objection  but  a  difference  of  political 
opinion,  practiced  on  only  so  far  as  the 
right  of  a  private  citizen  will  justify,  are 
not  proper  subjects  of  removal”  We  com¬ 
mend  these  Jeffersonian  principles  to  the 
Jeffersonian  democratic  congressman  and 
their  followers  now  engaged  in  an  on¬ 
slaught  upon  the  public  service. 


Probably  the  hottest  contest  now  on  is  that  over 
the  public  printer,  with  2,700  places  to  give  out.  No 
less  than  thirteen  candidates  are  in  the  fight,  each 
one  working  vigorously  to  wla.— Buffalo  Expreu, 
March  13. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


5 


AMRRiaAN  FELUDARISM. 


The  Interference  of  senators  and  representatives  with  nominations  and  minor  appointments  in  the  civil  service  is  not  only 
without  constitutional  warrant,  hut  it  is  an  indecent  and  dangerous  confusion  of  two  functions  which  the  constitution  carefully 
keeps  distinct.  The  senator  or  representative  who  makes  himself  an  otlice  broker,  to  pay  his  ow  n  parasites  from  the  public  purse, 
should  staud  well  exposed  in  the  pillary  of  public  contempt,  and  by  reason  of  such  interference  should  forfeit  the  respect  of  tlie 
country  and  tlie  confidence  and  support  of  his  constituency. — George  William  C^lrtis. 

Tlie  oath  I  now  take  to  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  constitution  of  these  United  States  not  only  impressively  defines  the 
great  responsibility  I  assume,  but  suggests  obedience  to  constitutional  demands  as  the  rule  by  which  my  official  conditions  must  be 
guided. — President  Cleveland’s  Inaugural. 

Anxiety  for  the  redemption  of  the  pledges  which  my  party  has  made  and  solicitude  for  the  complete  justification  of  the  trust 
the  people  have  reposed  in  us  constrain  me  to  remind  those  with  whom  I  am  to  co-operate  that  we  can  succeed  in  doing  the  work 
which  has  been  especially  set  before  us  only  by  the  most  sincere,  harmonions  and  disinterested  effort.  Even  if  insuperable  ob¬ 
stacles  and  opposition  prevent  the  consummation  of  our  task  we  shall  hardly  be  excused,  and  if  failure  can  be  traced  to  onr  fault 
or  neglect  we  may  be  sure  the  people  will  hold  us  to  a  swift  and  exacting  accountability. — President’s  Inaugural. 


To-day  Senators  Voorhees  and  Tur'pie  called 
on  President  Cleveland  and  had  a  long  talk 
with  him.  Their  call  was  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  President’s  policy  in  regard 
to  changes  in  the  federal  offices  in  the  State  of 
Indiana.  The  Indiana  men  have  at  least 
solved  the  difficulty  presented  by  the  candi¬ 
dacy  at  one  and  the  same  time,  of  Colonel 
Zollinger,  of  Ft.  Wayne,  for  deputy  commis¬ 
sioner  of  pensions,  and  that  of  Colonel  Mc¬ 
Lean,  of  Terre  Haute,  for  pension  commis¬ 
sioner.  One  of  the  Indiana  congressmen  said  this 
morning  that  both  names  would  be  presented  to  Mr. 
Cleveland,  properly  recommended,  and  the  Presi¬ 
dent  would  be  left  to  choose  either  or  both,  as  he  saw 
fit  — Indianapolis  News,  March  7. 

For  bank  examiner.  Mayor  Packard,  of  Ply¬ 
mouth,  has  secured  the  majority  of  the  delega¬ 
tion,  including  Turpie.  Congressman  Conn  has 
been  very  diligent  in  his  behalf  and  has  in¬ 
duced  Dan  McDonald,  of  the  Plymouth  Dem¬ 
ocrat,  to  withdraw  in  his  favor. — Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  March  7. 

Mayor  Packard,  of  Plymouth,  has  gone 
home  to  await  his  appointment  as  bank  ex¬ 
aminer.  He  has  the  endorsement  of  both  senators. 
— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  10. 

Judge  Jordan,  of  Indianapolis,  has  filed  his 
application  for  the  first  auditor  of  treasury. 
He  says  his  interests  will  be  taken  care  of  by  Turpie 
and  Voorhees,  and  will  return  home  to-morrow 
and  wait  there  for  his  commission. — Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel,  March  7. 

Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie  are  pushing  Col¬ 
onel  Taylor,  of  Washington,  for  the  position 
of  national  bank  examiner  of  Indiana,  while 
E.  B.  Pugh,  of  Rushville,  Cashier  McIntyre, 
of  Auburn,  and  O.  A.  Packard  are  indorsed 
by  individual  members  of  the  delegation. 
Pugh  promises  to  be  a  compromise  candi¬ 
date. 

Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie  have  an  engage¬ 
ment  with  President  Cleveland  to-morrow 
morning.  They  will  try  to  decide  what  ex- 
Qovernor  Gray  is  to  have,  and  will  present 
the  names  of  Colonel  William  E.  McLean,  of 
Terre  Haute,  for  commissioner  of  pensions, 
and  Mr.  Zollinger,  of  Fort  Wayne,  for  a  dep- 


utyship  under  the  commissioner  of  pensions. 
They  will  leave  the  President  to  decide  which  place 
the  state  shall  have,  and  let  him  also  decide  betiveen 
McLean  and  Zollinger. 

Representatives  Bynum  and  Martin  saw  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland  to- day.  They  wanted  to  know 
about  the  rapidity  with  which  changes  are  to  be  made 
in  the  offices. — Indianapolis  Journal,  March  8. 

There  seems  to  be  a  disposition  among  the 
India7ia  delegation  to  repeat  the  mistakes  of 
1885  and  to  crowd  upon  the  administration  pro¬ 
fessional  office  holders.  Far  example,  the  first  can¬ 
didate  to  be  pushed  fora  place  by  the  two  senators  is 
J.  C.  Carleton,of  Bedford,  who  was  postmaster 
under  Cleveland  an<l  Buchanan,  and  several 
previous  administrations.  One  of  his  sons 
has  held  an  office  in  the  house  for  eight  years. 
To-morrow  the  two  senators  and  Mr.  Bretz 
will  call  upon  the  postmaster-general  to  urge 
his  appointment  as  chief  of  division  at  $2,000 
a  year. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  8. 

The  two  Senators  claim  as  their  own  the  mar- 
shalship,  attorneyship,  pension  agency  and  the 
two  collectorships.  They  had  agreed  to  give 
the  northern  part  of  the  state — the  pension 
agency — to  Zollinger,  but  now  that  he  is  ruled 
out  on  account  of  being  an  ex-officer  the 
twelfth  district,  with  Allen  county,  which 
gives  nearly  all  the  democratic  majority  of 
the  state,  was  left  without  a  representation  on 
the  Voorhees-Turpie  slate.  Congressman  Mc- 
Nagney  began  to  raise  a  vigorous  kick  against 
this  discrimination,  and  threatened  to  appeal  to 
the  President.  This  morning  he  was  reinforced 
by  ex-Senator  Barrett  of  Fort  Wayne.  The 
two  senators  were  soon  convinced  that  such 
treatment  would  not  do.  McNagney  wants 
the  collectorship  or  the  U.  S.  marshalship  for 
the  twelfth  district,  and  in  this  he  is  supported 
by  other  congressmen  who  desire  to  see  fair 
play.  Senator  Turpie  announced  to-night  that 
he  would  not  enter  into  any  arrangement  by 
which  that  part  of  the  state  would  be  left  out, 
and  would  not  decide  whom  he  would  support 
for  collector  of  the  eastern  district  and  mar¬ 
shal  until  he  and  Senator  Voorhees  could  ar¬ 
range  matters  from  a  geographical  standpoint. 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  9. 


It  took  Representative  John  L.  Bretz,  the 
blunt  German  democrat  who  presides  over  the 
political  pap  of  the  second  Indiana  district, 
only  fifteen  seconds  to  day  to  extract  from 
President  Cleveland  a  job  lot  of  information 
which  a  number  of  more  timid  congressmen 
have  been  trying  all  week  to  ascertain.  It 
had  been  reported  that  Mr.  Cleveland  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  appoint  no  one  to  an  of¬ 
fice  who  ever  held  office  under  him;  that  this 
was  to  be  an  entirely  new  deal;  and,  having  a 
number  of  constituents  here  who  wanted  to 
enter  the  post  offices  at  their  homes,  Mr.  Bretz 
thought  he  would  find  out  the  truth  of  the  re¬ 
port  going  the  rounds  of  the  hotel  corridors. 
So  Mr.  Bretz  was  early  at  the  White  House  this 
morning  and  asked  to  see  the  President  for  a 
moment  only.  As  soon  as  he  appeared  before 
the  President  he  plumped  it  right  out. 

“I  just  came  to  know  if  it  was  true,  as  re¬ 
ported,  Mr.  President,  that  you  will  appoint 
no  one  who  has  ever  held  office  under  you?” 

‘‘It  is  true,  sir,”  was  the  President’s  direct 
reply. 

‘‘Well,”  said  Mr.  Bretz,  slightly  out  of 
breath,  ‘‘does  that  apply  to  postmasters?” 

‘‘It  does,”  came  the  President’s  answer.  ‘‘It 
applies  to  all  offices.” — Indianapolis  Journal, 
March  9. 

It  was  stated  yesterday  upon  apparently 
good  authority,  that  Senators  Voorhees  and 
Turpie  had  reached  an  understanding  as  to 
the  distribution  of  offices  in  the  two  republican 
districts  of  Indiana,  and  that  Senator  Voor¬ 
hees  would  look  after  those  in  the  sixth,  and 
Senator  Turpie  those  in  the  Ninth  district. 
An  aspirant  for  office  in  the  sixth  district  to¬ 
day  asked  Senator  Voorhees  as  to  this  reported 
arrangement,  and  the  senator  replied:  "Ap¬ 
pointments  in  those  two  distr  icts  will  be  made,  as  we 
understand,  upon  the  joint  recommendation  of  the 
two  senators.  We  have  not  divided  the  territory.” 

Senator  Voorhees’  committee  room  was 
visited  to-day  by  about  one  hundred  Indiana 
office  seekers.  The  senator  is  being  run  al¬ 
most  to  death,  but  he  is  patient  and  good  tem¬ 
pered  about  it.  He  says  he  recognizes  the 
fact  that  the  men  who  are  seeking  places  have 
as  much  right  to  do  so  as  he  has  to  ask  for  re- 


6 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


electiou  every  six  years.  The  excursion  tickets 
exspire  with  to-morrow,  when  the  exodus  for 
home  will  begin. — Indianapolis  Journal,  Mar.  9. 

One  of  these  fair  days  Mr.  L.  M.  Mering,  of 
Richmond,  who  was  the  democratic  candidate 
for  congress  last  year,  will  get  himself  into  a 
delightfully  lively  political  complication  with 
Chairman  Taggart  and  Indiana’s  two  senators. 
It  is  stated  by  prominent  democrats  that  Mr. 
Mering  has  for  some  days  been  trying  to  con¬ 
trol  the  appointments  in  the  sixth  congression¬ 
al  district  of  Indiana.  He  takes  the  position 
that  inasmuch  as  he  was  nominated  for  con¬ 
gress  by  the  democrats  of  that  district,  and 
since  he  would  have  been  entitled  to  distrib¬ 
ute  the  offices  if  elected,  he  is  the  choice  of 
the  district  democrats  in  the  distribution  of 
the  patronage  at  this  time.  The  score  or  more 
democrats  from  the  sixth  district  who  are  now 
here  are  up  in  arms  about  it,  and  say  that  it 
is  none  of  Mering’s  business;  that  tradition  and 
custom  have  awarded  the  job  of  giving  out  offices  in 
minority  districts  to  the  senators  in  the  majority, 
and  that  Senator  Voorhees  and  Turpie  have  not  re¬ 
quested  Mr.  Mering's  interference. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  March  9. 

Congressman  Bynum  called  at  the  White 
House  this  morning  with  John  W.  Kern.  Mr. 
Bynum  has  been  for  another  candidate  for 
district  attorney,  but  now  that  Kern  is  so  far 
in  the  lead,  Mr.  Bynum,  it  is  understood,  will 
not  withhold  his  indorsement,  as  his  own  can¬ 
didate  is  out  of  the  race. — Indianapolis  News, 
March  10. 

Representatives  Holman  and  Martin  of  In¬ 
diana  saw  the  President.  They  have  many 
friends  who  want  plaees,  not  counting  ex-Gov. 
Isaac  Pusey  Gray. — New  York  Times,  March  9. 

As  for  the  collectors  of  internal  revenue, 
they  are  not  settled,  except  that  Senator  Voor¬ 
hees  will  recommend  Jump  of  Terre  Haute, 
and  that  Mr.  Holman  claims  the  privilege  of 
naming  the  collector  of  the  eastern  district 
and  that  Senator  Turpie  has  not  opposed  them. 
However,  Mr.  Brookshire  will  make  a  desper¬ 
ate  fight  for  Hulet  against  Senator  Voorhees’ 
man. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  14. 

Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie,  it  is  said,  have 
agreed  upon  the  following  slate: 

Marshal — Ex-Sheriff  Hawkins,  Sullivan. 

District  Attorney — J.  W.  Kern,  Indianapo¬ 
lis. 

Bank  Examiner — 0.  M.  Packard,  Plymouth. 

Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  —  Joshua 
Jump,  Terre  Haute,  and  W.  H.  Bracken, 
Brookville. 

For  Second  Comptroller  or  Commissioner  of 
Internal  Revenue — Col.  C.  C.  Matson. 

This  leaves  the  Fort  Wayne  district,  with 
its  large  democratic  majority,  without  a  state 
or  federal  office,  as  Zollinger  can  not  be  pen¬ 
sion  agent.  Congressman  McNagney  entered  a 
vigorous  protest  and  demanded  the  U.  S.  mar- 
shalship.  Senator  Turpie  was  willing  to  con¬ 
cede  it,  but  Senator  Voorhees  remained  firm 
and  said  Sullivan  county  must  have  the  place, 
and  Hawkins  must  be  the  man.  McNagny 


will  appeal  to  the  President,  but  the  two  sena¬ 
tors  claim  these  offices. 

Hawkins  is  a  bright  young  man;  has  served 
as  sheriff  of  Sullivan  connty.  He  is  but  thirty 
years  old.  The  appointment  will  be  made 
Monday.  A  few  days  ago  Mr.  Voorhees  hesi¬ 
tated  about  pressing  Hawkins’  claim,  fearing 
it  would  interfere  with  Jump’s  chances  for  the 
collectorship,  but  the  President  informed  him 
that  the  present  republican  collector  would  be 
allowed  to  serve  until  October.  Voorheescon- 
cluded  that  Hawkins’  appointment  would  not 
jeopardize  Jump’s  interest.  Jump  is  a  law 
partner  of  John  E.  Lamb.  Brookshire  is  still 
in  the  ring,  with  Hulett  for  the  same  place. 

Bracken  is  a  lawyer  of  Franklin  county. 
He  was  an  elector  at  large.  Sam  Ralston,  of 
Boone,  had  a  large  number  of  indorsements 
for  United  States  collectorship  of  the  Terre 
Haute  district.  He  did  not  come  here  but  left 
the  matter  in  the  hands  of  friends  here.  It 
has  been  stated  that  Senators  Turpie  and 
Voorhees  had  divided  the  republican  territory 
as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  post-offices,  Mr.  Voor¬ 
hees  taking  the  sixth  district  and  Turpie  the 
ninth.  Mr.  Turpie  denies  this.  He  says  the 
post-office  appointments  will  be  made  upon 
the  joint  recommendations  of  the  two  senators. 
In  Frankfort  the  fight  is  between  Eli  Brown 
and  Mr.  Marvin.  Mr,  Brown  was  postmaster 
under  Cleveland  in  Columbia  City. 

This  morning  T.  B.  Buskirk  withdrew  his 
name  as  a  candidate  for  United  States  mar¬ 
shal.  It  is  said  that  Senator  Voorhees  notified 
him  this  morning  that  Hawkins,  of  Sullivan,  would 
he  appointed, — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  10. 

Congressman  Taylor  has  decided  to  recom¬ 
mend  ex-Representative  John  J.  Nolan  for 
postmaster  at  Evansville. 

Congressman  Brookshire  is  still  making  a 
valiant  fight  for  his  favorite,  Mr.  Hawlett,  of 
Crawfordsville,  of  the  position  of  internal 
revenue  collector  for  the  seventh  district, 
which  Senator  Voorhees  seems  disposed  to 
confer  on  Joshua  Jump,  of  Terre  Haute. — In¬ 
dianapolis  News,  March  11. 

To-morrow  the  President  will  settle  the  controver¬ 
sy  which  has  been  practically  settled  by  the  two  sena¬ 
tors,  who  have  agreed  upon  all  the  state  offices 
but  the  district  attorney.  Mr.  Turpie  is  for 
John  W.  Kern  actively,  while  Mr.  Voorhees 
will  present  Burke’s  name.  But  he  will  make 
no  fight  against  Kern.  Mr.  Kern  called  upon 
the  President  to-day  and  had  a  satisfactory 
interview.  He  will  be  appointed. 

With  this  exception  Mr.  Voorhees’  men  get 
everything  else  in  the  state:  Hawkins  of  Sul¬ 
livan  for  marshal.  Bracken  of  Franklin  for 
collector  sixth  district;  Jump,  collector  sev¬ 
enth  district.  Mr.  Turpie  will  not  oppose 
these  selections  by  Voorhees. 

The  twelfth  district  is  thus  entirely  ignored, 
notwithstanding  the  protest  of  Representative 
McNagny.  He  intended  to  appeal  to  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  hut  he  was  advised  by  the  other  members  of  the 
house  thcU  such  a  course  would  result  in  no  good,  as 
the  two  senators  would  insist  on  controlling  this  pa¬ 
tronage. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  11. 


Capt.  Allen,  who  wants  the  pension  agency 
at  Frankfort,  Ind.,  was  accompanied  by  Sen¬ 
ator  Voorhees.  The  Senator  and  Representa¬ 
tive  Bynum  also  filed  papers  indorsing  John 
W.  Kern,  of  Indianapolis,  for  the  attorneyship 
of  his  district. 

The  United  States  marshalship  is  settled, 
and  the  United  States  district  attorneyship  for 
Indiana  is  still  in  doubt,  but  the  chances  are 
in  favor  of  Kern.  Senators  Voorhees  and 
Turpie  joined  hands  in  presenting  Hawkins> 
of  Sullivan,  for  marshal. 

It  was  generally  understood  that  Mr.  Voor¬ 
hees  would  yield  the  appointment  of  the 
United  States  district  attorney  to  Mr.  Turpie, 
in  consideration  of  the  latter’s  support  of 
Hawkins;  but  Congressman  Brown  insisted 
on  presenting  Frank  Burke,  of  Jeffersonville, 
for  the  attorneyship,  and  Mr.  Voorhees  stood 
by  him.  Both  Burke’s  and  Kern’s  claims 
were  laid  before  the  President  to  day.  Mr. 
Brown  urged  the  appointment  of  Burke.  Mr. 
Voorhees  was  not  present,  but  sent  a  written 
request  for  his  appointment.  Messrs.  Turpie 
and  Bynum  urged  the  appointment  of  Kern, 
and  the  President  now  has  the  matter  under 
advisement,  but  Mr.  Turpie  feels  confident 
that  the  President  will  nominate  Kern. 

Monday  morning  the  Indiana  delegation 
will  meet  and  in  a  body  present  ex-Congress- 
man  Patten,  of  the  tenth  district,  for  commis¬ 
sioner  of  immigration,  the  place  which  his 
predecessor,  Billy  Owen,  now  holds. — Indian¬ 
apolis  Sentinel,  March  IS. 

The  announcement  made  by  the  President 
that  no  newspaper  man  would  be  appointed 
to  office  until  he  had  relinquished  his  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  papers  has  caused  another  howl 
of  discontent.  The  President  wants  every 
man  appointed  to  an  office  to  give  up  his 
business,  and  devote  his  whole  time  to  the 
business  of  the  government.  This  is  directed 
especially  against  country  editors  who  in¬ 
tended  to  run  the  post-offices  and  newspapers 
at  the  same  time.  In  Indiana  several  editors 
have  already  been  indorsed  for  postmasters, 
and  this  will  come  hard  on  them.  They  will 
have  to  give  up  their  papers  or  the  post- 
offices  : 

“In  the  first  district,  Philip  Zoercher  has  a  cinch 
on  the  Tell  City  post-oflfice  and  he  edits  the  Nenvs  of 
that  place.  Representative  Bretz  has  recommended 
three  editors  in  the  second— Purcell,  of  the  Vincen¬ 
nes  Sun,  John,  of  the  Bedford  Democrat,  and  Hoker, 
of  the  Shoals  News.  They  must  give  up  their  papers 
or  get  no  post-office.  In  the  third,  there  is  Mercer,  of 
the  Brownstown  Democrat,  who  has  been  selected 
by  Mr.  Brown.  In  the  fifth,  the  editors  of  the  Nash¬ 
ville  and  Danville  papers  have  both  been  recom¬ 
mended  by  Mr.  Cooper.  In  the  sixth,  McKillop, 
of  the  Muncie  Herald,  is  the  postmaster  selected  by 
Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie.  In  the  seventh, 
Mr.  Bynum  has  selected  Crittenberger,  of  the  An¬ 
derson  Democrat,  and  Eugene  Lewis,  of  the  Green¬ 
field  Democrat.  In  the  ninth,  Eli  Brown  wants  the 
Frankfort  oflice,  and  he  runs  a  paper  there.  In  the 
eleventh,  Fawcett,  of  the  La  Grange  Democrat  wants 
the  post-office,  and  throughout  the  other  districts 
are  many  editors  whose  services  have  been  justly  ap¬ 
preciated  by  their  members  with  post-offices.” 

Of  course,  they  can  dispose  of  their  papers, 
but  say  the  congressman:  “  TFAaf  good  can 
they  do  us  with  their  papers  under  the  control  of  oih- 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


7 


cr«,  perhaps  disappointed  opice-seekers.”  These  ed¬ 
itors  are  appointed  because  they  can  do  the  members 
some  good  in  securing  renomination,  and  without 
their  county  organs  they  are  powerless. — Indianap¬ 
olis  Sentinel,  March  12. 

Editor  L.  C.  Christie,  of  the  Indianapolis 
World,  the  colored  organ,  was  presented  to 
the  President  to-day  by  Congressman  Holman. 
Mr.  Holman  urged  his  appointment  to  the 
office  of  recorder  of  deeds  for  the  District  of 
Columbia,  now  held  by  Blanche  K.  Bruce. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  12. 

Capt.ain  Allen,  who  wants  the  pension  agency 
at  Indianapolis,  called  at  the  White  House, 
accompanied  by  Senator  Voorhees.  The  sen¬ 
ator  and  Representative  Bynum  also  filed  pa¬ 
pers  indorsing  John  Kern,  of  Indianapolis, 
for  the  attorneyship  of  his  district. — Indianap¬ 
olis  Journal,  March  12. 

The  Indiana  senators  have  united  in  rec¬ 
ommending  Col.  I.  B.  McDonald,  of  Columbia 
City,  for  cousul  to  Calioa. — Indianapolis  News, 
March  13. 

Congressman  Martin  presented  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Waugh  for  district  attorney  to¬ 
day. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  I4. 

Postmaster-General  Bissell  has  requested  all 
members  of  congress  to  file  the  indorsements 
of  every  applicant  for  postmasterships  for  con¬ 
sideration  before  appointments  can  be  acted 
upon.  This  was  construed  as  meaning  that 
the  recommendation  of  members  of  congress 
would  be  ignored  and  that  the  postmaster- 
general  would  take  the  matter  in  his  own 
hands  and  decide  upon  the  merit  of  the  appli¬ 
cants,  regardless  of  the  wishes  of  members. 
This  caused  a  general  alarm  among  members 
and  this  morning  Congressman  Conn  submitted 
in  writing  a  number  of  interrogations,  among  the 
number  being  the  following : 

Will  the  recommendation  of  con?ressmen  govern 
appointments  of  postmasters  or  will  the  petitions 
and  letters  of  indorsement  be  considered  in  your 
department  and  appointments  be  made  accord- 
ingly? 

— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  14. 

Secretary  Reiley,  of  the  state  central  com¬ 
mittee,  Judge  Jordan  and  C.  C.  Kerr,  of  In¬ 
dianapolis,  left  to-night  for  home.  Judge 
Jordan’s  application  for  appointment  as  first 
auditor  of  the  treasury  has  been  favorably 
acted  upon.  Both  senators  urged  his  appoint¬ 
ment  and  Chairman  Taggart,  Secretary  Reiley  and 
Mr.  Bynum  made  especial  efforts  in  his  behalf. — In¬ 
dianapolis  Sentinel,  March  15. 

Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie  took  John  G. 
Shanklin  to  the  President  to-day  to  urge  his 
appointment  to  a  consular  oflSce. — Indianapo¬ 
lis  Sentinel,  March  16. 

Mr.  Bynum  has  made  the  following  recom¬ 
mendations  for  postmaster : 

Elias  Hltghshlre,  Traders’  Point;  T.  C.  Wyrick, 
Maywood;  Henry  C.  Cook,  Bridgeport;  James  W. 
Webb,  Southport:  Charles  C.  Weaver,  Acton;  Will¬ 
iam  M.  Brown,  Clearmont,  Hancock  county;  A.  T. 
Wilson,  Mohawk;  A.  C,  Vanduyn,  Shirley;  James  M. 
Trul,  Edinburg:  John  Gerner,  Philadelphia;  Frank 
Brandenburg,  Charlottsville;  Ira  Beville,  Cleveland, 
Madison  county;  James  W.  Barrett,  Lapel;  Asslan 
Cook,  Pendleton:  William  H.  Barnes,  Florida. 


Weaver,  Brown,  Wilson,  Bradenburg  and 
Beville  are  “exes”  and  may  be  rejected  by  the 
post-office  department.  It  is  understood  that 
the  Indianapolis  post-office  will  be  filled  by  a 
democrat  when  the  four  years  of  republican 
rule  have  expired.  Albert  Sahm  will  be  ap¬ 
pointed.  Postmaster  Thompson  will  have 
served  four  years,  part  of  the  term  as  deputy. 
Had  he  succeeded  a  democrat  he  would  then 
be  allowed  to  go  on.  While  he  has  a  commis¬ 
sion  for  four  years,  he  is  really  filling  out 
Wallace’s  unexpired  term.  The  appointment 
of  a  new  postmaster  belongs  to  Senator  Turpie, 
and  Mr.  Bynum  says  that  as  soon  as  the  sena¬ 
tor  takes  the  initiative  in  the  matter  he  will 
join  him  in  the  movement  to  replace  Thomp¬ 
son  with  a  democrat. — Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
March  17. 

The  Indiana  congressmen  are  getting  out  of 
the  city  for  their  homes  rapidly.  Mr.  Conn 
has  been  overrun  with  applications  for  office, 
and  has  been  giving  close  attention  to  arrang¬ 
ing  the  recommendations  he  intends  to  make, 
will  leave  for  his  home  this  week.  Mr.  Ham¬ 
mond  will  probably  go  the  latter  part  of  the 
week.  Mr.  Hammond,  too,  is  wrestling  with 
a  large  number  of  applications  for  office,  and 
is  finding  it  very  difficult  to  appoint  them  to 
his  own  satisfaction.  Congressman  McNagny 
has  a  room  at  Willard’s,  and  has  been  holding 
levees  from  early  morning  till  late  at  night 
daily,  with  the  crowds  of  Indiana  politicians 
who  stayed  over  until  after  the  inauguration. 
Mr.  McNagny  hopes  to  return  to  his  home  this 
week  also. — Indianapolis  News,  March  9. 

Representative  Hammond  makes  no  secret 
of  the  fact  that  he  has  promised  the  Logans- 
port  postmastership  to  N.  C.  Hanawalt.  Al¬ 
though  there  will  be  no  change  under  several 
months,  Mr.  Hammond  has  come  to  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  the  best  way  to  avoid  trouble  is 
to  anticipate  vacancies  as  far  in  advance  as 
possible,  in  which  conclusion  he  has  many 
followers.  He  has  selected  editor  R.  M. 
Mishelwood,  of  the  Delphi  Journal,  for  the 
Delphi  poslmastership,  but  there  is  a  hitch  in 
that  selection. — Indianapolis  Journal,  March  15. 

Congressman  Conn  has  addressed  the  fol¬ 
lowing  to  his  constituents : 

Now  that  the  policy  of  the  administration  with 
reference  to  the  appointment  of  postmasters  has 
been  defined  there  can  be  no  further  objection  to 
the  selection  of  those  officials  for  the  thirteenth  In¬ 
diana  district,  and  whenever  a  majority  of  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  voters  of  the  same  post-office  present  a  peti¬ 
tion  before  April  15,  1893,  requesting  me  to  call  an 
election  for  the  selection  of  postmasters  I  will  do  so 
under  the  following  conditions : 

1.  No  person  can  be  candidate  for  the  office  of 
postmaster  who  was  an  office-holder  under  the 
former  Cleveland  administration. 

2.  No  person  can  be  a  candidate  for  any  post-office 
where  the  salary  of  such  an  office  exceeds  $800  per 
annum  who  is  connected  with  any  other  business  of 
any  kind  or  character. 

3.  No  person  can  be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
postmaster  who  is  not  a  good  democratic  voter  in 
good  standing,  who  is  not  a  man  of  good  business 
ability,  who  does  not  bear  a  reputation  for  honesty, 
morality  and  sobriety,  and  who  has  not  been  an  ac¬ 
tive  worker  for  the  democratic  party  in  past  years. 

4.  No  person  can  be  a  candidate  for  a  post-office 
who  will  not  pledge  himself  to  give  his  time  and  at¬ 


tention  to  the  duties  of  the  office,  provided  he  is 
elected.  In  other  words,  every  postmaster  in  the 
thirteenth  district  is  expected  to  be  a  postmaster  and 
not  turn  the  office  over  to  a  paid  employe. 

5.  No  petition  for  the  election  of  a  postmaster  will 
be  accepted  for  consideration  after  April  15, 1893,  and 
all  recommendations  for  postmasters  will  be  made 
before  May  15,  1893. 

The  above  qualifications  of  postmasters  are  neces¬ 
sary  to  applicants  for  post-offices  where  they  are 
elected  toappointmentor  recommended,  and  I  earn¬ 
estly  request  all  democratic  voters  in  the  thirteenth 
district  to  give  me  their  assistance  in  selecting  post¬ 
masters  who  will  discharge  the  duties  of  their  .sev¬ 
eral  offices  with  fidelity,  zeal  and  honesty  to  the  gen¬ 
eral  public.  C.  G.  Conn, 

M.  C.  Thirteenth  Indiana  District. 

— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  14. 

Representative  Conn  and  wife  will  leave  to¬ 
morrow  for  home  in  Elkhart.  Mr.  Conn  will 
return  in  a  few  weeks  to  deal  out  the  post-offices. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  15. 

Representative  Conn,  of  Elkhart,  deprecates 
the  Cleveland  order  forbidding  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  country  editors  to  post-office  and  other 
positions,  and  in  an  interview  in  this  even¬ 
ing’s  Star  he  says: 

“  My  district  is  an  agricultural  district 
largely.  I  canvassed  it  very  thoroughly  and 
was  brought  in  contact  with  the  editors  of 
the  local  rural  press.  No  class  of  men  do 
more  in  a  campaign  to  further  the  interests  of 
their  party  than  do  the  editors  and  newspaper 
men.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  coun¬ 
try  editor.  The  circulation  of  their  paper  is 
small,  they  work  very  hard  and  they  fight 
their  battles  as  if  the  fate  of  the  nation  and 
their  own  lives  depended  upon  the  success  of 
their  candidates.  They  are  certainly  deserv¬ 
ing  of  reward  and  should  be  the  very  last  class 
of  recipients  for  presidential  favor  who  should 
be  discriminated  against.” — Indianapolis  Jour¬ 
nal,  March  15. 

Congressman  Conn  left  this  morning  for  his 
home  at  Elkhart,  Ind.  He  will  be  in  Indiana 
two  weeks  closing  np  post-office  matters.— Indianapolis 
News,  March  15. 

Congressman  Conn,  who  left  the  city,  ac¬ 
companied  hy  his  wife,  yesterday,  goes  home 
for  the  purpose  of  settling  a  number  of  post- 
office  disputes  in  his  district.  He  expects  to 
settle  up  most  of  the  offices  and  have  his  rec¬ 
ommendations  ready  in  about  two  weeks, 
when  he  will  return  to  Washington.— Jndtan- 
apolis  News,  March  16. 

Columbus. — The  post-office  war  has  broken 
out  here  in  earnest  and  promises  to  result  in  a 
factional  fight  that  threatens  to  disrupt  the 
party.  At  the  close  of  the  last  campaign  Con¬ 
gressman  Cooper  recommended  Capt  G.  E. 
Finney,  who  formerly  held  the  office  under 
Cleveland,  for  postmaster,  over  the  protest  of 
nearly  every  democrat  here  except  himself. 
Delegations  of  prominent  democrats  waited 
upon  Mr.  Cooper  and  tried  to  persuade  him  to 
he  silent,  but  he  refused  to  listen  to  their  mpplica- 
tions  and  claimed  he  had  absolute  right  to  appoint 
the  postmaster,  and  proposed  to  exercise  that  right, 
regardless  of  what  his  constituents  might 
think  or  say.  Now,  since  Cleveland  has  ruled 
out  the  old  office-holders,  the  fight  has  been 


8 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


renewed,  and  last  night  one  hundred  representa¬ 
tive  democrats  met,  and  speeches  were  made 
denouncing  Congressman  Cooper  in  the  most 
violent  language  as  a  dictator  and  usurper  of 
power  that  by  right  belongs  to  his  constitu¬ 
ents.  The  result  was  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  wait  upon  Mr.  Cooper  and  de¬ 
mand  of  him  that  he  “shall  appoint”  whom 
the  democrats  select,  in  such  manner  as  they 
determine  on.  Cooper  was  specially  invited 
to  attend  the  meeting,  but  he  left  the  city,  it 
is  said,  to  avoid  being  present. — Indianapolis 
News,  March  14- 

Congressman  George  W.  Cooper  was  in  the 
city  an  hour  yesterday  afternoon,  en  route 
home  from  the  national  capital. 

“  What  do  the  office-seekers  think  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Cleveland’s  policy  concerning  those  who 
held  positions  under  his  former  administra 
tion?”  Mr.  Cooper  was  asked. 

“  Well,  it  has  caused  a  great  many  heart¬ 
burnings  and  disappointments.  I  have  no  ob¬ 
jections  to  the  rule  if  he  applies  it  to  the  re 
publicans  who  are  now  holding  office,  but  if 
he  does  not  f  can  see  serious  reasons  why  such 
a  policy  should  not  be  pursued.  I  don’t  be¬ 
lieve  tbe  fact  of  a  man  once  having  held  office 
should  disqualify  him  from  holding  again  if 
he  has  performed  his  work  in  a  satisfactory 
manner.”  Congressman  Cooper  says  it  is  the 
President’s  policy  to  only  appoint  such  men 
to  office  who  will  give  their  whole  time  to  the 
duties  of  their  respective  places.  This  he  be¬ 
lieves  will  not  work  very  successfully,  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  it  can  be  carried  out  at  all.  He 
thinks  .John  W.  Kern  is  sure  of  the  district 
attorneyship,  and  looks  for  his  nomination 
during  the  coming  week.  “Senator  Voorhees,” 
said  he,  “  is  making  no  fight  on  Kero,  but  is 
simply  carrying  out  pledges  made  to  the 
friends  of  Frank  Burke.” — Indi mapolis  Senti¬ 
nel,  March  13. 

Congressman  Taylor,  of  the  first  district, 
has  been  wrestling  with  Washington  malaria. 
In  consequence  of  his  illness,  Mr.  Taylor  has 
not  had  an  opportunity  to  give  close  attention 
to  the  interesting  array  of  office-seekers  that 
is  here  from  his  section,  and  consequently  will 
be  detained  in  Washington  for  some  time  yet. 
Mr.  Hammond  will  be  here  about  the  first  of 
May,  and  the  others  will  probably  come  about 
the  same  time,  for  then,  it  is  expected,  the  ad¬ 
ministration  will  be  prepared  to  take  up  and 
deal  with  the  small  offices.  Congressman  Ham¬ 
mond  said  to-day  that  he  had  not  settled  any  of  the 
large  post-offices  in  his  district  yet,  but  would  do  so 
during  his  stay  at  home.  He  has  had  quite  a 
number  of  applications  for  consulships  and 
other  places  as  bureau  chiefs,  etc.,  which  he 
will  file  with  the  President  before  he  leaves. 
One  of  the  strongest  applications  which  he 
will  file  is  that  of  ex-Congressman  Patton, 
who  is  a  candidate  for  superintendent  of  im¬ 
migration,  which  office  was  vacated  by  Mr. 
Owen,  of  Indiana,  a  resident  of  Mr.  Ham¬ 
mond’s  district.  Congressman  Patton  has  the 
indorsement  of  all  the  Indiana  and  Kentucky 
delegations  and  has  nearly  all  the  representa-  j 


tives  on  the  democratic  side  of  the  last  house. 
— Indianapolis  News,  March  17. 

Kepresentative  Bynum  is  still  at  the  wheel, 
trying  to  turn  out  an  office  or  two  for  his  con¬ 
stituents,  but  he  expects  to  get  away  when  the 
decks  are  cleared.  Jason  Brown,  Mr.  Taylor 
and  the  other  representatives  here  from  Indi¬ 
ana  are  all  anxious  to  go  home. — Indianapolis 
Journal,  March  IS. 

Among  the  callers  upon  President  Cleveland 
this  morning  were  several  Hoosiers,  besides 
the  two  senators  and  Governor  Matthews. 
Representative  Martin  brought  an  uncom¬ 
mon  name  when  he  presented  that  of  Jerome 
HerflT,  of  Peru,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Havana 
consulship.  Congressman  Bynum  introduced 
S.  W.  Ralston,  of  Lebanon,  who  wants  to  be 
appointed  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the 
seventh  district.  Mr.  Brookshire  was  also  at 
the  White  House.  The  name  of  Joshua  Jump, 
of  Terre  Haute,  was  presented  for  collector  of 
internal  revenue  by  some  of  the  Indianians. — 
Indianapolis  Journal,  March  18. 

Congressman  Taylor  has  filed  the  applic<i- 
tion  of  Dr.  George  W.  Buckner,  of  Evansville, 
for  recorder  of  the  land  office.  He  is  a  col¬ 
ored  man. —  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  18. 

Representative  Pendleton,  of  West  Virginia,  was  one 
of  the  early  (lallers.  He  urged  that  Frank  H.  Jepson 
of  his  state  be  appointed  United  States  treasurer. 
He  also  discussed  for  a  few  minutes  the  policy  of 
allowing  office-holders  appointed  by  President  Har- 
son  to  serve  out  their  terms. 

Representative  Kilgore,  of  Texas,  who  has  called 
daily  at  the  White  House,  was  there  again  to  day. 
He  introduced  Judge  Robert  McCart,  of  Texas,  who 
would  like  to  be  appointed  minister  to  Belgium.— 
Neiv  York  Times,  March  11. 

<■  *  <« 

Representative  Ealoe,  of  Tennessee,  introduced  R. 
H.  Coe  of  his  state,  who  is  a  candidate  for  United 
States  marshal  for  the  western  district  of  that  state. 

Sejiator  Lindsay,  of  Kentucky,  with  Representative 
Montgomery,  presented  the  name  of  Gen.  Richardson 
of  that  state  for  marshal,  and  Judge  Severs  for  col¬ 
lector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  second  Kentucky 
district. 

Senator  Palmer,  of  Illinois,  came  next,  and  he  had 
a  candidate  for  marshal  for  the  southern  district  of 
Illinois.  He  recommended  Capt.  Brinton  for  that 
position. 

Representative  Oates,  of  Alabama,  presented  the 
name  of  Hannis  Taylor,  of  Mobile,  for  the  Spanish 
mission. 

Representative  Bynum  was  with  the  President  long 
enough  to  say  a  good  word  for  John  Kern,  of  Indi¬ 
anapolis,  who  would  like  to  be  district  attorney  for 
that  district. 

Senators  Proctor,  Voorhees  and  West,  George  R.  Tin¬ 
gle,  and  Representative  Outhwaite,  of  Ohio,  made 
brief  calls.  Mr.  Outhwaite  brought  Thomas  Wetzler, 
of  Lancaster,  editor  of  the  Eagle,  who  wants  to  be 
public  printer.— Wew  York  Times,  March  11 

<<  <t 

"  This  must  be  Kentucky  Derby  day,”  remarked 
Congressman  Carulh  this  morning,  as  he  walked  into 
the  President’s  anteroom  and  saw  three  Kentucky  con¬ 
gressmen  with  thirteen  friends,  who  are  in  the  race  for 
office,  awaiting  their  turn.  “That  being  the  case,” 
hecontinued,  "I  guessl’ll  make  afew  entries  myself. 
Here’s  my  friend,  W.  R.  Kinney,  whom  I’ll  back  for 
collector  of  the  fifth  internal  revenue  district.  He’s 
a  good  goer,  too.”  Mr.  Caruth  also  filed  the  papers 
of  Caleb  Dorsey  for  United  States  marshal  of  his  dis¬ 
trict  in  New  York.— Indianapolis  Journal,  March  14, 

*  <■  « 

The  report  that  Mr.  Cleveland  had  told  congress¬ 
men  that  he  did  not  Intend  to  appoint  newspaper 


men  to  office  for  the  reason,  among  others,  that  he 
might  be  accused  of  subsidizing  the  press,  does  not 
hold  good.  Congressmen  Dockery,  De  Armond,  Cobb, 
Burns,  and  Morgan,  of  Missouri,  called  on  the  Presi¬ 
dent  to  day  for  the  express  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  truth  about  the  “no  journalist  need  apply”  rule. 
—  Indianapolis  Journal,  March  14. 

Representative  Kilgore  and  Bailey,  of  Texas,  were 
among  the  early  callers.  They  came  to  present  the 
name  of  C.  B.  Stewart,  of  Gainesville,  Tex.,  for  ap¬ 
pointment  as  judge  of  the  Muskogee  (I.  T.)  court. 

“Will  you  request  a  federal  appointment?”  Mr. 
Kilgore  was  asked. 

“Not  much,”  he  replied.  “1  am  coming  back  to 
congress  to  raise  cain.” 

Representative  Springer,  of  Illinois,  presented  the 
name  of  Edgar  Morrison,  of  Morrisonville,  cousin  to 
William  R.  Morrison,  with  an  application  for  ap¬ 
pointment  as  consul  to  Kanugawa,  Japan.— /ndiana- 
polis  Sentinel,  March  15. 

«  <<  >;« 

The  Brooklyn  contingent  is  not  going  to  be  .satis¬ 
fied  with  a  small  share  of  customs  service  patronage. 
Hugh  McLaughlin  wants  both  the  appraiser  and  sur¬ 
veyor.  He  is  said  to  care  very  little  about  the  naval  office, 
but  he  does  want  the  other  places,— New  York  Times, 
March  15. 

i>  <■ 

Senator  Irby  (S.  C.)  with  Judge  Earle,  ex-attorney 
general  of  South  Carolina,  who  wants  the  district  at¬ 
torneyship  for  his  state,  visited  President  Cleveland 
lo-day. 

Representative  Meredith  (Va.)  introduced  a  candi¬ 
date  for  the  Lyons  consulate— George  S.  Shackelford, 
of  Orange,  Va. 

J.  A.  Manson,  of  Memphis,  and  E.  P.  Bond  came 
•wiih.  Representative  Patterson  (Penn.).  Mr.  Manson 
is  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  marshalship  of 
the  western  district  of  his  state,  and  Mr.  Bond  wants 
to  be  internal  revenue  collector  for  its  middle  and 
western  districts. — Buffalo  Express,  March  16. 

The  Mississippi  senators  are  conceded  by  the  rep¬ 
resentatives  from  that  state  the  right  to  suggest  and 
insist  upon  the  appointments  to  some  of  the  offices 
in  Mississippi.  To  keep  all  disputes  concerning  the 
offices  allotted  to  the  senators  from  coming  to  the 
President,  the  senators  to-day  had  a  conference,  and 
agreed  upon  certain  nominations  which  shall  be  rec¬ 
ommended  and  urged  by  both  senators. 

The  Alabama  senators  and  representatives  have 
decided  to  meet  at  the  capital  March  28  and  “  con¬ 
sider  fairly,  fully  and  carefully  all  applications  that 
have  heretofore  been  or  may  up  to  that  day  be  sub¬ 
mitted  to  us  for  such  joint  recommendation,  together 
with  all  papers  filed  in  support  of  each  such  appli* 
cation,  and  shall  act  upon  the  same.”— iVew  York 
Times,  March  14. 

>:<  * 

“The  men  who  went  to  Wa.shington  after  offices  do 
not  move  out  very  rapidly,  in  spite  of  the  hints  which 
have  come  from  the  White  House,”  J.  J.  Richardson, 
member  of  the  national  democratic  committee  from 
Iowa,  said  to  a  New  York  Times  reporter  at  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel  yesterday.  Mr.  Richardson  has  been 
In  Washington  ever  since  the  inauguration,  and  has 
called  on  the  President  several  times.  He  made  sev. 
eral  recommendations  for  federal  offices  in  his  state. 
—New  York  Times,  March  15. 

* 

Although  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  candidates 
are  scarce,  this  does  not  apply  to  the  northwestern 
cornerof  the  Keystone  Stale.  The  democrats  of  that 
section  want  office,  and  they  are  not  afraid  to  ask  for 
it  either,  and  their  representative,  Mr.  Sibley,  is  hus¬ 
tling  with  all  his  might  to  gather  in  as  many  loaves 
and  fishes  as  possible  before  the  other  Keystone  dem¬ 
ocrats  awake  tothesltuatlon.— R«#aIo  Express,  March 
15. 

*  # 

Speaker  Crisp,  who  is  a  daily  visitor,  appeared 
abont  11  o'clock  with  Mr.  J.  W.  Walters,  of  Albany, 
Qa.,  who  wants  to  be  district  attorney  for  the  south¬ 
ern  district  of  Georgia. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  , CHRONICLE 


9 


Mr.  Edgar  Morrison,  of  Illinois,  called  at  the  White 
House  to-day  with  Representaltve  Springer.  Mr.  Mor¬ 
rison  is  a  cousin  of  the  Hon.  William  R.  Morrison, 
who  is  now  asking  the  appointment  and  would  like 
to  be  consul  to  Kanagawa,  Japan. 

Mr.  Harry  Hawkins,  of  Duluth,  Minn.,  who  de¬ 
sires  to  be  governor  of  Alaska,  was  presented  to  the 
President  this  morning  by  Representative  Baldwin  of 
Minnesota. — New  York  Times,  March  12. 

<«  »5« 

Speaker  Crisp  v! ns  another  of  the  early  birds.  He 
escorted  Col.  Blackburn,  of  Atlanta,  who  desires  a 
foreign  mission;  Mr.  Lindsey  Johnson,  of  Rome,  who 
would  like  to  go  abroad  as  consul,  and  Mr.  T.  W. 
Rucker,  who  wants  to  be  the  district  attorney  for  the 
northern  district  of  Georgia. 

Senator  Oeorge,  of  Mississippi,  introduced  to  Mr. 
Cleveland  Major  Dockery  of  his  state,  who  wants  to 
represent  the  United  States  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and 
Col.  Gordon,  w'ho  is  after  the  consulship  at  Hong¬ 
kong.  Lieut.  Gov.  Evans,  of  Mississippi,  was  also 
presented. 

Senator  Martin,  of  Kansas,  came  with  Charles  H.  T. 
Taylor,  the  colored  Kansan,  who  desires  to  succeed 
Mr.  Bruce  as  recorder  of  deeds.  Mr.  Taylor  left  his 
papers  with  the  President. 

Representatives  Dockery,  Morgan,  Burns,  Cobh  and 
Dearmond  of  Mississippi  sought  an  interview  with 
Mr.  Cleveland  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  it  was 
true  that  their  editorial  constituents  need  not  hope 
for  any  appointments.  Mr.  Cleveland  assured  them 
that  the  report  to  the  effect  that  newspaper  editors 
would  not  receive  any  consideration  at  the  hands  of 
the  administration  was  incorrect,  and  he  could  not 
imagine  how  it  gained  currency.  So  far  as  he  was 
concerned,  he  said,  newspaper  men  would  be  treat¬ 
ed  just  as  considerately  as  any  class  of  citizens  who 
might  desire  to  serve  the  covernment.  This  infor¬ 
mation  put  the  Missouri  delegation  in  a  very  good 
humor. 

The  presence  of  Reprensentative  Wilson,  of  West 
Virginia,  in  Mr.  Cleveland’s  office  this  morning  was 
said  by  the  gossips  to  have  a  close  connection  with 
the  movement  to  make  Senator  Faulkner  of  West 
Virginia,  chief  justice  of  the  new  district  court  of 
appeals.— WeM  York  Times,  March  14. 

When  the  President  passed  into  the  public  hall¬ 
way,  after  his  conference  with  the  bishops,  on  his 
way  to  his  oflQce,  he  was  waylaid  by  several  congress¬ 
men  and  stood  for  a  time  in  the  hallway  talking  to 
them. — New  York  Times,  March  16. 

«  «  «> 

All  the  visitors  to  the  President  came  between  10 
and  11  o’clock,  and  consisted  chiefly  of  senators  and 
representatives,  including  Senators  Berry  of  Arkan¬ 
sas,  Voorhees  and  Turpie,  of  Indiana;  Vance,  of  North 
Carolina:  Mills  and  Coke,  of  Texas;  Carey,  of  Wyom¬ 
ing;  Palmer,  of  Illinois;  Stanford,  of  California;  Gor¬ 
don,  of  Georgia;  Representatives  Brookshire,  of  Indiana; 
Amerman,  of  Pennsylvania, with  John  J.  O’Boyle,  of 
Scranton,  who  wants  the  postmastership  there,  and 
John  J.  Fahey,  sheriff  of  Lackawanna  county,  Penn¬ 
sylvania;  Bynum,  of  Indiana;  Painter,  of  Kentucky; 
Forman,  of  Illinois;  Martin,  of  Indiana;  Henderson, 
of  North  Carolina;  Hicks,  of  Pennsylvania;  Paschal, 
of  Texas,  and  Henderson,  of  lo-v/n.— Indianapolis 
News,  March  17. 

The  Pennsylvania  delegation  have  come  to  a  pretty 
good  understanding  among  themselves,  and,  feeling 
that  the  situation  with  them  is  too  serious  to  admit 
of  their  risking  any  mistakes,  have  assumed  the  wait¬ 
ing  policy,  having  armed  themselves  against  Harrity 
as  well  as  they  can. 

Representative  Sibley’s  mail  contains  but  little  else 
than  letters  about  the  post-offices  in  his  Pennsylva¬ 
nia  district.  The  applicants  began  work  on  the  day 
after  the  election  in  November  and  have  kept  it  up 
ever  since.  For  every  presidential  office  in  his  dis¬ 
trict  there  are  from  five  to  eleven,  and  in  one  or  two 
instances  thirteen  candidates.  And  the  contest  for 
the  small  fourth-class  offices  is  nearly  as  brisk.  For 
the  Erie  nost-office  there  are  said  to  be  seven  candi¬ 
dates.— Rujfofo  Express,  March  15. 


Whenever  the  Minnesota  men  can  agree  upon  a 
method  of  procedure  there  are  many  men  whose 
claims  will  be  presented.  Some  have  filed  applica¬ 
tions  with  the  President  to-day.  Ex-Representative 
W.  H.  Harris  wants  to  go  to  Alaska  as  governor,  and 
he  has  some  backing  among  democrats  of  his  state. 
If  he  can  not  have  that  place  his  friends  say  he  will 
be  urged  as  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  Min¬ 
nesota  district.— A’cio  York  Times,  March  9. 

4 

It  will  be  a  week  or  more  before  the  democrats  of 
New  Jersey  will  be  ready  to  make  an  organized  effort 
to  secure  the  offices  which  they  think  should  be  be¬ 
stowed  upon  them.  They  would  have  been  clamor¬ 
ing  at  the  White  House  before  now  but  for  the  advice 
of  several  of  the  congressional  delegation  to  the  effect 
that  from  a  well-organized  plan  of  action  much  bet¬ 
ter  results  might  be  expected.  In  deference  to  this 
opinion  the  eager  Jerseymen  are  restraining  them¬ 
selves,  and  arrangements  are  making  for  a  meeting  of 
the  New  Jersey  senators  and  democratic  representatives 
to  be  held  next  week  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  upon  the 
policy  to  be  followed  in  besieging  Mr.  Cleveland. 

So  far,  each  of  the  New  Jersey  democrats  in  con¬ 
gress  has  received  about  200  applications  for  post- 
offices  from  his  constituents,  and  there  is  no  sign 
that  the  deluge  will  cease  at  once.  The  question  of 
post-office  will  probably  be  settled  outside  of  the 
general  patronage  conference.  Each  senator  and 
democratic  respesentative  will  do  his  best  for  the 
men  finally  decided  upon.  Prom  present  indications 
there  will  be  plenty  of  work  to  be  disposed  of  at  the 
conference.  Candidates  for  internal  revenue  col¬ 
lectors,  ministers,  and  consuls  have  already  sent 
their  names  to  members  of  the  delegation,  and  they 
will  be  on  hand  when  the  time  comes  to  decide  up¬ 
on  the  prize  winners.  Afterward  the  tug  of  war  will 
come  at  this  end  of  the  line. —Neu»  York  Times,  Mar.  9. 

v  >>  * 

The  business  of  handling  the  office-seeker  is  being 
systematized,  at  least  by  one  of  the  Texas  senators. 
He  is  keeping  a  llstof  all  the  applications  sent  to  him 
by  his  constituents,  and  his  crop  of  1893  promises  to 
be  an  abundant  one.  So  far  he  has  received  and 
placed  on  file  500  communications  asking  govern¬ 
ment  jobs  for  as  many  men.— iVew  York  Times, 
March  8. 

«C« 

New  Jersey’s  share  of  federal  patronage  is  to  be 
distributed  decently  and  in  order.  In  about  a  week 
the  democrats  of  the  state’s  delegation  in  congress 
will  get  together  for  a  conference  to  settle  the  vari¬ 
ous  questions  arising  in  the  distribution  of  offices, 
and  such  fighting  as  has  to  be  done  is  to  be  settled 
by  the  delegation.  In  the  conference  the  two  dem¬ 
ocratic  senators  will  take  the  places  of  the  two  repub¬ 
lican  members  of  the  house.  It  is  likely  that  to  the 
senators  will  be  left  the  settling  of  questions  con¬ 
cerning  appointments  which  have  to  be  confirmed 
by  the  senate,  while  the  congressmen  will  look  after 
the  others.  Where  the  meeting  will  be  held  is  in 
doubt,  but  the  chances  are  very  good  that  the  Jer- 
seymen  will  get  together  in  New  York  City.— iVew 
York  Times,  March  8. 

»  «  « 

Senator  Palmer,  of  Illinois,  called  on  the  President 
this  afternoon  and  presented  the  name  of  Judge 
Browning  of  Illinois  for  the  position  of  commissioner 
of  the  general  land  office. 

Ex-Representative  Rogers,  of  Arkansas,  is  backed 
by  some  of  the  congressional  delegation  from  that 
state  for  the  office  of  solicitor  general.  His  name 
has  been  presented  to  President  Cleveland  for  that 
place.  Senator  Jones  of  that  state  called  on  the 
President  this  afternoon,  and  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Rogers  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  topics  of  conver¬ 
sation. — New  York  Times,  March  8. 

A  Virginia  delegation,  consisting  of  Senator  Hunton 
and  Representatives  Wise  and  Meredith,  presented  to 
the  President  the  name  of  Judge  John  Goode,  of 
Virginia,  for  the  solicitor-generalship. 

Senator  Lindsay,  of  Kentucky,  came  with  C.  T. 
Allen,  of  his  stale,  and  asked  Mr.  Cleveland  to  ap¬ 


point  the  latter  an  assistant  postmaster-general.  Mr. 
Wheeler  and  Mr.  McKenzie  want  foreign  missions 
and  Mr.  Watts  would  like  to  be  a  consul  at  one  of 
the  British  ports.  Their  claims  are  being  pressed  by 
Congressman  William  J.  Stone,  who  called  on  the 
President  this  morning.  Chief  Justice  Bennett,  of 
Kentucky,  who  came  with  Congressman  Stone,  mere¬ 
ly  paid  his  respects  to  Mr.  Cleveland.  Judge  Ben¬ 
nett’s  claims  will  probably  be  7)ressed  for  the  circuit 
judgeship  left  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Judge 
Jackson  to  the  supreme  bench. 

Senator  Palmer  and  Representatives  Newberry  and 
Durborrow  VI ere  ushed  into  the  President’s  presence 
with  several  Illinois  applicants  for  prominent  offices 
behind  them.  They  were  ex-Congressman  Scott 
Wike,  Mr.  Delos  Phelps  and  Gen.  R.  J.  Smith.  Mr. 
Wike  is  after  the  position  of  comptroller  of  the  cur¬ 
rency,  and  Mr.  Phelps  wants  to  be  a  consul  to  some 
prominent  place.  General  Smith  is  after  the  position 
of  postmaster  at  Chicago. 

Congressman  Kilgore,  of  Texas,  had  a  little  talk 
with  the  President  about  the  Mexican  mission,  the 
position  for  which  he  has  been  indorsed  by  the  Texas 
legislature.  Congressman  Amos  J.  Cummings  intro¬ 
duced  to  Mr.  Cleveland  a  delegation  representing 
typographical  organizations.  They  entered  a  pro¬ 
test  against  the  appointment  of  C.  W.  Edwards,  of 
Wilmington,  Del.,  to  the  office  of  public  printer.  A 
hot  fight  for  the  office  has  already  begun.— /ndian- 
apoUs  News,  March  8. 

»:»  #  » 

Two  other  visitors  came  a  short  time  after  who  at¬ 
tracted  some  attention.  They  were  Senator  Irby  and 
Governor  Tillman,  of  South  Carolina.  They  were 
among  Mr.  Cleveland’s  most  bitter  opponents  up  to 
the  time  of  his  nomination,  but  since  that  lime  have 
been  “  placated.”  Since  the  election  they  have  been 
protesting  that  they  admire  Mr.  Cleveland  exceed¬ 
ingly,  and  they  have  said  with  considerable  frank¬ 
ness  that  they  believe  the  Tillman  faction  of  South 
Carolina  should  be  given  a  good  share  of  the  federal 
offices  which  will  naturally  go  to  that  state.— A’ew) 
York  Times,  March  9. 

>i» 

Senator  Mills,  of  Texas,  was  one  of  the  early  visitors 
at  theWhite  House, and  after  he  had  gone  away  Senator 
Hunton  and  Representatives  Wise  and  Meredith  called^ 
They  presented  the  name  of  John  Goode  for  the  po¬ 
sition  of  solicitor  general.— Wew  York  Times,  March  9. 

Another  applicant  for  his  former  position  appeared 
in  ex-Minlster  Buck,  of  Kentucky,  who  had  the  Pe¬ 
ruvian  mission  during  the  first  Cleveland  term.  With 
him  was  Representative  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky. — 
Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  12. 

«  « 

Postmaster-General  Bissell  has  on  his  desk  a  “lit¬ 
tle  list”  which  will  cut  an  important  figure  for  a 
few  months  to  come.  It  is  a  list  of  356  congressional 
distHcts  of  the  United  States,  and  alongside  every 
district  is,  or  will  be,  the  name  of  the  man  who  will 
contest  the  post-office  patronage  of  that  district. 
The  list  shows  217  democratic  districts,  and  in  eachof 
these  the  name  of  the  democratic  congressman  appears  as 
the  one  who  is  to  advise  on  offices.— Indianapolis  Journal, 
March  12. 

« 

Congressman  Springer,  of  Illinois,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  callers,  and  he  went  away  with  the  knowl¬ 
edge  that  Mr.  Cleveland  intended  to  adhere  to  his 
rule  about  not  appointing  former  office-holders  to 
their  old  office.  As  he  himself  jokingly  expressed 
it:  “My  worst  suspicions  were  confirmed.”  This  is 
the  second  talk  Mr.  Springer  has  had  with  the  Presi. 
dent  on  the  subject. 

Undeterred  by  the  no-reappointment  rule.  Col. 
Childs,  ex-minister  to  Siam,  asked  the  President  to 
send  him  back  to  the  land  of  he  white  elephant. 
He  was  with  Representative  Dockery,  of  Missouri,  who 
put  in  a  good  word  for  him. 

Congressman  Richardson  saw  the  President  in  be¬ 
half  of  Chief  Justice  Lerton,  of  the  Tennessee  su¬ 
preme  court.  Judge  Lerton  wants  to  succeed  to  the 
circuit  court  vacancy  caused  by  the  promotion  of 
Justice  Jackson  to  the  federal  supreme  bench. — In¬ 
dianapolis  Sentinel,  March  12. 


10 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


'THR  ONSIaAUQHT:". 

“Public  office  is  a  public  trust.  IVe  reaffirm  the  declaration  of  the  democratic  national  convention  of  1876  for  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service,  [Reform  is  necessary  in  the  civil  service.  Experience  proves  that  efficient,  economical  conduct  of  the 
government  business  is  not  possible  if  its  civil  service  be  subject  to  change  at  every  election,  be  a  prize  fought  for  at  the  ballot 
box,  be  a  brief  reward  of  party  zeal,  instead  of  posts  of  honor,  assigned  for  proved  competency  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the  public 
employ;  that  the  dispensing  of  patronage  should  neither  be  a  tax  upon  the  time  of  all  our  public  men,  nor  the  instrument  of 
their  ambition]  and  we  call  forthe  honest  enforcement  of  all  laws  regulating  the  same.  The  nomination  of  a  President,  as  in  the 
recent  republican  convention  by  delegations  composed  largely  of  his  appointees,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure,  is  a  scandalous 
satire  upon  free  popular  institutions,  and  a  startling  illustration  of  the  methods  by  which  a  President  may  gratify  his  ambition. 
We  denounce  a  policy  under  which  federal  office-holders  usurp  control  of  party  conventions  in  the  states,  and  we  pledge  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  party  to  the  reform  of  these  and  all  other  abuses  whicb  threaten  individual  liberty  and  local  self-government.”— .^’a<^onai 
Democratic  Platform,  1892. 

JACKSONIAN  DRMOGRAGY. 

That  the  indiscriminate  removal  of  publie  officers  for  a  mere  difference  of  political  opinion  is  a  gross  abuse  of  power;  and 
that  the  doctrines  lately  boldly  preached  in  the  United  States  senate,  that  “  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils  of  the  vanquished,”  is 
detrimental  to  the  interests,  corrupting  to  the  morals  and  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  country. — Democratic plat/oim  1832. 


THE  SCENE  AT  WASHINGTON. 

Judge  Gresham  was  feeling  well  this  morning  and 
did  not  seem  to  be  in  the  least  fatigued  from  the 
strain  that  had  been  put  upon  him  by  the  events  of 
two  days  and  the  importunities  of  many  place- 
hunters.— /ndtanapofis  Nevrs,  March  6. 

#  <■  « 

The  steady  tramp,  tramp  of  the  office-seekers  sound¬ 
ed  through  the  White  House  all  day.  There  was  prac¬ 
tically  no  cessation  in  the  line  of  people  who  ascended 
the  stairway  leading  to  the  President’s  room,  and 
nearly  all  who  came  saw  Mr.  Cleveland.— /ndianapo- 
tis  Sentinel,  March  S. 

Jjc  <1  <« 

If  some  tents  could  be  pitched  in  the  spacious 
grounds  about  the  White  House  and  rations  be 
served  there,  a  large  crowd  of  people  now  in  this  city 
would  doubtless  be  very  thankful.  They  would  thus  be 
spared  the  trouble  of  doing  so  much  walking,  as  they 
are  now  doing,  between  their  hotels  and  the  execu¬ 
tive  mansion.  In  effect  they  have  gone  Into  camp 
before  the  President’s  door,  and  they  lay  almost  con¬ 
tinuous  siege  in  an  effort  to  reach  the  interior  rooms 
where  Mr. Cleveland  doesbusiness.  They  want  offices 
for  themselves  or  their  friends.  The  crowd  is  said  to 
be  larger  than  the  most  sanguine  person  had  an¬ 
ticipated.  Delegation  after  delegation  has  been  ad¬ 
mitted  to  see  the  President  to  day,  and  there  has 
been  almost  a  constant  line  before  the  White  House 
doors  of  those  who  come  alone  to  present  their 
claims.  Much  of  the  President's  time  has  been  de¬ 
voted  to  these  visitors.  For  the  most  part,  however, 
the  President  has  been  very  accessible,  and  has  re¬ 
ceived  his  visitors  with  a  degree  of  good  nature  and 
interest  in  their  errands  which  has  been  surprising. 
— New  York  Times,  March  9. 

*  >>  <■ 

The  President  was  in  his  office  at  nine  o’clock,  and 
within  two  hours  had  exchanged  greetings  with  a 
dozen  senators  and  as  many  more  members  of  the 
house,  listened  to  a  dozen  or  more  pleas  for  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  devoted  the  remainder  of  the  time  to 
some  delegations  from  different  states  who  wanted 
to  discuss  his  policy  with  reference  to  appointments. 

Soon  after  Senator  Hill  went  away  the  crowd  be¬ 
gan  to  gather  and  at  10  o’clock  the  office  hunters 
were  there  in  a  throng.  As  soon  as  they  had  gone 
there  came  a  delegation  who  wanted  to  protest 
against  the  appointment  of  ex-Governor  Gray,  of 
Indiana,  to  be  minister  to  Mexico. 

A  delegation  of  the  Virginia  democratic  associa¬ 
tion  saw  the  President.  From  other  states  the  num¬ 
ber  of  office-seekers  is  increasing  and  the  siege  at  the 
White  House  and  at  some  of  the  departments  is  kept 
up  with  a  zeal  that  is  exhausting.  There  are  a  dozen 
candidates  for  some  of  the  fat  positions  and  the 
claims  of  some  are  pressed  on  all  possible  occasions. 
New  York  Times,  March  16. 

*  <•  << 

Secretary  Carlisle  has  been  so  overrun  with  callers 
since  he  assumed  office  that  he  has  not  had  time  to 
give  the  subject  of  changes  in  the  offices  his  atten¬ 
tion.  To-day  he  took  possession  of  a  private  room  in 


the  treasury  department,  far  removed  from  his  office, 
where  he  could  work  without  being  constantly  in¬ 
terrupted  by  office-seekers.  The  location  of  this 
room  is  kept  secret.  There  he  has  begun  work  on  a 
pile  of  applications  of  office  that  would  have  discour¬ 
aged  a  less  determined  man.— Wew  York  Times,  March 
12. 

The  desire  of  members  of  congress  and  applicants 
for  office-  to  see  the  papers  on  file  for  positions  has 
retarded  the  work  of  appointment  division  so  much 
that  Secretary  Carlisle  has  issued  an  order  on  the 
subject. — Indianapolis  Sentinel,  Marchll. 

«■<<>:< 

For  an  hour  and  a  half  prior  to  the  assembling  of 
the  cabinet  Mr.  Cleveland  saw  a  large  number  of 
visitors,  Ihegreater  number  composed  of  office-seekers 
and  theiradvocates.- //idiaaapofis  Journal,  Marchll. 
^  ^ 

To  day  the  new  secretary  of  the  treasury  got  a  taste 
of  the  wiles  of  persistent  office-seekers.  His  room 
was  fairly  filled  with  callers.  Mr.  Carlisle’s  mall 
this  morning  was  so  large  that  it  was  taken  to  the 
appointment  room  in  a  great  basket.  It  measured 
several  bushels  and  nearly  all  of  the  letters  were  ap¬ 
plications  and  Indorsements  for  office.  Five  addi¬ 
tional  clerks  have  been  detailed  for  work  in  the  ap¬ 
pointment  division  to  assist  in  keeping  the  work  up- 
—Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  9. 

>:»»>>!« 

The  President  has  been  just  as  busy  to-day  as  he 
has  been  every  day  during  the  week,  and  the  num¬ 
ber  of  callers  ceased  only  when  the  word  “Closed” 
was  fastened  at  the  main  entrance. 

It  was  said  at  the  White  House,  late  this  afternoon, 
that  Mr.  Cleveland  was  anything  but  worn  out  with 
his  week’s  work,  and  that  the  onslaught  of  the  office 
hunters  had  apparently  affected  him  no  more  than 
if  he  had  been  a  rock. 

The  crowd  began  to  call  about  10  o’clock  this 
morning.  It  included  senators,  representatives  and 
place  hunters  in  large  numbers,  and  the  waiting 
room  was  filled  to  overflowing.— Wcw  York  Times, 
March  12. 

<*  ifi*  ♦ 

To-day  witnessed  but  little  diminution  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  callers  at  the  state  department. — Indianapolis 
Sentinel,  March  12. 

*  »  <■ 

Despite  the  inclement  weather,  there  has  been  a 
great  rush  of  patronage  seekers  in  the  different  de¬ 
partments  to-day.  The  ante-room  of  Mr.  Hoke  Smith 
of  the  interior  department  was  crowded  at  noon. 
Soon  after  12  o’clock  the  door  opened  and  Mr.  Smith 
appeared.  He  seemed  to  be  in  good  humor,  notwith. 
standing  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him 
since  he  assumed  office. 

During  the  day  a  large  number  of  politicians  from 
al  parts  of  the  West  called  upon  Mr.  Smith.  Among 
them  were  half  a  dozen  senators  and  a  dozen  or 
more  representatives,  all  of  whom  came  on  political 
errands. 

Mr.  Smith  told  the  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Times  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  pay  much  atten¬ 


tion  to  business  since  he  took  charge  of  the  depart¬ 
ment. 

Secretary  Morton  had  a  breathing  spell  to-day  and 
at  once  began  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  de¬ 
tails  of  the  office. — New  York  Times,  March  12. 

J."*  « 

The  thunderbolt  which  burst  over  the  heads  of 
the  patronage-hunters  when  the  President  announc¬ 
ed  that  old  office-holders  would  be  barred  for  reap- 
polnlment  momentarily  cleared  the  atmosphere,  but 
only  for  a  moment.  It  might  be  thought  that  this 
announcement  would  suspend  applications  while 
the  old  men  were  falling  to  the  rear  and  the  new 
ones  getting  to  the  front,  but  no  sooner  were  the  old 
applicants  turned  down  than  each  senator  and  rep¬ 
resentative  reached  into  his  inside  pocket,  where  he 
had  a  little  list  of  available  applications  ready  to 
spring  upon  the  President. — Indianapolis  Journal, 
March  12. 

^ 

When  Mr.  Cleveland  entered  his  office  this  morn¬ 
ing,  ready  to  take  up  the  work  of  receiving  senators 
and  members  of  congress  with  their  friends,  he 
found  a  bigger  crowd  waiting  for  him  than  he  has 
seen  on  any  previous  day  since  his  inauguration. 
Possibly  the  bright  sunshine  had  something  to  do 
with  the  size  of  the  throng.  It  is  more  likely,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  rumors  circulated  within  the  past 
twenty-four  hours  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Cleveland 
did  not  Intend  to  make  the  barrier  against  the  office- 
seekers  quite  so  heavy  as  had  been  at  first  intimated 
had  much  to  do  with  the  outpouring. — New  York 
Times,  March  12. 

<1 

The  calling  at  the  White  House  was  renewed  this 
morning  with  about  the  same  vigor  that  it  was  con¬ 
tinued  last  week,  but  it  did  not  last  so  long,  the  rush 
being  over  at  one  o’clock,  leaving  the  President 
some  time  In  which  to  consider  business  that  re¬ 
quired  quiet  forthe  attention  that  it  demanded. 

An  object  lesson  in  office-seeking  is  daily  present¬ 
ed  to  every  visitor  to  the  Metropolitan  and  National 
hotels.  These  are  the  houses  most  popular  with 
southerners,  and  at  present  they  are  full  to  overfiow- 
ing.  Democrats  from  all  parts  of  the  south  crowd 
their  corridors,  the  majority  of  them  clad  in  black 
and  wearing  the  inevitable  black  wool  hat  with  ex¬ 
pansive  brim.— New  York  Times,  March  14. 

jCt  ;;t  ^ 

To-day  closed  a  busy  week^for  President  Cleveland, 
and  the  last  day  was  marked  by  as  much  activity  and 
bustle  among  those  seeking  office  as  the  first  or  any 
of  the  intermediate  days. 

Secretary  Hoke  Smith  does  not,  however,  reach  his 
office  a  moment  too  early  to  suit  the  crowd  of  office- 
seekers,  many  of  whom  he  finds  when  he  arrives, 
waiting  around  the  doors  of  the  department  until 
the  hour  of  nine  o’clock  arrives,  when  they  are  ad¬ 
mitted  to  the  building. 

At  the  post-office  department  there  was  the  usual 
crowd  waiting  to  see  Postmaster-general  Bissell,  and 
the  President’s  announced  determination  to  permit 
all  efficient  postmasters  to  serve  out  their  four  years’ 
term  has  produced  a  depressing  effect.  But  man.v 
of  the  applicants  for  places  are  men  of  resources  and 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


11 


they  try  to  convince  Mr.  Bissell  that  the  postmasters 
in  their  respective  towns  are  anything  but  eflicient 
and  richly  deserve  dismissal  in  case  they  refuse  to 
resign  lorlhvfHh.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  12. 

*  *  * 

The  crowd  at  the  While  House  has  become  so  ob¬ 
jectionable,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  man  who 
thinks  business  ought  not  to  be  interfered  with,  that 
a  set  of  rules  for  the  government  of  the  otfieial  por¬ 
tion  of  the  mansion  has  been  formulat.d. 

This  is  the  text  of  the  rules : 

The  cabinet  will  meet  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  at  11 
A.  M.  Monday  will  be  reserved  by  the  President  for 
the  transaction  of  public  business  requiring  his  un¬ 
interrupted  attention. 

The  President  will  receive  senators  and  represent¬ 
atives  in  congress  from  10  to  12  o’clock  on  other  days, 
except  cabinet  days,  when  he  will  receive  them  from 
10  to  11  o’clock. 

Persons  not  senators  and  representatives  having 
business  with  the  Piesident  will  be  received  from  12 
to  1  o’clock  every  day  except  Mondays  and  cabinet 
davs. 

Those  having  no  business,  but  who  desire  merely 
to  pay  their  respects,  will  be  received  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent  in  the  east  room,  at  1  o’clock  r.  m.  on  Mondays, 
Wednesdays  and  Saturdays. 

The  President  intends  to  devote  the  hours  designa¬ 
ted  for  the  reception  of  senators  and  representatives 
exclusively  to  that  purpose,  and  he  requests  their  co¬ 
operation  in  avoiding  encroachments  upon  the  time 
set  apart  to  their  business  —New  York  Times,  Marchlb. 

*  S,  <! 

To  all  his  political  visitors  Mr.  Bissell  said  that  the 
matters  to  which  they  had  directed  his  attention 
would  be  considered  in  due  time,  and  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  rush  things.  Fourteen  elerks  have 
been  detailed  for  duty  in  the  office  of  the  fourth  as¬ 
sistant  postmaster  general  in  anticipation  of  the  ar¬ 
rival  of  Mr.  Maxwell.  When  the  latter  is  confirmed 
and  assumes  the  duties  of  his  new  position  he  will 
find  several  thousand  applications  for  postmasters’ 
places  stacked  upon  his  desk,  and  it  will  be  his  task 
to  consider  them  in  their  order.  The  applications 
are  coming  at  Ihe  rate  of  about  a  thousand  a  day 
now,  and  they  are  being  acknowledged  and  filed  for 
future  action .—JVeu)  York  Times,  March  14. 

The  second  week  of  this  reform  administration 
opened  with  fully  as  large  a  crowd  of  office-seekers 
pulling  and  hauling  as  was  here  on  inauguration 
day.  But  many  of  the  old  faees  were  missing.  The 
Old  Guard,  the  term  applied  to  former  office  holders, 
had  many  of  them  gone  to  their  homes,  but  the 
vacancies  thus  created  were  speedily  filled  by  new 
arrivals.  The  consequence  was  that  it  was  a  large 
audience  which  awaited  President  Cleveland  when 
he  began  the  work  of  receiving  senators  and  repre¬ 
sentatives  with  their  friends  this  moming.— Buffalo 
Express,  March  14. 

There  is  a  big  book  in  the  office  of  the  chief  of  the 
appointment  bureau  of  the  treasury  which  is  in  great 
demand  these  days.  It  contains  the  names  of  all  the 
democrats  who  have  thus  far  a.sked  for  offices  in  the 
treasury  under  the  new  administration,  and,  after 
examining  it,  one  is  apt  to  ask  himself  whether  there 
are  any  democrats  in  the  country  who  are  not  office- 
seekers.  Every  state  in  the  union  is  represented  in 
this  huge  volume,  and  thousands  of  names  have  al¬ 
ready  been  inscribed  upon  it.  One  of  the  employes 
of  the  office  has  been  assigned  to  the  duty  of  record¬ 
ing  the  names  as  fast  as  they  are  received,  and  he  is 
kept  almost  constantly  busy.— iVew>  York  Times, 
March  15. 

^  j!* 

Up  till  noon  there  was  a  steady  stream  of  visitors 
and  cards  fell  like  a  steady  snowstorm.  Early  in  the 
day  there  were  a  number  of  senators  who  called  to 
see  the  President  and  they  were  fortunate  in  that 
they  were  able  to  reach  the  ear  of  the  chief  execu¬ 
tive  at  once.  They  were  the  envied  of  all  the  less 
fortunate  mortals  who  were  compelled  to  cool  their 
heels  in  the  ante-rooms,  and  who  were  fortunate  if, 
after  wailing  all  the  forenoon,  they  were  able  to  get 
as  far  as  the  private  secretary’s  room.  Among  the 
visitors  were  Senators  Mitchell  of  Wisconsin,  Jones 
of  Arkansas,  Camden  of  West  Virginia,  Palmer  of 
Illinois,  Turpie  of  Indiana,  Dolph  of  Oregon,  White  j 
of  Louisiana,  Teller  and  Wolcott  of  Colorado,  Mc¬ 


Millan  of  Michigan,  George  of  Mississippi  and  Gordon 
of  Georgia;  Representatives  Wilson  of  West  Virginia, 
Enloe  of  Tennessee,  Paschal  of  Texas,  Black  of 
Georgia,  Forman  and  Cable  of  Illinois,  Washington 
of  Tennessee.  Representatives  Wheeler,  of  Alabama, 
and  Washington,  of  Tennessee,  accompanied  Col.  Ed 
Baxter,  of  Nashville,  president  of  the  Tennessee 
state  bar  association,  and  Joseph  L.  B.  McFarland, 
of  Memphis,  who  presented  additional  papers  urg¬ 
ing  the  appointment  of  Judge  Lerton  to  the  circuit 
judgeship  made  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Judge 
Jackson  to  tlie  supreme  bench.  Senator  Palmer 
brought  Judge  Southworth,  of  Litchfield,  111.,  and 
William  McCabe,  of  Chicago,  who  want  to  be  an 
auditor  of  the  treasury  department  and  public 
printer  respectively.  Representative  Outhvvaile,  of 
Ohio,  presented  additional  papers  indorsing  Thomas 
Werts  for  the  public  printership. — Indianapolis  Sen¬ 
tinel  March  17. 

*  »  ♦ 

“You  are  very  much  in  the  minority,”  said  Mr. 
Cleveland  this  morning  when  Representative  Houk 
of  Ohio  called  with  a  friend  and  announced  that 
neither  of  the  men  were  looking  for  office.  The  ma¬ 
jority  were  represented  in  undiminished  force  this 
morning,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  was  very  busily  occu¬ 
pied  until  lunch  lime.— Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March 
10. 

>:«  >:«  >:« 

So  many  office-seekers,  mostly  from  Indiana,  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  corridors  of  the  capitol  to-day  that 
when  a  recess  of  the  senate  was  taken,  shortly  after  12 
till  3  o’clock,  the  doors  leading  to  the  floor  of  the 
chamber  ^vere  kept  closed  “under  exeenlive  orders.” 
Thus  the  senators  had  a  rest  free  from  callers.  When 
the  doors  of  the  senate  are  closed  in  executive  ses¬ 
sion  a  senator  can  not  be  communicated  with  by  any 
one  on  the  oniside.— Indianapolis  Journal,  March  16. 

*  * 

The  visitors  at  the  White  House  began  coming 
somewhat  earlier  than  usual  to-day,  and  the  larger 
number  of  them  consisted  of  congressmen.— Rit/aio 
Express,  March  17. 

#1  *  * 

As  soon  as  the  body  had  adjourned  the  army  of 
officers  who  have  been  thronging  the  corridors  for 
days  past  found  entrance  and  opportnnlty  to  scg 
their  senators,  and  all  found  their  way  to  the  demo¬ 
cratic  side  of  the  chamber,  with  the  result  that 
nealy  every  .senator  seated  there  was  soon  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  group  of  wistful-eyed  men,  or  was 
obliged,  in  self-defense,  to  flee  to  the  retiring 
rooms  of  the  committee  rooms.-Indianapolis  Journal, 
March  17. 

•  *  * 

Office-seekers  swarmed  about  the  senate  wing  of 
the  capitol  to-day  and  made  life  miserable  for  the 
senators  who  ventured  into  the  corridors.  After  the 
adjournment  the  doors  were  not  opened  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  for  a  full  half  hour,  in  order  to  enable  as  many  of 
the  senators  as  desired  to  make  their  escape  from  the 
horde  of  place-hunters.  Some  of  them  availed  them¬ 
selves  of  this  opportunity,  while  others  remained  and 
braved  the  storm.  The  sight  of  a  senator  impor¬ 
tuned  by  a  dozen  or  more  men, with  petitions  in  their 
hands  and  determined  looks  on  their  faces,  is  enough 
to  impress  the  observer.- Aeio  York  Times,  March  17. 

<<  >,**  ^ 

Postmaster-General  Bissell  naturally  is  anxious  to 
have  Mr.  Maxwell  confirmed  as  speedily  as  possible 
in  order  that  he  may  relieve  him  of  some  of  the  pres¬ 
sure  now  centered  against  his  department.  The 
strain  has  been  awful,  but  so  far  Mr.  Bissell  has 
seemed  not  to  mind  it,  although  it  is  apparent  that 
he  is  anxious  to  shift  the  load  of  office-seekers  upon 
Mr.  Maxwell’s  shoulders  in  order  that  he  may  have 
the  time  to  give  his  attention  to  the  work  of  the  de¬ 
partment. 

When  the  Express  correspondent  called  upon  him 
to-day,  Mr.  Bissell  said :  “  I  really  have  not  a  line  of 
news.  All  of  my  time  has  been  taken  up  by  the 
office-seekers  and  their  friends.  If  you  want  to  give 
the  people  of  Buffalo  some  idea  of  this  rush  for  office, 
tell  them  that  I  have  been  compelled  to  detail  forty 
clerks  from  other  divisions  to  help  out  the  large 
force  of  clerks  in  the  appointment  division  in  brief¬ 
ing  and  filing  the  applications.  I  have  not  had  time 
to  consider  whom  I  desire  for  my  assistants.”— Rwjalo 
Express,  March  17. 


“GOOD  POLITICS.” 


Ex-Governor  Gray  is  the  subject  of  considerable 
political  speculation  this  morning.  If  not  here  now, 
he  will  show  up  soon.  His  chances  for  securing  the 
Mexican  mission  are  varionsly  estimated,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  predict  how  he  will  come  out,  in  view 
of  the  rivalry  for  that  office.  The  towering  form  of 
the  Hon.  J.  G.  Shanklin  was  seen  about  the  rotunda 
of  Willards  to  day.  He  is  the  object  of  considerable 
interest  to  the  Indiana  politicians,  and  his  recom¬ 
mendations  are  being  sought  with  much  eagerness. 
He  will  remain  here  several  weeks.— Indianapolis 
News,  March  6. 

>!« 

About  10  o'clock  Secretary  Gresham  received  a  call 
from  Senators  Voorhees  and  Turpie,  who  remained 
witli  him  nearly  an  hour.  They  were  alone  with  the 
new  secretary  of  state,  and  while  they  declined  to 
discuss  their  visit,  it  is  certain  that  their  call  was  for 
the  purpose  of  urging  the  appointment  of  ex-Gov- 
ernor  Gray,  of  Indiana,  as  minister  to  Mexico.- lUas/i- 
inglon  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  March  6. 

i\t  >;t  >;t 

Ex-Governor  Gray  and  Hon.  W.  A  Cullop  left  last 
evening  for  Washington  city  over  the  Pennsylvania 
road.- Indianapolis  Journal,  March  7. 

* 

Ex-Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray  has  his  reward.  He  will 
be  appointed  minister  to  Mexico.  It  is  stated  on 
good  authority  that  the  appointment  will  be  made  at 
once.  Official  announcement  of  his  appointment 
is  likely  to  be  given  out  from  the  White  House  at 
any  time.  Ex-Governor  Gray  spent  last  evening  at 
the  White  House.  Nearly  all  the  prominent  Hoosier 
democrats  in  the  city  called  on  him  at  his  hotel  yes¬ 
terday  afternoon  and  last  night.  This  morning  he 
appeared  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Ebbitt  House,  dressed 
in  black  broadcloth,  with  decollete  vest,  and  a  huge 
diamond  stud  that  looked  decidedly  diplomatic.  Mr. 
Gray  came  to  Washington  in  response  to  a  telegram 
from  Senator  Voorhees. 

At  the  last  moment  the  local  influences  that  have 
always  opposed  the  ex  governor  made  a  final  stand 
against  his  nomination  as  minister  to  Mexico.  They 
were  willing  to  concede  him  the  Chinese  mi.ssion, 
but  Governor  Gray  stated  positively  and  unequivo¬ 
cally  that  he  would  not  accept  the  appointment  to 
the  Celestial  empire.  He  had  back  of  him,  for  the 
Mexican  mission,  the  influence  of  the  Indiana  sena¬ 
tors,  most  of  the  congressmen  and  many  influential 
men  from  other  states.  Finally  Mr.  Gray’s  political 
enemies  gave  up  the  fight  —  lUas/iinpfon  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  News,  March  8,  1893. 

♦ 

Gray,  it  may  be  added,  has  only  the  support  of 
Senators  V’oorhees  and  Turpie  in  his  aspirations. 
Representative  Bynum  openly  opposes  him.  Of 
course  John  Gil  Shanklin  and  Editor  Morss  and  their 
friends  will  not  encourage  Isaac’s  preferment.  The 
most  serious  part  of  the  Gray  situation  is  four.d  in 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Shanklin  stands  infinitely  higher 
with  the  President  and  Secretary  Gresham  than  Gray 
does,  and  Mr.  Shanklin  is  to  be  given  a  place  him¬ 
self.  Both  cari  not  be  given  first  class  missions.  In¬ 
diana  democrats  declare  it  would  be  shameful  to 
give  Gray  the  higher  place,  and  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Shanklin  say  he  would  not  accept  an  office  lower  in 
rank  or  less  remunerative  than  is  given  Gray.— Jn- 
dianapolis  Journal,  March  8. 

«  >> 

Gray’s  nomination  as  minister  to  Mexico  has  been 
made  out,  and  it  will  be  sent  to  the  senate  to  mor¬ 
row.  This  announcement  was  made  by  ex-Congress- 
man  Courtland  C.  Matson  as  he  emerged  from  the 
state  department  this  morning,  after  a  conference 
with  Secretary  Gresham.  Senator  Voorhees  saw  the 
President  again  this  morning,  and  this  evening 
stated  in  most  positive  terms  that  Mr.  Gray’s  ap¬ 
pointment  as  minister  to  Mexico  was  a  certainty, 
and  that  the  President  had  assured  him  that  it  would 
be  sent  to  the  senate  without  delay,  probably  to¬ 
morrow.  Of  course  the  selection  of  Gray  for  a  first- 
cla.ss  mission,  and  especially  the  one  of  his  first  choice. 
Is  a  hard  slap  at  the  Shanklin-Bynum  combination, 
and  it  is  a  victory  for  the  Voorhecs-Turpie  crowd. 


12 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


Indiana's  two  senators  have  stood  faithfully  by  Mr. 
Oray.  They  have  made  his  appointment  to  Mexico  the 
first  requisite  to  their  friendship  for  the  administration, 
but  ex-Governor  Gray  lias  not  been  idle.  He  has 
been  looking  out  for  No.  1.  When,  some  time  ago, 
he  dispatched  to  Lakewood  Hugh  Dougherty,  of 
Bluffton,  and  James  Murdock,  of  La  Fayette,  his  per¬ 
sonal  friends,  to  ascertain  direct  from  Mr.  Cleveland 
what  it  was  intended  the  democratic  ex-governor  of 
Indiana  should  get  in  the  way  of  an  office,  Mr.  Gray 
showed  an  acumen  which  should  recommend  him 
to  his  party  as  a  practical  politician.  He  did  not  in¬ 
tend  to  take  anybody’s  word  for  it,  but  was  deter¬ 
mined  to  learn  for  himself  what  the  incoming  Presi¬ 
dent  intended  doing  for  him.  “I  shall  take  early 
occasion,”  Mr.  Cleveland  is  reported  to  have  said 
to  Mr.  Gray’semlssaries,  ”  to  tender  Mr.  Gray  a  place 
which  will  be  commensurate  with  his  ability,  and  I 
hope  satisfactory  to  him  and  his  friends.”  This  Mr_ 
Cleveland  said  after  the  Mexican  mission  had  been 
mentioned,  and  he  said  It  in  a  way  which  led  Messrs. 
Dougherty  and  Murdock  to  report  to  Mr.  Gray  that 
the  mission  was  his  own. —  Washington  Dispatch  to 
Indianapolis  Journal,  March  9. 

It  has  come  to  light  that  the  nomination  of  Isaac 
P.  Gray  as  United  States  minister  to  Mexico  was 
practically  agreed  upon  in  this  city.  The  tiight  of 
Governor  Matthews’s  inaugural  ball  a  secret  meet¬ 
ing  was  held,  in  a  law  office  here,  of  prominent  dem¬ 
ocrats  from  all  parts  of  the  state.  At  that  time  Gray 
was  considered  a  cabinet  possibility,  and  there  was 
much  opposition  to  him,  and  the  feeling  among 
some  was  that  Gray  should  not  be  recognized  at  all, 
and  especially  should  not  go  into  the  cabinet.  John 
G.  Shanklin  took  an  active  part  in  the  meeting,  and 
urged  that  in  the  interest  of  “good  politics,”  Gray 
should  get  something.  “If  he  does  not,”  said  Mr. 
Shanklin,  “he  will  be  the  man  aboutwhomall  the 
disappointed  democrats  in  Indiana  will  rally,  and 
in  two  years  he  will  have  the  most  powerful  follow¬ 
ing  in  the  state.”  Mr.  Shanklin  urged  that  Gray  be 
sent  out  of  the  country  so  far  that  he  would  not  be 
fn  touch  with  the  Indiana  democrats.  John  P. 
Frenzel  was  opposed  to  any  recognition  for  Gray, 
but  finally  agreed  with  Mr.  Shanklin  that  it  would 
be  “good  politics”  to  have  Gray  recognized  and 
send  him  across  the  sea.  While  the  subject  was  un¬ 
der  discussion  S.  E.  Morss  came  in.  He  was  in  even¬ 
ing  dress  and  did  not  remain  more  than  ten  min¬ 
utes.  Jlr.  Morss  when  asked  for  his  opinion  replied 
that  his  name  was  pending  for  an  appointment  and 
he  did  not  think  it  proper  for  him  to  take  any  stand, 
but  personally,  he  said,  he  was.  in  favor  of  Mr.  Gray 
being  recognized.  The  Mexican  mission  was  men¬ 
tioned  and  Mr.  Shanklin  opposed  it.  He  thought 
that  would  keep  Gray  too  near  home.  It  was  finally 
decided  to  urge  him  for  the  Chinese  mission.  This 
knowledge  of  meeting  came  to  the  ears  of  Gray’s 
friends,  and  James  Murdock,  of  La  Fayette,  and 
Hugh  Dougherty,  of  Bluft’ton,  hurried  on  to  New 
York  and  saw  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  from  him  received 
the  understanding  that  Mr.  Gray  would  be  appointed 
minister  to  Mexico  if  he  desired.  Grey  was  com¬ 
municated  with  and  said  he  would  take  the  place, 
and  it  has  been  given  to  him.  Had  the  meeting 
mentioned  not  been  .satisfied  that  Gray  would  not 
be  appointed  to  a  cabinet  place,  a  strong  fight  would 
have  been  made  against  him.  Now  it  is  said  that 
Gray’s  friends  will  “remember”  some  of  the  men  in 
that  meeting  when  they  come  up  for  office. 

tit  ★ 

Many  democrats  who  have  been  opposed  to  Gray 
d)  notr.ke  to  put  themselves  in  print  as  approving 
the  appointment,  though  they  profess  themselves  to 
b2  pleased  over  the  situation.  They  are  glad  that 
Gray  is  to  be  sent  abroad.  They  would  have  prefer¬ 
red  the  Chinese  mission,  or  something  even  farther 
away,  but  Mexico  will  suffice.  They  did  not  want 
Gray  to  stand  in  the  attitude  of  a  martyr  to  gather 
about  him  all  the  disappointed  office-seekers  and 
make  trouble,  as  they  say  he  undoubtedly  would  do 
had  he  not  received  substantial  recognition.  Some 
of  his  friends  and  some  of  his  enemies  wanted  him 
sent  to  Russia.  Others  would  have  preferred  Siberia. 
The  Russian  mission,  however,  was  considered  out 
of  the  question,  as  all  the  countries  represented  in 


St.  Petersburg  send  their  most  skillful  diplomats, 
and  Mr.  Gray’s  knowledge  of  diplomacy  is  not  edn- 
sidered  great.— Indianapolis  News,  March  9. 

>>  >>  *:« 

The  first  list  of  appointments  sent  to  the  senate  by 
President  Cleveland  to-day  fulfilled  two  predictions 
that  have  been  made  in  the  dispatches  to  The  News 
and  will  probably  prove  a  double  disappointment  to 
the  Cleveland  wing  of  the  Hoosier  democracy.  In  the 
first  place,  ex-Governor  Gray’s  appointment  as  min¬ 
ister  to  Mexico  was  the  severest  blow  of  all.  But 
Mr.  Shanklin  went  down  fighting  bravely.  Two 
hours  before  the  nomination  of  Gray  was  sent  to  the 
senate,  Shanklin,  accompanied  by  Maurice  Donnel¬ 
ly  and  Captain  Baker,  of  Indianapolis,  called  at  the 
lYhite  House  and  entered  a  solemn  protest  against 
Gray’s  appointment  as  minister  to  Mexico,  on  behalf 
of  the  Cleveland  wing  of  the  Indiana  democracy. 
Mr.  Shanklin  stated  to  a  reporter  on  leaving  the 
White  House  that  the  appointment  of  Gray  was  a 
disappointment  to  the  Cleveland  men  in  Indiana 
and  would  be  generally  regretted  by  them.  He  was 
willing  that  Gray  might  be  sent  to  China  or  some 
other  mission,  but  objected  to  his  being  given  the 
Mexican  mission  because  he  felt  that  it  would  lessen 
the  chances  of  recognition  of  other  Indiana  demo¬ 
crats.  When  the  rumor  got  abroad  on  the  street  yes¬ 
terday  afternoon  that  Gray’s  nomination  would  be 
sent  in  to-day,  Shanklin  hurried  over  to  the  White 
House  and  asked  Private  Secretary  Thurber  if  he 
might  be  permitted  to  see  Mr.  Cleveland.  Beingin- 
formed  that  the  President  was  very  busy,  Mr.  Shank¬ 
lin  said  he  would  call  this  morning,  as  he  did.—  TUas/i- 
ington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  March  9. 

i‘t  ij*  s^s 

The  chief  interest  to  the  Indiana  office-seekers  in 
to-day’s  developments  at  the  capital  was  in  the  nom¬ 
ination  of  ex  Governor  Gray  to  be  minister  to  Mex¬ 
ico.  The  selection  was  received  with  much  favor  by 
the  office-seekers,  most  of  whom  have  been  long-time 
adherents  of  the  ex-governor  and  who  seem  to  think 
that  he  will  have  sufficient  influence  with  the  administra¬ 
tion  to  land  them  in  soft  berths.—  Washington  Dispatch  to 

Indianapolis  Sentinel,  March  10. 

<>  <■ 

“Gil”  Shanklin  left  for  New  York  this  morning, 
and  it  is  reported  he  will  not  return  to  Washington. 
Ex- Governor  Gray  left  his  hotel  this  morning  and 
went  to  the  house  of  a  relative.  He  will  return  to 
Indiana  Saturday  night.  His  indorsement  is  being  so¬ 
licited  on  every  hand  by  the  Indiana  office-seekers.  The 
ex-governor  spends  much  time  in  the  company  of  Senator 
Voorlues,  and  the  two  seem  to  be  shaping  affairs  for  Indi¬ 
ana.  —  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News, 
March  10. 

sit 

“  I  regard  the  Mexican  mission  as  the  most  desira¬ 
ble  for  a  man  of  my  temperament,”  said  Mr.  Gray  to 
the  Journal  correspondent,  “and  it  was  my  first 
choice.  I  would  rather  have  the  place  than  a  cab¬ 
inet  office.  I  can  make  frequent  trips  home,  and  the 
climate  is  pleasant  and  the  country  most  beautiful.” 
—  Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Journal,  March 
10. 

»  »  « 

’The  Indiana  democrats  who  led  the  “ninety  per 
cents”  at  the  Chicago  convention,  and,  as  they  be¬ 
lieve,  made  the  nomination  of  Cleveland  possible,  do 
not  attempt  to  hide  their  disappointment  at  the 
turn  Indiana  democratic  politics  has  taken.  To  use 
the  expression  of  them  :  “We  are  wondering  where 
we  are  at.”  They  say  they  have  not  lost  faith  in 
President  Cleveland,  but  they  believe  i  was  impol¬ 
itic  for  him  to  recognize  the  “ten  per  cents”  or  the 
Gray  wing  of  the  party,  so  soon  after  his  inaugura¬ 
tion.  When  J.  G.  Shanklin  came  here  fresh  from  a 
visit  to  the  President-elect,  he  was  besieged  by  place¬ 
hunting  democrats  as  long  as  he  remained  in  the 
city.  It  was  taken  for  granted  that  he  was  nearer  the 
President  than  any  other  man  from  Indiana.  No 
one  then  thought  of  going  to  Isaac  P.  Gray  for  a  rec¬ 
ommendation  under  the  new  President.  It  was  fre¬ 
quently  reported  froin  apparently  reliable  sources 
that  the  President  would  appoint  Gray  to  the  Mexi¬ 
can  mission,  but  the  original  Cleveland  men  refused 
to  believe  the  story.  As  a  result  of  the  appointment, 
Indiana  democrats  who  are  seeking  the  smaller 
offices  do  not  know  which  wing  of  the  party  should 
be  asked  to  recommend  them.  They  are  asking 


themselves  these  questions;  Is  the  Gray-Matthews 
wing  the  one  to  which  the  President  intends  to 
listen?  or,  is  it  the  idea  of  the  President  to  get  Gray 
out  of  the  way  and  then  allow  Gil  Shanklin  and 
the  other  members  of  the  party  who  were  for  Cleve¬ 
land  “first,  last  and  all  the  time”  to  control  the 
patronage.— /ndtawapoh's  News,  March  10. 

>;<  »It 

The  Post  this  morning  prints  an  interview  with 
editor  J.G.  Shanklin,  of  the  Evansville  Cottr/er,  on 
the  appointment  of  ex-Governor  Gray  as  minister  to 
Mexico,  in  which  Mr.  Shanklin  relates  the  following 
incident  of  the  ante-convention  campaign  of  Indiana: 
“The  personal  relations  of  Governor  Gray  and  my¬ 
self  were  pleasant  up  to  a  time  that  is  now  some¬ 
thing  more  than  a  year  ago.  I  telegraphed  him  to 
meet  me  in  Indianapolis  and  took  the  train  from 
Evansville.  In  order  to  have  a  witness  to  our  meet¬ 
ing,  I  also  telegraphed  Mr.  Taggart,  chairman  of  the 
state  democratic  committee.  Mr.  Taggart,  however, 
did  not  reach  the  hotel  until  after  the  talk  had 
ended.  The  purpose  of  my  visit  was  to  secure  Mr. 
Gray’s  support  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  thereby  place 
him  (Gray)  upon  the  national  ticket  as  the  vice- 
presidential  nominee.  He  flatly  refused,  saying  that 
he  did  not  want  the  vice  presidency,  and  that  the 
man  who  stood,  or  could  stand,  between  him  and 
the  nomination  for  the  highest  office  within  the  gift 
of  the  nation  was  David  B.  Hill,  of  New  York.  I 
laughed,  telling  him  that  Indiana  would  be  glad  to 
see  him  the  Vice-President  just  as  I  would  be  glad  to 
see  him,  but  that  90  per  cent,  of  its  democracy  were 
in  favor  of  Mr.  Cleveland  against  anybody.  He  said 
that  Grover  Cleveland’s  name  would  not  be  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  convention,  save  in  the  casual  manner 
I  said  it  would;  that  not  only  would  its  wearer  be 
mentioned,  but  that  he  would  be  nominated  and 
elected. 

“  ‘  Gil  Shanklin,’  he  declared,  ‘you  think  that  you 
are  a  politician.  I  am  a  politician— that  is  my  busi¬ 
ness— and  I  am  willing  to  put  my  judgment  against 
yours.’ 

“‘It  is  very  true.  Governor,’  I  answered,  ‘that  I 
am  merely  a  newspaper  man,  but  I  tell  you  that  the 
presidency  is  utterly  out  of  your  reach.’ 

“Subsequently,  I  went  down  into  Orange  county 
and  made  a  speech  to  its  convention.  Its  delegates 
to  the  state  convention  were  instructed  for  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land;  Gray  has  not  forgiven  me.  We  do  not  speak 
when  we  pass  by,  which  is  not  very  often.”—  Washing¬ 
ton  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  News,  March  10. 

Jl:  jK 

The  fact  is  not  concealed  among  leading  politicians 
here  that  Governor  Gray’s  appointment  was  to  dis¬ 
charge  an  obligation  made  at  the  Chicago  conven¬ 
tion,  by  which  he  withdrew  at  an  opportune  time 
tor  Mr.  Cleveland.  It  is  understood  that  Mr.  Whit¬ 
ney  and  Governor  Francis,  of  Missouri,  and  other 
managers  of  the  Cleveland  boom,  gave  Gray’s  friends 
to  understand  that  the  latter  would  be  given  a  cabi¬ 
net  place,  although  the  position  was  not  definitely 
agreed  upon.  The  announcement  made  by  Governor 
Gray’s  friends  from  Indianapolis,  even  before  elec¬ 
tion,  that  in  the  event  of  Mr.  Cleveland’s  success  the 
ex-governor  would  be  made  postmaster-general,  was 
doubtless  founded  on  the  deal  at  Chicago,  and  the 
expressed  choice  of  ex-Governor  Gray.  When  Mr. 
Cleveland  found  it  impossible  to  confer  a  cabinet 
place  on  Indiana’s  ex-governor  he  did  the  next  best 
thing  and  gave  him  the  choice  foreign  mission. 
While  Mr.  Shanklin  lost  in  his  fight  on  Indiana’s  ex¬ 
governor,  he  has  not,  according  to  the  general  belief, 
injured  his  own  prospects  for  abundant  recognition 
at  the  proper  time.  Mr.  Shanklin  has  said  that  he  was 
a  candidate  for  no  office,  and  never  asked  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  for  anything,  but  when  some  of  his  friends  had 
consulted  him  on  the  subject  he  had  told  them  that 
there  \¥as  only  one  position  he  would  care  to  have, 
and  that  was  consul-general  to  London.  One  reason 
assigned  for  President  Cleveland’s  persistence  in  ap¬ 
pointing  Mr.  Gray  over  the  protest  of  Mr.  Shanklin 
and  other  representatives  of  the  Cleveland  democ¬ 
racy  is  a  respect  for  the  pledge  made  by  Mr.  Whitney 
and  Governor  Francis.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Whitney 
felt  very  much  disappointed  that  President  Cleve¬ 
land  did  not  confer  a  cabinet  place  on  Mr.  Gray.— 
Indianapolis  News,  March  11. 


The  civil  service  Chronicle. 


If  we  see  nothings  in  our  victory  but  a  license  to  revel  in  partisan  spoils,  we  shall  foil  at  every  point. — 

President-elect  Cleveland  at  New  York,  November  18. 


VoL.  II,  No.  2.  INDIANAPOLIS,  APRIL,  1893.  terms  :  ^ 


Published  monthly.  Publication  office,  No.  23  N. 
Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Address, 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind, 

One  mode  of  the  misappropriation  of  public  funds 
is  avoided  when  appointments  to  office,  instead  of 
being  the  rewards  of  partisan  activity,  are  awarded 
to  those  whose  efficiency  promises  a  fair  return  of 
work  for  the  compensation  paid  to  them.  To  secure 
the  fitness  and  competency  of  appointees  to  office 
and  to  remove  from  political  action  the  demoraliz¬ 
ing  madness  for  spoils  civil  service  reform  has 
found  a  place  in  our  public  policy  and  laws.  The 
benefit  already  gained  through  this  instrumentality 
and  the  further  usefulness  it  promises  entitle  it  to 
the  hearty  support  and  encouragement  of  all  who 
desire  to  see  our  public  service  well  performed,  or 
who  hope  for  the  elevation  of  political  sentiment 
and  the  purification  of  political  methods.— Prest- 
dent’s  Inaugural. 

The  eye  of  the  world  still  remains  upon 
Mr.  Gladstone.  Night  after  night,  he  stands 
forth  for  the  right  of  local  self-government, 
and  behind,  and  in  support  of  him,  watch¬ 
ing  ev'ery  movement  of  the  contest,  and 
with  every  faculty  enlisted,  stand  a  majority 
of  the  British  people,  moved  alone  by  the 
justice  of  the  cause.  He  is  a  true  leader  of 
the  people.  He  commands  the  admira¬ 
tion  and  approval  of  all  nations.  He  is  ad¬ 
ding  a  crown  of  glory  to  a  great  career. 

The  eye  of  the  world  also  still  remains 
upon  our  American  President.  He  too  is 
occupied  to  the  utmost  point  of  endurance. 
Let  any  man  read  how,  and  then  tell  the 
American  nation  where  it  can  turn  to  hide 
its  shame  and  humiliation  : 

Senator  Voorhees  gathered  together  this 
morning  all  the  Indiana  candidates  for  con¬ 
sular  positions  still  in  the  city  and  took  them 
to  the  President  in  a  body.  They  were  Jerome 
Herd  of  Peru,  who  wants  the  Havana  consul¬ 
ate;  Editor  Jennings  of  the  Salem  Dmocraf, 
who  would  like  to  go  to  Hamburg  or  some 
other  place  in  Germany ;  Dr.  Chitwood  of 
Connersville  for  Berlin,  or  some  other  place 
equally  as  good  ;  Con  Cunningham  of  Craw- 
fordsville,  for  Belfast ;  Dick  Johnson  of  John¬ 
son  county,  for  a  Canadian  or  South  American 
port,  and  last  but  not  least,  that  rising  states¬ 
man  from  the  Kankakee  regions,  George  D. 
Glazebrook  of  Starke  county,  who  thinks 
Buenos  Ayres  about  a  place  suitable  for  his 
talents.  Mr.  Herff  was  introduced  first.  The 
President  remembered  meeting  him  and  told 
him  frankly  that  no  change  would  be  made 
at  Havana  for  the  present.  He  told  him  he 
could  have  something  equally  as  good.  Con¬ 
gressman  Martin  was  also  present  to  urge  his 
appointment,  and  the  President  requested  Mr. 
Martin  to  leave  a  list  of  six  places  that  HerfiF 


would  accept,  which  was  promptly  done,  and 
Herd’s  friends  feel  confident  that  his  name 
will  be  sent  to  the  senate  this  week.  It  may 
be  sent  to-morrow.  Senator  Voorhees  says 
there  is  no  doubt  of  Herd’s  appointment. 

The  President  catechised  Cunningham  about 
his  business  and  nativity.  Con  said  he  was 
born  forty  miles  from  Belfast. 

“Suppose  that  I  find  another  good  democrat 
for  the  place,  what  will  you  take  then?”  asked 
the  President. 

“Take  the  next  best  thing,”  replied  Con 
with  a  profound  bow,  then  gave  way  to  Glaze- 
brook,  who  bowed,  too — not  quite  so  low, 
however,  as  Con.  “Many  good  democrats 
want  the  same  place,”  said  the  President. 
“Yes,  Mr.  President,”  replied  Glazebrook, 
and  said  no  more.  Jennings  simply  shook 
hands  with  the  President,  remarking  that  he 
was  happy  to  meet  him.  Johnson  and  Chil- 
wood  had  met  the  President  before.  The  net 
result  of  this  interview  is  that  Herff  will  be 
appointed  to  an  office  worth  about  $5,000. — 
Washington  Dispatch  to  Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
April  G. 

This  was  the  most  fatiguing  day  the  President  has 
had  since  his  inauguration,  and  he  was  completely 
tired  out  after  three  hours  and  a  half  talk  with  sen¬ 
ators,  representatives  and  office-seekers. 

“Did  any  of  them  get  away?”  asked  the  Presi¬ 
dent  when  Senator  Palmer  entered  his  office  at  the 
head  of  a  delegation  of  about  twenty. 

“  I  think  not,  sir;  there  appears  to  be  a  quorum 
present,”  answered  Senator  Palmer,  gravely,  as  he 
ran  his  eye  over  the  groxxp.— Indianapolis  Sentinel, 
March  30. 


A  Washington  dispatch  to  the  Indian¬ 
apolis  News,  April  6,  says : 

Congressman  Martin  made  a  clean  sweep  of  the 
pension  medical  boards  in  his  district  yesterday. 
All  the  republican  examiners  were  replaced  with 
democrats,  as  follows:  Wabash,  Drs.  Hale,  Kidd 
and  Barnet:  Bluffton,  Drs.  Cook,  Harton;  Marion, 
Drs.  Shirely,  Horn  and  Barnes;  Peru,  Drs.  Boggs, 
Passage  and  Helm;  Huntington,  Drs.  Carson, 
Sprowl  and  one  to  be  appointed  soon;  Portland, 
Drs.  Hale  and  Dicks,  one  vacancy  to  be  filled. 

No  administration  with  an  adequate  no¬ 
tion  of  pension  reform  would  ever  permit 
such  use  of  pension  offices  for  private  ends 
as  this.  Under  Mr.  Cleveland’s  former  ad¬ 
ministration  the  pension  oflBce,  so  far  as 
Indiana  was  concerned,  was  one  of  the 
worst  political  machines  that  ever  existed, 
and  if  tools  of  congressmen  are  to  become 
pension  examiners  it  will  become  so  again. 
The  only  improvement  now  proposed  is  to 
appoint  younger  physicians.  It  will  prove 
a  worthless  remedy.  A  congressman’s 
tool  is  a  congressman’s  tool  whatever  his 


age.  Here,  too,  we  must  call  upon  the  ad¬ 
ministration  to  show  evidence  of  greatness. 
The  reform  must  be  from  the  bottom.  The 
pension  examiners  must  be  as  independent 
of  congressmen  and  as  free  from  political 
control  as  the  army  and  navy  surgeons  are. 
This  must  apply  to  all  branches  of  the  pen¬ 
sion  service.  Without  this  freedom  from 
the  political  whip  pension  reform  will  be 
a  failure,  no  matter  how  unexceptionable 
the  pension  commissioner  may  be. 


The  work  of  Headsman  Maxwell  goes 
grimly  on.  It  is  given  out  that  removals  are 
largely  for  cause.  Maxwell  is  not  particular 
about  exact  meanings.  That  congressmen 
want  the  changes,  is  sufficient  “cause”  for 
him.  It  is  also  said  that  republicans  have 
learned  to  resign.  This  is  a  lesson  peculiar 
to  clean  sweeps.  In  some  way  the  republi¬ 
can  postmaster  is  given  to  understand  that 
if  he  resigns  his  office,  his  traps  will  be 
bought  by  his  successor;  but  if  he  refuses  to 
resign,  he  will  be  removed  and  will  have  to 
store  his  traps  in  his  woodshed  for  want  of 
a  purchaser.  It  is  also  said  that,  by  order 
of  the  President,  no  fourth-class  postmas¬ 
ters  will  be  removed  without  cause  unless 
they  have  served  four  years.  Are  they  to  be 
removed  if  they  have  served  four  years  ?  If 
so,  they  will  go  at  the  rate  of  over  thirty 
thousand  a  year.  Does  the  President  mean 
for  the  country  to  understand  that,  not¬ 
withstanding  the  platform  upon  which  he 
was  elected,  and  after  all  his  own  talk,  he 
means  to  dismiss  sixty  thousand  fourth- 
class  postmasters  to  make  room  for  sixty 
thousand  of  his  own  partisans  ?  That  is  a 
question  he  ought  to  answer  plainly.  He 
can  stop  Headsman  Maxwell  by  a  word. 
He  can  put  him  out  of  office,  and  put  in  a 
man  who  looks  upon  office  as  a  public 
trust,  and  not  as  a  party  snap.  He  can  say 
to  congressmen  that  when  they  give  him 
the  means  and  the  machinery  to  appoint 
fourth-class  postmasters  upon  business 
principles,  he  will  rid  the  service  of  mere 
politicians.  Then  he  can  sit  down  and 
wait,  and  time  will  do  the  rest.  We  say 
this  with  entire  confidence  in  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land’s  power  to  destroy  the  greatest  and 
most  wide-spread  source  of  corruption  now 
remaining  in  the  federal  service.  We  urge 
it  with  the  utmost  earnestness,  and  in  the 
belief  that  the  President  and  his  cabinet 
want  to  do  what  is  best  for  the  country. 


14 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  CHRONICLE. 


As  soon  as  Fourth  Assistant  Postmaster- 
General  Maxwell  was  named,  we  received 
reliable  information  concerning  him  from 
his  neighborhood.  He  is  from  a  western 
New  York  village,  and  his  political  ideas 
are  such  as  grow  and  fester  in  the  small 
wards  of  such  a  village.  His  experience 
away  from  home  was  to  hold  an  office  un¬ 
der  Hill,  which  in  some  way  he  managed 
to  hold  until  Mr.  Cleveland  had  offices  to 
give  out.  He  is  a  very  small  partisan.  He 
will  trail  his  forehead  in  the  dust  before 
congressman,  and  thank  them  for  the  privi¬ 
lege.  But  he  is  dragging  the  administra¬ 
tion  into  the  dirt  along  with  himself. 


The  information  comes  from  Washing¬ 
ton  thatthe  administration  thinks  it  should 
be  judged  by  comparison  with  Harrison’s 
administration.  This  is  an  unconscious  ad¬ 
mission  that  it  is  doing  what  it  ought  not 
to  do.  The  claim  that  one  party  is  not  do¬ 
ing  as  much  wrong  as  the  other  did,  under 
the  same  circumstances,  has  been  made  a 
cover  for  wrong-doing  long  enough.  The 
comparison  must  be  made  with  what  the 
present  administration  ought  to  do.  To 
determine  that,  the  platform  upon  which  it 
went  into  office,  the  constitution  and  the 
laws,  and  the  oath  of  office  are  the  standards. 
Do  these  standards  warrant  the  setting  up 
of  Headsman  Maxwell  to  remove  sixty- 
thousand  fourth-class  postmasters  solely  to 
make  room  for  watch-dogs  of  congressmen? 


It  is  in  one  sense  a  good  sign  when  for 
any  reason  officers  engaged  in  making 
clean  sweeps  deem  it  necessary  to  cover  up 
their  work.  It  shows  a  realization  that  they 
are  doing  that  of  which  the  people  would 
not  approve.  The  attempt  to  keep  from 
the  public  the  changes  in  fourth-class  post- 
offices  broke  down  before  the  day  was  out. 
A  second  “stagger”  at  secrecy  was  made  in 
the  notice  to  congressmen  not  to  tell  the 
names  of  those  they  recommend.  The  ad¬ 
ministration  has  now  put  itself  in  the  light 
of  wanting  to  make  a  clean  sweep  if  it  can 
catch  the  people  looking  the  other  way. 
This  is  all  very  silly.  In  other  governments, 
secrecy  is  the  dread  instrument  of  iron- 
handed  despotism ;  in  a  republic,  it  is  the 
hiding  place  of  the  ashamed,  the  resort  of 
the  witless  and  the  cover  of  the  sly. 


If  anything  is  clear,  it  is  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  demand  among  the  people  for 
the  carnival  of  spoil  which  is  rapidly  gather¬ 
ing  full  headway  in  Washington.  On  every 
hand  those  who  have  always  been  the  warm¬ 
est  supporters  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  are  ex¬ 
pressing  open  disapprobation.  One  says, 
“  Mr.  Cleveland  is  acting  very  badly.”  An¬ 
other  says,  “Cleveland  could  stop  this  post¬ 
master  business  if  he  wanted  to.”  Already 
the  effect  has  been  to  bring  the  republican 


party  into  a  state  of  convalescence.  What 
has  become  of  the  new  party  which  Mr. 
Cleveland  and  Judge  Gresham  were  to  build 
up  ?  No  candle  ever  went  out  any  quicker 
than  that  party  will  go  out  if  the  divis¬ 
ion  of  spoil  is  continued.  From  present 
prospects  it  will  be  the  duty  of  every  inde¬ 
pendent  to  be  more  independent  than  ever 
and  thousands  in  every  state  who  have  not 
been  independent  will  find  it  their  duty  to 
become  so.  This  will  have  to  go  on  until 
both  parties  are  destroyed,  and  anew  one 
formed,  or  until  one  or  the  other  learns 
that  promises  made  before  election  will 
have  to  be  kept  after  election. 


It  has  been  decided  that  the  administra¬ 
tion  will  not  prepare  a  tariff-reform  bill, 
lest  congress  should  be  jealous  of  encroach¬ 
ment  upon  its  rights.  Now  let  the  Presi¬ 
dent  be  equally  jealous  of  congressional 
encroachment  into  his  field.  An  amazing 
encroachment  is  now  being  made.  There 
has  never  been  a  greater  insult  offered  to 
the  rights,  the  power,  and  the  dignity  of 
executive  government  than  is  now  cast 
upon  President  Cleveland  by  congress¬ 
men  in  attempting  to  force  him  and  his 
officers  to  quarter  their  primary  aud  con¬ 
vention  manipulators  upon  the  public 
treasury.  The  true  parallel  to  this  is  to  be 
found  in  the  pretorian  guard  of  Borne  and 
in  the  janissaries  of  Constantinople. 


The  Springfield  Republican  aptly  brushes 
aside  the  flimsy  excuse  attempted  to  be 
put  forward  in  the  statement  that  Maxwell 
in  the  same  time  has  not  removed  post¬ 
masters  so  fast  as  Clarkson  did.  It  says : 

“Custom  does  not  make  right.  If  Hea  Isman  Clark¬ 
son  put  a  stop  to  the  official  life  of  thousands  of  re¬ 
publican  postmasters,  that  is  no  reason  why  Heads¬ 
man  Maxwell  should  do  likewise.  If  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  President  Harrison  cast  off  all  restraint  in 
this  matter,  such  policy,  does  not  justify  President 
Cleveland  in  doing  the  same  thing.’’ 

And  again : 

“But  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  not  going 
to  be  satisfied  with  any  demonstration  that  this  ad¬ 
ministration  is  less  a  sinner  than  its  predecessor  in 
dealingwith  the  fourth-class  postmasters.’’ 

The  Republican  also  discusses  most  profit¬ 
ably  the  senate  of  the  United  States  with 
its  small  items  of  party  plunder.  After 
the  “  battle  was  over  and  the  victory 
won,”  and  it  was  settled  that  a  number  of 
clerks  were  to  lose  their  means  of  support 
for  no  cause  in  the  world,  the  democrats 
fell  to  moralizing.  The  Republican  thus 
describes  it : 

Nor  did  the  democrats  rejoice:  far  from  it;  they 
were  as  glum  as  the  republicans.  They  acted  as 
though  they  were  ashamed  of  the  job  in  hand,  as 
well  they  might  be.  They  professed  to  be  driven  to 
it  by  stern  necessity,  and  to  approach  it  as  Jephtha 
approached  the  sacrifice  of  his  daughter,  with  grief 
unspeakable.  Said  Senator  Voorhees.  "  Sometimes 
after  the  battle  is  over  and  the  victory  won  there 
are  circumstances  which  are  sorrowful  in  their  na¬ 
ture.  I,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  encounter  one  of 
those  circumstances  now  in  parting  from  the  able, 
courteous,  kind  and  efficient  officers  of  this  body.’’ 
Senator  Blackburn  could  not  trust  himself  “  to  speak 
of  the  sense  of  regret  with  which  I  contemplate  his 
(Secretary  McCook’s)  retirement  from  this  chamber.’’ 


Senator  Palmer  said  that  if  the  proposition  had 
been  to  change  the  secretary  of  the  senate  violently, 
“  I  am  not  now  prepared  to  say  what  course  I  should 
have  been  compelled  to  pursue.’’  Even  Mr.  Gor¬ 
man,  avowed  spoilsman  as  he  is,  voiced  the  same 
note  of  regret  that  stern  necessity  compelled  the  re¬ 
moval  of  a  set  of  officers  who  were  competent,  ef¬ 
ficient  and  faithful,  and  who,  he  declared,  had  con¬ 
ducted  the  affairs  of  the  senate  as  well  as  they  have 
ever  been  conducted  during  the  forty  years  he  has 
known  the  senate. 

An  interview  with  District  Attorney 
Burke,in  the  Indianapolis  Journal  of  March 
28,  runs  as  follows : 

“  The  civil  service  reformers  have  a  grievance  with 
you,’’  was  suggested. 

“Yes;  they  wanted  a  bill  passed  which  gave  the 
state  board  of  charities  power  to  select  the  employes 
of  the  state  institutions.  I  was  opposed  to  that  be¬ 
cause  I  believed  that  Dr.  Wright,  here  at  Indianapo¬ 
lis,  and  the  several  boards  of  trustees,  were  more 
competent  and  better  equipped  for  this  work  than 
the  board  of  charities.’’ 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  for  Burke  to  try 
to  deceive  about  a  matter  so  plain  as  this. 
The  bill  gave  the  board  of  charities  no  power 
to  select  employes.  It  directed  the  board 
to  apply  certain  tests  to  those  who  desired 
employment  in  the  state  benevolent  institu¬ 
tions.  Those  tests  were  to  be  such  as  would 
reach  the  practical  fitness  of  the  applicants 
for  the  duties  to  be  performed,  without  re¬ 
gard  to  politics  or  influence  or  any  other 
matter  having  nothing  to  do  with  the  per¬ 
formance  of  those  duties.  From  among 
those  who  best  stood  such  tests,  the  present 
appointing  officers  were  to  select  the  em¬ 
ployes.  Burke  was  not  in  favor  of  such  a 
plan  ;  it  was  too  democratic.  He  and  Voor¬ 
hees,  and  their  likes,  prefer  the  monarchi¬ 
cal  system  of  appointing  by  favoritism. 


The  appointment  of  Burke  to  be  district 
attorney  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact 
that  recommendations  are  kept  secret  in 
Washington.  There  is  no  more  absurd  no" 
tion.  If  a  recommendation  must  be  kept  se¬ 
cret,  the  President  should  discard  it.  If  rec¬ 
ommendations  were  open  to  public  inspec¬ 
tion,  men  would  stop  lying  aboutapplicants 
for  office.  It  is  said  that  Burke  had  the  ap¬ 
proval  of  a  number  of  circuit  judges.  That 
showed  nothing;  almost  every  man  signs 
every  recommendation  for  office  that  is  laid 
before  him.  Mr.  Francis  T.  Hord,  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  late  Indiana  general  assembly, 
became  “singular”  because  he  refused  to 
sign  recommendations  of  persons  with 
whom  he  was  not  acquainted.  If  indorse¬ 
ments  were  not  kept  secret  in  Washington, 
the  weakly  yielded  and  chiefly  baseless 
eulogy  of  Burke  by  Judge  Elliott  would 
have  been  buried  out  of  sight  by  a  flood  of 
protests  and  facts  showing  Burke’s  unfit¬ 
ness. 


It  was  well  known  that  Senator  Voor¬ 
hees  would  seek  an  antidote  for  the  “poi¬ 
son”  which  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  Anti- 
Labor  Burke  instilled  in  the  minds  of  work¬ 
ingmen.  As  a  starter  he  declared  the 
other  day  in  the  senate,  that  “th